REMEMBERING ERNEST BORGNINE

Ernest Borgnine, who earned his Oscar as MARTY, and was unforgettable as Dutch Engstrom in THE WILD BUNCH, has died at 95.  From FROM HERE TO ETERNITY to JOHNNY GUITAR, VERA CRUZ, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, THE DIRTY DOZEN, Borgnine was unique, not only switching deftly between drama and comedy, but also between hero and villain.  Never idle, over the past few years he gained a new children’s audience voicing Mermaidman in SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. 

Having written his autobiography, ERNIE, over the past several years he’d been travelling the country doing book-signings and personal appearances at venues big and small, even appearing at the North Hollywood Public Library for a MARTY screening.  He never seemed to be in anything but a great mood, and I’ve never heard a bad word about him from anyone who worked with him.  And he never stopped working.  When I asked him last July when he was going to do another Western, he laughed, “I'm doing one right now! It's called THE MAN WHO SHOOK THE HAND OF VINCENTE FERNANDEZ. It's a Western, but it takes place in a nursing home.”  I understand the film has been completed, and Borgnine won the Outstanding Achievement in Acting Award at this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival.

INSP CELEBRATES EXPANSION OF SADDLE-UP SATURDAY WITH CONTEST

SADDLE-UP SATURDAY, featuring episodes of BONANZA, THE BIG VALLEY, DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN,and sometimes movies, now starts at 1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT, and runs all day and all night!  You can learn more about the line-up HERE.   To celebrate the expansion, INSP is sponsoring a sweepstakes that will win some lucky viewer an all-expenses-paid four-day Dude Ranch getaway for two worth $5000! The second prize is a Weber Barbecue, Omaha Steaks and groceries worth more than $1300! Third prize – these are worth $300, and there are a dozen of them – are BIG VALLEY and BONANZA DVDs, plus a new pair of Levis and a Fisher Gold Mining Kit! To find out more, click under the banner below, and good luck!  Let's make sure these prizes are won by Round-up readers, and not someone less deserving! 

CLICK HERE

CALIFORNIA PERMANENTLY RECOGNIZES ‘THE NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY’

Only Wyoming has beaten California to the punch!  On Monday, July 2^nd, California became the 2^nd state in the Union to recognize the National Day of the Cowboy and Cowgirl as July 28^th, in perpetuity.  Other states that are currently on board for this year, either by State Senate resolution, or Governor’s proclamation, are Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.  If you’d like to watch the proclamation pass in California, featuring politicians and NDOC National Director Bethany Braley, go to the video here: https://vimeo.com/45099474

Speaking of the National Day of the Cowboy, events are happening all around the country, and as we get closer I’ll have more and more details, but to start, author J.R. Sanders, the man who created the READ ‘EM COWBOY Barnes and Noble Bookfair last year in Redlands, is at it again, and there are at least 8 READ ‘EM COWBOY events this year, including Redlands, Santa Clarita, and Valencia, California.  If you make a copy of the voucher below, when you make a purchase at any Barnes and Noble, in-store or on-line, from July 28^th through August 2^nd, a percentage will be contributed to organizations who encourage kids to read.  J. R.’s planned a week-long series of events, starting on July 22^nd with a 50^th Anniversary screening of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE at the Fox Theatre in Old Town Redlands.  www.foxeventcenter.com.  There will be all manner of related music, writing and reading events for kids and adults all week long.

(I'm having technical difficulties getting the voucher to appear -- I'll have it in place as soon as I can)

All manner of celebrations are to be held in Sedona, Arizona; the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame; Sullivan, Missouri; Slippoff Hollow, Alabama; and Jefferson, Amarillo and El Paso, Texas.  You can find out details at the NDOC website here: http://nationaldayofthecowboy.com/wordpress/?post_type=tribe_events&eventDisplay=month

The Autry plans a day packed with activities including gun-slinger Joey Dillon, trick-ropers, square dancing, music, arts and crafts, gold-panning, screening of GENE AUTRY SHOW episodes and so much more.  Learn more here: http://theautry.org/programs/music-festivals/national-day-of-the-cowboy-and-cowgirl-2012

If you have an event related to the Nation Day Of The Cowboy planned, please share it with the Round-up, so we can share it with the Round-up Rounders (our readers)!

HENRY FONDA and THE DEPUTY -- a book review

It’s hard to say what kind of roles the public thinks of when they think of Henry Fonda, because he was so damned good at all of them.  This may come off as blasphemy in the Round-up, but I usually think of him first in comedy, especially Preston Sturges’ THE LADY EVE; then as Tom Joad in the GRAPES OF WRATH; and third as Wyatt Earp in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, and all those other great Western roles, both comic and dramatic.

We don’t think of him as the star of a Western television series, but that’s exactly what he was in 1959 and 1960, starring in THE DEPUTY, and the story of how that series came about, as well as its demise, is the subject of Glenn A. Mosely’s illuminating book.

Mosely’s previous book, JEFFREY HUNTER AND TEMPLE HOUSTON (see my review HERE http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2011/11/yellow-rock-nabs-red-nation-top-prizes.html ) examined a series that didn’t make it to a full season.  THE DEPUTY lasted two, and NBC wanted to renew for a third, and extend the show from a half to a full hour.  And yet, it was doomed from the start by creating expectations that the makers had no intention of fulfilling.

Television in 1959 was a very different medium than it is today, and both the public and actors looked on it very differently.  For many years, certainly well into the 1970s, established actors did not want to appear regularly in a TV series.  Guest appearances were fine, but it was believed that audiences would never pay to see an actor once they’d gotten used to seeing them for free, so doing a TV series was considered the kiss of death to a career.  So why did an actor who’d just starred in MR. ROBERTS, Hitchcock’s THE WRONG MAN, 12 ANGRY MEN and THE TIN STAR agree to do a series?  “Many of my friends have asked why I’ve picked this season to debut in my own western series.  Gold convinced me.  Residuals is a magic word.  It means it rains gold.  It is the only chance an actor has to save money these days.  The thought of having an annuity from the residuals is very satisfying.” 

So it was more for love of money than love of westerns, but whatever it took to get Henry Fonda in the door was fine.  The premise was clever: Fonda plays Marshal Simon Fry in 1880 Arizona Territory, and he’s forever conning gunman-turned-shopkeeper Clay McCord (Allen Case) to ‘temporarily’ don a deputy’s badge, and help him on a case.  The plots were dramatic, but if the setup sounds a little more humorous than westernish, it’s no surprise when you learn THE DEPUTY was the first series created by soon-to-be sitcom powerhouse Norman Lear, and VERA CRUZ and CRIMSON PIRATE author Roland Kibbee.  And Norman Lear reveals that he and Kibbee borrowed that marshal-conning-deputy gag from Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s THE FRONT PAGE, better known as the Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell remake HIS GAL FRIDAY.

So, what went wrong?  Notice the series isn’t named THE MARSHAL, after Fonda’s character, but THE DEPUTY, after Case’s.  Fonda agreed to be ‘in’ every episode of the series, but to ‘star’ only in a few.  In the first season, he was the lead in seven out of 39 episodes!  In the other thirty-two, he did appearances so brief that they could shoot as many as five Fonda segments a day!  Fonda’s real love was the theatre, and his deal on THE DEPUTY made it possible to do plays or movies for nine months out of the year.  But would the public stand for it?

Mr. Mosley is a booster for the series, both the Fonda and non-Fonda episodes, and describes each in the fifty page episode guide.  He makes the point that if the quality of each script isn’t uniformly brilliant, shows of that period were expected to churn out 39 or 40 episodes per season, compared to our current fifteen or ten.  True, but it must be remembered that shows of the same period and with the same production schedule, like HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, GUNSMOKE, THE REBEL and THE RIFLEMAN, hit a tremendous amount of home runs per season.  Of course, they had a steady writing and directing staff – GUNSMOKE even had a decade of radio scripts to fall back on.  But after the creators of THE DEPUTY, Lear and Kibbee, turned in their pilot, Lear never wrote another episode, and Kibbee only wrote one.  Perhaps having a consistent vision when the show was getting established would have helped.

Mr. Mosley is the director of Broadcasting in the School of Journalism and Mass Media at the University of Idaho.  He brings the thoroughness of academia to his study of entertainment.  He demonstrates that many television westerns were not so much the reduced offspring of film, as they were the visual descendents of the radio western.  He also makes a convincing case that one reason for the tremendous number of westerns on television at the time – over thirty – was partly attributable to the quiz show scandals. 

THE DEPUTY board game

If you’re a fan of Fonda’s, a fan of Western TV, or just interested in how network deals were struck in TV’s early days, you’ll find HENRY FONDA AND THE DEPUTY very entertaining and informative.  It’s published by BearManor Media, and available through them, Amazon and other dealers, priced at $19.95.  The forward is by Read Morgan, who played Sgt. Tasker in season two; the prologue is by Christian I Nyby II, who, like his father, was a talented and prolific director, but who began his career on the ‘labor gang’ at Republic, where THE DEPUTY and so many other westerns, big-screen and small, were shot. 

Incidentally, if the book whets your appetite to see THE DEPUTY, you can find the entire run for sale on eBay for as little as $42. 

TWO MORE NEW ‘MORGAN KANE’ BOOKS

WR Films, the folks preparing to film MORGAN KANE: THE LEGEND BEGINS, have been releasing e-book versions of the novels to familiarize English-speakers with the most successful series of European-written Western novels since Karl May wrote about Winnetou and Old Shatterhand.  The stories are by Louis Masterson, pen-name for the prolific Kjell Hallbing, Norway’s most popular author.  Morgan Kane is sometimes a lawman, sometimes a bandit, sometimes a Texas Ranger.  The covers have all been eye-catching, but #13, REVENGE!, is their sexiest yet.  It and #12, GUNMAN’S INHERITANCE, have been released, and are available through Amazon and wherever e-books are sold, as are #1-11 -- and you definitely want to start at the beginning.

LOS ENCINOS DAY OF CELEBRATION SUNDAY JULY 15^TH

As regular readers know, Los Encinos Park in Encino is one of the California treasures threatened with closure by a bankrupt and incompetent state government.  An anonymous donor stepped up and gave them enough money to keep afloat through the 2012-2013 fiscal year!  The Docent Association, the park, and community invite you to join them on Sunday, July 15th from 11-3:30 for an extra special celebratory Living History day. It's B.Y.O.P.--bring your own picnic!  Also, from 1 to 2 p.m., they’ll be filming park visitors, asking what makes Los Encinos, locally known as ‘the duck park,’ special to them, and why they chose to make a donation to keep the park open.  Questions? Contact us: 818.784.4849 or LosEncinos@parks.ca.gov

A ‘HELL ON WHEELS’ APPETIZER

Season two of HELL ON WHEELS won’t begin until Sunday, August 12^th, but while we’re waiting, here are some season one behind-the-scenes pictures featuring, top to bottom, Anson Mount, Common and Wes Studi.

That'll have to do it for this week -- what with getting called for jury duty this week, I'm amazed I got half this much done.  Oh, and let's not forget to wish a happy birthday to an actress who, with a single performance, made a great addition to the Western film, Kim Darby!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright July 2012 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

HEATHENS AND THIEVES Hit the Screen Today!

HEATHENS AND THIEVES – a film review

I have nothing against big budgets, and I have high hopes for upcoming films like DJANGO UNCHAINED and THE LONE RANGER.  But I’ve noticed over the past couple of years that some of the best Westerns I’ve seen have been made with modest budgets, but a lot of heart, a respect for authenticity, and an understanding of what can be accomplished with the money they’ve got. 

Such a film is HEATHENS AND THIEVES, a noir-ish, suspense Western written by John Douglas Sinclair and co-directed by Sinclair and Megan Peterson.  A pair of men on the run – whether they’ve escaped from prison or simply from enemies is never quite clear – find themselves near a farm, recently bought by a ‘Chinaman,’ where, it is rumored, gold stolen en route to a bank is hidden, perhaps without the Chinaman’s knowledge.  Bill, the more experienced and brash of the two (Richard Doyle), is all for charging in and demanding the gold.  His less violent partner Saul (Andrew Simpson), offers to go in alone, looking for work, to see if he can gain their confidence and locate the treasure.  The man, Zen Hui (Boyuen) is skeptical; his wife, Kun Hai Hui (Gwendoline Yeo) is even more so, but Saul eventually worms his way into their trust. 

But talk has spread about the gold, and that night the most disreputable collection of treasure-hunting scoundrels since THE MALTESE FALCON – bandits, lawmen of various agencies, representatives of the wronged bank – descend upon the farmer, his wife and their tiny baby, and Saul is forced to decide where his loyalties must lie.  With the coming of daylight, many gold-seekers will be disappointed, and many more will be dead. 

Rather than opening up the story, the filmmakers have, after a forest and a saloon scene, isolated the characters at the farm-house, letting the claustrophobia help create the tension as relationships are made and broken.  It’s like THE DESPERATE HOURS if you couldn’t be sure who to root for. 

HEATHENS AND THIEVES is an exciting and satisfying Western suspenser that packs plenty of gunplay, makes excellent use of locations, and has a horse-stampede the likes of which, for sheer numbers, you haven’t seen in years.   Sinclair’s wise script is strong in the plotting, and amusing in subtle ways – like when Saul plays husband versus wife to get hired, and when he’s pleased to maneuver his way into a breakfast invitation, only to find out what they eat for breakfast.  More importantly, the characters are rounded and varied, and like real people, there is more to each of them than meets the eye.  There is not a false note in the entire cast of characters or actors.  Particular standouts are the beautiful Gwendoline Yeo from BROKEN TRAIL; Richard Doyle as Saul’s exuberantly untrustworthy partner; and Andrew Simpson as Saul, an actor with virtually no previous screen credits, who must carry most of the picture, and does so with startling skill. 

And because the villain must be worthy of a hero, special attention must be given to Don Swayze, in the plumb role of Col. Sherman Rutherford, late of the Union Army, currently represented the wounded party, i.e., the bank.  It’s a bravura performance that nears the edge but never goes over-the-top, and because so few bad guys truly know they are bad guys, he is particularly enjoyable trying to justify to himself and others the terrible things he does.  Also noteworthy is Michael Robert Brandon as Moses.  If Sidney Greenstreet made fat sinister, Brandon makes baldness creepy. 

No film is perfect, and here and there are story points that are a bit of a stretch, and there were times when the long night seemed a little too long.  It runs 110 minutes, and might be a little better at 100.  But overall the film is extremely satisfying, and the direction by Sinclair and Peterson is excellent – with nothing to suggest that it was not the work of a single vision.

Of particular note is the cinematography by Pyongson Yim, shooting with a Red 1 camera.  With so much of the story taking place indoors at night, the look is crucial.  The flat and artificial lighting of TV Westerns of the 1960s gave way to the ‘realistic’ but hideously dark lighting of so many later Westerns, where you simply can’t distinguish characters or make out what’s going on.  Yim sometimes leans towards noir-ish shadows, but she always allows enough light to make the scenes understandable.  Without calling attention to itself, much of her composition is original and stunning.  Together with the production design by Kyle Peterson, art direction by Erica Headley and Abigail Potter and costuming by Elaine Montalvo, this films visuals establish a beauty and reality that you accept without question.

And the good news is, you may be able to see HEATHENS AND THIEVES right now.  Starting today, July 1^st,  Phase 4 will begin a limited cable VOD release via Cox, Cablevision, Comcast, and Insight, and it will be released much more broadly in November.  And if you’re going to be in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 11^th, you can see it on the big screen, as part of DOWNTOWN FILM FESTIVAL L.A..  It’s showing at 7:30 at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium, and you can learn more, and buy tickets, here: http://www.tugg.com/events/show/816#.T-dgjHBboX4

Incidentally, I interviewed writer/co-director John Sinclair today, and will be featuring the interview in the Round-up shortly.

STAMPS HONOR GREAT AMERICAN FILM DIRECTORS

With surprisingly little fanfare, on May 23^rd, the U.S. Postal Service issued a series of four stamps honoring great American movie directors.  Frank Capra, John Ford, Billy Wilder and John Huston were the very worthy men chosen, and it is a testament to the ‘melting-pot’ theory of American society to note that of the four, only two were born in the United States: John Huston, in Nevada, Missouri; and John Ford in Cape Elizabeth, Maine (why did I think he was born in Ireland?).  Frank Capra was born in Sicily, and Billy Wilder was born in Austria-Hungary (now Poland). 

Though both Capra and Wilder both came to the U.S. speaking little or no English, they both quickly became masters of the American vernacular, and while neither man ever made a Western, their contributions to American film, comedy and drama, cannot be overstated.  John Ford’s contribution to Westerns is legendary, from STAGCOACH to THE SEARCHERS to THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, and so many more.  John Huston’s period and modern Westerns include THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN, TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (writing and directing Oscar), THE MISFITS, THE UNFORGIVEN, and THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE.

Each stamp features a portrait of the filmmaker, and a vignette from one of his most famous works: Ford’s shows John Wayne walking away through the doorway at the end of THE SEARCHERS, Capra’s shows Claudette Colbert teaching Clark Gable how to stop a car without using her thumb from IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, Wilder’s features Marilyn Monroe with her ukulele from SOME LIKE IT HOT, and Huston’s shows Humphrey Bogart examining ‘The stuff that dreams are made of,’ from THE MALTESE FALCON.

BUDD BOETTICHER FEST AT UCLA/BILLY WILDER JULY-AUGUST

From July 13^th through August 12^th, the UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Hugh M. Hefner Classic American Film Program present seven Budd Boetticher double-bills featuring many of his finest Westerns and gangster films.  Prominent are the films from the Ranown cycle, produced by the Randolph Scott and Harry Joe Brown company, starring Scott, and considered by many to be the best series of Westerns ever made.   While much is rightly made of the Boetticher/Scott collaboration, it should be remembered that it was a three-man collaboration: Burt Kennedy, later a successful director in his own right, wrote four of the six screenplays, and they are clearly the strongest films of the group.

The double bills are as follows: July 13^th Seven Men from Now (1956);
Decision at Sundown (1957) , July 14^th The Tall T (1957);
Buchanan Rides Alone (1958), July 21^st  Ride Lonesome (1959);
Comanche Station (1960), July 22^nd Bullfighter and the Lady (1951);
My Kingdom for... (1985), July 29^th Horizons West (1952);
The Man from the Alamo (1953), August 6^th The Killer is Loose (1956);
The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960), and August 12^th Escape in the Fog (1945);
Behind Locked Doors (1948).  Learn more, and order tickets, here: http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2012-07-13/ride-lonesome-films-budd-boetticher

‘PETER FORD – A LITTLE PRINCE’ ACADEMY RUN IN NOHO

 Alexander Roman’s fascinating 40 minute documentary about Peter Ford, son of Hollywood stars Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell, will run at Laemmle 7 North Hollywood from Friday, June 29th thr...ough Thursday July 5th, to qualify for Oscar consideration. Read my write-up of the film here: http://www.henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2012/03/national-cowboy-museum-names-wrangler.html Read my review of Peter Ford’s book, GLENN FORD: A LIFE, here: http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2011/12/bad-blood-spills-in-kentucky.html

The showings are at 12:50 pm every day, the tickets are $8, and on Sat., June 30 and Sunday July 1, Roman and Ford will be present for a Q&A.

DJANGO CLIPS TO PREVIEW AT COMIC-COM

On Saturday night, July 14th, Quentin Tarantino will host a DJANGO UNCHAINED panel in Hall H. There will be clips, and there will be cast members on the panel, but no names have been announced yet!

TV WESTERNS ALL OVER THE DIAL!

More and more, classic TV Westerns are available all over the TV universe, but they tend to be on small networks that are easy to miss. Of course, ENCORE WESTERNSis the best continuous source of such programming, and has been for years. Currently they run LAWMAN, WAGON TRAIN, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, RAWHIDE, GUNSMOKE, THE REBEL, and MARSHALL DILLON, which is the syndication title for the original half-hour GUNSMOKE, and starting Monday they're bringing back BONANZA.

RFD-TV is currently showing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW, first at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Pacific Time, then repeated several times a week. They show a Roy feature every Tuesday as well, with repeats -- check your local listings.

INSP-TVshows THE BIG VALLEY Monday through Saturday,LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE seven days a week, DR. QUINN: MEDICINE WOMANon weekdays, and BONANZA on Saturdays.


WHT runs DANIEL BOONE on weekdays from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., Pacific Time. They often show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic.


TVLAND has dropped GUNSMOKE after all these years, but still shows four episodes of BONANZA every weekday.

For those of you who watch TV with an antenna, there are at least a couple of channels that exist between the standard numbers – largely unavailable on cable or satellite systems – that provide Western fare. ANTENNA TV is currently running RIN TIN TIN, HERE COME THE BRIDES, and IRON HORSE.


THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepeneur Gene Autry, and designed by the Disney Imagineering team, the Autry is a world-class museum housing a fascinating collection of items related to the fact, fiction, film, history and art of the American West. In addition to their permenant galleries (to which new items are frequently added), they have temporary shows. The Autry has many special programs every week -- sometimes several in a day. To check their daily calendar, CLICK HERE. And they always have gold panning for kids every weekend. For directions, hours, admission prices, and all other information, CLICK HERE.


HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

Across the street from the Hollywood Bowl, this building, once the headquarters of Lasky-Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures) was the original DeMille Barn, where Cecil B. DeMille made the first Hollywood western, The Squaw Man. They have a permanent display of movie props, documents and other items related to early, especially silent, film production. They also have occasional special programs. 2100 Highland Ave.,L.A. CA 323-874-2276. Thursday – Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for senior, $1 for children.

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

This small but entertaining museum gives a detailed history of Wells Fargo when the name suggested stage-coaches rather than ATMS. There’s a historically accurate reproduction of an agent’s office, an original Concord Coach, and other historical displays. Open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Admission is free. 213-253-7166.333 S. Grand Street,L.A. CA.

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

That's right, the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here:

IT'S BEEN AN EXTENDED BIRTHDAY WEEK FOR ME

Here I am, trying to pick up a gal at Knott's Berry Farm

I've managed to stretch my birthday to about two weeks of celebration, between being taken to Knotts, being taken to Glen Campbell at the Hollywood Bowl, with gifts and cake in between.  It's been a largely Roy Rogers-themed time for me, between catching up on several of the RFD episodes, seeing SAN FERNANDO VALLEY at the Andres Pico Adobe (more about that next week), and finally getting to see Roy's last movie, MACINTOSH ANDT.J. (don't know where my wife found that for me!)  Best of all, I've had some time to work on my own screenplays -- I can't leave everything in Tarantino's hands! Hope you're having a great summer!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright July 2012 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved 

POLISHING THE ‘COPPER’ FOR BBC-AMERICA

For years, BBC America has brought a mix of British programming stateside, but starting on Sunday, August 19th, they will begin presenting their very first, very own dramatic series, COPPER. 

Kevin Ryan and Tom Weston-Jones

It’s an Eastern rather than a Western, set in New York City in the 1860s, and focuses on Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones) a tough Irish-American cop working the city’s notorious Five Points district. Corcoran must balance his work, his ethics and his quest to learn the truth about the disappearance of his wife and the death of his daughter. A Civil War vet, two compatriots from the battlefield -- Robert Morehouse (Kyle Schmid), the wayward son of a wealthy industrialist, and Dr. Matthew Freeman (Ato Essandoh), a black physician -- expose him to both New York society, and the black community of Harlem.  They further share a battlefield secret that inextricably links their lives. Corcoran's closest friend is his partner at the 6th Precinct, Detective Francis Maguire (Kevin Ryan).

Among the female characters in the tale are in Eva Heissen (Franka Potente), the madame of Eva’s Paradise and Molly Stuart(Tanya Fischer), the ambitious courtesan at Eva’s brothel.  The uptown girl is beautiful and sophisticated Elizabeth Haverford (Anastasia Griffith).   Sara Freeman (Tessa Thompson) is the wife of Dr. Matthew Freeman.

Franka Potente and Weston-Jones

In the back-story, Dr. Freeman went to war not to fight, but to serve as Robert Morehouse’s valet.  Morehouse has returned from the war minus a leg, and too restless to settle down as his father’s business partner.  And while Dr. Freeman uses his scientific skills to assist Corcoran in his investigations, his contributions are kept secret: Corcoran’s superiors, already dubious about science, would never seriously consider evidence provided by a black man.

Many in the cast come from across the pond, and are not particularly familiar faces here, but there are exceptions.  Franka Potente made a splash as the title character in RUN, LOLA, RUN, and co-starred opposite Matt Damon in two BOURNE movies.  Anastasia Griffith first gained attention in DAMAGES and can currently be seen in ONCE UPON A TIME. Kyle Schmid was so liked as a vampire in the series BLOOD TIES that he’s playing another vampire on the current Syfy series BEING HUMAN.  (I guess if the audience doesn’t quickly warm to COPPER, they can take a cue from how the DARK SHADOWS soap was saved, and have him bite Kevin Corcoran.)   

Ato Essandoh, Kyle Schmid, Weston-Jones

The series, shot in Canada, and with a ten-episode first season, was created and co-written by Tom Fontana of BORGIA, OZ, HOMICIDE and ST, ELSEWHERE fame.  Working with him is Oscar-nominated (for MONTERS BALL) Will Rokos and Oscar winner (for directing RAIN MAN) Barry Levinson.  Cineflix Studios’ President, Christina Wayne, was in charge at AMC when they produced BROKEN TRAIL and MAD MEN. 

TWO MUST-HAVE BOOKS FOR WESTERN FANS AND WESTERN FILMMAKERS

Author Peter Sherayko

“I’m going into a meeting with a producer, and he slaps this book down on the table in front of me, and says, ‘This book tells you how to make a Western.  Have you read it?’

“Have I read it?” Peter repeated, incredulously.  “I wrote it.”

Buck Taylor,Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell, Michael Rooker, Peter Sherayko

I’ve long suspected that all the things I don’t know about making a historically accurate Western could fill a book.  Peter Sherayko has filled two books with that knowledge.  The first, TOMBSTONE: THE GUNS AND THE GEAR, an updated edition of his 2004 original, tells and illustrates what went into the making of the most beloved and influential Western of the last two decades.  The second book, THE FRINGE OF HOLLYWOOD, tells how to make a historically accurate Western, even on a low budget.  With the ever-growing knowledge of detail and history on the part of the Western fan, as a direct result of TOMBSTONE, I would say reading both books before you make your Western film is more than just a good idea:  making a Western today, without the benefit of first reading TOMBSTONE: THE GUNS AND GEAR and THE FRINGE OF HOLLYWOOD, would be foolhardy.

Old Man Clanton's .45s

Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of being on a number of Western movie and TV sets with Peter Sherayko, and been exposed first-hand to his encyclopedic knowledge of the American West in 19^th and early 20^th centuries, and his enthusiasm in sharing that knowledge.  It’s no surprise that he and Kevin Jarre, who wrote, and was the original director of TOMBSTONE, were fast friends.  It was their mission to do as meticulously detailed and historically accurate a telling of the O.K. Corral gunfight as could be imagined, and they succeeded so well that it forever changed audiences’ expectations of accuracy in weaponry, art direction and costuming in the Western movie.  Also as part of the process, Peter organized The Buckaroos, a group of historically knowledgeable re-enactors who have all the period Western skills, in and out of the saddle, to add to every scene a patina of authenticity.

Virgil Earp's (Sam Elliot's) rig

Poring over historical documents and photographs, they not only got the events right, they found out what kind of weapons each man was known to possess at that time in their lives.  And instead of the drab brown wardrobe movies have traditionally assigned to Western characters, their research revealed the gaudy and colorful clothes these dapper Victorian men wore.  In the extravagantly photo-illustrated TOMBSTONE: THE GUNS AND THE GEAR, you’ll not only see every rifle, shotgun, sidearm and knife that each major character in the film had, you’ll see the same for the minor characters, the riding extras, characters whose scenes were cut out, and characters whose scenes were never even shot!  The same is true of rigs (holsters to us non-pros), saddles, hats, shirts, boots, and every sort of hand prop.  And the choice for each, based on personality, known wardrobe preference or logical deduction, is explained in detail. 

Doc's knife with retractable blade

Also in the book, entitled ‘A Brief Tombstone Timeline,’ is the most succinct telling of events from 1872 to 1903 that I have ever read.  And Peter states what so few have the courage to even utter: that Doc Holliday was believed to be involved in a series of stagecoach hold-ups.  The book opens with an introduction by gun expert George J. Layman, the original forward by writer-director John Milius, and a new forward by John Fasano, the writer who script-doctored  TOMBSTONE when Kevin Jarre was fired, and who provides fascinating details on how the movie was made.  If you love TOMBSTONE, owning TOMBSTONE: THE GUNS AND GEAR is an absolute must. 

Sherman McMasters 1878 Double Action Colt

Following the popularity of TOMBSTONE: THE GUNS AND THE GEAR, THE FRINGE OF HOLLYWOOD was written to teach how to make accurate Westerns, even on a tiny budget.  What could be a dry recitation of rules – don’t use this gun before this year, don’t use that kind of saddle – is instead entertaining, engaging and informative because, again, Peter Sherayko knows his subject so well.  For instance, he could just have said that the most oft-seen gun-rig of movies and TV since the 1940s, the low-on-the-hip holster known as the buscadero gun belt, is wrong.  Instead, he tells us why.  It was developed in Texas at the turn of the century for a lawman who found the traditional, higher-worn rig uncomfortable when driving his Model-T Ford!  And the leather that used to cover the side of the gun up to the grips was cut away, exposing the trigger guard not for lawmen, but for 20^th Century quick-draw competitors – the same reason the round-the-thigh strap was added, and the leather loop over the hammer! 

Similarly, the clothes of the cowboy in movies, from the jeans to the hats with the bent-up side brims are not from the Old West but the fashion of modern rodeo-riders.  And the saddles – don’t get Peter started on the saddles!  But again, rather than just saying that almost all the saddles seen in Westerns are much too modern, he explains the economic realities of the wrangler’s job that makes them tend to flat-out lie to producers about what is correct-to-period, and what is not.  His heaviest criticisms are for wranglers and weapon suppliers.  “The majority of Western films have depicted two firearms which, to the uneducated, appear to be the only guns in existence: the 1873 Colt Single Action and the 1892 Winchester carbine.  The icon John Wayne used these guns in virtually all his Westerns from 1939’s STAGECOACH to 1976’s THE SHOOTIST.  He used them in THE COMANCHEROS taking place in the 1840s, THE SEARCHERS 1868 and TRUE GRIT mid-1870s, all historical times when those guns simply did not exist.” 

As he points out, those movies were made at a time when good reproductions of the correct firearms were not available, and originals were costly and hard to come by.  Happily, things have improved, and the wide array of proper repros makes it possible to have a wide range of weaponry, and still keeps things accurate. 

Sheriff Behan's gear

Actors also come in for serious drubbing, when they dishonestly claim to be good on horseback.  Still, wranglers don’t trust them with horses, and armorers don’t trust them with guns, so they need to be proactive if they’re going to get the experience they need. 

With sections devoted to proper saddles, ropes, whips, hobbles, scabbards, canteens, bedrolls, bridles, bits, spurs, and saddlebags, you’ll find not only a wealth of information, but perusing the material can frequently provide inspiration as well.  Both books are available from Amazon and wherever fine books are sold.  

ROY ROGERS UNDER STARS AT ANDRES PICO ADOBE

ROY ROGERS UNDER STARS THURSDAY AT ANDRES PICO ADOBE

The Andres Pico Adobe at10940 Sepulveda Blvd., at the corner of Brand, in Mission Hills, is the headquarters of the San Fernando Valley Historical Society.  On Thursday, June 28^th at 7 p.m., they’ll present a program where several Historical Society members will be presenting their collections, including Civil War uniforms and weapons, and John Brooks’ collection of percussion revolvers, followed by a screening of SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (1944), starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. 

I’d not been aware of the Andres Pico Adobe before this, but it sounds fascinating.  It’s the second oldest home in Los Angeles, its oldest portion being built by former San Fernando Mission Indians in 1834.  It was the headquarters of Don Andres Pico in 1945 when he leased the entire San Fernando Valley to run cattle – he was already running his cattle in the entire Antelope Valley, but the steers were complaining about feeling cramped!  Andres brother, incidentally, was Pio Pico, the last governor of Mexican California. 

GLEN CAMPBELL ROCKS THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

I just came back from a magnificent performance by Glen Campbell at the Hollywood Bowl.  Part of his GOODBYE TOUR, so-named because his Alzheimer's probably won't allow him to perform much longer, he was in wonderful voice as he performed many of his hits, including, of course, RHINESTONE COWBOY and TRUE GRIT.  A virtuoso guitarist who was a hugely successful session player before he began making his own records, he demonstrated skill with a guitar that I can only compare to THE WHO's Pete Townshend.  His band includes a son on drums and another on guitar, and Glen and his daughter Ashley brought down the house with a tremendous rendition of DUELING BANJOS.

For a show whose second half was excellent, the first half, the 'tribute' section, was astonishingly poor.  After a decent, brief set by the band DAWES, Courtney Taylor-Taylor, late of the DANDY WARHOLS, took the stage and sang a pair of MONKEES songs that Campbell had played guitar on -- and sang them in bass, and was so horribly flat that I assumed for a while that it was a joke, and he would be revealed to be Ray Romano or someone.  No such luck.  He was followed by Lucinda Williams, who was also flat, listless, and slurred her words.  The iconic Kris Kristofferson followed, and tried, but was not in good form.  You could feel the growing anxiety throughout the Bowl when Jenny Lewis took the stage, and actually sang!  Identifiable words and notes!  We didn't want to let her go, but happily she was followed by Jackson Browne, who was in fine form, and led all the others back on stage for a fine rendition of VIVA LAS VEGAS before intermission.

Have a great week, folks!

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright June 2012  by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

JOHN WESLEY HARDIN BIOPIC TO ROLL SOON!

Outlaw-turned-lawyer John Wesley Hardin is one of the most fabled characters of the Old West, and has been portrayed, on big-screen and small, by actors as talented and varied as Randy Quaid, Jack Elam, Charles Bronson, John Dehner, Neville Brand, James Griffith, Scott Marlowe, Richard Boone, Richard Webb, Rock Hudson, and Lash LaRue.  But he’s never been the lead character – it’s never been Hardin’s own story.  But that is about to change.  Partners Miguel Corona, Justin Ament, and Larry Zeug have announced HARDIN, their biographical film of the notorious badman.

The real John Wesley Hardin

Miguel, whose company is Southwest Pistolero Productions, tells me, “Larry wrote the script, I pulled the team together, and Justin is the one who is getting us our financing.  We’re working together.  Larry’s in Washington, I’m in California, and Justin’s in Oregon.  We’re buddies; we’ve all worked on films together in the past.  Last time, Justin had a movie called SHADOWHEART (2009).  Larry and I were actors in that film.  Now we’ve come up with our own film between the three of us.” 

“Where we plan to shoot is Texas, hopefully in or near Brackettville.  Larry has already been in touch with the Texas Film Commission, researching possible locations.  Because John Wesley Hardin was a son of Texas.  We’re going to do a historically accurate film.  The script is accurate, the guns are accurate, the wardrobe will be accurate. 

“He killed more men in the Old West than Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickok and Doc Holliday put together.  He killed forty or more men.  Nobody else has a record like that, and yet no one has told his story.  We’re telling his whole life story, from when he was small, up until the end.

Producer Miguel Corona

“Larry did two or three years of research, and (based) a lot of it on Hardin’s own autobiography.  We’re really excited.  We hope to shoot sometime next year.  There’s not much more to tell you right now: it’s early in the production.”  I’ll be keeping in touch with Miguel, and keeping the Round-up informed.  

 23^RD LEBEL OLD WEST AUCTION SATURDAY, JUNE 23^RD, IN DENVER!

Sharpshooter Frank Butler's Shotgun

Once again, Brian Lebel’s Old West Show and Auction astonishes, with their amazing collection of art, artifacts and weaponry of the old west.  For Western movie fans, there are posters from Col. Tim McCoy’s movies and Wild West shows; hats of Tom Mix, John Wayne and Hoot Gibson; and Nudie-made Republic costumes of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  For lovers of real-west paper ephemera there’s an arrest warrant signed by Pat Garrett; an autograph of bank-robber Emmett Dalton; and on a single slip of paper, signatures of lawman Bat Masterson and bandit Al Jennings. 

Wyatt Earp

There’s a ‘wanted’ dodger for Jesse and Frank James that I particularly covet, because it looks nothing like the fake wanted posters we used to see in the movies and on TV.  There is one of Zane Grey’s own photo albums; a collection of Pawnee Bill ephemera; and pages of Buffalo Bill Cody items.  There are weapons remarkable for who owned them; others remarkable for their rarity and beauty; and oddly enough, ‘relic’ guns valued for their degree of corrosion.  There’s a striking portrait of Wyatt Earp by Frederic Mizen, probably commissioned for Stuart Lake’s celebrated bio.  There’s even a drawing, by White Bull, of the killing of Custer, notable because, not only was White Bull there, he is thought by many to be the man who did the deed.  With over 400 lots, I can only whet your appetite.  To see the entire catalog online, and to bid, go HERE: http://www.denveroldwest.com/index.html.  While the auction is Saturday, the show is Friday through Sunday.

Black Bart

White Bull's Custer sketch

HATFIELDS VS. MCCOYS ROUND THREE HEADS TO NBC!

Just in case you watched Fred Olen Ray’s BAD BLOOD: HATFIELDS & MCCOYS, then watched Kevin Costner in the History Channel’s HATFIELDS & MCCOYS mini-series, and said to yourself, “What I need is more Hatfields and McCoys,” you’re in luck!  NBC has announced that they’ve acquired an H&M project from ABC, which will be produced by actress Charlize Theron, with EAGLE EYE writer John Glenn set to script.

This disappointing news is that (a) it will be not a period story, but a contemporary one, and (b) Charlize Theron, who has previously produced several movies, including her Oscar-winner MONSTER, is not, for now, set to appear in it.  Isn’t it time Charlize Theron did a Western?

ROBERT BLAKE TO SIGN NEW BOOK AT HOLLYWOOD SHOW!

Robert Blake, who first gained attention as Mickey Gubitosi in the MGM Our Gang comedies, then fame as Little Beaver in Republic’s Red Ryder film series, and as an adult starred in IN COLD BLOOD and the BARETTA series, will be attending the Hollywood Show at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center on August 3^rd-5th.   Blake, who has kept a generally low profile since his acquittal for the murder of his wife, did show up unannounced at the Republic Pictures 75^th Anniversary celebration.  In February of 2011, he attended the Hollywood Show, and signed autographs for free.  This caused delight to the fans, and consternation among some stars who were there to sell their autographs, and Blake was eventually forced out by security!

This time he will be signing his new book, TALES OF A RASCAL, WHAT I DID FOR LOVE.  Priced at $25, it’s self-published, and while I haven’t seen any professional reviews yet, all six reader-reviews posted on Amazon are overwhelmingly enthusiastic.  Other stars attending the show who will be of interest to Western fans include Walt Disney’s Elfago Baca (and star of my film, SPEEDTRAP) Robert Loggia, DALLAS and TRIGGER FAST star Christopher Atkins, CAT BALLOU star Michael Callan, and MY NAME IS NOBODY and DALLAS star Steve Kanaly.

Blake with fan Mike Stern at Republic 75th

ROBERT HORTON NOMINATED FOR COWBOY HALL OF FAME

Robert Horton played Flint McCullough in 187 episodes of WAGON TRAIN, starred in the Western mystery series A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH, and has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows.  As a kid I always was happy when WAGON TRAIN focused on Flint, and I feel the same way today when I catch the show on Encore Westerns.  He’s an excellent actor, from Westerns to sci-fi to romance. 

Oren Truitt put a notice up on the Wild West History Association Facebook page, which I wanted to share.  “Robert Horton’s name has been listed for consideration for the next Cowboy Hall of Fame award.  All the proper papers have been file.  We now need to send letters encouraging the committee to finally make this award, long deserved, and long delayed.

“Please write to: The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63^rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73111.  Letters are more effective than emails in this case.

“Bob deserves this award for his iconic role as Flint McCullough in WAGON TRAIN, A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH and his other roles in Westerns.  He has been an avid supporter of the Western genre and has received several awards for his contribution to Western films, and the ideals of a true Westerner.

“Let’s do this for Bob.  He is now 87.  Let’s not wait until it is too late for him to know how much we appreciate his contributions.”

I think this is a great idea, and I urge you to write a letter, and to pass this on to your friends who might do the same.

ANN RUTHERFORD DIES AT 94

The brunette with the huge, innocent eyes, who gained fame as Scarlett O’Hara’s youngest sister in GONE WITH THE WIND, has died.  Loved as Mickey Rooney’s love interest, Polly Benedict, in the ANDY HARDY films, and as Red Skelton’s girlfriend in the WHISTLING comedy series (which are delightful, by the way), she is also well-remembered as a favorite leading lady to Gene Autry, in THE SINGING VAGABOND, MELODY TRAIL, COMIN’ ROUND THE MOUNTAIN and PUBLIC COWBOY #1.  She also costarred with a very young John Wayne three times, in THE LONELY TRAIL, THE OREGON TRAIL, and THE LAWLESS NINETIES.  She took particular pride in being the only actress Gene ever kissed in a movie.  "I was Gene Autry's first leading lady and the only one he ever kissed.  After that, he kissed his horse."

That's about all for the Round-up.  Next week I'll feature details on the upcomng BBC America series COPPER, and reviews of two books by Peter Sherayko.

Happy Trails,

Henry

All original contents copyright June 2012 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

I won’t be posting this week’s Round-up until sometime on Monday.  My daughter has told me in no uncertain terms that I will not spend Fathers Day writing my blog. 

If you're home for some of the day, check out RFD-TV and INSP -- they're both running Fathers Day-themed episodes of various series. 

Have a great day, all the rest of you dads out there!