The Hitchcock Project-Andrew Solt, Part One-Safe Conduct [1.21]

by Jack Seabrook

Andrew Solt wrote three teleplays for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Two aired in 1956 and the third, "The Return of the Hero," which is credited to Solt and Stirling Silliphant, aired in 1958. Solt was born in Hungary in 1916 as Endre Peter Strausz and began writing plays as a teenager in Budapest. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1939 and landed in New York City, but by the next year he was in Hollywood, where he would sign a contract with Columbia Pictures and work as a writer for movies and television for the next several decades. He co-wrote In a Lonely Place (1950) and his papers are held at the University of Albany. Solt was an anti-Communist, which is notable in regard to his first teleplay for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "Safe Conduct." He died in 1990.

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Claire Trevor as Mary Prescott

Some basic knowledge of political and sports history is useful when watching this episode, which was probably written in late 1955 and which aired on CBS on Sunday, February 19, 1956. In the years following the end of WWII in 1945, the continent of Europe had been carved up by Eastern and Western powers, resulting in countries in Central and Eastern Europe being controlled by the Soviet Union, which was controlled by Russia. As of 1955, Germany was split in two, with East Germany being part of the Soviet bloc and West Germany being an independent country aligned with the West. Bordering West Germany on the east were East Germany and Czechoslovakia; the border crossings between those nations were dangerous places, where citizens from Soviet bloc countries were carefully searched and not allowed to travel west without good reason, for fear that they would not return.

One area where rival countries were able to compete on reasonably friendly terms involved the sport of soccer. The 1954 world championship tournament featured national teams from sixteen countries. The tournament was held in Switzerland, which had been neutral during WWII. The championship game was won by West Germany, which beat Hungary (a Soviet bloc country) in the final match, by a score of 3-2. Ferenc Puskas, Hungary's captain, was considered by many to be the greatest player in the world at that time. East Germany and Argentina did not participate in the tournament that year.

Jacques Bergerac as Jan Gubak

When watching "Safe Conduct," imagine that East Germany beat Argentina in the championship match, and that Puskas was the star of the East German team. Finally, imagine that Martha Gellhorn, perhaps the most famous female journalist in the world in 1955, and the ex-wife of Ernest Hemingway, traveled to East Germany to meet with its president, tour its sites, and return home to write about what she saw. Andrew Solt, a Hungarian-American screenwriter, took all of these ingredients and sifted them together in his imagination to create this teleplay, which was not based on a short story but rather was written for TV.

The show opens with a shot of a train speeding through the night, surely one of the best ways to begin any film! The train whistle screams, smoke pours from the engine's smokestack, and there is a dissolve into a private room inside the train, where Mary Prescott, a reporter, sits, typing on a typewriter. She appears middle-aged and well-off, wearing a pearl necklace and a bracelet. There is a knock at the door, and she responds with "Entrez," a French word that tells the viewer that this train is traveling through Europe, not the U.S. She follows this with "Come in," and a train conductor enters, accompanied by a military officer. Mary hands over tickets, her passport, and a letter of safe conduct from President Stoska, the leader of the country through which the train is passing.

Werner Klemperer as Klopka/Kriza

The officer announces that he knows who Miss Prescott is and that she has been in their country to gather material for articles about it. He is already in possession of a copy of the president's letter, which shows that nothing is secret in this unnamed land. He adds that the train will arrive in Furtburg at midnight before crossing the border into West Germany. Furtburg is a fictional place, but context clues throughout the episode suggest that Mary has been visiting East Germany. The officer is friendly and, after a cursory question about whether she carries any official documents, he places a sticker on her suitcase to indicate to officials at the border that her luggage has already been inspected and does not need to be opened.

Just then, a man passes in the corridor outside Mary's room and the officer speaks to him. The man is Jan Gubak, a handsome young celebrity who is known by appearance. Gubak replies that he is traveling incognito and refers to the officer as "'comrade,'" suggesting that they are both from the same Soviet bloc country. Prescott asks the officer if Jan is a movie star, adding that she saw that he had a crowd of people around him at the station. The officer explains that Jan is the captain of the national soccer team and that he was responsible for their winning the championship last year in Switzerland. The officer leaves, intending to ask Gubak for an autograph for his son.

Another dissolve shows that time has passed. The whistle blows outside and there is a knock at the door. Jan Gubak enters Mary's compartment and sits down. She explains that she is an American reporter, and he replies that he saw her picture in the newspaper, when she was visiting national sites with the country's president. Jan asks if he can buy a piece of lingerie from Mary to give as a gift to his sister, who is in a hospital in Munich, West Germany. Adding that he can only take 100 Kronen (further confusing the issue of what country they are in, Kronen were not currency used in Germany or Czechoslovakia) out of the country, he is critical of excessive government regulations and his honesty appeals to her. Mary gives Jan a new pair of stockings in exchange for a promise of a signed photo of himself in his soccer uniform.

Peter van Eyck

He asks her to join him for dinner and there is a dissolve to the dining car, where Jan uses salt and pepper shakers on a tablecloth to show the positions of players at the end of the prior year's championship game. He says that the other team was from Argentina. Two conductors pay rapt attention and explain how Jan's header won the game by a score of 4-3. The man sitting at the next table asks for a salt shaker once the demonstration ends and introduces himself as Professor Mihail Klopka; he says that Mary is now as famous as Jan, and explains that he is a medical researcher on his way to Munich to report on the new polio vaccine recently developed in the United States. He claims that scientists in his country discovered a vaccine for polio years ago, and Mary plays along with his claim in order to avoid a scene.

There is a dissolve back to Mary's room, where she shares drinks with Jan. He suggests dinner the next night, but he suddenly becomes serious and shows Mary a valuable watch that he is smuggling out of the country to sell to pay for an operation for his sister. The conductor announces that the train is approaching Furtburg, and Mary insists on taking the watch and wearing it on her wrist, certain that she will not be detained at the border. Jan leaves and there is another dissolve to a shot of the train arriving in Furtburg. The officer enters Mary's cabin with a customs officer named Trevitch, whose questioning is friendly and easygoing until Jan bursts in and accuses Mary of trying to smuggle the diamond watch out of the country. Mary and Jan are both taken off the train by the officials.

At the customs office, Mary insists that Jan gave her the watch, but he denies any involvement. Mary and Jan are taken to the detention room, where they encounter Professor Klopka, who says that he has been accused of trying to escape his country. Later, the officer enters and takes the professor out; in the customs office, Trevitch addresses Klopka as Captain Kriza, of the secret police. Kriza tells the train officer to telephone the president, but the call is abandoned after Trevitch examines the watch and sees that it is worthless. Kriza concludes that it was all a trick to embarrass them, so Mary and Jan are put back on the train and allowed to cross the border safely into West Germany.

John Banner

After one last shot of the train crossing an aqueduct, there is a dissolve into Mary's room as Jan knocks at the door and she lets him in. He explains that his behavior was part of an elaborate ruse to enlist her aid in helping him and the rest of the anti-Communist underground. Jan is smuggling microfilm that contains the diary of Bishop Dresev, who recently died in prison. The business with the watch distracted the border officials and kept Jan from being searched, so the microfilm was not discovered. He gives it to Mary and asks her to publish it so that the free world will know the truth about the late bishop's persecution, torture, and death. He insists that they can never see each other again, for his own protection, and they part with a kiss.

 "Safe Conduct" is an exciting episode that benefits from some understanding of the political climate of early 1956, when it first aired. Claire Trevor is believable as Mary Prescott, a woman who is tough enough to stand up to Communist officials when she is wrongly accused of smuggling. Jacques Bergerac is adequate as Jan Gubak, though his heavy French accent makes it hard to accept him as a star soccer player from a Soviet bloc country. The rest of the cast are believable as Soviet officials or train conductors. Justus Addiss's direction keeps the story moving quickly, and the setting is perfect--there are enough shots and sounds to remind the viewer that the story is playing out on a train that is speeding through the night toward a dangerous border crossing.

Director Justus Addis (1917-1979) worked in television beginning in 1953 and directed ten episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "A Bullet for Baldwin." In his private life, he was the lifetime companion of Hayden Rorke, who played Dr. Bellows on I Dream of Jeannie. Addis worked almost exclusively in television, from 1953 to 1968. He also directed three episodes of The Twilight Zone. His only feature film was The Cry Baby Killer (1958) for producer Roger Corman; this film was notable for being Jack Nicholson's first role onscreen.

Claire Trevor (1910-2000) was born Claire Wemlinger in Brooklyn, New York. Her film career stretched from 1931 to 1982 and included such classics as Dead End (1937), Stagecoach (1939) and Key Largo (1948), for which she won an Academy Award. She won an Emmy Award in 1956 for "Dodsworth" and appeared in two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents; the other one was "A Crime for Mothers." The Claire Trevor School of the Arts in California is named after her.

Konstantin Shayne as Trevitch

Jan Gubak is played by the French actor Jacques Bergerac (1927-2014), who was recruited by M-G-M when he was a 25-year-old law student in Paris. He was on screen from 1954 to 1969 and appeared in Gigi (1958) as well as three episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (all written by Andrew Solt) and episodes of Batman. After retiring from acting, he became an executive at Revlon.

Werner Klemperer (1920-2000) portrays Captain Kriza, who masquerades as Professor Klopka. Born in Germany, his family emigrated to the U.S. in 1935 and he served in the Army in WWII. His screen career lasted from 1952 to 1993, mostly on TV, though he had a bit part in Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956). He appeared in one other episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "The Crystal Trench," along with episodes of Thriller, Batman, and Night Gallery, but he is best known for his role as Colonel Klink on Hogan's Heroes from 1965 to 1971.

The officer on the train is played by Peter van Eyck (1911-1969), who was born Gotz von Eick in Prussian Pomerania. He came to the U.S. in the 1930s and, after working at various jobs in the entertainment industry, he had a long career on screen from 1943 to 1969, appearing in films in the U.S. and Europe, including Fritz Lang's The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse. This was his only role on the Hitchcock series.

Ralph Manza

John Banner (1910-1973) plays the train conductor who first comes to Mary's room; Banner, of course, gained fame as Sergeant Schultz on Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971). He was on screen from 1940 to 1973 and appeared on Thriller, as well as in "Murder Case" on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

The customs officer is played by Konstantin Shayne (1888-1974). Born in Russia as Konstantia Veniaminovich Olkenitski, he fought for Russia in WWI and emigrated to the U.S. in 1928. He began appearing in films in 1938 and on TV in 1952, and his career on screen lasted until 1965. His films included The Stranger (1946) and Vertigo (1958). He was in one other episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "Flight to the East," and two episodes of The Outer Limits.

Ralph Manza (1921-2000) plays the other train conductor, who participates in the discussion of the soccer match. He was on screen from 1954 to 2000, appearing in numerous films and TV shows, including The Twilight Zone, Batman, Night Gallery, and The Odd Couple.

Watch "Safe Conduct" online here. Order the DVD here. Thanks to my wife, Lorraine, for research help!

Sources:

Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion. OTR Pub., 2001.

"Safe Conduct."  Alfred Hitchcock Presents, season 1, episode 21, CBS, 19 February 1956.

IMDb, www.imdb.com.

Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org.

Listen to Al Sjoerdsma discuss "Safe Conduct" here!

Listen to Annie and Kathryn discuss "Safe Conduct" here!

In two weeks: Our series on Andrew Solt concludes with a look at "The Legacy," starring Leora Dana and Jacques Bergerac!

Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 99: Atlas/ Marvel Horror

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 84

July 1955 

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Journey Into Mystery 25

Cover by Carl Burgos

"The Man Who Lost Himself!" (a: Vic Carrabotta)  ★★

"At Your Service!" (a: Jack Katz) ★

"The Little Man!" (a: Dick Ayers & Ernie Bache) ★★

"Foster’s Fate!" (a: Ann Brewster) ★

"Miracle on Maple Street!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★★

Charley Sims enters the cellar of his rooming home and discovers the building is an alien spacecraft. Unfortunately, no one will believe Charley’s story; in fact, no one will acknowledge they even know him. That’s not the worst aspect of his life, though, since he's slowly but surely losing his memory. In the end, we discover that Charley really did stumble on an alien "visit" and the creatures have erased his memory to ensure they won't be discovered.

A hazy climax to what was a decent enough story. Sure, I acknowledge that the plot of "The Man Who Lost Himself" has been done to death (in fact, a variation on the theme will be done almost verbatim again in two months), but Charley's angst comes right off the page. What the denouement means, I have no idea. The aliens fly away, having ruined Charley's life, but profess that the man will be just fine. What might have been termed an "invasion" some months ago is now labeled a "visit." The Carrabotta art is barely professional; in one panel, Charley seems to be puckering up for a diner cook.

Jack Katz puts in an even worse job of pencils in "At Your Service," a quickie about a genie who grants wishes to the greedy and finds happiness when his final client is a boy who wishes he had a nice puppy to play with. This must have been a rush job for Katz, since his art is usually done to a higher standard. Here it almost has a photoshop look to it, with body parts that don't seem to fit their bodies.

Elmer considers himself "The Little Man," a human being incapable of making an impact on others' lives. That all changes when Elmer's walking his dog and accidentally foils the plans of two terrorists who are on their way to bombing the U.N. building. No idea why this one is collected between the covers of Journey Into Mystery, since there are no fantastical or horrific elements to speak of. Unless you're pointing at the art of Ayers and Bache, which continues to be painful.

D-Day interrupts the love affair between Wally and Joyce, but Wally seems to see Joyce in every country where he's stationed. His buddy, Steve, says Wally is shell-shocked and should come back to the States after the war to meet his sister, Barbara, but Wally is intent on marrying Joyce, no matter what iteration she may be. When the war ends, he revisits each country, but finds no trace of Joyce or her clones. Resigning himself to a life without love, Wally heads back to the States to visit Steve and meets Barbara, who is the spitting image of Joyce! There's no rhyme or reason to the hogwash known as "Foster’s Fate!" No matter how many times you run it through your head, you can’t come up with an answer to explain that final panel. The name of Ann Brewster (in her one and only Atlas genre appearance) was more commonly found in the romance comics published by Ace, St. John, and Fawcett.

The children on Maple Street are kept entertained by Papa Roberti's wonderful puppet show, but their parents have more pressing matters to attend to. The town council is expecting the governor to visit within a week, but their main street is unappealing and the buildings are run down. The day after they discuss the dilapidated condition of their town hall, the building is magically transformed overnight into a beautiful structure. Though rumors are passed among the townsfolk, no explanation is found for "The Miracle on Maple Street!" and no benefactor comes forward.

After the same conversation is held in the town square about the shoddy condition of the homes that line Maple Street, another miracle occurs, and each house has been granted a new coat of paint. Seeing a pattern forming, the mayor deliberately stands in the street and screams that a few maple trees here and there on a street that is, after all, named after that particular tree, sure would be sweet. Sure enough, the next day, trees line Maple Street.

All that's left to remove is the ugly, ramshackle wagon that Papa Roberti runs his puppet show out of, so the mayor runs Papa out of town. The governor arrives, deems the city prosperous and beautiful, and raises the taxes! Outside of town, Papa Roberti sighs and watches over his army of puppets, now sleeping after their days of arduous toil.

What a fabulous twist, one I didn't see coming for some reason. I assumed Roberti was a gypsy with some kind of power and the beauty he'd created would vanish after he was escorted out of the city limits, but writer (and pulp veteran) Carl Wessler confounded my expectations. Thankfully. It's no surprise, however, that Joe Sinnott's art is the best of the batch this issue, though it's not quite the Sinnott we’ve become enamored of. His dark, nasty edge seems to have been escorted to the city limits by the CCC.-Peter

Marvel Tales 136

Cover by Carl Burgos

"Mystery of the Blocks!" (a: Pete Tumlinson) ★

"Ceiling… Zero!" (a: Ross Andru & Mike Esposito) ★1/2

"The Thing That Wouldn’t Stop!" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★

"The Man From Nowhere!" (a: Dick Ayers & Ernie Bache) ★

"And There You Are!" (a: Bob Powell) ★

Young John is fascinated and obsessed by building blocks--not the silly toys the other kids are playing with in his elementary school, but real building blocks. His teacher is worried that the boy isn't fitting in with the rest of his class, but when John's adopted dad takes a picture of his block city to a construction engineer friend of his, the man says John's designs are decades ahead of current technology. Turns out John is actually an alien who's been sent to Earth to teach us advanced tech.

"Mystery of the Blocks!" is a laughable sci-fi tale with an entirely predictable outcome, but the scene where the architect wonders aloud how advanced John's toy block construction is has to be seen to be believed. The Tumlinson art is unbearably pedestrian; harsh on the eyes and free of any kind of flow.

Bad art also helps sink "Ceiling… Zero," about an Army plane forced to fly through a terrific storm. While in the sky, the pilot passes out and a doctor must fly the plane with the help of a voice over the radio. Of course, once the plane lands, the doctor is informed that the radio has been dead for three hours. Whose was the mystery voice? Well, our heroes look to the heavens in the last panel, so that's as good a guess as any, I suppose.

The bad graphics display continues with Ed Winiarski's "The Thing That Wouldn’t Stop," about an inventor who designs a clock that synchs with the owner's heartbeat. The script is a dog and Winiarski's art lacks the kind of excitement that a Colan might have brought to the story. It's truly amazing how the bad art is similarly synched with the onset of the Comics Code.

Wouldn't you know the very next story shoots that theory straight to hell. Dick Ayers was around in the pre-code days and continues to spread his "magic" throughout the post-code times as well. The protagonist of "The Man From Nowhere!" is a homely magician who accidentally conjures up a leprechaun who teaches him all new tricks. In the end, the magician accompanies the elf back to his own dimension. In the final story, "And There You Are," a TV crew shooting a documentary about the assassination of Caesar gets an unexpected visit to the set by the real Brutus. Bob Powell helps put to bed a truly wretched issue of Marvel Tales.-Peter

Mystery Tales 31

Cover by Carl Burgos

"The Phone to Nowhere!" (a: Pete Tumlinson) ★1/2

"Danger Signal!" (a: Tony DiPreta) ★★1/2

"Two of a Kind!" (a: John Forte) ★★

"The Tree That Wouldn’t Fall!" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★★

"The Man Who Never Came Back!" (a: Robert Q. Sale) ★★★

Homer Horner arrives at his usual bank of phone booths to collect change for his phone company, but when he gets there, he's greeted by a young child who's lost his mother. She simply vanished in the booth! Skeptical, Homer enters the booth to make a call to the police, admonishing them for lazy patrolling. Poof! Homer vanishes from the booth and reappears in another dimension, floating in some kind of web with several other people.

With a little sleuthing, Homer deducts that every one of his companions was making a negative call, one that would hurt the person on the other end of the line. Homer instructs each person to dial again and change their tone (yes, the phones are in Purgatory as well!) from negative to positive. That does the trick. What doesn't do the trick, for me at least, is the simply awful artwork in "The Phone to Nowhere!" by Pete Tumlinson, barely more than sketches with coloring. The script isn't awful (it is pretty simple, though) but Pete's visuals are the pits. Excuse me while I call the Atlas office to complain…

When Moss Junction discontinues train service and pulls up its tracks, Ol' Pop Moss knows it's the end of an era. But when a virus hits the junction and planes can't land to distribute the antidote, Pop puts on the "Danger Signal," hoping a train will see his message of urgency. The next morning, the junction has its serum and fresh train tracks lay embedded in the grass near the old station. Not a bad little "ghost story" (I guess you could say the train is a ghost), with some decent DiPreta art and a heartwarming message. I do want to know who loaded the serum onto the spectral locomotive.

Roger Knot heads out to his jalopy one fine morning and finds an odd, yellow contraption parked next to his vehicle in the garage. He calls to his wife and the befuddled couple decide to pull the handle on the side of the gizmo. Suddenly, a beam of light shoots forth and Roger and his wife have a second car, an exact duplicate of the first!

So Roger and Helen do what any couple in their situation would do… they begin to "borrow" cars, clothing, and furniture from stores and duplicate them, effectively creating a world of comfort around them for next to nothing. But every miracle has a rational explanation and the yellow gizmo that creates "Two of a Kind" is no exception. The aliens who own the machine come to claim it and bring it back to their planet, also repossessing all of Roger and Helen’s new goodies. Greed is bad. Let this be a lesson to anyone in a similar situation; grab a stack of cash and start duplicating. It's much easier than doing all that shopping.

A quartet of lumberjacks have a philosophical discussion about whether trees have feelings or brains as they saw a particularly large specimen right in front of them. But the darn thing refuses to fall even when it’s been sawed completely through. The secret to "The Tree That Wouldn’t Fall" is the eagle that nests in its high branches. Nature sticks together.

The best is saved for last. In "The Man Who Never Came Back," Mark Bond finds no happiness in the surface world, so he volunteers for a dangerous deep-sea dive in a one-man submarine. Reaching depths no man has ever reached, Mark is excited until the engine stops working and the sea's pressure begins to crush the sub. At the last second, he is saved and emerges from the craft into an undersea world. Mark's found Atlantis. Above, his comrades mourn the loss of their friend.

What could easily have been maudlin junk evolves into a genuinely sweet story of a man who just doesn't fit in and finds his little bit of heaven in the least likely of places. The Sale art is not bad, but it's a bit primitive and safe.-Peter

Mystic 38

Cover by Carl Burgos

"The Man Who Listened" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

"When Time Stood Still" (a: Ed Winiarski?) ★1/2

"To Touch the Stars" (a: Dick Ayers & Ernie Bache) ★★1/2

"The Man Who Mailed a Dollar" (a: Art Peddy) ★★1/2

"She Saw Tomorrow" (a: Jay Scott Pike) ★★1/2

Mort Snyder was "The Man Who Listened": to complaints every day from disgruntled hotel patrons. He begins to let it get to him and it affects his behavior at home, until one night he has a dream. The next day, he's cheerful and happy to listen to complaints. Why not? In his dream, he witnessed St. Peter demonstrate how to listen to complaints for almost 2000 years!

I doubt any kid in 1955 was happy to reach page five of this tepid morality play and see St. Peter sitting there in the last panel. What could placate the Comics Code Authority more than a story with the guy who has the Keys to the Kingdom? Not a vampire or a ghoul in sight.

People had differing reactions "When Time Stood Still" all over the world. Bosses were happy that 5 o'clock never came, but employees weren't thrilled. In a barn out in the country, a farmer awakens Father Time, who dozed off. Suddenly, all of the clocks resume keeping time.

This story is slightly better than the one before it for two reasons: the art is a bit more appealing, and there is one less page. I was hoping for an appearance by Klaatu, but no such luck. Check out this video on a related topic.

When members of an alien race land on the moon and discover that a scientist on Earth has invented a time drive that will allow humans to venture into space, they decide that an alien named Ackt-Muur must travel to Earth and kill the scientist before he shares his discovery. Ackt-Muur hops in a spaceship and flies to Earth, where Dr. Caleb Howard, the man who invented the time drive, ignores the frantic barks of his faithful dog outside. As Ackt-Muur approaches the house, ray-gun at the ready, the pooch attacks and kills him. Dr. Howard welcomes two scientists, excited to share his discovery, and pokes his head out the door to holler at his dog to quiet down, unaware that the hound has saved his master and made space exploration possible.

Now we're talking! "To Touch the Stars" may not win any awards for originality, but the art is decent and the story is fun. There's one especially nice panel by Dick Ayers and Ernie Bache that I've reproduced here.

Gus Marek is a construction worker who yearns to do something productive in his spare time, so he becomes "The Man Who Mailed a Dollar" in response to an ad. A five-page mimeographed course in art arrives in the mail, and Gus devotes his days off to learning to paint. He starts to appreciate the beauty all around him and, after a year, seeks out the man who mailed him the course.

He soon finds a starving artist who says that, while he's been painting all his life, he's never made any money, so he decided to advertise an art course by mail "'to lure dollars from dreamers.'" Gus was the only person to respond! Gus gives his heartfelt thanks to the artist, who is shocked to hear Gus's name, since he knows that Gus Marek is the subject of a sensational one-man show at the Municipal Museum of Art! The artist rushes home to search for the art course but can't locate it.

This is a clever, enjoyable story that plays off of the sort of ads one would expect to see in comic books like Mystic. In fact, two pages after the story's end, a page of small ads includes one that reads, "Song Poems Wanted. To be set to music. Send your poems for free examination. Phonograph records made." Who knows? Perhaps a young Keith Richards wrote off in response to this ad and learned the craft of songwriting. If not in this world, perhaps in one of the infinite number of parallel worlds that surely exist.

The citizens of Somerton don't care for Rosella, the fortune teller. Loudmouthed Emil Parkins gives her 24 hours to pack her things and leave town. Rosella tells Parkins that she'll tell his fortune and, if it doesn't come true, she'll leave Somerton forever. Looking into her crystal ball, she predicts that he's about to go on a journey, but he scoffs at the suggestion. The next morning, Emil wakes up to find himself in bed, but his bed is in a town square 50 miles away!

Rosella tells more fortunes for free and they all come true. Jeff Morse, the town loafer and the only man who shows kindness toward the fortune teller, suggests that if people actually paid Rosella to tell fortunes, they might get better news. This works quite well and, before you know it, Rosella has a big pile of cash. Half of the money flies out of the tent and into the abandoned shack that Jeff calls home. What the heck is going on? Don't ask Rosella or Jeff--ask the microscopic men and women who inhabit her crystal ball and have been using their wonderful powers to make the crazy predictions come true!

Arrgh! "She Saw Tomorrow!" was shaping up to be a good story until that last panel, which was supposed to be a surprise twist but which was just plain stupid. Rosella, Jeff, and the greedy folks in Somerton made for a nice narrative, but the uncredited writer was not satisfied with leaving things unexplained and had to rely on a group of little people with antennae (and a miniature jeep, to get around, I guess). Too bad. Wait a sec--did I enjoy three stories in a row in an Atlas comic? I need to go and lie down for a while.-Jack

Uncanny Tales 33

Cover by Joe Maneely

"The Man Who Couldn't Stand It!" (a: Bill Benulis) ★★

"The Warning!" (a: Manny Stallman) ★★1/2

"The Silent Man!" (a: John Forte) ★★

"The Vending Machine!" (a: George Roussos) ★

"A Secret Life" (a: Pete Tumlinson)

In the year 2034, all of man's needs are taken care of by robots and other mechanical devices, but Ben Olsen is "The Man who Couldn't Stand It!" Sick of the comforts of the future, he tells his wife Alice that they'll escape to the country and live a simpler life. When they arrive, he discovers, to his dismay, that she's brought along a few essentials--the robot servant and maid, the mechanical kitchen, bar, and cleaners, etc. Ben realizes that if he ever wants to get away, he'll have to do it alone.

In some ways, the world of 2034 is not unlike the world of today, with one big exception--Ben is not spending all his time staring at his cell phone! This story has a bit of a Ray Bradbury feel to it at first but, once again, the "twist" ending is a disappointment.

No one believes Dr. Abbott when he issues "The Warning!" about an army of four-armed invaders from space that is headed toward Earth. Everyone laughs at the doctor, whose attempts to tell the leaders of countries around the world fall on deaf ears. When the invaders finally arrive, Dr. Abbott is revealed to be one of them and he is gleeful at having proved that it will be easy to conquer Earth, whose inhabitants ignore warnings.

Manny Stallman draws some nice panels in the midst of these five pages, though when Dr. Abbott travels the world to warn the Queen of England and the Russian premier, the famous leaders are drawn utterly still, as if they are mannequins. The end of the story surprised me, but that doesn't mean it's very good.

A handsome young man saves pretty Helen Evans from drowning in a lake and, before you know it, he's having dinner with her parents and she's pining for a marriage proposal. There's only one problem: the man never says a word! What is the secret of "The Silent Man"? Helen learns, to her dismay, one evening when she attends a vaudeville show and sees the man sitting on the lap of a ventriloquist--he's a dummy!

Our old pal Carl Wessler penned this story and it makes about as much sense as so many others we've suffered through. If Theodore (at one point, the silent man points to a name written on his shirt pocket) is a wooden dummy, how can he do everything he's able to do? I suppose the point of the surprise ending is that he is given voice only by the ventriloquist, but that doesn't explain his ability to walk, save people (he also saves a little boy from being run over by a car), swim, and woo a pretty blonde.

An inventor at a vending machine company comes up with a new machine that he calls "Pick-A-Mate!" Long before internet dating sites popped up online, this machine would spit out a card with a photo and a phone number (for only a dollar!) of your perfect mate. It works great at first, with everyone finding their partner and marrying them, but eventually the machine malfunctions and the inventor discovers that it's getting ready to pick another vending machine as its own perfect mate!

George Roussos is a decent artist, but this story is filled with people talking to each other and pictures of a vending machine. For the umpteenth time, the twist ending falls flat. Why would the machine be looking for a mate? And why would that cause it to malfunction, as it does right before the inventor looks inside? Wessler doesn't bother to tell the reader--it just ends.

Old Tom, the night watchman at a Hollywood studio, never talks to anyone while he's working. Every night, however, when he's alone, the sets come alive and Tom seems to be in one movie after another, living out exciting lives. In the morning, he's quiet again and the actors and actresses remark on what a dull life he must lead.

"A Secret Life" doesn't even have a surprise ending--I think we're supposed to chuckle at the irony of the studio denizens' lack of understanding of Tom's inner/fantasy life. It makes sense for a change, but it's not particularly entertaining.-Jack

Next Week...
The Debut of Aquaman!

Batman in the 1960s Issue 9: May/June 1961

 

The Caped Crusader in the 1960s
by Jack Seabrook
& Peter Enfantino

Moldoff

Batman #140

"The Ghost of the Joker!"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"The Charmed Life of Batman!"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff

"The Eighth Wonder of Space"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

The Joker manages to escape from Gotham Penitentiary but runs into a construction zone, where it looks like he is killed in an explosion. That night, "The Ghost of the Joker!" appears on the roof of a building in Gotham City, telling Batman that he will haunt the Caped Crusader with his supernatural crimes! The ghost next appears at a movie theater that is playing Return of the Phantom, where he helps prevent the Dynamic Duo from foiling a robbery of the box office receipts.

The next day, the Joker's Ghost robs an amusement park called Ghost Town USA; after that, he robs a racetrack where the winning horse was named Poltergeist. Soon, the Joker's Ghost appears at a yacht race, where he rides a ship called The Flying Dutchman and robs the winning purse. Eventually, Batman discovers that the Joker is hiding out in a shack at a closed plant, where Batman and Robin discover that the fiend is very much alive and using phosphorescent paint to make him look like a ghost.

It's always good to see the Joker, but where is the rest of Batman's Rogue's Gallery? We're a year and a half into the 1960s, and where's the Penguin? Two-Face? The Riddler? Catwoman?

Batman and Robin appear on a TV show where the third guest is a man known as the Alchemist, who says that he has invented a potion to guarantee a charmed life. Batman agrees to try it. Four professional assassins watch the TV show and decide that they'll take turns trying to kill Batman to see if he is really charmed. The first assassin makes a fake phone call to Commissioner Gordon to say that the Joker was spotted at Planetarium Park, but when Batman shows up, the assassin uses dynamite to send a giant model of the planet Mars rolling downhill toward the Caped Crusader. Only the sudden fall of a large tree in the path of the rolling planet prevents our hero from being squashed.

The next day, Batman is inspecting a skyscraper under construction when another assassin uses a crane to knock him off the side of the building. Batman appears doomed until a girder suddenly buckles and causes a water tank to spill a huge amount of water that carries him to safety. Batman agrees with the Alchemist that the potion must have given him a charmed life, but, at a secluded meeting place, the Alchemist reveals himself to be Superman, who has been working with the Cheerful Knight to foil the assassins.

The third assassin is lurking nearby and sees that Superman is involved. When this scoundrel tries to kill Batman in an alley, he neutralizes Superman with a hunk of Kryptonite and drives an ambulance straight toward the Dynamic Duo. Batman manages to pulls down a fire escape ladder just in the nick of time to block the vehicle from crushing him. In the end, Superman tells Batman that the not-so-Dark Knight's quick thinking has always ensured "The Charmed Life of Batman!"

There's a lot going on in this story, and I did not expect to see Superman pop up! The way he manages to keep Batman from harm without being seen reminds me of the antics of J'onn J'onzz, who is always whirring about or blowing a big gust of hot air without being seen in order to make unexpected things happen. The GCD credits this to Moldoff, but it has a Sprang feel to the art, in my not terribly educated opinion.

While flying in the Bat-Plane, Batman and Robin are accidentally beamed onto an alien planet by aliens testing a new space-warp ray. While waiting for the machine to be fixed, Batman and Robin discover that they've turned into green-skinned aliens with antennae! Returning to Earth, they convince Commissioner Gordon and Batwoman that they are the real deal before heading to the yacht club to do battle with the Yellow Sweater Gang. Despite not being themselves and being a bit off, the Dynamic Duo use the power of a magnetic force that emanates from their antennae to capture two gang members.

Back at Stately Wayne Manor, they struggle with how to keep their identities secret, what with their green skin and antennae, not to mention how Bruce will keep a date with Kathy Kane tomorrow night. After conquering that hurdle, it's back to dealing with the Yellow Sweater Gang, who are up to no good. Trailing gang members to their hideout, Batman and Robin are immobilized in inner tubes and realize that they're changing back to human form. Only some quick thinking prevents Batman's secret identity from being revealed, and all is well when the gang is captured. Bruce and Dick look like themselves again and Bruce has a bouquet of roses to give to Kathy to apologize for his caddish behavior.

"The Eighth Wonder of Space" is completely nuts! The alien versions of Batman and Robin look hilarious, and the fact that Batman's biggest concern is how he'll deal with a date with Kathy cracked me up. I'm not sure what Kathy is dressed up as for the masquerade ball--she wears a tiara, a metal brassiere, and a corset! Best of all is her ire at Bruce for supposedly making fun of the alien Batman during his time of need. The Yellow Sweater Gang (a sad name, indeed, for a bunch of criminals) immediately immobilizes Batman and Robin by ramming inner tubes over them, thus pinning their arms to their sides! Now, why didn't the Joker ever think of that? This is a darn fun issue of Batman!-Jack

Peter-"The Ghost of the Joker" is loads of fun but I'm missing the Joker's point; why bother faking your own death and carrying on an elaborate ghost con? There's never any motive given nor any last panel "Aha! This is why the Joker painted himself with phosphorescent paint!" I guess we're just supposed to chalk it up to the guy being a looney tune.

"The Charmed Life of Batman" is an odd one; the script makes the Dark Knight look like a weak weenie, having to call Superman in because he's afraid someone is out to kill him. This is the guy who takes down the Joker, Penguin, and Riddler every fortnight. Now he's cowering before a tenth-tier baddie? I don't think so. The finale, "The Eighth Wonder of Space," is dismissible science fiction junk elevated to entertaining only by the awkward alien design (Bats looks like he's been on a six-month bender and the slightest punch to the gut will open him up) and the fact that a group of thugs would call themselves "The Yellow Sweater Gang." Do they want to get caught?!

Moldoff

Detective Comics #291

"The Creature from the Bat-Cave"

Story by Bill Finger (?)

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"The Second Martian Manhunter"

Story by Jack Miller (?)

Art by Joe Certa

"Roy Raymond's Betrayal!"

Story Uncredited

Art by Ruben Moreira

A loud rumble from the bowels of the Bat-Cave draws the attention of Batman and Robin. When the Dynamic Duo arrive at the epicenter of the hubbub, they discover a spaceship encased in the limestone. A door opens and out pops a giant, one-eyed, "Creature from the Bat-Cave!" Trying to apprehend the monster, the boys are briefly concussed and come to only to find the alien has found an exit.

While delivering their report to Commissioner Gordon, the boys are relieved to hear the creature has been sighted near a restaurant on Highway 14. Speeding to the site, they witness the giant destroy the restaurant and madly dig a deep hole. What could it be seeking? Spying one of those idle bulldozers that just happen to dot the landscape of Gotham, the Dark Knight hops aboard and attempts to run his new enemy over. Just in time, our hero spots the single eye glowing before a laser beam bursts from the orb and slices the dozer cleanly in half. 

On a hunch, the boys head back to the Cave and Batman examines the spacecraft more carefully. He dons headgear within the pod and a voice explains that the creature, known as a Rukk, is the pawn of a distant civilization living on the fifth planet from the sun. This race of beings play a strange treasure hunt game, shooting small pyramids out into space, which then bore into a planet's surface. There are four of these trinkets buried in the Gotham area and the creature will not rest until it's acquired every one of them. The voice guides Batman to a weapon that can destroy the Rukk if need be and a disk that will guide him to the pyramids. 

Our hero takes this info to big-brained scientist, Professor Heims (the only scientist in Gotham who isn't using his knowledge to rob banks), for guidance, but the egghead only wishes Bats good luck. Unfortunately, Heims's lab janitor isn't so good-hearted and, after he overhears the whole story, he heads to the home of gang boss Big Ed Bailey, who sees the creature as a way to unearth the Bat-cave, thus ending Batman's career and igniting a new Golden Age of Crime in Gotham! But Big Ed isn't very smart and he falls prey to the unlimited detective skills of Batman and Robin. Before being carted off to jail, Big Ed names the janitor as his source of intel and hypothesizes that the rat may be following the creature right this second.

The creature, meanwhile, has acquired the first three pyramids and is heading for the fourth, which resides beneath Gotham General Hospital. Bats gets there first, digs the pyramid out and, realizing it's best to just give the creature what it wants, lobs it to the Rukk and waves goodbye. Across town, the first janitor of crime follows the monster to a rural spot outside a barn, where the Rukk's spacecraft awaits. Batman and Robin have towed the ship there to avoid any awkward situations. The Rukk blasts off and Batman explains to Robin that the ship arrived on earth eons ago and now the creature is heading back to a planet that no longer exists. They both sigh and ponder the frailty of existence.

A highly entertaining and intricately-plotted fantasy, "The Creature from the Bat-Cave" is highly reminiscent of Predator... well, you know, minus the spinal cords and beheadings. There are a lot of outer space travelers guest-starring in the B&R adventures, and all of Gotham seems somewhat unconcerned about these visits. Since, outside of a couple of Joker yarns, we've barely seen the Rogues, I have to assume it was at some point in the mid-60s when the Gotham judicial system became somewhat lax. Professor Heims sure hits the nail with the hammer when he hypothesizes a whole lot of hypos he shouldn't know a dang thing about! Good on Batman for taking the laid back approach to the monster and its treasure hunt. Keep the death toll to a minimum and get the thing back into space.

John Jones can only watch in disbelief as the Martian Manhunter saves a building from a flaming meteorite! Wait... you say... how can that be? John Jones is the Martian Manhunter! I have to admit I was just as surprised as John, but the truth came out after only a dozen or so panels; "The Second Martian Manhunter" is millionaire playboy Dirk Giles, who's trying to impress his girlfriend, Hazel (were there ever gorgeous blondes named Hazel in real life?) by performing super-deeds. Turns out the meteorite is only a big piece of tinfoil dropped from a camouflaged plane (happens all the time in the DC Universe), but the stunt kicks off a dangerous series of events co-starring sadistic mob boss, Buggsy Baines. It's only through clever mind tricks that J'onn survives the day. Another limp script and mediocre art; can someone please tell me there's a light at the end of the tunnel?

Roy Raymond, TV Detective (whose show was long ago cancelled but can now be seen in reruns), runs afoul of yet another mob boss when he becomes involved in a nutty professor's inventions. The penultimate chapter in the TV Detective saga, "Roy Raymond's Betrayal" continues the downward trend of a series I once looked forward to reading more than the opening act. Sad.-Peter

Jack-The highlight for me of "The Creature from the Bat-Cave" was the moment when Batman and Robin tried to use the giant penny in the Batcave's trophy room to "kayo" the monster. It's about time that darn penny came in handy! The ending of the story is sad--the creature takes off in its spaceship, unaware that its planet no longer exists and that it will end up in a ship with no fuel, lost in space.

The J'onn J'onzz story was a bit better than usual, but J'onn should have used the existence of another Martian Manhunter to cement his secret identity as John Jones. It was pretty funny that the playboy thought dressing like the Manhunter would be a good way to woo his gal pal; at least J'onn was able to use the situation to convince crooks that he's not allergic to fire. I'm sorry to read that the Roy Raymond series is coming to an end, since it consistently features the best art in Batman or Detective. What will replace it?

Swan/Moldoff/Sprang/Paris

Batman Annual #1

"How to Be the Batman!"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz & Stan Kaye

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #190, December 1952)

"The Strange Costumes of Batman!"

Story by Edmond Hamilton

Art by Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #165, November 1950)

"Untold Tales of the Bat-Signal!"

Story by David Vern

Art by Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #164, October 1950)

"The Origin of the Bat-Cave!"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #205, March 1954)

"Batman's Electronic Crime-File!"

Story Uncredited

Art by Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #229, March 1956)

"Thrilling Escapes of Batman and Robin!"

Story by Bill Finger (?)

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Stan Kaye

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #221, July 1955)

"The Amazing Inventions of Batman"

Story by Edmond Hamilton

Art by Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman #109, August 1957)

Peter-I remember, as a Marvel zombie-kid back in the early 70s, that the only times I'd spring for anything bearing the DC logo would be titles from the mystery line and just about anything bearing the 80-page or 100-page Giant banner. These Golden Age reprints were (and are) the equivalent of a Beatles' Greatest Hits. For the most part, the powers-that-be knew how to pick the best stories for the reprints. Here, for instance, in the very first Annual, we get a pretty good idea of what 1950s Batman was all about. Sharp art and... no robots! My favorite story of the issue would have to be "The Strange Costumes of Batman," wherein we learn two very important things: 1/ Bats always knew which suit he should put on before hitting the street to fight crime and he was always right about his choice!; and 2/ the most secretest of all Batman suits is the one Robin uses when his boss is incapacitated and doesn't want the thugs to know they're really fighting a kid. We know this suit is top secret because the chest emblem is a Robin! This issue makes me think a deep dive into the 1930s-1950s Batman is a natural.

Jack-This is a fun collection! There are seven stories in all, pulled from six issues of Detective and one issue of Batman, and the dates range from 1950 to 1957. Though all stories are signed by Bob Kane, the art is by a variety of artists; pencillers include Lew Schwartz, Dick Sprang, and Sheldon Moldoff, while inkers are Stan Kaye and Charles Paris. The story from 1950 has an art style that seems more like that of the Golden Age than the later stories, and I prefer the art in the earlier stories to that in the later ones. Schwartz, especially, draws in a way that reminds me of the interior illustrations in pulp magazines. One surprising thing is the lack of stories featuring the Rogue's Gallery; the closest we come is the King of Crime in "Thrilling Escapes of Batman and Robin!" from 1955. I'm beginning to wonder if the crazy villains were more a feature of the TV show than the comics.

Moldoff

Detective Comics #292

"The Colossus of Gotham City"

Story by Arnold Drake (?)

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"The Man Who Unearthed Doom!"

Story Uncredited

Art by Ruben Moreira

"The Ex-Convicts Club"

Story by Jack Miller (?)

Art by Joe Certa

While attempting to nab Gotham's 223rd most-wanted arch-criminal, "Rockets" Rogan (so named because he favors the use of bazookas in his heists), Batman is accidentally exposed to a "space gas" that elevates his height to 50 feet 100 feet really tall. Batman finds working with his partner, Robin, difficult (insert smart-ass line here), so he teams the Boy Wonder with Kathy Kane, a/k/a Batwoman, until he can figure out how to use this really tall body of his.

Luckily, the Dark Knight is able to carve himself out a temporary Bat-cave in a mountain outside of Gotham, and Robin engineers lunch for his boss at Gotham Stadium, where a really big burger and a tanker full of milk are the order of the day. Thankfully, Batman is able to mask the fact that Bruce Wayne isn't available for charity work (he enlists the aid of Superman and a makeup kit), and also puts the kibosh on an attempted giant unmasking (fearful that "some thug might pull a stunt like this," our hero disguises his face just before being gassed into a stupor!), before his stature is resumed as a modest six-foot-plus Gotham avenger.

The aliens and mob bosses are one thing, but "The Colossus of Gotham City" stretches the boundaries of eye-rolling. The stretchability of Batman's tights is astounding. Of course, we never do find out the height he eventually reaches, as it seems to change from panel to panel, depending on what he's holding, be it Robin, a freight train, or even a small plane. The other mystery is what Batman is gassed with, since when the event occurs, the resident kooky scientist comments that the vapors from the "upper atmosphere" still haven't been properly examined because, of course, you'd want potentially life-threatening space gas to be sitting in a beaker perched on the edge of a wacky professor's desk in an unrestricted area, and then the topic is dismissed. Bats simply returns to normal size with no evidence of stretched threads. I have it on good authority that when Julius Schwartz stormed into that meeting of DC bigwigs to argue his point that Batman should be more realistic and "darker," this was the issue Julie presented as proof that things had gotten out of hand. Don't quote me on that, though.

In "The Man Who Unearthed Doom," TV Detective Roy Raymond watches in awe and skepticism as long-dead wizard Nemhet rises from his tomb during an archaeological dig in Egypt. It doesn't take Roy long to unmask the sorcerer as a phony who's stumbled on a fortune in gems in the tomb and refuses to share his booty. The usual expensive props (including an amazing bead curtain that covers an entire mountainside!) are revealed, and Roy is the hero of the day. The very last Roy Raymond adventure is a return to clever cons and fun reveals, with the usual top-notch Moreira visuals. Incredibly enough, Roy had been a regular back-up feature in 'tec since 1949, with Ruben Moreira handling art chores the entire way. Despite the downturn in the script department, Roy Raymond remained a solid back-up, and he will be missed.

Detective John Jones (a/k/a the Manhunter from Mars) attends the first meeting of "The Ex-Convicts Club," a service provided to retired criminals who need a helping hand to return to society after serving hard time (two or three months in a DC Universe Jail). What could go wrong? Within days, two of the members of the club, The Trickster and The Human Squirrel, are both suspects in big-time heists. The evidence is damning, but John smells a rat (or a squirrel); how can he prove there are fake super-villains in town? If I ever derive enjoyment from a Martian Manhunter strip, it's usually due to the dopey villains (the Squirrel!) or the latest mob boss (this time out...Biff Benson!), and this one ticks both those boxes. It's still not a series I'd seek out to read, but at least John didn't dig a forty foot trench or use his blow power this time out. Just good old-fashioned fisticuffs.-Peter

Jack-As if the giant penny wasn't enough, now we get the Amazing Colossal Batman! This is one of the sillier Batman tales we've endured thus far. I thought Moreira's art looked rushed on the last Roy Raymond strip, as if they told him the jig was up and he had till midnight to finish the six pages. The J'onn J'onzz story was better than usual. Next month: Aquaman begins as a backup strip! That should be interesting.

Next Week...
Jack tells us how he feels about
Atlas Comics in
"The Man Who Couldn't Stand It!"