Was looking at this still of Harry Carey, Jr., John Wayne and Hank Worden from The Searchers (1956) — and noticed something that seemed a bit odd.
That’s not Hank Worden as Mose Harper. And the fake Hank is nowhere near as tall as the real one. (Worden’s one of the few actors who ever seemed as tall as Duke.)
So, where was he? Was he sick that day? Jury duty? Wrapping up some other picture? In hot water with John Ford?
The person who might know the answer is Jim Beaver, who was taken in by Worden and lived with him for a few years when he came to Hollywood. Beaver gets a lot of work as an actor (Deadwood, Supernatural) and is a George Reeves expert.
This is one of the greats. I’ve got it on DVD, and will pay close attention next time I watch it. I have looked and looked ,with no luck, for the Howard Hawks movie made in 1952 with Kirk Douglas “The Big Sky”. Does anyone know where I can get it? Authur Hunnicut was nominated for Best Supporting Actor that year for his role as Zeb Calloway in it. Any help would be appreciated!
The Big Sky is (or used to be) available as an import DVD.
It’s a crime it’s not available in the States.
Just stumbled onto your blog, and have spent an entire evening reading it. Well done.
The fact is, I do know why that’s not Hank Worden in the Searchers still. When “The Searchers” went into production in Monument Valley, Hank was still in Bend, Oregon shooting “Indian Fighter” with Kirk Douglas. He finished that picture, hopped a plane from Oregon to Arizona and was driven like crazy to the Searchers set in Monument Valley in time to shoot the rest of his scenes and some pickups for this one. If you’ll notice in the film, when you can see his face during this sequence, Hank’s always seen alone or just with Wayne. He shot his coverage for the scene days after the main body of the scene had been shot. He told me this story first-hand. Until then, I’d never noticed that it was clearly not Hank in the group shots.
I lived with Hank for four years and we were close friends for over a quarter century. I’m happy to see him given some attention here. Great blog, too.
Jim Beaver