Henry Levin's 1965 movie....GHENGHIS KHAN

A few weeks ago TCM aired this "epic". Kinda slow but interesting to look at....since it was filmed in Yugoslavia and several of the same locations pop up in the Winnetou films. And get this.....a total of 10 actors who are in this film have also been in at least one sw or Euro western.....Stephen Boyd, Telly Savalas, Eli Wallach, Woody Strode, James Mason, Gustavo Rojo, Robert Morley and lesser knowns...Kenneth Cope, Patrick Holt, and Dusan Vujisic.

ELI WALLACH AS A BEATNIK

I recently watched SEVEN THIEVES a very good 1960 heist film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Edgar G Robinson, Rod Steiger (in a nicely subdued performance), Joan Collins (who never looked better and held her own with the acting heavy weights), Eli as her saxophone playing beatnik "boy friend," and Michael Dante (very nice man...have met him several times). The heist takes place in Monte Carlo and involves several different twists and plot turns turns that make this a very enjoyable flick...all and all a very pleasant diversion made all the better by the great group of actors mentioned above and supported by Barry Kroeger (Orson Welles' evil twin), Alexander Skourby and Sebastian Cabot. First and only time I had seen this movie previously, was around 35 years ago. My how time flies. It still holds up.

A DISTANT TRUMPET FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVES COLLECTION

This cavalry flick is the first dvd I've had a chance to see from the Warner Archives. At one time there was some discussion as to whether or not the movies from the "Archives" are dvds or dvdrs...well, in one word I think they can be classified as dvdrs instead of dvds, and that word is purple. The back of the disc of this movie is purple and not silvery as regular dvds are. "Trumpet" is a cavalry flick directed by the late great Raoul Walsh (his last movie, as a matter of fact) and features Susanne Pleshette and Dianne McBain vying for the charms of the very manly Lt. Troy Donahue but on occasions indians and soldiering get in their way. I remember this movie being much more enjoyable the first time I saw it (I was a lot younger then) and I often confuse it with the much much better Richard Boone/Charles Bronson/Slim Pickens Richard Chamberlain/Duane Eddy cavalry epic with a similar name A THUNDER OF DRUMS which was released three years earlier. Obvious this was a chance for Warners to use their contract stars in a feature film. "Hey they're under contract for very little, so let's put them in a movie."

Quality of the dvr is very good. On the menu there is a selection for "play" and one for the "trailer." No chapter settings...If you want to jump ahead or back for "ten minutes" at a time you can by using the quick jump button on your remote.

ol Randy in FIGHTING MAN OF THE PLAINS

Finally got around to watching this pretty darn good Randolph Scott movie. (I'd been letting it age for a couple of weeks on the ol' Tivo.) Made in '49 and it again, seems like half of the pre Boetticher films ol' Randy is in, he was either involved with Quantrell....or some other quasi post civil war raider and his band.... or some undercover shenanigans to either clear his name or to find the killler of his...........(choose from the following brother, father, best friend, dog). Well this one had both. Randy was involved with Quantrell (the great James Griffith....unbilled), went undercover (took the name and identity of the detective who got killed while attempting to take him in) so to speak, to try and clear his name and to look for and to kill his brother's killer whose brother he had killed. Confusing? Well, it all works out in the end for ol' Randy. Why he even gets the girl. Funny thing is though....as she runs up to ol' Randy and right before she gets to embrace him the screen goes black and "The End" comes on. Well he got the girls but he didn't get the hug. Oh, well! Pretty good supporting cast, too. Victor Jory (in a good guy role for once) plays a gambler who becomes a friend and ally of Randy and Paul Fix and Bill Williams turn in good performances as the rotten to the core bad guys. Worth mentioning is the fact that Dale Robertson was introduced in this fillm "as Jesse James." All and all worth watching. On the Randy scale with THE TALL T being a 10.....this one is a 6. But then the script was by Frank Gruber from one of his novels, and you can't get much better than that.

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I haven't been doing much bloggin' here in quite awhile,

but I want to take time, today, to mention my friend Jamie's hard to find/ rare move site www.thedriveinconnection.com/. Trust me. This is the best site out there for you film buffs to turn to when you're looking for that hard to find spaghetti western or Euro cult film or any cool and crazy flick from the past. The prices can't be beat anywhere and the service is the best there is. Jamie doesn't wait around to fill any orders. The turn around time is incredible. I've dealt with Jamie and his site for years and every time I have been more than happy with his product and service. Tell him ol' jangoz sent yuh!

"Mountain Fortress" the pilot episode of the tv series CHEYENNE

is essentially a remake of Errol Flynn's ROCKY MOUNTAIN (one of my favorite Flynn movies, let alone a western)....with James Garner (tv) in the Scott Forbes (movie) role....right down to the boy with a dog.  

CHEYENNE EPISODE IS A LOOSE REMAKE OF A MOVIE

The episode of CHEYENNE called "The Travelers" that aired on Encore Westerns on 6-12 was a loose remake of the Kirk Douglas movie ALONG THE GREAT DIVIDE which was also known as "THE TRAVELERS."  Pretty darn good little tv western...great production values and location sites for the most part....but at time when they were in the "desert" I could see, on the right side of the screen, a seam on the background cyclorama.  Gregory Walcott was featured in a supporting role as was Robert Armstrong (Carl Denhan in the original KING KONG) as the Marshal.  Len Merrick was the Marshal's name (Kirk Doulgas) in the movie and in the Cheyenne episode.  Was great seeing the area around Vasquez Rocks while it was still pristine and not so cluttered and "civilized" as it is today.....and is always great seeing some of the old time movie greats pop up here and there in these tv shows.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS: THE GLORY DAYS AND PARTY NIGHTS OF THE DALLAS COWBOY DYNASTY

Just finished this highly enjoyable and informative book, by Jeff Pearlman, on the rise of the Dallas Cowboys during the Jerry Jones-Jimmy Johnson era and their fall during the Jerry Jones-Barry Switzer years.  Lottsa interesting tidbts.

3 new "American" spaghetti westerns on dvd

DOC  with Stacey Keach, Harris Yulin and Dan van Husen

CHINA 9  LIBERTY 37 with Warren Oates, Fabio Testi and Jenny Agutter

CATLOW with Yul Brynner, Richard Crenna and Dan van Husen (release date 6-23)

DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER

This is a new book on the real legendary (and not celluloid) Jack Slade written by Dan Rottenberg.  He was known as "The Law West of Kearney," and was very instrumental in helping the North win the Civil War.  In 1859 when the US careened toward civil war, Washington's only northern link with America's richest state, California, was a stagecoach line operating between Missouri and the Pacific and Slade was hired to clean up and keep open this line.  He kept the stagecoaches and the US mail running and helped launch the Pony Express all of which kept California in the Union.....and without California's gold, the Union could not have financed its cause.  Slade's legend grew when he was shot multiple times and left for dead, only to survive and exact revenge on his would-be killer.  Later on his life descended into alcoholism transforming him into a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde....from a courageous leader, devoted husband and charming gentleman into a vicious quick-triggered ruffian and purported outlaw. No pictures exist of this man.  Not knowing anything about the real Jack Slade makes this a most welcome read.

gaffes in TEN WANTED MEN

Next time you watch this Randolph Scott-Richard Boone-Lee Van Cleef-Leo Gordon oater look for this.....When Randy shoots Boone (across a table) not only is his gun not cocked and the hammer never moves, but when you hear the sound of gunfire no muzzle flash or gun smoke is seen....when they cut to the next scene then you see the smoke from the gun shot puffin' up in front of ol' Randy.  And, earlier on when Randy shoots Lee notice the odd angle of the gun in his hand....from the looks of things, to me, the gun was not pointed at Lee when he fired.  

A FORTUNATE LIFE by Robert Vaughn

Just finished this enjoyable "bio" from ol' Napoleon Solo hisself.  Lottsa interesting anecdotes about different films he appeared in and lottsa stuff on THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.  He deals with his early years in Hollywood and his relationship with Natalie Wood.  Did Natalie date every male star in Hollywood or does it just seem that way?  (Well, if Natalie wouldn't Lana would. OUCH!!)  Vaughn spends too much time talking about his participation in the Civil Rights movement, his outrage re: the Vietnam war and his relationship with Robert Kennedy.  (He feels Sirhan Sirhan was a "manchurian candidate" in the assassination of RFK and did not act alone and presents interesting info that Aristotle Onassis paid to have RFK killed.)  That's his perrogative since it is his book...and I feel, at times, these stories grind the book to a screeching halt, but then I read these books for tales of Hollywood and movie making and not politics. Great stories about his life-long relationships with James Coburn (they met at LA City College) and Steve McQueen (from Mag 7 on) and he mentions a very bad experience involving his use of "pot" while with James Coburn and Ted Markland....a young stand-up comic.  Is this our buddy "Reno" from HIGH CHAPARRAL?  All in all,  well worth reading.  

WARREN OATES: A WILD LIFE

New bio out on one of my all-time favorite character actors....Warren Oates...by Susan Compo. Warren is probably best known as being one of Sam Peckinpah's regulars.  Their last collaberation was 1974's BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA.  The movie was so dark that both James Coburn and Peter Falk turned down the lead.  (Panned in its day "Alfredo Garcia" is now viewed by many as a master piece.)  Oates' and Peckinpah's mutual sympathy was often interrupted by outbursts of alcohol-fueled acrimony and bouts of disloyalty....such as when Oates was instrumental in helping Peckinpah get the job of directing THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE, Sam repaid him by giving the lead role to Jason Robards.  When Oates died in 1982 of a massive heart attack at the age of 53, such was the rift between him and Peckinpah that Sam was "resoundingly not invited to the service, but nothing could keep him away."  A must read for movie fans of all ages but especially fans of  both Oates and Peckinpah.  Another great one gone way too soon.

TOMBSTONE TRAVELS

Got home yesterday afternoon from a great four day trip to Tombstone, Az....is there another Tombstone?  Tom Betts did all the drivin' and I did all the ridin'.....shotgun that is.  We met up with "resident" Chris Casey and our buddies from the east raymie (ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE AUTUMN) Isenberg & John Nudge and Franco Cleef flew in from the frozen North....Canada for the uninitiated.   Saw where Billy the Kid killed his first man; visited the Rex Allen Museum (Marty Robbins was from the same town....Willcox , Az); had a spaghetti dinner capped by watching the Franco Cleef restored version of THE BIG GUNDOWN and we finished off the weekend by overeating at a bbq with the fixin's prepared by Missus raymie and son Justin and then watching the English language version of YANKEE (courtesy of ol' Mr. Franco Cleef hisself.) Like the fellow once said, "a good time was had by all."

GBU on Blu-ray

One of the best spaghetti westerns ever made gets the high-def treatment.  Release date is 5-12-09.

WHEN THE WEST WAS FUN: A WESTERN REUNION

Anyone have a copy of this 1979 documentary hosted by Glenn Ford which served as a reunion for many of our favorites who played in popular western films and tv series over the years....just to name a few....Lee Van Cleef, Clayton Moore, John Russell,  James Drury, Slim Pickens, Jock Mahoney, Neville Brand and Chuck Connors.

JONAH HEX coming to the big screen

JONAH HEX has a new director according to Josh Brolin in today's LA Times.  Brolin, who will portray Hex (for a scheduled 2010 release), said Jimmy Hayward is the new director.  (Hayward's background has been in animation).  John Malkovich will play the villain Turnbull and Megan Fox (THE TRANSFORMERS) will play Leila, the gun weilding beauty and love interest of Hex. Loved, or should I say love the comics.  Hope I will do same with the movie.

SWEET JESUS, PREACHER MAN

This obscure 1973 action/drama movie featuring our buddy William Smith and Roger E. Mosley ("TC" on MANGNUM PI) is airing on TCM tonight at 1am (PT.)  This movie is not on DVD or video and frankly until I saw it advertised as being on TCM I had never heard of it.  MGM actually did the theatrical distribution.  Director Henning Schellerup may be best known for being the cinematographer on  the Steve Forrest LAST OF THE MOHICANS tv movie in 1977and BLACK SAMPSON in 1974 with, again, William Smith and Rockne Tarkington who had a small role in Sam Elliots's 1995 tv western THE DESPERATE TRAIL.  Schellerup at one time appeared to be the in-house director for Sunn Classic Pictures which produced a lot of biblical documentary style movies and several Dan Haggerty projects including GRIZZLY ADAMS.

ARENA with Gig Young and Lee Van Cleef

Normally, because this is another rodeo western  ("First Full-Length Western in 3 Dimension! the ads said.) I would have posted this below under the comments section of THE HONKERS....but since this one features Lee Van Cleef it demands its own brand new post.  Never have seen this 1953 movie and and looking forward to its airing on TCM next Thursday (3-12) at 145PM (PT).  Not on DVD or video!

TRAIL STREET with Randolph Scott

This rarely seen 1947 Randolph Scott western with Robert Ryan and Gabby Hayes will be airing on TCM next Thursday (3-12) at 9:15am (PT).  Randy stars as Marshal Bat Masterson.  I have never seen this movie and am looking forward to seeing him with Robert Ryan.  Randy and Gabby actually appeared together in five other oaters....WILD HORSE MESA in 1932;  BADMAN'S TERRITORY in 1946; RETURN OF THE BAD MEN (also with Ryan) and ALBEQUERQUE in 1948 and THE CARIBOO TRAIL in 1950.  Randy and Ryan had worked together before TRAIL STREET in the WW II action flick BOMBARDIER in 1943. 

Maybe it's just my imagination but it seems quite a few of Randy's obscure westerns are finally seeing the light of day.   Hmmmm.....I wonder if it has anything to do with all the publicity surrounding the recent release of Randy's Budd Boetticher westerns on dvd?

LEONARD COHEN

The great Leonard Cohen will be in Los Angeles for one performance only on April 10.  Joni and I were able to get some decent tickets to this concert and we can hardly wait.  I've read and heard a lot about this legendary figure, but I've never seen him in person.  He has a vast volume of work but is probably best known for the songs (and singing) he contributed to NATURAL BORN KILLERS.  Also, he sings two of his songs in the new WATCHMEN movie.

THE HONKERS with James Coburn

This rarely seen 1972 rodeo western starring James Coburn and featuring Slim Pickens and Jim Davis will be showing on Encore Westerns this month.  First airing will be in the wee morning hours of this Saturday (3-7) from 3:45am to 5:30am.  I have never seen this movie and, being a James Coburn fan, am greatly looking forward to viewing it.  Also, I have heard very good things about it, especially, Slim Picken's performance.    Sadly, the director, the late Steve Ihnat....so good in HOUR OF THE GUN, died shortly after it's release. There were three rodeo westerns released in 1972, and this hurt THE HONKERS as it appears to have been lost in the mix.  The other two:  J.W. COOP with Cliff Roberson and SamPeck's JUNIOR BONNER with Steve McQueen.  THE HONKERS is not on DVD and as far as I know has never been released on video.  Heck....I don't ever remember it being shown on tv anywhere!  Don't miss it!

One of the best rodeo movies ever made was released twenty years earlier...Robert Mitchum's THE LUSTY MEN....with Susan Hayward, Arthur Kennedy and Arthur Hunnicutt; directed by Nicholas Ray (JOHNNY GUITAR-REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE-THE TRUE STORY OF JESSE JAMES and KING OF KINGS with Jeffrey "I was a teen-age Jesus" Hunter.)

BOOTS THE WONDER DOG

This is another in a series of posts about the lesser known heroes of our by-gone years, most of whom you'll say "HUH?" while scratching your head in disbelief that anyone would take the time to blog about someone or some animal you've never heard of and could care less about.  Oh, yes, "Boots, the Wonder Dog.  "Who in the heck is he?" you say.  Not much is known about this canine marvel.  I don't even have a picture of him....and who's to say he's not a she?  Boots only appeared in two films....both westerns.  The 1939 THE ADVENTURES OF THE MASKED PHANTOM (title is a bit misleading since this is the only adventure the Masked Phantom had,so  it should have been called THE ADVENTURE OF THE MASKED PHANTOM) with the legendary Monte Rawlins (WHO?), this being Monte's fifth and last film.  (He used the nom de plume Dean Spencer twice.) "PHANTOM" was, for whatever reasons, filmed in Florida and was the story of a masked hero fighting a gang of gold-raiders.  Did Boots sidekick the Phantom or did he belong to the obligatory kid?  Boots last screen appearance was in the 1941 SILVER STALLION with Chief Thundercloud who had a better screen history than either Boots or Monte.  Hmmmmm..... "SILVER,".... "MASKED?"  Why am I thinking of The Lone Ranger? Don't know what happened to Boots after this as details of his life and career are fairly sketchy.

John Dehner and Robert Wilke

These are two of my favorite western character actors of all time and both seem to have never gotten their due. Both appeared several times in almost every tv western and both have had significant roles in high-profile movies....some non-western.  Dehner was very good as a villian or a good-guy but he was especially good at portraying slippery characters such as Burgundy Smith in Sam Peckinpah's classic tv series THE WESTENER. He appeared in several GUNSMOKE episodes and was even Miss Kitty's father in one.  Dehner was in AIRPLANE II, THE SEQUEL; THE RIGHT STUFF and the two classic ROBERT MITCHUM mini-series THE WINDS OF WAR and WAR AND REMEMBRANCE. He even appeared in a Bowery Boys movie...."THE BOWERY BOYS MEET THE MONSTERS.  Dehner looked quite a bit like my maternal grandfather whose name was John Dahmer (no relation to Jeffrey).

Wilke was great as a villian and in later year played similar character types but in a comedic way.  He started out with bit parts in "B" westerns and his final role was in Bill Murray's classic comedy STRIPES.  I first remember him as Jim Pierce in HIGH NOON and later saw him, like Dehner, in almost every tv western. 

Wilke and Dehner appeared several times in the same movie/tv show.  Most notable was Anthony Mann's classic 1958 Gary Cooper flick MAN OF THE WEST.  Dehner was Cooper's embittered cousin Claude and Wilke was Ponce another member of the Uncle Dock Tobin gang, and they were both in John Sturges' 1965 "comedy" western misfire THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL.  They also were in "Incident of the Four Horsemen" a 1969 episode of RAWHIDE; THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB (1970); Tim Holt's HOT LEAD (1951); Monte Hale's OUT CALIFORNIA WAY (1946) with Roy Rogers; Rory Calhoun's POWDER RIVER (1953) and the 1946  non-western THE CATMAN OF PARIS.  Wilke was  unbilled as "The Catman."

Lets give these two guys their due.

SIX REASONS WHY (2008 "western?")

I can give you 666 reasons why not and here are the first eighteen.......(1)  A Campagna Brothers Independent Production; (2) Directed by the Campangna Brothers (Jeff and Matthew); (3) Written by the Campagna Brothers; (4) Executive Producers....the Campagna Brothers; (5) Co-starring the Campagna Brothers; (6) Cinematography by Matthew Campagna; (7) Film Editing by the Campagna Brothers; (8) Casting by the Campagna Brothers; (9) Production Design by the Campagna Brothers; (10) Production Manager...Jeff Campagna; (11) Visual effects supervisor...Matthew Campagna; (12) Stunt Double....Jeff Campagna; (13) two of the three camera operators....The Campagna Brothers; (14) Animator...Matthew Campagna; (15) Wardrobe...The Campagna Brothers; (16) Music Supervisor...Jeff Campagna; (17) The Campagna Brothers, whoever the heck they are and whoever gave them the idea they could make a movie and (18) absolutely, positively the worst attempt at a western ever made.  ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE AUTUMN garners 10 stars compared to this piece of drek!!!!!

A CUPPLA VERY GOOD READS

ESCAPE ARTIST: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF JOHN STURGES by Glenn Lovell.  Finished this gem of a book weeks ago....a very quick and enjoyable read.  Sturges is one of my favorite directors of all time and, hopefully, with this book he will finally get the respect and admiration long due him. Lovell not only goes into anecdotes about the making of Sturges's films but also, with the cooperation of friends and family, delves into Sturge's private life, especially his rampant alcoholism.  Interesting tidbits about the making of BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, THE GREAT ESCAPE (his best known works) and some of his lesser known films.  It's interesting to compare Lovell's version of how TMS came to fruition with Eli Wallach's (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND ME) and producer Walter Mirisch's (I THOUGHT WE WERE MAKING MOVIES, NOT HISTORY...which, by the way, is a quote Mirisch took from Sturges....and a very, very good account by a Hollywood insider of making movies in the 50's and 60's.)  Lovell talks about how Sturges quickly adapted to making movies in "CinemaScope" vs the old screen ratio and how his framing and use of the widescreen influenced other film makers, often without acknowledgement.

FIASCO: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD'S ICONIC FLOPS by James Robert Parrish (HOLLYWOOD DIVAS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE FABULOUS....there's that play on titles/words again! & IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING: THE SERIOUSLY FUNNY LIFE OF MEL BROOKS.)  Some of the movies dealt with are THE CHASE (with Brando, Redford and Fonda), POPEYE, THE COTTON CLUB, ISHTAR (my most hated and despised movie of all time), SHOWGIRLS, WATERWORLD (failed as a movie but made a great action and stunt laden attraction at Universal Studios), BATTLEFIELD EARTH (what in the world was John Travolta thinking?  hmmm....was he kind of pushed into doing it?) and PAINT YOUR WAGON (with Clint and Lee....a movie before one cent was spent was already thought of as being a loser) Who was director Joshua Logan (totally and I mean totally the wrong director from the get-go) talking about when he made this famous rant, "Not since Atilla the Hun swept across Europe leaving 500 years of total blackness has there been a man like ________?"  Why our beloved Lee Marvin, that's who!  And the bad experience on this movie, with its extravagantly wasteful excesses, is credited with giving Clint a valuable lesson in what not to do on a movie, and is one of the reasons why he always brings his films in on time and on budget.  A lot of the anecdotes from the making of these various films I have already heard....but there are some new ones too!

friends I miss from the old SWWB

With a virus hitting our fave the ol' SWWB like a roadside burger through an heiress most of us, including myself, have stayed away.  I miss the drunken rants of Bob Booze Belle and those adorable southern hicks from Pine Ridge, Arkansas...ray ray and shermie.  And, will we ever find out if Barry Matalo ever finishes MATALO, THE MUSICAL.  Will we be forever  left hanging and never know what the finished lyrics are to "Thar's Red Snow On My Boomerrang, Ma'am."

more ODDITIES

A stagecoach in the 1945 Errol Flynn western SAN ANTONIO has framed pictures hanging on a back wall.  Huh?  This picture was co-written by two famous writers....W. R. Burnett (HIGH SIERRA, YELLOW SKY, THE ASPHALT JUNGLE  and Alan LeMay (REAP THE WILD WIND, THE SEARCHERS).

DESERT SHOOTER aka THE SHOOTER

This rarely seen 1997, straight to video, little gem of a western starring Michael (AMERICAN NINJA) Dudikoff who's very credible in this western role and featuring our friend William Smith (nuff said) will air on Encore Westerns on March the 2nd in the early morning hours from 5-630am (PT).  My video copy (I think from CineMax) is titled just THE SHOOTER. Pretty darn good direction from Fred Olen Ray....so set your tivo's!  Wonder why Dudikoff has not acted since 2002?  His next to last job was in our friend Jim Wynorski's GALE FORCE (2002).

DRANGO debut airing on Encore Westerns

Hey you Jeff Chandler fans (and those of fellow West Virginian Joanne Dru, brother of Peter Marshall the original host, back in the day,  of  THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES).  DRANGO, not Durango, not Django, not Jango, not Shango and not even Cjamango....one of Jeff's rarely seen westerns will air on Encore Westerns on the first of March (check your local listings).  This 1957 civil war oater stars ol' Jeff as Major Drango (not Major Dundee....that's another movie) who is appointed US Military governor to a small Georgia community where tensions, needless to say, are running high affter the defeat of the Confederacy.....and the fly in the ointment is that ol' Jeff hisself participated in Sherman's march through the state.  John Lupton is featured as an embittered Confederate Captain and guess who....you are CORRECT....Joanne is the love interest. Other featured familiar faces are Julie London, Milburn Stone (made on hiatus from GUNSMOKE), Chubby Johnson (one of my least favorite side-kick types), Bing (Kurt's dad) Russell, Parley Baer (the voice of Chester on radio's Gunsmoke and years away from his role as the mayor on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW), Donald Crisp (the patriarch, Mr Morgan in HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY) and Ronald Howard (no relation to Ron or Rance....but Leslie's kid).  I'm going to take a look-see as I have never seen this movie.

Bonus....Rex Allen sings the title song.

WHEN TITLE SONG AND TITLE DON'T MATCH

The title song of the Glenn Ford-Inger Stevens-George Hamilton 1976 western A TIME FOR KILLING is "The Long Ride Home," which was also the film's original title but, for whatever reason(s) was changed for the US release.  Later, in 2003, the title THE LONG RIDE HOME was used on a Randy Travis-Eric Roberts-Ernest Borgnine grade "D" western.

CLINT WALKER.....AN APPRECIATION

Up until recently I was not that much of a Clint Walker fan.  I had seen most of his movie westerns and, to me, they weren't that good and I never much cared for his performances.  He just seemed to be a bit too stiff and wooden  (exception Sampson Posey in THE DIRTY DOZEN.)  I even owned the first season of CHEYENNE (on dvd) and never started watching any of the episodes until Encore Westerns started running the entire series.  That caught my attention and I started watching the show and, by and by, with each different episode my appreciation of him and his work  grew immensely.  I now really like the guy, not that I didn't before....I just didn't care for his movies......I've heard he's a very decent person.  I now actually look forward to the next episode.  In his role as Cheyenne, Clint comes off as a very kind and caring person. If I had seen the CHEYENNE show as I kid I know I would have liked Clint more and a whole lot sooner and that he would be right up there with my other cowboy heroes.  To me, on a whole, the CHEYENNE shows are much better than the MAVERICK's. Since my viewing of the other Warner Westerns of this period are limited which series was the best?  To me, without a doubt, the worst was SUGARFOOT.  I tend to think CHEYENNE would have to top the list.

RANDOLPH SCOTT

Did the Los Angeles Times in an essay called "The Language of Desire" published in their Sunday(2-15-09) Calendar Section "out" Randy?  

The essay by Reed Johnson with a sub-headline of ...."Gunsels, victims, the sex-obsessed tricks. Hollywood has long been drawn to a limited range of gay 'types,' but with Milk Sean Penn embodies a far different--and admirable---leading man."

The article goes on to mention the different ways gays were portrayed in different movies and under CRUISING (a 1980 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino) Johnson writes...."Partly under pressure from the bluenoses administering the Hays Code, Hollywood went back in the closet during the Eisenhower presidency and more or less stayed there until the late 1960's (although Sal Mineo and a few others managed to slip out once in a while.)  Coyness and euphemism were part of the day, with the likes of Rock Hudson and Randolph Scott impersonating big-screen macho men."

Was Scott gay as long rumored?  (Taylor Hackford alluded to this a bit in his commentary on one of the discs in the Budd Boetticher box set.) I don't know and I don't give a tinker's damn one way or the other.  Scott made some of the greatest westerns ever and over the years several of them have grown in stature with me and now appear on my  "all-time favorite movies" list.  The reason I say "over the years" is that when I was a kid I didn't care for Scott or his westerns that much....they were too adult, I suppose.  Even in my 20's thru my late 40's I enjoyed some of his oaters but still didn't care for him that much....but when I hit my 50's I suddenly started really appreciating him, his work and his movies.  Maybe I just aged into appreciating them and him.....like he gracefully aged in his work.

The Statler Brothers have a great song called WHERE HAVE YOU GONE RANDOLPH SCOTT and the lyrics go something like this.....and are a bit ironic in parts.

Everybody knows when you go to the show you can't take the kids along.

 You've gotta read the paper and know the code of PG and R and X.  

And you gotta know what the movie's about before you go.  

Tex Ritter's gone and Disney's dead and the screen is filled with sex . 

Whatever happened to Randolph Scott ridin' the range alone ? 

Whatever happened to Gene and Tex and Roy and Rex , The durango Kid?

Oh whatever happened to Randolph Scott, his horse plain as could be?

 Whatever happened to Randolph  Scott has happened to the best of me.

Everybody's tryin' to make a comment about our doubts and fears.  

True Grit's the only movie I've really understood in years.  

You gotta take your analyst along to see if it's fit to see. 

 Whatever happened to Randolph Scott happened to the industry.  

Whatever happened to Johnny Mack Brown and Alan Rocky Lane? 

Whatever happened to Lash LaRue? I'd love to see them again.  

Whatever happened to Smiley Burnette, Tim Holt and Gene Autry?

Whatver happened to all of them has happened to the best of me.  

Whatever happened to Randolph Scott has happened to the industry.

PALO PINTO GOLD

Got a screener dvd of this new western way back before Thanksgiving.  On the back of the dust jacket it says,  "Order Due Date: Dec. 29; Street Date: Jan 20....Only $24.95 with a PPV Window of 90 days and a 4 month Pay Cable Window of 4 months."  Oh...yeah...Bob Polunksky of The San Antonio Times said......"DELIGHTFUL.....a western just like they used to make 'em." I don't know who "they" are but whoever "they" are could certainly make 'em better....why even you and I could make 'em better if we had the same equipment and money, or even a camera, some film and a cuppla actors.  So save your $24.95, even your $2.49 or your 24 cents and sit back and read on!

It seems this Texan Anthony Henslee decided to make a western so he co-wrote a script, starred himself and even directed it.  I wish wish it were good; I even wish it were tolerable but it's so hard to watch.  Good intentions do not a good movie make.

Starts out in the early 1900's with a writer pulling into the dirt parking lot of a beer joint.  (We know it's the early 1900's since this is supposed to be a western and he's driving a Model-A roadster.) The writer wants to find out the real facts about a famous gun-fight that took place in front of the joint.  So happens a youngster in the joint overhears him talking to the barkeep and points out ol' Roy Clark and ol' Mel Tillis sitting at a table...glad it was Mel and not Buck Owens as I would have thought it to be an episode of Hee-Haw.  The youngen goes on to tell the writer that ol' Roy and ol' Mel happened to have been there some 50 odd years before when it happened and from the looks of them it appears they had  stayed there at that table for the next 50 0dd years.   So the writer sits down after being introduced and a bit of chit-chat and convinces them that he'll write the true story as they tell it as ol' Roy seems pissed that all previous writers or reporters always seemed to change what he told them and wrote what they wanted.....then one cliche western bit after another and that's only the first 14 minutes.  Shame when the regular story started and it even had Kinky Friedman in it as the Texas Govenor...'spose since he once was an unsuccessful candidate for that office....it never got much better and seemed to take 50 years to watch.  Another actor/stuntman in the production was Bill Hart who doubled Glenn Ford in BORDER SHOOTOUT  and as bad as ol' Glenn's last western is it still is 100 times better than "PPG."    And the way he could still command the screen the leads in "PPG" couldn't even wear the support gunbelt ol' Glenn wore in his last oater.

Hate the "end arounds" they put on some westerns like the one on PPG and THE LAST RIDE OF THE DALTON GANG.

AH-H-H.....VALENTINE'S DAY

Thirty-nine years ago today my wife and I had our first date.....and Valentine's Day then was on a Saturday also.  We had dinner at a Japanese Restaurant in Century City (the name slips my mind) and saw Henry Fonda as the stage mangager in Thornton Wilder's classic play OUR TOWN at the old Huntington Hartford Theatre on Vine Street in Hollywood and co-rented a car with another couple....all for around 50 bucks.

While watching 30 ROCK the other night we had to laugh as the running gag was "you never have a first date on Valentine's Day."  Well we did, and it was  (and continues to be) wonderful!

ODDITIES

Glenn Ford wearing a bright red poncho in DAY OF THE EVIL GUN (1968)

PARTY SCHOOLS

The list of top party schools was released and my alma mater, good ol' WVU, West Virginia University,  was once again in the top ten....at number 4!

SPAGHETTI MOMENTS IN NON-SPAGHETTI WESTERNS

Don Randi's music for Glenn Ford's 1973 western Santee (which by the way was "Co-Produced" by Edward Platt, the ol' Chief hisself from the GET SMART tv show and featured John Hart, the other LONE RANGER  who couldn't carry Clayton Moore's mask) sounds spaghetti-like in several places.

The title song of the 1959 Jack (Billy The Kid) Buetel western MUSANG! sung by the amazing Champ Butler (so amazing I couldn't find any info on him) sounds like it could have been lifted from the credits of many a spaghetti.  This modern western was co-written and directed by the late great Tom Gries (100 RIFLES & THE RAT PATROL.)  Another favorite who departed this earth way too soon....at the age of 55.

The 1972 Robert Mitchum south of the border "American" oater THE WRATH OF GOD (not to be confused with the 1968 spaghetti WRATH OF GOD with Montgomery (Brett Halsey) Ford seems and feels more spaghetti to me than Mitchum's  1978 VILLA RIDES which was actually filmed in Almeria.  Some of the movie is set in a town that is a mirror image of Los Albaricoques and co-star Ken Hutchison evoked memories of Lou Castel in A BULLET FOR A GENERAL.

GREAT STUNT(S)

Jack Mahoney, yes he's billed as Jack and not Jock or Jock O'Mahoney, in OVERLAND PACIFIC with the beautiful Peggie Castle (loved her as the "Miss Kitty" rip-off in LAWMAN with John Russell and Peter Brown) and the under-appreciated and oft over-looked William Bishop (both died way before their times....Castle a couple of months before her 46th birthday and Bishop at only 41.....pulls off a stunt during a fight that I've never seen before or since.....

Mahoney gets into a fist-fight with Jenks the stage driver played by "B" western regular Fred Graham.  Ol' Jack ends up in front of a hitchin' rail and is knocked backwards by Graham.  As ol' Jack falls backwards his butt lands on top of the hitchin' rail and as his upper torso snaps downward and backwards almost touching the ground,  he catches the under side of the boards on the wooden sidewalk with the toes of his boots and then he springs upward and forward, in one fluid motion, like a giant cat.....and continues the fight.  Any guesses who wins?

GOOF-O-RAMA

When Ben Cooper clubs the deputy over the head in GUNFIGHT AT COMANCHE CREEK (with Audie Murphy and Jan Merlin) you can clearly tell the gun is made of rubber by the way its barrel bounces back and forth....

Separated at Birth

Nello Pazzafini and Lon Chaney, Jr  (see Chaney in ALBUQUERQUE with Randolph Scott)

be kind.......I'm just getting used to this blog stuff