Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
The Spanish Cape Mystery (1935) is an adaptation of one of the Ellery Queen novels. Two cousins, Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee, who wrote a number of detective novels under the pseudonym of the title character. In this film, Ellery Queen is taking a vacation to California with his friend Judge Macklin. Of course, they are not long into their
In December 1920, robbers killed Patrolman Charles Daly at the entrance to his home in the 4000 block of Forest Park Boulevard. St. Louis Police aggressively investigated the murder but it was never solved. Prior to his death, the Daly name was already well-known in St. Louis. Charles Daly was the son of professional prizefighter Dan Daly, who fought in
The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935) is one of the five Sherlock Holmes films starring Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes. Director Leslie S. Hiscott adapted the Sherlock Holmes novel The Valley of Fear but added to the story to give Professor Moriarty and Col. Sebastian Moran roles in the story. A significant portion of the movie is the retelling of
While famous for fighting John L. Sullivan in the last world championship prizefight contested under bare knuckle rules, Jake Kilrain also took part in many gloved bouts. Prizefighting was transitioning from bare knuckle rules to gloved bouts under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules (early amateur and professional boxing) in the late 19th Century. Like Sullivan, Kilrain would fight in major
In January 1921, Ad Santel started a minor controversy by claiming Ed “Strangler” Lewis was a better wrestler than the late Frank Gotch. Santel trained with both Gotch and Lewis, so he did have an insider’s knowledge. Was he right though? Gotch was the last Undisputed World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Gotch won the title by defeating the great Georg Hackenschmidt.
Paul Pons was the Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion of France in the 1890s. He won a tournament at the Folies-Bergeres before winning a tournament in Russia in 1898. These victories allowed him to claim the World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship. Pons capitalized on this notoriety by opening a gym to train wrestlers and strong men. Pons’ victory was particularly remarkable because of
In 1934, Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd ended his criminal career in an East Liverpool, Ohio corn field after a shoot out with FBI agents and local law enforcement officers. However, in December 1925, he was inmate number 29078 at the Missouri Penitentiary. The 21-year-old Floyd had just been convicted of robbing the Kroeger Grocery and Baking Company main office
On October 16, 1920, Special Officers Preston Anslyn and William A. Moller were following two burglars in the 3800 block of Juanita Avenue during a heavy fog. One or both burglars shot the officers from a gangway as they walked onto the lawn of a house, where they thought the burglars entered. The officers both suffered fatal wounds, which killed
I’m continuing with watching some old Alan Ladd movies that I first saw thirty years ago on American Movie Classics (AMC), when they showed classic movies. I recently watched Appointment with Danger (1950), which was as entertaining as I remembered it. Paramount Pictures released Appointment with Danger (affiliate link) in London in 1950 but didn’t release it in the United
Running a pawn shop has always been a tough business because you constantly have to be on the look out for thieves attempting to pawn their stolen goods in your shop. In the late 19th Century, police detectives worked with pawn shops, as they do today, to try to stop the fencing of goods. In August 1885, future St. Louis