The Era -- Day By Day

[Fading Fast]

Given that newspaper comics in 1941 are "family entertainment," two things stand out -- I never cease to be amazed by exactly how much Caniff gets away with, and I never cease to be amazed at how cleverly he implies what he can't.

The pip of all time was in 1939, when April Kane was captured by a cross-dressing French lesbian gold smuggler named Sanjak, who left absolutely no question of what she had in mind for her captive:

View attachment 325378

The implications here are exceedingly obvious, and that Caniff was able to get away with this situation in 1939 -- when the movies were hamstrung by the Code, and radio was under complete censorship by sponsors and networks -- is nothing short of astounding. Not that he didn't entirely avoid picayune interference with his strip -- witness the prissy insistence of the News Syndicate that he never refer to Japan or Germany by name -- but he got away with far more than he could have in any other popular-culture medium of the time.

There is absolutely no question of what happened between Raven and Dude, the only question now is have they managed to work it out since we last saw them, or have they killed each other? I look forward to finding out.

I, too, am ready for Pat, Raven and Dude and, even, the DL to return - and, of course, the lovely and impressive Hu Shee. But I am really enjoying Burma; she's a heck of an addition to the crew. Poor April, honestly, she doesn't belong on the field with Raven, Burma, the DL, etc.

Lizzie, as always, is spot on Re the censors and the comic strips having the most maneuvering room. That said, everyone once in awhile, something surprising got slipped into the movies.

I watched 1937's "Ever Since Eve" a month or so ago (posted about it here: #28564) and it has, remember this is a code-era movie, a surprising amount of gay, lesbian and gender-bending characters right out in the open, making not too-subtle references ("motorcycle girls of the Everglades") and cross dressing, etc., but of course, never directly saying what it is about.

But it ain't hidden. Also, in this case, it wasn't even central to the plot. It was almost as if someone at Warner Bros. wanted to see what he/she could get away with, which in this case, was a surprisingly large amount of stuff.

Yet, as Lizzie noted, it's the comic strips where it really happens. If somebody new to all this wanted a better view of the '30s and '40s culture than the movies made under the code, I'd recommend, pre-code movies, comic strips and popular selling fiction books. So much is there. Sometimes it's right there and sometimes it's just below the surface, but you quickly pick up the way to read and watch this stuff.

 

[Harp]

^^^In the constant human equation of comic course sin lingers below the surface. Teasing, tempting thought.
Its evasiveness is almost equally alluring. April Kane, however, as the intended deflower does seem rather infantile
last script scene, quite out of place.

 

[LizzieMaine]

April is a young Southern-belle type who Pat Ryan picked up as a secretary -- his cover job is "writer", ha ha ha -- and Terry proceeded to fall in love with her. She and Pat were abducted by a warlord named Klang, and managed to escape from him, landing at an abandoned monastery used as an opium farm/gun running operation by good ol' Cap'n Blaze, where they spent several months before the Invader showed up and took over the place. During this time, April forgot all about Terry and became infatuated with Pat. April, Pat, and the Captain escaped in disguise and ended up at an orphanage run by American heiress/expatriate Raven Sherman, who April hated on sight because she saw her as a rival for Pat. There, they helped Raven fight a cholera outbreak -- but April became infected herself. The Invader closed in on them, and they managed to make their way safely to Hong Kong. April was last seen hospitalized there, just down the corridor from a creepy English guy named Crispin who saw his chance and moved in.

 

[Fading Fast]

April is a young Southern-belle type who Pat Ryan picked up as a secretary -- his cover job is "writer", ha ha ha -- and Terry proceeded to fall in love with her. She and Pat were abducted by a warlord named Klang, and managed to escape from him, landing at an abandoned monastery used as an opium farm/gun running operation by good ol' Cap'n Blaze, where they spent several months before the Invader showed up and took over the place. During this time, April forgot all about Terry and became infatuated with Pat. April, Pat, and the Captain escaped in disguise and ended up at an orphanage run by American heiress/expatriate Raven Sherman, who April hated on sight because she saw her as a rival for Pat. There, they helped Raven fight a cholera outbreak -- but April became infected herself. The Invader closed in on them, and they managed to make their way safely to Hong Kong. April was last seen hospitalized there, just down the corridor from a creepy English guy named Crispin who saw his chance and moved in.

Getting cholera probably saved her life as she needed to be taken off the playing field for her own good.

 

[Harp]

Getting cholera probably saved her life as she needed to be taken off the playing field for her own good.

That's what Schopenhauer said about Hegel.

 

[Fading Fast]

That's what Schopenhauer said about Hegel.

Had to Google it to get the reference. Neat.

 

[ChiTownScion]

The manure impacts the ventilator... or something like that.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It is a sign of Lana's good character that she's at least going to give Harold a chance to explain himself but no matter what he says she isn't going to like it. And Lillums should have known something like this was going to happen.

 

[Harp]

It is a sign of Lana's good character that she's at least going to give Harold a chance to explain himself but no matter what he says she isn't going to like it. And Lillums should have known something like this was going to happen.

Harold obviously possesses neither character nor maturity, is unsuited for marriage at his present state,
and Lana can do much better, deserves better, and hopefully can constructively separate herself from this kid.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Harold obviously possesses neither character nor maturity, is unsuited for marriage at his present state,
and Lana can do much better, deserves better, and hopefully can constructively separate herself from this kid.

The operative word here being, "kid."

I pin this whole mess on the reality that Harold found himself in situations meant to be resolved by a grown man, and because he's "still a kid" he really hadn't developed the spine to let either Lillums nor Lana know what the priorities were as the crisis built, or even if he had formulated priorities at all. He rolled along presuming that the plane would land itself: a silly enough presumption on a calm day, but when 30- plus knot crosswinds are encountered on final approach, it's even sillier. It's not a question of if he's going to crash- it's a question of whether it's even worth asking for a bag to pick up the remains.

Lana's going to get the worst of this because she's presumed that she was dealing with an adult. Lill and Harold have somewhat of a parental safety net, but Lana really is going to have to put her pieces back together on her own without a parent to lend advice.

To shift this back to the real world of 1941: the US is about to enter an already seething world war in a very few months, a reality that everyone back then seemed to realize. How and when that would come to pass had to play out, of course. I can't help but wonder if the madness of that war didn't somehow bring forth similar dramas involving triangles of circumstance for other young men and women who found themselves in over their heads because of circumstances beyond their control. Got a feeling that things rarely played out as neatly as the movie scripts would have us to believe.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That's one reason why I've never bought into the whole "Greatest Generation" marketing gimmick. The kids who went into the armed forces in 1941 and onward weren't any more mature at the time than any random 21-year-old you run into today. There might have been a few square-jawed recruiting-poster types out there, but anyone who's studied early-forties youth culture would have to conclude that they were very much outnumbered by soda-shop loafers, street-corner romeos, goldfish-swallowers, jitterbugs, rattle-brained hepcats, and just plain confused adolescents. They had to grow up fast once in uniform, but no more so than any other generation of kids swept up in the torrent of history.

We get a good cross section here with the three boys we follow -- Harold, Skeezix, and Terry. Within the next two years, all three of them will be in uniform. And then we'll see.

 

[Harp]

To shift this back to the real world of 1941: the US is about to enter an already seething world war in a very few months, a reality that everyone back then seemed to realize. How and when that would come to pass had to play out, of course. I can't help but wonder if the madness of that war didn't somehow bring forth similar dramas involving triangles of circumstance for other young men and women who found themselves in over their heads because of circumstances beyond their control. Got a feeling that things rarely played out as neatly as the movie scripts would have us to believe.

When I was a GI a very lovely woman proposed, but marriage and war do not mix, so I declined.
Time, fate, circumstance are lousy cards to play. And life does not always offer men and women happily ever afters.

 

[Fading Fast]

That's one reason why I've never bought into the whole "Greatest Generation" marketing gimmick. The kids who went into the armed forces in 1941 and onward weren't any more mature at the time than any random 21-year-old you run into today. There might have been a few square-jawed recruiting-poster types out there, but anyone who's studied early-forties youth culture would have to conclude that they were very much outnumbered by soda-shop loafers, street-corner romeos, goldfish-swallowers, jitterbugs, rattle-brained hepcats, and just plain confused adolescents. They had to grow up fast once in uniform, but no more so than any other generation of kids swept up in the torrent of history.

We get a good cross section here with the three boys we follow -- Harold, Skeezix, and Terry. Within the next two years, all three of them will be in uniform. And then we'll see.

⇧ This is absolutely true in my view, but this is also true: it was the generation (whether willingly or pulled into it) that saved the world from Hitler and Japanese Empire domination.

My point is that, individually, many of the stories are far from the marketing of "The Greatest Generation," but that generation, perhaps simply by historical happenstance, did do something great.

 

[Fading Fast]

[Bring, bring, bring] "Hello, Cookie Monster speaking"

"Hi buddy, just giving you a heads up, we might be needing your services in about five minutes."

"Oh, okay, great, just let me finish this cookie and I'll be ready to go."

"Chocolate chip."

"You know me well. "

 

[Fading Fast]

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ CM is such a pro. You'll notice, no crumbs, despite the short warning he'd be needed.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The German High Command today reported that a three-day blitzkrieg has swept Nazi forces into control of Salonkia, all of Macedonian Greece, and the bulk of southern Yugoslavia, splitting the Yugoslavs from their Greco-British allies. In 72 hours of whirlwind action, German authorities stated that the cities of Skoplje, Veles, Prilep, Tetovo, and Nish have all fallen. It was also revealed that German troops have reached the Albanian frontier, west of Totovo, apparently in the area of the River Drin.

The Royal Palace at Belgrade was completely razed on Sunday by German bombers, and "countless persons" were killed. According to a broadcast from Yugoslavia to "all the civilized peoples of the world," the streets of the capital city "are strewn with the bodies of children, women, and old men."

Meanwhile, Yugoslav forces driving against Italian troops in Albania have crossed the Drin, and are sweeping into the interior of the country, according to a Yugoslav General Headquarters communique. The Yugoslavs are apparently attempting to aid Greek forces in knocking the Italians out of Albania before Germans driving across the narrow waist of Yugoslavia can make contact with them.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill today warned that invasions by Germany of Great Britain, Turkey, and the Soviet Union may be imminent, regardless of the outcome of events in the Balkans. The Prime Minister emphasized the continuing importance of the Battle of the Atlantic, noting that continued aid from America to the Allied war effort depends on the free passage of shipping.

Four more members of the staff of City College testified in open session today before the Rapp-Coudert Committee that they are not Communists, and denied engaging in "communist activity," as they had been accused by previous witnesses. The testimony occured without the presence of Teachers' Union legal counsel William G. Mulligan, who was ejected from the committee room yesterday and was physically barred from entry today. Attorney Mulligan released a typewritten statement condemning the Committee's denial of counsel to the witnesses as "the gravest affront ever dealt to hearing procedure in New York," and accused Senator Frederic Coudert of being "a mere would-be dictator."

One of the four staff members to testify, registrars' clerk Jesse Mintus, was questioned about his connection to an Irish-language paper, Pag-and-Ballach -- which translates to "Clear The Way." Mintus stated that the publication supports the cause of Irish independence, and declared that it is "revolutionary" only in the sense that "any movement toward independence is called 'revolutionary' by those who oppose it."

A resolution to the Ford Motor Company strike must come today, or Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins will formally turn it over to the National Defense Mediation Board. That mandate was issued today to Michigan Governor Murray D. Van Wagoner and Federal Conciliator James F. Dewey, who indicated today that "progress is being made."

(Hey Namm's, you can expect a visit from the ASPCA.)

Inmates of German prisoner-of-war camps are not being mistreated, but they are malnourished. So concludes Dr. Herbert S. Spencer, senior surgeon of the United States Public Health Service, who has inspected 70 of the 115 Nazi POW camps where 1,500,000 French, 250,000 Belgian, and 47,000 British troops are being held. Dr Spencer returned to the United States this week aboard the American export liner Excalibur, and reported that all of the prisoners he examined were suffering from vitamin deficiencies, but he also noted that similar conditions prevail among the civilian population. Only German soldiers appear to be well-nourished.

("There must be," sighs Miss Landis, "a more dignified way to earn a living.")

The Brooklyn baseball season, which means, of course, the entire baseball season, kicks off Monday night April 14th at the annual Welcome Home Dodgers dinner, sponsored by the Dodger Knot-Hole Club at the Hotel St. George. Borough President John Cashmore and District Attorney William O'Dwyer will be among the dignitaries joining Larry MacPhail and Leo Durocher at the dais, while Dodgers Dixie Walker, Kirby Higbe, and Tex Carelton will offer vocal selections, and Pee Wee Reese will perform humorous impressions. The festivities will be broadcast over WOR, with Red Barber and Al Helfer as masters-of-ceremonies.

(Oh for the days when radio writers could actually make a living.)

("Jack Benny's Rochester?" Eddie Anderson sighs and cashes the check, while Carole Landis says "hey, at least you get third billing.")

(Such a good boy. He's got a pinup of his mother up there next to his girlfriend, and I dunno, somebody holding a tennis racket. Alice Marble? Bobby Riggs?)

A famous circus strongman of times long ago, who once balanced 20 men on a see-saw across his mighty chest, has died at his home in Jamaica. Hjalmar Lundin was seventy years of age. After his career in the Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey Circus came to an end, Lundin turned to wrestling, where he won the championship of Sweden. In recent years he has managed wrestlers, and in 1937 wrote his autobiography, entitled "On The Mat -- And Off."

Joe Louis continued his personal Hit Parade in St. Louis last night, disposing of Tony Musto in eight rounds. Musto, a 5 foot-7-inch former Chicago grocery boy, tried to keep going, but he was so badly cut up that Referee Arthur Donovan called an end to the fight to prevent serious injury.

The Dodgers didn't break much of a sweat down in tobacco country yesterday, stubbing out the Yankees 5-1 at Durham North Carolina. Alex Kampouris, fiesty little Greek who is campaigning to oust Pete Coscarart from the Brooklyn second-base job, continues to flit around the keystone sack with considerable grace, but Durocher says he hasn't made a final decision on who will open the season at second. Not much is heard these days about Larry MacPhail's insistence that Leo himself take the job.

The Dodgers continue to trim down toward their opening day roster, optioning outfielder Charley Gilbert and pitcher Al Sherer to Montreal.

The Flock and the Yanks will clash again today in Baltimore, in something of a trick doubleheader. The two clubs will play each other in the first game, and will then combine forces to take on the hometown Orioles in the second.

The barnstorming trip comes to an end in Wilmington, Delaware tomorrow and then it's next stop Ebbets Field, where the Dodgers and Yankees will wrap up the preseason with their tradtional three-game series over the weekend. And then -- bring on the Giants!

(Hey Hedy, you've still got a chance to reconsider your options!)

(I can't wait till Jo sees the paper tomorrow.)

(Croup? Fffff. Give the kid a spoonful of Father John's Medicine and put him to bed.)

("Hmm. Scully, Skulnik, Skulowicz, Scullini, Skullington, O'Sculleigh. NOPE NO LEADS HERE!")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

At least Sylvia Elfenbein isn't a blonde.

Cheap shoes are no bargain.

Clip and save!

Wasn't he supposed to have been horribly disfigured when those goons beat him up?

MASTER OF DISGUISE!

This is no time to be taking up new hobbies.

Poor Andy. If only he lived in the 21st Century, where good solid financial advice is available to everyone on Reddit.

WAIT NO, LET ME TRY THIS AGAIN.

Suddenly, adulthood dawned...

This actually happened to me once, except it wasn't a hotel room, it was an apartment, and I had to clean up the mess myself. Sigh.

 

[Fading Fast]

... ("There must be," sighs Miss Landis, "a more dignified way to earn a living.")...

Heck, her costume from "One Billion BC" was dignified compared to the bunny ears, especially when you can rock that costume like she does:

... View attachment 325529
(Oh for the days when radio writers could actually make a living.)...

Oh for the days when r̵a̵d̵i̵o̵ all but a select few writers could actually make a living.

...The Dodgers didn't break much of a sweat down in tobacco country yesterday, stubbing out the Yankees 5-1 at Durham North Carolina. Alex Kampouris, fiesty little Greek who is campaigning to oust Pete Coscarart from the Brooklyn second-base job, continues to flit around the keystone sack with considerable grace, but Durocher says he hasn't made a final decision on who will open the season at second. Not much is heard these days about Larry MacPhail's insistence that Leo himself take the job....

No comment from Sally? Hopefully it's not morning sickness as she seems farther along than that.

... (Hey Hedy, you've still got a chance to reconsider your options!)...

I'm guessing Harold will soon be available.

....[ (I can't wait till Jo sees the paper tomorrow.)...

... View attachment 325542 ("Hmm. Scully, Skulnik, Skulowicz, Scullini, Skullington, O'Sculleigh. NOPE NO LEADS HERE!")

... At least Sylvia Elfenbein isn't a blonde....

Ya gotta love, though, that while the story is mainly about William Mulligan, the News put up the photo of a marginal player but pretty woman. I respect when Page Four stays true to its brand.

The streamline-sex story has so many Page-Four perfect things - a count and countess, affairs, dissembled impotency, a pieced-together torn sex-solicitation letter, divorce, alimony, a big salary and, of course, a blonde (who, apparently, is "streamlined") - in its eight paragraphs, that it should be an early entry in the "Page Four Story of the Year" contest.

... Wasn't he supposed to have been horribly disfigured when those goons beat him up?...

Yes, I believe so. But it's a comicstrip, so we just go with it. I don't like inconsistency like that either, but it's the bargain we make with almost all long-arc storytellers working in real time.

Also, great example (I'm rarely any better) of that fact that nobody every blames themselves for their problems.

... Poor Andy. If only he lived in the 21st Century, where good solid financial advice is available to everyone on Reddit.....

Sadly, the reason all these "sales" techniques used on Andy are cliches is because they work so well.

... Suddenly, adulthood dawned.....

This is the first time since, um (checks notes), the first time ever that I've been proud of Harold. Well done son - don't fade.

 

[Harp]

Hong Kong vendors offer grilled monkey brain; supposedly an aphrodisiac. Pick out the chimp, skull cracked open,
cerebrum tossed over grill, little barbecue sauce, and presto, a MickieDee. Burma needs to be careful with her ideas
so she doesn't get her skull staved.