A Quick Look at TV: my favorite Westerns

   As a kid, I never cared much for westerns. As I mature, I regret being so unwilling to partake as a youth. The first cowboy show I did watch, and even caught a few episodes as a kid, was The Rifleman. Even as a kid more interested in monsters than oaters, that dynamic opening and triumphant theme music had me hooked. The basic premise of the show was simple. Lucas McCain was a fast gun who wanted only to live in peace and raise up right his young son. I think this was the first show where I saw Alan Hale Jr. as a guest star. Anyway, the show was a hit in it's day, and remained extremely popular in reruns for decades. In fact, the show is still popular with local stations across the country.

   Here's one I really wish I'd gotten into as a kid, for I am a fairly recent arrival to fandom for one of the most popular television westerns ever aired, Bonanza. Bonanza was another series exemplified by a strong cast, good scripts, and very moral characters. The show was based around the adventures of the Cartwright family, wealthy land-owners who operated from the massive Ponderosa ranch. Lorne Greene played father Ben, always there to help his sons Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe. Michael Landon became a super-star as the youngest of the Cartwrights, though it's hard sometimes to really pick a favorite of the bunch. I was belatedly introduced to the series when early episodes fell into public domain and found themselves onto an assortment of DVDs from smaller distributors. A show I very much wish to get in it's official season releases, the series ran for a very long time (I think I read 14 years).

  If I had to pick a favorite western TV series now, it'd probably be The Texan. Rory Calhoun (has there ever been a better name for a cowboy star?) stars as Bill Longley, a former soldier who rides from town to town across the ever-developing post-Civil War West. He continually falls into trouble, despite his being the most level-headed sort. All man, but caring, Longley was usually the last, best hope in whatever situation he found himself in. The show could be highly dramatic, suspenseful, or even light-hearted comedy, and an amazing assortment of guest stars helped out along the way. (In one of my favorite episodes, Longley takes the place of a traveling preacher in order to clean up a town where rough customers have declared open war against any member of the cloth. Prevented from taking along his guns, Longley is harassed by a couple of drunks in the town saloon. They force Longley to turn the other cheek as they strike him before Longley notes that his Lord not only turned the other cheek, but also drove out the money-changers from the temple. In short order, Longley mops the floor with the bums. This puts some starch in the town's collective spine and they side with Longley. Look for Yvette Vickers as a young lass smitten with our hero.) Though the show was good, it ran but two seasons and didn't see a lot of airtime afterward (possibly The Texan wasn't sold for syndication). Some episodes have been lost, but the remaining 70 have been collected into a DVD release. Unfortunately, this release isn't the strongest. About half the episodes look really great, but the other half are reproduced much too bright (the result is that half of the show looks like it was transferred from very nice film prints, the rest as if they were recorded from television). Still, this a very minor detraction, and frankly I'm glad to see the show available in any form!

A Quick Look: ENEMY FROM SPACE (1957)

   ENEMY FROM SPACE was the second Quatermass epic from Hammer (following THE CREEPING UNKNOWN). Quatermass was a driven scientist who had a habit of coming across bizarre events like mutation and invasion from space, the subject of successful television serials before his coming to the big screen. This time around, Quatermass is developing pressure domes for future space colonies, and is shocked to discover one has already been built on an isolated section of the English countryside! What he discovers there has world-shaking consequences unless Quatermass can stop those who built it! My favorite Quatermass feature, and I've always been a fan of Brian Donlevy. Sadly, he was ejected from the role when the long-delayed third film, FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH, came along in the late 60's. This one, though, is pretty solid 50's science fiction. Unfortunately, it's also the least visible of three features.

A Quick Look: THE NAVY VS THE NIGHT MONSTERS (1965 - color)

   Another one of those films for which it's poor reputation mystifies me, THE NAVY VS THE NIGHT MONSTERS was a neat (though shockingly gruesome) little matinee movie with the sort of cast most B pictures can only dream of. Prehistoric trees are discovered in Antarctica and shipped to the States for research. During the flight, something goes wrong and the crew vanishes -except for the pilot who manages to land the plane on tiny Naval outpost Gow Island, before he collapses in shock. Turns out the trees aren't the usual specimen and soon the island is fighting for survival. I just love this movie, and it has one of those wonderful trailers that make you appreciate how exciting previews used to be. Because it's so good, I will refrain from detailing the plot. Sadly, the film is extremely hard to see. The best copy I've found comes from an old video release and the colors are kinda faded. Still, that's better than the only semi-official DVD release, which is a blurry mess! Reportedly, it was to be released through the Wade Williams/Image line, but the results of the remastering were so dreary that Williams dumped it on the dinky Cheezy Flix distributor. I really hope a pristine print turns up, because it's a dandy little movie. Originally released on double bill with WOMEN OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET, another fun matinee vehicle with a dandy cast.

WE REMEMBER...

AND WE'LL NEVER FORGET.

A Crissy Carrots cartoon?

Logo colored by Jim Ludwig, edited by Daerick Gross Sr.

   Such is the idea. Seeking to increase the visibility of Cartoon Cuties, other forms of media are being looked into for the characters. A short Crissy Carrots video for YouTube may be one way of drawing new readers to the book, and if it works it means other characters could enjoy similar treatment. Trying to create a cartoon without the use of actual animation results in some unique operations. Inspired by early TV projects like Clutch Cargo and the like, all the 'animation' is planned to be done with camera movements. I'm calling the process STATIC-MATION... Anyway, here's a peek at the raw artwork drawn for the project. Jim Ludwig has done color plates for the short, and Mark Holmes is slated to "animate" the cartoon. More details when available. 

Thinking about Stan...

   For what you might think it's worth, I don't see many blockbusters when they come out. Since theaters switched over to digital projectors it means I can actually get a better picture watching my older tube set at home (I have two side by side, a larger one specifically for watching widescreen movies and thus preserving the effect desired of using such large ratios). Ultimately, I catch most newer movies when my brother picks them up on DVD. So it has been with the entire run of Marvel's massive superhero movies. I have only recently completed the saga, well after everyone else on the planet has seen these surprisingly solid vehicles. 

   It was during the production of CAPTAIN MARVEL that comic book legend Stan Lee passed on. In tribute to him, the opening logo which features a number of scenes from the franchise substituted the numerous cameos Lee provided for the series. Seeing this, I was awed. It was a brilliant example of how one man supported so many. I suddenly realized what Stan had done. First as a comic book writer, then as an editor, and later as a producer, Stan had given employment to literally thousands and thousands of people. Possibly millions of people. He gave people jobs, and because of that houses and cars and the good Lord knows what else. These motions further employed countless men in the fields of construction, electronics, the automotive industry, food, clothing, baby care, you name it. Companies were built upon his work, thus employing even more people. The movies produced from his earlier works likewise employed uncounted legions from technicians to ticket-takers and projectionists. It was staggering to see the empire that had sprung from "a guy who wrote comic books." This is how the American system works, and long after his passing Stan will still be employing people, however indirectly. 

   While I certainly respected Lee and what he'd done in his field, I was never a huge fan of the man. My frame of reference for comic books is almost exclusively based in cinematic adaptations. Until recently, that largely meant the DC universe which I was mostly familiar with because of those various products going back to the 1940's. For me, the Marvel universe is largely limited to a string of more recent movies and a few TV versions from before that. Because of this, Stan never meant as much to me as he did to those who actively gobbled up comic books. He means a bit more now. Getting a rough idea of how many people owe their jobs, even their livelihoods to him was truly eye-opening. Most comment on him as a comic book creator, and deservedly so in that arena. I now see him as an industrialist. How many lives have been changed for the better by his efforts? 

   God bless you, Stan.

A Quick Look: ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY (1956)

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY has long been a favorite of mine. In it, Bud and Lou find themselves mixed up with a murderous cult seeking to resurrect their mascot, Klaris the mummy, and set him loose upon the 20th Century. This entry is notable for a number of reasons. The boys call each other by their real names here, despite being listed in the credits as differently-named characters. It was the last mummy movie produced in-house by Universal until the 1990's. (Universal would release Hammer's color take on the material only a couple years later.) It was also the last film Bud and Lou made for Universal. They would make one other film together as a team, the largely forgotten DANCE WITH ME, HENRY. Lou would make one solo film, THE 3OFT BRIDE OF CANDY ROCK, before his passing. Bud would voice himself in a series of Abbott and Costello cartoons produced in the 60's. ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY was truly the end of an era in American comedy. Bud and Lou had saved the studio several times, and leave behind a number of highly entertaining feature films -in addition to TV shows, appearances, and radio episodes. Here's to the boys!