DEVIL IN THE BLUE MASK by Dave Goode

There are two types of stories that fan-boys live for. Origins and cross-overs. El Santo was given a silver screen origin that combined elements of Lee Falk's Phantom and the original Golden Age Captain Marvel. And of course fans of the Mexiluchahero movie genre know that Mil Mascaras' movie origin owes a bit to the back story of pulp superman Doc Savage. But as far as I know the third member of the " Holy Trinity of Mexiluchahero Movies ", the Blue Demon, had no such cinematic origin tale. And now I'm sure that someone is going to respond with the title of a movie that gives Blue Demon a comic book type origin. But until then let me share with you my idea for his back story.

His origin would be similar to that of Marvel Comics' Daredevil. He's the
studious bookworm who gets picked on by the neighborhood kids who works out in secret to keep in shape. Maybe even following a Charles Atlas type training course that includes self-defense program. And of course his father would be a luchador and not a pugilist. The major change is that as a high school student he takes on the leader of the " Blue Demon " biker gang after being picked on one too many times. After whooping the leader and his second-in-command our hero is recruited by the gang as their enforcer. Deciding gang wars in singles combat. After his father is killed by crooked gamblers he becomes the Blue Demon to bring the
criminals to justice.

If you're new to the Mexiluchahero genre the Blue Demon movie you want to watch is La Sombra del Murcielago. Known in English as Shadow Of The Bat , this 1966 flick is considered to be Blue Demon's best. Produced by Luis Enrique Vergara and directed by Federico Curiel this flick written by Jesus Velezquez is a psychotronic classic. The idea that came from Vergara was a reworking of the Phantom of the Opera with Fernando Oses going over the top as a physically and mentally scarred former wrestling star. He even plays the organ. Blue plays the hero who eventually defeats the mad man who also takes an unhealthy interest in a nightclub singer played by Marta Romero. Blue comes across like a Mike Hammer type. But one who wears luchador gear. This one is great fun. It even has a Spanish language version of the sixties pop hit Wooly Bully. If you haven't seen it search it out.

For more information on the Blue Demon, both films and wrestling, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Demon 

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THE GREEN HORNET WAS A MORE THAN CAPABLE HERO by Dave Goode

 

There is a myth about The Green Hornet television series that ran on ABC from September 9,1966 to March 17,1967. That in every episode the titled hero Britt Reid, alias the Green Hornet (portrayed by Van Williams) would get his rear end handed to him by the bad guys only to be rescued by his sidekick Kato (played by Bruce Lee). The bio-flick DRAGON:THE BRUCE LEE STORY ( 1993 ) did a great deal to perpetuate this myth and create some new ones. Being one of those Hollywood movies "based on a true life story". Give or take a lie or two.

Actually the Green Hornet was a capable combatant. Sure he usually took out
the bad guys with his gas gun or hornet's sting. But he could hold his own against one or two thugs using a mixture of judo and boxing techniques. And often did. But Lee's Kato was using that new fangled karate ( actually kung fu ) stuff. And the way he was doing it was a lot more impressive than the usual brand of 60s " television karate ". Though if you're of a certain age you will remember lively debates on the playground of who would win in a fight between James West and Kato.

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After The Green Hornet series premiered I began listening to my dad's recordings of The Green Hornet radio series which told the story of Britt Reid who masqueraded as the criminal mastermind the Green Hornet to fight crime from the inside. Pretty cool stuff. And it also introduced me to the Flight of the Bumblebee written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov that was used as the Green Hornet's theme music.





 

 Later I would discover the serials THE GREEN HORNET (1940) and THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN (1941) from Universal. Click here for the first serial >>>HERE<<<  and here for the second serial >>>HERE<<<

 

 If I was ever to hit the lottery one of the things I would try to do is put together a retro Green Hornet movie set in the 1940s. There would be a portrait of a masked man in a white hat on a great white stallion in the office of Dan Reid (Britt Reid's dad) at the Daily Sentinel newspaper. And Kato would be using karate against the bad guys. Though everyone except for Kato and the Hornet would be referring to it as judo or jiu jitsu and his shuto blows as "judo chops".

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SCI-FI PEPLUM CLASSIC by Dave Goode

 

One of my favorite Republic movie serials was UNDERSEA KINGDOM (1936). Produced by Nat Levine and directed by B.Reeves Eason and Joseph Kane, this was Republic's second serial and the studio's answer to Universal's FLASH GORDON. The story written by Tracy Knight, John Rathmell, Maurice Geraghty, and Oliver Drake found U.S. Naval officer " Crash " Corrigan thwarting the plans of undersea tyrant Unga Khan to conquer first Atlantis and then the surface world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1966 the serial was edited into a feature film and released to television re-titled "SHARAD OF ATLANTIS". No doubt to make it sound more like the "gladiator movies"  that were still popular at the time. It was in this form that I first saw this movie.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I finally saw the movie in serial form I was pleasantly surprised to see Chapter One unedited. In it the hero's athletic abilities are firmly established as he competes as a track & field star, wins the Army-Navy Game for Annapolis and finally has a wrestling match. So we know that the hero is up to any challenge he may face in the course of the movie. Crash portrayed by stuntman and B-Western star Ray Corrigan is aided in his adventures by reporter Diana Compton (Lois Wilde), Professor Norton (C. Montague Shaw) and the professor's young son Billy played by Lee Van Atta. By the way, Sharad is the high priest of the good Atlanteans. And, he is played by actor William Farnum. The villainous Unga Khan is portrayed by Monte Blue and he is aided by Lon Chaney Jr. who plays Captain Hakur of the Black Robes.

 

 

 

 

The movie has science fiction elements like Professor Norton's super submarine, a tank-like vehicle used by Unga Khan's men, death-rays, and robots. Just enough to make it resemble something akin to Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. But most of the action comes from Ray Corrigan's athleticism.

This movie could easily have been remade during the peplum movie cycle starring Steve Reeves or one of his Muscle Beach brethren like Ed Fury.

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DC's Other Fantastic Four by Dave Goode

The Sea Devils were another one of those series from the Silver Age of Comic books that I thought would have made a good subject for an adventure movie. The quartet of underwater adventurers made their comic book debut in Showcase No.27 ( Aug.1960 ) in a story written by Robert Kanigher and illustrated by Russ Heath. There was a second try-out story in Showcase No.29 ( Nov.-Dec.1960 ) after which the feature received it's own comic book that ran for 35 issues from 1961 to 1967. The Sea Devils like the Challengers of the Unknown  predated Marvel's Fantastic Four and like the Challengers could have been seen as a prototype for that team. The difference being neither the Challengers or Sea Devils possessed "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man". Which might have made them an easier sell to a movie studio in the days before multi-million dollar blockbusters based on comic book superheroes.

Casting a Sea Devils movie would have been a snap. Keith Larson who starred as skin-diver Drake Andrews on THE AQUANAUTS television series ( 1960-1961 ) would have been perfect as Dane Dorrance , leader of the Sea Devils. As his romantic interest , Judy Walton , you could have cast Wende Wagner. Wagner is best known to fan-boys of the Silver Age as Lenore Case , Britt Reid's secretary on THE GREEN HORNET television series. What may not be as well known is that Wagner who modeled also worked as a stunt-double for actresses who appeared on both SEA HUNT and THE AQUANAUTS. Her father having been a swimming and diving coach. And she herself was an champion skin-diver.

In my mind there was only one actor to play Judy's kid brother Nicky Walton. And that would have been Luke Halprin who starred in the movie FLIPPER ( 1963 ) as Sandy Ricks. He went on to reprise the role in FLIPPER'S NEW ADVENTURE (1964 ). And played the character on the FLIPPER television series that ran from 1964 to 1967. As for the character Biff Bailey I would have cast beefy comedic character actor Norman "Woo Woo" Grabowski for comedy relief.
















An alternative pair of actors to portray Dane and Judy might have been Robert
Conrad and Connie Stevens from the hit Warner Brothers television series HAWAIIAN EYE. Just add special effects by the legendary Ray Harryhausen and you'd have a hit film and cult classic.

The faux Sea Devils poster. Conceived by Dave Goode. Designed by Vance Capley

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