harrygbutler keeps reading in 2018 — 2

Welcome to thread 2! 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 likely be features of my threads in 2018 as well: a weekly pulp magazine read and some sort of account — if only a bare record — 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

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

Next one's yours!

Happy new thread, Harry!

I like the dog on the Argosy cover.

Happy new thread! You are making excellent progress on the movie front!

Happy new one Harry. Great to see you so active in 2018!

Happy new thread, Harry!

Happy new thread!

>6 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! Someday I'll have to check out that issue, if I can find it online, to see whether it includes a dog story.

>7 thornton37814: Thank you, Lori. I'm hoping that varying the genres will make it easy to keep going.

>8 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. I'm pleased that people are finding things of interest.

>9 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie!

>10 drneutron: Thank you, Jim!

Pulp 2. Railroad Stories, July 1933



As its name implies, the pulp Railroad Stories focused on stories related to that important transportation mode, at a time when railroads were a much more visibly integral part of U.S. life. The magazine offered a mix of fiction and nonfiction, including by this point content serving the infant hobby of model railroading. Stories in the July 1933 issue include the cover tale, “The Devil’s Sinkhole,” about an engineer who throws up his position after a fatal accident involving his son on the latter’s first run as a fireman, marred a bit by a contrived ending; “Man Builder,” in which a former engineer who has done time learns forgiveness; “High Water,” a short story about a willingness to sacrifice oneself to save others; the novelette “Brake Clubs and Bayonets,” recounting the adventures of railroaders on the front lines during the closing stages of World War I, part of a series by regular contributor E. S. Dellinger dealing with the same characters; and “Educating Pop Miller,” a humorous tale about the battles between a short line’s general manager and the students at a local college. The nonfiction features include coverage of the last run of the Woodstock Railway, a short line in Vermont that shut down In April 1933.

>12 harrygbutler: that cover reminded me of the classic cover for The Little Engine That Could, which predated your magazine by three years...coincidence?

>13 fuzzi: Quite possibly no coincidence, though in this case the locomotive depicted couldn't: I think it is being swallowed up by the sinkhole. :-)

Movie 18. Hidden Valley (1932)

Source: IMDB

Personable cowboy star Bob Steele stars in Hidden Valley, a lost race tale in which Bob Harding (Steele) is framed for the murder of an archaeologist who possesses a map to the valley of the title, where are said to be found gold, silver, turquoise, and opals. Harding escapes and sets out to find the real murderer. The real star of the movie, however, is the Goodyear blimp Volunteer, which is brought in to help in the manhunt for Harding but goes on to play a bigger role. A bit of trivia: The director of the movie, Robert N. Bradbury, was Bob Steele’s father.

The Volunteer in a ca. 1930 snapshot.

Not really recommended, but it is fun to see the blimp in action.

Hidden Valley is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNbJqM3DSMo

Good Morning, Harry! Happy New Thread. No owls yesterday but I guess it is all about timing. We only have a 30-40 minute window, before it is too dark. We had a dozen hardy souls along, so there were plenty of eyes watching. Did hear a pair of GHOs calling back and forth, which was very cool.

Good morning, Harry, and happy new thread.

>16 msf59: Hi, Mark! Oh, that is a pretty narrow window! Glad you at least got to hear the GHOs.

Happy new thread, Harry!

On the last thread several of us expressed an interest in the short stories of Seabury Quinn, featuring occult detective Jules de Grandin. At least a couple of us got or expressed interest in getting volume 1 of the collected edition of these stories from Nightshade Books. Those who did might be interested to know that the ebook for volume 2 is currently on sale for $1.99:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

>19 swynn: Hi, Steve! Thank you.

Thanks for the tip on the ebook — that's a great price!

>19 swynn: Oh! Thanks for that!

Hello, Harry! Happy Friday!

Happy new thread! I'm having fun with your reviews of old movies I've never heard of- keep it up!

>12 harrygbutler: So fun! I found a book on British railroads in a gift collection this morning. I'm not certain we'll keep it. The book is more of a mass market paperback. It's in pretty good condition for its age, but I suspect we'd get low use from it.

>21 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie! Happy Friday to you as well!

>22 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! I'm glad you're enjoying them. I'll be posting another shortly. :-)

>23 thornton37814: Hi, Lori! I can understand that predicament; I have a number of railroad books, and I really don't look at them all that often — though I like having them available for those times when I do. I have a big collection of model railroad magazines (approximately 50-year runs for a couple titles, plus years' worth of several others), and I generally have one or two that I'm browsing at any time, but I don't kid myself that they'd have much appeal if I donated them to the local library.

Movie 19. Conspiracy (1930)


Source: IMDB

Ned Sparks, known for his gloomy expression and deadpan delivery in films of the 1930s, but playing a rather different character here, is probably the chief attraction of Conspiracy. The movie, a remake of a silent film based on a play, opens with a good scene in which visitors to New York discuss how nothing happens compared with the excitement back home, and then the camera moves behind the door to a shot of a horrified woman looking down at a murdered man. The rest of the film is given over to the efforts of the woman, Margaret Holt (silent star Bessie Love, nearly at the end of her Hollywood career), to elude the police and save her brother from gangsters, with the aid of a newspaper reporter (Hugh Trevor).


Cover of the Warner Archive DVD. Source: IMDB

Sparks dominates the film, however, as eccentric mystery writer Winthrop Clavering (in the center on the DVD cover), who is endeavoring to solve the crime himself. Not really recommended, as this early talkie is pretty creaky, and Love just isn’t very good.

Good morning, Harry, and happy Saturday to you. I hope you have a wonderful day; with book shopping in the schedule it should be!

I read about Bessie Love just now, and was struck by two things. The first is that she was married to William Hawks the film producer, and the second is that so many of the early silent films she was in are lost.

I've heard of Bessie Love, having at one time been a big silent film fan, but never seen any of her work. I guess >28 karenmarie: has the explanation for that. But the name "Rita La Roy" is enchanting. : D

>28 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Unstable — and dangerous — silver nitrate film stock had a lot to do with the loss of many silent pictures, but happily parts or all of many movies formerly thought completely lost have been recovered, often with the intertitles in another language.

Book shopping did indeed happen; I'll have a report later. :-)

>29 mstrust: Hi, Jennifer! I like silents as well. In fact, I almost chose the silent The Cat and the Canary instead of Conspiracy; there's a good chance it will show up in my viewing at some point. And I do have to get to Wild Horse Mesa, a Jack Holt film from 1925 that I got from Grapevine Video some time ago, though I may try reading Zane Grey's book first.

Decades ago, when I shopped at a now-gone antiquarian book store in Rochester, N.Y., called Gutenberg Books, I came across a fine set of 16 volumes comprising Sir Richard F. Burton's translation of the Arabian Nights tales. I would have liked to purchase that set, but alas! I was a poor graduate student at the time and the price was beyond what I could justify. In the many years since, I've never seen that set again — until last weekend, when I noticed it while buying something else at the Book Garden, in Cream Ridge, N.J. Today I went back for it, and I'm quite pleased.



The set includes both the 10-volume Nights and the 6 supplemental volumes; the main volumes are trimmed with gold, the supplements with silver.

The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night: A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments

Cover

Back Cover

Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights with Notes Anthropological and Explanatory

Cover

Back Cover

>32 harrygbutler: Great find, Harry, glad you could afford them now :-)

>33 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! I'm not sure just when I'll start reading them, as I've got some long works going now and already planned.

Congratulations on your find, Harry! How satisfying.

What a great find!

20. Chandu the Magician (1932)

Link

Frank Chandler (Edmund Lowe), now known as Chandu, has just joined the ranks of yogis, with great mystical powers, when he learns that the villainous Roxor (Bela Lugosi) has kidnapped his brother-in-law, Robert Regent, who has developed a disintegrating ray. Chandu swiftly journeys to Egypt, where Roxor is based, and where Chandler’s sister, Dorothy, and niece Betty Lou and nephew Bobby, are hoping for word of Robert. Chandu, aided by Princess Nadji (Irene Ware), whom he loves, repeatedly battles Roxor’s henchmen, and eventually Roxor himself, with one side and then the other gaining an upper hand.

Edmund Lowe and Irene Ware. Source: IMDB

Based on a radio series that ran beginning in 1932 (and that was revived in the late 1940s), and intended to capitalize on the existing audience, Chandu the Magician is pretty fun, despite some rather overly dramatic scenes and so-so comic relief. The magical effects are well done. Recommended for those with a taste for fantasy in films who can get past the flaws.

Note: Just two years later, Lugosi got a chance to essay the hero’s role, in The Return of Chandu, a movie serial likewise based on the radio program. I’d say Roxor was a better fit for Lugosi’s acting style. Because it is in the public domain, the serial The Return of Chandu can be found online at the Internet Archive, starting here: https://archive.org/details/the_return_of_chandu_chapter_1

>35 karenmarie: >36 drneutron: Thanks! Yes, I'm fortunate to have come across the set, particularly as I wasn't actively looking for it.

>32 harrygbutler: I LOVE when things like that happen! Very full of fabulous, Harry!

I just read a book about Disney animation during the 30's and 40's. During production of Fantasia, Lugosi was filmed performing as the demon orchestra conductor for the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment, then animated. The book included the only known photo of Lugosi during this performance.

>32 harrygbutler: What a treasure! So glad you got a second chance at the set.

Karen O.

p.s. they are gorgeous!

>39 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! There's something to be said for serendipity. :-)

>40 mstrust: Oooh, thanks for that bit of trivia, Jennifer! I had never heard that Lugosi was involved with Fantasia; I'll have to try to remember when next I view the film.

>41 klobrien2: Hi, Karen! Thank you! It really is a sharp-looking set. It isn't particularly illustrated, though possibly other printings had more in the way of illustrations, but it is well-made, and I think it will be a pleasure to read.

Morning, Harry. I hope you had a nice weekend. Nothing to report on the bird front. Stormy here but mild.

>45 msf59: Hi, Mark! I had a good weekend, thanks. It is fairly mild here as well; I think we're slated for rain tomorrow.

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

It's mild here, too. We might get a thunderstorm tomorrow, so there's the potential for more cold and possibly more snow.

>47 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! The temperature is supposed to dip into the 30s later in the week, but the highs will stay above freezing — and the cold overnights apparently will be clear.

Morning, Harry! I like reading about everyone's weather - we've got rain, and it's supposed to go to 73F today. Yesterday we had the French doors between the screened-in porch and the living area open all day.

>49 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie! Nice! If it gets up around 60 tomorrow, I'll probably open at least a window onto the front porch (and more if the rain holds off).

harrygbutler, I want to tell you about an ebook on sale today for $1.99 USD, Love Saves the Day!

Amazon link is here:
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Saves-Day-Gwen-Cooper-ebook/dp/B008ZPG7AO?_bbid=8725...

Apple link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/love-saves-the-day/id554494836?_bbid=8725042&am...

Kobo link:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/love-saves-the-day?utm_source=linkshare_us&...

It was an ER book I won in 2012, and I gave it an enthusiastic 5 stars.

>51 fuzzi: Thanks for letting me know about it! I'll definitely take a look.

6. Vintage Murder, by Ngaio Marsh



Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn is on holiday in New Zealand when murder among a chance-met touring theater company draws him reluctantly, though not completely unwillingly, into aiding the locals in investigating the crime. The company’s manager is slain by a plummeting champagne bottle during a backstage birthday celebration for his wife, leading lady Susan Max, in what was meant to look like an accident. Could it have been his wife and/or the actor who loves her, and whom she seems to love? The manager’s partner? An actor who claims the manager lent him money to settle a gambling debt? Another actor, who may have stolen money?I wasn’t good enough at visualizing the crime, even with the help of the map at the front of my copy, to really follow the murderer’s actions, but I was kept interested and uncertain, and I liked the story, as well as the loving descriptions of New Zealand. Recommended.

First sentence: “The clop and roar of the train was an uneasy element somewhere at the back of the tall man’s dreams.”

Movie 22. The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)

Link

At a library sale on Saturday, I came across several DVDs produced by Sinister Cinema, a company known for making available many old American B movies as well as European films (e.g., German Edgar Wallace crime films and Italian giallo pictures) and, as it was a bag sale, I just scooped them up. One of those was The Monster of Piedras Blancas, a fairly terrible creature feature from 1959.

A lighthouse keeper along the California coast has been feeding an unknown, unseen creature, but circumstances interrupt the food supply, and the monster goes on a killing spree. One or two familiar faces, most notably Les Tremayne as Dr. Jorgenson, but the rest weren’t particularly recognizable, nor good. The creature itself was OK; it appears to be an even more vicious relative of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, with a grim propensity to behead its victims. Not recommended, but it is available on YouTube for those who feel the need to seek it out.

Another great movie poster, and it's the "Shock Award Winner". It has the fake wooden plaque and everything. I'm just surprised that Famous Monsters of Filmland didn't have higher standards.

>55 mstrust: The Wikipedia article says that the movie broke new ground in terms of some of its gory effects, but I still would have thought they could have found a better 1959 release.

>56 harrygbutler: I'm fond of Hammer's version of "The Mummy," which was released in 1959. So also was "The Return of the Fly," which has its fans though I'm not one of them. Either would probably have been a better choice from most perspectives. My impression of the "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine is that it was keenly interested in costumes and special effects. If "The Monster of Piedras Blancas" had some innovative gore effects, then weak plot and poor acting may not have been much disadvantage.

Then again they could have found worse: Plan 9 From Outer Space was released in 1959.

I haven't seen the "Monster of Piedras Blancas," but I confess I'm curious about the "RAW PASSIONS IN THE HELL SWAMPS!" Dang me, I'm tracking this down.

>57 swynn: I like the Karloff version of The Mummy so much that I've never really warmed to the Hammer version. And I'm sufficiently a fan of Price that I like The Return of the Fly. And I do agree either is a much better movie — and of course that Plan 9 from Outer Space is appreciably worse. I do think the award was likely tied to costume and effects.

I think the passions are to be found in the companion feature, Okefenokee. :-)

>58 harrygbutler: I like the Karloff one too, but it's the Hammer version I saw at an impressionable age, so Christopher Lee is my default mummy-monster.

As for Okefenokee -- yes, I think you're right. Still: Hell Swamps.

>59 swynn: I can understand that. Lee's my default Dracula, that's for sure, for the same reason.

Hell Swamps indeed — something to shelve with Swamp Women and Attack of the Giant Leeches. :-)

'Morning, Harry, and happy Tuesday to you.

>53 harrygbutler: I love the Roderick Alleyn series by Ngaio Marsh. I've read a bunch of them but got rid of most of them when I moved to NC in 1991. Darn. Looks like I need to start acquiring them again.

Hi, Karen! You're welcome! :-)

I've gradually gathered the whole Alleyn series, and I'm slowly (slowly!) working my way through them from the beginning.

Movie 23. Tarzan Triumphs (1943)

By Source, Fair use, Link

After a decade at MGM, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ most famous creation moved to RKO; also making the trip were vine-swinger Johnny Weissmuller, Johnny Sheffield as Boy, and the irrepressible Cheeta. Maureen O’Sullivan, under contract to MGM, was unavailable for the series, and Jane’s absence is explained in this first RKO film by a letter indicating she is back in England. (Note: Eventually Jane would return, but played by Brenda Joyce.)
In Tarzan Triumphs, an advance team of German troops parachute into the jungle to take over a lost city, Palandrya, and pave the way for a larger force to exploit the resources (including oil) that are available there. Isolationist Tarzan initially wants little to do with combating the invaders, but an attack on Boy stirs him to action. Recommended.

>32 harrygbutler: Oh how beautiful! I'm jealous!

>64 The_Hibernator: Hi, Rachel! Thanks for stopping by! The set is definitely eye-catching.

Pulp 3. Argosy All-Story Weekly, September 7, 1929



A well-done cover introduces a new two-part story in this issue of Argosy All-Story Weekly, but I don’t know how the story itself measures up, since I don’t have the issue with the second part. It is one of four serials in this issue, but there are four complete stories as well. “Blood of the Rose,” is by an author whose work I generally like, Theodore Roscoe, but this novelette is a rather dated tale of a man ruined by a dancer with a traveling show, saved by an unexpected ending. The central twist of the piracy story “The Hoard of Bloodyfist,” by Eugene Cunningham, is unlikely to be a surprise to most readers, but the setting — the aftermath of the War of 1812 — and the occupation of the protagonist — special agent for President James Monroe — strike me as unusual (and likely more so today). L. Patrick Greene’s “Southdown Mutton” is a tale of a type I quite like, in which a clever but underestimated character — frequently a loner or rustic — successfully thwarts a criminal, though there is a tinge of sadness in this story as well. The final short story, “Hi-Jack and Game,” by M. E. Chase, was the weakest; it’s the story of a bridegroom-to-be who loses the money for the honeymoon gambling but then tracks the cheating winner of the game and uncovers a bigger conspiracy. Rounding out the issue are a couple short factual notes, on redwood trees and on Archbishop Noel of Santo Domingo, who served as president of the Dominican Republic for a time, and the letter column, Argonotes, with its entertaining mix of criticism and praise from readers.

I almost hate to admit it since it sparked a conversation, but my comments in >55 mstrust: were definitely made jokingly. I've read a few issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland from the 60's and it's packed with lots of awesome things to mail order, like rubber monster masks and "The Munsters" model car kit that I would love to have.

>66 harrygbutler:

Reminding me that Mason's Hugh North series is YET ANOTHER I need to get back to... :)

>67 mstrust: I don't know that I've ever looked at an issue, though I do think of it as rather schlocky. I'm not surprised that they liked The Monster of Piedras Blancas, but a little surprised that it was their top pick.

The Munsters coach has been reissued, together with Grandpa's dragster:



I found it listed at a couple online hobby shops, Hobbylinc and MegaHobby, but I've never dealt with either and thus can't comment on the quality of the stores.

>68 lyzard: Of course. :-)

I should, too, though I suppose it is scarcely "getting back" when I've only ever read the first. I own a few others, from far later in the series; I'm not sure whether I'm ready to take on trying for the others via ILL.

>2 harrygbutler: a Gary Larson fan?
Excellent! He is my favourite cartoonist, and can without fail raise a laugh from me :)

>53 harrygbutler: you put me to shame, I have not yet read her work, and she is local to where I live too!!!

>71 LovingLit: Hi, Megan! Yep, I'm a big fan of Gary Larson. I just grabbed extra copies of the first two Far Side Galleries at a library bag sale on Saturday, and I've been making my way through The Far Side Gallery over the last couple days. It's hard to resist just tearing through the whole book at just one sitting.

Vintage Murder was the first of the Roderick Alleyn books with a New Zealand setting, but I think there are a few more later in the series.

Oops. Missed one.

Movie 21. Three Smart Girls (1936)

Source: IMDB

In Deanna Durbin’s feature film debut, the Universal singing star plays the youngest of three sisters (the other two played by Nan Grey and Barbara Read), the children of divorced parents, who, upon learning that their father is planning to remarry, travel to New York to try to put the kibosh on the match. Charles Winninger has a good turn as their father, and Binnie Barnes and Alice Brady are amusing as the gold-digging fiancée and her mother. John King and Ray Milland become involved in the plot to draw Barnes’ attention away. The two older sisters find romance themselves, and Deanna gets the opportunity to sing a couple times. Recommended.

>73 harrygbutler: the name Deanna Durbin is familiar, might have to look her up.

>74 fuzzi: I knew her name long before I saw any of her movies. She retired young and lived privately thereafter.

Movie 24. Fog Island (1945)

By Producers Releasing Corporation - The cover art can be obtained from https://movieposters.ha.com/itm/mystery/fog-island-prc-1945-one-sheet-27-x-41-my..., Public Domain, Link

After serving five years for a crime he did not commit, Leo (George Zucco) invites the business associates who framed him to his home on Fog Island. Though they are wary, their greed for money that they believe Leo has drives them to accept his invitation. But Leo is plotting revenge, and has taken steps to let his visitors be the instruments of their own destruction. Others in the cast include Lionel Atwill, Jerome Cowan, and Veda Ann Borg. Stagy (it is based on a play), but fun. Mildly recommended.

Good morning, Harry, and happy Wednesday to you.

I have The Far Side Gallery 5 on my shelves, just pulled it out, and am already reading it. It's got a forward by Jane Goodall and has cartoons from Cows Of Our Planet, The Chickens are Restless, and The Curse of Madame "C". There's one cartoon titled Carl "Javahead" Jones and his chopped espresso maker. that really cracks me up. Thanks for the nudge.

>77 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen! There are two or three coffee-themed cartoons in The Far Side Gallery, too, and one about a murder mystery that I'll definitely be sharing sometime soon.

This may be cartoonist Syd Hoff's most-anthologized cartoon:



I scanned this from Feeling No Pain, a collection of Hoff's work I finished this week.

>79 harrygbutler: hahaha! Love the men's garters.

>80 fuzzi: Like sleeve garters, those aren't very common these days. :-)

>81 harrygbutler: Thanks be for elastic! We don't realize now what an improvement it is.

When we took down walls and ceiling to replace wiring and insulate, we found an old rodent nest lined with a cotton striped sock (green and yellow-green) from the 20s or 30s. It did not conform to the foot and sagged like crazy.

>82 2wonderY: Oh, definitely. I've certainly had socks where the elastic gave out before the sock was worn out, and that was a sad situation.

So you found where the odd socks go! :-)

>79 harrygbutler: LIKE!

Morning, Harry. Sweet Thursday. I am off today so I plan on getting a hike in, since it will be a bit milder. I also hope to see some action at the feeders.

Hope your work week has been going well.

>84 msf59: Good morning, Mark! Today is chilly but sunny here. The feeders have been active, so I'll need to get out and refill them. Enjoy your hike!

The average police inspector in a mystery featuring a private detective or amateur sleuth.

Good morning, Harry, and happy Thursday to you.

>86 harrygbutler: LOL That is so right on so many levels.

>87 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! There's another good mystery-related Far Side cartoon that I came across online a week or so ago, but I'm saving it for a Monday post because it will be more topical on that day of the week. I've just started another Charles Addams collection, and it is all I can do not to share practically every cartoon in the book.

>86 harrygbutler: lol!

>89 LovingLit: There's something worth sharing on nearly every page.

Movie 25. The Old Fashioned Way (1934)

By Source, Fair use, Link

W. C. Fields is the manager and star of a traveling theater troupe sometime in the very early 20th century. Financial woes beset his group, but help may be at hand in the form of a rich, stagestruck, but untalented woman. A subplot involves a college boy who wants to join the troupe and is in love with Fields' daughter. Highlights of the film include a broad staging of the melodrama The Drunkard and a showcasing of Fields' juggling. Recommended.

Good morning, Harry!

I love W.C. Fields. His movies are a riot. His juggling is nothing of short of spectacular. I've read W. C. Fields by Himself: His Intended Autobiography, by his grandson Ronald J. Fields. I love all the strange names he used.

>79 harrygbutler:, >86 harrygbutler: Ha!

Morning, Harry! Hoping that your Friday is full of fabulous!

>92 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Fields is terrific; there's a reason why for so many years he was a recognizable character in popular culture. We got two DVD sets that contain many of his starring movies, but I don't think we've seen them all, so more are likely to show up.

>93 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie! It has been an excellent day!

7. Cows of Our Planet, by Gary Larson



One of a number of volumes reprinting cartoons from Gary Larson’s superlative Far Side, this and all its siblings are highly recommended to anyone with a taste for the offbeat in humor. There have been many imitators since, but seek out Larson’s work instead.

>96 harrygbutler: HI-larious!

Good morning, Harry!

I just found a cartoon in The Far Side Gallery 5 showing a bunch of people in hell. The caption is Oh, man! The coffee's cold. They thought of everything!

>86 harrygbutler: LIKE!

Morning, Harry. Happy Saturday. Last work day and then vacation starts. It will be nice to getaway for a few days.

Have a good weekend.

I agree, the copy-cats are not as good as The Far Side. That had some gold in it.

>97 richardderus: "Hi," Richard! Thanks for dropping in!

>98 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! That certainly makes it seems scary!

>99 msf59: Hey, Mark! I hope your workday has gone well.

>100 The_Hibernator: Hi, Rachel! Yep. I've reached the point where I don't even bother looking at the imitators.

Movie 26. The Garden Murder Case (1935)

By Source, Fair use, Link

Edmund Lowe plays Philo Vance in the last of MGM’s pictures featuring the cerebral sleuth. A jockey apparently commits suicide during a race, but a second death, one that is clearly a murder, complicates the case. The second victim’s niece, who hated him, elicits Vance’s sympathy and aid, and a visit to a reptile house leads Vance to a solution. Lowe is fairly appealing in the role, and Virginia Bruce is likeable as the heroine. Mildly recommended.

Ahhh...Philo Vance. My kinda guy.

>105 harrygbutler: Love Charles Addams. It must have been hard to choose which cartoon to post. You might enjoy the black humor of a current cartoonist who does "Begging For Candy". His characters are two trick or treaters.

Good morning, Harry! Happy Sunday to you.

>107 richardderus: I enjoy the novels and the movies both.

>108 mstrust: Addams is the best. It is nearly impossible to find a bad cartoon by him — and sometimes, when I think one isn't very good, I discover later that I missed a subtle joke.

I just took a quick look at "Begging for Candy," and I'll definitely read some more. Thanks for the recommendation!

>109 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! It was a good Sunday. I attended a train show and didn't leave empty-handed, and Erika was able to get some things she wanted during a stop at the Container Store. Some soft pretzels were a nice plus.

27. Doctor X (1932)

Link

Gruesome murders à la Jack the Ripper lead the police to suspect someone connected with the private medical research institute of Dr. Xavier (Lionel Atwill). Brash reporter Lee Taylor (Lee Tracy) is investigating as well, hoping for a big story — and developing an interest in the doctor’s daughter Joan (Fay Wray). Given 48 hours by the police to conduct experiments that he promises will reveal whether any member of his faculty is the guilty party, Dr. Xavier brings the odd assortment of scientists to an estate out on Long Island, where murder stalks. The early two-strip Technicolor adds an eerie look to the proceedings, though some parts of the plot don’t seem to make much sense. Mildly recommended.

>105 harrygbutler: LIKE!

Happy Sunday, Harry! Hope you had a relaxing weekend. I won't be visiting many threads until I get back, but you know I'll catch up.

Send plenty of good bird vibes!

>114 msf59: I thought you might enjoy a bird-feeding cartoon, Mark! :-)

Have a great vacation, and good luck spotting plenty of unusual birds!

>105 harrygbutler: Vultures are actually very majestic birds, in my opinion. And the condor even more so. :)

Good morning, Harry, and happy Monday to you! Think I'll pass on Doctor X. I just did a bit of reading about Fay Wray, though, and didn't realize that she was Canadian and died in 2004, after refusing to appear in the remake of King Kong since the 1933 version was the only true "King".

>116 The_Hibernator: Vultures are certainly graceful in flight. I like seeing them swirling about in a "kettle." I've not had the good fortune to see a condor in person.

If we put up a platform like that, we'd doubtless get vultures (both turkey vultures and black vultures around here), but we'd likely get the local bald eagles, too, since I know they're happy to scavenge.

>117 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Doctor X had some OK moments, but overall it wasn't particularly good. I like Atwill in these sorts of roles and enjoyed the movie, but it wouldn't be for everyone.

Re King Kong, Wray was right.

>112 harrygbutler: my dh would be jealous. We try to visit "train" stores, displays, and museums whenever and wherever we travel. The first are getting harder to find.

>120 fuzzi: There are only a few train stores in the general area here now, too. I try to visit them regularly. Fortunately we do have a lot of train shows, so I generally get to several a year. We take in railroad displays and museums when we travel, too.

8. Feeling No Pain, by Syd Hoff



Syd Hoff’s cartoons aren’t among my favorites — the big-city life that is the focus of many of them just doesn’t resonate particularly well with me. They frequently have more universal appeal, however, and I get at least a chuckle from them. Recommended.

9. The Key, by Patricia Wentworth



A slow start nevertheless builds to a an engaging story and a fairly satisfying conclusion in the eighth Miss Silver. An inventor is found dead just hours after he announces the successful conclusion of his efforts to develop a stable new explosive. Though suicide is a possibility, murder seems more likely, and suspicion soon attaches itself to the colleague with whom the scientist shared living quarters. I thought the likely culprit fairly obvious, but I still enjoyed the mystery. Recommended.

And one more for the mystery fans.

>122 harrygbutler: As a lifelong big city boy, I found Hoff's cartoons less than relatable for their heteronormativity. I loved Danny and the Dinosaur, though.

>123 harrygbutler: Ah, the consumptive Miss Silver! *hackhackhack*

>124 harrygbutler: HA!!

Morning, Harry! >124 harrygbutler: made me laugh!

Oh, Danny and the Dinosaur. *sigh* Love that one.

>123 harrygbutler: The reveal in The Key was not quite a shocking twist, was it? I still enjoyed it but I do wish Miss Silver would appear earlier than she does. I guess I need to take Liz's advice and just get used to it.

As an aside, I love the Art Deco look of your cover! At least, the outer design — thge image in the center is fairly weird. :-)

>124 harrygbutler: *snerk*

>127 rosalita:

Ah, but I'm conditioned!

You know how I said I'm okay with Maudie showing up midway through, because I'm reading Carolyn Well's Fleming Stone novels?---case in point: I just finished Anything But The Truth, a 319-page book in which Stone is first mentioned on p293, shows up on p296, and solves the murder on p309! :D

To be fair, there's a reason in this one why it's that way; but it's still pretty typical!

>129 lyzard: Hang on, I'm just making a note to myself: Never read Carolyn Wells' Fleming Stone novels ... OK, I'm back!

:-)

>130 rosalita:

They're an acquired taste. :D

>124 harrygbutler: hahaha!

>125 richardderus: Hi, Richard! I didn't read Danny and the Dinosaur at a young age, so far as I can recall. A few of us are reading the Miss Silver books in order, so she'll be back.

>126 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie! Glad you liked it!

>127 rosalita: No, not a shocking twist at all. As I mentioned on Liz's thread, I think Wentworth just isn't very good at openings, though the books as a whole are written well enough that I end up finding the investigation of interest. Still, I suspect that if I weren't embarked on this project with the two of you, I'd have consigned my Miss Silver books to the donation pile by now.

I read The Key in an ILL copy with that cover, but I do have one or two other Miss Silver paperbacks with covers in the same style. I don't recall whether the main image is similarly odd.

>128 drneutron: Hi, Jim!

>129 lyzard: >130 rosalita: >131 lyzard: Yes, the Fleming Stone novels are not for those who want the master detective on stage early and at length. Add in the fact that the mysteries are often a bit sub-par — and that she's willing to use cheats such as secret doors and passages — and it's not particularly surprising that they've fallen into obscurity. Still, Wells is a good enough writer that I generally enjoy the read even if the book can't be considered a success.

>132 fuzzi: Hi, fuzzi!

BTW, I sent my copy of Night Without End out to my parents recently, and they've both now read it (for my mom apparently a reread) and thought it very good.

>133 harrygbutler: Do give Miss Silver a bottle or two of this:

>139 richardderus: Perhaps what she needs is some elderberry wine. I'll consult the Brewster sisters.

>140 harrygbutler: I was in that play back in high school! Fun memories!

Movie 28. Destination Tokyo (1943)

By Source, Fair use, Link

Destination Tokyo is a well-crafted war movie chronicling a patrol of the submarine USS Copperfin on a secret mission into the home waters of Japan to gather information for the upcoming Doolittle Raid. Tense scenes abound, with effective quiet and introspective moments in between.

Source: IMDB

The sub is commanded by Captain Cassidy, portrayed by Cary Grant, who proves once again his versatility in another fine performance, reinforcing my conviction that he may very well have been the best actor ever to grace the screen. John Garfield, as a brash torpedoman, heads up the ensemble cast that makes up the crew, but others get a fair amount of attention, especially young recruit Robert Hutton, but also cook Alan Hale and the pharmacist’s mate “Pills,” played by Robert Prince, who must rise to the occasion when appendicitis threatens the life of a crewmate in a sequence based on a real event.

Highly recommended!

>141 thornton37814: How fun! Time to dig another lock for the Panama Canal! :-)

Hi, Harry. I'm finally managing to get caught up - looks live I've missed quite a bit!

>32 harrygbutler: Gorgeous set of books up there! I'm so glad that you were able to find them again - I just love it when things work out that way!

Gary Larson is my all time favorite cartoonist as well. I really miss his work and you've got me thinking that I need to purchase a couple more of his collections - we have a number of them around the house somewhere. As I'm a CPA (and being in the 80s into punk, post punk, etc.), this was always one of my favorites:

>144 rretzler: Hi, Robin! Glad you're making the rounds.

Another good one there! Too bad that never caught on; it would have transformed the public image of accountancy. :-)

>142 harrygbutler: And Cary Grant is one of my favorite actors of that era as well - and perhaps of all time. I agree that he had such a range - so comedic and also good in the romantic roles, he was fabulous in the more serious roles as well. I'm also a big fan of Bogey and Jimmy Stewart, but Bogey didn't do comedy well, and Stewart wasn't especially good at romance, IMO.

Hi Harry and happy Tuesday to you.

I like Cary Grant a lot, usually in the screwball comedy genre.

>144 rretzler: LOL

>146 rretzler: Yes, it's the range that's impressive; he seems equally at home in many genres. I like plenty of others, but for sheer versatility Grant is tops.

>147 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! What do you think of him in the Hitchcock films or something like Charade?

>139 richardderus:, >140 harrygbutler:, >143 harrygbutler: *giggle*

Harry, I have seen Destination Tokyo multiple times. Completely agree with you about Cary Grant having mad acting skills. LOVE him. And also Humphrey Bogart.

>149 harrygbutler: LOVE him in Hitchcock films - Notorious is my favorite, but they are all excellent. And Charade!! I have big love for that one. *I know you were asking Karen, but I couldn't resist.

And I'm a John Garfield fan. He should have been a bigger star.

>150 Crazymamie: Hi, Mamie! I'm definitely a fan of Bogart s well.

The more the merrier! I think To Catch a Thief is probably my favorite of Grant's Hitchcock pictures, perhaps because that was the one I encountered first, but you are right — they are all excellent. Charade is good fun, too!

>151 mstrust: Garfield was very good. It's a pity he died so young.

John Garfield, Steve Cochran...the ground is littered with careers that weren't what they woulda/coulda/shoulda been!

>144 rretzler: HA!!

Adding to the luuuv for Grant's filmic career. My personal fave-rave from the Hitchcock years is North by Northwest, which is in every top-ten films list I've ever been threatened/cajoled into making. As is, Mamie will be unsurprised to hear, Charade.

>154 richardderus: North by Northwest is indeed an excellent movie. I tend to avoid making top-ten lists myself.

Movie 29. Guns in the Dark (1937)

Source: IMDB

When his best friend is slain in a shootout in a darkened cantina, apparently by his bullet, Johnny Darrel (Johnny Mack Brown) forswears the use of guns. His resolution is put to the test when he tangles with a gang of smugglers and rustlers trying to stop ranch owner Joan Williams (Claire Rochelle) from building a dam that would interfere with their operations. Johnny Mack Brown found a comfortable niche in B westerns after an early start in bigger features, and his likeable personality does much to carry the film. Mildly recommended.

A couple days ago, I made clementine bars for dessert -- like lemon bars, but using juice from a few clementines that we had around, since we didn't have any lemons on hand.

The substitution works. They taste good, but the clementine flavor is too faint. If I should make them again, I'll have to figure out a way to add some zest; the thin skins of the clementines didn't seem ideal for that purpose, but perhaps they can work with a bit of care.

10. The Far Side Gallery, by Gary Larson



I ran across a few Far Side volumes at a recent library bag sale, so though I already have them somewhere around the house, I went ahead and added them to my haul. I of course plunged into one nearly immediately and enjoyed another visit to the off-kilter world of Gary Larson’s creations. Many, many hits, few misses in this volume. Highly recommended.

>157 harrygbutler: Well those look good! I have those same clementines, and they'd be impossible to zest. The skins are sort of baggy to make them easy to peel. Also, if they were blasted with any wax or pesticide the zest would turn bitter while baking and ruin the bars. If you have organic oranges on hand, you could zest a bit of that, or a few drops of extract. I wouldn't bother with orange juice as that tends to be too mild in baking.

>157 harrygbutler: Another possibility is to use your zester on the white pith and then cover the mostly-un-pithed peels with plain white sugar inside a sealed container in the fridge for a few weeks. The kinda-candied peel can be chopped and put on top of cakes and quick breads. The sugar's also reusable.

>158 harrygbutler: Love Gary Larson!

>157 harrygbutler: I never thought of substituting clementines for lemons. I can see where you might need a little something more to match the flavor strength.

>159 mstrust: Hi, Jennifer! We love those clementines from Spain (preferred) or Morocco (second choice). The extract is a good tip; I'm pretty sure we have some on hand that I could use next time.

>160 richardderus: Thanks for the suggestion, Richard! If I up my making of cakes and similar items this year, which I've considered, that could be really useful.

>161 thornton37814: It was an experiment for me, Lori, but I thought the citric acid in the clementines would make it work. It did, but yes, not nearly so strong a fruit flavor.

Movie 30. Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938)

By Source, Fair use, Link

Mr. Moto, in disguise as a convicted killer, escapes from Devil’s Island with a fellow prisoner as part of his plan to get the goods on a well-organized group of murderers for hire. In London, he comes to learn that a Czechoslovakian inventor is the target of the gang’s current efforts at extortion and homicide. Another fun outing in the series. Recommended.

11. The Groaning Board, by Charles Addams


(My copy lacks this dust jacket.)

As I’ve probably mentioned, Charles Addams is my favorite cartoonist. His macabre humor and subtlety are consistently appealing, and I’ve got many books of his work and enjoy them often. The Groaning Board is a collection published in 1964, and it’s excellent. Highly recommended.

Hi Harry and happy Thursday to you!

>149 harrygbutler: I unintentionally wrote something misleading - I have only seen Cary Grant's screwball comedies. I guess I need to watch some of his serious dramatic roles.

>157 harrygbutler: My sister made a lemon meringue pie last weekend with Myers Lemons. They made the pie too sweet in her opinion. Nothing works quite as well as lemons!

>167 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Oh, yes, you're in for a treat if you do.

I agree; lemon meringue pie doesn't work well if it is too sweet. It's always a risk when I find it on a menu at a restaurant.

>168 harrygbutler: I made mistake of eating store-bought lemon meringue pie at a book club meeting last year, and it was soooo sweet that it was totally wasted calories. I have a recipe that is nice and tart.

>169 karenmarie: I doubt many bakers make meringue toppings any more. All we see around here is lemon crème pie, and yes, it's too sweet.

My mother made the best meringue.

>169 karenmarie: I think they opt for excessively sweet because they just aren't very good at baking. I did have some excellent lemon meringue pie several years ago at a buffet restaurant out in Pennsylvania's Amish country; I kept going back for more pieces of that pie until they finally ran out of the lemon meringue.

>170 2wonderY: Lemon meringue is still fairly common around here, Ruth, but the meringue often is not very good. It has been quite some time since I've made it at home myself.

12. The Old English History of the World: An Anglo-Saxon Retelling of Orosius, ed. and trans. by Malcolm E. Godden



The Goths’ sack of Rome in AD 410 spurred a variety of reactions. The most impressive response is doubtless Augustine’s The City of God, but the writer Orosius penned a seven-book history of the world — intended to counter pagan arguments that the coming of Christianity was what had weakened the empire — that proved quite popular over the ensuing centuries. Sometime around the early tenth century, an anonymous Anglo-Saxon writer (or writers) translated Orosius’ work into Old English, adapting and curtailing some areas of the text but also providing additional material — specifically a survey of Germanic lands and especially (and famously) a long account of the voyages of men named Ohthere and Wulfstan in Scandinavia and the Baltic.

This volume in the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library offers an edition and translation by Malcolm E. Godden of the Old English version of Orosius. I found the Old English text fairly straightforward and readable; though I didn’t try for extended passages, I think its prose might be accessible even to those with relatively limited knowledge of Old English. The translation was good, though the notes were fairly limited.

Recommended.

>138 harrygbutler: so glad that someone else enjoyed that story. I continue to add Alistair MacLean books to my library, and have enjoyed them all to a lesser or greater degree.

>143 harrygbutler: Destination Tokyo is one film I have not seen, but will have to put on my "watch" list. I don't view many movies or television programs, but have a high interest in sub movies.

>151 mstrust: I had a crush on John Garfield as a young teen after seeing him in Pride of the Marines and The Postman Rings Twice. ;)

>157 harrygbutler: try using orange extract in your clementine bars. After seeing a discussion of panettone recipes here on LT, I tried making some, just after Christmas. I discovered that my chosen recipe needed a little something more, so I added orange extract to the next batch. It added just enough something to make the bread much better.

>173 harrygbutler: In a long-ago assay at alternate history writing, I made Orosius disappear and the western empire revive around a cult of Antinous syncretized on Osiris's cult.

A propos lemon meringue, I like a sort of meyer-lemon pie without the frothy glop. Meringue feels weird to me. I can't get past the resemblance to calf slobber.

>173 harrygbutler: Nice review. I find Old English incomprehensible but this looks very interesting.

>174 fuzzi: Are you up for another MacLean in February? I know you're targeting ROOTs, so go ahead and suggest a title; I have no particular preference.

I've not watched many TV series as an adult, and the number has steadily dwindled. With our jettisoning of cable TV, the number has pretty much dropped to zero. Movies are different. I've always watched lots of movies, though last year the total was very low, and my challenge this year is partly to get me back into the groove of fitting them in.

Thanks for the extra vote for orange extract. It has the advantage for a pick-up recipe intended to use up what's around the house that we usually have that on hand.

>175 richardderus: I don't read much alternate history, but I do have If; or, History Rewritten kicking around somewhere.

I quite like meringue myself, but it seems fairly easy to have it turn out poorly.

>176 Oberon: Thanks, Erik! A distinct advantage of the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library volumes — and they have Old English, Latin, and Byzantine Greek works in the series — is the facing-page translation. It helps make the material accessible to an interested non-specialist, while letting someone with some knowledge of the original language consult that original with assistance.

Movie 31. Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939)

By Employee(s) of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. - http://laurasmiscmusings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/tonights-movie-nick-carter-maste..., Public Domain, Link

One of the truly successful fictional characters, Nick Carter had his origins in late-nineteenth century dime novels, and the last of the 250+ books in the Killmaster series starring the character (which saw him turned into a kind of James Bond) was published in 1990. A radio show ran from 1946 to 1955. In film, however, at least in the U.S., the character was less successful: a trio of programmers from MGM starring Walter Pidgeon.

In Nick Carter, Master Detective, the first of these, the famed detective investigates sabotage at an aircraft factory, in a fairly standard plot that does at least use an interesting method of smuggling out plans. Pidgeon is OK as Carter, but he remains fairly uncharismatic. The highlight of the movie may be the character of Bartholomew the Bee Man, who keeps bees but reckons himself a keen detective. Mildly recommended.

>173 harrygbutler: Interesting. I haven't heard of that one. I'll have to look into it.

>181 The_Hibernator: I've been quite happy with the volumes I've gotten in the series (most of them). The books are well-made and reasonably priced. They're published by Harvard University Press: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/collection.php?cpk=1320

Good morning, Harry, and happy Friday!

Has the woodpecker been back? My feeders are getting ravaged - I'll have to fill the ones out back again today.

>183 karenmarie: Hi, Karen!

I haven't seen the woodpecker, but the downies are usually pretty quick in their visits, and thus we probably miss them more often than we see them, so the same might be true of the red-bellied.

Yesterday, Erika spotted a Cooper's hawk in a tree down the street. I suspect it is the same bird I saw winging through the neighbor's back yard one day recently.

Movie 32. Call of the Prairie (1936)

Source: IMDB

One of a staggering 66 in the Hopalong Cassidy series of films made between 1935 and 1948, Call of the Prairie is an early entry loosely based on the book Hopalong Cassidy’s Protégé. As the movie opens, Hoppy (William Boyd) returns from a cattle-selling trip with a good deal of cash. In his absence, young Johnny Nelson (James Ellison) has been hanging out with a bad crowd in town, gambling and losing all his funds. The gang, led by Sam Porter (Al Bridge, whose voice is instantly recognizable) and “Shanghai” McHenry (George Hayes, not yet “Gabby”), is a bad lot indeed. They get Johnny drunk and then try to rob the ranch, shooting owner Buck Peters (Howard Lang) in the process and attempting to frame Johnny. Though there is evidence against the young cowboy, Hopalong still thinks there’s an explanation that will exonerate him, and he sets out to nab the culprits. Mildly recommended, despite some plot holes.

>185 harrygbutler: There were Hopalong Cassidy BOOKS?! Go know from this!

>186 richardderus: Oh, yes. Clarence E. Mulford wrote both short stories and novels about the character, starting in 1904. I've got some of the novels and quite like those I've read, but then I'm a fan of the genre. The character of Hopalong is quite different in the books, save for some issued later much later.

I'll be hornswoggled!

>188 richardderus: Some other continuing western film characters were based on stories or novels (e.g., the Three Mesquiteers), but others (such as the Durango Kid) seem to have been original cinematic creations.

>184 harrygbutler: That's exciting. I've never seen a Cooper's Hawk that I know of.

>190 karenmarie: I think there are enough birds in the neighborhood that it should have good hunting, so I'm hoping it will stick around.

Movie 33. English Without Tears (1944) — viewed Jan. 31

By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, Link

The final film for January was a modest British wartime comedy. Tom Gilbey (Michael Wilding) is a third-generation butler who adeptly manages the household of Lady Christabel Beauclerk (Margaret Rutherford), who is dedicated to the cause of providing sanctuaries for migratory birds — and who causes a stir at the League of Nations by seeming to demand territory for Britain itself. Lady Christabel’s niece Joan (Penelope Ward) is infatuated with Gilbey, and when he joins the military after war breaks out, she tells him she loves him as he leaves. Gilbey returns a somewhat changed man, and an officer, but Joan has changed as well. Lady Christabel has turned her home into a sanctuary for allies from occupied lands abroad, and Joan is enjoying the attention she receives from an array of foreign officers in the English class she teaches. Mix-ups involving a Norwegian interpreter (Lilli Palmer) add further complications for all parties concerned.

I liked the movie well enough. Wilding is an appealing leading man, and Ward manages callow youth well. Still, I found the subplot involving Palmer’s character and the Polish officer Felix Dembrowski (Albert Lieven) rather more interesting. Mildly recommended.

13. The Complete Adventures of Feluda I, by Satyajit Ray



In 1965, Indian author and filmmaker Satyajit Ray contributed the short story “Feludar Goendagiri” to Sadesh, a children’s magazine founded by his grandfather that he had revived in 1961. This first story about detective Pradosh C. Mitter (called Feluda by his cousin Topshe, the young narrator), proved popular, and calls were made for more tales featuring the character. Over a period of 25 years, Ray wrote a total of 35 stories about Feluda and his cousin. After a few stories, the duo were joined by Lalmohan Ganguly (who writes outlandish crime novels under the name Jatayu), who often serves as comic relief but nevertheless plays a crucial role from time to time.

This volume contains the first 16 stories, translated from Bengali by Gopa Majumdar, and I read them over the course of January, approximately one every two days. The stories are varied, involving theft, smuggling, and even murder, though the violence is largely mentioned rather than depicted, in keeping with the series’ target audience, albeit it proved quite popular with adults as well. They are Holmes-type stories, in which the reader enjoys watching the great detective at work through the eyes of his admiring cousin. Though of course they vary somewhat in quality or appeal, as is to be expected in such a collection, I found them fairly uniformly entertaining, even when unfamiliar words and phrases had me consulting a dictionary or searching online.

A second volume that collects the remainder of the stories in English translation has also been published, and I’ll definitely be picking it up.

Recommended.

Good morning, Harry, and happy Saturday to you!

You're keeping pace on your movie goal, congratulations.

Morning, Harry! Here's hoping that your weekend is full of fabulous!

>194 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Thanks! I'm pretty sure the key will be watching two on some days, to balance out days when I don't feel like seeing one at all.

Hi, Mamie! It's off to a bit of an unexpected start. My laptop died completely overnight, so I had to spend some time today getting a new one, and now I'll have to spend some time today and tomorrow customizing the new one to suit. Luckily I had some advance warning of issues and backed up all the important files onto an external drive last week.

My Chromebook's battery is showing its decrepitude. Sooner rather than later a new one will be needed so I'm making my plans accordingly. *sigh*

>175 richardderus: hahaha! I'm not much of a meringue fan myself.

>177 harrygbutler: great! I'm thinking The Golden Gate would work for me, do you have that one?

>187 harrygbutler: western writer Louis L'Amour also wrote some Hopalong stories, but under a pseudonym, can't recall it.

>197 harrygbutler: I'm probably getting near the end of my laptop's life. I have it set to automatically back up twice a day, so I should be okay if it dies, but I'd still rather get one before it dies. I'm hoping to make it a little longer.

>198 richardderus: I was hoping to coax a little more time out of mine, but this morning it was completely kaput.

>199 fuzzi: Sure, The Golden Gate sounds fine. I picked up San Andreas at a thrift store we visited today.

Right. I think L'Amour wrote four; I have some or all of them, but I've never gotten around to reading them.

>200 thornton37814: I had had to replace the hard drive less than a year ago, so I was hoping for a longer life from mine, but a week or so ago it wouldn't start, and it took a good deal of time and effort (including removing the battery) to get it going. So I immediately backed everything up to my external drive then. I don't remember to back things up all that often.

Hi Harry! My last boyfriend's favorite author was L'Amour. I always said I'd read a book by him, but in two years of dating the guy, never did. lol. My current fiancé wants me to read the Foundation Trilogy. We'll see if I can comply within the year. lol (I still feel some inclination to read a L'Amour book just because I had planned to for so long.)

On a sidenote, I just started reading The Well-Educated Mind and she was suggesting that if we read by word-shape recognition instead of phonetically, then we will not be as good readers or spellers. I've always had trouble spelling and suspected that I may read by word-shape recognition. I JUST realize that your handle/name is "harry g butler" and not some weird combination of letters beginning in "harry" and ending in "ler." lol. I guess I need some phonics training, as Bauer suggests. :)

Morning, Harry! Happy Sunday. Trying to visit some threads this A.M. after being away. I did see some very cool birds while I was in Mexico, but there will remain several I just could not ID. Hope to get better over the years. The Great-Tailed Grackle seemed to dominant the area, much like the Northern Mockingbird does in the southern states.

Hope you had a good week yourself.

>203 harrygbutler: I use a cloud service for the automatic backups. I don't do the external hard drive backups as often.

>204 The_Hibernator: Hi, Rachel! I've been a fan of L'Amour since I was a kid; he's probably my dad's favorite writer. It has been many years since I read the Foundation Trilogy, but I recall liking it when I did. I don't think I have any of Asimov's science fiction around these days, but I do have some of his mysteries. I read at least some of his Black Widowers stories years ago, and I picked up a book with some of them on the strength of recalling I had enjoyed them.

That's an interesting insight from The Well-Educated Mind. I'm not sure how well the shapes of words register with me, but I tend to have a strong visual sense of the pages in books, such that, although I may not remember just which page a passage was on, I may recall that it started 3/4 of the way down the left-hand page in a spread. I'm not someone who is very good at picturing what is described (for example, in terms of scenery, or a character's appearance), and I wonder whether it may be in part because of the strong sense I've always had for the image of the words on the page.

>206 thornton37814: Hi, Mark! Did you manage any organized birding with a guide while you were there? I would expect plenty of difficulties in pinning down identifications without that kind of help. I think grackles are pretty birds, but they can sure play havoc with the suet feeders; I've not seen the Great-Tailed variety, at least to identify them as a birder.

>206 thornton37814: Oh, that makes sense, Lori. Have you used the service for long? Have you ever needed to recover using the backup?

>204 The_Hibernator: >207 harrygbutler: I recall reading some study, years ago, about how the discontinuation of phonics education in favor of look-and-say reading techniques created a lot of frustrated readers. My parents moved a couple times in the mid to late 1960s, and specifically looked for schools that taught phonics in the primary grades. I am very thankful for their determination to give their children a solid base for longtime learning.

I love Louis L'Amour's books, though I think he excelled in the short story realm. If you want any recommendations, just ask, as I've read all his books with just a few exceptions.

>202 harrygbutler: great! The Golden Gate works for me, and this month's BAC, which is books published in the 1970's. Let me know when you want to start. I won't have a copy of this month's Black Stallion challenge book until later, as I had to order one online; the local libraries don't have it.

>209 harrygbutler: I've done it for years, Harry! I did have to use it one time when a computer completely died. I lost almost nothing--maybe a file or two I'd just recently updated but could still recreate.

>210 fuzzi: I should be ready for The Golden Gate in about a week. I have to find my copy. :-) I'm rather behind on the Black Stallion challenge but am hoping to catch up.

>211 thornton37814: That's good to know, Lori! Thanks! I'll have to think about that option.

>212 harrygbutler: okay, about a week. Give me a shout when you're about ready!

Movie 34. The Ace of Spades (1935)

Source: IMDB

A terrible movie starring Michael Hogan, with a small but important role played by Geraldine Fitzgerald, The Ace of Spades at first seems to offer the setup for a murder mystery, then turns rather to a seeming blackmail plot, all played out rather melodramatically and stiffly. Not recommended.

>214 fuzzi: Will do!

Movie 35. The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)

Source: IMDB

Aliens launch a gas attack that kills everyone on Earth who was not somehow breathing filtered air or using oxygen at the time. A few survivors gather at a small town's inn, but it soon becomes clear that the gas attack was but the first step in the aliens' plans to take over the Earth, and they soon see strange creatures lumbering about menacingly. Can they stick together and defeat this new menace? This is another British movie with a minimum of action. Not recommended.

(Note: The gas appears to kill everyone silently, so the title seems a bit misleading, too.)

Good morning, Harry!

I'm sorry to hear about your laptop woes, glad that you were able to get a backup and then a new one quickly. I've got an external hard drive that I back up to multiple times a day automatically. I had a rough time last year when I mistakenly tried to go to Windows 10 per Microsoft's persistent pop up windows for six months, only to learn that my specific Dell laptop model doesn't support 10. So back I went to 8.1, with the (paid) help of Dell Tech Concierge. I'm depressed that I'll probably have to get a Windows 10 laptop the next time I buy one.

Morning, Harry! Laptop woes? Oh, no. I hope this gets repaired quickly, so you can be up and running. Hope everything is else is good.

>218 karenmarie: if you have to get a laptop with Windows 10, you can take it to a tech to remove 10 and install either 8 or 7.

Last year I bought a laptop through Ebay, brand new, with Windows 7 on it, and I love it.

>207 harrygbutler: That's an interesting thought about your overall page vision blocking out your ability to visualize imagery. I've always had a bit of trouble with imagery too, but I think that's because I have an attention deficit issue and my mind tends to wander away if there's not dialog going on. Even action scenes are a bit difficult for me. But I love reading, so I must be getting something out of them!

>218 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! I don't really mind Windows 10, which I have to use on a work computer as well, but it isn't for everyone. I've had to adapt to so many operating systems and software changes that nowadays I just take it in stride. I was a definite fan of WordPerfect, for example, and resisted switching to Word, and I've found each iteration of Word has changed at least some things I used often.

>219 msf59: Thanks, Mark! I've replaced the laptop, but it will take some time before I get all the programs loaded again and all the customizations I like back in place. The biggest hassle is trying to connect to the printers — almost annoying enough to prompt me to get a new printer and save the hassle. :-)

>220 fuzzi: I never thought of Ebay as a source for computers, though I guess that should come as no surprise.

>221 The_Hibernator: I tend to like action in stories, but I don't think I actually visualize what is going on in detail. Still, I think I can tell when an author doesn't know how to write action scenes, as some strike me as very flat and others "work," even though I don't know that I could describe them well to someone else.

I think I'm more susceptible to distractions now than when I was younger, and my reading has slowed somewhat as a result.

>224 harrygbutler: I prefer Ebay over Amazon, as the former's problem resolution is much better than Amazon Marketplace, as per my personal experience.

>225 harrygbutler: I visualize the descriptions to a point where I am IN the story. If the characters are fighting their way through a blizzard, I expect to see snow outside my window when I take a break from the narrative!

>226 harrygbutler: hahaha!

>227 fuzzi: Ah. I've not had any problems with Amazon customer service, including for Marketplace items, but I haven't had many issues; I don't think I've ever needed to get Ebay involved in a problem, either.

That's quite immersive!

>217 harrygbutler: This is what I think of when I hear "The Earth Dies Screaming."

>226 harrygbutler: HA!!

>229 richardderus: Though I'm not really a UB40 fan, it's likely better than the movie.

Wow! I just watched Tarzan's Desert Mystery — conniving crooks, a wild horse that leads a stampede at Tarzan's behest, killer jungle plants, monstrous reptiles, and a giant spider! Loads of fun!

Source: IMDB

Hi, Harry. Catching up. Wow, I haven't seen a Mr. Moto movie in many, many years - not even sure where I would look for one if I wanted to watch! I always enjoyed watching Peter Lorre, too.

I also use an online backup service - actually I have different ones for my work laptop and my personal laptop. I use Backblaze for my personal laptop - it doesn't keep multiple copies of files for any length of time. I use CrashPlan Pro for my work computer as it does keep different file versions, which I might need. I have restored files from both services and they both work well. Over the years of working for myself and being my own IT person, I have become quite handy at swapping hard drives from PCs and copying files from them to other hard drives!

>232 rretzler: Mozy was the first one I heard about, and I've stuck with it. Carbonite is also quite popular.

>217 harrygbutler: wow, this place is a well of inspiration! I will chuck it on my film WL :)

>232 rretzler: Hi, Robin! There were two 4-movie DVD sets put out of Mr. Moto movies some time ago, and we got them then. However, one of the films, Mr. Moto's Last Warning at some point fell into the public domain, so it can be found on the Internet Archive site: https://archive.org/details/Mr.MotosLastWarningcompleteUpgraded

Thanks for the info about the backup services. This latest round of computer issues certainly has me considering using one.

>233 thornton37814: Thanks for the extra information, Lori!

>234 LovingLit: I hope you enjoy it — but don't expect a lot of fast-moving action. :-)

Good morning, Harry, and happy Wednesday to you!

If you're using Windows 10 for work, then having both computers be in operating-system synch is good. Before I retired, work was on Windows 8, so that worked for me, too.

Fuzzi - good to know that one can get a NOT Windows 10 laptop new.

Johnny Weissmuller was an excellent Tarzan. That yell, though, doesn't sound like what one expects from the books, though.

I was an acquaintance of Fred Wells, Weissmuller's stand-in for the Tarzan movies. He was in his late 70's, early 80's when I met him, but had photos of himself in the Tarzan costume, standing on the set. He lived in Prescott, Az and was a very well-known gunsmith and worked with his wife, who was a highly sought after engraver.

>239 mstrust: Wow, cool! I bet he had some good stories.

He probably did, though the only thing about it that I can remember him telling us was that he had auditioned for the role but got stand-in instead. He didn't seem nostalgic and was so busy that he didn't slow down too much, but he liked my husband a lot and would stop to talk to him in particular.

>238 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! I'm pretty sure we have at least a few different Windows iterations running here at home. We'd have a Linux machine, too, except that I couldn't ever manage to get it to connect to the Internet to complete some of the installation. So it sits alone and forlorn. :-)

Weissmuller is Tarzan for me, although I know the image he portrays is quite different from Tarzan in the books, and that the literary version was more closely approximated by Gordon Scott and his successors.

>239 mstrust: >240 drneutron: >241 mstrust: Cool, Jennifer! Good that he wasn't stuck in the past, too. Did he and his wife do any joint work on firearms?

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