From the DVR: The Wonderful World of Disney

The Starz/Encore people have managed to acquire some feature film titles from Walt Disney Pictures of late, because I was afforded an opportunity to catch up with two of the studio’s animation releases that had eluded me for a good while: The Princess and the Frog (2009; I liked this one) and Frozen (2013; not…

Where’s That Been? – Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)

Once again, I apologize (with hat in hand) to the Thrilling Days of Yesteryear faithful for the fallow blog of late; a lot of my copious free time has been sacrificed to Radio Spirits assignments and their blog (not that I’m complaining, mind you—there's money in that gig) and the remainder seems to be taken…

“Ah ah ah ah…don’t touch that dial!”

After six years of drawing the comic strip Dumb Dora (about a brunette who “wasn’t as dumb as she looked”), Murat Bernard “Chic” Young handed it off to artist Paul Fung once Chic decided to embark on a new venture.  That new strip would soon become one of the most popular newspaper comics of all…

“At last—America’s most beloved ‘Funnies’ family on the screen!”

This November 24, the longest running comic strip currently being published in the United States will celebrate its centennial birthday.  Technically, Gasoline Alley is the second-longest running strip of all time; the champion remains The Katzenjammer Kids, who enjoyed a staggering 109-year run in “the funny papers” (1897-2006) and is still in syndication today (though…

Guilty Pleasures: Friday Foster (1975)

In the 1988 Blaxploitation movie spoof I’m Gonna Git You Sucka the film’s villain is revealed to be character great John Vernon (no slouch in the cinema bad guy department, by the way) …and Vernon has a little fun winking at the camera with an explanation of why he’s taking the money and running.  “I know you're surprised…

Somebody slipped me a Mickey

Back in mid-April, I skated by the Oldies.com website to see if they had anything worth grabbing hold of and I noticed that Alpha Video Classics had released a second volume of Lupino Lane two-reelers, which I scooped up into my shopping cart.  The most charitable thing I can say about Alpha Video’s product is that, yes, it’s…

The passings parade

I’m not going to mince words here—I am waaaaaaay behind on chronicling the passings of certain celebrities in the fields of film, TV, music and what have you.  But when I saw on Facebook yesterday that actor James Arness—a boob tube legend best-known for his starring role as Marshal Matt Dillon on the series Gunsmoke—has ridden…

Death be not proud

As of this posting, Turner Classic Movies is running a 24-hour cinematic tribute to Tony Curtis, the veteran film star who passed away on September 29 at the age of 85.  Practically every classic movie blogger and his/her brother/sister made notice of “Bernie Schwartz’s” demise, but the only reason why I didn’t get something up is…

Our long national nightmare is over…

`Cathy' comic strip ending after 34 years KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The comic strip "Cathy," which has chronicled the life, frustrations and swimsuit season meltdowns of its namesake for more than 30 years, is coming to an end. Cathy Guisewite, the strip's creator, said Wednesday that deciding to end the comic strip was "excruciating." The comic has…

R.I.P. John Callahan

John Callahan, a syndicated cartoonist who overcame the setback of becoming a quadriplegic in a car accident in 1972 has passed on at the age of 59. He had been undergoing surgery treatment at a Portland, Oregon hospital for a chronic bed sore when he left this world for a better one on Saturday. Callahan was one twisted individual—and I…