Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about classic films including many with a combat sports tie-in.
On March 19, 1942, RKO Radio Pictures released the second film starring the Old Time Radio comedy team Lum and Abner. The Bashful Bachelor (1942) starred Chester Lauck as Lum Edwards and Norris Goff as Abner Peabody, the owners of the Jot’Em Down Store in Arkansas. In this film (affiliate link), longtime bachelor Lum Edwards wants to become a hero
On January 26, 1934, United Artists released Palooka (1934), a feature film based on the popular comic strip. Stuart Erwin plays Joe Palooka but Jimmy Durante steals the show as his manager Knobby Walsh. Joe Palooka is the son of former world boxing champion Pete Palooka. When Joe was a baby, his mother Mayme, played by Marjorie Rambeau, takes him
Columbia Pictures’ Lone Wolf series, starring Warren Williams as Michael Lanyard, is one of my favorite “B” film series. Williams played the debonair jewel thief, who somehow always ends up helping the police solve a series of crimes. Counter-Espionage (1942) begins with Lanyard stealing top secret plans from Sir Stafford Hart’s safe. Scotland Yard’s Inspector Stephens rushes to the scene
The Vampire Bat (1933) is a genre bending film starring Lionel Atwill. Ostensibly, it is a horror film but is actually more of a mystery. It would fall into the “B” movie category, a short film meant to be the appetizer for the main film on a double bill. Majestic Pictures produced the film, which was directed by Frank R.
On September 16, 1932, RKO Pictures released The Most Dangerous Game (1932), a film about a big game hunter becoming the hunted. Joel McCrea plays big game hunter Bob Rainsford. Rainsford is on a yacht off the South American coast discussing his latest hunt, when another guest asks him, “Do you ever think how the tiger felt?” Rainsford laughs at
Being both a fan and film historian, I was aware of Sunset Blvd.‘s reputation in film circles. Billy Wilder’s 1950 film tells the sad story of a forgotten silent film star Norma Desmond. William Holden is a screen writer, who stumbles upon her crumbling mansion and agrees to help fix her screenplay. Norma believes the screenplay will lead to a
From 1931 to 1954, Lum and Abner occupied a spot among the most popular shows during the Old Time Radio era. Chester Lauck and Norris Goff attended the University of Arkansas together. Lauck and Goff later developed their show Lum and Abner based on life in Arkansas. The show struck a cord with many listeners. My wife’s grandmother once told
On December 1, 1944, Universal Pictures released the latest horror film in the Frankenstein series, House of Frankenstein, with an all-star cast. Boris Karloff, who originally played Frankenstein’s monster, returns to the series as the mad scientist Dr. Niemann. An earthquake releases him and his hunchbacked assistant Daniel from prison. Dr. Niemann intends to exact revenge on the men who
On Thanksgiving Weekend 1944, Paramount Pictures released One Body Too Many, a comedy-mystery film starring Jack Haley. Haley famously played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (1939). The film also starred Jean Parker, Lyle Talbot, Douglas Fowley and Bela Lugosi in supporting roles. One Body Too Many begins with millionaire Cyrus J. Rutherford’s heirs gathered to hear the
Also known at The Sleeping Cardinal, Sherlock Holmes’ Fatal Hour (1931) is the first Sherlock Holmes film starring Arthur Wontner in the title role. The film concerns a young man, who has been cheating at bridge to regain his lost wealth. Professor Moriarty uses the information in an attempt to blackmail the young man Ronald Adair, portrayed by Leslie Perrins.