The two-month retrospective entitled Dark City, Open Country: The Films of Anthony Mann. Which opened in January at the UCLA Motion Picture & Television Archive at the Billy Wilder Theatre, continues. Best known for his post-war western collaborations with James Stewart at Universal, he also directed many other excellent westerns, as well as gritty crime stories, at all of the major studios as well as the poverty row outfits. On Wednesday, March 12th, it’s T-MEN (1947) and RAW DEAL (1948). March 15th SIDE STREET (1950) and WINCHESTER ’73 (1950). March 23rd THE TALL TARGET (1951) and THE FAR COUNTRY (1954). And finally, on March 30th MAN OF THE WEST (1958) and THE TIN STAR (1957).
Sunday, March 9, 2014
MARYLAND WESTERN ‘DAY OF THE GUN’ REVIEWED, PLUS ‘STARDUST COWBOYS’ TICKET GIVEAWAY!
MARYLAND-LENSED WESTERN ‘DAY OF THE GUN’ – A Film
Review
Eric Roberts as Tanner
Over the years we’ve gotten used to seeing Westerns
made in Spain and Italy; in Germany and Croatia – the Karl May films; Australia
and New Zealand; and even the Canary Islands – okay, just once, with TAKE A
HARD RIDE. But somehow, making a Western
in Maryland seems the most bizarre of all.
Yet Maryland-based filmmaker Wayne Shipley and his One-Eyed Horse Productions has recently completed their second
Western feature there, DAY OF THE GUN. GUN
and his previous feature, ONE-EYED HORSE, along with several shorts, have all
been set in the fictional frontier town of Singletree, Montana, and for this
newest film, his crew actually ventured to Montana, though the vast majority
was shot in that neighbor to New England, Maryland.
For Shipley’s most ambitious, and I would assume
most costly, film to date, he has reached outside of his stock-company of
actors to Hollywood, and hired Eric Roberts to play a crucial role. The story concerns a widow, Maggie Carter
(LaDon Hart Hall), who has taken over the reins of the family spread from her
late husband. An opinionated and
aggressive woman, she is not welcomed to the fold by the other local cattle
ranchers, and when one of them (Jim Osborn) starts fencing in open range to
combat rustling, a line has been crossed which she cannot forgive: a range war
is inevitable. Into this battleground
comes her son (Ned Carter), still smarting from disfiguring face scars; and her
daughter (Rachel McCall), just home from an eastern college. And the daughter’s romantic interest is none
other than the son (Jason Brown) of the fence-raising cattleman. The son was once Maggie’s son’s best friend,
and even introduced him to the girl who took a broken bottle to his face.
This is an unusually big story for recent westerns, especially
low-budget ones, a throwback to family-centered Western stories like BROKEN
LANCE and FLAMING STAR and TV’s BONANZA and BIG VALLEY. Shipley succeeds in making the production
seem big enough. The Western town is
extensive and well-detailed, the rolling stock and horse-flesh
substantial. The location is
attractively lush and green, and the gun-action is long and loud, well-staged,
with plenty of participants. The weapons
and, by-and-large the wardrobe, are attractive and, with the exception of some
of the ladies’ hats, historically accurate.
Cinematographer and editor Jeff Herberger frames his shots to good
effect – sometimes spectacular effect in the Montana sequences – and edits
well. Standout sequences include an
extended shoot-out with the rustlers, and an unusual climax filmed on a
mountain-top.
Writer- director Shipley stages the action
well. His manner of writing dialogue is
not the naturalistic style mostly favored today, but a much more literary
one. That calls for precise delivery to
not sound stilted, and not all of the cast is up to that challenge. And there is one bit of casting for a central
role that seems so off-the-mark that it’s hard for the film to recover. But when, late in the story, Eric Roberts
appears as a hired gun with a personal stake in the events, the professionalism
of the project is kicked up several notches.
Very recently completed, DAY OF THE GUN is making
the rounds of film festivals, and we’ll let you know when it’s available. To learn more about One-Eyed Horse Productions, HERE’s the link to their site.
WIN TICKETS TO SEE ‘THE STARDUST COWBOYS’ MARCH 20TH!
The
Stardust Cowboys, having played Western Swing at
concerts, rodeos, conventions, fairs and cowboy gatherings all over Northern
California for two decades, will make their much-anticipated premiere Los
Angeles-area appearance on Thursday, March 20th. It’s part of
the OutWest Concert
Series at the Repertory East Playhouse, at 24266
Main Street, Newhall, CA 91321. The Stardust
Cowboys draw their inspiration from the fabled Bob Wills who, with his Texas Playboys, invented Western Swing,
that delightful mash-up of cowboy and big band music. They play a mix of traditional western songs
as well as their own originals, and their live shows are full of humor and high
energy.
You
can buy tickets for $20 by calling OutWest at 661-255-7087. This concert is
part of the OutWest series -- in case
you haven’t noticed, we have a new sponsor here at the Round-up, the OutWest Western
Boutique and Cultural Center in Newhall – just go to the top left corner of the
Round-up, click their logo, and you’ll be magically transported to their
wonderful store. The doors open at 7 p.m., and the concert begins at 8,
and Bobbi Jean Bell, purveyor of OutWest,
tells me that Newhall is having their 3rd Thursday of the month
block party, SENSES (as in delighting the same), so you might want to arrive
early for dinner from the food trucks, live music – and to find parking. Bobbi
also tells me that if you’re coming to the concert, you might want to dress up! SCTV
will be filming the show, and you just may be on TV!
So you say you’d like to win a free pair
of tickets to see The Stardust Cowboys? Here’s what you need
to do. Number one, before you enter, make
sure you live someplace where you can actually get to the concert from (I just checked, and right now folks are
reading the Round-up in Thailand, The Netherlands and China, but I doubt most
can make it here). Number two, send an email to
swansongmail@sbcglobal.net, with ‘Stardust
Cowboys ticket giveaway’ in the subject line. Make sure to include your
name, snail-mail address, and phone number. And here’s the challenging
part: name the band leader other than Bob
Wills, who was also called The
King of Western Swing, and who used to be a movie stand-in for Roy Rogers!
Please be sure to send your entry by 11 pm Saturday, March 15th. The
winner will be selected randomly from all correct entries. And below is a
sneak preview of The Stardust Cowboys.
SEE ‘3:10 TO YUMA’ MON. AT AERO WITH DIR. JAMES MANGOLD
Monday, March 10th, at 7:30 p.m., you can
see one of the best and most important Westerns of recent years, 3:10 TO YUMA (2007), to be followed by a
discussion with director James Mangold, moderated by Geoff Boucher. The film stars Russell Crowe as an outlaw
being transported to jail, and Christian Bale as the failing farmer who agrees to
put Crowe on the train of the title, no matter what the cost. Also starring are Ben Foster (who’s so good
he steals the picture) and Peter Fonda.
One of those rare cases where the remake is comparable to the original,
the Elmore Leonard story was first filmed in 1957, with Delmer Daves directing
Glenn Ford in the Crowe role, and Van Heflin in the Bale role. Go HERE for more information, and
tickets.
PAPERBACK SHOW MOVES TO GLENDALE!
DO go to the Paperback Collectors
Show on Sunday, March 16th, but DO NOT go to that hotel on Sepulveda
where it’s been for a decade – now it’s at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401
N. Verdugo Road, Glendale, CA 91208.
Parking is free, admission is five clams. This is a great annual event, and a wonderful
opportunity to fill in the gaps in your collection. This is where I track down all my
hard-to-find Luke Shorts and Donald Hamiltons and the like. You can find not just westerns, but sci-fi,
crime, horror, and lots of pulps. The
pristine stuff gets pricey, but speaking as a paperback slob rather than a
snob, I’ve never paid more than $2.50 for anything. Authors will be there to sign your books for
free, and while there are no big western
guys, some of the civilian authors of note include Earl ‘The Waltons’ Hamner,
George Clayton Jackson, David Gerrold, Ib Melchior, William F. Nolan, Larry
Niven, and Harlan Ellison (Harlie will sign two of your books if you buy one
from him – and don’t tell him I called
him Harlie!) To find the authors signing times, go here: http://la-vintage-paperback-show.com/#sthash.bPAEwAhx.dpbs
ANTHONY MANN RETROSPECTIVE
CONTINUES AT BILLY WILDER/UCLA
The two-month retrospective entitled Dark City, Open Country: The Films of Anthony Mann. Which opened in January at the UCLA Motion Picture & Television Archive at the Billy Wilder Theatre, continues. Best known for his post-war western collaborations with James Stewart at Universal, he also directed many other excellent westerns, as well as gritty crime stories, at all of the major studios as well as the poverty row outfits. On Wednesday, March 12th, it’s T-MEN (1947) and RAW DEAL (1948). March 15th SIDE STREET (1950) and WINCHESTER ’73 (1950). March 23rd THE TALL TARGET (1951) and THE FAR COUNTRY (1954). And finally, on March 30th MAN OF THE WEST (1958) and THE TIN STAR (1957).
SANTA CLARITA COWBOY FEST BOOKSIGNERS ANNOUNCED
One of the high points of the Santa Clarita Cowboy
Festival, which will be April 26 & 27 at Melody Ranch, is the Buckaroo Book
Shop, where author of Western fact and fiction will be signing their books and
meeting their fans. The Book Shop is run
by the folks at OutWest, and they’ve just finalized their list of authors who’ll
be attending. Cheryl Rogers-Barnett (daughter of Roy and
Dale), Margaret Brownley, Jim Christina, Peter Conway, Steve Deming, Edward M.
Erdelac, J.P. Gorman, Dale B. Jackson, Jim Jones, C. Courtney Joyner (see my
review of his SHOTGUN in next week’s Round-up), Andria Kidd, Antoinette Lane,
Jerry Nickle (a descendant of Harry Longabaugh, alias the Sundance Kid), J.R.
Sanders, Tony Sanders, Janet Squires, ‘Cowgirl Peg’ Sundberg, Miles Hood
Swarthout (who scripted THE SHOOTIST), Rod Thompson, and Nancy Pitchford-Zee. We’ll have a schedule as the date gets
closer.
DESERT PAST COMES ALIVE AT 8TH ANNUAL ‘VALLECITO
DAY’ SAT. MARCH 15
Held at and around the original Vallecito stage
station, this one-day event will feature tours, a reenactment of California
soldiers’ historic march along the southern Overland Trail at the start of the
Civil War, how-to demonstrations for throwing a
tomahawk, archery, flint and steel fire making, soap-making and how to cook on
an open hearth. There will
be mountain man demonstrations as well.
You are encouraged to come in 1850s and 1860s attire, and encouraged to
bring food, as none will be available.
Learn more details, including how to get there. At this link: http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/parks/press/VallecitoDay.html
‘ZORRO’ REBOOT IN THE WORKS AT SONY
According to Deadline Hollywood, Chris Boal has
been signed to script a new Zorro, to be produced by Walter Parkes and Laurie
MacDonald. Playwright Boal has lately
scripted three upcoming films: sci-fier OLD MAN’S WAR for Paramount, and Viking
pic VANGUARD for Wolfgang Peterson, and CESAR for Warner Brothers.
NOT A HALLUCINATION!
NEW VIDEO STORE OPENS IN SHERMAN OAKS, CA!
Just about cracked up the Toyota on the way to
Sharky’s when I saw the ‘Grand Opening’ sign!
The new Video Hut at 13326 Burbank Boulevard in Sherman Oaks 91401, has
been open just a week, still getting organized, so they don’t have a Westerns
section yet. But a casual glance around
showed more than a dozen Western titles, including DJANGO UNCHAINED, new and
old TRUE GRIT, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, OPEN RANGE, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN,
SWEETWATER, LAST RITES OF RANSOM PRIDE, GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE – MEASURE OF A
MAN, GUNDOWN, the HATFIELDS & MCCOYS miniseries, and Fred Olen Ray’s film
on the same subject, TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARAH, 3:10 TO YUMA, ACE HIGH, ACES
& 8S, APALOOSA, AMERICAN BANDITS – FRANK AND JESSE JAMES, AMERICAN OUTLAWS,
BLAZING SADDLES, BROKEN BULLET, and LONE RANGER both for rent and for
sale. I rented DEAD IN TOMBSTONE on
BluRay, and will soon have a review (take THAT, Universal, who wouldn’t answer
my requests for a review copy!). They
also had multiples of the Oscar pics, and the HUNGER GAMES movies. They’re open 7 days a week, from ten ‘til midnight,
and all rentals are $1.50, $1.62 with tax.
Their phone is 818-994-5878.
THAT'S A WRAP!
Every time someone has a monopoly, the customers get
burned. We saw it when Blockbuster drove the mom and pop stores
out of business with their huge selection, then dumped 3/4s of their
films. Blockbuster got killed by Netflix,
and now Netflix is dumping tons of
their content. I tried to catch up with
Oscar movies through VOD on DirecTV, it worked twice, and then it took 36 hours
to download half of 12 YEARS A SLAVE –
during which my internet was dead (wish I’d realized the connection
sooner). And have I mentioned lately that DirecTV dropped INSP? My point is, the more choices
we have, the better. Support your local
video store if you still have one!
Happy Trails,
Henry
All Original Contents Copyright March 2014 by Henry C. Parke - All Rights Reserved
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C. Courtney Joyner: excellent.
ReplyDeleteEric Roberts: very cool.
Video Hut: great!
Man you are always full of good news! Thanks pal.
I don’t like to be unkind when it’s avoidable. It’s easy to criticize an actor as ‘bad’ when the truth is they weren’t right for the part, and all such judgments are subjective anyway. So no, I’m not naming them.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. It is so very much about casting sometimes!
ReplyDeleteAnd in the interest of transparency, I played the rustler Caleb Earl Bateman.
All things being subjective, I really enjoyed your article and appreciate your help getting the word out!
Cheers
~ jb ~
Hey John, I enjoyed you performance in DAY OF THE GUN. I was just watching your demo reel on IMDB. I've always enjoyed the Frick art collection, and had no idea Henry Frick was such a psycho and dirtbag! I've got to see you playing him in THE MEN WHO BUILT AMERICA! Much obliged, Henry..
ReplyDelete