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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50s Westerns Flea Market Finds.

A trip to Raleigh’s flea market yesterday turned up a couple of arcade cards I was really stoked to find. You see these things all the time, but it’s usually the same stars over and over again. This time, the selection was a little more varied.

First, a Yakima Canutt card from Exhibit. Dates from the 30s, I’d guess.

Canutt went from rodeo champion to cowboy star to the absolute master of movie stunts — going from doubling John Wayne in Stagecoach (1939) to doing second unit direction on my favorite movie, Where Eagles Dare (1969).

Next was a more common card, from the 40s, featuring Tim Holt. Of course, Holt’s Western series for RKO is hard to beat.

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RIP, Nick Redman.

Nick Redman
(1955 – 2019)

I didn’t know Nick Redman, but I sure knew his work. We all do. He made two excellent documentaries that Western fans (should) hold near and dear: The Wild Bunch: An Album In Montage (1996) and A Turning Of The Earth: John Ford, John Wayne And The Searchers (1998). He passed away last week.

He was also one of the founders of Twilight Time, a company that’s released some terrific 50s Westerns on Blu-Ray — Gun Fury (1953, in 3-D) and The True Story Of Jesse James (1957). I’m always grateful to anyone who presents these old movies the way they ought to be seen.

Now Playing

I first became aware of Mr. Redman from the series of Lalo Schifrin soundtrack CDs he produced. The CDs of the Dirty Harry (1971) and Magnum Force (1973) scores have been in almost constant rotation in my office since the day they came out. He did a terrific job putting those together, and I was always hoping he’d get around to Schifrin’s music for Don Siegel’s Charley Varrick (1974). He also did a series of excellent Jerry Fielding CDs, including the complete score to The Wild Bunch (1969).

Western and action movie fans like us certainly owe a debt to Mr. Redman.

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Character Actor Of The Day: Hank Worden.

Been meaning to do a piece on Hank Worden for quite a while. He turned up in an episode of The Lone Ranger last night, so I figured now’s the time.

His real name was Norton Earl Worden, and he was born in Rolfe, Iowa in 1901. He grew up on a ranch in Montana, attended both Stanford University and the University of Nevada, served in the Army, and worked on the rodeo circuit as a bronco rider. While rodeoing in Madison Square Garden, he and Tex Ritter were chosen to play cowhands in Green Grow The Lilacs on Broadway.

That’s Hank in the yellow shirt to the right of Tex Ritter.

Worden broke into the movies with Cecil B. DeMille’s The Plainsman in 1936, and was soon appearing in Tex Ritter’s B Westerns.

Hank with Joanne Dru in Red River (1948)

Hank had a small part in Howard Hawks’s Come And Get It (1936), and they say Hawks recommended Worden to John Ford. For Hawks, he did Red River (1948) and The Big Sky (1952). (Why wasn’t he in Rio Bravo?)

Right, as one of the vile, dim-witted Cleggs in Ford’s Wagon Master (1950)*

As a member of John Ford’s stock company, Worden’s in Stagecoach (1939), Fort Apache (1948), Three Godfathers (1948), Wagonmaster (1950), The Searchers (1956, up top) and more.

As the Parson with Frankie Avalon in Wayne’s The Alamo (1960)

Hank continued to work with John Wayne — as part of his stock company. Their last picture together was Cahill, US Marshall in 1973.

Left, with Forrest Tucker and Kathleen Crowley in The Quiet Gun (1957)

He turns up in so much stuff: a couple of the Ma and Pa Kettle movies, Hellfire (1949), The Quiet Gun (1957), Dragoon Wells Massacre (1957), One-Eyed Jacks (1961‚ Marlon Brando killed him off way too early), Smokey And The Bandit (1977) and Clint Eastwood’s Bronco Billy (1980). On TV, he was on The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Petticoat Junction, even a few episodes of Twin Peaks (his last role).

Hank Worden added something special to every movie he was in, but it’s Mose Harper in The Searchers that he’ll always be remembered for. And that’s not a bad thing at all.

* One of my favorite photos ever posted on this blog.

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Music From The Westerns Of John Wayne And John Ford.

The music label Cherry Red out of the UK has released (or is about to release) a 3-CD set Music From The Westerns Of John Wayne And John Ford. Featuring music from Stagecoach (1939), Fort Apache (1948), Three Godfathers (1948), She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Searchers (1956), Horse Soldiers (1959) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Of course, music is always a huge part of a John Ford picture, so there’s plenty of good stuff here.

Sometimes it’s the original soundtrack (Rio Grande, Horse Soldiers), sometimes it’s from other sources. You can see a track listing here. This promises to be a very cool set. Can’t wait.

Thanks to Mr. Richard Vincent for the tip.

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Hot.

I tend to think of things in terms of movies. Several times a day, real life suggests something in some film I’ve seen at some point.

Temperatures have been through the roof here in Raleigh the last few days. Walking across a parking lot today, I was reminded of John Wayne carrying little Robert William Pedro Hightower to safety in Three Godfathers (1948). Ford and Winton Hoch do a masterful job of conveying the oppressive heat and desolation of the desert. In a Christmas movie!

Now, on to something else, because even thinking about Three Godfathers will choke me up!

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