House of Fear (1945)

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On March 16, 1945, Universal Pictures released The House of Fear (1945), the eighth of twelve Sherlock Holmes films produced by the studio. Basil Rathbone returned as Holmes for the tenth time. Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes twice for Twentieth Century – Fox before Universal started producing the series. Despite its late entry into the series, the film (affiliate link) stands

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Choque, Volume 1

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I recently read Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil, Volume 1 by Roberto Pedreira (Amazon affiliate link), which tells an alternate story of BJJ’s beginnings than we have been told by in various interviews with members of the Gracie Family.  “Choque” translates to “shocking” in Brazilian Portuguese.  While Pedreira exhaustively researches and cites primary sources, mostly Brazilian newspapers,

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Fred Beell Killed in the Line of Duty

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Fred Beell wrestled professionally from 1900 to 1919.  After developing a legendary reputation due to some of his victories over Martin “Farmer” Burns, Dan McLeod and Frank Gotch, Beell retired as he neared 43 years of age.  His post wrestling career would lead to his unexpected death at 57. Fred Beell overcame long odds to become a competent professional wrestler

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Gotch Beats Lurich in His Last Match

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Frank Gotch was famous for defeating George Hackenschmidt, the world champion wrestler and weightlifter in 1908 and the 1911 rematch.  Gotch held the title for five years and defeated all comers.  At the relatively young age of 35, Gotch decided to retire.  For his last match, he would take on another famous European wrestler and weightlifter, George Lurich. George Lurich

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The Bat Whispers (1930)

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On November 13, 1930, Roland V. West released The Bat Whispers (1930), the talkie version of his silent classic, The Bat (1926). The film follows faithfully the script of the original. However, West is able to experiment with film techniques like tracking shots, still a novelty in early sound cinema. Editing still dominated as the continuity and story moving technique.

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George Baptiste Meets World Champion

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On Friday, May 12, 1905, World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion George Hackenschmidt toured the United States after defeating reigning American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Tom Jenkins.  One of Hackenschmidt’s stops was the “Gateway to the West”, St. Louis, Missouri. Hackenschmidt agreed to throw three wrestlers in under 90 minutes.  He accomplished this feat in less than 19 minutes after the third wrestler

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