‘HATEFUL 8’, ‘KEEPING ROOM’ REVIEWED, PLUS BIG DOINGS AT THE AUTRY!

Kurt Russell & Samuel L. Jackson

THE HATEFUL 8 – A Film Review

In Wyoming, in the dead of winter, a chartered stage-coach is flagged down by Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), a bounty hunter with a stack of frozen outlaw cadavers – he needs to get them to town for the rewards.  But the renter of the coach, bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell), wants no more passengers, living or dead: he’s already transporting murderess Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) whom he intends to hang, and the company of another bounty hunter holds no appeal.  John Ruth finally gives in, and the trio of passengers are barely on the road when who else appears, thumbing a ride, but Sheriff Clay Mannix (Walton Goggins), the new lawman at the town where both Ruth and Warren are expecting to collect their bounties. 

Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh

The group arrives at a stagecoach stop, and find it full of an interesting and sinister mix of characters: Bob (Demian Birchir) is minding the place while the owners are away; Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth) is a British traveling hangman; Joe Gage (Michael Madsen) is a hard-looking cowboy and would-be writer; and General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern) is a former Confederate officer still clinging to his past status.

Bruce Dern

Guess what?  They’re snowed in: everyone will have to spend the night.  This concerns John Ruth because he’s convinced that someone, perhaps more than one someone, is not who they say.  Someone is there to free Daisy Domergue, and will willingly commit murder to do it.  And he’s right, of course.  From there, 99% of the movie takes place in the one big room of the log house stagecoach stop, as characters confront each other, secrets are revealed, and people die. 

That’s right, it’s what’s known in the TV vernacular as an ‘elevator show’ or a ‘bottle show.’  It’s a funny and audacious decision by Tarantino to do a big-budget theatrical feature version of what is done on TV to save money.  Tarantino explained in an interview with DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD that his influences were series like THE VIRGINIAN, BONANZA, and THE HIGH CHAPPARAL.  “Twice per season, those shows would have an episode where a bunch of outlaws would take the lead characters hostage. They would come to the Ponderosa, or go to Judge Garth's place — Lee J. Cobb played him — in The Virginian and take hostages. There would be a guest star like David Carradine, Barren McGavin, Claude Akins, Robert Culp, Charles Bronson, or James Coburn . I don't like that storyline in a modern context, but I love it in a Western, where you would pass halfway through the show to find out if they were good or bad guys, and they all had a past that was revealed. I thought, 'What if I did a movie starring nothing but those characters? No heroes, no Michael Landons. Just a bunch of nefarious guys in a room, all telling backstories that may or may not be true. Trap those guys together in a room with a blizzard outside, give them guns, and see what happens.”

Samuel L. Jackson & Walton Goggins

What happens, very entertainingly is the HATEFUL 8 – it’s full of the droll characters and crackling dialogue that helped make Tarantino famous.  And this kind of claustrophobic DESPERATE HOURS sort of story is the kind that he excels in, as he proved in RESERVOIR DOGS (1992).  Are the characters over the top?  Sure, but they’re meant to be: this is stylized story-telling, not docudrama, and the ensemble is a delight to watch. 

Tarantino loves to shock us, of course, and there is a lot of blood and vomiting, and there is an extended sadistic story-telling sequence where Warren psychologically tortures General Smithers with what may be a real story, or one as invented as the characters’ identities.  It’s too ugly, and too long, but at least its flashback gets us out of the cabin for a bit. 

Michael Madsen

Of course, Tarantino has fun with his inside jokes.  Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Major Marquis Warren, is a nod to novelist, independent Western filmmaker and screenwriter Charles Marquis Warren, a protégé of F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was one of the great story talents behind GUNSMOKE, RAWHIDE and THE VIRGINIAN series.  Tim Roth plays Oswaldo Mobray as a delightful impression of British character Alan Mobray.  And Michael Madsen’s Joe Gage character is a wink at Nick Adams’ character, Johnny Yuma, from THE REBEL series, a former soldier roaming the West and writing about his experiences.

The acknowledgment of THE REBEL is particularly interesting because, while this sort of snowed in ‘Zane Grey meets Agatha Christie’ story can be found in other series – the STOPOVER episode of THE RIFLEMAN, directed by Budd Boetticher and written by Arthur Brown Jr, is particularly memorable – an episode of THE REBEL, entitled FAIR GAME (1960), written by Richard Newman and directed by Irvin Kershner, is unexpectedly close to HATEFUL 8.  It’s fascinating to see what Tarantino does expanding what was a thirty-minute plot to 168 minutes.  The entire run of the exceptionally good THE REBEL series is available from Timeless Video, and after you’ve seen the feature, it’s definitely worth your time to watch the short, as well as the whole series.

One of the great joys of HATEFUL 8 is the new score by the maestro Ennio Morricone.  Although he made his name putting music to Sergio Leone’s ‘man with no name’ films, he hadn’t scored a Western since MY NAME IS NOBODY, forty years ago. 

One of the great virtues of HATEFUL 8 is the beauty and grandeur of its outdoor visuals for the brief time that the story is out of doors.  Thrice Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson has shot several other films for Tarantino, as well as for Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone: he knows how to get details and definition out of what could simply be a whited-out snowscape in other hands.  It may seem like a crazy film to shoot in 70mm Panavision, but that decision halted Kodak’s plan to shutter their movie film stock production entirely. 

The whole presentation sentimentally harkens back to the time of road-show movies of the 1950s and ‘60s, when seeing a big movie was a big deal, like going to the real theatre.  People dressed up, the seats were reserved, there was a musical overture, and an intermission.  Moviegoing, like the rest of life, is less ‘special’ today.   People go to real theatre today attired in a way I wouldn’t dress to mow the lawn.  So, see HATEFUL 8, and if you can, see it in the longer road-show version, with the overture and intermission.  And maybe dress up.  Just take off your Stetson when the lights go down and the curtains part.

THE KEEPING ROOM – a Film Review

Brit Marling takes aim

In 1865, in a location identified only as ‘The American South’, three women survive on a crumbling plantation, trying to keep body and soul together, and just barely managing.  Augusta (Brit Marling), perhaps twenty, is the daughter of the plantation’s owner who has gone off to war.  She hunts rabbits for stew.  Mad (Muna Otaru), a young slave, searches the overgrown fields for edible vegetables.  Louise, (Hailee Steinfeld), is sixteen, Augusta’s baby sister, and unable or unwilling to face the realities of war; she refuses to work, and seems at times to drift into a fantasy world, donning her late mother’s elegant clothes when she should be dressed for picking and planting.  When asked by her sister to work, she refers tersely to the woman who helped raise her.  “The nigger should do it.”

Her sister Augusta responds, “Like I told you, Louise.  We all niggers now.”

Unbeknownst to the three women, greater danger than starvation is on its way.  Union General William Tecumseh Sherman is coming, cutting his bloody slash “…from Savannah to the sea.”  And in advance of his army come his foragers, or as they were known, ‘Bummers,’ men sent to seize supplies or destroy them, to prepare the ground for invasion.  Mostly they are unregulated, many of them destructive, sadistic, and homicidal.   A pair of them, Moses (Sam Worthington) and Henry (Kyle Soller) introduce themselves with an apparent rape and several murders that mark them as men without conscience. 

Sam Worthington

Back at the plantation, the power shifts between the three women with each challenge they face, until everything comes to a head with a potentially disastrous accident: Louise is bitten by a raccoon, and they lack the medicine to treat the infected wound.   Augusta heads to town looking for medicine – the ‘town’ being a single business, a store, saloon and brothel – and comes to the attention of the Bummers.  She barely escapes, and soon the Bummers are on the hunt for Augusta and the other women.

Not a traditional Western or War Movie by any measure, THE KEEPING ROOM is also a suspense and adventure story, and above all a character study of three finely drawn, very different women.  Elegantly written by first-timer Julia Hart, it’s directed by English-born Daniel Barber, whose previous Western, the short THE TONTO WOMAN (2008), from the Elmore Leonard story, garnered Barber an Oscar nomination. 

Muna Otaru

Cinematographer Martin Ruhe, known for filming crime thrillers like HARRY BROWN   (2009 – directed by Barber), and THE AMERICAN (2010), worked with natural light and source light – lanterns and candles – to give an authentic and often beautiful look to  the interiors.  The exteriors, forest and field, are equally convincing.  Remarkable to think that they were found not in Georgia but in Romania, where COLD MOUNTAIN (2003) and HATFIELDS & MCCOYS (2012) were also filmed.

The structure is unusual, and often admirable.  Among the highlights are a pair of intercut sequences where the women are separately stalked.  Author Hart has a fine ear for dialogue, and the script is at times unexpectedly generous, allowing a humanizing of the Bummers, and raising intriguing questions of how life might have been, had the characters met under different circumstances. 

Hailee Steinfeld

The cast is tiny – only seven actors have speaking parts, and only two scenes have any extras at all.  This serves to make the story intimate and personal, and it also puts a great burden on a very few individuals to carry the entire story, which is fraught with tension and suspense.  Fortunately, the triumvirate of actresses are up to it.  Muna Otaru, a relative newcomer, seems all the more powerful for her halting, soft-spoken performance.  Hailee Steinfeld, playing a weak and self-centered character diametrically opposed to her Matty Ross in TRUE GRIT, turns us off, then wins us over when her character rises to the occasion.  And blonde and beautiful Brit Marling, half Matty Ross herself, and the better half of Scarlet O’Hara, is who we all wish we’d be when the chips are down.

Of course, no film is perfect.  The smallness of the cast can be a problem: would Sherman ever send just a two-man force, and if he did, why didn’t the Southerners just pick them off?  And as smart as Augusta is, why does she keep ignoring warnings to leave the store, and why does she keep making eye contact with men she should know to avoid?

Highly recommended, THE KEEPING ROOM, from Alamo Drafthouse, will be available on VOD in early January.

PLENTY HAPPENING AT THE AUTRY IN JANUARY & FEBRUARY

Kenneth Turan, renowned film critic for The Los Angeles Times and NPR, will be introducing the first two film programs for 2016 in the Autry’s monthly What is a Western? series.  On Saturday, January 16^th at 1:30 pm he will introduce the John Ford/John Wayne classic THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962).  On Saturday, February 13^th, at 1:30 pm he will host a double feature, SEVEN MEN FROM NOW (1956) and RIDE LONESOME (1959).  Star Randolph Scott and producer Harry Joe Brown had formed the Ranown production company, and these two films are part of the fabled ‘Ranown cycle’ of exceptionally fine, tiny budget Westerns, all starring Scott, all directed by Budd Boetticher, and written by Burt Kennedy. 

Also screening at the Autry on February 27^th at noon are a double-bill of Gene’s films, BACK IN THE SADDLE (1941 Republic) and RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING PINES (1949 Columbia).

On Wednesday, January 20^th at 12:30 pm, Rob Word will present the Cowboy Lunch @ The Autry.  After lunch it’s Rob’s A Word on Westerns discussion.  This time the topic is KINGS OF THE COWBOYS, and as we get closer to the date I’ll let you know what exciting guests Rob has lined up. 

For folks who still remember how to read (there are still quite a few of us), One Book, One Autry  is a year-long series of programs focusing on Owen Wister’s genre-creating THE VIRGINIAN.  The first two events are Saturdays, Feb. 20^th & 27^th, with more to come.  If you don’t have your own copy, you can get one at the Autry Store.  (And you can read it, and learn that the great HIGH NOON is actually plagiarized from the last seven or eight chapters). 

Sunday, January 3^rd is the last day to see the magnificent exhibit Empire and Liberty: The Civil War and The West.  From February 6^th through March 20^th you can enjoy Masters of the American West, and if you have deep pockets, you can buy! 

Between book signings, performances and other events, I’m barely scratching the surface.  You can learn more by visiting the official Autry website HERE.  

And admission is free on Monday, New Years Day, and free Saturday and Sunday, the 2^nd and 3^rd, to Bank of America card holders.

THAT’S A WRAP! 

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas (see above, a favorite gift from my wife), and I wish you a Happy New Year!  I’ve got a lot of stuff cookin’ but I don’t want to say too much and jinx myself.  But I’m very excited that I’ll be a guest of Jim Christina and Bobbi Jean Bell on THE WRITERS BLOCK radio show on Thursday, January 7^th at 8 pm, when the BIG guest will be LONGMIRE creator Craig Johnson!  If you haven’t tuned in to this entertaining and informative interview show about the art and craft of writing, here’s the link:  http://latalkradio.com/content/writers-block.

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Content Copyright December 2015 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved 

BEST OF THE BADMEN: A CHAT WITH MORGAN WOODWARD

(Updated Tuesday 8/17/2010 - see Screenings)
I first met Morgan Woodward in 1978, in Phoenix, on the set of my first movie with a writing credit, SPEEDTRAP. The hero of the piece was Joe Don Baker, and the more gravitas the hero has, the stronger the villain needs to be. Morgan Woodward, as the corrupt Police Chief, was plenty strong, with a presence that grips the attention.

Although I’ve enjoyed Morgan’s work since then, I hadn’t seen him in person for more than thirty years, when I ran into him at an autograph show in Burbank a few weeks ago. He kindly agreed to sit down and talk about his long screen career in the saddle. Not surprisingly, he’s a Texan by birth, born September 16th, 1925. “I was born in Fort Worth, only because we didn’t have a hospital in Arlington, fourteen miles away.” Naturally, I assumed he plays a cowboy so well because, being a Texan, he did so much riding as a kid. “Nope, I did not. I learned to ride when I came to California.” Well, at least I was right about his always liking western movies. “Oh sure – every kid likes westerns! Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson, Buck Jones.”

Interestingly, his first love was not acting, but aviation. “We had an Army airfield six or seven miles from Arlington and my family would go out there on weekends, and watch the weekend warriors fly the airplanes, and I was just always interested in airplanes. Most kids my age were interested in planes, back in the 1930s.” He first flew a plane when he was sixteen, and continued to fly until just a few years ago.

Graduating from High School in 1944, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps Training Program. “We went through basic training, ready to go to pre-flight. But they didn’t have room for us, so they sent us to CTD – College Training Detachment. I went to the University of Arkansas for about six months, and they still didn’t have room in preflight, so they sent us to Pampa Army Airfield, to do all the jobs the enlisted men wouldn’t do. (laughs) We saw the handwriting on the wall, because a lot of flyers were coming back from overseas, they had nothing more to do than chase pretty girls in West Texas. One morning we were told that the commanding General of the Flying Training Command said all flying training had stopped. The war was going too well, and they didn’t need any more pilots. That was the end of my hope for getting my wings in the Army Air Corps. I was sent to Scott Field, Illinois, to radio school, and I stayed until they decided we aviation cadets were just surplus, so they got rid of us just before Christmas of 1945.”

After the war he entered Arlington State, majoring in music and drama, planning on a career in opera. “I gave it up because I had a sinus condition, still do, that would not allow me to be a consistent singer. So I traded Grand Opera for Horse Opera.” In 1948, he transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, a drama and music minor, majoring in business administration. Among his classmates were Fess Parker, Jayne Mansfield, Rip Torn, L.Q. Jones, and Pat Hingle. Not all of them seemed marked for greatness. “Jayne Mansfield certainly didn’t stand out at the time. L.Q. wasn’t in the drama department – L.Q. was the cheerleader. He didn’t get into movies until Fess Parker sneaked him in to see a director. L.Q. is so crazy; he convinced the director that he ought to be in the picture. Pat Hingle was a fine actor. Rip Torn was a good actor. Then he was Elmore Torn.”

In 1951, just as he was entering law school, Morgan was recalled to active duty. He finally got overseas. “I was in the Military Transport Command; we were flying between Japan and Korea. I was happy to be up in the air, and we didn’t get shot at.” When he was back stateside, he decided against going back to law school. “World War II and the Korean War, I thought, Hell, although I was only about 26 years old, I’m getting too old to go to school. Fess Parker at that time was Davy Crockett. And Disney was getting ready to do THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE. So Fess told Disney he knew this guy who would be just absolutely great as this wild-eyed Confederate Master Sergeant. So that’s how I got my ‘in’. I went to California to do a screen test for Walt Disney, and I was signed to a three-picture contract.”

(Photos top to bottom: Morgan Woodward portrait, with Hugh O'Brien on WYATT EARP, with John Wayne on THE LUCY SHOW, with Audie Murphy and a scared saloon girl, between takes on FIRECREEK, with James Arness in MATT DILLON MUST DIE.)

Henry: Did you meet Walt, himself?
Morgan: Yes, as a matter of fact, the first day of shooting, when I went on the set, he came down to see this guy who had come out from Texas and was going to be in his first motion picture job. He was a great guy, great guy. Anybody’s a great guy who’ll sign me to a three-picture contract!
H: The next one was WESTWARD HO, THE WAGONS!
M: Right, and then ALONG THE OREGON TRAIL, a short film.
H: With WESTAWARD HO, you were with Fess Parker and Iron Eyes Cody.
M: Oh yes, Iron Eyes was a great friend of mine, just a splendid guy. In the words of the Indians, a straight arrow.
H: Your director, William Beaudine, used to be Mary Pickford’s personal director in silent movies.
M: That’s right, Bill Beaudine was just great. No bullshit, and he was terrific.
H: From 1958 through 1961 you had your first regular character, on WYATT EARP, as Shotgun Gibbs. How did you get that role?
M: I did an episode of WYATT EARP the year before, as Captain Langley of the Texas Rangers. The producers loved the character, so they had Stuart Lake write in a character somewhat like this Ranger Captain, Shotgun Gibbs, and I was on that until 1961. He was a wonderful writer.
(Note: Stuart N. Lake, a writer in the film business at least as far back as 1916, wrote the book WYATT EARP, FRONTIER MARSHAL, on which virtually all Wyatt Earp films, and the TV series, were based. He was nominated for a Best Story Oscar for THE WESTERNER (1940), about Judge Roy Bean.)
H: How did you like playing a recurring role, as opposed to playing a different character each time?
M: I loved it: I got a check every Friday.
H: Obviously, you worked a lot with Hugh O’Brien. What was he like?
M: He was a nice fellah. He was not the easiest fellah in the world to get along with, but he and I got along – we were together for over three years, got along fine.
H: What sort of a shooting schedule would you have for an episode?
M: We shot five days a week, Monday through Friday, usually shot three days on the set, at Desilu Studios, two days on location, out at Melody Ranch.
H: There were a lot of interesting guest stars on WYATT EARP, like Andy Clyde, and semi-regulars like Lash LaRue.
M: Well, Lash is a real character. And I working with Andy Clyde, because Andy Clyde was an icon. I also worked with Anna Mae Wong on WYATT EARP. I worked with Kermit Maynard, a lot of guys who weren’t stars anymore, and they were old, but it was quite something to work with them.
H: What are your best memories of working on that show?
M: It was the first time I had a regular series, and the producers of WYATT EARP were going to do a series on Sam Houston, called THE RAVEN, and they selected me to do Sam Houston. Unfortunately, the producer had a heart attack, and the show was put on hold for a while. Then he got better, we started to get into production, he had a another heart attack and died, and that was the end of that.
H: In the late 1950s you were doing a lot of western TV episodes. ZANE GREY THEATRE, CHEYENNE, SUGARFOOT, BROKEN ARROW, RESTLESS GUN, BAT MASTERSON –
M: That’s right, I think I did every western there was.
H: Were any of them particularly memorable?
M: They were all memorable because I got paid, I had a job. I remember all of them – I’ve never forgotten anything I ever did. Because actors never know when they’re going to work again.
H: You did GUNSIGHT RIDGE with Joel McCrea, Mark Stevens and one of my favorites, L.Q. Jones.
M: Mark Stevens – he had a fairly good career going at that time. Why is L.Q. Jones one of your favorites?
H: Because he’s one of those actors that just grabs the eye and makes you follow him.
M: Always playing crazy guys. (laughs) That’s what L.Q. does. We’ve been friends for over sixty years.
H: How did you like working with Joel McCrea?
M: He was terrific.
H: You did a couple of films with Audie Murphy – RIDE A CROOKED TRAIL and GUNPOINT. GUNPOINT was directed by Earl Bellamy, who we both know from SPEEDTRAP. What was Audie Murphy like?
M: Well, very distant. He was so distant it was hard to figure him out. He had a few very close friends, and that was it. I guess they were close. I remember GUNPOINT. In RIDE A CROOKED TRAIL I don’t think I had that great of a part. Walter Matthau was in it. He was very amenable. Henry Silva they brought from New York – it was popular at that time to bring New York actors out to California. Henry got his start on Broadway, you know. In ‘A HATFUL OF RAIN’, he played a character called ‘Mother.’ He and I became good friends.
H: You did about a dozen episodes of WAGON TRAIN. In the ALEXANDER PORTLASS STORY, you kidnap Robert Horton and help Peter Lorre search for Maximillian’s gold. And you got killed by Peter Lorre for your trouble. What was Lorre like by this time in his career?
M: Well, I didn’t get to know Peter very well. When we were not working together, we weren’t social. (laughs) All I can tell you is he was kind of a strange little man.
H: That’s what he played to perfection.
M: Himself, I think.
H: Because you were playing different characters in a dozen episodes of the same show, was there ever concern about your becoming too recognizable? Sometimes you had big scars, and sometimes you had an eye-patch. Was that to try and make you look different?
M: Well, it concerned me. I certainly didn’t want people recognizing me, saying, ‘There’s that character again.’ I hope I got away with playing the different characters.
H: You were usually a bad guy, but not always. In the JED POLK STORY, you’re a survivor of Andersonville Prison Camp. It was a very emotional part – very intense. Any particular memories of doing that episode?
M: Not really. I have all my scripts – I’d have to go back and read the scripts.
H: You did so many – which were your favorite WAGON TRAINs?
M: Well, I got to work with Polly Bergen, and that was interesting. We got to know each other, and as a matter of fact saw each other socially a few times after that.
H: What was Ward Bond like?
M: Very rough, very gruff, very profane. But in a kind of a lovable, likable way.
H: Kind of like his characters in John Ford westerns?
M: That’s right – that was Ward Bond.
H: Of course, in the middle of the series, he died, and was replaced by John McIntire. Did that change the show a lot?
M: Yuh, because they were two different types. McIntire was a very different type than Ward Bond. So it changed the character of the wagon master, but I don’t know that it changed the show a lot.
H: Over the years there were a lot of regulars who came and went. There was Robert Horton, Terry Wilson, Frank McGrath, Robert Fuller, Denny Miller.
M: Bob Fuller is one of my best friends. He’s bought a ranch in Texas, and he came out for that big autograph show two weeks ago. We were sitting side-by-side. Peter Brown was just down the row.
H: I saw Peter Brown – maybe Robert Fuller was at lunch when I came by.
M: He probably was in the bar (laughs). And Denny Miller was there. I was hoping Clint Walker would be there. I like to see those guys that are still alive. We’re all getting old.
H: In the 60s you did a lot of western series, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, BIG VALLEY, RAWHIDE, BRANDED, DEATH VALLEY DAYS, IRON HORSE, CIMMARON STRIP, VIRGINIAN, HIGH CHAPPARRAL – like you said, you did all the westerns.
M: Yuh, I did.
H: What were your favorites?
M: Oh, GUNSMOKE, of course. I did more GUNSMOKES than any other actor in the world. I say in the world because they had people come over from Europe to do the show. I did nineteen. Plus the GUNSMOKE movie in ’91 or ’92. It seems like yesterday but, my God, it’s been twenty years!
H: I was just watching MATT DILLON MUST DIE; that’s a terrific show.
M: I enjoyed making that particular show. We shot that in Utah, in the mountains.
H: The story is a variation on MOST DANGEROUS GAME. (SPOILER ALERT) And your wife’s death fills you with such overpowering rage that you’re murdering indiscriminately. Eventually your own sons. It’s a real heartbreaker of an episode, and you bring great humanity to a character that could have seemed very one-dimensional. How do you prepare to play a role like that?
M: I just read the scripts and conjure the character in my mind. I read the script until I almost read the print right off the page. I spend hours and hours and hours, over and over and over reading the script, filming the show in my mind.
H: I was just talking to Earl Holliman last week –
M: He was at the autograph show. We spoke. I remember I worked with Earl several times, in the show with Angie Dickinson, POLICE WOMAN, and then GUNSMOKE.
H: He said there was an episode that you two did on GUNSMOKE called HACKETT. He said that it was one of his favorite shows because you switched roles.
M: Yeah, two or three days before we were to shoot the show, the producer called and said, “Look, you guys are gonna switch parts. I want Morgan the bad guy to play the coward, and I want Earl Holliman to play the bad guy.” That may have been one of the few times that Earl got to play a bad guy.
H: Which episodes are your favorites?
M: There was a segment called LOBO. I was watching it in my home, by myself, and all of a sudden I realized that I was watching me, and I didn’t know that I was watching myself. I was so engrossed in the show, then all of a sudden I snapped to, and I thought, “But that’s me!” So I figure, if I can fool myself, that I might be pretty good.
H: Any other episodes?”
M: Well, HACKETT, and then MATT DILLON MUST DIE.
H: How’d you like working with Jim Arness?
M: No better person to work with in the world than Jim Arness! He’s a good friend of mine, and I still call him about every week.
H: I understand he had a wonderful deal on the show where they would shoot his scenes for several episodes back to back, and he’d go off surfing, and they’d shoot around him. Did you have to deal with that kind of a situation, or was he usually on the set?
M: I never had to deal with that, and if it would inconvenience any other actor I don’t think Jim would allow that.
H: How about the other actors? Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone.
M: Oh, they were all great characters. GUNSMOKE was a dream to work on. The producers were great, the actors were great, they always had great cast members. They were all good scripts. Great show to work on – a happy show.
H: How many times did Matt Dillon kill you?
M: (Laughs) You know, I don’t remember. But I usually got shot. Or beat up.
H: You also did eight episodes of BONANZA.
M: Yes, I did. I liked it very much. David Dortort (the show’s creator and producer) was a favorite of mine. Dan Blocker was a good friend of mine – fellow Texan.
H: Did you have a favorite episode?
M: Oh, it may have been FOUR SISTERS FROM BOSTON, with Vera Miles.
H: In 1966 you guested on THE LUCY SHOW, in the famous LUCY AND JOHN WAYNE episode.
M: That was great fun.
H: Had you worked with John Wayne before?
M: No, I had not. I liked working with him very much. I had an opportunity to work with him again, but I screwed that deal up because I didn’t like the part that they offered me, and I turned it down. And that was one of the few mistakes – because I almost never turn down a part. But I just didn’t like that part at all.
H: What movie was that?
M: I think it was TRUE GRIT.
H: Well they’re doing that one again. I think they just wrapped shooting, with Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn.
M: Jeff’s a good actor, but I’m sorry they’re doing TRUE GRIT again.
H: How did you like working with Lucille Ball?
M: She was wonderful. Very professional, but at the same time, a great lady.
H: Had you done much comedy at that point?
M: No, but L.Q. Jones and I did a comedy on WAGON TRAIN. CHARLIE WOOSTER: OUTLAW. It’s the one where Charlie (Frank McGrath) gets kidnapped by this woman, and L.Q. and I play her two crazy sons.
H: In 1968 you did FIRECREEK with Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart.
M: Great cast, Jack Elam – just look at the cast list on that picture. God, it was just amazing to get all those people together.
H: Often people with small parts, like Ed Begley, Inger Stevens. It’s dark movie, not a very happy one.
M: No, it’s not. It is a dark film.
H: You and the rest of the gang are together, and Henry Fonda is off with Inger Stevens.
M: He was wounded, and Inger Stevens was taking care of him. You got the idea there was something going on between the two of them, or there could be. (SPOILER ALERT!) And then of course she winds up killing him.
H: You and your friends kill the town simpleton, you kick his dog, you get shot by Jimmy Stewart and dragged to death by your horse.
M: (laughs) I got my comeuppance!
H: Did you do any of that drag yourself?
M: No. Well, I started the drag, and then they cut to a stuntman.
H: Now your director on that was Vincent McEevety, who had done a lot of westerns and, like you, a lot of sci-fi.
M: I worked with Vince a lot on westerns – I can’t tell you which ones. I worked with him before and I worked with him afterwards. I did a STAR TREK with him, DAGGER OF THE MIND.
H: In ‘69 you were with Richard Widmark and Lena Horne in DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER. It’s quite a good film, which is a surprise considering the credited director is Alan Smithee, the pseudonym directors use on films they’re ashamed of.
M: No. Robert Totten started directing it, and he didn’t like the fact that Lena Horne was the leading lady, and that here was a racial (element) to the story, and he kept griping. And finally Lew Wasserman fired him and Don Siegal took over. So they used the phony name Alan Smithee. Turned out pretty good.
H: For several years you were in DALLAS, sort of a modern Western. That was an incredibly popular series.
M: Yes it was.
H: Did you have a good time on that?
M: Oh, I certainly did. I was a regular on it for three years. So ’86, ’87, ‘88 I didn’t do very many (other) shows. As a matter of fact I was doing DAYS OF OUR LIVES, the daytime soap opera, at the same time.
H: I understand that with soaps, you have to learn an incredible amount of dialog with every episode. Were the pressures of doing that kind of show very different from doing a regular show?
M: I hated it. If I hadn’t have been dedicated – I simply wouldn’t walk off a show, or say I don’t want to do it anymore. But if I had to do it again I would. I didn’t like it at all. I just didn’t like daytime soap opera. I didn’t have time to prepare, I didn’t like the cue cards, I thought the dialog was asinine. But I must say I certainly met some good actors on soap opera. Some weren’t, but there were some really fine actors.
H: You’ve done THE A TEAM, where you’ve done comic western episodes. Did you enjoy that show?
M: Oh yes, oh yes. God, that was a lot of fun. George Peppard was a very nice fellow.
H: The last western-ish thing you’ve done was play bounty hunter Sam Travis in THE BOUNTY HUNTER’S CONVENTION episode of THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY JR.
M: That was not a favorite of mine, and it was not a favorite because I didn’t do a good job on that show. I was off-center, and I don’t know why. The show, I guess, was alright, but I was not at all satisfied with my performance.
H: I just watched it this week, and I found it very funny, and I found you very good in it.
M: Thank you – I’m happy to hear you say that.
H: In addition to Westerns, you’ve had an extensive career in science fiction. STAR TREK, PLANET OF THE APES, LOGAN’S RUN, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, X-FILES, MILLENIUM. What do you prefer – science fiction or westerns or something else?
M: Well, it all depends on the script. If it’s a good show like the X-FILES, I love doing that, and I love doing westerns. It all depends on the script.
H: You’ve been acting in television for over forty years. You started near the beginning of the industry. What sort of changes, good and bad, have you seen over the years?
M: Well, I retired in 1997. My first professional job was with the Gulf Oil Theatre in Dallas, Texas. We had the first theatre-in-the-round in America. That was 1947, I was going to school in the morning, working in the afternoon and the evenings in the theatre. So in 1997 that was fifty years. And I thought, fifty years is enough, and I retired. And one of the reasons I retired is because I got tired of going in and interviewing with people who were very young, and were apparently young in the business, and they had not done their homework. And they’d say, “What have you done?” And I thought, for God’s sake, I’ve been in film for over forty years, and I have to go through the same routine all the time. It just became not that much fun, not that interesting. And some of the parts that were offered, even if I got them, they weren’t that interesting.
H: Overall, which are your own favorite Western performances?
M: Like I told you, the episode of GUNSMOKE, LOBO, when I was watching myself and didn’t realize it. And then, MATT DILLON MUST DIE, I liked that very much. I did a picture for Disney called THE WILD COUNTRY with Vera Miles and Steve Forrest.
H: Is that the one with Ron Howard and Clint Howard?
M: Yes, that was a favorite of mine. Robert Todd directed that.
H: What are your favorite westerns of other people?
M: Well, remember the series that Sam Peckinpah wrote, was it called THE WESTERNER (1960)? It didn’t last very long. With Brian Keith. That was good. THE ROUNDERS, Max Evans wrote that, with Henry Fonda and Glenn Ford.

In preparing for this interview, just about every movie and TV show mentioned was made available to me by EDDIE BRANDT’S SATURDAY MATINEE, where they’re all available for rent. Eddie’s is the unofficial film and TV archive that all the studios rely on. They’re at 5006 Vineland Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91601. 818-506-4242. They’re open Tuesday through Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The GUNSMOKE episode entitled HACKETT, a favorite of both Earl Holliman and Morgan Woodward, airs on TV-LAND tomorrow, Tuesday, August 17th, at 8:00 a.m., but check your local listings – sometimes they vary.

FIRST LOOK AT ROOSTER AND LITTLE SISTER

Okay, it’s not your first look – I’ve been posting them as quick as people leak them. But here is the first officially released photo of Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, with Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross in he Coen Brothers' remake of TRUE GRIT. (see photo)

PALEFACE – AND THEN SOME – TO BE SEEN BY FIRELIGHT IN COWBOYS AND ALIENS

Those folks that enjoy gazing at beautiful naked women (yes, my hand is up, too) will be happy to know that Olivia Wilde has bared it all by campfire light (this is definitely not what the Campfire Girls were taught) in the upcoming Western sci-fier.

Her co-star, Adam Beach says, “We just finished shooting Olivia Wilde naked in front of a bonfire in front of 500 Apache warriors. That was beautiful. You won’t get to see what I saw, but you’ll get a glimpse.” Ms. Wilde describes filming the scene as, “Pretty amazing. Pretty interesting.” She adds, “I love doing action movies! This movie is so much fun for me. I kick ass in this!” Kick some and show some. (Photo - Olivia Wilde finally gets around to reading script, learns about campfire scene)

MORE MUSICAL SADDLES AT THE BARKLEY RANCH

As the feature version of THE BIG VALLEY continues to roll, there’s been a switch in the casting of Audra Barkely, the daughter of Victoria, played on TV by the blonde and beautiful Linda Evans. Blonde and beautiful Jennifer Nicholson is out, replaced by blonde and beautiful Sara Paxton. Sara has been seen recently in the TV series THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE (2009) and the recent remake of LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009).

SCREENINGS

3D FESTIVAL AT FILM FORUM, NEW YORK CITY

Jumping on the 3D bandwagon, the Film Forum is having a two week festival of many rarely seen films in 3D, and a surprising number of Westerns are included!
WEDNESDAY 8/18 DOUBLE FEATURE -- GUN FURY (1953) directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Rock Hudson, Donna Reed and Lee Marvin, with THE NEBRASKAN (1953) directed by Fred Sears, starring Phil Carey, Roberta Haynes and Lee Van Cleef. Lee Marvin and Lee Van Cleef -- both in 3D!
THURSDAY 8/19 DOUBLE FEATURE -- THE STRANGER WORE A GUN (1953) starring Randolph Scott, Claire Trevor, Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine, and directed by Andre de Toth, who directed at least two 3D movies but who, having only one eye, couldn't get the 3D effect, and DRUMS OF TAHITI (1953) directed by William Castle, starring Patricia Medina and Dennis o'Keefe as a 19th century gun-runner (see, it's kind of like a Western)
WEDNESDAY 8/25 INFERNO (1953) Directed by Roy Ward Baker, and starring Robert Ryan as a millionaire dumped in the desert by his scheming wife and her lover. And as an added attraction...you know Harold Lloyd as a great comedy pioneer, but did you know he also pioneered 3D photography? Mostly of women sans clothing! Between showings of INFERNO, a selection of Harold Lloyd's 3D nude slides will be shown! I wish I was in New York right now!
THURSDAY 8/26 SANGAREE (1953) directed by Edward Ludwig, set in post- Revolutionary Georgia, starring Fernando Lamas as a doctor during a plague outbreak, and Arlene Dahl is the beautiful heiress. New 35mm 3-D print courtesy Academy Film Archive. Color; Approx. 94 minutes, plus 10-minute intermission. 5:30, 9:45, AND ARLENE DAHL WILL ATTEND, AND PARTICIPATE IN A Q&A FOLLOWING THE 5:30 SHOW!

And coming in September, during the Film Forum William Castle retrospective, a 3D Western and a 3D Eastern: Friday & Saturday, 9/3 and 9/4 JESSE JAMES VS. THE DALTONS
(1954) Brett King believes he’s the son of the notorious bandit, and hooks up with the Daltons to try and learn the truth. But 3-D’d sexpot Barbara Lawrence is raison d’être enough for this Castle oater. Color; Approx. 65 minutes. 6:30 ONLY

Sunday & Monday 9/5 and 9/6 FORT TI (1953) Rare French and Indian War Eastern, with colonial George Montgomery teaming up with the Redcoats as they go toe-to-toe against those Frenchies at Fort Ticonderoga. Color; Approx. 75 minutes. 6:30 ONLY


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.

AROUND LOS ANGELES

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. Currently they have HOMELANDS: HOW WOMEN MADE THE WEST through August 22nd, and THE ART OF NATIVE AMERICAN BASKETRY: A LIVING TRADITION, through November 7th. I've seen the basketry show three times, and am continually astonished at the beauty and variety of the work of the various tribes. 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.

ON TV

TV LAND - BONANZA and GUNSMOKE

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.

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 THE LONE RANGER at 1:30 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.

As I said above, on Monday I'll have the Morgan Woodward interview up.

Adios!

Henry

Copyright August 2010 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

NEW MATTIE ROSS CHOSEN FOR 'TRUE GRIT'

13-year-old Hailee Steinfeld will portray 14-year-old Mattie Ross in Paramount's True Grit, Joel and Ethan Coen's remake of the 1969 John Wayne starrer, from the Charles Portis novel. Hailee is a relative newcomer to the biz, her previous credits being a pair of short films, and an episode of Back To You(2007), where she played 'Little Girl.' She'll be following in the footsteps of Kim Darby, who played Mattie, the daughter driven to catch her father's killer, in the original. Rooster Cogburn, the role that won the Duke his Oscar, will be filled by current Oscar hopeful Jeff Bridges, with Matt Damon taking over for Glen Campbell as the Texas Ranger, and Josh Brolin as the killer. Brolin, one of the few young actors with cowboy creds, going back to playing young Bill Hickok in Young Riders (1989-92), and the Coens' No Country For Old Men, will be the hero and title character in Jonah Hex, due in theatres June 18th.

MONDAY NIGHT UPDATE -- FREE 'DJANGO' SCREENING, WITH DIRECTOR, AT THE CHINESE THEATRE!

This news flash comes courtesy of noted film historian Andy Erish. All this week, the Annual Italian Film Festival is taking place in Hollywood, at the famed Chinese Theatre complex. The showings are all free, but you should RSVP for the films you want to see, and get there early, as it's first come, first served seating. On Wednesday, March 3rd, at 11:00 a.m., they will be showing DJANGO RIDES AGAIN (1976), a.k.a. KEOMA, starring Franco Nero and Woody Strode, and honoring writer-director Enzo G. Castellari, who will attend. This film is generally aknowleged as the best of the countless official and unofficial DJANGO sequels. Castellari's many other directing credits include ANY GUN CAN PLAY (1967), I CAME, I SAW, I SHOT (1968), KILL THEM ALL AND COME BACK ALONE (1968), and the soon-to-be-released CARIBBEAN BASTERDS. If you visit his IMDB page, and click on the link, you can watch his post-apocalytic WARRIORS OF THE WASTELAND (1982) complete.
Incidentally, Hollywood is an insane place to visit this week because of the Oscars on Sunday, whic take place at the Kodak Theatre, one block away. Many roads are closed all week! If you can possibly take the subway in, and get off at Hollywood and Highland, you'll be right there. For more information, and to reserve tickets, click here.

TUESDAY NIGHT UPDATE - ANOTHER ENZO G. CASTELLARI WESTERN

Also at the Chinese Theatre, on Saturday, March 6th, 2:45 p.m., you can see JONATHAN OF THE BEARS (1993), one of the newest of spaghetti westerns, starring Franco Nero, John Saxon and Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman. As with DJANGO RIDES AGAIN, the screening is free, the director will be present, but you need to RSVP to the link in the write-up above.

HOME VIDEO

HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL -- On March 2nd, CBS Home Video will release Season Four, Volume I of the great western series, starring Richard Boone as the "...Knight without armour in a savage land." His first name may or may not have been 'Wire', but his last name was definitely Paladin. I hope to have more details next week.

SCREENINGS AND EVENTS
And if you attend, please (a)let us know how it was and (b) tell 'em you heard about it at Henry's Western Round-up!

AUTRY CENTER - MASTERS OF THE AMERICAN WEST - last day, Sunday, March 7. For more info, CLICK HERE. And don't forget, there are family activities every weekend at The Autry, including Gold Panning! CLICK HERE to find out more.

GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE - ROCHESTER, NEW YORK -- Friday Feb 26th- Saturday Feb 27th -- A TOWN CALLED PANIC. Okay, it's not a traditional western. In fact, it's animation, very limited animation stop-motion, but it does feature a cowboy, an Indian, and a horse, and except for some cursing in the subtitles, it's supposed to be great for kids! If you're on the east coast, and not snowed in, check it out, and report back! CLICK HERE for more info.

OLD TOWN MUSIC HALL - Friday March 6 - Sunday March 8, THE GREAT K&A TRAIN ROBBERY (1926 silent) starring TOM MIX, DOROTHY DWAN, TONY THE HORSE. How often do you get to see Tom Mix on the big screen, with an accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer, no less?! If you've never attended a movie at the Music Hall, you're in for a treat. It's at 140 Richmond St., El Segundo, CA 90245. (310)322-2592 For more information, visit their website here.


WESTERN MOVIES ON TV
Note:AMC=American Movie Classics, EXT= Showtime Extreme, FMC=Fox Movie Channel, TCM=Turner Classic Movies. All times given are Pacific Standard Time.

Monday, March 1st
TCM 2:41 a.m. CALGARY STAMPEDE (1949) Eighteen minute short about the famous Canadian rodeo.
TCM 7:15 p.m. DAYS OF HEAVEN (1978) Terrence Malick wrote and directed this, odd turn-of-the-20th-century tale where lovers Richard Gere and Brooke Adams pretend to be siblings while working on a farm. A beautiful, haunting movie, with Oscar winning photography by Nestor Almendros, and nominated sound, costumes by Patricia Norris and magnificent score by Ennio Morricone. Also a wonderfully quirky deadpan performance by Linda Manz.

Tuesday March 2nd
TCM 1:30 a.m. LITTLE BIG MAN (1970) Arthur Penn directs from Calder Willingham's screenplay from Thomas Berger's novel about an incredibly old Dustin Hoffman recalling his upbringing by Indians and fighting alongside Custer. Yet another western where folks see AVATAR parallels. Also starring Faye Dunaway and Oscar-nominated Chief Dan George.
EXT 8:25 p.m. GANG OF ROSES (2003) Female rappers Lil' Kim, Macy Gray, Monica Calhoun, LisaRaye play gunslingers in a search for revemge and gold, not necessarily in that order. Written and directed by Jean-Claude LaMarre.
TCM 10:00 p.m. GIANT (1956) James Dean, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Wither star in Edna Ferber's story of a Texas ranching dynasty trying to survive changing times. George Stevens earned an Oscar for his direction of the Fred Guiol screenplay. The 'aging' of Taylor and Hudson is laughable. And just to prove the Academy is unsentimental, the great James Dean got his second posthumous Oscar nomination for this one, and lost both times.

Wednesday March 3rd
EXT 9:30 a.m. THE CLAIM (2000) Michael Winterbottom directs from Frank Cottrell Boyce's screenplay, based on Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, moved to the American west. Stars Peter Mullan, Wes Bentley, Nastassja Kinsky, Sarah Polley and Milla Jovovich.
TCM 1:30 a.m. CIMARRON (1960) Another Edna Ferber 'sweeping saga', about the settling of Oklahoma, has some good things in it, but could have been better. All of Anthony Mann's other westerns should be seen first. Script by Arnold Schuman, starring Glenn Ford, Maria Schell, Anne Baxter.
TCM 12:30 p.m. OKLAHOMA! (1955) Delightful Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, script by Hammerstein, directed by Fred "HIGH NOON" Zinnemann. Stars Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger and Gloria Grahame as Ado Annie, the "Girl Who Can't Say 'No.'"
TCM 9:15 p.m. HEAVEN'S GATE (1981) Michael "DEER HUNTER" Cimino wrote and directed this infamous box-office flop, and I'm dying to see it: lots of westerners have highly recommended this story of Wyoming's Johnson County War. Stars Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt. Get a comfortable chair -- it's 219 minutes.

Thursday March 4th
EXT 3:15 a.m. THE CLAIM (2000) Michael Winterbottom directs from Frank Cottrell Boyce's screenplay, based on Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, moved to the American west. Stars Peter Mullan, Wes Bentley, Nastassja Kinsky, Sarah Polley and Milla Jovovich.
FMC 5:00 a.m. DRUMS ALONG THE MOWHAWK (1939)
John Ford directed with gusto from the Lamar Trotti, Sonya Levian script, based on the Walter D. Edmonds novel. Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda star in one of the finest of 'eastern' westerns, a Revoltionary War story packed with Ford stock company greats like John Carradine, Arthur Shields and Ward Bond. In a more normal year, it might have been named Best Picture, but in 1939 it received only two Oscar nominations, for Edna Mae Oliver's comic turn as Best Supporting Actress, and for Ray Rennahan and Bert Glennon's glorious Technicolor photography -- and it won neither. Highly recommended.
FMC 11:00 a.m. THE TRUE STORY OF JESSE JAMES (1957) Nicholas Ray directed this remake of the 1939 classic, starring Robert Wagner as Jesse, Jeffrey Hunter as Frank, and Alan Hale Jr. as Cole Younger, with Hope Lange and Agnes Moorehead. Scripy by Walter Newman, adapted from Nunnally Johnson's original.
FMC 1:00 p.m. THE UNDEFEATED (1969) D:Andrew V. McLaglen, W:James Lee Barrett, from a story by Stanley Hough. At the close of the Civil War, Confederate officer Rock Hudson leads a group of southern loyalists to Mexico and Emperor Maximillian -- unless John Wayne can stop him. Rock Hudson later described the movies as "crap." Ironic, considering it's one of his more convincing performances. With Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr.
FMC 3:00 p.m. THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER (1982) An Australian 'western' based on a poem by A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson, scripted by Cul Cullen, directed by George Miller. Stars Jack Thompson, Tom Burlinson, Kirk Douglas, and the lovely gal from the under-appreciated series, PARADISE, Sigrid Thornton.
FMC 7:15 p.m. THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER - see above

Friday March 5th
TCM 4:30 a.m. ROMANCE OF ROSY RIDGE (1947) Studio pro Roy Rowland directs lovely Janet Leigh in the Lester Cole adaptation of a MacKinlay Kantor tale. She falls for a man who, according to her family, was on the wrong side of the Civil War. With Van Johnson and Thomas Mitchell.
AMC 1:00 p.m. - DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) Actor Kevin Costner's directorial debut won him an Oscar, and there were seven more: best picture; Dean Semler for cinematography; Neil Travis for editing; John Barry for his score; Michael Blake for his adapted screenplay; and Russell Williams III, Jeffrey Perkins, Bill W. Benton and Gregory H. Watkins for sound. Starring Costner as an army officer who befriends the Lakota Souix. With Mary McDonnel.
EXT 3:15 p.m. GANG OF ROSES (2003) Female rappers Lil' Kim, Macy Gray, Monica Calhoun, LisaRaye play gunslingers in a search for revemge and gold, not necessarily in that order. Written and directed by Jean-Claude LaMarre.

Saturday March 6th
AMC 1:00 a.m. BROKEN LANCE (1954) D:Edward Dymtryk, W:Richard Murphy, from a story by Philip Yordan. You'd think this one couldn't miss, but it does. Richard Widmark, Hugh O'Brien, Earl Holliman and Robert Wagner are Spencer Tracy's sons, but only Wagner is current wife Katy Jurado's as well. There are two nice set pieces, but no other action, and the characters are so unlikeable that it's hard to care what happens to any of them. Hugh O'Brien is wasted -- he's in many scenes, but has two or three lines. Although the color is great and the image sharp, it's still a lousy pan-and-scan of a Cinemascope original, so you only see about a third of the picture. Katy Jurado will say a line off-camera, and it's the first time you know she's in the scene.
EXT 4:30 p.m. SHADOWHEART (2009) A bounty hunter is out revenge in 1865 New Mexico. Directed by Dean Alioto from his and Peter Vanderwall's script. Starring Justin Ament, Angus Macfayden, Daniel Baldwin, William Sadler, and two great pros, Rance Howard and Charles Napier.
TCM 9:00 a.m. HELLER IN PINK TIGHTS (1960) It was HELLER WITH A GUN when Louis L'Amour wrote the book -- director George Cukor put on the pink tights. It's the story of a theatrical troupe in the Wild West, starring Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn, scripted by Walter Bernstein.
AMC 9:00 a.m. DANCES WITH WOLVES(1990) Actor Kevin Costner's directorial debut won him an Oscar, and there were seven more: best picture; Dean Semler for cinematography; Neil Travis for editing; John Barry for his score; Michael Blake for his adapted screenplay; and Russell Williams III, Jeffrey Perkins, Bill W. Benton and Gregory H. Watkins for sound. Starring Costner as an army officer who befriends the Lakota Souix. With Mary McDonnel.

You may want to check the blog again later this weekend -- I'll have an interview with spaghetti western star Robert Woods either this weekend, or in next week's entry!

Adios,

Henry