When we think of Directors who helped and helped define the career and screen persona of John Wayne we first think of John Ford, rightly so, and Howard Hawks....and to some extent Raoul Walsh...but did you know how influential Henry Hathaway was to the Duke's career?

In his very enjoyable, very readable and highly informative book on Director Henry Hathaway, author Harold N. Pomainville points out that Hathaway "played a decisive role at critical times in Duke's career. With THE SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS, he helped consolidate Wayne's star status. NORTH TO ALASKA cushioned the failure of THE ALAMO, by providing Wayne with a much needed commercial success. With THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER, Hathaway resurrected Wayne's invincible image in the wake of the star's cancer surgery. Under Hathaway's sure hand, Wayne delivered an Oscar-winning performance in TRUE GRIT. After he completed ROOSTER COGBURN Wayne confided to Hathaway that he had hoped Henry would ride to the rescue once more."

Wayne wanted Henry to direct ROOSTER COGBURN but at the time Hathaway's relationship with Producer Hal Wallis was at an all time low and when Hathaway found out that Wallis' wife Martha Hyer had written the script under the aka of Martin Julien that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Alas and alack the Duke and Henry were never to work together again.

Steve Carver's book. WESTERN PORTRAITS: THE UNSUNG HEROES & VILLAINS OF THE SILVER SCREEN

“

Wow, wow and more wow.”  Words can hardly describe my reaction to the long awaited and highly anticipated epic tome from the iconic director and renowned photographer Steve Carver…….WESTERN PORTRAITS: The Unsung Heroes & Villains of the Silver Screen and  believe you, me , it did not let me down….and…it exceeded all of my expectations.  This volume delivers more than magnificent photographs  and impressive images of Western greats, most of whom we already know.   It also provides interesting and informative anecdotes and bio material on all subjects…a lot of which we did not know…thanks to noted writer and film historian C. Courtney Joyner.  In addition, the book provides a listing of all Western or Western themed projects each individual appeared in or was involved with and best of all….their image….a moment in time brilliantly captured by Carver’s cameras.  And as a bonus, the book contains an illuminating and enlightening brief essay, by Joyner, “Carved on Film Western Movies and The Faces That Made Them.”  Title is self-explanatory. But most of all it’s the conceptualization ·that Carver captured that sets this book apart from all other photography books on Westerns and those beloved people associated with them.  This book is a must for, not only, all Western lovers, but also for photography buffs, movie buffs or history buffs.  The great legend Roger Corman wrote the Forward.  There is no index, but subjects are in alphabetical order.

GET MEAN SCREENING AT SILENT MOVIE THEATRE WITH STAR TONY ANTHONY

Met up with amigo Tom Betts and had a great time at the screening of GET MEAN at the Silent Movie Theatre in Hollywood last night. Such a pleasure meeting Tony Anthony and Lloyd Battista...both very very friendly and affable and each with a great sense of humor. Tony regaled us seriously and humorously with wonderful anecdotes about how he got started in movies and all the trials and tribulations he went through getting the "Stranger' movies made. Since the three "Dollar" movies with Clint were already in the can and were going to be released one after the other, MGM wanted more than one "Stranger" film so they could do the same, but when it came time to release SILENT STRANGER Tony's man at MGM was no longer there and the new regime totally buried it and put it on the shelf to die. GET MEAN took a long time to get made, mostly money problems and Tony said, at one point, he even had to borrow $50,00 from the director (Ferdinando Baldi) to keep the production going. They would get some money shoot a few scenes and then have to wait for more money to do some more filming. GET MEAN was the 4th in the "Stranger" series and he had hopes of taking the character and putting him into all kinds of different settings and locations....but sadly that never happened. The evening was made possible by William Lustig of Blue Underground which will be releasing....in October.....GET MEAN on Blu-ray with commentary by Tony and Lloyd along with last night's Q&A moderated by Rob "WORD ON WESTERNS" Word. (Tony also said that COMIN' AT YA!" will be released on Blue-ray in November....but I'm not sure what company will be doing this.) Everybody in attendance...also there were fellow amigos Henry Parke and Chuck Cirino.....were given a poster of GET MEAN which Tony and Lloyd graciously signed. Tony is a fellow West Virginian and great to talk to. We exchanged a few mountaineer stories and he gladly signed my three "Stranger" posters as well as Lloyd did with my SILENT STRANGER one. (Interesting note..as mentioned Tony is a fellow Mountaineer and.....Lloyd is from Ohio like Tom and went to college at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon) in Pittsburg just up the river from Morgantown and WVU where I went to college.) Tony said there probably will never be an official release of BLINDMAN since there are so many boot-leg copies out there. He further said that he is probably the most boot-legged person out there. Again a wonderful and most memorable evening.

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ANDRE DE TOTH ON RANDOLPH SCOTT

Here's what Andre de Toth says about Randolph Scott in the book DE TOTH ON DE TOTH edited by Anthony Slide......"I believe Randolph Scott could have gone further as an performer. But he did not have the ambition to step up,to be better in anything except golf. Golf was all that counted. He was a handsome man; took showers twice a day, I believe. He was a man whose shoes shined. But he had a tremendous inferiority complex about his acting ability and that made him so stiff. You had the feeling that if Scott picked up a feather from down on the floor, he was going to crumble. He creaked. In cases like his don't try to bend the actors because they will crack And that's a mess. Good actor he wasn't. He was Randy Scott. Which had advantages, but no surprises." Randy appeared in 6 features directed by de Toth...MAN IN THE SADDLE (51), CARSON CITY (52), THE STRANGER WORE A GUN (53), THUNDER OVER THE PLAINS (54), RIDING SHOTGUN (54) and THE BOUNTY HUNTER (54). On Harry Joe Brown Randy's producing partner and Randy...."He (Brown) made a lot of films and drank a lot, even for those times. Scott drank a lot too...sasparilla...and they understood each other because instead of reading scripts they read "The Wall Street journal". They had financial interest together. Neither of them knew much about stories. It was a good combination. They didn't fight about story points. They were both gentlemen, nice people. Oh, they cared about money all right, but unfortunately they didn't care enough about films. Ours was a strange relationship....I cared so much for something they cared so little about at that time. Later they discovered they should have been more concerned about stories." Caption under a pic of ol' Randy hisself...."Randolph Scott, who could beat a man with "The Wall Street Journal" in his back pocket a Cold .45 strapped on his hip...and who knew how to use both. What do you want, acting too?"

Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the 70s

Here is my review of this outstanding documentary that I posted on Amazon.

5.0 out of 5 stars

EUROCRIME DOCUMENTARY....MIKE MALLOY'S EVERLASTING LEGACY TO ITALIAN COP AND GANGSTER FILMS OF THE 70'S,

I had the pleasure of seeing this great and amazingly well done documentary in a special showing at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. I don't say this lightly, but this is probably the best documentary I have ever seen on a particular genre and "Eurocrime" was and is one hell of a genre. A lot of love, as well as time and extensive research, went into the making of this movie and you can tell by what you see and hear on the screen. And to top it off you get to hear from the horse's mouth, so to speak, anecdote after anecdote about the trials and tribulations and fun....oh what fun these actors must have had.....while making these classic films. Well worth the price of admission and more. A must have for fans of all genres and especially fans of all those "Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the 70's). Hats off to writer/director Mike Malloy for archiving this period of movie making history. What a monumental achievement! PS: After seeing this doc you want to go out and find copies of every film mentioned so you can see, first hand, how terrific and exciting most of them are. (Would love for someone to make a comprehensive doc like this one on spaghetti westerns.)

ROBERT WAGNER AT VROMAN'S BOOKSTORE ON 3-19-14

Really enjoyed seeing and hearing Robert Wagner at Vroman's last night. He truly might be the last link to the old Hollywood....and that's why he wrote his new book You MUST REMEMBER THIS...to reminisce about the "good old" days and to talk about places and people who aren't around anymore. Kind of a bitter sweet journey for him. He looked great.

He talked a bit about the book but mostly fielded questions from the audience. One surprise member of the audience was actor Bill Wellman (William Wellman Jr, Director "Wild" Bill Wellman's son) Bill Sr directed some of Hollywood's greatest movies....PUBLIC ENEMY, THE OX-BOW INCIDENT, YELLOW SKY, BATTLEGROUND, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY, and TRACK OF THE CAT to name just a few.

I asked RJ why he never made any westerns after 1957's THE TRUE STORY OF JESSE JAMES (his 4th) and he said he never stopped making them....they stopped coming to him. I told him about how I was amazed at how he was able to jump onto a bareback horse with one hand while holding a rifle in the other (something I've seen no other person do). He said the trick was taught to him by a stuntman. Speaking of stuntmen... Jack Young! I told him that Black Jack Young said to say hello and he said..."Be sure to say hello to him for me."

He was asked if there were any roles that he regretted turning down and he said none that he could think of.....and that the only movie he would have liked to have been a part of and didn't make it was BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.





 

Grindhouse Releasing's THE BIG GUNDOWN Blue-ray 3 disc set

 






Just finished watching the 95 minute "Expanded US Cut" Blu-ray version of THE BIG GUNDOWN with commentary by C. Courtney Joyner and Henry C. Parke. I enjoyed their commentary, and even though I personally didn't hear or find out anything new, I thought they kept it interesting and informative all the way through and that they worked well with each other. However, for the uninitiated and novice spaghetti fan or someone not familiar with this Lee Van Cleef classic their commentary was spot on. Highly recommended.

As for the longer version in Italian with English subtitles, I still prefer the Franco Cleef fan based reconstruction version. Missing scenes were added to the version originally released in the US and where scenes in English were unavailable they were subtitled. I know, I know...the newly released extended version is a pristine Blu-ray copy and has never looked better on tv while the Franco Cleef version is only available on regular dvd......but.....I, personally, like having most of the movie in English instead of having the whole thing in Italian and subtitled. You just gotta hear Lee's voice. Everybody else can be dubbed, but not Lee. (See GOD'S GUN.) It's not right.

Lottsa interesting bonus stuff, too!

All in all cheers to Grindhouse Releasing for giving us this 3 disc set that belongs in everyone's collection.

LEE MARVIN: POINT BLANK by Dwayne Epstein

Yesterday afternoon I moseyed down to Long Beach to Gatsby Books (5535 E Spring St) Amigo,  Dwayne Epstein was there discussing and signing his new book on the great late Lee Marvin....a must read for all movie lovers, not just Lee Marvin fans.

'Twas a very enjoyable two hours plus with my buddy Tom Betts, and many others listening to Dwayne regale us with tales and anecdotes about the life and movies of one of the great screen icons....Lee Marvin.  I've got to say this....the book is a great read and with Dwayne you sure got your money's worth. I've been to a lot of book signings and have heard lottsa authors plug their books but nobody, repeat nobody has ever talked about their book with more passion than Dwayne nor has been more interesting to listen to. I've read the book twice but listening to Dwayne talk made everything sound like I was hearing it for the first time.  But see for yourself how good the book is.....go buy a copy now!

 

 

RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY SCREENING

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>

THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING

THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING is a very good western and Burt Reynolds was at the top of his form when it was made. Yet you hardly hear anyone talk about it and it never seems to pop up on any best westerns list. Besides Burt, Jack Warden, Lee J. Cobb and Bo Hopkins are very good. Sara Miles was never prettier...nor was George Hamilton. (That was a cheap dig but I couldn't resist it.) Book sold a kajillion copies when it first came out and those who hadn't read it were trying to figure out what the title meant. Hmm... is cat dancing kind of like dog fighting but more graceful and not violent? 'Twas just the name of the central character's ( Jay's) first wife. If you haven't seen it or watched it in awhile it is well worth viewing. (Warner Archives has released it on, dvd so a good widescreen copy is available from them.) Somehow when it comes to discussions about good western movies this one just doesn't seem to crop up much. There was scandal related to the making of this movie. Sarah Miles' business manager-boy friend was found dead in her room. At first foul play was suspected but cause of death was later determined to be suicide from overdose of drugs. Again check out this oft overlooked and seldom seen very good oater and with a John Williams score, to boot.

After reading Glenn Frankel's book on THE SEARCHERS I finally got around to watching the movie, again, on Blu-ray. What a magnificent print...didn't think it could but this version made Monument Valley look even more majestic and beautiful. I watched it differently this time. I concentrated on John Wayne's performance and what a performance it is....maybe one of the best screen acting jobs ever. "No," you say, "John Wayne can't act. How can you say this?" My reply...."Just watch the movie." No matter what preconceived notions you may have about John Wayne, his acting, his politics, etc. Just put all that behind you and sit down and watch this great film. THE SEARCHERS, along with ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, are not only my two favorite westerns of all time but two of my favorite movies of all time. Now maybe I'll find time to re-read my copy of Alan LeMay's book of the same name...57 years later.

THE SEARCHERS: THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN LEGEND

New book out on the making of THE SEARCHERS and the true story the movie (and book) was based on. From "Entertainment Weekly".......


THE SEARCHERS by Glenn Frankel
Reviewed by Chris Nashawaty | Feb 15, 2013



EW's GRADE
B+
Details Release Date: Feb 19, 2013; Writer: Glenn Frankel; Genre: History; Publisher: Bloomsbury

John Ford's The Searchers is one of the greatest Westerns ever made. Released in 1956, the film is the tale of Ethan Edwards — a Civil War veteran, played by John Wayne, whose niece is kidnapped during a Comanche raid. Burning with grief, racial hatred, and Old Testament rage, the Duke leads a five-year search to save her and exact revenge on her bloodthirsty captors. Ford, who directed Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, was Hollywood's most iconic interpreter of the American West.

But the story of The Searchers wasn't the fabrication of some armchair-cowboy screenwriter sitting in front of an Underwood. It was based on the 1836 kidnapping of a 9-year-old girl in East Texas named Cynthia Ann Parker. In this well-researched dual history, Glenn Frankel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former Washington Post reporter, attempts to interweave these two stories: the fact and the legend. The fact turns out to be more fascinating. After all, most readers who pick up a book about The Searchers will already know something about the film's backstory. They may well have an idea about the arduous shoot in Monument Valley and Ford's prickly reputation as a tyrannical drunk. Frankel doesn't add much that's new to that story. Instead, it's his account of Parker's abduction and the quarter-century quest to recover her that casts a haunting, harrowing spell. By the time she was finally recaptured in the Battle of Pease River, she was no longer the girl her family remembered and prayed would be returned to them one day. She was fully Comanche — the wife of a warrior and the mother of three Native American children. Her reimmersion into white society against her will and the sad remainder of her days play out like a cruel, heart-wrenching tragedy — the exact opposite of the John Wayne yarn. No wonder Ford went with the legend instead of the fact. B+
Memorable Line:

''...something about a man riding a horse through a rugged landscape, Ford liked to say...made it the most natural subject for a movie camera."

CLINT WALKER AND HIS CHEYENNE TV SHOW

FORT DOBBS is one of Clint Walker's best westerns. It is interesting to note that the patterned jacket Clint wears in the beginning of the film pops up once or twice in some episodes of his CHEYENNE tv show. Warners made the tv show CHEYENNE on the cheap by using lots and lots of footage from other Warner Bros. westerns. The Pilot episode of CHEYENNE used so much footage from the Errol Flynn western ROCKY MOUNTAIN that it is almost a clone of the movie. So why not recycle clips of Clint from his own movies when you recycle clips from the movies of others, including the Gary Cooper classic SPRINGFIELD RIFLE? The joke used to be...."How can you tell if it is original footage or stock? The answer..."If the scene contains more that three people it's stock." Clint deserved better.  (I have mentioned some of the CHEYENNE episodes that rely heavily on footage from well known movies in earlier blogs.)

LEE MARVIN

Just finished the new Lee Marvin Book POINT BLANK by Dwayne Epstein. A pretty darn good book. I learned that Lee was even more of a drunk (alcoholic) than I previously knew. Some interesting tid bits. John Lennon liked THE WILD ONE and the name of Lee's gang was "The Beetles." Jack Palance lobbied hard for the lead in CAT BALLOU and the production company wanted either Kirk Douglas or Jose Ferrer...JOSE FERRER!! before settling on Lee. When Ann-Margret found out her agent has passed on the role of "Cat" without first consulting her she fired him. Lee was one of the first actors to be involved with THE WILD BUNCH (before SamPeck was involved) and even worked on the script before turning it down for PAINT YOUR WAGON...he went for the bigger pay check. Book barely mentions THE SPIKES GANG and doesn't even point out that it was made in Spain. Even with all his problems and foibles Lee still remains one of my all-time favorites. He died at age 63 but looked much much older. Happy Birthday, Lee (2-19). R.I.P.

Howard Hawk's THE BIG SKY

THE BIG SKY was a very good and very enjoyable western from Howard Hawks and it had a memorable Academy Award nominated performance from Arthur Hunnicutt.....and vast wide open locations filmed masterfully by Cinematographer Russell Harlan (also "Oscar" nominated for "Best Cinematography, Black And White"). Hollywood is always wanting to do remakes and what better movie is ripe for a remake than this one? As good as this one is, to see it in color and on the widescreen would be epic.

My Life as a My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider's Journey through Hollywood

My Life as a My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider's Journey through Hollywood by Tom Mankiewicz is one of the best inside Hollywood books I have ever read. Tom was born into great stock. His dad was the great writer-producer Joseph L. and his uncle was the great Herman J.who co-wrote CITIZEN KANE. Book pulls no punches and I finally got to read a "Hollywood" book that actually contains new anecdotes and behind the scenes stories of well known movies and movies that never got off the ground. Interesting stories of how his Dad got talked into doing CLEOPATRA and how that movie almost killed Joe. Tom wrote some of the SUPERMAN and James Bond movies and his stories involving the making of these classics, alone ,are well worth the price of the book. One of Tom's first jobs was as a glorified gofer on the John Wayne Western THE COMANCHEROS. Very funny anecdote involving Wayne, Jack Elam and two vultures (turkey buzzards). Tragically Tom was only 70 when he passed away. He lived the Hollywood dream. He dated most of the upcoming starlets of the 60's and 70's and was friends with a lot of the young rising stars such as Robert Wagner.

DALE ROBERTSON...one of the good guys

Dale Robertson is one of my all time favorite western stars. I met Dale several times over the years but the last time was at the pre-Golden Boots party at The Sportsmen's Lodge in 2006 Dale was always one of the first celebrities to arrive at the pool-side party (he'd book a room on the ground floor right next to the pool) and on this particular date I was one of the first "regular" persons to be there. (I'd arrive early and hold a table for the rest of the Leone Mafia.) Dale was scooting around on a scooter (the 3-wheeled kind) as he was having trouble getting around on foot and suddenly he headed over to me and said, It's almost like riding a horse." I was kind of surprised that out of the blue he had talked to me (but he was that kind of person) and I said..."er, but you don't have to feed it and clean up after it." He thought that was pretty funny. We did some small talk and then I pulled out two old TV Guides that I had brought with me that him on the cover. I showed them to him and he smiled the biggest smile I had seen in some time and said, "Want me to autograph them for you, son." I then said, " I would love to have your autograph, Mr. Robertson." "Call me, Dale, " he said. I gave one of the Guides to him and he humbly thanked me for it and then autographed the one pictured below. His last words to me were, "Nice talking to you, son. See you later." ...and with that he turned the scooter around and went back to his room. Still had his big head of hair...not black anymore....almost white . What a great guy.