Happy Birthday, William Castle.

William Castle
(April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977)

I’m always on the lookout for a photo of William Castle working on one of his Westerns. This one, from the set of The Americano (1955), is the only one I’ve come across. (He became a lot more visible when he started producing his own horror movies.) He’s seen here with executive producer Sam Wiesenthal and Ursula Thiess. The Americano — with Glenn Ford, Frank Lovejoy, Cesar Romero and Miss Thiess, was a troubled production begun by Budd Boetticher in Brazil and finished some time later by Castle.

William Castle might be my favorite filmmaker. From the Whistler series to gimmicky stuff like House On Haunted Hill (1958), he sure made the movies fun. The low-budget Westerns he did at Columbia for Sam Katzman — pictures like Masterson Or Kansas and The Law Vs. Billy The Kid (both 1954) are among my favorites.

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RIP, Fay McKenzie.

Fay McKenzie
(February 19, 1918 – April 16, 2019)

Fay McKenzie, who co-starred in a number of Gene Autry pictures — among many other things, has passed away at 101.

“I loved working with Gene, he was terrific! I could sing and that was something the earlier girls couldn’t do. Yates knew I had done Broadway; that helped! I could do more than smile and wave at the cowboy!”

Among her credits, she played a neighbor in The Party (1967), directed by her real-life neighbor, Blake Edwards.

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Screening: Gone With The Wind (1939).

Directed by Victor Fleming
Starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Haviland, Thomas Mitchell, Hattie McDaniel, Ward Bond, Yakima Canutt

The Graham Cinema in Graham, North Carolina is running Gone With The Wind (1939) at various times April 28 – May 2.

Sunday, April 28
2:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Monday – Thursday, April 29 – May 2
7:00 PM

They ad above was run when the Graham Cinema featured Gone With The Wind back in 1969.

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50s Westerns Blu-Ray News #277: Man Without A Star (1955).

Directed by King Vidor
Starring Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor, William Campbell, Richard Boone, Mara Corday, Jay C. Flippen, Eddy Waller, Sheb Wooley, George Wallace, Roy Barcroft, Paul Birch, Jack Elam, Myron Healey, Jack Ingram

Kino Lorber has announced the upcoming Blu-Ray release of Man Without A Star (1955). That makes two U-I 50s Westerns announced within a week of each other. I’d sure like to see that trend continue.

Kirk Douglas put the movie together through his new production company, and it made him a lot of money. The picture’s got a great cast — look at all those character actors! It was shot by Russell Metty in Technicolor to be cropped to 2.00 to 1, a short-lived standard at Universal (This Island Earth and The Mole People were also 2:1). Highly recommended.

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RIP, Nancy Gates.

Nancy Gates
(February 1, 1926 – March 24, 2019)

Nancy Gates has passed away at 93. She was from Dallas, signed with RKO at just 15, and made some really good movies before retiring in 1969 to concentrate on her family.

She was particularly strong in Westerns such as Masterson Of Kansas (1954), Stranger On Horseback (1955), The Brass Legend (1956), The Rawhide Trail (1958), The Gunfight At Dodge City (1959) and Comanche Station (1960). Her other pictures include Hitler’s Children (1943), At Sword’s Point (1952), Suddenly (1954), World Without End (1956) and Some Came Running (1958). She was busy on TV, too, with everything from Maverick and Wagon Train to Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Perry Mason.

Around here, we’ll probably always remember her as Mrs. Lowe in Comanche Station. She’s really terrific in that one.

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50s Westerns Blu-Ray News #276: Law And Order (1953).

Directed by Nathan Juran
Starring Ronald Reagan, Dorothy Malone, Preston Foster, Alex Nicol, Ruth Hampton, Russell Johnson, Chubby Johnson, Dennis Weaver, Tom Steele

It’s good to have another 50s Western making its way to Blu-Ray. It’s been a bit of a desert out there. Shout Factory has announced a July release for Nathan Juran’s Law And Order (1953), a solid Technicolor picture from Universal-International. The DVD is quite nice and I’m eager to see how much better Clifford Stine’s gorgeous cinematography comes off in high definition.

Ronald Reagan’s a fed-up lawman who decides to hang up his guns. But you know how those things work out — soon he’s having to strap em back on to settle an old score. Reagan’s cool, Dorothy Malone is beautiful in three-strip Technicolor, and director Nathan Juran settles in for a good run of Westerns at U-I.

I don’t care what your politics are, a Universal 50s Western is coming to Blu-Ray — and that always gets my vote. Recommended.

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Screening: The Searchers (1956) In 35mm.

Directed by John Ford
Starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, Harry Carey, Jr., Hank Worden

John Ford’s The Searchers (1956) might be the finest film ever made, it’s almost certainly the greatest Western ever made, and it’s easily John Wayne’s best performance. Of course, I’m probably preaching to the choir.

Here’s a rare change to see it on film, in a theater. Sorry for the short notice.

Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Pacific Palisades
April 9 & 10, 7 PM
Click the lobby card for details.

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Play Ball!

It’s become a tradition here at 50 Westerns Of The 50s to commemorate baseball’s return with this glorious shot of John Ford in Monument Valley, sporting a Dodgers cap.

Don’t know about you, but I’m always glad to see baseball season come back around.

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