KISS KISS, BANG BANG: The Unofficial James Bond Film Companion

With all the books published about James Bond movies, and not wanting to purchase dozens of books on the subject, figuring out which book or books to buy can be mind-numbing. Sure, there is that great Bond on Bond book by Roger Moore, in which he talks about all seven of his entries in the series, in massive detail. Yes, there are film guides and encyclopedias. There are coffee table books reprinting treasures from the production files… so the question comes down to… which book is the one essential worthy of buying to read?

 

Fear not, this blog post will help you make that decision. While many books about the James Bond movies have something the others do not, the most all-encompassing volume you want is Kiss, Kiss, Bang! Bang! by Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn. They first wrote the book in 1997 and then an expanded edition was published in 2000. There is a third edition that was published with even more trivia but even the second edition is worthy of getting.

 

The authors chose to use the word "unofficial" in their subtitled and, yes, the word in quotes sometimes makes people shy away. But having read dozens of books about James Bond, this is the best. Behind-the-scenes stories, secrets, "the how-tos," critical reviews, financial budgets, technician details regarding producing the gimmicks and gadgets, location shots and much more. The third edition covers Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough.

The photo images in the third edition offers sharper and exclusive publicity photos, and more trivial behind-the-scenes stories. Coming from England, the translation is not 100% perfect (color is spelled colour but that is how the word is spelled in the U.K.) but if you want to get a book for that Bond fan, or a book that will provide you with extensive behind-the-scenes and making of, will not go wrong with this one. 

 

The Lone Ranger: Desert Storm (1957)

For fans of The Lone Ranger, here is a PDF of a children's book featuring the character, one of thousands of premiums sold in the stores during the 1950s. This retro classic will only be available for a few weeks so be sure to grab this today. Enjoy! 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4l7kahfxyoe61k6/Desert%20Storm%20%281957%2C%20Whitman%29.pdf?dl=0

THE TWILIGHT ZONE: Walking Distance (1959)

Production #3605 “WALKING DISTANCE” (Initial telecast: October 30, 1959)

© Cayuga Productions, Inc., October 29, 1959, LP15011

Dates of Rehearsal: June 23 and 24, 1959

Dates of Filming: June 25, 26, 29 and 30, 1959

Script #5 dated: April 13, 1959, with revised pages dated June 19, 23, 24 and 25, 1959.

 

Production Notes

Producer and Secretary: $660.00 

Story and Secretary: $2,452.27

Director: $1,250.00 

Cast: $11,211.16

Unit Manager and Secretary: $520.00 

Production Fee: $750.00

Agents Commission: $5,185.55 

Legal and Accounting: $250.00

Below the line charges (M-G-M): $45,810.40 

Below the line charges (other): $6,396.30

Total Production Costs: $74,485.68

 

Cast: Sheridan Comerate (gas station attendant); Joseph Corey (the soda jerk); Bill Erwin (Mr. Wilcox); Byron Foulger (Charlie); Ronnie Howard (Wilcox boy); Buzz Martin (the teenager); Michael Montgomery (Martin, age 11); Pat O’Malley (Mr. Wilson); Frank Overton (Martin’s Father); Nan Peterson (the woman in park); Irene Tedrow (Martin’s Mother); and Gig Young (Martin Sloan).

 

Original Music Score Composed and Conducted by Bernard Herrmann (Music Score No. CPN5809): Main Title (:40); Introduction (:28); The Drugstore (:37); Memories (2:22); The Park (1:40); The House (1:32); Curtain (:20); The Parents (1:40); The Merry-Go-Round (:37); Artists’ Life (by Johann Strauss, 1:45); Martin’s Summer (1:32); Elegy (3:33); Natural Rock (by Bruce Campbell, :14); Finale (1:00); and End Title (by Herrmann, :45).

“Martin Sloan, age thirty-six. Occupation: vice-president, ad agency, in charge of media. This is not just a Sunday drive for Martin Sloan. He perhaps doesn’t know it at the time, but it’s an exodus. Somewhere up the road he’s looking for sanity. And somewhere up the road, he’ll find something else.”

 

Plot: New York executive Martin Sloan is unable to cope with the pressures of today, and in a desperate attempt to revisit his childhood, makes a return trip to his hometown. There, he finds the town and the people not as it is today, but as it once was. The smell of cotton candy, the merry-go-rounds, and the band concerts – all part of a moment in time that Martin has longed to embrace again. His mother and father are still alive, and young Martin is spending his summer carving his name into a wood post. In an attempt to share the moment with his younger self, Martin exposes the boy to a severe leg injury. While the boy is back home healing from his wound, Martin’s father pays him a visit. He knows who Martin is and where he came from – and there is no room for him in the past. The wisdom comes from his father’s lips: Martin has been looking behind him for an escape – perhaps he should be looking ahead. Walking out of town, Martin returns to the present day – content on living his life a bit more relaxed should he choose to do so. 

 

(middle) “A man can think a lot of thoughts and walk a lot of pavements between afternoon and night. And to a man like Martin Sloan, to whom memory has suddenly become reality, a resolve can become just as clearly and inexorably as stars of a summer night. Martin Sloan is now back in time. And his resolve is to put in a claim to the past.”

 

“Martin Sloan, age thirty-six. Vice president in charge of media. Successful in most things – but not in the one effort that all men try at some time in their lives – trying to go home again. (a pause) And also like all men perhaps there’ll be an occasion . . . maybe a summer night sometime . . . when he’ll look up from what he’s doing and listen to the distant music of a calliope – and hear the voices and the laughter of the people and places of his past. And perhaps across his mind there will flit a little errant wish . . . that a man might not have to become old – never outgrow the parks and the merry-go-rounds of his youth. (a pause) And he’ll smile then too because he’ll know it is just an errant wish. Some wisp of memory not too important really. Some laughing ghosts that cross a man’s mind . . . that are a part . . . of the Twilight Zone.”

 

Trivia, etc. Rod Serling recalled a number of times how he came up with the idea for this episode. “This is partly from looking at a park on a movie back lot and partly from a sense of my own nostalgia. Often in the summer I’ll go back to my hometown, Binghamton, and go through a place called ‘Recreation Park’ which I can link to vivid and wondrous memories of growing up. I think there’s a little of this bitter-sweet nostalgia in all of us for a time well remembered.”

 

For the September 6, 1959, issue of The Sunday News, Serling recalled in the “What’s On?” column: “I was walking on a set at M-G-M when I was suddenly hit by the similarity of it to my hometown. Feeling an overwhelming sense of nostalgia, it struck me that all of us have a deep longing to go back – not to our home as it is today, but as we remember it. It was from this simple incident I wove the story of ‘Walking Distance.’”

 

A year and a half later, Serling remarked how he paid a visit to Recreation Park, where he spent his childhood. “I looked at the merry-go-round, now condemned, overgrown by weeds, and I had that bittersweet recollection of that wondrous time of growing up.”

 

In Binghamton, New York, Serling was raised in the loving care of an average middle-class family. In the same house with the same friends throughout his youth, Serling did not hesitate to tell people that he led a happy life. He never felt the need for analysis, skirting the possibility of being classed with the current trend of “couch” writers who purged themselves in print. Serling’s purpose with this episode was to probe his dramatic characterizations. As he explained, “thoughtfulness doesn’t necessarily suggest oddness.”

An early draft of this script featured a variation of the opening narration: “The mirror image of Martin Sloan. Age thirty-six. Occupation – vice president, ad agency, in charge of media. This is not just a Sunday drive for Martin Sloan. He perhaps doesn’t know it at the time, but it’s an exodus. Somewhere up the road he’s looking for sanity. (a pause) And somewhere up the road – he’ll find something else.”

 

The first draft of the script, dated April 13, 1959, was reviewed by the CBS Television Network. It’s main concern was to have the production crew observe customary caution to avoid visual identification of commercial brand names in the gas station set and in the malt shop. This included, of course, the cigarette machine outside the gas station. CBS also insisted to “please direct camera angles to obscure any view of Martin Sloan’s mangled leg.” Two brief passages spoken in Martin Sloan’s dialogue were also censored: “… going back to the womb” and “Oh, my God!”

 

Originally, this episode was script #6, dated April 13, 1959, and script #5 was to be Bradbury’s And There Be Tygers, for which, according to a progress report dated April 9, 1959, Bradbury was going to script the teleplay. Since this fell apart, “Walking Distance” was quickly renumbered.

 

Gig Young was paid $5,000 for his role as Martin Sloan. There was to be a “Favored Nations” clause. However, in the event the “Favored Nations” clause was invoked, the residual payments to Young would not exceed 50 percent of his original fee to be set up as follows: 1st rerun, $1,000; 2nd rerun, $750; 3rd rerun, $750; 4th rerun, $750; and 5th rerun, $250. (The fifth rerun buys into perpetuity.) Minimum theatrical reruns applied.

 

Frank Overton was paid $1,000 for playing the role of Martin’s father for this episode. He also received first-class New York round-trip transportation since he was performing on the East Coast. Filming was originally scheduled to begin on or about July 6, 1959, but was pushed back a week to accommodate the director and actors’ schedules as production fell into place. The opening scene at the gas station was filmed on Lot 3, for a cost of $600 in materials, signs and props. This was the same gas station used for the evening scene in the second act of “The Hitch-Hiker.” The sign hanging above the gas station in the opening scene read “Service Station: Ralph N. Nelson, Prop.” This was a tip of the hat to Ralph W. Nelson, the unit production manager for The Twilight Zone. To film outside, a generator was rented to power the cameras and equipment. There were intentions of filming scenes inside the gas station, shortly after Martin arrived, but that was changed before production began.

 

The car the mechanic was working on at the gas station was the same featured on the side of the street in the opening scenes of “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” While Gig Young can be seen sitting inside the car during Serling’s narration, the opening shot of the car speeding toward the station did not feature Young. A stunt driver was hired (at the cost of $50) to drive the rental, with precision, down the dirt road. Someone evidently caused damage to the seat cushion inside the car – Cayuga fronted a repair bill for 10 dollars.

 

Originally the interiors of the drug store (both old and new) were scheduled to be filmed on Stage 26 at M-G-M. Hours before production began, however, the set decorator and his crew moved all the props and settings to Stage 5 to accommodate the studio’s error in paperwork, granting another television production use of the same Stage 26 on the same day. Rental fees for food, signs, chairs, tables, mirrors and other props for both drug stores cost Cayuga a total of $1,800.

 

The music coming from the jukebox in the drug store is Bruce Campbell’s “Natural Rock,” which originated from the CBS stock music library. In the episode “From Agnes – With Love,” in the scene where Elwood returns to Walter’s apartment, the same music can be heard coming from behind the door while Millie is dancing. This is also the same music Flora dances around the apartment in “A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain.”

 

The exterior of the park (a.k.a. the Pavillion) was filmed on Lot 2 at M-G-M. The cost for props, including an ice cream cart, a baby carriage, balloons and other props cost $1,050. An extra company prop man was hired (at the cost of $75) for June 25 and 26, to handle the scenes that required many extras (including children). An organ grinder and a monkey were hired for some of the scenes, costing $75 for the day, but whether they were filmed remains unknown – he does not appear in the finished film. (They do, however, make an appearance in “Mr. Bevis.”)

 

The residential street prominently displaying the Wilcox and Sloan House was located on Lot 3, which had been built specifically for the 1944 motion picture, Meet Me in St. Louis. The movie was produced from 1943 to 1944 with a total budget of $1,707,561.14. The cost of building the street was $208,275. Located at Jefferson and Overland Boulevards in Culver City, the street became known at the studio as “The St. Louis Street.” The scene in which Martin Sloan walks the street where he grew up and recalls the names of the neighbors and their corresponding houses contains two in-jokes. Rooney was a tip of the hat to Serling’s good friend Mickey Rooney. Dr. Bradbury was referencing science fiction author Ray Bradbury.

 

To capture the cinematography that director Robert Stevens was looking for in one key scene, he needed the entire bandstand and carousel to be disassembled and reassembled from Lot 2 to Stage 26. The director’s request was forwarded to Buck Houghton, who approved it, at the expense of $450, charged against Cayuga. On the morning of June 26, the carousel shots were filmed, providing cinematography that emphasized Martin’s insecurity after the accident.

 

Between takes, one of the young children, Michael Patterson, while running around the stage on the morning of June 26, ran into a bench and hurt his leg. A studio physician was called over to the set to look at the injury. After putting on a bandage, the doctor said the child was fine, and the incident did not cost the company any loss of time during production.

 

When Martin Sloan encounters his younger self, carving his name on the wooden post, a blooper can be seen – and was overlooked by the film editor, Bill Mosher, and his supervisor, Joseph Gluck. In one shot, young Martin is carving the letter S to indicate his last name, and has yet to spell the rest of the letters, L-O-A-N. In another shot, the last name is already carved, and young Martin is still working on the letter S. In the third shot, he is still working on the same letter, but the other letters have yet to be completed.

 

There were three shots of the carousel horses taken from the transition sequence between the youthful Martin’s injuries and the arrival of his father. The darkest shot of the three was chosen for use as the background end titles, solely because the closing credits, which were white, would show up best on the screen.

 

Bernard Herrmann not only composed and conducted the dream-like Twilight Zone themes featured in the beginning of every first season episode, but he composed the music for this episode on August 15, 1959. It is considered by many viewers as one of the most memorable scores on the series. Pieces of Herrmann’s original compositions for “Where is Everybody?” and “Walking Distance” were frequently reused a number of times throughout the series. According to notes at the University of California, the music score for this episode featured a total of 10 violins, 3 violas, 3 celli, 2 basses and 1 harp.

 

Serling had watched the rough cut of July 17, and throughout the month of September, expressed to Buck Houghton his concerns relative to the scoring. Per Serling’s suggestions – but not without a fight from Herrmann – the following changes were made to the music score, to emphasize key scenes in the episode.

 

(1) The curtain music to the teaser in the beginning needed an uplift. Herrmann objected to doing this, even when Serling stated “at present it just seems to dwindle off suggesting nothing in the way of tension to follow.”

 

(2) There was originally no music in the scene when the drugstore clerk goes up to Mr. Wilson to request reordering supplies. At Serling’s insistence, music was added to help the audience associate with the oddness of the situation.

 

(3) Serling insisted that the sound of the calliope be heard in act two, right after Martin’s mother slaps him, and he looks off hearing something for the first time. “It was my feeling that the calliope is a signatory kind of sound,” Serling explained.

 

(4) When Martin left the drugstore a second time near the closing of the episode, there was no music. Serling insisted that music “perhaps partly nostalgic and partly haunting” would suggest not only the pathos of the moment, but the oddness of the whole story.

 

“I know all these suggestions go against your grain, Bucko,” Serling wrote to Houghton, “and in most of our disagreements I’ve always felt that we could reach compromises and have done so most successfully. But in this particular instance I feel so strongly about this music situation that I hope you’ll grant me a little extra prerogative here and see what you can do even under protest. Which is a helluva oblique way of reiterating how tremendous I think this film is and how beautiful I think the music is or at least ninety five percent of it.”

 

Houghton went to Lud Gluskin, head of the music department at CBS, to explain Serling’s concern. Gluskin offered two options. First was to select stock music cues to deal with each issue and then re-dub the picture. These, of course, would not be consistent with Herrmann’s musical structure, be very costly, and Herrmann would probably be offended to the point of being unwilling to ever do another Twilight Zone. The second option was more expensive – have Bernard Herrmann rescore at the four points, call for another orchestral session as well as redubbing. This second option, through Serling’s insistence, was implemented and Herrmann composed the new music consistent with the old.

 

To keep peace with Herrmann, Serling wrote a thank-you letter on October 6. “This is belated congratulatory tome to acknowledge what is one of the most beautiful music scores I’ve been privileged to hear. I’m referring to the background music to ‘Walking Distance.’ If you can tell me how I can get this on a recording to keep, I’d much appreciate it. It is a lovely, sensitive and most inspiring theme. Thank you for lending a great talent to our project.”

 

“Writing music for ‘Walking Distance’ afforded me a most stimulating and rewarding experience, for the nostalgia of the play lent itself most readily to music, and music is always able to communicate most expressively when it assumes an emotional role rather than, as is usual, a descriptive one,” replied Herrmann. “It is very rarely that one has an opportunity to write music of a lyrical temperament.”

 

Combined with music and script, The Twilight Zone was being praised by a number of viewers. “I have a tough, literary hide to penetrate,” wrote Edmund Brophy, a successful scriptwriter for CBS Radio, “but in your third act of ‘Walking Distance,’ in the scene between father and son, you achieved some rare and piercing dialog, as close to poetry and truth as the stratospheric flier, who ‘reached out my hand to touch the face of God.’ Stay with it. We will stay with you.”

 

“The Ida Lupino piece on the aging star who refused to yield to time and projected her wishes and the advertising executive who yearned to recapture his boyhood were just great,” wrote Henry von Morpurgo of the Pacific Coast Club in Los Angeles. “You seem to stir and stimulate something that is strange and deep and beautiful and profound and inchoate in all of us. Something that is marvelous and mysterious and yet which we ordinary people cannot express. The magic of your great talents, Rod, articulate these feelings, make them seem understandable and enable us better to understand ourselves and our friends.”

 

In a letter dated October 16, 1959, Owen S. Comora of Young & Rubicam, Inc., the advertising agency representing the General Foods Corp., wrote to Rod Serling to explain his concern regarding the listings in TV Guide. The advertising agency felt the listings were not large enough coverage for the magazine’s readers, so Comora spoke with the editor of TV Guide to inquire about the possibility of getting a better listing. Previously the magazine was listing a one-or two-sentence plot description and mention of the actors appearing in large roles. “Those listings have been sent in by the TV Guide West Coast office,” Comora explained. “In the future they will be done in New York. We hope to be getting a little more space starting with the Gig Young show of October 30.” The listings, however, did not get any more coverage than the weeks before, and Comora’s efforts faced a dead end.

 

On October 21, 1959, Serling asked Comora to incorporate the following lines to any promotional materials sent out: “From the standpoint of story development, performance, and film technique, it’s my honest feeling that ‘Walking Distance’ stacks up as one of the most meaningful and poignant half-hour dramas ever produced. It dramatizes flavor, color and dimension to a kind of wondrous, bittersweet attachment the human being has for the past. Bob Stevens’ direction and Gig Young’s performance prove that the half-hour television form can also be a legitimate story-telling form. When my name was attached to this one – it was put on with pride!”

 

Variety magazine reviewed, “Well written and equally well performed, the level may be too high for those who make up the ratings. It hasn’t reached the payoff point yet. Serling’s plays need more than his explanations, fore and aft. It’s a serious takeoff on Alfred Hitchcock’s caricature, but doesn’t help the watcher to un-track himself.” The same review added: “Direction of Robert Stevens had good movement.”

Martin Grams is the author of the award-winning book, The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic.

Three DOC SAVAGE Books You Probably Never Knew Existed

Fans of the Doc Savage novels, and especially those who have every novel and believe their collection is complete, will be pleased to know there is more to check out. Just this past week I discovered three books focusing on the history of the pulp magazine novels. Even if you are a die-hard fan of the series, these may have fallen under the radar and be new to you.

 

THE COLLECTOR’S HANDBOOK OF BRONZE

By Jay Ryan

This truly amazing volume contains every known collectable Doc Savage item. On top of the pictures and descriptions, there are interesting facts about the collectibles. This serves as the most complete Doc Savage Checklist ever compiled, featuring 2,418 Doc Savage items. In all, The Collector’s Handbook of Bronze contains 941 additional items not listed in the previous editions. The 2018 edition is the definitive version and has been expanded by 84 pages and includes twice the number of pictures and graphics than the prior releases. And, yes, this covers the Street & Smith Doc Savage Magazine Era, The Bantam Doc Savage Paperback Era, The Doc Savage Comic Book Eras, the Bronze Information Sources and Fanzines, The Doc Savage movie, modern Doc Savage Collectables and more. 

 

THE SAVAGE DYARIES: THE COLLECTED SAVAGE ESSAYS BY DAYFDD NEAL DYAR (Volume 1)

Dafydd Neal Dyar’s essays about Doc Savage are in print for the first time in nearly 40 years! Originally published in fanzines such as the Doc Savage Club Reader, Megavore, Doc Savage Quarterly and The Savage Society of Bronze, theses missives haven’t seen print since the late 70’s and early 80’s. Each essay was painstakingly reconstructed and expanded with extensive annotations and new text. Doc Savage fans will delight in the nearly 250 pages of insights and observations from a master of pulp history. With a foreword from the late pulp author/historian Rick Lai, you can be sure this is a treasure. Sadly, I do not believe a volume 2 has ever been released.

 

HOW I DISCOVERED DOC SAVAGE

By Jay Ryan and Courtney Rogers

This incredible book contains 92 stories penned by fans of Doc Savage and chronicles how each fan “discovered” The Man of Bronze in their own unique way, and are described in their own words. The cross section of authors range from top pulp scholars and illustrators to the average Doc Savage fan… from across the 50 states to other countries around the globe. Whether a story is heart-rending or humorous, spontaneous or adventurous, the one thing they do is create a compelling and enjoyable reading experience. The book has a brilliant full-color cover and is fully illustrated with pulp and paperback covers. 

THE CAVES OF FEAR (1951) Book Review

Between 1947 and 1968, Grosset & Dunlap published a series of 24 novels in the Rick Brandt series, adventure stories that were more adult in nature than the counterparts: Tom Swift, Jr., Hardy Boys, Tom Quest, etc. Many suspect the series (especially the first two novels) were the inspiration for the Jonny Quest television program, and the comparisons are uncanny. Rick Brant is the central character in a series of 24 adventure and mystery novels by John Blaine, a pseudonym for authors Harold L. Goodwin (all 24 titles) and Peter J. Harkins (co-author of the first three). Harkins left as a result of a supposed dispute, but this did not handicap the stories.

 

Known as “Electronic Adventures” and “Science-Adventure Stories,” Rick Brant lives on Spindrift Island off the coast of New Jersey, where his father heads the Spindrift Foundation, a group of scientists that work for the Federal Government. The series is divided between stories that take place in the United States and in foreign countries. The Spindrift Foundation sends scientific expeditions to various foreign locations, with Rick sent along as an assistant. Goodwin was a popular science writer with a strong technical background and a sense of style unusual in the juvenile adventure-series field, which he would incorporate into the stories such as infra-red devices and Geiger counters. The books are suspenseful, well-plotted, atmospheric, and enriched by humor and acute characterization as well as personal experience. Exotic locales such as tropical islands, the Philippine jungles, and the Himalayas are given vivid and well-researched depictions, as are a variety of specialized hobbies and professions, such as scuba diving, infrared photography, home rocketry, and the inevitable espionage work. Like the Ken Holt mystery series, the tales appeal to a slightly older audience than do comparable Grosset & Dunlap series. (Ken Holt had a crossover cameo in The Flying Stingaree, and Rick lent some of his gadgets to Ken in The Mystery of the Plumed Serpent, by agreement of the two authors.)

 

In The Whispering Box Mystery (1948), Rick and Scotty race against time to stop a ring of spies from using a paralyzing weapon to steal government secrets. In Stairway to Danger (1952), Rick and Scotty battle a hardened and desperate criminal in an abandoned amusement park. In The Pirates of Shan (1958), Rick and Scotty search for Spindrift scientists kidnapped by pirates in the Philippines. In other adventures they travel to Egypt, encounter a Civil War ghost, discover spies are masquerading as space aliens with an experimental UFO, and are kidnapped by hostile natives in Nigeria. You can tell how enjoyable these novels are – and collecting them is half the fun, not just reading them. 

 

I recently read The Caves of Fear (1951) and found it to be a tad unique. The first third was slow for the proper (and necessary build up and introduction of characters), the second third was intriguing and the final third action-packed and exciting. In this novel, Rick, Scotty, and Dr. Zircon (who also doubles as their bodyguard) travel to the Himalayas at the request of U.S. Agent Steve Ames, and are reunited with Chahda, the Hindu boy who is a friend of theirs. Their goal is to discover the location of where nuclear materials are being mined, and to keep the nuclear materials out of the wrong hands. Their travels take them to Singapore, then seek out something referred to as “The Golden Mouse,” while avoiding a Chinese man with a glass eye, and the mysterious and dangerous figure known as “Long Shadow.”

 

As with any series that I enjoy reading, I take my time and spread them out. I have been reading a novel or two a year from this series, usually as I come across them at affordable prices at conventions. For many of the books in this series, they can be purchased for about $10, more if graded upon condition. The final four in the series did not go into multiple reprints like the earlier volumes, so those do fetch a higher price. The dust jackets are more difficult to find due to their frail nature so if you find one with the dust jacket, be prepared to pay a few more dollars. I recently struck gold with The Caves of Fear (1951) for $10 with dust jacket.

 

If you have watched all the Jonny Quest television adventures and seek additional adventures in the same vein, I recommend the Rick Brandt Electronic Adventures. The first two combined are a fantastic read. The Caves of Fear became my second favorite having read the first seven.

HE RAN ALL THE WAY (1951) Film Noir review

In 1951, United Artists released a crime thriller, He Ran All the Way, co-starring John Garfield and Shelley Winters. The story tells of petty thief Nick Robey who botches a robbery, shooting and killing a policeman, and leaving his partner Al severely wounded. Nick escapes with over $10,000 and goes to a local swimming pool. At the pool, he meets bakery worker Peg Dobbs, and accompanies her home to her family's apartment. Peg's mother, father and young brother leave to see a movie. When they return, Robey takes the family hostage until he can escape.

 

Not only was this John Garfield’s final film. He was “greylisted” following accusations of his involvement with the Communist Party. Testifying before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, he repudiated communism, denied party membership, and claimed that he did not know any members of the Communist Party during his entire time in Hollywood, “because I was not a party member or associated in any shape, way, or form.” He testified on April 23, 1951, just two months before He Ran All the Way was scheduled to open, on June 19. Garfield died less than a year later, on May 21, 1952, at age 39.

 

Shelley Winters, who I always felt the studios wasted because they gave her good-girl roles early in her career and looked at her as nothing but a pretty face, proves she can truly act and put on a hell of a performance in this movie. Many praise the acting job of John Garfield but, to me, Shelley Winters steals the movie.

 

I make it a tradition of watching at least one film noir a month, simply because I love the genre and there are so many that I can see over the years. This one, in particular, was the best I have seen in the last year and would rank among my top ten. Highly recommended.

DOCTOR WHO Returns to Form on Disney Plus (review)

When Doctor Who made a revival in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston in the lead, the program returned in top-notch form. The series (including the David Tennant seasons that followed) were remnant to the Tom Baker jovial fun that I grew up with. (Thank you, PBS.) To be fair, the original series had a charm of their own -- cheaply produced, limited sets and props, silly one-liners... but with a larger budget the BBC was able to revive the series in a manner it never accomplished since the series premiered in 1963.

When the Disney+ platform struck a deal with the BBC, there were skeptics who spoke out against the series. After all, the last few seasons were lackluster. That last word I used politely. They plots sucked. There, I said it. I feel sorry for Capaldi and Whittaker because they were great in the roles -- it was the plots that sucked. 

Having watched the first half dozen of the new season, starring Ncuti Gatwa, I am pleased to report the program has returned to form. Whether The Doctor is battling a powerful villain named The Maestro, participating in a ghost story that spans decades, or fails in his attempt to save a colony of spoiled rich brats, the plots are a notch above. The series has become fun again. 

If you jumped the shark some time ago, I encourage you to revisit the series with the start of Ncuti Gatwa in the role and enjoy what made Doctor Who a fun program.  

BOOK REVIEWS: LAWMAN, HITCHCOCK, SHEENA AND SHANE

A box of books arrived on my doorstep from Bear Manor Media, a publishing house that is cranking out a number of great books, almost the equivalent of one a week. With so many books being published, a few of them in the box warrant mention just in case these books slip under the radar. 

LAWMAN: A Companion to the Classic TV Western Series

By Bill Levy

The Warner Bros. western series Lawman starring John Russell, Peter Brown, and Peggie Castle was originally broadcast on ABC-TV for four seasons, between September 1958 and June 1962. As played by steel-eyed John Russell, Dan Troop is a no-nonsense marshal who has little patience for outlaws or hypocrites but will stand up for underdogs and outsiders. He also displays a warmer side with his mentoring of his young deputy (Peter Brown) and, beginning in the second season, in his relation- ship with Peggie Castle’s beautiful Lily Merrill.

 

Lawman: A Companion to the Classic TV Western Series is the first book to focus fully on this television western, re-familiarizes veteran viewers and introduces new fans to this exceptional television western and its three-dimensional leads. It features a Foreword by Will “Sugarfoot” Hutchins, a discussion of why Lawmanstands out from other television westerns, a history of its creation, episode summary capsules, a “Recollections” chapter with recent interviews of Lawman alumni, and photos covering the show’s four years.

 

I have a policy not to write a negative book review, instead choosing not to do a review at all and avoid the uncomfortable position of “warning” people and insulting the author. This is a good book as the subtitle aptly describes what you get: a companion piece and not historical documentation. There are no dates of production, budgets, complete cast lists, and very few behind-the-scenes details for every episode. I say this only because I was privy to the Warner archive many years ago and gathered such immaculate details for such TV westerns as Cheyenne and Maverick. Even newspaper archives online provide thorough search engines that allow anyone the ability to seek out trivia from press releases, reprinted in the newspapers, for various episodes. When I first saw this book being advertised, I expected to see that type of material within the pages. Instead, the book appears to be a review of each episode, having watched the series on DVD. If you idea of behind-the-scenes trivia is “Robert Wilke was a great western villain” or “Mickey Simpson and Fred Graham took part in the classic donnybrook against Victor McLaglen’s Sergeant Quincannon in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949),” then this is a book for you. If you are a fan of the TV series, you should have a copy of this book. Otherwise, just be aware in advance what is contained within the pages.

 

 

MY ADVENTURE WITH SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE

By Yoram Ben-Ami

To some, she was the female Tarzan. To others, she was the sexiest pin-up of their teenage years. She was Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. The making of the 1984 movie Sheena was an adventure worthy of a behind-the-scenes book, and that's what the film's executive producer, Yoram Ben-Ami, has written in My Adventure with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.

 

Completed days before actress Tanya Roberts's tragic death, My Adventure with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle is a tribute not only to its hard-working star but to the scores of technicians who made the first major studio film shot entirely in Africa. Ben-Ami was there for all of it and writes about working with Roberts, dealing with a director who wouldn't take "no" for an answer, and a rhinoceros that wouldn't take direction.

 

Sheena was controversial for its portrayal of a white heroine who rises to "save" African culture. The film could not be made today, but it was made, and it offers historical perspective of how far we have come and how far we have yet to go. 

 

Israeli-born American producer Yoram Ben-Ami had just scored a hit with Lone Wolf McQuade when he embarked with director John Guillermin, stars Tanya Roberts and Ted Wass, and a menagerie of trained animals to mix with the wild animals of Africa and make what everyone thought was going to be the box office smash of 1984. Ben-Ami's behind-the-scenes tales make for exciting, informative, funny, and sometimes touching reading.  

 

Yoram Ben-Ami has produced more than a dozen films including Lone Wolf McQuade, Jury Duty, The Lion of Africa, and Stone Cold. All the more worthwhile to read this book if you loved the movie. Who better to tell the behind-the-scenes story than the producer himself?

 

 

SHANE: Paramount’s Classic Western

By Aubrey Malone

Shane has often been described as the most perfect sagebrush exemplification of Hollywood’s Golden Age. A masterpiece of tone and technique, it was George Stevens’ atmospheric valentine to an era if not a genre. Alan Ladd gave an emblematic performance in it. Jean Arthur excelled as the woman he falls in love with but cannot have. Van Heflin was pitch perfect as her decent, rough-hewn husband. Jack Palance won an Oscar nomination for playing the Luciferean villain Jack Wilson and so did Brandon De Wilde as the tow-headed Joey Starrett who idolizes the mysterious stranger riding into the valley to purge it of evil. The film, like the much-loved novel upon which it was based, was largely seen from Joey’s eyes. In his odyssey from child to man, mirroring Shane’s cathartic journey from gunfighter to farmhand and back to gunfighter again, we see two separate dramas playing themselves out. They do so against the backdrop of the majestic Teton peaks, and a range war that pits venal cattle barons against primitive farmers trying to eke out a living on Wyoming’s hard soil. 

 

Aubrey Malone analyses every aspect of this groundbreaking film in the present book. It draws on a multiplicity of sources, many of them rare. He studies the day-to-day events of the shoot as well as the symbolic import of the film in a book that’s as detailed as it’s wide-ranging. Copiously illustrated both with stills from the film and candid shots of the stars between takes and off the set, this is a thorough study of Hollywood’s definitive western.

 

 

Hitchocock’s NORTH BY NORTHWEST: The Man Who Had Too Much

By James Stratton

Possibly Alfred Hitchcock's most popular and elaborate film, North by Northwest follows advertising executive Roger Thornhill's frantic cross-country race to free himself from a false murder charge and a mistaken identity pursuit by foreign spies. To me, this is the quintessential Hitchcock movie, and a perfect example of how to craft a story for cinema.

 

In a series of lively, self-contained chapters geared to both film buffs and casual viewers, the book explores all of the structural and thematic elements that combine to make this one of the master of suspense's most remarkable achievements. This is not a making-of book but rather a number of essays analyzing the movie from all ends of the spectrum. As a fan of Hitchcock, and a subscriber to bi-monthly newsletters consisting of essays, this book is a feast for a movie that can never have enough essays.

 

 

PHOTOS FROM THE GREEN HORNET TV SERIES

While cleaning out the archives, I found a stack of photographs for The Green Hornet television program. To my knowledge, these were never published and there is a strong chance most of you reading this have never seen them before. I would like to say that any photo of Bruce Lee without the Kato outfit does not necessarily mean they are photos from The Green Hornet series but the photo codes on the scans (and the source of the photographs) verify these are Bruce Lee as Kato even if he is in the man servant costume. The only exception is the first one which is of the actor before the publicity photos were shot.

 

THE MR. I.A. MOTO RADIO DISCOVERY

From May 20 to October 20, 1951, the fictional character of Mr. Moto, created by John Marquand in his eight novels, was licensed for a short-lived radio series titled, Mr. I.A. Moto. And a recent discovery makes us radio historians cheer for joy.

John Marquand’s incarnation of the printed page features a more menacing Japanese than the motion-picture and radio counterpart. In the novels, Mr. Moto is shrewd, tough and ruthless against his enemies, but to most people in most situations he appears to be a harmless eccentric who sometimes calls himself stupid. The main characters in the novels were Westerners (usually Americans) who encounter Mr. Moto in the course of their adventures in exotic lands and gradually come to realize what a formidable character he is.

 

In the first novel, Thank You, Mr. Moto (1936), an expatriate American gets involved in intrigue in Peking when he tries to save an American woman from unscrupulous art dealers. Moto tries to save them both from a military takeover of Peking. Marquand was labeled by many as the father of the American novel and both wit, style and prose in this novel demonstrate justification. (This is a fantastic novel worth reading, in my opinion.)

 

In the first five novels, set in the era of expansionist Imperial Japan, Mr. Moto is an agent of the empire. In the final novel, written in 1957, the adventures do not take place in the 1930s but instead are set in the 1950s inside Japan, and Moto is a senior intelligence official in the pro-Western Japanese government. It is assumed he moved his way up in the ranks.

 

Between 1937 and 1939 eight motion pictures were produced by 20^th Century Fox, starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Kentaro Moto. Unlike in the novels, this rendition was a detective with Interpol, who wore glasses (and has no gold teeth), and is a devout Buddhist (and friendly with the Chinese monarchy). He is impeccably dressed in Western suits. His tendency to wear disguises was only flawed by the fact that the audience could easily distinguish the actor playing him. But those are fun films and the studio was justified in creating a series of movies to cash in on further popularity (and profits) from the Charlie Chan films.

For the 1951 radio incarnation, which lasted a mere 23 weeks, the character was revised once again. He was now an American who, with the subtlety of his Oriental ancestors, fought the war against Communism using his brains, courage and fabulous knowledge of the world. The radio broadcasts were recorded in a New York studio at NBC, with the usual stock actors of stage and radio playing the supporting roles. James Monks played the title role. 

Among the discoveries was two radio scripts for the same episode, but with different titles. "The Karaloff Paper" (broadcast on the West Coast, June 13) and "The Bazaloff Paper" (broadcast on the East Coast, June 17). Naturally, websites including Wikipedia have listed the titles of these episodes (and other episodes in the series) with incorrect spelling, which is what makes these radio scripts all the more valuable. Wait... did I say radio scripts?

That is the good news. All 23 radio scripts, including the two versions of the June 17 broadcast, have been scanned into PDF. This also includes complete cast lists, notations of initial cast proposals, music cues, behind-the-scenes legal complications, pages of deleted dialogue, and more. Digital preservation has also been assured with off-site backups so even against flood or fire they will survive.

Presently the radio program is being fully documented in detail thanks to this archival discovery, and a number of plot elements that were borrowed from the novels and incorporated into the radio dramas are being matched up. In short time there should be an article for a magazine documenting the history of the series that should dominate anything previously set to print.

THE KING OF THE KONGO (1929 restoration)

Fans of cliffhanger serials know that The King of the Kongo was the first film serial to have any sound element. Larger serial-producing studios (for example, Pathe and Universal Studios) were reluctant to make the upgrade from silent to sound (although Universal released their own Part-Talking serial, Tarzan, the Tiger, later in the same year) while smaller studios could not afford to do so. This was, naturally, two years after the first Part-Talking film, The Jazz Singer (1927), had been released and a year after the first "All-Talking" film, Lights of New York (1928).

Despite an announcement that two versions of this serial would be released, (a "Part Talking" version and a complete silent version (for theatres not yet equipped for sound), no evidence for a silent version being released exists. 

 

The King of the Kongo was not a marvel to behold when it comes to the type of plots commonly found in cliffhanger serials. Independently, the two protagonists, Diana Martin and Secret Servie agent Larry Trent, are searching the jungle for missing relatives, her father and his brother. Tied up in this plot are ivory smugglers and a lost treasure hidden in the jungle. But the highlight of this serial was the fact that it was the first to have sound and the role of the villainous Scarface Macklin was played by Boris Karloff.

 

Karloff falls victim to an ape.

Because King of the Kongo was rushed into theaters to make the record books as the first sound serial, it was not fully sound: it featured music, sound effects and usually one talking sequence for each of its 21 reels, a typical method of production in the early sound era. Unlike modern films, this soundtrack was recorded only on fragile shellac discs, which were found in four private collections. 

Legend has it that producer and studio owner Nat Levine carried the sound discs in his lap from Los Angeles to New York City, by train and aeroplane, for them to be safely developed. For financial reasons, these discs could not have been repaired or replaced if anything had gone wrong.

 

Of the 21 sound discs, all but six of them have been recovered. A breakdown of the history: In 2011, collector/historian Eric Grayson, owner of a 16mm silent print, restored the sound to several scenes of the film, using discs from Ron Hutchinson's Vitaphone Project. Ron’s project was to seek out sound discs for those early Vitaphone films that lacked sound. The results of some of the talking scenes were then posted on YouTube. 

 

In 2012, a Kickstarter successfully helped fund a restoration of Chapter 5. A National Film Preservation Foundation grant was issued for Chapter 6 in June of 2014.

 

In 2019, Grayson initiated a massive search for surviving materials and had an updated restoration scheduled for release in 2024. This includes mostly 35mm footage and a few 16mm inserts plus all of the surviving discs. Among the sources was the Library of Congress, which had some elements – but not all.

 

As of this week, my copy of the BluRay/DVD combo for pledging money to support the preservation project on Kickstarter, arrived. After watching half of the serial so far, I can clearly say this film has not looked or sounded this well since 1929. It is a full 4K restoration from archival prints and negatives at the Library of Congress, 95% of which is from 35mm. (Prior, collectors like myself could only enjoy the Blackhawk-style 16mm prints.) 

 

This release also includes commentary from a number of film historians and Ed Hulse’s commentary on track two for a number of chapters, is awesome. Ed truly provides a historical perspective of the production. On a personal note, I enjoy cliffhanger serials as much as the next guy but I find the silent serials are much better. Once the studios switched over to sound, and discovered young children were frequenting theaters more often, I found the serials started dumbing down for a juvenile audience. By comparison, Republic in the late forties and early fifties released Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders and Zombies of the Stratosphere. While those serials have their own flavor and formula, I enjoy the silent serials more. With serials like The King of the Kongo, the serious nature of the jungle drama prevails. 

 

You can buy the serial from other companies but those are the inferior prints. The link below is the only place you can get the restoration and, believe me, you won’t go wrong with this purchase. After you enjoy the 221 minutes of Karloff, dinosaurs, gorillas, lions, cougars, alligators, elephants, and lost jungle temples, take time to enjoy Ed’s commentary.

 

https://www.drfilm.net/blog/?product=the-king-of-the-kongo-blu-ray-dvd-pre-order