9 Festive Facts About A Charlie Brown Christmas

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Me-TV presents 9 Festive Facts About A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Here are three of my favorites…

A FORD COMMERCIAL INSPIRED THE SPECIAL.

Charles Schulz was reluctant to turn his Peanuts comic strip into an animation, but ultimately allowed Ford Motors to use the characters in a commercial in 1959. Bill Melendez animated the spot, and Schulz liked the finished product so much he allowed Melendez to direct A Charlie Brown Christmas.

THE NETWORK DIDN’T LIKE IT AT FIRST.

Melendez and Mendelson screened the special for CBS just three weeks before it aired. The network hated it, thinking it was too slow and lacked energy, and the meeting ended with them telling the producers there weren’t going to be more specials in the future.

Image: ABC
THE NETWORK EVENTUALLY LIKED IT.

Maybe it was the fact that 15 million homes tuned into A Charlie Brown Christmas. Maybe it was because the special pulled a 50 share in the Nielson ratings, meaning half of all households with a television watched it. Whatever the case, CBS opened up to the special and aired it on the network until 2000, at which point ABC started airing it.

Hold That Hypnotist (1957)

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Hold That Hypnotist (1957)

Director: Austen Jewell

Screenplay: Dan Pepper

Stars: Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements and Jane Nigh

The Pitch: “Hey,let’s make another Bowery Boys movie.”

Tagline: They’re HYSTERICAL…They’re HYPNUTICAL!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Satch gets hypnotized and has visions of an earlier life when he was a pirate and wakes with the knowledge of a buried treasure.  Less laughs than most Bowery Boys films and one of the weakest in the series.

 

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San Quentin (1937)

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San Quentin (1937)

Director: Lloyd Bacon

Screenplay:
Peter Milne and Humphrey Cobb

Stars: Pat O’Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Barton MacLane and Joe Sawyer.

The Pitch: “Hey,let’s make a dramatic romance focused around a prison.”

Tagline: “IT’S EASIER TO FIGHT TEN PRISON RIOTS THAN TAME ONE DIZZY DAME!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Captain Stephen Jameson (O’Brien) tasked with bringing discipline to the prisoners of San Quentin goes there to make a difference.  Jameson falls in love with the sister (Sheridan) of one of the convicts (Bogart).  When the convict escapes Jameson vows to bring him in.

One of the most unintentionally funny movie endings ever.

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Ken Meyer Jr.’s Ink Stains 25: Steranko!

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If you’re a fan of fanzines, then you’ve got to check out Ken Meyer, Jr.’s monthly column Ink Stains.  Each month Ken (who is an amazing artist) posts… well, let’s let Ken explain…

I have a collection of over 200 fanzines from the 60’s-80’s that I plan to scan and talk about, one at a time. I hope to have some of the participants answer a few questions. Many of those participants are established comics professionals now, while some have gone on to other things. I will show a few snippets from each zine and give you a link to download a pdf of the whole thing, which I hope all of you will do!

For Ink Stains 25, Ken took a look at the Jim Steranko Portfolio from 1970.  Edited and published by Jim Steranko through his Supergraphics company.

I’d never seen this prior to reading Ken’s article.  What an amazing collection of Steranko art going all the way back to when he was just 15.  The talent was always there.  It is interesting to see Steranko’s choices as he moved from genre to genre.  What a talent!

Ah, the memories of the glory days of fanzines.  Thanks to Ken Meyer, Jr. for making these available!

Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)

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Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)

Director: Don Siegel

Screenplay: Richard Collins

Stars: Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, Robert Osterloh, Paul Frees, Don Keefer, Alvy Moore, Dabbs Greer and Whit Bissell.

The Pitch: “Hey,let’s make a dramatic expose on prison life.”

Tagline: YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE SCORCHING CENTER OF A PRISON RIOT! YOU feel the savage frenzy of 4000 caged humans! YOU see the horror of the wolf pack on a vengeance kick! YOU sweat out every second with tortured hostages! YOU rock with the impact of brute force against bullets!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

James Dunn (Brand) leads a prison riot intended to bring about better conditions for all prisoners.  Unfortunately, Dunn’s partner in the uprising is Crazy Mike Carnie (Gordon) who sees this as his chance to get back at guards and maybe more.

Leo Gordon is a force of nature in this.

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Fingers at the Window (1942)

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Fingers at the Window (1942)

Director: Charles Lederer

Screenplay: Rose Caylor and Lawrence P. Bachmann from a story by Rose Caylor

Stars: Lew Ayres, Laraine Day and Basil Rathbone

The Pitch: “Hey,let’s make a scary love story!”

Tagline: DANGER AT NIGHTFALL!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

An axe-murderer is terrorizing the city of Chicago with six killings so far.  When Oliver Duffy (Ayers) sees a strange looking man following a woman late one night he stops to warn her.  Although skeptical at first, Edwina (Day) comes to realize Oliver isn’t kidding.  Oliver walks her home and a second attempt on her life is made.

Soon enough they realize that the other murders were just a ruse and she is the real target.  But who wants to kill her and why?  Oliver and Edwina may die finding out.

 

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London Has Fallen (2016)

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London Has Fallen (2016)

Director: Babak Najafi

Screenplay: Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt and Christian Gudegast and
Chad St. John

Stars: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Radha Mitchell, Angela Bassett and Morgan Freeman

The Pitch: “Hey,let’s make a sequel to Olympus Has Fallen!”

Tagline: The world’s leaders have assembled. So have their enemies.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

World leaders have all come to London for the funeral of an English diplomat.  When terrorists strike in attempt to kill as many world leaders as possible, it is up to Secret Service agent, Mike Banning (Butler) to get the President to safety… and kill as many terrorists as possible along the way.

 

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Rear Window (1954)

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Rear Window (1954)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay: John Michael Hayes based on the short story by Cornell Woolrich

Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey and Raymond Burr

The Pitch: “Hey, Alfred Hitchcock wants to make Rear Window!”

Tagline: In deadly danger…because they saw too much!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Stuck in his apartment mending a broken leg, professional photographer, Jeff Jeffries (Stewart) has taken to watching the lives of the people in the building across the courtyard.  It seems a harmless way to pass the time until Jeffries is convinced he saw a man kill his wife.

The police don’t have any evidence and Jeffries is stuck in his wheelchair.   With no proof and the appearance that the man is about to move away, Jeffries convinces his girlfriend, Lisa, (Kelly) that a murderer is about to escape justice.  Lisa is caught looking for evidence. The man now has Jeff and Lisa in his sights.

 

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10 Minor Goofs You Never Noticed in Star Trek

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Me-TV presents 10 Minor Goofs You Never Noticed in Star Trek the original series.  Here are three of my favorites…

A WOODEN STARSHIP – “Errand of Mercy”

In the opening, as the Enterprise is attacked by a Klingon vessel, you can see that the floor behind Nimoy has not been painted. The bare wood is exposed on the elevated part of the bridge.

BATTEN DOWN THE BRIDGE! – “The Changeling”

In the prologue, when a green bolt of light slams into the Enterprise — Red alert! Here we get a taste of that classic disaster technique of shaking the camera as the cast flails around on set. However, it must have been a pretty hard blast, as the helm console lifts off the floor.

THEY HAVE A L.A. ON NEURAL, TOO? – “A Private Little War”

The gang is on the primative planet of Neural. In the final act, Nona is being attacked by some tribal toughs, who look a bit like Daniel Boone in pastel pajamas. She tries to use Kirk’s Phaser against her attackers. As they struggle, Los Angeles can be seen off in the distance in the smog.

The Mummy’s Ghost (1944)

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The Mummy’s Ghost (1944)

Director: Reginald LeBorg

Screenplay: Griffin Jay & Henry Sucher & Brenda Weisberg

Stars: John Carradine, Robert Lowery, Ramsay Ames and Lon Chaney, Jr.

The Pitch: “Hey, it’s time for another mummy movie!”

Tagline: NO CHAINS Can Hold It! NO TOMB Can Seal It!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Like all mummy movies, a mummy is brought back to life and is attracted to a modern woman who may be the reincarnation of his past love.  Terror ensues at a slow pace (mummies have a hard time walking all bandaged up and all).  This mummy movie does have at least one surprise.

 

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