'SWEETWATER' OPENS OCT 11 - REVIEWED AND INTERVIEWED!

SWEETWATER – a Movie Review

SWEETWATER, a beautifully produced western directed by Logan Miller and co-written by him and his brother Noah, opens with a mysterious, babbling figure, in the person of Ed Harris as Jackson, in a breathtaking New Mexico desert, dancing and making apparently religious incantations to the rising sun.  Next we see Jason Isaacs as Prophet Josiah, amidst a phalanx of  huge and oddly menacing white crosses, performing his own off-center-of-Christian ceremonies.  These men represent the opposing forces that will butt heads over a murder and, in so doing, tear asunder the lives of January Jones and Eduardo Noriega as Sarah and Miguel Ramirez, a young married couple struggling to farm a future from the sun-blasted desert of New Mexico.  They haven’t a snowball’s chance in Hell.   

To put it mildly, the deck is stacked against the couple.  We quickly gather that the young beauty is a former whore in a town where she used to ply her trade.  Her husband Miguel is an eternal optimist, forever giving people the benefit of the doubt, but his generosity is wasted on people who see in him nothing but a dirty Mexican.  Their paltry savings are stolen by the local banker.  The local merchant is far more interested in voyeuristically pursuing Sarah than in doing business with them.  When Prophet Josiah’s sheep eat their crops, and they suspect he’s killed their dog, the local sheriff is not even indifferent.  He’s contemptuous. 

 

Eduardo Noriega and Jason Isaacs

And Prophet Josiah who, with his flock, was run out of Utah, soon sets his sights on beautiful Sarah.  Prophet Josiah is the man with the money and the power in this Hellish region, and has the willing support of all the local businessmen and government.  At the same time, Sheriff Jackson has come to town to investigate the disappearance of two men, relatives of the Governor, whom we have seen Prophet Josiah murder for trespassing. 

This is the grim world of the town of Sweetwater.  Brad Shield, a 2^nd unit cinematographer on many big movies, has a wonderful eye for simultaneously capturing the full-hued beauty and stark barren ugliness of the New Mexico desert.  And the stunning but not over-glamorized loveliness of January Jones, who shoulders much of the forward momentum of the story. 

Logan Miller directs with a precision and confidence that mirrors his strongest characters.  Nothing is arbitrary in the telling.  He is blessed with several strong actors, and skilled at drawing performances from them, and he has an impressive control of camera movement.  There is almost a hypnotic sense of menace to the scene where Miguel is threatened by a pair of men who circle him, one on foot moving clockwise, the other on horseback moving counter-clockwise.  It could have easily been overplayed, but it is all the more frightening because it seems natural, as does Miguel’s distraction.  Another scene, a hunt through the maze of a sheep pen, is particularly intense. 

January Jones

Jason Isaacs, who first impressed as the sadistic Col. Tavington in THE PATRIOT, and continued hatefully as Lucius Malfoy in the HARRY POTTER movies, is excellent as the sanctimonious hypocrite Prophet Josiah.  You watch him, knowing that you’d never follow him, but others would. 

January Jones, famous as Betty Francis, later Betty Draper in MAD MEN, compels your interest and sympathy by the strength of her character, and determination against tremendous odds.  She embodies the pioneer spirit.  And rather than modernizing the story to make it ‘relatable’, it stays in period, and portrays the desperation of a lone woman searching a vast land for her missing husband.  There is no phone, no police, no APB, no tracking a cell signal.  Pregnant, alone and searching, she must still plow the land or see the crops die.  She doesn’t have a sidekick to share her thoughts with, so much of her performance is facial and physical, and while she is helped by the occasional camera crane-shot showing the enormity of her challenge, the credit for the performance must go to her.    

Ed Harris and a corpse

But the fun starts whenever Ed Harris appears on the scene.  As Cornelius Jackson, with dapper suit and shoulder-length scarecrow hair, he’s part mystic, part detective and part loony.  At times he plays it so broad it’s like he’s channeling Malcolm McDowell from CLOCKWORK ORANGE.  But it’s sheer pleasure to watch him and Prophet Josiah face each other, especially the dinner scene where Jackson demonstrates his contempt for the religious leader. 

SWEETWATER is a beautifully made Western, with a compelling plot, gripping action, strong performances, beautifully filmed and edited.  It is an ‘R’ for a reason.  In addition to some beautiful nudity on the part of Miss Jones, there is male nudity only a masochist would enjoy, apparent masturbation, sexual cruelty, and some rough language.

I do have some quibbles with moments that seem contrived.  For no apparent reason, a man presents a woman with a parasol, so that she’ll later be able to jab him in the eye with it.  Two men dig up a well-hidden body for the apparent purpose of being discovered doing it.  A character says some revoltingly crude remarks just before being killed, as if to let us know that he’s no loss: believe me, we already knew.  And just once in a while, I’d like to see a movie where a religious character is neither a hypocrite nor crazy. 

SWEETWATER opens in theatres on Friday, October 11.  It’s available on VOD right now.

An Interview with ANDREW MCKENZIE, the man who created SWEETWATER

Andrew McKenzie

I think if a writer had any idea how long it would take, and how difficult it would be, to get almost any movie made, he’d never even type FADE IN.  Once you write your screenplay, if you’re lucky enough to have anyone interested in making you’re movie, the number of drafts, the number of changes asked for, the number of people who have input but disagree with each other about those changes – it’s mind-numbing. 

But incredibly, sometimes movies do get made, and they often make the writer proud, even though the finished product is often far from the writer’s original vision.  SWEETWATER is a movie that would make any writer proud.  It is the brainchild of New Zealand-born Andrew McKenzie, and many a Western fan will guess at a major influence on his writing based on the title; Sweetwater is the town that McBain is trying to create out of the desert, by sheer force of will, in Sergio Leone’s masterwork, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.  Kind of the way writers create reality out of paper by sheer force of will.

The screenplay is credited to Noah and Logan Miller.  The story is by Andrew McKenzie.  Here is his story of how the story of SWEETWATER came to be.

HENRY PARKE: I notice you’re from New Zealand.  Did you grow up with western movies and TV shows?

ANDREW MCKENZIE: I grew up in a small town in New Zealand.  I now call Melbourne, Australia home.  New Zealand was isolated.  We had two televisions channels, so a very limited choice in what to watch.  The video store would only get one copy of a film and I recall that whenever we went to get a movie, something like EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, it’d be out, so we’d end up getting what was left, and there seemed to be a big population of Bud Spencer/Terence Hill films and Spaghetti Westerns.  I related to Leone’s films in particular because they were very visual, about characters in isolation, struggling to survive.  Probably relates to my childhood as well – I was more of an individual making my own rules rather than following everyone else.

HENRY: What westerns, western stars, western filmmakers, impressed you growing up?  What are your favorite western movies?  Who influenced your work?

ANDREW: The Spaghetti Westerns first and foremost.  ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST is my all-time favorite.  Strong visual storytelling throughout and a dry, laconic wit that suits me perfectly.  I love the black comedy, the poetry of violence.  I generally feel alienated by American westerns, aside from Peckinpah.  I’m cynical about the mythic structure and prefer the true grit of a character rather than an archetype.  The day I discovered THE WILD BUNCH though, my life changed.  Peckinpah is the master storyteller.  My favorite Peckinpah quote is that he didn’t make Westerns, he made stories about men on horseback, and that shone through for me in watching THE WILD BUNCH.  Here was a story about people, individual people, and not a cardboard cut-out.  There were no good guys in white hats and bad guys in black hats; everyone wore shades of gray. 

HENRY: In watching the excellent New Zealand-lensed western GOOD FOR NOTHING, I was struck by how convincingly New Zealand stands in for the American West.  Do you think there is a sort of kinship between the rural elements of the two countries, a similar sort of spirit to the people?

ANDREW: Both New Zealand and Australia have the Colonial spirit of migration, but it is also influenced by the environment in which they settle.  Migrants to New Zealand may have had issues clearing the land, but the weather and climate meant that they didn’t have to fight as hard to survive. Australia, on the other hand, is arguably more like the frontier, and that in my opinion has formed part of the Australian character, hard and rugged.  Whereas New Zealanders are inherently insecure and don’t strive to challenge.  They’d rather play safe and conservative.  I have to admit I haven’t seen GOOD FOR NOTHING.  I think if you want a sense and feel of things, look at THE PROPOSITION, because it creates itself into a universe, like Leone’s work is poetry of violence, and that’s where I like to sit my work as well.

HENRY: The title SWEETWATER is clearly a nod to ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, as the name of the town Brett McBain is planning to build.  Was that the genesis of your story for SWEETWATER?

ANDREW: Yes, very clearly.  I had to explain the reference at Sundance because nobody understood the context.  In the screenplay there is a reference to the town being named Sweetwater, but they didn’t shoot it.  I wrote SWEETWATER after I tried to get two of my other Western screenplays up and off the ground.  I wanted to write a small intimate story that subverted all the genre conventions with the intention of directing it myself.  The screenplay was originally set in New Zealand – hence the antagonist being a sheep farmer, but they left that in without context for the film.  It was funny explaining to the cast at Sundance that that is why he was a sheep farmer, and then it all made sense.  Apparently they had trouble finding enough sheep in New Mexico and even had to bring in some goats to fill out the herd.  SWEETWATER was also a ‘thank you’ and tribute to my friendship with Sergio Donati and I thought it was a perfect story because both stories had strong female protagonists.

HENRY: How did you come to know Sergio Donati, who wrote the screenplay for ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST with Sergio Leone?

ANDREW: I was doing my Masters in Creative Writing, and my case study was ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.  I was a member of a few web boards for Spaghetti Westerns, and Sergio had posted somewhere at one stage.  I made contact and said I’m a writer doing my masters, and we became friends from there.  He is a legendary man, modest and humble, yet ever supportive.

HENRY: What was your working relationship with Donati?  Did he have input on SWEETWATER?

ANDREW: It wasn’t so much a formal working relationship; we would just casually talk via email.  In terms of SWEETWATER, I sent him the draft when it was finished and he read it and said he liked it.  That endorsement meant a lot. 

HENRY: Were you more influenced by American Westerns or Euro Westerns in general, and with SWEETWATER in particular?

ANDREW: Definitely the Euro.  I meld everything up into a poetry of violence; there are harsh undertones but there is also humor.  That’s one of the things I learned from Donati’s writing, like the gag at the end of FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, counting up the bounties.  I love weaving characters and dialogue.  The other big influences on me would be Peckinpah and THE WILD BUNCH, and David Milch’s DEADWOOD.  Milch’s dialogue gave me breathing space to trust in my creative voice.  When TRUE GRIT came out I again felt validated.

HENRY: How long did you spend writing SWEETWATER, and how many drafts?

ANDREW: Oh, that is a long and complicated story.  It went through a variety of producers and drafts.  I can’t even recall how many – probably I’m too scared to remember.  At one stage when I changed producers I reverted back to my favorite earlier draft, and that was the one that got picked up. 

HENRY: Westerns are such a tough genre to get made.  What’s special to you about the form that made you want to do one?

ANDREW: See I don’t think I write ‘Westerns’, or ‘Oaters’. I’m more like Peckinpah in that it is about the character and the story.  I will take the genre conventions and subvert them and will seldom adhere to them, but for me it is first and foremost about character.  I love the notion of characters in isolation.  I hate cell phones.  I love putting characters into situations and having them forced to get themselves out of it.  The ‘Western’ is the perfect environment for that.  There is no cavalry, there is no rescue.  You have to get yourself out of this situation, and that is what makes it emotionally engaging for the audience.  SWEETWATER was a simple story about a farmer’s wife whose husband disappears one night.  She is led by the town to believe that he has abandoned her.  When she discovers his body, then she must rise up above all the conflict.  Yes, she goes on the vengeance trail, but it is all told from the character’s perspective rather than the plot.   

HENRY: How did you link up with the filmmakers?

ANDREW: A good friend of mine, David Eggby, who is a cinematographer, was going to shoot SWEETWATER for me when I was directing.  He had shot a film called IRONCLAD for the producers and gave them the screenplay.  That was at the time that TRUE GRIT had just come out.  They picked up the option and things gathered momentum from there.  The directors came on board because they had a working relationship with Ed Harris.  The original producers and I stepped away from the production and things proceeded from there.

HENRY:  What do you think of the finished film of SWEETWATER? 

ANDREW: This part is tricky to respond to.  I’ll be honest: I spent five years of my life attached to SWEETWATER, with the majority of those attached to direct.  I guess I can be diplomatic and say that the filmmakers had a completely different vision to how I would have directed the film, but hey, that’s their prerogative.  There are glimpses of it in the final film, but not enough to give me satisfaction.

HENRY: Were you pleased with the casting?  January Jones, Ed Harris, Jason Isaacs,  Eduardo Noriega?

ANDREW: Yes, I thought the casting was outstanding.  I ended up spending most of my time at Sundance hanging out with Jason Isaacs.  We have become good friends.  I’m currently developing a television series for him. 

HENRY: While the core of the story is the same, there are many changes.  The movie’s Prophet Josiah is combined from your characters of Cole and Reverend Matthew.  An ethnic subplot was added by casting Eduardo Noriega as Sarah’s husband.  Another ethnic element, the American Indian characters, were removed.  The sheriff, a relatively minor character in your story, as portrayed by Ed Harris in the film, is almost as important as your female lead, Sarah.  What changes do you most regret?

ANDREW: I think the most regret I have is that so much screen time was taken away from the character of Sarah.  It truly was supposed to be her story throughout.  Here she was in this crazy world.  She was a normal farmer’s wife in my script, an innocent of sorts.  The first act set her up as supportive of her husband, but you didn’t know that she’s going to have the strength to carry the story through.  In the second act, originally when she discovers the body, she goes on a pilgrimage to the church to have him buried.  She tries to make sense of things before she goes on the vengeance trail.  There were a lot of layers and threads that would have made the narrative more emotionally engaging, but hey, I’m biased.

HENRY: What have you written since SWEETWATER?

ANDREW: I’ve been extremely busy.  I have another screenplay, CANVASTOWN, which I’ll call a period drama.  It is set in Victoria, Australia in 1851, about a small mining community.  I’m working on directing that.  I’ve completed another couple of spec feature screenplays and have two television series pilots in development, including the one with Jason Isaacs.  The writer’s life is always busy, creating new material.  I do have a western TV series that I’d like to see go one day.  It’s titled THE BLACK RIDERS and is inspired by the poetry of Stephen Crane.

Many thanks to Tom Betts, who writes the delightful and informative WESTERNS...ALLITALIANA! 

site for suggesting this interview, and for introducing me to Andrew.

THAT’S A WRAP!

Can’t believe HELL ON WHEELS is over for another season!  And don’t send me any comments about the ending just yet – I’m still four episodes behind!  Try and catch SWEETWATER this week.  You’ll be entertained and impressed.  Next week, among other things, I’ll have a review of a group of thought-to-be-lost American silent films that were found in a New Zealand archive, and preserved.

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright October 2013 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

‘SILVER SPUR’ GLITTERS AT SPORTSMEN’S LODGE

Tommy Cook, Joely Fisher, Connie Stevens,

Jon Voight and Andrew Prine

On Friday night, September 27^th, I had the pleasure of covering the 16^th Annual Silver Spur Awards at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City.   The Awards is the big annual celebration of The Reel Cowboys, an event that started when Pat Buttram passed away, and the Golden Boot Awards ceased. 

The event is always run to benefit a deserving charity, and for the second year in a row, that charity was the MVAT, the Military and Veterans Appreciation Trust (learn more at http://www.mvat.org/)

I arrived shortly after the doors opened at six, but a large throng of elegantly western-dressed folks packed the place.  Once inside, I checked out the silent auction.  Spread around the tables were many DVDs of the excellent HEATHENS AND THIEVES (see my review HERE ) . And in addition to the event program, with a cover designed by Spencer Tracy’s artist grandson, at every seat of the twenty-five banquet tables was a T-shirt from the exciting HOT BATH AND A STIFF DRINK (read my story about their rough-cut screening HERE ).

Louis Gossett Jr.

I quickly spotted one of the evening’s honorees, Louis Gossett Jr.  I asked him if he was excited.  “I am very excited.  It’s an honor to get this blessing from cowboys.”  I asked him what his favorite western was.  “My favorite western is LONESOME DOVE.  My favorite western that’s not with me is RED RIVER.”

Just then, Hugh O’Brian entered, dressed in some of his elegant Wyatt Earp finery.  With so many actors portraying that lawman in recent years, I acknowledged him as the best, but asked who the second  beat Earp was.  “The second best?  I guess it was me.  The best was Wyatt himself.  He was a helluvah man.  He died here, by the way, in 1929, on 19^th Street.  He lived here in Los Angeles the last three or four years of his life.  He made money doing appearances and stuff.  The people just west of Newhall, that huge area between there and Las Vegas, like 150 miles by 200, they put up one notice at the upper entrance.  It said ‘This Property Is Guarded by Wyatt Earp.’  Nobody ever came on it again,” he told with a chuckle.

Robert Wagner and Hugh O'Brian

I told him that the day before I’d spoken to Morgan Woodward, who played Shotgun Gibbs on 81 episodes of THE ADVENTURES OF WYATT EARP.  Morgan just turned 88 last week, and Hugh was disappointed that Morgan wasn’t at the Spurs this time, unlike last year.  “The success of the WYATT EARP SHOW gave me the opportunity to put on what is now the largest youth organization in the world.  98% of every public and private high school in the United States lets their 10^th graders know about the program, and each high school selects one or two students to go to the HOBY (Hugh O’Brian Youth) program on the local level.  We get over 200 10^th graders together at a time.  In California, for instance, we have six locations.  We focus on 10^th graders because when I was in 10^th grade, that’s when I had to decide to fish or cut bait.  To go to college or whatever.  It’s a very, very formative year.  You really have to make decisions.  But you also need to know what the opportunities are.:  You can learn more about HOBY by going HERE  http://www.hoby.org/. 

Just a few steps away from Hugh O’Brian I saw Robert ‘R.J.’ Wagner, who was to be one of the evening’s honorees.  I told him I’d just spoken to Hugh O’Brian.  The two, along with Earl Holliman and the late Richard Widmark, played the four sons of Spencer Tracy in the excellent western BROKEN LANCE (1954).  I asked if BROKEN LANCE was his favorite among his westerns.  “Yes, undoubtedly.  I think it’s one of Hugh’s, too.”

Tommy Cook,  Little Beaver from both the original ADVENTURES OF RED RYDER Republic serial with Don ‘Red’ Barry, and on the radio with Reed Hadley, was the evening’s Master of Ceremonies.  He took the stage, and began by thanking the band.  “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Reel Cowboys have an outstanding show for you tonight, paying tribute to world famous stars of film and television who embrace the western traditions.” Then he introduced some guests in the audience, including LAND OF THE GIANTS star Deanna Lund, MAGNUM P.I. regular Larry Manetti, and Silver Spur winner, Republic Western star Donna Martell.  Rhonda Fleming, who could not attend, provided a table for Mvat service members. 

Donna Martell

90 year-old cartoon voice artist Jimmy Weldon led the pledge of allegiance, and actress  Elaine DuPont, widow of Ray ‘Crash’ Corrigan, sang the Star Spangled Banner. 

Elaine DuPont

Tommy Cook made an introduction.  “When I played Little Beaver on the Red Ryder Radio Show, she played Little White Cloud.  We were about twelve years old.  She’s one of our former honorees.  Miss Terry Moore.”  The Oscar nominee for COMEBACK LITTLE SHEBA took the mic and said, “Nobody’s done a better job at this than Tommy.  He’s worked so hard; all he talks about are The Silver Spurs.  It means everything to him.” And she added with a grin, “And now it’s time for him to get an award, and he doesn’t know it – it’s a surprise for him.  I’m sorry Dick Van Patten couldn’t be here, because Tommy and Dick and I all grew up together.  We love each other.  Tommy, this is for you, The Jack Iverson Founders 
Award.”

Terry Moore

Tommy Cook, Terry Moore, Reel Cowboys Pres. Robert Lanthier

The next honoree was one of the stars of THE MIRACLE WORKER, Andrew Prine.  In addition to starring in several feature westerns like CHISUM, TEXAS ACROSS THE RIVER, GETTYSBURG and guesting in many western series, he starred in two of his own, THE WIDE COUNTRY, with Earl Holliman, and THE ROAD WEST, with Barry Sullivan.  His award was presented by his lovely wife of 27 years, actress and producer  Heather Lowe.  After a series of film clips, Andrew Prine took the stage, commenting, “I die good, don’t I?  I died in all those pictures.  Were they trying to tell me something?  This is a great honor.  All I ever did was have a good time as an actor.  I’ve had the most wonderful time of my life doing cowboy work, pretending to be a real cowboy.  Also I married a pretty good-looking woman, so I’m just gonna see what she’s up to later tonight.  Thank you very much.” 

Andrew Prine

Andrew Prine and Heather Lowe

The next presenter was movie and TV villain, and professional drummer for Trini Lopez and Johnny Rivers, Mickey Jones.  He discussed the life and career of stuntman Chuck Hicks, from the Merchant Marines through amateur and then professional athletics, from extra to stunt man to actor.  Chuck was cast as one of THE UNTOUCHABLES, but series star Robert Stack thought he was too good-looking, and had him cut.  He was Clint Walker’s double on CHEYENNE.  He went on to work in nearly all of Clint Eastwood’s films, BONANZA and GUNSMOKE.  They rolled the clips, and in addition to an exhausting-just-to-watch brawl with Hoss Cartwright that TV Guide described as the best fight of the year, there was a scene from BREAKING BAD, demonstrating that he’s still in the game.   Hicks spoke with modesty and humor, acknowledging actors who were athletes, like Michael Landon and Mike Connors, who could have done their own stuntwork if they wanted to, and derided the 400 pound actors who claim straight-faced that they do their own stunts.  This became the running gag of the evening, and almost every actor who later took the stage apologized for taking credit for stunts they didn’t really do. 

Mickey Jones, Chuck Hicks, Nikki Pelley

Next was the musical comedy act of Evans and Rogers, followed by the next presenter, actress Joely Fisher, who introduced her mother, the vivacious Connie Stevens.  Connie, who will always be Cricket from HAWAIIAN EYE to those of us who grew up on it, also acted in one MAVERICK, one CHEYENNE, two SUGARFOOTS (Sugarfeet?) and a TEMPLE HOUSTON, and has directed her first movie, SAVING GRACE B. JONES.  Set in small-town Missouri in the 1950s, it stars Michael Biehn, Tatum O’Neal and Penelope Ann Miller.  She’s next set to direct PRAIRIE BONES, a story about a young couple who must survive an unthinkable tragedy in a hostile wilderness.  The rumor is that it will star Franco Nero.

Connie Stevens, Joely Fisher

Joely recalled travelling with her mother on USO tours, and described her mother as a story-teller.   When Connie came out on stage, the first thing she asked was, “Is Robert Fuller here?”  We wish he was.  “Me, too.    We dated when I was 18 years old.  That film clip (from MAVERICK) was the first thing I did at Warner Brothers when I was 17 years old.  I was doing HAWAIIAN EYE, but they could never find me, because I was always hiding out with the cowboys.  As a crazy kid I went down to some country bar with some stuntmen, and we slit our wrists and mixed our blood, so we would really be related forever.  I think I really am.”  Turning to Joely she added, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, hon.  I’m really happy to be here.  There’s a lot of testosterone in this room.  It’s hard to come by these days, in the movies.  In Hollywood.  But I’m very happy to be here, with some of my favorite people – Jon Voight, Lou Gossett – holy cow, do I love these guys.  I always wanted to do westerns, so the closest I got was I moved to Wyoming.  We still have a few cowboys there.  I hope to see you again.  I thank you very much for this award.” 

Lucky Ewing

Next to be honored was familiar western henchman Ewing ‘Lucky’ Brown, who now runs a production facility in the San Fernando Valley.  Among his more notable roles were one of the Ryker men in SHANE, and in PONY EXPRESS with Charlton Heston.  “I tried to get into westerns right after World War II.  Monogram, P.R.C., Argosy.  I got to be very good friends with a director who worked all the time.  It was like a stock company.  He was Oliver Drake.  One day I said to Ollie, ‘These western pictures we’re making.  What do they cost?’  He said, ‘Forty-five thousand dollars.’  That included the writer, the director, the horses, and the star!  I thought, wow!  In those days, if you did a fight, that was part of your job – that was not considered a stunt.  That was not until I was on SHANE, and George Stevens asked me if I could fight.  By the way, I was originally hired on SHANE as the gunfighter.  They wanted Jack Palance originally, but Palance was doing a film at 20^th Century Fox. So they screen-tested a bunch of people, and I happened to be picked.  Then this agent calls and says, ‘Jack Palance has just finished his picture.  He’s available, if you still want him.’  Well, I get this arm around the shoulder by the assistant director.  He says, ‘You know, we’ve got a better part for you.  You’ll be one of the brothers.’  I got the same money, because of the contract, as Jack Palance did.  But I can’t see anyone but Jack Palance in that role.  And we became good friends, and I told him so.  But anyway, it’s been one helluvah ride, and it ain’t over yet.  Bless you and thank you.” 

The next presenter, Bob Minor, was stunt coordinator on MAGNUM P.I., and the film GLORY.  He was presenting to Louis Gossett Jr., whom he’d worked with going back to the ‘70s, on films like TO KILL A COP, J.D.’S REVENGE, and THE CHOIRBOYS, into the 1990s and IRON EAGLE III.  Mr. Gossett acknowledged the applause as he took the stage.  “Thank you very much.  Westerns have always been my favorites, even though I come from Brooklyn.  I came to California to film a series called THE YOUNG REBELS.  I was playing a horse expert.  They brought me to a ranch, taught me how to ride horses, how to take care of them, to curry them, to saddle them.  It’s a pleasure to be here with Bobby, who made me look good, who’s been my stuntman.  And it’s really a pleasure to be in the presence of some of the greats at this table. This is my 60^th professional year.  I’m very fortunate.  And I’m very deeply grateful to be here.”  With a grin, he added, “I’m deeply grateful to be anywhere.”           

Mike Connors and R.J. Wagner

Next up was Mike Connors, TV’s MANNIX, to talk about R.J. Wagner, back when they first started in the industry.  “Back then you had to sing, and dance, and fence.  You had to ride horses; ride camels.  R.J. pretty much rode just about everything in Hollywood.”  And when that brought smirking chuckles, he added, “Wait a minute.  And at that time R.J. learned to really ride.  And I remember the stunt men and cowboys saying, ‘That R.J. sits that horse very well.  He sits that saddle.’  And he’s had horses all his life.  When he lived in the Pacific Palisades he had horses and stables on the property.  When he had a ranch out in the Valley he had stables and horses.  And at one time he owned about 184 acres in Simi Valley with some friends, that they bought from Bing Crosby, out northwest of Simi.  In fact the horse Seabiscuit is buried on that property.  He’s one of the few actors that have bridged that gap from old Hollywood to Hollywood today.  He worked with people like Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Jimmy Stewart, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck.  (Note: if you read R.J.’s autobiography, you’ll know why Mike Connors is having fun dwelling on Barbara Stanwyck.)  And today he’s working with the young stars of Hollywood; he’s bridged that gap, and still doing great work.”

R.J. said, “I’m very honored to be an honoree with all these other people.  It is indeed a very big privilege to me.  When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a cowboy.  And tonight you made that possible.  And now I am a real cowboy.  I’m going to give this wonderful honor to my grandson.  And when he sees it, I can tell him that I am a real cowboy.  Thank you so much.”

Jon Voight

Tommy Cook introduced Jon Voight, noting that he had starred in MIDNIGHT COWBOY, DELIVERANCE, won his Oscar for COMING HOME, and can currently be seen on Showtime in RAY DONOVAN.  Voight recalled, “I started out in Yonkers, New York.  Grew up with two brothers, and we were always a very rambunctious threesome.  And I remember playing in this park across the street from the house.  We would play cowboys.  And I would always imagine I’m on a white horse.  I had a hat and gun.  I got to play a good guy all the time.  And then the team in my neighborhood said, ‘Jon, you’re always playing the good guy.  You’ve got to play the bad guy.’  I said, ‘Good.  I’ve got a black horse.’  I mean, this all came from movies.  And you know, it’s a wonderful thing, cowboy movies.  We used to go to a place called Bronxville, which was up the road from Yonkers, and we used to see all the trailers, and it was Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers.  And then we would come back in the afternoon, and play cowboys all day.  And then as I grew up, I found myself in the film business.  And my beginnings were as a cowboy.  And I always knew, when I was playing these roles, when I was doing these movies, that there was something about them, a morality in all these pieces.  There was a good guy, and we all knew who the good guy was.  And we knew what the good guy did.  And we knew what the bad guys did.  And there was a rule.  You knew if there was a bully, and he pushed people around, somebody had to stand up to him.  We learned a lot from cowboy movies.  And now I have to say, as I look around today, what we need is good cowboy movies.  And when we face the world situation – not to get political – we want to know who the good guys and bad guys are.  We need to go back and watch SHANE or watch HIGH NOON.  And we’ll figure out what we have to do, because you don’t let the bullies get away with it.  Anyway, I’ve had a wonderful run.  And I’ve done several movies where I’ve played older parts in cowboy films.  I did RETURN TO LONESOME DOVE, worked with Lou Gossett.  I played a sheriff in a movie called JASPER, TEXAS, with Lou Gossett.  And it seems, being here with Connie and Lou, I see them all the time, supporting the troops, as this group does.  And there’s something right about that.  It’s appropriate.  Without this military, these great people, these heroes, we wouldn’t be the country that we are.  We wouldn’t have the peace and freedom that we do.  I feel very honored to have a little piece of it.  And Chuck, I used to say I did a lot of my own stunts; I’ll never say that again.  Anyway, I’m very honored to be among you, in this wonderful group.  And I’ll be very proud to show this to my grandchildren.  And when they ask me what it is, I’ll say, ‘You see, I am a western hero.’”

Earl Holliman

It was a very enjoyable evening.  Coincidentally, on Saturday morning I was at the Actors & Others for Animals banquet, Best in Show, where I ran into Earl Holliman, Hugh O’Brian’s and Robert Wagner’s brother from BROKEN LANCE.  Small world, Hollywood!

LIVE EVENTS IN OCTOBER

We have an unusually busy month of live western and history-related events all over California.  I’m sure there are plenty in other parts of the country, and the planet, and if you’ll let me know, I’ll be very happy to share them. 

RANCHO CAMULOS

Plenty is happening at the ‘Home Of Ramona’, near Piru.  On Sunday, October 6^th, it’s the California Mission Ride, as a 600 mile horseback journey through the past and to the future comes to the Rancho.  At 10:00 a.m. you can greet the horseback riders who are traveling from Mission to Mission “to discover life and land of current communities in their Mission era  context.”  Museum tours will also be available for the usual five bucks, free for kids.

And at 2 p.m., there’s a show featuring Hollywood stuntmen and Silver, from this summer’s LONE RANGER.  The stunt performers in the show are the very talented and experienced Jack and Clint Lilley, and Rod Rondeaux, who I interviewed for the Round-up HERE 

On Saturday, October 12^th, NCIS fans, choked up at the loss of Zeva from the show (I know I’ll miss her), can tour the locations at the Rancho where the season’s premier episode, “Zeva’s Farewell,” were shot.  This is expected to sell out, so reservations are a good idea.

Finally, on October 19^th, Trafalgar Day (so I am told), Camulos welcomes Napoleonic War re-enactors!  From noon ‘til 6pm you can admire period costumes and watch military battles!  To learn more about these events, and everything else happening at the Rancho, go HERE.

COACHELLA VALLEY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

Now through May 31^st, 2014, experience Journey of a People: A History of the Cahuilla and Chemehuevi Tribes in the Coachella Valley, Indio.  Displays of prehistoric Indian artifacts, historic photos and individual histories from the five local tribes.  To learn more, call the museum at 760-342-6651, or visit cvhm.org.

SAN DIMAS WESTERN DAYS OCT. 5-6

There will be food, crafts, a parade, music and entertainment at the San Dimas Civic Center Park, and San Dimas Rodeo Grounds.  Learn more at 909-592-3818, or visit sandimaschamber.com

BIG HORSE CORN MAZE AND HARVEST FESTIVAL, TEMECULA OCT. 5-31

The maze is 11 acres, plus hay rides, pony rides, rig races, pumpkin bowling and more.  It’s at Big Horse Feed and Mercantile.  Call 951-389-4621, or visit bighorsecornmaze.com

GHOST TOUR OF SIMI VALLEY OCT. 11-27

A guided walking tour where historical ghosts tell stories of the Chumash, explorers, pioneers and others who once populated the Valley.  Friday and Saturday nights at Strathearn Historical Park.  805-526-6453  simihistory.com

FIDDLERS’ OLD TIME MUSIC FESTIVAL, SANTA BARBARA  OCT. 13

Celebration of American folk music as performed on fiddle and banjo.  Both competitions and showcase performances, tours of the historic Stow House, music workshops, kids activities, and eats.  805-450-2243  fiddlersconvention.org

HORSE HERITAGE FESTIVAL, SAN MARCOS OCT. 13

Demonstrations, pony rides, frontier games, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, food and raffles at the Walnut Grove Park.   760-744-9128  helpthehorsepark.com

SILVERADO DAYS, BUENA PARK, OCT. 18-20

Enjoy hog calling, pig racing, arts & crafts, a chili cook-off, car show, live music  and more, at William Peak Park.  Silveradodays.com

DUST BOWL FESTIVAL, WEED PATCH, CA., OCT. 19

If you’ve been hankering for a return of the Great Depression, it’s your lucky day!  At Sunset School, at the intersection of Weedpatch Highway and Sunset Boulevard, enjoy musical entertainment, historical displays, square dancing, booths for kid and adults, fried bologna sandwiches and more, from 8 am to 3 pm.  If there’s a phone or website, I don’t have it.

WILD WEST WEEKEND, MOORPARK, OCT. 19-20

Stunt ropers, bullwhippers, flea circus, roping range, and music abound at the Underwood Family Farms.  805-529-3690 underwoodfamilyfarms.com.

THAT’S A WRAP!

Have a great week, pardners!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright September 2013 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved