CLASSIC MOMS AT ‘THE CABLE SHOW’ PLUS ‘WITH BUFFALO BILL’ REVIEWED!

MEETING CLASSIC MOMS – AND MORE – AT ‘THE CABLE SHOW’

From Tuesday, April 29^th through Thursday, May 1^st, thousands of people in all aspects of the cable television industry converged on the Los Angeles Convention Center for The Cable Show.  Over 200 exhibitors filled the exhibit hall promoting their channels, services, hardware, software and other products.  I was the guest of INSP, the channel famous for their daily TV westerns and Saddle-Up Saturday block, and their exclusive airings of THE VIRGINIAN and HIGH CHAPARRAL. 

INSP had arranged to have a pair of stars from two of their most popular series, two of America’s favorite moms, Karen Grassle from LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, and Michael Learned from THE WALTONS, present to meet-and-greet and pose for pictures.  Knowing how long it had been since they’d starred in their series – LITTLE HOUSE had their last season in 1983, and THE WALTONS in 1981 – I was delighted to find how charming and vivacious both ladies were.  When I took my turn posing with them, I commented that I was excited to meet them because I’d enjoyed their shows so much, and also because they’d both starred in episodes of GUNSMOKE, something neither one knew about the other.  “I played a whore!” Karen blurted out.

“I played a whore, too!” Michael Learned added with a laugh.  I was delighted to be able to discuss their experiences in Dodge City. 

Karen Grassle in LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE

KAREN GRASSLE:  Well, I came at the very tail end of GUNSMOKE, right after we did the pilot for LITTLE HOUSE.  Victor French, who played Mr. Edwards (on LITTLE HOUSE) was going to direct his first television episode ever (THE WIVING, 1974).  And so he wanted me to come on, and I went on, and I was one of a number of saloon girls.  And at that time I was a big feminist, and I had hair under my arms!  (Laughs)  And so they had to come very politely to me and say, ‘Miss Grassle, do you mind?’  I said of course – that was pretty funny.  We did a show where these boys, who were kind of…missing a few batteries, they were told by their dad, ‘Go find wives, or you’re not going to get any inheritance!’  So they went to town and kidnapped a few saloon girls; brought us out to the farm.  It turned out that the farm where we shot became the location for THE LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. 

MICHAEL LEARNED:  That’s a really great story.

HENRY:  Now Miss Learned, you did two GUNSMOKE episodes and a movie. 

MICHAEL LEARNED:  Well, in the first one (A GAME OF DEATH…AN ACT OF LOVE, part 2 1973) I played a lady of ill repute in a court scene.  I was a witness, and I only remember because I saw it recently on Youtube.  It was very early (in THE WALTONS run), and they had to clear me; there’s a morals clause when you sign a contract to do a series – I don’t know if you had to sign one, Karen, but I did.  So they had to get clearance from (WALTON’S creator) Earl Hamner and (producer) Lee Rich and Lorimar, and they let me do it.  Then I did something called FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE (later retitled MATT’S LOVE STORY 1973).  Matt’s had a concussion, and he’s lost his memory.  We fall in love, and I’m the only woman that Matt Dillon ever kissed.  And out of that kiss…came a little baby!  (laughs) 

HENRY:  It must have been a great kiss.

MICHAEL LEARNED:  It was, actually.  He called me up and asked me out for a date.  I thought he was a really great guy, and I like him a lot.  Very self-effacing and kind.  I was kind of nervous; (to Karen) like you, I was just starting out.  Then they did follow that up with a move-of-the-week (GUNSMOKE: THE LAST APACHE – 1990), where he doesn’t know he has a child, because he gets his memory back, and he goes back to Miss Kitty, where he should have been in the first place.

HENRY: And he never kissed her.

MICHAEL LEARNED:  He never kissed her – not on screen anyway.  So in the movie-of-the-week, our child is abducted.  And I call on him to find her, to bring her back.  And he discovers that he has a child that he didn’t know he had.  And that’s my history with GUNSMOKE.  And the funny thing is that I never told him, but when I was a child, I used to watch GUNSMOKE with my dad.  And so the first time I did the show with him, I couldn’t speak, I was so shy.  I just sat there looking at him.  But he warmed me up; he was a very nice guy. 

HENRY:  Now Karen, you also did WYATT EARP with Kevin Costner.  What was that experience like?

Karen Grassle relaxing

KAREN GRASSLE:  That was a lot of fun.  I was living in New Mexico at the time, and they came there to shoot.  They had done some casting in L.A.  Then they tried to fill out some of the roles in Santa Fe.  I was teaching at the time, at the College of Santa Fe, teaching acting for the camera.  There was a great studio there; that’s why they were there.  And so I got to do this little part, as the mother of Kevin Costner’s bride.  And I worked with some great people: Gene Hackman, Kevin of course – he was amazing.  Gene Hackman was so terrific.  And then the camera would cut, and he was, ‘Well, that wasn’t any good.’  You know, we’re so self-critical, actors.  It was a lot of fun.

HENRY:  What is WALTONS creator Earl Hamner like?

MICHAEL LEARNED:  He’s just one of the greatest guys in the world.  Sweet, kind, and everything you think he would be.  He’s got a raunchy sense of humor, which saves the day; otherwise you’d get diabetes.  He likes to drink; he’s just a great all-around guy. He and his wife have been together for I don’t know how many years; theirs is a real love story.  I think somebody’s trying to do a documentary on him, but somebody should do a story about their love story.  Recently I talked to him, and he said, “My wife is at the beach for the weekend, and I’m just sitting around crying, I miss her so much.”  So sweet, after all those years – sixty, I think. 

Incidentally, Ralph Waite, who played John Walton Sr. opposite Michael Learned, died this past February at the age of 85.  Active until the end, in 2013 he was playing continuing characters in BONES, NCIS, and between 2009 and 2013, he did 94 episodes of DAYS OF OUR LIVES.  One of his last performances was in a dramatic short for INSP called OLD HENRY.  You can see the entire 21-minute film HERE.  

Visiting exhibits of other channels, I learned what is on the horizon for Western fans, and discerning viewers in general.  The STARZ/ENCORE folks told me that the highest viewership of any of their many channels, right after STARZ, is ENCORE WESTERNS.  At present they don’t have plans to create any original Western programming. 

At HALLMARK CHANNEL and HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL, WHEN CALLS THE HEART, the Western Canadian romance series, has ended its first season, and cameras have already rolled on season two.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that the two HALLMARK channels have announced a slate of about thirty TV movies, and not one is a Western.  This would not be a surprise with any other network, but HALLMARK has staunchly supported the genre when no one else did, and averaged at least two Westerns per year.  The popular GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE franchise produced three features starring and co-produced by Luke Perry, and last year’s QUEEN OF HEARTS is by far the best of the group.  As of now, there are no plans to make more.  HALLMARK has decided to shift its focus to mysteries, and in fact, the HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL will be re-branded THE HALLMARK MYSTERY CHANNEL in October.

For those of us who worry that younger viewers aren’t discovering classic films, some heartening news: according to TCM, two thirds of their 62 million viewers are between the ages of 18 and 49.   

AMC is in the middle of its first season of TURN, the Revolutionary War spy series, and this summer will be bringing back HELL ON WHEELS for its fourth season.

THE HISTORY CHANNEL will soon be presenting its own Revolutionary War series, SONS OF LIBERTY, focusing on such characters as John Adams, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Benedict Arnold. 

A&E will deliver a new season of LONGMIRE starting on June 2^nd, and FX will bring us one more season of JUSTIFIED, but then they’re pulling the plug.  Over the last couple of years, the Round-up has been following a number of proposed series at all the major networks, and some pilots have been shot, but not one, Disney’s BIG THUNDER prominent among them, has gotten a go-ahead.

At the seminars that I attended, and in talking to many of the exhibitors, the main topic of conversation, of concern, was making TV content easily and instantly available on all possible devices.  This is absolutely sensible; this is their livelihood.  And yet, as an outsider, it seems to me that such content is too available already.  Just a few years ago, any group of people standing around waiting, at a post office or bank or about to board a plane, would feature a substantial number of people reading newspapers or books, or doing crossword puzzles, or talking to each other.  The reading and conversation was gradually replaced by people talking loudly in their cell phones, and kids with annoying loud portable video games – the same kids who have wheels on the bottom of their sneakers.  Now nobody reads or talks at all; they text, or they stare at videos on their iPhone and check Tweets – reading Tweets is not actual reading.  At a high school last week, I observed a class waiting for a late teacher : I counted sixteen kids sitting on the floor, side by side, none talking, none acknowledging each other, all staring at their smartphones.  They were waiting for a drama class to begin, and not one was communicating with another.  And for all the constant updating, if you can pry a minute or two of conversation out of them, you will find only a tiny percentage has any idea of what is going on in the world.  They don’t need to have watching TV any easier.  They need to watch less, read more, listen more, and then talk more.    

WITH BUFFALO BILL ON THE U.P. TRAIL – A Video Review

This newest silent Western release from Grapevine Video was made in 1926 by Sunset Productions, just a year before sound would turn the movie industry upside down.  One of the particularly appealing aspects of the film is that paralleling the coming changes to the movie industry are the progress-borne changes in the lives of Buffalo Bill Cody and other characters.  The U. P. in the title is the Union Pacific Railroad, and the film concerns a time when the Pony Express, once Cody’s employer, is disappearing, and the wagon train is soon to be replaced by the transcontinental railroad. 

Just as the specificity of the time is unusual, so are many of the characters and plot elements.  In a surprisingly plot-heavy opening, we are quickly introduced to Cody, an Indian whom Cody rescues and befriends (played by actual Indian Felix Whitefeather), a wagon train whose passengers include a runaway wife and her paramour, and a runaway slave (played by apparent white guy Eddie Harris).  They are pursued by a lawman, and a parson, who happens to be the abandoned husband of the runaway wife. 

The wagon train reaches the fort, and soon Cody and a friend, seeing the coming of the rails as inevitable, become land speculators.   Reasoning that the rails must go through a certain pass, Cody and company commence to build a town along the route, but are soon up against the railroad’s corrupt head surveyor, who says he will either be made an equal partner in the town, or he’ll find another route, regardless of what it costs the railroad. 

There’s a good deal of action here, much of it involving the Indians, and a purposely stampeded herd of buffalo.  There are even more subplots – the Major, his daughter and her suitor; the crooked gambler devoted to his beautiful little daughter – and all of them are paid by the end: surprising in a 53 minute film.  One of the curious effects of so much happening is that Cody is only nominally the lead – much time is devoted to other characters.

Portraying Buffalo Bill Cody, star Roy Stewart is not a familiar name today, but he was a big star in silent films, co-starring with Mary Pickford in SPARROWS that same year.  Most of his roles were in Westerns, and when sound came in, he was gradually relegated to bit parts, often unbilled, but he managed to compile nearly 140 film appearances.  He’s big and likable and good with the camera.  He makes an acceptable Buffalo Bill Cody, especially once he starts wearing the familiar fringed buckskin jacket.  The one odd choice was keeping the long brown hair, but not the mustache and goatee.  To look right as Cody, you have to go full hair-and-whiskers, ala Joel McCrea, or abandon the fuzz entirely, ala Charlton Heston.  The hair alone triggers distracting comparisons to Barrymore’s MR. HYDE, and Tiny Tim. 

The movie is well-acted and entertaining, and some elements of the story are very progressive for their time.  The first sighting of Indians is preceded by this title-card: ‘The scouts of the original Americans kept watchful eyes on all white invaders.’  Contrast this with the words from the original poster: ‘DO YOU LIKE ACTION AND HAIR-RAISING THRILLS? You will see Indians attacking the whites --- Indian warfare in all its horrors - action - fights - and the most thrilling suspense you have ever witnessed!’  Obviously not the same writer.

Also progressive, in spite of the white actor portrayal, and some standard-for-the-time toadying, is the runaway slave.  When he is discovered, not even the lowest characters in the story ever consider returning him to his owners.  The film is well directed, handsomely shot and generally well-edited – though a herd-of-buffalo shot that does not match the action is featured much too often – and the print, though scratchy in places, is quite crisp and clear, with sharp lines, dark blacks, and a wide range of grays.  Priced at $12.99, with a piano score by David Knudston, it is available from Grapevine Video, which has about 600 films currently available, and frequently brings out more.  THIS LINK will take you to the WITH BUFFALO BILL page. 

CATCH ‘THE LONG RIDERS’ SAT. MAY 10 AT THE AUTRY!

Walter Hill’s 1980 film about outlaw families has an irresistible gimmick: brother outlaws were played by actual brothers.  Thus the Youngers are portrayed by David, Keith and Robert Carradine (their father John had scenes, sadly deleted), the Millers by Dennis and Randy Quaid,  the miserable Ford brothers by Christopher and Nicholas Guest, and the James boys by James and Stacy Keach, who also co-wrote the script with Bill Bryden and Steven Smith.  I haven’t seen it in years, but I remember it as very entertaining, with memorable action scenes. 

Presented as part of the Autry’s ongoing monthly ‘What is a Western?’ series, it will be preceded by a discussion lead by Jeffrey Richardson, Gamble Curator of Western History, Popular Culture, and Firearms.

EFREM ZIMBALIST JR. DIES AT 95

The Round-up is sorry to note the passing of actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr.  The son of concert violinist Efrem Zimbalist Sr. and opera star Alma Gluck, he was awarded a Purple Heart for his military service, and first garnered wide attention playing private eye Stu Bailey on the Warner Brothers 1960s detective series 77 SUNSET STRIP.  He later starred in about 250 episodes of THE F.B.I.  Though not particularly known for Western roles – his easy sophistication made him more natural in big city stories – he did appear early in his career in the Civil War drama BAND OF ANGELS, with Clark Gable.  And in his SUNSET STRIP days he did all of the WB westerns series: five MAVERICKS, and one each of BRONCO, SUGARFOOT, plus a RAWHIDE, and in 1982 played Michael Horse’s father in the impressive and often overlooked THE AVENGING.  In the frst season of the 1990s ZORRO series he played Zorro’s father Don Alejandro de la Vega, before handing the role over to Henry Darrow.  A busy voice actor late in his career, Zimbalist was the voice of Batman’s butler, Alfred, in a half dozen series.  Among his finest work was playing L.A. Police Sgt. Harry Hansen in the only good movie on the subject, WHO IS THE BLACK DAHLIA? starring Lucie Arnaz. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANN-MARGRET

Norman Rockwell's portrait of Ann-Margret

for STAGECOACH 

I’m a little late, but happy birthday to Ann-Margret, whose birthday was April 28^th.  In 1966 she starred in the remake of STAGECOACH, playing Claire Trevor’s role of Dallas, opposite Alex Cord in John Wayne’s role of The Ringo Kid.  Seven years later she was starring opposite the real Duke in Burt Kennedy’s THE TRAIN ROBBERS.  Then in 1994 she played Belle Watling in the miniseries sequel to GONE WITH THE WIND, SCARLETT.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIE NELSON

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Willie in BARABOSA

Born on April 30^th, 1933, Willie has continued the tradition of the singing cowboy started by Gene Autry, but has done it in his own way.  Starting in THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN in 1979, Willie has appeared in many westerns, often as the lead, sometimes as a cameo.  Among them are BARABOSA, THE LAST DAYS OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES, STAGECOACH, REDHEADED STRANGER, ONCE UPON A TEXAS TRAIN, WHERE THE HELL’S THAT GOLD?, and several DR. QUINN episodes.  And though it’s been often said that, with his chinful of whiskers, he could save studios money by being his own sidekick, there’s something about him, perhaps his voice, that makes ladies respond in a way that few ever did for Al St. John, or even Gabby Hayes.  

THAT’S A WRAP!

Next week I’ll definitely finish up my coverage of the TCM Festival, and either the WILD BUNCH LUNCH at the Autry, or THE SANTA CLARITA COWBOY FESTIVAL at Gene’s Melody Ranch.  

Have a great week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Material Copyright May 2014 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

JOHN FORD’S LAST PROJECT, ‘COMANCHE STALLION’ FINALLY TO ROLL!

This weekend, director Vic Armstrong and producer Clyde Lucas headed to Monument Valley to scout locations for one of John Ford’s pet projects which never reached the screen.  COMANCHE STALLION.  Based on the novel by Tom Milstead, it’s the story of the Comanche’s search for a mystical horse, while suffering the wrath of General Lathrop.  Ford wanted Burl Ives for the role of the general, but Ives’ health was not up to the task, and Ford’s own health also failed. 

Now famed stuntman and stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, who just directed Nicholas Cage in LEFT BEHIND, is preparing to finish Ford’s last planned project.   To outline even a fraction of Armstrong’s credits would take hours, so I’ll just mention that he doubled for Richard Harris in RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE, doubled for Harrison Ford in the INDIANA JONES movies, and was just supervising stunt coordinator on THOR.  Clyde Lucas has produced several documentaries, some involving the late Harry Carey Jr.  Sadly, Carey was set to star in what had been the Burl Ives role, but passed away this year.  I’ve not heard many details of casting, but at the moment Tyrone Power Jr. and Robert Carradine are said to be involved.  I hope to have much more to tell you following the location scouting.

Shortly before his death, James Arness, who appeared in HONDO and WAGON MASTER for Ford, recorded the narration for the film.  Below is a sample.

(Note: this clip was playing just fine last night, but isn't running now, here or on Youtube.  Maybe it will come back up.)

SHADOW ON THE MESA – a Movie Review

Back in March of this year, when SHADOW ON THE MESA originally aired on the Hallmark Movie Channel, I interviewed star Kevin Sorbo (HERE is the link if you missed it  ), and I intended to review the movie as well.  But they were still editing it up to the last minute, so I didn’t get to see it prior to the airing.

 

I don’t know if I would have pursued the film afterwards, but when I heard that the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum had presented it with their 2013 Wrangler Award for best Television Movie, I figured I’d better make an effort to track it down, and I’m very glad I did; it’s a fine piece of work.  And the good news is that it will be released on DVD one month from today, on December 17^th – right on-time for Christmas.

One of the immediate appeals of SHADOW ON THE MESA is that, rather than trying to endlessly draw parallels between the Old West and the modern world (to make it more ‘relevant’ to an unsophisticated audience), its story grows out of a situation you would not have today.  Wes Rawlins (Wes Brown), a sometime bounty hunter who’d been raised by his recently murdered widowed mother, learns that she was not widowed at all.  Just prior to his birth, his parents were in a group of settlers who were attacked by Indians, and his father (Kevin Sorbo) was taken prisoner, though he later escaped.  Without the easy communication of the 21^st century, each spouse wrongly concluded that the other was dead, and started new lives.  Now, more than twenty years later, Wes finds that his mother had only recently learned that his father was still living, and had written him a letter.  Had that letter led to her death?

Meredith Baxter, Barry Corbin

Leaving the older couple who took care of him and his mother (Barry Corbin and Meredith Baxter), he heads off to find his long-missing father; and kill him if necessary.  And when he arrives, he finds himself in the middle of a range war between his father and family, and the Dowdy family, led by patriarch Peter Dowdy (Greg Evigan). 

While the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel have long shown a greater commitment to the Western form than any other networks, there has also long been the complaint among oater enthusiasts that Hallmark Westerns were ‘soft’, and lacked action.  Happily, as demonstrated by the recent HANNAH’S LAW, GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE – QUEEN OF HEARTS, and now with SHADOW ON THE MESA, Hallmark has upped their game considerably. 

Shannon Lucio, Wes Brown

With forty features under his belt, director David Cass Sr., has a long career in Westerns that goes back to stunting on MCCLINTOCK! and HERE COME THE BRIDES.  He knows his business, and deftly handles the drama, the humor, and the action.  And there is a good deal of action, starting with Wes Rawlins’ work as a bounty hunter, and after a half-hour break, continuing with growing ferocity as  the range war grows uglier.   As a stuntman, Cass worked on eight features and episodes with the quintessential director of fun Westerns of the 1960s, Burt Kennedy, and some of that may have rubbed off, giving the occasional lighter moments a professional glow so often missing in today’s Western fare.  In particular, an exciting and amusing jail-break sequence harkens back to that style of filmmaking. 

Based on a soon-to-be published book by Western novelist Lee Martin, who also scripted, SHADOW is well-plotted, and populated with characters whose depth and range of emotions have attracted a strong and hardy cast of quality actors, both famous and new on the scene.  As Rawlins’ adoptive grandmother, Meredith Baxter brings a mature beauty, and a pioneer’s grace and strength to the role.  As adoptive grandfather, Barry Corbin tells Wes the story of his parents, and what would be dry exposition in other actors’ hands is deeply felt and deeply moving, without getting sappy.  It seems to me that over the last few years Corbin, in Westerns big (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) and small (REDEMPTION – FOR ROBBING THE DEAD) has earned himself the sort of sagebrush elder statesman position long held by Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr.  He’ll soon be seen in the Western THE HOMESMAN, directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones, and costarring Hillary Swank and Meryl Streep.

Kevin Sorbo is strong and effective, and I rather regret the story-choice of having him on crutches for most of the movie, as it limits his involvement in the action. However, Sorbo brings that seemingly-effortless James Arness-like gravitas that grounds the film just by his presence.     

Blonde, beautiful and twice Emmy nominated Gail O’Grady plays Sorbo’s second wife, who has an agenda all her own.  Shannon Lucio is their lovely and striving-to-be-independent daughter, who fancies Wes (don’t be cross; she doesn’t know they might be related).  As her brother, Micah Alberti plays a lad who lacks confidence until Wes teaches him the way of the shooting-iron.

One of the true pleasures of MESA is Greg Evigan, who plays the suave, sinister and oddly likeable cattle-baron rival to Sorbo; it’s the sort of role Brian Donlevy and Zachary Scott excelled at, and it reveals the style and sophistication that Evigan has developed.  He was also effective in a very different role in 2010’s 6 GUNS.  Dave Florek, whose Western credits go back to GUNSMOKE: THE LAST APACHE, is solid in a small but memorable role as a ranch-hand named Baldy.

Greg Evigan

Of course, such a movie rises and falls on its cowboy lead, and Wes Brown, as Wes Rawlins carries the picture well on his broad shoulders.  He’s handsome without being a pretty-boy, and has the saddest visage of any cowboy actor since William S. Hart.  He plays his part credibly, as a young man with serious problems. 

I had a chance to do an email Q&A with author Lee Martin, who told me, “I thought the cast was wonderful and just right.  Since I named the hero for my brother Wesley, who died when he was ten, I was delighted that the actor was Wes Brown.  Everyone did a great job, as did David Cass, the director.”

It’s her first screenplay sale, and she had a great time visiting the set.  “We were treated like royalty.  It was great fun.  And a real education.  (Producer) Larry Levinson’s outfit is a well-oiled machine with not a moment’s hesitation.” 

Gail O'Grady

I asked her if there were many changes from book to movie, and if we’d likely see more of Wes Rawlins.  “From novel to script to screen brought a lot of changes, some influence by Hallmark.  I had no hand in changes, but am still happy with the end result.  The novel, reflected in my first screenplay, had Wes as a half breed, but that was also changed along the way.  I can see a sequel, and I have ideas for it.”

SHADOW ON THE MESA can be pre-ordered from Amazon  for under $14 .  

CASTING DIRECTOR MARVIN PAIGE DIES

Marvin Paige with Anne Jeffreys

One of Hollywood’s premiere casting directors has died at the age of 86 after a car crash on Laurel Canyon.  Known for casting STAR TREK and many other TV series and movies, of chief interest to Western fans, he cast the series BRANDED, and movies like RIDE BEYOND VENGEANCE, THE REVENGERS, THE HONKERS, MAN IN THE WILDERNESS, and many others.  He was particularly beloved by actors who gained their fame in the 1930s and 1940s.  The late Marcia Mae Jones told me that she and many of her friends had Marvin to thank for their later roles on TV and in film.  In recent years he was best known for squiring the great ladies of cinema’s golden age to events at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, UCLA screenings, and autograph shows.  Word that he was at an event was quickly followed by the question, “Who is he with?”  The answer was likely to be Jane Russell, Anne Jeffreys, June Lockhart, or another star of that ilk.

THAT’S A WRAP!

Next week I’ll have, among other things, a review of TREASURES 5 – THE WEST, a wonderful collection of films from the National Film Preservation Archives!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright November 2013 by Parke – All Rights Reserved

HALLMARK LAUNCHES NEW WESTERN SERIES -- ‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’

‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’ - a film review

More than any other networks in recent years, The Hallmark Channel and The Hallmark Movie Channel have demonstrated an unswerving commitment to the Western genre.  Their recent SHADOW ON THE MESA won the Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and just a week ago GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS and HANNAH’S LAW were screened by invitation at the Almeria Western Film Festival in Spain.

And just when you thought, with the end of the third season of HELL ON WHEELS, that you’d have nothing new and Western to see on the small screen, this Saturday night the Hallmark Channel is presenting the motion picture WHEN CALLS THE HEART, not just as a stand-alone film, but as a ‘back-door pilot’ to a weekly Western series which will premiere in January. 

HEART is tele-written and directed by Michael Landon Jr., and based on Janette Oke’s best-selling Canadian West book series.  Oke and Landon are new neither to Hallmark nor to each other.  This duo has previously produced some of Hallmark’s most popular romantic westerns:  LOVE COMES SOFTLY (’03), LOVE’S ENDURING PROMISE (’04), LOVE’S LONG JOURNEY (’05), LOVE’S ABIDING JOY (’06), LOVE’S UNFOLDING DREAM (’07), LOVE FINDS A HOME (’09), and LOVE TAKES WING (’09). 

Poppy Drayton as Elizabeth Thatcher

WHEN CALLS THE HEART stars lovely newcomer Poppy Drayton as Elizabeth Thatcher, daughter of a lavishly wealthy Canadian family.  At a time when monied young women were not expected to be educated or work, she’s studied to be a teacher, and is eager to find a position.  Her meeting with handsome young Superintendent Higgins goes awry when he does offer her a position – directly under him – if she wants a plum teaching assignment.   Appalled, she nonetheless doesn’t report the proposition to her father (to my regret – I think a good caning would have perked things up), and she’s disappointed but not entirely surprised when Higgins offers her an alternative teaching position in the distant frontier, at the picturesquely named town of Coal Valley. 

Elizabeth’s pretty little rat of a younger sister, Julie (Daisy Head), was patronizing at the very thought of her sister becoming a school marm, but the idea that Elizabeth could survive the experience in the rugged west is, to her, laughable.  She sets out to do everything she can to shake her sister’s fragile self-confidence, enlisting the aid of Edward Montclair (TEEN WOLF regular Daniel Sharman), a dilettante friend who has amazed the Thatchers by actually graduating from the Royal Mounted’s police academy.   

Maggie Grace as Aunt Elizabeth

Elizabeth’s resolve grows when she stumbles upon a diary kept by her namesake, her father’s sister Elizabeth (beautiful Maggie Grace), whom nobody talks about.  It seems that when the first Elizabeth was in her early twenties, she became a school marm on the frontier, and was rarely heard from again.  From here the two stories are told in parallel, the aunt’s adventures giving the niece some idea of what to expect – from testing by skeptical students, to wild animals, to tragedies, to handsome Mounties.  When Elizabeth sets out for the west by train, she is perturbed to find that her father has hired the young Mountie to see her safely to Coal Valley before reporting for duty.  It is then, in the last half hour, that the movie becomes less of a romance and more of a western, and soon Marm and Mountie are riding stagecoaches, facing outlaws, and having adventures, and for a romantic western image, the way they enter town cannot be beat.

And when she arrives at her assignment, Elizabeth meets her two bosses and allies, Abigail Stanton (Lori Loughlin) and Frances Tunnecliffe (Jean Smart), who tell her exactly what challenges she will face – matters that Superintendent Higgins, unsurprisingly, failed to mention. 

the hold-up

The film is attractively shot, and early on, the mansion and restaurants suggest a Canadian DOWNTON ABBEY, and in fact, Poppy Drayton appears in the coming season of DOWNTON.  The costuming, while often striking, is confusing.  The dresses and jewelry are from the 1880s or earlier, yet a glimpse of an auto and the use of a flashlight sets the story in the 20^th century (and a brief close-up of paper-jacketed books on a shelf suggests the 1960s!). 

While always interesting, the story doesn't become involving until we start seeing the flashbacks of Aunt Elizabeth – her character and adventures are much more compelling, beautifully photographed, and with more consistent costuming and art direction setting the story in the late 1870s or early 1880s.  Aunt Elizabeth also has a more impressive Mountie than her niece, in the person of Stephen Amell, star of the CW’s ARROW. 

While it does take a long time to get Elizabeth out west, happily for western fans, when the series comes in January, Elizabeth will already be in Coal Valley.   And here’s some more positive news: while the movie was shot in Alberta, Canada, the series is being lensed in and around Telluride, Colorado, an event that Colorado Governor Hickenlooper and Hallmark President Bill Abbott jointly announced, noting that it’s the first TV series shot in the area since FATHER DOWLING MYSTERIES in 1991!   Considering how many U.S.-set westerns are shot in Canada, it’s nice to see some traffic flowing in the other direction.

Lori Loughlin, Jean Smart, Poppy Drayton

There will be some changes in going from movie to series, including that Elizabeth will now be played by ARMY WIVES regular Erin Krakow.  The male romantic lead will be Daniel Lissing of LAST RESORT.  And happily, Lori Laughlin will return in her role of Abigail Stanton.

WHEN CALLS THE HEART will premiere on The Hallmark Channel on Saturday, October 19^th, at 9 pm, East and West, preceded by five of Janette Oke’s LOVE COMES SOFTLY films.

THAT’S A WRAP!

Next week I’ll have a review of a delightful video, LOST & FOUND – AMERICAN TREASURES FROM THE NEW ZEALAND FILM ARCHIVE, and a look at highlights from the Almeria and Lone Pine Western Festivals.

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright October 2013 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

WEST FESTS IN LONE PINE AND ALMERIA IN OCTOBER!

Hey there, world travelers!  In October, Almeria, Spain and Lone Pine, California will both play host to Western film festivals!  Both are locations where numerous Western movies were made. 

First up is the Almeria Western Film Festival on October 2^nd through the 5^th.  The Almeria and Tabernas area was the center of spaghetti western production in the 1960s and 1970s; several hundred westerns were shot there in that comparatively brief period.  Mini-Hollywood, Teatro Municipal deTabernas and Fort Bravo will be the locations for screenings and events.  Films shown in competition include many featured in the Round-up: COPPERHEAD (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=copperhead+review)  , HANNAH’S LAW (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=hannah%27s+law+review ) , ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS. ZOMBIES (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=abraham+lincoln+zombies+review)  , GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE – QUEEN OF HEARTS (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=queen+of+hearts+review )   , and THE MAN WHO SHOOK THE HAND OF VICENTE FERNANDEZ  (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=the+man+who+shook+the+hand+review ) .  Also in competition are A PEZZI: UNDEAD MEN, WEST OF THUNDER, DEAD MAN’S BURDEN, and EL APARECIDO.  Classic Spaghetti Westerns to be screened include THE MOMENT TO KILL (1968), THE RETURN OF CLINT THE STRANGER (1972), and $1000 ON THE BLACK (1966).  There will also be a panel discussion with Spaghetti Western stars Robert Woods, George Hilton, Monica Randall, Simone Blondell and Carlos Bravo.  Last year’s festival brought together filmmakers who decided to work together, and they just shot a new Spaghetti Western on the same locations, SIX BULLETS TO HELL (read about it here: http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2013/07/six-bullets-to-hell-is-shooting-up.html ).  Learn more about the festival at the official site: http://almeriawestern.es/index_en.php

Then catch your breath, get over your jet-lag, and head to the 24^th Annual Lone Pine Film Festival.  Lone Pine, Where the Real West Becomes the Reel West is this year’s theme.  Blessed with breath-taking vistas, stark desert and the famed Alabama Hills, Lone Pine was a favorite locale for Republic, Paramount, Universal, and Warner Brothers westerns.  Among the many guests attending are Mariette Hartley, Clu Gulager, L.Q. Jones, Andrew Prine, Peggy Stewart, stunt coordinators Diamond Farnsworth and Loren Janes, and Billy King, who appeared in four Lone Pine-shot Hopalong Cassidy films in the 1930s.  Leonard Maltin and Ed Hulse will host celebrity panels.   There are many tours and events scheduled, from visits to the Bar 20 ranch to the sets of GUNGA DIN.  I don’t have a list of all the films to be screened, but they include HEART OF ARIZONA and other Hopalong Cassidy films; RIDE LONESOME starring Randolph Scott; Sam Peckinpah’s RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, which introduced Mariette Hartley; WESTWARD HO starring John Wayne; SHOWDOWN starring Audie Murphy, and many others.  To learn more, go here: http://www.lonepinefilmfestival.org/

DISCOVERY CHANNEL ORDERS ‘NORTH AND SOUTH’ REMAKE!

The Discovery Channel has ordered a remake of NORTH AND SOUTH, the 1985 ratings giant mini-series, to be produced by Lionsgate, exec produced by John Jakes, whose novels are the basis for mini, and its two sequels.  The original, which starred James Read as Patrick Swayze as West Point friends who find themselves on opposite sides of the Civil War, averaged an astonishing 40 million viewers per episode.  The tremendous supporting cast included Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Cash, Hal Holbrook, Robert Mitchum, and dozens of other famous names and faces.   More details soon!

AMERICAN TREASURES FROM THE NEW ZEALAND FILM ARCHIVES ON SALE SEPT. 24

As I reported back in June of 2010 (the article is HERE if you missed it ) seventy-five silent American films, thought to be lost, were discovered in a search of the New Zealand Film Archive.  Ironically, the New Zealand archive holds a substantial number of rare non-Kiwi movies because, by the time a film, being distributed around the world, reached far-away New Zealand, it was cheaper to just leave the film there than to pay to have it shipped back to the States. In N.Z. Archive manager Steve Russell's words, "It's one of the rare cases when the tyranny of distance has worked in our and the films' favor." Two of the westerns are THE GIRL STAGE DRIVER(1914), and Selig Polyscope picture, THE SERGEANT - TOLD IN THE YOSEMITE VALLEY (1910). 

The New Zealand Film Archives and National Film Preservation Foundation have been working to preserve the films ever since, and on September 24^th, their fruits of their labor will be available.  LOST & FOUND - AMERICAN TREASURES FROM THE NEW ZEALAND FILM ARCHIVES, a 3 ¼ hour DVD will feature the preserved films, and while a complete list is not yet available, it will in include John Ford’s UPSTREAM (1927); a trailer for his lost film STRONG BOY (1929); the opening reels from Hitchcock’s earliest surviving film, THE WHITE SHADOW (1924); FAMOUS RIDE ON A RUNAWAY TRAIN (1921); WON IN A CUPBOARD, directed by and starring Mabel Normand, and many more.  Selling for $24.95 from onlinedealers, the DVD has music by silent movie maestros Michael D. Mortilla and Donald Sosin, and includes a 56 page catalog with film notes and credits.  You can learn more at www.filmpreservation.org.  and you can see a trailer by clicking HERE.      

PETER SHERAYKO SAYS, “I WAS JAMES FENIMORE COOPER’S NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR!”

Got a very amusing call from actor/author/armorer/prop man Peter Sherayko (If you don’t know Peter, Texas Jack Vermillion from TOMBSTONE, read my interview with him HERE ) .  He’d been catching up on the Round-up, and was amazed to read the continuing saga of the search for James Fenimore Cooper’s home in New York City.  (If you missed this, the link to the final chapter of the story is in the Round-up entry HERE .)  With the help of the James Fenimore Cooper Society, and the New York Historical Society, we finally determined that the Last of the Mohicans author had lived at 6 St. Marks Place from 1834 to 1836. 

Peter Sherayko, who knows more about Western literature than just about anyone I know, used to live right next door, at 8 St. Marks Place.  I had hoped to pump him for ‘what was Fenimore really like?’ stories, but their periods of residence did not overlap.  Fresh from the Air Force, Peter lived in the apartment for six months in the early 1970s, while attending NYU.  “I had no idea one of my heroes had lived next door!”  I tactfully mentioned that the neighborhood had taken a downturn during the War Between The States.  Peter didn’t think it had improved much by his time.  “It was pretty funky.  I remember the bathtub was in the kitchen, and there was one toilet for all the apartments on the floor.”

One of the busiest men I know, Peter will be working in various capacities on a string of up-coming productions.  Among them, WESTERN RELIGION will soon be rolling at the Paramount Ranch.  Then he’ll be heading to Old Tucson to work on the sequel to HOT BATH AN’ A STIFF DRINK (if you missed my piece about that film’s rough cut, go HERE  ).  Then there’s THE HEADLESS for FRIDAY THE 13^TH impresario Sean Cunningham.  In January he’ll be at the Melody and Veluzat Ranches for SOUND OF THUNDER.   And from September 27^th to the 29^th he’ll be at Calico Ghost Town for the annual CALICO DAYS celebration, hosting a series pilot, BIG HISTORY, that would travel the country, spotlighting historical celebrations.

THAT’S A WRAP!

That’s it for this week’s Round-up!  I just conducted a fascinating interview with Karla Buhlman, President of Gene Autry Entertainment.  She had a lot of insight into Gene’s approach to television; next week I’ll be running that interview in conjunction with my review of the release of the final season of THE GENE AUTRY SHOW on DVD.  And hopefully the following week I’ll have my review of the new Western SWEETWATER, starring January Jones, Ed Harris and Jason Isaacs.

Happy trails,

Henry

All original contents copyright September 2013 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved