Posted in 1958, George Sherman, Jock Mahoney, Universal (-International) on July 20, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Here’s Lorne Greene, Linda Cristal and Jock Mahoney in Last Of The Fast Guns (1958), a CinemaScope Universal Western from George Sherman. This film really needs to make its way to DVD.
Be sure to head over to INSP TV to enter their Saddle Up and Getaway Sweepstakes. Greene and Bonanza are part of their extended lineup.
Posted in 1956, Jock Mahoney, Making Movies, Universal (-International) on January 5, 2012 | 8 Comments »
I’ve had this series in mind for quite a while and decided to finally pull the trigger on it. In my research, I’ve come across a number of 50s Western directors talking shop. It’s interesting stuff. This first one comes from Stephen Bowie’s The Classic TV History Blog and Charles Haas. Haas spent much of the 50s under contract at Universal, where he directed a few good Westerns, including Star In The Dust and Showdown At Abilene (both 1956). Stephen spoke with Haas in 2007.
Charles Haas: “In a picture at Universal [Showdown At Abilene], I had David Janssen. I had him with [Jock Mahoney], who . . . was basically a stuntman. Stunts were easy for him, but as an actor he lacked a certain energy. So I couldn’t afford to have David Janssen as his assistant, but he was under contract at Universal, and I had to [use] him. So I had him leaning against a door in every scene. He never understood why. The reason was, if I hadn’t had him leaning against a door in every scene that he was in, he would’ve outdone [Mahoney], who was the star. So it was a very indirect kind of thing. You have to keep in mind that these are all talented people, and what you want to do is furnish them with energy, not with your idea.”
Posted in 1950, 1958, Columbia, George Sherman, Jock Mahoney on January 2, 2012 | 6 Comments »
Punchy Cowpunchers (1950) is about as far from the adult Westerns of the 50s (such as the same year’s Winchester ’73) as you can get.
It’s a Three Stooges short (a Shemp) co-starring Jock O’Mahoney — and it does a pretty good job of spoofing singing cowboy pictures, scattered among all the usual Stooge nonsense.
You can watch it on Youtube here. And it appears on The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 6: 1949 – 1951 DVD set. (By the way, be sure to check out emilsitka.com, one of the most comprehensive, exhaustive and obsessive film-related web sites I’ve ever seen.)
I haven’t devoted near enough blog space to Mr. Mahoney. Time to pull the trigger on that bootleg DVD of George Sherman’s Last Of The Fast Guns (1958).
