NOVEMBER IS WESTERN MONTH!

An unusual amount of Western movie and TV activity is happening in the month that begins on Tuesday – keep it in mind on the 24^th, when you’re thinking about what you have to be Thankful for!

‘YELLOW ROCK’ OPENS RED NATION FEST IN L.A. NOV 1^ST

On Tuesday, November 1st the 8^th Annual Red Nation Film Festival, honoring excellence in American Indian and Indigenous filmmaking, opens with the premiere of YELLOW ROCK, a Western the Round-up Rounders have been following ever since it rolled camera in the summer of 2010. 

The film, which stars Michael Biehn, James Russo and Lenore Andriel, is nominated for several Red Nation Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director – Nick Vallelonga, Best Actor – Michael Spears, and Best Supporting Actor – Zahn McClarnon.  Zahn is also nominated for Best Actor in an MOW or Miniseries for RINGER, and Eddie Spears, who costars in YELLOW ROCK, is nominated in the same category for the upcoming AMC Western series HELL ON WHEELS. 

The Festival runs at various venues November 1^st through the 7^th, and will feature a wide array of new films -- fiction and documentary, feature-length and short.  Russell Means will receive the Oyate Wayanka Po Win Lifetime Achievement Award, and there will be a reretrospective of his work.  On Friday night there will be a screening of the Vidor-Selznick collaboration DUEL IN THE SUN (1946), which will be followed by a discussion with Vidor’s granddaughter and (not yet confirmed) descendents of Selznick and of co-star Lionel Barrymore.  For details and tickets, go HERE. 

MORGAN KANE EBOOKS NOW AVAILABLE!

In 1966, Norwegian banker Kjell Hallbing changed his name to Louis Masterson and began writing novels about Texas Ranger and U.S. Marshal Morgan Kane.  In twelve years he wrote 83 of them, and became the biggest literary success in Norway’s history, selling over twenty-million books.  (To learn more about Morgan Kane, read my previous report HERE)  Despite their huge popularity in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe, they were rarely available in English, and never in the United States – until now. 

Now the first two eBooks, EL GRINGO and EL GRINGO’S REVENGE are available for sale from Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and Apple’s iBookstore, and will be followed by the release of a new title every two weeks. WR Films plans to release all titles over time, in addition to Masterson’s other Western novels, the El Diablo and El Diablito series.  The underlying goal is to familiarize a new audience with the Morgan Kane character to prime them for the movie MORGAN KANE: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS, based on the first two books.  That film is currently being scripted, and the second and third films in the series are already in the planning stage.  Keep reading the Round-up to find out more! To see a teaser trailer for the first two books, go HERE.

‘RAMONA DAYS’ NOV 5^TH AT RANCHO CAMULOS MUSEUM

Near Piru, California you can visit the museum whose location is the setting for Helen Hunt Jackson’s beloved novel, RAMONA, which was the inspiration for at least four movies, and a pageant held in Hemet, California every summer since 1923!  And the current core cast of the RAMONA PAGEANT will be taking part!  This is the place where D.W. Griffith made his, the first version of the film, starring Mary Pickford, in 1910 – and that short will be screened in addition to museum tours and other activities.  For details, go HERE.  The Museum’s site even contains a link to the entire text of the novel, if you want to do some research before you go!

AMERICAN INDIAN ARTS MARKETPLACE AT THE AUTRY NOV. 5-6

More than 160 artists will be showing and selling their work at Southern California’s largest annual American Indian arts market.  In addition, there will be artist demonstrations, music, dance, food, short plays, short films and lectures.  Plus it’s Bank of America weekend, so if you have a Bank of America card, you get in free!  For details on the marketplace, go HERE.

ALSO AT THE AUTRY NOV 5^TH – GENE AUTRY DOUBLE FEATURE!

From noon until two catch THE OLD CORRAL (Republic 1936), directed by the great Joe Kane and starring Gene with Smiley Burnette, Lon Chaney Jr. and the Sons of The Pioneers; and WAGON TEAM (Columbia 1952) starring Gene, Pat Buttram, future Annie Oakley Gail Davis, and fine young actor and stunt rider Dickie Jones. 

SPERDVAC LUNCHEON NOVEMBER 5^TH AT THE BEVERLY GARLAND

SPERDVAC, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy, will hold their 2^nd Annual Honorary Member Appreciation Luncheon from noon until 4:00 pm, at Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn, 4222 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood, CA. Those of you who are not regular followers of Old Time Radio may not be aware that these events are rapidly disappearing: if you have a chance to attend, don’t waste it.   The poet laureate of radio, Norman Corwin, was expected to attend, but he died last week, at the age of 101.

Four half-hour radio shows will be performed. Norman Corwin’s My Client Curly, starring Tommy Cook (who guest starred in the original broadcast), directed by Michael James Kacey. Tommy Cook was the very first Little Beaver in the RED RYDER Republic serial. Sorry, Wrong Number, starring Janet Waldo, with special guest star Herb Ellis, Terry Moore, and Doris Singleton (who guest starred in the original broadcast), directed by Gregg Oppenheimer. The Six Shooter, starring Chuck McCann (as Jimmy Stewart), with special guest star Shirley Mitchell (who guest starred on the original Six Shooter series), directed by Tim Knofler. I Love Lucy: The Untold Story, based on Jess Oppenheimer’s memoir, Laughs, Luck…and Lucy, and starring Ivan Cury, Reni Santoni, Phil Proctor, and Gloria McMillan, with special guest stars Janet Waldo and Doris Singleton (both of whom guest starred on My Favorite Husband and I Love Lucy), written and directed by Gregg Oppenheimer. For more information, or reservations, go HERE. 

‘CHAPS’ THE BBC WESTERN MUSICAL COMEDY OPENS NOV 5^TH

Described as ‘Monty Python Meets The Old West,’ CHAPS, by Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner is set in 1944 London.  When America's favorite singing cowboy Tex Riley and his troupe are late for a special broadcast at the BBC, Mabel the tour manager and Miles the frantic young producer grab a snobby announcer, an agreeable sound man and a soap opera actor, slap them into costume, hand them scripts (after all, it's radio!) and shove them in front of the studio audience. The resulting performance is one England will never forget. 

Presented by ELATE (Emmanuel Lutheran Actor's Theater Ensemble), the play will be presented Friday and Saturday nights at 8 pm, with Sunday matinees at 2 pm, from Saturday, November 5^th through Sunday, November 20^th,  at the Lincoln Stegman Theater, 6020 Radford, North Hollywood, CA 91606.  Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and kids under 13, and Goldstar members can do a little better.  Call 818-509-0882 for tickets.

CELEBRATE ROY ROGER’S 100^TH BIRTHDAY NOV 5^TH ON RFD-TV

On Saturday, Nov. 5^th at 8:30 pm, a new special filmed at Roy Roger’s home in Apple Valley will feature his son Dusty and grandson Dustin, the High Riders Band, interviews and more.  And RFD-TV continues to show THE ROY ROGERS SHOW every Sunday morning, and a Roy Rogers movie every Tuesday, with repeats – check your local listings.  

‘HELL ON WHEELS’ STARTS RAISING HELL ON SUNDAY, NOV 6^TH

Starting Sunday night, AMC will begin showing HELL ON WHEELS, their new Western series.  The title refers to the mobile saloons and brothels that sprung up and travelled with the crews laying the track for the transcontinental railroad.  The miniseries follows an ex-Confederate soldier, Anson Mount, seeking revenge, while working on the railroad, and costars Common, Colm Meany, Eddie Spears of YELLOW ROCK, Dominique McElligot, who places Etta Place in the current Western BLACKTHORN.    

DEATH VALLEY ‘49ERS  62^nd ANNUAL ENCAMPMENT NOV. 9-13

For all you made of sterner stuff, enjoy a wagon train, Western music, contests, rides to historic desert sits, cowboy poetry and more, at Death Valley National Park.  For details, call 831-818-4384, or go HERE .

TRIBUTE TO JOHN WAYNE  NOV. 10^TH AT ARCLIGHT HOLLYWOOD

On Thursday, November 10^th, 7:00 pm at the Cinerama Dome/Arclight Hollywood, Wayne’s sons Patrick and Ethan, and co-star Kim Darby will take part in a gala tribute to the Duke, which will include a screening of the picture that won Wayne his Oscar, TRUE GRIT. The event is presented by The Jules Verne Adventure folks, who did such a tremendous with their 40^th Anniversary tribute to THE WILD BUNCH.  Tickets are $25 to $50, but you might do even better if you are a Goldstar member, or under 20 years old.  Learn more, and buy tickets HERE. 

‘UNFORGIVEN’ SCREENS SATURDAY, NOV. 12^TH AT THE AUTRY

Winner of four Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director – Clint Eastwood, Best Supporting Actor – Gene Hackman, and Best Editing – Joel Cox, UNFORGIVEN (1992) is shown as part of the Autry’s ‘What is a Western?’ series, and will be shown at 1:30 pm in the Wells Fargo Theatre, in 35mm, introduced by curator Jeffrey Richardson.

BIG VALLEY ‘YOUNG WHIPPERSNAPPER’ MARATHON ON INSP NOV. 25^TH

The day after Thanksgiving, starting at two p.m. eastern time, INSP presents younger versions of familiar faces in a marathon of BIG VALLEY episodes.  Study the picture and see how many you recognize.  I’ll only name two, who happen to also be co-starring in the new feature film version of the BIG VALLEY, Richard Dreyfus and Bruce Dern. 

 KEITH CARRADINE JOINS CAST OF TNT’S WESTERN PILOT ‘GATEWAY’ 

GATEWAY, scripted by Exec Producer Bruce McKenna (BAND OF BROTHERS, THE PACIFIC), to be directed by Danny Cannon (CSI), is set in Gateway, a Colorado town in the 1880s.  When a lawman has been killed, his three sons must step in.  The sons will be portrayed by Keir O’Donnell, David Denman and Eric Lange.  Shannon Lucio will play Denman’s wife.  Keith Carradine, with a long list of Western credits, from THE LONG RIDERS to COWBOYS & ALIENS, will play the brothers’ surrogate father. 

MORE 'DJANGO UNCHAINED' CASTING NEWS!

According to The Onion's AV Club, there's final a name female in Tarantino's cast: Kerry Washington, of LAST KING OF SCOTLAND and RAY. As with RAY, she'll play Jamie Foxx's wife, this time named Broomhilda, but this time she's a slave in the possession of Leonardo DiCaprio.

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

And speaking of TCM (okay, nobody was), have I mentioned that the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here?




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.


FREE WESTERNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AT HULU

A staggering number of western TV episodes and movies are available, entirely free, for viewing on your computer at HULU. You do have to sit through the commercials, but that seems like a small price to pay. The series available -- often several entire seasons to choose from -- include THE RIFLEMAN, THE CISCO KID, THE LONE RANGER, BAT MASTERSON, THE BIG VALLEY, ALIAS SMITH AND JONES, and one I missed from 2003 called PEACEMAKERS starring Tom Berenger. Because they are linked up with the TV LAND website, you can also see BONANZA and GUNSMOKE episodes, but only the ones that are running on the network that week.

The features include a dozen Zane Grey adaptations, and many or most of the others are public domain features. To visit HULU on their western page, CLICK HERE.

BONANZA, GUNSMOKE and BIG VALLEY

Every weekday, TV LAND airs a three-hour block of BONANZA episodes from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They run a GUNSMOKE Monday through Thursday at 10:00 a.m., and on Friday they show two, from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m.. They're not currently running either series on weekends, but that could change at any time.  INSP is showing THE BIG VALLEY every weekday at noon, one p.m. and nine p.m., and Saturdays at 6 p.m..  They'll soon be adding DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN to the mix.

NEED YOUR BLACK & WHITE TV FIX?

Check out your cable system for WHT, which stands for World Harvest Television. It's a religious network that runs a lot of good western programming. Your times may vary, depending on where you live, but weekdays in Los Angeles they run DANIEL BOONE at 1:00 p.m., and two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.. On Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. it's THE RIFLEMAN again, followed at 2:30 by BAT MASTERSON. And unlike many stations in the re-run business, they run the shows in the original airing order. There's an afternoon movie on weekdays at noon, often a western, and they show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic. 

AMC has been airing a block of THE RIFLEMAN episodes early Saturday mornings, usually followed by Western features.

And RFD-TV is currently showing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW at 9:30 Sunday morning, repeated several times a week, and a Roy feature as well -- check your local listings.

Well, tomorrow is Halloween, and I hope you enjoy celebrating it.  There aren't a lot of actually scary Westerns out there (despite the efforts of JONAH HEX and COWBOYS & ALIENS).  Once when I said to Harry Carey Jr. that I'd never seen a film he was in that wasn't worth watching, he replied, "Obviously you've never seen BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA."  I went out and saw it, and he was right.  JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEINS'S DAUGHTER is, if possible, worse.  Then again, CURSE OF THE UNDEAD is surprisingly good and spooky.  The best Halloween Western TV episode I've seen is from the first season of DANIEL BOONE, episode #27, DAUGHTER OF THE DEVIL.  It looks like Val Lewton produced it! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN and Happy Trails,

Henry

All original content copyright October 2011 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved