ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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My old pappy, Leroy Guy Cook, was a huge fan of Westerns!

When I was growin' up in the great state of Georgia, he and I often gathered around that electronic campfire known as a tee-la-fishin’ and enjoyed shows like Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Rawhide, and Bonanza.

Pappy was a kinda armchair "cattleman"— 'cause he just loved it when Ma "rustled up" a sizzling steak dinner! Pa called Ma "Cookie" — on account a' her name was Virginia Cook.

Pa never quite figured out why his son had such a hankerin' to meet up with aliens from other planets and ride rockets off into space . . . instead a’ ridin' a horse off into the sunset.


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But Pa was an aircraft mechanic for Delta Airlines (a skill he learned in the Navy during WWII), so he knew that technology was the way to conquer the new "frontiers" of the future.





Anyhow, partners, here's a few of my favorite Western movies. I'm a'hopin' we can share some of these while sitting around that "virtual campfire" at the old Bar ASF ranch — in that thing them city slickers call a “chat room”.
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Dodge City (1939)

If you’re an Errol Flynn fan — especially his great swashbucklers — you won’t be disappointed by the Technicolor wild west adventure with co-stars from The Adventures of Robin Hood (Olivia de Havilland and Alan Hale). The villain is Bruce Cabot of King Kong fame. The director was Michael Curtiz (who did three of Flynn’s most famous swashbucklers), and the music is by Max Steiner, who did King Kong.

The opening scene shows a train crossing the open country, carrying a group of railroad tycoons to Dodge City, and they enjoy a brief race between the train and stagecoach traveling on a parallel road. The train wins, of course, symbolizing the progress represented by the locomotive.

I showed that scene to one of my 5th grade classes when we were studying the westward expansion of America.

The movie’s climactic shootout between the Good Guys and the Bad Guys takes place aboard a train racing aross the prairie . . . and it’s on fire! It’s an amazing action sequence.

________________ Dodge City – title sequence


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Garden of Evil (1954)

This wonderful 20th Century Fox Western was the 4th film shown on NBC’s Saturday Night at the Movies first season in 1961. It’s a star-studded Cinemascope adventure with a fabulous Bernard Herrman score. Susan Hayward leads four men — Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark, Cameron Mitchell, and Víctor Manuel — on a mission to rescue Hugh Marlow.





Marlow is trapped in a gold mine, deep within an area of Mexico occupied by Apache Indians.

The story is fast paced with some awesome scenes which feature beautiful matte paintings.







I remember watching this movie with my family in 1961 when I was thirteen years old — just knee-high to a longhorn steer!

Here’s the trailer, followed by a good copy of the full movie. Saddle up for a rousing Western adventure, partner!

___________________ Garden of Evil - trailer


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_______________ Garden Of Evil 1954 Western


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Virginia City (1940)

With a great cast that includes Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, Randolph Scott, and Humphrey Bogart — along with Alan Hale, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, and Frank McHugh (all three from Flynn’s other Western, Dodge City — this fine Western from Warner Bros. golden years presents a story whosethe only villain is the leader of Mexican banditos (Humphrey Bogart). It pits two good guys against each other, played by Flynn and Scott who are on opposite sides in the Civil War.

But the story takes place out West, where Randolph Scott’s is desperately trying to deliver a large shipment of gold to the Confederacy so it can prop up their failing war effort, while Errol Flynn is a Union officer who is out to prevent the delivery and thus shorten the war.

The complex and exciting plot is a joy to watch for fans of Westerns.

___________ Virginia City (1940) Official Trailer


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The Professionals (1966)

This has been one of my favorite Westerns since I first saw it at a movie theater in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1966 during a two-month-long personal adventure all my myself at the tender age of 18, just before going into the Air Force!

A team of bold mercenaries is assembled by a wealthy railroad magnate to rescue his beautiful you Mexican wife from a revolutionary leader, deep in the desert. This is Mission: Impossilble . . . Western style!

The cast is pure gold:

Burt Lancaster
Lee Marvin
Robert Ryan
Woody Strode
Jack Palance a
Claudia Cardinale
Ralph Bellamy


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______________ The Professionals 1966 Trailer


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Rio Bravo (1959)

What a rootin' tootin' combo this one is!

Howard Hawks directs this terrific Western starring John Wayne, with a score by Dimitri Tiomkin, including three songs by costar Dean Martin — one of which is the closing theme, the second is a duet with a cool young gunslinger played by Rickey Nelson, and the third is a lively tune delivered by Dean, Ricky, and (of all people) Walter Brennan.

The one which Dean and Ricky sing together tugs at my heart strings so hard I almost fall over backwards . . .

Rio Bravo - Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan


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The lovely Angie Dickinson rounds out the cast — no pun intended.





The true charm of this movie lies in way the characters listed above come together into team which sticks together, stands up to tyranny, shoots it out with the bad guys, and aren't afraid to go down fighting!

If I haven't sold you on this movie, this trailer was narrated by the great Art Gilmore, the voice behind the trailers for many of our favorite sci-fi movies.

_________________ Rio Bravo (1959) - trailer


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The Westerner (1940)

I was amazed when I read this IMDB trivia item.
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Gary Cooper never liked the film and said "You can't make a western without a gunfight" He walked off the film and refused to start work on it. It was only after long battles with Goldwyn that he started work on it but always said that he wished he'd never made it.
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I certainly don’t understand Cooper’s strange attitude.

Cooper’s character is fascinating, his performance is flawless, and the script is brilliant. Actually, there is ample gun play in this movie. In fact, the exciting climax is a long shootout between Cooper and Walter Brennen — with Cooper making an dramatic appearance in a usual way.


_______________ The Westerner (1940) trailer


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The Magnificence Seven (1960)

And finally, there's this classic Western.

It's the Gold Standard of the genre, the King of the Cowboy Movies, the Roy Rogers of Cinematic Western Adventure!

The cast is like a Western version of the Knights of the Round Table.

Chronologically the film falls smack in between its original inspiration — Seven Samurai — and the sci-fi version it spawned — Battle Beyond the Stars.

The rousing score has been used to in everything from Western parodies to Marlboro commercials.

The characters — from the heroic gunslingers to the peons to the leader of the banditos (played to perfection by Eli Wallach) — are well portrayed that we love 'em all!

Folks, this movie is the Forbidden Planet of Westerns, and anybody who does love it might just be lacking the imagination needs to truly appreciate great movies.

If you fall into that category, try buying the Blu-ray and watching it on a rainy day after a few shotS of tequila.

Even if it doesn't work, you won't be any worse off . . . but you won't be as happy as I am.

______)______ The Magnificence Seven - trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

GOOD selection, Bud!

The only other one I'd add is the John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Lee Marvin 1962's THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE.

I always thought the Gene Pitney single was the opening theme, but I was wrong. The Burt Bacharach-Hal David song "The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" became a top-10 hit for Gene Pitney.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDN4L7cAQf0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZWtlgADNYA

Though based upon the movie's plotline, it was not used in the film. Pitney said in an interview that he was in the studio about to record the song when "... Bacharach informed us that the film just came out." It seems unlikely that the song would be used for the opening credits since its lyrics give the film's surprise ending away.

The picture was released April 18, 1962, and the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending April 28, 1962, peaking at number four in June.

Jimmie Rodgers also recorded the song, in the Gene Pitney style. James Taylor covered it on his 1985 album That's Why I'm Here, as did The Royal Guardsmen on their 1967 album Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.

It was also covered by Australian rock band Regurgitator on its 1998 David/Bacharach tribute album To Hal and Bacharach. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the top 100 Western songs of all time

The movie was directed by John Ford and is in the 100 Best Movies by the American Film Institute!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

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Gord, that's an excellent suggestions for an addition to my list of great Westerns!

Seveal of my numerous cassette tapes of 1950s hits include Mr. Pitney's song, and I play them on my beloved Panasonic RX 5150 boombox, which sits on the windowsill in my bathroom to serenade me each morning when I shower.





But the one thing about this wonderful movie which I disliked is the casting of Lee Marvin as the bad guy!

He's so damn good as the hero in the other movie on my list, The Professionals, that it kinda spoils my enjoyment of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

I guess the only thing the producers could have done which would have been worse would be to cast Jimmy Steward as the ruthless gunslinger and Lee Marvin as the noble attorney who came to town and romanced Vera Miles away from poor John Wayne!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

Oh, But Lee Marvin also played the wonderful Kid Shaleen in the Jane Fonda movie CAT BALLOU!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU6VXTrB2G0

also the irrepressible Ben Rumsun in PAINT YOUR WAGON!

HE WAS A great DRUNK GUNFIGHTER!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

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Great examples of Lee at his best! You proved my point beautifully!

If we're supposed to like Lee Marvin's character, then we're tickled pink that he got the role. He can play a funny drunken gun fighter who's on the side of sexy young Jane Fonda, or he can play a funny gold prospector whose best friend is Clint Eastwood, and he's perfectly willing to share the lovely Miss Jane Seberg as their devoted wife!

Paint You Wagon is one my favorite musicals, and a fine Western to boot. (A cowboy boot, to be exact).

Here's Lee's admirable attempt to sing a fine song, with none of that damn dubbing the musicals often did.

__________Lee Marvin Wandering Star 1969 HD


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And just to give equal time to the noble Mr. Clint Eastwood, here's his enjoyable song as well.

___ I TALK TO THE TREES 1969 CLINT EASTWOOD


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

You picked some guldurn, rip-roarin,' rootin' tootin westerns there, partner.

Some of my favorites are: Broken Arrow (1950) with Jimmy Stewart & Jeff Chandler. A powerfully told tale about a white man who wants to understand the American Indians side of things instead of having his race and the Indians perpetuate hatred. Stewart has been through the Civil War and he's now tired and disgusted at the violence he sees on the western frontier. Can he create a peace between his people and the Apaches? Along the way he falls in love with a beautiful Indian woman which complicates the situation.

Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950) is a hilarious comedy with the always entertaining and energetic Donald O'Connor. Here, he's a wannabe stage hand traveling with a theatrical company throughout the wild west. He has high hopes to join the acting troupe as a fellow performer.

The Gunfighter (1950) Gregory Peck as a world weary professional gunman. He only sees now the misery that such a life has brought to him, his wife, and a child who doesn't know him. Is escape at all possible for him from his reputation and violent life?

Rio Grande (1950) is the third of John Ford's cavalry pictures starring John Wayne after his terrific Fort Apache & She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

Across the Wide Missouri (1950) sees Clark Gable as a mountain man raising his young son. The scenery is gorgeous. Sadly, this is the movie where co-star Ricardo Montalban severely injured his back in a mishap. Montalban would be plagued by back pain for the rest of his life.

High Noon (1951) Gary Cooper is a besieged lawman in a town too cowardly to help him fight the just released outlaw from prison, along with his gang, who seek to exact revenge against the lawman and the town who put him away. It's a classic with a marvelous musical score.

Son of Paleface (1951) has Bob Hope as his usually cowardly and comedic self out west but he receives top notch help from Jane Russell & Roy Rogers.

Cattle Drive (1951) Dean Stockwell is the wealthy and pampered (and ignored) rich kid who is accidentally left alone in the desert by the train he was riding on. He is befriended by cowboy Joel McCrea who is in the middle of driving a herd to market. He brings along Dean who at first continues his selfish and bratty ways. In time, Joel and the men win the kid over to be a mature and decent individual.
Sure, it's Captains Courageous on horseback, but it works very well indeed. The Death Valley location shooting is outstanding.

Calamity Jane (1953) has Doris day as the rambunctious frontier woman along with plenty of fine songs. Day once said that this was one of her very favorite films.

Hondo (1953) sees John Wayne as a rugged frontier scout. One critic said that this was probably the best non-John Ford western ever made by the Duke.

Shane (1953) another classic western surrounded by magnificent scenery. Alan Ladd plays the professional gunman trying to escape his violent past.

River of No Return (1954) Director Otto Preminger's only western and is it ever good. Robert Mitchum & Marilyn Monroe must escape on a raft (along with Mitchum's young son who Mitchum barely knows due to his prison time) down a dealy river from Indians on the warpath. More beautiful scenery to behold and another great musical score.

[Bud Brewster]

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A GREAT list of Western classics!

By a strange coincidence I saw Cattle Drive (1951) for the first time on the INSP channel just two weeks ago, with a very young "AL" from Quantum Leap! He was a much better actor when he was young. I love QL, but Dean Stockwell really chews the scenery . . .

I love Calamity Jane (1953), and Doris Day is as gorgeous as ever. I wasn't surprise when I read that her strenuous performance left her utterly exhausted!

I saw Shane (1953) for the umpteenth time just a few weeks back and enjoyed it as much as ever.

River of No Return (1954) is favorite of mine. Robert Mitchum & Marilyn Monroe are dynamic together. I first saw it on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies in the early 1960s, and I own the DVD. The little boy was terrific, and he should have starred in a TV series about a kid living on farm with his beloved male dog with a female name.

Hmmm . . . why does that sound so familiar?

The rest of the movies on your list are less familiar to me, except for Son of Paleface, which I've seen. But I guess I'm not really a Bob Fan. Oh well . . .
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Quiz

Can anyone name a notable actor from the 1930s, '40s, '50s, and '60s who never once starred in a western movie?

Can anyone name a western movie that did not include one scene in a replica western town set?