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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 10:25 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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Lately I've been watching (rewatching in some cases) mostly B&W Science Fiction
movies from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. They used to show these on Saturday
afternoons when I was a kid, and I took a liking to them. Now, I'm either picking
them up cheaply, secondhand on DVDs or watching public domain flicks on YouTube.

I've decided that I would post an image from each as I went along and a few comments
(mainly for my own, later reference), but I thought that some of you might enjoy them,
comment on them, and/or post some overly-short reviews of your own. If you want more
information, actor's names, distribution companies, or whatever, well… there are Internet
Search Engines that can find that.

First up last week was Cat-Women on the Moon (1953).
Click for full size

This was pretty short (about an hour) and revolves around the idea that a team of Astronauts
are about to land on the moon. One of the crew is a woman, the navigator, and she's somehow
gained insight about where would be a good place to land… close to where the Cat-Women
live of course. The race of manless women with stick-on eyebrows essentially wishes to
take the moon rocket and… I don't know, conquer Earth. This movie is just an excuse for some
women to wear slinky black outfits. So… thumbs up. They could have cut out the first 30 minutes
of the film and got right to that. ;-)

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Last edited by Beachy on Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:26 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 10:37 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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Next up was This Island Earth (1955).
Click for full size
This one I remember having read about in a Sci-Fi magazine from the 1970s (and in other
places). The picture of the clawed-hand insect man was rather iconic in those types of historical tomes.

Some high forehead dudes from the planet Metaluna appear on a whacky 3D TV screen that Cal
Meacham managed to put together from an alien kit with a metal-paged instruction book. This is
some sort of test to see if he has smarts enough to join a team of energy scientists being assembled.

The idea is that the aliens are fighting a war that they can’t win, so they are trying to gain atomic
know-how from a more backwards tech race. Umm… sure. The plan sucks, and it fails. But a
couple of humans get a ride to Metaluna just in time to be of no help at all. Then the humans escape
and come back to earth. I like how the humans and aliens at least had to alter their bodies to survive
the rigors of space flight, or in order to live on the new planet, or whatever. Then there was that giant
insect dude to fight for no damn good reason. Still…

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Last edited by Beachy on Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 10:57 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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I picked up The Invisible Man Legacy Collection off eBay postpaid for like $7. I always have
enjoyed the first one, probably my favorite of Universal Horror Movies, and I have seen a few
of the others before:

The Invisible Man (1933)
Click for full size
The classic, Invisible Man story where Griffin comes to a quiet Inn out of a blizzard, then slowly
goes mad being unable to turn himself back to being visible again. Along the way, he's an ass
and upsets his landlady. I love Una O'Connor in this; she's one of my favorite 1930s actresses.

The Invisible Man Returns (1940)
Griffin's brother… and a sequel! Here they know the formula turns you mad as well as invisible,
but it's done to help Vincent Price escape from a death sentence. Nice little role for Alan Napier
(Batman's Butler) in this one. And weird, when we finally get to see Vincent Price turn visible, his
moustache remains invisible. ;-)

The Invisible Woman (1940)
I must have seen this before when I was younger because I remember quite a bit of it. The movie is
a comedy (and meant to be somewhat suggestive with the naked Virginia Bruce walking around). A
decent amount of well-known people in this one, including John Barrymore as the nutty professor,
John Howard as the rich playboy who funds him, Charles Ruggles as the butler (who I know most
as the voice from those Aesop & Son cartoons), and even the Wicked Witch, Margaret Hamilton.
And I think that was Shemp Howard as one of the gangsters, but I’m not enough of a Three Stooges
fan to know for sure. I just know that they should have shown more of invisible Virginia walking
around wearing nothing but silk stockings.

Invisible Agent (1944)
So in this one, the grandson of an earlier Invisible Man, is recruited by the British to sneak behind
enemy lines to recover enemy secrets. And… well, that's about sums this one up. Throw in a pretty
spy, and some bumbling Germans and Japanese, a dash of propaganda, and you have a rather
bland movie. It does manage to give us Peter Lorre, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and J. Edward Bromberg
as villains, so it wasn't all bad.

The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)
This may be my favorite of the sequels because it has one of the better plots involving betrayal and
revenge with a little mental unbalance and murder thrown in—and we haven't even gotten yet to the
invisible part. Robert Griffin (the betrayed man) is an escaped mental patient and, after being betrayed
again by his former diamond mining partners becomes a fugitive. Doctor Drury (played by John
Carradine) takes him in and uses him as a Guinea pig to further test his invisibility chemicals (now on a
human patient). A lot more to the plot that that, but that's a good start and a good reason to watch.

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Last edited by Beachy on Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:03 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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The Amazing Transparent Man (1960).
Click for full size

I probably should have watched this one last week when I was watching all of the Invisible Man
movies as it is pretty much a "brother from another mother" sort of film. Short and to the point
(about 60 minutes), this one features an evil mastermind bent on taking over the US with invisible
soldiers, a German scientist (who's being held against his will) who helps him turn animals invisible,
and a famous safe-cracker, who they break out of prison so that, invisibly, he can steal more of the
needed radioactive supplies from the United States government.

Not a bad little movie, actually, and one that—in the public domain—ends up frequently in those
cheap Sci-Fi on DVD movie collections.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:07 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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The Yesterday Machine (1965)
Click for full size
Set in the mid 60s and involving a Nazi scientist who had failed (by just a few months he feels)
in developing Hitler the super weapons he needed to win World War II. The scientist apparently
escaped capture by the Allies and made his way to America, where, obsessed with the idea
that he had failed his Füher by just a few months, goes on to conquers time itself, and he begins
experimenting on some of the locals of small-town America while perfecting his tech.

Some bad delivery of dialog and exposition in this one, but it also some nice manic ranting by the
scientist. Worth watching.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:12 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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The Earth Dies Screaming (1964).
Click for full size
This one was quite good, although too short (at just over an hour). A few humans have survived
what they reason to have been a poisonous gas attack. Oh, and there are a few mechanical-like
aliens walking around in space suits, and also a few dead humans who are getting back up again
with a new, white-eyed view of the world.

I enjoy stories where only a handful of humans have survived and have to make do. I like the
group dynamics that form, how conflicts resolve. I definitely would have liked to have seen a lot
more backstory about the aliens and their invasion plans. Could have made this one really good.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:19 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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Robot Monster (1953).
Click for full size

You know those movies that are so bad they're good? Well… this isn't one of those.
It's essentially just a bad movie, and I knew that going into watching it. I've avoided
it for years, but, there it was for free on YouTube, and the Twins' game was called early
on account of rain, so... well, it's not completely without merit, and even kind of a hoot in
places (MST3K must have done it up). Oh, and liked the horror and suspense comics
book covers shown as part of the opening credits and Intermission images (WHY does a
60 minute film have an Intermission?). Might have been fun to have experience this one in
a theater in glorious B&W 3D… just to see that robot head helmet on that shaggy gorilla suit
in one extra dimension.

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Last edited by Beachy on Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:24 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951).
Click for full size
Okay, I bumped up the quality quite a bit tonight. I've seen this one a few times when I was a kid
and knew it was good, so when I found it on DVD for just $2.50, I snatched it up. The film quality
was outstanding on this DVD transfer. Very high contrast and sharp black and whites. Very nice
film effects and blue (or green) screening for 1951 and an excellent story: aliens notice Earthlings
are about to start space travel, so… we need to know what's what if we want to play.

I know they remade this movie recently, and I should probably give it a look, but, really, why bother?
I don't care what special effects tech they have today. I can't see how a remake would be better.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 8:38 am 
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I've wanted to watch that remake (2008), but haven't bothered. I'd still like to see it just to see what's different. I've seen the original so many times it'd be good to see a different take on it.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 8:46 am 
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It scorched

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Bannings: One too few . . .
I love The Day the Earth Stood Still. It is a hopelessly muddled mashup of peacenik sensibilities and war impulses. It expressed the idea that it is both senseless but effective to develop weapons of war.

"We have learned that you are beginning to develop weapons that have a capacity for great destruction. If you do not desist, we will annihilate you."

It's like a Rorschach test.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 10:57 am 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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Simon wrote:
I've wanted to watch that remake (2008), but haven't bothered. I'd still like to see it just to see what's different. I've seen the original so many times it'd be good to see a different take on it.


Wow. The remake is already over ten years old. Seems like just a few years ago that
I saw previews of Keanu Reeves and his giant robot.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:05 am 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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Li'l Jay wrote:
I love The Day the Earth Stood Still. It is a hopelessly muddled mashup of peacenik sensibilities and war impulses. It expressed the idea that it is both senseless but effective to develop weapons of war.

"We have learned that you are beginning to develop weapons that have a capacity for great destruction. If you do not desist, we will annihilate you."

It's like a Rorschach test.


I think you're right. The part about all the alien races having surrendered to their robot police force
is a nice touch, essentially, "We've built the ultimate weapon and we're helpless against it." 1951 is
still pretty early in the Cold War, but I got a sense of the nuclear-weapon stockpile idea, mutually-assured
destruction. Peace can only come through the threat of total annihilation.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:25 am 
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Boney Fingers Jones

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Beachy wrote:
The Earth Dies Screaming (1964).
Click for full size
This one was quite good, although too short (at just over an hour). A few humans have survived
what they reason to have been a poisonous gas attack. Oh, and there are a few mechanical-like
aliens walking around in space suits, and also a few dead humans who are getting back up again
with a new, white-eyed view of the world.

I enjoy stories where only a handful of humans have survived and have to make do. I like the
group dynamics that form, how conflicts resolve. I definitely would have liked to have seen a lot
more backstory about the aliens and their invasion plans. Could have made this one really good.



Funny movie. It’s the end of the world but they are drinking tea from teacups and making dinner. Peggy keeps running around in a skirt and high heels and forgetting to lock the door behind her. At the end our hero says let’s take a plane south and then you see a large Pan Am jetliner taking off from an airport. I was expecting a small prop plane. :)

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:39 am 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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JohnG wrote:
Beachy wrote:
The Earth Dies Screaming (1964).
I enjoy stories where only a handful of humans have survived and have to make do. I like the
group dynamics that form, how conflicts resolve. I definitely would have liked to have seen a lot
more backstory about the aliens and their invasion plans. Could have made this one really good.



Funny movie. It’s the end of the world but they are drinking tea from teacups and making dinner. Peggy keeps running around in a skirt and high heels and forgetting to lock the door behind her. At the end our hero says let’s take a plane south and then you see a large Pan Am jetliner taking off from an airport. I was expecting a small prop plane. :)


I find the clinging to normal routines endearing. As for the plane, the Jeff Nolan character was a
big name test pilot or something, so I'm just fine with him flying something big and comfortable.
They probably packed up a lot of supplies, too, to make it all seem like England wherever they
ended up. Probably all sorts of smaller planes can be found in the south as needed later on.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:43 am 
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Bannings: One too few . . .
Beachy wrote:
Li'l Jay wrote:
I love The Day the Earth Stood Still. It is a hopelessly muddled mashup of peacenik sensibilities and war impulses. It expressed the idea that it is both senseless but effective to develop weapons of war.

"We have learned that you are beginning to develop weapons that have a capacity for great destruction. If you do not desist, we will annihilate you."

It's like a Rorschach test.


I think you're right. The part about all the alien races having surrendered to their robot police force
is a nice touch, essentially, "We've built the ultimate weapon and we're helpless against it." 1951 is
still pretty early in the Cold War, but I got a sense of the nuclear-weapon stockpile idea, mutually-assured
destruction. Peace can only come through the threat of total annihilation.


And you could just as easily make the United States (as the first developer of nuclear weapons) into Gort, applying Kluatu's moral logic to a decision to preemptively strike any nation developing them after the first. It's presented as almost a morally justified choice (though not intentionally, I don't think).

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 1:15 am 
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Hen Teaser

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MST3K did riff on Robot Monster and even they couldn't wring much comedy out of it.They had better luck with The Amazing Transparent Man and This Island Earth though---they even used the latter for their own big screen movie.
I think The Day the Earth Stood Still has the finest musical score of any sci-fi movie.One of Bernard Herrmann's best.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 6:01 am 
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The George Pal version of War of the Worlds belongs in this thread, as does his take on The Time Machine. There are many, many others worthy of mention but those two spring to mind.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 9:46 am 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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Thanks. Kid.

And I will eventually get to those two movies you mentioned, Simon, as I own copies of them,
but I've watched both of them too recently to watch them again. Same with Incredible Shrinking
Man and a few others.

The Invisible Man (1984)
Click for full size
Last night I revisited a 1984 BBC TV adaption of The Invisible Man. It's not much for special
effects, and not a movie either; it's six 30-minute episodes that do a very nice job of capturing
the original text story by H. G. Wells. I've even been listening to the Librivox audio book in
between episodes to compare. Most of the dialog is taken verbatim. Good stuff. I wish they
would have released this in the states on a NTSC DVD. Glad it's on YouTube at least.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 4:06 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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The Gamma People (1956).
Click for full size
Two reporters (and American and Englishman), through an apparent mix up where their train
car gets separated from the engine, roll into a seemingly backwards little European country
where a doctor is experimenting with gamma rays on the young minds of children, turning
them either into child prodigies or mindless thugs. Stars Paul Douglas, Eva Bartok, and
Leslie Phillips. Decent enough film.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 9:56 pm 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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The Day of the Triffids (1962)
Click for full size
This is one of those movies that I've known about for a long time (my Dad had a comic
adaption of it in some Sci-Fi magazine or another), but this is the first that I've watched
it. Nice little idea: man-eating, walking plants, whose spores have come to Earth riding
on meteorites have fairly easy pickings because these same colorful meteors the night
before have blinded every human who watched their dazzling night show.

As I said earlier, I do enjoy movies where a few humans (in this case, the ones who still
have sight) have to pick up and try to survive after some disaster or another. This one
mostly stars Howard Keel, and it was a little hard for be watching this because I'm used
to watching Howard in musicals, and… well… I kept expecting him to break out into song.
(Okay, not really ;-) ).

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2019 12:32 am 
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Day of the Triffids is a favourite of mine.

There's a BBC TV version (from the 80's I think) which is more faithful to the novel than this movie is, but this one's a classic in its own right. I like the various reasons why certain people weren't blinded, and the way some people are altruistic and others become exploitative. The plot revolves around how they all respond to the Triffid situation but the 'end of the world' setup is what really drives the character development and it's interesting.

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 Post subject: Overly-Short Reviews of Classic Sci-Fi Movies of the Mid-Twentieth Century
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2019 5:53 am 
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Mr. IMWANKO

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I remember seeing this cover and a few other issues stored along with the books
and comic magazines that my Dad was still buying in the mid 1970s, but I never
read it. I paged through its pictures. Maybe it was one of my brother's?
Click for full size

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