The Era -- Day By Day

[Fading Fast]

I bet it would have been a blast to hang out with Errol Flynn, but being married to him, not so much.

Clearly vanity sizing had not become a thing yet.

(P.S., Jinx Falkenberg is an awesome name.)

No kidding.

... View attachment 296868 I hope whoever ASCAP is paying to monitor every station for violations is getting a lot of money. By tomorrow at this time he or she will be thoroughly sick of swing arrangements of "Clair de Lune" and "Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair."...

...In his darkened office at 215 Montague Street, Leland Stanford MacPhail, his red face even redder than usual and his clothing in extreme disarray, crawls out from under his heavy, ornate desk, glowers momentarily at the moosehead on the wall above him, stumbles to his feet, kicks three empty rye bottles out of the way, flings the window open, and bellows out to an astonished early-morning scattering of Borough Hall stragglers, "I LOVE YOU JIMMY POWERS!"...

Being New Years Eve and all, I was hoping something would have happened on Harold and Lana's date that we'd be learning about today.

 

[Fading Fast]

Yes, there is a movie, "Walking on Air" from 1936, about a wealthy and socially prominent (in this case) father effectively locking his adult daughter in the house so that she won't marry a "common" man. A bunch of screwball stuff happens, such as the daughter hiring an actor to play an obnoxious suitor so that her father will like the man she really loves by comparison, but despite the differences in details, it does show that storylines have a vogue.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Royal Air Force planes rained destruction on Bremen overnight in retaliation for Sunday night's incendiary raid on London's ancient "City" area. Explosives and fire bombs "paid the Germans back in their own coin" for the Sunday attacks, with huge fires raging thruout Bremen in the most concentrated British assault of the war. The RAF also pounded German submarine ports, invasion bases, and other key locations on German and German-occupied soil.

Officially-unidentified planes today bombed Dublin, capital of neutral Ireland, for five hours today, in a raid reported to have killed at least three persons and wounded two others. Unofficial reports suggested the planes were German raiders repelled by the British from an attack on the English port of Liverpool.

A major transit improvement looms for Brooklyn subway riders with the planned construction this year of the long-awaited link between the Independent subway system and the Culver line to Coney Island. When completed that link will fulfill the long-planned goal of the IND line for one-fare service extending all the way to the shore. At present, Coney-bound IND riders must transfer to the BMT to reach the beach, and must pay an additional fare to do so. Transit unification under city ownership will, sometime this year, finally eliminate that long-felt inconvenience. The link, as planned, will take the form of a ramp between the IND's Church Avenue station and the Ditmas Avenue station of the BMT, and will be completed by this summer. IND riders will then be able to ride the entire 23-mile distance from the 208th Street station in Upper Manhattan to the Coney Island shore for just a nickel.

Rapid retrails for two Murder For Hire defendants whose convictions were thrown out by the Court of Appeals will be sought by District Attorney William O'Dwyer. Harry "Happy" Maione and Frank "The Dasher" Abbadando, convicted last year for the 1937 icepick murder of George Rudnick, along with Frank Davino, convicted of the holdup murder of fireman Thomas Hitter, are all awaiting discharge from Death Row at Sing Sing Prison, and will be brought back to Brooklyn as soon as the order from the Appeals Court has been received by Sheriff James V. Magnano. Mr. O'Dwyer expects that Maione and Abbadando will be retried starting January 20th before a blue-ribbon jury, but it has not yet been determined which judge will sit for the trial. Judge Franklin Taylor had presided over the previous trial, but his rulings on matters of evidence were the basis for the Court of Appeals reversal.

(And this is why your mother told you not to play with scissors.)

At least fifteen major amusement attractions from the World's Fair will reopen this summer at Luna Park, under the name "Luna Fair of 1941." Approximately $500,000 will be spent to relocate the attractions from Flushing Meadow to Coney Island, among them the first commercial exhibit buildings ever to operate at Luna Park. Several attractions from European amusement parks shut down by the war may also be added to the Luna Park program this season.

Hollywood is mystified by the news of screen star Bette Davis's marriage to a Vermont dentist named Arthur Farnsworth, a man completely unknown in the film capital. Miss Davis and Mr. Farnsworth were wed on New Year's Eve at the 15,000 acre ranch of drugstore magnate Justin Dart near Rimrock, Arizona. It was stated that Miss Davis and Mr. Farnsworth had known each other since childhood, but none of the actress's friends had ever heard her mention him before. Miss Davis had previously been married to another childhood suitor, Harmon O. Nelson, who divorced her in 1938 on the grounds of cruelty, declaring that she never paid him any attention because she would rather read books.

Radio's music war is now in full swing. Officials of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers yesterday declared the replacement music used by network broadcasters to be "atrocious," while the National Association of Broadcasters' own performance-rights agency Broadcast Music, Inc. declared that all is satisfactory. There has been little heard from listeners a day into the new order, but those listening to the New Years' Day football games could not help but notice that the traditional marching band music was blotted out during the broadcasts to avoid any inadvertent airing of ASCAP material. Among the songs most often heard on the air yesterday were "Turkey In The Straw" and "Frankie and Johnny," along with various classical and South American selections not covered by American copyrights.

("Howzya head?" asks Sally. "Who's playin?" replies Joe, with a slight wince. "Savitt." "My head's fine, less go!" And well they should -- Savitt's "shuffle rhythm" band is one of the most distinctive swing outfits going. And Bea Wain is one of the best vocalists in the business -- nobody listens to Larry Clinton anymore since she left him. Clyde Hager is a vaudeville old-timer who does a fast-talking 'sidewalk pitchman' act, and is one of the best in that line. If you know the catch-phrase "go way boys, ya bother me," that was Clyde's.)

(I'm not one to endorse products, but you will never own more durable sheets than Pequot Service Muslins. Mine are at least eighty years old, and are still solid.)

"Interested" writes in to Helen Worth wondering if she should tell her friend that her husband is cheating on her. It's not like it's anything new with this fellow -- he's been caught in the act three times before with different women, and has promised each time to change his ways. But now he's at it again. Should his wife be told? Helen says it's probably better to let nature take its course -- she'll find out in due time and will make up her own mind what to do next.

(It rolls downhill.)

The Eagle Editorialist commends the Adolescents Court system used in Brooklyn as a force in solving the problem of delinquency, and urges that it be adopted city wide. Since the Court was established at the instance of then-Magistrate William O'Dwyer five years ago, it has handled 7926 cases, with estimates that nineteen out of every twenty boys going thru the system have avoided future violations.

Mosquito season won't be so bad this year in Queens, with the WPA launching a $300,000 program to drain that borough's marshes. Particularly targeted will be a two-acre swamp near Alley Pond Park which has been a major breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

To no one's surprise, the Texas Aggies won the Cotton Bowl, but the margin of victory over the Fordham Rams was very much a surprise. The Texans edged out the Rams 13-12, but Fordham was leading 6-0 at the half. Bad breaks late in the game cost the Rams a possible win, but they have nothing to be ashamed of in their narrow loss.

In other Bowl game action, Stanford beat Nebraska 21-13 in the Rose Bowl, Boston College beat Tennessee 19-12 in the Sugar Bowl, Mississippi State beat Georgetown 14-7 in the Orange Bowl, Western Reserve beat Arizona 26-13 in the Sun Bowl, West beat East 20-14 in the East-West Bowl, Fresno State beat Hawaii 3-0 in the Pineapple Bowl, and the Norfolk All Stars beat the Richmond All Stars 16-2 in the Smoke Bowl.

The baseball trading season seems to be winding down, with 15 of the 16 big league clubs having completed some type of big deal or another. Only the Boston Bees have abstained from the trade marts so far in the winter. Although the Bostons have plenty of young players they could move, and though outfielder Max West remains on several clubs' wish lists, the fact that the franchise is likely to be sold at any moment seems to have kept President Bob Quinn and manager Casey Stengel standing pat. The Dodgers were of course at the top of the list in trading activity, with key deals for Kirby Higbe, Mickey Owen, and Lew Riggs likely to carry dividends in the season to come. The Giants were also busy, but their deal with the Cardinals for Bob Bowman and Joe Orengo is likely to be the only one of real significance.

(Ah, dear Elspeth Eric, who used to say "there's no ulcers in radio." I dunno, I met quite a few.)

(Hey Spark, wouldn't this be a good time for you to go find a villain to fight?)

(Maybe you should just ask to see the rate card.)

(Time to pick up the phone and call Leona. She'll have some ideas.)

(At his desk at the Bureau of Identification, Cyrll Gardner opens his mail and grimaces. "Not another letter from that boob Dunn!" he growls, mushing it up and scoring a direct hit on the wastebasket. "That's Form Letter 1B for you, chump!")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Actually, I think a boogie-woogie arrangement of "Humoresque" might be kind of interesting.

All right, we will.

Ilka will marry three times. She's got a lot to talk about.

That South Shore Yacht Club looks like quite a happening place.

In his dressing room at the Flatbush Theatre, Clyde Hager slaps the paper down on the table. "That bum is stealin' my act!!"

Only eleven more to go.

Ping, you wily old rascal.

AWWWWWW WHOZA GOOD BEAR!

Nina and Snipe will get along just peachy, I'm sure.

Sigh. Wise up, Lana.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A major transit improvement looms for Brooklyn subway riders with the planned construction this year of the long-awaited link between the Independent subway system and the Culver line to Coney Island. When completed that link will fulfill the long-planned goal of the IND line for one-fare service extending all the way to the shore. At present, Coney-bound IND riders must transfer to the BMT to reach the beach, and must pay an additional fare to do so. Transit unification under city ownership will, sometime this year, finally eliminate that long-felt inconvenience. The link, as planned, will take the form of a ramp between the IND's Church Avenue station and the Ditmas Avenue station of the BMT, and will be completed by this summer. IND riders will then be able to ride the entire 23-mile distance from the 208th Street station in Upper Manhattan to the Coney Island shore for just a nickel....

To this day, you can feel how NYC's subway was cobbled together from many lines as the "links" between the lines at the stations are often long and circuitous (and, in years past, dangerous at non-rush-hour times). You can walk for five or more minutes through a serious of ramps, stairs, tunnels, overhead passage ways, etc. (some that look like they were built eighty years ago and never updated) just to get from one subway line to another. It's a remnant of the original layout of the separate lines, but can seem quite crazy when you're walking through the maze today.

...
(And this is why your mother told you not to play with scissors.)...

From what we read the other day, it seems like they put the stitches in and then "sealed" the heart back up. Since I don't think they had dissolvable stitches back then (maybe they did), what's going to happen to the stitches?

... View attachment 297280 (I'm not one to endorse products, but you will never own more durable sheets than Pequot Service Muslins. Mine are at least eighty years old, and are still solid.)...

Sheets are like a lot of products. If you buy really cheap ones, they fall apart quickly. But really expensive ones are so fine they usually don't last or require ridiculous care. But a good pair of middle market ones - LL Bean or some similar brand on sale - last for a long long time and aren't very expensive.

...... (Hey Spark, wouldn't this be a good time for you to go find a villain to fight?)...

Didn't Sparky also just get engaged by accident to his girlfriend? That might be an issue that needs to be addressed.

I forget, isn't Invisible Girl suppose to start soon? Is she a Sunday-only thing (which would mean we'd see it on Tuesday) or did I make that up?

... Ping, you wily old rascal....

Caniff is incredible. In panel three, we're enjoying the sexual fission of Terry and Hu Shee snuggling up "to stay warm" but, by panel four, we're thinking about the philosophical issue of soldiers following inhuman orders. And it all flows with the story - very impressive writing, especially in a comic strip.

 

[Harp]

^^^Lana is a doll.
And Slim should call Ilka Chase for advice, or ask her out.

Terry and Hu Shee. Nuclear fission.

"Choi Hoi, Terry." ahh, that's Vietnamese for surrender.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Add to the List Of Things I Learned Today the fact that natural catgut sutures will be absorbed by the body, when used internally, within ninety days. They were not, I am relieved also to learn, made from actual cats -- they were pieces of sheep intestine, much like the casing on a sausage.

"Invisible Scarlet O'Neil" will indeed be Sunday-only -- and will start this coming Sunday, which is Tuesday 2021 time. As far as I know, Miss O'Neil is the very first super-powered heroine in comics -- "Wonder Woman" won't appear until the end of 1941, and Mary Marvel not till 1942. "The Red Tornado" is already appearing in comic books, but she's just a loud Brooklyn housewife who wears a soup pot over her head as a mask and beats up Nazis with her fists. (I wish she had a newspaper strip...)

I still say that polka-dot robe guy is Larry MacPhail. I mean, seriously...

(Photo taken shortly after he crawled out from under his desk.)

 

[Fading Fast]

Add to the List Of Things I Learned Today the fact that natural catgut sutures will be absorbed by the body, when used internally, within ninety days. They were not, I am relieved also to learn, made from actual cats -- they were pieces of sheep intestine, much like the casing on a sausage.

"Invisible Scarlet O'Neil" will indeed be Sunday-only -- and will start this coming Sunday, which is Tuesday 2021 time. As far as I know, Miss O'Neil is the very first super-powered heroine in comics -- "Wonder Woman" won't appear until the end of 1941, and Mary Marvel not till 1942. "The Red Tornado" is already appearing in comic books, but she's just a loud Brooklyn housewife who wears a soup pot over her head as a mask and beats up Nazis with her fists. (I wish she had a newspaper strip...)

I still say that polka-dot robe guy is Larry MacPhail. I mean, seriously...

View attachment 297364
(Photo taken shortly after he crawled out from under his desk.)

Hopefully you're talking about book learning and not something that happened to your cat.

Maybe they used stitches like that back in '41, but if so, I'm surprised.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Twenty-five detectives under the personal command of Acting Deputy Chief Inspector William T. Reynolds are investigating the brutal murder of a Bay Ridge woman, the wife of a prominent shipyard executive. Mrs. Catherine Watson was strangled and beaten to death yesterday in her apartment at 404 61st Street. Mrs. Watson was the wife of William Watson, executive vice president of the Sullivan Dry Dock and Repair Corporation, at the foot of 23rd Street. A few strands of light red hair found clutched in the dead woman's hand constituted the one material clue that may lead to the killer's capture. Police today located and questioned a Manhattan painter and interior decorator who was working in the 24-family apartment house owned by Mrs. Watson, and in which she lived, and also questioned that man's wife. Robbery is tentatively considered as the motive, as Mr. Watson stated that Mrs. Watson was wearing an expensive diamond ring when he left the apartment yesterday mornin, a ring not on the body when it was found. Mrs. Watson had also made the rounds of the building's tenants to collect their January rent, but the cash in her purse was not disturbed.

Taken into custody by police this morning was 38-year-old Alex Mosel, 426 E 82nd Street, Manhattan, along with his 32-year-old wife Minnie. Mrs. Mosel was released by police at 4:45 this morning, but Mr. Mosel remains in custody as detectives question him as to his movements since yesterday morning. As the painter was under interrogation, detectives combed his apartment, seizing every article of male clothing on the premises for examination. Police stated that Mr. Mosel's hair is dark brown, as against the light reddish hair found in Mrs. Watson's hand.

District Attorney William O'Dwyer has dispatched a steam shovel to a point on the Passaic River near Lyndhurst, New Jersey to dig for the body of vanished Longshoreman's Union activist Peter Panto, missing since the summer of 1939, on a tip that Panto might have been disposed of in a quicksand bog there after he was murdered by thugs for his efforts to purge criminal influence from the union. The District Attorney has drawn a speculative link between Panto's disappearance and presumed death, and the activities of the Brooklyn Murder For Hire gang. Mr. O'Dwyer himself was present for the excavation work yesterday, which uncovered no evidence of Panto's body before adjourning at nightfall. Digging resumed at the site this morning.

The arrest of a 34-year-old ex-convict from Brooklyn will put a serious dent in the city's loose-milk racket, according to Manhattan District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey. James Bernoff, a longtime associate of known racketeers Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro, was arrested yesterday and held on $50,000 bail as a material witness in connection with Mr. Dewey's probe of the city-wide sale of unbottled bootleg milk. Bernoff is alleged to have taken over the loose-milk racket in 1933, after its former head and original organizer, mobster Larry Fay, was shot and killed by a drunken policeman. Fay and several associates were tried and acquitted in 1931 on charges that they shook down retail milk dealers in a protection racket. Bernoff's own criminal record dates back to 1918, and includes convictions for truancy, larceny, burglary, illegal possession of a firearm, and vagrancy. He was tried and convicted of kidnapping in 1926, but that case was subsequently overturned on appeal.

The first lawsuit filed by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers in its confrontation with network radio charges that Fred Allen's broadcast of January 1st featured a musical theme taken from George Gershwin's composition "Wintergreen for President." Allen himself is not named as a defendant in the case, which accuses his sponsor, the Texas Company, Buchanan & Company, the advertising agency that produces the program, the Columbia Broadcasting System, and the 87 affiliated stations that carried the program, with violation of the Copyright Law. A spokesman for CBS claimed that the musical passage in question is not "Wintergreen for President," but an original theme composed especially for the broadcast. With the penalty for violating the Copyright Law set at $250 per station, CBS faces a fine of $21,750 if the suit is upheld.

(Judge for yourself here. The theme in question is heard in the program's opening, at 0:15 into the broadcast, just after the announcer says "The Texaco Star Theatre!" Da-da-duh-da-duh-da-da-da is pretty close to "Wintergreen for President" to my ear. So we'll see how this goes.)

Meanwhile, orchestra leader Glenn Miller last night refused to permit a broadcast of his performance from the Pennsylvania Hotel by the National Broadcasting Company. Although Mr. Miller declared that he is "neutral" on the matter of the dispute between ASCAP and the networks, he does not wish to take any chance that even a single bar of forbidden music might be played during the broadcast by his band.

(There's always something to do in New York.)

Three Brooklyn College students testified behind closed doors before the Rapp-Coudert Committee yesterday, even as the American Student Union filed a formal protest of what it characterized as "an illegal police grilling." An attorney acting on behalf of the ASU charged that a Brooklyn College girl was subjected to a "severe grilling" after being illegally sworn in the absence of actual Committee members, and the ASU's district secretary Maia Turchin urged undergraduates "not to be intimidated or surrender their rights" in the face of "high pressure" applied by the Committee. It is reported that the Committee intends to subpoena at least another 30 students for private interrogation.

("I'll stick ta my saddle shoes," says Sally. "I should break my ankle onnem t'ings? Like fun!")

Robert Francis had a good time with the latest bill at the Flatbush, praising Jan Savitt and his Top Hatters, with their best of their fifteen selections being a swing arrangement of Rachmaninoff's "Prelude," just in time for the ASCAP ban. Bea Wain was great, as she always is, but she ought to lay off that "Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar" boogie-woogie stuff and go back to the torchy ballads she's best at. And Clyde Hager's bit with the potato peeler is as convulsive as it's ever been. But the surprise of the night was an act that nobody'd heard of before -- "Mister Cortello and his Hollywood Stars." The Stars, in case you don't know, are all dogs, who do hilarious impersonations of screen celebrities. The little black poodle who did Carmen Miranda, complete with conga, stopped the show.

(Internet Medical Expert without the Internet.)

(I hate to be the one to tell ya, toots, but the World's Fair is closed.)

(I thought double-dribbling was illegal.)

Ace Parker now says the future of his pro football career may depend on whether or not he makes the Pittsburgh Pirates' opening day roster this year. If he's cut and farmed out by the Bucs, he is likely to stick with the Football Dodgers this fall. The statement comes as rumblings are heard from Pittsburgh that Parker may be assigned to the Hollywood Stars in the Coast League for 1941.

The Coast League is also the present home of a young outfielder you're going to be hearing a lot of as the new season approaches. Lou Novikoff hit .363 in 174 games for the Los Angeles Angels last year, and while he's expected to get a good long look from the parent Chicago Cubs at training camp this year, his defense may be a weakness. They call Lou "The Mad Russian," not just for his ancestry, and not just for the radio comedian, but because he can be a bit reckless afield. But even with that, there's a chance Novikoff could stick with the Cubs if manager Jimmy Wilson is sufficiently convinced that the free-swinging 26-year-old is ready to face "smart pitching."

("WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SON YOU MANIAC? MOTHER WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU!")

("The Law is a Ass.")

(Tsk. Mary is way off her usual game here.)

("San Wintin?" Not "Flossom?")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

NO FAIR USING A DOG, EVERYBODY LIKES A GOOD DOG.

This is it? I'm disappointed. I don't follow the menswear scene too close, but how is this different from the Old Moe Levy?

Coming Events Cast Their Shadows Before...

"Who is this Sam? A friend of thugs and convicts!"

Look, just throw him in a bog in New Jersey and be done with it.

Odds that Andy takes this fellow back to the city and introduces him to Mama now running at even money.

Better get him to a hospital quick -- it won't do for the old boy to die of ink poisoning.

Recall if you will that Mr. Clock has been to Detropolis, and saw Skeezix running around there with Tula. Don't get too excited yet, kids.

LISSEN TO THE OLD MAN KID

At least hold onto the case, son -- it'll come in handy when you join the Irish Mob.

 

[Fading Fast]

...The arrest of a 34-year-old ex-convict from Brooklyn will put a serious dent in the city's loose-milk racket, according to Manhattan District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey. James Bernoff, a longtime associate of known racketeers Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro, was arrested yesterday and held on $50,000 bail as a material witness in connection with Mr. Dewey's probe of the city-wide sale of unbottled bootleg milk. Bernoff is alleged to have taken over the loose-milk racket in 1933, after its former head and original organizer, mobster Larry Fay, was shot and killed by a drunken policeman. Fay and several associates were tried and acquitted in 1931 on charges that they shook down retail milk dealers in a protection racket. Bernoff's own criminal record dates back to 1918, and includes convictions for truancy, larceny, burglary, illegal possession of a firearm, and vagrancy. He was tried and convicted of kidnapping in 1926, but that case was subsequently overturned on appeal....

"...in connection with Mr. Dewey's probe of the city-wide sale of unbottled bootleg milk. Bernoff is alleged to have taken over the loose-milk racket in 1933..."

Well now, that's a new wrinkle in the very complex business of selling milk in New York City in the '30s and '40s.

...
("I'll stick ta my saddle shoes," says Sally. "I should break my ankle onnem t'ings? Like fun!")...

Yes, the reason for this photo is so that the average Brooklyn woman, who reads the Eagle, mind you, now knows what shoes to buy to wear to summer resorts this year. Uh-huh. I'm surprised Sally didn't make a crack to Joe about how come they never go to a summer resort?

... (Tsk. Mary is way off her usual game here.)...

There's not enough story here for the time "Dale Allen" is devoting to it.

... ("San Wintin?" Not "Flossom?")

With that posture, he could be a former Black Hood.

...[ This is it? I'm disappointed. I don't follow the menswear scene too close, but how is this different from the Old Moe Levy?....

Very anticlimactic. Bet they paid an advertising firm a pretty penny for the campaign. That said, here we are talking about it eighty years later.

... Better get him to a hospital quick -- it won't do for the old boy to die of ink poisoning....

Heck of a good illustration in panel two (really, in all four panels today).

Terry and Hu Shee do make a nice looking couple.

... LISSEN TO THE OLD MAN KID....

Yup, this is one where there truly is wisdom in experience.

 

[Harp]

The Homeric aphorism, Aphrodite robs the wits of the wise, so'er prudent, doesn't quite
qualify ol' shortstop brains department Slim Jim; still the gruel is cruel and a bit thin anyway,
so finish the book of James with a Chicago type-broken heart. Not your typical run-of-the-mill
cardiac infarct, but two or three .45 caliber slugs fired from close range with a Colt .45 1911 pistol
held by Ace Slimeball, all-American comic creep. Elsa turns out to be a lesbo, Leona swings her bat
left and right, they hook up, and presto! A real comic strip tease.

And, speaking of tease, China doll Hu-Shee is hot. Terry, dunno. Kid's got mebbe some issues.

And last but not least: Moon Mullins. Irish mob? The Irish?


.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Uncle Willie Mullins will be over soon to talk about his underworld experiences, which always end with him being stuffed into a trash can by some goon.

As for summer resorts, I asked Joe what he thought about that --

"Hah!" he says. "I should go to onnat'em places again! 'Attime we wenna Asb'ry Pa'k! R'memmat'at, Sal? I got bit byt'at lobstah!"

"Nahhhh," says Sally, "'at'wunno lobstah, fa' cryin' out loud, 'atuzjussali'lbitty crab! A lit'l san' crab, wan' no biggan'a ten cents piece! An' all it done was pinchya toe, annit soived ya right fa' steppin' onnim!"

"Yeah, well, nomoreat'at! F'm now onnit's Coney Islan' fa mine! Ya get bit t'ere, ya know who done it!"

 

[Fading Fast]

Uncle Willie Mullins will be over soon to talk about his underworld experiences, which always end with him being stuffed into a trash can by some goon.

As for summer resorts, I asked Joe what he thought about that --

"Hah!" he says. "I should go to onnat'em places again! 'Attime we wenna Asb'ry Pa'k! R'memmat'at, Sal? I got bit byt'at lobstah!"

"Nahhhh," says Sally, "'at'wunno lobstah, fa' cryin' out loud, 'atuzjussali'lbitty crab! A lit'l san' crab, wan' no biggan'a ten cents piece! An' all it done was pinchya toe, annit soived ya right fa' steppin' onnim!"

"Yeah, well, nomoreat'at! F'm now onnit's Coney Islan' fa mine! Ya get bit t'ere, ya know who done it!"

First time in a long time, but not sure about this one, "nomoreat'at!" Is it, "no more of that?"

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Yeah!" says Joe. "No more a' t'at! Whacha, gawwaxinnyaeahs?" "Aw. lay off Joe, t'man din'meannuttin' by it. C'mon, toin onna radio, ya gonna miss Joe Pennah." "Hmph," grumbles Joe. "Heain'onnomoah. Hmph."

 

[LizzieMaine]

A German blitzkrieg fire raid of almost unparalleled ferocity rained down on the English city of Bristol last night, even as the Royal Air Force sent fire down from the skies over the German manufacturing and port center of Bremen. The raid on Bremen, the third in as many nights, was reckoned by British authorities as "the most effective of the war." British reports state that "a number of people" were killed in the German raid on Bristol, which took place under a bright moon that left key targets easily visible. Four churches, a convent, two hospitals, a clinic, a poorhouse, a hotel, a movie theatre, and countless homes were ravaged by incendiary and explosive bombs.

The new Congress today gave indication that it will give broad support to President Roosevelt's program for material aid to Great Britain, but will stop short of granting the President unlimited authority in the matter. Crystallization of the final Congressional attitude toward the "lend-lease" program awaits the President's State Of The Union address on Monday, during which Mr. Roosevelt is expected to provide additional details on his plan. One opposition voice is already being heard from Sen. Gerald P. Nye (R-North Dakota), a leading isolationist, who has stated that he will demand a full investigation of British Empire resources in the Western Hemisphere before he will support the President's initiative.

The president of Local 5 of the American Federation of Teachers is promising to fight "spurious and malicious" charges brought against the New York local by the union's national Executive Council seeking to revoke its charter on political grounds. Local president Charles J. Hendley denied the council's charge that Local 5 has "engaged in actions inimical to democracy" and argued today that the Council has not the authority to revoke any local's charter, an action which, he maintains, can only be taken by a two-thirds vote of a national convention of the union. Mr. Hendley also denied the Council's charge that the Local's actions have retarded growth of membership, arguing that the membership had increased steadily until the right-wing union faction headed by Dr. George S. Counts began attacking Local 5, followed by the ongoing attacks on the Local by the Rapp-Courdert Commttee.

A meek and sickly eighteen-year-old boy from a Pittsburgh suburb has been revealed as the "Yellow Hornet," author of a menacing letter received last month by screen star Betty Grable. Agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation were called in after Miss Grable received the letter on December 6th, in which the mysterious "Hornet" demanded $2500 in cash, or he would "come get her." Agents traced the letter to one James Porter of Washington, Pennsylvania -- who, under interrogation, confessed to writing a total of 16 "Yellow Hornet" letters since last summer, but admitted that he had collected no money from any of his intended victims. The letters all demanded that the cash be sent to one "Miss Betty Westlake," at a Washington, Pa. address. Agents determined that Miss Westlake is the daughter of East Washington school superintendant E. F. Westlake -- and that her 19-year-old sister Mary had also received one of the letters. Miss Mary Westlake told the FBI she did not know and had never seen James Porter.

Eddy Duchin and Sammy Kaye are the latest popular orchestra leaders to declare that they will no longer broadcast until the battle between the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers and the radio networks is settled. The two bandleaders both declared that they will not be financially responsible for any inadvertent broadcast of ASCAP music during sustaining broadcasts over NBC or CBS. ASCAP declared today that its investigators, making electrical transcriptions of network musical programs, have uncovered more than a thousand copyright violations since the organization's contracts with the networks expired on January 1st. Meanwhile, listeners to this evening's broadcast of "Your Hit Parade," will hear only selections controlled by Broadcast Music, Inc., with all ASCAP tunes banned from the program regardless of popularity.

The World's Fair cannot be held legally responsible for the deaths of five workmen in the collapse of a ceiling at the Railroads exhibit building on December 4th. A preliminary report to Queens District Attorney Charles P. Sullivan indicated that the Fair Corporation had no control over that building, which had been constructed by the Eastern Railroad Presidents' Conference, and which was sold by that organization after the Fair closed to the wrecking company responsible for its demolition. The report did not contain any findings relating to construction flaws in the building itself that might have contributed to the collapse of the ceiling, and investigation into that aspect of the accident will continue.

("Lookat'at!" exclaims Joe. "Howmennyglassesawatta t't'em people need?" "I read oncet where s'ciety people gotta 'dry wit,'" says Sally. "Maybea't means'eyaways t'oisty.")

The Eagle Editorialist doesn't think much of President Roosevelt's appointment of former Commerce Secretary Harry Hopkins as his "unofficial personal representative" in London, especially since the President has yet to appoint an official replacement for former Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, a position expected to be filled next week. The EE points to the precedent set by Colonel Edward M. House, who, to much criticism, roamed Europe as President Wilson's unofficial personal representative during the World War.

(As a small child I once saw a picture in a magazine of a woman with her face coated in "beauty clay," and I attempted to duplicate the effect with the filling of a chocolate cream pie. Didn't do much for my skin, but the other effects were satisfying.)

(The talent booker at the Flatbush calls in his assistant and hands him this ad.)

(Next Week: See Alice at the Garden in goal for the Americans.)

The Fordham Rams will receive a gala welcome home in the Bronx Monday Night, with Borough President James Lyons leading the festivities at the RKO Fordham Theatre. Celebrants will view the Pathe News film summary of the Rams' Cotton Bowl loss to Texas A&M, including the nerve-tingling crossbar kick that lost Fordham the game.

(Whee.)

The Giants sent pitcher Hy Vandenberg to the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday for cash, and it's all Pee Wee Reese's fault. Vandenberg was on the mound at the Polo Grounds last July 3rd when the Dodger rookie shortstop hoisted one of his offerings into the upper-left-field seats to win the game for Brooklyn. Manager Bill Terry immediately optioned the hapless hurler to Jersey City, and he has remained persona non grata ever since. The Cardinals are expected to send Vandenberg to Rochester or another of their many farm clubs.

Comedian Milton Berle is getting off a gag or two at the expense of the ASCAP contract war. "A BMI song writer says to his girlfriend 'I've got a song in my heart for you!' And the girl says, 'if it's a song in YOUR heart, it must be Public Domain!'"

Chorine Jean Beryl, featured in "Hellzapoppin'," Olsen and Johnson's insane fiesta at the Winter Garden, likes the high seas when she isn't on stage. She's a fully-accredited yeoman, complete with license book and union papers, and is looking forward to the day when she and her husband, USNR Lt. Cmdr A. W. Garvin, can forsake their apartment on Clark Street and take once more to the ocean. Miss Beryl says in the meantime she's studying trigonometry and the science of navigation to better prepare herself for sea duty.

(Can't we get Doc for practicing Mad Science without a license?)

(Don't be so dismissive there, Butch. Circus work pays good money, and you meet a lot of interesting people.)

("Hey Dale, can you draw a 'tragically pathetic' expression?" "Can I? Take a look at panel two.")

(MIGAWD DAN WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOUR ARMS)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Untreated mental health issues are painfully common in 1941.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah man!"

And after all, less scoring means more fighting.

"Hey kids! Comics!"

Don't worry, expert criminologists are on the job.

Ummmm....ahhh....never mind.

"Actually, I can't wait to get out of this two-bit town. What if I hide in the baggage car?"

OHHHHH YEAH!

Mush's program of active resistance will not be denied.

If there's one lesson the Teeniverse teaches us, it's that "mothers trying to push their kids into marriage" never ends well.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A meek and sickly eighteen-year-old boy from a Pittsburgh suburb has been revealed as the "Yellow Hornet," author of a menacing letter received last month by screen star Betty Grable. Agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation were called in after Miss Grable received the letter on December 6th, in which the mysterious "Hornet" demanded $2500 in cash, or he would "come get her." Agents traced the letter to one James Porter of Washington, Pennsylvania -- who, under interrogation, confessed to writing a total of 16 "Yellow Hornet" letters since last summer, but admitted that he had collected no money from any of his intended victims. The letters all demanded that the cash be sent to one "Miss Betty Westlake," at a Washington, Pa. address. Agents determined that Miss Westlake is the daughter of East Washington school superintendant E. F. Westlake -- and that her 19-year-old sister Mary had also received one of the letters. Miss Mary Westlake told the FBI she did not know and had never seen James Porter....

This could be riffed into a "Dick Tracy" or "Dan Dunn" storyline. Heck, while it doesn't fit the style of the strip, one of those kids from the Sugar Bowl would be on my suspect list.

... View attachment 297773
("Lookat'at!" exclaims Joe. "Howmennyglassesawatta t't'em people need?" "I read oncet where s'ciety people gotta 'dry wit,'" says Sally. "Maybea't means'eyaways t'oisty.")...

... (Next Week: See Alice at the Garden in goal for the Americans.)..

Alice would have thrived in our sports-and-celebrity-mad internet culture.

...
Chorine Jean Beryl, featured in "Hellzapoppin'," Olsen and Johnson's insane fiesta at the Winter Garden, likes the high seas when she isn't on stage. She's a fully-accredited yeoman, complete with license book and union papers, and is looking forward to the day when she and her husband, USNR Lt. Cmdr A. W. Garvin, can forsake their apartment on Clark Street and take once more to the ocean. Miss Beryl says in the meantime she's studying trigonometry and the science of navigation to better prepare herself for sea duty....

The gist of the article is that this smart woman has studies and interests beyond her stage career, but the Eagle knows what its readers want, so we don't see her (Lana Lanagan's like) demurely dressed hitting the books, but instead, in her best imitation of Leona at The Club Buccaneer.

Last time we talked about "Hellzapoppin'" (a perfect GE name), I believe it was to note that future film-noir femme fatale Lizabeth Scott was a member of the "Hellzapoppin" company.

...[ (Don't be so dismissive there, Butch. Circus work pays good money, and you meet a lot of interesting people.)...

Bumm delivered the first truly funny line in this entire story arc.

.. ("Hey Dale, can you draw a 'tragically pathetic' expression?" "Can I? Take a look at panel two.")...

There's a line between a sympathetic white lie and trolling and Mary's getting awfully close to it.

... "Hey kids! Comics!"...

Caniff doesn't even bother to pretend to be writing for kids.

... "Actually, I can't wait to get out of this two-bit town. What if I hide in the baggage car?"....

Exactly how much weight did Skeezix put on during this visit? He looks twice his usual size in that overcoat.

 

[Harp]

Harold should pursue Lana. She's a doll of a gal, hot stuff.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I would not be surprised at all to see Shadow Smart mixed up in a "Yellow Hornet"-like scam. Excessive blood sugar will make a kid do dangerous things.

If Lana was as smart as she needs to be, she'd start talking to Harold's friends to find out exactly what his problem is. She lives in the neighborhood, so she must know who they are. Or better yet, talk to Pop. He's only the one who's got the kid completely sussed out. But she better be prepared for what she'll find out. "Oh yeah, he went nuts when he thought his girlfriend was gonna marry this creepy guy twice her age, and ran off to New York. God only knows what he got into there."

Not only is Mary trolling Slim, the Doctor there is trolling Mary. If we can get Bill to troll the doc, and Slim to troll Mary, we'll have a perfect circle.

I was gonna say Skeez must've put on Walt's coat by mistake, but then again, Walt didn't get that fat without a little help from the dinner table.

This whole sequence in TITP is the one that got Caniff into trouble with the syndicate for drawing clearly-identifiable Japanese planes. At this point, the "Invader" subterfuge is past ridiculous, even if it ever wasn't.

The "Hellzapoppin" movie has very little in common with the stage show -- which was never the same thing twice -- but it's, in its own way, an insane little masterpiece: