No movie I know of conveys cold as well as Day Of The Outlaw (1959). So it makes sense I’d be thinking about it today, given the weather here in Raleigh — and after our brief discussion of Tina Louise.
Archive for the ‘Andre de Toth’ Category
50s Westerns Weather Report.
Posted in 1959, Andre de Toth on February 17, 2015 | 38 Comments »
Happy Birthday, Tina Louise.
Posted in 1959, Andre de Toth on February 12, 2015 | 15 Comments »
Tina Louise
Born February 11, 1934
Missed this one by a day. Here’s wishing a happy birthday to Tina Louise. The world knows her as Ginger on Gilligan’s Island, but she’s excellent in Andre de Toth’s Day Of The Outlaw (1959), a 50s Western that is slowly getting the recognition it should’ve enjoyed 56 years ago. It’s one of the best.
This pin-up type shot is featured in the poster and ads for Day Of The Outlaw.
Happy Birthday, Randolph Scott.
Posted in Andre de Toth, Budd Boetticher, Edwin L. Marin, Gordon Douglas, Joel McCrea, Nat Holt, Randolph Scott, Sam Peckinpah on January 23, 2015 | 2 Comments »
George Randolph Scott
(January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987)
This post kicks off The Blogathon For Randolph Scott, January 23-25.
Randolph Scott is my favorite actor, hands down — an opinion that seems to be shared by many who read this blog on an ongoing basis.
As a group, Scott’s Westerns were probably the biggest influence on my decision to take on this blog and book on 50s Westerns — they were certainly my “gateway drug” (beginning with 1958’s Buchanan Rides Alone).
And though he was just an actor playing fictitious characters in a number of medium-budget, 60-year-old cowboy movies, he became a model for the kind of man I want to be.
Scott started out as a somewhat stiff leading man. But he got better and better, and by the 50s, he’d aged into the ideal Western star. Tall, handsome, weathered, commanding, easygoing — and with a Southern drawl that really set him apart. (He made this Georgia kid feel a lot better about his own accent.)
Randolph Scott (from a 1949 newspaper interview): “I make Westerns because I like them. Westerns have been the mainstay of the movie industry ever since its beginning. And they have been good to me.”
Teaming with producers Nat Holt and Harry Joe Brown (separately) — and recruiting directors like Gordon Douglas, Edwin Marin, Andre de Toth and Budd Boetticher, Scott made modest, unpretentious films whose merits become more obvious with each passing year. The best of them are among the finest the genre’s ever seen. The lesser ones are worthwhile if only because Scott’s in them.
Retiring in 1960 after Comanche Station, Scott was persuaded to climb back into the saddle — to appear alongside Joel McCrea in Sam Peckinpah’s Ride The High Country (1962). And that was it. He passed away at 89, an extremely wealthy man thanks to shrewd investing of his movie money.
There are many stories of Scott sitting on Lone Pine locations reading The Wall Street Journal between takes. He saw the “pitcher bidniss” as just that, a business — and found a great deal of success in it. But the quality of the scripts — along with the many talented people he hired, encouraged and re-hired — proves he was paying attention to much more than just budgets and grosses. Movies this good, especially made on tight budgets and schedules, don’t just happen.
And speaking of all those movies, many of them will be covered throughout the weekend. Saddle up and read on.
50s Westerns DVD News #168: Warner Archive Cyber Monday Sale And 60% Off From VCI.
Posted in 1952, Andre de Toth, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Randolph Scott, Republic, Roy Rogers, VCI Entetainment, Warner Archive on December 1, 2014 | 3 Comments »
I’m not sure I get the whole Cyber Monday thing, but who cares when Warner Archive offers up an offer like this? Have at it, folks!
A recommendation, uh, let’s see — Randolph Scott in Carson City (1952).
There’s also a discount available at VCI. Go to vcientertainment.com. The coupon code VCIBF60 will get you 60% off. A recommendation: the absolutely essential Roy Rogers TruColor double feature of Under California Stars (1948) and Bells Of San Angelo (1947).
50s Westerns DVD News #161: Warner Archive 5 For $50 Sale.
Posted in 1952, Andre de Toth, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Randolph Scott, Warner Archive on October 15, 2014 | 1 Comment »
What does Columbus have to do with 50s Westerns? Not much, unless you’re adding to your collection through Warner Archive’s Columbus Day sale — running through midnight tonight.
We’ve gone over all the great stuff you can get through the Archive, so I’ll shut up and let you get to it. But you couldn’t go wrong with Carson City (1952).
Happy Birthday, Randolph Scott.
Posted in 1951, 1955, Andre de Toth, Joseph H. Lewis, Randolph Scott on January 23, 2014 | 7 Comments »
Randolph Scott
(January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987)
Happy birthday to my favorite cowboy star, Randolph Scott. He’s seen above in Man In The Saddle (1951), hanging out with Tennessee Ernie Ford. This is an excellent Scott picture, which you can read all about in a recent post over at Riding The High Country. Or you can stick close to home with A Lawless Street (1955) here.
Happy Birthday, Marie Windsor.
Posted in 1954, Andre de Toth, Marie Windsor, Randolph Scott on December 11, 2013 | 4 Comments »
Marie Windsor
(December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000)
Let’s remember my favorite actress, Marie Windsor, on her birthday. She’s seen here in The Bounty Hunter (1954) with Randolph Scott and Howard Petrie. I fought the urge to highlight yet another still from Hellfire (1949).
