The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

British and Norwegian forces are closing in on Naarvik, according to reports reaching Norwegian General Headquarters, with the German garrison there cut off from outside communication. Meanwhile, it is also reported that British destroyers sunk five German ships in a sea battle off Naarvik. There is no official confirmation of these reports from any British or other source.

At the same time, the RAF struck at German supply lines to Norway in a daring raid against German ships in the Baltic Sea. Two Nazi supply ships, one an 8000-ton munitions vessel, were destroyed in that raid. As a further attempt to cut off German supply routes, British vessels are reported to have laid a vast new mine field off the coasts of Sweden and Denmark.

British planes also raided a German railway station at Schelswig-Holstein, with the German DNB news agency reporting that the tracks had been "broken" in the raid and the station itself damaged. The German press threatens "reprisals" for the attack, stating that "the raid has given a new aspect to the war."

Assitant Attorney General John H. Amen has learned the name of the "prominent politician" accused of bribing a Brownsville police captain to transfer two detectives who had "annoyed" Murder For Hire mobster Abe Reles, but Amen has not yet publicly named that man. Amen conferred at length yesterday with the Brooklyn Eagle reporter who first broke the story, and it is reported that the Eagle man attempted also to meet with District Attorney William O'Dwyer, who was "out of his office" at the time. The District Attorney and Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine have both denied that there is anything to the story.

One of the seventeen defendants in the so-called Christian Front seditious conspiracy trial is the target of a manhunt, after the suspect jumped $7500 bail and failed to appear today in Brooklyn Federal Court. Claus Gunther Ernecke of 29 Hawthone Street, a residence he shares with a fellow defendant, is being sought by Federal marshals, but the trial will go on whether or not he is captured. Ernecke figured significantly in the testimony of key prosecution witness Denis Healy, who had inflitrated the Front, and who testified that Ernecke was a rabid anti-Semite who vowed that, if the United States becomes involved in the war, he would go to Germany and fight for Hitler. Ernecke and Healy were both members of the 101st Cavalry unit of the National Guard, where, Healy testified, Ernecke bristled at receiving a reprimand from an officer. "I would take that from a German officer," he is said to have stated, "but not a stooge of the U. S. Army."

The Dodgers and Yankees arrived in New York today, only to be greeted by foul weather. Today's scheduled opening of the traditional pre-season series between the two clubs at Ebbets Field has been cancelled because of rain and cold, pushing the first chance for the hometown folks to greet the Flock ahead to Sunday. Manager Leo Durocher held a full-squad meeting in the clubhouse at Ebbets Field after giving the new members of the team their first look at Flatbush. No less than ten players on the current roster will be appearing in Brooklyn for the first time when the team finally takes the field.

A fourteen year old Park Slope boy who ran away from home accompanied by three girls is back at PS 10 today, fully recovered from what his mother dismisses as a bout of "spring fever." Ernest Brown and his three companions were picked up yesterday by police in Elizabeth, New Jersey, after a lunch wagon operator complained that the group had run out on a $1.10 check. Ernest's mother, Mrs. Helen Brown of 460 11th Street told the policeman who brought her son home that the boy "ought to have a beating," but the policeman counseled her against such discipline, saying that "it's just the modern age."

Unions representing actors, stage technicians, and motion picture operators are at odds with management at the New York World's Fair over contracts for the coming season, raising the possibility that Billy Rose's Aquacade may be the only live show in operation when the Fair reopens for the season. The Actors' Equity Association, the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are united in their wage demands for live talent and technicians, and only the American Guild of Variety Artists, which represents the swimmers employed by the Aquacade, has a current contract with the Fair. However, AGVA members are meeting tonight to consider action in support of their fellow unions. Rehearsals for live shows were terminated as negotiations stalled, among them the highly-promoted "American Jubilee" feature, but Fair president Harvey D. Gibson says he doesn't care if the Jubilee is junked or not. "It's just another feature of the Fair, and if it can't go on it's just another disappointment. I'm used to disappointments."

("Scram," says W. E. Hill. "I'm working this side of the street.")

"Constant Reader" writes in to tell Helen Worth that she was absolutely right in her counsel to "S," who was upset to discover that his fiancee was having an affair with his best friend. Constant's brother went thru the same situation, and let the best friend talking him into eloping with the woman. Friend then hung around the house making a pest of himself to the point where brother is constantly threatening suicide. Helen agrees that "S" should profit by this example, and encourages him to write in and report on his decision.

Eddie Lane and his Orchestra will offer a musical welcome-home to our Dodgers in the "61" Room at the Hotel Bossert tonight, featuring his renditions of favorite songs selected by the players themselves.

Count Basie and his Orchestra are giving the best swing show of the season in the new "all-sepia" program at the Flatbush this week, reports Robert Francis, and all the hepcats and jitterbugs in the neighborhood have been out in force to see it.
Vocalist Maxine Sullivan, who swung on Broadway over the winter in the "hot Shakespeare" production "Swingin' The Dream," brought down the house with her rendition of the hit song of that show, "Darn That Dream," and her old standby "Loch Lomond." The short-subject film program was equally fine, with a sportsreel, an "Information Please" quizlet, a Charley Chase comedy, and a rollicking Donald Duck. All that and more for just a quarter.

The Eagle Editorialist hopes that the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers and the two big radio networks can resolve their differences. ASCAP controls nearly all popular music of the past twenty five years, but NBC and CBS are resisting the organization's fee increases under a new contract that would take effect in 1941. Small independent stations would benefit from a reduction in fees under the new agreement.

(Born eighty years too soon.)

The Dodger Knot-Hole Gang, innovation of team president Larry MacPhail, moves into its second season as the largest such youth organization in the major leagues, giving the kids of Brooklyn a chance to see their favorites free of charge during selected games over the course of the season. The Redheaded One ran a similar promotion to great success during his time in Cincinnati, and the idea went over even bigger in Brooklyn. Last year more than 100,000 kids saw the Dodgers for free and expectations are the numbers will be greater this year. To be eligible, kids between 12 and 15 must sign up for the club thru their public or parochial school, and must display a Knot Hole membership card at the designated gate. The cards come in various colors, with selected games designated by any one of six colors. Members with matching cards are eligible to attend matching games.

Star Rookie Peewee Reese will wear number 35 when he takes the field on Sunday at Ebbets Field for pre-season action against the Yankees, but it's a sign of Manager Durocher's esteem for the twenty-year-old phenom that whe the new uniforms are handed out for the start of the regular season on Tuesday, Reese will wear number 1. Fellow rookie sensation Charley Gilbert will wear number 33, newly-acquired outfielder Joe Vosmik will suit up with number 8, free-agent pickup Roy Cullenbine will wear number 30, free-agent pitcher Wes Ferrell will wear number 21, backup catcher Gus Mancuso will wear number 9, promising rookie backstop Herman Franks suits up with number 19, rookie pitcher Newell Kimball wears number 39, gangly sidearmer Max Macon will wear number 36, and spring surprise Tex Carleton will take the mound wearing number 51.

The Rangers hold a 3-2 lead over the Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Finals, and the Broadway Blueshirts hope to wrap up the series tomorrow in Toronto. Last night's 2-1 overtime win came on goal by Big Murray Patrick.

Opening Day at Ebbets Field a week from today will be televised by W2XBS as the Dodgers host the Giants. The game marks another first, as the first Opening Day baseball game ever shown on television.

(Clearly, this is a non-Euclidean elephant.)

(It's Bill. "Where the hell are you people?")

(No deathtrap? No poison gas? No torture devices? No elephant? What a lame basement.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Just another day in 1940...

AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO!

Whoa, Pat, good thing Blaze isn't along to hear you talk like that.

"That preence, he ees beeg pikeer. He say not buy me hamburgair, so I geev him the airrrr!"

Hey kid, written to Nina lately?

Boy, Tracy is something. Didn't even need the fire department to get loose.

I love boardinghouses.

Luckiest woman on the face of the earth.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Assitant Attorney General John H. Amen has learned the name of the "prominent politician" accused of bribing a Brownsville police captain to transfer two detectives who had "annoyed" Murder For Hire mobster Abe Reles, but Amen has not yet publicly named that man. Amen conferred at length yesterday with the Brooklyn Eagle reporter who first broke the story, and it is reported that the Eagle man attempted also to meet with District Attorney William O'Dwyer, who was "out of his office" at the time. The District Attorney and Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine have both denied that there is anything to the story....

So, apparently, Amen and O'Dwyer truly can't be in the same room with each other.

...
("Scram," says W. E. Hill. "I'm working this side of the street.")...

What's oddly missing from this ad is any mention of on-site tailoring which, in men suits, is a very common service offered with suits bought at almost any price point. The ad says its suits will solve all kinds of "fit" problems, but then leaves out the key variable in fit - a good tailoring service.

..."Constant Reader" writes in to tell Helen Worth that she was absolutely right in her counsel to "S," who was upset to discover that his fiancee was having an affair with his best friend. Constant's brother went thru the same situation, and let the best friend talking him into eloping with the woman. Friend then hung around the house making a pest of himself to the point where brother is constantly threatening suicide. Helen agrees that "S" should profit by this example, and encourages him to write in and report on his decision....

It bears repeating, yes, there can be reasons to stay in a marriage even after one's spouse has cheated, but it's pretty hard to find an honest reason to marry a fiancee who is cheating on you.

...Opening Day at Ebbets Field a week from today will be televised by W2XBS as the Dodgers host the Giants. The game marks another first, as the first Opening Day baseball game ever shown on television....

On TV, fantastic.

... (No deathtrap? No poison gas? No torture devices? No elephant? What a lame basement.)

And no secret tunnel. It's just a stupid basement - what a gyp.

...
Just another day in 1940.....

What, with taxes and $35,000 a year in alimony - and all those women "friends," including his wife's sister (really dude!) - Mr. Brockhurst might need to break his self-imposed $100,000/yr earning cap.

... AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO!...

Plus the always effective "Hey! Stop!" to prevent kidnappers from snatching their prey.

... Whoa, Pat, good thing Blaze isn't along to hear you talk like that....

Blaze tried to keep up with them, which is why he's now in a ditch on the side of the road having a mild heart attack.

... "That preence, he ees beeg pikeer. He say not buy me hamburgair, so I geev him the airrrr!"...

Gotta love momma coming out of a faint but still able to fire off a quick "fat head." Charming woman.

View attachment 226985 ... Hey kid, written to Nina lately?...

Tula looks old enough to be his mother. And while King usually kills it with his illustrations, something in the scale or perspective is off with that hundred-step staircase.

... Boy, Tracy is something. Didn't even need the fire department to get loose.....

"Leota Sunny -" hey, we don't even have to change her name for the stage; you're good to go kid, now sing, sing!

...
Luckiest woman on the face of the earth.

Well, at least we see that NYC snobbery looking down on Middle America is nothing new today or any prettier back then.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I keep waiting for Mr. Amen and Mr. O'Dwyer to investigate each other.

And what of poor Harvey D. Gibson and his positive upbeat attitude? Sorry, Smiley, ya knew what you were in for when you took the job.

Dodger baseball will be a regular thing on W2XBS during the 1940 season, making lifetime fans of all those folks up in Newburgh. Red Barber and Al Helfer will simulcast the TV games along with the regular radio coverage, and won't be paid a nickel by NBC. Barber had a very prickly relationship with television over the course of his career, and this was the root of it.

Annie should know better than to give a dog candy anyway.

I want to know what Benny Goodman did to piss Chester Gould off. Aside from the hair color, Rudy is very much a Goodman caricature. I might have guessed Mr. Gould would be an ickie.

Between Tula and Senga, it would appear that "cougar culture" was very much a thing in 1940.

And then there's Lillums, who's certainly looking perky for someone whose fiance died in a horrible car wreck just two months ago. I'd love to see how her ma is taking things.

 

[David Conwill]

Amen and O'Dwyer truly can't be in the same room with each other.

At first, I read this in the vein of "All I'm saying is that nobody's ever seen Clark Kent and Superman in the same room..."

 

[Fading Fast]

I keep waiting for Mr. Amen and Mr. O'Dwyer to investigate each other.....

How awesome would that be. If this was TV, you just gave them material for the next several episodes.

...Dodger baseball will be a regular thing on W2XBS during the 1940 season, making lifetime fans of all those folks up in Newburgh. Red Barber and Al Helfer will simulcast the TV games along with the regular radio coverage, and won't be paid a nickel by NBC. Barber had a very prickly relationship with television over the course of his career, and this was the root of it.....

Do any of those broadcasts still exist? Have you seen any of them?

...Between Tula and Senga, it would appear that "cougar culture" was very much a thing in 1940.....

As we talk about here all the time, nothing is really new. Most of this stuff was going on back then (and before then), it was just kept, somewhat, more under wraps. The funny thing is, once you are aware of it, you see it even in the movies that were supposedly scrubbed clean by the production code. It's there in those movies; it's in the cracks and crevices and innuendos and, surprisingly, once in awhile, right out in the open. And, of course, it's in the books, comics and newspapers (the latter two we see daily) of the time.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Unfortunately there's no footage of these early telecasts -- they hadn't yet developed a practical system for filming images off a monitor. Other than a few minutes of 16mm footage shot off a home screen with a home movie camera of a play in 1939, there's no moving images of US television at all before 1946. All that survives are audio recordings and still photos.

It's fascinating, though, to dig thru those photos -- televised sports were invented at W2XBS, and they were making it all up as they went along. This is a rare shot of the setup they used at Ebbets Field --

There were only two cameras -- this one, behind home plate, to cover the pitcher-batter action, and another one shooting down from the upper deck on the third base side, to cover the rest of the field. For the first broadcasts, done late in the 1939 season, Barber actually had to sit in the upper deck near the camera position so he could have some clue as to which camera was live -- he had no monitor, and no way to communicate with the director in the truck other than signals from the camera operator. By 1940 they managed to arrange things so that he could work from the regular radio booth, with a monitor, but he still didn't like having no control over what was shown -- eventually he invented a switchbox using an arrangement of lights that he could use to silently call for his own shots.

There were also on-field postgame interviews --

Unlike Barber, Leo immediately fell in love with television and would have a pretty fair career over the years as a TV celebrity. Number 1 is Bill McKechnie, manager of the Reds, waiting his turn, and at far right is Dolph Camilli, who hit the first home run ever shown on television. Kibitzing at the rear are Dodger pitcher Tot Presnell and outfielder Dixie Walker. They aren't really sure what's going on, but they want in on it.

 

[Fading Fast]

Unfortunately there's no footage of these early telecasts -- they hadn't yet developed a practical system for filming images off a monitor. Other than a few minutes of 16mm footage shot off a home screen with a home movie camera of a play in 1939, there's no moving images of US television at all before 1946. All that survives are audio recordings and still photos.

It's fascinating, though, to dig thru those photos -- televised sports were invented at W2XBS, and they were making it all up as they went along. This is a rare shot of the setup they used at Ebbets Field --

View attachment 227195

There were only two cameras -- this one, behind home plate, to cover the pitcher-batter action, and another one shooting down from the upper deck on the third base side, to cover the rest of the field. For the first broadcasts, done late in the 1939 season, Barber actually had to sit in the upper deck near the camera position so he could have some clue as to which camera was live -- he had no monitor, and no way to communicate with the director in the truck other than signals from the camera operator. By 1940 they managed to arrange things so that he could work from the regular radio booth, with a monitor, but he still didn't like having no control over what was shown -- eventually he invented a switchbox using an arrangement of lights that he could use to silently call for his own shots.

There were also on-field postgame interviews --

View attachment 227196

Unlike Barber, Leo immediately fell in love with television and would have a pretty fair career over the years as a TV celebrity. Number 1 is Bill McKechnie, manager of the Reds, waiting his turn, and at far right is Dolph Camilli, who hit the first home run ever shown on television. Kibitzing at the rear are Dodger pitcher Tot Presnell and outfielder Dixie Walker. They aren't really sure what's going on, but they want in on it.

Great info. You nailed what I was thinking - it would be cool to see how it began / how they made it up from scratch.

I don't love how they cover games today, but it is "professional" or, IMHO, slick. The rawness of those original broadcasts must have been amazing.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Here's a good shot of the signal box Barber invented a bit later in the 1940s -- it's really quite ingenious. All he had to do was flick a switch next to the position he wanted on camera, and a light would go on on an identical box in the truck, telling the director where to point the camera so he could say what he wanted to say. Before that, the only way to communicate with the director was by calling for the shot on mic, which was an inelegant and cumbersome way of working.

The guy next to Barber with the paper and pen clipped to his hair is another Dodger innovation -- that's Allan Roth, the first full-time statisitican ever hired by a baseball team. Roth was Bill James before Bill James was even born, and he kept detailed books on everything that went on in every game the Dodgers played. He also slipped notes to the broadcasters on interesting points they might want to mention on air. Before this, broadcasters rarely had much of anything to say about stats -- they'd quote batting averages, or won-lost records, but nothing like the kind of stuff Roth's detailed charts would make possible.

That chicken wire in front of the booth was another Barber innovation -- originally the booth was wide open, until the day a sharp drive back nearly took Red's head off. He let MacPhail know he wouldn't broadcast another game without protection, and the wire went up that night. It remained there as long as the Dodgers did.

 

[Fading Fast]

Here's a good shot of the signal box Barber invented a bit later in the 1940s -- it's really quite ingenious. All he had to do was flick a switch next to the position he wanted on camera, and a light would go on on an identical box in the truck, telling the director where to point the camera so he could say what he wanted to say. Before that, the only way to communicate with the director was by calling for the shot on mic, which was an inelegant and cumbersome way of working.

View attachment 227208

The guy next to Barber with the paper and pen clipped to his hair is another Dodger innovation -- that's Allan Roth, the first full-time statisitican ever hired by a baseball team. Roth was Bill James before Bill James was even born, and he kept detailed books on everything that went on in every game the Dodgers played. He also slipped notes to the broadcasters on interesting points they might want to mention on air. Before this, broadcasters rarely had much of anything to say about stats -- they'd quote batting averages, or won-lost records, but nothing like the kind of stuff Roth's detailed charts would make possible.

That chicken wire in front of the booth was another Barber innovation -- originally the booth was wide open, until the day a sharp drive back nearly took Red's head off. He let MacPhail know he wouldn't broadcast another game without protection, and the wire went up that night. It remained there as long as the Dodgers did.

More cool stuff -thank you. Re stats guy - as we say, nothing is new or, at minimum, everything has longer roots than we think.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The body of missing Christian Front trial defendant Claus Gunter Ernecke was found hanging from strip of canvas tied to a ceiling pipe in the cellar of a Flatbush apartment house today. A suicide note found with the body in the basement of 283 Parkside Avenue blamed star prosecution witness Denis Healy for Ernecke's decision to kill himself, but authorities have declined to reveal the specific nature of that accusation. Police say Ernecke has been dead for a day and a half. Ernecke's body was discovered by the building's handyman, about two blocks from the Hawthorne Street residence Ernecke shared with co-defendant Macklin Boetteger.

Ernecke was born in Germany thirty-seven years ago, and had been in the United States for over a decade, having taken out initial papers to apply for citizenship. He has served on and off as a member of the 101st Cavalry of the New York National Guard since 1931, and it was in the Guard that he first met Healy, whom he recruited as a member of what he called an "anti-Jewish, anti-Communist organization with over 100,000 members." Ernecke was described on the witness stand by Healy as a "violent anti-Semite" who vowed loyalty to Hitler in the event of a war between Germany and the United States. In addition to his membership in the Christian Front, Ernecke was also a member of the German-American Bund. He was employed as a salesman for the International Correspondence Schools. Assistant U. S. Attorney Harold Kennedy, chief prosecutor in the Christian Front case, declined to comment on Ernecke's suicide, other than to state that the trial of the remaining sixteen defendants will go forward.

For the second consecutive day, bad weather has forced the cancellation of the Dodgers-Yankees game at Ebbets Field, with today's sharp cold spell denying Brooklyn its first look at the 1940 Flock. There had been hopes of getting in the game when the sun made a brief appearance, but with snow on the field and temperatures below freezing, there was little chance the game could actually be played.

Britain today acknowledged the loss of 11 planes in its attempts to drive German troops out of Norwegian ports and to disrupt German shipping in war-torn waters off the Scandanavian coast. Official British reports say that the RAF blew up a munitions warehouse in Bergen, and shot down four Messerschmitt fighter planes in its series of raids on German-held positions.

Five hundred employees of the Brooklyn sugar-refining industry turned out alongside politicians, business leaders, and public officials, for a "town hall" meeting called by Borough President John Cashmore to discuss what actions might be taken to save that industry. Cashmore calls sugar refining vital to the industrial and commercial development of Brooklyn, and has vowed to take any steps necessary to ensure the industry's continuation in the borough.

A five-day cure for syphilis developed at Mt. Sinai Hospital based on the chemical treatment developed by Dr. Paul Ehrlich was demonstrated this week at a conference of more than 200 specialists called by Dr. John L. Rice, Commissioner of Health. The five-day treatment is said to be effective for 85 percent of patients compared to the former one-to-two-year treatment plan. The treatment uses an intravenous drip of Dr. Ehrlich's drug, rather than requiring patients to make a lengthy course of return visits to receive small oral doses of the medication.

"Anxious" writes to Helen Worth asking what she thinks of a 25-year-old woman who lives at home and doesn't contribute to any of the work around the house and doesn't contribute any money. This girl was treated for TB a few years ago, and ever since then has refused to so much as dry a dish for her mother. Her father spoke to a doctor about her laziness, and the doctor says it won't kill her to help with some of the housework. She now has a chance to marry a "professional man with a child," but she says she is holding out for a "man with money." Helen is not too impressed with the young lady, calling her "disgustingly selfish," and says her parents are doing her no favors in putting up with such nonsense. They should tell her to pay and do her share or get out. "All leeches," says Helen, "are not bought in drug stores."

("Thoid place!" snorts Joe. "I ask ya!" "They don't hurry up an' get the snow off the field," adds Sally, "they'll finish in Montreal!")

Dizzy Dean -- a Dodger? It could happen, hints Tommy Holmes. Diz is in the doghouse with Philip K. Wrigley, and the Cubs might be willing to move "the Barrymore of Baseball" if the right offer came. The Dodgers have been flailing about in recent days looking for another pitcher to fill out the staff, and have so far been rebuffed in their efforts to pry hard-throwing Kirby Higbe away from the Phillies. Manager Leo Durocher is one of Diz's old cronies from the Gas House Gang, and Larry MacPhail is well-known for his affinity for baseball "bad boys." There is no doubt that Cubs manager Gabby Hartnett would like to be rid of Dean, who has been a significant disciplinary problem during his two years in Chicago, and while Diz's zany antics went over in St. Louis due to his habit of winning ballgames, the mouthing off is less appealing when not accompanied by performance to back it up. Dean did win two games against the Dodgers last year, and both Durocher and MacPhail might be interested in bringing him to Brooklyn just so they wouldn't have to face him as an opponent. Meanwhile, Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley says Dean will have a place on his club as long as he can regain his winning form --"if he wins, we can put up with a lot of departures from orthodox conduct, I guess." Diz was 6 and 4 last year, in just 96 innings pitched, and his spring training this year was distinguished primarily by a loud and lengthy holdout.

The oddsmakers call the Rangers 13 to 10 favorites to take the Stanley Cup tonight when they face the Maple Leafs in Toronto. If the Leafs win and force a 7th game, the odds for a Blueshirt victory stand at 5 to 2. As always, hear the game tonight at 8:45 on WHN.

The Football Dodgers will play six home games this fall, according to the new 1940 schedule released today by the National Football League. The season will open under the lights at Ebbets Field on October 4th against the Philadelphia Eagles.

(An early critique of cultural imperialism.)

Clifford Evans is back today after several days' absence, but he has absolutely nothing to say about the Murder For Hire Gang. Hmmmmmm. He does say, however, that he has learned that an attempt is to be made to smuggle a Giant fan into the Dodger Knot-Hole Gang banquet at the Hotel St. George tonight.

The case of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter will be dramatized tonight on "Gang Busters," 8 PM on WABC.

TROLL

Bonetti is nothing if not efficient.

For a guy about to get his fat head blown off, Irwin is awfully cheerful. Exactly what's in that cigar?

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

A phony mystic. Who knew?

When Men Were Men...

The gloves are off.

I have no idea what Tracy is up to here, and I'm not sure he does either.

He's not running off because he's scared of Mama, he just remembered he needs to get that suit back by midnight.

They may be bandits, but that doesn't mean they can't have snappy dialogue.

Ohhhhhh Skeezix...

It's rare for a comic-strip character to become self-aware, but I never would have predicted it of Mr. Elmo Dullard.

Pa: Didn't we used to have another kid? A boy? Kind of tall, kind of dopey? Ma: Hush, Thomas. I don't know what you're talking about.

And as a special bonus today, News sports cartoonist Leo O'Mealia picks the National League race for 1940:

"FIFTH PLACE??" yells Joe. "I ASK YA!"

 

[Fading Fast]

The body of missing Christian Front trial defendant Claus Gunter Ernecke was found hanging from strip of canvas tied to a ceiling pipe in the cellar of a Flatbush apartment house today. A suicide note found with the body in the basement of 283 Parkside Avenue blamed star prosecution witness Denis Healy for Ernecke's decision to kill himself, but authorities have declined to reveal the specific nature of that accusation. Police say Ernecke has been dead for a day and a half. Ernecke's body was discovered by the building's handyman, about two blocks from the Hawthorne Street residence Ernecke shared with co-defendant Macklin Boetteger.

View attachment 227209

Ernecke was born in Germany thirty-seven years ago, and had been in the United States for over a decade, having taken out initial papers to apply for citizenship. He has served on and off as a member of the 101st Cavalry of the New York National Guard since 1931, and it was in the Guard that he first met Healy, whom he recruited as a member of what he called an "anti-Jewish, anti-Communist organization with over 100,000 members." Ernecke was described on the witness stand by Healy as a "violent anti-Semite" who vowed loyalty to Hitler in the event of a war between Germany and the United States. In addition to his membership in the Christian Front, Ernecke was also a member of the German-American Bund. He was employed as a salesman for the International Correspondence Schools. Assistant U. S. Attorney Harold Kennedy, chief prosecutor in the Christian Front case, declined to comment on Ernecke's suicide, other than to state that the trial of the remaining sixteen defendants will go forward....

So, does the family get the $7500 in bail money back? I'm guessing not.

..."Anxious" writes to Helen Worth asking what she thinks of a 25-year-old woman who lives at home and doesn't contribute to any of the work around the house and doesn't contribute any money. This girl was treated for TB a few years ago, and ever since then has refused to so much as dry a dish for her mother. Her father spoke to a doctor about her laziness, and the doctor says it won't kill her to help with some of the housework. She now has a chance to marry a "professional man with a child," but she says she is holding out for a "man with money." Helen is not too impressed with the young lady, calling her "disgustingly selfish," and says her parents are doing her no favors in putting up with such nonsense. They should tell her to pay and do her share or get out. "All leeches," says Helen, "are not bought in drug stores."...

An early version of someone having trouble "adulting."

...
(An early critique of cultural imperialism.)...

Outstanding artwork.

... Bonetti is nothing if not efficient....

Love the ring lines from the phone.

...
When Men Were Men.....

I've read business newspapers / journals for about four decades and, in that time, not a year goes by that some version of this line:

"Jobs are hard to find and older men come in to have..."

isn't used in several stories about middle-aged or older men going to hair salons or dermatologists or plastic surgeons, etc., to help them look younger.

... The gloves are off....

Guys like Nick were put on earth for moments like this.

... I have no idea what Tracy is up to here, and I'm not sure he does either....

Tracy is not methodical; we've seen it before where he goes with a hunch, consequences be damned. If Tracy has an image in popular culture anymore, it's definitely different from the Tracy of these '40s strips.

... He's not running off because he's scared of Mama, he just remembered he needs to get that suit back by midnight....

The story had more potential had Edson let Prince Cheese worm his way further in.

... They may be bandits, but that doesn't mean they can't have snappy dialogue...."

I think Pat is confusing the opium-laced food coma he had recently and a general food coma - people don't lose all their faculties just because they ate a big meal.

In the T&TP vs. LOA smackdown, I give LOA the edge right now (Annie's been kidnapped and Nick's rolling up his sleeves), but both are doing a real good job vs. the wash-repeat plots (or silliness) of several of our other strips (Mary Worth excepted).

... Ohhhhhh Skeezix......

She's rapacious. I checked, surprisingly, Tula is not an anagram for Senga.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Helen Worth doesn't cut loose very often, but when she does, she pulls no punches. "All leeches are not bought in drug stores" is the sort of thing you'd expect if Dorothy Parker wrote an advice column.

I think the main difference between Senga and Tula is that Senga does it for a living, while Tula is more of a bored opportunist. I'd hate to think that Miss Snipe set her after Skeezix knowing what the outcome might be, she seems a far more decent sort than that.

I am more in love with Leo O'Mealia's depiction of the Reds as a bomb-throwing Bolshevik with every passing moment. Willard Mullin was better known for his cartoon-mascot figures for baseball teams, but I think O'Mealia did it first.

 

[LizzieMaine]

British naval forces today destroyed seven German warships in the Norwegian port of Narvikm, in an attack led by the so-called "hoodoo ship," the 35,000 ton battleship Warspite. The seven German vessels were reported to be destroyers, and the Associated Press reports that all 1000 German crewmembers on board those ships were killed.

The Warspite earned its "hoodoo" reputation during the World War, when during a sea battle it sustained damage to its steering gear that caused it to steam in circles while under fire. In the two decades since then, the Warspite has experienced a long series of accidents, most recently breaking down three times after a refit in 1934.

The trial of the remaining sixteen defendants in the Christian Front seditious conspiracy trial will move ahead in Brooklyn Federal Court, with the defense promising to oppose any motion for a mistrial in the wake of the suicide of defendant Claus Gunter Ernecke. Defense Attorney Leo Healy says he is "strenously opposed" to any mistral motion, and Federal Judge Marcus B. Campbell, after Ernecke disappeared last week, promised that the trial would resume on Monday "as though he were here." In explaining Ernecke's decision to hang himself in the basement of a Flatbush apartment house, Healy stated that Ernecke was "distressed about the vicious lies told about him on the witness stand" by defense witness Denis B. Healy, whom the attorney stated Ernecke considered "his best friend." That testimony identified Ernecke, a German native, as a rabid anti-Semite and Hitler disciple who was the first of the defendants to "call for a reign of terror against the Jews."

Twenty-six-year-old parolee Frank "Big Boy" Davino was found guilty yesterday of the murder of Brownsville fireman Thomas J. Hitter, who was shot down in front of the firehouse at 480 Sheffield Avenue on Halloween night 1938. An all-male blue-ribbon jury deliberated for three hours after receiving its charge from Judge Franklin Taylor in Kings County Superior Court before returning with the verdict. Hitter was shot as he sat in his car in front of the fire station after returning from a bank where he had picked up the station's payroll, and Davino was arrested for the shooting following an investigation of nearly two months. Davino, who now faces the electric chair, was on parole from Elmira Reformatory, where he had been sentenced following a robbery conviction in 1933.

A sixteen year old girl apparently suffering from amnesia has been identified from papers in her possession as Barbara Barrett of 91 Catherine Avenue, Franklin Square. Police picked her up at the Canal Street station of the BMT, where she had been wandering aimlessly, and claimed to be unable to remember her identity. She has been taken to Bellvue Hospital for observation.

Yesterday set an all-time April record for cold in Brooklyn, with the temperature dropping to 24 degrees. Temperatures will moderate somewhat today, with hopes that the Dodgers and Yankees will get in one game of their pre-season series at Ebbets Field. The previous two contests have fallen victim to the un-springlike weather.

The "American Spectacle," dramatic pageant planned for the World's Fair this year, will not happen, following a breakdown in negotiations between theatrical unions and the Fair corporation. At issue is the wage for actors performing in the pageant, with the Fair insisting on a $40 per week salary and the unions united for $45. The Actors Equity Association had offered to accept the $40 rate on the condition that all performances at the Fair be conducted on a closed-shop basis, but the Fair was unwilling to concede this point.

(Couple of good "Dick Tracy" plots right here.)

Crowded conditions at the Raymond Street Jail, long unfit for human habitation, will be alleviated somewhat by the construction of a new 60-bed dormitory, according to Mayor LaGuardia. The new unit opened this week, and the Mayor promises further improvements to the antiquated structure lie ahead.

A new book published by a Princeton University professor attempts to explain the "Martian Scare" triggered by radio producer Orson Welles with his "War Of The Worlds" dramatization in October 1938. Professor Hadley C. Cantril has published the results of two years' research under the title "Invasion From Mars," and incorporates interviews with persons who were admitted that they were "disturbed" by the content of the radio play. Professor Cantril says that the highest percentage of persons disturbed by the broadcast were found in the South, and the lowest in New England, and that persons of "strong religious views" tended to be more susceptible to "panic" than those who had "less fanciful views about science." The Professor also concluded that the reaction to the broadcast reflected a sense of panic that is "inherent in the American people," based on insecurity in a "warring, changing world."

If the Dodgers and Yankees play today at Ebbets Field, Red Barber and Al Helfer will describe the action at 2:55pm over WOR.

Bob Hope and Ann Sheridan will get in a little baseball of their own as the Gulf Screen Guild Theatre presents "Elmer The Great," 7:30pm over WABC.

The Stanley Cup belongs to the Rangers for 1940, following a 3-2 overtime victory tonight at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The Rangers trailed the Leafs 2-0 going into the third period, but rallied to the tie the contest and drive the game into overtime.

Crews worked thru the morning at Ebbets Field to clear off the turf in time for today's scheduled pre-season contest between the Dodgers and Yankees. Tex Carleton, Luke Hamlin, and Hugh Casey were expected to divide up the game for Brooklyn, with Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomes, and possibly Marvin Breuer taking the mound for the Yankees. Following the game, if it is played, the Dodgers head for Boston, where they'll kick off the 1940 season for real against the Bees. Whit Wyatt is expected to get the Opening Day pitching nod from Manager Durocher, and with a righthander expected to start for Boston, Durocher will put Vosmik, Gilbert, and Cullenbine in the outfield.

("That Parrott," says Joe. "Now there's a writer!" And Sally says, ".277? I thought Petey did better than that. Watch him hit .300 this year!")

Old Timer Peter Henry of 946 Rogers Avenue wants to form a Flatbush Old Timers Club, and volunteers his place as the official meeting hall. Only qualification for membership is that you have to have lived in Flatbush for 25 years or more, and he looks forward to plenty of fun, fellowship, gab, and "dancing to old time tunes." (So you 25-year-old hepcats, leave your Larry Clinton records at home.)

Fronting the Trend section this week, none other than the king of sanitary socks, Dodger equipment manager Dan Comerford --

Starting at the Patio this week, "Judge Hardy and Son" paired with "The Lone Wolf Strikes!"

(Until I read this week's "Red Ryder" I had no idea that there really are actual Aztec ruins in Arizona. And people say comics aren't educational.)

(A genuine and unforced laugh out loud. Well played, Mr. Lichty.)

(I would have thought Mary, of all people, would be very careful about reading fine print.)

("Awwww, you ain't kiddin' me, Dan! I know that's you under there!" "Shut up fool, and prepare to FINALLY meet your fate!")

("Yeah, it's him again. G'wan, you guys. You know the address. Whack him a couple with your sticks for me, will ya?")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"I got my hair done for THIS???"

If you're in the market for an arc welder, an improved bustline, or a chameleon, this is your lucky day. "Tell ya what I'm gonna do!"

Brother Hill must've missed that item the other day about women taking up pipe smoking.

Now just a minute, Mr. Gould. Introducing an entirely new character as your killer at this late stage of the story goes against every rule of good mystery fiction. Get ahold of yourself.

John Tecum is so thick it's a wonder he can lie flat on the page. And "shot and thrown from a car" gives Maw Green an idea.

I am in awe of Mamie's outfit here -- she's wearing pants under her dress, and SPATS on her shoes. No slave to Parisian fashion she.

April's death glare in panel three is my favorite thing I've seen this month.

Countersigned by Abe Reles and everything!

You're really pushing your luck, kid.

 

[Fading Fast]

..
(Couple of good "Dick Tracy" plots right here.)...

Spot on and highlights how these comic strips are doing what all regular story tellers do, cribbing from current events.

...
("Awwww, you ain't kiddin' me, Dan! I know that's you under there!" "Shut up fool, and prepare to FINALLY meet your fate!")...

Also, the logic the captain uses - I won't be blamed for his death if I allow Dunn to take and kill him - seems pretty shaky as does some of the syntax throughout today's strip.

....[ "I got my hair done for THIS???"....

It's not completely clear if Addie was in the apartment when her mother fell to her death, but combined with how Addie's first husband subsequently died, I'm not standing anywhere near an opened window if Addie's in the room.

...[
If you're in the market for an arc welder, an improved bustline, or a chameleon, this is your lucky day. "Tell ya what I'm gonna do!"....

You can feel the physical Internet in this "Shop by Mail" page and it reminds us that it was (and still is) the Internet that killed newspapers' classifieds and greatly hurt its advertising. And that has killed or damaged the finances of so many local papers. It's one of those funny things that rattles out of big change: a lot of our local newspapers relied on classified ads to sustain their economic model.

...
John Tecum is so thick it's a wonder he can lie flat on the page. And "shot and thrown from a car" gives Maw Green an idea.....

To repeat: Guys like Nick were put on earth for moments like this.

... April's death glare in panel three is my favorite thing I've seen this month.....

April, as the kids would say, hasn't "let it go" yet.

Okay, so did the kid hostages go over the cliff or not? In panel 8 and 9 it looks like they're carrying the kids, but you don't see them in 10 or 11.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It kinda looks in 9 like they're dumping the kids off by the rock there -- it's probably a lot clearer on the original page than in a B&W scan. But even so -- Pat is acting pretty ruthless here for just a few cans of beans or whatever. Maybe when he goes back home he should hook up with Nick Gatt.

 

[Fading Fast]

It kinda looks in 9 like they're dumping the kids off by the rock there -- it's probably a lot clearer on the original page than in a B&W scan. But even so -- Pat is acting pretty ruthless here for just a few cans of beans or whatever. Maybe when he goes back home he should hook up with Nick Gatt.

Even with you telling me, I still can't really make it out, but it makes sense as I didn't think Caniff would let the kids go over.

To be fair to Pat, Raven has basically presented it as a life and death situation for them and the kids.

I don't like it, but the Nicks and Pats of the world tend to be both successful and solve a lot of problems we need solved in ways we don't always like to talk about. To be sure, I'm not condoning everything they do (nor have I read these strips long enough to even know what "everything" is), but our world doesn't seem to work well without, at least, some guys working in the gaps between good and evil.

Most of our "heroes," like FDR or Churchill (strategically chosen to try to keep this politically neutral), have Nick/Pat skills where they'd more than stretch a rule, reg or law / play a ruthless game of hardball to get done what needed to get done.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The more I think about it the more I want to see a Terry/Annie crossover. This sort of thing wasn't done in 1940, but the current creative team for Dick Tracy has done several crossovers with defunct News-Tribune strips in recent years -- Annie and her cast have become semi-regulars there, and Tracy even helped them run down Axel when he resurfaced a few years back:

It's also been established that Harold Teen and his friends exist in the current Tracy universe -- still looking and acting like 30s hepcats in the 21st Century:

There have even been brief appearances by an elderly Skeezix Wallet and his even more ancient Uncle Walt. So a Terryverse crossover is long, long overdue. Oh how I'd like to see today's Tracy get a visit from Cheery Blaze, with Annie and company not far behind.