REMEMBERING ERNEST BORGNINE

Ernest Borgnine, who earned his Oscar as MARTY, and was unforgettable as Dutch Engstrom in THE WILD BUNCH, has died at 95.  From FROM HERE TO ETERNITY to JOHNNY GUITAR, VERA CRUZ, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, THE DIRTY DOZEN, Borgnine was unique, not only switching deftly between drama and comedy, but also between hero and villain.  Never idle, over the past few years he gained a new children’s audience voicing Mermaidman in SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. 

Having written his autobiography, ERNIE, over the past several years he’d been travelling the country doing book-signings and personal appearances at venues big and small, even appearing at the North Hollywood Public Library for a MARTY screening.  He never seemed to be in anything but a great mood, and I’ve never heard a bad word about him from anyone who worked with him.  And he never stopped working.  When I asked him last July when he was going to do another Western, he laughed, “I'm doing one right now! It's called THE MAN WHO SHOOK THE HAND OF VINCENTE FERNANDEZ. It's a Western, but it takes place in a nursing home.”  I understand the film has been completed, and Borgnine won the Outstanding Achievement in Acting Award at this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival.

INSP CELEBRATES EXPANSION OF SADDLE-UP SATURDAY WITH CONTEST

SADDLE-UP SATURDAY, featuring episodes of BONANZA, THE BIG VALLEY, DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN,and sometimes movies, now starts at 1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT, and runs all day and all night!  You can learn more about the line-up HERE.   To celebrate the expansion, INSP is sponsoring a sweepstakes that will win some lucky viewer an all-expenses-paid four-day Dude Ranch getaway for two worth $5000! The second prize is a Weber Barbecue, Omaha Steaks and groceries worth more than $1300! Third prize – these are worth $300, and there are a dozen of them – are BIG VALLEY and BONANZA DVDs, plus a new pair of Levis and a Fisher Gold Mining Kit! To find out more, click under the banner below, and good luck!  Let's make sure these prizes are won by Round-up readers, and not someone less deserving! 

CLICK HERE

CALIFORNIA PERMANENTLY RECOGNIZES ‘THE NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY’

Only Wyoming has beaten California to the punch!  On Monday, July 2^nd, California became the 2^nd state in the Union to recognize the National Day of the Cowboy and Cowgirl as July 28^th, in perpetuity.  Other states that are currently on board for this year, either by State Senate resolution, or Governor’s proclamation, are Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.  If you’d like to watch the proclamation pass in California, featuring politicians and NDOC National Director Bethany Braley, go to the video here: https://vimeo.com/45099474

Speaking of the National Day of the Cowboy, events are happening all around the country, and as we get closer I’ll have more and more details, but to start, author J.R. Sanders, the man who created the READ ‘EM COWBOY Barnes and Noble Bookfair last year in Redlands, is at it again, and there are at least 8 READ ‘EM COWBOY events this year, including Redlands, Santa Clarita, and Valencia, California.  If you make a copy of the voucher below, when you make a purchase at any Barnes and Noble, in-store or on-line, from July 28^th through August 2^nd, a percentage will be contributed to organizations who encourage kids to read.  J. R.’s planned a week-long series of events, starting on July 22^nd with a 50^th Anniversary screening of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE at the Fox Theatre in Old Town Redlands.  www.foxeventcenter.com.  There will be all manner of related music, writing and reading events for kids and adults all week long.

(I'm having technical difficulties getting the voucher to appear -- I'll have it in place as soon as I can)

All manner of celebrations are to be held in Sedona, Arizona; the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame; Sullivan, Missouri; Slippoff Hollow, Alabama; and Jefferson, Amarillo and El Paso, Texas.  You can find out details at the NDOC website here: http://nationaldayofthecowboy.com/wordpress/?post_type=tribe_events&eventDisplay=month

The Autry plans a day packed with activities including gun-slinger Joey Dillon, trick-ropers, square dancing, music, arts and crafts, gold-panning, screening of GENE AUTRY SHOW episodes and so much more.  Learn more here: http://theautry.org/programs/music-festivals/national-day-of-the-cowboy-and-cowgirl-2012

If you have an event related to the Nation Day Of The Cowboy planned, please share it with the Round-up, so we can share it with the Round-up Rounders (our readers)!

HENRY FONDA and THE DEPUTY -- a book review

It’s hard to say what kind of roles the public thinks of when they think of Henry Fonda, because he was so damned good at all of them.  This may come off as blasphemy in the Round-up, but I usually think of him first in comedy, especially Preston Sturges’ THE LADY EVE; then as Tom Joad in the GRAPES OF WRATH; and third as Wyatt Earp in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, and all those other great Western roles, both comic and dramatic.

We don’t think of him as the star of a Western television series, but that’s exactly what he was in 1959 and 1960, starring in THE DEPUTY, and the story of how that series came about, as well as its demise, is the subject of Glenn A. Mosely’s illuminating book.

Mosely’s previous book, JEFFREY HUNTER AND TEMPLE HOUSTON (see my review HERE http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2011/11/yellow-rock-nabs-red-nation-top-prizes.html ) examined a series that didn’t make it to a full season.  THE DEPUTY lasted two, and NBC wanted to renew for a third, and extend the show from a half to a full hour.  And yet, it was doomed from the start by creating expectations that the makers had no intention of fulfilling.

Television in 1959 was a very different medium than it is today, and both the public and actors looked on it very differently.  For many years, certainly well into the 1970s, established actors did not want to appear regularly in a TV series.  Guest appearances were fine, but it was believed that audiences would never pay to see an actor once they’d gotten used to seeing them for free, so doing a TV series was considered the kiss of death to a career.  So why did an actor who’d just starred in MR. ROBERTS, Hitchcock’s THE WRONG MAN, 12 ANGRY MEN and THE TIN STAR agree to do a series?  “Many of my friends have asked why I’ve picked this season to debut in my own western series.  Gold convinced me.  Residuals is a magic word.  It means it rains gold.  It is the only chance an actor has to save money these days.  The thought of having an annuity from the residuals is very satisfying.” 

So it was more for love of money than love of westerns, but whatever it took to get Henry Fonda in the door was fine.  The premise was clever: Fonda plays Marshal Simon Fry in 1880 Arizona Territory, and he’s forever conning gunman-turned-shopkeeper Clay McCord (Allen Case) to ‘temporarily’ don a deputy’s badge, and help him on a case.  The plots were dramatic, but if the setup sounds a little more humorous than westernish, it’s no surprise when you learn THE DEPUTY was the first series created by soon-to-be sitcom powerhouse Norman Lear, and VERA CRUZ and CRIMSON PIRATE author Roland Kibbee.  And Norman Lear reveals that he and Kibbee borrowed that marshal-conning-deputy gag from Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s THE FRONT PAGE, better known as the Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell remake HIS GAL FRIDAY.

So, what went wrong?  Notice the series isn’t named THE MARSHAL, after Fonda’s character, but THE DEPUTY, after Case’s.  Fonda agreed to be ‘in’ every episode of the series, but to ‘star’ only in a few.  In the first season, he was the lead in seven out of 39 episodes!  In the other thirty-two, he did appearances so brief that they could shoot as many as five Fonda segments a day!  Fonda’s real love was the theatre, and his deal on THE DEPUTY made it possible to do plays or movies for nine months out of the year.  But would the public stand for it?

Mr. Mosley is a booster for the series, both the Fonda and non-Fonda episodes, and describes each in the fifty page episode guide.  He makes the point that if the quality of each script isn’t uniformly brilliant, shows of that period were expected to churn out 39 or 40 episodes per season, compared to our current fifteen or ten.  True, but it must be remembered that shows of the same period and with the same production schedule, like HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, GUNSMOKE, THE REBEL and THE RIFLEMAN, hit a tremendous amount of home runs per season.  Of course, they had a steady writing and directing staff – GUNSMOKE even had a decade of radio scripts to fall back on.  But after the creators of THE DEPUTY, Lear and Kibbee, turned in their pilot, Lear never wrote another episode, and Kibbee only wrote one.  Perhaps having a consistent vision when the show was getting established would have helped.

Mr. Mosley is the director of Broadcasting in the School of Journalism and Mass Media at the University of Idaho.  He brings the thoroughness of academia to his study of entertainment.  He demonstrates that many television westerns were not so much the reduced offspring of film, as they were the visual descendents of the radio western.  He also makes a convincing case that one reason for the tremendous number of westerns on television at the time – over thirty – was partly attributable to the quiz show scandals. 

THE DEPUTY board game

If you’re a fan of Fonda’s, a fan of Western TV, or just interested in how network deals were struck in TV’s early days, you’ll find HENRY FONDA AND THE DEPUTY very entertaining and informative.  It’s published by BearManor Media, and available through them, Amazon and other dealers, priced at $19.95.  The forward is by Read Morgan, who played Sgt. Tasker in season two; the prologue is by Christian I Nyby II, who, like his father, was a talented and prolific director, but who began his career on the ‘labor gang’ at Republic, where THE DEPUTY and so many other westerns, big-screen and small, were shot. 

Incidentally, if the book whets your appetite to see THE DEPUTY, you can find the entire run for sale on eBay for as little as $42. 

TWO MORE NEW ‘MORGAN KANE’ BOOKS

WR Films, the folks preparing to film MORGAN KANE: THE LEGEND BEGINS, have been releasing e-book versions of the novels to familiarize English-speakers with the most successful series of European-written Western novels since Karl May wrote about Winnetou and Old Shatterhand.  The stories are by Louis Masterson, pen-name for the prolific Kjell Hallbing, Norway’s most popular author.  Morgan Kane is sometimes a lawman, sometimes a bandit, sometimes a Texas Ranger.  The covers have all been eye-catching, but #13, REVENGE!, is their sexiest yet.  It and #12, GUNMAN’S INHERITANCE, have been released, and are available through Amazon and wherever e-books are sold, as are #1-11 -- and you definitely want to start at the beginning.

LOS ENCINOS DAY OF CELEBRATION SUNDAY JULY 15^TH

As regular readers know, Los Encinos Park in Encino is one of the California treasures threatened with closure by a bankrupt and incompetent state government.  An anonymous donor stepped up and gave them enough money to keep afloat through the 2012-2013 fiscal year!  The Docent Association, the park, and community invite you to join them on Sunday, July 15th from 11-3:30 for an extra special celebratory Living History day. It's B.Y.O.P.--bring your own picnic!  Also, from 1 to 2 p.m., they’ll be filming park visitors, asking what makes Los Encinos, locally known as ‘the duck park,’ special to them, and why they chose to make a donation to keep the park open.  Questions? Contact us: 818.784.4849 or LosEncinos@parks.ca.gov

A ‘HELL ON WHEELS’ APPETIZER

Season two of HELL ON WHEELS won’t begin until Sunday, August 12^th, but while we’re waiting, here are some season one behind-the-scenes pictures featuring, top to bottom, Anson Mount, Common and Wes Studi.

That'll have to do it for this week -- what with getting called for jury duty this week, I'm amazed I got half this much done.  Oh, and let's not forget to wish a happy birthday to an actress who, with a single performance, made a great addition to the Western film, Kim Darby!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright July 2012 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

LONE RANGER – LEON RIPPY’S REPORT FROM MONUMENT VALLEY

Actor Leon Rippy, who plays Collins in THE LONE RANGER, has just returned from several weeks of location shooting, much in and near Monument Valley and Canyon DeShay. 

I asked him how the shoot had gone.  “I had a blast.  What a magnificent experience it is, and will continue to be:  I get to go back in another six or eight weeks.  So I’m excited, and can feel the spirit of John Ford, John Wayne and all the countless character actors who galloped across that sacred ground before me.  I would step outside the trailer and think, I cannot believe that I’m actually in this place.  You’d have to slap me to get the smile off my face.”

Leon Rippy in THE ALAMO

I asked him what he could tell us about his character, Collins.  “Well, he’s a crusty old tracker.  Not much of a stretch for me – that’s what I see in the mirror every morning.  Interesting character: he plays both sides of the fence.  There’s room for some fun, and alcoholism and emotion; all the things that a character actor looks for in a role.” 

New Lone Ranger Armie Hammer

It’s his first time working for director Gore Verbinski.  “And it didn’t take long to notice his excellent eye for detail.  The slightest nuance, he’s very interested in.  I had a great time working with him. 

“Monument Valley is all on a Navajo Reservation.  Just to be there, with the history of the Spaniards trying to take control; being in those same canyons and hearing those gunshot reports from on top of those cliffs echo throughout those canyons – it was chilling.  Wondering what it was like so many years before.  I had a ride that ended where White Corn Woman was taken by Kit Carson back in the day, and you can still see the remains of her home, the foundation.   Historical chills.”

Johnny Depp's stunt double

I knew he hadn’t had any scenes with Johnny Depp yet, but wanted to know what he thought of the other actors.  “Excellent, everybody was great.  I spent time with some incredible actors.  Their riding skills were great – we had a lot of riding to do.  I had a small scene with Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger), which was excellent; had a fun time.  I’ve loved riding ever since I was a kid, and don’t get to do much of it in L.A.  To do it, and get paid for it!  I had known several of these wranglers from other films I had done in the past, so it was a treat to be put back with them, this time as an elder,”  he laughed. 

“I got to meet (producer) Jerry Bruckheimer, and he made an interesting comment.  Carol and I were having our breakfast in the hotel one morning, and I told him it was unsettling, after being cast, when Disney pulled the money out and said it was too expensive, leaving us in limbo.  He said, ‘Yes, that was a shock.  But the long and short of it is it wouldn’t have made any difference to me because I’m bound and determined to bring the Western back.’  To hear this coming from the mouth of someone like him gave me reason to quietly celebrate.  There’s so much to be said for the Westerns, and I live for Saturday morning and watching reruns of THE RIFLEMAN and what have you.  There was some moral content in all of it and it was clear-cut, who was good and who was bad.  I think Hollywood gets cold feet after the dismal box-office of one or two things that they’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars in, so everyone kinda gets gun-shy.  And hats off again to Gore for saying, ‘No, we’re going to do this there.’  It’s not an easy thing to truck that many people and that many tractor trailers and horses (so far).  They’re going to Moab, Utah; Santa Fe; Colorado and other locations.  It feels like they’re putting together something very special.” 

‘BAD BLOOD: THE HATFIELDS AND MCCOYS’ PREVIEWED

Sunday morning at ten, a crowd of invited guests packed theatre 1 of the Laemmle Town Center in Encino, to be the first to see Fred Olen Ray’s story of the famous blood feud. To this day there is no firm agreement as to the number of lives the Hatfield and McCoy feud claimed in Kentucky and West Virginia at the time of the Civil War. 

Lisa Rotondi, Perry King, Jerry Lacy, Kassandra Clementi

Fred and his cast and crew braved freezing December weather to make the film in Kentucky, where the events actually occurred.  Among cast members who attended were Perry King, who plays Ran’l McCoy, patriarch of his clan; Priscilla Barnes, who plays Vicey Hatfield; Lisa Rotandi and Kassandra Clementi, who play Sarah and Rosanna Hatfield; Dylan Vox, who plays Elias Hatfield; Griffin Winters, who plays Tennyson Hatfield; Ted Monte, who plays Special Agent Frank Phillips; and Jerry Lacy, who plays General Burbridge.  Among other attendees of note were director Jim Wynorski and beautiful Sybil Danning. 

Priscilla Barnes

Also attending were executive producers Barry Barnholtz and Jeffrey Schenck and writer/director/producer Fred Olen Ray.  All three men spoke before the movie, and voiced their gratitude to the hard-working cast and crew, and to each other.  In a nod to some of his recent movies, just before the lights went down, Fred added, “I just want to say that this is not a Christmas movie, there are no sharks in the movie, and none of our female leads have to land a disabled plane.” 

Fred Olen Ray

BAD BLOOD: THE HATFIELDS AND MCCOYS, which will be released on June 5^th, also stars Jeff Fahey as Devil Anse Hatfield, Christian Slater as Governor Bramlette, Sean Flynn as Johnse Hatfield and, in one of the stand-out performances of the movie, Tim Abel as Uncle Jim Vance.

Exec. Producer Barry Barnholtz

When the lights came up, more than one person commented that it might be the best film Fred has ever directed.  For a man with more than 120 directing credits, that is no small compliment.  My review will be in next week’s Round-up.

TOMMY LEE JONES TO SCRIBE, HELM, AND STAR IN ‘THE HOMESMAN’

On the eve of the release of his new starrer, MEN IN BLACK 3, Tommy Lee Jones is set to adapt, direct and star in THE HOMESMAN.  It’s based on the novel of the same title by Glendon Swarthout, whose previously filmed novels and stories include the unforgettable THE SHOOTIST, as well as THEY CAME TO CORDURA, BLESS THE BEATS AND CHILDREN, WHERE THE BOYS ARE, and the Randolph Scott starrer 7^TH CAVALRY. 

It’s the story of a man with dubious morals who undertakes the transporting of three insane women from Nebraska to Iowa.  A project that has been in the works for decades, it had long been owned by Paul Newman, who at one time had it set up at First Artists, with John Milius slated to direct.

It will be produced by Michael Fitzgerald, who previously produced THE PLEDGE and THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA.  THE THREE BURIALS was Tommy Lee Jones’ feature directorial debut.  Jones, who was in last year’s CAPTAIN AMERICA, will also be seen in Steven Speilberg’s LINCOLN, portraying Thaddeus Stevens.  My thanks to C. Courtney Joyner for historical details on this project.

CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES ON BOTH COASTS

100 years of Universal Studios film history is being celebrated, in May and June in California at the Billy Wilder Theatre of UCLA, and in July and August in New York at the Film Forum.  Taking part here in the west is Carla Laemmle.  Not only is she a niece of Uncle Carl Laemmle, who built the studio, and an actress who appeared in their films, including DRACULA; she is also proud of the fact that she pre-dates the studio by three years!  The representation of Western movies is woefully small: at UCLA on June 17^th there’s a double bill of HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER and WINCHESTER 73, and at Film Forum on July 21^st there’s a double bill of WINCHESTER 73 and DESTRY RIDES AGAIN.  But they both have a wonderful selection of non-westerns scheduled.  You can find details for UCLA here: http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2012-05-04/universal-pictures-celebrating-100-years.  Details for Film Forum are here: http://www.filmforum.org/

On the plus side, next week I’ll tell you about Film Forum’s mind-blowing three-week festival of Spaghetti Westerns in June!

MORGAN KANE UPDATE

As I first reported here last July (see HERE), WR Films is planning at least a trio of movies about Morgan Kane, Louis Masterson’s western hero of 83 novels written between 1966 and 1978.  Masterson’s real name was Kjell Hellbing, and his Kane is the most popular fictional character in the history of Norwegian literature.   The adventures of a Texas Ranger and U.S. Marshall, they’ve sold twenty-million copies internationally – ten million in Norway alone, which has a population of only five million! They’re popular in Spain and France and Germany and, translated into English, they sold well in Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada by Corgi Books.

But they’ve never been available before in the United States, and by way of introducing the character to American readers, a new e-book has been released every month or so.  There are ten available now, with number eleven coming soon.  The screenplay for the first film is still in the development stage, but it will be based on the first two novels in the series, EL GRINGO and EL GRINGO’S REVENGE, and will be entitled MORGAN KANE: THE LEGEND BEGINS.  The intention is to make him a Western James Bond-like hero.  One of the things that strikes you when reading them is the influence that Ernest Hemingway had on Masterson.  It’s an influence he clearly acknowledges by naming one of his female protagonists ‘Pilar,’ after a similar character in FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS.  It’s not an exaggeration to say that, if not for the template of FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, the first two Morgan Kane novels would not exist.  They are fast and exciting reads, and often more emotional than traditional westerns.  The first ten e-books are all available from iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobobooks.  Number eleven, THE DEVIL’S MARSHALL, will appear shortly.    

WESTERN FILM FESTIVAL IN ORVIETO, ITALY

I am hugely jealous of anyone who gets to attend the event Sara Monacelli is organizing on May 11-13, in Orvieto. In addition to a great line-up of films to be screened, here are some of the guests who will be making personal appearances: composer Ennio Morricone; Spaghetti Western stars Tomas Milian, Fabio Testi and Gianni Garko; director Giancarlo Santi (The Grand Duel); screenwriter Sergio Donati (Once Upon A Time In The West); editor Nino Baragli (all of Leone’s Westerns!); and producer Claudio Mancini (many Leone films). For more information, go here: http://www.westernfestival.it/

 TV WESTERNS ALL OVER THE DIAL!

More and more, classic TV Westerns are available all over the TV universe, but they tend to be on small networks that are easy to miss. Of course, ENCORE WESTERNS is the best continuous source of such programming, and has been for years. Currently they run LAWMAN, WAGON TRAIN, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, LAREDO, RAWHIDE, GUNSMOKE, THE REBEL, and MARSHALL DILLON, which is the syndication title for the original half-hour GUNSMOKE.



RFD-TV is currently showing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW, first at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Pacific Time, then repeated several times a week. They show a Roy feature every Tuesday as well, with repeats -- check your local listings.

INSP-TVshows THE BIG VALLEYMonday through Saturday,LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE seven days a week, DR. QUINN: MEDICINE WOMAN on weekdays, and BONANZA on Saturdays.

WHT runs DANIEL BOONE on weekdays from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., Pacific Time, and on Saturdays they run two episodes of BAT MASTERSON. They often show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic.

TVLAND has dropped GUNSMOKE after all these years, but still shows four episodes of BONANZA every weekday.

For those of you who watch TV with an antenna, there are at least a couple of channels that exist between the standard numbers – largely unavailable on cable or satellite systems – that provide Western fare. ANTENNA TVis currently running RIN TIN TIN, HERE COME THE BRIDES, and IRON HORSE.

Another ‘in between’ outfit, ME-TV, which stands for Memorable Entertainment TV, runs a wide collection: BIG VALLEY, BONANZA, BRANDED, DANIEL BOONE, GUNS OF WILL SONNETT, GUNSMOKE, MARSHALL DILLON,RAWHIDE, THE RIFLEMAN, THE REBEL, and WILD WILD WEST.Some of these channels are hard to track down, but if they show what you’ve been missing, it’s worth the search.


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.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for tonight, but be sure to check our Facebook page during the week for updates and news.

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright May 2012 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

ROUND-UP READERS SEE WESTERN ‘LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE’ WITH 20% DISCOUNT

Movie Review – THE LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE: AN AMERICAN CONSPIRACY

Treading ground reminiscent of B. Traven’s TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE is Tanner Beard’s THE LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE: AN AMERICAN CONSPIRACY. In spite of its unwieldy title, which neither suggests a western, nor really makes sense in context, HELL’S GATE is an extremely impressive feature directorial and screenwriting debut, and a visual feast.

Filmed in Texas, a Texas not of desert, but of green and water, it’s the story of a group of people whose initial connection seems slight at best, except that they are desperate and struggling, and largely dishonest: a young outlaw (Eric Balfour), of a wolf-pack hired to kill one Champagne Charlie Austin.  A young Irish railroad worker (Tanner Beard), with doubtful morals and an agonizing toothache.  A young and desperate thief and cut-purse (Lou Taylor Pucci) who manages to be at the wrong places at the right times, with an ear to every half-opened door.  It’s a triumph of writing, direction and performance that we care what happens to each man. 

What draws the three together is not accident or conspiracy, but fate, at its most sinister and relentless.  Along the way there are white buffalo; deadly bowling matches; beautiful women -- with morals and without them; shootouts between men too drunk to care about the danger to bystanders; and Indians that have always been friendly up until now.

It’s an ensemble piece, with roles for the supporting players so rich, and well acted, that it intentionally takes a long time for the viewer to figure who the lead characters are.  Among the notable performers are Buck Taylor as a businessman with political aspirations, Henry Thomas as a bartender with a secret, lovely and too sympathetic Jenna Dewan, and FIREFLY star Summer Glau.   One of the best scenes feature TUDORS star Jamie Thomas King as Doc Holliday, blissfully drunk at the card table, and amused at a poor loser.  Another standout performance is by YELLOW ROCK star Michael Spears as an increasingly menacing Indian the boys want to trade with. 

The photography by Nathaniel Vorce, making his feature debut as a cinematographer, is not merely beautiful.  It creates an idealized realism that makes everything that happens in the story all the more credible.   Likewise Kari Perkins’ handsome and accurate costumes and production design and art direction by Christopher Stull and Yvonne Boudreaux combine to draw the audience into the movie’s beautiful but grim world.

If I can give one warning to the audience, and I don’t think this is a spoiler, the opening scene is confusing because it is a flash-forward.  If you think of the movie as starting a couple of minutes in, when you first see buffalo, it will be chronological, and much more understandable.    

And here’s how you can save 20% when you see LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE!  The movie is available on-line at CONSTELLATION TV, HERE.  

If you go to the site and, when prompted, enter the discount code ‘henry’, the normal $5 charge will be lowered to $4.  The showings are hourly, and if you are, like me, not experienced with on-line movie watching, I’d advise you to buy your ticket several minutes before your showing, as you’ll have to register.  I think you’ll enjoy LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE.  I certainly did, and I look forward to interviewing writer/director/star Tanner Beard for the Round-up in the near future.  If you’d like to see the trailer, go HERE.

Update, August 14, 2012.  LEGEND OF HELL'S GATE is now in release!  Redbox has provided the Round-up with a link, so you can check and see if it's available in your friendly neighborhood kiosk: http://www.redbox.com/movies/the-legend-of-hells-gate

MORGAN KANE – SCREENWRITER NAMED; NEXT TWO NOVELS RELEASED

WR Films has just disclosed that it is Russian-born Andrew Ilitchev who has been toiling away these many months, adapting and combining the first two Morgan Kane novels, EL GRINGO and EL GRINGO’S REVENGE, into the screenplay for MORGAN KANE – THE LEGEND BEGINS, the first of at least three motion pictures to feature Morgan Kane.  Raised in New York City, Ilitchev studied at Columbia University, and was associate producer on the acclaimed Iraq War documentary DREAMS OF SPARROWS, and has since relocated to the West Coast. 

MORGAN KANE, the creation of Norway’s most successful novelist, Louis Masterson.  Masterson, whose real name was Kjell Hallbing, wrote 83 KANE novels between 1966 and 1985, and WR Films has acquired publishing rights to all of them.  They’ve been issuing a new eBook in the series every month or two, and recently published numbers five and six, THE STAR AND THE GUN and BACKED BY THE LAW.  Both books, as well as the previous four, are available for download from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. 

LEON RIPPY JOINS CAST OF ‘LONE RANGER’

Leon Rippy, well known to Western fans as Tom Nuttal in DEADWOOD, has signed to play a tracker in THE LONE RANGER, the mega-budget western from Disney, starring Armie Hammer as Masked Man and Johnny Depp as Tonto.  Coincidentally, Leon’s first western was the MOW called THE TRACKER, starring Kris Kristofferson.  His other westerns and historical films include YOUNG GUNS II, THE PATRIOT, and THE ALAMO.  A very busy actor of late, he was the angel in the series SAVING GRACE, Latimer in LEVERAGE, and can currently be seen as Dr. Beauregard in ALCATRAZ.  But on March 2^nd he’s off for two weeks of ‘cowboy camp’ to prepare for The Hearty Hi-Yo Silver!  We’ll be having an interview with Leon in these pages very soon.

WESTERN X – WEBISODE SERIES REVEALS CHAPTER 7

WESTERN X, writer-director Michael Flores’ on-line Western serial, is now up to chapter #7.  It’s one of the most ambitious web series I’ve seen -- you can read my previous write-up of the series HERE

.

The link to the official site, where you can learn more about the series, and see each chapter, is HERE, and I would urge you to start with chapter #1.  

LITTLE TOMBSTONE SHORT

Here’s a link to ‘Little Tombstone,’ a very clever five-minute animated spaghetti western.  I know that it’s by students from ESMA, but I can’t figure out which ‘ESMA’:  the French school, the Naval Academy, the Egyptian animal welfare society…  If you know, please fill me in.  And take a look HERE.

TV WESTERNS ALL OVER THE DIAL!

More and more, classic TV Westerns are available all over the TV universe, but they tend to be on small networks that are easy to miss. Of course, ENCORE WESTERNS is the best continuous source of such programming, and has been for years. Currently they run LAWMAN, WAGON TRAIN, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, LAREDO, RAWHIDE, GUNSMOKEandMARSHALL DILLON, which is the syndication title for the original half-hour GUNSMOKE.Incidentally, I see on Facebook that a lot of watchers are mad as Hell at losing CHEYENNE and THE VIRGINIAN.

RFD-TV is currently showing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW, first at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Pacific Time, then repeated several times a week.They show a Roy feature every Tuesday as well, with repeats -- check your local listings.

INSP-TVshows THE BIG VALLEY Monday through Saturday, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE seven days a week, DR. QUINN: MEDICINE WOMAN on weekdays, and BONANZA on Saturdays.

WHT runs DANIEL BOONE on weekdays from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., Pacific Time, and on Saturdays they run two episodes of BAT MASTERSON. They often show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic.

TVLANDhas dropped GUNSMOKE after all these years, but still shows four episodes ofBONANZA every weekday.

GEB is largely a religious-programming cable outlet that runs at least one Western on Saturdays – the ones I’ve caught have been public domain Roy Rogers and John Wayne pictures –and sometimes have weekday afternoon movies as well.

For those of you who watch TV with an antenna, there are at least a couple of channels that exist between the standard numbers – largely unavailable on cable or satellite systems – that provide Western fare. ANTENNA TVis currently running RIN TIN TIN, CIRCUS BOY, HERE COME THE BRIDES, andIRON HORSE.

Another‘in between’ outfit, ME-TV, which stands for Memorable Entertainment TV, runs a wide collection: BIG VALLEY, BONANZA, BRANDED, DANIEL BOONE, GUNS OF WILL SONNETT, GUNSMOKE, MARSHALL DILLON,RAWHIDE, THE RIFLEMAN, and WILD WILD WEST.Some of these channels are hard to track down, but if they show what you’ve been missing, it’s worth the search.

And for those of you on the other side of the pond, our British correspondentNilton Hargrave tells me CBS ACTION has begun showing GUNSMOKE.

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.

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

That's right, the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here:

That's all the news for now!  Have a great week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All original contents Copyright February 2012 by Henry C. Parke - All Rights Reserved

‘BAD BLOOD’ SPILLS IN KENTUCKY!

(Perry King)

Writer and director Fred Olen Ray, whose AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES garnered a number of awards last year, and whose THE SHOOTER (1997) has developed a cult following, will wrap today (Sunday) BAD BLOOD: THE HATFIELDS AND MCCOYS.  Fred tells me the film, which has been shooting in Kentucky, stars Jeff Fahey, Perry King, Tim Abell (Frank James in BANDITS), Priscilla Barnes, Sean Flynn, Ted Monte, “...and a host of other great actors... freezing temperatures can't stop me!” 

(Sean Flynn)

(Tim Abell)

Just heard from Fred a few hours ago that the job is nearly done.  “A few small shots at Stephen Foster's home tomorrow morning and then return the grip truck to Cincinnati and party hardy!”  The film is being produced by the team of Barry Barnholtz and Jeffrey Schenck, whose THE FIRST RIDE OF WYATT EARP, starring Val Kilmer, will open March 30^th, 2012.  (Pictures courtesy of Tim Abell and Fred Olen Ray)

(Director Fred Olen Ray)

(Jeff Fahey)

MORGAN KANE – THE CLAW OF THE DRAGON

eBook #4 in the Morgan Kane series by Louis Masterson, THE CLAW OF THE DRAGON, is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all the usual suspects -- all to get you ready for MORGAN KANE: THE LEGEND BEGINS, from WR Films. You can learn more HERE.

CLINT EASTWOOD TO STAR IN E! REALITY SERIES

You don’t have to check your calendars; it’s not April Fool’s Day.  Clint, his wife and two teenaged daughters are going to do a reality show for the E network, produced by the revolting characters who produce all of the revolting Kardashian family shows.  The theory I keep hearing is that he’s doing it for the teenaged daughters.  Personally, if it’s like the rest of the reality stuff, I don’t think teenaged daughters or sons should be allowed to watch it, no less be in it.

BOOK REVIEW – ‘GLENN FORD, A LIFE’ BY PETER FORD

If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for a movie lover, may I suggest Peter Ford’s fascinating biography of his father, one of Hollywood’s greatest leading men, Glenn Ford.  He appeared, almost always as the lead, in nearly eighty movies, two dozen of them Westerns, and if he never was nominated for an Oscar, or received a Lifetime Achievement Award, that is a failing of the Academy and the AFI, not the actor.  Among his indelible performances were his roles in GILDA, THE BIG HEAT, COWBOY, 3:10 TO YUMA, BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER, and THE ROUNDERS.

Biographies by offspring can be tricky.  All too often they are up too close to write objectively, or imagine themselves of equal interest with their subject, or use the biographical form to settle scores.  Also, they often can’t write worth a damn.  But Peter Ford writes very well indeed, and manages to make his close-up perspective a plus rather than a detriment.  And boy, does he have material to work with.  In addition to his own observations, and interviews with many of his father’s friends, costars and coworkers, Glenn kept detailed diaries for his entire life, and frequently tape-recorded his thoughts.  Incredibly, unbeknownst to son Peter at the time, dad hired a man to tap the house phones, so there are hundreds of hours of the conversations of Peter, his mother, and Glenn recorded!  Moreover, Glenn was a good friend of then-President Richard Nixon – it’s kind of fun to know Nixon was being secretly taped by someone else for a change.  

It’s not surprising that Glenn Ford married another movie star, the tap-dancing miracle known as Eleanor Powell.  But what was unusual were their relative career positions.  When wed, he was just establishing himself as a leading man.  Eleanor, though only four years his senior, had been a top star for years, first in vaudeville, then in MGM musicals, and she gave that up to focus entirely on being a wife and mother.  Peter found that in a way, she focused on motherhood too much, and his father, used to being the center of a woman’s attention, felt in competition with his own child.

While A LIFE is not a MOMMY DEAREST, it’s also not a whitewash.  Although Peter had a better relationship with his father as an adult than as a child, that only began to happen after reaching a painful conclusion.  “I made a conscious decision that I would no longer wish for a traditional father, one who would interact with me as I had always dreamed.”  His relationship with his mother was much more satisfactory.  “All I can say is that my mom was an even better mother than a dancer – and as a dancer she was unparalleled.”

Not that Glenn didn’t take an interest in his son’s betterment, but it often took strange forms.  When he wanted Peter to learn about the birds and the bees, instead of having ‘the talk,’ he paid stuntman ‘Buzz’ Henry and his friends to initiate the fourteen-year-old.  But the warm-up, showing the kid stag movies that included bestiality, so unnerved the kid that they never got him to the brothel.  The job wouldn’t be completed until a few years later, with the help of Glenn Ford co-star  Andrew Prine.

While it was not unusual for romances to happen between stars during the making of a movie, it would take this entire Round-up to list all the affairs that Ford engaged in with his leading ladies.  But in the end, loyalty would win out and he would always go back – to Rita Hayworth.  Their on-and-off involvement eventually became so obvious that she went ahead and bought the house next door, and put a gate between their back yards.

Glenn Ford’s career was unusual in many ways.  He was under exclusive contract to a single studio, COLUMBIA PICTURES for decades, much longer than most stars of his stature.  In some ways it was to his detriment, in that for years he took all the roles that Harry Cohn assigned, frequently appearing in films well below his talents.  And sometimes he made mistakes when he did turn down parts.  Two of the leads he nixed were great successes for his close friend William Holden; BORN YESTERDAY and PICNIC.  Other disappointments were beyond his control – he was set to be the lead in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY until the original producer dropped dead.

He could be tremendously loyal.  He hired Howard Clifton, who directed him in his early amateur theatrics, to be his dialogue director for decades.  And his personal friends were often many years his senior; among his close pals on the set were Louis Calhern and Edgar Buchanan.  One his favorite directors was George Marshall, and when starring in the series CADE’S COUNTY, Ford saw to it that his 80-year-old friend directed his first television show.  “You know that man directed his first picture – ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE – in 1916.  D.W. Griffith had just made THE BIRTH OF A NATION…. I wonder how many people working here today realize they’re looking at one of the people who invented the movies and this place called Hollywood.” 

Much of Ford’s life in later years is tragic.  After his divorce from Powell, and one normal marriage, and a series of affairs, his life was taken over by a series of women of a sort that is found in growing numbers in Hollywood: the controllers.  These often attractive younger women (and sometimes men) specialize in insinuating themselves into the lives of wealthy fading stars, cutting them off from family and friends, and bleeding the bank accounts dry. 

But overall, you leave the book with a smile, and a greater understanding of a man who was not only one of the finest actors to grace the silver screen, but one who could sit a horse better than any other – and that’s what every wrangler I’ve asked has told me.  As Ford said, “If I could do whatever I wanted for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t do anything but westerns.”

GLENN FORD – A LIFE by Peter Ford, with an introduction by Patrick McGilligan, is published by the University of Wisconsin Press.

         

DVD REVIEW – ‘WESTERN COURAGE’ STARRING KEN MAYNARD

It’s no coincidence that WESTERN COURAGE came out of Columbia Pictures in 1935, the year after that studio’s Oscars-sweep with Frank Capra's IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT.  The story is set in the modern day, for 1935. Geneva Mitchell plays a spoiled heiress whose father, Charles K. French, is afraid she’ll elope with a twit just after her money, Cornelius Keefe -- sound familiar yet?  But being more proactive than the dad in ONE NIGHT, this dad hustles his daughter and wife off to a dude ranch where he hopes to elude the twit, not knowing the twit got there ahead of him – presumably in an auto-gyro. 

Of course Ken Maynard stars in the Clark Gable role, this time as a wrangler rather than a reporter, whom the lady just loathes.  Granted, Maynard is no Gable as an actor, but he’s amiable, and the script is written to let the girl underestimate him while the audience realizes what a sly game he is playing with her, ala TAMING OF THE SHREW.  And of course, it’s not romance but riding that Maynard’s fans look for, and there are a couple of excellent riding sequences – always clearly featuring Maynard rather than a double, since few stuntmen were any better than him.  And his horse, Tarzan, has a wonderful, if not entirely credible, scene saving our bound hero from a burning shack!

Happily, the last act of the story takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of fleeing robbers, led by Ward Bond – incidentally the bus driver in IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT -- as an educated bandit whose suavity blinds the girl to his menace.  It’s a very enjoyable hour.  It's available from Finders Keepers Classics, for $7, HERE.

TV WESTERNS ALL OVER THE DIAL!

More and more, classic TV Westerns are available all over the TV universe, but they tend to be on small networks that are easy to miss. Of course, ENCORE WESTERNS is the best continuous source of such programming, and has been for years. It’s not in my current satellite package, which is why I often forget to mention it, but currently they run CHEYENNE, MAVERICK, LAWMAN, THE VIRGINIAN, WAGON TRAIN, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, GUNSMOKE, BRET MAVERICK, CIMMARON STRIP, and HOW THE WEST WAS WON. (I’d get it in a minute, if I didn’t have to buy a huge package of STARZ and ENCORE channels just to get the one!)

But there are several new, or at least new-to-me, channels showing sagebrush fare. GEB, which stands for Golden Eagle Broadcasting, is largely a religious-programming cable outlet that runs at least one Western on Saturdays – the ones I’ve caught have been public domain Roy Rogers and John Wayne pictures – and sometimes have weekday afternoon movies as well.

For those of you who watch TV with an antenna, there are at least a couple of channels that exist between the standard numbers – largely unavailable on cable or satellite systems – that provide Western fare. ANTENNA TV is currently running RIN TIN TIN, CIRCUS BOY, HERE COME THE BRIDES, and IRON HORSE.

Another ‘in between’ outfit, ME-TV, which stands for Memorable Entertainment TV, runs a wide collection: BIG VALLEY, BONANZA, BRANDED, DANIEL BOONE, GUNS OF WILL SONNETT, GUNSMOKE, MARSHALL DILLON (the renamed black and white GUNSMOKE), RAWHIDE, THE RIFLEMAN, and WILD WILD WEST. Some of these channels are hard to track down, but if they show what you’ve been missing, it’s worth the search. 

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

That's right, 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.

BONANZA and BIG VALLEY

Every weekday, TV LAND airs a three-hour block of BONANZA episodes from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They've stopped running GUNSMOKE.  INSP is showing THE BIG VALLEY every weekday at noon, one p.m. and nine p.m., and Saturdays at 6 p.m., and have just added DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN to their schedule.

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. 

AMC has been airing a block of THE RIFLEMAN episodes early Saturday mornings, usually followed by Western features.

And RFD-TV is currently showing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW at 9:30 Sunday morning, repeated several times a week, and a Roy feature as well -- check your local listings.

I just noticed that next Sunday is Christmas Day, so just in case I end up posting a little late, let me take the opportunity now to wish you a very Merry Christmas and/or Happy Chanukah!

Happy Trails,

Henry

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