DVD Collectors Online
DVD Reviews => The "Marathon" reviews => Topic started by: Rogmeister on June 22, 2009, 10:20:25 PM
-
Okay, pards...here we go with a bunch of western reviews which I hope you'll like. I've got over 300 westerns in my collection (counting just feature films, not TV productions) and I'll keep reviewing as long as you keep enjoying them. Saddle up!
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GJGHAEFCL._SS500_.jpg)
Hondo (1953) 83 minutes. Directed by John Farrow. Music by Emil Newman and Hugo Friedhofer. Based on the novel by Louis L'Amour.
Cast: John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Ward Bond, Michael Pate, James Arness, Rodolfo Acosta, Leo Gordon, Lee Aaker, Paul Fix
DVD Special Features
Introduction by Leonard Maltin
Audio commentary by Leonard Maltin, Frank Thompson and Lee Aaker
The Making of Hondo
Profiler: James Edward Grant (screenwriter)
The John Ford Stock Company: Ward Bond
From the Batjac Vaults
The Apache
Photo Gallery
Original Theatrical Trailer
Batjac Teaser
It seems only fitting to start a western marathon with a John Wayne movie. This movie was actually filmed in 3D, though the craze was pretty much dieing off by the time it was released. There aren't too many obviousl 3D moments in it...the credits obviously have that look and there are a few times in fights where a knife or other weapon comes in at the camera. Luckily, it's an excellent western as well. The story was by Louis L'Amour who first had it published as a short story and then expanded it into a full-length novel. Leonard Maltin, who provides an on-screen introduction, tells us the novel was the first published by L'Amour under his real name.
As with most Wayne westerns, there's lots of familiar faces. Ward Bond has a key role and James Arness is in here, too, two years before he would become Matt Dillon. Paul Fix has a supporting role as does Leo Gordon (the guy John Wayne slugged to start the big mudfight in McLintock!) but there are a few people here who weren't Wayne regulars...Geraldine Page makes her film debut (earning an Oscar nomination for her efforts) and Lee Aaker is her son (he was the young boy in the Rin Tin Tin TV series).
The storyline has Wayne coming to the woman's ranch after losing his horse, accompanied only by his dog Sam (played by Lassie). The small ranch is deep into Apache territory and they are about to go on the warpath because of a broken treaty. Hondo (John Wayne) stays on while he breaks a horse enough to ride, helping her out during his brief stay. Later on, he winds up killing her surly husband in self-defense but it doesn't keep the two from falling in love. The Indian uprising comes to a head, especially after the death of the tribe's original leader (who had been friendly to the two) and the new leader is much more antagonistic (and who Hondo had defeated earlier in hand-to-hand combat).
This film is a good example of a movie not needing to be well over two hours to be entertaining. It's not even a full 90 minutes long but it keeps things moving quickly and still has time for some quiet moments. I liked the photography and the score, surprisingly credited to two composers. Picture and sound are excellent, as you would expect from a major studio release.
Older movies, especially westerns, don't tend to get lots of extras when released on DVD but this is an exception in that area. Besides the intro by Maltin, he also provides an audio commentary and is joined there by western historian Frank Thompson and Lee Aaker who had played the boy, Johnny. There's also a making of short, a profile of screenwriter James Edward Grant, a piece on Ward Bond and (something I always want to see) the original theatrical trailer.
I give this classic western 4 big yee-haws!
-
Looks like one I will have to add to my collection... huh Roger? :)
-
Looks like one I will have to add to my collection... huh Roger? :)
Careful, Pete, Roger obviously knows his stuff and this could easily be an expensive marathon for you! Anyway, you haven't watched Open Range yet... :redcard:
-
I am saving Open Range at this point... want to do a Kevin Costner double feature of it with Wyatt Earp when I get it. :)
Oh yeah... I am sure Roger would be telling me to get them all! :P
-
Yes ,you definitely need to get Hondo. It's a no-brainer. :stars:
-
Hondo seems like something to add to my colleciton too. So far I only have John Wayne in The Cowboys and Rio Bravo but feel I could do with more.
Roger, I happen to see the cover above shows "Full Screen". Is that just because you copied the file form Amazon or do you own the Full Screen version?
EDIT:
Sorry, I should do my research first... :bag:
Not only is the Full Screen version the only available R1 release, but according to a review at DVD Talk (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/18198/hondo-se/?___rd=2) it appears to be the proper AR for this film, apparently cropped to 1.85:1 for theatrical release.
-
Yes, Hondo came out the same year as The Robe, the film that really started the widescreen movement. Since Hondo was originally shot in 3D, also shooting it in widescreen may have been too difficult. I'm not even sure why they put "Full Screen" on the cover when that is the way all copies of this movie should be.
-
The next review is of a Hopalong Cassidy movie. I have many Hoppy films...I have 8 DVDs of double-feature Hoppy films from Image (which is what the below review is from) and I have 8 other volumes that stuff 5 Hoppy films per disc. Those are from Platinum, a company not known for high quality releases but their Hoppy discs are pretty good.
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00067JWLK.01-A22XP0Z2W4YOLT._SS400_SCLZZZZZZZ_V1097269821_.jpg)
Hopalong Cassidy Returns (74 min.), finds Bill on his way to Mesa Grande, where he is the new Marshal. Along the way he stops a runaway horse and saves a woman's life. Upon arriving in town, he discovers his old friend, the town's newspaper editor, has been brutally murdered by the very same woman Hoppy just saved, a hardnosed businesswoman who runs the town.
There were "A" pictures (major films like Stagecoach) and "B" pictures (low-budget moves such as Buck Jones and Tim McCoy would make) and the Hoppy movies were "B" westerns...but a cut above most of the other B's. They put a bit more money into them, show on locations instead of the usual sets and the extra money showed. Also, they were often longer. Most B westerns ran just about an hour but the Hoppy movies ran as long as 80 minutes. Gabby Hayes had been in the first Hoppy movie as Hoppy's uncle, but his character died. They wanted him back so they cast him again as a different character, a friend of Hoppy's named Windy.
This episode has a few unusual touches, including a female criminal and a man bound to a wheelchair...he is the friend of Hoppy's who is attacked just before Hoppy and his younger brother get to town. This movie is part of a double-feature disc from Image (they did 8 of these double-Hoppy releases) and the quality in picture and sound is outstanding.
The only downside? Hoppy kisses a girl. Ewwwwwww!
-
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000BDH6DU.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Seven Men From Now (1956 76m Director: Budd Boetticher Screenplay: Burt Kennedy
Cast: Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin.
The basic plot: A former sheriff (Randolph Scott), haunted by the loss of his wife in a Wells Fargo robbery, hunts for the seven men responsible for her death. Along the way, he assists a couple travelling west from Kansas City to California, and is forced to deal with another former outlaw (Lee Marvin) he had once sent to prison.
This was an excellent film. The excellent cast included Gail Russell as the wife of the man driving the covered wagon that he meets up with. The director, Budd Boetticher, is one often associated with Randolph Scott and they made several superior westerns together. Burt Kennedy wrote it and Andrew V. McLaglen, who directed many John Wayne movies, served as one of the producers. The film was made by Wayne's own Batjac company. The DVD has an excellent crisp print that shows off it's fine color photography (the film being shot by another Wayne veteran, William Clothier). It moves along crisply though still has time for a few quiet moments. I'm mainly familiar with Miss Russell from her films with John Wayne (including the underrated Angel and the Badman) but she is quite excellent here as well. Lee Marvin is menacing in an early role without being over the top. And of course, Randolph Scott is properly heroic and shows an inner fire of a man bent not only on justice, but on revenge.
DVD extras include an audio commentary, documentary on Budd Boetticher, profile of Gail Russell and the original theatrical trailer.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Perhaps it's not quite the classic that Hondo or Rio Bravo is, but it's mighty fine viewing all the same. I would heartily recommend Seven Men From Now. (Oh yes, the cover of the DVD calls this film "7 Men From Now" but in the actual screen titles, it's "Seven Men From Now", spelled out instead of using the numeral method they did on the cover.)
-
300 westerns...and I thought my mom and step dad had a lot of them. :)
This thread may give me ideas for more westerns to get them. I think they have Hondo...I'll have to check.
-
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Perhaps it's not quite the classic that Hondo or Rio Bravo is, but it's mighty fine viewing all the same. I would heartily recommend Seven Men From Now. (Oh yes, the cover of the DVD calls this film "7 Men From Now" but in the actual screen titles, it's "Seven Men From Now", spelled out instead of using the numeral method they did on the cover.)
Are you also using DVD Profiler to catalog your DVD collection?
-
You want to get him in an argument on the DVDP forum :hysterical:
-
You want to get him in an argument on the DVDP forum :hysterical:
No, of course not... Just that random comment about the onscreen title being slightly different than the cover title made me wonder :headscratch:
-
No, I don't use DVD Profiler...I was (or using something like it) but I never did put all my stuff in it and the last time I did put any additions in it was years ago. Maybe one of these days when I have a week to kill... :surrender:
-
No, I don't use DVD Profiler...I was (or using something like it) but I never did put all my stuff in it and the last time I did put any additions in it was years ago. Maybe one of these days when I have a week to kill... :surrender:
A week to kill is better spent watching moves ;)
Especially since you apparently don't feel that urge to neatly catalog each and every item in your collection you may be better off leaving it this way.
-
I found what I had and I believe it is DVD Profiler...but I can't figure out how to enter in new titles now. I'm so hopelessly behind anyway that it's probably best that I just forget about it. I don't feel the need to keep an online diary of everything I have. Let's move on. :thumbup:
-
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000056H2F.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
Support Your Local Sheriff (1968) Directed by Burt Kennedy.
Cast: James Garner, Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, Bruce Dern
Burt Kennedy directed a number of westerns and quite a few of them seemed to have a fair amount of humor. This one, released in 1968, may just be his funniest, an outright comedy (but not anywhere as outrageous as Blazing Saddles). James Garner heads an all-star cast including Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, Henry Jones and Bruce Dern.
The basic setup has loner James Garner coming into a gold-mining town which has one problem...The Danbys, a mean family headed by Walter Brennan who always lean on the locals for a share of their gold. They've had 3 sheriffs in the last two months and when Garner's character takes the job, most figure he'll be yet another very temporary lawman. The new lawman's first job is to arrest one of the Danby boys (Bruce Dern) he earlier saw kill a man in the saloon. Only problem there is that the new jail hasn't gotten it's bars yet. Then old man Danby (Brennan) comes in and pulls a gun on the sheriff...who promptly sticks his finger in the pistol barrel!
"If I'd have fired, the gun would have blown up right in my face!"
"Well, it wouldn't have done my finger any good either, would it?"
There's a lot of funny stuff in this movie and you owe it to yourself to check it out if you haven't seen it yet. Jack Elam is especially good as the gruff deputy who doesn't particularly want the job...it's my favorite performance by Elam.
Interestingly, there was a follow-up movie titled "Support Your Local Gunfighter" released 3 years after this one. Despite the nearly identical title and much of the same cast, it isn't a sequel but another comedy western using the same tongue-in-cheek humor. That one did replace Joan Hackett with a different leading lady (Suzanne Pleshette) and also added Chuck Connors as a famous gunslinger.
Not much in the way of extras are included in this DVD...just the theatrical trailer. Perhaps we'll get a special edition released someday.
-
Another one that sounds good!
-
It is...but I've actually only come across a few westerns I really disliked...mainly Forty Guns and Young Guns...probably a couple others if I sat and thought about it.
-
My mom and stepdad have Support Your Local Gunfighter..I got it for them for Christmas last year or the year before. I'll have to remember to look for this one for them.
-
I've had this movie a long time...I'm not sure if it's even still available. Hopefully you'll find it somewhere. ::)
-
I remember Support Your Local Sheriff rather well. Especially the fact that he eventually uses the prison regardlessa of the missing bars his hilarious; I forgot why, but the prisoner decides to stay inside... :laugh:
DeepDiscount has both (Sheriff /Gunfighter) of them for $9.39 each or $13.77 for both. Wish Listed for the sale...
-
To paraphrase Will Rogers, I've rarely met a western I didn't like...but this one tested that saying. I didn't exactly hate it, but it'll never be my favorite...
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0007PALOI.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Forty Guns (1957)
Written, Produced and Directed by Samuel Fuller
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger, John Ericson, Gene Barry
An authoritarian rancher, Barbara Stanwyck, who rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns. When a new marshall arrives to set things straight, the cattle queen finds herself falling, brutally for the avowedly non-violent lawman. Both have itchy-fingered brothers. That's the gist of this unusual western.
The storyline is almost hard to understand and you sometimes get lost in the plot. At first, Barbara Stanwyck's character seems like pure evil and then you start to see her gain a few soft touches here and there. The photography is unusual...weird close-ups (we see a woman through the barrel of a rifle, making me wonder if that's where they got the idea for the James Bond opening), much of the action seems to be shot from cameras about a foot off the ground. There is some nice stunt work in here, including a scene where Miss Stanwyck falls off her horse but, her foot stuck in a stirrup, gets dragged a fair peace in what looked like a very dangerous stunt. Was it really her and not a stuntwoman? It sure looked like her. Unfortunately, the movie is so stylized that it doesn't really seem to have any heart. I found myself not really caring about any of the characters. It was pretty short at 79 minutes which was probably just as well...much longer and I might've gotten a bit bored. I did like the ending which was a bit different. Usually, the hero leaves town alone and that was happening here...but then Miss Stanwyck races after the buckboard the hero is driving and they leave town together. Oh yes, Hank Worden is in this movie, too. I really enjoy this character actor...unfortunately, he departs the storyline pretty early.
As far as the DVD goes, it is two-sided. One side is full-framed while the other side has a widescreen presentation in its proper 2.35: 1 aspect ratio. It has no real extras, apart from the theatrical trailer. There is an error on the DVD case, by the way. It states the movie is in color but it is actually is in black & white. :tv:
-
One of these days you will review one I actually seen! :P
Of course that could take a while as many as you have and as little as I have seen! :P
-
Well, Pete, you'll get to see Forty Guns soon as it's coming soon in my package to you so get ready! :tv: I could review Rio Bravo, of course...but I wonder if I should since I know you've already reviewed that one yourself! :tease:
-
To paraphrase Will Rogers, I've rarely met a western I didn't like...but this one tested that saying. I didn't exactly hate it, but it'll never be my favorite...
Forty Guns (1957)
Funny. I recently commented on that title in reply to addicted2dvd's "care package" post. It is one of my favorite westerns (others being McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and the HBO show Deadwood).
-
I have not seen the other three you mention though I do have a copy of McCabe and Mrs. Miller...I just haven't watched that one yet.
-
Well, Pete, you'll get to see Forty Guns soon as it's coming soon in my package to you so get ready! :tv: I could review Rio Bravo, of course...but I wonder if I should since I know you've already reviewed that one yourself! :tease:
Looking forward to it Roger! ;D
-
I should do a double-feature review of Rio Bravo and El Dorado since El Dorado was a virtual remake of Rio Bravo. In Rio Bravo, you had a young gunslinger named Colorado...in El Dorado you had James Caan playing a young guy (who couldn't be worse with a gun) whose name is that of a different state, Mississippi. And, if you can believe it, we had Ed Asner playing the bad guy...
-
I should do a double-feature review of Rio Bravo and El Dorado since El Dorado was a virtual remake of Rio Bravo. In Rio Bravo, you had a young gunslinger named Colorado...in El Dorado you had James Caan playing a young guy (who couldn't be worse with a gun) whose name is that of a different state, Mississippi. And, if you can believe it, we had Ed Asner playing the bad guy...
And Rio Lobo (another Hawks) has similarities. Then chuck Assault on Precinct 13 in which was based on it! :P
-
Yes, Rio Lobo had some similarities but I think both Hawks and Wayne were coasting at that point. So I figure to just skip that one. And before I do this dual review, I need to find a copy of the new edition of El Dorado which is a 2-disc "Centennial" edition. I've looked but not found it in my area yet. 8)
-
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0008GQGKO.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_V64471856_.jpg)
Arizona Bound (First movie in The Rough Riders series)
Cast: Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Raymond Hatton, Luana Walters, Tris Coffin
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet
This movie is what they used to call a "B" western...a low-budget movie shot quickly (often in as little as a week) and which usually only ran about an hour in length though some (such as the Hopalong Cassidy movies) would be afforded a slightly longer running time. As movies entered the late 30's, studios tried to give kids more for their pennies and one idea that came up was to give them 3 stars in each picture...the first "buddy" movies in a sense. The most popular such series was probably The Three Mesquiteers (John Wayne was a member of that group for about 2 years just before he became a true star). This series was The Rough Riders and it co-starred two cowboy actors who had enjoyed many successful years as solo stars, Buck Jones and Tim McCoy. Raymond Hatton, who had a humorous bent as a cowboy sidekick, joined them as the third member of the group.
This was the first film of the series (there would be 8 official films of the group...a 9th film is not considered an official Rough Riders film since McCoy was unable to appear in it and Jones died shortly after filming was completed). They took advantage in the plot that this was the first as it appears the three leads don't really know each other but in time we find they do and are acting to throw off the criminal element, led by a popular bad guy actor Tris Coffin. There's lots of action in it's 1-hour running time before the conclusion though. In the end, they ride off in separate directions but there is the promise of future adventures. I like both Buck and Tim but Buck is probably my favorite of the trio...he's a hard-nosed kind of guy who could've been another John Wayne if he'd gotten the right breaks. I remember Bill Cosby doing a comedy routine about Buck and he mentiioned that you knew Buck was getting mad because he'd then pull out and start chewing gum...that's actually alluded to in this film. When he actually goes for his gum, the bad guy (who knows about the gum) is actually unnerved.
These old short films are in the public domain and you'll often find a couple of versions put out by different companies. I bought three DVD titles from Critics Choice and each is a triple play so I have all 9 films. Despite the fact the front is labelled "Digitally Restored", don't believe it. Like most PD releases, quality is fair at best. It's watchable, though. Just don't expect to confuse it with a Criterion Collection disc...
-
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0782009972.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
High Noon
Cast: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado, Otto Kruger, Lon Chaney, Henry Morgan, Lee Van Cleef
Director: Fred Zinnemann
DVD Extras: Original Theatrical Trailer, The Making of High Noon (hosted by Leonard Maltin)
Here's a classic western just about everyone has heard of...even those who aren't western fans. And this copy has been in my collection a long time...just over 8 years or so now.
The basic plot has Gary Cooper (in an Oscar-winning performance) finding out on his wedding day that a killer he sent to prison is free and coming back...for him...on the noon train.. At first, he and his wife leave town as planned to begin their new life elsewhere (he has given up being a marshal for her as she is a Quaker). But he decides he can't do it and heads back to face him. With little more than an hour before the train arrives, he begins looking for deputies to back him up but again and again he is turned down. The movie is played out in real time which makes it even more effective and there are several shots of clocks throughout the film to let you know just how much time is left. When the showdown actually occurs, it actually happens in an amazingly short amount of time. At the end, with all the bad guys dead (one at the hand of his new bride), Kane drops his badge in the dirt of the street and he and his wife leave town, never to return. It's definitely a must-have for any western movie library.
My DVD copy was the first of two. Mine has a few extras including a making-of featurette hosted by Leonard Maltin and the trailer for the film. The making-of featurette is 22 minutes long and has some interviews with several of the filmmakers...the producer (Stanley Kramer), director (Fred Zinneman) and even part of an old interview with star Gary Cooper. Interestingly, host Leonard Maltin makes a mistake during his hosting...he refers to Gary Cooper's portrayal of Marshal Will Kane as his only Oscar...I guess he forgot about a little film titled Sergeant York! The print of the movie itself is clear and sharp. Another version came out in 2002 featuring more extras including an audio commentary featuring several people including John Ritter. John Ritter, you ask? Yes, but remember that the "High Noon" song was sung by his father, Tex Ritter. I may pick that up someday if I ever come across it somewhere.
-
I forgot to add to my review of High Noon that it actually won 4 Academy Awards. Besides Gary Cooper for Best Actor, it also won for Best Film Editing, Best Original Song and for it's musical score by Dimitri Tiomkin.
-
I heard of it... but never seen it. I am sure you are surprised by that. :P
-
I just looked up High Noon on Amazon... and not only seen this one at a decent price... and I also see a TV Movie version made in 2001 with Tom Skerrit. Have you seen that one Roger? Worth adding to my collection as well? I always liked Tom Skerrit for some reason.
-
I should do a double-feature review of Rio Bravo and El Dorado since El Dorado was a virtual remake of Rio Bravo. In Rio Bravo, you had a young gunslinger named Colorado...in El Dorado you had James Caan playing a young guy (who couldn't be worse with a gun) whose name is that of a different state, Mississippi. And, if you can believe it, we had Ed Asner playing the bad guy...
Roger, is that the one where he can't shoot a gun but is good with knifes? And since they need him shooting they give him a shotgun, as aiming is not so important for that?
...and if it's not this one, do you know which film matches my description?
-
Achim, yes, you got the plotline right. Caan can't hit the proverbial broad side of a barn so they give him some kind of a scattergun if not exactly a shotgun. It packs quite a kick. When he uses it in a fight it illicits one of my favorite lines...
"Well, he was limping when he left," says Mississippi to which John Wayne's character retorts "He was limpin' when he got here!" :laugh:
-
In reply to Pete's post, I have heard of the Tom Skerritt film but have never seen it myself. I usually don't care for most remakes like that, especially if they're done for TV. I see there was also one called High Noon, Part Two: The Return of Will Kane and that one actually stars Lee Majors. No, I've never actually seen that one, either. :tease:
-
LOL.... well I like Tom Skerrit and I like TV Movies... so I will probably try to get both versions before too long.
-
Achim, yes, you got the plotline right. Caan can't hit the proverbial broad side of a barn so they give him some kind of a scattergun if not exactly a shotgun. It packs quite a kick. When he uses it in a fight it illicits one of my favorite lines...
"Well, he was limping when he left," says Mississippi to which John Wayne's character retorts "He was limpin' when he got here!" :laugh:
:laugh: Yeah, I can now actually recall that line...
Thanks. We discussed this before but didn't find the final answer at the time. I remember enjoying this a lot and will order it soon.
-
Since I haven't had any luck finding it locally (as well as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance which also came out in the new 2-disc "Centennial" edition) I may go ahead and order both myself. I'm trying not to repeat stars too much so maybe I'll hold off on more John Wayne westerns until I get them.
-
A couple years ago, Warner Brothers released some Triple Feature DVDs...two of John Wayne's early "B" films and two featuring 3 Randolph Scott westerns. This review features one of the Wayne westerns...this movie was on a disc that also included The Big Stampede and Haunted Gold...
(http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000JW6DBO.01-A2EYN7124C6CBV._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_V38710864_.jpg)
Ride Him Cowboy (1932)
Cast: John Wayne, Ruth Hall, Henry B. Walthall, Frank Hagney
Director: Fred Allen
Back in the 1930s, many cowboys had horses that were nearly as famous as they were...Tom Mix had Tony, Gene Autry had Champion and, of course, Roy Rogers had Trigger. When John Wayne signed a contract with Warner Brothers, it was decided that he should have a horse that would also get billing in the movies. In a rather odd decision, they named the horse Duke, which of course also happened to be John Wayne's nickname.
The horse equated himself well enough but the film is only okay, a typical B-oater. The horse Duke is the only witness to a crime and the mysterious villain known as The Hawk (in his civilian guise) tries to have the horse destroyed in an outdoor trial. John Wayne (as John Drury) comes along and convinces the judge to spare the horse. Drury helps the girl on whose ranch Duke lives and, of course, Duke eventually become's Drury's horse. All is eventually brought right and Duke himself winds up killing The Hawk.
All in all, a low rung on John Wayne's trip up the ladder of fame.
-
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0001JXPWU.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
The Tin Star (1957) 92 minutes
Cast: Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, Betsy Palmer, Neville Brand
Music: Elmer Bernstein
Directed by Anthony Mann
As this movie begins, bounty hunter Morg Hickman (Henry Fonda) comes to town with a dead man draped over one of his horses. When he gets there, he finds a new tenderfoot of a sheriff (Anthony Perkins) who's not had his badge long and he winds up getting versed by Morg in lessons on being a successful lawman. Morg also becomes involved with a local widow (Betsy Palmer) and her son.
Though this film did get an Oscar nomination for it's story and screenplay, I've always considered this an overlooked little gem of a western. I like it's spare look with it's fine black & white photography and the character-driven story peopled with fine actors, even if Anthony Perkins is the last person you'd expect to find in the genre. I try to watch this film at least once a year...it's a film I never seem to tire of. The print on this DVD is sharp and clear but there are no extras, not even the ever-popular trailer.
-
That is my pet peeve.... At least give us the trailer! :voodoo:
-
I haven't posted any reviews for a few days so how about a double-feature?
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000F0UUH8.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_V54328562_.jpg)
3 Godfathers
Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, Harry Carey Jr., Ward Bond, Mae Marsh, Jane Darwell, Ben Johnson, Mildred Natwick.
Director: John Ford
This was a popular story...it was told at least four times. This version is probably the most popular because it starred John Wayne, was directed by the great John Ford and was the most recent. It deals with three badmen who bungle a bank job in Arizona with one of them being shot in the shoulder during the getaway...but get away they do. While in the desert, they take refuge during a sandstorm, but their horses get lose and are gone the next morning. They soon find a wagon which contains a woman about to give birth. She is in a bad way, however, and soon passes on but not before she names the three men her baby's godfathers. The remainder of the movie deals with their trying to care for the infant and get it to civilization while a lawman and his posse are on their trail.
The movie is dedicated to the late Harry Carey, an old-time western star of his own (Ford used him several times, including a couple movies with Wayne), who had passed away before the film's release. This movie also marks the film debut of his son, Harry Carey Jr. This film has lots of humor as well as action and it contains some incredible color photography. It's not the best-known John Wayne film out there so people should look it up. It was included as one of the movies in the DVD box set The John Wayne-John Ford Movie Collection. It looks great, though its only extra is the original movie trailer. This is a full frame picture because this was originally released in 1948, back in the pre-widescreen era.
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00008CMT0.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Night Passage
Cast: James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Dianne Foster, Elaine Stewart, Brandon De Wilde, Jack Elam, Hugh Beaumont
Director: James Neilson
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
About a week ago (on cable TV), I got to see Kirk Douglas sing and play the banjo in "Man Without A Star". Now, in "Night Passage", I got to see Jimmy Stewart sing and play the accordian. I guess these were the most expensive singing cowboy pictures ever made. I wonder who else got musical in the big pictures? Did John Wayne ever play the guitar? Did Randolph Scott ever play a fiddle? Somehow, I don't think so...
The accordian actually played a plot point in this movie. It involves Jimmy who, having once worked for the railroad, being offered a job again. An outlaw band has been robbing the train of its payroll for those who are laying the track. It turns out that one of the gang is The Utica Kid (Audie Murphy) who happens to be Stewart's brother. It culminates in a big climactic gunfight. And this is one of the few gunfights I can remember where we actually see the hero reloading. In some movies, you'd swear a pistol might hold 20 bullets. Brandon De Wilde is in this movie...he was the kid in the classic Shane. Other notable supporting polayers include Jack Elam and Paul Fix.
As with 3 Godfathers, the only extra here is the movie trailer. The film is presented in it's original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35: 1. We have a nice color print and a fine music score by Dimitri Tiomkin.
-
So, "Three Men and a Baby", the French film which was remade in the US, is not really that original after all. I had no idea it was based on a western...
-
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000A9QK8M.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
The Mark of Zorro (1940)
Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard, Eugene Pallette
Director: Rouben Mamoulian
When I think of swashbucklers, Errol Flynn's "Adventures of Robin Hood" is the first one that comes to mind but this is right up there with it. Interestingly, Basil Rathbone plays the bad guy in both. That's not really a surprise as Rathbone was a first-rate swordsman of his own. This is the first good version of Zorro of the sound era (Douglas Fairbanks had played him in the silents) with Tyrone Power coming home from Spain to discover his countrymen being taxed to death. Thus, he takes up the mantle of Zorro to set things right.
This is more swashbuckler than western but I'm still including it as part of my western marathon since it does take place in the Old West and there are horses...but the weaponry of choice is more swordplay than gunplay. It's a fine film and deservedly considered a classic. This is a 2-sided disc...one side features a colorized version of the film while the other side is the proper black & white version which, I believe, is a restored version that looks excellent. Film critic Richard Shickel provides a commentary and they also include the episode of A&E's "Biography" TV series that profiled star Tyrone Power. Another bonus is this DVD came with a set of photos (5x7, I think) from the movie done in a sepia-tone.
-
Unlike most of my reviews, this isn't a DVD I have...I've only been able to catch this on a cable channel (the US's AMC mostly) as it's never gotten an official U.S. DVD release. I keep hoping but here's the review I wrote up for this movie anyway...
(http://amazing3rdplanet.com/img/posters-westerns/ManWithoutAStarHSaSM.jpg)
Man Without a Star (1955)
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor, William Campbell, Richard Boone, Jay C. Flippen, Sheb Wooley, Roy Barcroft
Director: King Vidor
This is probably one of my favorite westerns that's not currently available on DVD...I had to watch it on AMC. And they took this trim 89-minute western and fed it commercials until it clocked in at a bloated two hours. When it is running, it moves very quickly and is fun to watch.
Kirk Douglas plays a drifter who helps a young cowhand (to the point where the youngster starts hero worshiping him) and they wind up working on a ranch which winds up having a new female owner. She wants all the range for herself and that starts all kinds of conflict. Though much of the story gets serious with the subject of barbed wire and everything, it does have it's lighter moments such as a couple times when Kirk gets to play the banjo and sing a bit. He doesn't sing the title song, though...they hired Frankie Laine for that.
I'll continue to hope for a DVD release but will have to watch the TV listings for the occasional cable airing until then. The only release of this available to me is one of those Hong Kong imports which I don't care for (the quality usually isn't all that sharp). This may be about the only Kirk Douglas western now not available on DVD...but don't quote me on that.
-
To The Last Man (1933)
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Cast: Randolph Scott, Esther Ralston, Noah Beery, Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Barton MacLane
This is an early sound western and, like many westerns of the time, it is almost totally devoid of music except for the opening titles and a bit at the end. The credits are unlike I've seen in any movie...they give the title of the music, wrier and director and all that but don't show the cast credits right away. What they do is when each person makes his or her first appearance, then their credit is shown with them...thus, at 28 minutes into the movie when Randolph Scott finally appears, you finally get to see his name on screen.
The film is based on a Zane Grey story and deals with two feuding families who come from Kentucky and wind up the same region out west. The Colbys, angered because the father spent 15 years in prison after the Hayden patriarch went to the law instead of the usual feuding alternative, go to work rustling all the Hayden livestock. It's at this point that Lynn (Randolph Scott) comes home and he winds up falling for the daughter of the evil Colby (the daughter played by the fetching Esther Ralston). While the film moves rapidly along (it's only about 70 minutes long), it has the old type western fights with lots of apparently sped-up action which seems even more odd with no accompanying music. Also of note is that this movie features the film debut of Shirley Temple as one of the grandchildren of the Hayden patriarch. It has an overall familiar cast and most, including Scott, do well for this 76 year old film.
This was a Paramount film but apparently the movie has fallen into the public domain as there are a lot of copies out there by different companies. My own copy is from VCI Entertainment and it's a pretty decent copy...a nice sharp print with clear sound...but, as is usual with such cases, no extras to speak of.
-
You might call this The Howard Hawks-John Wayne Deja Vu Western Experience :tv:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41aciF9bsML._SS500_.jpg)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Cast: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez, John Russell, Claude Akins
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Director: Howard Hawks
Whenever people start naming the greatest westerns ever made, you don't have to go far down the list to find this movie. It's often placed in the top 5 along with such films as The Searchers, Stagecoach, Red River and The Wild Bunch. I consider The Searchers to probably be the best western of them all but I seem to alternate between that film and this one as to which is actually my personal favorite western. The Searchers is a mighty intense film at times but this one is probably a bit more fun to watch.
In the beginning, we see no-good Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) gun down a man in cold blood in a saloon who is promptly arrested by Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne). The town is then surrounded by the men his brother Nathan, a rich rancher (played by Lawman's John Russell) hires and who periodically try to get him out. Chance doesn't want any help, one friend who tries (Ward Bond) is killed within an hour of telling everyone he needs help. Chance still gets help from a gimpy old deputy named Stumpy (Walter Brennan), a usually drunken deputy Dude (Dean Martin) and a young gun named Colorado (Ricky Nelson...yes, that Ricky Nelson) who was riding guard for the wagon train that Chance's friend had brought to town. Chance tries to keep Joe in jail and also try to keep an eye on Dude who seems to be about to come apart at any moment.
The movie moves along at a good pace despite it's over 2-hour running time. There's humor (especially involving Stumpy), romance (between Chance and a girl named Feathers played by a young Angie Dickinson), and lots of action that ends up with Stumpy chucking sticks of dynamite towards the warehouse the bad guys are in as Chance blasts at them with his Winchester, resulting in a quite-explosive finale.
A previous DVD had been issued of this and then a few years ago, in honor of Duke Wayne's 100th birthday, they released a new edition of this (along with some other films). I bought Rio Bravo: The Ultimate Collection...interestingly, I'm not sure that's still available. I looked it up at an online retailer and they didn't have it. They do have a 2-disc special edition and I imagine it's the same discs but you don't get the other extras I was lucky to get...a reproduction of the lobby cards, the movie pressbook and the comic book adaptation.
Disc extras include an audio commentary by Richard Schickel, the movie trailer and also trailers for 4 of Duke's early "B" westerns of the 1930s, and featurettes on the film and on director Howard Hawks.
(http://gonewiththetwins.com/pages/archive/screenshots/eldorado/eldorado.jpg)
El Dorado: Centennial Edition
Cast: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix, Arthur Hunnicutt, Michele Carey, Edward Asner
Music: Nelson Riddle
Director: Howard Hawks
He was limping when he left...
He was limpin' when he got here!
The interesting thing about Rio Bravo is that producer/director Howard Hawks did a virtual remake of the film 8 years later...a film called El Dorado. The main plot and certain events were so dead-on that no one could believe it was anything else. They did make some changes in that later film, though John Wayne did star in both. In the second film, the younger character was named after a different state (Mississippi) and couldn't hit anything with a gun so they gave him a sawed-off shotgun. He was played by James Caan. And it was the sheriff (Robert Mitchum) who was drunk, not a deputy. The older deputy was playd by Arthur Hunnicutt this time, not Walter Brennan. And to further give the good guys a disadvantage, Wayne's character got a bullet lodged in his back that would occasionally give him temporary paralysis in one side. It's still considered a very good film in it's own right so check it out when you get the chance. Hawks used plot elements from Rio Bravo a third time in Rio Lobo...that film's not so good. So I'd recommend you watch and enjoy both Rio Bravo and El Dorado...and leave it at that.
This "Centennial Edition" just came out this summer...for some reason, it has the number "9" on its spine but I'm only aware of one other Centennial Edition film that's come out, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Maybe there will be more? Or maybe there are indeed others in the series I'm not aware of. I was comparing the looks of this DVD with the previous DVD and it looks similar, though the paintings shown during the opening credits seem just a bit darker in this edition. This edition features quite a few extras (the original had only the trailer). Besides the trailer, this 2-disc set gives you two audio commentaries (one with Peter Bogdanovich and the other with Richard Schickel, Ed Asner and author Todd McCarthy), a 7-part featurette on the movie, a piece on the art of the Old West and an interview with producer A.C. Lyles about John Wayne.
-
Roger could you place only one film review by post? It's better for the review index, since it's alphabetic (the second film reviewed is never included in its letter index, but tied with the first one). Hope that I make sense...
:thanks:
-
I really enjoyed Rio Bravo a lot. I will have to add El Dorado to my always growing wish list!
-
Okay, Jimmy...sorry about that. I will go to just one film per review from now on.
Pete, I still have my older copy of El Dorado and it's yours if you want it.
-
No problem, you aren't the first to do it and certainly not the last. This isn't that evident for a new member to think about the reviews index.
-
Pete, I still have my older copy of El Dorado and it's yours if you want it.
That would be great Roger! I would of course be glad to take it off your hands. :) And of course as I told you before... I will be making you up a care package before too long as well. :thumbup:
-
I'm not sure if I will send you another regular care package...but I do have many movies I wouldn't mind getting rid of. Just in case, I won't say anything more about it so if I do send you more, the others will be a surprise. If I send you something you already have, feel free to pass them along to anyone else you choose.
-
LOL... that is fine Roger... you know anything you send me is much appreciated! :)
-
(http://www.filmposters.com/images/posters/6931.jpg)
The War Wagon (1967)
Cast: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Robert Walker, Keenan Wynn, Bruce Cabot, Joanna Barnes
Music composed by Dimitri Tiomkin--"The Ballad of the War Wagon" sung by Ed Ames
Directed by Burt Kennedy
Following a shoot-out...
Lomax: Mine hit the ground first...
Taw: Mine was taller!
By the late 1960s, John Wayne's movies were started to fall into forumula westerns though one here and there was a bit different and this was one of those. In this film, he's just returning to town after a 3-year stint in prison where he had been framed and the man who framed him has taken over his ranch where he's discovered a gold mother lode. John Wayne, as Taw Jackson, decides the best means of revenge is to his the man where it hurts...by robbing his gold shipment. The war wagon of the title is like an armored car on wheels which they transport the gold in...and it's even dangerous once bad guy Bruce Cabot has a gatling gun mounted on it. The ranch owner wants a gunslinger named Lomax (Kirk Douglas) to eliminate Taw (not realizing his plans) but Taw actually winds up getting Lomax to side with him and his other partners to take down the war wagon.
This isn't just another western filled with gunplay and saloon brawls (though there's a bit of that) as we slowly learn Taw's plans on his detailed plan to take on the armored vehicle. There's also lots of familiar faces (including small parts for such actors as Bruce Dern, Gene Evans and Sheb Wooley) and the film is tinged with humor not always seen in westerns. Add good photographer and a sprightly score and you've got a darn good western...not a great one, but a good one.
I'm currently on my second copy of this movie...my first was a disc featuring the movie along with one extra, the trailer. Now I have it as part of a 3-disc set called John Wayne: Screen Legend Collection. This set contains 5 films...besides The War Wagon, it also has Reap The Wild Wind, The Spoilers, Hellfighters and Rooster Cogburn.
-
sounds interesting Roger. :)
-
I have The War Wagon. Very quirky in places!
-
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000A1OFZU.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
A Lawless Street (1956) 77 minutes
Cast: Randolph Scott, Angela Lansbury, Warner Anderson, Jean Parker, Wallace Ford
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Music: Paul Sawtell
Yes, it's time for yet another Randolph Scott western! In this one, he is a lawman who moves from town to town in the Colorado territory, ridding them of outlaws. He is married to a lovely singer (Lansbury) but she leaves him and won't return as long as he is involved in this dangerous duty but he has one last town he wants to clean up. This was a good western with some dynamite stuntwork (especially in one big fight scene between Scott and a large extremely strong foe) and is quickly paced. The DVD has a good quality print but no real extras...apart for some trailers of other westerns.
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31N6GF1A60L._SL500_AA160_.jpg)
The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
Cast: James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Shirley Jones, Sue Ane Langdon
Director: Gene Kelly
This movie is available on a double-feature DVD...it is also part of the box set James Stewart: The Signature Collection. A lot of people think of Jimmy as an "Aw, shucks" kind of actor but he's been downright serious in most of his westerns. He did do a couple comedy-westerns in his time as well, one was the comedy classic "Destry Rides Again" and this was another. In this he co-stars with another big-name actor who also did his share of westerns, Henry Fonda. The film is directed by that legendary song and dance man, Gene Kelly...but no musical numbers in this movie.
As the movie opens we find them in texas branding cattle when Stewart's character receives a letter from a lawyer in Wyoming. It seems his brother has died and left him something so he and Fonda set out for Cheyenne to see what it's all about...with Fonda yapping all the way to Wyoming. Stewart finally tells him to pipe down after Fonda starts telling a particular story for the third time. It turns out that what Stewart's character has inherited was a brothel, populated with a handful of pretty ladies and quite popular with the men of the town. Stewart, uncomfortable with the whole situation, plans to close down the brothel and that's what starts the trouble.
I guess you would call this a fairly amiable comedy...it's got some nice humor but never falls into the slapstick-style humor that films like McLintock! do. There's a bit of action to keep it moving and I enjoyed it...but it's not the kind of film I'll be seeking out too often. It can currently be found on a double-feature DVD (along with another Stewart-Fonda teaming, Firecreek). The DVD includes a short featurette on the film (and you even get a few words from Gene Kelly so you can know for sure it was really him) and the original theatrical coming attraction. :)
-
Have you ever seen Fool's Parade, Roger? I think that was a James Stewart western, also known as Dynamite Man From Glory Jail. A friend of mine mentions it a lot, but it isn't available sadly.
-
I have heard of "Fool's Parade" but have never actually seen it. It's not really a western, though, as it takes place in West Virginia (actually in the eastern part of the U.S.) during the 1930s.
-
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00005YUNS.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Cast: Glenn Ford, Van Heflin, Felicia Farr, Leora Dana, Henry Jones, Robert Emhardt
Title song performed by Frankie Laine
Music by George Duning
Directed by Delmer Daves
Even people who are not big western movie fans are familiar with the titles of many of the greatest westerns of all time...films like The Searchers, The Magnificent Seven, Shane and High Noon. I imagine many of them are not familiar, however, with 3:10 To Yuma. They should...it doesn't need to take a back seat to any of those movies.
As the movie begins, a stagecoach is being held up and a farmer (Van Heflin), looking for some cattle that have strayed, comes face to face with the gang and it's cool leader (Glenn Ford). They don't harm the farmer but take the horses he and his sons were riding. The farmer walks back to his ranch, gets a couple of horses and then goes back to help those still with the stagecoach. Returning to town, the farmer finds that the gang leader is in the saloon, his men having left town. The farmer talks to the outlaw and others get the drop on him. Discussing things, they feel they have to get the outlaw to the 3:10 train to Yuma and the farmer agrees to guard him once they reach the next town where that train will be as he can use the $200 the stage line owner offers him as he needs the money to bring in much-needed water for his livestock. Up until the time the train comes, the outlaw is cool as a cucumber and begins to psyche the farmer out. By the time the train comes, the farmer is all alone and must get his man to the train while surviving against a half-dozen gunmen.
This is a really great film. It's incredibly intense and has some fantastic black & white photography. It's based on a short story by Elmore Leonard and is definitely a true classic. Look it up the next time it shows up on your favorite classic movie channel. Oh yes, they did do a remake a few years ago with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. That was a good movie, too...but I still prefer the original.
I bought this DVD several years ago...and it has no real extras. It doesn't even have the original trailer...but it does have trailers for 2 other westerns, Silverado and Mackenna's Gold.
-
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00005YUNS.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Cast: Glenn Ford, Van Heflin, Felicia Farr, Leora Dana, Henry Jones, Robert Emhardt
Title song performed by Frankie Laine
Music by George Duning
Directed by Delmer Daves
Even people who are not big western movie fans are familiar with the titles of many of the greatest westerns of all time...films like The Searchers, The Magnificent Seven, Shane and High Noon. I imagine many of them are not familiar, however, with 3:10 To Yuma. They should...it doesn't need to take a back seat to any of those movies.
As the movie begins, a stagecoach is being held up and a farmer (Van Heflin), looking for some cattle that have strayed, comes face to face with the gang and it's cool leader (Glenn Ford). They don't harm the farmer but take the horses he and his sons were riding. The farmer walks back to his ranch, gets a couple of horses and then goes back to help those still with the stagecoach. Returning to town, the farmer finds that the gang leader is in the saloon, his men having left town. The farmer talks to the outlaw and others get the drop on him. Discussing things, they feel they have to get the outlaw to the 3:10 train to Yuma and the farmer agrees to guard him once they reach the next town where that train will be as he can use the $200 the stage line owner offers him as he needs the money to bring in much-needed water for his livestock. Up until the time the train comes, the outlaw is cool as a cucumber and begins to psyche the farmer out. By the time the train comes, the farmer is all alone and must get his man to the train while surviving against a half-dozen gunmen.
This is a really great film. It's incredibly intense and has some fantastic black & white photography. It's based on a short story by Elmore Leonard and is definitely a true classic. Look it up the next time it shows up on your favorite classic movie channel. Oh yes, they did do a remake a few years ago with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. That was a good movie, too...but I still prefer the original.
I bought this DVD several years ago...and it has no real extras. It doesn't even have the original trailer...but it does have trailers for 2 other westerns, Silverado and Mackenna's Gold.
Amazing film, brilliantly written central characters. I especially enjoyed Ford, apparently truly the fastest gun in the west (amongst the Western actors anyway!). I heard this was made in response to the unfashionably liberal High Noon. Never fancied the remake because it looked like they overdid the action (which it doesn't need) and much as I like the actors, I can't see them pulling off the same charm.
-
One side note about one of the actors. When I went to Hollywood in 1974, I found myself at the famous Chinese theater there where they had the footprints of various stars. I recall that my feet were bigger than John Wayne's (I had always heard he had small feet) but my feet were a pretty good fit for the footprints of Van Heflin... :P
-
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0001FVDVO.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Albuquerque
Cole Armin (Randolph Scott) comes to Albuquerque to work for his uncle, John Armin (George Cleveland), a despotic and hard-hearted czar who operates an ore-hauling freight line, and whose goal is to eliminate a competing line run by Ted Wallace (Russell Hayden) and his sister Celia (Catherine Craig). Cole tires of his uncle's heavy-handed tactics and switches over to the Wallace side. Lefty Tyler, an agent hired by the uncle, also switches over by warning Cole and Ted of a trap set for them by the uncle and his henchman Juke Murkil (Lon Chaney Jr.).
The DVD
Video: 1.33:1 Full Frame (as it should be, shot in 1948)
Audio: English Mono 2.0
Extras: None
My Thoughts: There's nothing like a good western. If you remember in "Blazing Saddles", the townspeople don't want to give the black marshal a chance until he intones "You would've done it for Randolph Scott!" and this is a good example why. Scott doesn't do it all but gets help from his friends including bewhiskered Gabby Hayes. It's a rootin-tootin great western with great photography and just enough action to keep you interested. Unfortunately, this is a prime example of the old saying "they don't make 'em like that anymore". It's not what I'd call a western classic...not quite...but it's very entertaining. Recommended.
-
(http://ec3.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000063INF.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
The Villain
The cowboy Handsome Stranger (Arnold Schwarzenegger) will escort miss Charming Jones (Ann-Margret) to get a large sum of money from her father, Parody Jones. But the rich Avery Jones wants to lay his hands on the money and hires an old cowboy, Cactus Jack (Kirk Douglas), to rob them when they ride back from her father. However, Cactus Jack is not very good at robbing people.
The DVD:
Video: 1:33.1 Full Screen
Running Time: 89m
Extras: Trailers--Not for this movie but for 3 other films including The Quick & The Dead and Cat Ballou.
My Thoughts:
First off, Kirk Douglas doesn't play a cowboy but is an outlaw from the very start...and his age is never mentioned in the movie. I really wanted to like this movie but after a nice overhead opening showing off the majestic Monument Valley, it went downhill from there. It's just painfully unfunny with jokes telegraphed a mile in advance and not carried off very well. Great stars like Strother Martin, Paul Lynde and Jack Elam are wasted and even Kirk Douglas & Ann-Margret, pros though they may be, couldn't bring this to life. The director is Hal Needham...best known as a stuntman and director of Smokey and the Bandit. This movie may explain why you never hear of him anymore. If you're looking for a funny comedy-western, avoid this turkey and watch Support Your Local Sheriff, McLintock! or Cat Ballou instead.
Adding insult to injury, the movie is presented in pan & scan format. :thumbdown:
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fPSU17XrL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)
Director: Burt Kennedy
Cast: James Garner, Suzanne Pleshette, Jack Elam, Harry Morgan, John Dehner, Chuck Connors, Joan Blondell, Dub Taylor, Marie Windsor
A few years after the success of Support Your Local Sheriff, this follow-up was produced and released. Despite the similar title, same director and much of the same cast (but with Suzanne Pleshette as the leading lady instead of Joan Hackett), the film is not a sequel to the earlier film...but it's done in the same humorous bent. In this film, Latigo Smith (James Garner) has escaped the clutches of a woman with matrimony on her mind and finds himself in the town of Purgatory where two mining factions are in a race for the mother lode. Latigo winds up with a comical sidekick of a cowboy (Jack Elam) who he gets to pretend to be gunslinger Swifty Morgan and his scheme seems to be working...until the real swifty (Chuck Connors) comes to town. While I enjoy this movie, for some reason I didn't find it quite as funny as Support Your Local Sheriff but it's still better than a lot of the so-called comedy-westerns out there. And there's lots of familiar faces in this which always makes such films fun to watch.
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5118PNH91HL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Sunset (1988)
Director: Blake Edwards
Music: Henry Mancini
Cast: Bruce Willis, James Garner, Mariel Hemingway, Kathleen Quinlan, Jennifer Edwards, Malcolm McDowell
They broke every rule loved every woman took every risk and solved the most shocking murder in the history of beverly hills. And its all true. Give or take a lie or two.
My Thoughts--I wasn't quite sure what to make of this...and it's not really a western but I'm including it among my "westerns" reviews because it does have as its two lead characters famed lawman Wyatt Earp (James Garner) and cowboy movie star Tom Mix (Bruce Willis). According to the write-up in the booklet, they originally wanted Robert Duvall in the Tom Mix part, but they couldn't get any financing for that casting and when Willis showed interest, he was cast and the movie was made. Casting is also a small quibble I had here...Bruce Willis doesn't really look much like Tom Mix...he looked okay when in the white cowboy outfit but usually he just looked nothing like Mix to me. This movie takes place around 1929 or so...how old would Wyatt Earp have been then? Somehow, I think he would have looked a lot older than James Garner looks in this film...but perhaps Garner didn't want to be made up to look 70 or so...I guess we'll have to chalk this up to dramatic license.
In the film, Tom Mix has been cast to star as Wyatt Earp in a new movie and the real Wyatt is brought on board as a technical adviser. He doesn't cotton much to studio politics but he and star Tom Mix hit it off pretty well. Before long, they get embroiled in a murder mystery and it's an interesting tale...apparently based on an actual novel. I actually found this film to be more entertaining than I originally thought it would be and it certainly kept my interest throughout, though there are so many characters it does get just a bit confusing at times. I liked the opening which is a recreation of a typical Tom Mix western rescue and I liked the western-style music...the music is actually awfully familiar sounding to me. But I'm not going to go listening to the music from all my films to figure out where I may have heard it before. Much of the film does take place in glitzy Hollywood...the nightclubs, mansions and the first ever Academy Awards. If you get a chance, check it out...you may enjoy it. Just don't include it as an "official" Wyatt Earp movie...
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61251T7JN9L._SS500_.jpg)
Bar 20 Rides Again (Part of a double-feature DVD that includes "Hopalong Cassidy", the first film in the series)
Cast: William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, George "Gabby" Hayes, Harry Worth, Jean Rouveral, Al St. John, Paul Fix
Director: Howard Bretherton Camera: Archie Stout Year of Release: 1935
Plot: Hoppy gets a letter from a friend (and the father of a girl Johnny has seen) telling him he is having rustling problems...and not to tell Johnny since his daughter Margaret is now seeing someoone else. Hoppy reveals to Johnny part of the message (about Margaret, not the rustling) and the impetuous Johnny (Jimmy Ellison) takes off for the ranch ahead of Hoppy. It turns out that the man Margaret is seeing is secretly the mastermind behind the rustling and someone who sees himself as a Western Napoleon...he even has Napoleon's personal snuff box. Hoppy disguises himself as a gambler and infiltrates the rustler's band of outlaws while also befriending a prospector named Windy (Gabby Hayes). It all eventually comes to a head ahd Hoppy, with the aid of his Bar 20 riders, once again emerges victorious.
I enjoyed this film a lot...of course, you have to be in a "Hoppy" mood to watch such a film. Luckily for those of us who aren't into singing cowboys, there's only one short number (Johnny serenading Margaret) and lots of action, well-shot by Archie Stout who would eventually go on to "A" pictures (for instance, he was one of the photographers for The Quiet Man). Gabby Hayes had appeared in the first two Hoppy films as different characters, getting killed in both films, but in this film he first played Windy and survived to aid Hoppy in several future films. The Hoppy films are fun to watch with Hopalong having a great sense of humor and Johnny being a hothead who usually rushes headlong into action without thinking. A good film for the kid in all of us. ;D
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CVXANDPAL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
When The Daltons Rode (1940) 81 minutes
Director: George Marshall
Cast: Randolph Scott, Kay Francis, Brian Donlevy, George Bancroft, Broderick Crawford, Andy Devine, Stuart Erwin
Plot: Lawyer Tod Jackson (Randolph Scott), childhood friend of the Dalton family, stops by upon his arrival in Kansas. Before long, circumstances conspire to put the Daltons on the wrong side of the law with Jackson having to decide on who to help while falling for Bob Dalton's girl.
As with most earlier movie westerns dealing with real historical figures of the Old West, this is a highly fictionalized account of the Dalton family. Still, director George Marshall (who had directed the comedy-western Destry Rides Again the year before) keeps things lively with some light comedic touches (mostly in the person of Andy Devine) and with some excellent stunt work including such stunts as gunmen jumping in unison onto the top of a moving train, jumping from a railroad car while on horseback and falling under a moving stagecoach, grabbing hold of the back end and hauling himself back onto the top of it.
Surprisingly, Randolph Scott is not the stalwart hero with a six-gun in this film...I'm not sure if he even touches a gun during the entire picture. He plays a lawyer and tries to help the Daltons in his own way (much of it happening offscreen) while we get a lot of the film concentrating on the doings of the Daltons themselves. As in real life, the movie ends with the entire Dalton gang meeting their end while trying to pull off a daring daytime bank robbery. The movie is bookended with Scott talking with a rambling wagon repairman played by Edgar Buchanan.
The DVD has a fine black & white print but there are no extras.
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61YCDTYA71L._SS500_.jpg)
Silverado: 2-Disc Gift Set
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Music by Bruce Broughton
Cast: Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, Brian Dennehy, Linda Hunt, John Cleese, Rosanna Arquette
This edition of Silverado is one I probably got a year or two ago...and was my third copy of the movie on DVD. The first copy I got they goofed up on and put it out in the wrong aspect ratio...1.85:1 (or what I call moderate widescreen). I got another copy of the movie later in it's proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio (a more pronounced widescreen). Then, when this 2-disc gift set came out I picked it up. It came with a Silverado deck of cards inserted into the center where "saloon doors" open up to reveal it. It also came with a nice booklet with an article inside titled "Silverado and the American Western" by Frank Thompson and it also includes many nice color photos from the movie. I think you can still get this as a 2-disc set but probably not in the gift set packaging anymore. The 2-disc set alone was re-issued at the beginning of this year.
The movie itself is in a case holding two discs. Disc 1, of course, holds the movie in "Superbit" presentation...this was a technique where they used all a disc's memory for the movie itself to give you the highest quality image and sound (this has now been pretty much replaced by the newer Blu-Ray systerm). Along with the movie, Disc 1 also holds an audio commentary by 3 western writers and historians and this is an interesting discussion. I'll have to watch the movie again soon so I can listen to this in it's entirety. Disc 2 has some extras...not a lot...a couple items there are basically promos for other westerns from Columbia...The Quick and The Dead, Hangman's Knot and some others. Then there is "A Return to Silverado with Kevin Costner" which is Costner sitting and discussing the film and his involvement with it. There's also a nice piece on the making of the movie featuring interviews with the other stars and such filmmakers as director Lawrence Kasdan, his co-writer and brother Mark Kasdan and composer Bruce Broughton. I liked Broughton's score to this movie a great deal and am surprised I haven't seen his name on more movies.
Regarding the movie itself, it deals with four men (two brothers, played by Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner, plus Kevin Kline and Danny Glover) who wind up working together to take on the criminal element in the town of Silverado. There's lots of action, though I wonder if they couldn't have edited the film just a bit more...this is still one of my very favorite PJW westerns (Post John Wayne) but at 132 minutes, it is just a little long. You have everything in here you could want in a western...jailbreaks, saloon brawls, showdowns, a cattle stampede...about the only thing missing are Indians. This might be considered the last of the classic westerns in that while there's lots of action and shooting, you don't get people spurting blood in slow-motion as in The Wild Bunch or anything else too objectionable. The film garnered an appropriate PG-13 rating. As the movie ends and the two brothers ride off, Jake yells back "We'll be back!" which was a teaser that a sequel might happen but unfortunately the movie didn't make enough money to warrant one so this wound up the one and only Silverado adventure. Dust off your chaps, strap on your gunbelt and enjoy this one, pards...it garners a full 5 yee-haws from this ol' westerner.
-
Hey... what you know... one I actually seen! :P And enjoyed! :thumbup:
-
Thanks for the good review, Roger! Confirms in the urge to purchase the recently released Blu-ray shortly :thumbup:
-
You're welcome and I appreciate the comments. I've gotten behind in my reviewing...I don't have as much time to watch DVDs as before as I'm now going for dialysis 3 times a week and 2 of those days (Mondays and Wednesdays) I'm also trying to watch a full night of sitcoms (CBS on Mondays, ABC on Wednesdays). So I'll try to review more when I can. ::)
-
I was curious about composer Bruce Broughton and just looked him up. Prior to Silverado, he mainly did music for TV series episodes. Since then, he's done other movies but not a lot of really recognizable titles. Among the movies he did do music for were Young Sherlock Holmes, Sweet Liberty, The Boy Who Could Fly, Harry and the Hendersons, Betsy's Wedding, Stay Tuned and Lost In Space. The only notable western movie he composed music for was Tombstone. I need to see that one soon, too.
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jQHsH31NL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
The Hoppy film I watched this time is from one of several volumes put out by Platinum, each containing 5 original Hopalong Cassidy films. Besides the one I discuss below, this volume also includes Undercover Man, Three Men From Texas, Stick To Your Guns and The Dead Don't Dream.
Colt Comrades (1943)
Director: Lesley Selander
Cast: William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, George Reeves, Gayle Lord, Earl Hodgins, Victory Jory, Douglas Fowley, Herbert Rawlinson, Bob Mitchum
The earliest Hopalong Cassidy movies came out in 1935 and I had actually started to watch them in order that they came out but I decided to move ahead in the series so I could catch an episode with a few other familiar faces. Of course, I also had to "take a hit" with that idea as well because by 1943, Gabby Hayes had left the series and Andy Clyde had taken over the part of the "funny old geezer" role, playing a character named California at this point. The first familiar face in this short film was Robert Mitchum (billed as Bob Mitchum in the credits), playaing a bad guy as he did in most of his handful of appearances in the Hoppy films. He actuallyl winds up dead about 10 minutes into the picture but he gets it off to a quick start, gunning down a railroad man, stealing his mailbag and then being caught and finally gunned down himself. The plotline has Hoppy and his friends using their share of the reward money for capturing him and using it to become partners on a cattle ranch with a man and his sister who are already there...the man here is the other familiar face in this film, George Reeves, later to be tht title star of TV's "The Adventures of Superman". Apart from a few interesting plot twists, this is pretty much a standard Hopalong Cassidy movie which means it's got lots of gunplay, people running to the rescue on horseback and a fair smidgen of comedy relief. At the end of the tale, so we don't expect Hoppy to be stuck on his own ranch for the rest of his cinema career, we learn he's been called back to work by the law due to other outlaw concerns. Maybe that's why George Reeves didn't become a permanent member of the Hoppy cast, too.
-
I don't think I ever seen any of the Hopalong Cassidy movies. :bag: I did always enjoy George Reeves in the Adventures of Superman series. :)
-
Like most "B" westerns, I believe the Hoppy movies were aimed at the younger crowd. They were fast moving with lots of running horses and gunplay and a minimum of romantic plotlines. And they were short...most were about an hour long though I think the longest Hoppy movie ever made did manage to clock in at 82 minutes.
-
Riders of Destiny (1933) 58 Minutes (?)
Directed by Robert N. Bradbury
Cast: John Wayne, Cecilia Parker, George "Gabby" Hayes, Forrest Taylor, Yakima Canutt, Al St. John
While most of my reviews are done watching DVDs, I found this on an old VHS tape I've had for many years. This movie has doubtless found its way onto many a public domain DVD westerns collection, though, I would imagine.
This was probably to be the first of a series of films where John Wayne played a character called "Singin' Sandy" and in the opening credits he is billed as "John Wayne as Singin' Sandy" but I think this was actually the only official Singin' Sandy movie ever made. In the movie, it starts off with him riding the trail on horseback...while singing...and playing a guitar...all at the same time. He finds a sheriff who has been shot in the back. He eventually comes to town where ranchers have to deal with a villain who wants to buy their ranches at dirt-cheap prices while charging them exorbitant prices for much-needed water. Singin' Sandy doesn't tell anyone who he is...it turns out he is a government agent sent to find out what is going on and help solve the situation. Not only does Sandy sing to the daughter of a rancher he encounters, but he also sings just before he plugs a bad guy. He makes the bad guy think he's helping him but it's all part of a clever plan and the bad guy ironically meets his end by drowning in newly released lakes of water.
A book I have lists this movie as 58 minutes (about the average length for a "B" western back in those days) but my copy is actually a bit shorter, running only about 52-54 minutes.
As with most quickie westerns of the time, the story moves along very quickly but the whole singing thing (especially since John Wayne's singing was obviously dubbed by another singer) makes the whole affair an unbelievably corny time, even for me when I'm in my "young cowpoke" guise. There's some decent photography and a nice stunt or two so it's not really that hard to take...but I definitely wouldn't call it a classic. I enjoyed seeing it again after many years so m aybe I'll look it up in another decade or so.
-
Sounds like a decent storyline... though I don't think I could handle all that singing! :P
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WFHMEGZZL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Wyatt Earp
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Music by James Newton Howard
Interestingly, this movie and another movie about Wyatt Earp called Tombstone both hit the big screen within a year or so of each other...maybe they both came out the same year...I'm not real sure. But becasue they were released so quickly together, many people compared them together which may be an unfortunate thing. I've yet to see the other film so I won't do that. Unlike Tombstone, which I assume concentrates on one part of Wyatt Earp's career, this film (which was originally planned to be a TV mini-series and later turned into a feature film when director Kasdan came aboard. Perhaps the span was too great for one film...it certainly is a long one, beginning when WSyatt was a teenager and ending a bit after the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (with a tacked-on finale with Wyatt in his later years following the Alaskan Gold Rush. This film stars Kevin Costner as Wyatt with a terrific performance by Dennis Quaid as Doc Holiday who lost a lot of weight t play the ill doctor who was suffering from tuberculosis. There's a lot of familiar names in this film from Isabella Rosselini (as Big-Nose Kate) to Tom Skerritt. It's got some great photography and a great score and I can't complain about the direction. But I do think the film is a bit long and includes perhaps too much. Among the extras, in fact, are even more scenes that didn't make the final cut...here they call them "lifted" rather than deleted scenes for some reason. There are also some other extras including a documentary and TV special. My one gripe about the DVD is they divide the movie over 2 discs...at one point you have to take Disc 1 out and put in Disc 2 to continue watching the film. But while I do think the film includes too wide a sweep, I must say I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would since I had read a few not-so-great reviews of this film. This isn't the best Wyatt Earp film around but I did enjoy it.
-
Interestingly, this movie and another movie about Wyatt Earp called Tombstone both hit the big screen within a year or so of each other...maybe they both came out the same year...I'm not real sure. But becasue they were released so quickly together, many people compared them together which may be an unfortunate thing. I've yet to see the other film so I won't do that. Unlike Tombstone, which I assume concentrates on one part of Wyatt Earp's career, this film (which was originally planned to be a TV mini-series and later turned into a feature film when director Kasdan came aboard. Perhaps the span was too great for one film...it certainly is a long one, beginning when WSyatt was a teenager and ending a bit after the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (with a tacked-on finale with Wyatt in his later years following the Alaskan Gold Rush. This film stars Kevin Costner as Wyatt with a terrific performance by Dennis Quaid as Doc Holiday who lost a lot of weight t play the ill doctor who was suffering from tuberculosis. There's a lot of familiar names in this film from Isabella Rosselini (as Big-Nose Kate) to Tom Skerritt. It's got some great photography and a great score and I can't complain about the direction. But I do think the film is a bit long and includes perhaps too much. Among the extras, in fact, are even more scenes that didn't make the final cut...here they call them "lifted" rather than deleted scenes for some reason. There are also some other extras including a documentary and TV special. My one gripe about the DVD is they divide the movie over 2 discs...at one point you have to take Disc 1 out and put in Disc 2 to continue watching the film. But while I do think the film includes too wide a sweep, I must say I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would since I had read a few not-so-great reviews of this film. This isn't the best Wyatt Earp film around but I did enjoy it.
I love this film, though I do I realise it's a long one! Mind you, Dances With Wolves is my absolute favourite film of all, so I obviously don't mind Costner taking his time... :P I just like the rather lyrical approach to the story and it looks fantastic. Tombstone is more fun, but I think this has more substance and quality. Everyone talks about Val Kilmer as Holliday and he is superb, but again, Quaid I find stunning in the role. Still, neither of them have exactly built on it so all's fair!
The two films were a year apart. Costner was working on Tombstone, but disagreed about the direction, so worked with Lawrence Kasdan to develop what he thought was the right way to do it. To both films credit, they are quite different.
Thanks for the review, Roger. I know you're finding it tough, so take care.
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZYMDJ9E5L._SS500_.jpg)
The Outlaw (1943)
Produced and Directed by Howard Hughes
Screenwriter: Jules Furthman
Music by Victor Young
Cast: Jack Beutel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell, Walter Huston
This picture was started by Howard Hawks...who producer Howard Hughes had some difficulties with...so Hawks went off to direct Sergeant York and Hughes took over the directing himself (though screenwriter Jules Furthman often subbed for Hughes so we're not sure how much of the film Hughes actually directed). It is another of the many films about Billy the Kid with Billy played by Jack Beutel (a virtual unknown save for this picture) with his girlfriend played by Jane Russell. Thomas Mitchell portrays Pat Garrett and they even throw in Doc Holiday (played here by Walter Huston) and while Doc is indeed a gambler, he shows no signs of sickness for which was a real problem for him...he doesn't cough once in this picture! The story begins with Doc's arrival in town where he meets up with his old friend Pat Garrett...and then Billy quickly shows up as well and Doc quickly becomes friends with Billy and thus becomes an enemy to lawman Garrett.
This is not really a great western...Thomas Mitchell doesn't really have the stature to be a western hero and he is not particularly a noble person in this film. Much of the photography centers on the voluptuous Russell, sometimes to nearly comical effect (at least when viewed in this century). But the film is lively and never boring. I liked Beutel's performance so it's disappointing his career never really amounted to much. The photography is good (even during some obvious process shots) and the plot moves along brisquely. I have the Roan edition of this...the print is first-rate with very clear sound. This DVD only has one extra, the movie trailer though the quality of the coming attraction isn't nearly as good-looking as the film itself. I would say if you're looking for one of the great westerns, this isn't it...but if you just want to watch a fun western, you can do worse than The Outlaw. ;D
-
Good to see you reviewing again Roger! :thumbup:
-
Thanks, Pete. I'm going to try to get back into the habit of doing them again (my last review was in December). I was torn yesterday between the one I did and a Clint Eastwood western. I may do the Eastwood one I was thinking of next...perhaps tomorrow.
-
I've been meaning to see The Outlaw for a long time, ever since I did research into the production code. For one reason or another, I've just never gotten around to seeing it. I'll definitely be adding it to my list for summer viewing once I graduate.
-
I mentioned watching The Outlaw on my Facebook page last night. My brother said his wife found that sad...that this was all I had to waste a Sunday on watching. :tv:
-
I mentioned watching The Outlaw on my Facebook page last night. My brother said his wife found that sad...that this was all I had to waste a Sunday on watching. :tv:
Lemme at 'em! :voodoo:
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-vQOrm04L._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
The Cimarron Kid (1952)
Director: Budd Boetticher
Cast: Audie Murphy, Beverly Tyler, James Best, Yvette Dugay, John Hudson, Leif Erickson, Noah Beery Jr., Hugh O'Brian
One book I have says this came out in 1951...another says 1952...I was born in 1952, so let's go with that one. In this film, Audie Murphy plays Bill Longley, AKA: The Cimarron Kid who is just out of prison for a previous crime. While going towards the ranch he will be working at, the train he is on is held up by the Dalton gang. Since he was friends with them, several on the train jump to the erroneous conclusion that the kid was in on it as well and he has to fight his way off the train. Later, he is still accused and has to join up with the Daltons after all, just in time to join them on one of the great failed bank jobs in history as the gang tries to rob two banks in the same town in broad daylight. Most of the gang is killed but the Kid and another escape and the rest of the film deals with his continued exploits and a woman who wants him to go straight so they can be together. There are many familiar faces in this film including Hugh O'Brian in red hair and a beard looking quite different than he would on TV in a few years when he would play the part of Wyatt Earp. While the film was directed by Budd Boetticher, this film is not as important as the films he would make later in the decade with Randolph Scott but it is still a lively quick-moving film. This is well worth the purchase, especially since this can be found on a release that includes no less than 4 western features. It also has a bit of a surprise ending...well, I was surprised anyway. :D