‘VALLEY O’ VIOLENCE’ REVIEWED, PLUS INDIAN ART MARKETPLACE, ‘CALAMITY JANE’ MOVIE, AND MORE!

Ethan Hawke

IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE – A FILM REVIEW

After watching Ethan Hawke gamely slog through the bloated and rambling MAGNIFICENT 7 reboot, it’s a pleasure to see him given a real chance to act again, in the small but ambitious new Western, IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE, now in theatres and available on Amazon, iTunes and Vudu.  It’s written and directed by the aptly named Ti West, better known for horror films – V/H/S/, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL – than oaters, but he makes a strong impression in his first stab at the genre.

James Ransome

Hawke plays Paul, a troubled drifter headed to Mexico with his horse and dog, whose stop for provisions in a small town turns into a nightmare.  Gilly (James Ransome), the town bully with delusions of grandeur, tries to draw Paul into a fight, which leads to a hateful act I’ll not reveal, and Paul’s subsequent quest for revenge.  Here Paul comes into conflict with the town’s Marshal (John Travolta), who was urban the last time he was a cowboy.  He's sympathetic to Paul, but he’s also Gilly’s father. 

John Travlota

A couple of young ladies, sisters running the hotel, feature prominently: beautiful red-headed Ellen (Karen Gillan of DR. WHO and SELFIE) is Gilly’s girlfriend, who sees his shortcomings, but considers him the only man in town with a future.  Her younger sister Mary-Anne (Taissa Farmiga) is less self-absorbed, and attracted to Paul as a man, and as a way to get out of the town. 

Hawke with Taissa Farmiga

The action is exciting, the plotting sensible, the performances uniformly strong – West knows very well how to create characters and structure dramatic scenes, adding humor without getting cute.  There’s a particularly nice extended conversation between Paul and Mary-Anne, where both excel – especially the quirkily frantic but endearing Farmiga. 

It’s a good film, although not notably original.  The bully son of the prominent townsman wasn’t exactly new in ’55 when Anthony Mann used it so well against Jimmy Stewart in THE MAN FROM LARAMIE, and it became an annoying familiar cliché on episodic TV.  You can argue whether the opening, feature a fine turn by Burn Gorman as a man of the cloth, is an homage or a steal from the opening of THE SHOOTIST.  But what is inarguable is that the scene takes twice as long here as it does in the Wayne film: virtually every sequence in this film is a bit too long, a few much too long.  West is his own editor: he needs to turn the scissors over to someone a bit more ruthless.

Also, the town is too underpopulated.  At one point, one of the sisters comments that she’s not a whore, and if that’s what you want, you can find it at the saloon.  But we never see a whore, or saloon girl, or any female other than the sisters in the entire film.  Similarly, Travolta’s Marshal worries about his position in the town if he should let anything bad happen to his son.  But the town appears to consist of less people than you can count on your fingers.  It would work if it were said humorously, or if he was a madman presiding over a ghost town, but clearly there just wasn’t the budget for extras. 

The music score by West’s frequent collaborator Jeff Grace is at times Morricone-derivative but effective.  The cinematography by Eric Robbins is handsome, and his exteriors evoke Andrew Wyeth paintings.  Particularly striking are the costumes by Malgosia Turzanska, who did the same chores on the excellent HELL OR HIGH WATER.  The Blumhouse Film is expected to go to disk on December 27^th. 

AUTRY’S INDIAN MARKETPLACE DRAWS HUGE CROWDS

This Saturday and Sunday tremendous crowds once again descended on The Autry for the annual American Indian Arts Marketplace,   where two-hundred artists from over forty tribes presented their work under an immense tent.  Painting, sculpture, jewelry, textiles – every medium and every form imaginable were included.  Among my personal favorites were a marble bison carved by Robert Dale Tsosie, traditional Hopi carved figures by Bendrew Atokuku, and the first prize for sculpture, an irornwork by Jason Reed Brown.

Outside of the tent, in addition to art and craft demonstrations and fry bread, there were kiosks with informative representatives for different concerns.  Kenneth Van Wey of the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Board (I.A.C.B.) was eager to discuss the problem of fraudulent ‘Indian art’, and the Indian Arts and Crafts Act passed in 1990, which forbids passing off as ‘Indian Made’ any art from a different source.  The problem is widespread.  Pendleton Woolen Mills recently reached a settlement for misleading labeling of blankets as “Indian Product.”  Part of the settlement includes Pendleton donating over forty-thousand dollars to the Red Cloud Indian School’s Heritage Center in South Dakota.  Also, coordinated searches and seizures were made in New Mexico, California, and the Philippines, leading to the arrest of three New Mexicans for trying to sell Filipino jewelry as Indian-made.  Learn more at www.doi.gov/iacb

Kenneth Van Wey

At the next tent, Jim Davis of TLC, the nonprofit The Language Conservancy, reminded me that starting in 1879, it was official U.S. policy to try to erase Native American language, a policy that lasted in some cases into the 1990s.  As a result, 90% of Native American speakers are over 65; the languages are disappearing.  TLC’s mission is to save the many Native American languages by teaching them to the children of the various tribes at their reservation schools, as well as beyond the reservation.  To this end, they’ve produced dictionaries and teaching programs in Crow, Lakota, Dakota, Hidatsa, and other languages.  They’ve dubbed Berenstein Bears videos into Cherokee!  They’re active in the Dakotas, Oklahoma, Minnesota and elsewhere.  You can learn more at their website, http://www.languageconservancy.org/

The next booth belonged to our local independent station, KCET, who are marking Native American Heritage Month with a new short documentary series, TENDING THE WILD, which they are producing in collaboration with The Autry.  It’s available both digitally and on TV, and can be seen at The Autry as part of the California Continued exhibit.  Subjects include GATHERING MEDICINE, CULTURAL BURNING to prevent wildfires, and KEEPING THE RIVER, about the importance of salmon for Indians of the Klamath River.  Other related documentaries include HEALING THE WARRIOR’S HEART which examines the important role of military service in Native life, and tradition and ceremonies’ roles in reintegrating soldiers into civilian life.  You can learn more, and watch several of the shows, here: https://www.kcet.org/category/native-american-heritage-month

Saginaw Grant

You never know who you’ll run in to at these events, and I was delighted to meet Saginaw Grant, who plays Chief Big Bear in the recent LONE RANGER movie, and Screaming Eagle in THE RIDICULOUS 6.  And he has seven more projects in pre- or post-production.  As I was leaving, who was coming in but LONGMIRE star Zahn McClarnon, who was also in last year’s BONE TOMAHAWK, and has a lead role in the upcoming AMC Western series THE SON, starring with Pierce Brosnan. 

Zahn and me

A WORD ON WESTERNS TUESDAY AT THE AUTRY!

This Tuesday, November 15^th, producer and Western historian Rob Word hosts his next A Word on Westerns event at the Wells Fargo Theater.  This time the topic is MAKING WESTERNS – STORIES BEHIND THE SCENES.  Rob will be looking at what skills and qualities makes for a convincing Western actor – the ability to ride and shoot and wear a ten-gallon hat without looking like a half-pint?  Those sharing their opinions and experiences will be Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., whose Westerns include THE SKIN GAME, BLACK BART, BONANZA, and ROOTS; actress Rosemary Forsyth, whose starred in SHENANDOAH, TEXAS ACROSS THE RIVER, and the series KUNG FU; and Norman Powell, who produced LAZARUS MAN and GUNSMOKE movies, and was production manager on WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE, THE BIG VALLEY, and Sam Peckinpah’s THE WESTERNER.  Doors open at 10:30!  And head across the way for lunch and more conversation after!

OKLAHOMA! SATURDAY NOV. 19^TH AT THE AUTRY!

As part of their continuing ‘What is a Western?’ series, the Autry presents OKLAHOMA!, the 1956 film version of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Musical that revolutionized the Musical form in the way it told its story directly through song.  Starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger and Gloria Grahame, it’s directed by that master of the Western, Fred Zinnemann, whose HIGH NOON will be shown in December.  OKLAHOMA! will be introduced by Josh Garrett-Davis, Gamble Assistant Curator of Western History, Popular Culture and Firearms.  The 35mm print will be screened at 1:30 pm in the Wells Fargo Theater.

‘CALAMITY JANE’ ANIMATED FEATURE IN THE WORKS

Calamity Jane thinking of Lucky Luke

French animators Henri Megalon and Remi Chaye, whose current animated feature, LONG WAY NORTH concerns a Russian aristocratic girl searching for her grandfather, will next tackle the extremely American story, CALAMITY JANE: A CHILDHOOD OF MARTHA JANE CANNARY, according to Deadline: Hollywood.  The film will focus on Jane as a little girl who was orphaned at ten.  As Chaye explained to DEADLINE:HOLLYWOOD’s Anita Busch, lone women and girls in the western frontier had few options for employment beyond laundry and prostitution, and some brave souls decided to try and pass as men. 

Calamity Jane thinking of Wild Bill, at his grave.

While the feminist angle is certainly a hook, Calamity Jane is not a major pop-culture figure in the U.S., despite the Doris Day musical, and the popular character in DEADWOOD, played by Robin Weigert.  But she’s a much bigger character in Europe, because of the long-time popularity of the Franco-Belgian comic strip LUCKY LUKE, which has been running since 1946, in which she was a major character.  Says Chaye, “We knew her as kids. She is part of the childhood of every French person.”

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Luke Hemsworth

Soon I’ll be writing about my visit to the set of ABILENE, a new Western about Wild Bill Hickok, starring WESTWORLD’s Luke Hemsworth and Kris Kristoffereson, and my days at the American Film Market, tracking down new Westerns.  I just found out that the RED NATION FILM FESTIVAL is going on right now in Pasadena, and will continue through November 21^st.  You can find out more at their official website: http://www.rednationff.com/

LATE BREAKING NEWS – Just learned that lovely Lupita Tovar, one of the very last stars of early talkies, has died at 106.  Among her several Westerns she co-starred with Gene Autry in SOUTH OF THE BORDER, and was the female lead in Universal’s Spanish-language version of DRACULA.

Lupita and Gene

Happy trails,

Henry

All Original Content Copyright November 2016 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

FIRST ‘BEN HALL’ TRAILER, PLUS MOMENTUM ACQUIRES ‘BRIMSTONE’, GET-TV GETS ‘OUTCASTS’ AND MORE!

FIRST FULL ‘BEN HALL’ TRAILER! 

Here is the first full trailer for THE LEGEND OF BEN HALL, Matthew Holmes’ terrific Western about the Bushranger who was Australian equivalent of America’s Jesse James.  The parallels between the frontier periods of both countries are fascinating.  Interestingly, this is actually the second trailer.  As you can read in my True West article HERE, a Kickstarter campaign raised the money to make the first trailer, which was used as a ‘proof-of-concept’ to raise the money for the feature itself!

MOMENTUM ACQUIRES ‘BRIMSTONE’ FOR MARCH RELEASE

Dakota Fanning

Writer/director Martin Koolhoven’s dark Dutch Western BRIMSTONE, starring Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce, will hit U.S. theatres and VOD in March 2017.  Pearce plays a vengeful preacher and Fanning an innocent woman who goes on the run when framed for a crime. The sagebrush psychological thriller was shot in Germany, Hungary, Tyrol Austria, and the Motherland of Spaghetti Westerns, Almeria Spain.  British-born Pearce is no stranger to the genre, having cut his teeth on the Aussie SNOWY RIVER: THE MCGREGGOR SAGA series, and made an indelible impression in the Aussie Western feature THE PROPOSITION.  Also in the cast are GAME OF THRONE stars Kit Harington and Carice van Houten.

Guy Pearce

GET-TV ADDS ‘THE OUTCASTS’ TO WEEKEND WESTERN LINE-UP!

Get-TV is adding the 1968 Western series THE OUTCASTS, starring Don Murray and Otis Young, to their Saturday Western line-up.  The one-season hour-long drama features Murray as a former Confederate officer turned bounty hunter, and Young as an ex-slave and Union soldier who partners with him.  Don Murray first made a splash as Beau in BUS STOP (1957), followed by HATFUL OF RAIN (1958), and his Westerns include THESE THOUSAND HILLS (1958), FROM HELL TO TEXAS (1959), and his portrayal of Buffalo Bill in the 1966 remake of THE PLAINSMAN.  Otis Young, a fine actor who rarely got the quality of roles he deserved, soared when he was cast opposite Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid in THE LAST DETAIL (1973).

Don Murray & Otis Young

Get-TV has consistently shown high quality short-run Western series that have rarely been seen since their initial release – see my Round-up interview with Programming Veep Jeff Meier HERE.

OUTCASTS is being added to their current playlist, which includes Audie Murphy in WHISPERING SMITH, CIMARRON CITY, TOMBSTONE TERRITORY, THE RESTLESS GUN, and LAREDO. 

Keep your eye for the OUTCASTS episode TAKE YOUR LOVER IN THE RING: it won a ‘Best Edited Television Program’ Eddie for Norman Colbert; Anthony Lawrence’s script was nominated for a WGA Award; and Hugo Montenegro’s score was nominated for an Emmy.

AMERICAN INDIAN ARTS MARKETPLACE NOV. 12 & 13 AT THE AUTRY

If you care about Indian art, this is an annual not-to-be-missed event!  Two-hundred artists from over forty tribes will be presenting their work in an immense tent. Painting, sculpture, jewelry, textiles – every medium and every form imaginable.  And it’s included with the price of museum admission.

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

I’ll have plenty more to tell you about in the next Round-up – the next Word of Westerns, an upcoming animated Western, video reviews and more. 

Baby Peggy

But I wanted to acknowledge the birthdays of a pair of great silent film child stars.  October 29^th was the 98 birthday of Baby Peggy, now called Diana Serra Cary, the still wonderfully vital last of the silent stars, and author of THE HOLLYWOOD POSSE and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY PEGGY? 

Coogan with Charlie Chaplin 

in The Kid

And the 26^th would have been the 102^nd birthday of Jackie Coogan, who died in 1984.  The movies’ first great child star was the son of vaudevillians.  Both stars sadly share the tragedy that they were robbed blind by their parents, leaving them broke when childhood stardom ended.  ‘The Coogan Law’ was written to protect kid actors.  Jackie had a long career, four kids, four wives – and one of them was Betty Grable!  He became a star again in the ‘60s playing Uncle Fester on THE ADDAMS FAMILY, but is best remembered by Western fans as Stoney Crockett on COWBOY G-MEN.  My mentor in the film business, Saul David, was in the Army with Coogan during World War II, and told me this story.  Coogan was still frequently recognized, and once, when they and several other soldiers were showering, a soldier asked him, “Aren’t you Jackie Coogan?” 

“Yes,” he replied, and with a chuckle added, “Take a good look, kid.  That’s the one that was in Betty 

Grable.”   The soldier was so shocked at Coogan’s disrespect towards his own dreamgirl (and Coogan’s ex-wife) that he threw a punch that knocked Coogan out cold!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright November 1, 2016 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

PIERCE BROSNAN RIDES INTO ‘THE SON’! PLUS ‘BEFORE THE WHITE MAN’ DVD, ‘SHADOW OF THE HAWK’ NOVEL REVIEWED!

PIERCE BROSNAN RETURNS TO WEST WITH AMC’S ‘THE SON’!

AMC, whose consistently high standards in Western productions have brought us the brilliant Robert Duvall miniseries BROKEN TRAIL (2006) and the already much-missed HELL ON WHEELS will present a new Western series in 2017.  Entitled THE SON, shot near Austin, it’s based on the acclaimed bestselling novel of the same name by Philipp Meyer, detailing the multigenerational rise and fall of a Texas oil family. 

Former Remington Steele and James Bond portrayer Pierce Brosnan rode the range once before, opposite fellow Irishman Liam Neeson a decade ago in the entertaining but decidedly grim SERAPHIM FALLS.   His character here is family patriarch Eli McCullough, a role he shares with Jacob Lofland, who plays the character as lad.  Though just 20, Lofland is an accomplished film and TV actor, debuting opposite Matthew McConaughey as Neckbone in the excellent MUD (2012), playing Kendall Crowe in the series JUSTIFIED (2014), Colby Pitt in the miniseries TEXAS RISING (2015), and is opposite McConaughey again in this year’s FREE STATE OF JONES. 

Jacob Lofland (right) with Matthew McConaughey

in FREE STATE OF JONES

The character Bronsnan and Lofland share, born on the day Texas achieved statehood, thus known as ‘the first son of Texas’, who as a child was kidnapped and raised by Comanche.  He maintains their brutal worldview when he becomes a businessman.  Also in the cast are Henry Garrett, Paola Nunez, Sydney Lucas, and Zahn McClarnon, who plays Toshaway, the Comanche war chief who captures Eli and raises him as a son. 

I’ll have much more information soon.  Below is the very brief clip I’m allowed to show you.  This LINK will bring you to a very interesting BBC interview with THE SON author Meyer discussing his novel.

BEFORE THE WHITE MAN CAME - DVD Review

New from Alpha Video is the remarkable silent BEFORE THE WHITE MAN CAME (1920).  This is the first film I can recall seeing, set in the now-American West, where white men figure not at all, because the story takes place before they arrived.  Filmed during 1918 and 1919, director John E. Maple had previously co-directed a documentary, 1918’s INDIAN LIFE, and both films received special permission from the U.S. Department of the Interior to film on Crow and Cheyenne reservations in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota. 

The cast is made up entirely of Crow and Cheyenne Indians.  In the story, Lone Eagle loves Singing Bird, and the two Crow plan to marry.  But the Sioux chief Great Wolf desires Singing Bird as well, and when he can’t win her fairly, he kidnaps her, and all Hell breaks loose.  Written by the prolific William E. Wing, whose 134 silent-movie credits include fifty-nine, mostly Westerns, for legendary producer Col. William Selig, it’s a complex story, and in addition to the expected and exciting Western action, there are unexpected story elements such as feigned insanity.  One particularly ‘modern’ surprise is that Singing Bird, rather than waiting to be rescued, rescues herself in a series of audacious moves.  There are also striking scenes shot in the snow.  Much of the film has a documentary feel, which is enhanced by the obvious authenticity of the Indians’ clothing and rituals, and the stunning locations. 

Of course, not everything is authentic: if the white man hasn’t come yet, where did the Indians get their horses?  But this was produced, after all, as an entertainment, not a documentary, and it succeeds as that, and as a fascinating time capsule.  The print the DVD is made from is very contrasty, but it is definitely watchable, and it’s presumably the best copy that exists.  In the 1930s the film was reissued with a music track and narration by Jac Hoffman.  The narration can be intrusive and wrong – early on it describes braves going through a deadly ‘purification by fire’ ritual which is clearly just a sweat lodge.  But I wouldn’t advise watching the film without the audio track, since any inter-titles explaining the plot have been removed.

from REDMAN'S VIEW

Also included from eleven years earlier – more than a century ago – is the D.W. Griffith Biograph short THE REDMAN’S VIEW.  Shot convincingly in Mt. Beacon, New York, it tells the story of peaceful Indians driven from their land by gun-toting white settlers.  The settlers keep one Indian girl captive as insurance against attack, and her betrothed brave is caught between rescuing her, and the urgent need to care for his ailing father in a deadly ‘Trail of Tears’ situation.  Starring Alfred Paget and Lottie Pickford – Mary’s sister and former stand-in – the moving story garnered praise from Indian organizations at the time and, remarkably, is currently scheduled to be remade as a feature.  The print quality is excellent.  BEFORE THE WHITE MAN CAME is available from Alpha Video HERE.  

SHADOW OF THE HAWK – by Ron Honthaner – a Book Review

SHADOW OF THE HAWK is a handsomely written Western novel whose classical style disguises its unusual structure.  A farmboy is callously murdered.  An aging mountain man recalls, in his youth, being sold by his father as an indentured servant.  A disparate group of individuals share a stagecoach heading west.  Each piece of the story is beautifully told, and the sequence may at first seem random, but it is hardly that.  What emerges is the story of three lifelong friends, the mountain man, a lawman, and a freedman who was once a runaway slave, on a collision course with bad men, and a stagecoach full of men who will become a posse. 

Two of the friends must reluctantly go against the third, and the blood will spill.  And rather than being the generic, faceless pack that posses are usually portrayed as, here each member is a flesh-and-blood individual with personal reasons to take part.   It should come as no surprise that Ron Honthaner should know how to tell a good story: he wrote a couple of episodes of GUNSMOKE, and soon became Associate Producer on the final five seasons of that classic series.  In fact, I can’t help thinking that the lives of the characters might have gone a lot better if Matt Dillon had been around.  But it wouldn’t have been nearly as good a story if he had been.  You can buy SHADOW OF THE HAWK, in Kindle or real book editions, from Amazon HERE.

THAT’S A WRAP!

I apologize for being over a month behind in my Round-up postings.  I’m happy to say the reason is that True West has been keeping me so busy, assigning me more stories.  I’ll try to not fall so far behind in the future!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright October 2016 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved  

NEW BOOK ON ‘MAGNIFICENT 7’, PLUS ‘HELL ON WHEELS’ LAST CHANCE, DONNER PARTY MOVIE, LARRY MCMURTRY AUCTION, AND MORE!

THE MAKING OF ‘THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN’ by Brian Hannan – A Book Review

With Antoine Fuqua’s remake of the THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN on the horizon this September, it’s the perfect time for a reappreciation of the 1960 classic.  Author Brian Hannan, whose previous books have looked at directors Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg, has meticulously researched the history of THE MAGNIFICENT 7, and details it with enthusiasm and insight, from its Japanese inspiration, Akira Kurasawa’s SEVEN SAMAURI, onward.  More than that, he gives an in-depth picture of the entire movie industry at the turn of the ‘60s, when studios were imploding under the weight of TV competition, long-term studio contracts were vaporizing, money locked in foreign banks was necessitating overseas production, and actors with muscle were starting their own production companies. 

The Kurasawa film is the story of medieval farmers who hire Samurai to protect them from bandits who rob their harvests; farmers who are so poor they cannot pay for the help beyond feeding their defenders.   Many who saw the film immediately grasped that the concept would work beautifully as a Western, moving the locale to turn-of-the-century Mexico, exchanging the samurai for gunmen who are working for a pittance; they are working for redemption rather than profit.   

Before reaching the screen, the property passed through many hands and versions.  Originally the 7 were to be an older, world-weary group, led by Spencer Tracy.  Anthony Quinn hoped to produce and star, but his role, Toshiro Mifune’s comic character in SAMURAI, was re-tooled into the romantic lead for young German actor Horst Bucholtz.   Quinn took the production to court over his exclusion.  Eli Wallach likewise wanted the Mifune part, but instead played bandit leader Calvera, a performance which re-defined his career.  Yul Brynner, the one member of the 7 who was already an above-the-title name, hoped to direct the film, rather than play the lead. 

Hannan describes all of the hubbub that went into the hiring of director John Sturges and casting the leads.  He details the careers of each actor.  He separates fact from fiction about the stars’ attempts to jockey for the lead position.   And he tells the remarkable story of how a film that was already written off as a flop domestically by MGM became such a hit overseas that it got a new release and a new life in the U.S.

Not that he considers the film flawless – Hannan points out the film’s few glaring mistakes, the greatest being Horst Bucholtz getting excessive screen-time in a role and performance that was supposed to be charming, but is almost universally considered irritating.  Although I do think he goes too far.  When he complains that this trio of minor characters needed to be separately delineated, or that character should have had a close-up, it strains the reader’s patience: John Sturges knew damned well what he was doing.  That’s why you wrote the book.   

This is truly a one-movie book – you’ll find scant reference to the three sequels or the TV series.  You may actually learn more than you wanted to know about the making of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, but you certainly will have at least 95% of your questions answered.  THE MAKING OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is published by McFarland, and available HERE.

LAST CHANCE TO CATCH THE END OF ‘HELL ON WHEELS’ AND ‘AMERICAN WEST’ COURTESY OF AMC!

If you missed any of the final seven-episode season of HELL ON WHEELS – my DVR somehow erased the second-to-last episode before I could see it – or if you want to binge-watch ‘em all over again, AMC is making them all available on-line, for free, for about a month.  Go HERE to watch.

And they’re doing the same for the Robert Redford-produced THE AMERICAN WEST documentary series.  Go HERE to catch up.

‘THE HUNGER’ FEEDING ON DONNER PARTY LEGEND.

You may remember that last year The Weather Channel had a miniseries DEAD OF WINTER, based on The Donner Party tragedy, starring Darby Hinton as George Donner.  Now 20^th Century Fox and director Ridley Scott’s company, Scott Free, have just announced a Donner Party movie, based on a net-yet-published, not-yet-written novel by THE TAKER author Alma Katsu called THE HUNGER.  It will be directed by Luke Scott, whose first movie, MORGAN, will be released by Fox later this week.  It’s being described as ‘DONNER PARTY MEETS THE WALKING DEAD’. I hope it’s not in poor taste.

‘LONESOME DOVE’ AUTHOR MCMURTRY’S LIBRARY ON THE AUCTION BLOCK!

Heritage Auctions always feature unusual items, and their September 15^th session is no exception.  This one includes a 1788 edition of THE FEDERALST, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, seeking an opening bid of $85,000; and there’s a first edition of Joseph Smith’s THE BOOK OF MORMON, with $38,000 already bid. 

While not nearly so old, among the unexpected and unusual offerings are from LONESOME DOVE author Larry McMurtry’s legendary research library.  They’re grouped by subject, and while there are nearly twenty days to bid, at the moment there are a lot of bargains.  Fifty volumes of Depression-era WPA guides are at $12.  A collection of 150 poetry books are at $1.  On the other hand, when it comes to McMurtry’s forte, Texas, the bidding is a bit more lively.  A group of Texana history books is at $320, but considering that it contains 180 books, that’s one helluvah bargain!  And an uncorrected proof of LONESOME DOVE is currently at $1!  HERE is the link to the auction site. 

CINECON FESTIVAL 52 LABOR DAY WEEKEND!

Once again,  Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard will be the home of the Cinecon Classic Film Festival.  Their special guest this year is Marsha Hunt.  As usual they have a great schedule of both silent and talkie films, and for Westerners that includes 1928’s RAMONA, the first talkie version of Helen Hunt Jackson’s classic novel, starring Dolores Del Rio and Warner Baxter, Ken Maynard in THE FIGHTING LEGION, and Gary Cooper starring in the first talkie version of Rex Beach’s THE SPOILERS.  The dealers rooms across the boulevard at the Loews Hotel is a wonderful place to hunt for stills, posters, DVDs, and book signings.  You can learn more HERE.

‘HATEFUL 8’ AND MORE AT THE AUTRY!

There are two excellent new exhibits at The Autry.  The photography show Revolutionary Vision: Group f/64 and Richard Misrach – Photographs from the Bank of America Collection, highlights a movement in photography, started in the late 1920s, moving away from ‘pictorializing’,  an effort to make photographs look like paintings, in favor of sharp, unadulterated images, and featuring the works of  Edward Weston and Ansel Adams among others. 

New Additions, Featuring the Kaufman Collection, covers a wide range of works by past and contemporary painters and sculptors and American Indian artists. 

And on Saturday, September 3^rd, on the large, grassy lawn of the Autry you can, at 5:30pm enter and grab a patch to sit in, at 7pm you can hear music, and at 8pm you can see Quentin Tarantino’s THE HATEFUL 8 on their immense outdoor screen.  There will be food trucks, and there will be a bunch of morons who will talk through the whole movie.  To my way of thinking, it’s the most hateful possible way to see a movie, but folks who don’t give a damn about film think it’s great.  Enjoy!

JOHN MITCHUM CD RELEASE PARTY AT PARAMOUNT RANCH, SUN SEPT 4^TH!

A star-studded celebration will be held at the Paramount Movie Ranch to mark the release of the new CD JOHN ‘THE HUMBLE’ MITCHUM’S LEGACY’, featuring over fifty Western film and TV legends performing their favorites Mitchum songs and poems.  A man with nearly 160 film and TV credits, best known as Clint Eastwood’s partner in all of the DIRTY HARRY movies, he was also a fine writer, and first gained attention in that realm when John Wayne recorded his poem, America, Why I Love Her, which became a hit record. 

The kid brother of Robert Mitchum, John died in 2001.  His daughter, Cindy Azbill Mitchum, has worked for 13 years to make this event happen.  A glance at the list of contributors reveals that some – Ann Rutherford, Ernest Borgnine, Dick Jones, Herb Jeffries, Robert Easton – are no longer with us.  But happily, most are, and a great many will be attending the event.  And a few tickets are available.  The contact info is on the poster. 

If you’d like to learn more about John Mitchum, the event, and hear some of the recordings, including one by the great James Drury (John appeared on THE VIRGINIAN many times), click the link HERE for Equestrian Legacy Radio, then click on the episode entitled ‘Dirty Harry, Josey Wales’ to hear a lively discussion with Cindy. 

‘COPS & COWBOYS’ 2016 SEPT. 10 AT LEONIS ADOBE!

The annual Cops & Cowboys fundraiser for the Mid-Valley Community Police Council will once again take place at the historic Leonis Adobe Museum in Calabasas, on Saturday, September 10^th.   You’ll have a chance to tour the Adobe, built in 1884, one of the oldest buildings in the San Fernando Valley; enjoy the hosted libations; place your bids in the silent auction; place your bets at the poker and blackjack tables, with cards handled by the Dealer Dolls; have a delicious barbecue dinner; dance to the music of Eli Locke and the Locke and Loaded Band, and get a line-dancing lesson!  To learn more, and order tickets, go HERE.

STAR-STUDDED ‘SILVER SPUR’ SEPT. 16!

Friday, September 16^th, join the Reel Cowboys at The Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City for the 19^th annual Silver Spur Awards.  This is always a glamorous and exciting event, and this year’s emcee will be one of the greats of Western TV, Bruce Boxleitner.  Among those being honored will be the late, great King, Elvis Presley, star of FLAMING STAR and ROUSTABOUT; and the late, extremely talented Western character actor Gregg Palmer.  Those honorees attending are frequent John Wayne co-star Eddie Falkner, stuntman and actor Ben Bates, WALTONS mom Miss Michael Learned, and characters actor and frequent Western guest star Richard Herd, who tells me he’s especially excited that his presentation will be made by the great Morgan Woodward.  Other presenters include Edie Hand, Western costumer (BIG JAKE, THE SHOOTIST, CHISUM) Luster Bayless, Janet Arness, Wyatt McCrea, and the WALTONS’ eldest daughter, Judy Norton.   Contact info is on the poster.  See you there!

                                                                                              

AND THAT'S A WRAP!

Had a great time on Thursday interviewing Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy Nolan about their upcoming HBO mini-series, WESTWORLD – you can read about it soon in True West.  In the meantime, the current True West, with the Tombstone walk-down on the cover, includes my article on the excellent new modern western HELL OR HIGH WATER, starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster and Robert Pine.  Have a wonderful week, and a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright August 2016 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved