TV Review: The Court of Last Resort

TV Review: The Court of Last Resort In 1948, seven lawyers, including Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of the Perry Mason series, formed a group called “The Court of Last Resort.”  They investigated convictions that seemed to have irregularities, to see if the accused had actually committed the crime, much like the modern “Project Innocence.” Mr.… Continue reading TV Review: The Court of Last Resort

TV Review: The Cases of Eddie Drake/Code 3

TV Review: The Cases of Eddie Drake/Code 3 The Cases of Eddie Drake was a private eye series broadcast on the DuMont network in 1952.  The framing device was that psychiatrist Dr. Karen Gayle (Patricia Morison) was writing a book on criminal psychology, and paid Eddie Drake (Don Haggerty) to tell her about his cases.… Continue reading TV Review: The Cases of Eddie Drake/Code 3

TV Review: The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu

TV Review: The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu Fu Manchu is the greatest of the Yellow Peril villains, created during a time period when it was believed that “sinister Chinamen” plotted to overthrow the Western nations and bring the world under Asiatic control.  The first Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu novel, The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu, was published… Continue reading TV Review: The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu

Comic Strip Review: Johnny Comet

Comic Strip Review: Johnny Comet by Frank Frazetta & Earl Baldwin Before Frank Frazetta hit it big with movie posters and book cover paintings of brawny barbarians and scantily-clad women, he worked in comic books and tried to break into the lucrative newspaper comics business.    After a couple of abortive efforts, Mr. Frazetta was… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Johnny Comet

Book Review: JFK in the Senate: Pathway to the Presidency

Book Review: JFK in the Senate: Pathway to the Presidency by John T. Shaw Disclaimer:  I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. As someone born after John F. Kennedy was elected president, and about two years old when he died, I don’t really remember him in… Continue reading Book Review: JFK in the Senate: Pathway to the Presidency

Comic Strip Review: Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Volume 13 1950-1951

Comic Strip Review: Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy Volume 13: 1950-1951 IDW, through the Library of American Comics imprint, has been reprinting the long-running Dick Tracy comic strip in over-sized volumes, starting from its 1931 beginnings.  This volume covers the turn of the decade from the 1940s to the early 1950s. We begin with a callback… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Volume 13 1950-1951

Book Review: They Talked to a Stranger

Book Review: They Talked to a Stranger by Len O’Connor This book is centered around ten interviews with juvenile delinquents by then-radio reporter Len O’Connor in 1950s Chicago.  Each of the boys is identified with a nickname, some their actual nickname, others chosen to protect their identities.    They’re asked how they got into a… Continue reading Book Review: They Talked to a Stranger