LUKE PERRY'S THIRD ‘GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE’

 

 

The third entry in star and creator Luke Perry’s Hallmark Movie Channel Western franchise, GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE will premiere on Saturday, January 26^th.  Luke Perry continues as circuit judge John Goodnight, and in GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS a stagecoach hold-up brings Goodnight face-to-face with beautiful woman-on-the-run Lucy Thoreau, played by Katherine Isabelle of ENDGAME.  Best of all, the man who stands in her way is Rick Schroder, Newt from LONESOME DOVE, and it’s about time we had him back in the saddle again!  More details as the date gets closer.

 

INVEST IN ‘ANDRE DE TOTH – THE DIRECTOR’S DIRECTOR’

 

Filmmaker Patrick Francis first met legendary director Andre de Toth at a party at Leonard Maltin’s, and they hit off immediately.  The normally reticent director opened up to Francis, and their many long conversations led to the documentary which Francis is fund-raising to finish. 

 

 

Known to the general public for his Vincent Price 3D starrer HOUSE OF WAX, Hungary-born de Toth worked in England for the Korda’s before coming to America.  He excelled in films noir, and smart, tough and unflinching Westerns like DAY OF THE OUTLAW, RIDING SHOTGUN, INDIAN FIRE, and RAMROD, reteaming his wife, Veronica Lake, with her SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS co-star Joel McCrea.  De Toth directed a string of Randolph Scott pictures, and directed episodes of some of the best Western TV series: ZANE GREY THEATRE, MAVERICK, BRONCO, and Sam Peckinpah’s THE WESTERNER. 

 

This documentary is not just a ‘potential’ movie – it exists.  The purpose of the Indiegogo campaign is to raise completion money, to pay for post-production fees, the rights to use film-clips, and other nuts-and-bolts needs.  I’ll be talking more to Patrick Francis about Andre de Toth in the Round-up very soon.  But at the moment, there are just nine days left to this fund-raiser.  If you’d like to learn more, and hopefully contribute, please go here: http://www.indiegogo.com/Andre-deToth

 

 

CHRISTMAS BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

 

Personally, I can’t think of a better Christmas or Hanukkah gift than a good book, and I’ve got four great ones to recommend.  Though I’ll be doing detailed reviews of each soon, I wanted to get the word out early for those of you who haven’t finished your holiday shopping (and those like me that haven’t started our shopping!). 

 

COL. WILLIAM SELIG -- THE MAN WHO INVENTED HOLLYWOOD, is a fascinating biography of one of the most important men in the history of film.  All the more remarkable, although his contributions equal those of D.W. Griffith, and surpass those of DeMille, until Andrew Erish wrote this fine biography, Selig’s work was virtually unknown even among the top tier of film historians.  In addition to being a highly entertaining read, SELIG is an essential addition to the library of any serious film buff.   I’ll be featuring my interview with Andy Erish in the Round-up shortly.

 

ARIZONA’S LITTLE HOLLYWOOD – SEDONA AND NORTHERN ARIZONA’S FORGOTTEN FILM HISTORY 1923 -1973, by Joe McNeill, is a lively and informative telling of the busy history of Western movie production in one of the most beautiful spots on Earth.  Joe covers it all in remarkable detail, from the silent days of Rex the Wonder Horse, and early Zane Grey stories, through THE OUTLAW, ANGEL AND THE BADMAN, LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN,  the original 3:10 TO YUMA and THE ROUNDERS, even unearthing details of a Nazi-propaganda Western! 

 

HENRY DARROW – LIGHTNING IN THE BOTTLE by Jan Pippins and Henry Darrow, is the delightful biography of the actor we all discovered as Manolito Montoya on THE HIGH CHAPARRAL.  While I always loved the series (happily playing now on INSP), and particularly the character of Manolito, I had no idea of the character’s and the actor’s importance to the Hispanic community, being, with costar Linda Cristal, the first Latino actors to star as Latino characters in a TV series.  Darrow went on to be the first Latino to play ZORRO as well, a character he portrayed in three separate productions.  This book is not only the life and career story of a highly talented actor, it is also an in-depth study of HIGH CHAPARRAL, and any fan of the series will enjoy it.  Just this week I interviewed Mr. Darrow, who was not only charming and informative, but kept me laughing practically from ‘Hello’ on.  I’ll be running the interview asap.

 

GUNSMOKE – AN AMERICAN INSTITUTION by Ben Costello is an in-depth look at twenty years and 600 episodes of one of the absolutely finest TV series of any genre, and why it’s still popular and relevant half a century after it transitioned from radio to TV.  A big, beautiful coffee-table book, generously illustrated, painstakingly researched; it draws on the memories of dozens of actors, directors and writers.  It features a capsule description of every episode, and in-depth interviews with cast members Dennis Weaver, Buck Taylor and Burt Reynolds.

 

 

‘WILD HORSE, WILD RIDE’ ON DVD FOR CHRISTMAS

 

 

 

This beautiful, inspiring documentary is about folks who take part in a competition whose purpose is to raise money to rescue wild horses on government land.  100 people each take on a completely wild mustang, and have 100 days to train it for a competition.  (If you haven’t read my review, see it HERE)

It’s now available on DVD – the flyer above has the details.

 

NO "THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES"! 

 

If you're as big a fan of the late Bob Hope as I am, you may have been planning to go to his Toluca Lake home today or Sunday for his garage sale, where, it was said, tons of Christmas decorations and stuff were going on sale to the public for cheap.  I'll save you a trip: although they announced an opening time of 9:00 a.m., they started letting people in at 7:00.  There is NOTHING left!  My daughter, who got there before 8:30, described the scene as post-apocalyptic, with crowds surging from one empty table to the next in near panic.  There are two-hour lines of ‘Sooners’ waiting to pay for everything.  Too bad.  Just did a search, and the only Bob Hope movies on schedule are on TCM.  A week from tomorrow it’s THE IRON PETTICOAT, co-starring him with Kate Hepburn, and said to be one of his worst.  The following Tuesday there’s the delightful SEVEN LITTLE FOYS.  In the meantime, I’m gonna dig out my VHS copy of PALEFACE.

 

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

And speaking of TCM (okay, nobody was), have I mentioned that the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here?






 

THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepreneur 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 permanent 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 Hollywoodwestern, 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.



WELLSFARGO 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.


WESTERN ALL OVER THE DIAL


INSP’s SADDLE-UP SATURDAY features a block of rarely-seen classics THE VIRGINIAN and HIGH CHAPARRAL, along with BONANZA and THE BIG VALLEY. On weekdays they’re showing LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, BIG VALLEY, HIGH CHAPARRAL and DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN.


ME-TV’s Saturday line-up includes BRANDED, THE REBEL and THE GUNS OF WILL SONNETT. On weekdays it’s DANIEL BOONE, GUNSMOKE, BONANZA, BIG VALLEY, WILD WILD WEST, and THE RIFLEMAN.


RFD-TV, the channel whose president bought Trigger and Bullet at auction, have a special love for Roy Rogers. They show an episode of The Roy Rogers Show on Sunday mornings, a Roy Rogers movie on Tuesday mornings, and repeat them during the week.


WHT-TV has a weekday afternoon line-up that’s perfect for kids, featuring LASSIE, THE ROY ROGERS SHOW and THE LONE RANGER.


TV-LAND angered viewers by dropping GUNSMOKE, but now it’s back every weekday, along with BONANZA.


That’ll do it for this week.  Coming soon in the Round-up I’ll have word of a new Western starring APPALOOSA’S Ed Harris, another Western that started as a web series but is going to be a feature, my interview with Henry Darrow, and some Spaghetti Western suggestions to put you in a DJANGO UNCHAINED frame of mind!

 

Happy Trails,

 

Henry

 

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

 

'WILD HORSE' MAKES FOR A WILD RIDE!

WILD HORSE, WILD RIDE – Film Review

 

WILD HORSE, WILD RIDE, directed by Alex Dawson and Greg Gricus, is a documentary about kindness and decency.  I hope that doesn’t sound too sappy, because the movie isn’t at all.  Thousands of wild horses run loose on government land, and every year, thousands are rounded up and removed.  They all need homes and, as it says in the film’s introduction, “None has ever been touched by a human hand.”

 

The Mustang Heritage Foundation, whose mission is to facilitate and encourage wild horse adoption, sponsors an annual event called the Extreme Mustang Makeover Challenge, in which one-hundred people get one wild mustang, and one-hundred days to train it for a competition in Fort Worth, Texas.  The hope is that, the more tame the horse, the better the home it will find when it’s auctioned after the competition.

 

The movie focuses on nine individuals who take part, and they are an impressively mixed bunch.  There are experienced trainers who have done this before, and a biomedical engineer who has never trained a horse.  There’s the stunning blonde rodeo cowgirl.  And there are cowboys, from a pair of 20-ish brothers in New Hampshire, to a Mexican immigrant in Wisconsin, to a Navajo father and son from the res, to an ageing cowpoke taking part along with his seventh bride.     

 

Although there is an explicit ticking clock, the underlying theme of the film is patience, as each rider gentles and trains their animal, and the filmmakers, allowing their film the same tone as their theme, eschew rapid cutting and fast music to instead show the same calm and patience as the trainers.  There are many quiet moments in the movie, which are no less exciting for their lack of drum-beat.

 

The methods of the trainers are as different as their backgrounds.  Some are on the horses quickly; others ride for the first time just days before the competition.  Some train the horses blindfolded; some work from the center of the corral; some work the new animals side-by-side with a trained animal.   Though all that take part do so out of compassion, there are additional motives as well.  The older men in particular have a need to prove something to themselves.  These are all people of no great wealth who give selflessly of their time.  There is a respect and love that develops between human and horse during the process, even between the most cantankerous participants.  And there is sadness, and sometimes tears, with the realization that, the better the job they do, the less likely the trainer will be able to afford that horse at auction.

 

WILD HORSE, WILD RIDE is a beautiful, inspiring film which opened theatrically on Friday, August 24^th.  To learn more, and to find out when it will be at a theatre near you, go HERE.  If you're in the L.A. area, the film will screen on Tuesday, September 6th at the Autry, at 6 pm.

And if you are inspired to take part in next year’s competition, here is who you should contact:

Mustang Heritage Foundation
PO Box 979
Georgetown, TX 78626
512-869-3225
Fax: 512-869-3229

www.extrememustangmakeover.com

For information about adopting a wild horse or burro:

1-866-4-Mustangs (1-866-468-7826)
www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov

 

‘COPPER’ – Television Review

Tom Weston-Jones

 

On Sunday nights, while you’re enjoying season 2 of the post-Civil War Western series HELL ON WHEELS, you might find it worth your while to check out the new Eastern set in the same period on the opposite coast, COPPER.  The first original dramatic series to be produced by BBC-America, it premiered last Sunday, August 19^th, with a strong opener to its ten-episode season.  Set in New York City’s infamous Five Corners District, the tale is as compelling as it is relentlessly grim.  Examining a world most viewers were introduced to in Martin Scorsese’s erratic film based on the brilliant history, GANGS OF NEW YORK, by Herbert Asbury, the story follows a Civil War hero and transplanted Irish cop, Detective Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones), as he tries to see justice done on New York’s meanest streets and alleyways. 

Five Points, New York reproduced in Canada

 

No saint himself, we meet him when he and the other cops he works with ambush and slaughter a pack of bank-robbers, then gleefully pocket the loot until more disciplined police arrive.   Corcoran has an in-depth knowledge of the dregs of New York, but a connection with high society as well, through fellow war-vet and wealthy dilettante Robert Morehouse (Kyle Schmid).  He works overtly with Det. Francis McGuire (Kevin Ryan), and covertly with Dr. Matthew Freeman (Ato Essandoh).  Freeman is a black m.d., and while Corcoran turns to him for his forensic expertise, he must present the findings as his own, knowing a black doctor’s evidence would never be taken seriously by N.Y.P.D. of the time.  He is also a friend to various scarlet women, among them Madam Eva Heissen (Franka Potente).

5th Avenue Society

 

Corcoran comes with a personal axe to grind – he’s investigating the death of his wife and child (and if it sounds a bit like HELL ON WHEELS on that score, HELL ON WHEELS sounds a bit like OUTLAW JOSIE WALES).  And he’s got a case he’s drawn into – the appearance and disappearance of a street-urchin prostitute.  This is a story of corruption and evil, and I’d not recommend it for the kiddies, but for grown-ups who like their heroes tough, and their villains despicable, you can’t very easily top a necro-pedophile.    

 

Digging for clues

Lensed in dank, shadowy Canada, the show is created and written by a sterling trio of scribes: Tom Fontana, Will Rokos, and Barry Levinson.  It is grim, grueling fun, and gives a convincing and involving glimpse at one of the most tragic times in our greatest city. 

 Here's a teaser of tonight's tough-looking episode:

 

WHY ANTHONY LAPAGLIA QUIT ‘DJANGO’

"The people at Django, their attitude more or less was, 'Just dump the other film', but I couldn't do it out of respect to (director) Rob Connolly, out of respect to the material, out of respect to the material, out of respect to the commitment I’d made.” 

Thus Anthony LaPaglia left his small, much-postponed role in the Tarantino film to honor his commitment to UNDERGROUND, a film about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, which had been financed based on LaPaglia playing the lead.  LaPaglia joins a slew of actors who were cast in DJANGO UNCHAINED, then walked, including Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, who was to play LaPaglia’s brother; Kevin Costner; Kurt Russell; Sacha Baron Cohen; and Jonah Hill, who agreed, then left, then returned as another character. 

While LaPaglia says he had a good time on the DJANGO set, hanging around and waiting to work, he said the production, “…was just out of control, over-budget, it was everywhere.”

REDBOX SIMPLIFIES FINDING ‘LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE’

If you plan to rent LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE – and you certainly should – and I don’t say that just because Henry’s Western Round-Up is quoted on the box – there’s a quick and easy way to locate a copy near you.  The good folks at Redbox contacted me and said that if you go here --  http://www.redbox.com/movies/the-legend-of-hells-gate-of-hells-gate -- and type in your zip code, ect to the commitment I'd made.''

Thus Anthony LaPaglia left his small, much postponed role in the Tarantino film to honor his commitment to UNDERGROUND, a film about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, which had been financed based on LaPaglia’s playing the lead. LaPaglia joins a slew of actors who were cast in DJANGO UNCHAINED, then walked, including Joseph Gordon Leavitt, who was to play LaPaglia’s brother; Kevin Costner; Kurt Russell; Sacha Baron Cohen; and Jonah Hill, who agreed, then left, then came back as another character.

While he had a good time on the set of DJANGO UNCHAINED, waiting to work, he said the production, “… was just out of control, over-budget, it was everywhere.”they’ll do the rest.  I tried it, and found ten copies from half a mile to 3 ½ miles from my home.  (If you’d like to read my review, go HERE.)

The general link to search for movies is this: http://www.redbox.com/locations?loc=91401&productRef=5497I

I tried it for another fine recent western, GOOD FOR NOTHING, and found six copies available in my neighborhood.  It’s a pretty handy tool! (The link to my review of GOOD FOR NOTHING is HERE.)

 

‘WILD BOYS’ – AUSSIE WESTERN SERIES IS WELL WORTH A LOOK!

As long as we’re being big-hearted and including Easterns like COPPER in the Round-up, let’s take it a little farther, and check out a ‘western’ set in and shot in Australia’s New South Wales, WILD BOYS.  The official synopsis for the series is: Australia 1860s, Wild Boys follows a gang of bushrangers as they stage hold-ups determined to keep ahead of the troopers or wind up at the end of a noose. 

There were ten episodes in 2011, and it appears that there is a second season, which has its finale tonight, but I’m not sure, and none of the videos posted on the official site will run in the U.S.  But the trailer is below, and I’ll be finding out more this week.

 

SATURDAY NOON MATINEE AT THE AUTRY

As they do on the first Saturday of every month, the Autry presents a free double-feature of Gene's movies.  This coming Saturday, September 1st, it's YODELIN' KID FROM PINE RIDGE (Republic 1937) and LAST OF THE PONY RIDERS (Columbia 1953).  The latter deals with the Pony Express being supplanted by the stagecoach business, and features a fine performance by Dick Jones.

ALL-STAR BIG VALLEY SADDLE-UP SATURDAY ON INSP

Saturday, September 1st, INSP will present a marathon of BIG VALLEYs with guest stars like William Shatner, Adam West, Richard Dreyfus, Bruce Dern, Charles Bronson, Leslie Neilsen, Milton Berle, George Kennedy, Ron Howard, Dennis Hopper and Regis Philbin!

That’s it for today’s Round-up!  Don’t forget to catch episode three of the second season of HELL ON WHEELS tonight on AMC.  Next week I’ll have, among other things, and interview with HEATHENS AND THIEVES co-director John Douglas Sinclair.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Happy Trails!

Henry

All original contents copyright August 2012 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved