WISH THEY HAD DONE THIS ONE by Dave Goode

Republic was known for there great serial adaptations of Golden Age comic book heroes. Both their SPY SMASHER and ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL are undisputed masterpieces of the genre. And their CAPTAIN AMERICA RETURNS is a great serial. Despite the fact that without the shield, sidekick Bucky, and secret identity of U.S. Army PFC. Steve Rogers you have to ask "was this really Captain America?". There is one comic book character that I wish the Republic studios had brought to life on the silver screen. And that would have been the Golden Age Black Cat.

The Golden Age Black Cat made her debut as a feature in the experimental
digest sized Pocket Comics No.1 (Aug. 1941) from Harvey Publications in a story illustrated by Al Gabrielle. Linda Turner, Hollywood movie star and America's sweetheart is bored with her ultra-sophisticated life of make believe. She becomes the Black Cat...her most adventurous role...and pledges to expose fifth columnists. After the cancellation of Pocket Comics after 4 issues, the Black Cat feature was moved to Speed Comics and ran in that title until it's cancellation in 1947. In 1944, her costume was changed to the one that she is best known for. The character was so popular that she would receive her own comic book in 1946 and would run until 1951 with art by Lee Elias.

I've been told that the Black Cat was modeled after screen goddess Rita Hayworth.

But I thought The Black Cat would have been the perfect vehicle for Republic's very own serial queen Linda Sterling who had played costumed heroines in the serials THE TIGER WOMAN and ZORRO'S BLACK WHIP both in 1944. 

She would look magnificent as the motorcycle riding judo expert. And imagine if you will a Black Cat serial with Republic movie stars playing themselves in the background scenes about film making in Hollywood.

 

Aside from being an absolute stunner Linda Sterling was a bit of real-life Wonder Woman. After leaving the motion picture business and with her children grown she enrolled at UCLA and received a BFA, MA, and a PhD in English Literature at 50. From 1967 to 1990 she would teach English and Drama at Glendale College.

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THE MUSCLEMAN & THE MOVIE STAR by Dave Goode

Of all the blonde bombshells of the fabulous 50s my favorite was Jayne Mansfield. The pneumatic blonde knockout was Marilyn Monroe to the Nth degree. She was a human publicity machine and a genius at self promotion. A living caricature of a Hollywood glamour girl with her pet chihuahuas and pink palace mansion complete with a heart-shaped swimming pool. When she portrayed Rita Marlowe on Broadway in WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? she was playing herself. Or at least a variation of her own public persona.

Mansfield would even marry her male counterpart when she married 1955 Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay in 1958.

Miklos Hargitay was born in Budapest,  Hungary were he played soccer and
was a noted speed-skater. He also performed in an acrobatic act with his brothers. During the 2nd World War he fought in the underground against the Nazis. In 1947 he emigrated to the United States where he would eventually become a citizen. Inspired by a photo of Steve Reeves on the cover of a magazine Mickey would take up bodybuilding. A familiar story.










After winning the amateur NABBA Mr. Universe championship in 1955, he joined Mae West's muscleman troupe at New York's Latin Quarter.

It was there that he would meet Jayne Mansfield.

He would appear in the movie adaptation of WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK
HUNTER? (1957) playing Rita Marlowe's former boy fried Bobo Branigansky, a television jungle hero a la Tarzan. Oddly enough the couple had no scenes together in the movie. But the muscular Mickey stands out in his one scene in the movie clad in leopard-skin.

The couple would appear onscreen together in THE LOVES OF HERCULES (1960) at the height of the peplum movie cycle with Mickey starring as the mythical muscleman.

Jayne and Mickey would also appear together in a Las Vegas revue where the performed an adagio act. That reminds me that in the Edgar Rice Burroughs' book TARZAN AND THE LION MAN, that lampoons Hollywood jungle man movies, one of the people who is considered to play a Tarzan-type is a marathon runner. Another is an adagio dancer. Which of course has me wondering why no one thought to have Mickey and Jayne play Tarzan and Jane. And if not Tarzan and his Mate, perhaps one of the many Tarzan imitators to be found in comic books. Perhaps Ki-Gor. Maybe in some sort of comedy.

And check out the latest Golden Adonis comic by Dave Goode and Vance Capley to get some idea what a jungle movie starring the muscleman and the movie star might have looked like.

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Tarzan, The Jungle Gladiator by Dave Goode

As someone who "likes movies about gladiators" TARZAN AND THE CITY OF GOLD has always been one of my favorite Edgar Rice Burroughs tales. I first came across the story as a two-part comic adaptation from Gold Key in TARZAN OF THE APES No.186 (Aug 1969) and TARZAN OF THE APES No.187 (Sept. 1969). In this story, illustrated by Doug Wildey, I found a Tarzan that I didn't know from watching the movies of Johnny Weissmuller, Lex Barker, and Gordon Scott. And the story itself was something like I'd see on THE SONS OF HERCULES television show. What with it's sexy, sadistic queen of a lost nation who desires the muscular hero who she forces into battle in the arena. Now if Maciste only had a pet lion like Tarzan's Jad-Bal-Ja. 

Casting a movie adaptation would have been a snap. Gordon Scott had been playing Tarzan in Hollywood productions at the start of the peplum movie cycle. And after his vine - swinging days were over he transitioned to sinew & sandal flicks like GOLIATH VS. THE VAMPIRES (1961) and SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1961). So it's easy to imagine him playing the Lord of the Jungle in one last movie. Especially one based on this story.

As far as an actress to portray Nemone, the mad queen of Cathne, a number of peplum stars come to mind. Chelo Alonso, Moira Orphei, Scilla Gabel immediately spring to mind.

Though I usually imagine Chelo Alonso playing La of Opar in a Tarzan flick. Another good choice would have been model turned actress Sylvia Lopez. In her most famous role Lopez portrayed Queen Omphale of Lydia who seduces Steve Reeves in HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959). In this flick she brings the term "trophy boy friend" to a whole different level. When she tires of a lover she has him stuffed and mounted. This comes to an end once she falls for Hercules.

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You can't mention gladiators and jungle heroes without mentioning Dave Goode, and with that, we present this classic, albeit brief, interview with the man himself:

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