‘CIVIL WAR’ ERUPTS AT AUTRY, PLUS ‘CHARLIE’S TEXAS OUTFIT’ REVIEWED, SPAGHETTI ‘N’ DOMESTIC SCREENINGS!

‘CIVIL WAR AND THE WEST’ OPENS AT THE AUTRY

Yesterday, an elaborate new exhibit, Empire and Liberty: The Civil War and the West, opened at the Autry, and will be on display through January 3^rd of next year.   As the title suggests, the show examines the effect that the Civil War had on the American West, a region much of which was still being settled at the time of the War Between the States.  As is practically a trademark with them, the Autry has used a wide array of documents, uniforms and other objects from their own collections, and borrowed others, to give a living feel to a war which had its end 150^th Anniversary only last week (John Wilkes Booth died 150 years ago today!).

Frontier Fremont's flag

Of the greatest significance, the posted text that goes with the displays gives a historical context, a sense of the related sequence of events that is not obvious.  Of course the Louisiana Purchase led to the Lewis and Clark expedition; but not so obvious, the charting of that land, the making of states, led to the Missouri Compromise, forcing an equal number of free and slave states.  We know about the misery caused by the Indian Removal Act, but a side-effect of forcing the Indians from their land was to make it available for cotton plantations, which brought the ‘need’ of slaves.  

'American Progress' by John Gast -1872

Jefferson Davis’s double-barreled pistol from his service in the Mexican War reminds us that not only was that war a proving group for him, but for Grant and Lee, all of whom were West Point graduates.  Among the fascinating documents that illuminate the period are slave purchase receipts; an Andersonville Prison Survivor Certificate; a Union Army enlistment bounty – forty dollars to sign up; a receipt for Chinese coolie wages of $12 a month – once the $30 voyage cost is paid; a Buffalo Soldier payroll document, $13 a month.  Displays take you through the period looking at the various historic events, as well as particular groups – various Indian tribes, former slaves, women, displaced Mexicans – as well as the general population.

Grant's Smith & Wesson pistol

One strong bit of direction; when you enter the exhibit, the natural direction, which most folks were taking, was forward and to the left.  I did so, and first found the displays interesting, but arbitrary.   I went back, and entered on the right, and suddenly everything was in a generally chronological order, and all of the elements fell into place.  THEY NEED A BIG RIGHT ARROW AS YOU ENTER!        

Pico's War Drum

CHARLEY SUNDAY’S TEXAS OUTFIT by STEPHEN LODGE – A Book Review

Stephen Lodge at last week's Santa

Clarita Cowboy Festival

Silver-haired Charley Sunday is a retired Texas Ranger at the turn of the 20^th century, trying to hold his small ranch together.  He partners with old friend and woman of dubious virtue Flora Mae Huckabee, to purchase a now-rare three hundred head of longhorns, and bring ‘em cross-country to Texas.   Rounding up other former Rangers, a female journalist, an Indian law student, his young grandson Henry-Ellis, and various other misfits, going up against a dastardly Colorado meat-packer, Charlie Sunday is in for the adventure of his already long and adventurous life. 

The story is told by that grandson, Henry-Ellis, now an old man, and telling his own grandchildren the tale, sixty years later.  The funny thing, as I was enjoying this novel, is that it didn’t remind me of other Western novels so much as it did other Western movies – particularly the humorous ones directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and Burt Kennedy in the late sixties and seventies.  It’s written so visually that you ‘see’ the action, not just understand it, while you’re reading.  No surprise really, because it’s author, Stephen Lodge, has written or co-written a number of memorable movies, including THE HONKERS, starring James Coburn and Slim Pickens; KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, starring William Shatner and Woody Strode; and RIO DIABLO, starring Kenny Rogers and Travis Tritt.  ( If you’d like to read my review of Steve’s memoir of his life in the film industry, AND…ACTION!, and my interview with him, go HERE .)

At the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival last Saturday, when I was moderating the panel Screenplay to Novel or Novel to Screenplay?, Steve confirmed that CHARLIE SUNDAY began life not as a novel, but as the screenplay MOVE ‘EM SUNDAY, which the great Buddy Ebsen tried unsuccessfully to have made. 

When you read CHARLIE SUNDAY, you can have the additional fun of seeing the movie in your head, and watching Buddy Ebsen deliver the lines (although in truth, I usually heard Richard Farnsworth doing it).  CHARLIE SUNDAY’S TEXAS OUTFIT is published by Pinnacle, a division of Kensington Books, and you can buy it from AMAZON, or from the other big guys, in trade paperback, mass-market paperback, Kindle, and audible.  And in just two days, on Tuesday, April 28^th, you can buy DEADFALL: CHARLIE SUNDAY’S TEXAS OUTFIT 2!  And Steve assures me that CHARLIE SUNDAY 3 is already in the works!

‘HIGH NOON’/’SHANE’ DOUBLE BILL WEDNESDAY AT THE AERO

As part of the continuing celebration of the Aero Theatre’s 75^th year, at 7:30 pm, two of the finest Westerns of the 1950s – nay, two of the finest Westerns of any time – HIGH NOON (1952) and SHANE (1953) will play, and if you’re reading this blog, I don’t need to tell you who is in them, or what they are about.  And if you haven’t seen them on the screen in a few years, you need to see them again – you’ll be astonished at what details you’ve never seen before.  For more information, go HERE .

WILD WEST DAY – ARCADIA, MAY 2^ND

Saturday, May 2^nd, from ten ‘til 4, enjoy panning for gold, a telegraph demonstration, roping, U.S. Marshall’s posse, crafts, stagecoach rides, Queen Anne’s Cottage tours, Depot open house, food, root beer, and a musical performances by Singing Cowboy Mike Tims, RT n’ the 44s, and  the lovely and talented Saguaro Sisters.  Learn more HERE.

GREGORY PECK IN ‘YELLOW SKY’ MAY 9^TH AT THE AUTRY

As part of their monthly ‘What is a Western?’ series, the Autry will screen YELLOW SKY, at 1:30 pm in the Wells Fargo Theatre.  Director William Wellman and screenwriter Lamar Trotti, who teamed in last month’s offering, THE OX BOW INCIDENT, this time tackled a W. R. Burnett (LITTLE CEASAR, HIGH SIERRA) story, about a pack of outlaws hiding out in a ghost town populated only by an old prospector and his daughter, Anne Baxter.  Also in this drama, suggested by Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST, are Richard Widmark, John Russell and Harry Morgan.  The film will be introduced by Jeffrey Richardson, Gamble Curator of Western History, Popular Culture and Firearms.  Admission is included with museum admission, free to members.  Learn more HERE .

MEET TONY ANTHONY - ‘GET MEAN’ SCREENING JUNE 8 AT CINEFAMILY!

Spaghetti Western star and 3-D movie pioneer Tony Anthony will make a rare public appearance, with his co-star Lloyd Battista, on June 8^th, for a screening of the new restoration of his 4^th and final film in the ‘Stranger’ series, GET MEAN (1975).  West Virginia-born Tony started writing and acting in 1961 with FORCE OF IMPULSE and WITHOUT EACH OTHER; he went to Europe to act in the bullfight film WOUNDS OF HUNGER (1963), and stayed for years.  Tony Anthony is an unusual actor for his era, in that he wrote or co-wrote nearly all of his Westerns – notably BLINDMAN (1971), where he plays a blind bounty hunter, and his quarry is Ringo Starr. 

The Cinefamily, formerly the Silent Movie, is located at 611 N. Fairfax Avenue, L.A., 90036 HERE .

is the link to buy tickets.  I know it’s a month away, but I’m posting this now because Cinefamiy events are very popular, and often sell out. 

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

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

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

THAT’S A WRAP!

One more thing before you go!  The screenings and events in this Round-up are all in Southern California, but this is not a strictly California blog.  It’s read in over ninety countries, and I want to serve the Western movie fan as well as I can, but I need your help.  If you know about any upcoming screenings or other western-related events anywhere in the world, please share them with me, and I’ll pass ‘em along!

Happy Trails,

Henry

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

     

BOOK SIGNINGS, AWARD SHOWS, ME ON RADIO, AND ‘LONE RANGER’ CONTEST WINNERS!

BOOK/DISC SIGNING BRINGS OUT THE CELEBS

Saturday afternoon’s book signing at Burbank’s Dark Delicacies produced an interesting crowd on both sides of the tables.  Last-minute Christmas-shoppers and die-hard fans filled the place.  First at the table was Michael Druxman, longtime Hollywood publicist-turned-screenwriter and director for Roger Corman.  CHEYENNE WARRIOR, which he wrote, is one of the best western films of the last twenty years.  He was signing his short-story collection, DRACULA MEETS JACK THE RIPPER AND OTHER REVISIONIST HISTORIES, plus his Basil Rathbone biography, and his newest volume of memoirs, LIFE, LIBERTY & THE PURSUIT OF HOLLYWOOD, which I’ll be reviewing soon in the Round-up.

C. Courtney Joyner and Michael Druxman

Next to him was C. Courtney Joyner, whose first Western novel, SHOTGUN has just been published.  The press has been excellent (you’ll be reading my review shortly), and publisher Pinnacle is delighted – they’ve already signed Court for several more.  Court was also signing the Grindhouse Releasing new release of Sergio Sollima’s THE BIG GUNDOWN, starring Lee Van Cleef (read about it HERE), which Court wrote the liner notes for.  Court and I did the audio commentary on BIG GUNDOWN, and he kept signing them and sending them to me.  It was my first time signing autographs, an ego-swelling experience!  And who turned up for a couple of copies of SHOTGUN by Bob Murawski, Oscar-winning editor of THE HURT LOCKER, and President of Grindhouse Releasing.

Bob Murawski getting SHOTGUN signed

L.Q. Jones and Courtney Joyner

Sitting beside Court was the biggest draw of the event, Western screen legend L.Q. Jones.  Beloved and remembered for dozens of eccentric and frightening characters, from CASINO to THE WILD BUNCH – where he and Strother Martin played the most revolting bounty hunters in history –  many fans don’t realize he’s a very accomplished writer and director as well.  He was signing new BluRay releases of three of his films, THE BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN, A BOY AND HIS DOG (and featuring interviews with Jones and story author Harlan Ellison), both written and directed by Jones, and THE BEAST WITHIN, in which he costars.  Beside L.Q. Jones was BEAST WITHIN director Philip Moran, who also directed the Australian western MAD DOG MORGAN.  Beside Moran was actor Paul Clemens, also of THE BEAST WITHIN. 

John Gulager, L.Q. Jones, Paul Clemens, Philip Moran,

Courtney Joyner; seated, Dave Del Valle

Rolfe Kanefsky

Signing BluRays of his new movie ZOMBIE NIGHT, starring Anthony Michael Hall, Daryl Hannah and Shirley Jones, was director John Gulager.  John is the son of Western legend Clu Gualger, who also dropped by for the event.   Also by to get some books signed was prolific writer-director Rolfe Kanefsky.  He told me that STAND YOUR GROUND, now retitled DOC HOLLIDAY’S REVENGE, which he scripted and David Decoteau directed, is now edited and ready for release from Lionsgate.  I’ll have more details on this project, including my interview with Rolfe, in the near future.

Clu Gulager signing a scroll

LONE RANGER CONTEST – THE WINNERS!

I am truly impressed with my Round-up readers’ knowledge.  I didn’t want the contest to be ridiculously easy, so I did the match-the-Ranger-to-the-Tonto, figuring most folks couldn’t answer it off the top of their heads – I know I couldn’t.  Well, I posted at 11 p.m. on Sunday night, and at 1:50 a.m., Monday morning, I received my first entry – and it was a winner.  The next entry, a 5:15 a.m., was also a winner, and as the entries began to come in faster, I kept checking them, and after a dozen, I saw that every one was correct! 

For the record, here are the correct answers:

1.       1.  Robert Livingston, B. Chief Thundercloud in THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN (Republic serial, 1939)

2.      

      2. William Conrad, F. Ivan Naranjo in THE TARZAN/LONE RANGER/ZORRO ADVENTURE HOUR (1980 Filmation animation)

3.      

      3. Brace Beemer, E. John Todd in THE LONE RANGER radio show (WXYZ Radio in Detroit, from 1933)

4.      

      4. Lee Powell, A. Chief Thundercloud in THE LONE RANGER (Republic serial, 1938)

5.       

      5. Clayton Moore, A. Jay Silverheels in THE LONE RANGER (TV series and movies, 1949-1958)

6.      

      6. Klinton Spilsbury, C. Michael Horse in LEGENED OF THE LONE RANGER (ITC, Wrather Productions 1981)

7.      

      7. Armie Hammer, D. Johnny Depp in THE LONE RANGER (Disney, 2013)

8.      

       8. John Hart, A. Jay Silverheels in THE LONE RANGER (TV series 1952-1953)

And now, the winners!  The first winner of the LONE RANGER set, including a Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital copy in Ronald Wallace of Rochester, New York!  Our second winner is Yusuf S. Nasrullah of Boston, Massachusetts!   I will be sending them their prizes as soon as they come from the Walt Disney Company, and I’m grateful to them, and to everyone who entered.  Aside from movie premiere tickets a couple of years ago, this is our first giveaway, and I’m happy to say we’ll be doing more very soon.  But now, having had a little experience, I think I have a more fair way of choosing winners than just the first correct entries.  Instead, I’ll be accepting entries for several days, and randomly choosing winners from among all correct entries.

MY APPEARANCE ON ‘AROUND THE BARN’ AVAILABLE ON PODCAST!

I had a wonderful time on Saturday, December 14^th, as a guest on ‘Around The Barn,’ on KHTS radio 1220 AM in Santa Clarita.  The topic was ‘It’s all about Gene Autry,’ the regulars were hosts Nancy Pitchford-Zhe and Bobbi Jean Bell, and Roy Rogers’ and Dale Evans’ granddaughter Julie Fox Pomilia.  The guests were Gene Autry Enterprises President Karla Buhlman, and myself.  We listened to some of Gene’s great Christmas music, and discussed his music and TV career, and also spoke quite a bit about me and the Round-up.  I was fascinated!  If you, too would like to be fascinated, follow the link below and you can hear the podcast: http://hometownstation.com/on-air-features/podcasts/around-barn/around-barn-december-14-2013-39565

Julie Fox Pomilia, Nancy Pitchford-Zhe, Karla Buhlman, Bobbi Jean Bell

SONY MOVIE CHANNEL PLANS WEST FESTS IN JANUARY

In addition to showing Westerns scattered throughout their schedule all through the month, Sony Movie Channel is offering a fine mix of sagebrush binge-viewing fun!  On New Years Day, starting at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time, and running for about twenty hours, they’ll be playing  THE LONGEST DRIVE (from the 1976 series THE QUEST, starring Kurt Russell and Tim Matheson); three Randolph Scott’s, THE NEVADAN, THE TALL T, and COMANCHE STATION; two Karl May Winnetou westerns, FRONTIER HELLCAT featuring Elke Sommer and RAMPAGE AT APACHE WELLS featuring Terrence Hill when he was still playing villains, and both starring Pierre Brice and Stewart Granger;  three Columbia westerns starring Philip Carey before he became the boss on LARDEO, MASSACRE CANYON, WYOMING RENEGADES, and THE NEBRASKAN; Louis L’Amour’s THE SHADOW RIDERS starring Tom Sellick and Sam Elliot as the Traven brothers; Richard Brooks’ exuberant BITE THE BULLET, starring Gene Hackman, James Coburn and Candice Bergen; and ending with MACKENNA’S GOLD, featuring a great cast, including Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas and Julie Newmar – she told me it’s her favorite of all her western appearances.    

Then on Saturday, January 25^th, through Sunday the 26^th, starting at 5:10 a.m., they reprise

BITE THE BULLET; FRONTIER HELLCAT; RAMPAGE AT APACHE WELLS; then add THE TEXICAN, Audie Murphy’s only Spaghetti Western; LAND RAIDERS, a Budapest-shot Western starring Telly Savalas, George Maharis and Arlene Dahl; THE LONGEST DRIVE; THE SHADOW RIDERS; Lawrence Kasdan’s SILVERADO, starring Kevin Costner, Kevin Kline and Scott Glenn; THE MASK OF ZORRO starring Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins and Katherine Zeta Jones; THE SHADOW RIDERS; CONSPIRACY (don’t know which movie this is); THE LONGEST DRIVE; THE NEVADAN; THE TALL T; COMANCHE STATION; Richard Brooks’ brilliant THE PROFESSIONALS, starring Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, and Claudia Cardinale; Martin Ritt’s contempo western MURPHY’S ROMANCE, starring James Garner and Sally Field; A MAN CALLED SLEDGE, a James Garner Spaghetti Western co-directed and co-written by Vic Morrow; and MACKENNA’S GOLD one more time.

WESTERN LEGEND AWARDS JOINS SO. CAL. MOTION PICTURE COUNCIL AWARDS

On Monday night, December 16^th, movie makers and movie fans gathered at the famous Sportsmen’s Lodge for the Southern California Motion Picture Council’s Halo Awards.  Begin in 1936, the Council is one of the oldest civic-minded industry organizations in town, and annually they give out their Halo lifetime achievement awards.  Julie Ann Ream has been presenting her Western Legend Awards for several years, a tradition she began to honour her late uncle Rex Allen, the last of the great singing cowboys.  For the first time, the Western Legend Award has been made a part of SCMPC’s awards, and Julie is delighted at the prospect of Western Legend having a permanent home, as it has been hopscotching across the nation.  The Western Legend to be honoured that night was actress Angie Dickinson, the award presented by her POLICE WOMAN co-star Earl Holliman. 

I’ll have details about that part of the event later (I’m waiting to get my hands on some photos), but I had the great pleasure of chatting with a pair of stars who were ‘Halo’ honorees that night, Stuart Whitman and Julie Newmar.   Whitman, who had come with his lovely wife from their home in Santa Barbara, still with still-boyish smile and clear, cultured voice, is best remembered by Western fans for two roles; as Paul Regret, opposite John Wayne – who keeps calling him ‘Mon-sewer’ – in THE COMANCHEROS, and as Marshal Jim Crown in the short-lived but excellent CIMARRON STRIP; you’ll never see any actor sit a horse better than Stuart Whitman in the opening credits of that series.  But of course, he didn’t start with those leading roles.

Stuart Whitman (not a great shot, but my head-on

shots were all washed out.  I'm asking Santa for a new camera)

HENRY: I was just watching a ROY ROGERS SHOW, and so surprised to see you in it.  Did doing shows like that, like THE RANGE RIDER, kid stuff, help prepare you for the more adult, serious Westerns later on?

STUART WHITMAN: Oh, absolutely.  That’s where we learned to do it all.

HENRY: Did you like westerns when you were a kid?

STUART WHITMAN:  Oh yes. And what was that theatre on Hollywood Boulevard?  The Hitching Post.  And we could bring our cap-guns.  I’d just come from New York.  I was born in San Francisco, I’d just come from New York.  And wow, we could have our cap-guns!  Pow!  Pow!  Shoot all the bad guys and the Indians.   Henry, I understand there’s a bar around here.

Julie Newmar

A few minutes later, beautiful Julie Newmar, the best Catwoman of them all, appeared.  I tried to think of her Western credits.  She was lovely in 7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS, and she was positively stupefying in LI’L ABNER (okay, a stretch for a Western). 

HENRY:  What is your favorite of all your westerns?

JULIE NEWMAR: MACKENNA’S GOLD!  In the most beautiful part of America, Utah, Arizona.  Even Robert Kennedy came there to visit us.  He was there with a family of about thirty people.  Omar Sharif, Gregory Peck, Edward G. Robinson – marvelous cast!

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Here’s wishing you a very Merry Christmas!  I hope everything you want the most turns up under your tree!

Happy Trails,

Henry

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

GRINDHOUSE RELEASES ‘THE BIG GUNDOWN’ TUESDAY!

(Updated 12/12/2013 -- see SHANE story)

Grindhouse Releasing will release their new beautiful Blu-Ray edition of THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966), directed by Sergio Solima, and starring Lee Van Cleef and Tomas Milian, on Tuesday, December 10^th.  Lee is a lawman-for-hire who agrees to track down a child-killer, Tomas, but of course, things are not as ‘black & white’ as they are first presented. Scripted by Sergio Donati and Solima, GUNDOWN is considered a high point in the careers of all four men; it is one of the finest of Spaghetti Westerns, and will finally be shown in its complete length for the first time in the United States.  The 4-disc set consists of a Blu-Ray of the expanded 95 minute U.S. cut, featuring three new scenes; a DVD version of the U.S. 95 minutes cut; a DVD of the 110 minute director’s cut of LA RESA DEI CONTI, the original title, in Italian, with English subtitles; and a music CD featuring the marvelous score by Ennio Morricone!  There’s even a companion booklet with liner notes by Joyner, and by Euro-music expert Gergley Hubai. 

Court, Bob Murawski and me

There are other special features, including interviews with Sergio Solima, Tomas Milian, and Sergio Donati, and I had the pleasure of doing audio commentary on GUNDOWN with fellow Western writer and film historian C. Courtney Joyner (keep an eye out for his new Western novel, SHOTGUN), under the direction of Oscar-winning editor Bob Murawski (you can read about that adventure HERE  ), and I’m as eager to see the finished product as anyone else.

GET A GREAT TAX DEDUCTION, AND ‘TREASURES 5 – THE WEST’

As 2013 comes to a close, many of us are looking for a way to do good, and to save on our income taxes.  If you liked the sound of ‘TREASURES 5 – THE WEST’, which I reviewed in last week’s Round-up (if you missed it, HERE is the link ) from the National Film Preservation Foundation, you can contribute to the important mission  of film preservation, and get yourself this wonderful video set, or a different set.  The NFPF is a non-profit public charity, affiliated with the Library of Congress, and for a contribution of $200 or more, you can have your well-deserved tax deduction, and the set of discs of your choice.  For details, visit this site: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1397805

ROUND-UP’ ON THE AIR AND ‘AROUND THE BARN’ ON SAT. DEC 14TH!

Bobbi Jean with her commendation from the L.A. County

Board of Supervisors

On Saturday, December 14th, I will be a guest of Nancy Pitchford-Zhe and Bobbi Jean Bell on their Saturday morning show on  KHTS AM 1220, ‘Around The Barn.’  Heard every Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m., they discuss western culture, music and lifestyle.  Nancy is the founder and director of Heads Up Therapy on Horseback, and Bobbi Jean is the lady behind the Outwest Western Boutique and Cultural Center in Santa Clarita:http://www.outwestmktg.com/ 

The topic for Saturday will be ‘It’s all about Gene Autry!’ and Karla Buhlman, President of Gene Autry Enterprises, and I, will be in-studio guests.  Karla is a very interesting woman (you can read my Round-up interview with her HERE  ) , and it’s perfect timing for me, as on Sunday in the Round-up, I’ll be reviewing the just-issued DVD set, THE COMPLETE GENE AUTRY TV SHOW.  

If you’re not in the immediate listening area for KHTS 1220 AM, you can hear the show on-line starting at 9:00 a.m. at www.hometownstation.com, and if you’d like to call-in with a question, you can do so at 661-298-5487.  And if you want to sleep late on Saturday, you can listen to the podcast later.  You’ll find all of the Around The Barn podcasts HERE http://hometownstation.com/podcasts/around-barn .

DON’T MISS ‘SHANE’ SATURDAY AT THE AUTRY

All year, folks attending the monthly ‘What Is A Western?’screenings at the Autry were asked to vote for their all-time favorite Western with the winner to be screened in December.  The big winner was SHANE (1953), the George Stevens-directed classic based on the novel by Jack Schaefer.  Starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin and Brandon De Wilde, it is one of the most wholly satisfying films in the genre.  Among other memorable performances are the evil Jack Palance, the conflicted Ben Johnson, and the heroic-as-only-a-doomed-little-guy-can-be Elisha Cook Jr.  If you haven’t seen this, in 35mm, on a big screen, you should.  It starts at 1:30 in the Wells Fargo Theatre.  

LOOKIN’ FOR HELP TO FILM ‘NIETZSCHE OUT WEST’!

I’ve had a couple of very interesting emails from a Swedish-born filmmaker named Sven Anders.  He attended the recent Almeria Western Film Festival, where he worked to promote some interest in a Western version of Nietzsche’s ZARATHUSTRA , “an attempt to put some new wine in old boots, if you like,” to be shot on the Western sets in Spain. 

He tells me he pitched the idea to two of the Festival’s guests, Spaghetti Western stars Robert Woods and Nicola Di Gioia, “an idea which went down well with these charming western icons.”  He started a group-funding campaign through Indigogo, but has had, frankly, not much of a response.  He asked me to share his proposal with the Round-up readers, and I am doing so.  See what you think:  http://indiegogo.com/projects/el-encendero

DON’T FORGET THE BEST WESTERN CALENDAR I’VE EVER SEEN!

Just a little reminder that if you’re Christmas-shopping for someone with a sagebrush-and-pulp frame of mind, you should check out the beautiful Vintage Westerns calendar from the folks at Asgard Press (if you missed my review, HERE is the link). And don’t forget the 10% discount on any calendar for Round-up readers.  Here’s the link:  http://www.asgardpress.com/?promocode=HWR13

And here’s the promo code: HWR13

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?








THAT’S A WRAP!

Next Sunday I’ll have my review of the new COMPLETE GENE AUTRY SHOW DVD collection, and a book review or two, among other things.  Have a great week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

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