tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19084733221909068772024-03-05T10:09:28.976-06:00SPECTRE OF THE GUNScott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-27963837403059939082014-03-21T21:21:00.000-05:002014-04-13T01:20:37.575-05:00Blood On the Moon (1948)<i>Directed by Robert Wise. Starring Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Preston, Frank Faylen and Walter Brennan as Kris Barden!</i><br />
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A shadowy noir-infused western soaked in adult themes and shady characters.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">*SPOILERS*</span></b> Robert Mitchum plays hired gunman "Jim Garry", called into town by his old friend to help him fellow homesteaders stand up to local cattle baron John Lufton (a wonderful Tom Tully). Jim comes to cross paths with Lufton's daughter, Amy (a fiery Barbara Bel Geddes). He eventually realizes that he not only has feelings for Amy, but that he was brought in under phony pretense by his slimy friend, Tate Riling (a fantastic bit of villainy by Robert Preston).</div>
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Walter Brennan plays one of the fellow homesteaders that early on is joined with Tate Riling in their quest against John Lufton. When a planned cattle raid goes awry, Brennan's son winds up dead. From that point on he realizes he was wrong, that he should have talked it out with Lufton instead of taking the cattle by force. He joins up with Jim and Amy, and along with Lufton they come up with a plan to stop Tate Riling. Frank Faylan pops up as one of Tate Riling's goons. In a great bit Mitchum tricks Faylen, leading him out into the middle of nowhere so he can't notify Riling that Mitchum switched sides.</div>
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Robert Wise directs BLOOD ON THE MOON like a fine film noir drenched in black and white. It opens during a rain storm at night and though much of it is shot on location a lot of it takes place at night. It has a somber tone and when Brennan's character loses his son it's ramification effects everyone's motivations, unlike the human fodder showcased in most oaters of the time.</div>
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Robert Mitchum plays the deep thinking brooding gun-for-hire to a "T". His presence as a cowboy fits just as comfortable as his roles in crime noir. The difference is strictly window dressing, the motivations and set-up are similar, the tone and atmosphere are also very similar. This movie looks forward to the more adult and psychological westerns that would be made in the following years, those of Budd Boetticher and Anthony Mann. And especially that of Mitchum's own similar role in MAN WITH A GUN (1955).</div>
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If there is one complaint it's a goofy one, the film ends on too much of a happy note. The bad guy dies and in a throwaway line Amy's insinuates her and Jim will now be married, just like that. Jim shrugs and they practically skip into the sunset. After all the rain and dark nights it just doesn't sit right. I guess it was just a convention of westerns at the time. True film noir ends mostly in tragedy, in my opinion. Almost reaching the goal then losing it. But I still love this movie, Mitchum's Jim Garry earned his happy ending.</div>
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<br />Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-23845019366119769972014-03-20T22:55:00.000-05:002015-06-27T01:16:23.621-05:00The Walking Hills (1949)<i>Directed by John Sturges. Starring Randolph Scott, Ella Raines, Arthur Kennedy and Edgar Buchanan as Old Willy!</i><br />
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Sturges assembles a great group of actors for this contemporary noir western taking place in then current times of 1949. The presence of Randolph Scott and Edgar Buchanan keep it firmly rooted in the genre but the whole approach is more adult and sinister than the B-movie programmers the stars were known for.</div>
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The movie opens on a group of people playing cards in the back room of a border town. Each character has a shady past that they are trying to run away from. When they discover the local folklore of buried treasure in the sand dunes may be true they decide to sneak into the Mexican desert at night and begin to dig. Eventually secrets, emotion and a sand storm threaten to tear everything apart.</div>
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Terrific looking black and white photography give this western a wonderful noir inspired look. Made before HANGMAN'S KNOT this truly seems like the first step Randolph Scott would take toward making a more mature western film, eventually coming to fruition in the movies he did with Budd Boetticher. At 78 minutes this is every bit as good, IMO.</div>
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Guitarist, singer, songwriter Josh White is on hand as part of the group of treasure hunters. White sings and plays guitar while they dig, when they eat and when they're just standing around at night. It's the perfect kind of blues that you need when you are in the middle of a desert digging for gold.</div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-18302122630334584522014-03-16T01:08:00.001-05:002017-01-02T22:56:57.704-06:00Ride Lonesome (1959)<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Directed by Budd Boetticher, starring Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts, Lee Van Cleef, and introducing James Coburn as Whit!</span></i><br />
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<i><b>"A man could do that."</b></i><br />
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The apex of Budd Boetticher / Randolph Scott Ranown pictures. COMANCHE STATION (1960) may have come after and even though it's very good it just isn't as perfect as RIDE LONESOME. </div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">*SPOILERS*</span></b> In RIDE LONESOME Randolph Scott plays "Ben Brigade", a man who captures Billy John (James Best), to use him to exact revenge on his brother Frank (Lee Van Cleef) for killing his wife. Along the way he saves a woman, played by Karen Steele, from an Indian attack at the station she was working. Two outlaws tag along played wonderfully by Pernell Roberts and James Coburn in his big screen debut. They quickly discover Karen Steele's husband to be dead so all three join together to evade the Indians. Roberts and Coburn ride along in with the hopes of turning on Scott to use Billy John as their way of gaining amnesty.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>SHOOT IT IN LONE PINE!</i></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The film opens on location amid the beautiful rocky hills of Lone Pine! Randolph is colder and more rugged than ever before. The loss of his wife has eaten away at him, he is a shell of a man hell bent on revenge. It's great! Karen Steele lights up the screen, the affection of every Indian Chief and outlaw around. She falls for Randolph but he is still grieving for his long lost wife. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once again the outlaws steal the show. Pernell Roberts and James Coburn are a riot. They are the heart and soul of this film. In the previous films 7 MEN FROM NOW and THE TALL T the outlaws are friendly with Scott but in the end he is forced to take them out. RIDE LONESOME switches that convention, this time allowing them to actually become friends and earn their happy ending. Their plan of double crossing Scott never has a chance to come to fruition. In the end Scott accepts his sadness and allows the two outlaws a chance of a better life, one that he can never have. The villains Billy John and his brother Frank played by Lee Van Cleef are easily dispatched by Scott. James Best is great as the weasely "Billy John", but if the movie has one fault it's the amount of screen time for Lee. It is much too short, his character could have used a touch more fleshing out. But that's a minor nitpick in an otherwise perfect film.</span></div>
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<br />Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-11394049548923771552014-03-15T23:08:00.004-05:002014-04-05T00:59:18.142-05:00The Tall T (1957)<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Directed by Budd Boetticher - starring Randolph Scott, </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Richard Boone, Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry Silva and Skip Homeier (as Billy Jack)</i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>"Cherry Striped Candy."</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With those words by "Pat Brennan" (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Randolph Scott) a sunny tone is set, and for the first act the antics are kept humorous and light. Scott meets with a Station hand and his son and the young boy excitedly asks Scott if he could pick up some candy for him during his trip to town. Once in town Randolph rides a bull and loses his horse in a good-natured bet. Jumping into the drinking trough just to avoid getting gouged! Scott grabs his saddle sans horse and walks outta town. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">*SPOILERS*</span></b> Along the way he hitches a ride from a newlywed couple played by </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John Hubbard and Maureen O'Sullivan, the daughter of a big-time ranch baron. The husband having only married O'Sullivan for her father's money. At the station they find out that the owner and the boy have been killed and their bodies dumped in the well by thieves played by Richard Boone, Henry Silva and Skip Homeier</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The tone immediately shifts from light-hearted to grim and gritty. Eventually the husband attempts to make a deal that lets him leave to go to his father-in-law to bring back ransom money in exchange for his wife. He's really only doing to save himself and happily leaves his wife behind, leaving Scott to come up with a plan to save him and the wife. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patrick Boone's character begins to take a liking to Scott seeing him more as an equal than the two grunts he rides with. In the meantime sexual tension between Maureen O'Sullivan and Randolph Scott begins to rise.</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Shot in Lone Pine!</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Budd continues to get his low budget money's worth by filming in the rocky hills of the wonderful Lone Pine location. Once settled in the story mostly takes place in a small area, the cave where they are keeping Scott and O'Sulivan captive and outside the cave where the bandits have a small camp set up. It's so simple it could practically work as a stage play. It's all framed up beautifully.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">THE TALL T is adapted from the original story "<i>The Captives</i>" by Elmore Leonard and it builds on the template of 7 MEN FROM NOW providing Randolph Scott with a wife of a weak willed man to fall in love with, and ultimately save the day for. Maureen O'Sullivan is understated in her performance as the plain looking wife who is eventually brought out of her shell by the sexual energy between her and Randolph.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The villains all continue to shine, all three character actors feel like a real danger yet at the same time enough back story is given to keep them from being one-dimensional goons. Again you can almost see Scott and Boone being friends had things been different. Henry Silva is a riot as usual, just completely chewing up the scenery. Skip Homeier is great as the dim-witted Billy Jack, Skip also appears later in Budd's COMANCHE STATION (1960) to great effect.</span></div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-42879660381678447312014-02-23T21:20:00.000-06:002014-04-05T01:01:30.750-05:00Seven Men from Now (1956)<em>Directed by Budd Boetticher - starring Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin and Walter Reed</em><br />
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Randolph Scott plays <em>'Ben Stride', </em>a sheriff whose wife was killed during a Wells Fargo robbery. He's in pursuit of the thieves and their loot when he happens across a troubled married couple (Gail Russell and Walter Reed). He helps them get their wagon unstuck from the mud and in the process begins to find himself drawn to the wife.</div>
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The three eventually meet up with Lee Marvin, who's in pursuit of the stolen loot. He knows Scott's history and who he really is, he also picks up the attraction Scott has for Russell and begins to make things unbelievably uncomfortable for the two of them, and her milquetoast husband.</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SHOOT IT IN LONE PINE!</span></i></b><br />
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This is the film that kickstarted the Ranown film cycle, the collaborations between Budd Boetticher and Randolph Scott. And also Burt Kennedy, who is as equally an important part of the formula. This movie and the films that followed changed the landscape. They were westerns that weren't just about cowboys and Indians, but rather they were about characters and relationships. They were about our flaws and imperfections. The villains weren't always so bad and the heroes had issues. Budd had small budgets but the look of these films are all first class, shot on location in LONE PINE, the setting ties them together giving them a kind of visual continuity.</div>
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Randolph Scott is great, playing a less smiley character than usual and more of a tortured soul. Gail Russell is the perfect Budd/Scott love interest. Karen Steele may have more pin-up girl appeal, but Gail has a magnetic charged sexuality. Her sap of a husband is admirably played by Walter Reed. It's a thankless role but he really sells himself as a fish out of water in over his head in this new frontier full of men who know how to take charge and survive.</div>
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But it's Lee Marvin who steals the show as a sketchy foil for Scott who is after the stolen loot. The screen can barely contain him. From the moment he steps into frame he oozes charm. You'd wish he was friends with Scott instead off being at odds with him, a theme that runs through the best Boetticher /Scott collaborations (The Tall T, Ride Lonesome, Comanche Station).</div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-57648243253895157732010-02-07T14:36:00.015-06:002014-03-22T23:02:11.058-05:00The Man from Laramie (1955)<em>Directed by Anthony Mann - starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Alex Nicol, Cathy O'Donnell and Aline MacMahon as 'Kate Canady'</em><br />
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Stewart plays 'Will Lockhart', an ex-soldier seeking revenge for the death of his brother who was killed by Apaches using rifles. While trying to investigate who sold the Indians the guns, Lockhart runs afoul of powerful cattle baron Alec Waggoman (a superb Donald Crisp) and his spoiled brat of a son, Dave (Alex Nicol). </div>
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Alex Nicol is great as the whiney spoiled manchild, Dave. Throwing his weight around and showing off he picks on outsider Lockhart. He tosses a rope around him and drags him through a campfire, burns down his wagons and shoots his mules (off camera)! Dave is upsurped by Vic Hansbro (Arthur Kennedy) who runs the ranch himself and is like a son to Alec, possibly moreso than Dave. </div>
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Cathy O'Donnell plays 'Barbara Waggoman' caught between the love of Vic and Lockhart, the stranger, and a <em>much</em> older man. Cathy isn't given much to do but has a couple cute scenes with Stewart, one where they're drinking tea and carrying on.</div>
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Lockhart gets framed for knifing a wino (Jack Elam!) in a back alley and gets bailed out by Kate Canady (a spirited Aline MacMahon). She's an old love of Alec's and his only true competition in the country. She wants Lockhart to help her run the ranch. He wants nothing to do with it but needs her help so he agrees and begins looking over the cattle. What follows is one the most shocking sadistic scenes of violence in a pre-1960's mainstream picture, as if the poor mules weren't already enough. It's great.</div>
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THE MAN FROM LARAMIE is one of the best films of the genre, and possibly Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart's best film together. The relationships are grey and not everyone is as good or bad as they seem to be at first. Lots of ideas about fate, tragedy and love. Especially between the KING LEAR inspired good son/bad son. There's quite a bit of plot but it never gets bogged down and has a nice pace that is always moving and interesting. The New Mexico locations shot in CinemaScope are stunning, with expansive sweeping shots of the desert, the salt flats and the various ranches look beautiful. It's too bad Mann and Stewart didn't get to do more films together in Scope.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: right;">Six six-guns are pointed at James Stewart in this publicity still for the Columbia Pictures release,<br />The Man from Laramie (1955)</span></div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-88192012525573086472010-02-06T17:50:00.010-06:002014-04-05T01:08:48.357-05:00The Law and Jake Wade (1958)<em>Directed by John Sturges - starring Robert Taylor, Richard Widmark, Patricia Owens, Henry Silva and DeForest Kelley as 'Wexler'</em><br />
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Robert Taylor plays 'Marshal Jake Wade', a reformed outlaw who breaks his old pal 'Clint Hollister' (an excellent Richard Widmark) outta jail to pay back an old debt, thus saving him from a hangin'. Jake now lives a simple life with his soon-to-be bride 'Peggy' (Patrica Owens). But Hollister and his gang have other plans. Years ago Jake buried the money from their last job, and now Clint Hollister wants his cut.</div>
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Robert Taylor is a bit of a stiff here and I just can't warm up to him. The real reason to see this movie is for Richard Widmark and his gang of baddies, including Henry Silva and DeForest Kelley, who steal every scene. I just about died when Henry Silva sez with a straight face that he's from Kansas. Bones has a great southern accent and is hot to see Taylor get his. So is Silva. So is me. Widmark is great as usual, playing a likable jerk. I genuinely felt bad when Talor sez to him at the end, "<em>I never liked you as much as you liked me.</em>" Widmark is devestated. He curls up and dies inside. In a fit of anger he throws his cigarette to the ground and stomps away. Patricia Owens has the thankless role of being the captive woman with nothing to do, but she looks good doing it.</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SHOT IN LONE PINE!</span></i></b><br />
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And directed by John Sturges. This b-movie has swell production value, beautiful mountain vistas and a great shootout in a ghost town. The night scenes are stage-bound but sometimes I kinda prefer that to day-for-night. A solid western that is worth seeing for the locations and character actors. And I guess for fans of Robert Taylor's sad face.</div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-38144244701461339652010-01-31T11:30:00.011-06:002015-06-27T01:09:28.264-05:00No Name on the Bullet (1959)<em>Directed by Jack Arnold - starring Audie Murphy and Charles Drake</em><br />
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Audie Murphy plays a quick-draw hitman who strolls into town and without lifting a finger or saying a word upsets the whole place and turns it's town folks on each other. He befriends a <em>physician</em> (Charles Drake), who takes a curious liking to Murphy, playing him in chess and picking his brain about who he's there to kill. Murphy's very presence brings out the paranoia and everyone with a shady past thinks they might be the target.</div>
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<strong><span style="color: red;">** SPOILERS **</span></strong> Audie Murphy plays a believable villain in this. His character's trick is that he always gets his hit to draw on him first, clearing Audie of any crime. At the end of the film when it's revealed the target is an old man all Murphy has to do is get him excited and he has a heart attack on the front porch. Charles Drake as 'The Physician' plays the would-be-hero, finally turning on Murphy and throws a giant hammer, hitting Murphy in the arm. Blood dripping down his hand, Murphy crawls up on his horse and rides outta town. The End.</div>
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Directed by Jack Arnold, the movie opens with great views of the countryside but once Audie gets to town it mostly takes place in the saloon and backrooms. Kinda' psychological character study of small towns and one of Murphy's best westerns.</div>
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<em>Sent into us by reader Barry M - "Gene L. Coon wrote this, says IMDB. Probably most famous as writer and producer for Star Trek, and writer of the <strong>Spectre of the Gun</strong> episode!"</em></div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-30492199829772316072010-01-30T16:47:00.010-06:002014-04-05T01:07:26.914-05:00Hangman's Knot (1952)<em>Directed by Roy Huggins - starring Randolph Scott, Lee Marvin, Donna Reed, Claude Jarman Jr., Frank Faylen and Richard Denning</em><br />
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A group of Confederate soldiers led by 'Major Matt Stewart' (Randolph Scott) rob a Union gold shipment and kill all the men. The last soldier tells them with his dying breath that war was over a month ago, the South lost and now they'll be pegged as murderous robbers. With a group of deputies after them they hijack a stagecoach and take the passengers hostage in a station house. They find out the deputies are really bounty hunters after the gold and they're prepared to kill everyone to get it. Including the hostages!</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SHOOT IT IN LONE PINE!</span></i></b><br />
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Lean at 81 minutes the film opens in rocky Lone Pine! but quickly settles into a single room for the rest of the movie. <span style="color: red;"><strong>**SPOILERS**</strong></span> Lee Marvin in an early role plays 'Rolph Bainter' a trigger happy soldier who's at odds with Scott, eventually leading to a great fist-fight where Scott falls in the fireplace and they both tear the house apart. Donna Reed is 'Molly Hull' a nurse for the Union engaged to 'Lee Kemper' (Richard Jenning), a real jerk who only looks out for himself. Claude Jarman Jr. is 'Jamie' a young member of Scott's gang who's yet to kill and has to grow up quick. Clem Bevans runs the Station with his daughter, her son recently killed by Confederate soldiers, she despises Scott and his gang. The bounty hunters eventually grow impatient and start fighting within themselves with everything coming to a head when they set the Station on fire. A terrific western in the mold of the Scott/Boetticher films. </div>
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<em>"I'm coming home to ya Bessie, this time for good."</em></div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-6222625130111984832010-01-29T12:20:00.012-06:002014-04-05T01:10:51.625-05:00Man With the Gun (1955)<em>Directed by Richard Wilson - starring Robert Mitchum, Henry Hull, Jan Sterling and Karen Sharpe</em><br />
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The movie opens with a man shooting a dog in front of a young boy in the middle of the street, thus setting the grim tone of what's to follow.</div>
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Robert Mitchum plays 'Clint Tollinger', a man who comes to town looking for his wife, Nelly Bain (Jan Sterling), who ran away from him and who now runs a saloon full of girls. Clint has a reputation as a town tamer and once the folks in town learn of his presence they decide to employ him to clean up their act and rid them of a ruthless cattle baron, Dade Holman (an un-credited Joe Barry), who's been taking them over with his violent ways. Unfortunately for the town they soon find out that the medicine is almost as bad as the cure.</div>
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Henry Hull plays the town Sheriff, a weathered tired old man who refuses to stand up to Dade Holman and his goons. He deputizes Clint and tries to stay out of his way only helping once things start to tip in their favor. A young man named Jeff Castle (John Lupton) is the only one in town who's willing to fight for his land. Holman's thugs having burnt down his new house and knocked him around. Jeff is looking to take back what's rightfully his back but he doesn't stand a chance and his hot-headedness risks him losing his soon-to-be bride, Stella Akins (Karen Sharpe). Stella, along with most of the women in town, take an immediate liking to Clint. This is picked up by Clint's wife who gets jealous of the younger woman, who Clint says reminds him of her when she was younger and more innocent.<br />
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A quick paced western-noir that has Mitchum playing a troubled man right set to explode. Mitchum rides into town and locates his wife only to find that she wants nothing to do with him, that is unless he wants to put his guns down. He doesn't. Gunslinging is all he knows. He rids the town of most of the riff-raff then waits for their boss to show. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8vV11aOGF8zOMtr1224ZtapDI7QSpi_RSushWnP1By6cuEEP0BFUXoVcmSpNo63s3AD4_1eyhNRKfgCxAA9U7fUrKayOw5VgB6l4XO4Kb23hEXGefUOun3KnHVGAhud0IoBzTgqhRrw/s1600-h/Man-With-A-Gun_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8vV11aOGF8zOMtr1224ZtapDI7QSpi_RSushWnP1By6cuEEP0BFUXoVcmSpNo63s3AD4_1eyhNRKfgCxAA9U7fUrKayOw5VgB6l4XO4Kb23hEXGefUOun3KnHVGAhud0IoBzTgqhRrw/s320/Man-With-A-Gun_01.jpg" height="234" kt="true" width="320" /></a><strong><span style="color: red;">**SPOILERS**</span></strong> In a heated discussion he finds out from his wife that their daughter died years ago from influenza and she's been keeping it a secret, punishing herself over it. Mitchum's rage boils over and he darts out the room. He walks over to Dade Holman's saloon and coaxes the crooked manager into a fight, killing him, then sets the building ablaze, risking the whole town of burning down.<br />
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He stands aside sweating, in awe of the fire as the townsfolk rush to wet down the nearby buildings.</div>
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There are several un-credited cameos by bit players. A young Angie Dickinson can be seen in the group of dancing girls and Claude Akins is one of Holman's gang who tries to shoot Mitchum with a gun hidden in is hat. Directed by Richard Wilson, a protégé of Orson Welles, and shot in glorious black and white. The film fits in nicely with Mitchum's other noir-like westerns: BLOOD ON THE MOON and PURSUED. All three are worth seeking out for fans of noir and adult westerns of the 1940's and 50's.</div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-36319650931716824352010-01-24T17:09:00.009-06:002015-06-27T01:17:26.028-05:00Night Passage (1957)<em>Directed by James Neilson - starring Jimmy Stewart, Audie Murphy and Dan Duryea</em><br />
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Stewart plays 'Grant McLaine', an accordion player hired to deliver payroll for a railroad and gets robbed by a gang lead by 'Whitey Harbin' (a villainous Dan Duryea) and Grant's own brother the 'Utica Kid' (Audie Murphy). Dianne Foster and Elaine Stewart play the brother's old flames but the movie doesn't get too deep and mostly follows what's expected.</div>
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Anthony Mann was set to direct but he had a falling out with Stewart so they split. The script by Borden Chase is similar to the Mann/Stewart pairings but lighter in tone. Stewart is playing a broader more typical role and sings two tunes with an accordion. There's also a kid played by Brandon De Wilde that Stewart saves early on from a brutish Robert J. Wilke. The best scenes are when the gang is holed up in a ghost town saloon. There's some sexual tension as Dan Duryea and his group of mugs fight over a single woman. This turns into a power play between Audie Murphy and Duryea over who leads the gang. Dan Duryea is a joy to watch as he acts circles around Murphy and bosses the gang around. </div>
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Jack Elam and Jay C. Flippin' show up to do their thing but the real star is the Colorado scenery. The film has a great golden autumn hue and the scenes aboard the train as it travels through the mountainside are breathtaking. But there seems to be a bit more rear projection than usual and a few stage-bound shots. It all ends with a fantastic shootout in a rundown mill, with everybody getting what they properly deserve. While it never reaches the complex qualities of the Mann pictures it's still a lot better than most westerns.</div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-66100682751525502562010-01-24T14:04:00.015-06:002015-06-27T01:16:08.767-05:00Garden of Evil (1954)<em>Directed by Henry Hathaway - starring Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, Richard Widmark, Cameron Mitchell and Rita Moreno</em><br />
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Stuck at a port town in Mexico with a broken steamer, three men (Cooper, Widmark and Mitchell) sitting in a cantina get hired by Susan Hayward to travel with her and save her husband who's trapped in a gold mine shaft. She pays them two thousand dollars a piece and hires a Mexican for one thousand. The catch? They have to travel through Apache country during a special Apache holiday called 'Moon of the White Man', from when they wiped out all of the settlements.</div>
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Richard Widmark plays a gambler full of wit and great one-liners. Cameron Mitchell plays a hotheaded bounty hunter who continually tests Gary Cooper until Cooper hands it to him. Cooper beats Mitchell into a campfire until he cries. Then he wipes his face clean, tells him it's going to be alright and sends him to bed. Susan Hayward mugs on and Widmark smiles.</div>
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Shot on location in Mexico and the first Fox western shot in CinemaScope, THE GARDEN OF EVIL is a beautiful color adventure with striking imagery. It opens with a cute song and dance number by Rita Moreno. The group then heads out across the lush green countryside and onto steep mountains (with matte paintings?) The town of the mine shaft is covered in real ash from a nearby volcano. There's a great scene when they first approach town and we see a giant wall of blackened lava. <strong><span style="color: red;">**SPOILERS**</span></strong> When they reach the husband he's ungrateful and tells Susan Hayward off. Cooper tells it like it is:" <em>You took him too far. You took him over his head. You made a coward of him and he hates you for it. It could happen to any man, ... with a woman like you."</em> Susan plays an intense cold-hearted woman. She eats Richard Widmark alive telling him, "<em>You're nothing.</em>" You can just see his soul die. It's great.</div>
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Coop tells her he's an ex-Sheriff and they need to leave, the Indians are coming. But her husband can't ride so they have to carry him, and the gold. Susan acts stubborn and insists on staying to psych-out the Indians, so Coop slugs her and everybody takes off. What follows is a dangerous chase full of risky adventure and awesome spills. A bit of a low-rent TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, the film is a fun colorful tale of greed and lust set against great Mexico locations.</div>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">"The Garden of Evil, ... if the earth was made of gold, I guess men would die for a handful of dirt."</span></em><br />
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-19005291976436101032010-01-24T11:32:00.013-06:002014-03-22T23:06:28.076-05:00The Last Frontier (1955)<em>Directed by Anthony Mann - starring Victor Mature, Guy Madison, Robert Preston, James Whitmore and Anne Bancroft</em><br />
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Victor Mature plays 'Jed Cooper', a Baby Huey-like trapper born on the frontier living with his two friends, a fatherly James Whitmore as 'Gus' and their Indian pal 'Mungo' (Pat Hogan). Being told by the local Indian tribe that they aren't welcome anymore and must move, Jed decides to sign up as a scout at an army fort and his mountain men friends reluctantly agree to follow.</div>
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Captain Riordon (Guy Madison) takes a liking to Jed and promises him a soldiers uniform once the mountain men are ready to become 'civilized'. The camp is led by the bloodthirsty Col. Frank Marston, (played with a loony glee by Robert Preston). Col. Marston recently lost a thousand men in a battle he wrongly led and is crazed with revenge looking to redeem himself. Ann Bancroft plays his wife, the only woman living at the fort. She's disappointed with her husband but stands by him regardless, until she meets Jed. She's attracted to his ruggedness but put off by his lack of proper civilized manners.</div>
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The Indian threat grows closer and Jed fights to find if he can become civilized and live a stable life or if he's just the hopeless savage everyone says he is. </div>
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Shot in Mexico! But you'd never guess, it looks just like Oregon. <strong><span style="color: red;">**SPOILERS**</span></strong> This movie can be summed up as: Victor Mature gets drunk, gets laid and then it snows. Snow in any western is always a plus. The real reason to watch this movie is for Victor Mature's drunkenly brazen man-child performance. If you've only seen Mature as a film noir straight man you'll be surprised at how great he is here as the uncouth but lovable frontiersman. He drinks and he laughs and he goofs, like a big kid just enjoying life. There's great sexual tension, and a little bit of fear, when Mature drunkenly stumbles into Bancroft's room. We know he does whatever he feels but he hasn't shown himself to be mean-spirited or violent. Her husband the Col. only has lust for killing, with no real honor. He's a stiff and a stickler, just about the exact opposite of Jed.</div>
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Overshadowed by Anthony Mann's other westerns, THE LAST FRONTIER is every bit as good, full of adult themes but without the cowboy heroics. A funny-type of western for the savage thinking man.</div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-43027622275613557742010-01-19T19:30:00.007-06:002014-03-22T23:07:02.731-05:00Canyon Passage (1946)<em>Directed by Jacques Tourneur - starring Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, Andy Devine, Lloyd Bridges and Hoagy Carmichael</em><br />
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A rich frontier drama starring Dana Andrews as 'Logan' a supply merchant caught between the love of two woman, a crooked partner and the ever present threat of Indians. CANYON PASSAGE is as much about Dana Andrews as it is about the whole frontier town around him and all its people. A great warm sense of community shot on location in Oregon. We get to watch as the whole town chips in for a new family and builds them a log cabin followed by a lively celebration.</div>
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Dana Andrews is reluctant to settle down and has a beautiful bride in waiting with Patrica Roc. But Dana seems to be a better fit with Susan Hayward, a cowgirl type of gal who happens to be with his business partner George Camrose (Brian Dolevy). Camrose is addicted to gambling and heavily in debt so Andrews bails him out and makes him promise to stop gambling. Camrose doesn't and instead steals gold from a local miner and kills him in a desperate need for more cash. The town holds a makeshift court and declares to hang Camrose. But Dana Andrews comes to his rescue, again.</div>
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Ward Bond plays a brutish town bully name 'Honey Bragg' who has a great fistfight with Andrews in the saloon with the whole town egging them on. Lloyd Bridges plays an angry miner named 'Johnny Steele' who's sick and tired and wants some action. Hoagy Carmichael plays a kinda Greek chorus to the film, singing along, '<em>Ole Buttermilk Sky</em>', and popping up to offer some sage wisdom. Andy Devine plays a hug-able elder type who welcomes everyone into his family. The whole town seems like a nice homey place. </div>
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The Oregon scenery is lush and makes for a great backdrop. The Technicolor is wonderfully vibrant, almost hypnotic. Jacques Tourneur made a great western showcasing a growing community on the frontier. Fans of Dana Andrews will swoon.</div>
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<em><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Left to right:</b> Lloyd Bridges, Dana Andrews, Ernest Haycox, Patricia Roc, and Andy Devine. The photograph was taken at Diamond Lake in southern Oregon, near the setting for Canyon Passage.</span></em></em></div>
Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-75331307484491009732010-01-18T20:35:00.015-06:002015-06-27T01:14:52.000-05:00The White Buffalo (1977)<em>Directed by J. Lee Thompson - starring Charles Bronson, Jack Warden, Will Sampson and Kim Novak</em><br />
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A weary and somber Charles Bronson plays Wild Bill Hickok as he returns to the west to hunt a giant white buffalo that haunts his dreams. Along for the hunt are 'One Eye' (Jack Warden) as an Indian hater, and Chief Crazy Horse aka 'Worm' (Will Sampson), an Indian who's daughter was killed by the buffalo.</div>
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A fantastical wild west take on Moby Dick, the film has a lurid kinda dreamlike quality. The buffalo itself is a large mechanical monstrosity with limited movement. All it can really do is buck and glide on a rail. But if you're keyed in it can be a lot of fun. Filmed on location in Colorado the snow swept mountains are majestic and the towns are dirty and muddy with a gritty realistic quality. When Bronson's train pulls into town we see a giant wall made of buffalo bones. Kim Novak plays an ex prostitute and friend of Bronson's named 'Poker Jenny' who wants to take care of Bronson, wink-wink. But Bronson shuns her advances, with only the hunt of the buffalo on his mind. Bronson's dreams haunt him so bad he continually wakes up with guns blazin' scaring everyone around him to death. So he heads out into the mountains to kill the great white buffalo once and for all! </div>
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The movie opens like a filmed dream with the beast destroying an Indian village. It feels more like a horror fantasy than any kind of western. It has cameos galore but nobody gets much to do. Jack Warden and Will Sampson are fun as the they exchange pleasantries, weapons and glass eyeballs! Slim Pickens plays a stagecoach driver who probably gets the most dialogue in the whole movie. John Carradine is a creepy undertaker. Clint Walker is a brutish trapper. Ed Lauter is great as Tom Custer looking to take down Hickok in a brief saloon fight. Even Martin Kove shows up! </div>
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I love this movie way more than I should. For fans of westerns, Bronson and buffalo. Makes a good double feature with TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN (1958) where Sterling Hayden brings a whaling harpoon to a gunfight. </div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-38339494132146882612010-01-18T18:43:00.013-06:002014-03-22T23:08:22.341-05:00The Far Country (1955)<em>Directed by Anthony Mann - starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Corinne Calvet, Walter Brennan, John McIntire, Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Chubby Johnson, Royal Dano and Jack Elam</em><br />
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Jimmy Stewart and Walter Brennan are partners rustling cattle up to the Yukon and get hoodwinked by a crooked border town lawman, Gannon (a devilish John McIntyre). They get rescued by saucy Ruth Roman and decide to stay in Canada staking a successful gold claim. But Jimmy has dreams of buying a ranch in Utah and must figure out a way to leave without going through Gannon's border town and getting hung.</div>
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Beautifully shot in Alberta, Canada, Jimmy plays a reluctant hero who watches a frontier town full of kind people get bullied and taken for a ride by John McIntyre and his gruesome henchmen full of mugs like Jack Elam, Henry Morgan and a scary Robert J Wilke. McIntyre seems to be having a ball just relishing in his villainy, always on the lookout for a good hangin'. He's gleeful as he steals everyone's gold claims through a technicality in the law. Stewart only looks out for himself, and his good-natured buddy Ben Tatum (a loveable Walter Brennan), and is indifferent to all the bullying. Corinne Calvet plays a cute tomboyish French girl who immediately takes a liking to Stewart who doesn't take her seriously and treats her like a kid much to her irritation. As Gannon works over the town Stewart is left with the choice to do something or sit idle. And eventually push comes to shove. The town is full of great character actors like Connie Gilchrist, Kathleen Freeman, Royal Dano, Chubby Johnson and JC Flippin. A lovable bunch that have a great warm sense of community. It makes me want to give up my life and move to the Yukon and eat bear stew at the Hash House.</div>
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A beautiful western directed by Anthony Mann with a great script by Borden Chase. The westerns Mann did with Jimmy Stewart are some of the best of the genre, equal only to the films Budd Boetticher did with Randolph Scott. <strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">WATCH OUT FOR THAT AVALANCHE</span>-!!</i></span></strong></div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-31804126713917300662010-01-15T09:31:00.017-06:002014-03-22T23:09:09.477-05:00Tall Man Riding (1955)<em>Directed by Lesley Selander - starring Randolph Scott, Dorothy Malone, Robert Barrat and Paul Richards as 'The Peso Kid'</em><br />
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Scott plays a man returning to the town of Red River to seek revenge on ranch owner Tuck Ordway (Robert Barrat). Years earlier Tuck publicly whipped Scott and ran him out of town when he attempted to marry Ordway's daughter, Corinna (Dorothy Malone), at the time considering him unworthy. On his way to the town Scott finds a man, Rex Willard (William Ching), being attacked by three others and saves him only to find out he's married to Scott's old dish. During the fight Scott kills one of the attackers and wicked saloon owner Cibo Pearlo (John Baragrey) frames the peaceful husband instead. Pearlo has designs on taking over Tuck Ordway's ranch, which Scott finds out will soon fall into the public domain and be up for grabs.</div>
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Scott's more intense here than usual as he fights to not only clear Rex Willard's name but also sets out to prove to Ordway and Corinna that he is indeed worthy of her love. At the same time fighting Cibo Perlo's right hand man, the slimy villainous Peso Kid (Paul Richards), and saving the Ordway Ranch from being taken over by Pearlo.</div>
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There's a great fight that begins in the sheriff's office that smashes the place to hell and spills out onto the streets and ends up underneath a stagecoach. <strong><span style="color: red;">**SPOILERS**</span></strong> Unknown to everyone in town is the fact that Tuck Ordway is going blind and has been for some time. Tuck challenges Scott to a gunfight in a darkened house so that the playing field is equal but Scott soon realizes what's going down and spares Ordway his life. But the public finds out about the ranch falling into public domain and there's a rush for the land. </div>
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Fast paced at 80 minutes like most of the Randolph Scott B-movies with lots of characters and backroom shenanigans, this one is a heckuva lot of fun. It's all mostly predictable but these aren't meant to be deep pictures just entertaining, and that it is! Blink and you'll miss Dub Taylor as one of the local townsfolk.</div>
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<em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1955 - Behind the scenes photo of actress Dorothy Malone reading</span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">a copy of the latest </span></em><em style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">issue of Variety between takes.</span></em></span></em></div>
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</span></em>Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-66389917124964239922010-01-12T20:50:00.008-06:002014-03-22T23:09:38.970-05:00Ride the High Country (1962)<em>Directed by Sam Peckinpah - starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley and Ron Starr as 'Huck Longtree'</em><br />
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Joel MCrea hires his old deputy, (Randolph Scott), to help bring down a shipment of gold from a mining town in the High Sierras. They bring along a third man, a young buck named Huck Longtree (that's got to be the best name ever), played by Ron Starr. Along their way they stay the night at a farm owned by a religious nut overbearing his beautiful daughter Elsa, played by Mariette Hartley in her first role. Huck is smitten with the daughter and she is too, kinda. She escapes her grueling father to join the trip up the mountain hoping to find some miner named Billy Hammond who's promised to marry her.</div>
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Mostly Joel McCrea's story with Scott along for the ride. Lots of humor but quickly grounded in the ugly reality that the rural states have been tainted with. Upon arrival to the mining camp the focus shifts to Mariette Hartley and her groom, ... and his drunk, unkempt, scarily retarded brothers who all want to 'try out' the bride on her wedding night. As the brothers take turns dancing with Mariette and forcing kisses on her it recalls scenes from DAY OF THE OUTLAW and MAN OF THE WEST, where the implication is rape, molestation and humiliation. Good grim stuff.</div>
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Shootouts, turncoats and salvation follows as Joel not only must bring back the gold he promised but must also return Marriette to her father with the Hammond boys close on his tail.</div>
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Nice love letter to the quaint old west while also bridging the grim and dirty west that was to follow. Early on McCrea almost gets run down by a primitive form of automobile, again this recalls MAN OF THE WEST when Gary Cooper jumps back on the train platform as the engine roars to a stop. But where that movie was completely humorless, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY never fails to elicit a chuckle. I had a smile on my face the whole time.</div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-49660233131962344792010-01-12T19:56:00.004-06:002014-03-22T23:09:56.629-05:00The Man Behind the Gun (1953)<em>Directed by Felix E. Feist - starring Randolph Scott</em><br />
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Randy Scott plays an undercover fed sent into southern California to stop a group of secessionists from breaking away from the Union and turning it into a slave state. Great sets and fairly big cast for a little ol' B-movie, it sure has a lot going on. Two dames have a cat fight and Randy takes his shirt off, (for his country) and looks like a man doing it. Some nice unexpected comic relief between Scott's two officers one of whom is played by Alan Hale Jr. as 'Cpl. Olaf Swenson'.</div>
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Director Felix E. Feist uses lots of rear projection and the stage-bound sets give it a cheap feel but at 82 minutes it moves fast and there are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon. A fun film for fans of Randolph Scott.</div>
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</a>Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-83805234973458802902010-01-12T19:14:00.007-06:002014-03-22T23:10:08.907-05:00CALIFORNIA (1946)<em>Directed by John Farrow - starring Ray Milland, Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Fitzgerald, George Coulouris and Anthony Quinn</em><br />
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Epic story about how California became a state. Starts with Ray Milland leading a wagon train, picking up minx-y Barbara Stanwyck along the way, then getting hoodwinked once the gold rush begins. He finally makes it to California and runs into Stanwyck again and finds her hooked up with Pharaoh Coffin, (George Coulouris in a wonderfully hissable villain role with a great name), an ex-slave trader who plans on making money by blocking California's bid for statehood.</div>
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It was something to see Ray Milland play a rough and tumble cowboy. I wasn't sure how he'd come off, I'd only seen him in DIAL 'M' FOR MURDER and PREMATURE BURIAL, both I thought he was great in but this is like the totally opposite end of the spectrum. Barbara Stanwyck of course steals every scene she's in except the scenes with Barry Fitzgerald who acts circles around everyone else in the film. Barry plays a simple grape farmer/philosopher who ends up leading a campaign for California's statehood and inspires everyone he encounters to be a better person and stand up for what they believe in. Anthony Quinn shows up all too briefly but is charming nonetheless. Ray and Barbara are both feisty as all get out and it's fun watching them deny each other what they obviously both desire. They both play kinda jerks and have great chemistry together.</div>
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The story switches gears like crazy and covers a lot of ground but is not quite the epic it wants to be be, caught somewhere between an A and B-movie. Director John Farrow shoots a lot of scenes in long takes (4+ minutes) which is always a pleasure to watch. Nice Technicolor and nice production values overall but falls just short of being a great flick. Still, fun can be had for fans of the genre and worth seeing.</div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-39265011122322193062010-01-10T21:13:00.008-06:002014-03-22T23:11:18.459-05:00The Rare Breed (1966)<em>Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen - starring Jimmy Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Jack Elam and Juliet Mills</em><br />
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Jimmy Stewart plays a man with a shady past who reluctantly helps two English ladies transport their lovely hornless bull to a randy cattle baron (Brian Keith, who steals every scene).</div>
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The first half of the movie involves Stewart and Jack Elam fighting over who will deliver the fancy bull and get the delivery $$$$. Elam is great as he and Stewart have multiple fistfights, in a bar, across the plains, etc. Upon arrival to Brian Keith's cattle ranch the tone changes from western adventure to love triangle/chamber drama. Everyone finds the English bull to be a joke, including Stewart. But along the way he begins to believe in the bull and the strong willed English ladies. Brian Keith transforms from a filthy drunken hermit to a cleaned-up proper Scottish baron in the hopes of winning over Maureen O'Hara. But Stewart's faith in the women that the bull will survive the winter long enough to breed transforms him from a thief into a man with real purpose.</div>
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Lighter in tone than the Mann/Stewart pairings, mostly becoming a love story by the end. I enjoyed the contrast of the English ladies in the old west and their common sense that is thrust upon everyone they encounter. A sweet tale of love an inspiration for all you hardened cowpokes. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!</div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-79269188947355133372010-01-10T20:31:00.013-06:002014-03-22T23:11:54.789-05:00The Texans (1938)<em>Directed by James Hogan - starring Randolph Scott, Joan Bennett, Robert Cummings and Walter Brennan</em><br />
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At the close of the civil war Randy Scott plays an ex-Confederate soldier who wants to see the country come together, meanwhile carpetbaggers are kicking the South while they're down and unrealistic taxes are levied against cattle owners. Joan Bennett, a bleeding heart for the South, owns the largest ranch in Texas and has to decide on sending her cattle to Mexico to feed troops and continue fighting the North, <em>or</em>, sneak the cattle up north to Kansas, avoid paying taxes, risk fighting Indians and corrupt cavalry men in the hopes of feeding a new bustling town that will become a major stop in the ever expanding railroad ......</div>
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An epic Randy Scott western played with broad comedy and sweet romance. Filled to the brim with excellent character actors trying to survive a wagon train and pushing 10 THOUSAND cattle across the plains! Now I didn't count if there were actually 10 thousand cattle, a few shots look like there's maybe only five hundred or so. There's a wonderfully exciting scene that has the wagons and cattle rushing across the land to escape a brush fire set by Indians, and it looks so damn real I can't believe no one was killed during filming. Trees and wagons are set ablaze and cattle is running everywhere, probably scared for their lives and for good reason. Another scene has the wagons and cattle crossing a wide river, and again I just can't believe that no cattle were swept away. It's all terribly exciting. Robert Cummings plays a racist and uncomfortable racism abounds. Joan Bennett is lovely. In glorious black and white. (I think Randy has eye make-up on!)</div>
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Scott plays it fairly broad and the character actors bring alot of comedy to the roles. Randy Scott gets rid of his Dixie cavalry uniform post haste at the beginning of the pic, donning nice frontier clothes with leather fringe. The carpetbaggers are so ruthless they try to sell it to him for 60 dollars! (This is what, 1865-ish?) Without a penny to his name he signs over a deed for 10 square miles of land just so he can get some decent clothes (which will allow him to leave town without being harassed by the Yankee soldiers)! Could you imagine owning ten square miles of land?! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMC_zENAeF0VYw6Wnm90eeSUbTQiUsdGtEyBDPbdfr_BarPVXxIlx5SHx3PZeaLf6cWJAuYSvr_HSZIXOyyNBJ6kZbHU9Hr31Ni-JEybxwRJqFbkCeHnw_bF9_vBOYc5QdcKxEl6IqhE/s1600-h/texans-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMC_zENAeF0VYw6Wnm90eeSUbTQiUsdGtEyBDPbdfr_BarPVXxIlx5SHx3PZeaLf6cWJAuYSvr_HSZIXOyyNBJ6kZbHU9Hr31Ni-JEybxwRJqFbkCeHnw_bF9_vBOYc5QdcKxEl6IqhE/s400/texans-3.jpg" height="247" ps="true" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Randolph Scott On Set Of The Texans</strong> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><em>Original caption: 03/28/1938.</em> A Winner! Randolph Scott in movie makeup gets a big kick out of cabled news from his wife, the former Marion DuPont Somerville, that her horse "Battleship" has won the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree, England. Sharing the actor's enthusiasm on "The Texans" set at Paramount where Scott is at work are left to right: Producer, Lucien Hubbard; Director, James Hogan; and Joan Bennett who appears opposite Scott in the picture and Bing Crosby.</span></div>
Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-76893717905301729972010-01-10T17:42:00.010-06:002014-03-22T23:12:19.467-05:00Breakheart Pass (1975)<em>Directed by Tom Gries - <span style="font-family: inherit;">starring</span> Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, Charles Durning, Ed Lauter and Robert Tessier as 'Levi Calhoun'</em><br />
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Based on a novel by Alistair Maclean, this Charles Bronson western plays out like an action packed Agatha Christie story. Set on a train racing through a snowy mountain landscape on it's way to deliver much needed medical supplies for an outpost brought down with diphtheria. But the medicine turns out to be rifles?! And before you know it Charles Bronson is boxing Archie Moore on top of the speeding locomotive, for real!</div>
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An excellent supporting cast full of fun character actors. Ed Lauter is great as the straight arrow cavelry Major that assists Bronson in his quest. Richard Crenna is hissable as a crooked governor kissing up on Jill Ireland. Robert Tessier is a brutish beast of a man and steals every scene he's in with his large untamed beard. Although it appears he might have been dubbed, and by Paul Frees no less! But it works, really well. For those that have seen Tessier with Bronson in HARD TIMES know that his real voice sounds closer to that of Curly Howard.</div>
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There's tons of scene chewing and everyone acquits themselves nicely, even Jill Ireland. Lot's of fights, espionage, flip-floppin' and adventurous spills! Jerry Goldsmith produces a rousing score that gets the audience properly hopped up and roarin' to go. Beautiful locations and some dangerous real life stunts make this one of my favorite movies of any genre. Not deep or artry or life changing, just a straightforward action/mystery yarn done with great craft and lots of gusto. <b><em>ALL ABOARD</em>!</b></div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-41152835130629042152010-01-09T17:23:00.007-06:002014-03-22T23:12:54.633-05:00Track of the Cat (1954)<em>Directed by William A. Wellman - starring Robert Mitchum, Tab Hunter, Beulah Bondi, Philip Tonge and Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer</em><br />
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Robert Mitchum plays a ranch owner who bullies his family and constantly belittles his younger brother in front of his bride-to-be. His mother is an overtly religious zealot and his father drinks the days away. It's winter and a big cat is killing the family's livestock. Is it the feared black 'painter' (panther) that the family has built up to mythical proportions?</div>
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Shot on sets with a limited color palette to appear monochrome with a few splashes of isolated color, such as Mitchum's bright red coat, the visual experiment is mostly a success. A bigger success is the story and acting which plays out like a chamber drama of one family's power play. Mitchum is a terrific jerk, he just leaves you in awe of his pig-headedness. Beulah Bondi is just as intense with her constant bible guilt and judgments. Tab Hunter is cool but slightly unsure as the young son who's <em>sort of</em> ready to take the next steps into manhood. Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer is completely unrecognizable under old age make-up as Joe Sam, the 100+ year old Indian friend of the family. </div>
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Second unit location footage has Mitchum battling the black 'painter', <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">and himself</span>,</span> among an awesomely snowy mountain forest. Mitchum is crazed as he hunts the killer cat and all too sure of himself as it's would be destroyer. A wonderful movie that perfectly captures the emotional family dynamic and the highs and lows therein. </div>
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Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1908473322190906877.post-49186778064756412362010-01-09T15:10:00.006-06:002014-03-22T23:13:24.032-05:00The Man from the Alamo (1953)<em>Directed by Budd Boetticher - starring Glenn Ford and Julie Adams</em><br />
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Glenn Ford plays a Texan who's pegged a traitor after leaving the Alamo to fall, and everyone defending it to die. He sets out to save his wife and son, only to find them dead and his house burnt down.</div>
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Budd starts his vengeful wronged man with dead/raped wife theme here, a big jump in grittiness compared to THE CIMMARON KID one year earlier. Julie Adams plays the love interest. Maybe it's me but she is too damn pretty to be wagon training across the west, but I am glad she's here. Glenn plays the wronged man full of vengeance well.</div>
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An almost, <i>kinda</i> epic.</div>
Scott Ruhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003323106637783966noreply@blogger.com0