The Late Great Dick Giordano

Comic book artist and editor Dick Giordano passed today at the age of 77. The cause was complications from pneumonia.

Richard Giordano was born on July 10, 1932 in Manhattan. He was still very young when he was introduced to comic books by one of the first true comic books to exist: Famous Funnies. He would go onto become a huge fan of the character Batman. He was particularly impressed by Batman #1, spring 1940, which featured the first appearance of The Joker, a character who frightened the young Mr. Giordano. It also convinced him he want to work in the field of comic books. He also enjoyed the characters of Blackhawk and Captain America. He was an avid fan of radio shows, in particular The Lone Ranger, Inner Sanctum, and Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy. He started drawing while very young, encouraged a good deal by his parents. It was his eighth grade art teacher who advised he enrol at New York's School of Industrial Arts. He did so when he was fourteen.

Dick Giordano graduated from the School of Industrial Arts in 1950. He then looked for a job within the comic book industry. In 1951, after months of rejections, Mr. Giordano went to what he thought was the office of a comic book company, only to find out it had moved. Only one person remained, a man who claimed to be a comic book writer. He looked over Mr. Giordano's portfolio and told him he should visit comics packager Jerry Iger. The Iger Studio was a firm which was hired by comic book companies to letter and ink comic book panels. During the Golden Age they had worked for Quality Comics, Fox Comics, and others. By the Fifties they created content for Fiction House, the publisher of the popular Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (created by Will Eisner and Jerry Iger himself). Mr. Giordano started out more or less as an errand boy in the Iger Studio office, before finally graduating to inking. Among the comic books he inked was Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.

Dick Giordano's next job would come as the result of his father, a cab driver. One of his father's fellow cab drivers, Harold Philips, was brother in law to Charlton Comics editor Al Fago, creator of such funny animal characters as Atomic Mouse. Philips invited both Mr. Giordano and Fago to his New Year's Party, knowing Mr. Giordano was a comic book artist. Fago was impressed by Mr. Giordano's work and promised to start assigning him freelance work. He received enough work from Charlton Comics to quit his job at Iger Studio. At Charlton Mr. Giordano worked on such comic books as Racket Squad in Action,  Space Adventures, and  Hot Rods and Racing Cars. In 1955 Charlton Comics was restructured, at which point he ceased to be a freelancer and became one of Charlton's staff. During this period Mr. Giordano worked on such titles as Scotland Yard and Wyatt Earp, as well the company's brief 1955 revival of The Blue Beetle. After Al Fago left Charlton over a disagreement with management, Dick Giordano was made the assistant to new editor Pat Masulli. After a year in the position Mr. Giordano was unhappy, so Masulli offered him a deal whereby he could freelance for Charlton under various pseudonyms (this was done because Charlton's management would not have liked such an arrangement).

In the early Sixties, without Charlton's management knowing, Dick Giordano also accepted freelance work from Stan Lee of Atlas Comics (soon to be renamed Marvel Comics) and other companies. With his brother in law Sal Trapiani, Mr. Giordano did freelance work for Dell, DC, and the American Comics Group. He worked on such titles as Dr. Who, Hogan's Heroes, Get Smart, and the little known Beatles comic book published by Dell. He did his first work for DC at this time, on The Brave and the Bold #65, May 1965, which teamed up The Flash and The Doom Patrol. By 1965 Mr. Giordano was the managing editor at Charlton Comics. It while he was editor that he introduced Charlton Comics' "Action Hero" line, which included such characters as a new version of The Blue Beetle, Sarge Steel, The Question, Peacemaker, Judomaster,  and Peter Cannon...Thunderbolt.

It was in 1968 that Mr. Giordano became part of DC Comics' staff. Initially he worked on such titles at DC as Aquaman, The Secret Six, The Creeper, The Teen Titans, and Young Love, among others. He would later ink a few issues of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams' groundbreaking Green Lantern/Green Arrow. in 1971 Dick Giordano left DC Comics to found Continuity Associates with Neal Adams. Continuity Associates was a packager which provided storyboards for movies and advertising art, but also provided content for Charlton Comics and Marvel Comics. During this period Dick Giordano would work for DC on Batman and Wonder Woman. He also provided the Sons of the Tiger feature for Marvel's black and white magazine The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu.

It was in 1980 that new publisher Jeanette Kahn brought Dick Giordano back to DC Comics. Initially he edited the Batman line of comic books. In 1981 he was made managing editor at DC and in 1983 Vice President/Executive Editor. With editor Paul Levitz and Jeanette Kahn, Giordano remade DC Comics by reenvigorating such features as Batman, Justice League of America, Superman, Teen Titans, and Wonder Woman. By 1993 Mr. Giordano, Levitz, and Kahn would launch the Vertigo imprint. Mr. Giordano continued to ink, including work on Crisis on Infinite Earths and The Man of Steel miniseries. By the mid-Eighties Mr. Giordano became a outspoken champion for creator's rights.

In 1993 Dick Giordano went into semi-retirement. He inked the Modesty Blaise graphic novel for DC in 1994, issues of Birds of Prey, Catwoman and Batman: Gotham Knights, and The Power of Shazam graphic novel. He drew several issues of The Phantom published in Europe and Austrailia, and helped Bob Layton launch Future Comics in 2002. He wrote the book Drawing Comics with Dick Giordano, outlining his artistic techniques.

Dick Giordano is rightfully called a comic book legend. As an editor he encouraged the careers of Denny O'Neil, Jim Aparo, John Byrne, Steve Skeates, and many others.  As an inker he was among the best in the business. His style would influence such artists as Terry Austin, Bob Layton, Mike DeCarlo, Joe Rubenstein, and others. Mike Gold even referred to him as the "..the godfather of modern inking style." Dick Giordano also always maintained a strong connection with the fans, through the letters columns of the various comic books he edited over the years and his monthly "Meanwhile..." column in DC titles during his tenure as managing editor and later Executive Editor there. From the testimony of his fellow artists and writers in the comic book industry and fans alike, he was also one of the kindest, most considerate gentlemen one could ever hope to meet. Quite simply Dick Giordano was not just a great artist and great editor, he was also a great human being.

Johnny Maestro R.I.P.

Johnny Maestro, the lead vocalist of The Crests and later  The Brooklyn Bridge, passed on March 24 at the age of 70. The cause was cancer.

Johnny Maestro was born on May 7, 1939 in Brooklyn. He grew up on the lower east side of Manhattan. In 1956 The Crests, founded by J. T. Carter, chose Maestro as their lead vocalist. The Crest would sign with Joyce and had a minor hit with "Sweetest One" in 1957. The Crests later moved to the Coed label, where they achieved their biggest hit, "Sixteen Candles," in 1958. The Crests would have further hits with "A Year Ago Tonight," "Trouble in Paradise," "Six Nights a Week," "Step By Step," and "The Angels Listened In."

It was in 1960 that Johnny Maestro went go solo, adopting the name "Johnny Maestro." He had a few hits such as "Model Girl" and "What a Surprise." In 1967 Johnny Maestro joined The Del-Satins as their new lead vocalist. It was in 1968 that The Del-Satins met a seven piece brass ensemble called The Rhythm Method. The two groups decided to merge. The group then became known as The Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge would have a hit with "The Worst That Could Happen," which went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. Unfortunately, they never repeated the success of their debut single. They released six more singles, among them "Blessed Is The Rain," "Welcome My Love," and "Your Husband, My Wife." The Brooklyn Bridge released four albums before being dropped by the Buddha label. Although the group no longer had a recording contract, they continued to perform. In 1989 they released a holiday album entitled Christmas Is... From 1993 to 2007 they released five more albums.

I always enjoyed The Crests' songs with Johnny Maestro as their lead vocalist. And while I have never heard very many of The Brooklyn Bridge's songs, I always liked "The Worst That Could Happen." Johnny Maestro was a very good singer, with a remarkable range. More importantly, he was capable of endowing songs with emotion in a way only a few singers can. By way of example, "The Worst That Could Happen" was originally recorded by The Fifth Dimension, but their version is inferior to the one recorded by The Brooklyn Bridge, precisely because it lacks the feeling Johnny Maestro put into the song. When it came to doo wop, he was one of the best.

The Late Great Robert Culp

Robert Culp, best known for his role in Sixties spy series I Spy, passed this morning following a fall at his home. He was 79 years old.

Robert Culp was born on August 16, 1930 in Oakland, California. He attended the College of the Pacific, Washington University in St. Louis, San Francisco State College, and the University of Washington drama school, but never graduated. Mr. Culp moved to New York and appeared in off Broadway productions. He debuted on television in 1953 on You Are There. He guest starred on Robert Montgomery Presents, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The United States Steel Hour.

It was in 1957 that Robert Culp guest starred on Zane Grey Theatre in the episode "Badge of Honour," playing the role of Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman. Robert Culp as Hoby Gilman was spun off into his own series, Trackdown, that fall Gilman was the only law in the town of Potter, Texas, although his job often took him abroad. Various episodes were directed by both Sam Peckinpah and Richard Donner. Mr. Culp wrote his first television series episode for Trackdown, "Back to Crawford," in 1959.  The character of Josh Randall, played by Steve McQueen, first appeared on Trackdown in 1957 and was spun off into the series Wanted: Dead or Alive the following season. Trackdown ran for two seasons and 70 episodes.

After Trackdown left the air, Robert Culp guest starred on such shows as The Dupont Show with June Allyson, General Electric Theatre, Tate, Johnny Ringo, Outlaws, The Westerner, Rawhide, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, The 87th Precinct, Death Valley Days, The Outer Limits, Bonanza, Combat, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He appeared in the films PT 109, Sunday in New York, The Raiders, and Rhino. Mr. Culp wrote episodes of Cain's Hundred and The Rifleman.  He was considered for the role of Napoleon Solo on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but had to decline the offer because he was committed to another project. He would make a guest appearance on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in 1964, however, as well as The Outer Limits, Gunsmoke, and Mr. Novak.

While Robert Culp missed the chance to play superspy Napoleon Solo, he would play a superspy in another major, Sixties spy drama. Robert Culp was cast as Kelly Robinson, a spy working undercover as an international tennis pro, in the series I Spy. Comedian Bill Cosby was cast as Robinson's partner, Alexander Scott, a spy whose over was that of Robinson's trainer and coach. In casting Bill Cosby, I Spy became a ground breaking series. It was the first drama to feature an African American in a lead role. The relationship between Scott and Robinson was as revolutionary as the casting of Bill Cosby. Not only were the two men equals, with neither one subservient to the other, but they were also extremely close. This reflected the real life relationship between Messrs. Cosby and Culp. The two men would become best friends in a relationship that spanned nearly forty years. Indeed, Bill Cosby said of Mr. Culp, "The first-born in every family is always dreaming for an imaginary older brother or sister who will look out for them. Bob was the answer to my dreams."

I Spy was set apart from other spy series, such as The Avengers, The Wild Wild West, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., in its emphasis on realism. The show featured no advanced gadgetry, no Bondian villains, and no plots to take over the world.  In fact, I Spy sometimes focused on the darker side of the spy game and dealt with such serious subjects as heroin addiction, the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons, and so on. Despite this, I Spy had a good deal of humour, particularly stemming from the relationship between Scott and Robinson. The series also had its fair share of comedic episodes, including one in which Boris Karloff played a scientist who thinks he's Don Quixote and another in which Jeanette Nolan played a scrappy government official whom Robinson and Scott must kidnap. The series was unique in that it was actually filmed on location in exotic places ranging from Athens to Mexico.

Mr. Culp made his directorial debut directing an episode of I Spy. He also wrote eight episodes for the series, one of which he was nominated for an Emmy. I Spy proved very popular, running for three seasons, from 1965 to 1968. It ended its run only as a result of a disagreement producer Sheldon Leonard had with NBC regarding the show's time slot.

During the run of  I Spy Mr. Culp guest starred in an episode of Get Smart parodying I Spy entitled Get Smart. Following the series he had a starring role in the movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice in 1969. He appeared in the film Hannie Caulder in 1971. He directed and starred in the film Hickey and Boggs in 1972, once more playing opposite Bill Cosby. Throughout the Seventies he appeared in such films as A Name for Evil (1973), The Castaway Cowboy (1974), Inside Out (1975), Sky Riders (1976), Breaking Point (1976), The Great Scout and Cathouse Thurscay (1976), Cry for Justice (1977), and Goldengirl (1979). He guest starred on the TV shows Columbo, Shaft, Mrs. Columbo, and Police Story. He appeared in several TV movies, including playing the lead in the unsold pilot Spectre.

In the Eighties Robert Culp was a regular on the TV series The Greatest American Hero, playing FBI agent Bob Maxwell. The series ran for five years from 1981 to 1986. He guest starred on the shows Murder She Wrote, Hotel, Matlock, Who's the Boss, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls, as well as appeared in several TV movies. He appeared in the films National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1982), Turk 182 (1985), and Big Bad Mama II. From the Nineties into the Naughts Mr. Culp appeared in the films Timebomb (1991), The Pelican Brief (1993), Panther (1995), Spy Hard (1996), Uncondiational Love (1999), Wanted (1999), Dark Sumer (2000), and The Assignment (his last appearance on screen, set to be released later this year). He was a semi-regular on Everybody Loves Raymond, playing Ray's father in law. He guest starred on the shows Jake and the Fatman, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Lonesome Dove: the Series, The Nanny, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Cosby, Burkes Law, Spy Game, and Cosby  He returned to the role of Kelly Robinson, playing opposite Alexander Scott, in the TV movie I Spy Returns in 1994.

Robert Culp was truly a triple threat. He could act, write, and direct, and did all three well. As an actor he was extremely versatile. In Trackdown he played the somewhat serious gunslinger and Texas Ranger Hoby Gillman. In I Spy he played Kelly Robinson, a playboy who often acted rather than thinking things out. In Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice he played the sexually adventurous documentary filmmaker Bob Sanders. Mr. Culp cold play heroes such as Hoby Gillman and Kelly Robinson, and he could play villains such as Captain Shark in his guest appearance on Man From U.N.C.L.E. with equal ease. As a writer for television he was extremely talented, writing some of the best episodes of Trackdown, The Rifleman, and I Spy. Robert Culp was also a consummate professional. Every time he lost the Emmy for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series to Bill Cosby, he expressed pride rather than envy. Among television actors and movie actors, Robert Culp was a talent with which to be reckoned. Few were ever his equal.

Akira Kurosawa's 100th Birthday

It was on this day, 23 March, 1910, that director Akira Kurosawa was born in Shinagawa, Tokyo. He was a director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. In a career that spanned 57 years, he directed thirty movies. He was an assistant director or second unit director on twenty five more. Kurosawa is often counted as one of the greatest and most influential directors of all time. There are those, not few in number, who would count him as the greatest director of all time.

Akira Kurosawa was  born to Isamu and Shima Kurosawa, the youngest of eight children. His father was a veteran officer in the army who became an athletic advisor, descended from a long line of samurai. His mother was a member of an Osaka merchant family. His father was drawn to the culture of the west, incorporating it into his athletic programmes he ran at school. He also took his family to see movies from the west on a regular basis. Such family outings had a profound effect on the young Akira. As a teenager Akira Kurosawa learned calligraphy and studied painting. In the end, however, he would not find success as a painter. Kurosawa failed the entrance exam into art school and afterwards drifted from such jobs as contributing to a radical newspaper and working as a commercial artist. It was in 1936 that he learned of an apprenticeship programme for directors operated by the studio PCL (Photo Chemical Laboratory), one of the two companies that would become Toho. He became an assistant director and screenwriter to one of Japan's greatest directors of the time, Kajiro Yamamoto.

Under Yamamoto's tutelage Akira Kurosawa worked on twenty four movies as an assistant director or second unit director. His first stint in the director's chair would be for some scenes in Uma (1941). Deemed physically unfit, Kurosawa did not serve in the army during World War II. His first few movies were made under the supervision of the Japanese government and sometimes contained outright propaganda. He made his directorial debut with Sugata Sanshira in 1943. After the defeat of Japan, Akira Kurosawa broke with traditional Japanese cinema and made films much in the mould of the west. His first film after the war, Waga seishun ni kuinashi (1946) was openly critical of the former Japanese government. Yoidore tenshi (1948 Drunken Angel) would be his first of many collaborations with the great actor Toshiro Mifune. It is also the first film that is recognisably a movie by Akira Kurosawa, with most of the hallmarks of hies directorial style in place. Rashomon (1951) would not only be Kurosawa's first chanbara movie ("sword fight movie" or, in western parlance, "samurai movie), but the movie which introduced him to audiences in the west. In 1954 what may be the most famous chanbara movie of all time and a film many consider to be Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece (and in my humble opinion the single greatest movie of all time) Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) was released. If Rashomon had not already done so, Shichinin no samurai established Akira Kurosawa has one of the greatest directors in the world. Since then it was not unusual for Kurosawa's films to be released in the west and to be very successful in the west as well.

Unlike many directors given the label, Akira Kurosawa was a true auteur. He not only directed his films, but wrote, edited, and produced them as well. Because of his autocratic command on the set he was nicknamed "Tenno (literally "Emperor"). He was well known for his perfectionism. Believing brand new costumes did not look realistic, he would make his actors wear their costumes on a daily basis weeks ahead of shooting. In Kumonosu-jô (1957 Throne of Blood) Kurosawa used real arrows fired by expert archers, some of which came within inches of lead actor Toshiro Mifune. While known for his dictatorial directing style, at the same time Akira Kurosawa was very loyal to his friends and collaborators. He often worked with the same group of actors, particularly Toshiro Mifune. Fumio Hayasaka composed the scores for most his early films. After Hayasaka's death, Masaru Satō scored most of his films. A sign of Kurosawa's loyalty can be seen in his friendship with Ishirō Honda (best known as the director of the Gojira/Godzilla movies). Working as an assistant director to Kurosawa early in his career, he returned to this position with Kagemusha (1980). Indeed, one of the sequences in Dreams (1990) is rumoured to have been directed by Honda.

During his long career, Akira Kurosawa developed a distinctive directorial style, one in which he most often looked at movie frames with a painter's eyes. He often used multiple camera to shoot action scenes from different angles. He also made extensive use of the telephoto lens for basically two reasons. The first is that he though the telephoto lens made for better looking frames. The second it that he though that by placing the cameras at some distance from the actors, this would produce better performances from them. He was well known for using the elements to heighten the mood of scenes, from the rain in the climactic battle of Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai) to the snow in Ikiru (1951).

Although best known for his chanbara movies such as Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai) and Ran (1985), Akira Kurosawa worked in a variety of genres. Nora inu (1949 Stray Dog) was an outright film noir, in which a detective (Toshiro Mifune) searches for his stolen Colt pistol. Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel) was a gangster movie. Hachi-gatsu no kyôshikyoku (Rhapsody in August) was a drama. Akira Kurosawa not only worked in a variety of genres, but he also adapted works that would be most unexpected for a Japanese director. Hakuchi (1951 The Idiot) was an adaptation of The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Donzoko (1957 The Lower Depths) was based on the play by Maxim Gorky). Akira Kurosawa sometimes turned to the Bard. Kumonosu-jô (Throne of Blood)was based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, while Ran was based on Shakespeare's King Lear.

Despite working in a wide variety of genres, certain themes appear in Kurosawa's films over and over again. The struggle between good and evil  lies at the heart of many of his films. Indeed, it is at the centre of his most famous work, Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai), in which samurai must defend a village against bandits. Many of his films also focused on man's efforts to realise self actualisation. This also lies at the heart of Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai), in which the samurai (particularly Toshiro Mifune's character Kikuchiyo)  must look deep inside themselves to become the heroes they were meant to be. The idea that reality can often mask the truth also occurs in his films. It is most obvious in Rashomon, in which four witness give vastly different accounts of a crime.  It also occurs in Yojimbo, in which Kuwabatake Sanjuro plays one crime lord against the other.

 Although Kurosawa dealt with often weighty themes and his films are quite rightfully called "epics," he never lost sight of realism in regards to his characters. Kurosawa's characters are often all too human, with flaws and weaknesses all their own. Indeed, one of the ways in which Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai) was revolutionary was its treatment of samurai. In previous chanbara films, the samurai were treated as idealised characters with no imperfections, much as cowboys once were in American Westerns. In Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai) the samurai are all too human. They even joke about hiding or running way in battle, things which were extremely dishonourable under the samurai code of bushido. Of course, in the end they fight and some of them die as heroes defending the village against the bandits.

Akira Kurosawa revolutionised chanbara movies in his treatment of the samurai in Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai), but he was an innovator in other ways as well. With Rashomon he introduced a new sort of plot to both eastern and western audiences, one in which audiences give vastly different accounts of a single event. Rashomon would be remade as The Outrage in 1964. The plot of Rashomon has since become one of the basic plots of movies and television, utilised in movies ranging from Vantage Point to One Night at McCool's, and TV shows ranging from All in the Family to Fraiser. The plot of Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai) would become one of the archetypal plots of films in both the east and the west. It was the first movie in which a group of heroes are gathered together for a single goal. It was remade as The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), and has influenced films ranging from The Dirty Dozen to The Professionals to A Bug's Life.

Not surprisingly given his influence, some of Akira Kurosawa's films have seen multiple remakes. Yojimbo would be unofficially remade as Fistful of Dollars, givinig rise to the spaghetti western in the process, and still later it would be remade as The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984), Inferno (1999),  and Last Man Standing (1996). Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (1958 The Hidden Fortress) would be a profound influence on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and would be remade as Kakushi Toride no San-Akunin: The Last Princess (2008). Dodesukaden (1970) was loosley remade as Street Trash (1987).  As mentioned above, both Rashomon and Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai) have been officially remade a few times and unofficially remade (or plagiarised) many more times.

Akira Kurosawa would have an enormous influence of filmmakers. Both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have acknowledged their debt to him. Martin Scorsese once said of Kurosawa, "His influence on filmmakers throughout the entire world is so profound as to be almost incomparable." Hong Kong director John Woo acknowledged Kurosawa as "...one of my idols and one of the great masters." Perhaps only Hitchcock and Truffault can match Kurosawa in terms of his influence on modern cinema, and perhaps not even them.

Akira Kurosawa died on  6 September, 1998. He left behind an enormous legacy in the form of his films, which continue to be influential to this day. The Akira Kurosawa Foundation was founded in December 2003 to contirbute to the art of film. In commemoration of his 100th birthday, the AK100 Project was launched, with the goal of exposing young people to the great work of Akira Kurosawa. Last year Anaheim University opened the Anaheim University Akira Kurosawa School of Film. Today Google's logo was even redisgned in honour of Kurosawa's 100th birthday. Akira Kurosawa was most certainly one of the most influential directors of all time. And for some of us, he was simply the greatest director of all time.

Movies That Pick Me Up

 Evey: “Does it have a happy ending?”
V: “As only celluloid can deliver.”
(the movie V For Vendetta)

Not long ago Kate did a post on movies that instantly pick her up. It was such a fun post that I thought I would make my own list of movies that instantly cheer me up every time I see them. This list is by no means complete, as there are many movies that pick me up every time I see them, no matter how down I may feel (indeed, the above quoted V For Vendetta is among them); however, these are some of the films I like the best when I need a pick me up.

Arsenic and Old Lace(1944)

Short of It's a Wonderful Life, this is my favourite Frank Capra film of all time. I certainly think it is his funniest movie of them all. It is most certainly a black comedy, in which Mortimer Brewster's (Cary Grant) sweet natured aunts have a rather dark secret. It is almost one of the few American farces that works really well, with the situations set up in the first few minutes soon spiralling out of control. Of course, as with any good farce, everything turns out well in the end. The movie has a great cast, with Cary Grant in the lead, and Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre playing supporting roles. It also benefits from a brilliant script by the great Julius Epstein.

The Black Swan (1942)

This is quite simply the greatest pirate movie of all time. Set in Jamaica during the Golden Age of Piracy, the movie stars Tyrone Power as Captain Jamie Waring, a pirate who finds a crisis on his hands when England makes peace with its old enemy, Spain. The movie has plenty of derring do, with Power at his swashbuckling best. It also has what may be one of the greatest ship to ship battles of all time.

The Crimson Pirate

Quite possibly the second greatest pirate movie of all time, The Crimson Pirate is also a steampunk movie before there was steampunk. Burt Lancaster stars as Captain Vallo, the Crimson Pirate, who finds himself caught up in a rebellion. Along the way he receives some assistance from Professor Elihu Prudence (James Hayter), who has some decidedly advanced technology for the 18th century. Burt Lancaster had worked as a circus acrobat, and he puts his skills to good use in this film. The Crimson Pirate also features Christopher Lee in one of his earliest roles on film. Exciting, humorous, and filled with acrobatics and some technology far in advance of the 18th century, this movie is just plain fun.

Duck Soup (1933)

This is the Marx Brothers at their manic best. The film's plot centres on the small, bankrupt country of Freedonia, much in need of financial assistance and under threat from a takeover by neighbouring Sylvania. The comedy comes fast and furious in this film, with some of the Marx Brother's best bits, including the much imitated mirror scene. The movie clocks in only at 68 minutes, but it has enough plot and enough comedy for another three movies!

The Great Escape

Based on the true story of the mass escape from Stalag Luft III (although heavily fictionalised), The Great Escape boasts an all star cast and some of the greatest action scenes in the history of film. The Great Escape also boasts one of Steve McQueen's greatest performances, as Captain Virgil Hilts "the Cooler King." While not all of our heroes live in the end, the film is still inspiring in portraying one of the greatest moments in the history of World War II

A Hard Day's Night/Help!/Yellow Submarine

I list all of these films together because so often I watch them together, one after the other. Each one features the music of The Beatles, even if all of them do not feature The Beatles themselves in prominent roles (The Beatles did not provide their own voices in Yellow Submarine). A Hard Day's Night was the first Beatles movie, a virtually plotless film in which The Beatles travel from Liverpool to London for a TV show. The comedy is fast and frantic, with some truly hilarious lines and situations. It also features some of the best songs ever performed by The Beatles. Help! continued with the fast and furious comedy of its predecessor. It also served as a great parody of the spy films of the day, in which The Beatles must go on the run after Ringo is given the sacrificial ring of a cult parodying the Thugee. Not only are there some truly funny (and surreal situations), but Help! features one of the best soundtracks of all time. The Beatles' involvement in Yellow Submarine was minimal at best, but the film captures the spirit of The Beatles so well that is is often counted as a genuine Beatles movie. Indeed, Yellow Submarine even features the fast and frantic humour that worked so well in A Hard Day's Night and Help!, as well as some truly amazing visuals. The soundtrack could be one of the greatest of all time, featuring songs from Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Head

There is a line of thought that claims that Head is nothing like the TV series The Monkees, even though it stars The Monkees. As I see it, however, there are only two real differences between the two. The first is that Head has no plot whatsoever, while the average Monkees episodes did have plots. The second is that Head is often much darker than the average Monkees episode. Beyond these facts, however, Head is in many ways very much like The Monkees. Indeed, the nature of the comedy is very much the same, with jokes coming fast and furious, accompanied by non sequiturs, sight gags, breaking the fourth wall, surrealism, jump cuts, and often strange camera angles.Head also features parodies of various film genres, something which frequently appeared on the TV series. Head is a truly surreal film, with some very strange moments (the one that comes to mind are The Monkees romping through Victor Mature's hair). It is also a very funny film with some of the best songs The Monkees ever recorded.

Hot Enough For June

Hot Enough for June was one of the earliest spy parodies of the Sixties. It is also one of the best. Much of what makes this film so great is that it doesn't simply parody James Bond, as so many films of the era did, but instead takes a jab at the classic Hitchcock spy thrillers as well. Another thing which makes this film so great is the performance of Sir Dirk Bogarde as Nicholas Whistler. As Whistler, Bogarde reacts as most of us would if caught in the middle of the spy game--he is quite out of his depth and simply trying to get out of the whole thing alive. Whistler's efforts to stay alive and in one piece lead to some truly hilarious situations, making Hot Enough for June one of the funniest spy parodies ever made.

Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai)

Not only the greatest action film ever made, but in my humble opinion the greatest film ever made, period. If the plot in which seven samurai protect a village of farmers against a band of marauders seems familiar, it is because it is also one of the most influential films of all time, having been imitated endlessly. Shichinin no Samurai is not a simple minded action film, but a very intellectual film in which the villagers are no mere victims and the heroes are not always perfect. It is also one of the most inspiring films of all time, in which the often very flawed samurai ultimately become the heroes they should be. No remake, no imitator, has ever matched Shichinin no Samurai in its sheer quality as a work of art.

Singin' in the Rain

Not only the greatest jukebox musical of all time, but quite possibly the greatest musical of all time as well. Singin' in the Rain has some truly great songs, drawing upon the catalogue of songwriters Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. It also has some of the greatest dance sequence ever filmed (Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh" sequence has to be seen to be believed). What makes Singin' in the Rain so great, however, is that it is also a very good comedy. Set in the period of transition from silent movies to talkies, Singin' in the Rain features some hilarious lines and some truly funny situations. Indeed, the script by Betty Comden and Arthur Green is so well written, that Singin' in the Rain would have been a great film without the songs and dance sequences!

Children's Author Sid Fleischman Passed On

Sid Fleischman, Newbury winning author of more than 50 children's books, passed on March 17. The cause was cancer. He was 90 years old.

Sid Fleischman was born on March 16, 1920 in Brooklyn, but grew up in San Diego, California. As a child he studied magic and by his teens he even performed on vaudeville. He published his first book, Between Cocktails, a collection of magic tricks written for his fellow magicians, when he was only 19. During World War II he served in the Naval Reserve aboard a destroyer escort. Following the war he graduated from San Diego State University in 1949. His first suspense novel, The Straw Donkey Case, was published in 1948. He continued to write mystery and suspense novels while working as a reporter at the San Diego Journal and later the editor of a small magazine. In 1951 he took up writing full time. His novel Blood Alley would be adapted as the 1955 movie of the same name. His novel Counterspy Express was adapted as the 1958 movie Spy in the Sky.

In all, Sid Fleischman would publish nine mystery and suspense novels and one Western for adults. It would be in 1962 that his career would change with the publication of his first children's novel Mr. Mysterious & Company in 1962. His second children's book, By the Great Horn Spoon, would be adapted as the 1967 Disney film The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin. His novel The Whipping Boy won the Newberry Medal. In all, Sid Fleischman wrote fifty children's books. He also wrote nonfiction works for juveniles, including biographies on Mark Twain and Houdini, as well as a book on magic for young people, Mr. Mysterious' s Secrets of Magic. His biography The Abracadabra Kid was published in 1996.

Davy Crockett: Television's First Fad

The death of Fess Parker brings to mind the miniseries that made him a star. "Davy Crockett: Indian Fighter" debuted on Disneyland on December 15, 1954 . It was followed by "Davy Crockett Goes to Congress" on January 26. 1955 and "Davy Crockett at he Alamo" on February 23, 1955. The "Davy Crockett" episodes of Disneyland received extraordinarily high ratings for the time. Some 40 million viewers were estimated to have watched the "Davy Crockett" episodes of Disneyland. Indeed, the Nielsen ratings placed the number of viewers for the second instalment at over half of everyone watching television. Even with such success,what no one at the time, not even Walt Disney, realised, was that "Davy Crockett" would become television's first fad.

The genesis of the "Davy Crockett" miniseries on Disneyland is not particularly easy to trace. It might have started all the way back in 1939, when folklorist Richard Dorson, whose book Davy Crockett, An American Comic Legend, had recently been published, claims he approached Walt Disney about using his book as the basis for a feature film. It was at least as early as the mid-Forties that we know Disney had considered using Crockett as the basis of some type of film. A Walt Disney Productions story inventory report from 1947 included a rough outline for a Davy Crockett musical production, by famous Missouri artist Thomas Hart Benton. In 1948 Walt Disney talked to Hedda Hopper about making some sort of film about Davy Crockett, although nothing apparently came of his plans--at least until Disneyland was scheduled to debut on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the fall of 1954.

As originally conceived, Disneyland would air instalments based on the various sections of the soon to be opened theme park Disneyland: Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland. While the television series was in pre-production, Walt Disney encouraged the unit in charge of the Frontierland segments to develop stories based on American heroes. According to Disneyland producer Bill Walsh, the staff was unable to settle upon one hero. As a result, they simply chose a name of a hero at random. The name happened to be Davy Crockett. According to Walsh, Disney was originally a bit reticent about the "Davy Crockett" television project. His fear was that it would be "too much fighting Indians;" however, after the Frontierland unit created a treatment with storyboards, Disney gave the go ahead for the "Davy Crockett" miniseries.

For the role of Davy Crockett, Walt Disney initially considered James Arness, a young actor who had appeared in the movies The Thing (as the title creature), Big Jim McLain, and Island in the Sky. Disney went to see the movie Them, in which Arness was featured prominently, to appraise his performance. While watching the film, however, Disney's attention was drawn to another young actor, who played a nervous pilot in the film. Fess Parker then auditioned for Walt Disney, winning what would be the part of a lifetime by playing his guitar. As to James Arness, he would go onto fame as Matt Dillon on the TV series Gunsmoke.

While Disney had been initially reluctant regarding the "Davy Crockett" mini-series, once the project was underway he spared no expense. The majority of the mini-series was shot on location in Tennessee and North Carolina, in the end costing over $700,000. There was no means by which ABC could ever recoup this cost, as they had only paid $2 million for the entire first season of Disneyland.

Amazingly enough for so costly a production, Bill Walsh realised after shooting had ended that they had fallen short of the amount of footage needed for three sixty minute episodes. At first Walt Disney recommended they use the actual storyboards as an introduction for the episodes. When he looked over the storyboards, however, he thought they were a bit boring. It was then he suggested they find a song to accompany the storyboards. Bill Walsh called upon the writer Thomas W. Blackburn and composer George Bruns to write a theme song. The result was "The Ballad of Davy Crockett." Disney was impressed enough with the song that it was planned, even before the mini-series aired, to release it as a single. To this end, in August, Fess Parker,  George Bruns, and a group of musicians entered a recording studio to record "The Ballad of Davy Crockett."

As mentioned above, "Davy Crockett: Indian Fighter" aired on December 15, 1954. While it is difficult to determine precisely when the "Davy Crockett" craze began, it seems likely that it was even as that first episode of the mini-series aired. This would explain the dramatic increase in the number of viewers from the first instalment of the mini-series to the second. As stated above, the Nielsen ratings estimated that nearly half of all television viewers tuned into "Davy Crockett Goes to Congress" on January 26, 1955. By February Hedda Hopper was already addressing children's love for Davy Crockett in her column, before the final instalment, "Davy Crockett at the Alamo," even aired.


Indeed, if the "Davy Crockett" craze did not begin with "Davy Crockett: Indian Fighter" in December, it might well have taken shape in February, after the success of "Davy Crockett Goes to Congress." It was on February 26, 1955 Columbia Records released "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" sung by Bill Hayes (who had been a singer on Your Show of Shows). Fess Parker's version was released on March 12, 1955. Yet another version, this one by Tennessee Ernie Ford, was released on March 19, 1955. All three versions would reach the top ten of the Billboard singles chart. Bill Hayes' version went all the way to #1, where it remained from March 26 to April 23. Fess Parker's version topped out at #6. Tennessee Ernie Ford's version peaked at #5. It was around February 26, 1955 that Walt Disney announced the three Davy Crockett episodes had been edited into a feature film. Between Hedda Hopper's column, the success of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," and Disney's announcement of the feature film, it seems obvious that the fad must have already been underway in February and March of 1955.

Indeed, it would seem by March the Davy Crockett merchandising boom had begun. A display ad from the March 7, 1955 issue of The Chicago Tribune advertised "Davy Crockett Style: Suede Leather Jackets." By April there would be ads for coonskin caps, such as one in the April 28 issue of The Milwaukee Journal, which read: "Davy Crockett coonskin cap with real tail." By late spring, the Davy Crockett merchandising bonanza was well underway.

Even by today's standards, the amount of money spent on Davy Crockett merchandise in 1955 is staggering. Not only did Bill Hayes' version of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" spend an astounding thirteen weeks on the Billboard charts, but in all of its  versions the song sold over 10 million copies. Over ten million coonskin caps were sold. There were over 5.5 million books on Davy Crockett sold. As far as other merchandise, in the end over $100 million worth of Davy Crocket towels, pyjamas, toothbrushes, lunchboxes, costumes, and so on, were sold. Released on May 25, 1955, Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier, the feature film compiled from the three episodes of the mini-series, brought Davy Crockett to children who did not have television sets and only fueled the craze even more. Even though many had already seen the "Davy Crockett" episodes on television, the movie ultimately earned $2.5 million at the box office.

Walt Disney did not expect the demand for Davy Crockett merchandise at all. Worse yet, he had no legal means by which he could prevent simply anyone from producing such merchandise.  As Davy Crockett was a historical figure, he was technically in the public domain. This fact probably made the Davy Crockett merchandising boom even bigger than it might have otherwise been. This is not to say that Walt Disney did not make a good deal of money from Davy Crockett merchandise. Disney licensed goods under the heading "Walt Disney's Davy Crockett," the packaging often featuring a picture of Fess Parker as the frontiersman. Davy Crockett may have been in the public domain. Fess Parker was not.

Ultimately, the success of the "Davy Crockett" episodes of Disneyland would result in two more "Davy Crockett" episodes being made. It was around Mach 21, 1955 that Walt Disney announced the man in the coonskin cap would return to Disneyland. The two new episodes would team Davy Crockett up with another American legend, Mike Fink. "Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race" aired November 16, 1955. "Davy Crockett an the River Pirates" aired December 14, 1955. Unfortunately, by the time the new "Davy Crockett" episodes aired, the craze was nearly over. Regardless, these episodes would also be edited together as a feature film, Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, released on July 18, 1956.

As mentioned above, the "Davy Crockett" craze appears to have begun in early 1955. It grew steadily during the next several months, until by May it was nearly unavoidable. Reaching its peak in the summer months of June, July, and August, it slowly declined as 1955 progressed. By November and December, when the final two "Davy Crockett" episodes aired, the fad was a mere shadow of itself. By January 1956, the fad was officially over. By March 7, 1956, a United Press article reported that toy manufacturers considered the Davy Crockett fad to be dead.

While the Davy Crockett fad ended, the "Davy Crockett" mini-series would have a lasting influence. This would immediately be felt upon the TV series Disneyland. Eager to repeat even some of the success of the "Davy Crockett" mini-series, Disneyland would regularly feature similar frontier, Western, and adventure mini-series through the rest of the Fifties into the Sixties, even as the series' title changed from Disneyland to Walt Disney Presents to Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Colour. Over the years there would be mini-series featuring Andy Burnett (hero of a series of novels by Stewart Edward White), historical figures such as Elfego Baca, John Slaughter, Daniel Boone (not to be confused with the Sixties TV series), and Francis Marion (AKA "the Swamp Fox"), as well as Dr. Syn (the hero of novels by Russell Thorndike). The TV series Zorro starring Guy Williams, produced by Disney, may have also been the result of the success of the "Davy Crockett" mini-series.

In 1956 TV Guide even asserted that the Davy Crockett craze may have been responsible for the adult Western cycle on television in the late Fifties, which was then only beginning. While the "Davy Crockett" mini-series did have a huge impact, to count it as responsible for the adult Western cycle of the Fifties may be overestimating that impact. The adult Western cycle began in 1955 when three such series debuted: Cheyenne, Gunsmoke, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. Even in the Fifties the amount of preparation for a filmed series could be considerable, so that Cheyenne and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp were probably already in the planning stages as "Davy Crockett: Indian Fighter" debuted. As to Gunsmoke, plans to bring the popular radio show to television were already underway even as Disneyland debuted. It would be the success of these three series, rather than the Davy Crockett craze, that would lead to the adult Western cycle which would last until 1960.

That having been said, the "Davy Crockett" mini-series would have some impact on the Western cycle of the Fifties. Some of the shows which debuted may have drawn upon the "Davy Crockett" mini-series for inspiration. Indeed, in 1956 a TV show debuted on ABC which featured as its protagonist one of Davy Crockett's fellow combatants at the Alamo: The Adventures of Jim Bowie. Centred on Bowie's adventures in Louisiana in the 1830s, the series featured several historical figures, including Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, and, of course, Davy Crockett. Another series that may have been inspired by the Davy Crockett craze was produced in Canada. Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans was based on a figure very similar to Davy Crockett, the fictional Natty Bumpo or "Hawkeye" who was the hero of James Fenimore's "Leatherstocking Tales." The series debuted in 1957 and aired in syndication in the United States.

The "Davy Crockett" mini-series was directly responsible for a frontier drama which debuted in 1964. It was in 1963 that the "Davy Crockett" mini-series was rerun on Disney's Wonderful World of Colour. It was while he was on tour with the musical Oklahoma that Fess Parker noticed an increase in the number of autograph seekers and found out that the mini-series had been rerun. Seeking to capitalise on the new found popularity of Davy Crockett, Parker approached producer Aaron Rosenberg about a new Davy Crockett series. The two sought permission from Disney to use the "Davy Crockett" name, but he refused. Realising that as a historical figure Davy Crockett was in the public domain, they sought to go ahead with the series anyhow. Unfortunately, neither Lloyds of London nor Fireman's Fund would insure them against lawsuits from Disney. It was then that they decided to base their new show around another historical frontiersman, Daniel Boone. Daniel Boone, starring Fess Parker in the title role, debuted in 1964 and ran for six years.

The Davy Crockett fad was an unprecedented event in the history of American television. Not even Walt Disney had expected the phenomenon. As to the underlying causes behind the craze, that is perhaps anyone's guess. It may have been the simple fact that in some ways there had been nothing quite like the "Davy Crockett" mini-series on television before. True, there were several juvenile Westerns on at the time, including The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid, Hopalong Cassidy, The Gene Autry Show, and The Roy Rogers Show; however, without exception these shows were produced on low budgets. The "Davy Crockett" mini-series was produced on a budget that was massive for television at the time, and it showed on the screen. Furthermore, the mini-series was created by veterans of feature films. Director Norman Foster's credits had included Think Fast, Mr. Moto and several Charlie Chan films. Cinematographer Charles Boyle and editor Charles Schaeffer also had considerable film credits. The "Davy Crockett" mini-series was no B production, but very much a first class affair all the way. This was probably not lost on the children of the early Fifties.

Another factor behind the Davy Crockett craze may have been the character of Davy Crockett in the mini-series itself. As portrayed in the mini-series, Davy Crockett is brave, strong, intelligent, adventurous, and even patriotic. He is a man with a sense of honour and a willingness to help others. At the same time, however, Davy has a sense of fun about him and a healthy defiance of authority. Essentially, Davy Crockett in the mini-series is a potent combination of father figure and perpetual adolescent. Children could look up to him and identify with him at the same time.

As to the sheer size and scope of the Davy Crockett fad, much of this may have been due to the fact that there were simply more children in the United States than at any point up to that time. The Baby Boom had begun in 1945, so that the oldest members of that generation were nine years old when the first "Davy Crockett" segment aired on Disneyland. The sheer number of Baby Boomers then made the Davy Crockett craze much larger than previous juvenile fads, to the point that it seemed to have permeated all of American pop culture at the time.

While it is difficult to explain why the Davy Crockett fad took place, it is not so difficult to explain why it ended. In the book Fads, Follies, and Delusions of the American People by Paul Sann, it is noted that often the more intensely a fad is adopted, the shorter its duration will be. The Davy Crockett craze took the country by storm in the early months of 1955 and had reached its peak by the middle of the year. The sheer intensity of the Davy Crockett fad then dictated that it would not last long. In simpler terms, it can be be said that children just grew tired of Davy Crockett and moved onto other things.

Regardless, while it lasted the Davy Crockett fad was huge. It is estimated that the craze accounted for $300 million in sales that year. Three different versions of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" made Billboard's top ten singles within weeks of each other. There were Davy Crockett books, colouring books, pyjamas, snow sleds, and many more items. And, of course, there were the ubiquitous coonskin caps. So huge was the Davy Crockett phenomenon was that it would remain unmatched in the history of television for many years. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. craze of 1965 would come close, but would ultimately fall short of the proportions of the Davy Crockett craze. In the end it would take a superhero to surpass the Davy Crockett craze in sheer intensity. In January 1966, over ten years after the Davy Crockett mini-series had first aired, Batmania swept the nation with the debut of Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Curiously, the source of this new fad, this fad which would actually surpass the Davy Crockett craze in the annals of television, debuted on the very same network: the small and ever struggling ABC.