Maureen O’Hara – Mrs. Duke

By Bennett Owen

She is the mainspring of my lifelong love of redheads.               

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At the very start of Quiet Man, when she looks out across that emerald field, all curls and fire and statuesque beauty – and we watch her fall instantly and incurably in love at her very first sighting of Sean Thornton as played by John Wayne. I’ve watched that scene at least 200 times since I was a youngster and every time, including last night, I wish I were the humbled champion walking up that lane. 

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John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara were giant on-screen personalities whose characters clashed with an unequaled fervor and passion. She was always a shrew to be tamed and yet we all knew, as she did, there was only one man alive up to the task…one man inspired, not daunted by her fierce pride and independence…a clash of wills and temperaments and magnetic attraction.

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And yet off-screen their friendship was quite different, warm, enriching and enduring…also the stuff of Hollywood legend.

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They starred in five pictures together, three of them westerns…Rio Grande, Big Jake and one of my favorite films of all time, McLintock. It features the famous and grandiose brawl with Mr. and Mrs. Duke dishing it out and taking it with the rest of them. It’s one of Ms. O’Hara’s favorite scenes:

"Audiences always rave about the fight sequence that takes place at the mine dump and ends in the mud. A total of forty-two cast members took part in the brawl, and nearly all of us ended up sliding down the bank into the mud pit below.” 

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Here it is in all its sidesplitting splendor.

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Cowboys & Aliens Countdown – Just 99 Days

By Bennett Owen

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It’s here! The new trailer! Two minutes and 45 seconds worth of testosterone pumping, hormonal pounding, prime time, kick-butt, John Favreau-induced genius. 

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Watch this. When it’s finished hit replay. Thank me later:

Blog-world is abuzz on this one, with comic book connoisseurs enthused that the movie appears to do justice to the wildly popular graphic novel.

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Consider this from Steven Zeitchik of the LA Times:

“It's still too soon to tell if the mash-up of westerns and science-fiction conventions will come off as interesting or incongruous.  What does emerge from the trailer is that the movie doesn't skimp on the western atmosphere — something we suspect will play a lot better in a post-"True Grit" world.”

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And the mighty Harrison Ford is back big time…thank you, John Favreau! The circle is complete. 

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Back in the 1970s I was a teenager laboring in the hay field, starting right after July 4^th through the end of August. It got so tiring that some of the hay crew would go down to the meadows after supper and do rain dances in hopes of getting a day off.  One time it worked* and my Uncle Jules took the family to town to see “this movie everyone’s been talking about.” 

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At the Big Sky Cinema, the lights went down…and the triumphant strains of Star Wars literally blew us back into our seats where we remained riveted for the next two hours. When it was over we all stared at the blank silver screen, not wanting the experience to be over. That’s the moment my star-struck Uncle Jules put into words what we were all thinking and uttered the immortal line, “go buy some more popcorn, we’re watching this again.”

Credit: Guy Sande

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance – Western saying

Most Obscure TV Westerns - #1 – Alias Butch & Sundance

By Bennett Owen

Image courtesy of Sarcastig.com

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Of course you may remember it as Alias Smith & Jones but its two loveable outlaws were obviously based on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The movie was a smash in 1969 and Alias S&J debuted a little over one year later as a mid-season replacement on ABC. The premise was laid out every week in the show opener.

Here’s a blurb for in the Seattle Post Intelligencer dated January 17, 1971.

And this is a sampling of the star chemistry that made it a hit:

As unlikely as it seems, the characters were based on two real life late 19^th century outlaws who were given amnesty and legitimate employment as guards on the Union Pacific Railroad.  The Alias S& J was a big hit and its young leads, Pete Duel and Ben Murphy became instant teen idols…Murphy, considered a dead ringer for Butch Cass….oops, I mean, Paul Newman.

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Unfortunately, less than a year after its debut, Pete Duel, a Broadway actor suffering from depression, shot himself while watching an episode of the series.  That was on December 31, 1971. In true Hollywood fashion, production was halted for half a day and Duel’s replacement was on the set on January first. 

But the unique chemistry of the two stars couldn’t be re-created and the show was cancelled after 50 episodes. Both it and Bonanza were taken off the air within weeks of each other in 1973, leaving Gunsmoke the only TV western in production.  Alias S & J producer Glen Larson went on to produce what was considered the first western set in space…Battlestar Galactica, starring none other than Bonanza’s Lorne Greene.  “Everybody likes to identify with the freewheeling cowboy, gun-at-hip with no restraints," said Larson. Well said.  

Now I know, there are a lot more obscure TV westerns out there but Alias Smith & Jones gave me the idea, so it gets top billing, deservedly or not.  Nevertheless, I will post the honorable mentions next week.

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Meek’s Cutoff – Turn Right up Ahead – No, your Other Right!

By Bennett Owen

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A “meditative western”…an “anti western”…”austere and unforgiving”…a “stripped down feminist western.”   Something tells me this film isn’t going to be another True Grit, even with an 87% favorable rating at Rotten Tomatoes and critical raves on the film festival circuit. But it’s a western, further bolstering my claim that the genre is on the cusp of a renaissance.

Image courtesy of Sundance Institute

Meek’s Cutoff  takes us back to the Oregon Trail, circa 1845, with three families following a mountain guide who knows a shortcut through the desert.  It’s the setup for a burgeoning battle of the sexes:

One reviewer puts the story in the modern day context of a wife patiently suggesting that her hubby pull into a gas station and ask for directions. I guess I can commiserate with  Meek the Mountain Man when he tells his exasperated party, “We’re not lost. We’re just finding our way.”

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The Most Obscure TV Westerns – #2 - We’ve Lost a Train

By Bennett Owen

‘Laredo’ debuted on NBC in 1965, documenting the adventures of three fun loving, bar brawling Texas Rangers and a feisty Saloon girl with a heart of gold.

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These days Laredo is described as a spinoff of the Virginian. But actually, NBC made use of a trick of the time, using a popular, established TV series to introduce new fare…a bit like cross breeding.  So in the Laredo pilot, the Virginian sends Trampas to The Mexican border to pick up a prize breeding bull.  Here’s part one…have a listen to one of the greatest TV theme songs of all time:

Laredo’s audacious producers sought to ring every cent out of their investment, splicing three episodes together and releasing it as a feature film, titled “Three Guns For Texas.”

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Laredo remains obscure not because it was awful but more for the stiff competition.  In year one, studio execs put it head to head with the massively popular Bewitched and My Three Sons. And in season two it was up against 12-O’clock High…a tough slot for a new product.

 

Lee J. Cobb and James Drury. Photo courtesy of WildWestToysVintageToyShow

And if you watched the clip you surely recognized one of the stars, tough talking Neville Brand. He never made the A-list but Brand played the heavy in so many movies and TV shows that Bruce Dern once said of him: “Neville Brand was the baddest guy I ever met in the movies.”  He was mean enough to kill Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender. He played Al Capone in the TV Series, the Untouchables, and I remember him from my favorite war movie, Stalag 17.  And he knew what he was doing in that one, having received a Silver Star in WW2.  He also had roles in my selection for most obscure TV Western of all…don’t touch that dial!

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