Movie Review: The Bishop Murder Case

Philo Vance's breakfast is interrupted by--murder!

The Bishop Murder Case (1929) dir. David Burton A peaceful morning is broken when Professor Bertrand Dillard (Alec B. Francis) and his manservant Pyne (Sidney Bracey) look down into the house’s courtyard and see the corpse of family friend Robin, nicknamed “Cock Robin”, with an arrow in his chest. Professor Dillard immediately calls District Attorney Markham… Continue reading Movie Review: The Bishop Murder Case

Book Review: The Hills of Homicide

Book Review: The Hills of Homicide by Louis L’Amour Before he landed the contracts that were to make him America’s most beloved Western writer, Louis L’Amour tried his hand at various other genres of pulp fiction. But the pulp magazine market was drying up, so it was generally a good thing he found other work.… Continue reading Book Review: The Hills of Homicide

Magazine Review: High Adventure #190: H. Bedford-Jones – Adventure

Magazine Review: High Adventure #190: H. Bedford-Jones – Adventure edited by John P. Gunnison This issue of the pulp reprint magazine collects three stories from the multiple typewriters of prolific author Henry James O’Brien Bedford-Jones (1887-1949). He was born in Canada, but moved to the United States in his teens and became a naturalized citizen… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #190: H. Bedford-Jones – Adventure

Movie Review: The Jade Mask

Movie Review: The Jade Mask (1945) directed by Phil Rosen Inspector Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is flying back to Washington, D.C. soon, and has already checked out of his hotel. So when he’s called away to investigate a possible murder, his psuedo-intellectual Number Four Son Edward “Eddie” Chan (Edwin Luke) and highly nervous chauffeur Birmingham Brown… Continue reading Movie Review: The Jade Mask

Movie Review: The Searchers (1956)

The posse considers their options.

Movie Review: The Searchers (1956) directed by John Ford Texas, 1868: Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) finally returns to his childhood home, three years after the end of the American Civil War. He evades questions about where he’s been, though he was emphatically not in California. Ethan gets reacquainted with his brother Aaron’s family: wife Martha, eldest… Continue reading Movie Review: The Searchers (1956)

Book Review: Deck the Pulps

Book Review: Deck the Pulps published by Brick Pickle Media Pulp magazines, like most forms of media, liked to celebrate holidays. Such as, you know, Christmas. But being the pulps, they leavened the usual sentimentality of the season with more of their usual action and excitement. This set of nine tales covers a variety of… Continue reading Book Review: Deck the Pulps

Book Review: Flash Gordon Book Four: Forces from the Federation

Book Review: Flash Gordon Book Four: Forces from the Federation by David Hagberg At long last, Colonel Steve “Flash” Gordon and his companions Dr. Hans Zarkov and Dale Arden are headed home in their refurbished starship, the Intrepid. They’re looking forward to briefing the Federation government about their adventures fighting the android robot warlord Martin… Continue reading Book Review: Flash Gordon Book Four: Forces from the Federation

Movie Review: 20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End

Cho-san is about to suffer retirony.

Movie Review: 20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End (2008) directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi When Kenji Endo (Toshiaka Karisawa) was a teenager, he loved rock music, especially “20th Century Boy” by T. Rex. He thought rock, and in particular his own music, could change the world. But some twenty years on in the late 1990s,… Continue reading Movie Review: 20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End

Book Review: The Case of the Rolling Bones

Book Review: The Case of the Rolling Bones by Erle Stanley Gardner Attorney Perry Mason is having a slow week with no real meaty cases, just ongoing matters that require boring paperwork. So he’s thrilled when a delegation of three people associated with Gold Rush millionaire Alden Leeds appears. They believe Mr. Leeds may be… Continue reading Book Review: The Case of the Rolling Bones

Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931

Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931 edited by Harry Bates Strange Tales was published as a direct competitor to Weird Tales, the top fantastic/occult story pulp magazine of the time, starting with this issue in 1931. It had more of an action slant to its editorial policy as compared to the more idea-heavy stories of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931