Book Review: They Lived by Their Guns by Various Authors Back in the day, Westerns were king. Even pulp magazines like Argosy that weren’t exclusively western-focused tended to have at least one tale set in that genre every issue. Thus this collection of five novelettes reprinted from the magazine from the late 1940s, published in… Continue reading Book Review: They Lived by Their Guns
Tag: California
Magazine Review: Pulp Review #22: Vulture Coast
Magazine Review: Pulp Review #22: Vulture Coast edited by John P. Gunnison As I mentioned in my review of High Adventure #200, that pulp reprint magazine was known as Pulp Review for its first 23 issues, and I have some of those earlier issues, that I hope to get to before I die. Let’s look… Continue reading Magazine Review: Pulp Review #22: Vulture Coast
Book Review: Great Science-Fiction
Book Review: Great Science-Fiction edited by Tony Licata This anthology was, Wikipedia says, originally intended to have the title “Bizarre”, but that might have drawn the wrong kind of attention, so the publisher gave it this much more generic title. “The Wind” by Ray Bradbury starts us off with a spooky tale of a man… Continue reading Book Review: Great Science-Fiction
Magazine Review: Other Worlds December 1951
Magazine Review: Other Worlds December 1951 edited by Ray Palmer Let’s have another look at this long-running science fiction magazine! The opening editorial by Ray Palmer hypes up the serial which will start in the next issue, Rog Phillips’ These Are My Children, advertised here as something truly special. Sadly, the book version seems to… Continue reading Magazine Review: Other Worlds December 1951
Book Review: Phobia
Book Review: Phobia by Thomas Luke When Peter Ross was seven, his little sister died in a swimming pool accident. He developed a crushing fear of swimming. Some years later, Peter’s father threw him into the deep end of the pool, and in his struggles to get out, the boy found that he could swim,… Continue reading Book Review: Phobia
Movie Review: Hand of Death
Movie Review: Hand of Death (1962) directed by Gene Nelson Alex Marsh (John Agar) is a biochemist who was supposed to be working on an aerosol anesthesia that patients could absorb through the skin. This research got derailed when Alex stumbled across a formula that instead caused temporary paralysis of the entire body, effectively a nerve gas. It’s… Continue reading Movie Review: Hand of Death
Movie Review: Too Many Winners
Movie Review: Too Many Winners (1947) directed by William Beaudine Private eye Michael Shayne (Hugh Beaumont) and his secretary Phyllis Hamilton (Trudy Marshall) have been invited for a duck hunting vacation with one of her relatives. Phyllis is looking forward to this, so is irritated when Gil Madden (Ben Welden) enters, looking like a client. She… Continue reading Movie Review: Too Many Winners
Movie Review: Choices (1981)
Movie Review: Choices (1981) directed by Silvio Narizzano John Carluccio (Paul Carafotes) has a pretty good life. Yes, he’s got severe hearing loss due to a childhood accident, but with the help of a hearing aid, he’s able to function in hearing society just fine. He’s first violin in his high school orchestra (been playing… Continue reading Movie Review: Choices (1981)
Movie Review: Detour (1945)
Movie Review: Detour (1945) directed by Edgar G. Ulmer When we first meet Al Roberts (Tom Neal), he’s hitchhiking east, unshaven, haunted-looking, and reacting badly to a jukebox song. That song used to mean something different, when he was a pianist in a small club, hoping for a break into the big time, and singer Sue… Continue reading Movie Review: Detour (1945)
Movie Review: Three on a Ticket
Movie Review: Three on a Ticket (1947) directed by Sam Newfield Private investigator Michael “Mike” Shayne (Hugh Beaumont) has just arrived at his office when his secretary Phyllis “Phil” Hamilton (Cheryl Walker) tells him he has an appointment with a prospective client, Jim Lacy (Brooks Benedict). Lacy is a private eye from the East Coast that… Continue reading Movie Review: Three on a Ticket