BATTLE OF THE BEARDS – Five Abraham Lincoln Portrayals Are On The Way!

Many folks surfing the internet this week have seen a shot of Academy Award winner Daniel Day Lewis having lunch wearing his Great Emancipator beard.  He’s currently working for Stephen Speilberg in LINCOLN, a film which will tell the story of how our 16^th President steered the Union to its victory over the Confederacy. 

(Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln at lunch)

In addition to Lewis, who won Oscars for MY LEFT FOOT and THERE WILL BE BLOOD, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, will be played by Sally Field, who won Oscars for NORMA RAE and PLACES IN THE HEART.  Their son, Robert Todd Lincoln, will be played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, soon to be seen in the sci-fier LOOPER and Quentin Tarantino’s DJANGO UNCHAINED.  The cast also features Tommy Lee Jones as Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, David Strathairn as Secretary of State Seward, Jared Harris as U.S. Grant, Jackie Earle Haley as Confederate VP Alexander Stephens, as well as James Spader, Hal Holbrook, and a host of others.

It’s based on the book TEAM OF RIVALS: THE GENIUS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN by Doris Kearns Goodwin, the nationally known historian and former aid to President Lyndon Johnson.  The other three writers, credited with the screenplay, are Tony Kushner – Oscar nominated for MUNICH and Emmy winner for ANGELS IN AMERICA, John Logan – Oscar nominated for THE AVIATOR and GLADIATOR, and Paul Webb, who has no previous professional credits.   

As revealed in last week’s Round-up (go HERE if you missed it), SONY Television is producing a miniseries entitled TO APPOMATTOX, starring Stephen Lang, who played Ike Clanton in TOMBSTONE and Gen. Pickett in GETTYSBURG, as Lincoln.

(Stephen Lang)

While Speilberg’s LINCOLN is currently in production, and APPOMATTOX is aiming at a 2013 TV release, another, less scholarly biography of Honest Abe is closer on the horizon.  On June 22, 2012 Benjamin Walker, of FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, will star in ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER.  The film is being produced by Tim Burton and directed by Timur Bekmambetov.  The Lincoln make-up is the work of three-time Oscar winner Greg Cannom. 

(Benjamin Walker as Lincoln)

These are not small projects – the Speilberg LINCOLN is budgeted at around $100 million, and the President-with-a-wooden-stake version is not far behind at $70 million.  When, in an earlier Round-up, I quoted a Paramount insider who opined that VAMPIRE HUNTER was a movie that should be made, but by Asylum Pictures, for $350,000, I heard from Asylum honcho David Latt: “Hey Henry! Thanks for the suggestion...and you'll be happy (sad?) to know that ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS. ZOMBIES is already   in the works. Ours will cost less than $70 million. Promise.” I’m waiting to hear back from him how the project is progressing.

And because I am something of a completeist, also coming soon is FDR: AMERICAN BADDASS, in which HERCULES star Kevin Sorbo will play Lincoln opposite Barry Bostwick’s Roosevelt.  I know I’ll be hearing from historical nit-pickers about the fact that the presidents may never have met, since FDR was born seventeen years after Lincoln’s assassination.

My personal disappointment is that, with all the interest in Lincoln, no one is filming the best Lincoln-related – actually assassination-related – book of the last several years, MANHUNT – THE 12 DAY CHASE FOR LINCOLN’S KILLER by James L. Swanson.  Once optioned by Robert Redford, but dropped when he decided to do the interesting but unsatisfying THE CONSPIRATOR instead, it would make one helluvah movie, even without monsters.

DVD REVIEWS

FINDERS KEEPERS CLASSICS is a great place to get hard-to-find movies and TV shows.  Their pricing is very straight-forward: all single disks and many 2-disk sets are $7 each, larger sets are more, and shipping is a flat $6 no matter how big the order.  They just sent me a crate full of interesting westerns from the ‘30s and ‘40s, and I’m reviewing a pair of them today.  Their site is HERE .  Incidentally, Finders Keepers Classics is the work of Martin Grams, an excellent writer and film and radio historian, and author of more than twenty books.  Here is a link to an article he wrote about HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, one of the very few shows to start on television and move to radio: MARTIN GRAMS. 

DVD REVIEW -- LAWLESS BREED

As a long-time fan of SKY KING, I was eager to take a look at LAWLESS BREED (1946), starring Kirby Grant, with Fuzzy Knight as his sidekick, Tumbleweed.  While Republic and Monogram and PRC Westerns are easy to come by, B westerns from the majors are rarely seen, and this was the last of seven that Grant did for Universal before moving on to Monogram for his Canadian Mountie series.


At first, I was dubious.  It looked like Universal, knowing it was the last of the series, had decided not to spend a dime on it: the opening scene in a sheriff’s office, where Kirby and Fuzzy try to talk themselves out of a murder charge, is static – Kirby tells his story as a way to introduce endless clips of stock footage, and I started to wonder if they’d ever leave the office.  But once they do, the story -- and the new footage -- takes off.  And you have two innocent victims of blind justice, a gang of serial bank-robbers, a good girl who happens to be the sheriff’s daughter (Jane Adams), a bad girl who happens to be a saucy French saloon chanteuse (Claudia Drake), and delightfully broad character actor Dick Curtis playing brothers, one a stodgy banker who is murdered, and the other a sea captain -- with a parrot -- trying to catch his brother’s killer!  There’s also insurance fraud, grave-robbing, and our heroes tricked into taking on a murder contract with a gun loaded with blanks – not to mention several songs, all in under 54 minutes! 

Kirby is all charm when he’s flirting with the ladies or cajoling the Sheriff, but there’s a grimness to his demeanor when things are bad that’s startlingly convincing.  On the other hand, I was surprised to find what a pleasant singing voice he had, when he and Fuzzy take turns vocalizing in the slammer.  LAWLESS BREED is an often exciting and amusing Western, and John Ford favorite Hank Worden is effective in a small role as a deputy who’s out of his depth when things go awry. 

The print it’s taken from is pretty scratched, and splicey in a few spots, but the contrast is very good, giving you a wide range of grays.  There were a few scenes that I thought were too dark, but when I rewound, turned off the lights and watched again, I saw they were fine.  They were just shot to be seen in a darkened theatre.  Because this movie was from a time before all movies were shot with the knowledge that they’d eventually be shown on television – the reason most movies from the mid-sixties on are a succession of flat-lit close-ups. 

DVD REVIEW – CHEROKEE STRIP

Richard Dix and Victor Jory face off in CHEROKEE STRIP (1940), an 86 minute B+ production from Harry ‘Pop’ Sherman, released by Paramount.  Dix, as Dave Morell, has come as the new Federal Marshal to the town of Goliath, gateway to the Cherokee Strip, once the property of the Cherokee Indian Nation, and about to be opened to white settlers.  But he has a hidden agenda: he’s the head of the Morell Clan, which has been feuding for years with the Barrett Clan, led by Coy Barrett, played by Victor Jory.  The two men have actually signed a formal truce, but neither trusts the other farther than they can spit. 

Jory is now a successful and respectable banker, but that’s just a front to run his clan’s stage-robbing and cattle-rustling activity.  And into the mix comes Senator Cross (Charles Trowbridge) and his daughter and son, Florence Rice and William Henry, who are working as federal census takers, the natural allies of Federal Marshal Dix, even before he becomes sweet on Florence Rice. 

CHEROKEE STRIP is an exciting and smart story, and much of the fun is watching the cat-and-mouse game Dix and Jory play, always polite, but always ready to cut the other to pieces if a fair opportunity arises.  The stagecoach trip they take together is a classic of deadly one-ups-man-ship.  

Producer Sherman, who made his first fortune distributing BIRTH OF A NATION, was a savvy businessman and a gifted Western filmmaker.  He’s the man who bought ‘Hopalong Cassidy’, and cast William Boyd.  Beloved by his crews, who called him ‘Pop,’ Sherman infused his low-budget films with high production values, beautiful locations, top technical credits, and a loyal stock company of actors that made his films many cuts above the average with a similar budget.

Unlike so many stars of his time, iron-jawed Dix had successfully made the transition from silent to talking pictures, and had his greatest success in 1931’s CIMARRON, the first Western to win a Best Picture Oscar (the next wasn’t until Eastwood’s UNFORGIVEN in 1992), and for which he was nominated for Best Actor.  Though no longer a top box-office star, his career continued on successfully in the 1940s, and he arguably did his most interesting acting in that period, as the lead in Columbia’s THE WHISTLER series, and as the ‘kindly’ sea captain in Val Lewton’s GHOST SHIP. 

Victor Jory, fresh from his villainous triumph as Tara’s overseer in the previous year’s GONE WITH THE WIND, the former Coast Guard boxing and wrestling champ would have a busy career until 1980.  Also in the cast is Andy Clyde, as an assistant to Dix, but not the traditional sidekick he would later become that same year, when Pop Sherman would cast him as California Carlson, a role he would play in HOPALONG CASSIDY movies, TV and radio episodes for a dozen years.  Among the other stand-out tough guys in the cast were Sherman stock-company actors like Tom Tyler, Morris Ankrum, and Hal Taliaffero, and George E. Stone who, as he did in CIMARRON, plays an obviously Jewish character, someone rarely seen in the traditionally ‘white-bread’ Westerns.

It’s written by Western specialists Norman Houston and Bernard McConville, and directed by Lesley Selander, who directed exactly half of the films Pop Sherman produced – 36 out of 72.  Selander’s work was many cuts above what was done in most B or A westerns, not just in terms of action, but in direction of actors, and creativity – 21 post-World War II Tim Holt Westerns he directed at RKO are among the best B-westerns ever made.  

TV WESTERNS ALL OVER THE DIAL!

More and more, classic TV Westerns are available all over the TV universe, but they tend to be on small networks that are easy to miss. Of course, ENCORE WESTERNS is the best continuous source of such programming, and has been for years. It’s not in my current satellite package, which is why I often forget to mention it, but currently they run CHEYENNE, MAVERICK, LAWMAN, THE VIRGINIAN, WAGON TRAIN, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, GUNSMOKE, BRET MAVERICK, CIMMARON STRIP, and HOW THE WEST WAS WON. (I’d get it in a minute, if I didn’t have to buy a huge package of STARZ and ENCORE channels just to get the one!)

But there are several new, or at least new-to-me, channels showing sagebrush fare. GEB, which stands for Golden Eagle Broadcasting, is largely a religious-programming cable outlet that runs at least one Western on Saturdays – the ones I’ve caught have been public domain Roy Rogers and John Wayne pictures – and sometimes have weekday afternoon movies as well.

For those of you who watch TV with an antenna, there are at least a couple of channels that exist between the standard numbers – largely unavailable on cable or satellite systems – that provide Western fare. ANTENNA TV is currently running RIN TIN TIN, CIRCUS BOY, HERE COME THE BRIDES, and IRON HORSE.

Another ‘in between’ outfit, ME-TV, which stands for Memorable Entertainment TV, runs a wide collection: BIG VALLEY, BONANZA, BRANDED, DANIEL BOONE, GUNS OF WILL SONNETT, GUNSMOKE, MARSHALL DILLON (the renamed black and white GUNSMOKE), RAWHIDE, THE RIFLEMAN, and WILD WILD WEST. Some of these channels are hard to track down, but if they show what you’ve been missing, it’s worth the search. 

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

That's right, the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here:

THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

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

HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

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

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

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


FREE WESTERNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AT HULU

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

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

BONANZA and BIG VALLEY

Every weekday, TV LAND airs a three-hour block of BONANZA episodes from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They've stopped running GUNSMOKE.  INSP is showing THE BIG VALLEY every weekday at noon, one p.m. and nine p.m., and Saturdays at 6 p.m., and have just added DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN to their schedule.

NEED YOUR BLACK & WHITE TV FIX?

Check out your cable system for WHT, which stands for World Harvest Television. It's a religious network that runs a lot of good western programming. Your times may vary, depending on where you live, but weekdays in Los Angeles they run DANIEL BOONE at 1:00 p.m., and two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.. On Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. it's THE RIFLEMAN again, followed at 2:30 by BAT MASTERSON. And unlike many stations in the re-run business, they run the shows in the original airing order. There's an afternoon movie on weekdays at noon, often a western, and they show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic. 

AMC has been airing a block of THE RIFLEMAN episodes early Saturday mornings, usually followed by Western features.

And RFD-TV is currently showing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW at 9:30 Sunday morning, repeated several times a week, and a Roy feature as well -- check your local listings.

That's a wrap for today -- I was hoping to include a story on Tombstone's Boot Hill, but that will have to wait until the next Round-up.

Happy Trails,

Henry

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

RON HOWARD TO DIRECT ‘DOC’ FOR HBO

According to Nellie Adreeva at Deadline TV, Ron Howard will direct the pilot for the proposed series about the Wild West’s favorite dentist, Doc Holliday, inspired by the book DOC by Mary Doria Russell. Howard’s credentials in Westerns are pretty-near unmatched these days: before the camera from GUNSMOKE to THE SHOOTIST, and behind it from FAR AND AWAY to THE MISSING. It’ll be produced by frequent Ron Howard and Imagine Film collaborator, producer Akiva Goldsman, and is the first project in a two-year exclusive deal between Goldsman and HBO.  In addition to being a very successful producer, Goldsman is a fine screenwriter, who scripted DAVINCI CODE, CINDERELLA MAN, and won his Oscar for writing A BEAUTIFUL MIND.

DOC will be scripted by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, who co-wrote ACCEPTED and the story for TOWER HEIST.   Among co-producers will be Ron’s dad Rance Howard, along with Rance’s wife Judy Howard.

Reportedly the series will be soft-pedaling the ‘lunger’ aspect of Holliday’s life, although he’ll be presented as a well-educated professional from the South, moved to the West for his health, and there will be a romantic triangle involving himself, his 'wife', Big Nose Kate Elder, and his friend Wyatt Earp.

SONY TV TO REFIGHT CIVIL WAR IN ‘TO APPOMATTOX’ MINI

In 2013, Sony Television will be presenting an eight-hour miniseries about the Civil War, focusing on the generals on both sides.  And what a cast they have: Michael C. Hall (DEXTER) as U.S. Grant, William Petersen (CSI) as William Tecumseh Sherman, Will Patton as Robert E. Lee, Rob Lowe as James Pete Longstreet, Stephen Lang (Ike Clanton in TOMBSTONE and Pickett in GETTYSBURG) as Abraham Lincoln, Kim Delaney as Mary Todd Lincoln, Bill Paxton as Stonewall Jackson, D.B. Sweeny as George Mclellon, Noah Wylie as George Pickett, Trace Adkins as John Gregg, Dwight Yoakam as George Meade, Powers Boothe as Albert Sidney Johnson, Walton Goggins as Richard Ewell, Kix Brooks (of Brooks and Dunn) as Winfield Scott Hancock, and many more.

Not unusual for a Western-ish show, a number of country music stars will be playing roles.  In addition to Yoakam, Adkins and Brooks, the members of Rascal Flatts, who will be doing the score, will be acting as well.  Very unusual, in a bid to make the project more accessible to a general audience, several NASCAR stars will be playing parts. 

Produced by Thomas Augsburger, Mikael Salomen, and Michael Frost Beckner, Salomen will additionally be directing, and Beckner wrote the script; I’m told this project has been his primary focus for nine years.  I’ll have more details soon.

WEB SERIES ‘WESTERN X’ #1-6 ONLINE

By far one of the most ambitious webisode productions I’ve seen, WESTERN X, the creation of Michael Flores, is available online through Youtube and ITunes, and tells its story in six-minute ‘bites’.  Chapter #7 is coming soon, and I believe the whole will be fifteen chapters.  Shot in striking desert locations and Western towns, its hero is named X because he awakens after a beating, not knowing where he is or who he is. 

I’ve seen the first six chapters, and they are beautifully produced, with eerie music, striking editing and often beautiful photography.  But they’re heavy on atmosphere and light on plot – there’s a lot going on at times, but while I assume it will all become clear down the line, for the time being, much of it is incomprehensible.  But it’s certainly worth a peek.  Here’s the official website link:  http://www.westernxtheshow.com/index.html

And here’s chapter one:  http://youtu.be/6ucb7rX2DqA

TIME STRETCHES IN TOMBSTONE – THE BIRD CAGE THEATRE

In September my wife and I spent a week in and around Tucson, one of those days in the fabled Tombstone.  It’s an odd place, not a ghost town in the usual sense, but a far cry from the activity that once filled its streets and saloons and brothels. 

The people that live in Tombstone today are immersed with the brief but remarkable history of the town when it was at its most active, in the years between 1881 and 1889, the years the silver mines were producing, before uncontrollable water seepage flooded the mines, and all but drowned the town too tough to die.

(Bird Cage Theatre 1932, by Frederic Nichols)

Among the many fascinating places to visit is one that is unique: The Bird Cage Saloon.  While most other attractions – The Crystal Palace, O.K. Coral, Tombstone Epitaph – have been lovingly restored to how they once were, or should have been, the Bird Cage has been the beneficiary of benign neglect: when it closed its doors in 1889, those doors literally remained closed for nearly half a century.  It was declared a landmark in 1934, and opened to the public, as is.  Some historical displays have been added, but no interior decorator has come after-the-fact to fix it.  Ancient posters for vaudeville acts that once played the theatre adorn the lobby.  A favorite is for the woman who, with magnets on her shoes, danced on the theatre’s ceiling.

(Note the boxes along the balcony)

From the day it opened, The Bird Cage Theatre never closed until it closed for good nine years later.  It took $1000 to buy into its poker game, and that game ran continuously for eight years, five months and three days.  The movie TOMBSTONE did a marvelous job of reproducing both the exterior and interior of the Bird Cage for the memorable scenes where Wyatt and Doc and their wives (we’re giving Big Nose Kate the benefit of the doubt) watch a theatrical performance from one of the boxes on the balcony.  But the filmmakers took one liberty here, because those boxes in fact contained not chairs but a bed: they were cribs, so prostitutes and johns could do their business and still enjoy the show onstage!

(The stage, small open doorway on left)

The small door below and to the left of the stage leads to the wine cellar, and the high-stakes poker game, and a little farther and to the left, more cribs, including the one where Wyatt Earp would visit Sadie Marcus, who became his third wife. 

(Sadie Marcus' crib)

On the stage, behind the curtain, are stored all manner of knick-knacks, among them a beautiful and much-used hearse, and to its right, one of those elegant caskets with the glass window of the sort that Billy Clanton and Tom and Frank McClaury were famously pictured in.  There is disagreement as to how many people died in the Bird Cage.  It’s been claimed that it was the site of sixteen gunfights, that twenty-six people were killed there, and there is no argument that 140 bullet holes pepper the walls and ceilings.  One of the documented murders took place when a girl whose hair-color had given her the nickname Gold Dollar, saw a Mexican girl known only as Margarita, sitting on the lap of one Billy Milgreen, one of Gold Dollar’s regulars: Gold Dollar stabbed Margarita to death. 

As is common in places where death is so common, the Bird Cage Theatre is said to be haunted.  The young woman who was running the gift shop by the exit told us that the first day she worked there, someone grabbed her arm, but when she turned, there was no one there.  She ran home, and didn’t come back for several days, then decided to give it another chance.  Since then, she’s frequently felt a presence, but nothing has touched her.

(Tombstone prostitute's license -- $7.50 for one year)

Described by the New York Times in 1882 as, "...the roughest, bawdiest and most wicked night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast," it also attracted some of the top talent of its day.  Eddie Foy, Ethel Barrymore, Lotta Crabtree, Lily Langtry and Lola Montez are among the many performers reported to have trod the boards there.  It’s also said that it was the inspiration for the hugely popular song, ‘She Was Only A Bird In a Gilded Cage,’ by Arthur Lamb and Harry Von Tilzer, who cleaned up the lyrics to make it about a woman who married for money, not love, instead of the soiled dove it originally extolled. 

(View of the theatre from backstage)

I’ll be writing more about the town of Tombstone, and Tucson, soon. 

TV WESTERNS ALL OVER THE DIAL!

More and more, classic TV Westerns are available all over the TV universe, but they tend to be on small networks that are easy to miss. Of course, ENCORE WESTERNS is the best continuous source of such programming, and has been for years. It’s not in my current satellite package, which is why I often forget to mention it, but currently they run CHEYENNE, MAVERICK, LAWMAN, THE VIRGINIAN, WAGON TRAIN, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, GUNSMOKE, BRET MAVERICK, CIMMARON STRIP, and HOW THE WEST WAS WON. (I’d get it in a minute, if I didn’t have to buy a huge package of STARZ and ENCORE channels just to get the one!)

But there are several new, or at least new-to-me, channels showing sagebrush fare. GEB, which stands for Golden Eagle Broadcasting, is largely a religious-programming cable outlet that runs at least one Western on Saturdays – the ones I’ve caught have been public domain Roy Rogers and John Wayne pictures – and sometimes have weekday afternoon movies as well.

For those of you who watch TV with an antenna, there are at least a couple of channels that exist between the standard numbers – largely unavailable on cable or satellite systems – that provide Western fare. ANTENNA TV is currently running RIN TIN TIN, CIRCUS BOY, HERE COME THE BRIDES, and IRON HORSE.

Another ‘in between’ outfit, ME-TV, which stands for Memorable Entertainment TV, runs a wide collection: BIG VALLEY, BONANZA, BRANDED, DANIEL BOONE, GUNS OF WILL SONNETT, GUNSMOKE, MARSHALL DILLON (the renamed black and white GUNSMOKE), RAWHIDE, THE RIFLEMAN, and WILD WILD WEST. Some of these channels are hard to track down, but if they show what you’ve been missing, it’s worth the search. 

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

That's right, the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here:

THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

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

HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

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

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

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


FREE WESTERNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AT HULU

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

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

BONANZA and BIG VALLEY

Every weekday, TV LAND airs a three-hour block of BONANZA episodes from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They've stopped running GUNSMOKE.  INSP is showing THE BIG VALLEY every weekday at noon, one p.m. and nine p.m., and Saturdays at 6 p.m., and have just added DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN to their schedule.

NEED YOUR BLACK & WHITE TV FIX?

Check out your cable system for WHT, which stands for World Harvest Television. It's a religious network that runs a lot of good western programming. Your times may vary, depending on where you live, but weekdays in Los Angeles they run DANIEL BOONE at 1:00 p.m., and two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.. On Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. it's THE RIFLEMAN again, followed at 2:30 by BAT MASTERSON. And unlike many stations in the re-run business, they run the shows in the original airing order. There's an afternoon movie on weekdays at noon, often a western, and they show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic. 

AMC has been airing a block of THE RIFLEMAN episodes early Saturday mornings, usually followed by Western features.

And RFD-TV is currently showing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW at 9:30 Sunday morning, repeated several times a week, and a Roy feature as well -- check your local listings.

That's about all for now!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Happy Trails,

Henry

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

JOHN WAYNE TRIBUTE PACKS CINERAMA DOME

On Thursday night, November 10^th, more than 800 of Marion Robert Morrison’s closest friends and biggest fans filled the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood for a tribute to Oscar-winning movie star John Wayne.  Wayne, who died more than thirty years ago, has been in the Harris Poll of Top Ten Movie Stars every year for over fifteen years – and he’s the only deceased actor on the list.  It was a perfect location for the tribute, as so many John Wayne movies, among them, HOW THE WEST WAS WON, had played there over the years.

(Nikki Pelley shows off buckle)

Folks in Western costume and regalia massed outside the theatre, and filled the lobby.  One I spotted was trick-rider and costumer Nikki Pelley, showing off the John Wayne Rodeo buckle she’d won at the Dean Smith Tribute to John Wayne Rodeo, where she and Western actor Ben Cooper were penning partners.  Also spotted were SILVER SPUR AWARD producer Cyndi Tracy and Western film and TV producer Rob Word. 

The orchestra section of the theatre was quickly filling up as the 7:30 start of the program neared, and sizing up the remaining spots, I grabbed the last seat in the first row of the balcony, reasoning that any farther back and I’d be looking through a sea of Stetsons. 

(Tommy Morgan and Clyde Lucas)

Music was provided, at an on-stage campfire set, by harmonica virtuoso Tommy Morgan, accompanied by singer and guitarist Clyde Lucas.  Morgan’s distinctive sound can be heard in John Wayne movies like HOW THE WEST WAS WON, THE WAR WAGON, RIO BRAVO, RIO LOBO, CHISUM, THE COWBOYS, and other Westerns from THE WILD BUNCH to BLAZING SADDLES, DANCES WITH WOLVES, and the current video game RED DEAD REDEMPTION.  He even plays solos on The Hollies’ ‘HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER’, and the Beach Boys’ ‘GOOD VIBRATIONS.’ 

After a well-deserved hand for Morgan and Lucas, and ‘a word from our sponsor’ – in this case Land Rover of Encino -- the program began with Jules Verne Festival co-founders Jean-Christophe Jeuffre and Frederic Dieudonne speaking about their organization and its many good works – their annual Legendaire Award is their principal fund-raiser.  To underline where their inspiration comes from, they showed an original 1871 edition of Verne’s 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, which they’ve carry around for inspiration, from the Arctic to the Amazon when making their documentaries. 

Next onstage was John Wayne’s son Patrick Wayne, who commented, “If you had told me, in 1980 that my father’s popularity and celebrity would be as it is today, I would have said you were crazy.  I am in awe and amazed and humbled – and happy to have you all here – and I’m not alone.”  He asked his siblings, nieces and nephews, and step-mother to stand up, and it was a quite a group – well over a dozen.  He pointed out that the poll that still puts Wayne in the top ten movies stars, is taken with people from eighteen to twenty-six, none of whom were alive when Wayne died. 

Patrick next did an onstage Q&A with Nick Redman, whose WILD BUNCH documentary was Oscar-nominated.  “My dad was driven; he was driven to be successful.  He was focused.  When he was in high school he wanted to go to the Navy Academy, but they didn’t have the political connections to get him in there.  By the way – if he got into the Navy Academy he would have been the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  He was offered a football scholarship to S.C..  He played football his freshman year, and during the summer he broke his shoulder showing off for the girls in Newport Beach.  He couldn’t play football; he lost his scholarship.  But the kids who played football at S.C. worked at the studios for summer jobs, So he started working as a prop man, a stunt man…and went on to become John Wayne.  He was going to be successful wherever he went, and it just turned out by fate that it was to be in films...  He was encouraging.  He never tried to tell any of his children what they should do in their lives, he was always supportive.  But I think he was proud that Ethan and I decided to work with him.” 

Patrick Wayne was just a boy when John Ford offered him a whopping five bucks a day to work along with his dad in movies.  “It was a very special experience for me, because at that time I had four brothers and sisters, and none of (them were) interested in working in film.  So when I’d go on a film with my dad, I had him to myself, and didn’t have to share him.  It was special.”  He talked about how Ford was, “…brilliant, cynical, acerbic,” and how anyone who worked with Ford knew that one day they would become his target.  Patrick actually fared pretty well, outside of playing gin rummy with Ford.  “I thought I was pretty good, so I thought, ‘Well, I’ll let this old man win one.’  He catches on and says, ‘From now on, just play with Ward Bond and young boys.’”

Patrick held up the TRUE GRIT eye patch, which he explained was actually ‘a’ TRUE GRIT eye patch, because Wayne decided, what with dirt and sweat and make-up, to use a new one every day, so there were something like sixty eye patches. 

(Patrick, Marisa, Ethan and Pilar Wayne admire Legendaire Award)

Next to speak, briefly, was Ethan Wayne, and then Duke’s daughter Marisa and former wife Pilar were brought onstage to receive the Jules Verne Legendaire Award.

Next was Robert Mitchum’s son Christopher, who appeared with Duke in BIG JAKE.  “Duke was one of three mentors in my life.  My father of course, and much later Charlton Heston.  But in the middle I did three films with Duke, and he was my mentor.  And he took me from a two-line part in CHISUM, introduced me to Howard Hawks, to a co-starring role in RIO LOBO.  He asked me, ‘How’d you like to play my son?’  How do you say ‘no’ to that?  I love this family.  And I’m delighted and proud to be here.”

(Earl Holliman and Christopher Mitchum)

Next up was Duke’s brother from the SONS OF KATIE ELDER, Earl Holliman.  “It was a thrill for me.  I was a movie usher, and I used to see all these John Wayne movies.  I could never call him ‘Duke.’  It was always ‘John’ and ‘Big John.’  I was never a member of that inner clan.  I was like an orphan on THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER, because John had all these other people he’d worked with all these years – it was like a family.  And there was Dean Martin, who was in a world of his own – who was a great guy, a wonderful guy.  So I just kind of stood aside and watched all these folks, and it was really a great experience.  I think John at first kind of doubted my potential, because he didn’t know me at all.  And when he found out that I could fight and I could shoot and actually act, he was wonderful.”  And turning to Chris Mitchum, he added, “And your father, I played with too, in ANZIO.  It was a great experience.  It’s great fun to be here – thank you for letting me come.” 

Next onstage was John Wayne’s costar from TRUE GRIT, Kim Darby.  “I want to thank the Wayne family for asking me to be here tonight, and always being so supportive of me.  There is one story that sticks out in my mind, and that was at Paramount.  We had been on location, and we were back at the lot shooting.  And there was a big picture being taken of all the stars at Paramount.  They were shooting there (on the lot) all at the same time: Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Goldie Hawn, and there were some others in there.  There was this big room, and in the middle was (Paramount boss) Bob Evans.  So I was standing on the side watching this, and – I never called him Duke either – Mr. Wayne stepped out of the picture, walked over to me and said, ‘You’re not going to be on the side,’ and put me right in the middle of the picture with him.”

(Ethan and Pilar Wayne, Kim Darby, with Councilman Tom LeBonge presenting a proclamation)

There was one last surprise before the screening of TRUE GRIT on the Dome’s giant screen.  A filmed greeting was shown from Glen Campbell, who looked very well, and showed no signs of the Alzheimer’s Disease he’s been diagnosed with.  He told the story of John Wayne coming backstage after one of his concerts, because one of his daughters thought Campbell had talent, and offering him the part of LeBoeurf in TRUE GRIT.  When Campbell worried that he had no acting experience, Wayne assured him, “…that he could drag me through it alright.”  He had a great time on the film, though he was put out by the fact that, because he had little riding experience, “…what they gave me was a Shetland pony,” and Wayne enjoyed needling him with, “You understand that when we all ride off, you’re supposed to keep up with us!”  Always modest, Campbell claims that it was his own poor performance that helped make Wayne look so good that he got his Oscar.  But as we all saw a little while later, Campbell’s performance is solid, and considering his lack of experience, compares well to Matt Damon’s as the same character in the recent remake.  And yes, Campbell’s horse does appear to be a Shetland pony.        

EX-GOVERNOR ARNOLD BLOODIED BUT UNBOWED

Former California Governor and action movie-star Arnold Schwarznegger Tweeted this picture of himself, direct from the set of THE LAST STAND his modern-day Western directed by the Korean director of the wonderful THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD, Jee-Woon Kim. "Got a little banged up on set today. Thanks to the medical staff who got me back in action an hour later!"

The story about a small-town sheriff tracking down drug dealers who escape from court, the picture also stars Oscar Winner (for LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) Forest Whitaker (in the role previously announced for Liam Neeson), Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny “JACKASS” Knoxville, and one of the greatest of all Western villains, Harry Dean Stanton.

RFD-TV UNVEILS ROY ROGERS TOURNAMENT OF ROSES FLOAT

The Annual New Years Day Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena will feature an RFD-TV-sponsored float honoring the 100^th birthday of the King Of The Cowboys, Roy Rogers!  And though they’ve been gone longer than Roy, riding the float will be Trigger, the smartest horse in the movies, and Roy’s wonder-dog, Bullet!  The artfully taxidermied pair has been touring the country, making public appearances, for about a year, since network owner Patrick Gottsch purchased the dynamic duo at the big Roy Rogers Estate Auction.  RFD-TV shows an episode of the Roy Rogers Show every Sunday, and a Roy Rogers movie – this week it’s JESSE JAMES AT BAY – every Tuesday, with repeats.  To get you in a Roy Rogers mood, click HERE to watch him on HEE HAW, singing a song about an auctioneer.

NEW TV TRAILER FOR INSP’S NOV 25^TH ‘WHIPPERSNAPPER FEST’

The Friday after Thanksgiving, when all those dummies are standing on lines to buy gifts they could as easily buy a week later for the same price, many smart characters like myself will be sitting at home watching the Big Valley Young Whippersnapper Marathon on INSP, featuring guest performances by youngsters on the edge of stardom.  Here’s a preview:

 

TV WESTERNS ALL OVER THE DIAL!

More and more, classic TV Westerns are available all over the TV universe, but they tend to be on small networks that are easy to miss. Of course, ENCORE WESTERNS is the best continuous source of such programming, and has been for years. It’s not in my current satellite package, which is why I often forget to mention it, but currently they run CHEYENNE, MAVERICK, LAWMAN, THE VIRGINIAN, WAGON TRAIN, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, GUNSMOKE, BRET MAVERICK, CIMMARON STRIP, and HOW THE WEST WAS WON. (I’d get it in a minute, if I didn’t have to buy a huge package of STARZ and ENCORE channels just to get the one!)

But there are several new, or at least new-to-me, channels showing sagebrush fare. GEB, which stands for Golden Eagle Broadcasting, is largely a religious-programming cable outlet that runs at least one Western on Saturdays – the ones I’ve caught have been public domain Roy Rogers and John Wayne pictures – and sometimes have weekday afternoon movies as well.

For those of you who watch TV with an antenna, there are at least a couple of channels that exist between the standard numbers – largely unavailable on cable or satellite systems – that provide Western fare. ANTENNA TV is currently running RIN TIN TIN, CIRCUS BOY, HERE COME THE BRIDES, and IRON HORSE.

Another ‘in between’ outfit, ME-TV, which stands for Memorable Entertainment TV, runs a wide collection: BIG VALLEY, BONANZA, BRANDED, DANIEL BOONE, GUNS OF WILL SONNETT, GUNSMOKE, MARSHALL DILLON (the renamed black and white GUNSMOKE), RAWHIDE, THE RIFLEMAN, and WILD WILD WEST. Some of these channels are hard to track down, but if they show what you’ve been missing, it’s worth the search. 

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

That's right, the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here:

THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

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

HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

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

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

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


FREE WESTERNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AT HULU

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

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

BONANZA and BIG VALLEY

Every weekday, TV LAND airs a three-hour block of BONANZA episodes from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They've stopped running GUNSMOKE.  INSP is showing THE BIG VALLEY every weekday at noon, one p.m. and nine p.m., and Saturdays at 6 p.m., and have just added DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN to their schedule.

NEED YOUR BLACK & WHITE TV FIX?

Check out your cable system for WHT, which stands for World Harvest Television. It's a religious network that runs a lot of good western programming. Your times may vary, depending on where you live, but weekdays in Los Angeles they run DANIEL BOONE at 1:00 p.m., and two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.. On Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. it's THE RIFLEMAN again, followed at 2:30 by BAT MASTERSON. And unlike many stations in the re-run business, they run the shows in the original airing order. There's an afternoon movie on weekdays at noon, often a western, and they show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic. 

AMC has been airing a block of THE RIFLEMAN episodes early Saturday mornings, usually followed by Western features.

And RFD-TV is currently showing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW at 9:30 Sunday morning, repeated several times a week, and a Roy feature as well -- check your local listings.

Have a great Thanksgiving, and take a minute to think about what you've got to be thankful for -- I mean besides getting the drumstick!

Much obliged,
Henry

All original content copyright November 2011 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved