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TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD

Publicity still. (the movie is in color.)

I've been revisiting the late 1950s through 1960s TARZAN movies with my son. Yesterday we watched TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD. (which I've touched on before)

It's a crazy mix of modern world Tarzan, James Bond pastiche, Tarzan pastiche. On the 007 side, the main baddie is pure Bond villain. Tarzan first appears in a suit, fighting assassins in Mexico City. The jazzy soundtrack. For Tarzan moments, we see Tarzan suiting 'down' to the loincloth and requesting a knife and a length of rope. His use of the animals (leopard as tracker, chimpanzee as scout, lion as his army) has echoes of original Tarzan novels (Beasts of Tarzan, Tarzan the Untamed.)

The sum of the parts never really adds up. The story's scope & vision far exceed its budget. The climax drags on too long.

But it's a favorite. Maybe because Mike Henry is a physical cast perfect for Tarzan--and Nancy Kovack is quite fetching. Or maybe I just enjoy the audacity of what they were trying to pull off.

I think it's a fun way to spend a ninety-minute weekend matinee.

The Fritz Leiber novelization was recently re-released. It takes the story where it could have gone and adds a lot to it. Maybe not worth the current collectible hardcover price for casual fans but when it comes out in paperback or ebook, you might give it a read, if you're a pulp / action adventure fan.

recent reads

No full reviews here. Just thought I'd highlight books I've read lately that I really enjoyed (that I have not yet mentioned on the blog.)

Damballa by Charles R. Saunders

Saunders's take on The Shadow & 1930s pulp heroes. Plus, he gets to bring his boxing reporter chops to the page, too. (Good voices narration on the audiobook.)

Nobody Lives Forever by John Gardner

First non-Fleming James Bond I've read. Bond has a price placed on his head. He must get to the mastermind before various spies and criminals assassinate him first. (Audiobook was great.)

Gates of the Dead by James A. Moore

The finishing novel of The Tides of War trilogy. This grimdark story, though certainly epic in fantasy scope, has plenty of horror and sword-&-sorcery chops. Brogan McTyre is one of the most (Robert E.) Howardian characters I've read in a long time. Brogan will stand to the last, swinging steel at the gods themselves.
 (Also of note; James A. Moore is battling cancer. The prognosis is good. But medical costs will be steep, even with insurance. This month (Aug 2019) Angry Robot will pass through all the money from sales of their catalog of Jim's books [Seven Forges series, Tides of War trilogy] directly to Jim. So--good time to buy the books if you were thinking about it.)

Grim Death and Bill the Electrocuted Criminal by Mike Mignola & Tom Sniegoski

Another take on The Shadow, this time from the weird minds of Mignola & Sniegoski. Grim Death is a vigilante, a servant of Death, carrying out capital punishment where justice has failed. But now one of the ghosts who haunts him needs him to prove a man's innocence. This story is pure pulp with humorous and macabre touches only this team of creatives could deliver.

 (The Best of the) Bolos: Their Finest Hour edited by Hank Davis, created by Keith Laumer

Sentient battle tanks. 'nough said!

recent read; Forever and a Death

FOREVER AND A DEATH by Donald E. Westlake

From the blurb;

The Bond That Never Was

Two decades ago, the producers of the James Bond movies hired legendary crime novelist Donald E. Westlake to come up with a story for the next Bond film. The plot Westlake dreamed up – about a Western businessman seeking revenge after being kicked out of Hong Kong when the island was returned to Chinese rule – had all the elements of a classic Bond adventure, but political concerns kept it from being made. Never one to let a good story go to waste, Westlake wrote an original novel based on the premise instead – a novel he never published while he was alive.

Intriguing!

Richard Curtis is a powerful business man who had been run out of Hong Kong after the handover from UK control to China (post 1997.) He wants revenge and he wants his fortune back. He has a plan for destruction and robbery. When Curtis tests his "solitron wave" device on an abandoned isle, members of the environmental group, Planetwatch, get caught up in Curtis's scheme. After Curtis arranges the death of a young woman, Kim, his chief engineer George Manville defects, saves Kim, and maneuvers to block Curtis's plans from reaching fruition. The novel builds steam from there, with a cast of characters, reversals, turns, and intrigue. Like a Bond story, we have exotic settings - Singapore, Hong Kong, South Seas, and Australia.

Certainly, Hard Case Crime have used the Bond angle to promote the novel but Westlake didn't appear to want his novel near pastiche territory. He reused elements (Hong Kong, gold robbery, corporate villain with a destructive machine, etc.) but the characters are nowhere near MI6 or any other fictional spy agency or criminal organizations. Sex is off-screen and nearly non-existent - far more tame than any Bond movie or novel. Perhaps the most jarring element is the ensemble team of good guys trying to stop the bad guy, rather than one person. Manville at first appears to be a Bond analogous in training but he disappears off-page for a large chunk of time later in the novel.

Richard Curtis is the most realized character in the book. Westlake does a good job of creating a villain who just gets more villainous because he digs his holes deeper and deeper. He starts off with bribes and corner cutting, never imagines being a murderer, and by the end, the extinguishing of life no longer bothers his conscience.

The afterword by Jeff Kleeman is worth the price of admission. Kleeman reveals all the details of Westlake's involvement in the unproduced screenplay. He highlights some of the differences and similarities between the novel and the original project, including some cinematic scenes and Bond pun quips that aren't in the book. He also mentions Westlake was on-screen in LIVE AND LET DIE, as a background extra! (I'll need to rewatch the movie.)

While the novel might have been better if it had stuck closer to a Bond pastiche by keeping Manville's through-line consistent, it is still an enjoyable thriller. If you like Bond and adventure fiction, you should give it a read. (4/5 stars)

recent reads (listens) ; back to basics

I've been rather lazy about book reviews lately. Part of that is I've been reading older stuff by authors who have passed on - so they don't necessarily need the Amazon/goodreads review bumps.

I've surpassed my goodreads reading goal (65 books) for 2017. Yes, that includes some graphic novels but not nearly as many as last year. Audiobooks have helped - I listen to them on my daily commute.

Two recent listens;

THUNDERBALL by Ian Fleming, read by (actor) Jason Isaacs.

This was absolutely stellar. If you're a Bond fan, you should try this when you have time. I am going to press on with these and finish off the original Fleming books. This particular run of audios features British celebrity readers. Looking forward to more though I'm a little disappointed Isaacs didn't perform any of the others.

THE VALLEY OF FEAR by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Derek Jacobi.

A fun reading. Jacobi works solidly with accents, including Americans. I'm only getting to the original Sherlock Holmes tales now - largely thanks to the influence of Charles R. Rutledge (also responsible for my interest in Burroughs's original Tarzan tales, too.) My only complaint is that this story - like A STUDY IN SCARLET - features a second half prequel story set in America without Holmes at all. However, I didn't feel quite as cheated as with A STUDY IN SCARLET, because here the midpoint reveal doesn't come out of the blue.

Aside from audios, Rutledge is also responsible for kindling my interest in Solar Pons.

Pons was August Derleth's Holmes pastiche who went on to a life of his own, with Basil Copper continuing the stories in the 1970s. Recently, Copper's tales came back into print in paperback from PS Publishing in the UK.

Also, a Kickstarter campaign launched brand new stories written by David Marcum with the permission of the Derleth estate. Marcum is a Holmes/Pons aficionado. (The campaign was successful. If you missed out, the book can be ordered from Amazon.)

Because the original Derleth tales are now the ones out-of-print, I hope this campaign carries on to reprint the original Derleth stories in the near future.

Not sure how long I'll be deep diving on thrillers, mystery and crime but I might be here a while.