Welcome to August!

 August here, and we welcome it with another old ad that is similar to what I would commision if I have trying to sell booze to old-school D&D/fantasy gamers!

Go One Step Beyond for International Clown Week!

International Clown Week (August 1 - 8) kicks off today. We're going to observe this annual recognition of clowns with a few clown-related posts. Up first, we have a review of "The Clown", one of the spookier episodes of television series "One Step Beyond". (And if you don't feel like reading, you can skip to the bottom of the post and watch the episode by clicking on the embedded video.)

The Clown (1960)

Starring: Mickey Shaunessy, Christopher Dark, and Yvette Mimieux

Director:  John Newland

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

A murderer (Dark) thinks he is being stalked by the vengeful clown (Shaunessy) who witnessed the crime.

"The Clown" is one of the most intense episodes of the classic television series. With just a couple minor changes, it would even feel like something you might see on network television or some streaming service today.

The characters featured, and the actors portraying them, are what makes this episode so great. They.are ones that you love to hate, or which you just love. There's a possessive, abusive, cradle-robbing husband (played in a perfectly vile fashion by Christopher Dark) who moreso than most villains I wanted to see get what was coming to him; there's his young wife (played with believable innocence and self-unawareness by the underappreciated actress Yvette Mimieux in her second major role) who is old enough to recognize that she's beautiful but not mature enough to not delight in every bit of attention she can get; and Pippo the Clown (Mickey Shaunessy, in a performance that's gentle and completely sympathetic) who ends up paying dearly for his attempt to make the young woman happy. But not as dearly as she does...

When this episode was produced in 1960, the rules for what could and couldn't be shown on television were far more stringent than they are now. Because of restrictions on showing blood and violence, the murder that puts the story on track toward its climax is a little less horrific than it could have been, and even a little confusing. And that is the only thing that keeps this episode from getting a Nine of Ten Stars.

But don't just take my word for it. Click below... and take One Step Beyond!

For your information:

"One Step Beyond" was a television series that was hosted and primarily directed by John Newland. It was similar to "The Twilight Zone" in content, but generally more lowkey and supposedly featured stories inspired by real-world paranormal experiences. Original episodes aired on ABC from 1959 - 1961, which were then later widely syndicated during the next two decades.

Musical Monday with Tony Bennett

Legendary singer Tony Bennett passed in July of 2023. August 3rd would have been his 97th birthday. We're marking both of those today with him performing a timeless classic, in a music video that incorporates pop- and music-culture from the seven decades he spent keeping audiences in awe of his voice.


Stepping Out With My Baby (1993)
Starring: Tony Bennett
Director: Marcus Nispel
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars 

BEACHED -- By Peter van Straaten & Steve Miller

 

It's Fanny Friday

Happy Christmas in July!

Carole Lombard is the official gift-bringer for this bonus Christmas celebration for those who just can't trim trees and hang stockings with care just once a year! (And if you don't mysteriously find presents somewhere in your house, it's because you didn't put up a tree or leave a Yellow Parrot cocktail and cherry tarts for her to enjoy.)

Musical Monday with Selena Gomez

Today it's Selena Gomez's birthday. She's now spent some 25 years in the public eye--first as a child actress for PBS and Disney, then as a pop star and owner of her own business. She continues to act on both the small and big screens, having successfully made the transition from child star to adult actress.

Here Gomez is, with other 20-something performers from about ten years ago, performing in the video for her song "Kill 'Em With Kindness".

Kill Em With Kindness (2016)

Starring: Selena Gomez

Director: Emil Nava

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

BEACHED - By Peter van Straaten

 

(Translation by Steve Miller)

An Illustrated Guide for How You Can...

(Originally published in The Balloon Vendor #1 [1971]. Click on any panel for a larger, more easily read version.)

It's a Fanny Friday!