Monday, June 29, 2015

‘HELL ON WHEELS’ FIRST PEEK, PLUS ‘THE LAST SHOOTIST’, ‘AUTRY VOL. 10’ REVIEWED!


‘HELL ON WHEELS’ FINAL SEASON STARTS JULY 18




When I said here that HELL ON WHEELS, the best original Western series in decades, would begin its fifth and final season on July 18th, I heard from star Anson Mount.  “Just to clarify, it’s not our final season, it’s our final order.  We’re airing seven of them this year, and seven of them next year, so there will be a ‘quote-unquote’ sixth season.” 

The first big difference will be that Cullen Bohanan (Mount) will be switching his allegiance from the Southern Pacific Railroad to their rivals in the race to Promontory Point, the Central Pacific.  I’ll have my review of the opening episode as we get closer to the 18th, and you can read my interview with Anson Mount in the September issue of TRUE WEST MAGAZINE.  In the meantime, here’s our first peek at the new season:




THE LAST SHOOTIST by Miles Swarthout – a Book Review



Glendon Swarthout is one of the most respected and enduring of Western novelists, and THE SHOOTIST may well be his finest work in the genre – the Western Writers of America voted it #4 in its list of Ten Best Western Novels of all-time.  So I can imagine the trepidation his son, Miles Swarthout, felt in doing a sequel.  But he has more right than anyone else, and not just because his father wrote the original.  In a unique-in-Hollywood package deal, before offering the original novel for publication, Glendon offered his son the chance to adapt it to a screenplay, and they were sold together.  So Miles was intimately involved in the story of aging gunslinger J.B. Books from the very beginning.

Many people know the story of THE SHOOTIST from the novel, but immeasurably more know it from the film, in which John Wayne gave his final performance, and one of his finest, due in no small part to father and son Swarthouts’ wonderful story and script, and Don Siegel’s equally fine direction.  SPOILER ALERT!  Of course, if you’ve read the novel or seen the movie, the quandary facing a sequel is clear: Books dies in the end.  The obvious approach would be to do a prequel, usually a disappointing, bastardized form of storytelling, where the reader, instead of being surprised, already knows the ending, and has to unexciting chore of judging how convincingly the teller gets there.  Instead, in THE LAST SHOOTIST, Miles has continued not the story of J.B. Books, but that of Gillom Rogers (Ron Howard in the film), the obnoxious son of Books’ landlady, Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall). 


Miles Swarthout with Courtney Joyner


And Miles has done an absolutely enthralling job!  If you haven’t read the first book, and you should, you don’t really know Gillom.  Ron Howard’s version was something of a punk, but on paper, Gillom Rogers is the poster-boy for callow youth.  As the story begins, continuing directly from the end of the first novel, Gillom, who has already stolen from the dying gunman, gives Books, at his request, the coup de gras as he lies bleeding, and keeps Books’ fabled pair of Remingtons as a prize.  
The possession of these pistols triggers a series of sometimes frantic adventures that send him running out of town, running for his life.  At first his wanderings seem random, but they are driving him to a dramatic conclusion, which will see Gillom become, if not quite a mature or wholly admirable man, at least someone on that road.  The way there is full interesting characters, both real and fictional. 

There is friendship, romance, and plenty of brutal bloodletting, much of which would not be necessary if Gillom used his head more often, which is, amazingly, much of the tale’s charm.  While the story is certainly not heartless, there is an often humorous sense of, “Well, what did he think was going to happen when he put himself in this position?”  You want to see what Gillom does next in the same way that you want to see where a runaway stagecoach will go.  

Hemingway described imitating another author’s style as, “…trying to beat dead men at their own game,” and Miles, while clearly influenced by his father’s work, does not slavishly copy Glendon, and has a very readable style all his own.  He also enjoys sharing the sort of detail that makes period stories come to life.  When you finish THE LAST SHOOTIST, in addition to being entertained, you will be prepared to start a new life, at the turn of the 20th century, as either a horse-breaker, or a whore in a mid-range brothel.  You can buy a signed copy of THE LAST SHOOTIST, as well as a DVD of the film THE SHOOTIST, from our friends at OutWest HERE.



GENE AUTRY COLLECTION # 10 – a Video Review



This newest collection of Public Cowboy #1’s movies features four early films, and much of the added pleasure is seeing both Gene’s and the film series’ growth from picture to picture.  The set features one movie per year from 1935 through 1938, and with Gene making eight pictures a year, the progress from picture to picture is striking.  All films feature sidekick Smiley Burnette and Champion.

In THE SINGING VAGABOND (1935), one of his few period Westerns, Gene leads a singing group of riders, the Singing Plainsmen, who rescue a wagon-train of showgirls, and Gene gets framed for horse-theft for his trouble.  Lovely Ann Rutherford, a runaway heiress, is his leading lady.  It’s a lot of fun, but the musical numbers are often operatic, and feel like they should be in a Dick Foran Western rather than an Autry.  Gene wears way too much make-up, and he hasn’t started playing himself – he’s ‘Tex’ Autry in this one.  Keep your eyes open for future Republic star Ray ‘Crash’ Corrigan in one of his earliest roles.

In OH, SUSANNA! (1936), fives movies later, it’s modern day (for 1936), and Gene plays radio star Gene Autry, who is once again framed, this time for murder.  The make-up is gone, the songs are more appropriate to Gene, and better incorporated.  But Gene does something you rarely see in later films – he kisses the girl, Frances Grant, at the end!  Directed by one of Republic’s finest, Joe Kane, the action is first rate.  It also features, as Aunt Peggy, one of the great stars of the silent screen, Clara Kimball Young.

In ROOTIN TOOTIN’ RHYTHM (1937), no one plans to frame rancher Gene Autry until he and Smiley knowingly steal and don clothes of known criminals!   The stress is on humor as well as action in this one, and the story is by Johnston McCulley, who created the character Zorro!  Mexicali Rose is one of the stand-out songs.  An amusing braggart character is Buffalo Brady, played by Hal Taliaferro (pronounced ‘Toliver’), who had been a star as Wally Wales, but had a much longer career after, as a supporting player.  Armida is Gene’s girl, and for the first of many times in a film, he sings in Spanish.  When they move in for a clinch at the end, the fans had already spoken their disapproval, so Gene and Armida actually step out of frame for a moment, then come back, and only Ernst Lubitsch fans will know they kissed! 

Finally with WESTERN JAMBOREE (1938), all of the elements you expect from an Autry movie are present, including Smiley Burnette’s classic wardrobe of checkered shirt and crushed black hat.  Also present was Ring-Eye, Smiley’s white horse, who had a black circle around one eye, presumably in tribute to Petey, the ring-eyed pit bull from the Our Gang comedies.  And what a plot!  Half is a lift from LADY FOR A DAY, the Capra-filmed Damon Runyon story, here about an old saddle tramp whose friends, including Gene, help him pass himself off as the owner of a dude ranch to impress his daughter and his would-be in-laws.  The other half of the plot is about helium rustlers!  The cast includes famous comic dancer Joe Frisco, Ken Maynard’s brother Kermit, and soon-to-be Western singing star Eddie Dean. 

The special features for the GENE AUTRY COLLECTION sets always match up each movie with stills and posters, interesting production facts, excerpts from the Melody Ranch Radio Show, and intros from MELODY RANCH THEATER.  MELODY RANCH THEATER was a 1987 TV series on The Nashville Network, where Gene and sidekick and movie historian Pat Buttram would introduce Gene’s movies.  Always entertaining, the four intros here are a remarkable collection not only for Gene’s fans, but for fans of Westerns in particular, and Hollywood in general.  The first features an interview with Gene’s leading lady not only in SMILING VAGABOND but in three other movies, Ann Rutherford.  They discuss not only her work with Gene, but her career at MGM, as Polly Benedict in the HARDY FAMILY films.  The second interview features Gene’s wife, Jackie Autry, and a discussion of the plans for the then not-yet-built Gene Autry Museum.  The third chat is with Alex Cohen, who started out as the teenage president of Gene Autry’s fan club in Britain, and later became Gene’s tour advance man and assistant for decades.  Finally, the boys talk to George Sherman, who directed Gene seven times, and John Wayne nine times -- from PALS OF THE SADDLE (1938) to BIG JAKE (1971).  Pat quizzes them, and hearing what George and Gene have to say about Republic Pictures, budgets, salaries, block booking, and colorization is, alone, worth the price of the collection. 

The folks at Gene Autry Entertainment tell me that by the end of 2015, every Gene Autry movie, TV show and his serial, THE PHANTOM EMPIRE, will be available on home video.  And they’re all available from our friends at The Autry Museum Store HERE.


THAT’S A WRAP!


Next week I’ll have news about and exciting new radio talk-show about Western writers, a potential new AMC Western series from the producer of JUSTIFIED, and my review of the new Scottish/Kiwi Western coming to home video, SLOW WEST!  Have a great week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright June 2015 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

ASTONISHING POSTER ART AUCTION, PLUS WESTERN STARS ON WALK O’ FAME, INSP DOUBLES SADDLE-UP SATURDAY, LIVE EVENTS!



Happy birthday (3 days ago) Errol Flynn!


REMARKABLE COLLECTION OF POSTER ART TO AUCTION JUNE 29TH & 30TH




I’ve simply never seen a collection like this one!  Whether you are a serious collector with deep pockets, or simply a fan of the art form, you need to take a look at this fabulous collection of movie art, most of it lobby cards, from the collection of Morris Everett Jr.  


Richard Dix as white man and Indian


The auction is by Invaluable, in association with Profiles in History.  There will be about 700 lots each day.  The first day will focus on silent and sound horror and sci-fi, silent divas, Buster Keaton, the Three Stooges, Harry Houdini, Sherlock Holmes, Humphrey Bogart and Alfred Hitchcock.  



The second day will feature great leading ladies, film noir, the golden age of comedy, animation, and of course Westerns, with a focus on John Wayne.   



The Western lots are 1126-1166, starting with an oversized pressbook from THE BIG TRAIL, and ending with a lobby card from MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, but there are single Western lobby cards scattered throughout.  HERE is the link to the pdf of the catalog.   

The link to Auction Day #1 is HERE.  The link to Auction Day #2 is HERE.



Wake up, dummy!


That's a young John Wayne, 2nd from the right!




WESTERNERS RUSSELL, TARANTINO, MIFUNE GET WALK OF FAME STARS!




Today, the performers who will receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016 were named.  As usual the choices are a mix of the well-deserved and the laughable.  But three are for folks with unassailable cowboy street creds: Kurt Russell has been in Westerns since he was a lad in the ‘60s, and has two coming out; Quentin Tarantino has helped revive international interest in the genre with DJANGO UNCHAINED and upcoming HATEFUL 8 (starring Kurt Russell); and the late Toshiro Mifune starred in RED SUN, and indirectly helped trigger the Spaghetti Western when his starrer YOJIMBO was ripped off as FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (YOJIMBO itself had been ripped off from Dashiell Hammett’s novel RED HARVEST).  You can get the full list of honorees HERE



INSP EXPANDS ‘SADDLE UP SATURDAY’ TO SUNDAYS IN JULY!




If you’ve been enjoying the Saturday block of Western on INSP, which includes THE VIRGINIAN, HIGH CHAPARRAL, BONANZA, THE BIG VALLEY and DANIEL BOONE, you’re going to enjoy it twice as much, because the shows will be playing on Sundays as well, with feature Westerns also thrown into the mix!


GRIT-TV SHOWS RARE WESTERN SERIES





Thanks to Round-up Rounder Tom Dubensky, for turning me on to this new outlet which launched this month.  The slogan for GRIT-TV is ‘TV with Backbone’, so none of that wishy-washy stuff!  The big appeal is that they’re showing two fine Western series that haven’t aired for decades to my knowledge: LARAMIE and ZANE GREY THEATRE.  They’re also running the always enjoyable CISCO KID, plus movies, including EL MARIACHI, GLORY, and a John Payne Republic Western, THE ROAD TO DENVER, so they’ve got some range.  It’s not available on my system yet, but check and see if it is in yours, and drop me a line to say what you think of it!


LIVE EVENTS FOR THE END OF JUNE, START OF JULY!

Note: Almost all live events offer face-painting.  I no longer mention this in my write-ups because (a) they all have face painting, and (b) after you’ve waited for 45 minutes to get something painted on your kid’s face, they get it, then start crying to have it washed off. 


SUNDAY JUNE 28TH – VICTORIAN DAY AT ‘LOS ENCINOS PARK’




From noon ‘til 4 pm you can button on your Victorian finery, pack your picnic and join in the civilized fun. You are encouraged to wear authentic 1870s-80s costume and bring Victorian style picnic food and equipment. The event will feature live music, Victorian dancing led by the Social Daunce Irregulars and a visit from the Kickapoo Indian Sagawa medicine show. The event is free and children are welcome. Donations to support Los Encinos State Historic Park are requested.  Don’t forget to feed the ducks!


4TH OF JULY FAMILY BARN DANCE!




There aren’t a lot of specifically Western events for the 4th of July, but check out the FAMILY BARN DANCE at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum at 1419 Topanga Canyon Bl., in Topanga, CA 90290.  There will be crafts, barbecue, live music, square dancing, and games like horseshoes, yard jenga, balloon darts, corn-toss, ring toss, knock-down (stacked cans), face painting, dunk bucket, plus raffles, a pie eating contest, water balloon toss, and a watermelon seed spitting contest! 

The place was built by that Will Geer, who won an Emmy as Grandpa on THE WALTONS, and played Bear Claw in JEREMIAH JOHNSON.  His refuge during the dark days of the blacklist, he grew and sold vegetables there when he was barred from acting, and later built an open-air theatre, creating an inexpensive venue to expose more people to theatre and poetry.  They’ll be having a Waltons Reunion there August 7-9.  For details, tickets and directions, call 310-455-3723, or visit  http://www.theatricum.com/concerts.htm .



BIG BEAR OLD MINERS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL CHILI SOCIETY SANCTIONED CHILI COOK-OFF AND OUT-HOUSE RACE!  JULY 11TH!




The competition will be for red chili, chili verde (don’t that just mean green?), and salsa (any color), for cash prizes!  Other than eating, there will be gold panning, pony rides, potato-sack racing, historical reenacting, children’s games, and more.   And did I mention the 5th Annual Out-House Race at one pm?!  It’s at the Chamber of Commerce Parking Lot, 630 Bartlett Drive, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315.  http://www.oldminers.org/event/


BOOTS, BRIDLES AND BARNS, RANCHO SANTA FE JULY 11TH




Tour five different barns that represent horsemanship in the area.  Call 858-756-9291, or visit http://www.ranchosantafehistoricalsociety.org/2015-barn-tour to buy tickets.


THAT’S A WRAP! 

Don’t forget you can read my film column every month in TRUE WEST MAGAZINE!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright June 2015 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved


Sunday, June 14, 2015

TWO BIG WESTERNS FOR CHRISTMAS, PLUS BIG GENE AUTRY GIVEAWAY, NEW FONDA/SORBO OATER, GLENN FORD WEST FEST, WE LOSE CHRIS & PIERRE


2 BIG WESTERNS – THE REVENANT & HATEFUL 8 – TO OPEN CHRISTMAS DAY!



We’re getting a wonderful pair of gifts in our stocking this December 25th: two big Westerns opening on Christmas Day!  The last time this happened, Tom Mix was going up against William S. Hart (don’t do research – I’m making it up!)!  THE REVENANT, starring Leo DiCaprio and Thomas Hardy, is the true story of Hugh Glass, a mountain man who was mauled by a bear and left for dead.  It’s written and helmed by Mexican-born Alejandro Gonzalez Inarruti, who swept the Oscars this year, winning Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay for BIRDMAN.  A previous version of the Hugh Glass story, MAN IN THE WILDERNESS (1971), starred Richard Harris and John Huston, directed by Richard Sarafian from Jack DeWitt’s script. 




While REVENANT had long been heralded as a Yuletide release, just this Friday the Weinstein Company announced that Quentin Tarantino’s THE HATEFUL 8, will also open on December 25th.  Featuring a huge cast of Tarantino favorites – Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Walter Goggins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, et al – it’s an all-star ‘bunch-of-people-caught-in-a-snowstorm’ Western.  The writer/director cheerfully revealed that his inspiration was the sort of BONANZA/BIG VALLEY/HIGH CHAPARRAL episodes that would happen mid-season when budgets were tight, and plots would be crafted around a bunch of people caught in a small place.  In spite of those close quarters, the Christmas premiere will be exclusively in 70 mm – the largest 70 mm opening in at least two decades!  It’s been said that Tarantino’s determination to release the movie on actual film, in 70 mm, is what lead Kodak to reverse their decision to shut down their film-stock production entirely.  HATEFUL 8 will broaden its release to crummy new digital theatres on January 8th


I’M IN THE NEW ‘TRUE WEST’ PANCHO VILLA ISSUE!



I’m very proud that my first article as TRUE WEST MAGAZINE’s new Film Editor is in the July ‘All Pancho Villa Issue’, which has just come out.  No surprise, my piece is about the best and worst of the movies about Villa.  Buy several copies today! 

GENE AUTRY FANS!  ENTER THIS GREAT FREE GIVEAWAY!



Gene Autry Entertainment wants to get a verification check-mark on its Youtube channel, and increase their Google + numbers, and they’re giving away THREE great collections of Gene Autry merchandise and collectibles to do it!  Each collection contains DVDs, CDs, books, scarves – each is worth well over a C-note – and to enter to win one, all you have to do is click HERE to subscribe to the Official Gene Autry Youtube Channel, then come back and click HERE to be a Google + follower!  Everyone who does so will be automatically entered to win !  Do it soon – the giveaway ends on June 19th!






GLENN FORD WESTERNS AND CUSTER FLICKS AT THE NEW BEVERLY!



June is a great month for Westerns at Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema!  Sunday and Monday, June 14th & 15th , a rarely seen pair of Westerns about Custer will screen, THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON (1941), starring Errol Flynn as Custer, with Olivia DeHavilland, directed by Raoul Walsh; and CUSTER OF THE WEST (1967), starring Robert Shaw as Custer, with Mary Ure and Ty Hardin, and directed by Robert Siodmak. (That latter film was shot in Spain at the height of the spaghetti western Renaissance, and Ty Hardin told me some very interesting stuff about the making of the film – including what director was fired the first day.  Read that interview HERE )  




On Wednesday and Thursday, June 17th & 18th see Glenn Ford in Edna Ferber’s CIMARRON (1960), starring Glenn Ford, directed by Anthony Mann.  Then on Wednesday and Thursday, Jne 24th & 25th, catch the Glenn Ford double bill THE FASTEST GUN ALIVE (1956), and the original Elmore Leonard’s 3:10 TO YUMA (1957), directed by Delmer Daves, and co-starring Van Heflin.  Then Sunday, June 28th through Saturday, July 4th, you have a full week to catch Sergio Leone’s masterpiece ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.  Get all the details HERE.



JOIN ‘COPS & COWBOYS’ JULY 18TH AT LEONIS ADOBE!



After the tremendous success of last year’s event, the annual ‘Cops & Cowboys’ fundraiser for The Mid-Valley Community Police Council will again be held at the historic Leonis Adobe Museum in Calabasas, CA.  Built in 1844 as the home to a Basque farmer and his bride, daughter of a Chumash Chief, the Adobe is one of the oldest existing buildings in Southern California, and the C&C is a wonderful time to visit it!  You can learn about ranch life, bid at the regular and silent auctions, play blackjack and poker, have a few drinks in the saloon, enjoy barbecue, country music, line dancing, and more!  Tickets are $150 each ($50 if you’re in the LAPD), and there are opportunities for sponsorship, buying tables, and buying space in the program.  To learn more, please call 818-994-4661, FAX 818-994-6181, email info@theproperimageevents.com or visit http://www.midvalleypolicecouncil.org/event/cops-cowboys-july-18th-2015/ .



SOLIMA’S ‘BIG GUNDOWN’ INTRO’D BY JOE DANTE JUNE 18 AT LINWOOD DUNN




As part of their THIS IS WIDESCREEN series, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will screen Sergio Solima’s THE BIG GUNDOWN, starring Lee Van Cleef, Thursday, June 18th, at the Linwood Dunn Theatre in the Mary Pickford Center, 1313 Vine Street, Hollywood, CA 90028.  (Note, this is the Hollywood venue, not the Academy headquarters in Beverly Hills).  It’s a very unusual, well-told story, with lawman-turned-politician Van Cleef on the hunt for a degenerate criminal (Tomas Milian) who may be not as bad as the men who want him dead.  This is the new restoration from Grindhouse Releasing which Courtney Joyner and I got to see when we were doing audio commentary for their BluRay release, and it looks spectacular.  The ticket price range is from $3 to $5, and you can learn more about the film, and order tickets HERE  

If you’d like to buy the fabulous 4-disc set from Grindhouse, including a CD of the brilliant Ennio Morricone soundtrack, go HERE .

Also featured with THE BIG GUNDOWN at the Linwood Dunn is the martial arts film DRAGON INN (1967), written and directed by King Hu.


FONDA & SORBO STAR IN ‘JESSE JAMES: LAWMAN’



Based on history you may have missed, outlaw Jesse James pins on a badge, working for a lawman who figures you need the help of a bad man to catch a very bad man in JESSE JAMES: LAWMAN, coming soon from Barnholtz Entertainment (read my interview with producer Barry Barnholtz HERE ) .  Starring Andrew Galligan as Jesse, he’s joined by Peter Fonda as the mayor, and Kevin Sorbo as J. Frank Dalton.  Director Bret Kelly and screenwriter Janet Hetherington collaborated last year on another Western, THE LAST OUTLAW.     


FAREWELL PIERRE BRICE AND CHRISTOPHER LEE



One day apart, we lost two of the true icons of International film.   On June 6th, Pierre Brice passed away at age 86.  Though French, he gained undying fame in German cinema playing a fictional American, Winnetou, the Apache Chief created by the father of the German Western, Karl May.  Starting in 1962 with THE TREASURE OF SILVER LAKE, Brice would play the role eleven times in the original series of films, often opposite American and British stars like Lex Barker, Herbert Lom, Stewart Granger, and Rod Cameron, and indelibly etched his persona as the heroic, dignified and stunningly handsome chief upon the consciousness of non-English-speaking cinema.  He played many other characters, including Zorro twice, but he will always be Winnetou to his loyal fans. 





On June 7th, Christopher Lee passed away at the age of 93.  To a younger audience he was Count Dooku in the STAR WARS films, or Saruman in the LORD OF THE RINGS movies, but to us grown-ups he will always be Dracula, a role he first played in 1958’s HORROR OF DRACULA.  For Hammer and other studios he would play every conceivable horror-related character; Fu Manchu five times, and he had the unique distinction of playing Sherlock Holmes twice, as well as his brother Mycroft, and Henry Baskerville.  His imposing form, chiseled features, and deadly stare, combined with his inherent dignity and sense of humor, made all of his screen work a delight, sometimes the only thing worth watching in his films.  For those of you with an interest in astrology, someone on Facebook noted that he and Vincent Price shared the same birthday, May 27th, and Peter Cushing’s birthday was May 26th.  Not known for a lot of Western roles, he was very effective as the gunsmith in HANNIE CAULDER (1971), and played a Grand Duke opposite James Arness in the HOW THE WEST WAS WON TV series.  On Monday, June 22nd, TCM will air eight of Lee’s finest films.  Both men shall be sorely missed around the world. 


THAT’S A WRAP!



TEXAS RISING ends today (or next week if you, like me, DVR almost everything you watch).  Let me know what you think of the conclusion (not that I’ll read it for a week), and tell me if you’re enjoying STRANGE EMPIRE so far.  And who’s been watching Hallmark’s WHEN CALLS THE HEART?  One of the downsides of having so many channels is that you lose track of stuff on channels you don’t regularly watch.  How far are we into season two?  Have a great week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright June 2015 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved


Sunday, June 7, 2015

‘POWER’S WAR’ REVIEWED, PLUS SHIRLEY TEMPLE’S COSTUMES, GRIZZLY ADAM’S PERSONA, AND 1,500 BUFFALO UP FOR SALE!



POWER’S WAR – A Documentary Review


The Powers Family


When did the frontier disappear and the ‘old west’ end?  For convenience, the answer used to be that that it all ended at the turn of the 20th century.  But that’s an arbitrary date, because the frontier days did not end at the same moment everywhere.  New York audiences were watching Buffalo Bill acting in nostalgic plays while Custer was losing to Crazy Horse at the Little Big Horn.

You might not think that a disagreement in 1917, about military service in The First World War, would be an old west story, but filmmaker Cameron Trejo will convince you in his fascinating documentary, POWER’S WAR, just as he’ll convince you that it led to a shocking miscarriage of justice.  There’s no doubt that it was the deadliest shootout in the history of Arizona.  One wonders if this once-famous story inspired the film SHENANDOAH (1965), although the fictional version was set during the more Western-conventional Civil War.

Patriarch Jeff Powers moved his family to Klondyke, Arizona in search of gold.  Jeff and his two sons, Tom and John, prospected full time, leaving the women-folk, daughter Ola Mae and her grandmother Granny Jane, charged with maintaining the home and preparing food, isolated for long stretches.  When Granny died, Ola Mae was even more alone.  Separated from the rest of the world, the Powers family was dimly aware of The Great War, which they, like many Americans, viewed as none of their business. 

But on June 5th, 1917, all American men between 21 and 31 were ordered to register for the draft, and the aggressively patriotic set out to arrest ‘slackers’ who ignored the law.  The Powers family had already made enemies for their secretiveness; then Ola Mae died under puzzling circumstances, and Jeff was uncooperative with an official investigation.  That Tom and John refused to register for the draft was the final straw, and a government posse went out to round them up, leading to the bloodbath.  The resulting chase would move back and forth from trucks to horses, and the legal ramifications of the case would echo well into the 1960s.

Painstakingly researched, the film is shot in the locations where the events happened, and features interviews with family members on both sides, and well-spoken historians.  Instead of costumed reenactments, the incidents are dramatized with animation often more brutal than a documentary could reasonably show with live action.  Trejo’s film is both a labor of love and a triumph of creative documentary filmmaking, and holds a special fascination today, when many feel the government is intruding too deeply into people’s lives.  The official website is HERE .  To arrange for a screening for your organization, go HERE




TONY ANTHONY WILL ‘GET MEAN’ IN PERSON, MONDAY AT CINEFAMILY!



If you know Tony Anthony’s STRANGER Spaghetti Westerns, that got progressively crazier as they went on, you’ll want to go to the Cinefamily Monday at 7:30 pm for the 4th and craziest of them all, GET MEAN (1975)!  The Stranger himself, Tony Anthony will be there, with co-star Lloyd Battista, producer Ronald Schneider, in a discussion moderated by Western whiz Rob Word.  Learn more and buy tickets here:  http://www.cinefamily.org/films/special-events-june-2015/ 




JUST BACK FROM ‘LOVE, SHIRLEY TEMPLE’



a wonderful display of movie costumes and toys from her own personal archives.  I know it’s not very western – although there is a saddle and pair of chaps given to Shirley by producer Nicholas Schenck on display, and besides, she starred for John Ford in FORT APACHE.  Shirley was way ahead of the curve – she had a climate-controlled storage space for her things back in the 1930s (!), and the condition of the clothes is astonishing – they look brand new!  And there are costumes from every one of her 20th Century Fox classics.  If you loved her films, you must make the effort to see this show.  It’s at the Santa Monica History Museum through Wednesday, and then moves on to three other cities – I don’t know which – and will be followed by an auction.  Go here to learn more: http://santamonicahistory.org/


‘BLACK BELLE’ NEW WESTERN TO STAR ZOE KRAVITZ AS BOUNTY HUNTER



Zoe Kravitz, currently in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, and Christina in the DIVERGENT films will topline the story of a gunslinger out for revenge (aren’t they always?), to be directed by Shana Betz (FREE RIDE) from a script by Tasha Huo, for Brain Scratch Productions. 


‘GRIZZLY ADAMS’ UP FOR BIDS!


Dan Haggerty and friend 


The rights to Grizzly Adams are on the block!  If you enjoyed Dan Haggerty’s portrayal of the bear-loving mountain man, then franchise rights owner Tod Swindell (seriously, that’s his last name) wants to talk to you.  Of course, you may be scratching your head – or beard – right now and thinking, “Wasn’t Grizzly Adams a real man?  How can you franchise a real human being?” 


The original Grizzly Adams


Excellent question!  And yes, he was a real man, whose real name was John Adams or James Adams, and who lived from 1812-1860.  He was a mountain man who caught and trained bears for zoos and circuses.  But somehow Charles E. Sellier Jr., creator of the Grizzly Adams movies and series, and producer of many 1970s Western and family movies, and later many TV movies, managed to trademark Grizzly Adams.  Amazingly, one of the big selling points is the appeal of the character’s look, due to a hipster style known as ‘lumbersexual’, the hyper-manly bearded alternative to ‘metrosexual’. 


WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAMED IN ‘DANCES WITH WOLVES’ IS UP FOR AUCTION



This year marks the 25th anniversary of the film DANCES WITH WOLVES, and wistfully enough, that anniversary is being marked by the offer to sell 46,000 acres of the Triple-U Ranch in South Dakota.  There are also three houses, and several farm buildings included.  Not included are the ranch’s 1,500 buffalo – they’re for sale as well, but sold separately.   Bill Markley, writer of Western fact and fiction, and author of DAKOTA EPIC, his daily journal as a re-enactor in DANCES WITH WOLVES, passed this on to me.  He also tells me that there is talk of raising money to buy what’s left of Fort Sedgwick, and other standing sets, which are still on the ranch, and putting them on display somewhere.  The auction will be held on Thursday, July 9, at one p.m., which gives you some time to roll those pennies and get them to the bank.  There’s no estimate listed.  For more information, and to bid, go HERE.

By the way, my article in the August issue of TRUE WEST MAGAZINE celebrates the 25th Anniversary of DANCES WITH WOLVES, and features reminiscences by Bill Markley.   


AND THAT’S A WRAP! 

Have a great week!


Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright June 2015 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved