Other people... treasure memorable moments in their lives: the time one climbed the Parthenon at sunrise, the summer night one met a lonely girl in Central Park and achieved with her a sweet and natural relationship, as they say in books... What I remember is the time John Wayne killed three men with a carbine as he was falling to the dusty street in Stagecoach... Walker Percy, The Moviegoer
William S. Hart (1864-1946)
The Authentic West
I don't know how much the Western film means to Europe; but to this country it means the very essence of national life. I am referring now to the later frontier-- the frontier of the range and the mining camps, with all its youthful follies and heartbreaks and braveries that we know and love best. It is but a generation or so since virutally all this country was frontier. Consequently its spirit is bound up in American citizenship. William S. Hart, 1916
Broncho Billy Anderson (1882-1971)
The First Western Star
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Tom Mix (1880-1940)
Showmanship
Followers
The most interesting of the classic movie genres to me are the indigenous ones: the Western, which was born on the frontier; the Gangster film, which originated in the East Coast cities; and the Musical, which was spawned by Broadway. They remind me of Jazz: they allowed for endless, increasingly complex, sometimes perverse variations. When these variations were played by the masters, they reflected the changing times; they gave you fascinating insights into American culture and the American psyche. Martin Scorsese
Blue Blazes Rawden was released, starring William S. Hart and Maude George. In the movie Hart plays a kumberjack who kills a man over a woman. Hart is usually associated with the cowboy role, but every once in a while he ventured into othe roles like that of policeman, gangster, Native American, and even Aztec prince.
Western Union was released, directed by Fritz Lang. In a period replete with B-Westerns, the movie is an epic in the style of The Plainsman (1936) and Union Pacific (1939). Starring Robert Young and Randolph Scott, the story concerns the laying of the telegrapfh line. Young gets top billing, but it's good to see Scott here in one of his early Western roles. In the late 1950's, he and director Budd Boetticher would bring the B-Western to new heights with classics like Seven Men From Now (1956), Ride Lonesome (1959), and Comanche Station (1960).
On this day in 1991 passed one of the most recognizable faces (and voices) in the Western, character actor John McIntire. He took over the lead in TV's Wagon Train after Ward Bond died. One of my favorite McIntrire appearances is from Anthony Mann's 1950 classic Winchester 73, in which he played an Indian trader. (He comes in below at 4:3o):
One of the great stars of early American Westerns. McCoy was the son of an Irish soldier who later became police chief of Saginaw, Michigan, where McCoy was born. He attended St. Ignatius College in Chicago and after seeing a Wild West show there, left school and found work on a Wyoming ranch. He became an expert horseman and roper and developed a keen knowledge of the ways and languages of the Indian tribes in the area. He competed in numerous rodeos, then enlisted in the U.S. Army when America entered the First World War. He was commissioned and rose to the rank of colonel, eventually being posted as Adjutant General of Wyoming, a position he held until 1921. Resigning from the Army, he returned to ranching and concurrently served as territorial Indian agent. In 1922, he was asked by the head of Famous Players-Lasky, Jesse L. Lasky, to provide Indian extras for the Western extravaganza, The Covered Wagon (1923). He brought hundreds of Indians to Hollywood and served as technical advisor on the film. After touring the country and Europe with the Indians as publicity, McCoy returned to Hollywood and used his connections to obtain further work in the movies, both as a technical advisor and as an actor. MGM speedily signed him to a contract to star in a series of Westerns and McCoy rapidly rose to stardom, making scores of Westerns and occasional non-Westerns .. In 1935, he left Hollywood, first to tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus and then with his own Wild West show. He returned to films in 1940, in a series teaming him with Buck Jones and Raymond Hatton, but World War II and Jones's death in 1942 ended the project. McCoy returned to the Army for the war and served with the Army Air Corps in Europe, winning several decorations. He retired from the army and from films after the war, but emerged in the late 1940s for a few more films and some television work. He married Danish writer Inga Arvad and spent his later years as a retired gentleman rancher, occasionally touring with his own Wild West show. He died in 1978 at the age of 86. (From IMDB)
Here's a trailer for his 1932 movie Two-Fisted Law, featuring a young John Wayne:
Today in 1964 marks the passing of Alan Ladd, who will be forever remembered by Western fans for his performance in George Stevens' 1953 classic Shane. Here's the ending, courtesy of Youtube:
The movie Montana was released, starring Errol Flynn. For the first and only time in his career, Flynn plays an Australian, a sheepherder making his way in cattle country. This was Flynn's second to lat Western, and it's a bit sad to watch, because a lot of the magic and the charm from the earlier movies is gone. By this time, Flynn was also drinking more heavily, and the effect on his physique is evident. Nevertheless, I would say that any Errol Flynn is better than no Errol Flynn, and here's an excerpt from the movie:
