Posted in 1954, 1955, Allan Dwan, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Joel McCrea, John Payne, VCI Entetainment on August 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »
You can count on VCI Entertainment to treat an old cowboy movie with respect, and they’ve brought us some terrific 50s Westerns (often in cahoots with Kit Parker). A few recommendations: Silver Lode (1954), Stranger On Horseback (1955), Darn Good Westerns Volumes 1 and 2.
Posted in 1953, 20th Century-Fox, Chuck Connors, Dale Robertson, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, John Doucette, Kathleen Crowley, Robert Wagner, Rory Calhoun on August 28, 2013| 16 Comments »
Directed by Harmon Jones
Screen Play by Jesse L. Lasky, Jr.
From a novel by Jack Schaeffer
Director of Photography: Lloyd Ahern
Musical Director: Lionel Newman
CAST: Dale Robertson (Race Crim), Rory Calhoun (Tom Davisson), Robert Wagner (Jess Harker), Kathleen Crowley (Kathy Riley), James Millican (Luke Bowen), Lola Albright (Waco), J.M. Kerrigan (Riley), John Kellogg (Slater), Ian MacDonald (Hank), Burt Mustin (Uncle Ben), John Ducette, Chuck Connors.
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It had been ages since I’d seen The Silver Whip (1953), and I remembered very little about it. Revisiting it thanks to the Fox Cinema Archives DVD-R, I didn’t expect much more than an interesting pairing of Dale Robertson and Rory Calhoun.
Turns out, I really underestimated this film. There’s a lot more going on here than just pairing a couple cowboy stars. It’s a strong story built around a few key action scenes, given plenty of punch by editor-turned-director Harmon Jones.
Race Crim (Robertson) is a stagecoach guard who recommends young driver Jess Harker (Robert Wagner) for his first major run. It goes horribly wrong when Slater (John Kellogg) and his gang shoot up the stage. Sheriff Tom Davisson (Calhoun) and Harker go after the gang, trying to get to them before Race, who’s out for revenge, does. This creates an interesting three-way conflict with both justice (Calhoun and Wagner) and vengeance (Robertson) going after Slater. I won’t go any further than that — this is a cool movie and I don’t want to spoil it.
Of course, Robertson and Calhoun are terrific. A lot of us have been enjoying Calhoun pictures lately, and this has become one of my favorites. But the film belongs to Dale Robertson, whose change from Calhoun’s best friend and Wagner’s mentor to a bitter, obsessed rival gives The Silver Whip a lot of its strength in the last few reels. Robert Wagner (seen in a color still below) seems so young — he was still three years away from The True Story Of Jesse James (1956).
Harmon Jones never seemed to make much of an impression as a director, or at least nothing to match his clout as an editor (Yellow Sky, Panic In The Streets), and he spent the bulk of his career directing TV (Rawhide, Perry Mason). But the final chase here, expertly staged along a tall ridge, shows he had the chops. (I’m fond of his 1956 Universal Western, A Day Of Fury, again starring Dale Robertson.)
We’ve all been hard on the 20th Century-Fox Cinema Archives DVD-R program for problems with aspect ratio, etc. I’m happy to report that this one looks great. It’s 1.37, as it should be, with a black and white transfer that shows off Lloyd Ahern’s crisp cinematography. Unlike some of you, perhaps, I like a little dirt and dust in these things. Growing up watching 16mm prints of films like this, a speck here and there is part of the experience.
It’s so easy to recommend The Silver Whip, along with its appearance on DVD (available from major online retailers).
Posted in 1954, 1959, John Wayne on August 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »
This Rio Bravo (1959) still was hanging up in the Williamson Road Pancake House in Roanoke, VA. (So was a shot from Hondo).
Another shot of Wayne as John T. Chance can be seen in the men’s room of Watkins Grill in Raleigh, NC.
Posted in 1957, Budd Boetticher, Delmer Daves, Glenn Ford, Randolph Scott, Van Heflin on August 20, 2013| 14 Comments »
Elmore Leonard
October 11, 1925 – August 20, 2013
One of the best authors I’ve ever read passed away this morning — Elmore Leonard. He’s known for his crime novels today, but in the early days of his career, he was a prolific Western writer. The Tall T and 3:10 To Yuma (both 1957) were adapted from his work. There are lots more.
And I have a real soft spot for Mr. Majestyk (1974), the ultimate Charles Bronson movie, based on his novel.
Here’s a cool article on Leonard and his writing methods.
Posted in 1953, 1954, Budd Boetticher, Festivals, screenings, Jeff Chandler, John Wayne, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson, Technical, Van Heflin, Ward Bond on August 19, 2013| 1 Comment »
The third World 3-D Film Expo kicks off September 6, at the Egyptian Theatre, with a rare 3-D screening of Hondo (1954). Above, that’s John Wayne on the ladder watching as a shot it being set up (that gigantic thing on the lift is the Warner Bros. All Media Camera).
Other 3-D Westerns being shown during the expo: Douglas Sirk’s Taza, Son Of Cochise and Budd Boetticher’s Wings Of The Hawk (both 1953). Julie Adams will be on hand for Wings Of The Hawk.
Who knows how many more 35mm 3-D presentations we can count on?
Posted in 1950, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1959, Andre de Toth, Budd Boetticher, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Lesley Selander, Randolph Scott on August 18, 2013| 6 Comments »
Turner Classic Movies’ Summer Under The Stars heads West with Randolph Scott. Of the 15 movies scheduled, 12 are Westerns.
The pick of the litter might be Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend (1957), which isn’t the best film on hand, but is very hard to track down these days.
Thanks to Blake Lucas for the tip.
Posted in Exhibition, theaters, etc. on August 11, 2013| 4 Comments »
Posted in 1953, 1954, 1958, 20th Century-Fox, Dale Robertson, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Gordon Douglas, Jock Mahoney, Mara Corday, Richard Widmark, Rory Calhoun on August 7, 2013| 14 Comments »
I’ve fallen a bit behind on the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray releases, so here’s a post to get things caught up.
The Fiend Who Walked The West (1958) is a black and white CinemaScope remake of Kiss Of Death (1947), remounted as a Western, with Robert Evans overacting his way through the Richard Widmark part. Hugh O’Brien stars. You never come across anything positive about this film, though I found it a lot better than its reputation. Directed by Gordon Douglas and shot by Joe MacDonald in B&W ‘Scope — it deserves another chance.
The Silver Whip (1953) stars Dale Robertson, Rory Calhoun, Robert Wagner, Kathleen Crowley and James Millican. Many of us have been on a Calhoun kick of late, and I’m really looking forward to this one. Directed by Harmon Jones, who also directed the excellent A Day Of Fury (1956), starring Robertson, Jock Mahoney and Mara Corday.
Siege At Red River (1954) was an independent picture from Panaramic Productions, a company hoping to take advantage the widescreen craze (1.85 in this case). Directed by Rudolph Mate, it’s got a good cast: Van Johnson, Joanne Dru, Richard Boone, Milburn Stone and Jeff Morrow. At various times, Dale Robertson (who starred in Gambler From Natchez for Panaramic) and Tyrone Power were listed in the trades as having the lead.
All three 20th Century-Fox Cinema Archives titles are available from major online retailers.
Posted in 1954, Fritz Lang, Pre-1950, Sam Katzman, William Castle on August 4, 2013| 2 Comments »
David Arrate earns a Name That Stock Footage badge for uncovering one of the many cost-cutting measures to be found in Masterson Of Kansas (1954), the best of William Castle’s Westerns for Sam Katzman’s unit at Columbia. Thanks, David.
Posted in 1954, Alan Hale, HUAC/The Blacklist, James H. Griffith, Sam Katzman, Scott Brady, William Castle on August 2, 2013| 7 Comments »
Directed by William Castle
Produced by Sam Katzman
Story and Screen Play by Bernard Gordon (as John T. Williams)*
Director of Photography: Henry Freulich, ASC
Music under the supervision of Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Film Editor: Aaron Stell, ACE
CAST: Scott Brady (Billy The Kid), Betta St. John (Nita Maxwell), James Griffith (Pat Garrett), Alan Hale Jr. (Bob Ollinger), Paul Cavanagh (John H. Tunstall), William ‘Bill’ Phillips (Charley Bowdre), Benny Rubin (Arnold Dodge).
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The William Castle Blogathon devotes a few days of online pontification to one of my favorite filmmakers.
Castle was a huge part of my movie-geek childhood (one that I’m trying to pass on to my daughter). You’ll find other Castle posts here.
In 1954, Sam Katzman produced a series of Westerns about famous real-life outlaws and lawmen — Jesse James Vs. The Daltons (which was in 3D), The Law Vs. Billy The Kid and Masterson Of Kansas. All three were directed by William Castle, still a few years from finding his niche in gimmick-y horror movies aimed at kids, such as House On Haunted Hill (1958) and The Tingler (1959).
The Law Vs. Billy The Kid was written by Bernard Gordon, who’d written The Lawless Breed (1952), an excellent tale of John Wesley Hardin that Raoul Walsh directed for Universal-International, starring Rock Hudson and Julie Adams. A blacklisted screenwriter, Gordon was selling plastics when he was contacted by Charles Schneer, an assistant producer at Columbia who looking for a Western script. (Schneer would got on to produce Ray Harryheusen’s Dynamation films.)
Bernard Gordon: “I borrowed a synopsis from a friend, Philip Stevenson, another blacklisted writer who had written an unproduced play about Billy The Kid. This story was approved. I went to work writing the script and shared the minimum pay for the original story with Stevenson and another blacklisted writer, Bob Williams, who collaborated with me so I could continue to work selling plastics. My script was accepted… The success of this work started me, with many fits and starts, into a busy career as a blacklisted screenwriter.”
The picture hits a few of the milestones of Billy The Kid’s life: his friendship with Pat Garrett, job with John Tunstall, involvement in the Lincoln County War, and his shooting by Pat Garrett. Those facts are as close as we get to actual biography. Here, the Kid (Scott Brady) is simply too old; Billy was only 21 when he was killed. There’s a cooked-up romantic subplot with Tunstall’s niece, played by Betta St. John. And as we’d see in Arthur Penn’s The Left-Handed Gun (1958), there’s an attempt to portray the Kid as a troubled young man forced into his life of crime.
For a guy from Brooklyn, Scott Brady sure made a lot of Westerns, including his own TV series, Shotgun Slade (1959-61). During the 50s, he worked with some of the genre’s best directors: Allan Dwan (The Restless Breed), Budd Boetticher (Bronco Buster), Joe Kane (The Maverick Queen) and Nicholas Ray (Johnny Guitar). There were also a couple Regalscope Westerns, Blood Arrow and Ambush At Cimarron Pass (both 1958).
As Pat Garrett, James Griffith walks away with the film — just as he’d do as Doc Holliday in Masterson Of Kansas (1954). By underplaying, he gives Garrett plenty of strength. His performance really elevates the film.
In his essential book Step Right Up! I’m Gonna Scare The Pants Off America, Castle didn’t devote much time to his Katzman Westerns, though he had nothing but praise for Katzman as a showman. By this time, Castle was a solid contract director — and he certainly knew his way around Hollywood locations like Melody Ranch and Walker Ranch. He wrote of this period of his career, “I was now on another treadmill, turning out a full-length feature every month.” He was still four years away from his independent breakthrough with Macabre (1958).
Castle keeps The Law Vs. Billy The Kid moving at a good clip and gets pretty good performances from his cast. His direction is efficient and assured, even if he was cranking out pictures like sausages. There are no frills, no 3D, no floating skeleton, no Coward’s Corner. It doesn’t need them. The Law Vs. Billy The Kid stands as another a good example of a middle-budget Columbia 50s Western. It was made fast and lean — remember, it was produced by Sam Katzman’s unit. But the pros, craftsmen and artists who made the film work wonders. One of these craftsmen would be Director of Photography Henry Freulich — who spent the bulk of his career at Columbia, shooting everything from Three Stooges shorts to The Durango Kid pictures to the Blondie movies to a slew of William Castle films. (He deserves a plaque here in the Roan house.) Freulich gives Castle’s Technicolor Westerns a bright, crisp look, and I really like the way he used the then-new 1.85 aspect ratio.
* In 1997, the Writers Guild of America restored Bernard’s credit for The Law Vs. Billy The Kid.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 