VIRGINIAN ON SATURDAY, DEAD MEN COMING SOON

 

AUTRY & INSP CELEBRATE ‘THE VIRGINIAN’S’ 50^TH ANNIVERSARY!

 

On Saturday, September 22^nd, the Autry will mark the landmark television series’ half century with a day and night of activities.  Simultaneously, the INSP network will present a marathon of episodes, to welcome the series to its regular Saddle-Up Saturday programming.  The series was a landmark for many reasons.  The first non-anthology series to run 90 minutes, it was essentially a whole movie every week.

 

Happily, many of the stars of the series will be attending the Autry event, including James Drury, who played the title character of The Virginian (his character had no other name), in all 249 episodes.  Also attending will be Clu Gulager (Emmett Ryker), Randy Boone (Randy Benton), Gary Clarke (Steve Hill), Sara Lane (Elizabeth Grainger), Diane Roter (Jennifer Sommers), Roberta Shore (Betsy Garth), and Don Quine (Stacey Grainger).

 

James Drury

 

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., THE VIRGINIAN stars will be signing autographs in the lobby (I assume on a rotating schedule, and they charge for this). 

There will be screenings of episodes in the Wells Fargo Theatre, and at 1 p.m., the stars will take part in a panel discussion, moderated by the Western Clippings website author Boyd Magers.

From 2 to 4 in the Autry Cafe, Stuart Nisbet, the bartender in the series, will present ‘Saloon Stories From Bart the Bartender.’   

And from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Heritage Court there will be a chuck-wagon dinner with the cast (this even is sold out).  To learn more about the event at the Autry, go HERE.

INSP will begin their marathon at ten a.m. western time, with THE EXECUTIONERS, the first episode of the first season.

Incidentally, THE VIRGINIAN is, of course, based on the novel by Owen Wister, published in 1902, and which has been filmed at least five times, starting with Cecil B. DeMille’s 1914 film, starring Dustin Farnum.  It was filmed again in 1923 starring Kenneth Harlan, and the first talkie version was in 1929, with Victor Fleming directing  star Gary Cooper.  It was done again in 1946, starring Joel McCrea, and a TV movie version, starring Bill Pullman, in 2000. 

If you’ve only seen the series, you’d be surprised to read the novel, and learn that Trampas, Doug McClure’s character, and close pal of the Virginian, is his deadly enemy in all of the other versions, my favorite being Brian Donleavy opposite Joel McCrea.  And if you read the book, then watch HIGH NOON, also with Gary Cooper, you’ll be struck by the fact that, despite its claims of being based on the story THE TIN STAR, the movie is largely plagiarized from the last few chapters of THE VIRGINIAN. 

 

SPEAKING FOR THE DEAD (MEN – THE SERIES) – An interview with director Royston Innes

 

To see the DEAD MEN: THE SERIES TRAILER, go HERE.

 

On Wednesday, September 26^th, the first two episodes of a new Western web series will premiere on the internet.  It’s entitled DEAD MEN – THE SERIES, and if you click on the link above, and watch the trailer, you will have seen as much as I have.  But while 2 ½ minutes can’t tell you everything, it can tell you this: it looks like a real movie.  Unlike most of the made-for-the-web western and pseudo western programming I’ve seen, it isn’t green-screened, it isn’t CGI’d, and it doesn’t have any zombies.  It’s clearly shot on real locations, with professional camerawork and costuming and art direction.

 

It’s the brain-child of a pair of men, Australian co-creator and director Royston Innes, and Texan Iraqi War vet co-creator, producer and co-star Ric Maddox.  It’s the story of a man named Roy Struthers and his family, a Civil War and Indian Wars veteran who left the battlefield owning precious little until a small piece of land in the Arizona Territory turned out to hold an immensely valuable gold vein.  Needless to say, there are folks willing to do whatever it takes to steal the claim away from the Struthers family. 

When I spoke to director Royston Innes, he told me how the project came to be, and what he and Ric Maddox envision for its future. 

ROYSTON: The time is right for westerns, although my next project is a film noir.  For me, it’s not so much about the Western; it’s more what’s behind it.  I go to films these days, and there’s just no real men.  I’m Australian, so you grow up with a certain ruggedness.  Every child has moments when you come home from a fight, and you’ve gotten mangled.  And your dad says, “Well, you did good.”  There’s something a little tougher.  But you find with so many actors these days, they come out to L.A., and they get ‘into the program.’  And slowly but surely they become part off the machine, and they lose what was so interesting about them.  Know what I mean?

 

HENRY: Yes, it sorts of vacuums the personality out of them.

R: Yes it does.  And I believe it’s because they think there is something further ahead of them, almost like an idea of who they should be.  It’s all created by fear.  So when we decided to go to Arizona to shoot, it was really important to me to get real cowboys.  And my strength, because in my youth I was very devoted to acting, and I studied with the very best in the world – I spent two years studying with Mike Nichols.  I went to the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, and I sought out the best teachers around.  I was very happy to finish it at the time I came out to L.A., I quit.  What I really like to do is (work with), I wouldn’t say unknown actors, but with people who just aren’t actors.  But what they are is they’re character.  For example, the gentleman who plays Virgil (friend of Roy Struthers), Brent Rock, you would have seen him in the trailer –

H: He reminded me of a younger Sam Elliot.

 

Brent Rock

 

R: He is; he’s got the presence -- he’s on-screen, and he electrifies.  And he’s a real cowboy, a real horseman who lives in Tombstone, Arizona.  He’s on his horse every day; he does it for a living.  That’s who I want in my films: real men.  Because of the, as you say, the vacuum of personality that happens, you have to go and search these people out.  And I want to give them the opportunity.  Because if you cast right, and they trust in you, and they believe in you, and I do my job, you’re going to get a better performance than any actor could give you. 

 

H: That’s very interesting, that you’ve devoted so much time to your study of acting, and concluded that you don’t need professional actors. 

 

R: Well, yes and no.  It takes time.  I have another picture I’m doing next year, a semi-western very similar to LEGENDS OF THE FALL, shooting in Canada.  And I have an unknown in the lead role.  And it’s going to take time.  Vulnerabilities in untrained actors, they take more time.  But when you have someone, in this case a Virgil, who is a leading-man cowboy, you just have to get him to get out of the way of himself.  Because it’s already there; he already has the grit in his fingernails.  It’s one of those things that bug me, in westerns in particular, is they’re too bloody clean.  At a time that was so rough and tumble – I want to see the sweat!  Back in the pioneering days of the Wild West, water was as expensive as a dollar a glass.  You could drink liquor for cheaper.  It does something to the way they look, the way they smell, the way they sweat.  And authenticity is very very important to me.

 

H: I understand you grew up, in Australia, watching an awful lot of movies.

 

R: I was obsessed with film.  I’d watch three movies a day, every day.  Obviously you had to go to school, but every waking moment I could, I watched.  I was a bit of a shut-in child, really, I was very anti-social.  I’d go to the video store each and every day, and in the ten-minute walk it took me, I’d audio-taped movies, and I listened to them on my Walkman.  They’d become such a huge part of my life that even when I wasn’t watching them, I was listening to them.  SCENT OF A WOMAN had a huge impact on me.  Because it had a standard first act.  And you think you know where it’s going, then suddenly they pack for New York.  It’s electrifying; and I don’t know what it was, but it sparked something in me.  I didn’t actually fall in love with acting until I saw a man named Daniel Day Lewis in a film called MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDERETTE.  I was 11 or 12, and it had a real impact on me.  And not long after I saw him in MY LEFT FOOT.   I didn’t know acting could be like that.  And that is what I aspired to.  And it took me away from my real love, which is film, and I eventually found my way back.  Life has a funny way, in retrospect, of showing you, ‘see, this is where I was leading you all along.’ 

 

H: Any particular western filmmakers have an impact on you?

R: You know who had a big impact on me?  It was about ten seconds, in a film by Jim Jarmusch called DEAD MAN.  It’s a fantastic film; it’s one where you can almost sense the sweat and the grime.  There’s a scene when he’s coming into town, and it’s his point of view, what he’s seeing through the carriage door.  And it’s so dangerous, it almost feels unlivable, and pioneering, and there are no rules.   That moment had a massive impact on me.  Is there a western director who’s had a massive impact on me?  No.  It’s more about authenticity, and celebrating the real man. 

H: How did you and Ric Maddox get together?

R: I directed Ric in a play, here in Los Angeles.  Ric had been in the armed forces in Iraq, and this was a play about Iraq, and I chose him specifically and another fellow who had just come back, and they were amazing.  Ric and I struck up a friendship, and we were talking one day about business, and what films he’d seen recently.  And gotten a bit nostalgic about certain actors, like the Yul Brynners, the John Waynes, and where have these men gone?  We live in an amazing time where there’s no excuse now for anyone not to pick up a camera and create something.  There’s so much available.  So on that idea, of the real man, and there’s no better genre (for that) than the western, we started to create something.  We kind of inspired each other, and one would write, wouldn’t it be great if this would happen?  And it turned into a series that I’m really proud of.  Each episode is ended with a little twist. 

 

H: Did you always see DEAD MEN as a web series, or did you see it as a feature, and figure out how to break it down? 

 

R: I was enticed to the web because it was still underground.  It still hadn’t laid its roots yet.  I wanted to come along and shock them.  I really think that this is going to be one of the premiere quality pieces on the web.  We put a lot of effort and a lot of energy and a lot of money to make it that good, so it could be real entertainment, and it’s for the web.  Eventually the web and web series are going to be the norm, and people will get most of their content there, just right now people don’t know how that’s going to happen.  And if I could say that DEAD MEN contributed to that, I’d be very very happy.

 

Ric Maddox

 

H: How long is each episode?

R: From seven to ten and a half minutes.  We’re premièring the first two episodes on Wednesday, September 26^th.  I’m not going to give anything away, but the first episode sets up where things are going, and I just wanted to give people a little bit of a taste of the speed and the action that they can expect with episodes. 

 

It has a genuine viciousness to it.  There’s a lot of knife fights, and a lot of spilled blood.  Eventually we’re going to get this done in all the different languages, so people can enjoy it.  Westerns are huge in Asia and France and Germany. 

 

H: I’m very aware of that because the Round-up is read everywhere around the globe.

 

R: Well, tell them that they can expect it to be translated into German, French, Japanese and hopefully Cantonese as well. 

 

H: I’ve heard that you’re planning to do five seasons of DEAD MEN.

 

R: Yeah.  It’s funny, we’re getting a lot of heat from this trailer, and because it’s taking web series where they haven’t been before; we’re getting a lot of heat from distributors who want to turn it into something else, something bigger.  Maybe a TV show.  I’m going to all these meetings.

 

Aiming low

 

H: You wouldn’t object to that, would you?

 

R: (laughs) Are you kidding?  Given a bigger budget, this could be amazing.   We already have episodes through season two planned out, and it’s going to take it to a different level – I wish that I could tell you what’s going to happen.  We have it all planned out – guaranteed five seasons.  And if TV picked it up I’d be so happy!  I’m particularly a fan of TV shows where it doesn’t stay in the typical three or four locations.  Almost like an on-going movie. 

 

H: Speaking of locations, how did you like shooting in Arizona? 

 

R: Loved it.  It’s my people.  I love communities.  I moved from Australia to New York when I was nineteen.  I love communities and eventually, my films are going to be more of the inspirational film type.     When you’re walking through Tombstone…some of my actors really got into it.  One of them, he plays Billy Walters, every day after shooting he loved to walk the planks of Tombstone, still in his costume, and it gave him a real thrill.  If you’re going to shoot a western you should shoot it in Arizona, because this is where it all happened.  When I was an actor, I did a war film called THE GREAT RAID (2005), and we did an eleven-day boot camp, and nothing could have been better to get us into the mind-set, what it felt like to be a soldier during World War II.  I would love to have done a western boot-camp for these guys, in Arizona.  It would shock their system in a way that nothing else can.

 

H: I’ve been talking to some actors in the new LONE RANGER movie, and they had a crash course, and they absolutely loved it. 

R: Going back to Arizona, Ric had shot a film there before, called MATTY, and when he told me about the people in Arizona, it just felt right.  We made a half dozen trips up there, scouting locations, and our budget, while big for a web series, is rather small.  And when people understood what we were trying to do, for the western, they opened up their homes to us; they opened up their land to us.  Amazing group of people called the Bell Boys, they have a livestock company, and they helped us with all the horses and the cattle, for next to nothing.  Amazing individuals –friendships that I will keep.  Couldn’t find a better place to shoot than Arizona – now I’ve just got to get those damned tax credits. 

 

(We talked a bit about the perils of the tax credit money that states provide to encourage filming, particularly that director Daniel Adams is in prison for inflating his expenses to get bigger tax credits – read last week’s BIG VALLEY article for details.)

 

R: I grew up with strong principles, and I was taught to hold on to your principles at all costs.  And it’s a daily struggle.  Part of it is believing in a higher force, and that you’re answerable.   That’s one thing I loved about Arizona is I’m a straight-shooter; I’m dealing with straight-shooters. 

 

H: How long a shoot was it?

 

R: It was a decent one; it was close to a month.  (laughs) And it was a tough one, Henry.  Low-budget; everyone doing everything.  Putting the scarves in the ice water, and putting it around my camera-operator’s neck so he doesn’t pass out.  We were there in June, We’d put ourselves in a position where we had to come back for something, and our locations were rough.  We had a thirty-minute four-by-four ride down to these locations.  Someone put a porta-loo down there, and that was it.  If the car went down, you were in trouble!  But again, no place better to get real vista shots.  We didn’t have all those luxuries, and at lunchtime we didn’t even always have shade.  But we came together as a unit, and it was a helluvah experience for an up-and-coming director like myself. 

 

H: Who is your cinematographer? 

 

R:  I actually had two D.P.s.  Bruce Logan, who shot the original TRON, and was involved with the original STAR WARS and 2001.  And Paul Hudson, he has a place called Lizardland Studios in Phoenix.   We shot on the Red One and the Scarlet.

Director Innes, D.P. Hudson

 

H: It’s been so long since I talked to anyone who actually shot film.

 

R: I’d love to shoot film.  There’s just a couple of things; when I’d be taking takes, in the back of my mind I’d be thinking of the cost.  I want to get the best performance, the best take, and sometimes that takes ten or fifteen takes. 

 

H: As you said, there’s really no excuse to not go out and make a movie, now that the changes in technology have brought the prices down. 

 

R: There’s no excuse not to be the master of your own creation right now.  If you’re not creating your own reality right now, you’re being a little lazy, to be blunt. 

 

H: What do you think of recent westerns?

 

R: TRUE GRIT was wonderful – I’m a huge fan of the Coen brothers.  And they’re writing – they’re in my top five.  They have an amazing D.P. in Roger Deakins, who gets them exactly what they want, and they take care of the rest.  3:10 TO YUMA was fantastic, and a real inspiration to me.  I still love the original 3:10.   You know, I take it back (about not being influenced by western directors); there are certain things I love from those old westerns.  I was recently watching Leone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, and I just love the starting.  I’m doing an homage to that; where they’re waiting in the station for the train to come, for (Charles) Bronson to get off the train.  There’s just that little vignette, the water tapping on the cowboy-hat brim -- it’s just brilliant!  And they don’t take that kind of time anymore.  They’re all in a rush, and that’s what he did so damned well.   He was amazing.  He was a man’s man.

 

H: And as you say, there are so few actors that you can take seriously as a man.

 

R: And that’s why there are so many cuts.  Because the camera doesn’t lie.  And if you’re comfortable in your own skin, and comfortable as the man that you are, the camera can stay on you for that much longer.  We need to be on the lookout for more of those kinds of actors. 

 

To learn more about DEAD MEN: THE SERIES, visit their website HERE. 

 

CHEYENNE WARRIOR II, HAWK -- Screenplay reviews

 

There’s a saying among magicians that if you know a hundred ways to control a selected card, but only one way to produce it, you know one card trick; but if you only know one way to control a card, but a hundred ways to produce it, you know a hundred tricks.

In some ways screenwriting – in fact any kind of writing – is like performing magic.  While there are a limited number of plots, there are infinite ways to tell them.  As Alexander Pope said, you should write, “…what oft was thought, but ne’er so well expressed.”

Michael B. Druxman proved his abilities as a story-teller with his screenplay to CHEYENNE WARRIOR (1994), which I have described here as not only the best micro-budget western I’ve ever seen, but also one of the best Westerns of the last twenty years.  The movie, directed by Mark Griffiths, is one of the most successful that Roger Corman has ever produced.  It’s combination of solid western qualities, plotting and believable romance has generated a considerable international following and fan base. 

Not surprisingly, Druxman immediately set to work plotting the sequel.  Unfortunately, Corman, who owned the characters in the story, was not convinced a sequel was warranted.  When Corman couldn’t be convinced, Druxman rewrote the sequel to make the characters similar, but not the same, with an eye towards making it with the same leads, Pato Hoffman and Kelly Preston.  Sadly this did not produce a movie, but it did produce a very fine script, entitled SARAH GOLDENHAIR.  Thinking it some of his finest work, Druxman took the very unusual step of publishing this unfilmed screenplay.

Well, no follow-up to CHEYENNE WARRIOR has happened yet, but Michael Druxman has revealed the further machinations involved in the attempt, with the publishing of his new book, CHEYENNE WARRIOR II / HAWK.  You see, Roger Corman eventually came around and hired Druxman to write a sequel after all, and he wrote CHEYENNE WARRIOR II.  Upon reading it, Corman felt certain changes were necessary, in order to give the film a stronger female lead – ironic considering he had grave doubts about the original CHEYENNE WARRIOR because Kelly Preston’s part was so prominent.  

The second draft became HAWK, and as Corman was getting ready to put it into production, Canadian tax-shelter problems stalled and eventually killed the project.  Druxman has printed both drafts of the screenplay in one volume, providing readers, and especially writers, with the rare opportunity to compare different versions of what is substantially the same story. 

The similarities are obvious: both versions, as well as SARAH GOLDEN HAIR, revolve around the infamous Sand Creek Massacre of 1864.  Many of the characters are the same.  The differences are often more subtle: a white man is caught by Cheyenne poaching rabbits on their land.  In one version, the action is seen from the white man’s perspective; in the other, from the Indians’.  A Scandinavian couple are father and daughter in one version, and husband and wife in the other.  Then there are the major changes: Rose, a ‘Calamity Jane’ sort of character, is one of the two leads in one version, and doesn’t exist in the other.

CHEYENNE WARRIOR II / HAWK is a terrific read, and one of them would make a terrific film (and one would make a good film).  Michael Druxman’s character, Soars Like a Hawk, usually just called Hawk, was one of the great strengths of the original film, and he’s a great strength here, because he is a ‘noble’ Indian, but not of the incredibly stoic, humorless sort. 

Over the years, I’ve always warned beginning screenwriters to make a script the absolute best that they can before showing it to a potential buyer, since it’s nearly impossible to get them to read another draft: you get one shot.  Here you can compare two different versions of the same story, and see which you prefer.  I have a strong opinion as to my favorite, but ironically, I believe the other version is the more commercial. 

Reading CHEYENNE WARRIOR II / HAWK, whether you’re a fan of the original CHEYENNE WARRIOR, and wanted to know what happened to those characters, or whether you want to deepen your understanding of the screenwriting process by comparing the two different versions, offers a unique opportunity for the reader that should not be passed up.  If you’d like to read my interview with Michael Druxman, and  my review of CHEYENNE WARRIOR, go HERE. For my review of the SARAH GOLDEN HAIR screenplay, go HERE. To purchase CHEYENNE WARRIOR ll /HAWK, or any of his other published screenplays, contact Michael B. Druxman at druxy@ix.netcom.com or PMB142, 6425 S. IH-35, Suite 150, Austin, Texas 78744.    

 

KIRK DOUGLAS ATTENDS ‘LONELY ARE THE BRAVE’ AT EGYPTIAN WEDNESDAY NIGHT!

 

Just found out that on Wednesday, September 19^th (tomorrow) at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Kirk Douglas will be appearing before the movie, at 7:30.  Details HERE.

SEE ‘NOW THEY CALL HIM SACRAMENTO’ ON THE BIG SCREEN!

 

If you’re going to be in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, September 23^rd, run, don’t walk, to the Mission Theatre to see NOW THEY CALL HIM SACRAMENTO (1972).  This rarely seen and quite amusing Spaghetti Western comedy is a fake ‘Trinity’ film, with Michael Forest playing the Terence Hill role, and Fred Harrison as Bud Spenser.  And Michael Forest, famous for STAR TREK, and various Spaghetti Westerns and Roger Corman movies, will attend!  Also, Roger Browne, the English voice for Terence Hill, and former president of the E.L.D.A. (English Language Dubbers Association) will attend.  To learn more, go HERE.  To read my review of SACRAMENTO, and to contact video distributor Dorado Films, go HERE.

Okay, that’s gotta be it for this week’s Round-up!  Sorry for delaying this until Tuesday night. 

Next week I’ll tell you about a Cowboy Church you can attend, a partial staging of the RAMONA pageant at the very place where the book was written, and more!

 

Happy Trails,

 

Henry

 

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

 

 

HEATH'S REVENGE! Lee Majors to Play Tom Barkley In 'Big Valley' Feature!

UPDATED THURSDAY 4/15/2010 -- ON FRIDAY SEE 'BUTCH CASSIDY', 'TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE', KATHERINE ROSS IN PERSON.

ON SATURDAY SEE 'TOMBSTONE', POWERS BOOTHE IN PERSON -- DETAILS BELOW.

ON SUNDAY SEE 'THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD' AT USC - DETAILS BELOW

UPDATED WEDNESDAY 4/14/2010 -- SEE AUTRY AND 'VARIETY' ITEMS BELOW

Lee Majors, who became a major TV heartthrob playing the bastard son on The Big Valley from 1965 to 1969 will now play his own (character's) father in the movie which should go to camera this summer. As mentioned here before, the matriarchal role of Victoria Barkley, played by four-time Oscar nominee Barbara Stanwyck, will be taken on by Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon. Also in the cast, not as family members, are Richard Dreyfus and Bruce Dern, and, according to rumor, Billy Bob Thornton. The eldest son, Jarrod, originally Richard Long, will be portrayed by Ryan Phillipe, of Crash (2004) and Flags of Our Fathers (2006). Jason Alan Smith will portray the hot-headed brother Nick, who was Peter Breck in the series. No one has yet been cast as Audra (Linda Evans), nor is there any word as to whether either Evans or Breck might appear in the film, along with Majors. The film is being produced by Kate Edelman Johnson, whose father, Louis Edelman, was one of the original show's creators. It's being written and directed by Daniel Adams.

HARRISON FORD JOINS 'COWBOYS AND ALIENS' CAST

Director Jon Favreau has confirmed, on Twitter, that Harrison Ford has joined the cast of the sci-fi western comic-book feature. The Indiana Jones star who gained fame in a battered fedora last wore a Stetson in The Frisco Kid (1979), (see above, right)with Gene Wilder, although he also appeared in episodes of THE VIRGINIAN and GUNSMOKE.

GRANGER, TEXAS RESIDENTS SHOWING THEIR 'TRUE GRIT'

This rural crossroads, population 1,400, has been selected to represent Fort Smith, Arkansas, where much of the action in the Charles Portis story takes place. Wooden walkways are being built over concrete sidewalks, and dirt is being poured over the town's locally famous brick street-paving. According to location manager Robbie Friedmann, "We chose Granger because it's appearance...matched the reference photos we have of Ft. Smith. Also, Granger has a lot of empty lots between brick buildings. There are a couple of buildings, a vacant lot, then more buildings. We are constructing wood buildings on these lots from rough sawn lumber, which is what Fort Smith looked like."

Local men with facial hair, and women with long, uncolored hair, are picking up work as extras, and all the construction has been helpful to the local economy. Mayor Scott Murrah says, "Business has picked up. They've purchased as much material in town as they could. They gave us an economic boost for sales taxes and such. And they've hired a lot of local labor." To read the entire news story, by Harper Scott Clark for the Temple Daily Telegraph, click here.

DVD REVIEWS - NEW TO HOME VIDEO FROM DORADO FILMS

'GATLING GUN' (1968) and 'NOW THEY CALL HIM SACRAMENTO'(1972)

In GATLING GUN, in the midst of the Civil War, a prototype for the weapon is stolen, its inventor is kidnapped, and both are held for ransom, each offered to a different side. Robert Woods is U.S. Army Captain Chris Tanner, sent to recover them before the Confederacy can get their hands on either one. Although important higher-ups are in the shadows, it is John Ireland as the swarthy and evil Tapas whom Tanner must deal with. Directed by Edmondo Amati, GATLING GUN is a major step above the average spaghetti western -- the plotting is clever, the women are beautiful, the photography is striking, the tech credits are strong, and so is the action. In addition to all the fighting and shooting, poor Robert Woods has TWO dragging scenes that are at times hard to watch, and gives a solid performance as the troubled hero. If you didn't read Woods' interview in the blog last month, you can by clicking here. Ireland, normally a suave sophisticate, plays very much against type as a feared and despised 'half-breed' whom even whores think themselves too good for -- it's a performance that compares well to Eli Wallach's as Tuco, without being imitative of it. The condition of the movie image is pristine, and show in the original aspect ratio. More unexpectedly, this version contains three or four sequences not seen in the original English-language release. As a result, since these scene were never dubbed, you'll occasionally find yourself hearing not English but Italian, and reading subtitles. I know it sounds jarring, but it's really not. Also included are nearly a dozen coming attractions for other westerns -- no surprise since Dorado Films has about 65 European westerns in their archives.

Back in the 1920s, Charlie Chaplin's 'Little Tramp' was such an international sensation that he was shamelessly imitated, to provide more two-reelers than Charlie could possibly supply. To this day, people stumble upon old Billy West comedies and think they've found a 'Lost Chaplin.' In the days of the spaghetti western, the 'Trinity' comedies, starring Terrence Hill and Bud Spenser, were so popular that their style was imitated, but I didn't know that anyone ever tried to counterfeit a Trinity film until I saw NOW THEY CALL HIM SACRAMENTO. Michael Forest, an American with many stateside and European credits, only resembles Terence Hill in height. But with the meticulously copied costume and an unconquerable cheerfulness, he makes a convincing and likable Trinity. And Terrence Hill has no right to complain -- he got his big break because Franco Nero wouldn't do another DJANGO picture, and the producers slipped Hill in as a carbon copy. Fred Harrison, in the Bud Spenser role, is not fat enough to fool you, but his attitude and mannerisms -- and shtick -- can often make you forget that he is not Spenser. The plot centers around the robbery of a train carrying money for farmers to pay off the banker, and the possibility that the banker and the robbers are in cahoots -- until our boys rob the robbers. It's frequently amusing, and some of the best business, early on involves the crazy interplay between Forest and his horse. The film includes the surprisingly elaborate burning of a western town. Both films are available from Dorado Films, which can be reached here.

FRIDAY, APRIL 16TH AT THE AERO - SANTA MONICA 7:30 P.M.

DOUBLE FEATURE - BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE,
KATHERINE ROSS ATTENDING!

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
Dir. George Roy Hill
1969, 20th Century Fox, 110 min.

"Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?" drawls blue-eyed, laid-back train robber Robert Redford to his equally charming partner-in-crime Paul Newman. Hill’s hilarious and wildly romantic look at the infamous Hole in the Wall gang is brilliantly scripted by William Goldman. Co-starring a lovely Katharine Ross (winner of the BAFTA Award for Best Actress) as the woman who joins Butch and Sundance on their adventure.

TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE
1969, Universal, 98 min.

Blacklisted filmmaker Abraham Polonsky returned to the director's chair for the first time in 21 years for this tale of a Native American man (Robert Blake) on the run from the law after he kills his lover's father in self-defense. Robert Redford is the sheriff leading the posse, and Katharine Ross plays Willie Boy's girlfriend Lola.

**IN PERSON: Discussion in between films with actress Katharine Ross.

SATURDAY, APRIL 17TH AT 7:30 P.M.

DOUBLE FEATURE - THE EMERALD FOREST & TOMBSTONE, POWERS BOOTHE ATTENDING!

THE EMERALD FOREST
Dir. John Boorman
1985, Embassy Pictures, 114 min.

When the young son of engineer Bill Markham (Powers Boothe) is kidnapped into the wilds of the rainforest by an aboriginal tribe, Markham dedicates the next 10 years of his life to finding the boy. As in DELIVERANCE, director John Boorman proves his expert eye for the simultaneous awe and horror of nature untamed.

TOMBSTONE
Dir. George P. Cosmatos
1993, Buena Vista Pictures, 130 min.

Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton and Powers Boothe all pack a wallop in this star-laced revisionist Western. Lawman Wyatt Earp (Russell) is under the mistaken impression that retirement in Tombstone, Arizona, will mean a rest from his successful but exhausting career of chasing and eliminating outlaws. Instead, the town is plagued by an array of nasty villains, and Earp must get back into full-throttle butt-whoopin' mode one last time.

**IN PERSON: Discussion between films with actor Powers Boothe. Prior to the screening, we’ll present a Powers Boothe clip show from the soon-to-be-released MACGRUBER (based on the "Saturday Night Live" sketch) provided by Universal Pictures.

(Yes, I know THE EMERALD FOREST isn't a western, but it's with TOMBSTONE, which is, and Powers Booth is there.)

SUNDAY, APRIL 18TH -- U.S.C. - OUTSIDE THE BOX (OFFICE) SERIES PRESENTS

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD. It's a South Korean 'western' set in Manchuria in the 1930s, and the trailer looks great. CHECK OUT THE TRAILER HERE. As to where it's showing, I don't quite get it -- it's at USC, but I usually don't go that far downtown unless I'm packing. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS -- maybe you can figure it out.

EVENTS AT THE AUTRY THIS WEEKEND

OPENING FRIDAY APRIL 16TH: HOME LANDS - HOW WOMEN MADE THE WEST
THROUGH AUGUST 22ND

SATURDAY APRIL 17TH 9:30 A.M. 11:00 A.M.
Cowboys of the Silver Screen Stamp Ceremony
rsvp: 818.752.7770

On April 17, the United States Postal Service will release the "Cowboys of the Silver Screen" commemorative set featuring Gene Autry, William S. Hart, Tom Mix, and Roy Rogers. An official unveiling will take place at the Autry National Center, where the USPS will be hand-canceling the stamps with the official First Day of Sale postmark.

SATURDAY APRIL 17TH from 2:00 pm to 4:00 p.m. in the Autry Store
KNOTTS PRESERVED: FROM BOYSENBERRY TO THEME PARK, THE HISTORY OF KNOTT'S BERRY FARM

Christopher Merritt and J. Eric Lynxwiler discuss their latest book,which represents 20 years of research on the designs and history of the varied attractions at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. With over 200 photos, rarely seen conceptual art, and interviews with the original designers and the Knott family, Knott’s Preserved gives an overview of the farm from its earliest years to present day.

VARIETY PROFILE OF WESTERN PRODUCER ARTHUR GARDNER

CLICK HERE to read Brian Lowry's Wednesday column about Arthur Gardner who, with partners Arthur Laven and Jules Levy, produced THE RIFLEMAN and THE BIG VALLEY. He'll turn 100 this June!

CHRIS HOPKINS PAINTINGS

It sounds a little weird sending people to a cemetery to see art, but the Forest Lawn Museum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Glendale, is featuring a show of paintings by Chris Hopkins honoring the Northwest Coast Native Culture. The pictures on the invitation I received are strikingly handsome. The exhibit continues through April 25th -- the museum is closed on Mondays. The address is 1712South Glendale Avenue, Glendale, CA 91205. For more information, visit the website here.

LOS ENCINOS STATE HISTORIC PARK

Sunday 4/12 Living History. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. you can step back in time! The living history program features a working blacksmith shop, 19th Century children's games, traditional music, tours of the historic structures, and strolling folks in period costume -- great fun for kids and adults, and you can feed the ducks! They do this program on the third Sunday of every month. Los Encinos is located at 16756 Moorpark St., Encino, CA 91436-1068. (818)784-4849. For more information, click here.

LEE VAN CLEEF DOUBLE-BILL!

Sunday and Monday, April 18th and 19th, The New Beverly Cinema at 7165 West Beverly Boulevard in L.A. will be showing a pair of Mr. Bad's pasta-western treats: Death Rides A Horse (1967) and Sabata (1969). Horse co-stars John Phillip Law, and features a wonderful Ennio Morricone score. Sabata is produced by Sergio Leonce's producer, Alberto Grimaldi, and features production design and costumes by Carlo Simi. Tickets are $7. For showtimes, call 323-938-4038 or visit their website here.

SWEETGRASS AT LANDMARK THEATERS

Here is the official blurb about a new documentary. "SWEETGRASS is an unsentimental elegy to the American West. The documentary follows the last modern-day cowboys to lead their flocks of sheep up into Montana's breathtaking and often dangerous Absaroka-Beartooth mountains for summer pasture. The astonishingly beautiful yet unsparing film reveals a world in which nature and culture, animals and humans, vulnerability and violence are all intimately meshed. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times calls the film 'a really intimate, beautifully shot examination of the connection between man and beast,' while Ronnie Scheib of Variety considers it 'a one-of-a-kind experience...at once epic-scale and earthbound.'" Okay, none of those Brokeback Mountain (2005) cheap-shots -- I'm sure these poor shepherds have heard 'em all. Sweetgrass is playing at the Varsity Theatre in Seattle, and the Lagoon Theatre in Minneapolis.

SILENT WESTERNS IN AT THE DRYDEN IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK!

Silent Cinema -- Broncho Billy and Beyond: Early Westerns
Tuesday, April 13, 8 p.m.

This program of short films from the pioneering days of cinema puts the spotlight on a genre that’s been with us almost as long as the medium: the Western. We begin with the legendary and influential THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (Edwin S. Porter, US 1903, 12 min.); Western icon Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson stars in WHY BRONCHO BILLY LEFT BEAR COUNTY (Gilbert Anderson, US 1913, 9 min.); early Western auteur Romaine Fielding wrote, directed, and stars in THE RATTLESNAKE (Romaine Fielding, US 1913, 29 min.); and a stagecoach chase filmed by a moving camera is the highlight of THE STRUGGLE (Thomas Ince, US 1913, 29 min.). Live piano by Philip C. Carli. For more information, click here.

WESTERN MOVIES ON TV
Note:AMC=American Movie Classics, EXT= Showtime Extreme, FMC=Fox Movie Channel, TCM=Turner Classic Movies. All times given are Pacific Standard Time.

TV LAND - BONANZA and GUNSMOKE

Every weekday, TV LAND airs a three-hour block of BONANZA episodes from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They run a GUNSMOKE Monday through Thursday at 10:00 a.m., and on Friday they show two, from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m.. They're not currently running either series on weekends, but that could change at any time.


NEED YOUR BLACK & WHITE TV FIX?

Check out your cable system for WHT, which stands for World Harvest Television. It's a religious network that runs a lot of good western programming. Your times may vary, depending on where you live, but weekdays in Los Angeles they run THE LONE RANGER at 1:30 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.

Monday, April 12th

TCM 4:45 a.m. GO WEST, YOUNG LADY (1941) A sheriff's girl friend tries to discover the identity of a masked bandit chief. Penny Singleton, Glenn Ford, Ann Miller. Directed by Frank Strayer from a script by Karen DeWolf. This was supposed to be Penny's chance to play someone other than BLONDIE, but I'm told that it plays rather like Blondie Out West Without Dagwood -- not that that's a bad thing!

Tuesday, April 13th

TCM 4:30 a.m. AMBUSH (1949) Robert Taylor searches for a white woman held captive by Apaches. With John Hodiak and Arlene Dahl, directed by Sam Wood. The screenplay by Marguerite Roberts is based on a story by the great Luke Short.

TCM 9:15 a.m. DEVIL'S DOORWAY (1950) An Indian Civil War hero returns home to fight for his people. Starring Robert Taylor, Louis Calhern, Paula Raymond, directed by the great Anthony Mann from Guy Trosper's screenplay.

Wednesday, April 14th

AMC 6:00 a.m. BLAZING SADDLES (1974)Mel Brooks directed and co-wrote, with Norman Steinberg, this delightfully broad western comedy about a town getting it's first black sheriff, Cleavon Little, helped only by Gene Wilder as the Waco Kid. With Slim Pickens and Madeline Kahn, and featuring a rousing theme sung by Frankie Laine.

Thursday, April 15th

FMC 9:00 a.m. TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CONDOR (1953) The remake of 'Son of Fury' concerns a young man (Cornel Wilde) cheated out of his inheritance by his uncle (George Macready) who travels to the Mayan hills of Guatamala seeking a hidden treasure. Based on the Edison Marshall novel, written and directed by the excellent Delmer Daves.

Friday, April 15th

FMC 5:00 a.m. THE PROUD ONES (1956) Marshal Robert Ryan must protect his town when a Texas herd arrives with murderous Jeffrey Hunter. Directed by Robert D. Webb, also starring Virginia Mayo, Walter Brennan, Robert Middleton. Verne Athanas's novel was adapted by Edmund North and Joseph Petraca.

Saturday, April 17th

AMC 6:30 a.m. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) Actor Kevin Costner's directorial debut won him an Oscar, and there were seven more: best picture; Dean Semler for cinematography; Neil Travis for editing; John Barry for his score; Michael Blake for his adapted screenplay; and Russell Williams II, Jeffrey Perkins, Bill W. Benton and Gregory H. Watkins for sound. Starring Costner as an army officer who befriends the Lakota Souix. With Mary McDonnel.

AMC 10:30 a.m. SILVERADO (1985) Larry Kasdan directs from a script he wrote with his brother Mark. Lots of good stuff in it, but at 133 minutes, it's at least a half hour too long. Starring Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner.

TCM 11:00 a.m. THE YEARLING (1946) Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's novel comes vividly to life in this story of a boy (Claude Jarman) whose pet deer threatens the family farm. With Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman as his parents, directed by Clarence Brown from Paul Osborne's screenplay.

AMC 1:30 p.m. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2009) Disappointing telling of the tale, with Brad Pitt as Jesse, and Casey Affleck dribbling and hyperventilating as Ford: he's so nuts from the start that he has nowhere to go, and Pitt comes off as a moron for trusting him. Beautiful photography by Roger Deakins, but not worth 160 minutes out of your life. Sam Fuller did so much better with I SHOT JESSE JAMES (1949) in 81 minutes, with Reed Hadley as Jesse and John Ireland as Ford. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik from Ron Hansen's novel.

TCM 9:00 p.m. ROSEANNA MCCOY (1943) The famous Hatfield-McCoy feud gets the Romeo and Juliet treatment. Starring Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Charles Bickford, Raymond Massey and Richard Basehart. Directed by Irving Reis, with uncredited assistance by Nicholas Ray. From the novel by Alberta Hannum, scripted by one of the greatest of creepy writers, John 'Evening Primrose' Collier.

AMC 11:00 p.m. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) Actor Kevin Costner's directorial debut won him an Oscar, and there were seven more: best picture; Dean Semler for cinematography; Neil Travis for editing; John Barry for his score; Michael Blake for his adapted screenplay; and Russell Williams II, Jeffrey Perkins, Bill W. Benton and Gregory H. Watkins for sound. Starring Costner as an army officer who befriends the Lakota Souix. With Mary McDonnel.

Sunday, April 18th

FMC 3:00 a.m. THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940) A delight! Rouben Mamoulian directs John Taintor Foote's adaptation of the Johnston McCulley story. Ty Power, Basil Rathbone, Linda Darnell et al have great fun, and the audience has even more.

AMC 4:00 a.m. SILVERADO (1985) Larry Kasdan directs from a script he wrote with his brother Mark. Lots of good stuff in it, but at 133 minutes, it's at least a half hour too long. Starring Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner.

AMC 7:00 a.m. JEREMIAH JOHNSON (1972) Sydney Pollack directs Robert Redford in the story of a real mountain man, culled from several different writers: Vardis Fisher, Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker. The screenplay is by John Milius and Edward Anholt, and is co-stars Will Geer. Probably Redford's best western role (yes, I know SUNDANCE KID is good, too), and it was a wise move to eliminate his character's nickname: Liver-Eating Johnson.

AMC 9:30 a.m. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2009) Disappointing telling of the tale, with Brad Pitt as Jesse, and Casey Affleck dribbling and hyperventilating as Ford: he's so nuts from the start that he has nowhere to go, and Pitt comes off as a moron for trusting him. Beautiful photography by Roger Deakins, but not worth 160 minutes out of your life. Sam Fuller did so much better with I SHOT JESSE JAMES (1949) in 81 minutes, with Reed Hadley as Jesse and John Ireland as Ford. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik from Ron Hansen's novel.

AMC 11:30 p.m. JEREMIAH JOHNSON (1972) Sydney Pollack directs Robert Redford in the story of a real mountain man, culled from several different writers: Vardis Fisher, Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker. The screenplay is by John Milius and Edward Anholt, and is co-stars Will Geer. Probably Redford's best western role (yes, I know SUNDANCE KID is good, too), and it was a wise move to eliminate his character's nickname: Liver-Eating Johnson.

That's all until next week!

Adios!

Henry

All contents copyright April 2010 by Henry C. Parke