What
a wonderful time I had last night at the S. Pasadena Library....seeing
one of the great, and I don't use the word great loosely, all time
westerns......SamPeck's RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY with two of the all time
western stars Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott, and meeting Mariette
Hartley who made her film debut in this classic oater. Was a trip
seeing RTHC on the big screen for the first time. Also, in attendance
were Wyatt McCrea, Joel's oldest grandson and David Lyons, Producer
Robert F. Lyon's son. After the film Mariette reminisced about the
making of the film and answered questions from the audience, as did
Wyatt and David...but it was Mariette who made the evening special. She
really looked great and I could tell she was enjoying the event.
During the Q&A I asked her if she was a bit terrified working with
R. G. Armstrong, like so many others were, and she said he was
intimidating but she liked him even though in the slap scene she
remembers he actually hit her. She said she liked working with everyone
in the cast....and what a cast it is. No one knows what ever happened
to the young male lead Ron Starr who seems to have dropped off the edge
of the earth. Someone asked her about her screen test and she said she
did scenes with both Ben Cooper and Wayne Rogers who were up for the Ron
Star role. She adored both Joel and Randy and felt very lucky to have
made her screen debut with two such giants and gentle men. I often say,
and I've said it many a time here in my posts that if you don't tear up
at the end there is something wrong with you. And as you can see in
the picture Mariette was "tearing up" by the end of the movie. She
relayed a Randy anecdote that I have never heard or read
anywhere....After the last scene with Joel was shot she turned to look
at Randy and he had tears streaming down his face. Wow. She said Coop
and Gable had died within the last year or so and that and Joel's scene
had a profound effect on him. (Later I told her about my "tearin' up"
statement and she said, "You are so right." ) Also in attendance were
cowboy poet Larry Maurice who warmed up the crowd and famous stuntman
and often Steve McQueen's double Loren Janes. What an evening>
