Western Movie Rambles

[JackFavell]

Ha! I like John Carroll!

 

I think you are very right about the reasons why some people don't like DAS. It makes sense, it might be a let down for some people expecting a more heroic Scott.

 

I feel for him so much in that film though. My heart breaks in two at the end.

[rohanaka]

Don't mean to interupt the chats going on.. but a friend of mine sent me an email with this link in it.. and these photos are just so way cool.. I had to share them. (My absolute favorites are 43 and 59... but wow.. those early ones w/ the native Americans. Oh me... they look like they could have walked right out of one of Pappy's movies (but I know he did use actual local Native Americans sometimes. so I guess it would not be a surprise) And the pics w/ the little wee children.. oh my.

 

Anyway.. hope you enjoy these as much as I did... (I like that each one has a caption that includes the location where the picture was taken)

 

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/02/23/from-the-archive-frontier-life-in-the-west/2713/

[JackFavell]

Those are fascinating photographs, Ro! I admit that they make me a little sad, looking at what once was, and what was changing so fast at the time they were taken.

 

I could look at them all day and probably will.

[wouldbestar]

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{font:}{color:black}I was totally shocked by the pictures of Deadwood and Lead City. I would have thought the buildings would be more primitive but they look quite attractive and sturdy and there seems to be real if unpaved streets. In most Western films the cities don’t look this developed. {font}

 

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{font:}{color:black}Seeing the faces of the civilians, soldiers, and Native Americans, especially photo 17, is heartbreaking. It proves we are all human yet one race nearly obliterated the other-who was here first-because it wanted what they had. Those NAs are shown smiling, laughing, shaking hands, and trying to deal honorably with the newcomers; in most cases to their detriment. Thanks to photos like these we will all have a reminder of how things really were. Thank you! {font}

 

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[JackFavell]

You know, I come from the midwest and always laughed at the people here in CT. and New England who thought that I came from a farm or something. But I must have been under some delusions myself about North and South Dakota....Deadwood was a HUGE town! Look how wide the streets were, and how big the town hall was!

 

 

I agree, wbs, I thought the faces, especially of the chiefs, had such a sad mixture of emotions.

 

I ended up looking some of these leaders up, and the story at that particular time, 1890, was just too awful for words. 1890 was the final gasp for these native Americans who had lived free before.

 

These men pictured were the ones left who had to help their tribes adjust to reservation life. Not only were these men, their families and tribes, forced onto less quality land marked out as reservations, but they endured at least 3 more moves as our government backtracked on their word over and over and took the better land for settling, sending these people further and further south, to rockier and less fertile land, eventually all the way into Nebraska.

[MissGoddess]

Ro, how wonderful. I really enjoyed looking over those. I agree they are achingly bittersweet. And I too was surprised at how "slick" Deadwood looked! But I expect towns grew pretty quickly if they were prosperous. It's fascinating looking into these windows of history. I was captivated by the pictures of Native Americans. And there was Red Cloud...and Little Wolf! There is a Little Wolf depicted in *Cheyenne Autumn*, but I guess it's not the same man or his tribe??

 

Old photos just suck me in...I find myself drawn into them in a way that not even paintings can do. I think it's all the detail of daily life that gets me the most. How people stood, what they wore, what the streets, sidewalks and signs looked like. Seeing trees and the seeing where they were cleared. That one picture of a row of officer's houses...I swore it looked like a 1960s tract-house development together with manicured lawns, newly planted saplings and trim sidewalks!

[rohanaka]

I looked up the City of Deadwood just to see what I could see.. and they have this whole section on some of the old buildings and architecture, etc that you can pull up (by clicking on each spot on the map on that 'century" section near the bottom) They even have a photo of the statue of Wild Bill but it is not nearly so impressive looking (at least not from the 1950;s) as it was way back in those old 1800's pics, ha.

 

 

 

http://www.cityofdeadwood.com/

 

Edited by: rohanaka on Mar 3, 2012 9:46 PM

[wouldbestar]

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{font:Times New Roman}Going through the Jack Davis art thread in the *Your Favorites* forum I found his poster for *Waterhole #3* and realized how much I’d like to see this funny but very spicy movie again. See, I’m not always Miss Goody Two Shoes. {font}

 

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{font:Times New Roman}Any chance, TCM? {font}

 

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[JackFavell]

Hey, I just looked over at the National Film Preservation site and found that they are streaming the recently discovered *Billy and His Pal* (1911) that was found in New Zealand last year.

 

The film was made by Gaston Melies, who came to the U.S. to keep the Melies Bros. french films from being plagiarized and bootlegged, and then decided to set up shop and make movies of his own in Texas, because it was nice and sunny there.

 

The film stars a very young and handsome *Francis Ford*, an absolutely beautiful man who seems to have acted very naturalistically for the time (in the two 1910's films I've seen with him). He's exceptionally graceful for a big galoot and wonderful to look at. This was before he started directing.

 

Hard to believe that this is the same actor who would later sport that white beard and wild white hair.

 

Oddly, Billy is played by famous early film actress Edith Storey. In the titles, the name is switched to Bobby, as this was released in Australia and for some reason Billy was not deemed appropriate.

 

This is no *Hell's Hinges*, but maybe that might be a relief to Frank Grimes.

 

http://www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/billy-and-his-pal-1911

[MissGoddess]

Thanks, Jackie! I posted this at my site. He's very cute. Those chaps! They must have been boiling hot in Texas!

 

I love that he pulls out a pipe to smoke instead of a ciggie.

[rohanaka]

 

What fun, Jackie!! Thanks for posting that link. And what a real treat to see the young Francis Ford too!! And you are right.. am having a hard time seeing the grisled old guy from TQM in that sweet boyish face there, ha.

 

 

Wow, I think that MAY have been one ofhte oldest films I have ever seen. (if not THE oldest) I wonder if 100 yrs ago those guys had any clue that someday down the road I'd be sitting here on my cushy couch with my feet propped up watching them run around out on the Texan landscape. Who knew?? :-)

 

 

This is no *Hell's Hinges*, but maybe that might be a relief to Frank Grimes

 

 

 

 

 

Hahahahahahahaha.. yes.. well.. there's no accounting for taste, is there? HA.

 

 

[CineMaven]

>Hey, I just looked over at the National Film Preservation site and found that they are streaming the recently discovered Billy and His Pal (1911) that was found in New Zealand last year...The film stars a very young and handsome Francis Ford, an absolutely beautiful man who seems to have acted very naturalistically for the time (in the two 1910's films I've seen with him). He's exceptionally graceful for a big galoot and wonderful to look at. This was before he started directing.

 

THAT'S the older man who was in "The Ox-Bow Incident"???!!!!! Holy-----

[JackFavell]

> THAT'S the older man who was in "The Ox-Bow Incident"???!!!!! Holy-----

 

I know!!!

 

 

 

> Thanks, Jackie! I posted this at my site. He's very cute. Those chaps! They must have been boiling hot in Texas!

 

 

I should have gone to look at your site to check! I knew you probably had already seen it.

 

And I thought the same thing about those furry pants! It's amazing he didn't pass out.

 

I wished he _had_ been directing at this point! Death by falling rock seems a tad farfetched. I mean, And he kept trying to inch up the hill... I thought he might do better trying to roll down...

 

> I love that he pulls out a pipe to smoke instead of a ciggie.

 

He cracked me up a couple of times with his bits of business like that. And his hat - the way he played with it when Helen was there reminded me of Henry Fonda later in My Darling Clementine. I loved how courtly he was with Helen.

 

Speaking of Helen, WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH HER?

 

"Helen hasn't decided whether she will marry Jim or not"....

 

Helen, don't be a FOOL!

 

> What fun, Jackie!! Thanks for posting that link. And what a real treat to see the young Francis Ford too!! And you are right.. am having a hard time seeing the grisled old guy from TQM in that sweet boyish face there, ha.

 

I think he shrunk over time..... the only thing I recognize is that thick unruly hair!

 

> Wow, I think that MAY have been one ofhte oldest films I have ever seen. (if not THE oldest) I wonder if 100 yrs ago those guys had any clue that someday down the road I'd be sitting here on my cushy couch with my feet propped up watching them run around out on the Texan landscape. Who knew?? :-)

 

 

I think it's kind of cool to be able to see something this old. It's pretty well done for 1911, thanks to the underplaying of the three leads.

 

The villain, well.... let me just say, he doesn't underplay.

 

I wish there were more of Francis' early movies that survived.

 

Those early moviemakers would stand there with mouths agape if they saw us in the privacy of our homes watching on a little computer screen. I hope they would be happy, but I bet hey'd laugh themselves silly at how dumb we are, sitting inside watching a little box when we could be outside doing something.

 

> This is no Hell's Hinges, but maybe that might be a relief to Frank Grimes

 

> Hahahahahahahaha.. yes.. well.. there's no accounting for taste, is there? HA.

 

Taste has nothing to do with it.

[MissGoddess]

No, it was thanks to you first posting this that I added it to my site today. I hadn't visited the NFPF in a while and would have missed it.

 

101 years ago. It was interesting seeing Helen's outfit. I guess by then ladies rode astride rather than side-saddle (that has got to be the most difficult thing to learn).

 

The death by a rock bit reminded me of a Wyle-E-Coyote cartoon!

 

Francis was working behind the scenes as well as acting in these dusters, but he'd improve quickly on them in just a couple of years.

[JackFavell]

Did I post this before? I thought I had never seen it - hmm. My poor brain! Maybe I posted it and then forgot to watch it myself! Oh dear.

 

I was trying to figure out Helen's outfit too. At first I thought it was a skirt, then I thought it had buttons on the outside edges which could loosen up when she got up in the saddle. Now on second viewing I think it was more of a gaucho style pant or split skirt with wide legs, very forward thinking.

 

>The death by a rock bit reminded me of a Wyle-E-Coyote cartoon!

 

meep meep!

 

Edited by: JackFavell on Mar 11, 2012 6:53 PM

[MissGoddess]

I meant your posting here today, right after I read it I added the info to my own site.

 

Yes, I thought maybe it was a gaucho style split skirt, too...I saw Amanda Blake wear one like it in "Gunsmoke" once.

[JackFavell]

The fact that your sentence could convince me that I posted this before tells you how absent minded I can be.

 

>Yes, I thought maybe it was a gaucho style split skirt, too...I saw Amanda Blake wear one like it in "Gunsmoke" once.

 

I never thought those 1960's shows actually had costumes based in reality!

[MissGoddess]

hahahahaaaa!! well, not her hair and make-up that's for sure.

 

Curiously, in the early shows she is seen riding side saddle with the Eastern style, black broadcloth outfits. Then later on they showed that split skirt that almost looked modern. Now I see from the Francis Ford movie it was pretty accurate!

 

And you have it all together compared to me in the mind-in-absentia department!

 

BTW, i hope to get to *Buchanan Rides Alone* by midweek, if it's not too late to discuss. I just finished watching Randy in a movie made twenty years before the BB westerns and his entrance was almost identical to the one in *Comanche Station*, riding in alone among the mountains, leading pack horses.

[JackFavell]

> BTW, i hope to get to *Buchanan Rides Alone* by midweek, if it's not too late to discuss. I just finished watching Randy in a movie made twenty years before the BB westerns and his entrance was almost identical to the one in *Comanche Station*, riding in alone among the mountains, leading pack horses.

 

I'll watch Buchanan this week too, now that I have the set, it's easy to keep up!

 

What movie was it that had the Comanche Station entrance? He made so many and I haven't yet really gotten into Scott without BB.

 

I saw *Yellow Sky* this week. Despite the fact that in the first three minutes there were a bunch of stupid things that happened, I really liked it. It's a movie of great style. Maybe style over substance, but at least here is another Gregory Peck movie that I loved. I like that 40's and 50's Wellman look in a movie, the lean high contrast black and white, spare and sun baked or sometimes snow covered.

 

I'm recording Wellman all day today.

[fredbaetz]

One of Scott's early westerns is one of my all time favorites. It is "The Desperadoes" from Columbia in 1943. It has the distinction of being Columbia pictures first Technicolor film. Starring Scott as the easy going town marshal and Glenn Ford as his friend {the good bad guy}, Evelyn Keyes as the love interest, Claire Trevor as the "Gal" with the heart of gold saloon owner,, "Big Boy" Williams as the side kick "Nitro" and they call him that for a reason" and those great character actors Edgar Buchanan, Raymond Walburn and Porter Hall.

Directed by Charles Vidor, this is a beautifully shot film. More of a show case for Glenn Ford, "The Desperadoes" is a slam bang rip roaring oater. A whole lot of fun including a spectacular horse stampede , shoot-outs, knock down drag out saloon wrecking bar fight and some laughs along the way. If you've missed this one, reward yourself and I think you'll have a good time....

[JackFavell]

fred -

 

the cast alone sounds like a dream! I love Porter Hall and Edgar Buchanan, and Claire Trevor is tops in anyone's book. If Big Boy is in it, I'm there. Charles Vidor did right by Glenn in *Gilda*, so I'm going to go check and see if I can rent it. Thanks for the tip!

[CineMaven]

Oh my...did someone mention 'Big Boy'?

[wouldbestar]

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{font:Times New Roman}Guinn “Big Boy” Williams was in *The Cowboy and the Senorita* with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. * +*When Cheryl Rogers was at the Festival last year she spoke about how nice he was to her brother and her when they were on the set. I was a fan since his days on *Circus Boy+* with Mickey Braddock/Dolenz and then watching Errol Flynn movies with my mother. “Oh my” indeed. I have to watch for this one. {font}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[movieman1957]

If anyone is up for some more Scott pictures TCM is having a day of them on April 11. 6:30am to 8:00pm will be full of his westerns. Unfortunately, "The Desperados" (which I remember enjoying) is not among them.

[fredbaetz]

I was a big fan of "Big Boy" Williams. He got the nickname from none other then Will Rogers. One of his first film appearances was with Rogers in 1919 "Almost a Husband" and when Rogers met him , Will remarked "My, You're a Big Boy".

 

His pairing with Alan Hale in the Errol Flynn pictures was fun to watch, He along with good friend Will Rogers were avid Polo players. "Big Boy" at one time owned over 100 Polo ponies and was the Captain of the Hollywood Polo team. Sadly, he last picture was "The Comancheros" with friend John Wayne in 1962, he was only 63 years old. His cause of death was uremic poisoning...

 

I think Netflix has "The Desperadoes"....

 

Edited by: fredbaetz on Mar 12, 2012 3:12 PM