WESTERN PRODUCTION PULSE STRONG

With the disappointing grosses for COWBOYS & ALIENS, and the abrupt halt on production of Disney’s THE LONE RANGER, there’s been, understandably, a great deal of hand-wringing over whether we’re hearing the death-knell for the current western revival. I don’t think so. When a New York Magazine blog posed the question, based on the public response to COWBOYS & ALIENS, whether the western was dead, a frequent response was, “Huh? Was that supposed to be a western?” Just to keep things in perspective, C&A, as of Thursday, has grossed a very respectable $92,000,000. This is only a disappointment if you’re dumb enough to spend $230,000,000 making the movie.

Having learned that the plot of THE LONE RANGER involved the masked rider of the plains doing battle with werewolves, I can’t be too upset that Disney has decided to rethink their approach, and try to bring the budget down from a high of $285,000,000. Maybe the industry is learning the lesson they should have gotten from JONAH HEX, that scifi and horror elements rarely mix well with western stories.

Granted, no one lost any money on the very good CURSE OF THE UNDEAD, or the very bad BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA and JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER -- because no one spent any money on them. We’ll have to wait and see how ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER does with its $70,000,000 outlay. As a Paramount Pictures insider put it to me, it’s a movie that should be made. But it should be made by The Asylum for $250,000. (Incidentally, last year The Asylum made the very watchable western 6 GUNS, and I’ve been bugging them ever since to do 7 GUNS.)

But the good news is that there are a lot of good projects in the pipeline, for big-screen and small!

FEATURES:

‘YELLOW ROCK’ EDITING LOCKED

Lenore Andriel, who co-wrote, co-produced and stars with Michael Biehn and James Russo in this tale of greed and deceit, tells me, “The picture is now ‘locked’. It’s in sound editing, sound design, sound fx at Monkeyland Audio. The score is being composed by Randy Miller, an incredible award winning composer.” You can hear an impressive example of his music when you visit the YELLOW ROCK site.

“We've added pickup shots that Daniel Veluzat was our 2nd Unit Director for, which really add to the levels of tension, production value, and clarity to the film. He did an amazing job, as did the actors, James Russo and Peter Sherayko, and our wonderful crew in the 110 degree heat!” To learn more, visit the YELLOW ROCK website HERE. For Round-up articles on the filming of YELLOW ROCK, read part one HERE, part two HERE.

‘COWBOYS & INDIANS’ READY TO GO TO MARKET




The third feature, and first Western by brother co-writers and co-directors Aaron Burk and Tyler Burk, was shot at the Whitehorse Movie Ranch in the Mojave Desert, and as you can see by the trailer, there’s plenty of action. Aaron tells me, “Our sales agent is currently shopping it around for domestic sales. And we’ll probably be going to AFM (the American Film Market) to sell it internationally.”

I’ll soon have an extensive interview with the Burk brothers in the Round-up, but in the meantime, you can learn more about COWBOYS & INDIANS at their website HERE.



‘THE FIRST RIDE OF WYATT EARP’ NEARS COMPLETION

Toplining Val Kilmer as Earp, THE FIRST RIDE is based on the true story of the murder that brought together the Earp brothers along with Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Charlie Bassett and Bill Tilghman. From ARO ENTERTAINMENT, the cast also includes Trace Adkins, Diana DeGarmo, Shawn Roberts as a young Wyatt, Levi Fiehler, Matt Dallas, Scott Whyte, Wilson Bethel and Daniel Booko. It’s directed by Michael Feifer from a screenplay by Darren Benjamin Shepherd. When I asked producer Jeffrey Schenck how post-production was going, he told me, “We’re almost there. Check with me next month.”

To read the Round-up’s two-part coverage on the shooting on FIRST RIDE, go HERE and HERE.



‘MORGAN KANE: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS’, BEGINS




The folks at WR Films continue to keep development of the Morgan Kane franchise, based on the best-selling Norwegian western series, shrouded in mystery. What I can tell you is that they’ve acquired the right to all 83 of Louis Masterson’s novels, and are planning to start with a trilogy of films, the first, MORGAN KANE: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS, based on two of the books, EL GRINGO and EL GRINGO’S REVENGE. I understand that a first draft was delivered the first week in August, but they’re playing it so cagey that I still haven’t found out the screenwriter’s name. I’ll tell you more when I know more, but in the meantime, you can read about my visit to their set, for the shooting of e-book covers, HERE.

http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2011/07/who-is-morgan-kane.html

TARANTINO’S ‘DJANGO UNCHAINED’ TO ROLL IN AUTUMN

Aiming for a Christmas 2012 release, the long-rumored Quentin Tarantino ‘spaghetti southern’ is set to roll shortly in Louisiana. With Jamie Foxx as the title character, a freed slave turned bounty-hunter under the tutelage of dentist Christoph Waltz, the film boasts a striking supporting cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, and most recently Kevin Costner, as the sadistic trainer of ‘Mandingo’ fighters at a plantation/brothel known as Candyland. Also rumored to be involved are Treat Williams and Franco Nero, cinema’s original Django.

TONY SCOTT IN TALKS WITH WARNERS TO REMAKE ‘THE WILD BUNCH’

Why?

‘AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES’ TO STARZ



Producer Jeffrey Schenck tells me AMERICAN BANDITS will premiere on the STARZ network on September 11th. Written and directed by Fred Olen Ray, it’s the story of what happens when the brothers must split up until the wounded Jesse heals. It stars Peter Fonda, Tim Abel and Jeffrey Combs. At the recent B-MOVIE CELEBRATION, Fred won two Golden Cobs, for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, and Jeffrey Combs won for Best Lead Actor. To read my review, go HERE. To read my interview with Fred Olen Ray, go HERE.

And that's not all! On Wednesday I hope to be on the set of a new Western, GANG OF ROSES II!


ON TELEVISION:

HIGH HOPES FOR ‘SHADOW HILLS’

The pilot for the series about a former buffalo soldier-turned horse breeder in an ethnically mixed town in the Oklahoma Territory is taking shape in the cutting room. Executive Producer Scott Steel tells me, “Things are great! We are in Post and editing. After seeing some of the footage, we really feel we have something special, and know that your readers are really going to love SHADOW HILLS when they see it!”

Lamont Clayton, who wrote, produced, and stars in the show, agrees. “It looks amazing. John Amos (who plays the town’s blacksmith) said he had the same feeling he had about ROOTS that he has for SHADOW HILLS. He and I really think we have something here!” To read my article about the shoot, go HERE.



AMC’S ‘HELL ON WHEEL’S GETS PLAYDATE!



AMC’s long-anticipated Western series, centered on the building of the trans-continental railroad, will premiere on Sunday, November 6th, following an episode of their highly successful THE WALKING DEAD.

Starring Anson Mount, Colm Meany, Wes Studi, and Common, it follows Mount’s character, a former Confederate soldier out to avenge his wife’s death. The title refers to the traveling saloons, brothels and gambling dens that moved on wheels to follow the track-layers -- Historian Stephen Ambrose wrote a wonderful book on the subject by the same title.

HISTORY CHANNEL’S ‘HATFIELDS AND McCOYS – AN AMERICAN VENDETTA

The History Channel will produce it’s first dramatic, non-documentary miniseries, telling the true story of America’s most deadly blood-feud. Kevin Costner will star as Devil Anse Hatfield, and Bill Paxton will star as Randall McCoy. Kevin Reynolds, who directed RED DAWN, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, and previously directed Costner in ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, will be at the helm. Writers are Rod Mann (DEADWOOD) and Ron Parker (BROKEN TRAIL).

TNT ORDERS ‘GATEWAY’ PILOT

TNT has given a cast-contingent order for a westerns series, GATEWAY, about a Colorado town in the 1880s. A lawman has been killed, and his three sons must step in. The script is by Exec Producer Bruce McKenna (BAND OF BROTHERS, THE PACIFIC), and Danny Cannon (CSI) will direct.

‘RECONSTRUCTION’ GOES FROM FX TO NBC

Developed for FX, RECONSTRUCTION has been shot as a pilot at NBC, directed by Peter Horton and written by three-time Emmy winner Joshua Brand (NORTHERN EXPOSURE, A YEAR IN THE LIFE). Set in Missouri after the Civil War, it’s the story of a war vet who settles in a town where he is greeted as its savior. It stars Martin Henderson (OFF THE MAP), Emma Bell and Rachel Lefevre.

AND IN PRINT:

THE TRADITIONAL WEST

Western fictioneers


A brand new anthology of traditional western stories from The Western Fictioneers, the only writers’ organization devoted solely to traditional Western fiction, has been published in both e-book and print version. The authors include Matthew P. Mayo, Robert J. Randisi, Dusty Richards, James Reasoner, Larry D. Sweazy, L.J. Washburn, Jackson Lowry, Larry Jay Martin, Kerry Newcomb, and C. Courtney Joyner, who has lectured on how to break into Western print (see HERE).
http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2011/04/winnetou-palooza.html


THE NOT SO TRADITIONAL WEST




Michael Druxman, screenwriter of the excellent CHEYENNE WARRIOR (see my review and interview HERE;), has published a new book of short stories entitled DRACULA MEETS JACK THE RIPPER & Other Revisionist Histories. The story entitled THE OLD COOT is about Jesse James.
http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=cheyenne+warrior

EXCELLENT ‘GATHERING REMNANTS’ ON THE DOC CHANNEL

Though you might not know by the title, GATHERING REMNANTS is a documentary about cattle-driving cowboys. What they have to say about their way of life is, by turns, fascinating and heartbreaking. Much of it is startlingly beautiful. It’s showing twice on Thursday, August 25th on the Documentary Channel, locally at 6:30 p.m., and again at 9:30 p.m., but systems vary, so check your listings.

CELEBRATE ROY ROGERS’ 100TH BIRTHDAY AT THE DOUBLE R BAR RANCH!

Head to Victorville on Saturday, August 27th, for a celebration of the King of the Cowboys and the Queen of the West! Among those taking part in the festivities will be Roy’s daughter Mimi Rogers and grand-daughter Julie Ashley Pemilla, actors Dick Jones, Ty Hardin, Hugh O’Brien, Andrew Prine, Bo Hopkins, Dan Haggerty, Donna Martell, Darby Hinton and Beverly Washburn, and authors Julia Ann Ream and Charlie LeSueur. For all the particulars, go HERE.



http://cowboyjerryandthepioneers.com/

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

And speaking of TCM, have I mentioned that the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here?




THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepeneur Gene Autry, and designed by the Disney Imagineering team, the Autry is a world-class museum housing a fascinating collection of items related to the fact, fiction, film, history and art of the American West. In addition to their permenant galleries (to which new items are frequently added), they have temporary shows. The Autry has many special programs every week -- sometimes several in a day. To check their daily calendar, CLICK HERE. And they always have gold panning for kids every weekend. For directions, hours, admission prices, and all other information, CLICK HERE.

HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

Across the street from the Hollywood Bowl, this building, once the headquarters of Lasky-Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures) was the original DeMille Barn, where Cecil B. DeMille made the first Hollywood western, The Squaw Man. They have a permanent display of movie props, documents and other items related to early, especially silent, film production. They also have occasional special programs. 2100 Highland Ave., L.A. CA 323-874-2276. Thursday – Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for senior, $1 for children.

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

This small but entertaining museum gives a detailed history of Wells Fargo when the name suggested stage-coaches rather than ATMS. There’s a historically accurate reproduction of an agent’s office, an original Concord Coach, and other historical displays. Open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Admission is free. 213-253-7166. 333 S. Grand Street, L.A. CA.


FREE WESTERNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AT HULU

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

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

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 DANIEL BOONE at 1:00 p.m., and two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.. On Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. it's THE RIFLEMAN again, followed at 2:30 by BAT MASTERSON. And unlike many stations in the re-run business, they run the shows in the original airing order. There's an afternoon movie on weekdays at noon, often a western, and they show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic.

RFD-TV has begun airing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW on Sundays at 9:00 a.m., with repeats the following Thursday and Saturday.

Also, AMC has started showing two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN on Saturday mornings.

Just as I was about to shut down, I spotted an interesting email from Nikke Finke's DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD. Disney's Rich Ross attended D23, a sort of Disney-only Comic-con this weekend, and in an interview said he was eager to try again with THE LONE RANGER. He said he was eager to work with everyone involved, and he named them all...except director Gore Verbinski.

Happy Trails!

Henry

All Contents Copyright August 2011 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

ANOTHER COMIC-BOOK WESTERN

IN PRODUCTION:

JONAH HEX SET FOR JUNE 18, 2010 RELEASE

Nobody's seen a frame of film, but the action figures were already a hit at the Comic-Con. And speaking of action figures, Megan Fox, as Leila (seen below in what is being euphamistically called her saloon-girl outfit), is currently billed above Josh Brolin, who plays the title character, a face-scarred bounty hunter on the trail of a voodoo-er planning to liberate the South with an army of the undead. Based on the long-running comic book, the film also stars John Malkovich, Will Arnet, and Aidan Quinn as President McKinley.
The director is Jimmy Hayward, the writers are Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor.

TRUE GRIT - CAMERAS ROLL ON MARCH 8
No coincidence that it's the day after the Academy Awards. The Coen brothers are hopeful that Jeff Bridges will win an Oscar for Crazy Heart, which would put him in a good mood for playing Rooster Cogburn.

BIG VALLEY - SUSAN SARANDON IN TALKS
The Oscar-winning actress is interested in following in the boot-steps of Barbara Stanwyck, who played Victoria Barkley in series which ran on ABC from 1965 - 1969. The feature will be produced by Katy Edelman Johnson, whose father, Louis F. Edelman, co-created the series with A.I. Bezzerides. Daniel Adams, who penned the screenplay, and is Johnson's producing partner, will direct.

THE LONE RANGER - STILL JUST TONTO, BUT WITH NEW SCRIBE
The Jerry Bruckheimer project, with Johnny Depp on board as Tonto, still lacks a masked man, but it's got a new writer. Justin Haythe, who wrote The Clearing and Revolutionary Road, takes over the reins from Pirates of the Caribbean scripters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot.

GUNSMOKE RE-LOAD IN THE WORKS
CBS Films, reportedly pleased with Gregory Poirer's draft of a Gunsmoke feature (he previously wrote National Treasure: Book of Secrets) is looking at Brad Pitt as a possible Marshall Matt Dillon, and Ryan Reynolds is also in the running. Pitt may have the edge, having starred in a western, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

PARAMOUNT SNAPS UP DOC HOLLIDAY SPEC
According to Variety, Chad St. John's script, The Further Adventures of Doc Holliday,will be produced by Transformers/G.I. Joe vet Lorenzo di Bonaventura. The aim is to make a history-based western tentpole.

TARANTINO WANTS TO MAKE A SOUTHERN WESTERN
It's well-known that the Inglourious Basterds director has been toying with doing a western for some time, but he recently got specific in a chat with the New York Daily News. "I'd like to do a western. But rather than set it in Texas, have it in slavery times. With that subject that everybody is afraid to deal with. Let's shine that light on ourselves. You could do a ponderous history lesson of slaves escaping on the Underground Railway. Or you could make a movie that would be exciting. Do it as an adventure. A spaghetti western that takes place at that time. And I would call it 'A Southern.'"

LIVE EVENTS:

THE VIRGINIAN REUNION IN TENNESSEE

Saturday Feb. 27th -- The 10th Annual Saddle Up festival in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee will feature a reunion of stars from the NBC series which ran from 1962 to 1970. James Drury, Gary Clarke, Roberta Shore and Randy Boone will meet up for a three hour event that will include clip screening, Q&As and autographs. Not coincidentally, the event coincides with the release of the first season of The Virginian on DVD, which will be available for sale at the event, but otherwise not until late May. At a time when most series were thirty or sixty minutes, The Virginian was unusual: it's 90 minute time slot gave a chance for greater depth of plot, making each episode a small movie. For further information, click here.

SPAGHETTI WESTERNS FREE ON-LINE
The next time you're working hard at the lap-top, and get a sudden urge to see some Italian cowboy action, click here, and you'll be brought to the AMC B-Movie Classics site, where, with a simple click of the mouse, you can see Dynamite Joe (1968) or The Ruthless Four (1968). I haven't seen either movie yet myself, but Ruthless Four, which claims to be "In The Tradition of Treasure of the Sierra Madre," stars Van Heflin, Gilbert Roland and German western star Klaus Kinski, so it's certainly worth a peek. Incidentally, there are a number of other movies in various genres at the site.

ON THE TUBE

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 Feb. 22nd
AMC 2:00 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.
AMC 1:00 p.m. Dances With Wolves (1990) See above.

Tuesday Feb.23rd
TCM 5:00 p.m. Ruggles Of Red Gap (1935) Comedy pro Leo McCarey directed this 3rd version of Harry Leon Wilson's novel, with a script by Walter DeLeon and Harlan Thompson. Charles Laughton, in a delightful comic turn lays the gentleman's gentleman imported from England to give a western family some class. With Charley Ruggles, Mary Boland and Zasu Pitts.

Wednesday Feb. 24th
TCM 11:00 a.m. Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) John Huston directed from his own screenplay, based on novel by the elusive B. Traven. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston (Academy Award perfoemance) and Tim Holt go gold prospecting in the Mexican Sierras. For my money, one of the best movies of any genre ever made. With Bruce Bennett, and with Barton MacLane in one of the most realistic bar-brawls ever filmed. Look for John Huston himself as the frequent victim of a panhandler, and little Robert Blake as the kid with the lottery tickets. "Badges?! I don't got to cho you no badges! We don't need no stinkin' badges!"
TCM 1:15 p.m. Duel In The Sun (1946) Directed by King Vidor, producer David O. Selznick wrote his own screenplay from the Niven Bush novel about a half-breed Jennifer Jones who comes between two brothers. With Gregory Peck and Joseph Cotten.

Thursday Feb.25th
FMC 8:00 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.
TCM 9:45 a.m. General Spanky (1936) Though not the best of Our Gang's work, it ceratinly is a novelty, and the only Our Gang feature (I don't count the two from the 1940s, with replacement kids). Gordon Douglas and Fred C. Newmeyer direct from a script by Richard Flournoy, John Guedel, Carl Harbaugh and Hal Yates. Spanky MacFarland, along with Buckwheat Thomas and Alfalfa Switzer, fight the Civil War.
FMC 10:00 a.m. Flaming Star (1960) An early film from the soon-to-be-great Don Siegal, working from Nunnally Johnson's script of a Clair Huffaker novel. Elvis Presley, playing a role planned for Marlon Brando, is the half-breed son of white John McIntire and Kiowa Dolores Del Rio, forced to take sides in a local war between white and Indian. Surprisingly good, you realize how good an actor Elvis could have been if Col. Parker hadn't steered him into mostly inane crap. With Steve Forrest and Barbara Eden.
TCM 7:00 p.m. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) The finest of John Ford's later films, and his last great film with John Wayne. James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck adapted Dorothy M. Johnson's story, told in flasback, about a Senator (James Stewart) whose career turns on the fact that he shot outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin).

Friday Feb. 26
EXT 2:30 a.m. Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) Directed by Takashi Miike, co-written with Masa Nakamura, the filmmakers try to transplant every spaghetti western cliche' into one pseudo Samurai epic. Strikingly shot and edited, but after an hour of identifying the homages, I did a lot of fast-forwarding. Starring Hideaki Ito and Masanobu Ando, with Quentin Tarantino popping up at the start and finish to tell you the story.

Saturday Feb. 27
TCM 2:00 a.m. The Reivers (1969) Charming, easy-going turn-of-the-century tale of Steve McQueen, Rupert Cross, and Mitch Vogel's adventures in a stolen car. Sharon Farrell is at her most radiant, and B-western fans will appreciate the cameo by Roy Barcroft as the judge. Written by the Oscar-winning wife and husband team of Harriet Frank Jr, and Irving Ravetch, from William Faulkner's novel. Directed by Mark Rydell.
TCM 4:00 a.m. Tom Sawyer (1973) Disney tunesmiths Robert and Richard Sherman wrote the screenplay as well as the songs for this musical adaptation of Mark Twain's novel. With Johnny Whitaker as Tom and Jodie Foster as Becky Thatcher. Directed by Don Taylor.
AMC 6:30 a.m. Stagecoach (1966) No, not that one, it's the pointless remake. Gordon Douglas directs with flair as always, and Joseph Landon's adaptation of Dudley Nichols 1939 screenplay, from the Ernest Haycox story is fine. But even with good actors like Alex Cord, Ann-Margaret, Bing Crosby and Red Buttons, could they possibly think they were improving on the John Ford version? Yes, because this one would be in color, and in tghe 1960s, that meant everything.
AMC 9:00 a.m. The War Wagon (1967) You've got John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, and an armored coach packed and gold and protected by a Gatling gun. What more do you need to know? Great fun, directed by Burt Kennedy, written by Clair Huffaker, featuring Bruce Dern and Bruce Cabot.
AMC 11:30 a.m. Silverado (1985) Larry Kasdan directs from a script he wrote with his brother Mark. Lots of good stuff in it, but at 133 minutes, it's at least a half hour too long. Starring Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner.
AMC 11:00 p.m. Silverado (1985) See above.

Sunday Feb.28
AMC 2:00 a.m. Backlash (1956) Director John Sturges is at the top of his powers in this western mystery scripted by Borden Chase from the Frank Gruber novel, starring Richard Widmark and Donna Reed.
AMC 4:00 a.m. The War Wagon (1967) You've got John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, and an armored coach packed and gold and protected by a Gatling gun. What more do you need to know? Great fun, directed by Burt Kennedy, written by Clair Huffaker, featuring Bruce Dern and Bruce Cabot.
AMC 6:30 a.m. Silverado (1985) Larry Kasdan directs from a script he wrote with his brother Mark. Lots of good stuff in it, but at 133 minutes, it's at least a half hour too long. Starring Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner.
EXT. 9:45 a.m. Barbarosa (1982) Fred Schepisi directs from western specialist William D. Wittliff's script, about a young man falling into company with an outlaw. Stars Willie Nelson, Gary Busey, Isela Vega and the great Gilbert Roland.
FMC 11:15 a.m. Rio Conchos (1964) D: Gordon Douglas, W:Joseph Landon and Clair Huffaker. Stars Richard Boone, Stuary Whitman, Anthony Franciosa.
FMC 3:30 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.

That's it for this week! Again, if you attend any events we discuss here, let's have some feedback -- click on the 'comments' thing below. Or e-mail me at swansongmail@sbcglobal.net. And I need your suggestions -- there's got to be a lot of western happenings around the globe that we don't know about, so fill us in. Next week we'll feature an interview with spaghetti western star Robert Woods!

Adios!
Henry