harrygbutler keeps reading in 2018 — 3

Welcome to thread 3! I’m Harry, and this is my third year in the 75 Books Challenge. By training I'm a medievalist, by occupation an editor; my taste in reading runs to Golden Age and earlier mysteries, pulp detective and adventure fiction, Late Antique and medieval literature, westerns, and late nineteenth and early twentieth century popular fiction, among others. I also have a fondness for collections of cartoons and comic strips. I usually have a few books going at once.

My wife Erika and I live in eastern Pennsylvania with three cats — Elli, Otto, and Pixie — and a dog, Hildy. Our pets occasionally make an appearance in my thread. My other interests include model railroading, gardening, and birding, so you'll sometimes see something related to them as well.

I’ll be spending time this year building model railroad kits. The boxes for these kits often are good examples of mid-century commercial art design, and I’ll be using scans of some of these as thread toppers.

Two new projects will be features of my threads in 2018 as well: a weekly pulp magazine read and some sort of account of the movies I’ll be watching (I’m aiming to average one a day over the year). These will likely have an impact on my book totals for the year.

I try to provide some sort of comment on the books and magazines I read, but they aren't really reviews.

Books completed in the first quarter of 2018

1. Gold Brick Island, by J. J. Connington
2. Tales of Our Coast, by S. R. Crockett, Gilbert Parker, Harold Frederic, Q, and W. Clark Russell
3. Circus, by Alistair MacLean
4. Poisoned Arrow, by Ibn-e Safi
5. Katzenjammer: A Selection of Comics, by Rudolph Dirks and Harold H. Knerr
6. Vintage Murder, by Ngaio Marsh
7. Cows of Our Planet, by Gary Larson
8. Feeling No Pain, by Syd Hoff
9. The Key, by Patricia Wentworth
10. The Far Side Gallery, by Gary Larson
11. The Groaning Board, by Charles Addams
12. The Old English History of the World: An Anglo-Saxon Retelling of Orosius, ed. and trans. by Malcolm E. Godden
13. The Complete Adventures of Feluda I, by Satyajit Ray
14. Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley, by Lord Dunsany
15. The Rumble Murders, by Henry Ware Eliot Jr.
16. Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, by P. G. Wodehouse
17. The Pocket Book of Cartoons, ed. by Bennet A. Cerf
18. The Years Between, by Rudyard Kipling
19. My Best Girls, by Helen E. Hokinson
20. Mystery in the Channel, by Freeman Wills Crofts
21. Ben Sees It Through, by J. Jefferson Farjeon
22. History of the Bishops of Salona and Split, by Archdeacon Thomas of Split
23. The Far Side Gallery 2, by Gary Larson
24. Walt Disney's Donald Duck: "Terror of the Beagle Boys", by Carl Barks

Argosy kicked off the pulp magazine era with its April 1894 issue, and it remained a major pulp until it became a slick-paper magazine in the 1940s.

After years of reading reprinted stories and novels from the pulp magazines, last November I picked up a number of the original magazines, and I’ve decided to try reading approximately one a week. I don’t intend to include them in my book count, so I’ll be tracking them separately here. If all goes well, I should read about 50 over the year.

Magazines completed in the first quarter of 2018

1. Short Stories, September 10, 1947
2. Railroad Stories, July 1933
3. Argosy All-Story Weekly, September 7, 1929
4. The Phantom Detective, September 1934 (facsimile)

Several years ago I challenged myself to view 500 movies in a year. I was successful, but I did find it fairly difficult to manage. I haven’t been watching many movies recently, and I’d like to change that. For 2018, I am hoping to average a movie a day over the whole year, for a total of 365 or thereabouts. I haven’t yet decided how I’ll approach posting about them in my thread, but I do plan to keep a list.

Movies watched in the first quarter of 2018

1. After the Thin Man (1936) — viewed Jan. 1
2. Doctor in the House (1954) — viewed Jan. 2
3. Lawless Valley (1938) — viewed Jan. 3
4. Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939) — viewed Jan. 4
5. Unknown Island (1948) — viewed Jan. 5
6. All Over Town (1937) — viewed Jan. 6
7. The Case of the Howling Dog (1934) — viewed Jan. 7
8. Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947) — viewed Jan. 8
9. A-Haunting We Will Go (1942) — viewed Jan. 9
10. Oklahoma Blues (1948) — viewed Jan. 10
11. The Falcon's Brother (1942) — viewed Jan. 11
12. The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) — viewed Jan. 12
13. Bringing Up Baby (1938) — viewed Jan. 13
14. Air Hawks (1935) — viewed Jan. 14
15. Blackbeard the Pirate (1952) — viewed Jan. 14
16. Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) — viewed Jan. 15
17. Live Wires (1946) — viewed Jan. 16
18. Hidden Valley (1932) — viewed Jan. 17
19. Conspiracy (1930) — viewed Jan. 18
20. Chandu the Magician (1932) — viewed Jan. 19
21. Three Smart Girls (1936) — viewed Jan. 20
22. The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959) — viewed Jan. 21
23. Tarzan Triumphs (1943) — viewed Jan. 22
24. Fog Island (1945) — viewed Jan. 22
25. The Old Fashioned Way (1934) — viewed Jan. 23
26. The Garden Murder Case (1936) — viewed Jan. 25
27. Doctor X (1932) — viewed Jan. 26
28. Destination Tokyo (1943) — viewed Jan. 27
29. Guns in the Dark (1937) — viewed Jan. 28
30. Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938) — viewed Jan. 28
31. Nick Carter, Master Detective (1938) — viewed Jan. 29
32. Call of the Prairie (1936) — viewed Jan. 31
33. English Without Tears (1944) — viewed Jan. 31
34. The Ace of Spades (1935) — viewed Feb. 1
35. The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) — viewed Feb. 2
36. Go West (1940) — viewed Feb. 3
37. Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) — viewed Feb. 5
38. Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943) — viewed Feb. 6
39. The Cat and the Canary (1939) — viewed Feb. 7
40. Bonanza Town (1951) — viewed Feb. 8
41. The Night Cry (1926) — viewed Feb. 10
42. Frankenstein (1931) — viewed Feb. 10
43. Ghost of Hidden Valley (1946) — viewed Feb. 11
44. The Deathless Devil (1973) — viewed Feb. 11
45. The Falcon Strikes Back (1943) — viewed Feb. 11
46. Raffles (1939) — viewed Feb. 12
47. Before Dawn (1933) — viewed Feb. 14
48. Theodora Goes Wild (1936) — viewed Feb. 14
49. Secrets of the Night (1924) — viewed Feb. 15
50. Yukon Manhunt (1951) — viewed Feb. 17
51. Desperate Cargo (1941) — viewed Feb. 18
52. Old Mother Riley in Paris (1938) — viewed Feb. 18
53. The Man from Planet X (1951) — viewed Feb. 20
54. Charlie Chan's Secret (1936) — viewed Feb. 21
55. Outlaws of Sonora (1938) — viewed Feb. 22
56. The Black Cat (1941) — viewed Feb. 23
57. The Private Eyes (1980) — viewed Feb. 24
58. A Song Is Born (1948) — viewed Feb. 25
59. The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) — viewed Feb. 26

Next one's yours!

Happy New Thread, Harry. I hope the week is off to a good start for you.

Nothing at all to report on the birding front. They must be laying low. We have a big snowstorm brewing. Ugh!

Hi, Harry! - Happy New Thread. :)

Happy new thread!

I can deal with a thread of this length. Oh thanks, Harry.

>6 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Our feeders were quite busy today, in snow that turned to rain, but there was nothing unusual.

>7 lyzard: Thank you, Liz! A question for you:

>8 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

>9 weird_O: Thank you, Bill! Do you go to the Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale in Princeton? I haven't made it up to a Bethlehem Library book sale since last spring sometime.

Pulp 4. The Phantom Detective, September 1934

Source: Galactic Central

Among the early imitators of, or responses to, The Shadow was Standard Publishing's The Phantom Detective,, launched in February 1933; moreover, it outlasted its more famous and more popular rival, finally ending its run in 1953. Richard Curtis Van Loan is a wealthy young man, a veteran of the Great War, who uses his uncanny skill at disguise to thwart the plotting of assorted master criminals.

In the novel in this issue, "Spawn of Death," the Phantom Detective tackles an extortion ring that uses the dreaded fer-de-lance as an instrument of murder. The action is relentless and the plot engaging, despite some dated aspects. Strangely, two of the four short stories in the issue ("Time Will Tell" and "Finger of Fate") have the same starting point — a petty crook's plan to rob an underworld fence; though the circumstances thereafter do vary, they both feature a plot coming undone in an unexpected way. "Stolen Diamonds" appears to be part of a series starring insurance investigator Matt Harrigan and sees him unravel a plot thought devious by the criminal but patent to the experienced detective. The remaining story, "14 Floors Down," opens on an elevator that is rocked by a plummeting body; with the aid of a physician, police sergeant Rew uncovers what really happened and who in fact caused the death of the victim.

The novel is solid, I'd say, but the short stories are more of a mixed bag. Still, I'll be reading other issues from the magazine's two-decade run, as many of them are available in facsimile reprint (and a facsimile reprint was what I read).

>14 harrygbutler: I wonder what the animal-rights folk would have to say about the wanton and callous use of Reptilian Americans as murder weapons.

Hm. I see that I'm feeling tendentious. Probably best to retire.

Happy new thread, Harry!

Happy new thread, Harry!
Btw, I've just watched the original King Kong. Excellent.
To answer your question from the last thread, yes, Fred and Rachel Wells worked in the shop together and so she would engrave once he was done. They seemed inseparable, and they'd drive to work together, spend all day together, and have lunch every day together around the corner at a tiny cafe called "The Apple Pan".

>15 richardderus: Thanks for stopping by, Richard.

>16 Crazymamie: Thank you, Mamie!

>17 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer!

The original King Kong is a terrific movie. I'm sure it will be cropping up in my viewing this year.

How great about the Wellses. Thanks for sharing!

Happy new thread, Harry

>21 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul!

Movie 36. Go West (1940)

By MGM - source, Public Domain, Link

"In 1851, Horace Greeley uttered a phrase that did much to change the history of these United States. He said: Go West, young man, go west. This is the story of three men who made Horace Greeley sorry he said it."

The brothers Marx — Groucho, Chico, and Harpo — head west, where they tangle with bad guys aiming to steal a prospector's land and sell it to the railroad. Along the way to a really delightful climactic sequence as they race a train east, we get plenty of humor and some songs as well, including Chico at the piano and of course Harpo playing an impromptu harp. Not as manic as some of their earlier films, but they still deliver the laughs. Recommended.

14. Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley, by Lord Dunsany



Don Rodriguez is a picaresque novel in which the title character ventures forth from home with naught save sword and mandolin to seek the wars and win a castle in Spain. It is mildly fantastic — chiefly in connection with a stay with a court magician — and with a humor that varies between the broad, the gentle, and the wry, with serious undertones (the shadow of the Great War looms large). Perhaps particularly notable in this day of far too many bacon memes is the heavy emphasis throughout on that delicious food and the pan in which it is fried. Mildly recommended.

>3 harrygbutler: Seeing this cover reminds me that ARGOSIES was an answer in Sunday's New York Times crossword. It was clued as "Fleets", nothing to do with magazines, sadly.

Good morning, Harry, and happy new thread.

Happy new thread, Harry, you are watching a lot of movies this year!

>1 harrygbutler: love the OP picture!

I'm ready to start another read, are you ready for The Golden Gate yet?

I will not be reading the book with the snake on the cover that nearly gave me a heart attack as I scrolled by.

>24 harrygbutler: *ow*owow* Book bulleted.

You got me with the bacon/food mentions. I ***LOATHED*** The King of Elfland's Daughter so much that, when I read it, I made the friend to recommended it to me grovel in apologetic misery for weeks. She later recommended The Duncton Moles and Redwall, so we are no longer friends.

>25 rosalita: Hi, Julia. I'm sure I've seen the word argosies used that way, but rarely.

>26 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen!

>27 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita! I'm aiming to average a movie a day, but I might get ambitious and try to watch as many movies as you read books. :-)

>28 fuzzi: Thanks! I'm in the middle of a mystery right now that I'd like to finish before I start The Golden Gate, but I should be ready to tackle the MacLean this weekend, so feel free to start.

>29 thornton37814: Hi, Lori! I have reduced the size of the image for the benefit of the squeamish. :-) But yes, that is an issue of the magazine to avoid if you are bothered by snakes.

>30 richardderus: I didn't care for The King of Elfland's Daughter. I think I've now read it twice, once long ago when I first came across it, and just recently, but I doubt I'll revisit it again. I had no particular recollection of Don Rodriguez, but went ahead and re-read it because it is listed as somehow related to The Charwoman's Shadow, which I do remember liking when I read it years ago. Overall, I think that Dunsany is stronger in his short stories.

Movie 37. Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)

Source: IMDB

"Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff in..." says the title card of Charlie Chan at the Opera, one of the strongest entries in the series. Karloff plays a lunatic opera singer who escapes from an asylum after recovering his memory that someone — presumably his wife — had locked him in a burning theater to meet his doom. He makes his way to the theater where his wife will be performing in Carnivale (operatic content written by Oscar Levant), overpowers the singer who is also her lover, and takes his place as Mephisto in the performance. Murder follows.

Karloff is appealing and sympathetic as usual, and the mystery is effective as well. Keye Luke as son Lee proves an able helper to his father, too. Recommended.

Oscar Levant?! Really?! How cool.

>38 richardderus: Yes, indeed! I think I owned a copy of A Smattering of Ignorance for a while, but it went away.

>13 harrygbutler: I haven't been to a book sale outside of my parochial neighborhood—Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton counties. I've threatened Linda (laytonwoman3rd) with an appearance at the Scranton library's sale toward the end of March; not sure if my calendar is clear. I missed the first Bethlehem sale of 2018, but I am planning on hitting the second.

>11 harrygbutler:

:D

I don't know! I'm stalled on Mignon: she's yet another who's only available via Rare Books, and keeps getting put aside for challenge reading. :)

>41 lyzard: I'm still missing some of the Sarah Keate series. I started reading The Cases of Susan Dare and bogged down after a few stories because they were all very similar. I meant to just leave more time between them, but the book disappeared into a pile and hasn't resurfaced. :-)

>40 weird_O: We do try to get up your way for the AAUW sale in the pool building on Illick's Mill Road and for the Friends of the Emmaus Public Library sale at Lower Macungie Middle School. Our next trip up likely won't be book-centered, though; the odds are we'll come up at the end of the month for the Spring Thaw train show at the fairgrounds in Allentown.

15. The Rumble Murders, by Henry Ware Eliot Jr.



T. S. Eliot's elder brother, Henry Ware Eliot, Jr., wrote a single murder mystery, published in 1932 as by "Mason Deal." Strange doings get going early in the novel, when Ed Marsh and two guests, George Palmerston Gaynleigh (an author) and Gil Hubert (a detective) see that someone had climbed up the wall and broken into the "silo" attached to Ed's barn-guest house, though nothing appears to be missing. When the body of an unidentified man is found in the rumble seat of a car in town and a guest at the previous night's cocktail party goes missing, Ed, his wife Jeanie, George, Gil, and newspaperman Mike Macy set out to unravel the mystery, which seems tied to the vicinity of Ed and Jeanie's house, and which may involve Ed's missing pistol. A serviceable mystery novel, but nothing special. Mildly recommended.

Good morning, Harry, and to echo you, I hope you have a fine Friday!

>44 harrygbutler: I love that cover. I have never thought of T.S. Eliot in terms of family, so am surprised that he had a brother, much less one who wrote a novel. (My grandmother talked lovingly of my grandfather's 1928 Whippet with a rumble seat. She had a special sparkle in her eyes when she did, but she also said that they used to take the little cousins for rides in it.)

>45 karenmarie: Hi, Karen!

You set me looking. I like the look of the Whippet.

A 1928 Whippet coupe:

Source: Left Coast Classics

A 1928 Whippet cabriolet:

Source: Classic Cars for Sale

Movie 38. Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943)

Source: ERBzine

I don't really have much to add to my initial reaction to this fun film. Cheetah has some amusing scenes and is critical to foiling the villains' plot. Tarzan spends a good deal of the movie imprisoned, while a magician tries to handle matters and takes care of Boy. But the weird fever medicine jungle is definitely the highlight — Prehistoric monsters! Man-eating plants! Giant spider! Recommended.

Spider meets villain.
Source: Web of the Big D*** Spider

Morning, Harry. Happy Saturday. Looks like we are going to get a few more inches over the weekend. We do NOT need anymore.

Still nothing to report on the birding front. My feeders continue to be quiet. My finch feeder has snow in it, so I have to clean that one out.

Enjoy your day.

Good morning, Harry! I hope you have a great day.

>46 harrygbutler: Somewhere I have a few photos of Grandma and Grandpa, looking like the young whipper-snappers they were, lounging against the side of the Whippet. Grandpa's was red.

>47 harrygbutler: Tarzan just doesn't look right standing in a desert. But Prehistoric monsters! Man-eating plants! Giant spider! are all wonderful. I have read all the books, have the Ballantine paperback versions on my shelves, and really should consider re-reading them one of these days (years).

>47 harrygbutler: Good morning, Mark! Our feeders remain fairly active, though there's nothing particularly unusual. I do think I need to pick up more sunflower seed, and it's probably time to get another box of suet cakes, too.

>49 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen! Yep, Tarzan was definitely out of place in the desert, though the city and the jungle both proved more dangerous for him. I've got a few of the Tarzan books around, but I've mislaid the first and haven't found it again. That does remind me it's time to pick up a copy of The Gods of Mars and get back to my Barsoom reread.

16. Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, by P. G. Wodehouse



Worried about his health, Bertie Wooster consults a doctor and on his recommendation seeks some rest in the country. But the village of Maiden Eggesford is filled with complications for our man about town. His Aunt Dahlia is there as well, and she has placed unwise wagers on one of two horses in the town that stands a chance of winning an upcoming race, and she wants Bertie to take steps to ensure its victory by stealing the cat that is a comfort to the other horse. Moreover, Bertie was once engaged to Vanessa Cook, daughter of the man with the cat-loving horse, and she thinks Bertie has followed her out of love; her jealous suitor, Orlo Porter, suspects the same. More twists arise, of course, though with the help of Jeeves you can be sure it will all be straightened out in the end.

With Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, I've reached the end of the Jeeves and Wooster books (though there may be a few odd short stories around). If it didn't reach the farcical heights of some of the earlier entries, still a good deal of the humor remained. I'm sure I'll come back to the series, but for now it's either on to Blandings or some reading around in Wodehouse's many stand-alone novels.

>46 harrygbutler: love love love!!! I'm a sucker for old cars. My dad had a '54 Chevy Belair convertible that he bought new. I taught myself to drive standard on it. The only "bad" thing was no power steering, but only was difficult if the car was not in motion.

Feeders continue to be busy here, though we've only had rain. I recently stocked up, buying two 20# bags of black oil sunflower seed at WBU* as they're on sale through next week. I've been storing the extra seed in a metal trash can near the feeders with no issues (no bears).

*Wild Birds Unlimited

>54 harrygbutler: Oh, nice! Erika and I are both fans of old cars. Erika is especially big on cars of the 1940s (both pre-war and early post-war), while I tend to have a fondness for both earlier and somewhat later cars.

We need to go to Wild Birds Unlimited sometime soon to get another tube feeder, but there isn't a store particularly close by, so I'm not sure when we'll do so. We'll be in the vicinity of one tomorrow, but I don't know that we'll get there.

>54 harrygbutler: I highly recommend a Droll Yankee tube feeder, mine have lasted for years. I finally replaced the plastic tube portion on one, as it had started to crack, but only after ten years plus exposed to the weather. All the perches and the lid/bail are metal.

Movie 39. The Cat and the Canary (1939)

Source: IMDB

In a spooky house on a creepy island isolated in a Louisiana bayou, the heirs of eccentric Cyrus Norman gather to hear the reading of the will 10 years after the millionaire's death. On hand are Norman's housekeeper, Miss Lu (Gale Sondergaard in a typical role), who has lived on in the desolate mansion; lawyer Crosby (George Zucco); and assorted cousins, including morose and touchy Fred Blythe (John Beal), pleasant and charming Charlie Wilder (Douglass Montgomery), acerbic Aunt Susan (Elizabeth Patterson), flighty Cicily (Nydia Westman), wisecracking Wally Campbell (Bob Hope), and Joyce Norman (Paulette Goddard), the only surviving member of the family with the Norman name.

The will in effect designates Joyce as the heir, provided she survives (and is not found insane). Strange doings soon begin to take place: A guard from a local asylum calls at the house in pursuit of an escaped homicidal maniac, known as "the Cat." Then Crosby disappears from a room where he was talking with Joyce. Joyce turns to Wally for help in these trying circumstances.

Consistently amusing without neglecting the chills, with an early version of the Hope character who nevertheless manages to overcome his innate cowardice, however unwillingly at times, an effective turn by Goddard as Joyce, and solid supporting work that keeps things mysterious. Definitely recommended.

>55 fuzzi: Thanks for the recommendation! I'll bear that possibility in mind. Does your feeder have an easily removable bottom? Our WBU tube feeder does, and I quite like the convenience for cleaning out the tube.

>57 harrygbutler: it all comes apart, and can be used as a pole feeder as well. Plus Droll Yankees guarantees their feeders, you can return them easily enough. http://drollyankees.com

>58 fuzzi: Thanks for the link. I'll take a look.

>42 harrygbutler:

I'm stalled on the fifth Sarah Keate book, Murder By An Aristocrat (aka "Murder Of My Patient"), because of access issues. Hopefully I can address that soon.

>47 harrygbutler:

Heh! The webmaster happens to be a friend of mine; I even have one of his T-shirts! :D

>60 lyzard: Murder by an Aristocrat is among those I don't have yet.

That was my first visit to the WotBDS blog. I was glad to find an image of the spider; I'm not really set up to do screen grabs from movies myself.

Movie 40. Bonanza Town (1951)

Source: IMDB

Rugged Charles Starrett signed as Columbia Pictures' new cowboy star in 1935, replacing an aging Tim McCoy, and with just one exception he played western leads for the rest of his movie career. He first played the Durango Kid in a movie of that name in 1940, but it was not until the revival of the character in 1945's The Return of the Durango Kid that it really took off: By the time the series ended in 1952, Starrett had starred in a whopping 64 (!) Durango Kid movies.

Bonanza Town is from late in the run of Durango Kid movies, and as with many in the last few years, it relies heavily on archival footage from earlier movies — in this case, showing how Durango tangled with the suspected lead villain in the past. Comic and musical elements are provided (as usual in most of the series) by Smiley Burnette, and Starrett's character ("Steve") once more is the master of the quick-change, switching to his Durango get-up as fast as (or faster than) Clark Kent became Superman. A good routine series entry, delivering no more, but also no less, than a pleasant viewing experience. Recommended.

Movie 41. The Night Cry (1926>

By Warner Bros. - source, Public Domain, Link

Something is killing lambs in a sheepherding region, but strangely young John Martin's flock has not suffered such depredations. This leads his neighbors to suspect Martin's dog, Rinty, played by Rin Tin Tin, of the killings. The viewer, however, knows that the real culprit is a giant condor, whose eerie voice is the night cry of the title. Nevertheless, circumstances lend weight to the suspicions and result in a demand that Rinty be destroyed, though John (John Harron) and his wife (June Marlowe, best known as Miss Crabtree in the Our Gang comedies) choose to hide the dog instead. The killing of another lamb sets in motion a suspenseful sequence, as one neighbor vows to find and kill Rinty, no matter what the Martins may say or do.

This is familiar ground for Rin Tin Tin, but he does a good job. The action sequences are OK, as he battles another sheepdog that attacks him while he chases after the condor, defends himself from a man who would slay him, and scales the heights in pursuit of the bird. A quieter aspect of his performance can be seen when he returns to the Martins' cabin and cannot understand why the family turns a cold shoulder, or in his interactions with the Martins' child. Recommended.

The Night Cry was my first silent film of the year, but there will be more.

Morning, Harry. Happy Sunday. I love silent film, but I have not seen one in years. I will have to get back on track. There are so many beautiful films, from that era and not just the classic comedies.

Enjoy your day, sir.

Hi Harry, and happy Sunday to you.

I just read a bit about Rin Tin Tin, and he was quite a big deal. He lived 'til 1932 (found on a WWI battlefield by an American soldier) and was in 27 films. Your threads always have such fascinating things!

Morning, Harry! Happy Sunday. I agree with Karen that your thread is full of fascinating.

>64 msf59: I like them, too, Mark. The first I can recall seeing were not comedies, but The Phantom of the Opera and, if I'm remembering correctly, The Three Musketeers (but it might have been a similar swashbuckler).

>65 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen! Yep, Rin Tin Tin was indeed a big deal, though as with some other performers his star diminished with the coming of sound. I find him a sympathetic and appealing actor and have all of his sound serials and another movie or two on DVD as well; I've learned at least one more movie is available, so I'll probably be picking it up at some point.

>66 Crazymamie: Thank you, Mamie! It was a good Sunday, starting out with a firehouse breakfast up the Delaware a bit. it was our first visit to the Upper Black Eddy Fire Company for breakfast, though we've been for dinners (especially the very good Pennsylvania Dutch Dinner, coming up again in April).

17. The Pocket Book of Cartoons, ed. by Bennet A. Cerf



There's a fair amount of fun to be had in The Pocket Book of Cartoons. First published in 1943 and going through many printings (my copy is from July 1945), it brings together some more topical humor (e.g., rationing and shortages) with cartoons less bound to circumstances. Recommended.

Movie 42. Frankenstein (1931)

By Unknown - site poster, Public Domain, Link

Frankenstein is in some ways more a story of obsession than a monster movie. Though there is enough of the monster to satisfy, the focus of the plot is rather on young Henry Frankenstein, with a fair amount of attention and screen time given to his gruff father, the Baron. Still, as the movie that made Boris Karloff a star, and an important early entry in the Universal horror canon, it is recommended.

The monster in the posters and lobby cards is not a very good likeness of Karloff, but that was fixed for the Photoplay edition of the novel (which I own):

>71 harrygbutler: LIKE!

Morning, Harry. I love having Mondays off, so you know I am pleased, plus it remains cold, low 20s, so you know where to find me.

Hope your Monday goes smoothly.

Probably the last of the cartoons I'll share from the Helen Hokison collection I recently read. What I like best is how angry the patron is about the matter.

>74 harrygbutler: love the cartoons, remind me of the ones I read in Punch.

Hi Harry, and happy Monday to you!

>72 harrygbutler: I have never read Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus but have the Heritage Club slipcase edition on my shelves upstairs.

>74 harrygbutler: I like that cartoon - mysteries are my favorite genre and I have quite a few 'I don't like"s, although none about a particular state. *smile*

>75 fuzzi: I went through a lot of issues of Punch back in the mid-1980s; there were plenty of funny cartoons to be found. I have at least a couple collections of cartoons from the magazine as well.

>76 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! I read Frankenstein once quite a few years ago. It's not much like the movie, but I thought it was fine — not good enough to draw me to reread it, though, and someday I'll get rid of my copy, despite the fabulous dust jacket.

>74 harrygbutler: This made me laugh out loud!

Morning, Harry!

Hi, Mamie! Thanks for stopping by!

>74 harrygbutler:

What's the date on that? - because in a lot of early American mysteries New Jersey is used as the setting for a local version of the "country house-party" type mystery. It doesn't feel like she's rejecting New Jersey for being *more* up-market than New York, though!

>81 lyzard: The book is from 1941.

In general, I would expect up-market country houses to be up the Hudson or out on Long Island, but so much of New Jersey was still so rural at the time that it would have made a suitable setting as well.

You get both of those too but in the books I'm referring to there's a distinct sense of "travelling out into the countryside", very much with the purpose of mimicking English country mysteries.

>83 lyzard: Right. But I was responding specifically to your comment about "up-market," although plenty of wealthy people did own places in the farmlands of New Jersey.

18. The Years Between, by Rudyard Kipling



This is a solid collection of some of Kipling's poetry, including the famous "The Female of the Species" but also many topical poems shaped by World War I. Recommended.

<85 I haven't read Kipling's poetry in years, but I used to enjoy it.

>86 thornton37814: This volume was new to me, though I'd read some of the contents in a collection, I think. As I gradually accumulate a Kipling set, I'll likely have more to read — and of course there are often poems included in the short story collections, too.

Movie 43. Ghost of Hidden Valley (1946)

Source: IMDB

After his planetary adventures came to an end, Buster Crabbe found a place at Poverty Row film company Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), where he starred in a string of westerns with sidekick Al "Fuzzy" St. John. In Ghost of Hidden Valley, from near the end of his tenure, the duo take on the tasks of assisting an Englishman new to the West in making a go of the ranch in Hidden Valley and of uncovering just what lies behind the tale of a ghost and the mysterious disappearances connected with that tale. The movie eliminates some tension by revealing the truth behind the ghost early on, so the audience instead is treated to the working out of the foiling of the crooks' plans, with a few minor twists along the way. Forgettable, but it might have some interest for fans of Mr. Crabbe.

>85 harrygbutler: hmm. I love Kipling, have a book of his poems I should peruse sometime, RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE, INCLUSIVE EDITION 1885-1918.

What's the date on that collection?

>89 fuzzi: It was published in 1919, so many (maybe all?) of its contents should be in your book.

Happy new thread, Harry.

>44 harrygbutler: I see that you and Liz are the only LTers to have this book, which is enough of a reason for me to search it out.

>70 harrygbutler: I still have my copies of Bennett Cerf's Book of Riddles and Bennett Cerf's Book of Laughs from the late 50s/early 60s. I've shared them with both of my sons and they loved them so much that I read them to both of their third grade classes years ago. I'll have to get my hands on that one.

>74 harrygbutler: I can sympathize!

Good morning Harry, and happy Tuesday to you!

>91 rretzler: Hi, Robin!

The Rumble Murders is one of quite a few reprints from Darke County, Ohio-based Coachwhip Publications: http://www.coachwhipbooks.com/. I've purchased a number of his reprints, including all the Todd Downing books and some of the J. J. Connington books, and I've been happy with them.

We have a few other humor books edited by Bennett Cerf and would definitely pick up more. That's great that you got to share them with your boys and their classmates as well!

>92 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen! Thanks!

Movie 44. The Deathless Devil (1973)

By Source, Fair use, Link

The Deathless Devil is a Turkish movie released in the early 1970s (IMDB says 1973; Wikipedia says 1972), during the boom in Turkish popular cinema. It's an updated quasi-remake of the 1940 Republic serial Mysterious Doctor Satan, but set in Turkey and with added sex, somewhat more graphic violence, and what I think is supposed to be martial arts fighting. The mustachioed Doctor Satan (in the center on the poster) plots to secure an invention that will allow him to build an army of world-conquering robots. Battling him is the Copperhead, a masked crime-fighter (with a hood like the mask of a Mexican wrestler, rather than the more cowl-like hood worn by his predecessor), who however spends much of his time fighting the villains not in disguise. There's a hokey robot that ends up playing a key role, and utterly terrible comic relief. Not recommended, save to fans of "so bad it's good" sorts of movies.

>95 harrygbutler: that looks like a good candidate for Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K)...

>96 fuzzi: Yes, I think it would have been a good fit for their approach. By the way, I've seen that MST3K is coming back after a successful Kickstarter: http://www.mst3k.com/.

>97 harrygbutler: if my son doesn't already know it, he'll probably be thrilled, he's a big movie buff and enjoyed MST3K as a child.

Next weekend he's headed to Charlotte for a movie convention, and is signed up to meet Robert Englund for a photo op. I know he's looking forward to it!

>98 fuzzi: Cool. There's at least one similar sort of event near Philadelphia, but we've never gone. The only movie conventions we've attended were a couple Cinevents in Columbus, Ohio, which were focused on older movies.

Stopping in to say hi after a couple of days away, and see that you've included more great movie posters. >56 harrygbutler: is particularly fantastic.

Hi, Jennifer! That is a pretty terrific poster, isn't it? I didn't think the Frankenstein poster nearly as good.

>95 harrygbutler: lol, I thought that guy in the middle was a yeti when I first glanced at the poster. But I guess that's not a far jump considering the other characters on the poster.

>102 The_Hibernator: Hi, Rachel! Doctor Satan was quite, um, distinctive-looking. :-)

MST3K is rebooted on Netflix! The first movie they trashed was Reptilicus, which the New York Times memorably reviewed with one word: "Balonicus." I about had an attack when I read that, so I was super-extra-grande eager to see what they did with/to it.

The neighbors called management to complain about me screaming and hooting.

>104 richardderus: Very glad to hear it's still funny. I didn't love the RiffTrax efforts I sampled.

One of many delightful comedies starring Cary Grant is The Philadelphia Story: though a vehicle for Katharine Hepburn, and featuring a standout performance by James Stewart, Grant shines as C. K. Dexter Haven (who has unsuspected depth). I just learned that The Philadelphia Story will be shown in theaters across the U.S. this Sunday and next Wednesday: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/tcm2018-the-philadelphia-story.

I don't yet know whether we'll go, but it certainly is possible.

>106 harrygbutler: I've seen both The Philadelphia Story and its musical version High Society. Both are good, though I have a slight preference for the latter which includes Frankie, Bing, and Sachmo!

>107 fuzzi: You're right; High Society is quite good as well. I probably prefer the original film, but I'll gladly watch either.

Hi, Harry! I love the classic film chatter. Also a fan of The Philadelphia Story. What a trio, although I prefer Stewart in his more darker films, which there were plenty.

>109 msf59: If I manage to stick with my viewing plans, I expect there'll be more chatter to come, Mark. :-) There might even be an Anthony Mann western or two, but frankly a Budd Boetticher western with Randolph Scott is more likely.

>106 harrygbutler: Another absolutely fantastic movie! I have a preference for The Philadelphia Story over High Society but just because I'm a huge fan of Grant, Hepburn and Stewart. And now I will be humming Lydia the Tattooed Lady!!

>111 rretzler: "You can learn a lot from Lydia!"

It's a toss-up whether I first heard that sung by Groucho Marx or Virginia Weidler (though it might have been on The Muppet Show :-) ).

Morning, Harry!

>111 rretzler: Me, too!

19. My Best Girls, by Helen E. Hokinson



Helen E. Hokinson was a cartoonist who specialized in depicting upper-class (or at least upper middle class) women and their antics and opinions — including women's club meetings, holiday travel, shopping, and more. This 1941 collection includes quite a few amusing cartoons, though a few, especially those that were more topical at the time, are dated. Recommended.

>113 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie!

I've found a clip from the movie with Virginia Weidler singing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d15JOd75uG8.

Good morning, Harry, and happy Valentine's Day to you.

I loved MST3K and it sounds like The Deathless Devil is a perfect candidate.

>115 harrygbutler: Great clip, and if you wait, it will immediately play the Groucho Marx version after.

>116 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen!

They'd probably have to edit out a little bit, but The Deathless Devil should work.

>115 harrygbutler: So fun! That cracks me up every time.

>118 Crazymamie: It's a delightful scene.

>110 harrygbutler: "Randolph Scott???"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGYoChoijvY

>120 fuzzi: Absolutely! :-D

45. The Falcon Strikes Back (1943)

Source: IMDB

Tom Lawrence (Tom Conway) is lured into a trap at a nightclub and framed for a bond robbery. His efforts to clear his name and find the real culprit lead him to a rustic hotel just outside the city, run by Gwynne Gregory (Harriet Hilliard), where murder lies in wait. Keeping the Falcon company is sidekick Goldie Locke (Cliff Edwards), and reporter Marcia Brooks (Jane Randolph) is on hand to give some assistance, too.

Source: IMDB

In his first solo outing as the suave but tough Falcon, Conway successfully sells the character, and Edward Dmytryk's direction keeps things moving right along. I didn't tumble to what was really going on in the plot until quite late in the movie. Recommended.

I came across a post at the blog The Nitrate Diva with a good appreciation of the Falcon films: https://nitratediva.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/the-falcon-series/

Four new books today, gifts from Erika:


The Collected Short Stories of Satyajit Ray (the touchstone is weird)


Walt Disney's Donald Duck: "Terror of the Beagle Boys", by Carl Barks


Walt Disney's Donald Duck: "Secret of Hondorica", by Carl Barks (again, a weird touchstone)


Alexander and Dindimus: or, The Letters of Alexander to Dindimus, King of the Brahmans, with the Replies of Dindimus; Being a Second Fragment of the Alliterative Romance of Alisaunder; Translated from the Latin, about A.D. 1340-50, ed. by W. W. Skeat

>115 harrygbutler: Thanks for sharing!

Happy Valentine's Day, Harry.

>124 rretzler: Thanks, Robin!

Movie 46. Raffles (1939)

Source: IMDB

Famed cricketer A. J. Raffles (David Niven) maintains his upper-class status and pays his bills through jewel robberies committed as the "Amateur Cracksman," taunting the police with notes left at the scenes of his crimes. When he finds love with a friend's sister (Olivia de Havilland), he resolves to give up his life of crime. But circumstances drive him to plan one last caper, even as a chance clue puts police inspector Mackenzie (Dudley Digges) on his trail. A rival criminal, hair's-breadth escapes, and twist upon twist follow, as Raffles endeavors to make use of every unexpected development to escape the clutches of the law but also help a chum. Recommended.

>110 harrygbutler: Ooh, love those Anthony Mann westerns and Stewart is always very good in them. Not as familiar with the Budd Boetticher films, as they were always harder to find.

Morning, Harry. Sweet Thursday. Very foggy here but another mild one.

>127 msf59: Hi, Mark! The Tall T is probably my favorite, because Richard Boone makes a good antagonist.

Good morning, Harry, and happy Thursday to you!

>122 harrygbutler: I love the blog name nitratediva.

>123 harrygbutler: What a splendid variety! Comic books to classics.

My friend and neighbor Louise called late yesterday - she said to come over quick and bring my binoculars. I did, but I just missed the 30-or-so flock of Cedar Waxwings. Drat. They are so distinctive and gorgeous looking, and I've never seen one.

>126 harrygbutler: Ah, so that's Raffles! My only exposure to that character was in Lawrence Block's "Burglar Who" series, where thief-turned-bookseller Bernie Rhodenbarr names his bookstore cat Raffles after the book character. It's one of my favorite series, lots of humor and lightness despite the inevitable murders.

>129 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Yes, Erika knows that I jump around a good deal in what I'm reading. :-)

Cedar waxwings always look very stern to me, because of the combination of eye stripe and the crest. They are beautiful birds.

>130 rosalita: The Raffles stories were written by E. W. Hornung, Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law, in response to Holmes, making the criminal the hero. My recollection is that they're pretty good, but I don't think that I've read them all (and I'm sure I've not read the one novel that stars the character).

>126 harrygbutler: sounds a bit like the original Pink Panther plotline. And David Niven starred in that one as well!

>133 fuzzi: Yep, there are definitely some similarities. It's easy to forget that Niven has star billing in The Pink Panther, given how the rest of the series developed.

Movie 47. Before Dawn (1933)

Source: IMDB

A gangster dying in torment in a Vienna hospital exchanges information about a cache of stolen money for a lethal injection. Two old women live shut up in a gloomy house, guarding the million dollars, but when one decides that she can now spend the money herself, death comes calling. A police detective hauls in a medium and her father for fraud, but when the medium gives evidence of actual power, the police put her to work investigating the old woman's demise. Secret chambers, sinister plotting, double crosses, murder, and more can be found in the fast-moving plot, which stars Stu Erwin as the detective and Warren Oland as the Viennese doctor, and which is taken from a story written by Edgar Wallace while in Hollywood. Recommended.

>134 harrygbutler: Peter Sellers had a way of stealing the spotlight in those movies, no matter what other actors he worked with...except maybe Cato!

>136 fuzzi: That's certainly true. I think it may be time to revisit some of them; I'll have to see whether they're available at our library or via Amazon Prime.

Morning, Harry. Happy Friday. I saw and heard more birds yesterday on the route. A good sign. Our temps are falling back to normal today.

20. Mystery in the Channel, by Freeman Wills Crofts



A passing ship spots a yacht drifting in the English Channel, and the boarding party sent over discovers the bodies of two men aboard — murdered. As a few members of the ship's crew take the yacht to port, they encounter another private launch, and the man aboard that vessel, Nolan, quickly identifies the murder victims: they are Moxon and Deeping, two partners in a financial firm that is on the brink of collapse. Scotland Yard is sent for, and Inspector French takes on the case. Evidence soon is found that some one and a half million pounds is missing — not enough to save the firm, but enough to prevent at least some investors from being ruined completely, and its disappearance may supply the motive for the murders. A careful investigation follows, as Inspector French tests the possibilities for an assortment of suspects connected with the firm, moving on from one to the next as alibis or other circumstances rule them out, until it seems no one is left...

Recommended.

>138 msf59: Hi, Mark! Temps are falling here today, too. Yesterday we had quite a crowd of grackles and starlings around, and I saw my first robin in a while.

Movie 48. Theodora Goes Wild (1936)

Source: IMDB

A scandalous new novel is sweeping the nation: The Sinner, by Caroline Adams. But who is Caroline Adams? The writer of this racy story is in fact quiet, respectable young Theodora Lynn (Irene Dunne), of the Lynnfield Lynns, who lives under the thumb of two maiden aunts. While in New York to visit her publisher, Theodora as Caroline meets artist Michael Grant (Melvyn Douglas), who learns her secret and shows up the next day in Lynnfield, where he cajoles her into giving him a job as a gardener. Will Michael succeed in getting Theodora to stand up to the nosey parkers of her hometown? And what of Michael's own secret?

Theodora Goes Wild is generally considered one of the standouts of the screwball comedy era. It's an engaging comedy, with Douglas charming and Dunne winsome and effective in her transition from demure to wild. Recommended.

Good morning, Harry, and happy Friday to you!

Thank you, Karen! We've got a rainy day in store, with temperatures dropping to more seasonable levels after a warm spell.

Have a good weekend, Harry, and watch a great one! I'm currently watching "The Asphalt Jungle" in chunks, but I watched "Eagle vs. Shark" last night all the way through.

>144 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! I've found myself watching movies in chunks from time to time, too. I don't recall whether I've actually watched The Asphalt Jungle; if I did, it was years ago.

I hadn't heard of Eagle vs. Shark; the first thing that leapt to mind was something like this. :-)

By The Asylum - 1, Link

Tonight will probably be a science fiction, fantasy, or horror film, but we'll see what rises to the surface.

"Eagle vs. Shark" is something of a misleading title, because it does sound like there would be a battle to the death at some point. I think I need to see "Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus" now, especially as there's a tentacle pulling an ocean liner down.

This is a New Zealand nerd love story, very awkward and funny. It stars Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords, if that means anything to you.

>146 mstrust: Thanks. Eagle vs. Shark sounds worth a look.

I think I saw one of the Mega Shark movies, but it might have been something else, since there are plenty of similar flicks from what is now — last I heard — SyFy. My preference for giant octopus movies, though, would definitely be It Came from Beneath the Sea, with Kenneth Tobey and Faith Domergue.

Source: IMDB

Visits to a few thrift shops netted some books today. They were mostly hardcover mysteries, but I was happy to come across a Collector's Wodehouse volume that we didn't have. The Wodehouse was the most expensive, at $2, and the rest were $1 or less apiece.

Meet Mr. Mulliner, by P. G. Wodehouse
Hägar the Horrible: Norse Code, by Dik Browne
Regarding Sherlock Holmes, by August Derleth
Two Clues / Overdue for Death / The Chinese Doll, mysteries by Erle Stanley Gardner. Z. H. Ross, and Wilson Tucker
The American Gun Mystery, by Ellery Queen
The Chinese Orange Mystery, by Ellery Queen
There Was an Old Woman, by Ellery Queen
The Tragedy of Z, by Ellery Queen
The Winter Murder Case, by S. S. Van Dine

Sweet deal! I acquired The Girl in Blue from Wodehouse last week, which is one I'd never heard of before.

The octoshark thing is calling my name. Happy weekend.

>149 mstrust: Nice find. We got The Girl in Blue when we were accumulating the Collector's Wodehouse books, but I've not yet read it. I've mostly concentrated on the Jeeves & Wooster books recently, with some of the Mike and the Psmith books, and the start of the Blandings books, to break them up. The stand-alones will likely get more play this year. We had skipped Meet Mr. Mulliner, probably because we already had a complete collection of the Mulliner stories, but I couldn't pass it up when I found it there waiting. :-)

>152 harrygbutler: It's possible the story has a happy ending, as one of the DVDs I saw at the used CD & DVD store yesterday was titled Sharktopus. :-)

Hi Harry and happy Sunday to you.

>148 harrygbutler: Nice haul. I actually have that exact Detective Book Club threesome on my shelves, courtesy of Bill's Mama when she moved from her house to a retirement community. I have eleven total. And I really loved the old Ellery Queen mysteries.

>153 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Thanks! I have at least one other Detective Book Club volume, and maybe more. I know I see them from time to time, but frequently sufficiently modern that I'm not tempted by them. I've only read a couple of the Ellery Queen mysteries so far as I can recall. I've liked what I've read, so I was happy to get these.

>148 harrygbutler: Nice haul and an inexpensive one too!

Enjoy what is left of your Sunday, Harry.

>155 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Sunday was a good day. I got a fair amount of reading done in a few different books.

'Morning, Harry, and happy Monday to you.

Nice to hear that you got some good reading in. I, alas, didn't, but am happily making my way through Dead Wake about the last crossing of the Lusitania this morning - insomnia.

Movie 49. Secrets of the Night (1924)

Source: IMDB

A bank faces ruin thanks to bad investments and a missing man...and a well-known bank examiner has arrived. The bank president suggests that there is but one way to cover the bank's losses: for one of the other directors to murder him and collect on his $600,000 life insurance policy, though no one seems keen to do it. Later that evening, however, at a party with the bank examiner in attendance, the bank president is found murdered. Did one of his colleagues do him in? How about the husband of a woman with whom he may have been having an affair? Or the young fellow in love with the bank president's ward, who quarreled with him earlier?

Source: IMDB

Zasu Pitts as a flighty, terrified servant is the real draw in this 1924 comedy mystery; the other performances really haven't much to recommend them. Mildly recommended.

This silent feature was believed lost until a complete copy was found in an Ontario basement just last year. It is pleasing that such discoveries remain possible.

>157 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen! Sorry to hear about the insomnia. I'll probably try to squeeze in some reading before work, since I awoke well before the alarm today.

Morning, Harry. I hope you had a good weekend. It was a good bird day for me yesterday, with the owl sighting and everything and I am pretty sure I spotted an Eastern Tow-hee too, which would have also been a lifer.

I am off today for the holiday, so I hope to venture out at some point. Super mild here today. High 50s.

>160 msf59: Good morning, Mark! Towhees are fun to watch scratch about among leaf litter. Good luck with birding today.

Zasu Pitts! Her name is well-known in my family because for many years my mom collected cookbooks and she'd pine for a cookbook called Candy Hits by Zasu Pitts. Pitts was known in Hollywood for being an excellent candymaker, and the book was legendary but out of print. I finally found it on Ebay and got in a bidding war, but got it for Mom.

>162 mstrust: Great story, Jennifer! I'm glad you finally got it for your mom. Homemade candies are my favorites, so I'll have to keep an eye out for that one (though I don't usually spend too much time browsing the cookbook section at book sales).

>162 mstrust: I love this story, Jennifer!

Afternoon, Harry! I had fun catching up with you. And now I am wanting to see both Theodora Goes Wild and It Came From Beneath the Sea Heh.

>164 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie! Glad to provide you with some viewing ideas. Have you seen the original The Thing from Another World, which also starred Kenneth Tobey? It's among my favorite science-fiction movies.

>165 harrygbutler: No. And obviously I NEED to.

>166 Crazymamie: Oh, yes, indeed! :-)

50. Yukon Manhunt (1951)

Source: IMDB

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Kirby Grant (best known as TV's Sky King) appeared as a Mountie in a series of 10 movies for Monogram Pictures with Chinook, a dog who later played White Shadow in Disney's Corky and White Shadow. Yukon Manhunt is from the middle of the run, a trim little movie enlivened by criminal conduct aboard a train, by Grant's flirtatious behavior, and by a twist that, though revealed moderately early, was nonetheless unexpected. The dog didn't actually seem to contribute much to the action. Mildly recommended.

>163 harrygbutler: >164 Crazymamie: The really great part is that I don't believe she ever made a single candy from the book! :-D She just liked reading cookbooks like novels.

>158 harrygbutler: wow, I love how they found that movie!

I just finished this month's Black Stallion book, are you planning on reading it soon? :)

>169 mstrust: I might have trouble avoiding snacking if I were reading cookbooks all the time. :-)

>170 fuzzi: I'm so behind with the Black Stallion books that I don't know. I don't own this month's volume, so I have to get it via the library system, and that will take at least a few days if a copy is available.

I've started The Golden Gate but haven't gotten too far yet.

>172 harrygbutler: I've got The Golden Gate in the queue; last night I started Pirate King by Laurie R. King.

The Black Stallion's Courage is one of the better ones like Filly and Blood Bay Colt, definitely worth reading.

Morning, Harry. It rained all day yesterday, so I never got out and the feeders were very quiet too. There is still a light rain falling now, but I have seen some activity. I hope the rain clears up for awhile, so I could venture out.

>173 fuzzi: Erika's a big fan of the Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes books.

Good to know re The Black Stallion's Courage. Thanks!

Good morning, Harry, and I hope your Tuesday is a good one.

I remember watching Sky King when I was little.

>162 mstrust: I'd be surprised to find it, but I'll keep an eye out for Candy Hits. You just never know.

>175 harrygbutler: I love the back cover to my copy of The Black Stallion's Courage: http://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/0c/e2/0ce28176e99c7dd636a6d777077434b4...

>174 msf59: Good morning, Mark! We've had rain off and on since Sunday, and the feeders have been quiet here as well. I hope you get in some birding later.

>176 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! I've never seen an episode of Sky King. I wonder whether it can be had in a DVD set.

>177 fuzzi: That's great! I really like the use of testimonials from satisfied readers. :-)

I'm pretty sure this is what Hildy dreams about.

Movie 51. Desperate Cargo (1941)

By Source, Fair use, Link

Ralph Byrd, best known for playing Dick Tracy both in movies and on TV, here is the new purser for a Trans-Caribbean Airways flying boat heading north. A framed-up fight gets him in badly with the pilot, but the hijacking of the flight gives him a chance to redeem himself. The second leads — Jack Mulhall (a former silent film star) and Carol Hughes — are pretty entertaining, but the heroine (Julie Duncan) is not very good in this PRC budget flick. The airplane is amusingly large. Not recommended, unless you find the cast appealing.

Does anyone have experience using both the app and the mobile site simultaneously on a phone?

This year's movie challenge is making me wish once again that I could easily check what movies we own while out at a thrift store or library sale. However, I'm not sure whether to add them to my main account or to pay for another account for the movies — and a concern with the latter approach is that I wouldn't want to be signing in and out of the app all the time.

>183 harrygbutler: Harry, I actually use the site and app Letterboxed (letterboxed.com) to keep track of our movies - and it's free, but can be upgraded to Pro (I don't recall the benefit of a paid membership.) For some reason, I've resisted putting my movies on LT, and Letterboxed is more geared towards movies than LT anyway. The one "glitch" on Letterboxed is that you must create a list to see the movies you own, otherwise those in your account are the movies that you've watched. You can view and sort the list on the letterboxed app, though, so it's pretty handy.

>183 harrygbutler: Thanks, Robin! Letterboxd might work. Are the lists restricted to movie titles? Ideally, I'd like to track both individual movies and also DVDs (including boxed sets). Several years ago I used a database (which unfortunately lacked an online component) that eventually fell short because, while it got progressively better at cataloging commercial DVDs, it was poor at handling movies (such as those I'd recorded myself off TCM). A quick glance at Letterboxd suggests it might have the opposite problem, and be good at movies but not at physical DVDs.

My pulp magazine project has been lagging, in large part owing to a supply problem: An order I placed for around 20 issues back at the end of November, in anticipation of having them by the start of the year, languished unfulfilled. The seller only finally partially filled the order at the end of last week, sending just a portion of the items and a refund for the rest, after weeks of poor — or no — communication. So I'll be resuming my pulp reads, but I regretfully must figure out another source of vintage magazines in order to keep going once I finish up this batch.

>181 harrygbutler: ::deep chuckle::

>186 harrygbutler: How frustrating!

>145 harrygbutler: That's hilarious. And nothing like Eagle vs. Shark.

Good morning, Harry, and happy Wednesday to you!

There are options for Sky King on Amazon, so I imagine there are options elsewhere, too.

>184 rretzler:->185 harrygbutler: I just looked at Letterboxd and think I'll make a renewed push to use my second life-time LT account. It is much more tedious to enter a movie, IMO, but I really would like to track them.

>187 fuzzi: Hildy really doesn't like any delivery people, and she is somehow able to sense even those independent contractors whom Amazon is using, when they are delivering to other houses. :-)

>188 The_Hibernator: Hi, Rachel! Indeed it was. I didn't mind the lateness so much, as things happen, but the faulty communication was a big issue: It took more six weeks before I even got a response to an inquiry, and nearly another six weeks before the items arrived, despite assurances that they were on their way when I followed up.

>189 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! I'm leaning toward a second LT membership for movies, especially as I really don't care that much about having cast lists and similar information, but just want to have title and year for movies and contents for DVDs, with location tags and collections to distinguish commercial and home-recorded content. I do wish it were possible to import a plain title list into LT, though, as I don't look forward to entering all these when I do have a list.

I may just start a free second membership first to test out whether trying to access two separate accounts on my phone is workable.

Thanks for the tip on Sky King.

Otto doesn't have much interest in the pulp magazines I got yesterday, but he seems quite happy with the box.

That's a cool shot! 😀

21. Ben Sees It Through, by J. Jefferson Farjeon



Ben the tramp is back from a Spanish "holiday," having worked passage across to England. A passenger aboard the ship knocks Ben's cap overboard and in recompense offers not only a replacement cap but also the prospect of a job. However, when Ben leaves his erstwhile benefactor for a few moments to send a letter to a friend, he returns to the taxi to find the man stabbed with a knife. Ben bolts, and he immediately becomes a prime suspect in the killing. Though Fate brings him together with a friend for a time, Ben must spend a good deal of time himself attempting to deal with circumstances — some sort of sinister plot — and villains who do not shrink at murder. Recommended.

>194 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! He was very much asleep, so it was easier than I expected to get the photo. :-)

Movie 52. Old Mother Riley in Paris (1938)

By Source, Fair use, Link

English comedian Arthur Lucan made a career out of playing the Irish charwoman Old Mother Riley, first on stage and then later on radio and in movies as well, supported by his wife, Kitty McShane, as Mother Riley's daughter. So popular did the character prove that Lucan's understudy Roy Rolland took over the role after Lucan's death in 1954 and continued to portray the character into the 1980s.

Source: IMDB

In this movie, poor Old Mother Riley loses her job as a charwoman, and her daughter's new fiancé is transferred to Paris, but a windfall makes it possible for mother and daughter to visit the French metropolis. Along the way, Old Mother Riley tangles with a boarder, repo men, the police, customs agents, spies, and more.

Old Mother Riley in Paris is the second in an impressive run of 15 films, cut short by Lucan's death while a 16th was in the planning stages. It is occasionally funny, but often tedious. Not recommended.

>193 harrygbutler: Cats and boxes -- a purrfect pairing until one of them starts eating the box.

>186 harrygbutler: >189 karenmarie: I just use a list for my owned DVD's, and you could also use a list for the recorded movies. It is extremely easy to add the movie to a list, and the lists are easy to find (under your profile the same as films), easy to sort and easy to use. My list of films includes all the movies I have watched, and I have a list for the movies that I own. I also use the "theater" tag for movies we see in the theater, "DVD" tag for DVD, "home" tag for movies watched on the TV. The tags are similarly easy to use and sort. I especially like the diary feature, which keeps track of the date that I watched the movie and is easily sortable and has much better functionality than LT, IMO. But again, that's just my opinion.

>198 thornton37814: True! :-)

>199 rretzler: Thanks, Robin. That's helpful! I became concerned when I poked around on their site and seemed to say that you couldn't have things that weren't considered movies at the root database. I want to be able to see that I own the Wheeler & Woolsey RKO Comedy Classics Collection but not the Wheeler & Woolsey RKO Comedy Classics Collection Volume 2, and the descriptions on the site made it sound like that would be difficult to do. The diary feature does sound much better than the LT equivalent.

Movie 53. The Man from Planet X (1951)

Source: IMDB

A hitherto-unknown planet is speeding toward Earth, though it is not expected to hit it, and Professor Elliot (Raymond Bond) has gone to an isolated island in Scotland to observe Planet X. Reporter John Lawrence (Robert Clarke) heads to the island at the professor's invitation, and he finds there also the professor's daughter, Enid (Margaret Field), and his former assistant, the disgraced Dr. Mears (William Schallert, with mustache). Flashing lights lead to the discovery of a strange spaceship, and of the title character. Unfortunately, the criminally-minded Dr. Mears is left to establish communication with the alien, and matters go downhill. An early entry in the 1950s sci-fi field; it's worth a look.

Good morning, Harry. It's Thursday already. Amazing. I hope today's a good one for you.

Otto is doing one of my favorite kitty things, all curled up in a small space. Thank you for sharing.

>203 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! It's cooler today, with rain, so I may not get out and about, but it should be a good day.

You're welcome! Otto is our cat most likely to do that. Pixie will get into little boxes, but she usually just sits for a minute and hops out, while Otto will try to make himself fit.

>193 harrygbutler: It's a kitty doughnut!

>205 rosalita: Or perhaps a cinnamon stickybun!

>202 harrygbutler: Awesome poster! They had a great artist.

>208 mstrust: Yes, I thought that was a good one. I like the weird lighting of the alien.

>207 harrygbutler: LOL!

>190 harrygbutler: none of my dogs have appreciated the hard work of UPS/FedEx/USPS carriers, but have appreciated the opportunity to bark loud and long without being scolded. My Pooh Bear (Sheltie/Lab cross) would hear the mail "Jeep" arrive in the parking lot, and immediately lie down at the front door of our apartment. As the carrier put mail in the other apartments' boxes, she'd deeply inhale ("snuff") at the crack below the door, until the carrier reached our steps...and put the mail in our box...

...and then she would EXPLODE in loud barks just as soon as the lid to our mailbox was closed with a "clink". HAHAHAHA.

>210 FAMeulstee: Hi, Anita! Thanks for stopping by!

>211 fuzzi: That's funny! Hildy doesn't let the mail carrier get that close before starting, unless she's asleep at the time. Then the sound of the mailbox sets her right off.

My family has always had boxers, and when I was a teenager, we had Emily. She went berserk when the mail came through our mail slot in the front door, and whoever was closest would have to race her to get it off the floor because she'd jump on it and tear it up. At some point, she and the mailman turned it into a game, where he'd stick the mail halfway in, she'd latch on, and they played tug with our mail. They both were enjoying it, but we had a few years of our mail torn and covered in teeth marks, ha!

>193 harrygbutler: LIKE! Go Otto!

Sweet Thursday, Harry. It has been a bit hectic around here but I am trying to make the thread rounds.

I am starting to see more bird activity. Birds are showing up at the feeders that have been absent. Good sign.

**I tried posting this message early this morning and it would never allow me. Better late than never, right?

>214 mstrust: Neat story, Jennifer! Luckily Hildy doesn't show any interest in the mail itself, however much she might be interested in fending off the mail carriers.

>215 msf59: Hi, Mark! I had some troubles in the morning with LT, too; there seem to be issues every few weeks. I don't know whether that's an actual increase in frequency or just an increase in my visits making the problem more noticeable.

Movie 54. Charlie Chan's Secret (1936)

By Source, Fair use, Link

The great detective is on his own in Charlie Chan's Secret, as he seeks to uncover the murderer of a long-lost heir who was returning to claim an estate. The body is revealed at a seance, and much of the investigation is focused on untangling the part played by the spiritualist and medium. Not a particularly strong entry in the series, but enjoyable nonetheless. Recommended.

Good morning, Harry! How's the bird activity at your place? Things are a bit quiet around here.

I wish I was better at identifying birds by their calls - I can hear 'someone' out there through the open window that I don't recognize but have no clue as to who it might be. I can identify the usual suspects but that's it.

>219 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Yesterday was pretty quiet, but today things seemed to have picked up a bit. I saw some juncos out and about earlier, and I just flushed Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal when I looked out the kitchen window at the porch feeder.

I'm terrible at identifying bird calls. Erika has some CDs to help with practicing identification, but I've never really set out to learn them.

22. History of the Bishops of Salona and Split, by Archdeacon Thomas of Split



Sometime in the mid-13th century, the churchman Thomas of Split, archdeacon of the church there, composed a history of the bishops and archbishops of both Split and its predecessor community, Salona, which was abandoned and destroyed in late Antiquity. The history is not narrowly focused on church matters, however, and has much of value for those interested in early Croatia, medieval Hungary, and the Mongol invasion of Europe. An interesting discovery for me was that parts of Dalmatia were Byzantine territory for a time even in the late 12th century — a century or so later than I would have expected. The Central European Medieval Texts volume is well-made, with both the Latin text and a facing-page English translation. Recommended.

A really good sale at Amazon (more than 1/3 off) led me to go ahead and pick up the second hardcover in the Night Shade Books collection of the Jules de Grandin stories, The Devil's Rosary. The sale is still in effect.



This month, I've been reading the short stories in the first volume, The Horror on the Links, and enjoying them. I should wrap up the volume by the end of the month.

Happy Friday, Harry! And Happy Day for the Warbler- Stop over!

>223 msf59: Heading right over, Mark!

Good morning, Harry! Happy Saturday to you.

A friend of mine loaned me some CDs last year of bird calls, but it was very hard to listen to remember. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website has bird calls, but only if you are on a specific bird's page. Oh well, it's nice to see a new bird but I enjoy seeing the usual suspects too.

>225 karenmarie: there's a bird watcher's app that has calls on it, don't remember the name but you might find it using a search.

Here's the perfect place to mention that I was in my backyard an hour ago, heard some insistent chattering, and looked over to see six bright green little parrots lined up on my fence. Somebody led a prison escape! Good for them. I don't know birds very well, but I think they were Filipino parrots.

>225 karenmarie: I think I'd need to get some reinforcement out in the field before I'd remember particular calls, beyond the most common.

>226 fuzzi: I've heard people use such an app on walks but have never bothered to track the app down for myself. I see how it could be useful.

>227 mstrust: That's very cool, Jennifer. Is there any chance they were rosy-faced (aka peach-faced) lovebirds? There are feral flocks that breed around Phoenix. Here's a photo of some in Scottsdale in 2009.

By D. Patrick Lewis - originally posted to Flickr as Love birds found the seed block., CC BY 2.0, Link

Out this way there are feral populations of monk parakeets, but I've not seen any.

This year's Wilimington-area AAUW book sale was a bit of a disappointment. It felt as though there were fewer books overall, and I only found three books. The "vintage mystery" section was dominated by more recent mysteries and a large set of Erle Stanley Gardner volumes that might have been more appealing with a good price for the whole set. The other areas of the sale seemed sparser, too. A visit to an antique shop afterward netted me a few more books.

Science fiction:


Devil's Planet, by Manly Wade Wellman (Ramble House edition of a story first published in a pulp in 1942)

Mystery:


The Female of the Species, by H. C. McNeile (5th in the Bulldog Drummond series)


The Follower, by Patrick Quentin (apparently not a Peter Duluth mystery)


Lie Down, Killer, by Richard S. Prather (one of Prather's few that did not star Shell Scott)


The Mystery, by Stewart Edward White and Samuel Hopkins Adams (perhaps an adventure story)

Other:


Again Sanders, by Edgar Wallace (12thh in Wallace's Sanders & Bones series)

>230 harrygbutler: Near my parents house in The Hague lives a large flock of rose-ringed (also called ring-necked) parakeets. They are now common in most cities, descendants from escaped pets. I think this picture was taken in Amsterdam:

While we're on the subject of birds and bird-watching...

...yesterday after I'd done some weeding and "puttering" around the yard (the weather has been gorgeous, sunny, high 70s) I decided to set myself down on a new stone bench by the pond. And as I sat there, I heard a fluttering of wings, and looked up at the bird feeders. There, not more than five feet from me, perched on the feeder pole was a Bluebird! I breathed a quiet "Oh..." and he flew away. No chance for a photo, but I recall the sky blue feathers and red breast. Since Bluebirds are not known for eating seed, he was probably investigating my suet feeder.

::happy::

(not my photo)

>232 FAMeulstee: That's a neat picture, Anita. I think the birds thrive in urban settings; one article I read told of how the monk parakeets were encouraged to stick around because their droppings weren't as damaging as pigeon droppings. The only native U.S. parakeet, the Carolina parakeet, went extinct early in the 20th century, so these feral populations may be filling a similar niche.

>233 fuzzi: Congrats on the bluebird sighting! We don't get them in our neighborhood, as there's not much good habitat for them (though I guess they might like the cemetery on the next block), but I do like seeing them when I get the chance.

>235 harrygbutler: we're technically not "good habitat", as we're surrounded by woods, but about 1/2 mile down the road are some open fields that have not yet been developed for more houses, and I often see Bluebirds perched on the electric/telephone wires.

>230 harrygbutler: That's entirely possible that it was a flock of lovebirds. I've lived here almost 20 years and I've never seen them before, so yesterday may have been my allotted sighting. I hurried in and grabbed a handful of walnuts, because I don't have any seed, but after I threw them down the birds were gone.
It's nice to know they fly free.

>236 fuzzi: It's good that you have some nearby; I haven't really seen many (to ID, at least) since we moved to this part of Pennsylvania, despite a fair amount of farmland not too far away.

>237 mstrust: Thoughtful of you to offer them a treat, even if they didn't stick around for it. I certainly didn't see any during my one visit to Phoenix for a business conference back in 2011, though I did get to see a roadrunner for the first time.

Movie 55. Outlaws of Sonora (1938)

Source: IMDB

In 1936, Republic Pictures launched its Three Mesquiteers movies, based on the characters created by William Colt Macdonald. The popular series lasted until 1943 and inspired imitation trios at competing studios, such as Monogram. Actors came and went, but the series remained focused on Stony Brooke, Tucson Smith, and Lullaby Joslin. This 1938 entry in the series features Robert Livingston as Stony, Bob Steele as Tucson, and Max Terhune (with ventriloquist dummy) as Lullaby, and is fairly enjoyable. It makes use of a standard B-western plot device (a resemblance between a hero and a villain) but flips the usual approach around, with the villain pretending to be the hero to frame him. As I don't actually find Robert Livingston all that likeable, it was a pleasure to have him spend much of the movie as his evil doppelgänger. Recommended.

Waaaaaaaay back up in >202 harrygbutler:, I loved the old 1950s silly rocketeering movies. The Man from Planet X was surprisingly watchable.

I'm sorry about the blah-ness of the book sale.

Happy new week ahead, Harry.

>241 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! Yes, I thought The Man from Planet X wasn't bad. There will doubtless be more 1950s sci-fi movies showing up.

Movie 56. The Black Cat (1941)

Source: IMDB

A young Broderick Crawford tackles the Bob Hope-type role in The Black Cat, a 1941 comedy mystery from Universal. The will of elderly Henrietta Winslow (Cecilia Loftus) leaves all her money to her cats and her housekeeper Abigail (Gail Sondergaard) as their caretaker, but the members of her family desperate for funds stand to inherit if something happens to (1) Henrietta and (2) Abigail. Among the greedy family members are Basil Rathbone (who "thinks he's Sherlock Holmes"), Anne Gwynne, John Eldredge, Claire Dodd, Gladys Cooper, and Alan Ladd, on the cusp of stardom but here last-billed. A black cat means death, according to Henrietta, and she'll have none about her place, which otherwise is effectively a cat sanctuary. Yet one is present when a murderer strikes: Could the killer be Abigail, eager to hasten her inheritance? One of the family? Or perhaps gardener Eduardo Vigos (Bela Lugosi), whose actions are suspicious? Gil Smith (Crawford) is present as a real-estate agent eager to arrange the sale of Henrietta's estate, accompanied by dotty antiques dealer Mr. Penny (Hugh Herbert). A romantic interest in Elaine Winslow (Gwynne) draws Smith into solving the mystery. Moderately amusing; mildly recommended.

23. The Far Side Gallery 2, by Gary Larson



The second big collection of Far Side cartoons is a fitting successor to the first: Plenty of offbeat humor on display, and a laugh or a chuckle on nearly every page. Recommended.

Morning, Harry. I hope you had a good weekend. We have some mild weather for the next couple of days. Bird activity should be picking up. Not much yesterday, with the buffeting winds.

Good morning, Harry, I hope you have a great day.

Sorry the book sale was a disappointment, glad you found more at the antique shop.

There are some type of green parrots in Long Beach CA - I saw them briefly and couldn't identify them specifically when visiting last year. We have blue bird houses here on our pasture fences but haven't seen any yet this late winter.

>246 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Thanks! I get so many good book sale finds that an occasional disappointment is to be expected, and if I had been looking for Erle Stanley Gardner books it would have been a great sale — so much can hinge on just a single author!

>232 FAMeulstee: I love that photo, Anita.

>233 fuzzi: My favorite bird! We have loads of them here in Georgia, and they love to hang out in the pecan grove behind our property. They are always so cheerful.

Hello, Harry! Sorry to hear that the book sale was a bust. Hoping the week is kind to you.

>248 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie! I made up for it in part by ordering more books. And I have such unexpected success at chance-visited sales that this probably just balances out one of those.

57. The Private Eyes (1980)

Source: IMDB

Two inept American detectives, Inspector Winship (Don Knotts) and Dr. Tart (Tim Conway), who are on loan to Scotland Yard, are sent — at the request of some unknown party — to investigate the deaths of Lord and Lady Morley, which the anonymous letter-writer claims was murder. Upon arrival at Morley Manor, the sleuths find an assortment of odd characters on staff, including a creepy housekeeper and a butler who goes mad when he hears the word murder, as well as the Morleys' heir, Phyllis, whom they seek to protect. Soon, Winship and Tart begin finding members of the staff dead, but the bodies keep disappearing before they can show them to Phyllis; meanwhile, a mysterious hooded figure creeps through the secret passages of the estate. Will our duo uncover the truth about the deaths?

Though not wholly successful, this spoof of country house murders is a good vehicle for the comedy team, delivering a fair number of laughs. Recommended.

A new thread is up: http://www.librarything.com/topic/287713

Hi Harry and happy Tuesday to you!

>247 harrygbutler: I know the feeling about one author making a sale. In 2015 I found original hardcover copies of Sue Grafton's Alphabet Series A-K at the Friends book sale. They were in the Collectibles and Rare room on the first day so I sighed but didn't buy them because I had paperbacks of most of them and didn't want to spend the money (I think they were $5/each), but they always move the C&R books to the regular sections on the second day and there they were! Only $1.50/each on half-price day. Needless to say, I grabbed them. They were the hit of the sale for me.