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Showing posts with label Westerns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Westerns. Show all posts

Monday, July 22, 2024

THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST -- Movie Review by Porfle


(This is part three of my look at the "Don Knotts Reluctant Hero Pack", a two-sided DVD containing four of Don's best-known movies: THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN, THE RELUCTANT ASTRONAUT, THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST, and THE LOVE GOD?)

The years 1966-68 saw the appearance of three Don Knotts comedies in quick succession--THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN, THE RELUCTANT ASTRONAUT, and 1968's THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST--each of which dealt with Don's nervous-guy character by placing him in hazardous situations that forced him to somehow overcome his natural cowardice. In the latter entry, he was swept all the way back to the rip-roarin' Old West of 1870, complete with gunslingers, outlaws, and marauding Indians. Which, I would think, would be a pretty nerve-wracking place for a coward to be.

Don plays Jesse W. Haywood (a nod to Don's actual name, Jesse Donald Knotts), a dentist whose dream is to spread dental health throughout the West. After a rib-tickling main titles song by The Wilburn Brothers, the film gets off to a rousing start as we see Jesse trying to examine a fiercely-unwilling patient, Miss Stevenson, during his final "pass-or-fail" dentistry exam, which turns into a UFC-style fist-flying brawl. "How's it going, Haywood?" asks rival dental student Phelps ("Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman"'s Greg Mullavey, in one of this film's few running gags), to which Jesse responds "Fine...just fine" even as his fingers are being chomped. Once he gets his diploma, he bids a tearful farewell to his mother (Ruth McDevitt), then hops a train and it's westward ho.


Meanwhile, the notorious bandit Penelope "Bad Penny" Cushings (Barbara Rhoades) has just been captured after a long career of cattle rustling, stagecoach robbing, etc. But the sheriff (Ed Peck) offers her a deal--she must go undercover and travel West on a wagon train suspected of carrying smugglers who are supplying rifles to the Indians, and if she discovers their identity and nabs them, she'll get a pardon. But there's a catch--no unaccompanied women are allowed on the wagon train, and the agent who was to pose as her husband (John Wayne stock player Ed Faulkner) just got killed. So she needs to find a husband fast. Guess who she picks? Right--the duded-up, derby-wearing "tender ninny" (as she sneeringly refers to him during their first encounter), Jesse.

Her seduction of Haywood, when she comes to him for a feigned dental complaint and lets her cleavage do the talking, is still high on my short list of things that jump-started my puberty. Whether dressed in denim and rawhide and packing six-guns, or tarted up like a dancehall girl, Barbara Rhoades made my hormones yell "Yee-haaa!" But enough of my personal problems...


On the way West, the wagon train is attacked by Indians. Penny secretly disposes of them all, but Doc Haywood mistakenly thinks he's the big Indian fighter. So as soon as they get into town, he buys the standard black gunfighter outfit and goes swaggering around, revelling in his new status as a dead-shot Indian fighter. But the rifle smugglers (Don "Red" Barry and "The Addams Family"'s Uncle Fester, Jackie Coogan) hire a feared gunfighter named Arnold the Kid to challenge Doc Haywood to a shootout. Can you guess what happens?

Finally the truth comes out and Jesse realizes he's been duped, which leads to a great "Don gets drunk" scene in the local saloon. But just as things look their worst, Penny is kidnapped by the rifle smugglers and taken to a nearby Indian camp, and Jesse realizes he's her only hope. So he sobers up, straps on his six-gun, and goes to her rescue, resolving to save her from the bad guys even if it means dressing up as an Indian maiden and getting hit on by some horny Indian dudes. And when she finds out how brave he really is, Penny at last finds herself smitten by the "tender ninny", giving hope to all of us nerds who always dreamed of having the hottest babes in school fall for us somehow.

Once again, the cast is populated with familiar faces. Jim Begg of THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN reappears as a deputy who lives for excitement ("I just love this kinda stuff!" he exclaims in another running gag). The great Carl Ballantine ("McHale's Navy") and a surprisingly-young Pat Morita play storekeepers who cheat Jesse out of his every last cent as he attempts to equip himself for the journey West. Frank McGrath of THE RELUCTANT ASTRONAUT reappears as one of the people on the wagon train. MASH's William Christopher shows up as a hotel clerk, Eddie Quillan (the elevator operator from THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN) is a train porter, and Burt Mustin makes his third straight appearance in a Don Knotts comedy. Legendary character actor Dub Taylor even shows up as Penny's outlaw accomplace early on, before he decides to go to Boston to open up a little dress shop.

As in Don's previous two flicks, James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum ("The Andy Griffith Show", THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN, THE RELUCTANT ASTRONAUT) are involved in the screenplay, along with Edmund L. Hartmann and the redoubtable Frank Tashlin, in this update of Bob Hope's classic comedy THE PALEFACE. Vic Mizzy is on hand once again to provide an appropriately lighthearted musical score. THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN'S Alan Rafkin ably directs. And aside from Fritzell and Greenbaum, the "Andy Griffith Show" connection here includes an appearance by Hope "Clara Edwards" Summers.

A worthy addition to the Don Knotts oeuvre, THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST is an endlessly fun romp that should please his fans. It's Don Knotts at his best, and that's pretty much as good as it gets.



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Monday, September 18, 2023

Two Modern Vehicle Bloopers In "Shane" (1953) (video)




It's one of the great westerns of all time...with two great modern vehicle bloopers.

The first one has been erased from the movie...but can still be seen in the trailer.
Look right past Shane as he approaches the Starrett ranch.

The second one happens later when Joey is talking to Shane. 
Look through the open window right behind Joey, right over the top fence rail.

And to think, the people in those vehicles never knew they were in this movie.

Originally posted on 9/10/18
I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!




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Thursday, July 20, 2023

GUNSMOKE: THE THIRD SEASON, VOLUME 2 -- DVD review by porfle


Originally posted on 5/9/09

 

Back when westerns were the number one genre on TV, the number one western was "Gunsmoke." For twenty seasons--1955 to 1975--viewers could tune in every week to watch Marshall Matt Dillon keep law and order in the wild and woolly streets of Dodge City, Kansas, and now, with the release of the 3-disc DVD collection GUNSMOKE: THE THIRD SEASON, VOLUME 2, we can relive 20 half-hour episodes worth of that excitement all over again. As John Wayne, in his original on-air introduction to the show, described it: "It's honest, it's adult, it's realistic."

Originally a successful radio show, "Gunsmoke" made the move to television along with its creators, producer Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston, who maintained a high level of quality and authenticity during these early episodes. The mood is often somber, with adult-oriented stories and strong characters, and when there's violence, it has an impact beyond the standard shoot-'em-up. Marshall Dillon tries to avoid using his gun whenever possible, save to whack people over the head with it before they can clear leather.

Several episodes begin with him taking a wistful stroll through Boot Hill, looking back on all the lives that have been wasted through unnecessary violence. Tough as nails and quick on the draw, with scarcely a personal life outside his duties as a lawman, Dillon never allows his job to rob him of his humanity. Writer John Meston took great pains to present the character in an honest and realistic fashion, eschewing the cliches of the standard western hero who seemed forever unfazed by the violence and death that were a part of his everyday life.


Despite the show's more mature focus, however, it still retains some of the appeal of the old Saturday matinee westerns like the ones rising star John Wayne used to churn out back in the 30s. James Arness, who plays Matt Dillon, even resembles the young Wayne with his towering 6'7" frame and easygoing yet highly-capable demeanor. (Wayne was offered the part but suggested his friend Arness instead.)

Matt still possesses incorruptible virtues, infallible common sense, and an unbeatable fast draw, but is more three-dimensional and complex than his earlier counterparts. The combination of these two styles, not too kid-oriented and not too adult, makes for a pleasing blend.

The supporting cast is one of the finest ever. Dennis Weaver plays Chester Goode, the down-to-earth, fiercely loyal deputy with the famous limp. As the gruff old Doc Adams, Milburn Stone is one of the most skilled actors ever to appear in series television, and the show's occasional moments of unforced comedy relief usually involve some good-natured needling between him and Chester.


Much of their spare time is spent at the Longbranch Saloon, where half-owner Miss Kitty provides a constant supply of free drinks and moral support. (For western heroes, these guys really do guzzle a lot of whiskey.)

Pretty Amanda Blake is very appealing in the role, a strong, dependable female presence who enjoys equal status in the group. The fact that Miss Kitty is basically the madame of Dodge City's leading whorehouse doesn't seem to bother Matt, Doc, or Chester, so it never bothered viewers much, either. (As a kid, I always thought all those saloon gals were there just so the lonesome cowpokes could chat with them and buy them free drinks!)

As in most classic TV shows of the period, there's an abundance of familiar faces in guest roles. Some of the ones appearing in this DVD set are Corey Allen ("Buzz" in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE), Strother Martin, Jeanette Nolan (who would later star in the spin-off series "Dirty Sally"), Vaughn Taylor, Werner Klemperer, Jack Weston, Phyllis Coates, Murray Hamilton, Wayne Morris, June Lockhart, Harry Dean Stanton, Claude Akins, Patricia Barry, Gail Kobe, John Dehner, Ross Martin, Virginia Gregg, Ken Lynch, Simon Oakland, Ruta Lee, Timothy Carey, and Jack Cassidy.


The episodes in this set look great, with beautiful, sharp black-and-white photography. DVD image and sound quality are fine. In addition to the 20 episodes, there's a brief montage of commercial spots which include Arness, Stone, and Blake puffing on L & M cigarettes ("Live modern--smoke L & M!" the announcer advises us) and Arness showing us a putty impression of his pesky facial stubble before taking an electric razor to it.

Over its two-decade run, "Gunsmoke" evolved from a simple half-hour western adventure to the more complex hour-long adult drama of its later years. GUNSMOKE: THE THIRD SEASON, VOLUME 2 finds the series in my favorite stage of this progression, with an ideal combination of both sensibilities. It's just serious enough to enjoy for its compelling characters and intriguing stories, and just enough of a good old-fashioned western yarn to erupt into smoke-filled gunplay at any moment.


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Wednesday, May 24, 2023

BONANZA: THE OFFICIAL FIRST SEASON, VOL. 1 & 2 -- DVD review by porfle

 

Originally posted on 9/3/09

 

One of my top five favorite TV westerns of all time, "Bonanza" certainly needs no introduction even for those who have never watched a single episode. If you fall into that category, then the release of BONANZA: THE OFFICIAL FIRST SEASON, VOLUMES 1 & 2 is the perfect introduction to the wild and wooly world of The Cartwrights--Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe--as they lord it over the rest of the world from the lofty majesty of their massive forest-bedecked Nevada ranch, the Ponderosa. And if you're already a fan, then you'll want to slap your brand on these little dogies before sundown.

Ben Cartwright, played by silver-haired, dulcet-voiced Canadian actor Lorne Greene, is one of those TV characters to whom marriage is the kiss of death for his hapless brides. As we join the Cartwright clan, Ben's already gone through three wives and sired a son by each. Soulful, taciturn Adam (Pernell Roberts), whose mother was a member of New England aristocracy, is the "cool" one who lets his gun do the talking while casting dark, sultry glances at any beauteous ladies within glancing distance.

Hoss (Dan Blocker), the gentle giant who's slow to anger but quick to finish off an entire hog before anyone else has even made it to the table, comes from sturdy Swedish stock. The youngest Cartwright is impetuous, girl-crazy action boy Little Joe (Michael Landon), a New Orleans-born hellion who's always leaping into trouble. Even their Chinese cook Hop Sing (Victor Sen Yung) is pee-oh'd.

These guys live in the coolest ranchhouse ever (which Adam designed and built) on the biggest spread in the northern hemisphere, and in these early episodes they're bitterly at odds with the devious Virginia City silver tycoons who covet their vast tracts of forest land with which to shore up their mine tunnels. In later seasons, Ben and his brood chill out considerably and become friendly, socializing members of the community who prefer reasoned diplomacy to gunplay. But when we first see them, they're coarse, boisterous wild men bristling with guns and running roughshod over the countryside. Just try cutting across the Ponderosa to get to where you're going a little faster--before you know it, you'll be staring down the barrels of four guns while the Cartwrights terrorize you like Hell's Angels on horseback.

In the VOLUME 1 pilot episode, "A Rose for Lotta" (9/12/1959), this very thing happens to none other than guest star Yvonne DeCarlo (Lily from "The Munsters"), a leggy actress who's been hired by those silver tycoons (including George MacCready and Willis Bouchey) to lure one of the Cartwrights into town so that he can be held hostage. The very sight of her speeding carriage throwing up Ponderosa dust in the distance sets our heroes' blood boiling and their bloodlust blazing, and they give chase with guns waving.

After roughing up her mousey driver (Ned Glass), tying him up, and tossing him in the back of Hop Sing's buckboard, Ben graciously instructs a willing Little Joe to escort the lady into town. The young Cartwright is set upon by ruffians but escapes, gleefully managing to create fiery havoc in the Chinese part of town. Meanwhile, Ben, Adam, and Hoss confront their wealthy foes in a local saloon, where Adam has a cool, melodramatic shootout with black-garbed gun-for-hire Langford Pool (a creepy Christopher Dark) complete with closeups of their twitchy eyes and sweating foreheads.

Even at home, these guys are off the hook. The episode begins with Adam and Little Joe talking trash about each other's moms, with Adam referring to Little Joe's dueling epee as "that New Orleans monkey pick you got handed down to you by your French Quarter mother", to which Joe responds with murder in his eyes, "I've never been able to see myself being kin to anything whelped out of a thin-nosed, blueblooded Boston yankee!"

A bareknuckled debate on the subject ensues right there in the livingroom (with Landon and Roberts doing most of their own stunts) before Hoss breaks it up by beating them both senseless with a few swipes of his ham fists. When Ben arrives on the scene with a blustery "Fire and brimstone!" we find that Lorne Greene's early interpretation of his character is decidedly larger-than-life. Roaring and bellowing with manic laughter at his sons' antics as though he's playing to the back row, Greene really pours it on here and sells this pilot with all he's got. To those used to the more sedate later episodes of the show, it's a pretty amazing sequence.

Before long, though, the Cartwrights begin to settle down and interact with their environment on a less hostile basis. (After all, it's hard to come up with interesting stories if you throw all of the guest stars off your land at gunpoint.) As Ben tells Adam: "Son, we can't ignore the rest of the world. We're the only stabilizing influence in the country." So he and the boys start using their influence to develop the town, help the poor, settle mining disputes, and try to keep the Indians and the settlers from killing each other.

The latter is forcefully depicted in "The Paiute War", in which a peaceful tribe is wrongfully blamed for some killings and the army is called in, resulting in a needless slaughter which horrifies the cavalry officer in charge. Definitely not your usual Cowboys vs. Indians stuff. Inadequate safety measures in a silver mine are a concern in "The Philip Diedesheimer Story", which sees Adam trapped in a cave-in while the mine's heartless owner (R.G. Armstrong) is more concerned with the bottom line than the lives of his workers.

The Cartwright curse rears its head again (and not for the last time) in "The Newcomers" when Hoss falls in love with a beautiful woman (Inger Stevens) who turns out to be dying of an incurable disease. In "Enter Mark Twain" the Cartwrights meet the soon-to-be-famous writer (Howard Duff), whose inflammatory political articles in the local newspaper spark a blazing gun battle in the streets of Virginia City. The scene in which the Cartwrights disarm a gunman and deliver him to the office of the crooked politician who hired him is cool as hell--they file imperiously out of the room like they own the place as Hoss empties the man's gun and flings it onto a desk without even looking.

Aside from the occasional comedy episode, these stories are thoughtful morality plays that mix hardbitten Western action with intense human drama. "The Truckee Strip" (which marks the first appearance of Joseph Messerli's famous end-credits watercolor paintings) is a Romeo-and-Juliet tale in which Little Joe falls in love with the daughter (Adrienne Hayes) of a rancher with whom Ben has had a long, bitter feud over a patch of land. Little Joe's growing disgust with the endless fighting and collateral damage leads him to pull a gun on his father at one point, which in turn prompts Ben to question his own unwavering convictions. Here, as well as in many subsequent episodes, it's interesting to see these characters grow and develop beyond their original one-dimensional qualities.

The show is consistently well-written and directed, with some early scripts by future "Star Trek" story editor Gene L. Coon and Christian Nyby (THE THING) directing several of them. The first television Western filmed in color, it's visually sumptuous and makes good use of sweeping outdoor locations. The sets and costumes have an authentic feel even though there's a storybook quality to them as well. Each episode is enhanced by a robust score by the prolific David Rose.



The first episode of VOLUME 2, "The Outcast", guest-starring a young Jack Lord and Susan Oliver, begins the tradition of announcing each episode's title with a musical fanfare. This set also continues the show's attention to racial issues with "The Fear Merchants", expanding Hop Sing's character beyond the usual stereotype as he and his people are menaced by violent bigotry in Virginia City. When a man (Frank Ferguson) accidentally shoots his daughter during an argument, a Chinese boy is accused of the deed and the Cartwrights are deputized to protect him from a lynch mob stirred up by a hatemongering mayoral candidate (Gene Evans).

This bunch contains some of my favorite episodes from the public domain DVDs I've bought over the years, only now in near-pristine condition. "Blood on the Land" features Everett Sloan as a ruthless old sheep farmer who stakes a claim on Ponderosa land and is willing to go to war with the Cartwrights to keep it. One of my favorites,"Desert Justice", boasts a great performance by Claude Akins as a hardcore U.S. Marshall bent on bringing one of the Cartwrights' ranch hands in for murder, even if it means killing anyone who gets in his way.

"The Stranger" marks the Cartwrights' growing acceptance by the citizens of Virginia City, as Ben is proposed as the new governor of the state of Nevada until a lawman from New Orleans (Lloyd Nolan) shows up with a warrant for his arrest on a murder charge. An especially exciting episode, "San Francisco Holiday", finds the Cartwrights and Hop Sing in the titular city where some of their ranch hands are shanghaied. Ed Wood regular Tor Johnson guest stars.

One of the series' best comedy episodes is "The Gunmen", in which Hoss and Little Joe (who are so much fun together that they'll be teamed many times) are mistaken for lookalike outlaws, the notorious Slade brothers, and must convince the terrified denizens of a small Texas town that they've got the wrong guys. The opening scene in which Landon and Blocker, as the Slades, gun down an entire saloon full of men in cold blood, is pretty startling.

The impressive roster of guest stars in volume one includes Ida Lupino, James Coburn, Ruth Roman, Barry Sullivan, R.G. Armstrong, Harry Carey Jr., John Beal, Mala Powers, Buddy Ebsen, Fay Spain, Alan Hale Jr., Anthony Caruso, Michael Forest, Jack Warden, Jane Greer, Alexander Scourby, Don Megowan, Hal Smith, Whitney Blake, Arthur Hunnicutt, Bill Quinn, Mort Mills, Barbara Luna, Raymond Bailey, Jose Gonzales-Gonzales, and Ralph Moody. Peter Coe of HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE MUMMY'S CURSE makes a surprising appearance as an Indian.

Volume two's more familiar faces include Vic Morrow, Gene Evans, Christopher Dark (as yet another sleazy hired gun), Patricia Medina, Joan Staley, Sebastian Cabot, Hazel Court, Bert Freed, Ellen Corby, John Anderson, Philip Ahn, Frank Ferguson, Helen Westcott, Cameron Mitchell, Henry Hull, Paul Picerni, Stafford Repp, Gloria Talbott, Grant Williams, Richard Devon, Nestor Paiva, Kathleen Crowley, James Hong, Richard Deacon, Merry Anders, Don Dubbins, Rhys Williams, Gregory Walcott, and Morgan Woodward.

Both volumes are in original 4.3 full-screen with English mono sound. Each set contains four discs with four episodes per disc. Volume one bonus features include extensive photo galleries for most episodes, some episodic promos, original NBC logo, bumpers, and RCA spots for the pilot, Joe Messerli's original sketches for the closing credits paintings, and creator-producer David Dortort's 2002 personal recollections of Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, and the creation of that iconic flaming Ponderosa map through which the stars ride in the opening titles. There's also a wonderfully cornball half-hour 1953 "Fireside Theater" segment with Bruce Bennett called "Man of the Comstock", written by Dortort, which was sort of a forerunner to "Bonanza." Lastly, we get to see a bizarre alternate ending to the pilot in which the Cartwrights ride off singing the "Bonanza" theme song! (And not too well, either.)

Volume two contains more photo galleries and episodic promos, original NBC logo, bumpers, and RCA spots for "The Avenger", and David Dortort's reminiscences about Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Victor Sen Yung, and how the Ponderosa got its name.

BONANZA: THE OFFICIAL FIRST SEASON, VOLUMES 1 & 2 are available seperately or together. For fans of the classic television Western, this rock-solid, robust series is great entertainment and is rightfully remembered as one of the finest shows of all time.



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Tuesday, July 26, 2022

RIO GRANDE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 


Originally posted on 12/5/20

 

Legendary director John Ford had been trying for the longest time to get Republic Pictures head Herbert J. Yates to finance his dream project, THE QUIET MAN. 


Finally, Yates made a deal with Ford--direct a new cavalry western with John Wayne, which would be a surefire moneymaker for Republic, and he'd back Ford's nostalgic ode to his Irish heritage. And that's how RIO GRANDE (Olive Signature, 1950) came to be.

Future members of THE QUIET MAN's cast and crew were involved, including Wayne, his beautiful leading lady Maureen O'Hara (the chemistry was already strong in their first onscreen pairing), brawny Victor McLaglen, actor/singer Ken Curtis, Wayne's son Patrick, filmographer Archie Stout (who had worked with Duke since the early 30s), and film composer Victor Young. 

 


Unlike that film's dreamlike Technicolor visuals, RIO GRANDE is in Ford's own impeccable trademark black and white style, starkly enhancing the visual splendor of the film's desert locations with their vast plateaus almost as impressively as Ford's beloved Monument Valley. (Moab, Utah stands in for Arizona with the Colorado River playing the title role.)

Wayne stars as Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke, the tough but fair commander of a U.S. cavalry regiment encamped in an isolated spot that puts them in constant conflict with warlike Apache tribes nearby. This is yet another fully-realized performance by Wayne which thoroughly disproves the notion that he couldn't act, or that he was a one-note actor who only ever played himself.

One day Yorke's own son Jeff (Claude Jarman Jr. of THE YEARLING in a likable performance), whom he hasn't seen in fifteen years, appears as a new recruit. It seems that, having failed the mathematics requirements at Westpoint, he immediately enlisted in the cavalry after lying about his age. 

 


As if this didn't create enough tension, Yorke's estranged wife Kathleen (O'Hara)--with a little thing called the Civil War having come between them for all those years--shows up to have the boy discharged and take him home. But the dedicated young Jeff, to his father's obvious approval, will have none of it, as they both share the same sense of duty and honor.

Thus begins the film's main dramatic thrust as the long-separated couple rekindle their ever-smoldering romantic obsessions while wrestling over the fate of their son, even as the war between the cavalry and the Apaches reaches a boiling point.

Action fans can look forward to three major battle setpieces: one, the launching of a blistering nocturnal raid by the Apaches upon the encampment; two, when a wagon train of women and children being escorted away from the camp is suddenly set upon by Apache warriors, with only a small group of soldiers to defend them; and three, a climactic clash in which Yorke and his troops descend upon the Apaches' stronghold in order to rescue the civilians.

 


Those expecting constant thrills and a breakneck pace, however, may be disappointed. Quentin Tarantino once referred to Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO as a "hangout film", since one of its main joys is in simply hanging out with its characters. Here, in addition to those irresistible stars, numerous scenes allow us to just pass the time with the supporting players or listen in as they serenade us with a selection of western songs.

These include the likes of Ben Johnson and Harry Carey, Jr. as a couple of very laidback but capable hillbilly recruits, Chill Wills as the easygoing regimental doctor, J. Carroll Naish as a world-weary general, and the choral group Sons of the Pioneers featuring silver-throated Ken Curtis (who would later achieve television immortality as Festus on "Gunsmoke"). The film's musical and comedy vignettes could almost be itemized on a bill of fare as an evening's program of entertainment.

 


The new Blu-ray release from Olive Signature is a high-definition digital restoration that brings out the pristine beauty of Ford's visuals. The disc's bonus menu offers interviews with Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr., Claude Jarman, Jr., and Patrick Wayne, several featurettes, a trailer, a commentary track, and essays by film historians.

There are those who consider RIO GRANDE the lesser of Ford's three cavalry films, but for me it's just as rich and satisfying a viewing experience. Perhaps it's because the relatively slower pace and simpler story give it more room to breathe. You don't just rush through this movie; instead, you settle in and spend some quality time with it.



YEAR: 1950
GENRE: DRAMA
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH (with optional English subtitles)
LABEL: OLIVE FILMS
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 105 min
RATING: N/A
VIDEO: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio; B&W
AUDIO: MONO

OLIVE SIGNATURE FEATURES

    New High-Definition digital restoration
    Audio commentary by Nancy Schoenberger
    “Telling Real Histories” – Raoul Trujillo on representations of Indigenous Americans in film
    “Songs of the Rio Grande” – Marc Wanamaker on the Sons of the Pioneers
    “Strength and Courage” – Patrick Wayne on his father
    “Bigger Than Life” – with Claude Jarman, Jr.
    Visual essay by Tag Gallagher
    “The Making of Rio Grande” – with Leonard Maltin
    Essay by Paul Andrew Hutton
    Theatrical trailer


US+CANADA
STREET: 11/17/20
CAT: OS022
UPC: 887090602204
SRP: $39.95



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Saturday, June 4, 2022

STAGECOACH (1986) -- DVD Review by Porfle



 Originally posted on 6/16/2016

 

First things first: John Ford's 1939 production of STAGECOACH is a timeless classic that will likely never be surpassed, and any remake pales in comparison.

That said, I'd also like to add that the 1986 made-for-TV version of STAGECOACH (Olive Films, Blu-ray and DVD) is, despite my initial misgivings and skepticism, a terrific albeit modest Western in its own right.

The story of a disparate group of people traveling by stage through dangerous Apache country is basically the same, but done differently enough to reward our interest.  Not only are the individual stories of these characters engaging, but the ever-present threat of attack by Geronimo and his warriors builds up to an exciting action sequence in the film's latter half that pays off really well, leading then to the climactic shootout in Lordsburg.


One source of skepticism on my part was the overt stunt casting.  Country-western singers abound, especially those of the "outlaw" variety--Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny and June Carter Cash, and Waylon Jennings play major roles, while Billy Swan, David Allan Coe, and Jesse Colter can also be seen here and there.  What's surprising is that they're all such naturally good actors.  I mean, really good.

A taciturn Kristofferson stands in for John Wayne as the Ringo Kid, a wrongly-convicted prison escapee on his way to Lordsburg to confront the men who murdered his brother. Johnny Cash is Marshal Curly Wilcox, out to capture both men. 

Jennings is gentleman gambler Hatfield, gruff but smooth, who assumes a protective role regarding the pregnant wife (Mary Crosby as Mrs. Mallory) of a cavalry officer stationed near Lordsburg.  Each is not only fully convincing in his role, but, in fact, outstanding.


One interesting difference from the original film is that the character of Doc Josiah Boone, played in 1939 by Thomas Mitchell, has been replaced by none other than Doc Holliday himself.  Willie Nelson fits comfortably into the role, with nary a hint of "novelty" value in his casting.  This inclusion of Holliday as one of the passengers is inspired.

Elsewhere in the cast, "Dukes of Hazzard" co-star John Schneider actually manages to look grizzled as coach driver Buck.  Tony Franciosa (TENEBRE, A FACE IN THE CROWD) does his nervous act as Gatewood, the embezzing banker on the lam, and celebrated oddball Anthony Newley puts in a brief but marvelous appearance as tipsy whiskey salesman Trevor Peacock. 

As fallen woman Dallas who will eventually warm up to Ringo, Elizabeth Ashley puts her broad acting skills to good use.  Merritt Butrick (STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN) and Western legend Lash La Rue are also on hand.

While dazzled by such an eclectic yet effective cast, I also found the screenplay by James Lee Barrett (who also wrote the screenplays for THE GREEN BERETS, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, and THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD) to be consistenty engaging from start to finish, with plenty of sharp dialogue.


Production values are above-average for a TV movie.  In fact, I often felt as though I was watching a feature film despite the occasional fadeout for a commercial. Direction is capably handled by old pro Ted Post, who also helmed such memorable films as MAGNUM FORCE, HANG 'EM HIGH, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, and THE BABY.

The DVD from Olive Films is in the original 1.33:1 full screen with stereo sound.  Subtitles are in English.  No extras.   

If one lowers expectations just enough to accept a remake of a John Ford classic on its own terms, then this version of STAGECOACH should easily rise to meet them.  As an avid Western fan, it's the kind of Western I love to make an acquaintance with and then get to know better with each repeat viewing.

Buy it at Amazon.com:
Blu-ray
DVD

Release date: June 21, 2016



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Friday, June 3, 2022

THE BIG TRAIL -- DVD review by porfle


 Originally posted on 10/26/11

 

It's not every day you get to watch a 1930 blockbuster movie in widescreen, with enough sheer spectacle to leave even modern viewers breathless.  The movie in question is Raoul Walsh's Western epic THE BIG TRAIL, a young John Wayne's first starring role and a genuine treasure for Western fans.

Shot on 70mm film using an early widescreen process known as "Fox Grandeur", THE BIG TRAIL was expensive to shoot and expensive to project--new equipment had to be installed in theaters just to show it--and with the onset of the Great Depression, it seemed the "Fox Grandeur" process had come along at just the wrong time.  Only a couple of theaters in New York and Los Angeles ever exhibited the widescreen version, while everyone else saw a much less impressive 35mm Academy aspect ratio version that was filmed simutaneously.  It would be another two decades before Cinerama offered moviegoers such wide vistas again.

The story takes place as a cattle drive blazes the trail for a wagon train full of settlers bound to reach the land north of Oregon.  For five months, director Raoul Walsh and his crew filmed 185 full-sized Conestoga wagons (or "prairie schooners") and thousands of extras on a 2,000-mile trudge across five states, facing conditions much like those experienced by the actual pioneers.  The settings, including a bustling river town, a massive riverboat, and various outposts along the trail, are meticulously detailed and wonderfully authentic, as are the costumes, props, and all other aspects of the production. 



The 23-year-old John Wayne plays buckskin-clad Breck Coleman, a tall, good-natured frontiersman who hires on as the group's scout for two reasons.  One, he's infatuated with a lovely young pioneer woman named Ruth (Marguerite Churchill), who can't stand him, and two, he's sworn revenge against the burly bullwhacker Frack (a Bluto-like Tyrone Power, Sr.) and his weaselly henchman Lopez (Charles Stevens) for murdering his best friend in order to steal his valuable stock of wolf pelts.  To complicate things, these skunks are in cahoots with a lowdown riverboat gambler named Thorpe (Ian Keith), who is also smitten with Ruth and is looking for an opportunity to shoot Breck in the back somewhere along the trail.

The actors, from the stars down to the extras, all look and act as though they belong in that era, despite the sometimes stilted acting styles (a leftover from the silent era, along with the expository intertitles).  And when the settlers encounter various tribes of Indians along the way, both friendly and not-so-friendly, they definitely aren't refugees from central casting--they're the real thing.  Much of this film is like a window into the past because the Wild West as we know it still existed at the time this was made, and Walsh's cameras were there to record it in its gloriously uncivilized state.



Breathtaking scenery and amazingly rich tableaux fill the screen throughout the film, with wagons, horses, and cattle often stretching as far as the eye can see.  One sequence shows the wagon train during a harrowing river crossing, while another details the grueling task of lowering the wagons, livestock, and people down the face of a sheer cliff by ropes.  We also get the obligatory "circling the wagons" scene (never as well-done as it is here) as the hostile Cheyenne attack and the settlers fight desperately to repel them. 

The excitement comes from knowing that these events are actually taking place and not being simulated by special effects or augmented by CGI.  From the rolling hills and mountains of the midwest, through miles of burning desert, and finally to the lush, majestic redwood forests (with a brief stop-off at the Grand Canyon along the way), the genuine locations used for THE BIG TRAIL are a non-stop feast for the eyes.

As Bill Cooke recently stated on the Classic Horror Film Board, "John Wayne may be a little rough in his first acting role, but was never more charming."  The financial failure of THE BIG TRAIL would relegate Wayne to a long string of B-movies until his breakthrough role as "The Ringo Kid" in John Ford's 1939 classic STAGECOACH, but his Breck Coleman character is just as likable and appealing as any he ever played.  He's earnestly convincing whether palavering with his friends the Indians, bashfully courting the gal of his fancy, or stalking his best friend's killers with deadly determination.



Marguerite Churchill, whom I always liked as Otto Kruger's sassy secretary in DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (1936), is winsome as the girl Breck must try his darndest to win over.  As the loathesome Frack, Tyrone Power, Sr. is almost cartoonishly villainous, but he's a formidable bad guy nonetheless.  Tully Marshall is outstanding as Breck's pal, the aging frontiersman Zeke, while vaudeville comedian El Brendel provides love-it-or-hate-it comedy relief as a Swedish doofus named Gus who is constantly being harangued along the way by his tyrannical mother-in-law.

20th Century Fox's 2-disc DVD of this restored version of THE BIG TRAIL is a real treat for fans of John Wayne and of Westerns in general.  Despite some rough patches here and there, the film looks great and is always visually impressive.  Four informative featurettes and some photo galleries make for interesting supplemental viewing, although the same can't be said, unfortunately, for Richard Schickel's boring commentary track.  The second disc contains the standard fullscreen version, which is interesting for comparative purposes although you probably won't care to sit through the whole thing after watching the widescreen version.

For me, the combination of a great Western adventure with the novelty value of seeing a beautiful widescreen film shot in the early days of talking pictures is a thrill that's hard to beat.  Add to this the opportunity to watch John Wayne shine in his starring debut and director Raoul Walsh at the height of his creative skills, and you've got THE BIG TRAIL--surely one of the most spectacular and irresistibly entertaining Westerns ever made.  To borrow another quote from Bill Cooke:  "By the time this one is over, you actually feel as if you've taken a wagon train out West."


Buy it at Amazon.com


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Thursday, June 2, 2022

THE SACKETTS -- movie review by porfle


Originally posted on 11/26/09
 
 
There were other made-for-TV Westerns before it, but THE SACKETTS (1979) is the first big multi-part cowboy epic that I can think of. It came out a full ten years before the LONESOME DOVE series and, though it isn't nearly as good, it does lay the groundwork for this type of sweeping TV Western.

The story follows the adventures of the three Sackett brothers, Tell, Orrin, and Tyrell. Tell (Sam Elliott) is the loner of the bunch, and we're introduced to him as he is forced to flee his mining job after gunning down a crooked card dealer (James Gammon) who happens to be one of the dreaded Bigelow brothers.

Knowing that the other Bigelows will be after him for revenge, Tell disappears into the mountains, where he stumbles onto a rich vein of gold and starts his own one-man mining operation. When he totes a large bagful of the shiny stuff into the aptly-named town of Purgatorie to trade for cash, it doesn't take long for some of the less scrupulous denizens to try and surgically remove him from his new-found riches.


Meanwhile, his brothers Orrin (Tom Selleck) and Tyrell (Jeff Osterhage) have left their Tennessee homeplace to avoid a bloody feud between the Sacketts and another clan, and are headed West with a cattle drive. When they reach Abilene, Orrin falls for the golden-haired daughter of an ambitious politician named Pritts (John Vernon), who aims to drive all the Mexicans out of Sante Fe.

Tyrell, of course, falls in love with a lovely Mexican lass (Ana Alicia) whose father, Don Luis (Gilbert Roland), is the main stumbling block in Pritts' plans. When they all get together in Santa Fe, the situation soon turns deadly and guns start a-blazin'.

The script is a combination of two Louis L'Amour novels, "Sackett" and "The Daybreakers", and it isn't a very smooth blend, crosscutting between the two barely-related stories the way you might switch channels back-and-forth between two movies that are on at the same time.


The stories overlap only twice--once near the end of the first segment when the three Sacketts run into each other in Purgatorie, and again for the big finale as the Bigelow brothers finally catch up to Tell and he's reunited with Orrin and Tyrell to fight them off.

This awkward overlapping of the two stories bothered me the first time I watched THE SACKETTS, along with some jarring hand-held camerawork (no Steadicam here), an endlessly irritating and inept musical score by Jerrold Immel, and a strange performance by Mercedes McCambridge that makes Ma Sackett look like she's either perpetually tipsy or tetched in the head.

But further viewings have helped me to get over the various minus points and begin to appreciate all the good things about this movie. Despite its somewhat rough-hewn quality, THE SACKETTS is an engaging Western with lots of authentic atmosphere, good characters, and a terrific cast.


For starters, there's Sam Elliott and Tom Selleck, who I think are the two best Western actors of the past twenty or thirty years (with the exception of Clint Eastwood, of course), and Jeff Osterhage, a lesser-known actor who does a fine job here. Glenn Ford plays Tom Sunday, the ramrod of the cattle drive who later joins Orrin and Tyrell in their own cattle venture and eventually ends up as their enemy, and his intense, masterful performance (watch his face twitch in those close-ups!) is a joy to behold.

This can also be said for the great Ben Johnson as Cap Roundtree, who becomes Tell's gold-mining partner. Paul Koslo is a hoot as the blowhard would-be gunslinger Kid Newton. The Bigelow brothers are played by Jack Elam, Slim Pickens, Gene Evans, and James Gammon, and also appearing in the cast are the likes of L.Q. Jones, Ruth Roman, Pat Buttram, Shug Fisher, and Buck Taylor, in addition to the aforementioned John Vernon and Gilbert Roland. (Louis L'Amour himself does the opening narration.) If you're like me and you love great character actors as much as A-list stars, this is the kind of "all-star" cast that will put a smile on your face.

I can't give THE SACKETTS a super high score due to its various deficiencies, and the fact that it's not the polished effort that later TV Westerns like LONESOME DOVE would be, but it has enough going for it to get a solid three-and-a-half out of five spurs. The final shoot-out alone is worth waiting for--it's almost as much fun as the bullet-riddled free-for-all that ended OPEN RANGE. And that cast--awesome. There's one scene which features Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, Glenn Ford, and Ben Johnson sitting around a campfire, and I thought "Damn...I wish I was sitting around that campfire, too."

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Sunday, May 29, 2022

WHITE COMANCHE -- movie review by porfle

Originally posted on 11/2/09
 

In 1966, William Shatner starred as Captain James T. Kirk in episode #5 of "Star Trek:The Original Series", entitled "The Enemy Within", in which a transporter malfunction split him into two people--the good Kirk and the evil Kirk. Two years later, this wealth of Shatners continued when he traveled to Spain during a series hiatus and portrayed twin half-breed brothers in a low-budget, badly-directed and photographed Western called WHITE COMANCHE (1968). Once again, it was a face-off between good and evil Shatners, and a chance for him to lavish us with a double-dose of that eccentric acting style we all know and love.

How bad is this movie? The opening seconds give a good indication since it looks like we're about to see one of those home-movie-quality documentaries about Bigfoot that used to play in smalltown drive-ins. But instead of a big, hairy monster, we see Shatner as Johnny Moon, dressed in denim cowboy duds and riding a horse through the wilderness, while one of the worst movie scores ever written begins to massacre our brain cells. Suddenly he is set upon by a group of men who put a noose around his neck because they think he's his twin brother Notah Moon, who goes around with his band of renegade Comanches and kills the "pale eyes" for fun. Johnny gets away and rides to Notah's camp to await his return, because he's had it up to here with getting blamed for his brother's murderous shenanigans and is itching for a showdown.

Meanwhile, Notah and his motley crew of cut-ups have just attacked a stagecoach and shot all the drivers and passengers except for a beautiful young saloon babe named Kelly (the way-hot Argentinian actress Rosanna Yani), whom Notah gleefully rapes after slapping her around for awhile. It's weird seeing Bad Shatner here, looking like someone dressed in a half-assed Indian costume for Halloween, yelping "Hi-yi-yi!" and wearing that same goofy expression Captain Kirk used to have whenever he was a little too happy for some reason. He would again appear in a similar outfit later that year in the "Star Trek" episode "The Paradise Syndrome", in which the amnesia-stricken Kirk lives among a tribe of space Indians who believe him to be a god named "Kirok."


Anyway, Notah and his men eventually wander back to camp, which looks more like a dumpy commune full of hostile hippies than an Indian encampment. His wife, White Fawn (Perla Cristal, another Argentinian), who appears as though she might be more at home hanging around a bowling alley in the Bronx, has his peyote ready for him. With it, Notah sees glorious visions of his people conquering the pale eyes, and his stirring exhortations of this impending victory, usually delivered while standing on a big rock, keep his followers all jazzed up and ready for action.

But Johnny steps on Notah's buzz by not only criticizing his copious drug use ("Eat the peyote, drug of the Devil...dream your dreams of hate"), but also by challenging him to a showdown in the nearby town of Rio Hondo in four days. After they diss each other for awhile, both enunciating in that rich, familiar Shatner cadence flavored with pseudo-Indian inflections--

"Notah is well-named...his liver is white, like his Yankee father...his heart burns blacker than the skin of his Comanche mother. He's white-bellied, like his name...'The Snake.'"

"Notah's brother talks like the white man he thinks he is. He's afraid...to be Comanche."

--Notah accepts the challenge. In four days, it'll be Shatner vs. Shatner on the streets of Rio Hondo.

On his way to town, Johnny comes upon a group of men getting ready to hang a guy, which seems to be the main source of entertainment in these parts. He outdraws a couple of goons and rescues the corpulent fellow, who explains that the men work for his boss' competitor, and the two big-shot land barons are getting ever closer to all-out war. Later in town, one of the land barons offers Johnny a job, but their negotiations are interrupted when the saloon babe, Kelly, grabs a gun and starts shooting at Johnny because she thinks he's Notah. Then he gets into a big barroom brawl with one of the guys who was about to hang the fat guy earlier, and they demolish every stick of breakaway furniture in the whole place.

Shatner seems to be doing his own stunts here, flying through bannisters and crashing through tables, which is interesting. He's also fighting in that odd, stylized way that Kirk used to do on Star Trek, which looks rather strange at times. After he whups the tar out of his opponent, Johnny finally convinces Kelly that he isn't Notah, because his eyes are a different color (Johnny's are brown, Notah's are black--like his eee-vil soul). Needless to say, they begin to fall in love.

Trying to keep the two warring factions from each other's throats while keeping a suspicious eye on Johnny is Sheriff Logan, played by top-billed Joseph Cotten. A veteran of such classics as CITIZEN KANE, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, and GASLIGHT, as well as scores of lesser films and TV appearances, Cotten gives the closest thing to a good performance in WHITE COMANCHE, although that's not saying much considering the competition. I don't know how in blue blazes he ended up in this--maybe he just felt like a vacation in Spain, or maybe the producer was holding his family hostage. At any rate, I doubt if he considered this one of the high points of his career.


As Johnny waits for Notah's imminent arrival, the tension between the two land barons and their men finally explodes into a big, sloppily-staged gun battle in the middle of town, with lot of guys getting shot between the eyes (it seems like anyone who gets shot in this movie gets shot right between the eyes) and falling over balconies and off of roofs and stuff. I never could figure out why getting shot always caused guys to fly forward off of balconies and roofs--it must be some weird Western law of physics that they don't teach us about in school for some reason.

When the dust settles, a whole bunch of guys are dead and the local undertaker will soon be able to afford that summer home in Miami Beach. Johnny is aces with Sheriff Logan now for helping out, and Kelly is ready to settle down with him and start pumping out a bunch of little Johnnies. But all isn't peachy-keen just yet, because here comes Notah, all hopped up on peyote and ready to take Johnny on in a fight to the death. ("You are as the wild duck that sits on the pond," Johnny tells Notah as he draws a bead on him from a bell tower.) Johnny shucks off his white-guy duds and straps on an official Indian headband so that we can't tell the two brothers apart during the exciting battle, stretching our already-frazzled nerves to the breaking point. (Or something like that.) Shouting "Hi-yi-yi!", the two warring Shatners ride toward each other on horseback, guns blazing, and...

...you'll just have to see for yourself how it turns out, which I'm sure you'll be aching to do as soon as possible after reading this. Whether you're a bad movie fan, a member of The First Church Of Shatnerology, or simply a masochist, WHITE COMANCHE is one Western you'll be wanting to get your grubby little hands on. This mind-warping tale of dueling Shatners is the perfect movie to stick into the old DVD player next time you want to get the guys together for a little do-it-yourself MST3K action.

Buy it at Amazon.com


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Sunday, August 2, 2020

Mark Shoots His Mouth Off Big-Time ("The Rifleman" S1:E22)




"The Rifleman" was known for its moral lessons.

Mark McCain (Johnny Crawford) tries to share some wisdom...

...that his father Lucas (Chuck Connors) has taught him.

Unfortunately, he still needs a lesson or two on tact.

Johnny Crawford
Chuck Connors
Katy Jurado
Sarah Selby
Harlan Warde

Written & Directed by Sam Peckinpah

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!


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Thursday, January 30, 2020

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY" (1968) (video)




This quintessential Italian western was the climax of Sergio Leone's celebrated "Dollars" trilogy.

It cemented Clint Eastwood's stature as a major movie star.

And joined the roster of all-time classic westerns.

But how much do you remember about it?


Question: How many people does Angel Eyes kill at the ranch?

A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. None
E. All

Question: What gives away the three assassins at the hotel?

A. Floorboards
B. Voices
C. Spurs
D. Trigger
E. Shadow

Question: What does Tuco put in the gun shop owner's mouth?

A. Cigar
B. Sign
C. Silver dollar
D. Gun barrel
E. Bullet

Question: What state is Blondie from?

A. Oklahoma
B. Kansas
C. Nebraska
D. Illinois
E. Delaware

Question: What name does Blondie tell Tuco is on the grave?

A. Bill Carson
B. Arch Stanton
C. Ned Ryker
D. Bob Horton
E. Vance Reed

Question: In the final duel, who besides Blondie gets off a shot?

A. Angel Eyes
B. Tuco
C. Neither
D. Both
E. Other

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!


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Thursday, February 28, 2019

Big Jake/Tuco Mash-Up (John Wayne/Eli Wallach) (video)




I was watching the shower scene in "Big Jake" (1971) again today and it just struck me...

...how similar it is to Eli Wallach's bath scene in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (1966).

So I decided to sort of mash them together and see what happened.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!


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Tuesday, September 19, 2017

MY TOP 20 ALL-TIME FAVORITE WESTERNS by Porfle




This list is for big-screen feature films only. If it included TV movies then "Lonesome Dove" and several Tom Selleck/Sam Elliott movies would be on it, too.







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Friday, September 15, 2017

MY TOP 20 ALL-TIME FAVORITE JOHN WAYNE MOVIES by Porfle




The first two are tied for first place--the rest are in no particular order.  I can watch any one of them any time, any place.







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Friday, September 16, 2016

MGM and Columbia Team Up With Twitch For "Magnificent Seven" Online Gamer Showdown Sept. 19



METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES AND COLUMBIA PICTURES TEAM UP WITH TWITCH FOR THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN ONLINE GAMER SHOWDOWN DURING 2-HOUR LIVE EVENT ON SEPTEMBER 19

Seven of Twitch's Most Magnificent "Counter-Strike: Go" Gamers Face Off For Two Hours Only


(Culver City, September 16, 2016) With The Magnificent Seven starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt out in theaters next Friday, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Columbia Pictures and Twitch, the world's leading social video platform and community for gamers, have teamed up to create an epic showdown featuring seven of the top Counter-Strike: Go online players. Fans can join in on the action as these seven gamers test their skills as Saviors vs. Bandits through a special Western-themed map.

With this event, Twitch is broadcasting the first ever "Counter-Strike: Go" exhibition game with seven of the most-followed players in the company's history.

On September 19 from 4 PM - 6 PM (PST), Twitch will create the ultimate showdown for a true fan event that will allow viewers to interact with the seven gamers and suggest "handicaps" as they battle each other to become the last gamer standing. To the victor go the bragging rights on an epic gun battle.

The event will air live on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/twitch) as well as on www.Mag7Showdown.com. Hosted by GoldenBoy along with commentator John "Blu" Mullenm, the live stream will feature Twitch's "Magnificent Seven" broadcasters Summit 1G, TimTheTatman, iiJERiiCHOii, HayliNic, JoshOG, Reynad27, and 2MGOverCSquared. These influencers have a combined reach of over four million followers with more than 200 million views on their channels. The live event will also include special messages from film stars Chris Pratt and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and exclusive footage from the film.


Commenting on the announcement, Elias Plishner, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Digital Marketing for Sony Pictures. "Twitch has never before brought so many respected and skilled gamers with such a huge following together for a single game. As these seven face off, this is an unparalleled opportunity to bring the action, intensity and fun of The Magnificent Seven to millions of fans worldwide."

Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a classic story in The Magnificent Seven, from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures in association with LStar Capital and Village Roadshow Pictures. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople, led by Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns - Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money. The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua. The screenplay is by Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk. The producers are Roger Birnbaum and Todd Black.

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is a leading entertainment company focused on the production and global distribution of film and television content across all platforms. The company owns one of the world's deepest libraries of premium film and television content. In addition, MGM has investments in domestic and international television channels. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

About Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.

About Twitch
Twitch is the world's leading social video platform and community for gamers. Each month, more than 100 million community members gather to watch and talk about video games with more than 1.7 million broadcasters. Twitch's video platform is the backbone of both live and on-demand distribution for the entire video game ecosystem. This includes game developers, publishers, media outlets, events, user generated content, and the entire esports scene. Twitch also features Twitch Creative, a category devoted to artists and the creative process. For more information about Twitch, visit the official website and blog.


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Monday, July 18, 2016

"THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN" Ride Sept. 23 -- New Trailer and One Sheet



THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Riding Into Town September 23, 2016


Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a classic story in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ and Columbia Pictures’ The Magnificent Seven.

With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople, led by Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns – Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier).

As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.


                               Watch the Trailer

Directed by:    Antoine Fuqua
       
Screenplay by:   Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk

Produced by:   Roger Birnbaum
                        Todd Black

Executive Producers:   Walter Mirisch
                        Antoine Fuqua
                        Bruce Berman
                        Ben Waisbren
           
Cast:               Denzel Washington
                        Chris Pratt
                        Ethan Hawke
                        Vincent D’Onofrio
                        Byung-Hun Lee
                        Peter Sarsgaard

This film is not yet rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.  For future rating information, please visit www.filmratings.com.  Credits not final.





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Monday, July 11, 2016

Olive Films Introduces Olive Signature With "High Noon" and "Johnny Guitar"




Olive Films Introduces Olive Signature

CHICAGO, IL – Olive Films is proud to announce Olive Signature, a new series of DVD & Blu-ray releases offering deluxe editions of time-honored classics, fan favorites, and under-appreciated gems from the Olive catalog. Olive Signature titles feature pristine audio and video presentation and an abundance of bonus material that will delight fans, collectors, and cinephiles. They introduce the series with two distinct, but equally celebrated westerns.

    High Noon (1952) - DVD/BD
    Johnny Guitar (1954) - DVD/BD

HIGH NOON

    Mastered from new 4K restoration
    “A Ticking Clock” - Academy Award-nominee Mark Goldblatt on the editing of High Noon
    "A Stanley Kramer Production" - Michael Schlessinger on the eminent producer of High Noon
    “Imitation of Life: The Blacklist History of High Noon” - with historian Larry Ceplair and blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein
    “Ulcers and Oscars: The Production History of High Noon” - a visual essay with rarely seen archival elements, narrated by Anton Yelchin
    “Uncitizened Kane" - an original essay by Sight and Sound editor Nick James
    Theatrical trailer

The myth and poetry of the old west come alive in Fred Zinnemann’s (Julia) classic western, High Noon (1952). One of the great treasures of the American cinema, the film stars the legendary Gary Cooper as lawman Will Kane, a marshal who stands alone to defend a town of cowardly citizens against a gang of killers out for revenge. Engaged in the fight of his lifetime, Kane stands to lose everything when the clock strikes noon – his friends, his honor, and his Quaker bride, played by Grace Kelly in one of her first screen roles. Unfolding in real time, the tension builds as we race ever closer to the climactic duel from which the film takes its name.

For his career-defining role, Cooper would go on to win the Oscar® for Best Actor. High Noon’s stellar cast also includes Lloyd Bridges (Try and Get Me), Thomas Mitchell (It’s a Wonderful Life), Katy Jurado (Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid), Otto Kruger (Saboteur), Lon Chaney (The Wolf Man), Henry Morgan (Strategic Air Command), Jack Elam (Hannie Caulder) and Lee Van Clef (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). High Noon won a total four Academy Awards including Best Editing, Best Score (Dimitri Tiomkin, The Old Man and the Sea) and Best Song, “Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’,” written by Tiomkin and Ned Washington and sung by Tex Ritter. High Noon also received Oscar® nominations for Best Picture (Stanley Kramer, producer), Best Director (Fred Zinnemann) and Best Screenplay (Carl Foreman).

YEAR: 1952
GENRE: WESTERN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH (with optional English subtitles)
LABEL: OLIVE FILMS
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 85 mins
RATING: N/R
VIDEO: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio; B&W
AUDIO: MONO




JOHNNY GUITAR

    Mastered from new 4K restoration
    Introduction by Martin Scorsese
    Audio commentary with historian and critic Geoff Andrew
    "Tell Us She Was One of You: The Blacklist History of Johnny Guitar” - with historian Larry Ceplair and blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein
    “Is Johnny Guitar a Feminist Western?: Questioning the Canon” - with critics Miriam Bale, Kent Jones, Joe McElhaney and B. Ruby Rich
    “Free Republic: The Story of Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures” - with archivist Marc Wanamaker
    A critical appreciation of Nicholas Ray with critics Miriam Bale, Kent Jones, Joe McElhaney and B. Ruby Rich
    “My Friend, the American Friend” - Nicholas Ray biographical piece with Tom Farrell and Chris Sievernich
    "Johnny Guitar: The First Existential Western" - an original essay by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum


Johnny Guitar stars Oscar® winner Joan Crawford (Best Actress, Mildred Pierce) as Vienna, a saloon owner with a sordid past. Persecuted by the townspeople, Vienna must protect her life and property when a lynch mob led by her sexually repressed rival, Emma Small (Oscar® winner Mercedes McCambridge, Best Actress, All the King’s Men), attempts to frame her for a string of robberies she did not commit. Enter Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb), a guitar-strumming ex-gunfighter, who once was — and perhaps still is — in love with Vienna. With the leads at their operatic best, the table is now set for an epic showdown in this one-of-a-kind western from director Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause).

A bizarrely veiled allegory for the McCarthy-era Red Scare, Johnny Guitar was misunderstood upon its initial release. One of the most original takes on the western genre — the women are far tougher than the men — Johnny Guitar is praised by fans, filmmakers, and critics alike as groundbreaking. Boasting superb supporting performances, Johnny Guitar features Ernest Borgnine (Marty), Scott Brady (The China Syndrome), Ward Bond (The Searchers), Paul Fix (To Kill a Mockingbird), Royal Dano (The Outlaw Josey Wales) and John Carradine (Stagecoach). Notably, Johnny Guitar’s indelible title song was a collaboration between the Academy Award-winning composer Victor Young (Around the World in Eighty Days), and co-writer and songstress Peggy Lee.

YEAR: 1954
GENRE: WESTERN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH (with optional English subtitles)
LABEL: OLIVE FILMS
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 110 mins
RATING: N/R
VIDEO: 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio; COLOR
AUDIO: MONO




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