BATMAN: THE BLACK WIDOW STRIKES AGAIN

Tallulah Bankhead faces down Batman

 THE BLACK WIDOW STRIKES AGAIN on Batman. ABC TV. 1967.

"You may be caped and you may be dynamic, but I find you a crashing bore!" -- Black Widow

When the campy Batman TV series hit the airwaves in the late sixties, a number of well-known actors were signed to play guest villains. Definitely the most memorable was talented stage [and screen] actress Tallulah Bankhead, with her trademark gravelly voice and withering, highly amusing delivery. Bankhead had already shown how good she could be in TV comedy when she guest-starred on what was probably the best Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode. On this two-part second season episode of Batman, she plays the comically sinister Black Widow, who apparently rode roughshod over Gotham City in the past (but never appeared previously on the show) and now is robbing banks with the aid of several confederates and a machine that saps men's wills. Therefore she sort of hypnotizes the bank officers into simply handing her oodles of cash. The cliffhanger has Bankhead unleashing cat-sized black widow spiders on Batman and Robin ("Batman! They're getting closer!"/ "I know, Robin!"). Arguably the funniest sequence has the Widow dressing up as Robin and growling at police officers, with her voice coming out of Burt Ward's body as the actor does a funny parody of Bankhead. Bolstering the proceedings -- along with Adam West as Batman and Ward as Robin, both excellent as usual (not to mention wonderful Neil Hamilton and Stafford Repp as the police and Alan Napier as Alfred) -- are the appearances of Grady Sutton (The Bank Dick) as a nervous bank teller and Len Felber as the bank manager. The campy approach to Batman is now passe, but I must say this was a very, very funny and clever episode of the often dopey series. Bankhead's most famous movie is Hitchcock's Lifeboat; she starred in Die, Die My Darling two years before doing Batman.

Verdict: Bankhead and Batman are an unbeatable combination. ***.

BARE BONES 16

 

bare bones 16,

The latest issue of bare bones is out and available on Amazon. Here are the contents:

"Victoria Timpanaro provides her perspective on the evolution of fandom
Exploring Outrage in The Dakotas with Larry Blamire
J. Charles Burwell digs into George P. Pelecanos’ DC Quartet
The Cinema of Alistair MacLean examined by Derek Hill
William Schoell (yours truly) studies Professor Quatermass in Films and on Television
Mike Shayne’s Mystery Magazine Part Two by Peter Enfantino
Duane Swierczynski’s Field Guide to L.A. Pulp tracks down Paul Cain
Another trip down Sleaze Alley with Peter Enfantino
David J. Schow gets the Word on the Street in his latest R&D column
A weird, wiggly peek inside John Scoleri’s Monster Gallery"
bare bones is edited by Peter Enfantino and John Scoleri. It is a fun, scholarly publication, well worth the price.
https://www.amazon.com/Bare.../dp/B0CP2WVYCM/ref=sr_1_1...

TELL ME YOUR SECRETS

Lily Rabe and Enrique Murciano

TELL ME YOUR SECRETS (2021). 

"Killer" Miller (Lily Rabe), the girlfriend of a convicted serial killer, has always been suspected of being his accomplice. After serving several years in prison, she is let out and put in witness protection under the name "Emma Hall." Her handler is a shrink named Peter (Enrique Murciano), who lives in the same small bayou town where she is relocated. Meanwhile Mary Barlow (Amy Brenneman) hopes that Miller can tell her what happened to her daughter, one of the psycho's victims, whose body has never been recovered. To this end, figuring that it takes a monster to find a monster, she hires supposedly reformed serial rapist John Tyler (Hamish Linklater) to find Miller. In the town where Miller now resides, girls in an orphanage begin disappearing ... 

Amy Brenneman and Hamish Linklater

Tell Me Your Secrets is an intriguing and initially absorbing ten-part series that examines these characters and others as you wait for it to all fit together and to give up the answers to various characters' questions. The problem is that there simply isn't enough story for ten parts. After a slow opening, the series builds up steam for the next few episodes, but then it simply goes on ... too long. Six episodes would have been more than enough to highlight the often interesting and sometimes unexpected interactions between these people, but after awhile you find yourself growing impatient and losing interest. This is too bad, as some of the revelations in the final episode are certainly compelling. Tell Me Your Secrets is marvelously acted across the board, with each actor credibly reacting to all of the twists and turns of the convoluted plot. I especially admired Hamish Linklater but everyone, down to smaller roles and nice turns by Richard Thomas and others, is excellent. NOTE: This is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. 

Verdict: You may not want to give this story the time it takes to tell, but suspense and mystery fans may want to give it a whirl. **3/4. 

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE

John Russell and Chick Chandler

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE 1955 - 1957 syndicated television series.

This half hour show lasted two seasons and concerned the exploits of two adventurers who would do just about anything and go anywhere if the pay was right: Tim Kelly (John Russell) and Toubo Smith (Chick Chandler). The show used old sets from Republic films and serials as well as a lot of adroitly-employed stock footage. Russell and Chandler -- the former tall, handsome and macho, with a splendid physique, the latter short and plucky -- complimented each other perfectly.

Chandler and Russell

In one first season episode Kelly suggests that Toubo is getting too old and tired, should settle down and marry, he's over the hill. "A friend shouldn't say that to a friend," says an offended Toubo. "Who says you're a friend," replies Kelly "We travel around together," protests Toubo. To which Kelly replies, "I'm just keeping you out of trouble." The viewer honestly doesn't know if Kelly is joking or not, but in an episode in the second season, Kelly clearly risks his life to save his buddy's when the latter is nearly sacrificed to natives, so there's no doubt that there is a genuine bond of friendship between the two men.

John Russell before his Lawman TV series mustache

Soldiers of Fortune was not a classic series, but it was entertaining and (via stock footage and standing sets) managed to send the boys all over the world. Among the more memorable "A" episodes were the following: a woman is plagued by a voodoo cult in "Drums of Far Island;" a Chinese salesman in Limehouse is embroiled in a smuggling plot in "Hatchet Man;" sabotage holds up construction of an underwater tunnel in Cuba in "Sandhogs;" and the boys go undercover on a cargo ship with a sinister crew in "Crew of the Dolly D." 

Chick Chandler

Out of fifty-two episodes I have managed to see all but five, but at least half are of B+ quality. Guest-stars include Henry Brandon ("Greatest Beast" -- was an oil man killed by a Tibetan monster?); Jay Novello ("Vanishing Island" -- that  occasionally rises to the surface and holds a treasure); Beverly Garland ("Lady and the Lion" -- intrigue on an African film set); Jean Byron ("Tattooed Lady of Torima" -- a beautiful woman runs a diamond racket in Columbia); Michael Emmet ("Skull of the Inca" -- an educated native returns to headhunter land to find treasure and encounters giant lizards from One Million B.C. instead). 

"City of Doom" with Pamela Duncan

Also Grant Williams ("Lady of Rajmahal" -- a rajah's frightened wife wants to leave home with some priceless art treasures); Adele Jurgens ("Danger Sisters" -- two gals with a knife-throwing act get into trouble in Tangier); and Pamela Duncan ("The City of Doom" -- a maharajah's sister fears that a cult that is against progress will eventually destroy the city). Many episodes featured women whom at first seemed warm and sympathetic and turned out to have a dagger up their sleeves, and duplicitous characters of both sexes abounded. 

Verdict: Basically a fun if imperfect series that was easy to take. **1/2.