LESTER CUNEO – THE FIRST ITALIAN WESTERN STAR!
The idea of an Italian western star immediately
conjures up the 1960s, and the image of a handsome European, perhaps with an
Americanized moniker, riding a horse through the Tabernas Desert. But the first, actually a Chicago-born actor
of Italian heritage, started his screen career in 1912 in the United States. Lester Cuneo’s name is largely unknown today,
because he died before the transition of films from silents to talkies, and
because his films have long been unavailable.
But now Grapevine Video has
made two of his starring features, SILVER SPURS and BLAZING ARROWS, both from
1922, available. His work is overdue for
reappraisal.
Born in 1888, the tall and handsome Cuneo, with dark
eyes and a Roman nose, was a stage actor from his teens, and entered movies at
the age of 24. He was lucky to be in
Chicago, headquarters of film pioneer Col. William Selig, and went to work at
Selig-Polyscope Studios. For more information on Cuneo and Selig, I turned to
Andy Erish, author of the definitive biography of the man, and history of the
studio, SELIG – THE MAN WHO INVENTED HOLLYWOOD.
He told me, “(Cuneo) only
made a couple of films at Selig's Chicago studio hub before traveling to
Colorado to join the company's Western unit. Ironically, one of the films made
in Chicago was a comedy/drama about Italian immigrants in the US called ACCORDING
TO LAW, but Cuneo played an immigration cop
- not one of the immigrants! Anyway, Cuneo appears to have been assigned to the
Colorado unit as a replacement for Tom Mix, who decided not to renew his
contract early in 1912 in order to help organize and participate in the first
Calgary Stampede. Cuneo played the same sorts of roles Mix had opposite William
Duncan - occasionally as the hero, but more often as the villain. When the
director of Selig's Colorado troupe, Otis B. Thayer, left after a few months,
Duncan took over. Cuneo still alternated playing villain and hero with Duncan.
“Mix rejoined the Selig
western unit at Canon City, Colorado around Thanksgiving 1912 after sustaining
some serious injuries in the Stampede and the rodeo circuit. Now Mix was often
cast in the roles that had been played by Cuneo or Duncan, though all three at
various times continued to play hero, villain or henchman. The troupe moved to
Prescott, Arizona at the beginning of 1913 where they remained for a year and a
half. Duncan directed all of the films and wrote most of them, too, until Mix
began writing scripts around September 1913 that more fully integrated his
cowboy skills and athletic prowess into his characters and plots. Mix had
written a handful of scripts since first joining the company in 1910, and
suggested bits of business (physical action) to liven up others' scripts
(including those written by Duncan). But the movies written by Mix that were
made in Prescott in the fall of 1913 completely transformed the movie cowboy
into an action hero whose exploits were an outgrowth of rodeo stunts. Mix had
already developed an international following in 1910-11, but the content and
success of the films he wrote in Prescott put him in a class by himself.
“Cuneo became the odd
man out, serving as sidekick or henchman to Mix's heroes or villains. At the
end of 1913 Duncan was reassigned to focus his energies solely on directing Mix
- no more acting. Mix had brought a couple of old rodeo and ranch pals into the
Prescott unit, notably Sid Jordan, further displacing Cuneo. By the time Selig
moved the Western Unit to Glendale, California in mid-1914, Mix had already
taken over as director, writer, producer, star, (with) Duncan leaving for
Vitagraph. Cuneo seems to have remained behind in Prescott, where he starred in
a handful of Selig Western shorts directed by Marshall Farnum (brother of
better known actors William and Dustin). Sometime during the summer of 1914
Cuneo left Selig for Essanay, and appears to have relocated to their Chicago
studio.”
Lester Cuneo established
himself as a star in Westerns, and unlike many of his contemporaries, starred
in films of many other genres. A more
versatile actor than most, he was screen-tested by Ernst Lubitsch for the title
role of FAUST in 1923 (sadly, the film was never made). In 1920 he married beautiful co-star
Francelia Billington, and they would produce fourteen movies – and two children
– together. Already a notable actress in
her own right, the previous year she had what would be her most important film
role, as the married woman pursued by Austrian officer Erich Von Stroheim in
BLIND HUSBANDS.
SILVER SPURS,
co-directed by Henry McCarty and James Leo Meehan – both first-time directors!
– opens in contemporary (for 1922) Manhattan, as the very cosmopolitan Lester,
a western novelist, is at his gentlemen’s club, kidded by his friends for wanting
to escape to the simpler life of the imagined west. They surprise him with a good-luck gift of a
pair of silver spurs, and he is on his way.
In the California town
of San Vincente he befriends the local padre (Phil Gastrock), and soon becomes
embroiled in helping lovely Rosario del Camarillo (Lillian Ward), by
inheritance the queen of the rancho, who has been swindled out of her property
and position by Juan Von Rolf (Bert Sprotte).
Von Rolf is such a swine that although married, he treats his wife like
dirt, and flaunts his relationship with cantina-girl Carmencita (Zalla Zarana),
who makes a play for Lester, in part to make Von Rolf jealous.
In BLAZING ARROWS, again
directed by McCarty, an Indian couple, Gray Eagle (Clark Comstock) and Mocking
Bird (Laura Howard) discover a white couple, dead by their wagon, and a
helpless baby. The childless couple
raises the baby – calling him Sky Fire – as their own. Abruptly the babe has grown into college
student John Strong (Lester Cuneo). He
is on the verge of proposing to wealthy co-ed Martha Randolph (Francelia
Billington), but in a nod to Conan Doyle, she is an orphan being raised by
guardian Lafe McKee. Lafe has mismanaged
her money, is in hock up to his ears to villainous Lew Meehan (who also
co-wrote the script), and will do whatever it takes to keep her from marrying,
and gaining control of her fortune.
John Strong is about to
reveal to Martha that he is an Indian (he doesn’t know he was adopted) when
Lafe announces it, and forbids the marriage.
Crushed, John drops out of college, goes home to his Indian family. Distraught, Martha is sent away to the
country to ‘get over’ John. And wouldn’t
you know it – they end up in the same place where, as luck would have it, Lew
Meehan is known and reviled as a crooked exploiter of Indians. Contrived as it may sound, the film is very
entertaining.
Although not in the Tom
Mix league, Cuneo was a talented horseman, and in both films acquits himself
well in the saddle. Both films have
plenty of plot-motivated riding and shooting and fighting, and effective
villains. Unusually, the SILVER SPURS
villain, Juan Von Rolf, is described as a German and Mexican ‘half-breed,’
perhaps carrying some lingering hostility after the recent Great War. Ethnicities, and the views of the period, are
important in both stories. In BLAZING
ARROWS it is a given that Martha could not marry an Indian. However, in a switch on the old Cavalry
pictures, it is the Indians to the rescue when the good guys are hopelessly
outnumbered. In SILVER SPURS, Cuneo sees
Rosario’s devoted Indian servant, Tehana carrying her mistresses’ laundry, and in
a courtly manner carries the load for her – but
he doesn’t let her ride! She still
walks while he stays on his horse!
Another interesting
aspect of Westerns of the early 20th century is that they didn’t
think of the ‘old west days’ as over, and happily mix debonair Manhattan
parties with Indians in tepees and every westerner on horseback.
Lester Cuneo
Tragically, three years
later, the very talented and promising actor would be dead, and by his own
hand. He had fallen out of favor as a
leading man, and had begun taking supporting roles in poor films. He had begun to drink to excess. Francelia filed for divorce; the decree came
in November of 1925. Reportedly, he told
his children, “Daddy’s going away,” took a pistol from a closet, locked himself
in the bedroom, and killed himself. He
was 37. After his death, his widow, who had
appeared in 140 films, would make only one more without Lester, before the coming
of sound, and four years later would make her one ‘talkie’ movie, a supporting
role in a Hoot Gibson western, before succumbing to tuberculosis, and dying at
age 39.
But SILVER SPURS and
BLAZING ARROWS preserve that moment when Fracelia were young, active,
attractive, and full of hope. Each film
is available for $16.95 from Grapevine
Video HERE . BLAZING ARROWS also includes UNCOVERED
WAGONS (1923), a one-reel comedy starring Charlie Chase’s kid brother James
Parrott. It features pioneers in
Calistoga Model-Ts, and Indians on bicycles, and is an irreverent hoot!
In researching this
piece, I came upon an article from the November 1920 issue of Screenland
magazine, with Lester Cuneo telling about an adventure in the Mexican
desert. The text is below.
COMING EVENTS!
There are so many interesting events on the near
horizon that it’s time to start marking up your datebook, and making
reservations! I’ll have more details on
some of these as the dates get closer.
THE PAPERBACK COLLECTOR SHOW – SUNDAY, MARCH 22ND
For decades fans of soft-back books have met annually
to buy and sell, and for the second year in a row this event is being held at
the Glendale Civic Auditorium, with a paltry admission price of five
bucks. More than 80 dealers will be
showing their wares. This is a
not-to-be-missed event in my book – sorry – and I’ve always had great success
filling in missing gaps in my Tarzan, Fu Manchu, Luke Short, and other series
here. You can buy very high end, or be a
cheapie like me, and buy what are sneeringly called “reader copies”. In addition to regular paperbacks, there are
many pulp magazines of all genres.
Earl Hamner signing books last year
Best of all, over 45 artists and authors will be
attending and signing their books for
free! Sadly, there are rarely
Western authors there, but among writers of particular interest are TWILIGHT
ZONE writer George Clayton Jackson, TZ writer and THE WALTONS creator Earl
Hamner Jr., sci-fi writers Ib Melchio, William F. Nolan, and Bob and Ray
biographer David Pollack. You can learn
more HERE.
THE TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL – MARCH 27th
THROUGH MARCH 29th
History
According to Hollywood is this year’s theme. Turner Classics pulls out all the stops for
this annual Hollywood event, which will feature way-more-screenings-than-you-can-see
at Grauman’s Chinese with their new IMAX screen, the Chinese Multiplex, Grauman’s
Egyptian Theatre, The Ricardo Montalban Theatre, and poolside at The Hollywood
Roosevelt Hotel. The Red Carpet opening
will feature a restored SOUND OF MUSIC with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer
and other stars in attendance. The
current schedule, still in flux, lists 27 movies. Of particular interest to Round-up readers
are the musical CALAMITY JANE (1953), starring Doris Day as Jane, and Howard
Keel as Wild Bill Hickok; and the world premiere of the restoration of THE
PROUD REBEL (1958), directed by Michael Curtiz, and starring Alan Ladd, Olivia
De Havilland, and David Ladd – and David Ladd will attend!
Among other guests attending will be Ann-Margaret, Dustin
Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, William Daniels, Sophia Loren, Spike Lee, Norman Lloyd,
astronaut James Lovell, and stunt-man Terry Leonard. You can learn more, and buy passes, HERE.
MONSTERPALOOZA MARCH 27th – MARCH 29th
Julie Adams
The Burbank Marriott Hotel and Convention Center
will play host to as creepy a bunch of people and near-people as you have ever
seen, at this annual event that attracts horror-movie fans from around the
world for screenings, panel discussions, and a tremendous dealers’ room. Guests of particular interest to western fans
will be Michael Biehn and Julie Adams.
Also attending will be NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD director George Romero,
Sonny Chiba, Linda Blair, Yaphet Kotto, Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Margot
Kidder, Valerie Perrine, Sybil Danning, Richard Anderson and Gary Conway. You can learn more HERE.
MYSTERY AUTHORS’ LUNCHEON – MARCH 29TH
At the Sheraton Park Hotel in Anaheim, Behind The Badge is the name of the
event which will feature a talk by LONGMIRE author Craig Johnson, as well as
writers Allison Brennan and Robin Burcell.
You can learn more HERE.
THE SANTA CLARITA COWBOY FESTIVAL – APRIL 18TH
– APRIL 19TH
For the 22nd year, fans of cowboy poetry,
cowboy music, cowboy literature, cowboy movies, and art, and clothes, and food,
and cowboy everything imaginable will converge on Santa Clarita, an early home
to western moviemaking. For several
years now the joyous gathering has been at Gene Autry’s old Melody Ranch, but
that venerable movie studio, now run by the Veluzat family, has become so busy
with the upswing of western movie and TV production that the celebration will
take place in the heart of Santa Clarita proper.
The action and entertainment will be at several
easy-to-walk venues clustered around Main Street, including The Vu Theatre, The
Repertory East Playhouse, The Canyon Theatre Guild, The OutWest Boutique and
Bookstore, and there will be three stages and many other exciting escapades
featured at William S. Hart Park, once home to one of the greatest of cowboy
stars.
In addition to covering the event for the Round-up,
I will be for the second year be taking part in events at OutWest, moderating
panel discussions and doing one-on-one interviews with writers. There’s no schedule yet, but among the poets,
authors, artists and songwriters taking part will be John Bergstrom, Almeda Bradshaw Al P. Bringas, Margaret Brownley, Karla
Buhlman, Jim Christina, Peter Conway, Mikki Daniel, Eric H. Heisner, Dale
Jackson, Jim Jones, C. Courtney Joyner, Andria Kidd, Stephen Lodge, Petrine Day
Mitchum. Audrey Pavia, Karen Rosa, Katie Ryan, J.R.Sanders , Tony
Sanders, Peter Sherayko, Janet Squires, Miles Swarthout, and Cowgirl
Hall of Fame, stuntwoman Shirley Lucas Jauregui.
Next
week I’ll have a run-down of the musical performers. To learn more, and to buy tickets, go .HERE
THAT’S A WRAP!
If you haven’t yet read Andy Erish’s book, COL. SELIG – THE MAN WHO INVENTED
HOLLYWOOD, there is likely to be a gaping hole in your movie-history education:
there certainly was in mine. The other great
movie moguls who outlived him rewrote Hollywood history, and the poor Colonel
got largely deleted, but his contribution to cinema is remarkable, and should
be known to all who care about our art-form.
You can learn more, and buy it,.HERE
Happy Trails,
Henry
All Original Contents Copyright February 2015 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights
Reserved
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