‘LEGEND OF 5 MILE CAVE’ PREMIERES ON INSP TONIGHT! READ MY ON-THE-SET JOURNAL! PLUS ROY ROGERS DVD REVIEW, AND MORE!!

LEGEND OF 5 MILE CAVE

SHOOTING INSP’S NEW WESTERN AT OLD TUCSON

By Henry C. Parke

The INSP network has long been a home to quality Western films and television, beginning with their Saddle-Up Saturday, which expanded to include Sunday, and then chunks of the weekdays as well. They’ve been making original movies for a few years, and Western-adjacent programming, most notably the hit reality series The Cowboy Way, for some time. So it was inevitable that someday they would bite the bullet and make their own Western movies. Now they’ve made their first, hopefully the first of many, with The Legend of 5 Mile Cave. I was absolutely delighted when INSP invited me to come to Old Tucson for a couple of days, and watch the fireworks.

There is no other place in the world quite like the Old Tucson Movie Studio, just outside of Tucson, Arizona. It was first used as a filming location in 1939 for the Columbia Pictures Western Arizona. The epic tale of the 1860s settling of Tucson, which required the construction of fifty buildings, starred William Holden and Jean Arthur, and was produced at a then-staggering cost of $2 million. Actual ancient adobe walls were incorporated into the new Western streets, and they’re still visible today.

Over 400 movies and TV shows have been filmed there since then, including recent favorites like Tombstone and The Quick and the Dead, and classics like Winchester ’73 and Broken Arrow. John Wayne starred in four films there: Rio Bravo, McClintock!, El Dorado and Rio Lobo.  In addition to the dozens of Western TV series that visited there, it was home base for The High Chaparral, whose ranch house still stands.

To keep things going when the popularity of Westerns seemed to have crested, parts of the studio were turned into a Western-themed amusement park; coincidentally, that’s what was also done to Sergio Leone’s film locales in Spain, for the same reasons, and both are again very busy production locations.

Jeremy Sumpter, as Shooter Green, takes aim

The Legend of 5 Mile Cave is a story set in two time-periods. The 1880s story is about Shooter Green (Jeremy Sumpter), a dazzling marksman who takes on a dangerous job so he can afford to marry the woman he loves, banker’s daughter Josie Hayes (Alexandria DeBerry). The 1920s story centers on a young boy named Tommy (Jet Jurgensmeyer), whose dime-novel-fueled obsession with Shooter Green is enhanced by ranch-hand Sam Barnes (Adam Baldwin), who in his youth knew Shooter.

I arrived at Old Tucson at 8 a.m., two hours before the park opened to the public. There is always something magical about Western movie sets and streets, whether deserted, or in the midst of production. I made my way along the Rio Bravo Street, skirted a remaining piece of the O.K. Corral, to Town Hall, the base camp for the film.

Adam Baldwin as Sam Barnes

As I entered the rotunda, the pharmacy set to my left had been converted to the make-up department. To my right, the bank interior set – scene of countless hold-ups – had been commandeered by wardrobe. Straight ahead was town hall, or a courtroom, depending on how the set was dressed.  The man on the judge’s bench directed me to the assistant director, who introduced me to a tall young man who was one of the film’s producers, Jason White. We hopped into his RV, along with his assistant, and headed out to location.

The route into the Sonoran Desert was a baffling series of random-seeming switchbacks, hills and valleys dominated by countless saguaro cactus, mesquite plants, and creosote bushes covered with tiny yellow flowers and tiny cotton-like puffs. In a moment, all signs of civilization were gone. En route, Jason and I talked about movies in general, and 5 Mile Cave in particular, and producer Gary Wheeler gave me more details when we met up on location.   

GARY WHEELER & JASON WHITE - Producers

Henry Parke:   How did 5 Mile Cave come about?

Gary Wheeler:  I did a movie with Nancy Stafford called Heritage Falls a couple of years ago and she said, you have to meet this actor/writer named William Shockley. I live in Charlotte, and William was scouting Charlotte for a movie, and I said sure, how can I not? I knew William’s work from Dr. Quinn. We met at a little restaurant, and he started talking about all the scripts that he'd written with his partner, Dustin Rikert, that he wanted to get made, everything from a modern-day love story to an action movie, and kind of buried in the middle of them was, “and we wrote this one family Western about Legend of 5 Mile Cave.” And then he kept going, and I said, let's go back to that little one you mentioned in the middle. He vowed to send me all the scripts, and he sent a bunch, but the one I kept looking for was 5 Mile Cave, and I even said, hey, send me that one. And I read it, liked it, my executive producers liked it. We put a deal together quickly, and we're in production less than a year later.

Henry Parke: Wow -- that is fast!

Gary Wheeler:  You know, I've done movies where it's taken years to develop, and then I've done movies where it comes together very quickly, and usually when that happens, it turns out well.

Henry Parke:  How long have you been working together?

Jason White: Just about two years. Not too long, but we've done about five movies so far together, ranging from romcoms to action movies to family dramas. So, yeah, it's been fun.

Henry Parke:   Could you explain for a layman what a producer does?

Jason White:   It’s kind of like you’re building a house, and I'm a general contractor. It takes a lot of people to build a house; takes a lot of people to make a movie. We assemble a team, and I try to get out of their way, and let them do what they do best. We work together great; we always have good crews. This time in particular we're blending a crew. We shoot a lot of our movies out east, in Georgia, so about half our crew is from the east coast, and half our crew is from here, and they've just melded together great. Which, you know, doesn't always happen. It's kind of nice. It's kind of like a family.

Henry Parke:   How much of this film was shot in Georgia?

Tommy reads about Shooter Green

Jason White:   About two thirds. Legend of 5 Mile Cave is a retelling, from an older gentleman to a younger kid, who’s gotten a pulp novel, and thinks he knows the real story. But this older gentleman says, no, I'll tell you what really happened to Shooter Green. We have a lot of flashbacks, and that's what we're shooting here in Arizona.  Georgia is present day, which is 1920s, so not really present day, but within our movie it's present day. And it was fun, too. We had a lot of 1920s Model A Fords, a lot of period 1920s costumes. Amazingly, we found a 1920s house in Georgia totally redone inside, like the 1920s, which is hard to find because once electricity came in, houses changed. This one had electricity, but we worked around that. And it looks great.

Henry Parke: How did you go about casting the film?

Gary Wheeler:  Beverly Holloway is our casting director. We had several people in mind. You make your lists like any movie, and you find cornerstone people.  We had worked with Jill Wagner before, and I texted Jill, hey, we got a Western. She's in the Georgia portion. And Jet Jurgensmeyer plays her son, and he's a kind of a cowboy kid anyway, so he loved it. We called William (Shockley) and I said, how about playing this character? You wrote him. He was like, I'm in! And then we got Adam Baldwin, and I've always been a big fan of Adam’s dating back to My Bodyguard – that was a sentinel eighties movie for me. Then I have always been a Jeremy Sumpter fan, I liked him from Friday Night Lights. I knew he was a cowboy, and I saw footage of him cutting cattle, and I thought he would be a great Shooter Green.

Henry Parke:   How many horses do you have in this picture?

Jason White:   We have six on the stage-coach, and probably another five or six, so like 12 or 13. Jesse Bell has bred and trained all these horses. He's from Tombstone originally and he runs the stables here at Old Tucson.

Henry Parke:   What are the biggest challenges you found doing a period film with two periods?

Jason White:   That you can't show anything modern: can't show a power line, can't show a car, can't show a Coke can. When you shoot a non-period piece, if you happen to see a bicycle or a Ford Focus or something, it's not a big deal because you know those things exist. But we're in a time when there’s no electricity, no telephone. It's easier to make a movie if it happened World War II or after, because a lot of things existed from then on, that didn't exist before that. 1920s, not everyone had indoor plumbing.

Henry Parke:   So you've got two time periods that are both challenges.

Jason White:   Yes. As far as getting the period stuff right, the one in the West was actually the less challenging because at Old Tucson they've really preserved it. It's here on county park land where no one has built behind them. So it's very easy to imagine what the 1880s looked like, easy to get lost in that.

Henry Parke:   What are your favorite Westerns?

Jason White:  I love Glenn Ford; I love John Wayne. Lately I've been watching Rio Bravo and El Dorado a lot, and I know they get a lot of flak for being similar, but I kind of like that, because you get to see what (Director Howard) Hawks was thinking.  I always liked Westerns, but when I got older, the good versus the bad, that became stronger imagery to me. I just fell more in love with them, especially Clint Eastwood movies. My stepfather was a very John Wayne-esque type person. In fact, at his eulogy, my wife referenced John Wayne in comparison to him.  So John Wayne has a special place in my heart because it reminds me of him.

Henry Parke: What's your favorite movie that got shot here?

Gary Wheeler: I really loved El Dorado . I just rewatched it, and there's a scene where John Wayne has to come and tell the family that their boy is dead. He tells him and then he takes his horse and he backs up, covering the family with his rifle. He's such a large man on this horse and the way he backs that horse up is amazing. Other than that, I would say Tombstone. And then after I scouted here I went back and rewatched The Three Amigos and I loved itYou could tell that they had studied.

Henry Parke:  How do you like working at Old Tucson?

Jason White:  I love it. People here are great. I mean, this is where Westerns were made, and we're standing on what we call ‘film sacred ground’, where iconic American Westerns were born, where we have the idea of what a Western is and what a cowboy is. It's not just an American thing: people all over the world identify with the Western, and that idea was born here, created here. From 1939, from Arizona to Rio Bravo to TV shows like High Chaparral, those were made here, so people's idea of the what the west looks like is Old Tucson.

Henry Parke: Are you planning to make more Westerns?

Jason White:   I'm hoping to. We really love the Western, and I think audiences really love the Western, and kind of miss it. And I think it's making a comeback. I hope we're part of that comeback and I hope we make more,

Henry Parke:   Do you think kids relate to westerns today?

Jason White:   Oh yeah. There's always that adventure that comes from a western. Kids like horses, they like challenges they have to overcome. I think kids will always be drawn to those types of stories.

We crested a hill and were suddenly in the location’s parking area. “Always park by the porta-potties,” Jason advised me. “You can be sure your car won’t be in the shot.” Sound advice. A short, steep, winding desert path brought us to the black tent that shaded the pair of video monitors for the two cameras that covered the action.  Brent Christy was watching a scene replay. Brent is both the cinematographer and the director of 5 Mile Cave, a very rare combination. Satisfied with what he saw, he left the tent and returned to the action.

They were shooting a series of gallop-bys – Shooter Green rides by camera, pursued by a posse of more than half a dozen riders.  It was exciting stuff, with lots of pounding hoofs and dust and riding around saguaros. They did several takes.

Tom Proctor fires straight at camera

The next set-up featured the head of the posse – Virgil Earp no less – taking a shot at the fleeing Shooter Green. Tom Proctor, an experienced stunt-man and stunt coordinator as well as an actor, was playing Earp, and he was to fire the shot directly into camera. It was a blank, of course, but at point-blank range, a person or a camera can certainly be hurt by a blank. A sheet of thick, clear plastic was mounted on a stand between gun and camera, and it was the plastic that took the impact.

I got a lift to the next location from a man I’d met before, but didn’t recognize. William Shockley, co-author of 5 Mile Cave, has had a long and impressive acting career, starting with Robocop, and is best remembered from Dr. Quinn – Medicine Woman, where he played Hank Lawson, the long-haired, tough, cynical saloon and brothel-owner, who often surprised people with his basic decency.  In the last several years, he and writing partner Dustin Rikert have had quite a few movies made, including the Westerns The Gundown, Ambush at Dark Canyon, and Hot Bath an’ a Stiff Drink. Without his long, scraggily hair from Dr. Quinn, he was unrecognizable. He looks much more respectable, and much younger, without it. “I had to lose it for the part. That kind of hair wouldn’t go for a 1920s lawman.” In addition to co-writing the movie, he plays the antagonist of the 1920s storyline.

WILLIAM SHOCKLEY – Writer and Actor

Henry Parke:   What is it like, as a writer and actor, delivering lines that you wrote?

Wm Shockley: Well, I've had the privilege to be cast in many of the films that I've written with Dustin Rikert. This one, they cast me in the brilliant role of Sheriff Small, who's the bad guy ultimately. To be able to watch other actors, as a hired actor along with them, participate and see it come to life, it gives you goosebumps. I mean, it's a beautiful feeling.

Henry Parke:   When did you start specializing in Westerns?

Wm Shockley:  I was talking to the executive producer yesterday and he said, not every actor is correct for a western. So I think the western found me.  I think there's a sensibility that an actor and an actress have to have, and the look, to participate in the truth and authenticity of the old west. So I think they found me. I fell in love with Hank Lawsen on Dr. Quinn, clearly. And then, when I started working with Dustin, there's just such a beautiful truth about the old west that I can really relate to.

Henry Parke:  How do you like shooting at Old Tucson?

Wm Shockley: Well, this is the seventh time I've filmed here, and I love it. Honestly, I feel like a little kid the first day whenever I'm back. It's just awe-inspiring. Tucson's almost like my home away from home.

Henry Parke:   Where is your actual home?

Wm Shockley: Los Angeles. I've been there my whole life, since I left Texas. I claim Austin (as my hometown) because it's such a fabulous city. I went to school there and had a restaurant there.

Henry Parke:   It's seems that Westerns are going through a revival, and a lot of the really good stuff is on television rather than theatrical.

Wm Shockley: What's the golden age of television? You know, with the shrinking economy of DVDs, it's harder to monetize an independent film. And with the advent of Netflix and Hulu and Amazon and all the great opportunities in television, there's exposure for everything, including Westerns. In the perilous times that we live in, this unusual moment in history, I think the world feels great about watching something that feels authentic and good, like a western. There's such pure honesty in the old west, you know? Steal a man's cattle, you get killed. Straight up truth. And one man can make a difference. There were bad guys, (and that) creates drama. I think people enjoy looking back to a time with no cell phones, and no computers and no Facebook: none of the clutter.

The next morning, I caught up with Jeremy Sumpter, who stars as Shooter Green.  He first made a splash in 2003, starring in the title role in the live-action blockbuster Peter Pan, so I was startled that he had no English accent.  It turns out he’s all-American.  He gave me a bit of a walking tour of the main street, excitedly pointing out the sights.

JEREMY SUMPTER – Shooter Green

Jeremy Sumpter and Alexandria DeBerry

between takes

Henry Parke:   I understand that you were a fan of Westerns long before you starred in this one.

Jeremy Sumpter:  Absolutely. It's been a dream of mine to do a Western, and to finally have that dream come true, I mean, I couldn't be happier. And being a part of this, in Old Tucson, where they made, Rio Bravo -- like right over here is where Dean Martin went into the horse-trough. And you see some of these foundations, that's where the old original sets were, when they built the place in '39 and shot Arizona. Seeing it all here and being part of that, and making my stamp in the history of the place, it's pretty spectacular.

Henry Parke:  Did you grow up western?

Jeremy Sumpter:  Yeah, I did.  I grew up in Kentucky, but I really grew up in L.A.  Been out there for 19 years, so 10 years in Kentucky first, riding thoroughbreds.  And then I went to Texas, and did a lot of horse cutting, and using what I've learned over the years. I'm a modern-day cowboy in the sense of my whole mentality, so to take that into my character (Shooter Green), the period seemed pretty easy for me.

Shooter and Josie

Henry Parke:   What are your favorite Western films?

Jeremy Sumpter:  The Shootist is great. The Outlaw Josey Wales. But my favorite is Unforgiven. Clint, he's one of my favorite directors too.

Later that morning, I would be acting in a scene with Jeremy. It was Shooter and Josie’s wedding, and I would have to be costumed for it.

Meeting Jenna Miller  on-set, you would probably assume that she was an actress rather than the costume designer. Despite growing up with a mother who was a seamstress, she took a very circuitous route to costume design. “She tried to teach me how to sew when I was a kid, but I was out with the horses too much.” Jenna was a wrangler first, and eventually got interested in sewing her own period costumes at the ranch where she worked. She assisted another costumer designer for some time. 5 Mile Cave is Jenna’s second film as head designer. “I grew up here in Arizona, born and raised an Arizona cowgirl. I was immersed in the old west history growing up and it's always fascinated me. I've done a lot of research and learned a lot about the west, and I just really like doing this particular era.”

JENNA MILLER – Costume Designer

Henry Parke:   What are your biggest challenges in doing costumes on a Western?

Jenna Miller:    Making sure that we keep it as historically accurate as possible, and make the accuracy work with how we're filming it, to make it play into the scenes and work with the camera angles, as far as hats and things like that are concerned.

Henry Parke:   Which is a more demanding, the women's clothes or the men’s?

Jenna Miller: It depends on the scene. The men, like right now they're out riding and, in the dust and dirt. There's the challenge of making sure that their clothing’s aged enough, with the right amount of dust and the right amount of dirt. So it looks like they've actually been out there all day riding. The women's clothes are pretty simple and easy to do, unless we get into some of the more upscale scenes where they're wearing clothing with extra layers, the bustle skirts and fancier stuff. It gets a little more complicated.  I'm a specialist in women's clothing of that era. It was really important to me for female lead, Josie, to have period correctness all the way through the costume from every single layer. So I was painstakingly making sure that even her undergarments, that you don't ever see on film were historically accurate, because there's a certain silhouette that the women had to have in their clothing back then, that Victorian era silhouette. It's really important that the corsets and things that she's wearing underneath make the right silhouette for the outside of the clothing.

Alexandria and Jeremy - note she's standing on

an apple box to bring her up closer to him

The wedding scene was shot in the church set, a small, perhaps secret wedding attended only by the couple, the minister and his wife, and two seated witnesses seen from behind, a bald-headed man and a striking blonde. I am not the striking blonde.

Outside of the church, they shot the scene with Shooter leaving his bride to do that dangerous job that would give them financial security. After that I had a chance to talk with Director Brent Christy, and experienced cinematographer directing his second feature.

BRENT CHRISTY – Director and Cinematographer

Alexandria DeBerry and Brent Christy

Henry Parke:   Quite a few screenwriters and some editors have segued into directing, but it’s unusual for a cinematographer to do so. How do your camera skills help you as a director?

Brent Christy: I think what has worked for me is having a vision for where the light's coming from, and what I want to see from a camera move. That has helped give me confidence when it comes to the things that I'm still learning, which is having a relationship with the actors, and making sure that every little bit is as good as it can be.

Henry Parke:  This is your second film as a director?

Brent Christy: That's correct. The first one's called Legal Action.  It’s a courtroom drama that also has a little bit of detective work in it.

Henry Parke: How do you like doing a western?

Brent Christy: It's been a great experience, coming out to Tucson specifically. And doing my first western project really on any level, it's the scenery: it's hard not to make it look Western. And when it comes to a place like Old Tucson Studios, it's really built in. The same can be said for a lot of the set design, the costumes; it's all really here and the people here are great.

Henry Parke:   Growing up, were Westerns a favorite genre?

Brent Christy: No, Western fandom has come later in life. It's only been the last three years that I dove into Westerns, and really saw the potential in film history of good guy versus bad guy. A lot of it is entrenched in the things that John Ford and Howard Hawks did.

Henry Parke:   I think you’re pretty near to wrapping this film. What have been the biggest challenges?

Brent Christy: I'd say dealing with the elements. We've had some high winds, some high heat, and working out in the sun, making sure everybody stays hydrated, stays cool. And staying on time with the job ahead has been a difficult balancing act.

Henry Parke:   What particular challenges have you found in doing a period story rather than a contemporary one, and two different time periods at that?

Brent Christy: You know, regardless of the facility, everything is basically outfitted for electric these days. So we have a lot of help with our VFX (Visual Effects) department when it comes to light switches and light sockets and things like that. It's hard to make sure every one of those is disappeared. But overall, we've been very fortunate with the locations that we've had.

Henry Parke:   Except for Old Tucson, you’ve been shooting in Georgia?

Brent Christy: That's correct. They were all on location, preexisting buildings. So we had to adapt them to our needs, but thankfully the structures that we chose were all 1900 buildings, and we were very fortunate to be working with location owners that were excited to have us recreate something from that era.

Henry Parke: It's an unusual story in that you've got the same group of characters in two very different times in their lives. Did that pose any particular challenges?

Brent Christy: Casting is very important when you're doing a story where a character is decades older in one scene, and decades younger in the next. We've been very fortunate that the cast (members playing the same characters) wanted to collaborate with each other and find the little idiosyncrasies that make them who they are, and try to infuse a little bit of those into each other's roles.

Henry Parke:   How do you like working with horses?

Brent Christy: It's been a great experience working with horses, in really being able to respect an animal that you can tame. But at the same time, we have to respect their needs as well. It's been a good experience and a great challenge at the same time.

Stagecoach shootout

The last sequence I watched being filmed was a stagecoach chase and robbery.  I’d known that popular Western filming locations often had a “chase-road”, a long, straight path without obstructions, where running horses could get up a good speed, and an insert-car could drive beside them, filming, but I’d never seen a chase-road before. This one was a large perfect circle, meaning that a camera in the center could pan around, and always maintain the same distance from the coach – even if the coach drove endlessly. There was a shoot-out at the end of the chase, with a paint-ball gun providing convincing bullet-hits.  

All too soon, that last day of filming was over, and everyone was packing up and heading out. The Legend of 5 Mile Cave is completed now, and will have it’s world television premiere on Sunday night, June 9^th, 2019, on INSP. Check your local listings to see when it’s on in your area.

LEGEND OF 5 MILE CAVE – A Movie Review by Henry C. Parke

In Kentucky, in 1929, it’s a few months before the Stock-market Crash, but the Great Depression is already here for recently widowed Susan Tilwicky (Jill Wagner) and her son Tommy (Jet Jurgensmeyer).  Without her husband to work the ranch and break the horses to sell, the mother and son seem destined to lose their homestead. Things are already bad enough that Susan is looking to take in boarders. Tommy escapes these worries by immersing himself in dime novels about the adventures of a fabled cowboy sharpshooter named Shooter Green. There’s a ray of hope for the Tilwickys when an older roaming cowboy named Sam Barnes (Adam Baldwin) agrees to break the horses in trade for room and board. Better still, Sam claims to have known Shooter Green in his youth, and happily gives Tommy the real story about his idol.

Interwoven with the 1929 story is the 1896 Tucson-set story of Shooter Green (Jeremy Sumpter), a young man who makes a living by demonstrating his shooting prowess to audiences for a price. He’s more than a little cocky, and would come off as arrogant except that he’s every bit as good as he claims to be. Shooter becomes smitten with lovely – and equally gun-skilled – Josie Hayes (Alexandria DeBerry), the daughter of the town banker. To earn the money to be able to marry Josie, Shooter tales on a dangerous job, which leads betrayal, disgrace, and loot from a robbery that’s still being sought in 1929.

Writers Dustin Rikert and William Shockley, and director Brent Christy have fashioned a Depression Western that is anything but depressing. It’s full of adventure and action and heart, engaging performances, with plenty of surprises along the way. Best of all, at a time when all the good recent Westerns contain little that would interest kids, or even be appropriate for them to see, Legend of 5 Mile Cave is a Western with an elegant balance of adult interest and kid interest, action and romance, so that the whole family can watch it, and enjoy it, together, not because it’s been rendered harmless, but because it’s good entertainment.  The bond that grows between young Tommy and Sam is particularly genuine.

Shot in the two beautiful, but very different, locales of small-town Georgia and Old Tucson, Arizona, the movie is handsomely lensed by Brent Christy, Cinematographer as well as Director, and shows off Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, at times using a drone to reveal that familiar landscape from a completely new perspective. The grand score by Tom Gire is in the tradition of great, stirring Westerns scores of Elmer Bernstein and Alfred Newman and Dimitri Tiomkin, without being derivative of any.  

The Legend of 5 Mile Cave makes its television premiere on Sunday night, June 9^th, on INSP. It’s also available on DVD, as well as Amazon Prime and Fandango. 

THE ROY ROGERS ‘HAPPY TRAILS’ COLLECTION – DVD Review

If you’re a fan of the King of the Cowboys and the Queen of the West, this twenty-film collection for about a dollar a movie from Mill Creek Entertainment is an unbeatable deal, and it’s authorized by The Roy Rogers Estate, compiled with the help of Roy’s son, Roy “Dusty” Rogers Jr. and Jeffrey Kramer. 

While the movies themselves, almost all directed by Republic Pictures action wizard William Whitney, many guest-starring Gabby Hayes, would appear to be the main attraction, if you love Roy and Dale, the even greater appeal of this set is its source: the 1980s Nashville Network series, Happy Trails Theatre, which they hosted.  The introductions are heartwarming, and full of insights into the making of the films. Better still, the introductions usually feature guests, including Dusty, co-stars like Iron Eyes Cody, Penny Edwards, Ruth Terry, and Roy’s friend and rival Gene Autry with sidekick Pat Buttram. There are several good documentaries as well.

On four DVDs, and also featuring a digital copy, the shows have all been digitally remastered. But while I strongly recommend this set, I want to make a couple of clarifications. While all the movies I’ve viewed so far are perfectly watchable, these versions of the movies are the ones that were originally included in the TV series, and I know that in some cases there are higher quality versions now available.  And at least some of the movies are cut. Originally, B-westerns ran about 60 to 65 minutes. But when they were first sold them to television in the 1950s, they were cut to 53 minutes, to fit into a TV hour, with seven minutes for commercials. In some cases, the missing footage is simply lost. I don’t know if there is a more complete version of 1944’s delightful Along The Navajo Trail, but it was released at 66 minutes, and this version is 53, with at least one musical number obviously missing.

But it’s a wonderful deal, and even if I already had all of the movies complete, I’d buy the set for the intros. Disk one features Sons of the Pioneers (1942) and Trigger Jr. (1950) in color, and Pals of the Golden West (1951), Young Bill Hickok (1940), and Don’t Fence Me In (1945) – the only Roy Rogers Western with a Cole Porter theme – in black & white.  You can see the entire list of films, and order the set, here:

https://www.millcreekent.com/roy-rogers-the-happy-trails-collection-dvd-digital.html

JONAH BLUE - by Jim Christina – a Book Review

Tuscany Bay Books – 280 pages

With Jonah Blue, author Jim Christina takes a break from his popular The Hunter Western novel series to tell a story that begins with 10-year-old Jonah Bleu, growing up in 1830s Ohio. One of three children, their father is so cruel to the family that his wife can take it no more, and hangs herself. Jonah finds his mother’s body. When his father shows no remorse, seeing it as an excuse to whup the boy, Jonah grabs his few belongings in a kerchief and takes off for the Rocky Mountains.

The bulk of the adventure tells how Jonah, with the help of a succession of Mountain Man mentors, starting with Rensfeld Dogget, learns to be a Mountain Man, to live off the land, to be self-reliant, to protect himself from enemies both White and Indian.  He must also, inevitably, deal with the fates of the brother and sister whom he left behind.

In his autobiographical appendix, Jim Christina notes, “If you are looking for Louis L’amour, you won’t find him here.” This is absolutely true. Eschewing pastoral passages and detailed descriptions, Christina’s prose cuts to the bone. There are no taboo subjects here. Heroes are not always heroic, language is coarse, and the details of action are unflinching: nobody is simply “stabbed in the gut.” You will learn precisely what happened to the victim’s entrails.  With a hero every bit as compelling as The Hunter, one must suspect that there will be many more Jonah Blue novels to look forward to.

JONAH BLUE is available from Amazon, in Kindle and paperback, here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073NP2VP2

One More Thing...

I wanted to make sure I posted my article and review about The Legend of 5 Mile Cave before the show actually aired, and I'm down to the wire to do it. As I type these words, it's 2:42 a.m. , Sunday morning, and I still have to choose the pictures to go with the articles. In the next day or two I'll be updating this post with a book review (now included), a video review (now included), and some upcoming events. Please check back in during the week!

Much obliged,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright June 2019 by Henry C. Parke - All Rights Reserved

    

THE WESTERN FAN’S GUIDE TO THE TCM FEST, PLUS SANTA CLARITA COWBOY FEST, ALL-STAR WORD-ON-WESTERNS, MEMBERS NIGHT AND ‘UNION PACIFIC’ AT THE AUTRY!

THE WESTERN FAN’S GUIDE TO THE TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL!

The 10^th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival arrives in Hollywood this Thursday, April 11^th, for four days and nights of wonderful movies seen as they should be, on big screens, introduced by knowledgeable and often famous guests, and attended by folks who love movies - and know as much about them - as you and I do.   This year’s theme is Follow Your Heart – Love At The Movies, and there are films for all interests.  I’ll have a link below to connect you to the entire schedule, but for this report I’m focusing on Westerns and attendees of Western interest.  You can’t see everything, because so many films are screened simultaneously, so it’s wise to plan ahead, and make sure you give yourself enough time to get from theatre to theatre. Rather than skip movies to eat meals, I often carry a briefcase full of Smuckers Uncrustables.

TICKETS: The various festival passes, which run from $2,149 down to a paltry $299, are all sold out. But, individual passes are available for most movies on a first-come, first-served basis, for twenty buck a pop, with the Sunday evening screening of Gone With The Wind for $30.  Lots of movies do fill up, so your advised to get to movies at least a half-hour early.

VENUES: The vast majority of films are screened at the Chinese complex, either the historic Chinese Theatre IMAX or the Chinese 6 Theatres Multiplex, on Hollywood Blvd., near Highland. Some films are shown a few blocks East on Hollywood Blvd., at the equally historic Egyptian Theatre. You may need to drive to films at Arclight Cinema’s Cinerama Dome on Sunset Blvd. A few movies are screened poolside at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, across the street from the Chinese Theatres.  A new venue added this year is the American Legion Theatre at Post 43, chartered in 1919 by World War I film-industry veterans, and now with a stunningly renovated theatre. It’s about a fifteen-minute walk from the Hollywood Roosevelt, and click HERE to get more details.

THURSDAY NIGHT begins with an invitation-only, Chinese IMAX Theatre 6:30 pm premiere, of a restoration of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (not a Western), whic director Rob Reiner and stars Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal (of CITY SLICKERS) will attend.

At 7:30 pm, Poolside at the Hollywood Roosevelt, the original OCEAN’S 11 will screen, preceded by a discussion with lovely Angie Dickinson (RIO BRAVO, among others).

At 8 pm at the Legion Theatre at Post 43, SERGEANT YORK will be presented, with a discussion beforehand with two of Sgt. York’s sons!

FRIDAY MORNING at 10:30 am, in the forecourt of the fabled Chinese Theatre, Billy Crystal will follow the long Hollywood tradition of placing his handprints and footprints in cement!

At 12 noon at the Legion Theatre at Post 43, there’s WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT REPUBLIC SERIALS? It’s a program of shorts hosted by Andrea Kalas, Paramount Pictures Archivist – Paramount now owns the Republic library.

At 9:30 pm, in Chinese Multiplex #1, WINCHESTER ’73! The premiere of a new restoration, done with the input of Martin Scorcese and Steven Speilberg, the brilliantly dark Anthony Mann Western starring James Stewart will be introduced by author Jeremy Arnold.

Do it Jimmy! Dan Duryea's got it coming to him!

SATURDAY MORNING, at 9:45 am, THE LITTLE COLONEL, starring Shirley Temple, Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore, plays at the Legion Theatre at Post 43, introduced by film critic Tara McNamara.

At 2:45 pm at the Legion Theatre at Post 43, a double-feature of rarely seen Tom Mix Westerns, THE GREAT K&A TRAIN ROBBERY, and OUTLAWS OF RED RIVER, will be introduced by N.Y. Museum of Modern Art Film Curator Anne Morra. The films will be presented  with a live musical score by famed Silent Film Organist Ben Model.

At 6:30 pm at the Chinese Theatre IMAX, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID will be introduced by composer Burt Bacharach, who won Oscars for both the Original Score, and Best Song, “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.”

At 9:45 pm at the Chinese Multiplex #1, Director John Carpenter and star Kurt Russell will present ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.

SUNDAY morning, April 14^th, at 11:30 am at the Legion Theatre at Post 43, the Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball comedy YOURS, MINE AND OURS will be presented with stars Tracy Nelson, frequent TV Western guest star Kevin Burkett, BONANZA’s Jamie Cartwright, Mitch Vogel, and film historian Leonard Maltin.

At 2:30 pm at the Chinese Multiplex #1, Don Seigal’s and Ernest Hemingway’s THE KILLERS will screen. Star Angie Dickinson will speak before the film, which co-stars Western stalwarts Lee Marvin, Clu Gulager, John Cassavetes and, in his final screen role before moving on to another demanding job, Academy Award Winner Ronald Reagan.

Finally, at 4:30 pm at the Chinese Theatre IMAX, there’s GONE WITH THE WIND.  Hope to see you there! You can get details on all of the films programs, and all of the guests HERE.

THE SANTA CLARITA COWBOY FESTIVAL SAT & SUN, APRIL 13^TH & 14^TH!

Held at silent-movie cowboy legend William S. Hart’s own ranch in Newhall, now the William S. Hart Park, this annual FREE event gives real and wanna-be cowpokes an opportunity to immerse themselves in a world of western fun and entertainment.

While most of the action occurs on the weekend, there are activities leading up, and on Thursday, April 11^th,  at 5 pm, on Main Street in Old Town Newhall, three new inductees will be added to the Western Walk of Stars: TV’s THE VIRGINIAN, James Drury; LARAMIE and WAGON TRAIN star Robert Fuller; and posthumously, Western character actor – generally a villain – Dan White.  Everyone is welcome!

Me and Bobbi Jean Bell

At Hart Park, on Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, visitors can roam the park and hear 22 different Western music acts perform throughout both days, including Krystyn Harris, John Bergstrom, Almeda Bradshaw, Shannon Rae and 100 Proof, The Hanson Family, and Sourdough Slim. Also, be dazzled by gun-spinning virtuoso Joey Dillon and rope twirling maestro Dave Thornbury!

Joey Dillon double-spinning!

You can also visit the Buckaroo Book Shop and meet your favorite Western authors, visit a Native American lodge, and shop for Western clothing and accessories. You can tour the Hart Mansion, and test your skills at archery, tomahawk throwing, mechanical bull-riding, gold panning and more.

And when it comes to food many fans come year after year just for the Cowboy Peach Cobbler, but there’s also barbecue, soul food, Thai food, sausage – you name it! There’s a special parking area, and shuttle buses to take you to the venue. For details, click HERE.

STARS TO PACK ‘WORD ON WESTERNS’ LOOK AT OVERLOOKED WESTERNS!

On Tuesday, April 16^th, Western historian and raconteur Rob Word will present his free bi-monthly Western film program at The Autry’s Wells Fargo Theatre. The program is dedicated to the late, great character actor Morgan Woodward. The topic is Overlooked Westerns, and the stars who plan to discuss their movies are Keith Carradine, Tim Matheson, Donna Mills and Dennis Quaid. Rob always does well with his guests, but I can’t remember when he had so much firepower in one program.

Doors open at 10:30 am, and the program is from 11 am to 1 pm, after which most folks mosey across the courtyard for lunch at the Autry’s Crossroads West Café.  Don’t miss it!

‘UNION PACIFIC’ SATURDAY APRIL 13^TH AT THE AUTRY

A beautiful 35mm print of Cecil B. DeMille’s UNION PACIFIC will screen at the Autry’s Wells Fargo Theatre at 1:30 pm, as part of their long-running What is a Western? series.  The film, from a novel by STAGECOACH author Ernest Haycox, stars Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Preston and Akim Tamiroff. It will be introduced by James D’Arc, film historian and author of When Hollywood Came to Town: The History of Movie Making in Utah. Admission is free with Museum admission.

MEMBERS’ NIGHT AT THE AUTRY – SATURDAY, APRIL 20^th!

The Autry celebrates its loyal members (and up to four guests) with a great evening of fun, starting at 5 pm with games on the plaza, and an in-gallery scavenger hunt. Dinner is available for purchase from Crossroads West Cafe (member discount applies!) There will be free popcorn, snacks, lemonade, and soft drinks, complimentary beer and wine.

And at 6:30 pm, there will be a special live performance by the delightful Bob Baker MarionetteTheater, followed by a screening of Gene Autry’s 1941 classic, BACK IN THE SADDLE!

EXTENDED VERSION OF ‘MAJOR DUNDEE’ APRIL 26 & 27 AT THE NEW BEVERLY!

Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 pm, an extended version of Sam Peckinpah’s heavily re-edited classic, MAJOR DUNDEE will be screened.  It stars Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Jim Hutton and James Coburn.

…AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Me and Morgan Woodward, who starred 

in my first film, SPEEDTRAP!

Sorry the Round-up appears so erratically; I’ve been up to my ears writing for True West Magazine! The current issue features my interview with Kevin Costner (notice my name on the cover for the first time!), and a look at the wonderful YouTube series THE FORSAKEN WESTERNS.  More good stuff coming soon! Happy Easter and Passover!

Henry

All Original Content Copyright April 2019 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

LA/ITALIA - FRANCO NERO TALKS NEW WESTERNS; GUNSMOKE’S MORGAN WOODWARD DIES

OSCAR NOMINEE DIANE WARREN, MICHAEL IMPERIOLI, ANDY GARCIA, AND FRANCO NERO ON THE L.A./ITALIA FEST RED CARPET!

Last Sunday, February 17^th, the Los Angeles Italia Festival began, as it has for fourteen years, a week before the Oscars, in the same complex where the Academy Awards are held, at Hollywood and Highland. The week-long celebration of Italian film and culture opens with a red carpet outside the Chinese Theatre 6. Receiving special honors that night would be Franco Nero and Andy Garcia.

I first spoke to Diane Warren, the ten-times Oscar-nominated song-writer who might get her first win tonight for I’ll Fight, the theme from the documentary RBG, about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Henry Parke:   When you wrote I'll Fight, was the film completed, or was it based on knowing what it was going to be about?

Diane Warren: Well, I saw a rough cut of it and I just got really inspired, and it's such an honor to be associated with this, with RBG. Here I am, and a week from today -- eek!

Henry Parke:   Who's going to be performing?

Diane Warren: Jennifer Hudson. She's going to be singing it, and she's probably going to blow the roof off this place.

Henry Parke:   I bet she will. Previously, what have been your favorite songs you've written for movies?

Diane Warren: Last year was one of my favorites ever, was Stand Up For Something from MARSHALL. That was Common and Andra Day, and they gave me an award for that as well. And the Lady Gaga song, Til It Happens To You (from the documentary THE HUNTING GROUND), that I wrote a few years ago. It was really proud of that. I'm proud of all of them, you know.

I next spoke to Michael Imperioli, who’s been nominated for Emmys five times for his portrayal of Christopher on THE SOPRANOS.  I interviewed him, and then he interviewed me a little. In the 2018 prison-brake miniseries ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA, directed by Ben Stiller, Michael played New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Henry Parke:   How did you like playing Governor Cuomo?

Michael Imperioli:  Oh, I liked it a lot. I got to spend some time with him and talk to him about what it was like during the prison break that the movie is about. But it was a lot of fun. It was good to work with Ben Stiller (who) is, I think a great director and really knows how to work with actors. I had a good time on that.

Henry Parke:   Tell me, do people still call you Christopher?

Michael Imperioli:  Oh yeah. I think they'll call me that till the end of my life probably. As long as they keep watching THE SOPRANOS.

Henry Parke:   I don't think they'll ever stop. How do you think THE SOPRANOS changed television?

Michael Imperioli:  I think THE SOPRANOS brought a cinematic quality to television that never really happened before. What people loved about movies, THE SOPRANOS brought to their living rooms on a weekly basis. And I think that was a seminal moment in television history.

Henry Parke:   What's been your favorite roles since then?

Michael Imperioli:  I did a movie in Portugal called CABARET MAXINE, that has not been released yet, and I think that was my favorite role since then. I play the owner of a burlesque house, who's trying to keep the old, the old world of burlesque alive in the modern, gentrified big cities.

Henry Parke:   Terrific.

Michael Imperioli:  Thank you. Who are you with?

Henry Parke:   Oh, I'm with True West Magazine and Henry's Western Roundup. I mostly write about Westerns.

Michael Imperioli:  Oh, really? Big Weston fan, huh? What's your favorite western?

Henry Parke:   Currently THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, but it changes from week to week. What's yours?

Michael Imperioli:  Well, THE SEARCHERS, I never get tired of that, but THE WILD  BUNCH I think; I love that one.. And also, THE COWBOYS. Good friend of mine who passed away was in that: Roscoe Lee Brown. Oh, he's a great actor.

Henry Parke:   Wonderful actor, wonderful role in that, too.

Michael Imperioli:  Wonderful role; that's a really good movie. And Robert Carradine.

Next I talked briefly with Andy Garcia, who was just in THE MULE with Clint Eastwood. Garcia is working to make a film to be titled HEMINGWAY & FUENTES, about the friendship between Ernest Hemingway and boat Captain Gregorio Fuentes, the inspiration behind THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA.

Henry Parke:   How did you like working with Clint Eastwood?

Andy Garcia:   Oh, Clint is incredible. That was a sublime experience.

Henry Parke:   I understand you're filming HEMINGWAY & FUENTES.

Andy Garcia:   I would like to; I'm in the process.

Henry Parke:   That sounds like a wonderful project.

Andy Garcia:   It is. Just trying to get the financing together.

Finally I spoke to the original Django, Franco Nero

Henry Parke:   Franco, which are your favorite among your westerns?

Franco Nero:   Well... maybe DJANGO and maybe KEOMA. I think KEOMA’s an interesting western, yes.

Henry Parke:   And Enzo Castellari is a wonderful director.

Franco Nero:   Yes. We are supposed to do a new one. Maybe; we are planning to do a new Keoma. But also a new Django.  But you know, we see. Maybe one or the other, maybe one western will come out this year. Maybe both.

Henry Parke:  I heard John Sayles had written the script of the new Django.

Franco Nero:   Yes, John Sayles wrote the new Django, DJANGO LIVES. That's the title. It takes place in the United States, at the border with Mexico. New California.

Henry Parke:   What other Westerns do you like, besides your own?

Franco Nero:   I love the Sergio Leone Westerns. Then I love DANCES WITH WOLVES.

Then it was time to go inside the auditorium for entertainment and awards. After a montage of Franco Nero film clips, Mark Canton, who produced 2010’s LETTERS TO JULIET, which stars Franco Nero and his real wife Vanessa Redgrave, introduced the actor, who gratefully accepted his award.

“You want me to say something?” With a wry smile, he said, “This is an award for the work I've done up until now. Then in a few year's time, you're going to give me another one. When I retire, maybe in ten years' time. Anyway, I owe everything to the cinema. Sometimes they ask me, 'What is cinema for you?' I say cinema, for me it's like a big city where people of different colors, and different ethnic groups have their home and their dreams. So cinema will continue to exist as long as people will continue to dream. Cinema means freedom. Because in the country where there is no freedom, there is no cinema. Cinema gave me the possibility to travel the world. I've been everywhere, I've been to more than a hundred countries around the world. It gave me the possibility to have dinner with presidents, princes, princesses, governors, but also gave me the possibility to have dinner with humble people. Like fishermen, like farmers. And I have to tell you. I prefer to have dinner with the humble people. They are wiser. They are much, much wiser. Thank you for this.”

MORGAN WOODWARD DIES AT 93

Henry and Morgan 

Morgan Woodward, the Texas-born actor who excelled at playing villains in Westerns, Sci-Fi, Crime films, and just about every other genre, has died after a long, heroic struggle with cancer. He guested more often on GUNSMOKE than any other actor, was the third most frequent guest on WAGON TRAIN, and played Shotgun Gibbs to Hugh O’Brian’s WYATT EARP in 81 episodes. Despite his cold visage in COOL HAND LUKE, which created the craze of mirror sunglasses for lawmen, he was one of the nicest, most cheerful men you could ever meet.

I first met Morgan on the set of the movie I wrote my last year in college, 1977’s SPEEDTRAP. (In it, Joe Don Baker had to face down three great villains, Timothy Carey, Robert Loggia, and Morgan Woodward, who are now, sadly, all gone.)  I don’t think we ran into each other again until 1993, when Nickodell’s, the legendary restaurant outside the Paramount and former R.K.O. lots closed, and we were the last customers in the place.

Since then we’d run into each other at least once a year at western events, and he was always full of great stories about making movies, and friends like L.Q. Jones and Fess Parker. I interviewed him a few times, most recently for True West Magazine, and the article is in the current issue. I’m including the link. I’d received my copies a week ago Friday, and put one in the mail to him on Saturday. Yesterday, I had a phone message from his care-giver, telling me that Morgan had died, and that he’d insisted she call me, to tell me how much he enjoyed the article. I’m so glad I got it to him in time.  Here’s a link to the interview.

https://truewestmagazine.com/morgan-woodward/

Nearly a decade ago I did a longer interview with Morgan here in the Round-up. Here it is.

I first met Morgan Woodward in 1978, in Phoenix, on the set of my first movie with a writing credit, SPEEDTRAP. The hero of the piece was Joe Don Baker, and the more gravitas the hero has, the stronger the villain needs to be. Morgan Woodward, as the corrupt Police Chief, was plenty strong, with a presence that grips the attention.

Although I’ve enjoyed Morgan’s work since then, I hadn’t seen him in person for more than thirty years, when I ran into him at an autograph show in Burbank a few weeks ago. He kindly agreed to sit down and talk about his long screen career in the saddle. Not surprisingly, he’s a Texan by birth, born September 16th, 1925. “I was born in Fort Worth, only because we didn’t have a hospital in Arlington, fourteen miles away.” Naturally, I assumed he plays a cowboy so well because, being a Texan, he did so much riding as a kid. “Nope, I did not. I learned to ride when I came to California.” Well, at least I was right about his always liking western movies. “Oh sure – every kid likes westerns! Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson, Buck Jones.”

Interestingly, his first love was not acting, but aviation. “We had an Army airfield six or seven miles from Arlington and my family would go out there on weekends, and watch the weekend warriors fly the airplanes, and I was just always interested in airplanes. Most kids my age were interested in planes, back in the 1930s.” He first flew a plane when he was sixteen, and continued to fly until just a few years ago.

Graduating from High School in 1944, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps Training Program. “We went through basic training, ready to go to pre-flight. But they didn’t have room for us, so they sent us to CTD – College Training Detachment. I went to the University of Arkansas for about six months, and they still didn’t have room in preflight, so they sent us to Pampa Army Airfield, to do all the jobs the enlisted men wouldn’t do. (laughs) We saw the handwriting on the wall, because a lot of flyers were coming back from overseas, they had nothing more to do than chase pretty girls in West Texas. One morning we were told that the commanding General of the Flying Training Command said all flying training had stopped. The war was going too well, and they didn’t need any more pilots. That was the end of my hope for getting my wings in the Army Air Corps. I was sent to Scott Field, Illinois, to radio school, and I stayed until they decided we aviation cadets were just surplus, so they got rid of us just before Christmas of 1945.”

After the war he entered Arlington State, majoring in music and drama, planning on a career in opera. “I gave it up because I had a sinus condition, still do, that would not allow me to be a consistent singer. So I traded Grand Opera for Horse Opera.” In 1948, he transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, a drama and music minor, majoring in business administration. Among his classmates were Fess Parker, Jayne Mansfield, Rip Torn, L.Q. Jones, and Pat Hingle. Not all of them seemed marked for greatness. “Jayne Mansfield certainly didn’t stand out at the time. L.Q. wasn’t in the drama department – L.Q. was the cheerleader. He didn’t get into movies until Fess Parker sneaked him in to see a director. L.Q. is so crazy; he convinced the director that he ought to be in the picture. Pat Hingle was a fine actor. Rip Torn was a good actor. Then he was Elmore Torn.”

In 1951, just as he was entering law school, Morgan was recalled to active duty. He finally got overseas. “I was in the Military Transport Command; we were flying between Japan and Korea. I was happy to be up in the air, and we didn’t get shot at.” When he was back stateside, he decided against going back to law school. “World War II and the Korean War, I thought, Hell, although I was only about 26 years old, I’m getting too old to go to school. Fess Parker at that time was Davy Crockett. And Disney was getting ready to do THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE. So Fess told Disney he knew this guy who would be just absolutely great as this wild-eyed Confederate Master Sergeant. So that’s how I got my ‘in’. I went to California to do a screen test for Walt Disney, and I was signed to a three-picture contract.”

Henry: Did you meet Walt, himself?

Morgan: Yes, as a matter of fact, the first day of shooting, when I went on the set, he came down to see this guy who had come out from Texas and was going to be in his first motion picture job. He was a great guy, great guy. Anybody’s a great guy who’ll sign me to a three-picture contract!

H: The next one was WESTWARD HO, THE WAGONS!

M: Right, and then ALONG THE OREGON TRAIL, a short film.

H: With WESTAWARD HO, you were with Fess Parker and Iron Eyes Cody.

M: Oh yes, Iron Eyes was a great friend of mine, just a splendid guy. In the words of the Indians, a straight arrow.

H: Your director, William Beaudine, used to be Mary Pickford’s personal director in silent movies.

M: That’s right, Bill Beaudine was just great. No bullshit, and he was terrific.

H: From 1958 through 1961 you had your first regular character, on WYATT EARP, as Shotgun Gibbs. How did you get that role?

M: I did an episode of WYATT EARP the year before, as Captain Langley of the Texas Rangers. The producers loved the character, so they had Stuart Lake write in a character somewhat like this Ranger Captain, Shotgun Gibbs, and I was on that until 1961. He was a wonderful writer.
(Note: Stuart N. Lake, a writer in the film business at least as far back as 1916, wrote the book WYATT EARP, FRONTIER MARSHAL, on which virtually all Wyatt Earp films, and the TV series, were based. He was nominated for a Best Story Oscar for THE WESTERNER (1940), about Judge Roy Bean.)

H: How did you like playing a recurring role, as opposed to playing a different character each time?

M: I loved it: I got a check every Friday.

H: Obviously, you worked a lot with Hugh O’Brien. What was he like?

M: He was a nice fellah. He was not the easiest fellah in the world to get along with, but he and I got along – we were together for over three years, got along fine.

H: What sort of a shooting schedule would you have for an episode?

M: We shot five days a week, Monday through Friday, usually shot three days on the set, at Desilu Studios, two days on location, out at Melody Ranch.

H: There were a lot of interesting guest stars on WYATT EARP, like Andy Clyde, and semi-regulars like Lash LaRue.

M: Well, Lash is a real character. And I working with Andy Clyde, because Andy Clyde was an icon. I also worked with Anna Mae Wong on WYATT EARP. I worked with Kermit Maynard, a lot of guys who weren’t stars anymore, and they were old, but it was quite something to work with them.

H: What are your best memories of working on that show?

M: It was the first time I had a regular series, and the producers of WYATT EARP were going to do a series on Sam Houston, called THE RAVEN, and they selected me to do Sam Houston. Unfortunately, the producer had a heart attack, and the show was put on hold for a while. Then he got better, we started to get into production, he had a another heart attack and died, and that was the end of that.

H: In the late 1950s you were doing a lot of western TV episodes. ZANE GREY THEATRE, CHEYENNE, SUGARFOOT, BROKEN ARROW, RESTLESS GUN, BAT MASTERSON –

M: That’s right, I think I did every western there was.

H: Were any of them particularly memorable?

M: They were all memorable because I got paid, I had a job. I remember all of them – I’ve never forgotten anything I ever did. Because actors never know when they’re going to work again.

H: You did GUNSIGHT RIDGE with Joel McCrea, Mark Stevens and one of my favorites, L.Q. Jones.

M: Mark Stevens – he had a fairly good career going at that time. Why is L.Q. Jones one of your favorites?

H: Because he’s one of those actors that just grabs the eye and makes you follow him.

M: Always playing crazy guys. (laughs) That’s what L.Q. does. We’ve been friends for over sixty years.

H: How did you like working with Joel McCrea?

M: He was terrific.

H: You did a couple of films with Audie Murphy – RIDE A CROOKED TRAIL and GUNPOINT. GUNPOINT was directed by Earl Bellamy, who we both know from SPEEDTRAP. What was Audie Murphy like?

M: Well, very distant. He was so distant it was hard to figure him out. He had a few very close friends, and that was it. I guess they were close. I remember GUNPOINT. In RIDE A CROOKED TRAIL I don’t think I had that great of a part. Walter Matthau was in it. He was very amenable. Henry Silva they brought from New York – it was popular at that time to bring New York actors out to California. Henry got his start on Broadway, you know. In ‘A HATFUL OF RAIN’, he played a character called ‘Mother.’ He and I became good friends.

H: You did about a dozen episodes of WAGON TRAIN. In the ALEXANDER PORTLASS STORY, you kidnap Robert Horton and help Peter Lorre search for Maximillian’s gold. And you got killed by Peter Lorre for your trouble. What was Lorre like by this time in his career?

M: Well, I didn’t get to know Peter very well. When we were not working together, we weren’t social. (laughs) All I can tell you is he was kind of a strange little man.

H: That’s what he played to perfection.

M: Himself, I think.

H: Because you were playing different characters in a dozen episodes of the same show, was there ever concern about your becoming too recognizable? Sometimes you had big scars, and sometimes you had an eye-patch. Was that to try and make you look different?

M: Well, it concerned me. I certainly didn’t want people recognizing me, saying, ‘There’s that character again.’ I hope I got away with playing the different characters.

H: You were usually a bad guy, but not always. In the JED POLK STORY, you’re a survivor of Andersonville Prison Camp. It was a very emotional part – very intense. Any particular memories of doing that episode?

M: Not really. I have all my scripts – I’d have to go back and read the scripts.

H: You did so many – which were your favorite WAGON TRAINs?

M: Well, I got to work with Polly Bergen, and that was interesting. We got to know each other, and as a matter of fact saw each other socially a few times after that.

H: What was Ward Bond like?

M: Very rough, very gruff, very profane. But in a kind of a lovable, likable way.

H: Kind of like his characters in John Ford westerns?

M: That’s right – that was Ward Bond.

H: Of course, in the middle of the series, he died, and was replaced by John McIntire. Did that change the show a lot?

M: Yuh, because they were two different types. McIntire was a very different type than Ward Bond. So it changed the character of the wagon master, but I don’t know that it changed the show a lot.

H: Over the years there were a lot of regulars who came and went. There was Robert Horton, Terry Wilson, Frank McGrath, Robert Fuller, Denny Miller.

M: Bob Fuller is one of my best friends. He’s bought a ranch in Texas, and he came out for that big autograph show two weeks ago. We were sitting side-by-side. Peter Brown was just down the row.

H: I saw Peter Brown – maybe Robert Fuller was at lunch when I came by.

M: He probably was in the bar (laughs). And Denny Miller was there. I was hoping Clint Walker would be there. I like to see those guys that are still alive. We’re all getting old.

H: In the 60s you did a lot of western series, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, BIG VALLEY, RAWHIDE, BRANDED, DEATH VALLEY DAYS, IRON HORSE, CIMMARON STRIP, VIRGINIAN, HIGH CHAPPARRAL – like you said, you did all the westerns.

M: Yuh, I did.

H: What were your favorites?

M: Oh, GUNSMOKE, of course. I did more GUNSMOKES than any other actor in the world. I say in the world because they had people come over from Europe to do the show. I did nineteen. Plus the GUNSMOKE movie in ’91 or ’92. It seems like yesterday but, my God, it’s been twenty years!

H: I was just watching MATT DILLON MUST DIE; that’s a terrific show.

M: I enjoyed making that particular show. We shot that in Utah, in the mountains.

H: The story is a variation on MOST DANGEROUS GAME. (SPOILER ALERT) And your wife’s death fills you with such overpowering rage that you’re murdering indiscriminately. Eventually your own sons. It’s a real heartbreaker of an episode, and you bring great humanity to a character that could have seemed very one-dimensional. How do you prepare to play a role like that?

M: I just read the scripts and conjure the character in my mind. I read the script until I almost read the print right off the page. I spend hours and hours and hours, over and over and over reading the script, filming the show in my mind.

H: I was just talking to Earl Holliman last week –

M: He was at the autograph show. We spoke. I remember I worked with Earl several times, in the show with Angie Dickinson, POLICE WOMAN, and then GUNSMOKE.

H: He said there was an episode that you two did on GUNSMOKE called HACKETT. He said that it was one of his favorite shows because you switched roles.

M: Yeah, two or three days before we were to shoot the show, the producer called and said, “Look, you guys are gonna switch parts. I want Morgan the bad guy to play the coward, and I want Earl Holliman to play the bad guy.” That may have been one of the few times that Earl got to play a bad guy.

H: Which episodes are your favorites?

M: There was a segment called LOBO. I was watching it in my home, by myself, and all of a sudden I realized that I was watching me, and I didn’t know that I was watching myself. I was so engrossed in the show, then all of a sudden I snapped to, and I thought, “But that’s me!” So I figure, if I can fool myself, that I might be pretty good.

H: Any other episodes?”

M: Well, HACKETT, and then MATT DILLON MUST DIE.

H: How’d you like working with Jim Arness?

M: No better person to work with in the world than Jim Arness! He’s a good friend of mine, and I still call him about every week.

H: I understand he had a wonderful deal on the show where they would shoot his scenes for several episodes back to back, and he’d go off surfing, and they’d shoot around him. Did you have to deal with that kind of a situation, or was he usually on the set?

M: I never had to deal with that, and if it would inconvenience any other actor I don’t think Jim would allow that.

H: How about the other actors? Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone.

M: Oh, they were all great characters. GUNSMOKE was a dream to work on. The producers were great, the actors were great, they always had great cast members. They were all good scripts. Great show to work on – a happy show.

H: How many times did Matt Dillon kill you?

M: (Laughs) You know, I don’t remember. But I usually got shot. Or beat up.

H: You also did eight episodes of BONANZA.

M: Yes, I did. I liked it very much. David Dortort (the show’s creator and producer) was a favorite of mine. Dan Blocker was a good friend of mine – fellow Texan.

H: Did you have a favorite episode?

M: Oh, it may have been FOUR SISTERS FROM BOSTON, with Vera Miles.

H: In 1966 you guested on THE LUCY SHOW, in the famous LUCY AND JOHN 
WAYNE episode.

M: That was great fun.

H: Had you worked with John Wayne before?

M: No, I had not. I liked working with him very much. I had an opportunity to work with him again, but I screwed that deal up because I didn’t like the part that they offered me, and I turned it down. And that was one of the few mistakes – because I almost never turn down a part. But I just didn’t like that part at all.

H: What movie was that?

M: I think it was TRUE GRIT.

H: Well they’re doing that one again. I think they just wrapped shooting, with Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn.

M: Jeff’s a good actor, but I’m sorry they’re doing TRUE GRIT again.

H: How did you like working with Lucille Ball?

M: She was wonderful. Very professional, but at the same time, a great lady.

H: Had you done much comedy at that point?

M: No, but L.Q. Jones and I did a comedy on WAGON TRAIN. CHARLIE WOOSTER: OUTLAW. It’s the one where Charlie (Frank McGrath) gets kidnapped by this woman, and L.Q. and I play her two crazy sons.

H: In 1968 you did FIRECREEK with Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart.

M: Great cast, Jack Elam – just look at the cast list on that picture. God, it was just amazing to get all those people together.

H: Often people with small parts, like Ed Begley, Inger Stevens. It’s dark movie, not a very happy one.

M: No, it’s not. It is a dark film.

H: You and the rest of the gang are together, and Henry Fonda is off with Inger Stevens.

M: He was wounded, and Inger Stevens was taking care of him. You got the idea there was something going on between the two of them, or there could be. (SPOILER ALERT!) And then of course she winds up killing him.

H: You and your friends kill the town simpleton, you kick his dog, you get shot by Jimmy Stewart and dragged to death by your horse.

M: (laughs) I got my comeuppance!

H: Did you do any of that drag yourself?

M: No. Well, I started the drag, and then they cut to a stuntman.

H: Now your director on that was Vincent McEevety, who had done a lot of westerns and, like you, a lot of sci-fi.

M: I worked with Vince a lot on westerns – I can’t tell you which ones. I worked with him before and I worked with him afterwards. I did a STAR TREK with him, DAGGER OF THE MIND.

H: In ‘69 you were with Richard Widmark and Lena Horne in DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER. It’s quite a good film, which is a surprise considering the credited director is Alan Smithee, the
pseudonym directors use on films they’re ashamed of.

M: No. Robert Totten started directing it, and he didn’t like the fact that Lena Horne was the leading lady, and that here was a racial (element) to the story, and he kept griping. And finally Lew Wasserman fired him and Don Siegal took over. So they used the phony name Alan Smithee. Turned out pretty good.

H: For several years you were in DALLAS, sort of a modern Western. That was an incredibly popular series.

M: Yes it was.

H: Did you have a good time on that?

M: Oh, I certainly did. I was a regular on it for three years. So ’86, ’87, ‘88 I didn’t do very many (other) shows. As a matter of fact I was doing DAYS OF OUR LIVES, the daytime soap opera, at the same time.

H: I understand that with soaps, you have to learn an incredible amount of dialog with every episode. Were the pressures of doing that kind of show very different from doing a regular show?

M: I hated it. If I hadn’t have been dedicated – I simply wouldn’t walk off a show, or say I don’t want to do it anymore. But if I had to do it again I would. I didn’t like it at all. I just didn’t like daytime soap opera. I didn’t have time to prepare, I didn’t like the cue cards, I thought the dialog was asinine. But I must say I certainly met some good actors on soap opera. Some weren’t, but there were some really fine actors.

H: You’ve done THE A TEAM, where you’ve done comic western episodes. Did you enjoy that show?

M: Oh yes, oh yes. God, that was a lot of fun. George Peppard was a very nice fellow.

H: The last western-ish thing you’ve done was play bounty hunter Sam Travis in THE BOUNTY HUNTER’S CONVENTION episode of THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY JR.

M: That was not a favorite of mine, and it was not a favorite because I didn’t do a good job on that show. I was off-center, and I don’t know why. The show, I guess, was alright, but I was not at all satisfied with my performance.

H: I just watched it this week, and I found it very funny, and I found you very good in it.


M: Thank you – I’m happy to hear you say that.

H: In addition to Westerns, you’ve had an extensive career in science fiction. STAR TREK, PLANET OF THE APES, LOGAN’S RUN, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, X-FILES, MILLENIUM. What do you prefer – science fiction or westerns or something else?

M: Well, it all depends on the script. If it’s a good show like the X-FILES, I love doing that, and I love doing westerns. It all depends on the script.

H: You’ve been acting in television for over forty years. You started near the beginning of the industry. What sort of changes, good and bad, have you seen over the years?

M: Well, I retired in 1997. My first professional job was with the Gulf Oil Theatre in Dallas, Texas. We had the first theatre-in-the-round in America. That was 1947, I was going to school in the morning, working in the afternoon and the evenings in the theatre. So in 1997 that was fifty years. And I thought, fifty years is enough, and I retired. And one of the reasons I retired is because I got tired of going in and interviewing with people who were very young, and were apparently young in the business, and they had not done their homework. And they’d say, “What have you done?” And I thought, for God’s sake, I’ve been in film for over forty years, and I have to go through the same routine all the time. It just became not that much fun, not that interesting. And some of the parts that were offered, even if I got them, they weren’t that interesting.

H: Overall, which are your own favorite Western performances?

M: Like I told you, the episode of GUNSMOKE, LOBO, when I was watching myself and didn’t realize it. And then, MATT DILLON MUST DIE, I liked that very much. I did a picture for Disney called THE WILD COUNTRY with Vera Miles and Steve Forrest.

H: Is that the one with Ron Howard and Clint Howard?

M: Yes, that was a favorite of mine. Robert Todd directed that.

H: What are your favorite westerns of other people?

M: Well, remember the series that Sam Peckinpah wrote, was it called THE WESTERNER (1960)? It didn’t last very long. With Brian Keith. That was good. THE ROUNDERS, Max Evans wrote that, with Henry Fonda and Glenn Ford.


ONE MORE THING...

A couple of weeks ago I attended an event called Film Italy Los Angeles, and waited two hours on the red carpet to talk to Claudia Cardinale, of Once Upon A Time In The West. And at the very moment when the red carpet guy says to her, "This is Henry Parke from True West," Claudia’s daughter grabs her by the wrist, says “Mom, we just have time for a cigarette before the awards”, and dragged her off. But at least I got a nice picture.

Enjoy the Oscars!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright February 2019 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved