The Avengers Dossier, Page Nine

It's time for another quick look at a supporting player from the Fourth Season of the classic television series, "The Avengers".

SUE LLOYD

In "A Surfeit of H2O", Sue Lloyd was Joyce Jason, the owner and operator of a winery that produced its wares with a secret, scientific method.

Sue Lloyd began her show business career as a dancer, but soon transitioned into modeling and then acting. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she balanced her projects between television and films, with a particular focus on espionage-themed comedies and dramas. She appeared in 60 different films and television series, with some of her noteworthy parts being in "The Ipcress Files" (1965), "The Man in a Looking Glass" (1965), "That's Your Funeral" (1972), and "Bullet to Bejing" (1995), in which she played the same character she had in "The Ipcress Files". Lloyd also had recurring or co-starring roles in such television series as "The Baron" (1966-1967, a series based "The Man in a Looking Glass), "The Two Ronnies" (1972), and "Crossroads" (from 1979 to 1985).

By the early 1980s, Lloyd had shifted her professional interests from acting to painting, and, although she continued to accept acting jobs every now and then, her on-screen appearances became fewer and farther between. In 2001, she retired from acting all-together.

Sue Lloyd passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer in 2011 at the age of 82.

(Sue Lloyd is not to be mistaken for Suzanne Lloyd, even if both are brunettes who appeared in back-to-back episodes of "The Avengers" in 1965. Sue Lloyd was in "A Surfeit of H2O" and Suzanne Lloyd was in "The Murder Market".)

Ko-Ko's Martian Adventure

Trip to Mars (1924)
Starring: Max Fleischer
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Over Ko-Ko the Clown's objections, the animator (Fleischer) sticks him in a rocket and shoots it at the moon... but Ko-Ko ends up crashing on Mars instead. Ko-Ko has the last laugh, however, when the animator also ends up in space.

In "Trip to Mars", the Fleischer Brothers once again effectively show off their ability to convincingly make it appear as though animated character Ko-Ko the Clown has leaped from the cartoon universe and into this one. The interactions between him and the live-action Max Fleischer is particularly fun in this one--with the moments when Max picks Ko-Ko up by his collar and puts him inside the rocket that is intended to take Ko-Ko to the moon; and when Ko-Ko and Max are both riding in the "Mars Rover" as the film is careening toward its close.

As impressive as the mixture of live action and animation is in this film (especially when considering its age), it falters a bit when it comes to the story. I'm not sure how I would have ended a short film that features its stars being blasted all the way to Mars via cartoon explosives, but I like to think that if I put my mind to it, I could have come with something better than what we got here; it makes no sense. (And if you watch the film--which you can do, right here from this post--you may say "Miller... you're asking for THAT to make sense? They go to Mars, the run around on the rings of Jupiter, and you want an ending that makes sense?!" And yeah... I would want it to make sense in the context of a world where animated characters emerge from the ink well and interact with human beings, and then return to the ink well. When we get to the end of "Trip to Mars", the rules of that world seem to be violated in a major way. And with that said... I DO see a way that the ending works, but it breaks the fourth wall to a level that even *I* think is a bit much. Or maybe I missed something? Check out the 'toon below and let me know what YOU think of the ending.)

The weak ending aside. "Trip to Mars" is a bucket full of strangeness that's worth the few minutes it'll take to watch it. The purely animated sections where Ko-Ko deals with Martians and their civilization are also a great deal of fun... although I think he would have been happier if he'd run into some of the Martian princesses that are featured every now and then on this blog. Max certainly would have been.

Marilyn the Bullfighter

There's to be no bull to ruin the Cinco De Mayo parties if Marilyn Monroe has her way!

Trivia: While trying to break into acting, Marilyn Monroe worked as a model. Among her clients were pin-up artist Earl Moran, who paid her $10 an hour to pose in various costumes and states of undress to serve as reference for his paintings. The photos in this post are from one such shoot.

A Picture Perfect Special on Star Wars Day!

Daphne Zuniga portrayed the only space princess who might be able to rival Leia, Princess Vespa. She did so in the only space fantasy film that can rival Star Wars--"Spaceballs"!

Celebrating Star Wars!

It's Star Wars Day, and here's a gallery of artwork for your viewing pleasure!

Musical Monday with Fifth Harmony

Fifth Harmony was a Miami-based girl band that formed in 2012 after its five members had individually been contestants on the televised talent show "The X Factor." They enjoyed tremendous success during the middle years of the 2010s--with Billboard magazine naming them "the biggest girl band of 2010s".

In 2018, the band broke up and its members went their separate ways, each embarking on the solo careers they'd hoped "The X Factor" would have launched for them.

They're here at Shades of Gray to kick off the new work week with mellow music, sexy dancing, and some nice cinematography. Enjoy "Write on Me", which debuted five years ago this week (May 6, 2016 to be exact).

Write on Me (2016)

Starring: Fifth Harmony

Director: Samantha Lecca
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

In memory of John Paul Leon

We just heard that one of the great illustrators and comic book artists, John Paul Leon, passed away at the tragically young age of 49, on May 1, 2021. Here's a gallery of his art, in memory.

Strangers on a Train

What's better than Hitchcock?

John Cleese and Marty Feldman in a great descent into comic absurdity from 1967! Click below to watch and laugh.

Happy Birthday, Gal Gadot!

Miss Israel 2005, actress, and model Gal Gadot--the big screen incarnation of Wonder Woman--turns 36 today. In celebration, here are a few photos of her!

In Observance of International Dance Day...

 ... we bring you a line-up of ballerinas from different nations!

Valeska Miller of the United States of America...

... Nina Theilade of Denmark..

... Yvonne Craig of the United States...

... Leslie Caron of France...

... Maria Tallchief of the United States...

... and Oksana Bondareva of the Ukraine.

We WOULD have featured last year's International Dance Day's star Brigitte Bardot (of France), but she was still getting ready by the time we had to make this post. 

You can also see one of this year's featured dancers, Valeska Miller, in the brand-new horror short film, "The Ballerina", at Terror Titans. Click here!