Posted in 1955, Andre de Toth, Kirk Douglas on July 8, 2017| 14 Comments »
Elsa Martinelli
(January 30, 1935 – July 8, 2017)
Elsa Martinelli was an Italian model and actress. She was “introduced” in The Indian Fighter (1955), which was produced by its star, Kirk Douglas, and directed by Andre de Toth.
In the Fifties and early Sixties, she split her movie career between European pictures and American stuff like Howard Hawks’ Hatari! and Orson Welles’ The Trial (both 1962).
She passed away in Rome today at 82.
Posted in 1955, Andre de Toth, Elisha Cook, Hank Worden, Kino Lorber, Kirk Douglas, Making Movies, United Artists on April 6, 2017| 11 Comments »
With The Indian Fighter (1955) making its way to Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber, this seemed like a good time to share some more of the photos my wife’s finding as she helps with the research for my commentary. (Photos don’t do too well in an audio commentary.) I’ve been really wallowing in this movie the last couple weeks.
Here, they’re shooting a scene with Hank Worden and Walter Matthau.
Elisha Cook rests between takes in Bend, Oregon, as Ira Eagleman (whose parents were working as extras) looks on. Cook, Worden, Matthau — what a cast!
A prop man fires flaming arrows at the fort.
Elsa Martinelli, an Italian fashion model, made her screen debut in The Indian Fighter. Douglas’ wife Anne saw her in Vogue and recommended her for the part.
Here, they’re shooting inside the stockade. I can’t find director Andre de Toth in this photo, but this seems to be a scene with Douglas and Walter Abel. The Indian Fighter was the first picture from Douglas’ Bryna Productions. It was also de Toth’s first time chance to work with CinemaScope. He does a couple of really cool 360-degree pans that really use the Scope frame (and show off the distortion in those early Scope lenses).
Posted in 1954, Andre de Toth, Randolph Scott, Warner Bros. on March 27, 2017| 16 Comments »
Some research on Andre de Toth unearthed this goofy news story about the making of The Bounty Hunter (1954), a Randolph Scott picture.
Posted in 1955, Andre de Toth, Kino Lorber, Kirk Douglas, Locations/Ranches, Paul Landres on March 21, 2017| 4 Comments »
I’ve been doing research on Andre de Toth’s The Indian Fighter (1955) for a commentary on Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray. (When it comes to research like this, my wife Jennifer does a lot of the heavy lifting.)
The Indian Fighter was the first picture from Kirk Douglas’ Bryna Productions, and they built an elaborate 200-foot square fort for it. It looks terrific in those CinemaScope tracking shots.
The stockade belonged to the Bend, Oregon, Chamber Of Commerce (it was built by a local construction company), and they rented it out for various things, including Oregon Passage (1958), a Paul Landres picture I really like. A forest fire damaged the area around the fort, really hurting its usefulness as a movie location. It was burned in the early 60s and the area replanted. It’s a shame, since it’s really impressive, compared to other movie forts I’ve seen.
Posted in Andre de Toth, Arthur Hunnicutt, Brian Keith, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Frank Ferguson, John Dehner, Katy Jurado, Lucien Ballard, Neville Brand, Robert J. Wilke, Sam Peckinpah, Slim Pickens, Ted de Corsia, Television, Timeless Media Group, Warren Oates on February 24, 2017| 5 Comments »
The Westerner — the short-lived 1960 Western series created by Sam Peckinpah and starring Brian Keith — is a really amazing thing. First, it’s just a good show, period. Next, for a Peckinpah fan, it’s a chance to see the whole Peckinpah Thing take shape before our eyes. From the dialogue that rings so true to his unique blend of the hard-ass and the sentimental to particular scenes or dialogue that’d crop up in his later work, The Westerner feels like a prototype for Sam’s career (or at least the early part of it). His visual style still had a way to go.
I’ve been dragging around bootleg copies of The Westerner for years. I’d never seen the pilot from Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre — but Shout Factory has taken care of that with their marvelous new two-DVD set. You get the 13 regular episodes and the pilot (featuring Neville Brand at his despicable best), along with commentaries from Peckinpah scholars like Paul Seydor, who’s written some excellent books on Sam and his work. His The Authentic Death And Contentious Afterlife Of Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid: The Untold Story Of Peckinpah’s Last Western Film has become one of my favorite movie books.
Haven’t made it through both discs yet, but all the shows I’ve seen look great. This is one a lot of folks have been waiting for, and this is certainly worth the wait. Right now, it’s a Walmart exclusive — at just $14.96 — and I encourage you to put aside whatever hangups you might have about the megastore and go get one of these. It’s a must.
Posted in Andre de Toth, Brian Keith, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Frank Ferguson, John Dehner, Katy Jurado, Lucien Ballard, Post-1959, Sam Peckinpah, Slim Pickens, Television, Timeless Media Group, Warren Oates on February 16, 2017| 13 Comments »
Fans have been hollering for this one for quite a while. Right now, it’s a Walmart exclusive: The Westerner, the 1960 series created by Sam Peckinpah and starring Brian Keith, is out on DVD from Shout Factory. Only 13 episodes were produced (it was up against The Flintstones) — they’re all terrific, and they’re all here. Also included is the Zane Grey Theatre episode that served as the show’s pilot.
Episodes were directed by the likes of Peckinpah, Andre de Toth and Ted Post. Appearing in those 13 episodes were folks like Warren Oates, Katy Jurado, John Dehner, Slim Pickens, Robert Culp, Frank Ferguson, Virginia Gregg, R.G. Armstrong and Dub Taylor — many of them people Peckinpah would turn to time and time again. Lucien Ballard shot three of them. And Brian Keith’s dog, Brown, is played by Spike, who was also Old Yeller. Highly, highly recommended.
Posted in 1955, Andre de Toth, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Elisha Cook, Jr., Hank Worden, Kino Lorber, Kirk Douglas, United Artists on January 17, 2017| 20 Comments »
Directed by Andre de Toth
Starring Kirk Douglas, Elsa Martinelli, Walter Matthau, Diana Douglas, Walter Abel, Lon Chaney Jr., Eduard Franz, Alan Hale, Jr., Elisha Cook, Jr., Ray Teal, Hank Worden
Kino Lorber has announced the Blu-Ray release of Andre de Toth’s The Indian Fighter (1955), starring Kirk Douglas, for later this year.
L to R: Lon Chaney, Hank Worden and Walter Matthau
It’s a good one, with plenty going for it. That terrific cast — Walter Matthau in a Western, Hank Worden as an Indian. And Andre de Toth working in early CinemaScope, shot by Wilfrid M. Cline. I’m really looking forward to this one.
