Boy's Cinema (1939-40)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

Every Tuesday h(!io it is. 'I'liis telegiam is from a jiiivate inquiry npciit, in a place callid Kc<:liisville, Farrow's old ho'iie lowii. 'I'lu' ajjciit says that li<( lias (Iclinifc proof lliat Farrow lius a (liiniiial rcroid." I'iK'lo Dan fjral>lH'<l llic Iclcprain am) rrad it throiit^li ((iiiclvly. Tlu'ii Im (liriist it inlo liia pocket, and picked np Kelix. "That's all I need." ho said. "Goodnight. Fni Koing to (ix tilings for my next broad- <-a.st." And ho rii.sliod ont af.tlio house. A few days later, the News-Tribnne " came ont with sensational headlines on its front page. They \v<'ie Jo the edect that I'nclc Dan had evidence to show that l''airow was not suited for tlie post of mayor. Poaches, when he saw (lie news, almost did a coupio of double someisaults. He rushed into the television studio, and slapped the paper down on Jeff's desk. "Isn't tliat pieat !" he said. "Where's lliiele Dan now? I want to ririK him up and <'on<jratiilate him." "lies probably in the 'News-Tribune' l)uildinK. " -left said. "Hi,i>ht!" Peaches scooped up the plione, and Ka^e the number. When he got tluouph to the switchboard, he .said: "Find Uncle Dan for mo, sis'er." • Bv way of reply, a muffled roar nearly burst his eardrum. He started back and nearly dropped the phone. "What's the matter?" Jeff asked. "I dunno." Peaches stared at the instrn- inent in a puzzled way. "It sounded like an explosion." Jeff snatched the plione from him. "Hallo!" he shouted into the transmitter. "Hallo, there! This is JcflF Shannon speak- ing. What's happened?" He listened for a minute. "Thanks. I'll be right over." Ho put the receiver on its hook, and turned to Peaches. "Get the truck out of the garage! There's some recording to do! The 'News- Tribune " building has been bombed!" Peaches raced out of the door. Jeff followed hiiTi a few seconds later. When the truck arrived outside the building, some ambulance men were carryino; a couple of wounded girls out. It appealed that someone had left a time-bomb in the lobby. Peaches set up the camera, and shot some film, while Jeff Shannon spoke rapidly into a microphone. Later, the material they had got would be flashed on to a screen, there to be picked up by the television camera and broad- cast. JefT and Peaches went on with their work. Presently Uncle Dan <ame out. Jeff rushed up to him and asked him for an interview. Uncle Dan gave him a hard look. "Wh.it I have to say wouldn't sound so good on your news broadcast, Jeff," he said bitterly, and walked away. Jeff .shrugged and went on with his work. When the crowds had gone and there was no- thing more to do. he and Peaches went back to the studio and had the film developed. "Then they got into Jeff's car and headed for Jeff's home. As they turned into the road where Jeff lived, a tru^k passed them, .going at a furious pace. Another car was standing by the kerb, iust about to start. The truck bore down on it. "Hey! Look out!" Peaches roared. His warning did no good. The truck side- swiped the small car. There was a fearful crash of smashing metal and glass, and the car overturned. The truck swayed round a corner and was gone. "Holy smoke!" shouted Jeff. "That car belongs to Uncle Dan!" They drove up and leapt out. Then Jeff went white. For in the car also were Laurel and Buddy Peaches ran to a phone and called an ambul- ance. Meanwhile, Jeff climbed into the wreckage. Laurel was dazed with shock, but otherwise seemed unhurt. Buddy was l.ving across her, his forehead cut by bioken glass. As for Uncle Dan—he was cnmipled up under the steering- wheel, his head lolling back in an unnatural position. His neck was broken, and he was dead! The ambulance drove up a few minutes later, and the three were loaded into it. Jeff accom- BOY'S CINEMA 16 Jefl took the tape from him and stared at it in amazement panied them to the hospital, then went down to the studios, where he knew Peaches would be waiting for him. When he reached his office, Peaches was run- ning through some film on the projector. "Jeff, come and take a look at this." he said. And as Jeff went into the projection-room: "How's Laurel and the kid?" "All right," Jeff replied. "Buddy will have to stay inside for a time, but it isn't serious." "Poor Uncle Dan!" Peaches whispered softly. He took the film out of the projector, re- wound it, and threadinl it back again. As he worked, he explained : "I got this stuff from the office. It's Uncle Dan's next broadcast. Take a look!" The picture flashed on the screen. Uncle Dan introduced himself and Felix. Then Felix ask?d him what he was going to talk about— was it something to do with the elections? From then on t^iicle Dan took over. He said perfectly plainly that he was fight- ing against the election of Farrow because Farrow was unfit to be mayor. As pi oof, he said that Farrow had a criminal record and had been in the hands of the police for graft, for stealing monej-. and other things. Then Uncle Dan's picture vanished, and in its place was a close-up of a police record. It showed photographs of Farrow, side and full face. It also showed a complete set of finger- prints. The broadcast finished with Uncle Dan again asking'if that was vhe kind of jnan the people wanted as their leading citizen. "If that doesn't blow the top oft' Farrow's head I'm a Dutchman." said Peaches. "With the report of Uncle Dan's death in the papers, and you showing this film as part of your own news broadcast, Favrow will leave the city so fast he'll just look like a cloud of dust." Jeff nodded grimly. "Our next time on (lie air is the day before election day," he said. "Farrow is certain to get a considerable number of votes, because Sutter has bought them for him. Too many people are afraid of that man. But the free vote—the vote of the people Sutter can't touch —is enough to put Farrow out on his ear." "If those free voters take the trouble to go to the polls," Peaches ?aid. "You know what they are. Mostly they can't be bothered. That's why crooks like Farrow get elected— because folks are lazy." "They won't be lazy after what I'm going to hand out to them," he said. "I'll get them th.jre—don't worry about that." Ptaches chuckled and rubbed his hands to- gether. Jeff was on the war-path, and that iju-ant real trouble. PANIC! JHIFF'S broadcast on the eve of the elections came as a bombshell to the Farrow politi- cal camp. Farrow and his henchman Sutter had been certain of victory up to the moment of the broadca.st, but when they heard what Jeff had to say they realised that the situation was serious. " That stuff is going to bring in the midtown vote," Farrow said. "You know what they're like—they won't go to the polls unless someone kicks them there. And Shannon has done the kicking. I'm licked." He was an elderly, thin-lipped individual with crafty eyes. He had a habit of constantly pass- ing his tongue over his lips. I'm going to stop those people voting s^ome- how," snapped Sutter. "I don't know quite .how, but I'm going to do it." The city was in a state of wild excitement that night. All over the place, men and women were discussing the elections and making up their minds to vote for Farrow's rival, James Ross. And when the polling booths opened the fol- lowing morning, they flocked into the streets to record their votes. Then something terrible began to happen. At all points of the city where there were public television screens, the loudspeakers began to blare a warning. "Everybody stand by," an announcer said. "There is bad weather blowing in from the Atlantic, and ships are reporting the beginning of a tidal wave. Small craft have been warned not to leave harboiu-, and all commercial air- craft have been grounded at their airfields. Staiul by!" P'eople who heard passed the word on to other people. Worried looks began to appear on the faces of passers-b.v. Most of them had read some years earlier of a tidal wave that had struck Japan. In a few hours it had re- duced the best part of Yokohama to ruins, and moie than a million people had perished. " T'nis tidal wave business looks serious, folks." the loudspeakers went on. "Train schedules along the entire Atlantic seaboard •January 20th, IMS.