The ingenious solution of the "purloined letter" is now so well that it needs no detailing here. Most of the story takes place in conversation, with Dupin making his usual pithy observations at the expense of unobservant mankind.
Friday, October 5, 2018
THE PURLOINED LETTER (1844)
In the last of the M. Dupin stories, Poe is careful to have the narrator mention the detective's previous two cases, as if they were something every reader ought to know about. (Shades of Stan Lee's cult of continuity!)
MESMERIC REVELATION (1844)
Mesmerism is merely a means for Poe to unleash another of his Poe's philosophical-discourses-in-tale-form. Over a series of treatments, an unnamed narrator uses mesmerism on an asthma-sufferer named Vankirk. VanKirk goes into a trance and tells the narrator that he's passed into a half-world between life and death. The hypnotized man relates his insights into the commensurate nature of God, the universal mind, and "unparticled matter."
This is clearly Poe trying to reconcile theism with the physics-discoveries of his time. Within the story there's no proof of Vankirk's exegesis, except for one odd aftermath. Vankirk dies, and the narrator observes that in less than a minute the man's body "had all the rigidity of stone." I would term this trope "freakish flesh" in that the reader cannot be sure that it's anything but a physiological effect brought on by the sufferer's unique mental condition.
This is clearly Poe trying to reconcile theism with the physics-discoveries of his time. Within the story there's no proof of Vankirk's exegesis, except for one odd aftermath. Vankirk dies, and the narrator observes that in less than a minute the man's body "had all the rigidity of stone." I would term this trope "freakish flesh" in that the reader cannot be sure that it's anything but a physiological effect brought on by the sufferer's unique mental condition.
SUPERHEROES ARE DAMN-NEAR EVERYWHERE #184
Primary CAMILLE CARR, best known for LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. acted in LOGAN'S RUN.
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Primary DARLEEN CARR acted in episodes of V, BLUE THUNDER, MAN FROM ATLANTIS, and STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE and voiced characters in PIRATES OF DARK WATER, REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST, CAPTAIN PLANET, and G.I. JOE.
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Primary DAVID CARRADINE achieved quasi-immortality for his role in KUNG FU, and also racked up numerous credits like KILL BILL, DINOCROC VS. SUPERGATOR, both DEATH RACE 2000 and its 2008 remake DEATH RACE, DUNE WARRIORS, CIRCLE OF IRON, WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM II, the teleseries KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES, and episodes of CHARMED, AIRWOLF and QUEEN OF SWORDS. He also voiced characters on DANNY PHANTOM and JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES.
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Primary JOHN CARRADINE acted in TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT and episodes of WONDER WOMAN, GIRL FROM UNCLE, GREEN HORNET, ADVENTURES OF FU MANCHU, MAN FROM UNCLE, and KUNG FU.
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Primary KEITH CARRADINE acted in COWBOYS VS. ALIENS and episodes of DOLLHOUSE and ENTERPRISE, as well as voicing "J. Jonah Jameson" in the 2003 SPIDER-MAN cartoon.
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Primary ROBERT CARRADINE acted in ESCAPE TO L.A., SHARKTOPUS VS. PTERACUDA, and the 2003 TIMECOP, as well as episodes of KUNG FU, KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES, and LOIS AND CLARK.
Primary DARLEEN CARR acted in episodes of V, BLUE THUNDER, MAN FROM ATLANTIS, and STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE and voiced characters in PIRATES OF DARK WATER, REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST, CAPTAIN PLANET, and G.I. JOE.
Primary DAVID CARRADINE achieved quasi-immortality for his role in KUNG FU, and also racked up numerous credits like KILL BILL, DINOCROC VS. SUPERGATOR, both DEATH RACE 2000 and its 2008 remake DEATH RACE, DUNE WARRIORS, CIRCLE OF IRON, WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM II, the teleseries KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES, and episodes of CHARMED, AIRWOLF and QUEEN OF SWORDS. He also voiced characters on DANNY PHANTOM and JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES.
Primary JOHN CARRADINE acted in TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT and episodes of WONDER WOMAN, GIRL FROM UNCLE, GREEN HORNET, ADVENTURES OF FU MANCHU, MAN FROM UNCLE, and KUNG FU.
Primary KEITH CARRADINE acted in COWBOYS VS. ALIENS and episodes of DOLLHOUSE and ENTERPRISE, as well as voicing "J. Jonah Jameson" in the 2003 SPIDER-MAN cartoon.
Primary ROBERT CARRADINE acted in ESCAPE TO L.A., SHARKTOPUS VS. PTERACUDA, and the 2003 TIMECOP, as well as episodes of KUNG FU, KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES, and LOIS AND CLARK.
Monday, October 1, 2018
SUPERHEROES ARE DAMN-NEAR EVERYWHERE #183
Primary PRIMO CARNERA (left) played "Anteo" in HERCULES UNBOUND.
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Peripheral ALAN CARNEY (not shown) acted in 1959's LI'L ABNER with--
Primary LESLIE PARRISH for the role of "Glacia Glaze" on BATMAN.
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Primary ART CARNEY is best known (in these circles) for playing "The Archer" on BATMAN, but also acted in THE LAST ACTION HERO and FIRESTARTER.
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Primary LINDA CAROL acted in FUTURE HUNTERS.
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Peripheral LESLIE CARON acted in THE GLASS SLIPPER with--
Primary ELSA LANCHESTER from an episode of THE MAN FROM UNCLE.
Peripheral ALAN CARNEY (not shown) acted in 1959's LI'L ABNER with--
Primary LESLIE PARRISH for the role of "Glacia Glaze" on BATMAN.
Primary ART CARNEY is best known (in these circles) for playing "The Archer" on BATMAN, but also acted in THE LAST ACTION HERO and FIRESTARTER.
Primary LINDA CAROL acted in FUTURE HUNTERS.
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Peripheral LESLIE CARON acted in THE GLASS SLIPPER with--
Primary ELSA LANCHESTER from an episode of THE MAN FROM UNCLE.
Saturday, September 29, 2018
THE BALLOON-HOAX, A TALE OF THE RAGGED MOUNTAINS(1844)
Once again Poe tries his hand at using his ratiocinative talents to put across a hoax. But whereas "Hans Pfall" at least a few amusing moments, "Balloon-Hoax" is utterly mundane, "fantastic" only in terms that Poe couldn't know exactly what elements would be needed for a balloon-ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Forgettable in almost every way.
A TALE OF THE RAGGED MOUNTAINS, however, is definitely underrated "Marvelous Poe." An unnamed narrator describes his friendship with a fellow named Augustus Bedloe, whose entire body had become rather elongated due to his suffering from neuralgia. Bedloe has been treated for years by a private doctor, Templeton, who is a follower of the doctrines of Mesmer, though mesmerism seems to play no role in the story.
Bedloe disappears from Charlottesville, the city in which he and the narrator reside. When Bedloe shows up at last, he tells a story of having got lost in the neighboring mountain range, the Ragged Mountains. Bedloe tells his friend and his doctor that before going for a walk in the mountains, he had a breakfast of coffee and pain-killing morphine. He then stumbled across a city and took part in an armed conflict before finding himself alone again. Templeton believes that Bedloe experienced a flashback to an earlier life, when a man named Oldeb, an acquaintance of the doctor, died during a riot in Benares, India. A little later, Bedloe perishes in a manner loosely similar to the fate of Oldeb, whose name is almost exactly the same.
There are strong parallels between this story and E.T.A. Hoffmann's "The Sandman," published in 1816.
A TALE OF THE RAGGED MOUNTAINS, however, is definitely underrated "Marvelous Poe." An unnamed narrator describes his friendship with a fellow named Augustus Bedloe, whose entire body had become rather elongated due to his suffering from neuralgia. Bedloe has been treated for years by a private doctor, Templeton, who is a follower of the doctrines of Mesmer, though mesmerism seems to play no role in the story.
Bedloe disappears from Charlottesville, the city in which he and the narrator reside. When Bedloe shows up at last, he tells a story of having got lost in the neighboring mountain range, the Ragged Mountains. Bedloe tells his friend and his doctor that before going for a walk in the mountains, he had a breakfast of coffee and pain-killing morphine. He then stumbled across a city and took part in an armed conflict before finding himself alone again. Templeton believes that Bedloe experienced a flashback to an earlier life, when a man named Oldeb, an acquaintance of the doctor, died during a riot in Benares, India. A little later, Bedloe perishes in a manner loosely similar to the fate of Oldeb, whose name is almost exactly the same.
There are strong parallels between this story and E.T.A. Hoffmann's "The Sandman," published in 1816.
Thursday, September 27, 2018
SUPERHEROES ARE DAMN-NEAR EVERYWHERE #182
Primary RICHARD CARLSON (not shown, but a veteran of a half-dozen important SF films), narrated THE GOLDEN BLADE.
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Primary VERONICA CARLSON has one (uncredited) role in CASINO ROYALE.
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Primary HOPE MARIE CARLTON acted in a minor role in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST 4.
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Primary ROGER. C. CARMEL played "Colonel Gumm" in BATMAN and "Harry Mudd" in two STAR TREK episodes, "I, Mudd" and "Mudd's Women," voiced characters in TRANSFORMERS, the 1986 JONNY QUEST, and the animated STAR TREK, and acted in THE SILENCERS and episodes of THE INVISIBLE MAN and THE MAN FROM UNCLE.
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Peripheral JEANNE CARMEN acted in THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS with--
Primary LES TREMAYNE (not shown) from KING KONG VS. GODZILLA.
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Primary JULIE CARMEN acted in episodes of AIRWOLF and the 1980s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
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Peripheral HOAGY CARMICHAEL acted in TOPPER with--
Primary DOODLES WEAVER from THE MAN FROM UNCLE.
Primary VERONICA CARLSON has one (uncredited) role in CASINO ROYALE.
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Primary HOPE MARIE CARLTON acted in a minor role in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST 4.
Primary ROGER. C. CARMEL played "Colonel Gumm" in BATMAN and "Harry Mudd" in two STAR TREK episodes, "I, Mudd" and "Mudd's Women," voiced characters in TRANSFORMERS, the 1986 JONNY QUEST, and the animated STAR TREK, and acted in THE SILENCERS and episodes of THE INVISIBLE MAN and THE MAN FROM UNCLE.
Peripheral JEANNE CARMEN acted in THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS with--
Primary LES TREMAYNE (not shown) from KING KONG VS. GODZILLA.
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Primary JULIE CARMEN acted in episodes of AIRWOLF and the 1980s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
Peripheral HOAGY CARMICHAEL acted in TOPPER with--
Primary DOODLES WEAVER from THE MAN FROM UNCLE.
Sunday, September 23, 2018
RAR #33: RED HAWK
Red Hawk is a forgettable character who organizes his fellow tribesmen, "the Navarros," to protest against their land being co-opted by a greedy entrepreneur. Superman tries to help the tribe without overtly breaking the law. When Red Hawk grows impatient, he uses his knowledge of modern technology to create a red-sun device that saps away the superhero's powers, the better to use him as a bargaining chip.
It's a pretty simple "relevance" story by Leo Dorfman, memorable mainly for a couple of nice covers in ACTION #401-402.
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