Western Movie Rambles

[MissGoddess]

Fantabulous! And if you happen to think of it, could you ask Mr Ford if there are any plans for

him to appear in New York? The Academy is screening *Stagecoach* here in August...I already

have my ticket!

[movieman1957]

"Stagecoach" is playing at the soon-to-be-gone Senator theater in Baltimore. No Dan Ford. Alas, I can't get there.

[HollywoodGolightly]

> {quote:title=movieman1957 wrote:}{quote}

> "Stagecoach" is playing at the soon-to-be-gone Senator theater in Baltimore. No Dan Ford. Alas, I can't get there.

 

A theater in the Bay Area just had a long retrospective in honor of John Wayne - alas I couldn't be there, either.

 

http://www.stanfordtheatre.org/stf/calendars/John%20Wayne.html

[MissGoddess]

OH, Chris, that makes me sad. That's the old time movie theater we talked about a little

while ago, is it not?

[movieman1957]

It is. The city bought the mortgage as part of a foreclosure settlement. No word, that I have seen, on what will become of it. I doubt the city will have any more luck.

[MissGoddess]

The ironic thing is the screenings I've been to generally are packed. I don't know if that's just a

New York or big city thing, though. Maybe it's just "marketing". I just know I'd love to have a little

movie palace of my own.

[HollywoodGolightly]

I see they're playing Yellow Submarine right after Stagecoach. Now I really wish I could go to Baltimore!

[movieman1957]

They crowds have been mixed when I have been there. It is not an easy place to get to. The parking is not great. It is at the north end of town so short of taking a bus you are driving. Coming from the south you have to go all the way around town or through town. Neither is terribly convenient for me.

 

On the other hand we have one of the more popular movie theater chains in the country fairly closely with 24 screens. I guess they couldn't be bothered to set aside a small one on a Saturday morning for our group. Not enough money in it.

[rohanaka]

found this excerpt of a talk "Dobe" gave about Will Rogers:

 

April.. I have had Will Rogers on the brain lately.... (ha) Believe it or not I was googling around for him because... well... I thought I MIGHT want to post some ROPE stuff w/ him (to go along w/ the Ropin' Fool post you made a while back) to act as a bit of coercion for the SHIFTLESS one and the MAD HAT too (I thought we might need some help....ha!)

 

But anyway... while I was in the middle of my "google fest" I started reading about Rogers and WOW... what an interesting person. AND I never knew how he died until reading all that. How TRAGIC. (I don't know why I never bothered to find out his cause of death before... I just assumed heart attack or something.... duh) Very interesting read, though.

 

And what a NICE piece on Carey Jr, too. Thanks for posting that. The more I read about him, the more he sounds like such a REAL sort of guy. (But in a VERY "I've lived a dream life w/ all my Hollywood stories sort of way) ha.

 

PS Ms Cutter:

 

I shall report back here about the gathering on Saturday and the screening of Stagecoach with Dan Ford on Monday.

 

I'm also going to the Gunga Din screening on Friday, June 12th. Ben Burtt and Craig Barron will be talking about the sound design and how it influenced their work on Raiders.

 

WOW... meeting w/ the Carey family and than all THIS!!! Stuff like that NEVER happens in KC. (BAH!) Picture me green, green, green with envy. ha! :-)

 

Enjoy!!! :-)

[MissGoddess]

April.. I have had Will Rogers on the brain lately.... (ha)

Believe it or not I was googling around for him because... well... I thought I MIGHT want to post

some ROPE stuff w/ him (to go along w/ the Ropin' Fool post you made a while back) to act as a

bit of coercion for the SHIFTLESS one and the MAD HAT too (I thought we might need some

help....ha!)

 

 

Willie Boy's ready any time you are!

 

 

 

> But anyway... while I was in the middle of my "google fest" I started reading about Rogers and WOW... what an interesting person. AND I never knew how he died until reading all that. How TRAGIC. (I don't know why I never bothered to find out his cause of death before... I just assumed heart attack or something.... duh) Very interesting read, though.

>

 

Will was known for his inability to sit still, he loved to be on the go. One outlet for this was

flying, and he was an early proponent of air travel. He probably logged more miles than any

other civilian non-pilot in existence at the time. Sadly, it cost him his life at only 55 years

of age.

[JackFavell]

OH MY GOSH, Lynn! How exciting! I am so jealous I could burst....

 

Please tell Mr. Carey that we all love him and wish him and his family the best! That he is often the topic of our conversations here, and that his book is one of the best and most enjoyable I have read about the movies. His reminiscences are like gold! I was just going to say what a good a writer he is. Down to earth and relaxed. Maybe he has another book in the works?

 

And in case *TCM PROGRAMMER* is reading: It would be great if *TCM WOULD CALL HARRY CAREY, JR. FOR A GUEST APPEARANCE AND EXTENDED INTERVIEW........*

 

Message was edited by: JackFavell

[rohanaka]

Well THIS is not the movie I thought I would end up jabbering about tonight... but I just wanted to give a brief nod to Angel and the Badman. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this one again. It has been a LONG time since I last saw it. (Even though I have it on a VERY poor qulality DVD that I got as a large package along w/ McClintock and several other (short) OLD Duke films... I have just put off watching it for some time now.) But then when I saw it was on tonight.... I decided TCM's HAD to be better than MINE... so I settled in and enjoyed the show. (the QT and the kidling watched too.) We all enjoyed it (though for the most part the kidling's interest was hit and miss)

 

It is NOT the best Duke film ever.... but a nice story with some good old fashioned "moral" lessons for the young upstart of a "bad man" that make it a nice tale to watch as it unfolds. I especially like how Quirt's brief return to his old ways was no longer satisfying to him as the influence of the woman he'd come to love was now giving him an interest in "a better way". (no matter how he fought it) And the love story between him and "the angel" was very sweet and endearing.

 

It was nice to see Dobe's daddy too.... after all the chat about the younger Carey on here today. He is always fun in a western. I liked the ending line too... about how he was going to hang Quirt's gun on the wall.... with a "new" ROPE. (and he meant that in a GOOD way)

 

(You knew I would have to get the word "rope" in here SOMEHOW, somewhere.ha) :-)

 

But my favorite bit had to be "Neighbor Carson".... I liked how that all played out. Quirt thought he was "bullying" old Carson to do the right thing... and at first, that was true. But by the time it was all over... Carson was so happy about the outcome of things.... he was actually GLAD to be neighborly. That was a fun twist.

 

Ok.... so this one is not a "deep thinker" of a movie... but a still a nice, old fashioned "fun" western with a good mix of some action, some enteraining moments, some entertaining characters.... and a very sweet romance as well.

[MissGoddess]

Howdy, Kathy!

 

I have a soft spot in my heart for Angel and the Badman and no matter how often

it comes on (Encore Westerns plays it alot) I generally sit and watch it. I just love Duke

with little Gail and I really enjoyed "Tiny" Lister's and Robert Osborne's discussion last

night. Boy, Robert O. is really fond of little Gail, ha! I've seldom seen him so enthusiastic

about a performer.

 

I love Harry in this movie, though he looks very thin, as if he'd been ill and that pains me

a little. His presence is just a really soothing thing in a movie. I love listening to his voice.

 

[movieman1957]

At last, something I can add to. (I've felt lost in the wilderness in the Rambles thread for a week.) Kathy is right, this is not a great western but it is a most enjoyable one. Gail and Duke are wonderful together. This is Gail's best role, IMO, and she seems so well suited for it. I like the mother as well.

 

My favorite secondary character is the doctor. He can not grasp the faith and reasoning of the family. At every turn the mother has an answer for the cynicism of the doctor. He argues science and she argues faith and they can only agree to disagree.

 

Carey is his usual crusty, wise old self. His passive determination to get Duke but on his time and terms adds a little to the tension of the situation. Somehow, I thought he would come to a point where he would let it go anyway.

 

A nice film. Easy on the eyes and always worth the time.

[HollywoodGolightly]

Chris,

I didn't get a chance to watch this last night, but I imagine it must feel great for a Western fan like yourself to watch Gail in her prime. Did you like her in her later roles, like Seven Men From Now ?

 

I remember from watching documentaries of that one that she hit a rough spot in her career in the early 50s, but that the Duke stood by her and helped get her cast in that Budd Boetticher western. What a great guy he was to her!

[MissGoddess]

Hi Chris!

 

Funny, shortly after seeing the Doctor (Tom Powers) in *Angel and the Badman*, I saw

him again last night in the Randy Scott western, *10 Wanted Men*. Irene Rich played

Mrs Worth, she was frequently Will Rogers' leading lady in the days when he still had

a leading lady.

 

Yes, I just had to get in another Willie Boy reference.

[movieman1957]

I have only seen Gail in "Wake of The Red Witch" and "Seven Men From Now." I enjoyed her work in both but she had a better part in "Seven Men" and thought she did a fine job. There are still some left to see.

[movieman1957]

April:

 

I saw him in something recently, couldn't tell you what, and it took me a minute to figure him out but he sure plays that part well.

 

I have "Judge Priest" coming next week (along with Dr. Bull) so I should be able to get in on Will if you are still chatting about him.

[rohanaka]

Hellooooooooo Apri!!

 

I just love Duke with little Gail and I really enjoyed "Tiny" Lister's and Robert Osborne's discussion last night. Boy, Robert O. is really fond of little Gail, ha! I've seldom seen him so enthusiastic about a performer.

 

"A soft spot" is a good way to describe this movie... It is just so endearing. You can't (or at least I can't) help but enjoy it. After watching it last night, I was almost a bit "mad" at myself for waiting so long to see it again. It had been YEARS (possible even decades) since I last watched it and again... I even have that DVD set w/ this movie on it... so.... shame on me.... ha.

 

I enjoyed Mr. O's chat w/ Lister too. It was a nice little extra at the beginning and end of the movie. And you are right. He does seem to have a 'soft spot" for little Gail. I think maybe tragic life stories can do that sometimes.. especially centered around someone who just seemed to have had such potential and lost it all. Such a sad story.

 

love Harry in this movie, though he looks very thin, as if he'd been ill and that pains me

a little. His presence is just a really soothing thing in a movie. I love listening to his voice

 

His voice was so calm and steady and sure. He was definitely a "walk softly/big stick" sort of guy in this one. And I liked the shot you posted here of him leaning up agains that post... I almost commented on that last night... he seemed to bend at odd angles sometimes.... it was an "interesting" quirk to his character... but maybe it was just HIM. Anyway... it added to the whole package to watch him move like that. (And... he also had a great way of wearing a hat... just so.) And I liked the way he sort of sat back and watched things unfold w/ Quirt. He had is "opinions" about things... but he also let the facts speak for themselves. It was a good character for him.

 

Another character that I just thorughly enjoyed was the telegraph operator. (though his name escapes me now) WHAT a crack up. I loved when he comes in that saloon to call Laredo out for Quirt and makes this grand entrance... he says something like.. "Men, don't get excited!" And the way he spent half his time bragging that he knew Quirt Evans and the other half of his time trying to dodge getting beat up because he'd bragged too much.... ha.... too funny.

 

PS Chris...

 

My favorite secondary character is the doctor. He can not grasp the faith and reasoning of the family

 

That was another part that I really enjoyed in this film. He really seemed to care about the family despite being "jaded" and more or less "faithless" in he fellow man. I think he saw them as a refreshing change from some of the less savory characters he often was forced to deal with in his line of work. And he was almost "protective" of them in a way.

 

At every turn the mother has an answer for the cynicism of the doctor. He argues science and she argues faith and they can only agree to disagree.

 

THAT is a perfect way to describe their conversations. I liked how that all played out w/ them.

[MissGoddess]

Hi Chris,

 

If you have a soft spot for nostalgia, you should enjoy the Rogers films. *Doctor Bull* is my

favorite, though the least regarded of the three he did with Ford. I like it because it is a little bit

more serious and because of the novelty of seeing Will with a girlfriend. In fact, I'm feeling a

little bit sad because I just finished Ben Yagoda's wonderful biography of Will Rogers

and of course, reading the end is so disheartening. He was irreplaceable.

 

Message was edited by: MissGoddess

[movieman1957]

*If you have a soft spot for nostalgia,*

 

Good or bad, I have a big soft spot.

[JackFavell]

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I finally got on! I am like an addict going through withdrawal....

 

I just loved Tiny last night! His own story was so inspiring..... he was definitely a great programmer. One of my faves so far.

 

Then I'm watching Angel and the Duke... and the first shot of Harry Carey....he's sitting atop his horse, and he sort of leaned back sideways and grabbed his elbow..... it was just unmistakable... I started bawling. Not even 10 minutes into the movie. Talk about a softie!

 

I like how you said he was all angles and bends..... perfect description.

[MissGoddess]

I posted this in my thread for the film itself,

http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/thread.jspa?threadID=138168&tstart=0

but just in case you miss it, TCM is airing The Horse Soldiers

this coming monday night at 11:45 p.m. EST as part of their prime time

spotlight on directors.

 

Don't miss Peter B's documentary at 8:00, too.

[rohanaka]

The Horse Soldiers

 

Woo Hoo!! I have been looking forward to this since I saw it on the June schedule a week or so ago!!! Yee haw! This is one of the Duke films I have been wanting to see for like.... FOREVER!! And I am also looking forward to the Bogdanovich documentary as well that night... in fact... the entire evening is going to be a good night to settle in w/ some popcorn and soda pop (and THE VCR so I can TAPE the couple of things I DON'T have and then just enjoy watching it all in one big Ford/Duke film fest spectacular!!! Ha. (Hey.. did I mention "woo hoo??)

 

Ok so... in preparation for all this I have my request in for a TCM reminder .... because... well... I need all the help I can get.. ha. But I am still looking to hire that personal secretary to keep reminding me that this is all coming on so I don't SCREW up (yet again) and forget it!! ha!! (UGH.... I am such a lame brain) I WOULD offer a large salary w/ benefits package... but... alas... I can only afford to pay in chocolate....

 

 

(April?? Chris??? Jackie?? Bronxie?? Is someone needing a second job or anything???) HA!!!

[MissGoddess]

Ha! Don't worry, if I'm still here I'll be pestering the life out of you with reminders.

And I'll take plain milk and dark chocolate, please.