Posted in 1956, Festivals, screenings, Hank Worden, Harry Carey Jr., Jeffrey Hunter, John Ford, John Wayne on April 26, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Sorry for the short notice, but the Newport Beach Film Festival is screening The Searchers (1956) tomorrow at noon at the Island Cinema. The event is sponsored by the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.
Ethan Wayne and Glenn Frankel, author of The Searchers: The Making Of An American Legend, will appear before the film.
Posted in 1953, Alan Ladd, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Festivals, screenings, Paramount, Van Heflin on April 17, 2013 | 11 Comments »
It’s been announced that the Shane (1953) Blu-ray will be 1.37 after all — not the reformatted, reconfigured, reconstituted, regurgitated version we were all scared of. Cue a huge collective sigh of relief.
ANOTHER UPDATE (4/25/13): George Stevens, Jr. talks about the whole 1.66/1.37 controversy — and why he won’t be at the TCM screening.
Thanks to Laura and Paula for the news.
Posted in 1954, Burt Lancaster, Ernest Borgnine, Festivals, screenings, Gary Cooper, Lee Marvin, Post-1959, Robert Aldrich on April 8, 2013 | 6 Comments »
With Burt Lancaster’s 100th birthday on the horizon, UCLA has put together a terrific program to celebrate one of the greatest stars of them all. Running through June, it offers up a great sampling of Lancaster’s career.
For me, and readers of this blog, the best night of the bunch might be this Friday, with a 35mm screening of both Vera Cruz (1954) and The Professionals (1966). Both are terrific, with Vera Cruz being a highlight of the 50s Western. Like Shane (1953), it’s one of the films that fell victim to the widening of theater screens in the wake of CinemaScope. This time around, Robert Aldrich’s picture was cropped/blown up to SuperScope’s 2:1 ratio (it was probably shot for 1.85).
Another great evening will be the June 7 screening of Gunfight At The O.K. Corral (1957), a film I find flawed but wonderful. Its VistaVision should be a gorgeous thing on the big screen.
Vera Cruz (1954) and The Professionals (1966)
April 12, 2013 – 7:30 pm
Gunfight At The O.K. Corral (1957) and I Walk Alone (1948)
June 7, 2013 – 7:30 pm
UPDATE: Burt and Coop’s costar in Vera Cruz, Spanish actress Sara Montiel, passed away today at 85. She was once married to Anthony Mann.
Posted in 1956, Festivals, screenings, Jeffrey Hunter, John Ford, John Wayne, Ward Bond on March 4, 2013 | 7 Comments »
Here’s Ward Bond, John Wayne and Dorothy Jordan in the greatest single scene to be found in an American film. In less than a minute, it says more than most movies say in two hours. Without a word being said, and completely without pretense.
Of course, it’s from John Ford’s The Searchers (1956), a film this blog has pretty much stayed away from. It’s been written about so much, and I’d rather help lead people to more obscure pictures like Quantez (1957). And truth be told, I don’t think I’m up to it. It scares me.
So I’ll just say the greatest (Western) film ever made will be at the Aero Theatre on the 11th. It’d make a great way to pay tribute to Harry Carey, Jr.
The Searchers (1956)
Monday, March 11, 7:30 PM
The Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90403
Glenn Frankel will sign copies of his book The Searchers: The Making Of An American Legend in the lobby at 6:30 PM. Monday’s my daughter’s birthday, and if the Aero wasn’t a couple thousand miles away…
Posted in 1953, Budd Boetticher, Festivals, screenings, Glenn Ford, Julie Adams, Universal (-International) on February 22, 2013 | 3 Comments »
To mark the anniversary of the siege of the Alamo, The Egyptian is running Budd Boetticher’s The Man From The Alamo (1953), starring Glenn Ford and Julie Adams.
It’s good. It’s in 35mm. And Miss Adams will be in attendance.
Saturday, February 23, 7:30PM
The Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
Posted in 1959, Festivals, screenings, Howard Hawks, John Wayne, Ward Bond, Warner Bros. on February 8, 2013 | 9 Comments »
My favorite Western, Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959), is coming to The Historic Texas Theater in Dallas — and Angie Dickinson’s coming along with it.
It’s part of TCM’s Road To Hollywood — a series of free screenings leading up to the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood.
Rio Bravo (1959)
Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, with special guest Angie Dickinson
The Historic Texas Theater, Dallas, TX
Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 7:30 (CT), Tickets available Feb. 8.
If my wonderful grandparents from Strawn, TX, Zelma and Flint McCullough, were still with us, it’d be time to pay them a visit!
Posted in 1950, Anthony Mann, Dan Duryea, Festivals, screenings, Jimmy Stewart on January 30, 2013 | 26 Comments »
Here’s something that’ll add another day or two to our current Anthony Mann/James Stewart/Dan Duryea fixation.
Anthony Mann’s Winchester ’73 (1950) is one of the first, and best, of the 50s Westerns. It’s one of the greatest films I’ve ever seen. And it’s playing in 35mm at Emory University in Atlanta.
Winchester ’73
White Hall, Emory University
Atlanta, GA
March 27, 1913
7:30 PM
Thanks for the tip, Paula.
Posted in Festivals, screenings, Joel McCrea on January 22, 2013 | 1 Comment »
Posted in 1958, Columbia, Festivals, screenings, Phil Karlson, Van Heflin on January 10, 2013 | 6 Comments »
There’s nothing like seeing a film, on film, with an audience. And here’s a screening I’d sure love to attend: Phil Karlson’s Gunman’s Walk (1958) at Chicago’s Portage Theater — in 35mm CinemaScope.
A terrific 50s Western that’s very hard to see, a personal favorite and maybe your only chance to see Bert Convy fall off a cliff, the Northwest Chicago Film Society is presenting it January 21 at 7:30PM.
Tab Hunter is terrific and Van Heflin is as incredible as ever. Make that more incredible. And make a point of seeing it if at all possible.
Posted in 1957, Delmer Daves, Festivals, screenings, Glenn Ford, Van Heflin on November 15, 2012 | 3 Comments »
The Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC will run Delmer Daves’ 3:10 To Yuma (1957) on June 7, 2013. Is seven months enough advance notice?
If you’re the type that passes through this blog, I don’t have to tell you this is one of the crown jewels of 50s Westerns. Glenn Ford and Van Heflin were never better — and you’ll never look at Ford quite the same way again.
Also running that night is Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter (1973), a film that seems to be getting a bit of a reappraisal of late. It deserves it. Though I’ve seen both of these films many, many times, this will be my first time in a theater. What a treat.
