Captain America: Civil War

Dinner and a Movie

By Steve Herte

My choice of what movie to see was a no-brainer even though I had my “druthers” about it. After seeing Batman and Superman duke it out I was not ready for an all-out war, but consider the other option – Elvis & Nixon. Hollywood needs ideas. Enjoy!

Captain America: Civil War (Marvel Studios, 2016) – Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo. Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (s/p), Mark Millar (comic book), Joe Simon, Jack Kirby (characters). Stars: Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Marisa Tomei, Tom Holland, Daniel Brühl, & Frank Grillo. Color, PG-13, 146 minutes.

The term “hero” certainly has changed, having evolved from a mythical girl’s name to the main protagonist in a drama set against the villain, to something called an “anti-hero,” to this film’s definition. Here we have 10 “enhanced” human beings, each of whom should be a hero and yet, none of them are. Each one believes he or she is doing the right thing, but none of their decisions end well.

How many times does one hit a guy in the head before he goes down for the count? The answer, in this movie, is unlimited times, even with a fist made (literally) of iron. Unless you’re a fan of violent kick-boxing matches, you will get tired of seeing these so-called “good guys” pummeling the living daylights out of each other for two hours and 26 minutes. I, for one, made sure I saw it in a theater with super-comfortable seats. It was still hard to watch.

Even the one “bad guy” isn’t exactly a villain.

The film starts in 1991 with Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Stan) being given a string of Russian words that will program him into being a raving, merciless sociopath. He ambushes a Cadillac on a dark country road and kills the elderly couple inside. He opens the trunk revealing a metal briefcase with six mysterious blue packets inside. These he delivers to his master. When he’s not a larcenous lunatic with enhanced strength (and don’t forget that metal fist), he’s good friends with Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans).

Captain America is still having difficulties wrapping his World War 2 way of thinking around the modern concepts of dealing with crime. His inability to resolve the “no collateral damage” with “use any means to stop the evil” is the main cause of the entitled Civil War.

After the severe destruction and loss of innocent life that were the results in New York, Washington D.C., Sokovia, and most recently, Lagos, Nigeria, several countries complained about The Avengers’ seemingly willy-nilly use of their powers. The United Nations convened and drew up an accord requesting the “enhanced” beings to submit to oversight and control. Tony Stark/Ironman (Downey Jr.) sees the wisdom in this action and he, along with Lieutenant James Rhodes/War Machine (Cheadle), Vision (Bettany), and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Olsen) sign the agreement.

King T’Chaka of Nigeria is a major proponent of this accord, but he is killed by an enormous explosion just outside of United Nations headquarters. His son, T’Challa/Black Panther (Boseman), an enhanced human being himself (surprise), swears to avenge his death. You seriously have to keep a scorecard in this movie. The security cameras reveal that it was the Winter Soldier who set off the bomb.

Captain America does not believe that his good friend Bucky (it comes from his middle name, Buchanan) would such a thing. He, and Sam Wilson/Falcon (Mackie), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Johansson) and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Renner) disagree with the accord, believing that they are the only hope against super criminals running loose in the world. They recruit Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Rudd) to be a part of their team.

Stark and Rogers are supposedly good friends, but their ideals serve two different goals and their egos are way too inflated to reason with each other. When Captain America and Falcon go off on a hunting trip for the Winter Soldier on their own, Ironman sees it as a break of the accord (which they didn’t sign, mind you) and battle lines are drawn.

Tony sees that his side is one hero short, so he and Wanda pay a visit to the improbable May Parker (Tomei) and even they stare in amazement at how beautiful and young she is (really, this is such a stretch for comic book fans). Their purpose is to recruit her nephew, Peter Parker/Spiderman (Holland). Now the sides are even.

Captain America eventually learns the truth about the 1991 incident, that the blue packets were the means to create six more Winter Soldiers worse than the first and that the couple who were murdered were in fact Howard and Maria Stark, Tony’s parents. But does he discuss this with Tony? No, of course not. And the battle begins.

So who’s the real villain? Again, not a real villain at all. Zemo (Brühl) and his family lived just outside Sokovia before the disastrous upheaval there and he lost everyone. But he’s not evil.

Do you see my perplexity? Everybody deep down inside is good but nobody does the right thing. I was amazed that some people applauded this movie. For me, it just became a same-old, same-old thing. People zipping and zooming around, toppling structures and flinging each other into buildings, groaning in pain, but getting up again for more. It seriously became tiresome.

Chris Evans looks great bulked up in costume, but his wishy-washy acting style makes him dull and uninteresting. I was rooting for Robert Downey Jr. until his pompous, self-interested attitude became intolerable. Elizabeth Olsen was lovely and I wished everyone listened to her character’s reasoning. But then, the movie would only be an hour and a half long. My favorite characters were Paul Bettany (another character with the voice of reason who went unheeded) as Vision and Tom Holland who, though a little younger than I expected, did a great job as the ever-wise-cracking Spiderman (the one truly entertaining character in the film). Look quickly and you’ll see William Hurt as Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross.

Special effects, there were plenty, but nothing eye-popping. The 3D was just used to enhance the story, not to throw anything at the audience. Story? I’m not sure why it had to be that way. Comic book, for sure. Believable, no. Parents, if your child is used to gratuitous violence, they won’t be affected by this movie. If not, judge accordingly. There might be a sequel. You need to stay through the first set of credits to know why.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Martini glasses.

El Quinto Pino

401 W. 24th St., New York

www.elquintopinonyc.com

Thinking about a place I could dine for the day after Cinco de Mayo, I found this promising Spanish/Mexican place in Chelsea only three blocks away from the movie theater. The Five Pineapples is a tiny bar that has just recently opened a new dining area called “El Comedor,” accommodating 12 tables of diners at most.

Inside, the small bar takes up most of the space in the first room with a couple of half-tables squeezed against the wall. The bronze chandelier however, is a nice touch and matches the sconces on the wall behind the bar. The wall behind the banquette where I was sitting is dominated by a huge wall-hanging incorporating weaving with a little macramé, It undulated across the space like dunes in the Sahara and matched the sandy color of the room.

One glance at the menu presented by my server, Georgi, and I realized that this was indeed a Tapas restaurant (several small dishes, no real entrees). She asked if I wanted a cocktail. I chose the Monserrat – Vermut Negre (a bitter herbal wine), Aperol (a bitter orange flavored aperitif), and Cava (a Spanish sparkling wine), garnished with a Spanish olive and brandied kumquat. With two bitter ingredients, it was surprisingly refreshing and fruity and a lovely reddish-gold color.

Georgi told me that most people choose three dishes for their meal, but there were so many interesting selections when the specials were included that I eventually decided on four, telling Georgi that I would be taking my meal one dish at a time. 

I started with the picos y taquitos – imported chorizo (a hard Spanish sausage), za’atar (a Middle Eastern spice mixture) marinated manchego cheese, house-made spreadable sausage, artisanal olive oil, and doughnut-shaped breadsticks. Using a knife to spread the menorcan sausage onto the crispy little breadsticks, I experienced a savory, spicy flavor like none before. When I combined a piece of cheese with a piece of chorizo, I was in cold-cut heaven.

My wine was a 2014 blend of equal parts Merlot and Syrah called “Lazarus” (from Somontano in Northern Spain), a deep red with a slightly acid nose. It’s fruity and medium bodied, perfect for a Tapas dinner.

My second course was pinchos moruno – Moorish spiced lamb skewers that are a favorite in Andalusia and Madrid. The two skewers were jammed into a slice of baguette.

Next I had the bomba toledana – “shepherd’s pie” style spiced beef croquettes, topped with habanero vinegar and set in sweet pea sauce. These soft, beefy patties explode in the mouth like small fireworks. Easily the most colorful dish, and although not extremely spicy, the spice is there.

Having once tried my hand at fishing, the title of the next dish intrigued me. It was one of the daily specials and was called crispy dogfish tostada. It was delicious – a nicely browned, soft tostada containing crisp, flakey fish beautifully placed along with lettuce and parsley. A spicy yellow sauce made the flavor jump out, and a slice of lime was provided to moderate the fish flavor, but the lime went unused. It was by far the spiciest dish I had but at the same time, the most fun.

My dessert does not translate into English. Called greitxonera on the menu, it was macerated pineapple and mandarin orange pieces with two scoops of French vanilla ice cream and a wafer cookie. Spanish desserts are usually simple and wonderful and this was no exception. A double espresso and a nice glass of La Garrocha Amontillado helped finish a lovely Tapas dinner.  

After I paid the check I asked for a business card at the bar and was presented with three, for it seems they have two sister restaurants, a Basque place called Txikito where I’ve already dined, and La Vara in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn. The hospitality didn’t end there. The young lady at the Captain’s Station walked with me to Ninth Avenue, where she pointed out another sister restaurant that she claimed was “better” than El Quinto Pinos. I thanked her profusely.

For the Dinner and a Movie archive, click here.

The Famous Ferguson Case

Films in Focus

By Ed Garea

The Famous Ferguson Case (WB, 1932) – Director: Lloyd Bacon. Writers: Harvey F. Thew, Courtney Terrett, & Granville Moore (adaptation & dialogue). Courtney Terrett (story). Stars: Joan Blondell, Grant Mitchell, Vivienne Osborne, Adrienne Dore, Tom Brown, Kenneth Thomson, Leslie Fenton, Oscar Apfel, Clarence Wilson, Walter Miller, Purnell Pratt, Willard Robertson, George Meeker, Russell Hopton, J. Carrol Naish, Russell Simpson, George “Spanky” McFarland, Miriam Seegar, & Leon Ames. B&W, 74 minutes.

In keeping with its policy of basing its films on the headlines of the day, Warner Bros takes on the problem of “yellow journalism” in The Famous Ferguson Case, a film that starts strong, but despite some nice flourishes along the way, loses its focus. That, combined with some less than inspired direction from Lloyd Bacon, turns it into another dull programmer. Worse, it wastes a fine performance by its star, Joan Blondell, by attempting to turn from a star vehicle to an ensemble piece.

As with other films about social issues, such as their gangster pictures, Warner Bros. decided the subject matter to be important enough to rate an official foreword. Also, the studio didn’t want to risk offending the press at large, considering how important a friendly press was for business. The film leads off with this disclaimer:

This story deals with a certain phase of newspaper work. The STANDARD DICTIONARY defines news as: "Fresh information concerning something that has recently taken place." 

But quite frequently events occur which by their nature are so sensational – from the angle of sex, violence, the standing of the parties involved, or what not – that they are reported in some newspapers long after there is any "fresh information" and when nothing at all "has recently taken place.” 

Legitimate newspapers recognize this fact. They report real developments, and stop there. But others, pandering to the lowest tastes of the public, prolong such cases to the last degree. When news fails, they try to make news. As long as a shred of carcass remains, they feast upon it. Naturally, such journalistic scavenger work attracts only the lowest type of newspaper man – tipsters, stool pigeons, the base and the irresponsible. "THE FAMOUS FERGUSON CASE" is built upon the contrast between legitimate journalism and unprincipled scandal-mongering.

Now that the studio has taken itself off the hook, so to speak, the film begins. We open in Cornwall, New York, a small town somewhere upstate. Driving about in an old car is Bruce Foster (Brown), the editor and star reporter of the Cornwall Courier, the town’s newspaper. 

He arrives at the train station to check on an incoming train when two onlookers turn his attention to a fancy car containing one Marcia Ferguson (Osborne), the wife of Wall Street financier George M. Ferguson (Pratt). Foster sees the town’s banker, Judd Brooks (Ames), exit the car, and the verbal byplay between the two hints of an affair. When the incoming train arrives, who should disembark but George himself, home at midday and mildly surprised to find his wife waiting for him.

Later that night, there’s an altercation at the Ferguson home. The police find George has been murdered and Marcia tied up. Marcia’s story is that two men broke into their home and robbed them, but the police are skeptical as there’s a lack of evidence to that fact, and arrest Marsha for murder.

Foster writes a story about the murder that finds its way to the New York City papers, triggering a virtual invasion of reporters from the big city’s dailies. The film portrays them as an invading army, as they commandeer the local hotel and make it their headquarters. We soon learn the reporters are divided into two groups: the serious papers, led by Martin Collins (Mitchell), and the tabloid reporters, led by Bob Parks (Thomson) and Perrin (Fenton). Maizie Dickson (Blondell) is with the latter group and functions as a sob sister and Parks’ girlfriend.

While the serious reporters are chasing the facts in the chase, the tabloid reporters are manufacturing their own story, which revolves around banker Brooks murdering Ferguson at the behest of his lover, Marsha. The film now divides itself, showing the war between the two groups. While the serious reporters are busy writing, the tabloid group is partying and womanizing, especially Parks, who has set his roving eye on Toni Martin (Dore), Foster’s co-worker and fiancée. 

Toni falls for Parks’ lines about his wife being an invalid and his promise of an entrée into a reporter’s job in New York. Maizie tries to set her straight, but Toni is hooked, accusing Maizie of jealousy, and dumps young Bruce straightaway.

In search of anything to back their theory of conspiracy, Parks and Perrin visit the home of Judd Brooks and talk to his wife (Seegar), who is in the late stages of pregnancy. They hurl insinuations and charges at the distraught woman, who knows nothing of what is going on. After they leave she faints and is taken to the hospital.

Not satisfied, Parks and Perrin, along with some of the other tabloid reporters, descend on the county attorney (Wilson), flattering his ego while convincing him to play along with them. One of the reporters, Rusty Callahan (Hopton) even writes his closing statement while Parks coaches him on how to deliver it.

While this is going on, Foster has quietly looked into the case. Believing Marsha’s account of the break-in, he writes to other police departments in the area to see if they have any reports of similar crimes using the same m.o. Just before the county attorney is about to put the case to the jury and put Judd Brooks on trial as a co-conspirator if the jury convicts Mrs. Ferguson, Foster and the Cornwall Courier break the story about how the real perpetrators were arrested in another city. Found in their possession was a ring from the Ferguson home that linked them with Ferguson’s murder.

Foster offers his story free of charge to the New York papers. Just after the story breaks, the reporters learn that Mrs. Brooks has died in childbirth. The distraught Brooks shows up at the hotel, and holding his hand in his coat pocket to make everyone believe he has a gun, forces Parks out into the alley, where he beats him up. We also learn that Marcia Ferguson is suing for false imprisonment and impeachment charges have been filed against the county attorney. 

Foster, the hero of the hour, is besieged with job offers in New York, but turns them down to remain in Cornwall. As the train departs for the city, it’s missing a passenger – Maizie. Thoroughly disenchanted with the ethics of her co-workers, she decides to remain in town. But Toni takes her place, just catching the train, and leaving Cornwall and Bruce Foster behind. As the train departs, and as the film fades out, Maizie reminds Bruce that Toni’s departure has left a vacancy on the Courier’s staff and we are left with the distinct impression that she will fill the vacancy in both the paper and Bruce’s life.

Beyond the headlines mentioned in the film, the subtext of The Famous Ferguson Case is the contrast between the honest, hard-working people upstate and the jaded, cynical people from the Big City. While Foster is at first in awe of the reporters from the Big Apple, he catches on rapidly as they use him to do most of their legwork. Brown portrays Foster as the kid reporter who also owns the paper, driving around in a battered old car on whose spare-tire cover is written: “Cornwall Courier. ‘Covers Cornwall County Like the Dew.’ 2117 paid circulation.” His fiancée, Toni, is played by Dore as a hick itching to get out of this burg and experience the bright lights of the big city.

When Foster disagrees with the conclusion to the case reached by the tabloid reporters, they simply write him off and discard him by the wayside. But while they play, Foster keeps digging; the theory of a lovers’ conspiracy holds no attraction for him. He knows the county inside and out, including the Fergusons, and finds Marsha’s story credible and worth checking out. His honest work eventually pays off in the capture of the real culprits while the tabloid reporters’ efforts leave them with egg on their face, but not for long, as they beat a hasty retreat on the train to search for their next story – and victim.

The most puzzling thing about the movie is the treatment of its star, Joan Blondell. Although she’s billed right below the title, we don’t see her until after about 15 to 20 minutes have elapsed. And despite the star treatment, her character seems to be just another supporting player in what is really an ensemble film. She does manage to acquit herself well in the little time given her, getting off a few snappy lines. 

If not for her billing, one might get the impression that Kenneth Thomson (Bob Parks) is the star based on screen time allotted. The other outstanding performance is that of Leon Ames as Judd Brooks. Billed in the film as “Leon Waycoff” (he changed his last name to “Ames” in 1936), he treads a fine line in the scene where, distraught, he crashes the reporters’ party at the hotel, playing the scene with just the right tone of emotion rather than reverting to the familiar tack of chewing the scenery. 

Despite its intentions, The Famous Ferguson Case falls prey to pedestrian direction from Lloyd Bacon, which keeps it from being a first-rate melodrama along the lines of Five-Star Final. We just aren’t expecting a film with this subject and coming from this studio to be so dull, despite the presence of Blondell.

Rachet & Clank

Dinner and a Movie

By Steve Herte

Rachet & Clank (Gramercy Pictures, 2016) – Directors: Kevin Munroe and Jerrica Cleland. Writers: T.J. Fixman, Kevin Munroe, & Gerry Swallow. Voices: James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, Jim Ward, Rosario Dawson, Paul Giamatti, John Goodman, Alessandro Juliani, Marc Graue, Dean Redman, Armin Shimerman, Sylvester Stallone, Bella Thorne, & Lee Tockar. Color and 3D, Rated PG, 94 minutes.

Now I know how those who saw the movie Dune back in 1984 (without having previously read the book) felt. This animated film is based on a computer game I’ve never played (nor would I want to). The video game “Ratchet and Clank” surfaced in 2002 and was adapted for Sony’s Playstation 2 in 2012. For some reason, the suits at Gramercy Pictures decided it would make a great movie rather than coming up with an original thought. Unfortunately, they didn’t consider that some viewers would be seeing the characters for the first time and also didn’t think anyone would need a back story.

Ratchet the Lombax (Taylor) is a cute, furry little alien with a grand ambition of being a Galactic Ranger along with his hero Captain Qwark (Ward) and his team: Elaris (Dawson), Brax Lextrus (Redman), and Cora (Thorne). But he’s just a lowly repairman at an intergalactic version of a garage for space vehicles and works for his long-suffering boss, Grimroth (Goodman).

In another part of the Solana Galaxy, Chairman Drek (Giamatti), in cahoots with the evil Dr. Nefarious (Shimmerman), is firing his deplanetizer at unpopulated worlds and selecting pieces from each to build a world of his own. Apparently, he was exiled from his home world and this is his revenge. He leads a weird group of flunky red aliens calling themselves the Blarg under a large, Transformer-ish robot named Victor Von Ion (Stallone).

Drek Industries (I was the only one in the theater who found the name hilariously funny) has a factory turning out an army of robots whose one program command is to eliminate the Galactic Rangers. But, through an apparent glitch in the assembly line, the little intelligent robot who would come to be named Clank (Kaye) is accidentally churned out. As soon as he realizes that he’s unique and that he’s going to be junked, he escapes Victor’s clutches in a shuttlecraft and crashes on Ratchet’s planet, Rilgar.

Captain Qwark and the Rangers realize this threat to their and several planets’ existence and start recruiting one more ranger (as if that’s going to make a difference). Ratchet applies but is rejected. It’s not until Ratchet teams up with Clank and they save their planet from a robot invasion force that Qwark is forced to accept him as a ranger. But Qwark’s narcissistic nature will be his undoing. Dr. Nefarious, who was a ranger at one time but turned to the evil side (echoes of Star Wars) convinces Chairman Drek to use Qwark’s jealousy of Ratchet’s new-found fame to turn him against the ranger team. But the ranger team has problems of their own. No one has the time to listen to Elaris, who would be the brains of the group.

If you view Ratchet and Clank as an arcade video game, its disjointedness almost make sense. Having two villains both mad in different ways is distracting enough, but when you have a hero who is an underdog, and a selfish ignoramus posing as a hero, that’s just annoying.

My theater seat was none too comfortable and the movie certainly didn’t help any. The 3D effects are minimal and not used to advantage. Though the animation is somewhat good, none of the characters are believable. I found myself not caring about any of them, including the beleaguered Elaris. The dialogue is mostly stock and the writers try too hard to be funny. There is a discussion about mixed metaphors between Dr. Nefarious and Captain Qwark that should have been hilarious, but which disintegrated into ennui. The Monty Python group would have had the audience rolling on the floor. Another thing I thought was funny was that Armin Shimerman, who played the character Quark in the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, should be the bad guy facing off against a hero character named Qwark. The story tries to teach friendship, teamwork and loyalty, but gets slogged down in silliness.

There were many children in the audience, but I never heard a word out of them. They didn’t get the jokes and many had no vocal opinions of the movie afterward, so parents, judge for yourselves. If you go, stay through the credits. There’s the promise – or threat – of a sequel.

Rating: 1½ out of 5 Martini glasses.

Paesano of Mulberry Street

136 Mulberry St., New York

www.paesanosoflittleitaly.com

No matter how many times I visit Little Italy in Manhattan, I find myself transported to another world. It changes while remaining the same, though it seems smaller now. It also appears as if Chinatown has grown; the Asian influence has spread along Canal Street to Tribeca and across it into Little Italy. Thank goodness the “Welcome” arch still stands marking the borderline. As I left Centre Street and crossed Canal onto Mulberry I saw restaurants along the way where I’ve dined in the past: Angelo’s, Umberto’s, Vincent’s and Sal Anthony’s. When I arrived, the entrance to Paesano’s (also known as Joey’s Paesano after owner Joseph Ianniello) was blocked by a large group of tourists. I edged my way past them and took some pictures while they streamed by.

The 25-year-old staple of Mulberry Street has a humble exterior with a green awning and wood-framed front windows. Inside the exposed wood beams hang with live philodendrons and are bedecked with white twinkle lights and white-painted branches. The white stucco walls with arched murals depict rural Italian scenes. I announced my reservation to an apron-clad server and he led me to my table as the theme to The Godfather played on the sound system. (Good thing I remembered to dress completely in New York black.)

My table was about midway into the restaurant, past the small bar at the front, and to my table. My server, Vittorio, brought me the menu (the wine list was already on the table standing near a promotional bottle of wine) and gave me time to settle in. Before taking my order, he asked if I wanted a cocktail. I told him I was in the mood for a martini. He listed several gins I didn’t care for, so we switched to vodka. I ordered a Stolichnaya vodka martini with olive. It arrived in a surprisingly heavy glass, full to the brim and glazed over with ice chips. But it served its purpose.

The food menu at Paesano is straightforward and many of my favorites were there. I decided to treat myself to a walk down memory lane (even though the scungilli salad was tempting).

The first fond memory was stuffed artichoke, splayed out on a round plate like a big green flower with a garlic and bread crumb stuffing and savory sauce. It looked so good I forgot my usual routine of photographing the dish and just enjoyed. Though not as wonderful as that made by my friend RoseAnn, it still brought me back to a simpler time.

The wine list had a very good selection of both reds and whites at amazingly affordable prices for New York City. I chose one of my all-time favorites: the 2011 Antonio Gaudioso Amarone Della Valpolicella from Veneto, Italy. The mark-up on this wine would have been prohibitive anywhere else. I breathed in its woodsy nose and tasted its hearty, deep flavor, and knew tonight was indeed special. Vittorio approved.

The pasta dish, baked cannelloni, was another blast from the past. Two tender tubes of pasta filled with ground beef and topped with ample cheese and rich tomato sauce, accompanied by a basket of fresh Italian bread. Vittorio warned me about the temperature of the plate and I thanked him. I became hooked on this dish at a restaurant called La Gioconda (Italian for the Mona Lisa) in Flushing, N.Y. and I tasted its perfection in Monte Casino, Italy. I swear, this dish was comparable. It was so good that, again, I forgot the photo. Taking my time, I loved every bite.

It was at Caesar’s Restaurant in Rego Park, Queens, where I fell in love with veal saltimbocca (the name literally means “jump in the mouth”), and I’ve tried it in many places since. Each time it was a little different, but always contained the tangy brown sauce, the spinach and the tender, pounded veal. This time it was accompanied by a hard-boiled egg sliced in half and broccoli florets. A nice touch. 

The dessert list was pretty standard, nothing intriguing or unusual, but when I heard “cannoli” as a choice, I remembered where I was. It’s just the thing you need to have when in Little Italy. And it was superior, not too sweet, and not too cheesy, but crunchy and light. The double espresso and glass of Anisette summed up a meal of memories. La Gioconda and Caesar’s are both no longer in business and my friend RoseAnn is in Heaven. But thank goodness I know where to go to remember them.

For the Dinner and a Movie archive, click here.

TCM TiVo Alert for May 8-14

TCM TiVo ALERT

For

May 8–May 14

DAVID’S BEST BETS:

THE MALTESE FALCON (May 10, 10:15 pm): This is arguably the best film noir ever made. It's John Houston's directorial debut and what a splendid job he did. Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade is cooler than any character played by James Dean or Steve McQueen or, well, anybody. With a stellar supporting cast, it's filled with suspense and action. There's a time or two you may find yourself wondering what is going on, but all the pieces perfectly fall into place at the end. 

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (May 12, 12:00 pm): Readers know I'm not a Katharine Hepburn fan and I don't think very much of most of Cary Grant's comedies. However, The Philadelphia Story is an exception to both. Hepburn and Grant give wonderful performances, as does the legendary James Stewart, in an excellent screwball comedy. The year 1940 had Grant playing Rosalind Russell's ex-husband and winning her back in His Girl Friday as well as Hep's ex in this film with the same outcome. It's fast-moving, funny and well-acted. Hepburn had a lot riding on the success of this film and if it failed, her movie career was likely over. She made this movie shortly after she had been labeled "box office poison" by the Independent Theatre Owners of America because of a string of flops. She did more than redeem herself in this film though it's the only comedy she ever made that I like.

ED’S BEST BETS:

THE BAT WHISPERS (May 9, 6:30 am): A wonderful archaic “old dark house” mystery about the search for a mysterious killed known as The Bat. Of note for its amazing visuals, especially its use of miniature sets. Director Roland West’s sound remake of his silent classic, The Bat (1926). Starring Chester Morris and the delightful Una Merkel.

FLYING DOWN TO RIO (May 10, 8:00 am): Show this to someone who hasn’t seen it and see if they believe that the stars are anyone else than Fred or Ginger. Actually the stars are Gene Raymond and Dolores Del Rio, but who cares about them? Although Fred and Ginger are only supporting players, once they come on the screen they dominate it, especially when they get together to do “The Carioca.” It was their first pairing and established them as RKO’s future musical superstars. Note the scene of the biplanes in some of the numbers. RKO is still experiencing King Kong hangover. Watch this not only for the dancing, but the amazing chemistry between Fred and Ginger. 

WE AGREE ON ... THE FRENCH CONNECTION (May 11, 12:00 am)

ED: A+. Based on a true story, this urban action film came to define those that came after it by means of its direction, script and, especially, editing. Gene Hackman is “Popeye” Doyle, a maverick NYPD detective investigating the attempted smuggling of heroin into New York City. Director William Friedkin does a superb job of placing us in the middle of the lighted and menace of the rundown, wintry city, with a tense raid on a Brooklyn bar and lots of shots of elevated trains, wet streets and looming tenements, giving us a masterpiece of documentary-style filming. But the high point of the film is the incredible car chase, where Popeye commandeers a passenger car to chase a suspect fleeing on a elevated train. Editor Gerald Greenberg received the Oscar for his work in putting the chase together. Hackman, who won the Best Actor Oscar, will forever be associated with this, his most famous role. 

DAVID: A+. This is the first film of the 1970s to truly capture the gritty, grimy, disgusting life of cops and crooks in New York City. Other excellent films would follow such as Serpico and The Seven-Ups (both in 1973), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Taxi Driver (1976). While the others are great, this is the best. The French Connection (1971), based on two actual NYC cops, stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Roy Scheider as his partner, Buddy "Cloudy" Russo. The two detectives discover that a wealthy French drug dealer (played by Fernando Rey) smuggled into New York City a large shipment of pure heroin and is looking to make a big sale. The cat-and-mouse game between the two sides on the streets of New York City, primarily Brooklyn. is captivating. While some of it seems implausible, it looks so authentic. The chase scene that has Popeye in a car pursuing the French drug kingpin's hitman in an elevated train is as good as it gets, and gets your heart racing. An incredible film, The French Connection was the first R-rated movie to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture. It picked up four others including Best Actor for Hackman.

For the complete list of films on the TCM TiVo Alert, click here.

Celluloid Club's Four-Year Anniversary

The Celluloid Club's origins are the product of an email group of about 10 of Ed's friends. He'd send out a list of movies – the early origins of our TCM TiVo Alerts – airing on that cable station four times a month. As they still do today, the lists gave a rundown of what films were on TCM with short summaries and letter grades. 

David offered his opinions and saw numerous films recommended by Ed. While David watched films since childhood, his passion for cinema was greatly increased by Ed's lists. The email exchanges between the two – and others, including Steve – turned into lively discussions. The give-and-take drove several of those on the email group a bit crazy, but there were others who enjoyed it. Among the participants was Bill Kunkel, who would have played a huge role in this website had he not passed away.

Steve would send his weekly Dinner and a Movie reviews to the group, which also generated plenty of interest. For those of us who weren't regular moviegoers, the information about the latest releases were a way for us to decide what we'd see and what we'd avoid. Also, we marveled – and still do – at what exotic food Steve eats.

After exchanging emails about cinema for about two years, the three of us thought that rather than share our passion for film with a small group of people, we would do it on a larger scale. The Celluloid Club website is the end result. We had a few challenges when we decided to do this. The biggest one? None of us had ever created a website. Thankfully, Elise, David's wife, is an experienced web designer and developer, and took the time to create this website as well as be there as a troubleshooter when we needed assistance with a variety of challenges.

Naming a website can also be difficult and very exciting. We thought about a few names – some of which were either being used or were very close in title to existing ones. Ed suggested Celluloid Club, and we immediately liked it. The word “celluloid” is so closely connected to film that it was a natural fit. Looking for something catchy and approachable, we added “club.” We love quality films, but we are also big fans of B-movies, psychotronic films and so many other genres. 

Over the years, we've been asked, “Why do you spend so much time writing about bad movies?” The answer is simple. A bad movie can bring great enjoyment to viewers, and oftentimes we are more interested in writing about terrible films than excellent ones.

While not part of the email movie group, Jon was a great addition to the team. His insights, humor and observations have been valuable assets to the website since we started. We're always looking for others to join our club, and have been fortunate to have contributions from several of our friends. We strive to be entertaining, informative and interesting.

On May 5, 2012, we published our first article: one of our TCM TiVo Alerts, which included Ed and David disagreeing about Bringing Up Baby (neither has changed their mind four years later). We've done about 200 of them during these past four years. Equally impressive is during that time, Steve has written more than 200 Dinner and a Movie reviews. The growth of our audience continues to humble us. During that first month, we had 310 page views. If we get that number now in a single day, it's a disappointment.

We want to thank our readers, particularly the longtime followers who found us at the beginning and have stayed with us ever since. These four years have been a joy and a lot of fun for us. We hope you feel the same.

Below are links to some of our favorites from the past 12 months. Once you're on our website, feel free to look around. There's a lot of good stuff on it!

Ed, David, Steve and Jon

Spotlight

Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler)

Race

The Last Waltz

Maureen O'Hara: In Memoriam

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Twilight Zone: 10 Best Episodes

Cleopatra Jones

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Can't Stop the Music

Duck Amuck

Young Dr. Kildare

Bomba, the Jungle Boy (Part 2)

The Psychotronic Zone

By Ed Garea

There are many that disparage the Bomba films, but who don’t seem to get the fact that the films were made for and aimed at a young audience. Take a close look at the character of Bomba: He’s a definite animal lover; an early example of what we now call a tree-hugger. Today, he’d be an active member of Greenpeace. I would even venture to say that, along with the Warner cartoons, Bomba’s attitude toward hunters has had a strong influence on the generation that viewed his antics as children at the matinee or youngsters watching the movies on Saturday morning television.

Read Part 1 here.

Although Bomba appears physically mature (he seems to be in his early 20s), he’s still retains a boyish innocence about him. (The books also depict him in that manner.) And like the young male audience to who his films were aimed, Bomba has no time what us young boys called “mush.” The attractive young starlets he encounters in each film interest him about as much as a physics lesson. No matter how taken they are with him and how much they seek to attract his interest, the young ladies always seem to hit an unmovable stone wall. Producer Mirish knew his audience.

And Bomba seems contented in his version of “Walden.” Most other adventures stress the notion of community, a concept foreign to Bomba, who never knew his real family. A common theme in the Bomba movies is that of the white people he meets wanting to take him back with them to civilization. Bomba’s answer is invariably the same: “Not alone. With jungle friends. Always home.” In Bomba on Panther Island (1949), Judy (Allene Roberts), yet another gorgeous young woman who can’t rouse his romantic interest, simply remarks, “Well, independent seems to be the word for Bomba!”

And there’s the essence of his connection to his audience. The films make for great fantasy escapes for a young boy. Bomba lives alone in the jungle, far away from bothersome brothers, sisters, grownups and, especially, teachers. Bomba learns at his own pace. He’s not one for sitting still in a classroom. In Elephant Stampede (1951), exotic village girl Lola (Donna Martell) is teaching him his ABC's while attempting to seduce him. But Lola’s skin-tight sarong is no match for the excitement that comes from learning to spell l-i-o-n, which, along with the elephant, is his favorite animal.

Directed and mostly written by Ford Beebe, the Bomba movies are a product of their times. The scripts contain pro-ecology and anti-capitalist themes so obvious and simply stated as to go against the pro-growth and pro-business attitude of the adult world. The bad guys always want to destroy the forest or hunt the animals to extinction, and it’s up to Bomba to stop them.

In something of a turnaround from the usual depiction in these sort of films, the natives are seen as intelligent and, for the most part, helpful. They may be superstitious, but on the whole they are smarter than the white interlopers that seek to destroy or loot their land. For instance, when Robert Maitland (Harry Lewis), the developer in Bomba on Panther Island, is warned that his plan to clear timber with fire is likely to “burn off half of Africa,” he merely answers: “Small loss, if you ask me.” On the other hand, the village chief (Martin Wilkins) in Elephant Stampede welcomes the teacher, Miss Banks (Edith Evanson), telling her that his subjects will never have a better way of life without education.

Bomba’s gentleness extends beyond his treatment of women. Bomba, unlike some other jungle heroes, is a reluctant killer. He doesn’t triumphantly beat his chest or celebrate when winning a battle with a crocodile, leopard, or lion. In Elephant Stampede (1951), he tosses a python from a tree rather than killing it, and we see the snake slithering away unharmed. In the early films, his trusted companion is a capuchin monkey (actually found in South America, not Africa); later after his pet is killed, he adopts a chimp. Unlike Tarzan, Bomba does not yell his lungs out; his way of communication is via squawks, caws and grunts.

In Elephant Stampede, he talks about pachyderms, declaring that, “They’re so big and strong and yet so gentle. They’re my friends. Sometimes at night I sleep between their feet.”

In The Lion Hunters (1951), Bomba invades a safari camp and frees several big cats that have been captured for sale to zoos. Later, when he meets the pretty and well-meaning Jean (Ann Todd), herself the daughter of a lion-trapper, he asks her to consider the plight of the captured beasts. “You think lions like that? Jungle animals need freedom. I’d rather die than be put in a cage. Lions are my friend. They like freedom.” Later in the film, he forces a conniving white hunter (Douglas Kennedy) into one of the bamboo pens: “Maybe animals like look at people in cage.” This remark is followed by a montage of stock-footage animal closeups used as reaction shots, as if the creatures have gathered to gawk and hoot at the captive hunter.

Bomba’s origins are sketchy, and meant to be that way. Seen at first like some sort of jungle legend, his presence always seems like a surprise to the safaris that invade his realm. Commissioner Andy (Charles Irwin) describes Bomba to the safari in Bomba on Panther Island as “one of those African legends you wouldn’t believe.” In The Lion Hunters, no-good hunter Martin (Kennedy) calls him a “jungle brat,” and a “breech-clothed jungle kid.”

The series does its best to make maximum use of its locations and stock footage to pad out its running time, including that time honored shot of macaques leaping through the trees that seems to be a part of every B-level jungle adventure, along with the familiar shot of elephants stampeding. No one will ever confuse them with such classics as Tarzan (1932), but they are much better than many of the B-jungle epics that came later. Just sit back, watch, and enjoy. At an average of about 70 minutes for each film they move and are over quickly, unlike some later adventures that seem as if they go on for hours.

African Treasure (Monogram, 1952) – Written and directed by Ford Beebe. Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Laurette Luez, Martin Garralaga, Lyle Talbot, Lenard Mudie, Arthur Space, Lane Bradford, Smoki Whitfield, James Adamson, Sugarfoot Anderson,Wesley Bly, Woody Strode, Jack Williams, & Kimbbo the Chimp. B&W, 70 minutes.

A hunting expedition, consisting of Professor Catesby, two Americans and Pedro Sebastian, a native guide, has been missing for days. Also, hunter Pat Gilroy (Talbot) is asking for someone to bring him to the nearest village so he can hire guides.

Meanwhile Bomba is busy saving Lita Sebastian (Luez) and her servant from a lion attack. Lita’s also looking for her father, and Bomba accompanies her while his chimpanzee friend, Kimbbo, sends a message throughout the jungle for more information.

Bomba then hears a message coming via the jungle drum wireless telegraph. It’s from Andy Barnes wanting Bomba to locate Catesby and his party. Bomba replies that he will first take Lita to Nomgola’s village to look for clues about her father. However, when they arrive, they find Catesby and Nomgola, are dead.

Kimoo’s friends inform Bomba that the hunting party has been located, We later learn that two hunters, Greg (Space) and Hardy (Bradford), are the killers and are in cahoots with Gilroy, who is a notorious diamond smuggler. Gilroy forces Andy to take him to his partners.

Bomba and Lita find that Greg and Hardy have enslaved Pedro and Nomgola's tribesmen to mine for diamonds. Bomba and Andy overpower and arrest the baddies, who are arrested and taken to Nairobi. Pedro and Lita are reunited.

African Treasure is padded with more stock footage than usual, perhaps to compensate for the somewhat incredible plot. Sheffield also pads out the running time with quite a bit of vine swinging and swimming. Lyle Talbot, veteran of many a B-movie at this juncture in his career and was about to join the Ed Wood, Jr. stock company, gives an adequate heel performance. Luez, born Loretta Mary Luiz in Honolulu in August 1928, looks good in a sarong, but never rose beyond the B’s. She’s best known to psychotronic film fans for her starring role as Tigri in the incredible cheesy 1950 opus, Prehistoric Women, released through Eagle-Lion.  Her last screen appearance was as “Felina” in the B-Western The Ballad of a Gunfighter (1964).

This was Woody Strode’s second Bomba film. Of African/Cree/Blackfoot descent on his father’s side and African/Cherokee descent on his mother’s, he was a decathlete and All-American football star at UCLA, where he broke the team’s color barrier along with teammates Kenny Washington and Jackie Robinson. After college, he helped break the color barrier in the NFL when he signed with the Los Angeles Rams. He claimed that his interracial marriage to Hawaiian princess Launa Kalaeloa (who often doubled for Dorothy Lamour in swimming scenes) drove him out of the NFL, and he wound up signing with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. In 1941, he began a part-time career as a professional wrestler. He made it a full-time occupation in 1951 and worked steadily between films for about 10 years. He also acted in films and formed a strong friendship with director John Ford, who cast Strode to star in Sergeant Rutledge (1960).

Interiors for the movie were shot on the Monogram soundstages with the outdoor footage shot as Bronson Canyon and the Iverson Ranch in nearby Chatsworth.

Bomba and the Jungle Girl (Monogram, 1952) – Written and directed by Ford Beebe. Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Karen Sharpe, Walter Sande, Suzette Harbin, Martin Wilkins, Morris Buchanan, Leonard Mudie, Don Blackman, Amanda Rudolph, Bruce Carruthers, Roy Glenn, Jack Clisby, Bill Walker, & Kimbbo the Chimp. B&W, 70 minutes.

Bomba is having an existential crisis, wondering why his animal friends have parents and he does not. Embarking on a quest to find his origins, he travels to a village, headed by Chief Gamboso (Wilkins), where his parents were last seen. The chief and his daughter deny all knowledge, but Bomba locates a blind woman named Linasi (Randolph) who tells him the chief and his daughter murdered them. She tells him about a cave where their remains lie, but is killed before she can divulge anything further.

Linda Ward (Sharpe), who Bomba had earlier rescued from a crocodile, tells him her father (Sande) is investigating conditions in the village for the government. Bomba learns that the chief and his daughter, Baru (Harbin), are planning to have the Wards whacked. He rescues them and brings them to a nearby village, which they find is deserted. Baru and her men set fire to the brush around the village, driving Bomba and the Wards to a cave.

Grabbing Baru and her bodyguard as prisoners, Bomba takes them to the cave, where he finds the skeletons of his parents and a diary that details the parents’ last days. Baru and her bodyguard attempt to escape, and while escaping, Baru conveniently falls into a volcano located at the center of the caves. Days later, after the fire is brought under control and Chief Gamboso has been sent to jail, the commissioner names a new leader of the tribe. When the Wards look for Bomba to thank him, however, they find he is gone. Barnes explains that Bomba acts not to receive praise but only to see justice accomplished.

'Jungle Girl' Karen Sharpe in dance and theater, never made it out of the Bs, but struck it rich later in life when she married producer/director Staley Kramer in 1966, after which she retired from acting to become a mother and co-producer with her husband.

Safari Drums (Allied Artists, 1953) – Written and directed by Ford Beebe. Cast: John Sheffield, Barbara Bestar, Emory Parnell, Paul Marion, Douglas Kennedy, Leonard Mudie, Smoki Whitfield, James Adamson, Russ Conway, Rory Mallinson, Jack Williams, & Carleton Young. B&W, 71 minutes.

A group of filmmakers arrive in Africa to make a film about jungle wildlife. One of their party kills a geologist and Bomba the Jungle Boy must find the guilty party while helping them compete their movie. But when they needlessly kill a lion, Bomba leaves them, later learning they imported a tiger with which to stage a fight with a lion for their film. Bomba finds the killer, who is chased by lions into a hut, where the cats kill him. Though the police tell the filmmakers they violated no law in bringing in the tiger, they get their just desserts when Bomba’s friend Kimbbo exposes the film.

The Golden Idol (Allied Artists, 1954) – Written and directed by Ford Beebe. Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Anne Kimbell, Paul Guilfoyle, Leonard Mudie, Smoki Whitfield, Rick Vallin, Lane Bradford, Roy Glenn, James Adamson, William Tannen, Don C. Harvey, Bill Walker, Robert Bice, & Kimbbo the Chimp. B&W, 71 minutes.

Evil Arab chieftain Ali Ben Mamoud (Guilfoyle) has stolen the Golden Idol of Watusi from a village chief. Bomba later relieved him of it, but Mamoud wants it back and hires soldier of fortune Joe Hawkins (Bradford) to get it for him.

Archeologist Karen Marsh (Kimbell) from a British museum is seeking to purchase it. Mamoud and Hawkins have taken Marsh captive, along with Andy Barnes (Mudie), telling Bomba they will torture Ms. Marsh unless he gives the idol back to them. Bomba relents, but alerts the local police by jungle drum. Before he can hand over the treasure, the police arrive to arrest the baddies.

Hawkins and Mamoud escape, but Bomba is in hot pursuit. He overturns their boat in the river, and Mamoud drowns after being ensnared in the coils of a huge python. Bomba then overpowers Hawkins after an underwater fight and hands him over to the police. Karen can now purchase the idol, with the proceeds being turned over to the tribe, as Bomba has promised.

Having appeared on Broadway, Anne Kimball began her film career in a uncredited role in the Betty Grable musical, Mother Wore Tights, for Fox in 1947. In the ensuing years, she made several films before earning her first screen credit in Monogram’s Wagons West (1952), starring Rod Cameron. She worked strictly in the B’s, with her most famous films during this time being a starring role in Roger Corman’s Monster From the Ocean Floor (1954) and a supporting role in Allied Artists’ The Bob Mathias Story, also in 1954. She moved to England in 1958, where she co-starred in the comedy Girls at Sea, before leaving films to marry a Foreign Service officer, with whom she toured the world. After her divorce, she settled in Westcliffe, Colorado, where she is the founder and director of the non-profit Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts. She has also authored several thrillers, including To Catch A Spy (2000) and The Ibeji Twins (2004).

Killer Leopard (Allied Artists, 1954) – Written and directed by Ford Beebe. Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Beverly Garland, Barry Bernard, Donald Murphy, Leonard Mudie, Smoki Whitfield, Russ Conway, Rory Mallinson, Harry Cording, Charles Stevens, Roy Glenn, Bill Walker, Guy Kingsford, & Milton Wood. B&W, 70 minutes.

Movie actress Linda Winters (Garland) has gone into the jungle to find her lost husband Fred (Murphy). Bomba the Jungle Boy helps in the rescue effort. A major obstacle facing them is a killer leopard specializing in tearing people limb from limb.

The police are also looking for Fred on charges of embezzlement. Fred and his cohort Charlie Pulham (Bernard) have traveled to a diamond mine to purchase illegal diamonds from Saunders (Cording), the mine's crooked superintendent. Charlie later tries to extort money from Saunders, who kills him and tells Fred the police are coming. As they try to escape, Bomba captures them, intending to turn them over to the police. The leopard appears and Bomba dispatches it. Fred finds a gun, and as he is about to shoot Bomba, the police intervene and arrest him.

The film benefits from the presence of Garland in the role of Linda. Known to film fans as “The Queen of the B’s,” she began her film career in 1950 as “Miss Foster” in the noir D.O.A. Before her retirement in 2004, she amassed 192 credits in movies and television. Her best-known roles were three films she made for Roger Corman: Gunslinger (1956), Swamp Women (1956), and It Conquered the World (1956), that have been riffed on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and as Fred MacMurray’s wife on the television sitcom My Three Sons.

Lord of the Jungle (Allied Artists, 1955) – Written and directed by Ford Beebe. Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Wayne Morris, Nancy Hale, Paul Picerni, William Phipps, Smoki Whitfield, Leonard Mudie, James Adamson, Joel Fluellen, Harry Lauter, & Juanita Moore. B&W, 69 minutes.

Hunters Jeff Woods (Morris), Paul Gavin (Picerni), and Kenny Balou (Phipps) have been assigned to exterminate a herd of rogue elephants. But Bomba is convinced that there is only one rogue, and prevents the hunters from carrying out their assignment.

Because the animals live on Bomba's land, Commissioner Andy Barnes (Mudie) is reluctant to give the hunters permission to trespass. However, after the elephants stage another stampede, Woods and his associates are given the okay to slaughter the herd.

Complicating matters is a visit by Barnes' niece Mona (Hale), who has arrived after an argument with her fiancé, a doctor who wants to practice in the jungle. Naturally, she hates it in Africa, and being spoiled and used to getting her own way, she adds to Bomba's troubles.

To make sure the hunters will not kill all the elephants, Bomba steals their weapons. Barnes tells Bomba that he’s in trouble with the law, but Bomba asserts that it’s only an elephant named Raju that is the rogue, and if Barnes dispatches him, the others will revert to their former peaceful behavior. Barnes reluctantly accepts the offer.

While Bomba and his elephant friend, Kobu, are looking for Raju, Mona becomes lost in the jungle. They find Raju, but he signals the others to stampede, and in the process they almost trample Mona, who is rescued at the last minute when Bomba swings down on a vine and carries her away. Barnes then shoots Raju and the others immediately revert to peaceful behavior. Bomba has proved his point, and the next morning leads a procession of the now peaceful elephants to the station. Jeff, Paul and Kenny are convinced that there is no reason to kill them. Mona then tells Bomba that she and her fiancé have reconciled and she supports his desire to become a doctor in Africa. Bomba happily states that Lewis is the luckiest man in the world, then waves goodbye to Mona before returning to the jungle.

This marks the end of the series, though there is no formal ending. The storyline in Lord of the Jungle is more complex and introduces explicit ideas concerning animal rights. Bomba's suggestion that because elephants are naturally docile and harmless only the renegade leader bull needs be killed. That is ignored until Bomba proves it at the risk of his life.

That this movie played out more like an episode of a television series seem to have been no accident. Shortly after the series, Johnny Sheffield and his father, Reginald, shot a pilot for a television series titled Bantu, the Zebra Boy. Although on a par with the other jungle series of the period, such as Jungle Jim, Ramar of the Jungle, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle in terms of plot, cast and production values, a sponsor could not be found and the series never got off the ground. The series was to have featured a gimmick whereby Bantu turns a bracelet over to begin a good deed and turns it back when the good deed is performed. Bantu’s main animal ally is a zebra named Zulu, who supposedly could be ridden, although Sheffield learned that it was not always the case.