Into the West: Stagecoach, One Payload of a Western

(Written by guest columnist Kim Wilson of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die blog.)

It’s difficult to believe that John Wayne wasn’t always a star, but before Stagecoach he and the genre that made him famous, the Western, weren’t doing well. He’d had an earlier chance with The Big Trail (1930), but when that was a flop he was primarily relegated to making B Westerns. The Western itself wasn’t a hot commodity, so when director John Ford pitched the idea for his first sound Western to David O. Selznick, the profit-driven producer took a pass. Big mistake. Instead, Ford and Walter Wanger produced one of the most important Westerns ever made: Stagecoach, a film that delivered the money at the box office, reestablished the Western genre, and made John Wayne a star.

Set in what would become Ford’s staple western setting, Monument Valley, this film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor (Thomas Mitchell) and Best Score. Since most film critics cite Stagecoach as the Western’s savior, it is interesting that, in essence, this is a story about redemption. Screenwriter Dudley Nichols based his script about a group of people traveling on a stagecoach during an Apache uprising on both the Ernest Haycox short story "The Stage to Lordsburg" and Guy de Maupassant’s Boule de Suif. Brimming with colorful characters from various backgrounds, this is a story about overcoming social prejudices and working together to survive a common enemy, in this case a group of angry Apaches.

When the film opens we learn that the Apaches are on the warpath near the Arizona/Mexico border. As the army tries to telegraph nearby Lordsburg the line is cut. It is in Tonto, Arizona where we meet our stage riders: Buck (Andy Devine), the stage driver; Marshal Curley Wilcox (George Bancroft); Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt), a pregnant woman on her way to meet her Cavalry officer husband; Hatfield (John Carradine), a southern gambler; Henry Gatewood (Benton Churchill), the town’s embezzling banker; Dallas (top-billed Claire Trevor), a prostitute forced out of town; Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell in an Oscar winning performance), a penniless drunk who is also forced out of town; and, Sam Peacock (Donald Meek), a whiskey salesman. Before heading out the stagecoach is warned by their cavalry escort Lieutenant Blanchard (Tim Holt) that there could be some trouble with Geronimo on the trail. Surprisingly no one decides to get off. Along the trail the stage encounters Ringo Kid (John Wayne), a young man who has busted out of jail to avenge the deaths of his father and brother from the Plummer clan. The introduction of Wayne’s Ringo is one of the most iconic images of his career: a rapid tracking shot, which zooms in for a close-up of the face that would become the symbol of the Western. Ringo, however, is the symbol of a fugitive and is promptly placed under arrest by Marshal Curley.

When they arrive at the Dry Fork station, Lucy learns that her husband has been ordered to Apache Wells and the stage is told by Lieutenant Blanchard that he can’t escort them any farther. When Buck suggests they stay at Dry Fork, Gatewood, who unbeknownst to the others is on the run with the bank’s money, insists that they continue toward Lordsburg. Curly takes a vote and the ayes have it, so the trip will continue. Meanwhile, at the way station, the passengers become more acquainted with one another over dinner. Not knowing that Dallas is a prostitute, Ringo treats her with respect and sits her next to the pregnant Lucy, who is highly offended and is relieved when Hatfield suggests she move closer to the window to escape the heat. Ringo thinks it’s him they are offended by and tries to leave the table, but Dallas begs him to stay right where he’s at.

With their repast over, the stage heads off toward Apache Wells. When Buck decides to take the mountain road in an attempt to avoid the Apaches, the passengers encounter a dropping temperature and mounting tensions. In an effort to help the uncomfortable Lucy, Dallas offers to let her sleep on her shoulder but is rebuffed by the proper Southern lady. After enduring an expertly filmed dust storm, the stage arrives at Apache Wells. They are greeted by four Mexicans who inform them that the cavalry has already left and that Lucy’s husband has been injured badly in a fight with the Apaches. This causes her to go into labor. Too bad Doc Boone is high as a kite after sampling most of Mr. Peacock’s whiskey on the ride. After ingesting as much coffee as possible, Doc is aided by Dallas in delivering Lucy’s daughter. This is one of the film’s more ironic turns, as the woman who wasn’t good enough to sit next to helps deliver the baby of the woman who shunned her. It also provides us with the image of a maternal Dallas and an admiring Ringo, as she nestles the baby in her arms for inspection. This also sets up the classic image of Ringo watching Dallas walk down a darkened corridor and through a lighted doorway to get some fresh air. It becomes obvious that Ringo and Dallas are falling in love with one another. The problem is, he doesn’t know about her past and he has that pesky business of having to handle his business in Lordsburg, i.e. killing the Plummers. When she tries to explain about her past, he tells her he knows all he needs to know to marry her—that is, if he lives.

The next morning is both literally and figuratively the dawning of a new day. For example, when offered a drink a redemptive Doc refuses, seemingly rededicated to his profession since delivering Lucy’s baby. In addition, Lucy has a newfound admiration for Dallas, who sat up all night with the baby while she recovered her strength. Evidently while she was watching the baby, Dallas hatched an escape plan for Ringo so he wouldn’t go to Lordsburg and a) learn about her past, and b) get shot to death by the Plummers—not certain which one she thought worse. When alone, she gives him a rifle and a horse and sends him on his way. He goes a few yards and then turns back—he sees Apache war smoke in the distance.

The stage hurriedly sets off for the ferry. When they arrive they find the ferry destroyed and all of the residents killed by the Apaches. The men rig the stage with hollowed-out logs to float it across the river. Once they make it across, they find themselves in wide-open country. In true John Ford fashion, the scene is shot from a high ridge that reveals Indians positioned to attack the isolated stage. Thinking that they have averted danger, the passengers are preparing to toast one another when an arrow whizzes by and hits Mr. Peacock in the chest. What ensues is 8 minutes of heart-pounding action, as everyone on the stage bands together to fight off the Indian attack. It is during this sequence that legendary stuntman Enos Yakima Canutt pulls off one of the most spectacular stunts ever: leaping from his horse onto the moving stage, then attempting to grab the reins he is shot by Ringo and falls down between the horses, grabs onto the thing that connects the horses to the stage and is dragged along the ground, only to be shot again which causes him to fall and have six horses and the stage run/roll right over top him—he lives. In the end, just as everyone is about to run out of ammunition the cavalry arrives to save the day. The only fatality is Hatfield, who was shot just before he was about to kill Lucy to save her from being captured and raped by the Indians.

Saved, the stage, escorted by the cavalry, arrives in Lordsburg. When friends of one of the Plummers sees Ringo on the stage they go to alert them of his arrival. Ringo then asks Marshall Curley to escort Dallas to his ranch across the border. The Marshall agrees and gives Ringo ten minutes to say goodbye to Dallas and to take care of his business with the Plummers. When Ringo tries to escort Dallas home, she refuses to tell him where she lives. In the end, he escorts her to a brothel and tells her he knows about her past and still wants to marry her. With this cleared up, Ringo sets off for the deserted street that will be the scene of his final stand against the three Plummers. Shot mostly in silhouette, Ford uses a long-shot to capture the adversaries as they advance closer to each other. At the last moment Ringo throws himself to the ground and fires three shots. When Dallas hears the shots she believes Ringo is dead. Amidst her grief, Dallas hears the sound of boots walking up behind her and turns to find Ringo emerging from the shadows. When Curly and Doc come to collect Ringo they allow the young couple to escape to Mexico and the freedom of a new beginning.

Truly a stellar film on every level. Bert Glennon’s cinematography is spectacular and sets the standard for all Westerns to follow. The plot, nothing short of a morality tale about the power of redemption, is engaging and at times gripping. The action sequences, both the Apache attack and the final shootout sequence sets the bar very high for the rest of the genre. And, finally, the cast is superb. Everyone does a wonderful job playing their particular part in this morality tale. Thomas Mitchell’s Doc and John Carradine’s Hatfield are truly memorable characters. In addition, Claire Trevor pulls off a superb performance as a woman of the world who just wants to be loved and respected. Her performance is multi-faceted. And, finally, John Wayne is excellent as the vengeance seeking Ringo. By far not one of my favorite actors, Wayne gives perhaps his second-best performance (The Quiet Man being his best) here. What he accomplished in this role launched him into a new phase of his career and created the quintessential image of the rugged cowboy in Hollywood’s classic film age. In addition, this film laid the cornerstones for what John Ford would later accomplish in the Western genre.

Into the West: Errol and Cuddles Tame a Town "full of men who look as if they'd step on baby chickens"

Errol Flynn was on the downside of his movie career when Warner Bros. put him back in the saddle again for 1945’s San Antonio. There was a time when scriptwriters tried to explain Flynn’s accent when he was cast in a Western. In Dodge City, he played an Irish soldier of fortune who journeyed to the American West. By 1945, though, he had already starred in four previous Westerns, so no explanation was required. It’s really a nod to Flynn’s versatility and charisma that he could attract audiences in swashbucklers, war films, Westerns, comedies, and even the occasional serious fare (e.g., That Forsyte Woman).

San Antonio is a mid-tier Warner Bros. effort that benefits from a solid cast, sturdy production values, and a splash of Technicolor. Still, it’s obvious that it was never intended to be a blockbuster Western in the mold of the studio’s earlier Dodge City and They Died With Their Boots On. In fact, the main theme is the same one composed by Max Steiner for Dodge. The screenplay, penned by Alan LeMay and W.R. Burnett, lacks originality and can’t supporting the film’s running time of 111 minutes.

Set in 1877, San Antonio opens with Charley Bates (John Litel) tracking his good friend, Clay Hardin (Flynn) to Mexico. Hardin left Texas after a gang of baddies burned his ranch, stole his cattle, shot him, and left him for dead. Rather than wallow in his misfortune, Hardin has sought out a tally book that links wealthy Roy Stuart (Paul Kelly) to the large-scale cattle rustling scheme. He returns to San Antonio to expose Stuart. Along the way, he meets a singer (Alexis Smith) and her entourage (Florence Bates and S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall).

Admittedly, there are some bright spots in San Antonio. Alexis gets to warble the Oscar-nominated “Some Sunday Morning” in a saloon musical number. Part of the climatic gunfight takes place at night, in the shadows of the Alamo (the film was shot at Warners’ Calabasas Ranch near Burbank). Indeed, the interior sets, which also earned an Oscar nomination, pop out in vibrant color. It’s interesting, too, to have two villains (Kelly and Victor Francen) who try to get the goods on each other while keeping an eye on Flynn.

However, the film’s overall entertainment value hinges on its cast and they prove most capable. Errol and Alexis don’t generate a lot of sparks, but they exhibit a natural rapport which probably accounts for why they were paired so often (their best film being Gentleman Jim). Cuddles Sakall and Florence Bates are in top form in supporting roles played mostly for laughs. In a stagecoach scene with Alex and Errol, they have the following exchange when Florence—anxious to get Alexis married—inquires about the marital status of Errol’s character.

Cuddles (to Florence): “You were very rude. He wouldn’t marry you anyway.”

Florence: “I wasn’t asking for myself.”

Cuddles: “Don’t ask him for me either.”

It’s the kind of silly exchange that only Cuddles Sakall could make genuinely funny with his unique way of delivering dialogue. He and Errol teamed again for the following year’s entertaining comedy Never Say Goodbye with Eleanor Parker.

After San Antonio, Errol Flynn made three more Westerns. Montana reteamed him with Alexis Smith and Cuddles Sakall, but was a low-key affair. His leading lady in Rocky Mountain, Patrice Wymore, became his third and final wife. The most interesting of the trio was Silver River, which provided Errol with a juicy role as an unlikable silver mine owner in an offbeat variation of David and Bathsheba.

(Both Cuddles and Florence Bates have been profiled as Underrated Performers of the Week at the Cafe. Click on their underlined names to read the tributes to them.)

Into the West: Ethics and the Gunfighter in "Have Gun--Will Travel"

The 1960s were the Golden Age of the television Western with such classic series as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Rifleman, and Rawhide. In defining the "best" Western of the decade, one could easily argue the merits of a dozen or so series. However, when it comes to television's most memorable Western character of the 1960s, the answer is clearly Paladin from Have Gun--Will Travel.

A resident of the upscale Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, Paladin is a gentleman of refined tastes. He smokes only the finest imported cigars, wears expensive tailored suits, tips lavishly, and has a regular boxed seat at the opera house. No one knows exactly what he does for a living. In one episode, the desk clerk remarks:  "He must have investments all over the West. He's always going away on business trips."

Paladin's profession, of course, is as a gunfighter for hire. He selects his jobs carefully, usually by reading newspapers from throughout the region and honing in on situations that interest him. In "A Matter of Ethics," an episode from the first season, Paladin reads about a convicted murderer who fears he will be lynched before his trial. Paladin offers his services simply  by sending an envelope containing his business card (shown at right).

Paladin meets his prospective client Holgate (Harold J. Stone) aboard a train heading to Bender, Wyoming. Holgate, who's in the sheriff's custody, explains that the son of Max Bender--the man who founded the town--"caught a bullet" from him. For a fee of $200, Paladin agrees to ensure that Holgate is delivered safely to trial.

When they arrive in Bender, Paladin learns that the dead man's sister, Amy (a dark-haired Angie Dickinson), has been "stirring the pot" for a lynching. While he doesn't condone her actions, Paladin is sympathetic toward Amy: "She can't strap on a gun and fight this with her own hands."

By the end of the episode, guns have been fired and two people are dead. But, as is often the case with Have Gun--Will Travel, the outcome is unexpected and yet satisfying. Paladin honors his contract, gets paid, and maintains his code of ethics along the way. In one of the best scenes in the episode, Paladin explains his ethics by quoting two passages from Robert Browning--as the sheriff and Holgate gaze at him with perplexed expressions.

Richard Boone, who forged a solid if unspectacular screen career, is superb as Paladin. I can't imagine anyone else in the part...or really parts. Paladin is almost a man of dual personas: the gentleman dressed in white and the gunfighter garbed in black. They are one and the same person, of course. The gentleman gets tough in a few episodes and the gunfighter, as previously noted, quotes poetry and still smokes those fine cigars. It's like the black and white pieces on a chess board, one side of the game board mirroring the other. It's an appropriate analogy given the chess piece--the knight--inscribed on Paladin's card and holster.

"A Matter of Ethics"," written by series co-creator Sam Rolfe, is a strong outing in an outstanding TV series. In addition to Dickinson, it features a nice supporting turn by Strother Martin as an attorney that doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. It's a good introduction to a great series. Start with it and you can look forward to even better episodes penned by the likes of Bruce Geller (the man behind Mission: Impossible) and Gene Roddenberry (who created some sci fi show that aired in the late 1960s).

This Western Heats Up With a Red Sun

One of my favorite western movies is Red Sun. It is considered a formula Spaghetti Western that has loads of action and a simple plot. However, I think Red Sun has an interesting plot that tells the story of a friendship between two very different men who are culturally worlds apart.

The movie was made in Spain in 1971 and released in the United States a year later. With the apparent goal of attracting an international audience, the four stars were from different countries: Charles Bronson (U.S); Alain Delon (France); Ursula Andress (Switzerland); and Toshiro Mifune (Japan). Bronson had become a popular European performer by the early 1970s and had starred in several previous Westerns. Delon was known for his roles as a handsome man who often gets in trouble with the ladies. One of his most famous movies is 1960’s Plein Soleil (aka Purple Noon), which was remade as The Talented Mr. Ripley in 1999 with Matt Damon. Ursula Andress played the first Bond girl in Dr. No. Toshiro Mifune was Japan’s most well-known star, mostly due to his roles in Akira Kurosawa films like The Seven Samurai (which was remade in the U.S. as The Magnificent Seven with Bronson). Many critics consider the Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson movie, Shanghai Noon ( 2000), a spoof of Red Sun.

Director Terence Young had already scored huge hits with several James Bond movies such as: Dr. No (1962) with Ursula Andress; From Russia with Love (1963); and Thunderball (1965). He also directed The Valachi Papers in 1972 with Charles Bronson in the lead role again.

Set in the mid-19th century, Red Sun opens with a Japanese ambassador traveling by train from the Western U.S. to Washington, DC. His mission is to deliver an ancient samurai sword as a gift to the President of the U.S. The ambassador is accompanied by two samurai body guards, one of which is Toshiro Mifune who plays Kuroda. Gauche (Alain Delon), a bandit leader, and his partner Link (Bronson) rob the train. They have no idea where this train is going or who is traveling on it. After the robbery, Gauche turns on Link and tries to kill him. Then, he takes all the money and the samurai sword and kills Kuroda’s samurai friend. The Japanese ambassador tells Kuroda to find the samurai sword in seven days and return it in the same place when the train returns. If Kuroda does not retrieve the sword and kill Gauche for taking it, he will have to commit suicide because of his failure.

Link and Kuroda seek out Gauche for two different reasons. Kuroda wants to kill Gauche for taking the sword and killing his friend. Link wants to find Gauche and keep him alive until he can take him to where he has hidden the money. Link and Kuroda put their differences aside and decide to work together. These two culturally different men begin a trek to find Gauche and his hide out. While traveling together, Kuroda and Link began to respect one another. Link knows the territory and Kuroda is a worthy ally with his samurai sword. The two men form an unlikely friendship, with Link always questioning and making fun of Kuroda ,who retorts how odd he finds Americans.

Link knows that Gauche is traveling to a whorehouse to see his girlfriend Cristina, a beautiful prostitute played by Ursula Andress. Link forces Cristina to take him to Gauche’s hideout. Andress’s performance as the prostitute, who Gauche loves and spoils, is priceless. She is not only whiny, but has a very nasty temper. Cristina agrees to take Link and Kuroda to Gauche, but she escapes and goes to find Gauche herself. Unfortunately, she is quickly surrounded by Indians who want to torture her to death. What Link and Kuroda do for Cristina shows their respect and compassion for her. Link reveals that he may be a bandit, but is also a man with goodness in him.

The climax of Red Sun is not only exciting, but creatively filmed. It is one of my favorite scenes in a Western movie. The ending is a nice surprise, too. Despite its emphasis on action, Red Sun is a well-done story about the friendship between East versus West.

The film also features a memorable score by veteran film composer Maurice Jarre. He wrote quite a few impressive musical scores for film and television, winning Oscars for the following: Lawrence of Arabia (1962); Doctor Zhivago (1965); and A Passage to India (1984). My favorite of his scores is Red Sun and the title theme is on my iPod.

Charles Bronson was a man who loved horses. The horse he rides in this movie is his own. Notice the beautiful Spanish Andalusian horse that Andress rides too.

Red Sun is a hard movie to find on video and has not been released on DVD. Unfortunately, I do not own it on video, but I saw it recently on AMC. If you like Spaghetti Westerns and are a Charles Bronson fan, this is a must-see movie.

Studio Logos Tournament: Round One (continued)

Last week, Universal knocked off Warner Bros. for an easy 11-2 victory and The Archers upended 20th Century-Fox by a 7-4 score for a huge upset win. This week, we move the right side of the bracket with little Republic facing off against MGM and Paramount clashing with Columbia. (Click on the graphic below to view an enlarged version.)

Republic’s first logo was the Liberty Hall tower with a tolling bell. In the late 1940s, the logo was changed to the now familiar eagle on the mountain peak.

The MGM logo of a growling lion first appeared in the 1920s for the Metro-Goldwyn Company. The logo stuck when Louis Mayer joined the fold and MGM was born. There have been a few different lions over the years and a handful of interesting variations, such as when the lion transformed into an animated vampire at the start of The Fearless Vampire Killers.

Created in 1914, Paramount's mountain may be the oldest surviving studio logo. Naturally, it has been tweaked a few times, most notably when it was redesigned for widescreen films in the 1950s. It has also made "guest appearances" in films like The Road to Utopia.

Columbia's logo, known as both "Miss Liberty" and "Torch Lady," appeared as early as the 1920s. Like the Paramount mountain, it was redesigned for widescreen in the 1950s. It has also been tailored for certain films, such as Cat Ballou, in which Miss Liberty transformed into an animated, gun-toting version of the title character.


Those are the teams for the match-ups this week. Cast your votes in the green sidebar on the right and join us next week when then Final Four teams are revealed in the Studio Logos Tournament!

(To read more about the history of studio logos, check out Rick Mitchell's excellent article "Everything You Wanted To Know About American Film Company Logos But Were Afraid To Ask" at Hollywood Lost and Found.

Trivia Time - Part 28

This week's Trivia Time will still have a Western theme, but because of "March Madness" starting, anything might show up. You have been warned!

Who Am I? I am a Republic Western star. Legend has it that I could be the voice of a famous non-human TV star. Oh Wilbur, who am I?

#1. Gary Lockwood had a small uncredited part as a Russian basketball player in what film? Who was the director?

#2. Brain Buster #1: What other future star also had a uncredited part in this film?

#3. Brain Buster #2: This film is famous as the first film of whom?

#4. Brain Buster #3:  Bill Bixby had a uncredited part in this film that also had a small credited part by this actor, a future president of the SAG (Screen Actors Guild). Who is he and whats's the film?

#5. Brain Buster#4: In what modern Western did Walter Matthau play a sheriff?

#6. Who Composed the music for the above film?

#7. Brain Buster #5: The Warner Bros. 1954 Sci Fi classic Them! has small parts (one credited and two uncredited) by future TV stars. Who has the credited part and who is uncredited?

#8. Brain Buster #6: This one is hard! In the following clip from the first season of F Troop, there is some stock footage in the opening from two classic Warners Bros. Westerns. What are the films (big hint: they both starred Errol Flynn.)



#9. Brain Buster #7: Tony Curtis and Larry Storch did three films together. For a FREE PASS for next week, be the first to name them in order!

#10. Brain Buster #8: George C. Scott did two episodes of this series starring Glen Corbett. Name the show.

#11. What two actors in order played the role of Zefram Cochrane?

Underrated Performer of the Week: Jonathan Frid

He was once so popular that he received massive amounts of mail from his female fans imploring that he nibble on their necks. No, I'm not talking about Robert Patinson from the Twilight movies nor the two vampire hunks from True Blood. No, not even Frank Langella, who played a sexy Dracula on Broadway and in film. All those performers owe no small debt to the original vampire-turned-pop culture phenomenon: Dark Shadows's Barnabus Collins, as played by Canadian actor Jonathan Frid.

Born in Ontario in 1924, John Herbert Frid began acting in prep school as a teenager. He studied drama at McMaster University in Ontario, though his college days were interrupted by a stint in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. After the war, he graduated from McMaster and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatics Arts in London.

Returning to Canada in 1949, he worked in repertory companies and on television. Five years later, he enolled in the Yale School of Drama, eventually earning a Master's degree in directing in 1957. His first love was acting, though, and he played a wide range of roles for the next ten years--from Shakespearean characters to Starbuck in The Rainmaker. He gradually became interested in teaching drama and was looking for a position at a college when he was offered a brief stint as a vampire in a daytime soap called Dark Shadows.

Dan Curtis created Dark Shadows for ABC in 1966 as a contemporary Gothic soap set in the New England town of Collinsport. The show didn't perform well initially, so in an effort to liven things up, a plotline involving a ghost was added. Viewer interest perked up a little, so Curtis and head writer Art Wallace introduced a vampire in episode 211--and a pop culture icon was born.

A conflicted vampire still pining for his beloved (but long-dead) Josette, Barnabas was alternately charming and cruel--a perfect, well-rounded role for the Shakespearean-trained Frid to sink his teeth into (sorry...I just had to write that). Frid and Dark Shadows became so popular that Curtis adapted the series in 1970 as the theatrical film House of Dark Shadows (which summarized some of the show's plots and added an "ending"). Its financial success resulted in a sequel called Night of Dark Shadows, which didn't feature Barnabas...a bad decision in terms of box office.

After its burst of mainstream popularity, Dark Shadows faded slowly as must-see daytime television. The series ended in 1971. Frid, though, continued to stay busy. He starred in the made-for-TV movie The Devil's Daughter (with Joseph Cotten and Shelley Winters), headlined Oliver Stone's 1974 horror film Seizure, and returned to theatre.

Frid began doing readings at Dark Shadows conventions in the 1980s. He enjoyed that so much that he eventually developed the Readers Theatre and a one-man show. He also continued to perform on the stage in productions such as Arsenic and Old Lace and Mass Appeal.

Jonathan Frid never married. He is now 85 and semi-retired. But his legacy lives on--Johnny Depp may play Barnabus in a new version of Dark Shadows being developed by Tim Burton.

Trivia Time Part 27 - The Answers

Well, looks like it was a good week for Trivia Time. Only one and a half questions were not answered. Good work, everyone! Here is what you missed:

Who Are We? Saz got Richard Boone and Hugh, but forgot Glen Corbett in Big Jake.

Saz, Richard got it in this one, too.

For #4, the hero of the Clayton Moore Republic Serials was Commando Cody, Sky Marshal of the Universe (later called Commander Cody). Here is a clip from 1952's Radar Men from the Moon.Watch for Clayton in the cave hideout.

Into the West: The River of No Return (1954)

River of No Return (1954). Romantic/adventure/western. Director: Otto Preminger. Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum and Rory Calhoun.

In the beautiful Northwest Mountains 1875, there is a small town made up tents filled with saloons, gamblers and entertainers trying to make a living. Just released from prison, Matt Calder rides into the city looking for his 9-year-old son, who he had sent there from Illinois. When he finds his son Mark, the boy insists on saying goodbye to Kay, the saloon singer who has been keeping an eye on him. Kay scolds Calder for leaving his son alone. He thanks Kay and quickly leaves. On the ride home, Calder promises Mark that they are going to have a good life together.

At the saloon, Kay's fiance, gambler Harry Weston, rushes in to tell her that he has won a gold claim in a poker game and must go to the city to file the deed. Kay believes that Weston cheated to get the money, but he talks her into go along. Soon, they are floating in a raft down the river toward the big city. They have trouble in the rapids, but fortunately they are near Calder's farm, and are pulled to safety.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Calder tells Weston that he is crazy to brave the river. Weston offers to buy his rifle and horse so that he can ride to the city. Calder says that he needs his rifle and horse to protect the farm. Weston steals the rifle and horse and claims that he will return them, then knocks him out when Calder tries to stop him. Stunned, Kay decides to stay behind and take care of Calder while Weston rides off. When Calder comes to, he sees that Indians have been watching and are about to attack, so he quickly loads Mark and Kay onto the raft and head down the river. Calder watches as the farm is burns. That night, as they camp by the river, Kay tries to explain that Weston is really not a bad man. When she realizes that Calder intends to go after Weston, she tries to cut the raft free, but Calder stops her . He does not understand her devotion to a man who would leave a child to die. She reminds him Harry never killed a man like he did. Mark overhears their argument and Matt is forced to tell the truth about his past to his son. They return to the river and so begins their adventure as they fight off Indians and the elements, trying to keep from starving and trying to learn each others' secrets. The story is charming and beautifully photographed. I thought Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe made a great team. The ending will pull at your heart strings.

FUN FACTS:

The three pairs of jeans that Marilyn Monroe wore in the movie were among a collection of her personal items that were sold for $42,550 at auction at Christies Auction House to designer Tommy Hilfiger.

This movie was not the first meeting of Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. Mitchum had worked at Lockheed Aircraft with Monroe's first husband, James Dougherty. The two had met on at least one occasion during the mid 1940s.

Marilyn Monroe's singing voice was dubbed by Gloria Wood.

Dial H for Hitchcock: Foreign Correspondent...an underrated gem

In 1941 Alfred Hitchcock became one of a select few who have directed more than one film nominated for Best Picture in the same year. What makes this especially significant in Hitchcock's case is that the two of his films nominated for the 1940 award were his very first Hollywood movies: Rebecca and Foreign Correspondent.

Rebecca won the golden statuette, one of nine nominations and two wins, and it remains highly respected today. Foreign Correspondent was nominated for six Oscars but eventually fell into a relative obscurity. Though not one of the director's ultimate tours de force, it is nevertheless a well-made classic that deserves recognition.

The story is set on the eve of World War II. A newspaper publisher (Harry Davenport) is fed up with the fluff his correspondents in Europe have been sending back. He decides to assign an ambitious crime reporter (Joel McCrea) to London in hopes of getting the real story as events unfold. The intrepid reporter eagerly pursues his assignment and in the process uncovers an espionage ring, befriends a trusty pair of cohorts (George Sanders and Robert Benchley) and falls in love with a beautiful woman (Laraine Day).

The film harkens back to Hitchcock's earlier British films and connects with his later films in various ways. As with The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes and other of his British movies, foreign intrigue drives the plot (a scenario Hitchcock returned to several times on later films including Saboteur, Notorious and North by Northwest). The director's penchant for 'doubles' also surfaces here (the diplomat and his imposter, McCrea's character has two names, Herbert Marshall's character leads a double life). Hitchcock also makes effective use of landmark locations, another trademark device.

Foreign Correspondent is a showcase of Hitchcock's cinematic artistry, particularly his mastery of the set-piece. One of the film's most striking features is a series of famous set-pieces that established a high-water mark to that point and set the standard for his later films.

The first involves a political assassination on the steps of Amsterdam Square during a downpour. The sudden, shocking murder is followed by pursuit of the assassin through a visual sea of bobbing umbrellas and into rain-washed city streets.

The next takes place in the Dutch countryside, where McCrea and two others have tracked the assassin. As McCrea takes in the scene from a Frankenstein-ian windmill, he notices that one of the windmills is turning backward, against the wind, and this tips him off that things are amiss. He moves in closer to investigate...

A third is set back in London, where McCrea agrees to take on a bodyguard who is actually a killer (Edmund Gwenn). This jovial henchman repeatedly puts the reporter in harm's way, and their final harrowing scene together takes place in the tower of Westminster Cathedral. The entire sequence is both amusing and terrifying.

Finally, and most dramatically, is the crash of a transatlantic clipper into the sea. Devised long before the advent of sophisticated special effects and CGI, the scene was magnficently and simply conceived. The crash is viewed from the back of a cockpit set. Footage filmed from a stunt plane diving over the ocean was rear-projected onto rice paper at the front of the set. Behind the rice paper were water tanks with chutes aimed at the cockpit windshield so that, at the precise moment Hitchcock pushed a button, water would burst through the paper giving the effect that the plane is crashing nose-first into the ocean. The action surrounding the crash encompasses the chaos and hysteria aboard the clipper when it comes under attack as well as the struggle of passengers to escape the sinking plane and survive on a floating wing.

Though Hitchcock's first choice for the lead was Gary Cooper, Joel McCrea hits all the right notes as the dedicated news hound, a slightly rumpled American everyman. He is ably assisted by Sanders as a wry and eccentric newsman, and Benchley as another quirky reporter. Edmund Gwenn's turn as the affable would-be killer is marvelous; Albert Basserman was Oscar-nominated for his role as an abducted diplomat. Herbert Marshall delivers his usual fine performance as the head of an international group and Harry Davenport is always an asset. Laraine Day is fetching as Marshall's daughter and McCrea's love interest, but doesn't bring much more to the part. In this case either of Hitchcock's original choices, Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Fontaine, would've better filled the bill.

Foreign Correspondent has sometimes been called a propaganda film, and foremost among those making the claim was Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Although McCrea's final speech is an impassioned wake up plea to America (and was reportedly added by producer Walter Wanger), it hardly characterizes the film as a whole. In my view, Foreign Correspondent is one very fine brew of mystery, suspense, romance and wit.

What do you think? Love it or hate it, take it or leave it..what are your impressions of Foreign Correspondent?

Studio Logos Tournament: Round One

In the spirit of college basektball's "March Madness," the weekly poll for this month will be replaced by a tournament pitting famous studio logos against one another. For each matchup, the winner will be determined by the studio logo that receives the most votes. The winners "play" each other the next week until, by the end of March, we have a tournament champion. The brackets are shown below (click the graphic to enlarge):

There's always controversy on "Selection Sunday," so feel free to disagree with the logos picked for the tournament. The committee (OK, it was just me) tried to pick a diverse group of well-known favorites, plus a couple of underdogs like The Archers logo.

The two matchups for this week pit Universal against Warner Bros. and 20th Century-Fox against The Archers.

Universal's logo has changed as many as nine times over the years, from an airplane circling the Earth ("It's a Universal Picture!") to the "Art Deco Globe" (shown on the right) to variations of its current color logo.

The Warner Bros. shield may have originated as early as the late 1920s. Although it uas undergone minor tweaks over the years, the "WB" letters within the shield have been there since the early 1930s. The logo pictured here was designed especially for 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood.

The heavy favorite in this week's second matchup is 20th Century-Fox searchlight logo. It was designed in 1933 by artist Emil Kosa, Jr. for  20th Century Pictures. When 20th Century merged with the Fox Film Corporation in 1935, Kosa redesigned the logo for the new company name.

The Archers logo was born when filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger formed their own production company in 1942 called...The Archers. The partnership ended amicably in 1957, though Powell continued to use a variation of the archery shield logo for some of his films.

Those are the matchups for this week. Please cast your votes in the green sidebar on the right. Next week, MGM takes on Republic and Columbia plays Paramount!

Trivia Time - Part 27

Well, it's time to saddle up and get on down the trail with this week's Trivia Time, the Westerns Part 2.

Who Are We? In the 50's and 60's, we had our own TV series, but in the 70's John Wayne sent us to Boot Hill. Who Are We? (One of us he sent there twice.)

#1. Who was the Restless Gun?
#2. Scott Brady was the star of what TV series?
#3. Brain Buster #1 - On the Roy Rogers TV show, what was the name of Pat Brady's Jeep?
#4. Before the Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore was in a few Republic serials as a bad guy. What was the name of the hero?
#5. Who were the stars of the Saturday morning modern Western Fury?
#6. Brain Buster #2. What kind of plane did "Sky King" fly?
#7. Brain Buster #3.Who was the star of Tales of Wells Fargo? On what network?
#8. Brain Buster #4 Name four Bob Hope Westerns.
#9. Joan Hackett was in what two westerns? Who were her co-stars?
#10. Brain Buster #5. In The last scene in The Searchers, John Wayne grabs his arm as a "tribute" to whom?

OK Here is a Big Clue about Sky King's Plane

The Friday Night Late Movie: The Dead Won't Stay Dead in Lucio Fulci's "Zombie"

In New York waters, a boat is discovered floating aimlessly. Two policemen board the vessel and are suddenly attacked by a huge man (who appears to be... uh... decomposing). One officer is killed, but the other shoots the man, who falls into the water. The boat owner's daughter, Anne (Tisa Farrow -- Mia's younger sister), is concerned about her father, who, last she heard, was on an island doing research. She meets a reporter, Peter (Ian McCulloch), and they travel to Matool, the island in question. There they quickly learn that Matool is a place where the natives ceaselessly play drums and practice voodoo. Oh, and the dead stand up, walk around, and have an insatiable appetite for living flesh.

Lucio Fulci's Zombie (1979) was originally released in Italy as Zombi 2. The Italian release of George A. Romero's 1978 Dawn of the Dead was titled Zombie: Dawn of the Dead (and, for good measure, was re-edited by filmmaker Dario Argento and re-scored by rock band/Argento collaborators Goblin). Fulci's movie was initially conceived as a pseudo-sequel to Romero's popular film, but Fulci's work owes more to Jacques Tourneur's classic 1943 I Walked with a Zombie. Dawn of the Dead, as with many of Romero's films, dealt with people dropped into seemingly impossible situations. If you follow his Dead series, you can see characters fighting for survival, but you will also see them adapt: trying to understand the zombies themselves in Day of the Dead (1985) and making an effort to live among them in Land of the Dead (2005). The "horror" is there, but people can endure. Fulci does not offer such hope in his movie. Like Tourneur's film, Zombie is shrouded in a rich atmosphere: an ever-present wind, a sun that seems to hide itself, the sound of drums coming from everywhere. It's not necessarily the zombies that the people need fear. It's an unseen evil that, sadly, is inescapable. This was a characteristic that would carry over to future Fulci films, such as City of the Living Dead (1980/aka Gates of Hell), The Beyond (aka Seven Doors of Death), and The House by the Cemetery (both 1981).

Before Zombie, Fulci had made a variety of films, from thrillers to erotic comedies and Spaghetti Westerns. Not surprisingly, following the success of Zombie, he began to focus on horror films. Fulci is notorious among horror fans for his graphic and gory features, and Zombie is no exception. His films are certainly not for the squeamish, but one cannot write off his films as exploitative. He's a talented filmmaker who delivers the frights, as well as the gory parts. One of his best known gore sequences is from Zombie, involving a splintered door and an eyeball. It's undoubtedly memorable, but it's likely remembered because, for many years, it was cut from multiple video versions. Recent DVD releases have included the scene intact.

The tagline for the American release of Zombie was the rather brazen, "We are going to eat you!" Similarly, Zombie was released in the U.K. as Zombie Flesh Eaters. Fulci is credited as the director of Zombi 3 (1988), but he reportedly only directed part of the film, with nearly half of what appears on screen being helmed by an uncredited Bruno Mattei. The Italian zombie film, After Death (1988), was released in the U.S. as Zombie 4: After Death, while Killing Birds, actually released the year before, was given a U.S. title of Zombie 5: Killing Birds. In the U.K., Zombi 3 and After Death were titled, respectively, Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 and Zombie Flesh Eaters 3.

Fulci, as he typically did, makes a cameo in his film. He plays the newspaper editor who assigns Peter the story on the abandoned boat. In 1996, shortly after making an appearance at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors (the director's only time at a U.S. film convention), Lucio Fulci died of diabetic complications.

Into the West: James Stewart, Anthony Mann, and a Bell on the Saddle

James Stewart and director Anthony Mann made five classic Westerns together between 1950 and 1955. In order of personal preference, they are: The Far Country; Winchester ’73 (1950); Bend of the River (1952); The Naked Spur (1953); and The Man From Laramie (1955). Although Stewart plays a different character in each film, his protagonists are social misfits that share traits such as bitterness, shady pasts, and, when necessary, ruthlessness. As cowpoke Jeff Webster in The Far Country, his mottos are: “Nobody ever did anything for nothing” and “I take care of me.”

The Far Country begins in Seattle in 1896 with Jeff and partner Ben (Walter Brennan) loading cattle onto a steamer heading to Skagway, Alaska. The boat hasn’t even left the dock when Jeff runs into trouble with the law when two cowhands accuse him of murder. Jeff avoids capture by ducking into a stateroom. Its occupant, pretty saloon owner Ronda Castle (Ruth Roman), hides him from the authorities (in her bed, no less, with her in it!).

Once Jeff and Ben reach Skagway, their real problems start with Jeff running afoul of Mr. Gannon (John McIntire), the town’s self-appointed judge, mayor, and sheriff. Apparently patterned after the real-life Judge Roy Bean, Gannon provides a semblance of law and order as long as he can make a personal profit. While he holds court at a poker table in a saloon, Gannon tells Jeff: “I’m gonna like you. I’m gonna hang you, but I’m gonna like you.”

As with Winchester ’73 and Bend of the River, the narrative goes down several unexpected paths before the final showdown. But the plot is less important in The Far Country than its characters and theme of civilization overtaking the frontier. Even in a small, isolated goldmining community, its residents dream of making it a “real town” with a school, a church, and a sheriff. The townsfolk don’t like Ronda, because her saloons attract the wrong kind of people. Ironically, the townspeople want Jeff to be part of the community (as does Ben), but Jeff rejects that idea. It could be that Jeff resists the notion of civilization conquering the West. As Ben points out, Jeff always keeps going from place to place—talking of settling down one day, but never doing it. Only when he suffers a personal loss does Jeff finally take action against Gannon and his henchmen and become part of the community.

John McIntire stands out among a fine cast, bringing roguish charm to the role of villain. It’s probably his best part in a long, successful career of supporting performances (including the sheriff in Psycho).

Director Mann is also at the top of his game, pitting the clean vistas of white, snowcapped mountains against the muddy streets of the ugly towns. But it’s the little touches like the bell on Jeff’s saddle that make The Far Country memorable. Ben explains that he bought the bell to hang over the door of the house where he and Jeff will settle down (“I like to know when my friends is coming”). It’s not until the final scene that Mann reveals the important role that the tiny bell (which represents community?) will play in the proceedings. Even after the somewhat too convenient denouement, it’s the tinkle of that bell that lingers in memory.

Fonda and Bronson Face Off in Leone's Masterpiece "Once Upon a Time in the West"

"Big," "epic," and "sprawling" are the words critics frequently use to describe this now-revered 1968 Spaghetti Western. Yet, despite its lengthy running time and visually massive backdrop, Once Upon a Time in the West focuses tightly on the relationships among four people over a relatively short period of time. These characters are: Frank (Henry Fonda), a ruthless gunfighter who aspires to be a powerful businessman; Cheyenne (Jason Robards), a rascally outlaw with killer instincts; Jill (Claudia Cardinale), a former prostitute in search of a more meaningful life; and a mysterious revenge-minded stranger whom Cheyenne calls Harmonica (Charles Bronson).

Each character is introduced to the accompaniment of his or her own musical theme, memorably composed by Ennio Morricone. The mood of these themes range from playful (for Cheyenne) to bold and abrupt (Frank) to sweetly old-fashioned (Jill) to eerily disturbing (Harmonica). The last theme--an almost off-key four-note piece--is often played by Bronson's character on the harmonica he wears around his neck.

In addition to the musical motifs, director Sergio Leone employs natural sounds in unique ways throughout the film. For example, the film's opening fourteen-minute sequence contains virtually no dialogue--but we hear cracking knuckles, buzzing flies, water drops plopping, birds, and a train whistle. Later, Leone introduces Cheyenne by letting us listen to a ferocious gunfight from inside a quiet desert cantina.

As in most Leone Westerns, the storyline takes a back seat to the interesting characters and overarching theme, Leone's stylish direction, and some marvelous set pieces. For the record, Jill inherits a valuable property from a husband she hardly knew. Frank, working for a railroad baron, wants the property for its future value as a railroad way station. Cheyenne takes an interest in Jill and decides to protect her.

Harmonica helps Jill and Cheyenne, but his motive is revenge against Frank. Indeed, his reason for wanting to kill Frank is a riddle that lurks in the background until their epic showdown at the film's conclusion. Then, in a concise flashback that immediately procedes the gun shots, Leone reveals the incident that fueled Harmonica’s vengeance.

Bronson and Robards give fine performances, but Henry Fonda steals the film in a great change-of-pace role as a villain who kills defenseless children and kicks out the crutches from underneath cripples. When Frank is making love to Jill, he remarks casually: “I think I might be a little sorry killing you.”

The only subpar performance is from Cardinale, who is also burndened with the least interesting character. Nevertheless, Jill is the strongest female character in any Leone Western and central to the film’s theme. Unlike the male characters, Jill is willing and able to adapt to the “New West.” Frank wants to become a businessman, for example, but he can’t change his violent ways.

Once Upon a Time in the West features one of the best openings of any Western: the aforementioned fourteen-minute sequence in which three gunfighters arrive at a train station to kill Harmonica after he unboards. They walk around the empty town and then wait and wait--and we wait with them as the credits appear slowly across on the screen. After thirteen minutes, the trains finally arrives, but Harmonica is nowhere in sight. As the train pulls out of the station and the gunfighters turn to leave, they hear Harmonica play his eerie tune. They turn around and he becomes visible on the other side of the tracks as the train rolls out of view. That leads to the following exchange:

Harmonica: "Did you bring a horse for me?"

Head Gunfighter (laughing): "Looks like we're shy one horse."

Harmonica (shaking his head): "You brought two too many."

In a flash, guns are blazing and four bodies hit the ground in a matter of seconds. It's a textbook example of how a filmmaker can manipulate his audience's perception of time and space--and it's also an incredible way to start a movie.

Amazingly, Once Upon a Time in the West flopped miserably when released in the U.S. in 1969. Part of its failure can be attributed to Paramount’s poor decision to cut thirty minutes from the film’s running time, thus rendering some of its plot incomprehensible. Still, the film did brisk business in Europe and helped make Charles Bronson an international star (ironically, Leone had tried to convince Bronson to play the Eastwood role in the earlier A Fistful of Dollars). As Leone’s status as a Spaghetti Western auteur grew in the 1970s and 1980s, Once Upon a Time in the West came to be rightfully hailed as his masterpiece.

This Week's Poll: What Is Your Favorite Quinn Martin TV Series?

One of the most successful television producers of the 1960s and 1970s, Quinn Martin was easily the most recognizable—or rather his work was. Often, Martin’s TV series bore one or more of the following traits: (1) a pre-title “teaser” scene; (2) a title sequence that summarized the premise of the show; (3) four labeled “acts” and an epilog; and (4) opening and closing voiceover narration.

Martin got his big break as a producer on The Untouchables in 1960. Its success enabled him to start QM Productions, which, after a shaky start, became a hit factory when The Fugitive turned into a major success. Martin’s subsequent series often dealt with law enforcement and private detectives—though there were intriguing detours with Twelve O’Clock High and The Invaders.

This week’s poll asks you to pick your favorite QM series from the nominees below:

The FBI – Quinn Martin’s longest-running show (1965-74) starred Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Inspector Lewis Erskine, who led a team of crack agents in pursuit of the Bureau’s most wanted criminals. The series was not only endorsed by the FBI, but the Bureau actually had approval rights on every fact-based script. Stephen Brooks and later William Reynolds played the young agents learning from veterans Erskine and Arthur Ward (Philip Abbott).

Twelve O’Clock High – This adaptation of the Gregory Peck film aired on ABC for three seasons, though it was never a big hit. For the first year, Robert Lansing starred as the commander of the U.S. Air Force’s 918th Bomb Group, which was stationed in England during World War II. Lansing’s character was killed at the start of the second season and Paul Burke was promoted to the lead.

Cannon – William Conrad, who provided the narration for The Fugitive, got his own QM series in 1971. He portrayed Frank Cannon, a retired LAPD cop, who became a private detective. If his clients could pay, Cannon charged them high fees—so he could indulge his tastes for luxury cars and fine cuisine. At a time when young, good-looking leads were dominating the cop shows, Cannon was a breath of fresh air.

Barnaby Jones – Bubby Ebsen starred as a private detective who came out of retirement to solve his son’s murder. He teams up with his widowed daughter-in-law (Lee Meriwether) and opens up shop again. Barnaby Jones was introduced on a third season episode of Cannon. The two series sometimes conducted “crossovers” in which Ebsen and Conrad would appear on each other’s shows.

The Streets of San Francisco – Shot on location, this police detective drama starred Karl Malden as veteran Lieutenant Mike Stone and Michael Douglas as his much younger, inexperienced partner Steve Keller. When Douglas left after four years, Richard Hatch joined the show as Malden’s new partner for its final season.

The Fugitive – In one of the most acclaimed 1960s dramatic series, David Janssen portrayed wrongly convicted physician Richard Kimble, who tries to find his wife’s murderer while being pursued relentlessly by police lieutenant Philip Gerard. It was still a ratings winner when the series concluded after four years with a memorable final episode where Kimble is exonerated.

The Invaders – Whereas Kimble was the pursued, architect David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) was the pursuer in this show about a secret invasion of Earth by aliens beings from another planet. For most of the series’ two seasons, no one believed Vincent until after their own encounter with the aliens. It didn’t help that the aliens left little evidence—when they died, their bodies glowed orange and disappeared.

Those are the seven nominees! If you believe one of Quinn Martin’s other series was unjustly omitted from the list, I’d love to hear from you. In the meantime, though, please cast your vote in the green sidebar on the right.