Motorcycle Day/Summer of Darkness -- July 11, 2026

listal.com

Since I got out of the hospital, I have been watching a lot of movies on TCM. On Friday we started with Motorcycle Day and moved on to Summer of Darkness, which is happening every Friday.

1:30pm PDT

The Wild One (1953)

1 hr 30 mins|Drama|TV-14

listal.com

I have always found The Wild One to be an odd movie. If it had been made a few years later, the score might have used rock'n'roll. Some of the actors seemed to be chewing large chunks of scenery. On the other hand, Brando showed all of his charisma. Lee Marvin was a force of nature. 

László Benedek directed. 

3:00pm PDT

The Born Losers (1967)

2 hrs|Action|TV-14

listal.comlistal.com

I loved "Billy Jock," the Mad Magazine (July 1974) of Billy Jack. Many years later I saw Billy Jack on television I was not surprised how much it resembled the Mad version. 

Yesterday I saw Born Losers, the first Billy Jack movie. The acting was mostly wooden. The leader of the bikers was a good villain. His Number One was played by William Wellman, Jr. There were lots of girls in bikinis. There was lots of violence. I don't think I'll watch it again unless I am very bored.

Directed by TC Frank (Tom Laughlin).

5:00pm PDT

Viva Knievel! (1977)

2 hrs|Action|TV-PG

listal.com

We may have lasted as long as ten minutes. 

7:00pm PDT

The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story (1951)

1 hr|Documentary|TV-G

listal.com

The longest preview of coming attractions I have ever seen. I always thought Dore Schary had a funny name.

8:00pm PDT

They Live by Night (1949)

2 hrs|Crime|TV-PG

listal.com

Great movie. I forgot how many helicopter shots they used. Cathy O'Donnell was moving. We switched back and forth between this and the Giants-Rockies game.

This was the first movie that Nicholas Ray directed.

9:45pm PDT

Looney Tunes: Rhapsody Rabbit (1946)

10 mins|Comedy|TV-PG

Missed it. I am happy that TCM has been showing Warner Brothers cartoons.

10:00pm PDT

Gun Crazy (1950)

1 hr 45 mins|Crime|TV-PG

listal.com

Another great movie. I'll watch it any time. 

Vin Scully, RIP -- August 3, 2022

I was sad to learn that Vin Scully has died. Scully was a fan of the New York Giants.  Mel Ott was his favorite player.  In 1950, he began announcing Brooklyn Dodgers games.  After 67 seasons, he retired as announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016.  Ironically, the last game of the Dodgers' season was against the San Francisco Giants, at Pac Bell Park. The Giants won. 

I have always hated the Dodgers, but admired Vin Scully.  When I was young, I discovered that I could tune in Los Angeles AM stations at night, including KFI, which carried the Dodgers.  He also did the Game of the Week and sometimes the World Series. I liked his voice.  It was soothing. 

Laraine Day -- October 13, 2020

 

listal.com

Actress Laraine Day was born 100 years ago today, on 13-October-1920. She appeared in most of the Doctor Kildaire movies with Lew Ayers. She spent most of her film career at M-G-M. Alfred Hitchcock and United Artists borrowed her for Foreign Correspondent.  

She married Leo Durocher, manager of the New York Giants, and studied baseball so she could understand what he was doing. She hosted a pregame television show called Day With the Giants. 

listal.com

Vin Scully Retires -- October 2, 2016

Vin Scully was a fan of the New York Giants.  Mel Ott was his favorite player.  In 1950, he began announcing Brooklyn Dodgers games.  Today, after 67 seasons, he is retiring as announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Ironically, the last game of the Dodgers' season is against the San Francisco Giants, at Pac Bell Park.

I have always hated the Dodgers, but admired Vin Scully.  When I was young, I discovered that I could tune in Los Angeles AM stations at night, including KFI, which carried the Dodgers.  I like his voice.  It is soothing. I wish him well. 

Vin Scully, or his voice, has appeared in many movies, usually as the Dodgers' announcer.

Ironically, his first wife, who died tragically young, was Joan Crawford.  Not that Joan Crawford.

www.listal.com

 For Love of the Game is one of Kevin Costner's baseball movies.  He plays a Detroit Tigers pitcher who is dealing with many issues while pitching a perfect game at the end of the season.  Vin Scully calls the game. 

www.listal.com

Experiment in Terror was set in San Francisco, but Vin Scully's voice is heard during a Giants-Dodgers game. 

www.listal.com

Vin Scully doesn't get a credit, but he appears in The Party, a Blake Edwards movie starring Peter Sellers. 

DVD: The Mishaps of Musty Suffer, Volume 2 -- October 11, 2015

Moving Picture World, 11-September-1915

In 2014, famous motion picture accompanist Ben Model released The Mishaps of Musty Suffer, a DVD which presented 11 of the 30 one-reelers starring Harry Watson, Jr as Musty Suffer.  All but 5 of the 30 survive.  The Library of Congress acquired the films in 1947 and preserved them. I wrote about the first DVD here:
http://bigvriotsquad.blogspot.com/2014/08/dvd-mishaps-of-musty-suffer-august-1.html


Harry Watson, Jr and his partner George Bickel started working together in circuses, including Ringling Brothers and Forepaugh-Sells Brothers.  They moved on to vaudeville and then early editions of the Ziegfeld Follies. 

Producer George Kleine made two features with Bickel and Watson in 1915.  These count as very early slapstick features.  A three-reel re-release version of The Fixer is one of the extras on the DVD.  The pacing was uneven, but I enjoyed it.  I enjoyed seeing Watson in (mostly) civilian clothes.  One of the Mexican generals was played by Snitz Edwards. 

Later in 1915, Kleine produced Keep Moving, a picaresque fantasy feature starring Harry Watson, Jr as Musty Suffer.  Kleine did not release the feature.  Instead, he recut it into a series of one-reelers.  He must have added more material, because the first group included ten films.  Two more groups of ten films each followed.  The last group was released by Essanay, and half of those were produced by that company.  Those are the films that are lost. 

Most of the films open with a title that says "The Mishaps of Musty Suffer in Numerous Whirls."

The first Whirl on this set is "Out of Order" from 1916.  It includes the Fairy Tramp and Musty's magic horseshoe. Musty winds up working in the Busy Bee Amusement Arcade, which includes a dime museum, a shooting gallery a movie theater with escalator, a shoe shine stand, an automat restaurant, a skating rink, a bowling alley and a dance hall.  Musty is called up to work in the ticket booth, the shooting gallery, the shoe shine stand, the movie theater and the museum.  This gives many possibilities for gags.  He also serves as a spieler, and follows his spiel with a wonderful dance.

In "Showing Some Speed," Musty plays the same messenger boy he played in "Blow Your Horn,"with the same abusive boss.

"Strictly Private" is the third Whirl on the set.  "Musty hunts wild horses in the bad land of New Jersey."  He finds a spirited steed, played by two guys in a horse costume.  Musty calls upon the Fairy Tramp for a cabbie's suit and a carriage.  The poor horse has a hard time pulling the carriage.

"Musty's Vacation," the last Whirl on the set, may have been the last one produced.  It has the Essanay Indian logo at the end.  Musty finds a lunch ticket and gets plastic surgery in an attempt to look like the picture on the cover.

The other extra on the set is "The Actor's Fund Field Day," a 1910 Vitagraph short showing fund raising activities at the Polo Grounds, home of the New York Giants.  Bickel and Watson perform their band routine.

Watson was a great clown.  Model's music enhances each item.  I look forward to finding and reading Steve Massa's notes on the movies.

Did I make you anxious to buy it?  Go here:
http://amzn.com/B00W67RNJQ

Moving Picture World, 25-September-1915

The Second of the Christy Mathewson Series -- November 8, 2014

Moving Picture World, 07-November-1914

Christy Mathewson was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. He won three games for the New York Giants in the 1905 World Series. He was widely considered the best human being in baseball. He served in the army during the First World War and was exposed to gas during a training exercise and developed tuberculosis. This led to his early death at the age of 45. He was a member of the first class of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1914, Mathewson signed with Universal to do a series of movies.

This article mentions that the first movie, "Love and Baseball," was a big hit, and that the second movie, "The Umpire" is coming. 

The Remarkable Skill and Ingenuity of the Thanhouser Organization -- October 30, 2014

Moving Picture World, 03-October-1914

The Million Dollar Mystery was a Thanhouser production made in association with the Chicago Tribune, which ran the weekly stories in printed form. The 23-chapter serial starred Florence La Badie, a popular Thanhouser actress who died the next year in a car wreck. Her leading man was James Cruze, who later became a director. His most famous production was The Covered Wagon.

Bisbee Daily Review, 03-October-1914

Notice that The Million Dollar Mystery is billed on top  in this ad for Bisbee, Arizona's Orpheum Theater. 

Motography, 10-October-1914

"In episode No. 16 of The Million Dollar Mystery is a thrilling portrayal of an actual quicksand into which Flo La Badie falls."

Motography, 17-October-1914

"Jones rescues Norton from the basement dungeon." 

Motography, 17-October-1914

"The conspirators set the trap for Norton." 

Motography, 24-October-1914

"It contains new thrills -- new action..."

Motography, 24-October-1914

"Olga forces the princess to do her bidding." 

Motography, 24-October-1914

"Florence tells Olga of the invitation." 

=================================

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-2 in the seventh game of the World Series.  Madison Bumgarner was the winning pitcher and the MVP.  It was a heck of a season.  The Royals put up a great fight. 

Matty in Pictures -- September 11, 2014

Moving Picture World, 26-September-1914

Christy Mathewson was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. He won three games for the New York Giants in the 1905 World Series. He was widely considered the best human being in baseball. He served in the army during the First World War and was exposed to gas during a training exercise and developed tuberculosis. This led to his early death at the age of 45. He was a member of the first class of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1914, Mathewson signed with Universal to do a series of movies.

I don't know how many got produced, and I doubt any still survive.

This item talks about his appearance in "Love and Baseball."  "Christy Mathewson has acquired more fame in the baseball world than any other player; he has established a reputation as the greatest pitcher the world has ever produced."

 

Baseball Manager Plays Detective -- August 9, 2014

John McGraw managed the New York Giants from 1901 to 1933.  He became a nationally known character, and appeared in a fiction movie, "Detective Swift," for the Eclectic Film Company.  Some of the footage was taken during the world tour of the Giants and the Chicago White So:
http://bigvriotsquad.blogspot.com/2014/06/giants-white-sox-world-tour-june-8-2014.html

Compelled to Race With Death -- July 21, 2014

Motography, 11-July-1914.

The Perils of Pauline was a big hit in 1914. The 20 chapter serial was not the first movie serial, but it was one of the big ones. It starred Pearl White, the first serial queen. The Eclectic Film Company distributed Pathé movies in the United States. The film exists only in a mutilated form, based on a copy exported to France. The subtitles has been translated into French, then translated back into English. I like the large image from the 11-July-1914 Motography.

Motography, 04-July-1914.

During the 1913-1914 offseason, the National League Champion New York Giants, led by manager John McGraw, toured the world with members of the Chicago White Sox, led by manager Jimmy Callahan. The Giants roster included Christy Mathewson, Jim Thorpe and Turkey Mike Donlin. As seen in the list above, they visited and played exhibition games in, among other places, Japan, Hong Kong, Manilla, Shanghai, Australia, Ceylon, Egypt, Naples and Rome. In 1914, the Eclectic Film Company released a movie about the tour.

Motography, 04-July-1914.

Motography, 11-July-1914.

"Pauline Escapes Unharmed" sort of gives away the conclusion. 

Motography, 18-July-1914.

"Pauline Pulls People.  She's a Gold Mine." 

Motography, 25-July-1914.

Motography, 25-July-1914.

Click on the images to see larger versions.

Motography, 20-June-1914.

Big Six for Pics -- July 11, 2014

Christy Mathewson was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball.  He won three games for the New York Giants in the 1905 World Series.  He was widely considered the best human being in baseball.  He served in the army during the First World War and was exposed to gas during a training exercise and developed tuberculosis.  This led to his early death at the age of 45.  He was a member of the first class of the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

In 1914, Mathewson signed with Universal to do a series of movies.  I don't know how many got produced, and I doubt any still survive. 

Above is an ad from the 25-July-1914 Motography.  Below is an ad from the Moving Picture World of the same date.  Matty Roubert was a popular child actor. 

Giants-White Sox World Tour -- June 8, 2014

During the 1913-1914 offseason, the National League Champion New York Giants, led by manager John McGraw, toured the world with members of the Chicago White Sox, led by manager Jimmy Callahan. The Giants roster included Christy Mathewson, Jim Thorpe and Turkey Mike Donlin. 

As seen in the list above, they visited and played exhibition games in, among other places, Japan, Hong Kong, Manilla, Shanghai, Australia, Ceylon, Egypt, Naples and Rome. 

In 1914, the Eclectic Film Company released a movie about the tour.  "The BUG rides the brake beams and stows away to get to the game but he is at every one."  A bug was a name for an enthusiastic fan.  The BUG was played by director Frank McGlynn, Sr. 

I don't know if this film still exists, but I found a British Pathé newsreel item showing King George V meeting the players and watching a game.  The date range in the title, 1915-1919, must be off.  I am very grateful that British Pathé has chosen to put a huge number of items out for people to see on YouTube. 


Ten years later, in 1924, the Giants and the White Sox made an offseason tour of Europe.  Here is a British Pathé newsreel item on their arrival at Liverpool and a game played before the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, parents of the current monarch.  Note the similarities to the 1913 shots of the royal meeting the players and watching the game. 

Scene in a Modern Motion Picture Studio -- April 4, 2014

This image of a stage in the Jersey City studio of Pathé Freres is 11-July-1914 Moving Picture World.  The cameraman is Lefty Miller, "ex-professional baseball player."  He must not be Elmer "Lefty" Miller, a pitcher, who would have been only eleven that year.  John McGraw was manager of the New York Giants from 1902 to 1932