On this Day in 1950...

One of the all-time great Westerns was released, Winchester 73, starring James Stewart and directed by Anthony Mann. Here's the trailer for the movie:

King Baggot (1879-1948)

Today in 1948 marks the death of actor and director King Baggot, who appeared in over 300 movies beginning in 1909 and directed some 45 films. Among these was William S. Hart's last film Tumbleweeds (1925), which is available for viewing on Youtube:

On this Day in 1973...

Cahill, U.S. Marshal was released, starring John Wayne and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Here's the opening scene (with Greek subtitles, I think), courtesy of Youtube:

Robert Ryan (1909-1973)

Chicago born, distinguished US actor and long time civil rights campaigner, Robert Ryan served in the United States Marines as a drill instructor (winning a boxing championship) and went on to become a key figure in post WWII American film noir and western productions.Ryan grabbed critical attention for his dynamic performance's as an anti-Semitic bully in the superb Crossfire (1947), as an over-the-hill boxer who refuses to take a fall in The Set-Up (1949) and as a hostile & jaded cop in On Dangerous Ground (1952). Ryan's athletic physique, intense gaze and sharply delivered, authoritarian tones made him an ideal actor for the oily world of the film noir genre, and he contributed solid performances to many noir features, usually as a vile villain. Ryan played a worthy opponent for bounty hunter James Stewart in the Anthony Mann directed western The Naked Spur (1953), he locked horns with an intrepid investigator Spencer Tracy in the suspenseful Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) and starred alongside Harry Belafonte in the grimy, gangster flick Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). Plus, the inventive Ryan excelled as the ruthless "John Claggart" in Billy Budd (1962), and two different WWII US generals - firstly in the star filled The Longest Day (1962) and secondly in Battle of the Bulge (1965).For the next eight years prior to his untimely death in 1973, Ryan landed some tremendous roles in a mixture of productions each aided by his high calibre acting skills leaving strong impressions on movie audiences. He was one of the hard men hired to pursue kidnapped Claudia Cardinale in the hard boiled action of The Professionals (1966), a by-the-book army colonel clashing with highly unorthodox army major Lee Marvin in The Dirty Dozen (1967), and an embittered bounty hunter forced to hunt down old friend William Holden in the violent Sam Peckinpah western classic The Wild Bunch (1969). Ryan's final onscreen performance was in the terrific production of The Iceman Cometh (1973) based on the Eugene O'Neill play and also starring Lee Marvin and Fredric March.Legend has it that Sam Peckinpah clashed very heatedly with Ryan during the making of The Wild Bunch (1969), however Peckinpah eventually backed down when a crew member reminded Sam of Robert Ryan's proficiency with his fists !Primarily a man of pacifist beliefs, Ryan often found it a challenge playing sadistic and racist characters that very much were at odds with his own personal ideals. Additionally, Ryan actively campaigned for improved civil rights, restricting the growth of nuclear weapons and he strongly opposed McCarthyism and its abuse of innocent persons. A gifted, intelligent and powerful actor, Robert Ryan passed away on July 11th, 1973 of lung cancer.

(From IMDB)

On this Day in 1954...

Apache was released, directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Burt Lancaster, Jean Peters, John McIntire and Charles Bronson. Here's the trailer:

Rod Steiger (1925-2002)

On this day in 2002, Oscar-winning actor Rod Steiger died. He appeared in several Westerns, including Jubal (1956) and Run of the Arrow (1957). The latter is one of my personal favorites with a great cast: Charles Bronson, Brian Keith, Ralph Meeker, Tim McCoy and Olive Carey. There he plays an ex-Confederate who goes off to live with the Sioux and finds his loyalties tested during an Indian war.

On this Day in 1965...

The Glory Guys was released, starring Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell and Senta Berger. The screenplay was written by Sam Peckinpah.