‘TRINITY’ IS BACK IN ‘TRIGGERMAN’!

(Updated Friday 2/25/2011 -- See SWEETGRASS NOMINATION, RFD-TV Happy Trails Theater time change)
Fans of Terence Hill will be delighted to learn that the man who played Trinity in a trio of classic Italian comedy westerns is back in the saddle. His newest, Triggerman, has just arrived on American shores. Triggerman is a follow-up to Doc West, which slipped under the radar and into video stores a year ago. In both, Hill portrays a master poker-player and, perhaps, a physician. Shot at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico, they were made for European television, but in English, and both co-star the fine character actor Paul Sorvino, and the lovely Ornella Muti. Co-directed by Hill, working with writers from Lonesome Luke and other previous collaborations, the rest of the cast (identical for both films) is mix of Italians and Americans. The movies appear to be less jokey than the Trinity films and Lonesome Lukes, more straight Westerns. They’re both from Lionsgate, and I’ll have more to tell you once I’ve seen them. CLICK HERE for the trailer of Doc West, CLICK HERE for the trailer of Triggerman. Both films are available from Lionsgate HERE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl9BL-sxmf4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MEXyVQqgDQ

(Pitures, top to bottom: Terence Hill; posters for Triggerman; Doc West; Gatling Gun; Dead Men Don't Count; author C. Courtney Joyner; Apache Chief Grey Eagle; Winnebagoes Chief Hairy Bear; Sheep and shepherd from Sweetgrass)

SWEETGRASS NOMINATED FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY, INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD

SWEETGRASS, Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor's fascinating documentary about a herd of sheep being trailed across Montana mountains for the last time, is nominated for Best Documentary at the Independent Spirit Awards, which will be presented tomorrow, Saturday, February 26th. This is a documentary long championed at the Round-up, and we sure hope they win! Watch the Awards on IFC at 10:00 p.m. on both coasts. To read our review, CLICK HERE.

LOS ANGELES SPAGHETTI WESTERN FESTIVAL IN MARCH!

The historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood will play host on Saturday, March 19th to the Los Angeles Spaghetti Western Festival. This all-day event will feature live music, screenings, and some very special guest stars, leading men Robert Woods (GATLING GUN, read our review HERE -- read our interview with Woods HERE); Michael Forest (NOW THEY CALL HIM SACRAMENTO, read our review HERE); Richard Harrison ($100,000 FOR RINGO); Brett Halsey (WRATH OF GOD); Dan van Husen (LIGHT THE FUSE…SARTANA IS COMING) and Jack Betts –a.k.a. Hunt Powers (DJANGO AND SARTANA), as well as actor, stunt coordinator and Western historian Neil Summers. The movies to be screened will include the one that started it all, Sergio Leone’s A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, plus GATLING GUN (courtesy of Dorado Films – click HERE for their site) and DEAD MEN DON’T COUNT (courtesy of Wild East productions – click HERE for their site). A live musical tribute to Ennio Morricone will be presented by The Insect Surfers, playing music from the album FOR A FEW GUITARS MORE. You can save $10 if you register before February 28th! For all the details, go to the official website HERE.

EDDIE BRANDT’S IS THE WESTERN TV SERIES HEADQUARTERS

The search for a Ty Hardin Spaghetti Western, DAY OF JUDGEMENT (a.k.a. DRUMMER OF VENGEANCE) brought me, as such searches ultimately do, to Eddie Brandt’s Saturday Matinee, in North Hollywood – and yes, they had it. While there, I started checking out the TV aisle – I’ve gotten into the habit of taking breaks from work with a half-hour TV episode -- and was so amazed at the range of Western series on the shelves that I started making a list. Among the shows available on both DVD and VHS are Adventures of Jim Bowie, Adventures of Kit Carson, Annie Oakley, The Big Valley, Bonanza, Buffalo Bill Jr., Cheyenne, Cowboy G-Men, Death Valley Days, The Gabby Hayes Show, Gunsmoke, F-Troop, Have Gun Will Travel, Hopalong Cassidy, Rawhide, The Rifleman, The Roy Rogers Show, Wanted Dead or Alive, Wild Wild West, Wyatt Earp and Zorro. Among the just-on-VHS offerings are Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Alias Smith and Jones, Bat Masterson, Bronco, Cimarron Strip, The Dakotas, High Chaparral, Laramie, Laredo, Lawman, Range Rider, Lucky Luke, Maverick, The Rebel, Stories of The Century, The Texan, Virginian, Wagon Train, Yancy Derringer and Zane Grey Theatre. There are also a number of compilation or ‘sampler’ tapes with shows from several series, under the titles TV’s Cowboys and Early TV Westerns. And among the strictly DVD titles are Adventures of Brisco County Jr., Branded, Brave Eagle and Guns Of Will Sonnett. I left with a tape of Zane Grey Theatre, the first disc from F-Troop, and a disc of Brave Eagle, a Roy Rogers-produced series starring Keith Larson, Major Rogers from the Northwest Passage series, as a Cheyenne chief. Between all of those, and the Ty Hardin picture, it’ll be a miracle if I get any work done this week! Eddie Brandt’s Saturday Matinee is located at 5006 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601. 818-506-4242. They’re open Tuesday though Saturday, and they never get rid of anything, so if your looking for a 15-year-old VHS release, Eddie’s is your best bet. If you’d like to see the featurette TCM did about them, click HERE.

SCREENINGS THIS WEEK

SERGIO LEONE AT THE AERO

The Aero Theatre in Santa Monica continues their Leone series this week with ONCE UPON A TIME IS THE WEST on Thursday, February 24th at 7:30 p.m. For those who haven’t seen it, the opening minutes are so close to perfection that nothing else is needed. An absolute masterpiece, starring Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, Woody Strode and Jack Elam. And on Friday, February 25th, at 7:30 p.m. it’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, a gangster saga rather than a western, starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. For more information, click HERE.

ON THE TUBE

HAPPY TRAILS THEATER ON RFD-TV SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH

SUNSET IN EL DORADO (1945) I haven’t seen this one, but it sounds quirky and fun, featuring a plot revolving around Dale Evans flashing back to her grandmother’s time, and meeting someone a lot like Roy. In addition to Gabby Hayes and Trigger, and my all-time favorite Republic villain Roy Barcroft, this one features a ton of top comedy names: Margaret Dumont, the Marx Brothers' favorite foil; Dorothy Granger, Queen of the RKO comedy shorts; Jack Norton, the movie businesses greatest drunk; and the Sons of the Pioneers. TIME UPDATE -- the first showing is again being preempted by an auction. It’s at midnight western, 3:00 a.m. eastern, and repeats on Thursday.

COMING ATTRACTIONS – EVENTS IN MARCH

DOUBLE FEATURE AT THE AUTRY MARCH 6TH

The next double-feature matinee at the Autry will be THE BIG SHOW (1936- Republic) and TEXANS NEVER CRY (1951 – Columbia).


UCLA EVENTS AT THE BILLY WILDER THEATRE

Screenings as part of their Preservation Festival include, on Saturday, March 12th, a double bill of RAINBOW OVER TEXAS (1947) starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and HEART OF THE RIO GRANDE (1942) starring Gene Autry and the lovely Smiley Burnette. On Monday, March 14th, it’s THE FORGOTTEN VILLAGE (1941) from a screenplay by John Steinbeck, preceded by MEXICO IN THE HEARST METRONONE NEWS COLLECTION. And on Saturday, March 19th at 2:00 p.m. they will present the program BABY PEGGY: HOLLYWOOD’S TINY TITAN. The daughter of a cowboy and stuntman, Baby Peggy, co-starring with Brownie the Wonder-Dog, was a hugely popular star of Western child action comedy films in the 1920s. Few of her films have survived, but Baby Peggy has – she’s now known as Diana Serra Carey, and she will be present for the screening of several of her short films, and existing fragments of several more. (Here’s a historical note: a Baby Peggy film was the first movie to play at the Vista Theatre in Hollywood when it was opened in the early 1920s. The theatre was built at the intersection of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, where the Babylon sets for D. W. Griffith’s INTOLERANCE once stood. Over the decades the theatre and neighborhood lost its luster, and the Vista became a gay porn theatre. When it was turned into a revival house in the 1980s, Baby Peggy, who had attended the original opening decades before, attended the new ceremony, where gay porn director Fred Halsted handed the theatre keys over to her.)

BREAKING INTO WESTERN PRINT (BOTH ‘E’ AND PAPER)

If you’ve ever wanted to write a western novel or story – of if you’ve written it, but don’t know how to get it published (my hand is raised), make plans to go to Out West, at 24265 Main Street in Newhall on Sunday, March 27th at 2:00 p.m. Author C. Courtney Joyner, the very talented and prolific screenwriter and western film historian, will discuss breaking into the western print market, agents, editors, networking, the changes at Leisure Books, ‘E’ publishing, university presses, contests, and publishers across the pond. Mr. Joyner knows whereof he speaks: in addition to a long string of screen credits, both as writer and director, he wrote the fascinating interview-book THE WESTERNERS (see my review HERE), and his excellent tale, The Two-bit Kill, is featured in the new western story collection, LAW OF THE GUN. The event is free. For reservations call 661-255-7087.

THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepeneur Gene Autry, and designed by the Disney Imagineering team, the Autry is a world-class museum housing a fascinating collection of items related to the fact, fiction, film, history and art of the American West. In addition to their permenant galleries (to which new items are frequently added), they have temporary shows. The Autry has many special programs every week -- sometimes several in a day. To check their daily calendar, CLICK HERE. And they always have gold panning for kids every weekend. For directions, hours, admission prices, and all other information, CLICK HERE.

HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

Across the street from the Hollywood Bowl, this building, once the headquarters of Lasky-Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures) was the original DeMille Barn, where Cecil B. DeMille made the first Hollywood western, The Squaw Man. They have a permanent display of movie props, documents and other items related to early, especially silent, film production. They also have occasional special programs. 2100 Highland Ave., L.A. CA 323-874-2276. Thursday – Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for senior, $1 for children.

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

This small but entertaining museum gives a detailed history of Wells Fargo when the name suggested stage-coaches rather than ATMS. There’s a historically accurate reproduction of an agent’s office, an original Concord Coach, and other historical displays. Open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Admission is free. 213-253-7166. 333 S. Grand Street, L.A. CA.


FREE WESTERNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AT HULU

A staggering number of western TV episodes and movies are available, entirely free, for viewing on your computer at HULU. You do have to sit through the commercials, but that seems like a small price to pay. The series available -- often several entire seasons to choose from -- include THE RIFLEMAN, THE CISCO KID, THE LONE RANGER, BAT MASTERSON, THE BIG VALLEY, ALIAS SMITH AND JONES, and one I missed from 2003 called PEACEMAKERS starring Tom Berenger. Because they are linked up with the TV LAND website, you can also see BONANZA and GUNSMOKE episodes, but only the ones that are running on the network that week.

The features include a dozen Zane Grey adaptations, and many or most of the others are public domain features. To visit HULU on their western page, CLICK HERE.

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 DANIEL BOONE at 1:00 p.m., and two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.. On Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. it's THE RIFLEMAN again, followed at 2:30 by BAT MASTERSON. And unlike many stations in the re-run business, they run the shows in the original airing order. There's an afternoon movie on weekdays at noon, often a western, and they show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic.

That's about all, Buckaroos! Hope you're having a splendid Presidents' Day, and taking a little time out to think about Washington and Lincoln, and where we might be without 'em!

Henry

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

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

SAM ROCKWELL JOINS 'COWBOYS AND ALIENS' CAST

In The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, he played Bob Ford's brother Charley (see photo above). In Cowboys and Aliens, Sam Rockwell will play 'Doc,' a saloon-keeper who joins forces with Daniel Craig in his fight against alien invaders. This is Rockwell's second film in a row for director Jon Favreau, and it was while Favreau was directing Rockwell in the current release IRON MAN 2 that Rockwell voiced interest in the project. Screenwriters Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof reportedly re-thought and built up the role for the actor who first gained attention as one of the villains in the PETE & PETE series on Nickelodeon.

Rockwell joins a cast that includes Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde and Clancy Brown. Just this past Wednesday auditions were held at Peetzburgh, Peter Sherayko's western movie-town in Agua Dulce (see photo above, right), where actors were tested not only for line-delivery but horse-riding ability as well. Cameras are set to roll in June, when Favreau will be finished with his Iron Man 2 related duties, and the picture is set to reach theatres on July 29th, 2011. And speaking of Peetzburgh, I'll be running an interview with Peter Sherayko, alias Texas Jack Vermillion of Tombstone (1993) very soon!

'AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES' HITS STORES

The film, which top-lines Peter Fonda, and stars Tim Abell as Frank and George Stults as Jesse, will released on DVD on Tuesday, May 18th. Prolific Writer/Director Fred Olen Ray, whose previous films include the western The Shooter (1997) starring Michael Dudikoff and Randy Travis, is now tackling a horror picture, but soon will be doing another western, about the life and death of Billy the Kid. Next week I'll be reviewing American Bandits, aand featuring an interview with Fred Olen Ray.

HARVEY KEITEL JOINS CAST OF 'CUT THROATS NINE' REMAKE

The Scorcese and Tarantino-associated star whose previous westerns were Buffalo Bill And The Indians (1976) and Il Mio West (Gunslinger's Revenge) (1998) will join Mads Mikkelsen and Roy Dupuis in a remake of the infamous 1972 Spaghetti-and-gore western directed by Joachin Luis Romero Marchent. This time the reins are held by first-time feature director Rodrigo Gudino, publisher of the horror-movie periodical Rue Morgue Magazine. He scripted with fellow Canadian Joseph O'Brien, and says that it was the quality of their script that attracted the actors.

The plot concerns a wagon of convicts being escorted by Cavalry to prison, when they're attacked by bandits. The only survivors are a sergeant, the beautiful daughter he has stupidly brought along, and seven sadistic convicts. Asked by Opium why he wanted to remake this lurid pic, Rodrigo exlained, "Because it has an amazing story at its core and yet is a movie that is far from perfect. I always refered to it as a tarnished gem. ...I also saw a lot of of potential to expand on themes that I thought were bigger than a cult movie, themes having to do with human evil and violence."

SPEAKING OF MOTHERS DAY

Although there is a tendency to think of westerns as ‘guy’ entertainment, they’ve always been popular with women – my sister, Deirdre, took me to all the John Wayne movies when we were kids. In fact, I know of an occasion when that basic knowledge was the undoing of what could have been a major TV western series. My mentor in the film business, producer Saul David (Von Ryan’s Express, Our Man Flint, Fantastic Voyage, Westworld) had, when president of Bantam Books, bought and published Louis L'Amour’s first novels, and it was with Saul that he went to meet with network execs to discuss an anthology series based on L'Amour’s writings. Everything was going well until Louis asked what night of the week they were thinking of, and an exec responded, “Any night but Monday.”
“Oh. What’s wrong with Monday?”
“Louis, that’s Monday Night Football. Men are your audience, and we’d lose them all.”
“Actually, slightly more women than men read my books.”
“No they don’t.”
“I know who reads my books.”
“Men read your books, Louis, and men are the audience for westerns. We know what we’re talking about.”
And with that exchange, the deal fell apart. Louis felt he was being insulted, and by idiots.

I was reminded of this exchange this past week, when I was in the teachers’ lounge of a local school, and overheard a conversation between a group of female teachers, about TV westerns. There were fans of BONANZA, THE BIG VALLEY and HIGH CHAPARRAL, and a lot of discussion about whether Heath was cuter than Little Joe, and what was Blue’s problem anyway, and the inevitability of death for any woman than a Cartwright proposed to – even before the term ‘jumping the shark’ was coined, the producers knew better than to toy with a set-up that was working.

With the understanding that westerns are not just guy entertainment, and in recognition of Mother’s Day, I’d like to invite our female readers to put in comments about what are their favorite westerns, and why.

MOVIE REVIEW – SWEETGRASS

‘SWEETGRASS,’ the documentary produced by Ilisa Barbash and recorded by Lucien Castaing-Taylor, documenting a sheep drive, contains some of the most startlingly beautiful images ever put on film. From the mountain vistas of Montana,
to the endless green pastures, to the inconceivable number of sheep, the movie is frequently overwhelming. We have seen cattle-drives in the movies, but rarely in such staggering thousands, and besides, these are sheep, and cute as can be, which can’t be said of cattle.

After some minutes on a ranch, where sheep are shorn, and lambs are delivered – all with a roughness that will upset the audience but which doesn’t seem to phase the sheep – the drive begins. There are a handful of men and women at the start, but quickly it is just two cowboys in charge of a seething ocean of wool traveling over the mountaintops. Of course, purists will say they are shepherds, not cowboys, but cowboys is what they call themselves.

The two cowboys are, themselves, quite interesting. The older, more easy-going fellow sings cheerfully, if not melodiously, to his wooly charges. His younger compatriot curses endlessly at the critters, and at the few dogs who generally do an admirable job of guiding the flock. There is an extended sequence where the younger man talks and whines and cries on the phone, and curses such a blue streak you want to shout at the screen, “Hey stupid, do you remember it’s your mother you’re talking to?”

There is fear as well, as when the men, awakened by the dogs' barking, fire guns into the darkness at who knows what -- and when we finally see the target, it's even more frightening.

The takes are remarkably long, usually lasting for minutes, but the action within the frame is so involving that, although we are used to rapid cutting, we do not mind the change. The most curious aspect of the film is the filmmakers’ seeming indifference to whether the audience understands what it is seeing and why it is seeing it. There is no narration. There are no titles of explanation. Here and there you catch bits of conversation, and can piece together what is happening at that precise moment, but just as often you can’t quite catch what is being said. Then, at the very end of the movie, after the fade-out, two title-cards appear: “Since the late 19th Century, western ranchers and their hired hands have ranged animals on public land for summer pasture. In 2003, over three months, and 150 miles, the last band of sheep trailed through Montana’s Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains.” Why such information is placed at the END of the film, rather than the BEGINNING is baffling to me. Moreover, WHY is this the last sheep drive? Has the wool market disappeared? Are private sheep no longer permitted on public land? I’m not saying that this is what the film should be about, but that a little explanation at the beginning would place the movie in a more understandable context. But any confusion is more than compensated for by the sheer beauty of the images. To see the trailer, and find out more about this extraordinary movie, CLICK HERE.

SWEETGRASS AT LANDMARK THEATERS

Sweetgrass starts Friday, May 14th at the Ritz at the Bourse in Philadelphia, and at a Denver area Landmark Theatre.

MOVIE REVIEW - THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD

You may lose your place in the narrative as the story spirals away with the action, but you definitely know where you begin: a crime lord assigns an operative to obtain a map carried on a train and deliver it to a high-paying buyer. Then, unknown to the first, the crime lord assigns a second operative to steal it back, so it can be resold.

And from there, hold onto your popcorn, as you're rocketed through 1930s Manchurian desert in this breathless and exuberant 'Asian Western', as the titles describe it (is this the original Asian title?). Made by South Korean director Ji-woon Kim, from a script he wrote with Min-suk Kim, the tale involves desert warlords, Japanese cavalry, Manchurians, Chinese, Koreans, and is a riot of dazzling color, confusing (to westerners) politics and unrelenting action.

The extended shootouts at the 'Ghost Market' and the unceasing desert chase are each easily worth the price of admission. Although obviously an homage to Sergio Leone, it owes almost as much to the best of Speilberg's Indiana Jones films (i.e., excluding the last one), and by extension to Republic Studios and Yakima Cannut. And as opposed to Sukiyaki Western Django, which is a long series of spaghetti-western references transposed into Japanese, The Good, The Bad and the Weird stands on its own merits: there is no other film you must first have seen to appreciate this one.

The performances of the Good and the Weird are fine. The Bad role suffers somewhat from an anachronistic wardrobe and attitude that mark him as more of a 1960s James Bond enemy than a Lee Van Cleef. The one lesson the filmmakers have not learned properly from Hollywood or Rome -- actualy from Hitchcock -- is to not waste time on the MacGuffin, which is all the map truly is. If you do, you need a payoff on a Maltese Falcon/Lost Ark level, which it lacks. But the it's a minor failing -- the film is a display of astonishing production skills, from action staging to camera movement to editing. I loved it, and I think most western fans will. CHECK OUT THE TRAILER HERE.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD AT LANDMARK THEATRES

It's currently playing at the Ritz At The Bourse in Philadelphia, the Lumiere in San Francisco, the Varsity Theatre in Seattle, the Kendall Square Cinema in Boston, and will open on Friday the 14th at Ken Cinema in San Diego, the Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis, the E. Street Cinema in Washington, D.C., and the Midtown Art Cinema in Atlanta.

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.

TCM SCREENS 'NATIVE AMERICAN IMAGES ON FILM'

Throughout the month of May, Turner Classic Movies will be showing dozens of westerns, showing a wide range of portrayals of American Indian characters in the movies on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Tuesday May 11th

TCM 5:00 p.m. DRUMS ALONG THE MOWHAWK (1939)
John Ford directed with gusto from the Lamar Trotti, Sonya Levian script, based on the Walter D. Edmonds novel. Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda star in one of the finest of 'eastern' westerns, a Revoltionary War story packed with Ford stock company greats like John Carradine, Arthur Shields and Ward Bond. In a more normal year, it might have been named Best Picture, but in 1939 it received only two Oscar nominations, for Edna Mae Oliver's comic turn as Best Supporting Actress, and for Ray Rennahan and Bert Glennon's glorious Technicolor photography -- and it won neither. Highly recommended.

TCM 7:00 p.m. NORTHWEST PASSAGE (1940) True story of Roger's Rangers and their fight to open up new frontiers for Colonial America. Stars Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter Brennan. Directed by King Vidor.

TCM 9:15 p.m. LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992)

TCM 11:30 p.m. GERONIMO (1962)

Wednesday May 12th

TCM 1:15 a.m. MOHAWK (1956)

TCM 2:45 a.m. CHUKA (1967)

Thursday May 13th

TCM 4:30 a.m. GUN FURY (1953) A cowboy trails the outlaws who kidnapped his fiance during a stagecoach robbery. Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Lee Marvin. D: Raoul Walsh.

TCM 6:00 a.m. THEY RIDE WEST (1954) A Cavalry doctor defies orders to treat Native Americans. Robert Francis, Donna Reed, Philip Carey. D:Phil Carlson.

TCM 2:15 p.m. GOOD DAY FOR A HANGING (1958)

TCM 3:45 p.m. THE HIRED GUN (1957)

TCM 5:00 p.m. THE UNFORGIVEN (1960)

TCM 7:15 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.

AMC 8:00 p.m. PALE RIDER (1985) Clint Eastwood directs and stars as a mysterious stranger (can you believe it?) protecting a town from bad guys. Moody and effective, script by Michael Butler and Dennis Shyrack, and featuring Carrie Snodgrass and Michael Moriarty.

TCM 10:30 P.M. THE BLACK ROBE (1991)

Friday May 14th

TCM 12:15 a.m. RUN OF THE ARROW (1957)

TCM 1:45 a.m. WHITE COMANCHE (1968)

TCM 3:30 A.M. RACHEL AND THE STRANGER (1948)

TCM 5:00 A.M. DUEL IN THE SUN (1946)

AMC 6:30 a.m. THE STALKING MOON (1968) An aging cavalry scout (Gregory Peck) tries to protect a woman (Eva Marie Saint) and her half-Indian child. Directed by Robert Mulligan from Theodore V. Olsen's novel.

FMC 9:00 a.m. FLAMING STAR (1960) An early film from the soon-to-be-great Don Siegal, working from Nunnally Johnson's script of a Clair Huffaker novel. Elvis Presley, playing a role planned for Marlon Brando, is the half-breed son of white John McIntire and Kiowa Dolores Del Rio, forced to take sides in a local war between white and Indian. Surprisingly good, you realize how good an actor Elvis could have been if Col. Parker hadn't steered him into mostly inane crap. With Steve Forrest and Barbara Eden.

FMC 11:00 a.m. BANDOLERO! (1968)Great fun with Stewart and Martin as feuding brother outlaws. Featuring Raquel Welch, Harry Carey Jr., Jock Mahoney, Don 'Red' Barry, Roy Barcroft, D:Andrew McLaglen, W:James Lee Barrett (If you want to see an incredible list on stuntmen, check out the listing on IMDB)
FMC 11:a.m.

AMC 2:30 p.m. PALE RIDER (1985) Clint Eastwood directs and stars as a mysterious stranger (can you believe it?) protecting a town from bad guys. Moody and effective, script by Michael Butler and Dennis Shyrack, and featuring Carrie Snodgrass and Michael Moriarty.

AMC 8:00 p.m. UNFORGIVEN (1992) Clint Eastwood starred in and directed one of the greatest of later westerns, playing a gunman-turned-farmer who takes on one more job. Costarring Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. Script by David Webb Peoples who wrote this: "Helluvah thing. killing a man. Take a away everything he's got, everything he's ever gonna have."



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.

It's way too late for me to continue tonight -- I'll try and get the TV listings done on Monday -- make that Tuesday.

Happy Trails,

Henry

All contents Copyright May 2010 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

HEX MARKS THE (TV) SPOT

The trailer for JONAH HEX, the comic book-based horror-western, has just been released – to see it CLICK HERE , along with a new poster, seen above. The Josh Brolin – Megan Fox – John Malkovich starrer will hit the big screen on June 18th. I think the trailer looks pretty good, but there’s been a lot of negative reaction to the poster -- which one online writer described as looking “…like Wild Wild West meets Van Helsing.” I think the earlier one, seen here on March 12th, was much better.

And there’s been other negative buzz in regards to the picture. MTV quoted Josh Brolin as saying that even as the release-date approaches, the filmmakers are still in the process of figuring out the movie’s tone. “I’d like it to become even more absurdist than it already is. My feeling is, this isn’t a straightforward Western. There are supernatural elements to it, and the more campy humor we go for, the better. We’re still in the process of solidifying that tone. There’s a lot of humor to use in this cut. We’ve been going, ‘How much humor do we use? Do we stay with the emotional line of the story? How can we release some of the exposition so we can just rely on the action? All this kind of sh-t.”

And while he can see it as a possible franchise, he’s not eager to do it with all of the involved prosthetic make-up. “It’s the toughest movie I’ve ever done. The stunts and the make-up…a lot of pain. The prosthetics on my face, they were holding my mouth back, then putting in a mouthpiece in that held my mouth back further. And then painting it and filling in the beard. I was walking around New Orleans with half a beard for three months, which was horrible. F-cking horrible! That combined with being in 100 degree heat, 98% humidity, three layers of wool on – I don’t know if I’d do it again.”

And something more to worry about – reelzchannel.com notes that months after director Jimmy Hayward wrapped the picture, Francis Lawrence, who directed the horror/scifiers Constantine and I Am Legend was brought on to consult with Hayward on reshoots.

FIRST PEEK FROM 'TRUE GRIT' LOCATION

The still of the street scene, above right, was snapped on one of the True Grit exteriors, and comes courtesy of aintitcool.com.

'THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY' WRITER DIES

Furio Scarpelli, thrice nominated for Oscars, died in Rome at age 90, from a long-term heart condition. Although best known in the English speaking world for UGLY, Scarpelli was primarily a writer of comedies, with his longtime writing partner 'Age', with whom he'd collaborated since the 1940s. He was nominated for Oscars for The Organizer, Casanova '70, co-written with Age, and for Il Postino, which he wrote with other partners. UGLY was written by Scarpelli, Age, Sergio Leone and Luciano Vincenzoni.

TCM SCREENS 'NATIVE AMERICAN IMAGES ON FILM'

Throughout the month of May, Turner Classic Movies will be showing dozens of westerns, showing a wide range of portrayals of American Indian characters in he movies. Kicking things off on Tuesday afternoon will be a quadruple bill of John Fords: Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), Cheyenne Autumn (1964) and Fort Apache (1948).

BOLD RENEGADE CARVES 'Z' WITH HIS BLADE - TWICE!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, a Zorro double bill will be shown Wednesday May 5th at the Aero Theatre at 1328 Montana Ave., at 14th Street in Santa Monica. The creation of pulp-writer Johnston McCulley, the thrilling Mark Of Zorro (1940), direced by Rouben Mamoulian stars Tyrone Power, Basil Rathbone, Linda Darnell and Gale Sondegaard. The Sign Of Zorro (1958) is a feature compilation from episodes of the delightful Disney TV series, starring Guy Williams, and directed by Lewis Foster and Norman Foster.

FREE WESTERN TRIPLE-BILL FRIDAY AT SPUDIC'S

Eric Spudic has been hosting free Friday night movies at his store, Spudic's Movie Empire, for over a year, but this is his first western-night, so let's have a big turn-out! He's selected a really interesting trio: at 6:30, SMOKE IN THE WIND (1975) stars John Ashley, John Russell, Myron Healy and Walter Brennan. It's the last film directed by Republic's greatest western director, Joe Kane. In fact, Walter Brennan's son, Andy, had to finish when Joe wasn't up to it. At 8:00 p.m., KEOMA (1976) also known as Django Rides Again, with Franco Nero and Woody Strode, directed by the only great spaghetti western director not named Sergio, Enzo G. Castellari. At 9:30 p.m., HIS NAME WAS KING (1971), directed by Giancarlo Romitello, and starring Richard Harrison and one of the biggest spaghetti western stars, Klaus Kinski. I haven't seen this one, but the score by Luis Bacalov is splendid. Spudic's Movie Empire is at 5910 Van Nuys Blvd., in Van Nuys, and he sells all VHS tapes for $3, all DVDs for $6 - and if you're coming, please be there by 8:00 p.m.!

SWEETGRASS AT LANDMARK THEATERS

"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. I just saw this film, and it is astonishingly beautiful -- I'll have a full review next week. Sweetgrass is playing at the Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis. The trailer looks beautiful -- check it out HERE.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD AT LANDMARK THEATRES

I just saw this picture today, and it's an absolute knock-out -- I'll have a full review next week. It's a South Korean 'western' set in Manchuria in the 1930s. CHECK OUT THE TRAILER HERE. The movie continues through Thursday at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles and Kendall Square Cinema in Boston. On Friday, May 7th it opens in San Francisco at the Lumiere Theatre and Shattuck Cinemas, in Seattle at the Varsity Theatre, and in Philadelphia at The Ritz.

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.



I'll do the tv listings on Monday -- the only pseudo-western movie on Monday is THE HARVEY GIRLS (1946) on TCM at 10:30 p.m.

WESTERNS ON TV

BEST DARN THING ON TV ALL WEEK -- 4 JOHN FORDS IN A ROW!

TCM Tuesday May 4th, at 5:00 p.m. - STAGECOACH, 7:00 p.m. THE SEARCHERS, 9:15 p.m. CHEYENNE AUTUMN, 12:00 Midnight FORT APACHE.

Thursday May 6th

TCM 4:00 a.m. BUGLE SOUNDS (1942) An old-time cavalry sergeant's resistance to 'progress' could cost him his post. With Wallace Beery, Marjory Main, Lewis Stone. Story by Cyril Hume and Lawrence Kimble, screenplay by Hume. Directed by S. Sylvan Simon.

FMC 5:00 a.m. PRINCE OF PLAYERS (1955) Playwright Moss Hart wrote the fascinating screenplay from Elearnor Ruggles' story. John Derek is assasssin John Wilkes Booth, Richard Burton is his brother Edwin, who must live of after his brother's despicable act. With Raymond Massey as their father, Maggie Macnamara, Charles Bickford, directed by Philip Dunne.

TCM 5:45 a.m. APACHE TRAIL (1942) An outlaw and his brother are on opposite sides of a stagecoach robbery. Starring Lloyd Nolan, William Lundigan and Donna Reed, directed by Richard Thorpe. Screenplay by Maurice Geraghty, from a story by Ernest 'Stagecoach' Haycox -- and reportedly outtakes from STAGECOACH (1939) were used. If you can spot them, please let us know in a comment or e-mail!

FMC 7:00 a.m. O. HENRY'S FULL HOUSE (1952) A collection of five O. Henry short stories directed by five directors: Henry Hathaway, Henry King, Henry Koster, Jean Negulesco, and doing the western segment, The Ransom of Red Chief, Howard Hawks. Writing this one segement, uncredited, were Ben Hecht, Nunnally Johnson and Charles Lederer! Starring Fed Allen and Oscar Levant as the kidnappers, and Rin Tin Tin star Lee Aaker as the 'victim', narrated by John Steinbeck!

TCM 7:00 a.m. GENTLE ANNIE (1944) Perhaps inspired by the James brothers (with a touch of Ma Barker), after the Civil War, frontierwoman Marjorie Main turns her family into bank robbers. With Donna Reed and Henry Morgan. Screenplay by Lawrence Hazard, from the MacKinlay Kantor novel, directed by Andrew Marton.

AMC 5:00 p.m. THE OUTLAW JOSIE WALES (1976) Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, John Vernon and Sheb Wooley. Clint's a Missouri farmer who becaomes a Confederate guerilla -- reportedly Clints favorite among his films. Screenplay by Philip Kaufman, from Forrest Carton's novel.

TCM 7:00 p.m. WALK THE PROUD LAND (1956) Audie Murphy plays real-life Indian Agent John Philip Clum, who tried to give Indians autonomy, and helped organize the first Indian Tribal Police Force, which captured Geronimao (Jay Silverheels). Also with Anne Bancroft, Pat Crowley, directed by Jesse Hibbs. Screenplay by Gil Doud and Jack Sher, from the book by a Clum descendent, Woodworth Clum.

AMC 8:00 p.m. LAST OF THE DOGMEN (1995) - Tab Murphy wrote and directed this story about a bounty hunter tracking three escaped convicts, and supernatural events that ensue. Starring Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, Kurtwood Smith and, Parley Baer, the original 'Chester' from the radio drama GUNSMOKE.

TCM 9:00 p.m. THE FAR HORIZONS (1955) Fred MacMurray is Lewis, Charlton Heston is Clark, and Donna Reed is Sacajawea in this romanticized telling of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, directed by Rudolph Mat. Based on Della Gould Emmons' novel, scripted by Winston Miller and Edmund North.

TCM 11:00 p.m. APACHE (1954) Burt Lancaster is the renegade Indian Massai, who fights a one-man war against the U.S. Cavalry. With Jean Peters, Charles Bronson (when he was still Charles Buchinski) and Monte Blue as Geronimo. Directed by Robert Aldrich, scripted by James R. Webb, from a novel by Paul Wellman.

Friday May 7th

AMC 12:15 p.m.LAST OF THE DOGMEN (1995) - Tab Murphy wrote and directed this story about a bounty hunter tracking three escaped convicts, and supernatural events that ensue. Starring Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, Kurtwood Smith and, Parley Baer, the original 'Chester' from the radio drama GUNSMOKE.

TCM 12:45 a.m. NAVAJO JOE (1967) An Indian (Burt Reynolds) takes revenge on the outlaws who wiped out his people. With Aldo Sambrell, Fernando Rey, directed by Sergio Corbucci, from a story by Ugo Pirro, script by Fernando DiLeo.

TCM 2:30 a.m. STAY AWAY JOE (1968) Elvis Presley is a young Indian trying to save the 'res' by selling grazing rights to a corrupt tycoon. With Burgess Meredith and Joan Blondell. Directed by Peter Tewksbury, from Dan Cushman's novel, scripted by Michael A Hoey.

TCM 6:00 a.m. MAN OF THE WEST (1958) The great Anthony Mann directs the great Gary Cooper in this tale of a reformed outlaw whose past associates rob a train he's on. With Lee J. Cobb and Julie London, scripted by Reginald Rose from Will C. Brown's novel.

FMC 1:00 p.m. THE UNDEFEATED (1969) D:Andrew V. McLaglen, W:James Lee Barrett, from a story by Stanley Hough. At the close of the Civil War, Confederate officer Rock Hudson leads a group of southern loyalists to Mexico and Emperor Maximillian -- unless John Wayne can stop him. Rock Hudson later described the movies as "crap." Ironic, considering it's one of his more convincing performances. With Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr.

AMC 5:00 p.m.THE OUTLAW JOSIE WALES (1976) Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, John Vernon and Sheb Wooley. Clint's a Missouri farmer who becaomes a Confederate guerilla -- reportedly Clints favorite among his films. Screenplay by Philip Kaufman, from Forrest Carton's novel.

Saturday May 8th

AMC 9:00 a.m. WINCHESTER '73 (1950) One of the finest, darkest collaborations between director Anthony Mann and James Stewart. It's all about the quest for "one out of one thousand," the special Winchester rifle that men will do anything to possess. The chilling script is by Robert Richards and Borden Chase, from a story by Stuart Lake. Stars Shelly Winters, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally, and, among a lot of great faces, a very young Roch Hudson and Tony Curtis.

AMC 11:15 a.m. TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE (1969) The largely true story of a 1909 manhunt, Robert Blake is Willie Boy, an American Indian who goes on the run after killing the father of his girlfriend, Katherine Ross. Robert Redford is the sheriff on his trail. Written and directed by blacklisted Abraham Polonsky (who never denied nor gave up his Marxist ways)from Harry Lawton's book.


Adios!

Henry

All contents copyright May 2010 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved