movieman1957

Shoes are the first thing my wife takes off when she gets home. We also have a church group that meets at a friend's house and everyone takes off their shoes but me. We're very close.

I should get Carolann to talk about Sam with you. She sometimes says to me "Why can't you talk like Sam?"

It's hard to tell. If it were a difficult stunt it would seem to lend itself to one of the early 50s westerns. However, if it were something more sedate like a riding stunt it would figure that it might be for "The Rare Breed." When I was reading Chuck Roberson's book there were occasions that he appeared as an extra in a film but did a good bit of the stunt work. Neither imdb or the TCM data base makes any direct reference to a Stewart film. Nearly every other site mentions Stewart as well as others he doubled. All this is just a guess though. Edited by: movieman1957 because some days I can't type worth anything.

They've been running "Have Gun Will Travel" for at least a year and we have had discussions about it. It is well liked around here. True enough, "Wagon Train" just started and with it being that recent there isn't much yet but there has been some general favorable comments.

Stewart was a pilot who flew many missions over Germany. He was awarded The Distinguished Flying Cross. I have a book about his war service. "Jimmy Stewart - Bomber Pilot." And yes, "Flight of The Phoenix" would be a great "ramble." Put it on the calendar.

You know while I was typing that I kept thinking there must be a similar story line. Lo and behold there you are with the info. You're too good. This is why I look for you.

Oh no, I agree. The elements were their problem. I was just commenting on the thing that got them there was all of a sudden irrelevant. They were crewed the moment Sweet (Bond) shot out their water bag. The child just complicated matters and may have well lead to the deaths of William and Pete. What may have been an interesting take but also a different movie (without the baby) is whether or not they would have turned on each other and what steps they then take to get to water. That would change the dynamics of who they are. You almost do the reverse. You make them nicer guys in the beginning and then see what they become when they are out there dying of thirst.

> I think they still could have been true to their word AND kept the loot. For me the loot becomes irrelevant almost as soon as they hit the sand. It is all about the water and getting away. If I recall the money isn't even mentioned again. I don't think it was even mentioned about what they would do with the money. Even after the horses have run off, most likely with the money, it is even mentioned in regret for not being more careful of it.

A quick review of Bosley's imdb log shows nearly everything he did was in television. This would really cause his being left out of the TCM Remembers. I dare say Ms. McClanahan has a similar result.

I am not surprised at their transformation. In fact it sort of confirms what I thought about them early on. However, the film could work every bit as well, at least as it does, even if it is played straight. It just boils down to what Ford wanted to do I guess. I see your point though about how "soft" they may seem but Pedro has/had a family so it is not so out of character for him and I think "The Kid" was just that, a kid. He is terminally polite through the whole thing and I think his involvement in the robbery is more the exception than the rule. They are an odd trio.

It makes their mission more understandable. I think we need to know something about her and it may need to be more than their one visit to the wagon but I am not sure where one draws the line.

I think Robert's telling of her story is more economy than anything as far as the plot is concerned. We find out, in one well delivered scene, all that has gone on that we need to know and sets us forward for the rest of the story. Frankly, if Ford had tried to shoot that the movie would have been at least 20 minutes longer. It sure didn't need that.

Yep. That is pretty much what I did when they were featured on "Summer Under The Stars." It was even worse in my case as my cable company was changing the channel location of TCM that very night. Luckily, as Kyle points out, most of the premieres are together. This is the only way I guess they can get out so much in a short period of time. If we wait for them to be "fillers" it will be years to see them all.

I get one every time I ask for it.

Pardon the interruption but.... You mention Percy Faith and I am reminded from my summer as a radio announcer that even Percy Faith got into the disco craze. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIVfNcHOtsg&feature=related Now back to our regularly unscheduled ramble.

Thank you Ro. I appreciate your kind words. Their trip is a mission at the point of the child. If I remember correctly they are not really all that worried about the posse anymore. They sacrifice themselves.

Gilbert Roland is in a two part "Gunsmoke" I have to finish. It's all timing.

Thank you so much. It means a lot that you and Miss Jackie liked it.

Thank you. You're very kind, as always.

125. I would have left hours ago if I could only get up.

Amen.

With my bride sound asleep and the Marx Bros already resting on my shelf the talk of "3 Godfathers" still fresh this is where I spent my New Year's Eve. Me and Robert William Pedro Hightower. Robert, William and Pedro are men of contradictions and a sense of desperation. They come off as sarcastic and criminal but that doesn't hint at their real hearts. They have a deep affection for one another. They are more than partners. That relationship would be easy enough to dissolve. Yet through their darkest hours they are loyal beyond any expectation. They may be outlaws but they are men of their word. They are driven by their desperation to get away, for water and to fulfill their promise. They are men of some education. They are mannerly, respectful and even reverent. *SPOILERS* Before they know what they are called into Pedro comes to help the woman and he removes his hat and somehow feels that he is coming someplace holy. Even when Robert and William come to the wagon they not only remove their hats but their guns. At the funeral there is prayer and the singing of a hymn. These are not the same men we met at the credits. Only once are we reminded blatantly of their past and that is when they argue in the wagon and guns are drawn. We see Pedro shake a rattle to quiet the baby in the left hand with his gun in the right. At that point though William has his revelation that there is more to this than just a rescue. Here then the Christmas story comes to the front in all force. At the wagon is also where the film comes to a stop. They are no longer men on the run. They are men on a mission. Not only is their trek slowed by the child, their lack of water, also for their pursuers, slows them more. Only at the end does Robert have the revelation that was so obvious, at least in their minds, to William and Pedro. I don't know if there is a relation to the deaths of the mother and William but they are shown oppositely, at least in my mind. When the mother dies it is represented by the candle being blown out. When William dies he is in the shade of Robert's hat but his death is represented by removal of the "darkness" and his face into the light. (How's that for reading something into nothing.) I don't find the shots of the baby, frequent though they are, to be overly cute. Robert's telling of the mother's story at the wagon is quite moving and well done. The choir singing Robert off to jail is a bit much but that is Ford for you. I really like the first 45 minutes but for me the film, as I said before, runs out of steam. The religious aspect may be somewhat too obvious in the last 20 minutes compared to what has come before but i guess for Robert to complete his promise he, at least, must have it. Forgive my being long winded. If you're still here in this line, thanks. Edited by: movieman1957 on Jan 1, 2011 12:56 AM

It is yours Rey. Best of luck and a grand new year for you. A happy new year to all the "ramblers."

I don't know about FMC but TCM repeats have nothing on Encore Westerns channel. They'll often repeat the same movie over several days, never mind the month. And I like the channel. I like it for the TV shows and even now showing "The Streets of Laredo" but I think they have excelled in spaghetti westerns this year and more repeats than you can imagine. There is an economy to it all and I am sure most of the channels, save for the big names, have to be a little more careful.

January certainly won't be the same old stuff. I had been wondering where all those shorts had been. It now looks like they were getting them ready. I know Charley Chase, Laurel & Hardy and Thelma Todd may not be too everyone's taste but it sure is different.