February 2026 ~ Anthony Balducci's Journal

Rain Scenes For February 2026

This video includes scenes from the following films:

The Spiral Staircase (1946)

Crucible of Horror (1971)

Next Of Kin (1982)

Alone in the Dark (1982)

Sole Survivor (1984)

Life Stinks (1991)

1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)

Lurking Fear (1994)

The Skeleton Key (2005)

The Orphanage (2007)

John Carter (2012)

Happiness Never Comes Alone (2012)

Tumbbad (2018)

The Empty Man (2020)

Frankenstein (2025)

Slap Scenes For February 2026

This video includes scenes from the following movies:

Death On The Diamond (1934)

Fanfare of Love (1935)

In a Lonely Place (1950)

The Scheming Women (1954)

She Devil (1957)

The Traffic Policeman (1960)

Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965)

The House That Dripped Blood (1971)

Crucible of Horror (1971)

Charley Varrick (1973)

The Killing Kind (1973)

The Long Goodbye (1973)

Double Trouble (1984)

Dark Angel (1990)

Life Stinks (1991)

Not Without My Daughter (1991)

Multiplicity (1996)

The Orphanage (2007)

Hope Gap (2019)

The Housemaid (2025)

A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms (2026)

Abbott & Costello AI Films Part 4

Abbott & Costello AI Films Part 3

The Difficulties of Creating an AI Video

I was fortunate to find an AI video generator that suited my needs. But, this week, I had a frustrating time dealing with the program's content filters. I ran into my first big obstacle trying to feature Abbott and Costello in a Shining spoof. The program rejected my description of a scene in which Bud and Lou get lost in the Overlook Hotel's hedge maze. I consulted with their AI assistant, who provided the following explanation:

The program uses automated moderation that sometimes misclassifies safe prompts as violations - especially if a prompt includes suspense, chase scenes, or language that could be interpreted as distress, threat, or fear (like "panics," "shadows play tricks," or "the bushes are following me"). These moderation systems are intentionally cautious, often leading to "false positives," where creative or harmless scenes get blocked unintentionally.

The program blocked my prompt for a spoof of The Fly. The AI assistant informed me:

Your prompt may be triggering the content filters because it involves a character being merged with a fly in a matter transporter, which could be interpreted by the system as bodily transformation or implied harm - even if not described graphically. The automated filters can flag any scenario that suggests harm, even through slapstick or sci-fi mechanisms, due to strict safety standards for violence or graphic content. . . Keep the language focused on humor and the science experiment, and avoid phrases like "merge," "transformation," "accident," or any direct references to bodily change or harm.

I was dumfounded. Anything that suggested fear or harm, including a slapstick accident or a comic chase scene, violated the system's safety standards. No one ever said that comedy was a safe profession.

My idea was to have Lou's bumbling be pivotal to the Fly story. Lou becomes distracted by a fly buzzing around the lab and chases it into the transport chamber just as the experiment begins. Lou is carrying a flower pot to the garden when he spots the human-headed fly in the spider web. In a panic, he drops a flower pot, which crushes the fly. It was difficult to make these plot turns clear in the animation. But maybe that's for the better as these accidents would have made lovable Lou less sympathetic. In my Shining spoof, Lou gets "shining" visions like Danny, but all that he sees in his visions are big sandwiches. I am not sure that I successfully conveyed this idea.

Another problem was that the program sometimes ignored my character designs. This was my character designs for Abbott & Costello Meet The Shining. But that's not how Bud and Lou came out looking in the animation.

Of course, these problems could have likely been overcome by people with greater computer knowledge and greater resources. Open-source and customizable AI models give an advanced user more control and allows them to bypass the restrictions of the commercial platforms. Best of all, smart users can train their AI models to recognize and generate specific people, which allows them to create consistent and accurate characters.

I can say in the end that I tried my best and I had fun doing it.

Speculation About Michael J. Fox

Where would Michael J. Fox have gone in his career if he hadn’t become ill? What if the career trajectory that the actor began in the 1980s had never been interrupted? Would he have returned to feature films after Spin City ended its run? Calm_Freak101 wrote on Reddit, "I think he would have continued on television like Ted Danson. As long as he was available, a tv network would always have had a show waiting for him to star in." But, unlike Danson, Fox had a successful track record in film. The studios might have supported the actor making a big screen comeback. For the purpose of this article, let's imagine Fox returning to films and figure out what this return would have looked like.

I will focus on the period of 2002 to 2012. Fox would have been in his forties during this period. What type of roles could he have played? Fox was known for his comic timing, boy-next-door charm, and his ability to play both the everyman and the ambitious young professional. He often played likable, relatable characters in extraordinary situations. That sounds a bit to me like Jason Bateman, who had a successful film career during this period. Bateman sometimes played lead roles and sometimes played supporting roles. Fox could have done the same. He could have appeared in Up In The Air (2009) in either George Clooney's lead role or Bateman's supporting role.

Fox had proven that was capable of playing romantic leads.

I could see Fox moving into comic dad roles.

He might have competed with Steve Carrell for roles.

It would have been interesting to see him in the Jeff Daniels role in The Squid and the Whale (2005).

I could imagine Fox in a wide variety of roles.

Fox did continue to do exceptional work during his semi-retirement. My speculation today is not meant to diminish that work. Fox’s real-world career in the last twenty-five years has been defined by incredible resilience and Emmy-winning guest turns.

Miltown Revisited

AI-Generated

In 1952, the Sahara Hotel was the sixth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. A North African desert theme was conveyed minimally in the hotel's architecture. A visitor would occasionally come across a fake camel or a fake Arab guard.

By 1956, the Sahara had the nickname "The Jewel of the Desert." It was considered one of the premier destinations on the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel managed, with its high-energy shows, to establish itself as a magnet for Hollywood elite. Its Casbar Lounge was the hottest spot in Vegas.

It was in 1956 that the Sahara presented Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in a new musical comedy revue called "Miltown Revisited." Many years ago, I read in an Abbott and Costello biography that the duo performed all-new material in the show. As I understood it, the revue was designed to be a new start for them. But this was later contradicted by Ken Berry, who sang and danced in the show. Berry only remembered Bud and Lou performing two of their old routines. Was this true?

I recently found a review for the show in the "Night Club Reviews" section of Variety. The review is dated Wednesday, December 12, 1956. It can be found on page 68. It reads as follows.

Durable comics Bud Abbott and Lou Costello bring a new musical comedy revue into the Sahara Hotel's Congo Room for a three-week stand, billing their effort as "Miltown Revisited."

Although A&C are surrounded by a group of talented youngsters, the production misfires in the comedy department, partially due to the overplay of swish gags, which seem to go over the heads of the audience, and never are popular among Vegas homeowners anyway.

Opening number is called "These's Nothing Like the Thrill of a Military Drill, which features the Upstarts (four guys and a blonde) and the SaHarem Dancers of the line. The marching chorus soon deteriorates into the first of the swishers, when Abbott & Costello take over the act.

Second number is the "Miltown Revisited" theme, featuring singing tapper Ken Berry, a young and willing performer with an oversized uke (or is it a pint-sized gee-tar?). Berry shows promise in an overcrowded field with his contortions, but in this show he gets lost in the slapstick. A skit that is supposed to be funnier than it turns out is "Mayhem and Strauss" which gives the josh treatment to the "Student Prince" with Costello leading the clowning as a Heidelberg student, complete with beer stein.

Holding forth next are the Upstarts, featuring Bill Norvas and Dee Arlan, which are distinguished mainly by the worst line in the show, "Careful, Gladys, you'll throw your Swarthout." They also sing, drawing good response fom three jive numbers. "You Gotta Love Everybody," "I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That married Dear Old Dad," and "Rock and Roll Square Dance."

Something titled "Christmas is the Warmest Time of the Year" comes next, and begins with a sentimental Yule message, turns into slapstick and ends on a sad note that confuses the audience, who can't figure out if there suppose to keep laughing at Costello. In the bit, Costello is the pathetic Chaplin-like figure spreading Christmas cheer, only to be clouted around the stage at intervals by Abbott and assorted others, including even Santa Claus.

In the semi-final, the best talent in the show - Joby Baker - does his stuff. Billed as "NBC's newest comedy find," Baker turns out to be one of Jerry Lewis' countless mimics, but is better than most. He gives the impression he could do much more with better material. His best spots are his Elvis Yokamura, a Japanese R&R fidget, and, of course, his mimic of Jerry Lewis.

The windup is called "Family Entertainment," a flashback to the vaudeville days of old, with members of the cast making like Sophie Tucker, Al Jolson and Eva Tanguay. This is all a buildup to Abbott & Costello's "Who's on First" baseball routine, that surprisingly draws top laughs and applause. The A&C company includes, besides Berry, Baker and the Upstarts, Nina Varela, Norma Nilsson and Mary Louise Hoffman as foils for the horseplay of the comics.

The show was produced, written and directed by Sid Kuller, with music composed and arranged by Jerry Fielding and staged by Al White Jr. Supervisor of it all was Sahara entertainment chief Stan Irwin. Music is by the Cee Davidson orch.

So, Bud and Lou performed two of their classic routines - "Who's On First?" and "The Military Drill" - and two new sketches - a "Student Prince" spoof and a Christmas sketch. It sounds like a typical episode of the Colgate Comedy Hour. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but I was expecting more than this. I have great faith in Bud and Lou's talent and believe that they were capable of redefining themselves even at this late stage of their career. "Who's On First?" is a great routine. The Variety critic observed that the old routine (Bud and Lou had been performing it for twenty years) "surprisingly draws top laughs and applause." But something new would have been nice.