‘HELL ON WHEELS’ SEASON 4 REVIEW, PLUS JULIE ADAMS AUTOBIO!

HELL ON WHEELS 2014 REVIEW

HELL ON WHEELS, AMC’s series about the building of the Trans-Continental Railroad, seen through the eyes of former Confederate officer and railroad engineer Cullen Bohannan (Anson Mount), and ethically challenged railroad robber-baron Doc Durant (Colm Meany), and  nearly a dozen other characters, returns for season four on Saturday, August 2^nd.  And if you need to refresh your memory, or fill in some story holes, AMC will be running the entire first three seasons on Friday, August 1^st – check your local listings for times!

THE ELUSIVE EDEN is the first episode of the new season, and it opens in the winter of 1868, with Durant, broke, proving Proverbs correct, that ‘Pride goeth before a fall,’ in the most spectacular fashion, when he decides to lay track across a frozen lake!  It doesn’t exactly solve his financial problems, but it’s a wondrous thing to see – I rewound and watched it three times. 

Cullen, meanwhile, is in one helluvah fix as a prisoner in the Mormon fort, under the thumb of the Swede, who murdered the minister being sent to run the fort, and assumed his identity.  Last season, while investigating a shooting by a member of a Mormon family, Cullen slept with a young woman, then hung her kid brother for a crime their father probably committed, and only escaped execution himself when the woman’s pregnancy was revealed.  Now he is married to her, she is about to give birth, and he is living with her family.  (Kind of puts any in-laws problems you may be having into perspective, doesn’t it?)

The portable town of Hell on Wheels is now located in the burgeoning city of Cheyenne, Wyoming, which appears to be the exclusive property of Durant: he’s even installed his own Mayor, Mickey McGinnes (Phil Burke), adding to his duties as saloon operator and pimp.  Present also is former Indian prisoner, sometime-whore and sometime-nurse, Eva (Robin McLeavy).  Missing is her man, Elam (Common), whose heart she broke when she gave away their baby – he’s presumably dead.  Elam’s friend, fellow former-slave Psalms (Dohn Noorwood), is also back.  The minister Ruth (Kasha Kropinski) is also back, and in charge of the Mormon boy Cullen rescued after the Swede had slaughtered his family. 

And there are some new folks in town.  Much to Durant’s chagrin, newly-elected President Grant (Victor Slezak) has sent a dapper pack of enforcers-in-politicians-clothing to do his bidding. They ain’t subtle. 

The two opening episodes, THE ELUSIVE EDEN and ESCAPE FROM THE GARDEN focus, as you would guess, on Cullen’s plans to leave the Mormon Fort.  I found some of the ideas better than their execution, but to be fair, the versions I saw were not final cuts, and based on their history, I have great faith in the production company to make this work. 

One surprise is that Cullen has a new new wife: Siobhan Williams, who played his Mormon bride last season, is now a star on THE BLACK LIST, and has been replaced by Canadian actress MacKenzie Porter.  So catch up on any episodes you don’t remember, because Saturday HELL is back ON its WHEELS, and this time for thirteen episodes instead of the previous ten-episode seasons!

THE LUCKY SOUTHERN STAR – by JULIE ADAMS

A Book Review

A good biography leaves you wanting to know more about its subject; reading one often leads to a list of movies I want to watch or books I want to read.  But it’s unexpected to finish an actress’ autobiography, motivated to seek out both Pirandello’s plays, and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON!

But Julie Adams has written a very unexpected memoir with THE LUCKY SOUTHERN STAR: REFLECTIONS FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.  It is an entertaining, insightful and informative read from start to finish.  In becoming a working professional actress, Julie Adams’ timing was ideal, because her career stretched between so many different stages of the film industry.  When she started out in 1949, it was the tail end of the studio system, and her formative acting years were spent under contract to Universal.  

Then came freelancing at many studios, big and small, and increasingly appearing in the growing monolith of television.  Later still, while continuing in supporting roles on TV and in features, she works extensively in theatre, sometimes quite small theatre, but she shows her respect for those smaller paying audiences, and respect for the work.  She also clearly respects the professionals she worked with in television: I was struck by how often she mentioned by name the writers of particular TV episodes that impressed her. 

This is not a ‘tell-all’ book.  I have no doubt that not everyone in the business was a joy to work with, and I am sure that so beautiful an actress had to work hard to keep the wolves at bay.  But if she hasn’t got anything good to say about someone, they just don’t get a mention.  She’s written the book with one of her two sons, TV editor Mitchell Danton, whose father was the handsome and debonair 1950s and 60s leading man Ray Danton.  Even after their divorce, Julie has nothing hard to say about him, and after he became an in-demand director, he often cast his ex-wife.  Maybe she’s just as nice as she seems to be.

Unquestionably Adams is best known to audiences for starring with ‘the Gillman’ in CREATURE – and for the white one-piece that made a bikini seem pointless.  But she also had a very extensive Western career.  Her first speaking role was in one of the tight-budgeted Lippert movies, 1949’s THE DALTON GANG, for silent writer/director and serial whiz Ford Beebe, opposite Don ‘Red’ Barry.   That led to a six-picture contract with Lippert – and what a contract!  In a cost-saving experiment, six movies with the same cast and crew were shot simultaneously!  They would shoot all the scenes for all six movies on any given set before moving to the next – from school marm to sheriff’s daughter to girl outlaw in rapid succession.  She credits the experience with really teaching her to act. 

Under contract to Universal starting in 1951, she worked in big westerns with some of the finest directors, opposite top stars.  She starred in BEND OF THE RIVER for Anthony Mann, opposite James Stewart.  She starred in three for Budd Boetticher – HORIZONS WEST with Robert Ryan, THE MAN FROM THE ALAMO with Glenn Ford, and WINGS OF THE HAWK – playing a Mexican rebel leader – opposite Van Heflin.  And let’s not forget THE TREASURE OF LOST CANYON with William Powell; THE LAWLESS BREED with Rock Hudson, for Raoul Walsh; and MISSISSIPPI GAMBLER with Tyrone Powell.  She has a detailed memory, and great stories about them all. 

In TV Westerns she was to play a wide range of characters, many of them villains.  Among the most memorable were the title character NORA in a RIFLEMAN episode, where she tries to con Lucas; a BONANZA episode where her plans to marry Hoss are undermined by her compulsive gambling, and a BIG VALLEY, where she tries to get a monopoly in the rice business, and isn’t above killing Victoria Barkley to do it. 

As a ‘cougar’ before there was such a term, she chases Elvis around the desk in TICKLE ME, and does something not so different to Dennis Hopper in his THE LAST MOVIE.  She co-starred with John Wayne, not in a western, but in the cop film McQ.  On the soap CAPITOL she played a fake agoraphobic; on MURDER SHE WROTE she played a man-hungry real estate broker.  But her favorite TV role was as the wife of her BEND OF THE RIVER co-star James Stewart in the short-lived but charming JIMMY STEWART SHOW. 

Julie bookends her autobiography with stories of attending monster-movie conventions with her BLACK LAGOON co-stars, something that keeps her busy, and gives her a lot of pleasure.  Her memories of her adventures in film and TV-making, and her sharp insights into the work of her peers, writers, and directors, will give you pleasure as well.   You can purchase THE LUCKY SOUTHERN STAR, and learn more about Julie Adams, including upcoming appearances, at her site, HERE .

You can read my Round-up interview with Julie Adams HERE.

THAT’S A WRAP!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful National Day of the Cowboy, wherever you are!  If you don’t have plans yet, this link will take you to the official NDOC calendar of events all around the country: http://nationaldayofthecowboy.com/wordpress/?post_type=tribe_events&eventDisplay=month

Happy Trails,

Henry

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

NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY, PLUS ‘RED RIVER’ GETS CRITEREON TREATMENT!

(Note:  I learned of the death of James Garner too late to include in this week’s Round-up, but I will next week.)

NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY NEXT SATURDAY! – 2014

This coming Saturday, July 26^th, 2014, will be the Tenth Annual National Day of the Cowboy!  Over forty events are planned all over the country – in New Hampshire, New York, California, Texas, Kansas, Nevada, Idaho, Indiana, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Colorado!  To find the events nearest to you, go HERE.

In Griffith Park, the Day of the Cowboy & Cowgirl At The Autry will feature a full day of cowpoke family fun, which in addition to visiting the museum galleries includes trick-roping demonstrations, leather-craft, square-dancing, drop-in roping, sketching with live horses at the corral, scavenger hunts, hands-on work with cowboy tools, storytelling, screenings of GENE AUTRY SHOW episodes, barbecue, and a root-beer saloon!  It’s free for members, $10 for non-members, $6 for students and seniors, and $4 for kids 12 and under. 

Bethany Braley, Executive Director of the NDOC has been spearheading the campaign, crisscrossing the country for a decade, and she’ll be celebrating in Chatsworth, at the Valley Relics Museum, 21630 Marilla Street 91311, home to an astonishing collection of items highlighting the history of the San Fernando Valley.  The $20 per-person event, a fund-raiser for the Museum and the NDOC, will feature music by Steve Hill and by The Bob Staley Band.  Highlights include a 90^th birthday celebration for WAGON TRAIN star Robert Horton – with a special Western Legends Award presentation by Martin Kove.  There will be a celebrity item auction, meet-and-greets with actor Dan ‘Grizzly Adams’ Haggerty and daughter of Clayton ‘Lone Ranger’ Moore, Dawn Moore, as well as Ben Costello, author of GUNSMOKE: AN AMERICAN INSTITUTION, author and NDOC spokeswoman Julie Ann Ream.   There will be an exhibit of clothes and vehicles by legendary designer-to-the-western stars Nudie Cohn, and the all-important food trucks! 

RED RIVER – from the Criterion Collection – A Review

I’ve heard friends talk about a movie getting ‘The Criterion treatment,’ but I never fully understood what was meant until now: there is nothing a sane person could want in a video of Howard Hawks’ classic RED RIVER that is not provided in spades in this set!

First, the quality of sound and image is without flaw.  Russell Harlan shot it, and I believe it’s one of the most breathtakingly beautiful black and white movies ever made.  The set includes both DVD and BluRay formats, and while the DVD is stunning, the clarity of the BluRay is even more so.  Made in 1948, it was Howard Hawks’ 32^nd film, but incredibly, his first Western – although he did uncredited work on both VIVA VILLA and THE OUTLAW.   Hawks’ ability to place you in the action is unsurpassed.  You will feel that you are in the heart of a cattle drive, with exhilaration, monotony, exhaustion and panic that were a part of them.

Based on Borden Chase’s novel, BLAZING GUNS ON THE CHISHOLM TRAIL, which is included – yes, the whole novel – it’s the story of two men and a boy, and the first great cattle drive.  Thomas Dunsan (John Wayne) and Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan), leave a wagon train to start a ranch, and are soon joined by an orphaned boy, Matt Garth (Mickey Kuhn – whose character will grow up to be Montgomery Clift).  Fourteen years later, Matt comes back from the Civil War to find Dunsan rich in cattle, but broke.  There is no money in the south, hence no market for beef, and Dunsan has decided to drive the cattle, on what will become the Chisholm Trail, to Missouri.  That drive, and the character relationships with each other, drovers like Harry Carey Jr., Noah Beery Jr., Paul Fix, Hank Worden, Chief Yowlachie, and ‘the Hawks woman’ in the person of Joanne Dru, make up the bulk of the movie which has been described as MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY on a cattle-drive. 

The three leads are at the absolute top of their game.  Brennan is the worshipful but still cantankerous unequal partner of Wayne, who still states his mind when he must – a younger version of the role he’ll play to Wayne in Hawk’s RIO BRAVO a decade later.   Wayne’s Dunsun is so icily determined to succeed at all costs that it opened up a new career for him, playing heroes so mean and tough you hate to love them.  Clift’s performance is fascinating in its quirky intensity – he plays it somewhere between a war hero and a bashful juvenile delinquent.   John Ireland plays Cherry Valance, by turns a rival and friend to Clift.  With an overlooked but extensive catalog of excellent western performances, Ireland would go on to play Billy Clanton in Ford’s MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, Bob Ford in Sam Fuller’s I SHOT JESSE JAMES, and Johnny Ringo in John Sturges’ GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL.  In Europe, he was excellent as a hateful villain opposite Robert Woods in GATLING GUN, and even starred as Ben Cartwright’s brother in a failed attempt to revive BONANZA.

The two women in the film, Colleen Grey and Joanne Dru, are terrific as the sort of tough and independent-minded but feminine women that Hawk’s loved, though Hawks says he was disappointed in Dru: she was a rush replacement for Margaret Sheridan, who showed up for work noticeably pregnant. 

A couple of once-big cowboy stars turn up for small but striking roles.  Old Leather is played by six-time Wayne co-star Hal Talliafero, who was a popular leading man going back to the 1920s, as Wally Wales.  The chillingly monotone Tom Tyler, who plays a cattle-drive deserter here, was also a leading man in silent and talkie westerns, starred as CAPTAIN MARVEL, but among his five roles with Wayne is best-remembered as nemesis Luke Plummer in STAGECOACH. 

The score by Dimitri Tiomkin is one of the finest ever written for a western, or any movie.  Interestingly, he would use the theme again for Hawks and Wayne in RIO BRAVO, with new lyrics to make it into My Rifle, My Pony and Me.  The editing by Christian Nyby is uncluttered and almost invisible in its perfect efficiency. 

There are four discs, because there are two different versions of the film, both presented in DVD and BluRay, the pre-release version and the release version.  The main difference is that in the earlier, previewed version, frequent shots of a hand-written journal bridge the sequences.  Hawks decided to take the shots out in favor of a narration by Brennan.  The ending is a bit different as well, due to the interference of Howard Hughes, and as the story is told well in the extra features, I won’t give it away here.

And speaking of those features, you have on-camera interviews with Peter Bogdanovich, Molly Haskell, and Lee Mitchell.  You have an audio interview with Hawks, conducted by Bogdanovich.  You have an audio interview with novelist and co-screenwriter (with Charles Schnee) Borden Chase – and Chase’s life-story alone is worth the price of admission!  You have a paperback of the original novel.  You have a booklet with an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien, and an interview with editor Chris Nyby.  You have the trailer.  You even have the LUX PRESENTS HOLLYWOOD radio show, featuring Wayne, Brennan, Dru, and in Clift’s role, Jeff Chandler (he does a fine audio job, but on camera, such a big guy would have been all wrong!).  

Simply put, this is the best possible presentation of one of the finest movies ever made in any genre.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.  To link up with Criterion, go HERE.

WRITER JOHN FASANO – THE MAN WHO SAVED ‘TOMBSTONE’ – DIES AT 52

John Fasano in HANNAH'S LAW

Properly, much will be written about John Fasano’s career in horror and crime films, but he also had a passionate interest in westerns and in firearms.  He wrote frequent articles for gun magazines, and in August, one of his last articles, about the weapons of Commodore Perry Owens, will appear in GUNS OF THE OLD WEST MAGAZINE. 

He wrote three western films: THE HUNLEY (1999), about the Civil War submarine; THE LEGEND OF BUTCH AND SUNDANCE (2006); and HANNAH’S LAW (2012).  But for his most important contribution to the genre, he neither sought nor received credit: he saved TOMBSTONE (1993).  Writer-director Kevin Jarre had written a brilliant but over-long script for the movie.  An inexperienced director, he soon ran behind schedule and over budget, and was fired by the producers.  George Cosmatos took over the direction, but it was Fasano -- working in conjunction with Cosmatos, and a cast that had committed to the project based on the screenplay -- who reshaped the script without extensive rewriting, preserving the essence of it, and saving the film.      

Longtime friend and associate writer C. Courtney Joyner says of Fasano, “He was a true, devoted writer, a devotee of the industry 100%, and his legacy with TOMBSTONE is going to stand.”  Peter Sherayko, who played Texas Jack Vermillion in TOMBSTONE, and worked with John on a half-dozen other films, had three more co-projects in the works.  “He was a friend for 26 years, and in this town he was a friend I could always count on.”    

When I interviewed John for the Round-up in 2012, I told him, “An on-line list of your credits included a passing reference that you’d done script doctoring on TOMBSTONE.  Which in my circle is like casually mentioning that you did a draft of the New Testament.” 

John laughed.  “Thank you.  That’s the script that, when I get to Heaven, Saint Peter says, ‘He wrote JUDGE DREDD?’  And I say, ‘No, no – look just before that.’  And he says, ‘He wrote TOMBSTONE? Come on in.’  That’s the film that’ll get me into heaven, because everyone I’ve ever met not only saw it; they bought it.”

You can read the rest of my interview with John HERE.  

AND DON’T FORGET ‘COPS & COWBOYS’ JULY 26!

On Saturday night, July 26^th, head to the historic Leonis Adobe Museum in Calabasas for the annual Mid-Valley Community Police Council  COPS & COWBOYS celebration!  There’ll be toe-tappin’ music, dancing, delicious barbecue, Black Jack and Poker in the saloon, silent and live auctions and more!  To learn more, read my write-up HERE.

‘GUNSLINGERS’ – 6 PART DOCUDRAMA, PREMIERES ON ‘AMERICAN HEROES’ TONIGHT!

Don’t know much about this mix of reenactments, commentary and historical photos, but it features all of our favorite people – Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickock, John Wesley Hardin and Tom Horn – so I’ll certainly give it a shot!  I haven’t been able to get any of the videos to play, but follow the link and maybe you’ll have better luck! http://www.ahctv.com/tv-shows/gunslingers/gunslingers-video/gunslingers.htm

EGYPTIAN TO SHOW TWO SERGIO LEONES AND D.W. GRIFFITH SILENTS NEXT WEEKEND!

On Friday, July 25th, the Egyptian Theatre will play ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, on Saturday, July 26^th THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY.  On Sunday, July 27^th, the Retroformat 8mm series of D.W. Griffith films continues.  For details, visit their link:  http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/egyptian_theatre_events

That’s a wrap!

Have a great week, and I’ll catch you next weekend!

Happy Trails,

Henry

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

  

DAY OF THE COWBOY NEXT SATURDAY, PLUS ‘HELL ON WHEELS’ SNEAK PEEK!

It’s just a week until the Ninth Annual National Day of The Cowboy celebration on Saturday, July 27^th, although some folks in Texas and New Hampshire and Washington State just can’t wait -- I thought all the ‘Sooners’ were from Oklahoma!   

On Wednesday, the 17^th,  the folks in El Paso held their 4th Annual National Day of the Cowboy Celebration, at the El Paso History Museum. In addition to gunfight reenactments, sack-races, roping demonstrations and the like, they honored not only the cowboys, but the Harvey Girls who helped civilize quite a few of them. 

 

On Saturday, July 20^th, the people of Dalton, New Hampshire celebrated The Dalton Gang Annual Day of the Cowboy at the Dalton Gang Range, an event that featured Cowboy Action Shooting, with all proceeds going to the Wounded Warrior Project.  That same Saturday, Kennewick, Washington held its 3^rd Annual National Day of the Cowboy Celebration, focusing on cowboy poetry and music, featuring both local talent and cowpoke bards and musicians from New Mexico and Nevada.

 

Some multi-day events will begin on Friday, July 26^th, including the three day celebration at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort in Lost Pines, Texas.  A dizzying array of pioneer and cowboy-themed activities is planned, from scavenger hunts to leather crafts to wagon rides to face painting.   Also, for fans of a cowboy named Woody, all three TOY STORY movies will be screened.  

 

Another three-day event starts on July 26^th in Dubois, Wyoming, where you’ll be treated to a rodeo, theatrical shoot-outs and western music.  Dubois, Idaho will have a one-day celebration on that Friday, which will include historical displays, a parade, and an out-house race!

 

The city of Norco, California will celebrate both Saturday and Sunday, and will feature a parade with the flags of all fifty states, Pony Express riders, sled races, a cowboy obstacle course, and a celebrity cow-chip contest.  On Saturday, in Malta, Illinois, they’ll be holding the Northern Illinois Outlaw NDOC Cowboy Shooting Event, with mounted pistol, rifle and shotgun competitions, as well as cowboy games.    The good people of Santa Fe, New Mexico will mark the day with team-roping, barrel racing, arena polo, trick roping and much more. 

 

Sedona, Arizona’s celebration will feature bullwhip-cracking, gunfights, historical reenactments, music, dance and western art.  Flagstaff, Arizona, which in April became the 4^th state to make the National Day of the Cowboy a permanent event, will hold a celebration as well.  In Medora, North Dakota, The National Cowboy Hall of Fame will host their celebration, which will feature shoot-outs, music, a trick-roping author, and barbecue.  In Roswell, New Mexico, they’re holding the National Day of the Cowboy Fun Run Jackpots, with lots of rodeo events, from the traditional to goat dressing!  In Victoria, Virginia, there will be The Tom Mix Rangers and other gunfighters, and an 1800s church service reenactment in full period costume.  

 

The Fort Worth, Texas Stockyards will be the site of another celebration.  Wolcottville, Indiana will hold Park Your Horse, with campfires provided, and activities like roping, horse-shoe pitching, a Nerf shooting gallery, and a cap-gun fast-draw competition.  The main event at the Fallbrook, California celebration will be an obstacle challenge.  The event at the Lazy – T Ranch in Manhattan, Kansas will feature cowboy poetry and music, with a focus on yodeling. 

 

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City will focus on the Lone Ranger, with a look at the Museum’s collection of Lone Ranger artifacts, and the first 300 guests will receive a Lone Ranger mask!

 

And at the Autry in Los Angeles, there will be music, a scavenger hunt, square-dancing, gun-slinging and trick roping, western crafts, a pair of Gene Autry movies, and the grand opening of the new Gamble Firearms Gallery. 

 

There are also a couple of purely charitable events as well.  The Evans Feed and Livestock Supply in both Madera and Porterville, California will sponsor as National Day Of The Cowboy Blood Drive, with a free cowboy-themed t-shirt for all donors. 

 

I’m just trying to give you a taste of each event, but there are plenty of details available.  This link -- http://nationaldayofthecowboy.com/wordpress/?post_type=tribe_events&eventDisplay=month – will connect you to the calendar page of the official National Day of the Cowboy website.  And if you know of any National Day of the Cowboy events that I’ve missed, please share it as a comment, or on our FACEBOOK page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Henrys-Western-Round-up/220413291305490?ref=hl , so we can get the word out! 

 

SNEAK-PEEK AT ‘HELL ON WHEELS’ SEASON 3

 

 

Anson Mount and Common

August 10 will see the very welcome return of the Western series starring Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, and Common, detailing the building of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, and the private lives of the men and women involved.  Not much has been leaked, story-wise, but the show will introduce at least one new character, a female journalist played by Jennifer Ferrin, who may well become a romantic interest, since Lily, played by Dominique McElligot, was killed off last season.  Here are some stills from the new season:

 

 

Jennifer Ferrin, Colm Meaney, Anson Mount

 

 

Jennifer Ferrin and Robin McLeavy

 

CONTINUING APPEAL OF WESTERNS, FROM ‘THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH’

The Gateway Film Center in Columbus, Ohio recently held their third annual DOUBLE BARREL WESTERNS festival, featuring a wide range of Western films.  Columbus Dispatch Weekender editor Terry Mikesell wrote an article not just about the festival, but about the viability of Westerns in general, and I was pleased to be interviewed.  The festival runs through July 31^st,go here for details: http://www.gatewayfilmcenter.com/spotlight-series/double-barrel/

Here is the article: 

 

 

THE WRAP-UP

 

That's it for this week's Round-up!  Hope you can get to one of the National Day Of The Cowboy events this coming weekend, and again, if you know of any events we haven't covered, let me know, so we can spread the word.

 

Happy Trails,

 

Henry

 

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

'REDEMPTION' IS HERE!

Movie Review – REDEMPTION: FOR ROBBING THE DEAD

Those who say there are only six or seven Western plots had better hold their tongues until they’ve seen REDEMPTION: FOR ROBBING THE DEAD.  They haven’t seen this one yet. Although not a traditional Western, it is a legitimate one, focusing on a lawman, an outlaw of a sort, and their relationship.  Most remarkable of all, it’s a largely true story.

In 1862, Salt Lake City lawman Henry Heath (John Freeman) follows up a complaint by a dead outlaw’s brother who, in exhuming his grave to bring the body home, finds that his brother has been buried face down and naked.  Heath, having gone to the personal expense of providing a suit for the bandit, now goes to question the grave-digger, French immigrant Jean Baptiste (David Stevens), and at his home finds the man’s brain-addled wife, and evidence suggesting that the man has robbed hundreds of graves for their clothes. 

Baptiste was involved in the recent burial of Heath’s daughter, a loss that has crushed Heath and his wife (Robyn Adamson), and Baptiste barely saves his own life by convincing Heath that his daughter was not among his victims.  Despised by a horrified community, there is no shortage of people who would gladly kill Baptiste, but his grotesque crimes are not a hanging offense, and to punish him without actually killing him, the ghoul is exiled to Antelope Island, in the center of the Great Salt Lake. 

When someone must occasionally bring provisions to the exile, the job falls upon Heath, and the simple decency he shows in his treatment of Baptiste is all that keeps the banished man alive.  It also soon makes Heath nearly as despised as his prisoner. 

REDEMPTION is a haunting and thought-provoking study of one of the strangest crimes in the history of the American West.  Writer-director Thomas Russell, a Slamdance Award-Winning screenwriter, has told the often queasy-making story with a subtle but eerie tone.  While the only truly humorous moments happen early in the film, later scenes like Baptiste’s oblique evaluation of the clothing of a group of mourners are wonderfully sinister.  And Russell has learned, as Val Lewton and John Carpenter did before him, that the unseen but alluded to crimes are much more troubling in the imagination than if they were directly shown.

The leads, though largely unfamiliar, are up to their challenges, and John Freeman is impressive as the lawman who blames his past sins for his daughter’s death.  David Stevens as Baptiste manages to bring pathos and humanity to a character that is inherently revolting.  And there are very familiar faces giving strong performances in supporting roles.   Edward Herrmann appears briefly as the Governor, and Rance Howard plays the physician who can do nothing to save the lawman’s child.  Jon Gries, creepy Uncle Rico from NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, plays a hired gun.  Margot Kidder, Lois Lane to Christopher Reeves’ Superman, is Baptiste’s ‘tetched’ but endearing wife.  The best supporting role, and performance, is by Barry Corbin, as the judge who explains why Heath must protect Baptiste, in a heartbreaking monologue.

I hesitate to say that this could be classified as a faith-based production, as I don’t mean to suggest that you should lower your expectations.  It is not a preachy movie; it’s just that some of the characters are influenced by their faith. 

The art direction and costuming by Melanie Gardner and Bree Evans bring the Utah frontier to life.  Derek Pueblo’s photography is effective whether showing gloomy interiors or startling action, like Baptiste being dragged by the collar through a cemetery to identify each grave he defiled.  But Pueblo especially excels in some of the startlingly beautiful vistas of the sky over the Salt Lake.  You can certainly understand why Brigham Young saw the Salt Lake Valley and concluded this was the place to build his city. 

REDEMPTION: FOR ROBBING THE DEAD is available now from Monterey Media.

NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY A RIP-SNORTING SUCCESS!

Last Saturday, July 28^th, marked the 8^th National Day of the Cowboy, and the celebrations are getting bigger and better with every year.  Last year, Western writer J. R. Sanders convinced the Barnes & Noble in Redlands, California to sponsor READ ‘EM COWBOY, to encourage kids to read about the West.  This year there were several READ ‘EM events in California, five in Texas, and others in Wyoming, Colorado, and South Dakota!

When I went to the READ ‘EM COWBOY event at the Santa Clarita Barnes & Noble, parked in front there was Western wardrobe-designer par excellence Nudie’s customized Cadillac, pulling a wagon he’d designed for Roy Rogers: a sure sign that Julie Ann Ream, who was in charge of the store’s event, was in the building. 

Peter Ford

 

Just beyond the cash registers was a table where Peter Ford, son of stars Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell, sat signing copies of his book, GLENN FORD, A LIFE (reviewed recently in the Round-up).  I opined that Glenn Ford was one of the screen’s great cowboy icons.  “Thank you.  A lady just came by and bought a book, and said, ‘Your father was one of the three greatest horsemen,’ in her opinion, the others being Ben Johnson and Joel McCrea.  So Dad is in very good company with those two.  He was a quick-draw with his handgun.  Born in Quebec, Canada, it’s about as far away from cowboys and horses and gunplay as you can get, but he became quite proficient.” 

Kid Reno

Farther into the store, a performance area had been set up for a succession of western music-makers.

Ralph and Geri

Ben Costello

 

On the other side of the store, just outside the speaker’s room, author Ben Costello was signing copies of GUNSMOKE: AN AMERICAN INSTITUTION, the product of five years of research and interviews (soon to be reviewed in the Round-up).  Opposite Ben, DEADWOOD regulars Ralph Richeson and Geri Jewell were sitting, Geri signing her autobiography. 

Authors Mark Bedor and Jim Christina

Peter Sherayko

The speaker’s room was filled with a number of western writers signing their books, including Mark Bedor, Jim Christina, and Peter Sherayko, whose excellent TOMBSTONE: THE GUNS AND THE GEAR and THE FRINGE OF HOLLYWOOD were recently reviewed in the Round-up.  As Julie Ann Ream emceed, a succession of Western-related folks took the microphone.  Among them were THE SEARCHERS star Lana Wood; Republic western and serial star Peggy Stewart; Julie Rogers, who talked about grandparents Roy and Dale, and modeled a Nudie skirt; and Ken Berry, who starred in F-TROOP, a delightful comedic take on the cavalry western.  “I’ve been to a couple of these evenings.  As a matter of fact, Bob Steele (Trooper Duffy) was a dear friend.  I loved Bob.  And I went to an evening that was especially fun; Gene Autry was there.  And I’ve met Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  They meant a lot to me, too.” 

Lana Wood

Peggy Stewart

Julie Rogers

Ken Berry

The very busy Martin Kove, a popular villain and hero, made a splash in CAGNEY & LACEY, and the RAMBO and KARATE KID films.  But his earliest credits include GUNSMOKE and THE WHITE BUFFALO, with Charles Bronson, and westerns have a special place in his heart.  “I was all the way in Beverly Hills, actually.  I said, do I want to show up?  But my commitment is to the rejuvenation  of the west, and trying to do as many westerns (as I can), trying to get our heritage back on track, so kids can remember what it was like when they saw a western, and the values of the western.  So I said, I’ve got to show up; the same reason you beat yourself to death trying to get a western financed; it’s a great uphill battle.  I think from 1920 to 1967, one of every three movies made in Hollywood was a western.  So it’s kind of an over-exposed genre.  I really care about the genre, and the future of it, and I don’t want it to disappear.  This is an indelible part, this National Day of the Cowboy, to keep it alive.”  I asked him about his most recent western project.  “I’m doing an internet series called SIXGUN SAVIOR, (a supernatural western).  I’m going to do a 1950s oil story, called THE FALCON’S SONG.  I leave in about two weeks to go to Montana.”  

Martin Kove

While a group was heading to the local Baja Fresh for lunch – Baja, like the local Ben & Jerry’s, were contributing a portion of the day’s sales to the NDOC – I drove over to the Autry to see how their celebration was going.  There was continuous entertainment in the courtyard, with square-dancing, music by bands like Triple Chicken Foot, and Miss Devon & The Outlaw.  Famed champion gunslinger Joey Dillon was back with his flashing .45 Colt single-actions, and nearby some kids were hammering designs in leather, while others were learning to toss a lariat.  The Wells Fargo Theatre was packed with Saturday matinee fans watching episodes of THE GENE AUTRY SHOW. 

Joey Dillon and a volunteer

Hurry up, kid!   There's a line for that horse!

Curator Jeffrey Richardson

Rarely seen quarter horse!

The gold-panning operators were doing a land-office business, and throughout the museum, docents were giving history demonstrations.  I ran into Jeffrey Richardson outside of the wonderful Colt Gallery, which he curated.  He told me the life-sized Gunfight at the O.K. Corral diorama would soon be closed to make way for an expansion of the gun collection.  I asked him about the importance of the National Day of the Cowboy at the Autry.  “One of the things we like to do here at the Autry, on the Day of the Cowboy and everyday, is let people know that, despite depictions in popular entertainment, cowboys were a really diverse group. It’s a day when people can come and explore the rich history of the American west, specifically seen through the eyes of one of the truly iconic figures of (our) history the American cowboy.”

Meanwhile, J.R. Sanders’ READ ‘EM COWBOY event at the Redlands Barnes & Noble and Starbucks, brought thirteen western authors, had plenty of entertainment for young and old, and featured a Young Writers Cowboy Fiction Contest.

Authors Chris Enss, Nicholas Cataldo and Paige Peyton

Young Writers Cowboy Fiction contest winners, with Jim Meals and J. R. Sanders

One of the very interesting out-of-California events was CRAZY DAYS, at Belle Fourche, South Dakota, the setting for the end of the classic John Wayne western THE COWBOYS (they actually shot it in New Mexico and L.A., but Belle Fourche is where the story is set).  Marking the 40^th anniversary of the film’s release, Belle Fourche welcomed five of the original COWBOYS from the cast: Nicolas Beauvy (Dan), Al Barker Jr. (Fats), Steven Hudis (Charlie Schwartz), Sean Kelly (Stuttering Bob), and Steve Benedict (Steve).  Last week’s Round-up featured an interview with Nic Beauvy about the making of THE COWBOYS, and I called him this afternoon to find out how Belle Fourche worked out. 

“Bell Fouche was wonderful!  It was a treat to see the other COWBOYS, and everybody had a good time: we were treated like movie stars.  It was the first time in forty years I’d seen (them).  Everyone was eager to sign autographs and feel important and to know that you were in a movie that people loved.  It’s so revered over there: it’s like GONE WITH THE WIND in the Midwest.  The people who are fifty, sixty years old now, who were kids when the movie came out, they loved the movie so much that they’ve turned their children on to it.  So I met kids who were 8 years old, 12 years old, 15 years old who have seen the movie many, many times, and know it inside and out.  Because their parents love it.   

“It was just a great experience for me in that I met real Midwestern American people.  You know, coming from Los Angeles you don’t meet too many people like that.  They leave the keys of the car in the ignition.  They don’t lock their doors at night.  It’s a different way of life, not such a complicated life.  In some ways they enjoy life a lot more.  It’s beautiful to be around people like that.”  Like cowboys.

RUSSELL CROWE TO REPLACE JAVIER BARDEM IN ‘DARK TOWER’

"Take that, Javier!"

Work comes from Deadline: Hollywood that Akiva Goldsman has delivered to Warner Brothers a draft of the script for the first part of Stephen King’s THE DARK TOWER, a sci-fi Western.  Based on eight books by King, the project is planned as three theatrical features and two TV miniseries.  Dropped by Universal when it got too expensive, Warners currently has the option, and should decide whether or not to proceed within the next two weeks.     

Imagine Films director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer, the team that won Oscars for A BEAUTIFUL MIND, are at the helm, and Howard is no stranger to the Western form, having starred in THE SHOOTIST before directing FAR AND AWAY and THE MISSING.  Javier Bardem, long attached to the project, is no longer, and the talk is that GLADIATOR Oscar winner and A BEAUTIFUL MIND star Russell Crowe will portray gunslinger Roland Deschain.  Crowe has previously ridden the range in THE QUICK AND THE DEAD and 3:10 TO YUMA. 

SPAGHETTI WESTERNS UNCHAINED CONTINUES AT EGYPTIAN

On Wednesday, August 8^th it’s TEPEPA with Tomas Milian and Orson Welles and YANKEE.  On Thursday THE RUTHLESS FOUR, with Van Heflin, Gilbert Roland and Klaus Kinski, with REQUIESCANT.  On Friday, Sergio Corbucci’s COMPANEROS, with Franco Nero and Tomas Milian, with THE PRICE OF POWER, with Fernando Rey and Van Johnson.  Then Saturday, The Main Event: Corbucci’s DJANGO!  Starring Franco Nero, and Lee Van Cleef in THE GRANND DUEL.  Sunday it’s DJANGO KILL…IF YOU LIVE, SHOOT, and Corbucci’s HELLBENDERS, starring Joseph Cotten. 

That's it for this week!  Sorry I'm posting on Monday morning rather than Sunday night, but I lost the internet at midnight.  On the plus side, I got more sleep than I usually do on a Sunday night.

Have a great week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

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