VILLAINS AT THE AUTRY TUESDAY! PLUS ‘MERCY STREET’ RETURNS, OLD WEST AUCTION, ‘BOONVILLE REDEMPTION’ AND ‘HIS FIRST COMMAND’ STARRING HOPPY REVIEWED!

MORGAN WOODWARD TO STARE DOWN ‘WORD ON WESTERNS’!

Tuesday, January 17^th, at eleven a.m. sharp – don’t make him wait! – the man who faced down Matt Dillon nineteen times, and was killed my Matt in nearly all of them, will be joining Rob Word in the Wells Fargo Theatre of The Autry Museum for a look at WESTERN BAD GUYS in the newest edition of ‘A Word on Westerns.’  Other sinister visitors will include Jerry Potter from GUNSMOKE, THE WILD WILD WEST MOVIE, and THE ALAMO: THIRTEEN DAYS OF GLORY.  Also Patrick Kilpatrick from THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, LAST STAND AT SABRE RIVER and LAZARUS MAN, and Tara Gordon, daughter of Leo Gordon, of MCCLINTOCK!, MAVERICK and GUNSMOKE fame!  It’s a free event, always entertaining and informative. Don’t miss it!   

ALSO AT THE AUTRY – ‘THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE’ ON SATURDAY

As part of the Autry’s long-running ‘What is a Western?’ film series, on Saturday, January 21^st, at 1:30 pm in the Wells Fargo Theatre, see Sam Peckinpah’s charming and surprisingly gentle THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE (1970), starring Jason Robards Jr. and the dazzling Stella Stevens, and screened in glorious 35MM! 

BRIAN LEBEL’S OLD WEST AUCTION SATURDAY – JAN. 21^ST!

This year’s annual Old West Auction in Mesa, Arizona will feature a compendium of beautiful and fascinating art and artifacts from American history.  They always have wonderful posters, paintings, Cowboy art, American Indian Art, guns, saddles, Edward Bohlin silver. Among the most fascinating items, seen on the catalog cover above, is a Sharps rifle scientifically proven to have been used by an Indian at The Little Bighorn – it’s expected to fetch from $300,000 to half a million.  And there are costume items from John Wayne, Buck Jones, and Gene Autry, Roy Rogers’ watch, Tom Mix’s chaps, letters written by Buffalo Bill Cody, a gold watch given by Will Rogers to Charlie Russell, and much more.  The link to learn more is HERE.

‘MERCY STREET’ RETURNS!  SEASON 2 STARTS SUNDAY, JAN.22^ND!

The story of two volunteer nurses on opposing sides of the Civil War, working together at a military hospital, PBS’s MERCY STREET is back for another season starting this Sunday.  As schedules for PBS vary from station to station, check for times, and also check to see if they’re doing any kind of recap from season one.  The one criticism I heard last year was that the show was a little claustrophobic, but the producers have promised to open it up more for season two, as the trailer indicates.

BOONEVILLE REDEMPTION – A Film Review

Feeling a need to get out of town, film executive, casting agent and author Judy Belshe-Toernblom visited the town of Boonville, in Northern California, learned about the locals’ unique dialect, ‘boontling,’ and the seed of a story took root in her imagination. In time it grew into a screenplay, and now a movie, BOONVILLE REDEMPTION (to read about my visit to the set, go HERE and HERE), and a prequel novel, BOONVILLE REDEMPTION: THE END OF THE BEGINNING. 

Directed by Don Schroeder, the faith-based film set in 1906 boasts an impressive supporting cast, including Pat Boone as the town doctor and story narrator, Diane Ladd as the grandmother, Robert Hays as a pastor, and Ed Anser as the judge. 

Pat Boone and Emily Hoffman between scenes

But the film truly rises and falls on the shoulders of the very young and very talented Emily Hoffman at the story’s center.  She plays Melinda, a child who has always known she was looked down upon, but only recently learned the reason; that she was born out of wedlock.  She lives with her mother Alice (Shari Rigby), half-brother (Callder Griffith), and stepfather, a man named Maddox (Richard Tyson), who is the most wealthy, and feared, man in town.  He considers himself to have ‘saved’ her mother by marrying her, and he hates Melinda as a living reminder of his wife’s history, and shame.

When Alice’s mother (Diane Ladd) is ailing physically and mentally, Maddox seizes the opportunity, and sends Melinda away to care for the old lady.  Through the old lady, who drifts in and out of rationality and the boontling language, Melinda starts to uncover the truth about her true father, his disappearance, and crimes that include murder.  She’s helped in her efforts by an eccentric young boy nicknamed Shakespeare (Nicholas Neve). 

I’m not going to say ‘spoiler alert’, but it is 1906 in Northern California, and true history does intrude in this fictional tale.  A Western only in terms of its setting, it is in many ways a mystery, though without the urgent pacing we identify with that genre.  But whether in several genres or none exactly, it’s a well-acted, attractively filmed story of an endearing girl’s search for the truth about her own existence, and how her revelations turn a seemingly sleepy and highly secretive community on its head. 

BOONVILLE REDEMPTION is available on Amazon.com, and in stores on DVD.

HIS FIRST COMMAND – A Video Review

Early in the story, spoiled playboy Cary Culver (William Boyd) is asked by a society lady if he is ‘that’ Culver, whose scandals are always in the paper.  He laughs it off – that’s his cousin, he fabricates, who makes it hard for folks who share his name.  Ironically, less than two years later Boyd would be in precisely the same position, with no fabricating.  In 1931 another actor named William Boyd would be arrested in a brothel, and when newspapers ran a picture of the wrong man, the white haired DeMille star would be ruined for years, until he was hired to play the role that would change his life and make his career, Hopalong Cassidy.

In the 1929 service comedy HIS FIRST COMMAND (Pathe), Boyd’s character is so determined to prove to Col. Gaylord’s smug but lovely daughter Judy (Dorothy Sebastian) that he can be more than a dilettante, that he enlists in the cavalry, and unexpectedly (okay, very expectedly) has a chance to prove himself a hero.  

Originally promoted as “All Music, Color and Dialogue” (the color sequences presumably no longer exist), this early talkie shares many of the traits common to films in the transition from the silents – pacing problems, some stilted performances, with most scenes done in one shot, because it was so difficult to edit.  But it’s amusing, and novel to see Boyd playing a character so different from his trademark role.  And Boyd’s naturalness and ease with sound is years ahead of its time.  The film was important in Boyd’s life as well as career, since he subsequently divorced his second wife, Elinor Fair, and married leading lady Dorothy Sebastian.  She was well-known for starring opposite Buster Keaton in SPITE MARRIAGE (1929) and other films, and they were said to have been lovers at one time.   

It’s directed by Gregory LaCava, whose 1936 comedy hit MY MAN GODFREY would find William Powell and Carole Lombard examining many of the issues raised by COMMAND. LaCava co-wrote COMMAND with actor/writer James Gleason and Jack Jungmeyer.  The audio quality is good, and the grey scale and condition of the print is good, although the focus is fuzzy throughout.  But odds are it’s the best, quite possibly the only, copy available of this entertaining little film.  It’s available from Alpha Video HERE. 

ONE MORE THING…

It’s a pity that after 146 years, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus is, or soon will be no more.  I loved it as a kid, and I loved it as an adult who likes to feel like a kid once in a while. While I was often dubious about the treatment animals received at the tiny fleabag circuses, most of the complaints about abuse at Ringling Brothers didn’t ring true.  Sorry, kids of coming generations. You’ll never experience the Greatest Show on Earth!

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright January 2017 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

  

‘NEW’ FORD AND HITCHCOCK -- TREASURES FOUND IN NEW ZEALAND FILM ARCHIVE!

A DVD Film Review

Victor McLaglen in STRONG BOY

A remarkable treasure-trove of ‘lost’ films found in New Zealand has produced an absolutely splendid DVD: LOST & FOUND – AMERICAN TREASURES FROM THE NEW ZEALAND FILM ARCHIVES.  For decades, distant New Zealand was the end of the line for distribution of American and European films.  By the time they reached that nation, the movies had played everywhere else, and there was thought to be no point in spending the money to ship the prints stateside.  As a happy result, the films found their way into the possession of private collectors and, at length, into the collection of the Archive. 

In what is clearly the most important event in silent film history in many years, in 2010, a search of The New Zealand Film Archives collection turned up 176 American-made silent movies that had been written off as ‘lost’ for decades.  The Archive generously shared them with The National Film Preservation Foundation, and its American archive members, The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, George Eastman House, The Library of Congress, The Museum of Modern Art, and The UCLA Film & Television Archive who split them up, and got to work preserving and rejuvenating them. 

Now, with the support of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Argyros Family Foundation, they have issued a 3 ¼ hour DVD with a dozen films on it, from very brief newsreels to features.  Among them are films made by John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, and Mabel Normand.  Although no actual westerns are included, there is plenty to appeal to the Western aficionado, and anyone interested in great and historical filmmaking of any genre. 

One of the problems of seeing the more popular silent films is that they’ve been ‘duped’ again and again, leading to graininess, grays that should be black, and soft focus.  Contrarily, the films in this collection came from first-generation release prints, and are very crisp, with broad range of gradations from white to black.  

Considering that this was the end of the line for film distribution, the physical quality of many of the film prints is remarkably good – no doubt due in large part to the preservation work of the various archives.  Among the surprises, in addition to extensive tinting, a couple of the films are in color, and one, from 1921, has its original synchronized soundtrack!  All of the others have engaging new musical scores, composed by either Michael D. Mortilla or Donald Sosin.  Here and there, several of the films do show signs of image decomposition, and one can’t help wondering, if no one had thought to check the New Zealand Film Archive until, say, 2020, what would have been left!

A real grabber from the very beginning is LYMAN H. HOWE’S FAMOUS RIDE ON A RUNAWAY TRAIN, from 1921.  Not merely a movie, it’s a thrill ride.  After a cartoon beginning, the viewer quickly finds himself at the front of an out-of-control train barreling downhill at break-neck speed!  The sensations, sometimes giddiness, sometimes panic, compare well with those high-tech simulation rides you get at the amusement parks.  And this one has its original score, which had been preserved on disk at the Library of Congress. 

And because no old-time movie program would be complete without a cartoon, there’s THE HAPPY-GO-LUCKIES (1923), a story about an alley-cat and a mutt that want to enter a dog show with a $100,000,000 prize!  It’s a funny early work by animator Paul Terry, who would go on to produce more than a thousand Terrytoons, who was nominated twice for Oscars, and who gave the world Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle. 

Next there’s a coming attraction for a film which, sadly, we may never see: STRONG BOY (1929), starring Victor McLaglen, and directed by John Ford.  It’s an action comedy about a baggage handler who becomes a hero during a train hold-up, and unfortunately, all that’s known to exist of this feature is these 42 exciting seconds. 

But the next film is a complete John Ford feature, UPSTREAM (1927).  Not typical Ford, it’s a comedy set in a Manhattan boarding house that’s home to a bevy of vaudeville performers, and focuses on a knife-throwing act – and romantic triangle – made up of thrower Grant Withers, lovely assistant Nancy Nash, and the least celebrated member of a Barrymore-like theatrical family, Earle Fox as Eric Brashingham (and yes, he is a brash ham).  The act is broken up when a theatrical agent will hire any actor with the Brashsingham name to play Hamlet in London.  Sure, it’s John Ford lite, but it’s a lot of fun, and if you’re quick you can spot John’s older brother Francis Ford as the juggler.  And it’s a pleasure to see Grant Withers, who would make many big and small-screen Westerns, and work for Ford again in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, FORT APACHE and RIO GRANDE, at the beginning of their association.  Ford was famous for his stock company, and was extremely loyal.  While Earle Fox never made an impression in talkies, Ford used him, sometimes in tiny, uncredited roles, in FOUR SONS, THE INFORMER, MARY OF SCOTLAND, and his final film, MY DARLING CLEMENTINE.

An educational or industrial short, BIRTH OF A HAT (1920-ish) was backed by the great cowboy hat maker STETSON, and is quite amazing – I had absolutely no idea what went into making felt, no less making a hat out of it. 

THE LOVE CHARM (1928) is shot in two-strip Technicolor by Ray Rennahan, who would win Oscars for his camera chores on GONE WITH THE WIND and BLOOD AND SAND.  Set in the tropics, and shot convincingly in California, it tells the story of a yacht-load of rich dilettantes who stop on an island to observe the native dancers, and the missionary’s daughter who falls for the handsome captain: “He is white, just like me.”  There’s a line you probably wouldn’t hear today.  It’s the first writing credit of Duncan Renaldo, who was better known as an actor, especially portraying The Cisco Kid, whom he played eight times on the screen, as well as in 156 TV episodes.  Under his own name or as Renault Duncan, Renaldo would write stories or screenplays for five more movies, the last being a pirate film, THE LADY AND THE BANDIT, in 1951.

WON IN A CUPBOARD (1914) is one of the two earliest films in the group, and is the earliest surviving directorial effort of the hugely popular comedienne Mabel Normand, who starred, and may have written the story as well.  A Mack Sennett-produced Keystone Comedy,  it’s setting, unlike most Keystones, is rural rather than urban, and revolves around Mabel, the sap she loves (who knows why?), the other saps who love her, and various disapproving parents.  The slapstick is broad and funny, there are some very nice gags about who is caught in a cupboard (hence the title) and the story even features a rural constabulary not unlike the Keystone Kops. 

Also from 1914 is the Edison serial THE ACTIVE LIFE OF DOLLY OF THE DAILIES.  Episode #5 – THE CHINESE FAN, and one other chapter, are all that are known to exist, but since this serial is more of a series of short stories than a cliff-hanger styled serial, you’ll have no problem following the exploits of the plucky reporter Dolly (Mary Fuller), who goes to cover a story about a play in Chinatown, and ends up trying to rescue a kidnapped heiress, and taking part in some rough-and-tumble fighting.  A serial with more literary pretentions then most, DOLLY was written by the drama critic for the New York Sun. 

Then there are the Newsreels.  The first two clips, from The Co-Operative Weekly Review of 1919, are war-effort fare, though for The Great War rather than World War II.  They’re followed by a pair of clips from the Selznick Pictures Corporation in 1921, and feature an ostrich-drawn cart, and a radio-controlled car!

ANDY’S STUMP SPEECH (1924) stars former Keystone Kop Joe Murphy as Andy Gump, a character he played in 48 shorts.  Though the once tremendously popular comic strip ran from 1917 until 1959, the Andy Gump name is now most closely associated in the public mind with a portable toilet.  However, the movie, from Universal, is pretty amusing, if contrived, telling the story of Gump’s failed run for the presidency.  It’s very broad, and there is some clever use of both optical and physical special effects, and there is a very exciting car-chasing-a-train sequence.  Murphy was another actor who never made a successful transition to sound; his post-Gump roles, ending with AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956), were mostly uncredited bits, but he’s very funny here.

VIRGINIA TYPES (Pathe 1926), is a brief but intriguing documentary, shot in Pathecolor, about the small community of Old Rag in the Blue Ridge Mountains whose way of living seems not to have changed much since the Civil War.  While just a brief snapshot, it’s a valuable one, as it features a people who would soon be forced from their homes to make way for the Shenandoah National Park.

VIRGINIA TYPES -- note the Pathecolor

Some might argue that THE WHITE SHADOW (1924) doesn’t quite belong in the group, as it was made in England rather than the U.S., but it was distributed here by Lewis J. Selznick, and that’s American enough for me – after all, it’s the earliest known Alfred Hitchcock!  And how fun to think that sixteen years later, Hitchcock would be brought to America by Lewis Selznick’s son, David O. Selznick, to make REBECCA. While directed by Graham Cutts, Hitchcock was the assistant director, the editor, the set designer, and wrote the scenario from a work by Michael Morton – some sources say a screenplay, some say a novel.  

WHITE SHADOW - mid-dissolve at the sinister

'Cat Who Laughs' nightclub

The story revolves around twin sisters Nancy and Georgina Brent, both played without any apparent trickery (but probably stand-ins) by beautiful American leading lady Betty Compson.  Nancy has come back from studying in Paris as a soulless creature, unlike ‘good’ Georgina.  Nancy is disrespectful to her parents, and mean to her would-be boyfriend, American Robin Field, played by Brit Clive Brook, whose distinguished career would include several fine Sherlock Holmes portrayals.  A string of tragedies befalls the Brent family after Nancy runs back to Paris, and others go in search of her. 

The 'soulless sister' leaves a note before fleeing

Unfortunately, only the first three of the film’s six reels have been found, so after 42 minutes, a series of title cards tell you how the story wraps up.  But half of a Hitchcock is better than a whole of most other filmmaker’s efforts.

Can you spot the prim sister who doesn't belong

in this den of iniquity?

Yup, that's her.

I highly recommend this DVD – I’ve not only watched it all, I’ve shown parts to everyone who’s dropped by my home this week, and they’ve all enjoyed it.  This wonderful collection is available for $25 from the National Film Preservation Board.  It comes with a 48 page book full of detailed information about each film.  Their website is HERE , and this page includes a trailer, plus clips from several of the films, including Hitchcock’s THE WHITE SHADOW, Ford’s UPSTREAM, and the Duncan Renaldo-scripted THE LOVE CHARM.  You can also find out about another of their collections, TREASURES #5 – THE WEST, 1898-1938. HERE is the link to that page. 

JINGLE OF THE SPURS – THE HOPALONG CASSIDY RADIO PROGRAM (1950-52)

A Book Review

As someone who does a fair amount of driving, I like to have an alternative to listening to the radio, when either the music or the news or the talk gets too repetitive or depressing.  So I load my iPod with podcasts of shows that interest me, and no surprise, I listen to a lot of OTR, a.k.a. Old Time Radio.  The westerns can generally be divided into two camps: the grown-up stuff, like GUNSMOKE, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, FORT LARAMIE; and the kid stuff, like LONE RANGER and CISCO KID.  When the adult stuff gets too grim, and the kid stuff gets too precious, I find myself listening to HOPALONG CASSIDY.  The Hoppy shows strike a good balance between the extremes, and are often surprisingly well-plotted mysteries, just like the best of the Hoppy movies.

In what may be a unique relationship between a hugely popular character and an actor, only one man, William Boyd, has ever played Hoppy, and he has played him in all the recorded mediums of his time.   Author Bernard A. Drew, who previously penned a biography on Hopalong Cassidy’s creator, Clarence E. Mulford, has written the story of the 104 radio adventures Hopalong Cassidy had, between his 64 movies, which ended in 1948, and his 46 TV episodes, which began in 1952, when the radio series ended.

The stories of William Boyd and Hopalong Cassidy are remarkable.  In the early 1930s, Boyd, a handsome leading man with a promising future suddenly had his career clothes-lined due to the incompetence of newspapers and gutlessness of filmmakers.  Another actor named William Boyd had been arrested in an opium den/brothel raid, and newspapers ran the photo of the wrong actor.  Boyd was dropped like a hot coal by studios who knew he was innocent, not wanting to explain the mistake to members of the public calling for a boycott of Boyd’s films.

His career was saved when producer Harry ‘Pop’ Sherman, about to start the series of Hopalong Cassidy films, decided to give the untouchable actor a chance.  Boyd, strikingly handsome with a shock of white hair, looked nothing like Mulford’s description of the scruffy, limping – hence hop-a-long – character, but he was ideal for a cowboy hero, and no one did it better than Boyd.  From 1935 to 1941, Pop Sherman produced the films at Paramount, then moved the series to United Artists.  When even Sherman got tired of the character, Boyd, now too typecast to do anything else, sold everything he had to buy the rights to the character, and produced the last dozen films himself.  He was the first star to put his own movies on television – and it made him a multi-millionaire, and showed the way for Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.  And talk about collectibles – Boyd licensed 2,400 individual products adorned with his image and Hoppy’s name.

Drew’s book traces the history of the radio series, from the failed 1941 audition show,  through the 39 Mutual Network shows, and the 64 CBS shows almost all co-starring Andy Clyde, former Keystone Kop, as Hoppy’s sidekick, California.  The Mutual and CBS shows would be played for decades on various stations.  His log has a complete plot rundown of every episode.  And if you, like me, ever wondered whatever happened to the Mutual Network, Drew reveals that it’s still in business, although it’s changed its name – to CNN. 

As author Drew points out, one of the changes in recent years, with the coming of MP3 recording, is that these old radio shows, once so difficult to track down, are very accessible now.  I download podcasts for free, and the entire run can be bought on a single disk off of eBay for about five dollars.

He further examines Boyd’s guest appearances on other radio shows, and the many Hopalong Cassidy records that were put out over the years.  A pair of nice bonuses at the end, Appendix A is the radio promotion section from a 1950 United Artists Hopalong Cassidy Pressbook.  Appendix B is a 1949 Mutual Radio Publicity Kit, full of both smart and dumb promotional ideas, and scripts for on-air ads.  I learned a lot from this book, not only about the radio show, but about Boyd the man and Boyd the businessman, both of whom rose to the occasion when it was necessary.  Priced at $16.95, JINGLE OF THE SILVER SPURS – THE HOPALONG CASSIDY RADIO PROGRAM is available from Bear Manor Media.  Here’s the link: http://www.bearmanormedia.com/ .

FREE DOUBLE FEATURE SATURDAY AT THE AUTRY

On Saturday, October 26^th, from noon until 2pm, a pair of Gene Autry films will screen, HOME ON THE PRAIRIE (1939 – Republic), and THE BLAZING SUN (1950 – Columbia).  In PRAIRIE, Gene, backed by Smiley Burnette, is a livestock inspector trying to stop hoof-and-mouth infected cattle from being shipped.  In BLAZING SUN, Gene and Pat Buttram are after bank robbers, in a film that features plenty of great western faces like Alan Hale Jr., Tom London, and Kenne Duncan.

WILD WESTERN FESTIVAL OCT. 25-27 IN GLENDALE ARIZONA

This three day event will feature music, gunfights, stunt shows, American Indian dancers, and much more.  Special guests will be HERCULES star KEVIN SORBO, whose most recent western is SHADOW ON THE MESA; HIGH CHAPARRAL star and frequent John Wayne co-star DON COLLIER; TV’s GRIZZLY ADAMS, DAN HAGGERTY; THE VIRGINIAN star ROBERTA SHORE; actor, stuntman and western historian NEIL SUMMERS; and western movie bad-man MIKE MOROFF.  Learn more HERE .

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Next week I’ll have my review of Universal’s 40^th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray of Clint Eastwood’s HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER!

Happy Trails,

Henry

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

WEST FESTS IN LONE PINE AND ALMERIA IN OCTOBER!

Hey there, world travelers!  In October, Almeria, Spain and Lone Pine, California will both play host to Western film festivals!  Both are locations where numerous Western movies were made. 

First up is the Almeria Western Film Festival on October 2^nd through the 5^th.  The Almeria and Tabernas area was the center of spaghetti western production in the 1960s and 1970s; several hundred westerns were shot there in that comparatively brief period.  Mini-Hollywood, Teatro Municipal deTabernas and Fort Bravo will be the locations for screenings and events.  Films shown in competition include many featured in the Round-up: COPPERHEAD (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=copperhead+review)  , HANNAH’S LAW (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=hannah%27s+law+review ) , ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS. ZOMBIES (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=abraham+lincoln+zombies+review)  , GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE – QUEEN OF HEARTS (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=queen+of+hearts+review )   , and THE MAN WHO SHOOK THE HAND OF VICENTE FERNANDEZ  (http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=the+man+who+shook+the+hand+review ) .  Also in competition are A PEZZI: UNDEAD MEN, WEST OF THUNDER, DEAD MAN’S BURDEN, and EL APARECIDO.  Classic Spaghetti Westerns to be screened include THE MOMENT TO KILL (1968), THE RETURN OF CLINT THE STRANGER (1972), and $1000 ON THE BLACK (1966).  There will also be a panel discussion with Spaghetti Western stars Robert Woods, George Hilton, Monica Randall, Simone Blondell and Carlos Bravo.  Last year’s festival brought together filmmakers who decided to work together, and they just shot a new Spaghetti Western on the same locations, SIX BULLETS TO HELL (read about it here: http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2013/07/six-bullets-to-hell-is-shooting-up.html ).  Learn more about the festival at the official site: http://almeriawestern.es/index_en.php

Then catch your breath, get over your jet-lag, and head to the 24^th Annual Lone Pine Film Festival.  Lone Pine, Where the Real West Becomes the Reel West is this year’s theme.  Blessed with breath-taking vistas, stark desert and the famed Alabama Hills, Lone Pine was a favorite locale for Republic, Paramount, Universal, and Warner Brothers westerns.  Among the many guests attending are Mariette Hartley, Clu Gulager, L.Q. Jones, Andrew Prine, Peggy Stewart, stunt coordinators Diamond Farnsworth and Loren Janes, and Billy King, who appeared in four Lone Pine-shot Hopalong Cassidy films in the 1930s.  Leonard Maltin and Ed Hulse will host celebrity panels.   There are many tours and events scheduled, from visits to the Bar 20 ranch to the sets of GUNGA DIN.  I don’t have a list of all the films to be screened, but they include HEART OF ARIZONA and other Hopalong Cassidy films; RIDE LONESOME starring Randolph Scott; Sam Peckinpah’s RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, which introduced Mariette Hartley; WESTWARD HO starring John Wayne; SHOWDOWN starring Audie Murphy, and many others.  To learn more, go here: http://www.lonepinefilmfestival.org/

DISCOVERY CHANNEL ORDERS ‘NORTH AND SOUTH’ REMAKE!

The Discovery Channel has ordered a remake of NORTH AND SOUTH, the 1985 ratings giant mini-series, to be produced by Lionsgate, exec produced by John Jakes, whose novels are the basis for mini, and its two sequels.  The original, which starred James Read as Patrick Swayze as West Point friends who find themselves on opposite sides of the Civil War, averaged an astonishing 40 million viewers per episode.  The tremendous supporting cast included Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Cash, Hal Holbrook, Robert Mitchum, and dozens of other famous names and faces.   More details soon!

AMERICAN TREASURES FROM THE NEW ZEALAND FILM ARCHIVES ON SALE SEPT. 24

As I reported back in June of 2010 (the article is HERE if you missed it ) seventy-five silent American films, thought to be lost, were discovered in a search of the New Zealand Film Archive.  Ironically, the New Zealand archive holds a substantial number of rare non-Kiwi movies because, by the time a film, being distributed around the world, reached far-away New Zealand, it was cheaper to just leave the film there than to pay to have it shipped back to the States. In N.Z. Archive manager Steve Russell's words, "It's one of the rare cases when the tyranny of distance has worked in our and the films' favor." Two of the westerns are THE GIRL STAGE DRIVER(1914), and Selig Polyscope picture, THE SERGEANT - TOLD IN THE YOSEMITE VALLEY (1910). 

The New Zealand Film Archives and National Film Preservation Foundation have been working to preserve the films ever since, and on September 24^th, their fruits of their labor will be available.  LOST & FOUND - AMERICAN TREASURES FROM THE NEW ZEALAND FILM ARCHIVES, a 3 ¼ hour DVD will feature the preserved films, and while a complete list is not yet available, it will in include John Ford’s UPSTREAM (1927); a trailer for his lost film STRONG BOY (1929); the opening reels from Hitchcock’s earliest surviving film, THE WHITE SHADOW (1924); FAMOUS RIDE ON A RUNAWAY TRAIN (1921); WON IN A CUPBOARD, directed by and starring Mabel Normand, and many more.  Selling for $24.95 from onlinedealers, the DVD has music by silent movie maestros Michael D. Mortilla and Donald Sosin, and includes a 56 page catalog with film notes and credits.  You can learn more at www.filmpreservation.org.  and you can see a trailer by clicking HERE.      

PETER SHERAYKO SAYS, “I WAS JAMES FENIMORE COOPER’S NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR!”

Got a very amusing call from actor/author/armorer/prop man Peter Sherayko (If you don’t know Peter, Texas Jack Vermillion from TOMBSTONE, read my interview with him HERE ) .  He’d been catching up on the Round-up, and was amazed to read the continuing saga of the search for James Fenimore Cooper’s home in New York City.  (If you missed this, the link to the final chapter of the story is in the Round-up entry HERE .)  With the help of the James Fenimore Cooper Society, and the New York Historical Society, we finally determined that the Last of the Mohicans author had lived at 6 St. Marks Place from 1834 to 1836. 

Peter Sherayko, who knows more about Western literature than just about anyone I know, used to live right next door, at 8 St. Marks Place.  I had hoped to pump him for ‘what was Fenimore really like?’ stories, but their periods of residence did not overlap.  Fresh from the Air Force, Peter lived in the apartment for six months in the early 1970s, while attending NYU.  “I had no idea one of my heroes had lived next door!”  I tactfully mentioned that the neighborhood had taken a downturn during the War Between The States.  Peter didn’t think it had improved much by his time.  “It was pretty funky.  I remember the bathtub was in the kitchen, and there was one toilet for all the apartments on the floor.”

One of the busiest men I know, Peter will be working in various capacities on a string of up-coming productions.  Among them, WESTERN RELIGION will soon be rolling at the Paramount Ranch.  Then he’ll be heading to Old Tucson to work on the sequel to HOT BATH AN’ A STIFF DRINK (if you missed my piece about that film’s rough cut, go HERE  ).  Then there’s THE HEADLESS for FRIDAY THE 13^TH impresario Sean Cunningham.  In January he’ll be at the Melody and Veluzat Ranches for SOUND OF THUNDER.   And from September 27^th to the 29^th he’ll be at Calico Ghost Town for the annual CALICO DAYS celebration, hosting a series pilot, BIG HISTORY, that would travel the country, spotlighting historical celebrations.

THAT’S A WRAP!

That’s it for this week’s Round-up!  I just conducted a fascinating interview with Karla Buhlman, President of Gene Autry Entertainment.  She had a lot of insight into Gene’s approach to television; next week I’ll be running that interview in conjunction with my review of the release of the final season of THE GENE AUTRY SHOW on DVD.  And hopefully the following week I’ll have my review of the new Western SWEETWATER, starring January Jones, Ed Harris and Jason Isaacs.

Happy trails,

Henry

All original contents copyright September 2013 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

WESTERN SERIES ANNOUNCE RETURN DATES!

While AMC remains cagey as to their actual season 3 premiere date for the excellent HELL ON WHEELS, only saying ‘2013’, other shows and networks are being more forthcoming. 

(Update 4/16/2013 – On Monday, the day after I chided AMC for being cagey as to when HELL ON WHEELS would return, they announced Season Three would begin on August 3^rd, the series moving to Saturday nights at 9 p.m.)

Below, to whet your appetite, is a link to a behind-the-scenes HELL ON WHEELS documetary)

http://www.amctv.com/hell-on-wheels/videos/inside-episode-206-hell-on-wheels-purged-away-with-blood

LONGMIRE will begin its 2^nd season on Monday, May 27^th on A&E.  If you haven’t caught this modern-day Western lawman series, you should.  Starring Robert Taylor and based on Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mysteries, they tackle troubling and thought-provoking cowboy and ‘res’ issues head on, including disenrollment.   Below is a clip from the show.

 

BBC AMERICA’s Eastern-Western COPPER returns on Sunday night, June 23^rd, with some new cast members, and thirteen episodes instead of last year’s ten.  Alfre Woodard will join the denizens of Victorian New York’s crime world, along with Andrew Howard of HATFIELDS & MCCOYS, Donal Logue of SONS OFANARCHY, Eamonn Walker of CHICAGO FIRE and Lee Tergesen of THE BIG C.  Below is the teaser trailer for season two

 

SANTA CLARITA COWBOY FEST NEXT WEEKEND!

On Saturday and Sunday, April 20^th and 21^st, the 20th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival will be held at historic Melody Ranch, owned and operated by the Veluzat family, and once the galloping grounds of Gene Autry.  (For a history of Melody Ranch, and the Cowboy Festival, go HERE )  This is a delightful event, and it’s the only once-a-year chance for visitors to visit the historic locale.  The streets are full of full-costume folks and street performers amazing visitors with their skill twirling rope and gun.  In addition to strolling the mean streets you’ve seen countless times on film and TV, recently in DJANGO UNCHAINED and DEADWOOD, you can shop for western clothes and a variety of foods.  There is entertainment and activities for children, and book talks and book signings by a wide range of Western fiction and fact writers.  And then there’s the poetry, and the music: four stages of varying sizes bring you a wide range of Western music acts including Riders in the Sky, Baxter Black, Sons of the San Joaquin, Don Edwards, Band of the California Battalion, Sourdough Slim, and a dozen more.  Bring your kids – it’s a not-to-be-missed event!  It’s $20 a day for adults, $10 for kids under 12.  Get the details HERE .

 

‘HOME OF RAMONA’ - RANCHO CAMULOS EVENT FRIDAY APRIL 19^TH STARRING SOURDOUGH SLIM

Speaking of the Cowboy Festival, on Friday, April 19^th, from 11 a.m. until 3p.m., in conjunction with the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, Rancho Camulos in Piru will be holding a fund-raising event, Californio Fiesta de Camulos Rancho!  This beautiful and fascinating rancho is known as the ‘Home of Ramona’ because it was here that author Helen Hunt Jackson, during a brief stay between trains, was inspired to write her novel, and set it there.  D.W. Griffith, when he filmed RAMONA a century ago, used Rancho Camulos as his studio.  You can read my story about Rancho Camulos HERE    And on Friday, April 19^th you can enjoy a Southwest Vaquero buffet, music, and costumed docent-led tours as you step back in time. Entertainer extraordinaire and the last of the vaudeville cowboys, Sourdough Slim performs in the Will Roger's tradition.  All proceeds benefit the nonprofit museum's mission of historical preservation and education.  The price is $55 per ticket, and you can buy tickets HERE.  And below is a short movie about the Rancho and the event:
 

NAT’L COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE HONORS, APRIL 19-20

In a two-day event, this Friday and Saturday, The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will induct into their Hall of Great Western Performers actors Wes Studi, Robert Mitchum, Duncan Renaldo, and Leo Carillo.  John Lacey and Kenneth Eade will be inducted into their Hall of Great Westerners.  Films and television shows will also be honored: Outstanding Theatrical Motion Picture, DJANGO UNCHAINED; Outstanding Documentary, THE DUST BOWL; Outstanding Television Feature Film, SHADOW ON THE MESA; Outstanding Fictional Drama, LONGMIRE; and Outstanding Television Docudrama, HATFIELDS & MCCOYS.  There are literary and music honorees as well.  To learn more, and to purchase tickets, go here: http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/default.aspx

‘LAST SUNSET’ MATINEE TUESDAY AT LACMA

Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson spar over Dorothy Malone on a cattle drive, in this rarely seen Western directed by Robert Aldrich from Dalton Trumbo’s screenplay, based on the novel by Howard Rigsby.  I’ve heard great things about this film, which also stars Joseph Cotton, Neville Brand, Jack Elam and Carol Lynley.  It shows at 1pm at the L.A. County  Museum of Art.  You can learn more HERE.

HOPALONG CASSIDY FESTIVAL MAY 3-4

The original ‘man in black,’ Hopalong Cassidy, as portrayed by William Boyd, will be celebrated at a two-day festival in Cambridge, Ohio at the Pritchard Laughlin Civic Auditorium, with a dinner and entertainment at the Hoppy Museum.  Those stars scheduled to attend include Darby Hinton from DANIEL BOONE, Johnny Crawford from THE RIFLEMAN, and Roberta Shore and Don Quine from THE VIRGINIAN.  To learn more, go HERE.   

AND ACROSS THE POND…

Just heard from a couple of our British correspondents, Nilton Hargrave and Davy Turner, that Hallmark’s SHADOW ON THE MESA will air on Channel 5 on Friday, April 19^th.  Nilton adds that they still haven’t gotten numbers two and three of the GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE film series.  And a new channel called Movie Mix is running the original DJANGO with Franco Nero.

 

‘DAY OF THE GUN’ TO GO-GO THE INDIEGOGO ROUTE

As reported back in December, Maryland-based Western filmmaker Wayne Shipley is making his newest, DAY OF THE GUN.  You can read my story about his outfit, see a trailer, and link to the company, HERE.  I’ve just gotten word that he is using the increasingly popular ‘crowd-funding’ method to raise money through Indiegogo.  You can read the offering HERE.  The perks for contributing run the gamut from DVDs of previous ONE-EYED HORSE productions to tie-in playing cards, poker chips, wardrobe and on-screen associate producer credits. 

 
DR. QUINN AND JESSE JAMES SEPARATE

Married since 1999, stunning actress Jane Seymour and actor/director/writer James Keach have confirmed that they have separated.  Although she has played many roles in her career, Seymour is most identified with the title character in DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN, from 1993-1998.  Her real father was a doctor in England, and her character was named Michaela, after him.  James Keach played Jesse James opposite real brother Stacy Keach as Frank James for Walter Hill in 1980’s THE LONG RIDERS.  His father, Stacy Keach Sr., produced first the radio, then television series TALES OF THE TEXAS RANGERS.  Incidentally, in 1982 James Keach, unbilled, provided the voice of the masked man in LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER, dubbing ‘actor’ Klinton Spilsbury.  It’s a shame: they have teenaged twins.

‘GUNS OF PARADISE’ ON DVD?  GOOD QUESTION

I received an email from Dan Searles asking a very interesting question: “Is there a legal site to buy Lee Horsley’s GUNS OF PARADISE?”  I don’t know how many people remember that CBS series, which ran for three seasons, starting in 1988, and produced 56 episodes.  Originally called simply PARADISE, starring Lee Horsley as a gunman who suddenly has responsibility for his dead sister’s four children, Aussie beauty Sigrid Thornton as lady banker, and Dehl Berti as Lee’s Indian confidante, I consider it the best Western series to come along since the 1960s, and always thought it shameful how little CBS did to promote it.  Ironically when CBS brought out DR. QUINN two years later, it striking how many elements were so blatantly imitative of PARADISE, down to the casting of look-alike children.

As to Dan’s question, the short answer is, ‘no’; PARADISE was never released on tape, nor has CBS announced any plans to bring it out on DVD.  But if you skip the word ‘legally,’ you get another answer entirely.  An on-line search of GUNS OF PARADISE reveals about a dozen different sources willing to sell the entire series on DVD, with prices ranging from as high as $90 to as low as $39.  Are these copies legal?  I don’t know how they can be.  These are disks made from collector copies, recorded right off of television.  I’m astonished at how openly they’re sold.  While I would never encourage anyone to buy illegal copies of copyrighted material, I must admit that I’ve bought a few such sets, of varying quality, from series I was told were in the public domain – only to be told by the producer of one show in no uncertain terms that it was not in public domain.  Anyone else bought any of these collector-to-collector copies?

 

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

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








THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepreneur 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 permanent galleries (to which new items are frequently added), they have temporary shows. The Autry has many special programs every week -- sometimes several in a day. To check their daily calendar, CLICK HERE. And they always have gold panning for kids every weekend. For directions, hours, admission prices, and all other information, CLICK HERE.



HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

Across the street from the Hollywood Bowl, this building, once the headquarters of Lasky-Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures) was the original DeMille Barn, where Cecil B. DeMille made the first Hollywoodwestern, 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.



WELLSFARGO 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.


WESTERN ALL OVER THE DIAL


INSP’s SADDLE-UP SATURDAY features a block of rarely-seen classics THE VIRGINIAN and HIGH CHAPARRAL, along with BONANZA and THE BIG VALLEY. On weekdays they’re showing LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, BIG VALLEY, HIGH CHAPARRAL and DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN.


ME-TV’s Saturday line-up includes THE REBEL and WAGON TRAIN. On weekdays it’s DANIEL BOONE, GUNSMOKE, BONANZA, BIG VALLEY, WILD WILD WEST, and THE RIFLEMAN.


RFD-TV, the channel whose president bought Trigger and Bullet at auction, have a special love for Roy Rogers. They show an episode of The Roy Rogers Show on Sunday mornings, a Roy Rogers movie on Tuesday mornings, and repeat them during the week.


WHT-TV has a weekday afternoon line-up that’s perfect for kids, featuring LASSIE, THE ROY ROGERS SHOW and THE LONE RANGER.


TV-LAND angered viewers by dropping GUNSMOKE, but now it’s back every weekday, along with BONANZA.


THE WRAP-UP -- That's it for this weekend!  Lookin' forward to the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival this weekend, and the TCM Festival next week.  Hope to see you there!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright April 2013 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved