‘HOMESMAN’ REVIEWED, ‘COMPANEROS’ BLU-RAY WINNERS, PLUS TARANTINO’S TV INSPIRATIONS!

THE HOMESMAN – a Film Review

Tommy Lee Jones’ film of Glendon Swarthout’s novel THE HOMESMAN is a revelation.  The novel itself is a remarkable and beautiful telling of a heroic and tragic tale, and one that had never been told before; in a Western, that’s remarkable in and of itself.  The trials, tragedies and disappointments of frontier life have driven some women mad.   A successful yet lonely spinster, Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank), a victim of her too-charitable view of human nature and her strong sense of honor, finds herself -- rather than any of the husbands -- responsible for transporting three madwomen across the endless Nebraska Territory to Iowa, where a generous minister and his wife (Meryl Streep) are waiting to get them help, whether it be to take them in, or reunite them with their families back east. 

Though competent as a man with gun or horse – perhaps too competent and bossy for a woman hoping to attract a man – Mary Cuddy quickly realizes she is not physically capable of single-handedly driving the wagon and caring for three volatile women, when providence provides her hope, in the form of low-life claim jumper George Briggs (Tommy Lee Jones).  She saves him from a noose only after securing his promise to help her with a difficult undertaking: she wisely doesn’t tell him what it is ahead of time.  Having cheated death by inches, he is overwhelming grateful, but dubious about the journey, and resentful of her attitude towards him.  He agrees to go, but neither of them thinks he’ll follow through to the end.  As an inducement, she arranges a reward to be waiting for him, should they reach their Iowa destination. 

The two travel to the three homesteads, gathering their charges, and observing a bit of what made the women what they have become.  Mary and George’s adventures begin as they cross the seemingly infinite prairie, dueling over whose view of humanity should guide their journey.  They travel, surrounded by dangers, facing their own remarkable hardships, and under each other’s influence, they both grow and change as individuals.  Jones and Swank are by turns endearing, infuriating, and ultimately heartbreaking.  Playing people who always keep a tight rein on their emotions, their performances are wonderfully restrained, yet you always know what they are thinking and feeling.  George and Mary Bee are both strongly opinionated people.  Jones’ George knows in a practical sense what must be done to survive in this savage world, moral or not, and tries hard to hide any misgivings.  He is a man of surprising dignity and pride, and when insulted is a force of the devil.  Swank’s Mary Bee aches for a kinder world, like the one she was raised in.  She so longs for culture that when she sings, she plays her accompaniment on a keyboard of needle-point; she confides that she’ll soon die without real music.  Additional Oscars may be in both of their futures.

Author Glendon Swarthout holds a hallowed place among novelists, Western and otherwise, having had previous successes, both book and film adaptations, as diverse as WHERE THE BOYS ARE, THEY CAME TO CORDURA, BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN, and the unforgettable THE SHOOTIST, which was John Wayne’s last film, and one of his finest performances.  One senses that Tommy Lee Jones sees THE HOMESMAN as his SHOOTIST, certainly not as a final film, but as the crowning achievement of a career in Westerns that has included triumphs like LONESOME DOVE and THE MISSING.  HOMESMAN is his third western as a star-writer-director, his two previous being the exceptional THE GOOD OLD BOYS and THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA.

The script adaptation by Jones, Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley A. Oliver is an excellent paring down of a story that fortunately was just about the right size to begin with.  There must always be cuts – the novel has four madwomen rather than three – but all that is crucial is retained, as is much of the novel’s dialogue, and the visuals match the novel’s descriptions impeccably.  There is an effort to cut to the heart of scenes which, in the book, had extensive build-up.  There are effective additions as well.  An early scene with Mary Bee serving dinner clarifies elements of her personality.  The three women, played by Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, and Sonja Richter, are more fleshed out than in the book, and the structure of their flashbacks is more effective than in the book.  But ironically, the women’s specific issues are often not as clear on the screen as on the page.   Most remarkable is a story-turn in the novel which is as justified as it is unexpected and daring.  I was sure it would never reach the screen, and happily, I was absolutely wrong. 

Among the effective though brief supporting performances are Barry Corbin as an honorable townsman, John Lithgow as troubled minister, James Spader as a man who will regret his unaccommodating decisions, and in one of the several very effective action scenes, Tim Blake Nelson as a freighter who tries to spirit away one of the women. 

The cinematography and shot compositions by Rodrigo Prieto are unselfconsciously beautiful, too efficient to show beauty for its own sake, instead being breathtaking while in the service of the action.   Editor Roberto Silvi brings the skills for cutting to the chase that he demonstrated collaborating with Jones in THREE BURIALS, and in TOMBSTONE.  Also from THREE BURIALS, production designer Merideth Boswell and her crew have a wonderful eye for period detail.  Early on in their journey, the audience gasps as George, who has been complaining of being cold at night, steals a buffalo skin off a corpse on an Indian burial platform.  Just for a moment we glimpse that the blanket beneath the pelt bears the design of The Hudson Bay Company.  These filmmakers know their stuff.

WE HAVE ‘COMPANEROS’ BLU-RAY WINNERS!

Tonight my wife and my niece each reached into my up-turned Stetson and pulled out a slip of paper bearing the name of someone who had correctly matched Franco Nero’s co-stars to the correct movies.  The winners, Thomas Betts of Anaheim, California, and Shawn Gordon of Bonney Lake, Washington, will soon be the lucky recipients of beautiful Blue Underground Blu-Ray editions of COMPANEROS, starring Franco Nero and Tomas Milian, and directed by the legendary Sergio Corbucci. 

Here are the correct match-ups:

1. DJANGO STRIKES AGAIN b. Donald Pleasance

2. THE MERCENARY e. Jack Palance

3. KEOMA f. Woody Strode

4. CIPOLLA COLT c. Martin Balsam

5. DON’T TURN THE OTHER CHEEK a. Lynn Redgrave

6. DEAF SMITH AND JOHNNY EARS d. Anthony Quinn

Fellow Western writer C. Courtney Joyner and I had a great time doing the audio commentary on this stunning film, and I’m grateful to the good folks at Blue Underground for providing the Blu-Rays for this giveaway.  They have a wonderful catalog of Westerns, thrillers, Gialli, zombie films, Christopher Lee - Fu Manchu movies, documentaries and more.  Check out their website HERE.  

‘LITTLE BIG MAN’ SATURDAY AT THE AUTRY

I must admit that I did not like this movie when I originally saw it – I found the humor too broad and too unfunny.  But over the last several years, so many Indian friends have told me it is their favorite, or one of their favorite films, that I’m looking forward to giving it another chance.  Directed in 1970 by Arthur Penn, LITTLE BIG MAN stars Dustin Hoffman as a 121-year-old man reliving his adventures during an interview with a journalist – adventures that include being the only survivor of The Little Big Horn!  His co-stars include Faye Dunaway, Richard Mulligan as a demented Gen. Custer, and Chief Dan George in the role for which he was Oscar-nominated.  Scripted by the great Calder Willingham, from a novel by Thomas Berger.  Dick Smith’s aging make-up on Hoffman is fabulous. 

LITTLE BIG MAN is presented at 1:30 pm, free with museum admission, as part of the continuing monthly ‘What Is A Western?’ film series, with an introduction by Jeffrey Richardson, Gamble Curator of Western History, Popular Culture, and Firearms.  Following the movie, you can visit the Journeys Gallery and see artifacts related to The Little Big Horn. 

RITA COOLIDGE HEADLINES ‘NATIVE HARMONIES’ IN LONG BEACH SAT. NOV 15

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Raindance and Whirlwind Studios are presenting a concert at the Ernest Borgnine Theater in Long Beach, featuring two-time Grammy winner Rita Coolidge, Shelley Morningsong and Fabian Fontenelle, blues artist Tracy Lee Nelson – I loved his work at the Santa Clarita Cowboy Fest, World Champion hoop dancer Lowery Begay, and traditional Native American dancers from all over the country.  The program begins at 6pm, ends at 10pm, and will include a red carpet with famous Native American actors, including many from the cast of YELLOW ROCK, and Saginaw Grant from THE LONE RANGER.  Visit these sites for more information, and to buy tickets: https://Facebook.com/nativeharmonies

http://nativeharmonies.brownpapertickets.com

TARANTINO’S ‘HATEFUL 8’ INSPIRATION?  ‘HIGH CHAPARRAL’, ‘BONANZA’, ‘THE VIRGINIAN’!

I’ve got the feeling Quentin Tarantino watches INSP.  In Mike Fleming’s story in DEADLINE: HOLLYWOOD, Tarantino spoke at the American Film Market about HATEFUL 8 at a panel, surrounded by producer Harvey Weinstein, flanked by cast members Walton Goggins, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and in addition to announcing new cast members Channing Tatum and Oscar-nominated Demian Birchir, revealed his inspiration for the Western’s plot.

“It’s less inspired by one Western movie than by BONANZA, THE VIRGINIAN, HIGH CHAPARRAL.  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 and hold everybody hostage, 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, Darren 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 back stories 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.”  Sounds like Quentin’s been watching SADDLE-UP SATURDAY on INSP with the rest of us.  And how about Barbara Stanwyck on THE BIG VALLEY?  Didn’t Victoria Barclay get kidnapped every third episode, usually by L.Q. Jones?

THAT'S A WRAP!  

I'm just back from THE HOMESMAN Press Conference, where Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank had plenty to say about the making of this outstanding Western movie.  I’ll have details in next week's Round-up.  

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright November 2014 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

‘TURN’ PREMIERES ON AMC, COWBOY FEST TICKET GIVEAWAY, PLUS FIRST LOOK AT ‘THE HOMESMAN’!

‘TURN’ - SERIES PILOT REVIEW

Tonight, April 6^th, at 6 p.m. Western time, 9 p.m. Eastern, AMC’s new drama series, TURN, will premier.  Set in the midst of the American Revolution, it is based on the true story of the Culper Ring, a group of grown-up boyhood friends who became a spy network working to get information on Redcoat troop movements for General George Washington.  

Based on the best-selling history book WASHINGTON’S SPIES by Alexander Rose, it is a spy-thriller with three-cornered hats, and I found the pilot enthralling.   Shot in Virginia, and set in New York’s Long Island, the story centers around farmer Abraham Woodhull, a married man with a baby son.  Long Island is occupied by the British, and the Woodhulls are among the families suffering the indignity of having a British soldier quartered in their home. 

Woodhall has other problems as well: his crop of cauliflower is infested with maggots, which makes it unlikely that he’ll be able to pay off his debts – owed to a tavern-owner now married to Woodhall’s former beloved.  With the government controlling commerce, the desperate Woodhall tries to sell a few head of cauliflower on the black market, unsure of whether he has more to fear from British or the gun-toting colonists – and his simple act sets wheels in motion that will change the lives of everyone he knows.

The at-first reluctant spy Woodhall is played convincingly by Jamie Bell – remarkable to realize that at the turn of the last century he amazed us all as the title character of BILLY ELLIOT.  Meegan Warner plays Mrs. Woodhall who wants her husband to have nothing to do with spying.  Heather Lind, who played Katy on BOARDWALK EMPIRE, plays Anna Strong, whom Woodhall would have married if she hadn’t spurned him.  And Seth Numrich, late of the grim comedy series GRAVITY, plays Colonial Army officer and Woodhall’s childhood friend Ben Talmage, who approaches Woodhall to help his country-in-the-making. 

Written by Alexander Rose and producer-writer Craig Silverstein, whose voluminous credits include NIKITA, TERRA NOVA and BONES, the plotting is clever, the telling is smart, quick and sensible, with a fine eye for historical detail that creates reality without screaming about it.  The action is exciting and not for the squeamish – the occupying army is unflinchingly brutal, and the occupied must at times answer in kind.  

Rather than being played as symbols, as is often the case with movies of this historical period, and despite the powdered wigs, the characters are motivated by a mix of practicality and ideals, just like real humans. 

For myself, the most unnerving aspect of the show is that Robert Rogers, of Rogers’ Rangers, is one of the principal villains of the piece!  Having grown up loving the NORTHWEST PASSAGE series, starring Keith Larsen in that role, as well as Spencer Tracy in the feature, it’s troubling to see the rest of his history on the screen.   For hero though Rogers was in the French and Indian Wars, he was fighting alongside the British against the French.  It’s disappointing, but not unreasonable that he sided with the British again during the American Revolution.  Here he is played with gravitas by Angus McFayden, who was excellent in the recent COPPERHEAD, and is perhaps best remembered as Robert The Bruce in BRAVEHEART.  

Tonight’s opener is ninety minutes, and will be repeated later tonight, plus on Monday, and next Saturday and Sunday.  The regular episodes will be an hour.  I’d make a point to see the pilot if I were you – it’s fine stuff, and my guess is it will continue to improve.

FIRST LOOK AT ‘THE HOMESMAN’!

Here are the first images from THE HOMESMAN, which will premiere on May 24^th at the Cannes Film Festival!  Co-written, directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones, based on the novel my Glendon Swarthout, Jones plays a rustler who takes on the job of transporting three madwomen across the desert to an asylum in Kansas. 

Joining Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones are fellow statuette owners Hilary Swank and Meryl Streep, as well as John Lithgow, James Spader, Hailee Steinfeld – Mattie Ross in the TRUE GRIT remake, William Fichtner, and Barry Corbin.  It’s produced by Luc Bresson, the French writer-producer-director who created the LA FEMME NIKTA, TRANSPORTER and THE PROFESSIONAL franchises.

Novelist Glendon Swarthout has an excellent record in the cinema.  Films adapted from his novels include BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN, WHERE THE BOYS ARE, and the Westerns 7^TH CAVALRY, THEY CAME TO CORDURA and, most famously, John Wayne’s final film, the marvelous THE SHOOTIST.  Glendon’s son, Miles Swarthout, wrote the screenplay for THE SHOOTIST, and was involved in THE HOMESMAN as well. 

I’ll be interviewing Miles Swarthout about his own and his father’s career at the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, at Melody Ranch, on Saturday and Sunday, April 26^th & 27^th, at the Buckaroo Book Shop.  We’ll talk at 12:30 on Saturday and 2:30 on Sunday. You can learn all about the events at the Buckaroo Book Shop by going HERE.  https://www.facebook.com/events/434317293370585/434413240027657/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity

You can learn all about the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival HERE http://cowboyfestival.org/

WIN TWO TICKETS TO THE COWBOY FESTIVAL!

Speaking of the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, and yes, I’ve been speaking about it a lot, it’s coming to the Veluzat family’s Melody Ranch on Saturday and Sunday, April 26^th & 27^th.   What started as a working ranch has been a popular location for filmmakers for nearly a century.  Owned at one time by Monogram Pictures, then purchased by Gene Autry and christened Melody Ranch after his radio show, nearly every A or B Western star worked there at one time or another.  A very busy movie ranch, in growing demand with the resurgence of the Western movie and TV series, it was home base for both DEADWOOD and Quentin Tarantino’s DJANGO UNCHAINED, as well as many other films, music videos and TV commercials.

The Festival is an outgrowth of a Cowboy Poetry Festival held annually at Santa Clarita High School.  When the 1994 earthquake demolished the school’s auditorium, the Veluzat family offered the use of their movie ranch, and a twenty-year tradition was born.  There’s still poetry, as well as food, shopping for all things Western, strolling the ranch and visiting its museum.  There activities for children and adults, and all manner of entertainment, including magician Pop Haydn, gun-slinger par excellence Joey Dillon, and lariat-tosser Dave Thornbury.  Then there’s the music – at five different venues big and small throughout the ranch, more than twenty acts will perform, including Don Edwards, Sons of the San Joaquin, Waddie Mitchell, Cow Bop, Dave Stamey and many more. 

Miles Swarthout & C. Courtney Joyner

And at the Buckaroo Book Store, run by the folks at OutWest, Western fact and fiction writers will be meeting fans, signing books, and giving talks.  Among the authors attending will be Cheryl Rogers-Barnett (daughter of Roy and Dale), Margaret Brownley, Jim Christina, Peter Conway, Steve Deming, Edward M. Erdelac, J.P. Gorman, Dale B. Jackson, Jim Jones, C. Courtney Joyner, Andria Kidd, Antoinette Lane, Jerry Nickle (a descendant of Harry Longabaugh, alias the Sundance Kid), J.R. Sanders, Tony Sanders, Peter Sherayko, Janet Squires, ‘Cowgirl Peg’ Sundberg, Miles Hood Swarthout, Rod Thompson, and Nancy Pitchford-Zee. 

And in addition to the interviews I’ll be doing with Miles Swarthout, I’ll also be moderating a pair of authors’ panels.  On Saturday from 1:30 to 2, the topic is THE WEST IMAGINED, and I’ll be talking with Western novelists Edward M. Erdelac, author of COYOTE’S TRAIL; Jim Christina, author of THE DARK ANGEL; and C. Courtney Joyner, author of SHOTGUN. On Sunday, from 1:30 to 2, the topic is THE WEST LIVED, and I’ll be talking to non-fiction writers Jerry Nickle, great-grandson of the Sundance Kid; JR Sanders, author of SOME GAVE ALL; and Peter Sherayko, author of TOMBSTONE – THE GUNS AND GEAR. 

Admission is $20 per day for adults, $10 for kids, but the good folks at OutWest – click their logo at the top of the page to learn all about ‘em – are going to give away a pair of tickets to the event!  Thousands will pay, but you won’t have to if you’re our lucky winner!  How do you win?  Answer this question: For a long time, after Gene Autry had stopped making movies at the ranch, Gene held onto the property to provide a home to one particular horse.  What was that horse’s name?  E-mail your answer, along with your name, address, phone number, and what day you’d want the tickets for, to swansongmail@sbcglobal.net , with ‘Cowboy Festival Ticket Giveaway’ in the subject line.  The winner will be selected randomly from all correct entries, and announced in next week’s Round-up.  Good luck!

ROBERT DUVALL IN ‘A NIGHT IN OLD MEXICO’

Check out the trailer for the new present-day Western starring Robert Duvall, Jeremy Irvine, and Angie Cepeda.

TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL OPENS THURSDAY APRIL 11

For details on what Westerns are playing, check out last week’s Round-up here: http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2014/04/free-tcm-movie-locations-tour-heston.html

For details on all films and events, go here: http://filmfestival.tcm.com/

SEE TY POWER AS ‘JESSE JAMES’ SATURDAY, APRIL 12 AT THE AUTRY

As part of the Autry’s ‘What is a Western?’ series, Henry King’s dazzling Technicolor telling of the James Brothers myth will be screened in 35mm!  The original screenplay is by the great Nunnally Johnson.  The cast includes Henry Fonda as brother Frank, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Henry Hull, Brian Donlevy, John Carradine, Donald Meek and Jane Darwell.  The film will be introduced by curator Jeffrey Richardson, who always provides fascinating background and insights into the films in this fine monthly series.  It’s at 1:30 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Theatre, free with your museum admission.

MICKEY ROONEY DIES AT 93

Just heard that the Mick has passed away.  I saw him at a number of events, but never got to talk to him.  But I had the pleasure of speaking with many child stars of the 1930s and 1940s over the years, and without exception they all held that the most talented and versatile of them all was Joe Yule Jr., a.k.a. Mickey Rooney.  A tremendous talent who will be sorely missed.  I’ll have more in next week’s Round-up.

THAT’S A WRAP!

I’ve got the TCM Festival coming up this week, Rob Word’s Cowboy Lunch @ the Autry saluting THE WILD BUNCH a week from Wednesday, and the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival the week after that!  Should be a lot of interesting stuff coming up in the Round-up!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright April 2014 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved