"Alias Smith and Jones" in the Movies, & more about the Old West

Texas

2012-01-16T18:50:00.002-05:00

Texas, a 1941 black and white Columbia Pictures production, stars 23-year-old William Holden and 25-year-old Glenn Ford as two appealing friends who experience a series of escapades before settling into roles on different sides of the law. Claire Trevor stars as the love interest of both men. Edgar Buchanan plays a dentist, and the manner in which he practices his profession makes me very glad I live in the 21st century!

The plot of Texas involves how to move cattle from there to Kansas without them being intercepted by rustlers; a crawler at the beginning of the movie sets the scene as Abilene in 1866, which is where Danny and Todd, the characters played by Holden and Ford, respectively, first appear. Similarities to ASJ abound: After the opening credits, there’s a scene in which a man says, “A little previous, ain’t ya?”, echoing almost word for word the same question asked by the station agent (Robert B. Williams) in Return to Devil’s Hole. When Danny and Todd can’t afford to pay a court fine, a respectable citizen of Abilene offers to pay it for them, just as Amy Martin (Shirley Knight in The Ten Days that Shook Kid Curry) does in Ashford. There is a boxing match between Danny and a professional boxer, which bears little resemblance to the fight between Kid and Jim Stokely (Monte Markham in Something to Get Hung About). Then, reversing the sequence of events in The Ten Days that Shook Kid Curry, when Danny and Todd are subsequently being chased by a posse, they decide to separate and meet up later, just as Heyes and Curry do. At one point in the second half of the movie, the dentist sings Buffalo Gals and the boys sing along, reminding me of Michelle Monet (Claudine Longet in Journey from San Juan) except that in Texas, the singing by Edgar Buchanan was actually fun to watch and hear.

The relationship between the two main characters reminded me of the bond between Heyes and Curry but the chemistry that was evident between Pete Duel and Ben Murphy was not so noticeable in this film and the banter was not as sharp. Nevertheless, Texas was a very enjoyable ninety-three minute film.

Pete Seeger sings Buffalo Gals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S92bWBB0ymo

Original review in The New York Times (note the review of Glenn Ford!):
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A06E0DB1038E333A25754C1A9669D946093D6CF

Overview summary from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/49202/Texas/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034269/

Outlaw Tales of Wyoming

2012-01-02T20:30:00.003-05:00

What better way to celebrate the New Year than to review a book about Wyoming outlaws? Alas, even though Charles Morgan (played by Peter Breck in The Great Shell Game), who was a member of a gang of horse thieves and not a con man as posited in the ASJ episode, and Frank Canton (played by Ed Nelson in What Happened at the XST?), who went to Texas on behalf of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association to hire gunmen for their war against small ranchers and wasn't the sheriff of Buffalo as the ASJ episode characterized him, are included in Outlaw Tales of Wyoming, Hannibal Heyes and Jedediah "Kid" Curry are not. It really wouldn't have been too difficult to mention those two notorious outlaws, now would it???

Written by R. Michael Wilson and subtitled True Stories of the Cowboy State's Most Infamous Crooks, Culprits, and Cutthroats, this short, 125 page book contains fourteen chapters, twelve of which are about individual outlaws or outlaw gangs. Two other chapters describe the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) and the Johnson County War, which played roles in the plots of Bushwhack!, What Happened at the XST? and Witness to a Lynching. Photos and drawings of all the outlaws chronicled in Outlaw Tales of Wyoming are included, as is an extensive bibliography.

Each chapter begins with a short introduction that explains the location and time period where the crimes occurred. It then proceeds to describe the upbringing of the outlaws and how, and sometimes why, the men--none of the criminals in Outlaw Tales of Wyoming are women--committed their crimes. All the chapters end with an accounting of the fate of the outlaws. Suffice it to say, none except the leaders of the WSGA escaped justice.

Outlaw Tales of Wyoming (ISBN 978-0-7627-4506-7) is a fascinating look at the period of Wyoming history in the second half of the 19th century. Most of the men presented in this book were pretty bad men, some were very bad. So I guess it's just as well that those two pretty good bad men, Heyes and Curry, are not included in this collection of outlaws after all.

R. Michael Wilson's (author's) website:
http://wildwesttales.com/index.htm

Belle of the Yukon

2011-12-17T19:43:00.001-05:00

The voice-over that reads the text on-screen as Belle of the Yukon begins says not to expect a movie filled with violence or one that is like the works of Robert Service. He is the poet who wrote The Cremation of Sam McGee—see the link below—and it seems to me that the text at the start of this film is trying to imitate the style of that poem. If that text had also said to expect a movie filled with musical numbers and improbable plot twists acted in overly broad comic fashion, I probably would not have watched it. Fortunately, this 1944 movie was only 84 minutes long.

In Belle of the Yukon, Randolph Scott stars as Honest John Calhoun, proprietor of a saloon and dance hall in Malamute, Alaska, during the gold rush days. With a name like Honest John, of course the man is not on the up and up. The daughter of his manager, named Lettie, is played by Dinah Shore; she is in love with the piano player who has a seemingly shady past. Gypsy Rose Lee plays Belle, who was John’s love interest in Seattle; she and her troupe of dancers have just arrived to work at the Emporium, as Honest John's place of entertainment is called. The main plot points revolve around these four characters but there are several secondary plots as well.

The name Honest John reminds me of the name of the character Pete Duel played in The Young Country, Honest John Smith. The con games played by John Calhoun in this film remind me of those pulled by Oscar Harlingen (played by Severn Darden) in Never Trust an Honest Man and by Heyes himself in Don’t Get Mad, Get Even. Like those ASJ episodes, there are double crosses in this movie as well and the only reason I watched Belle of the Yukon to the end was to see how they were resolved. At one point, John Calhoun remarked, “You can carry this honesty thing too far”, and I can definitely envision Heyes saying something like that!

What I enjoyed most about Belle of the Yukon were the outrageous hats worn by Belle and her dancers.

Original review from The New York Times (scroll down past two other reviews):
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B04E2D91438E532A25753C3A9659C946493D6CF

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036636/

Website about Robert Service:
http://www.robertwservice.com/

Good Day for a Hanging

2011-12-05T20:02:00.000-05:00

Although Fred MacMurray is the lead in Good Day for a Hanging, playing a reluctant marshal, Ben Cutler, I was much more interested in watching James Drury (Lom Trevors in the Pilot and Sheriff Tankersley in The Long Chase), who plays a doctor, and Robert Vaughn, who plays a bank robber.

Set in Nebraska in June 1878, Good Day for a Hanging starts off with three men watching a stagecoach travel on a road far below the ridge atop which they are sitting on their horses. But in a twist, they are not out to rob the stage; instead, they are coordinating their movements with the two men inside it. Within minutes of each other, they all arrive in the town of Springdale, where the audience is introduced to several other characters in the movie.

The bank is robbed, the robbers gallop out of town pursued by a posse, men are shot and killed or wounded, and one of the robbers (Vaughn) is caught and jailed. The remainder of Good Day for a Hanging is about the relationships between the marshal; his daughter (played by Joann Blackman), who is sweet on the robber, her childhood friend; the marshal’s fiancé; the townsfolk; and a couple of lawyers –they all have differing ideas about what they think should happen to Eddie, the young bank robber charged with murder. There is a trial, a gallows is built, clemency is sought, a jailbreak is planned, a gunfight occurs, justice prevails in the end.

Good Day for a Hanging is a conventional Western that reminded me of many others I have seen. MacMurray and Blackman acted woodenly; Drury as a self-absorbed doctor was interesting; and it was fun to see Vaughn as a bad guy. This 1958 movie was a pleasant diversion, an enjoyable way to spend 85 minutes of time, but nothing more.

Overview summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/93566/Good-Day-For-a-Hanging/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051673/

My Darling Clementine

2011-11-24T15:16:00.004-05:00

Perhaps if I didn’t know what Tombstone really looks like, having visited the town in the summer of 2010, and if I hadn’t already watched other movies about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Tombstone, My Darling Clementine would have held my interest. As it was, though, this black and white 1946 film, despite being directed by John Ford and having Henry Fonda in the lead as Wyatt Earp, did not hold my interest. Sacrilege, I know!

It was hard to differentiate the characters from each other and the plot of My Darling Clementine seemed more like a bunch of scenes strung together than a cohesive film. Cathy Downs plays Clementine Carter, a lady from the East in love with Dr. John Holliday; this female character is completely fictional, which substantially decreased my interest in the film. Nor does she resemble Clementine Hale as played by Sally Field in ASJ; this Clem would never be friends with men such as Heyes and Curry. Henry Fonda, whose voice is so distinctive in later movies, was not persuasive as Wyatt Earp. Victor Mature, as Doc Holliday, exhibits the traits the gunman was so well-known for—the coughing, the quick temper, the card-playing—but throughout the movie I kept comparing his performance to that of Val Kilmer’s in Tombstone. Instead of Big-Nose Kate, a woman named Chihuahua is Doc’s love interest here. Walter Brennan (Silky in The Day They Hanged Kid Curry and Don't Get Mad, Get Even, Gantry in Twenty-one Days to Tenstrike) plays the patriarch of the Clanton Gang but his part was small and with a beard and hat covering much of his face, I wouldn’t have known it was him without looking at the movie’s credits.

In My Darling Clementine, the famous gunfight was set in the middle of the desert around two horse corrals. The Clantons were based at the O.K. Corral, and the Earps and Holliday used the Wells Fargo Corral as their base. As for what happened during the actual gunfight, all I will say is that it does not conform to historical events. I suppose I prefer Westerns, if they are based on historical incidents, to hew more closely to fact than this movie does.

One bonus feature on the DVD is a commentary by Scott Eyman, a biographer of John Ford, and Wyatt Earp III, a descendant of the main character in the film. The commentary was quite interesting and helped me better appreciate the movie. The other bonus feature is the theatrical trailer for My Darling Clementine.

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E06E4DF173BE033A05757C0A9649D946793D6CF

Overview summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/34011/My-Darling-Clementine/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038762/

Shoot Out

2011-11-06T09:36:00.000-05:00

A cute orphaned kid plus an ex-convict gunfighter do not equal a wonderful movie. Shoot Out has its moments, mostly because Gregory Peck plays the gunfighter, Clay Lomax (and what was he thinking when he accepted this role?). This 1971 film, produced by Universal Studios, could have been much better if the villains hadn’t been played as caricatures.

Paul Fix (Clarence the undertaker in Night of the Red Dog) has a small role as a train brakeman who delivers the orphan girl to Lomax. Jeff Corey (Governor Baxter in The Day the Amnesty Came Through) plays Trooper, a wheelchair-confined ex-soldier saloon keeper who knows where Lomax’s nemesis, Sam Foley, now lives. It was Foley, played by James Gregory, who was Lomax’s partner in a bank robbery; Foley shot him in the back and as a result, Lomax spent seven years in prison and is now out for revenge. Bud Westmore and Larry Germain were the make-up artist and hairstylist for Shoot Out and did the same for the Pilot.

Foley hires a cowpoke to follow Lomax and most of Shoot Out is about what happens on the trail. Lomax finds himself caring for the little girl after his attempts to foist her off on the owners of the mercantile, the schoolteacher, and the preacher in a town are unsuccessful. Perhaps it was the same with Heyes and Curry after they lost their folks and that’s how they ended up at the Valparaiso Home for Waywards. There are several encounters—including shoot outs--between Lomax and the bad guys as they all slowly make their way to Gun Hill, where Sam Foley lives. The final shoot out of the movie is moderately interesting but other than Gregory Peck’s performance, this movie is not worth the 94 minutes it takes to view it.

As I was watching this film, it seemed almost like a mirror image of True Grit: Instead of a young girl hiring an aging marshal to get revenge, Shoot Out has an aging ex-criminal saddled with a little girl who wants revenge. But then the credits reveal that the producer, director, and screenwriter responsible for True Grit had the same roles in this movie, and it was no longer such a coincidence.

Original review from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E06E3D71338EF34BC4C52DFB667838A669EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067750/

A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die

2011-10-29T15:35:00.005-04:00

What a great premise for a movie: An outlaw, tired of the life, decides to get an amnesty offered by the governor of the territory, and along the way, he has to avoid other outlaws, lawmen, and bounty hunters. Unfortunately, the plot of A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die reads better than its execution on film.

This 1967 movie stars Alex Cord as Clay McCord, an outlaw who is lightning fast with his gun and has a $10,000 reward dead or alive on his head, but otherwise bears no resemblance to Kid Curry. He does, however, suffer from periodic seizures, most noticeable in the uncontrollable shaking of his gunhand. He thinks it is caused by epilepsy because his father had the condition and, because his father was laughed at and scorned, McCord tries, rather unsuccessfully, to hide his seizures when they occur. Naturally, I was reminded of Pete Duel when seeing this in A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die.

McCord ends up in the outlaw-run village of Escondido, New Mexico, and various nasty things happen there. He is eventually able to leave and makes his way to Tuscosa in the same territory, where Marshal Colby, played by Arthur Kennedy, offers amnesty and $50 to outlaws who give up their evil ways. He is acting on behalf of the Governor, Lew Carter, ably acted by Robert Ryan. This politician in A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die is quite a contrast from the Wyoming governors seen in ASJ.

The climax of A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die is set at an isolated cabin that was similar to the one in The Day the Amnesty Came Through. Here, McCord waits for the Governor, just like Kid and Heyes waited for Lom in that episode. But what actually happens is more similar to the events in Stagecoach 7 than the events in the third season episode.

A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die is a spaghetti Western--the credits show lots of Italians worked on this film—and it has the requisite long close-ups of unemotional actors’ faces and the overwrought music that swells at important plot points yet is absent for long periods of time in other parts of the movie. But A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die never reaches the level of quality of the great spaghetti Westerns and at 98 minutes, just manages to avoid being too long. However, the Italian version of this movie is twenty minutes longer and has a different ending, so the additional scenes might make it much more coherent and memorable.

Original review from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E03E7D71230E034BC4B51DFB3668383679EDE

Review summary from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/64747/A-Minute-to-Pray-a-Second-To-Die/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063308/

No Name on the Bullet

2011-10-02T20:03:00.005-04:00

Audie Murphy stars as John Gant, whom we first encounter riding alone on the prairie, stopping to ask directions to Lordsburg at an isolated farmhouse. The scene then shifts to a town which, as this is a Universal production, was obviously filmed on their Western set. The hotel with gingerbread decoration on the porch and balcony railings, often seen in ASJ episodes, is clearly recognizable. There is a saloon on the corner but the surrounding architecture differs from that seen in the TV show so I am not sure if it is the same one depicted in many episodes. The interior of the hotel resembles that of the hotel in Dreadful Sorry, Clementine but again, since it’s not identical, I cannot be sure that it is the same set. The director of No Name on the Bullet, Jack Arnold, also directed several ASJ episodes: Something to Get Hung About, Which Way to the O.K. Corral?, The Clementine Ingredient, Bushwhack!, and What Happened at the XST?.

Gant, whose name conjures up Walter Brennan’s Gant in Twenty-one Days to Tenstrike even though that’s just a nickname, approaches a blacksmith’s forge to have his horse seen to. There, he meets Luke Canfield, played by Charles Drake, and his father, Asa, played by R.G. Armstrong (Max in The Bounty Hunter). Luke is a doctor and veterinarian and Asa is the blacksmith. They are the good guys of No Name on the Bullet.

Although baby-faced like Kid Curry, the similarity between Curry and Gant is only superficial. As Gant explains later in No Name on the Bullet, “I use my gun for money and I don’t like to use it for nothing.” It turns out that Gant is a hired gun, an assassin according to the sheriff. He has more in common with Danny Bilson since he is known for prodding men into trying to kill him, whereupon he then manages to kill his intended victim legally, claiming self-defense.

No Name on the Bullet is a psychological drama that maintains its suspense throughout. Everyone in town wonders who Gant has come to kill and slowly, like the chess game he and Luke play--an apt metaphor for the film--the pieces fall into place. As Gant says, “Everyone has enemies,” and he seems to delight in seeing townsfolk, such as the banker, Thad Pierce (interesting name, that!) fall apart. Luke, his fiancé and her ill father, a judge, along with the sheriff, all try to stop Gant in various ways. The climax and finale of this 1959 movie will surprise most viewers.

A few other notes about this 77-minute long film: It was written by Gene L. Coon of future Star Trek fame, the music at times seemed overwrought, and Bud Westmore did the make-up for No Name on the Bullet as he did for the Pilot.

Thanks to this film, I have finally figured out what those cone-shaped objects seen so frequently on tables in saloons in ASJ are. They are ashtrays! Early in No Name on the Bullet, there is a very clear close-up of one of them; the top is open and filled with matches, and the tray on the bottom had lit cigars resting in it. It is very nice to have at long last solved that mystery!

Review Summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/104155/No-Name-on-the-Bullet/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052002/

Rio Lobo

2011-09-16T20:10:00.005-04:00

Howard Hawkes directed many great films; unfortunately, Rio Lobo is not one of them. This 1970 movie, starring John Wayne and Jorge Rivera, also includes Robert Donner (Preacher in Never Trust an Honest Man, Nate in The Bounty Hunter, and Charlie Taylor in The Day the Amnesty Came Through), who can be recognized by his voice, though not the white hair of his character, and Jack Elam (Boot Coby in Bad Night in Big Butte) in small roles, as well as Boyd “Red” Morgan (Augie Helms in The Fifth Victim) in an uncredited role as a train engineer. There are three female co-stars and since they all look alike, it is hard to tell them apart.

Rio Lobo opens with scenes of gold being loaded onto a train by Union soldiers during the Civil War. It is intercepted by Confederate soldiers in a daring and well-planned train robbery, which is the best part of the movie. Wayne, playing a Union colonel, vows to recover the gold and leads a troop of soldiers in search of it. However, he is captured by the rebels though ultimately he escapes and the rebels are the ones who are subsequently captured and spend the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp.

When the war ends, the colonel seeks out the Confederate captain, played by Rivera, and his sidekick because he wants to know who gave the rebels information about the gold. The rest of Rio Lobo deals with how the three of them find the man who betrayed the Union and what they do with him and his supporters, as they have taken over a town and run it like their personal fiefdom.

The women’s dialog is very 1970s and it is jarring to hear them speak that way. In my opinion, Jennifer O’Neill, who plays one of the roles, overacts most of her scenes. But in one of them, she faints and when she revives, she finds that she’s been undressed and is in a hotel bed. When she asks who took her clothes off, Rivera’s character says they—meaning him and Wayne’s character--flipped a coin and he won, which reminded me of the scene in The Clementine Ingredient where Heyes and Kid flip a coin over who is going to pretend to marry Clementine.

The music soundtrack in Rio Lobo sounds very 1970s--very modern—and out of place. In many scenes where there is fighting, that also looks fake—the punches that are thrown are obviously not real. In the second half of the movie, the action takes place in a sheriff’s office and is very reminiscent of Rio Bravo, which in my opinion was a far better movie. During the climax, a couple rifles and pistols are submerged in water but, miraculously, can still shoot with no difficulty.

Perhaps one reason I had a hard time sitting through this one hour and fifty-four minute film was because it ostensibly took place in Texas yet was filmed at Old Tucson Studios (and in Mexico) and I recognized the scenery and some of the sets from having twice visited there, adding to the sense of unreality of Rio Lobo.

Review summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/41478/Rio-Lobo/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066301/

McLintock!

2011-09-04T18:56:00.005-04:00

There are many positive reviews of McLintock! but looking through the lens of 2011, I have a different view of the movie, which stars John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. Since I had visited Old Tucson Studios while on vacation in August, where this 1963 Western was filmed and where one building used in the movie remains, I was eager to see McLintock!.

However, I was sorely disappointed. Theoretically, the plot sounds good: A prim and proper wife—she prefers Katharine but he likes to call her Katie--wants a divorce from her ranch-owning husband—George Washington McLintock, or GW. Their daughter (played by Stephanie Powers), returning from school in the East, finds herself in a tug-of-war between her parents, who both want her to live with them. The girl, called Rebecca by her mother and Becky by her father, finds herself the romantic object of very different types of men and McLintock!’s subplot involves what she does about them. Unfortunately, many of the actors overact their roles, especially Maureen O’Hara, who actually makes Mrs. Fielding in Six Strangers in Apache Springs look good. In addition, several scenes go on much too long, especially the fight scenes and the chase scene at the end of the movie.

There are scenes with Indians and a Chinese cook, which seem to me to be stereotyping those ethnic groups. On the other hand, it is surprising to hear John Wayne’s character, the eponymous McLintock, refer to the Indians in a positive manner and to take their side in a dispute with the Army. One amusing point: McLintock! at one point refers to the Indians as Comanches but I heard them speaking Navajo!

Chill Wills (a rancher in The Biggest Game in the West) also appears in McLintock! As a sidekick to John Wayne’s character. He does a decent job with his role but is given some silly things to say and do, just like all the other characters. Leo Gordon (Ebenezer in Smiler with a Gun) also has a supporting role in this movie. The word “insane” is frequently used, which reminded me of Louise Carson saying it in Everything Else You Can Steal.

An introduction by Leonard Maltin situates McLintock! in the context of Wayne’s other work and states that it is a take-off of The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare which, since I have not read that particular play, I had not known. I suspect the source material is much better than this remake! There are a few bonus features: one describes the work Michael Wayne, John’s son, did as a producer of McLintock! and many other films; the second bonus feature interviews Maureen O’Hara and Stephanie Powers about their recollections of the movie and working with John Wayne; and the third describes the stunt work done on the movie. There is also an audio commentary that accompanies the movie but I could not bring myself to listen to it even though many people associated with the making of the McLintock! contributed to it.

As a comedy, the slapstick did not work for me at all. At 127 minutes, McLintock! dragged and I was very glad when it finally and predictably came to an end.

Original review in The New York Times (scroll down to the last of the three movies):
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9901E2D9123AE13BBC4C52DFB7678388679EDE

Overview from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/31964/McLintock-/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057298/

Sedona, Arizona

2011-08-14T11:28:00.034-04:00

Sedona. Land of the metaphysical vortex and alternative healing regimens. Location where over 70 movies have been filmed. Luring visitors from all over the world, Sedona is a mix of the modern and the historical, glamour and kitsch, Native and New Age. Ringing the high desert city--the elevation is 4,500 feet--of approximately 10,000 people are the red rock sandstone hills, mountains and monoliths that make Sedona famous (see photos at right and above). Did Roy Huggins ever visit Sedona, Arizona? If he did, maybe that is why the name Red Rock (see photo at right) is frequently mentioned in ASJ (The McCreedy Bust, The Day They Hanged Kid Curry, The McCreedy Bust: Going, Going, Gone, and The McCreedy Feud).

Long before the Europeans arrived, the Sinagua culture flourished. Honanki is a ruin about an hour away from Sedona. Driving over a very bumpy dirt road in a jeep, one gets a very good idea of the remoteness of the area, once the town is left behind. A short trek through a forest of pinyon pine, live oak, creosote bushes and jimson weed—beware of rattlers!--brings visitors to the cliff dwelling, which was built as an extension out from the face of a cliff. Guides with the Pink Jeep tour company explain the history of the place and point out the petroglyphs on the walls, along with their meanings (see photo above; click on the photo to enlarge it and see the petroglyphs at the top right). Another Sinagua ruin, Palanki, is nearby. Both sites are administered by the U.S. Forest Service as they are located within the Coconino National Forest.

First settled by Anglos in the 1870s when the Homestead Act opened up the land to farmers, and later named for the wife of the town’s first postmaster, Sedona Schnebley, a statue of whom stands in front of the town library (see photo at right), the economy is now based on tourism rather than agricultural pursuits. But back in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, ranchers raised Texas short-horn cattle in the area. Fruit orchards were also established. No gold, silver, or copper strikes were ever discovered in Sedona, however, unlike in nearby Jerome.

Starting in 1923 with Call of the Canyon, Sedona was a unique and memorable location for making movies, TV shows, and commercials. Numerous Westerns were filmed in and around the city; an Old West town was built on the outskirts of Sedona but unfortunately no longer exists. Movie stars such as Randolph Scott (see photo at right), Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, and Clint Walker all made films in Sedona. Tributes to these and other actors and actresses who appeared in movies filmed around Sedona are located along the main street, Highway 89A, in one part of the town. Perhaps filming an entire season of a TV show in Sedona would have been too expensive and that is why the third season of ASJ went on location to Moab instead, another place where red rock landscape is prominent.

Whatever the source, the vibrations must have been in my favor when I visited Sedona! Shopping, of course, is big business in the town and it was there that I finally found a concho belt very similar to the one on Kid Curry’s second season hat. After years of searching, I was thrilled to find it. I may need to get another hat made since the cowboy hat I had custom-designed last year already has a concho hatband, albeit in a different style. I can certainly understand why Kid had two hats, though!

Webpage about the history of Anglo settlement in Sedona:
http://www.visitsedona.com/article/82

U.S. Forest Service webpage about Honanki:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/red_rock/honanki-ruins.shtml

Article about Honanki in Sedona Monthly:
http://www.sedonamonthly.com/activities/hikes/Honanki.html

List of movies filmed in Sedona:
http://sedonafilmoffice.com/index.php?action=article&id=4

Tuzigoot, Arizona

2011-08-13T20:29:00.016-04:00

Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry drifted all over the West trying to find work and avoid the law. As they wandered through the Southwest, riding through the desert on horseback and sleeping under the stars when short of money, they very probably came upon ruins such as those now called Tuzigoot. Administered by the National Park Service as a national monument (see photo above), Tuzigoot was a pueblo inhabited by Native Americans of the Sinagua culture. It is located about 20 minutes from Jerome, on the outskirts of Cottonwood, Arizona.

The settlement began around 1000 A.D. and lasted until around 1400 A.D. Built at the top of a hill (see photo at right), there is a commanding view of the valley below from all sides. The people who lived at Tuzigoot, who probably numbered no more than 225 at its most populous, lived in structures built of adobe bricks, some of which were two stories high. All that is left of Tuzigoot now are the remains of the walls that show how the rooms were connected to each other (see photo at right) and one restored room with a roof on it. The people who lived at Tuzigoot were farmers and hunters who made excellent use of the fertile land surrounding them. To see the ruins, visitors walk on a trail that circles the hill. There are numerous markers all along the trail (see photo at right), which is only about one-third of a mile long, that describe how the Sinagua people at Tuzigoot lived and prospered.

The Visitor Center contains well-rounded exhibits about Tuzigoot (see photo below) and its relationship with other cultures that it interacted with--trade was very important. There is also a small gift shop. Outside, there are more markers that explain how the people of Tuzigoot made use of abundant plant life around them. There are more than fifty Sinaguan ruins in the area and if Heyes and Curry passed by them during their travels, they may have wondered what they were but by the nineteenth century, the settlements had been long abandoned. There are several theories about why the Sinaguans left this area and where they went but nothing definitive has been proved to date.

National Park Service website for Tuzigoot:
http://www.nps.gov/tuzi/index.htm

Website about Tuzigoot from DesertUSA:
http://www.desertusa.com/tuz/du_tuz_desc.html

Brief description of Sinagua history from DesertUSA:
http://www.desertusa.com/ind1/du_peo_sin.html

Jerome, Arizona

2011-08-12T18:26:00.041-04:00

Jerome is a former ghost town supposedly now inhabited by numerous ghosts, along with about 350 corporeal humans who live there full-time. Situated in northern Arizona, about half an hour by car from Sedona, Jerome is a former mining town built just shy of a mile high at 5,246 feet on Cleopatra Hill (see photo above). Established in 1876, the town was named after Eugene Murray Jerome, a New Yorker who never visited but owned rights to mines in the area.

Nowadays, Jerome (see photo below) is known as an artists’ colony and a tourist destination, with lots of shops and galleries catering to tourists, but in the nineteenth century it was an important copper mining town. At the height of its economic success, more than 15,000 people lived there and it was the fourth largest town in the Arizona Territory. Businesses catering to the mines and miners sprang up and people of European, Hispanic, and Asian heritage lived there, in addition to the Native Americans who were the original inhabitants of the region. The Mine Museum showcases Jerome’s history from its beginnings to the present day and includes exhibits on the mines and the men who worked in them, the medical care available to the miners, the hierarchy of prostitutes in Jerome, and law and order in the town. One of the many interesting artifacts is a washing machine used by a Chinese laundry in Jerome (see photo above). The Mine Museum also contains a restored bar from a local saloon.

Travelers to Jerome might have stayed in the Connor Hotel (see photo below), which was built in 1898. Intended for such guests as businessmen or teachers, rather than miners, it cost one dollar to spend the night there and was considered expensive at the time. However, the hotel had indoor plumbing, with a bathroom on every floor. There was also a bell in each of the rooms that allowed guests to ring for service. If Heyes and Kid had enough money, they would undoubtedly have stayed at the Connor Hotel.

To support the miners and the mining companies a “mixed” train, that is, one that carried both ore from the mines and the miners themselves, ran between Jerome, Clarkdale--a nearby town at the bottom of Cleopatra Hill--and other towns in the Verde Valley. The train ran daily and in the nineteenth century cost a miner $2.06 for a roundtrip ticket from Clarkdale to Drake, 38 miles away, where the train connected to the Sante Fe Railroad. In the twenty-first century, what is now called the Verde Valley Railroad (see photo above at right) carries tourists on a four-hour narrated ride through the region, from the depot in Clarkdale to Perkinsville and back. Riding along the Verde River, which had water in it even at the height of an Arizona summer in late July; seeing prehistoric Indian cave dwellings high up on the sides of cliffs; passing by the remains of miners’ shacks and mine tailings, and old telegraph poles (see middle photo above at right); travelling over trestle bridges and through a tunnel in total darkness that was cut through a mountainside (see photo above at right), the trip makes the nineteenth century come alive.

Heyes and Kid made some unsuccessful attempts at mining (Smiler with a Gun, Six Strangers at Apache Springs, Night of the Red Dog) and conned people into believing they were miners or mine owners (A Fistful of Diamonds, The Great Shell Game). They would have felt right at home in Jerome!

Website about Jerome:
http://www.azjerome.com/

Article about Jerome in DesertUSA:
 http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/oct/stories/jerome.html

Webpage about the history of the Connor Hotel:
http://www.connorhotel.com/history.htm

Website for the Verde Canyon Railroad:
http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/

The Wyoming Territorial Prison

2011-08-03T16:17:00.104-04:00

“Maybe they’ll give us adjoining cells.” -- Kid Curry to Hannibal Heyes as they try to escape the thirteen men chasing them in The Posse That Wouldn’t Quit. Even if they did have adjacent cells at the Wyoming Territorial Prison (NOT the Wyoming State Prison as Kid called it in Night of the Red Dog, since it didn't become a state until 1890, which presumably is after the time period of the series), he and Heyes might not have seen much of each other because the cells had solid metal walls between them. Only the doors to the cells were made of slatted, metal bars (see photo above).

Beginning in 1873 and continuing for the next thirty years, the Wyoming Territorial Prison housed both male and female inmates. The Warden’s House (see photo at right and below), located a short distance from the prison building, nicely illustrates the contrast between the convicts and the men who were guarding them. At first, the guards lived in the house as well but when the prison was expanded in 1889, they moved to a room on the second floor inside the prison itself.

Appearing much smaller in reality, the brick prison, surrounded by a wooden stockade with watchtowers (see photo at right), had three tiers of cells in two cell blocks; there were twelve cells on each floor (see photo below). The cells in the North cell block were larger than those in the South cell block. The prison also contained an office for the warden, an intake room where prisoners were processed when they first arrived, an infirmary for a doctor who was on call whenever necessary, a general-purpose room that served as a library/chapel/dining room for special occasions/cigar-making room/lecture hall where people from town came to give talks to the prisoners, a laundry room, a kitchen, and a section on the second floor that housed female inmates. Based on records kept by the Wyoming Territorial Prison, twelve women and 1,000 men served sentences there.

When a man arrived at the Wyoming Territorial Prison to serve his sentence, perhaps in a prison wagon such as the one on the grounds of the park (see photo below), he was taken to the processing room (see second photo below, right) where his photograph was taken and he was issued a prison uniform, shoes, bedding, soap and a candle (see third photo below, right). If a prisoner was literate, he would get two candles per week so he could read books that were borrowed from the prison library. Tobacco and matches, and sometimes hard candy, were also distributed to the prisoners. Inmates were expected to keep their cells as well as themselves clean; they had to bathe once a week, except in winter when it was every other week. Each floor had its own bathing area and when the prison was expanded in 1889, running water was installed which, according to my tour guide, was more than many of the homes in the local community had. Prisoners had to change their underclothes every Sunday and do their own laundry (see fourth photo at right). Chamber pots from the cells were emptied every day. Female convicts were allowed to wear their own clothes but there were no female guards and their bathing area had no curtains or doors for privacy (see fifth photo at right). At any one time, there were no more than three female convicts in the Wyoming Territorial Prison.

The Wyoming Territorial Prison adhered to the Auburn System, a penal philosophy whereby inmates were expected to work hard and reflect upon their crimes by keeping silent for most of the time, although they were allowed to whisper when at work or at night, and could speak if granted permission by a guard. The inmates’ day began at 5:45am and ended at 6:00pm, when they were locked in their cells for the night. On Sunday, they were allowed to sleep until 6:30am and did not go to work. Religious services on Sunday were probably an hour long and were conducted by Dr. May Preston Slossen, the first woman to serve as a chaplain in a prison in America. Prisoners were allowed to exercise in front of their cells every day—they could move out into the corridor as far as the distance their door swung open, about four feet. Female prisoners spent most of their time in their cells. Guards, who did not receive any special training to perform their duties, kept watch from four cages built into the prison walls at both ends of the building (see photo above).

Inmates who were well-behaved and presented no problems could become trustees. They were the ones who worked in the kitchen (see photo below) preparing meals for the prisoners, who normally ate in their cells unless it was a special occasion and then they ate in the dining room on the second floor. Well-behaved inmates could also choose their own cell and apparently cells on the top floor were preferred. On the other hand, prisoners who disobeyed or broke the rules were punished. They could lose their privileges or be sent to Cell #7, the dark cell, for solitary confinement (see photo at right). This cell had a solid metal door and when closed, it was completely dark inside, hence the name. Prisoners often were chained inside or they could be chained to a metal protrusion at the top of the door outside the cell. Prisoners in the dark cell got bread and water two times a day for their meals. As there were no specific, clearly defined rules for the prisoners to follow, discipline was arbitrary and depended on the whim of the guards.

The Prison Industries Building was where male inmates spent their days working (see photo at right). Most of the space inside was taken up by the production of brooms but candles were made there, too, and woodworking was also done by some inmates. Prisoners used several different machines to attach wooden handles to the broomcorn, trim the ends of the broom to a uniform length, put cord around the brooms, and then affix labels to them (see photo of one of the machines at right). The finished brooms, in several different sizes, were sold throughout the United States. Nowadays, brooms that are made in the same way by volunteers can be purchased in the well-stocked gift shop.

An excellent self-guided tour, aided by a detailed brochure, is available and there are also park employees, dressed as prisoners in striped uniforms (see photo below), who readily guide visitors through the facility. The second floor has a section devoted to Butch Cassidy, the prison's most famous inmate. On weekends, Frontier Village, a restored Old West town, is open to visitors. Allow several hours to completely explore the prison and the other buildings on the grounds. Heyes and Kid did all they could to avoid ending up at the Wyoming Territorial Prison but everyone who is a fan of ASJ will thoroughly enjoy the time they spend there!

Website for the Wyoming Territorial Prison:
http://www.wyomingterritorialprison.com/whats-to-see/

Brief history of the Wyoming Territorial Prison (top half of webpage):
http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/laramietpris.html

Short description of the Wyoming Territorial Prison, with photos and videos:
http://www.cityprofile.com/wyoming/wyoming-territorial-prison-state-historic-site.html

The Virginia Dale Stage Station

2011-08-02T13:49:00.015-04:00

Heyes and Kid didn’t have much luck traveling by stagecoach (Stagecoach Seven, The Root of it All, Shootout at Diablo Station). And they probably didn’t pass through the Virginia Dale Stage Station in northern Colorado (see photo at right) but if they had, they might have enjoyed a good meal and at least been able to sleep indoors instead of out on the trail. Or, they might have been attacked by Cheyenne Indians. Whatever the circumstances, it is quite likely Heyes and Kid would have known who Jack Slade was, since he was almost as notorious as they were. But Mark Twain, who met Slade, described him favorably so I wonder what Twain would have said about Kid and Heyes.

The Virginia Dale Stage Station was a way station for travelers on the Overland Trail. It was built in 1862 by Jack Slade, who was in charge of several stagecoach stations for the Overland Stage Company (see photo below; click on the image to enlarge and read the text). As a full-service station, passengers on the stagecoaches were able to disembark at Virginia Dale and stretch their legs while fresh horses were hitched to the vehicle. There used to be a barn on the grounds, with stalls for six animals, but that no longer exists; the horses probably ate hay, which could be cut from the plentiful grassland surrounding the station. Passengers could also buy a meal—probably made of whatever could be shot nearby—and spend the night if necessary. The building was constructed of yellow pine logs and still stands in its original location, just a few miles from the Wyoming border.

The furnishings inside the Virginia Dale station (see photo below) are not from the nineteenth century but, with imagination, it is possible to envision the joy that tired, hungry, and dirty passengers would have felt upon entering the building. With a low ceiling, the long, one-room structure would have been warm in the winter and with the windows and doors open in the summer, a cool breeze would circulate, as it did when I visited in late July. Standing in the doorway, gazing out at the hills in the distance, listening to the wind in the silence of the landscape and the sky a deep blue with only a wisp of cloud in it, I could almost picture a stagecoach driving up the road to the only building for miles around, carrying weary passengers who were more than ready to enjoy the comforts of the Virginia Dale Stage Station.

Owned by the Virginia Dale Community Club since 1964, it is possible to arrange a tour through this volunteer organization of the premises, which includes the Emil Hurzeler house next door. A small gift shop is located inside the stage stop; purchasing one of the books about Jack Slade or stagecoach travel in Colorado, or a T-shirt or other souvenir, is a very nice way to support this historical treasure.

Comprehensive meta website with lots of links about the Virginia Dale Stage Station and the Overland Trail:
http://www.over-land.com/virginia/indexold.html

Website about Jack Slade:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-josephslade.html

Website for the Virginia Dale Community Club:
http://www.virginiadalecommunityclub.org/

Cripple Creek, Colorado

2011-08-01T20:06:00.024-04:00

Cripple Creek—a name no ASJ fanfic writer could make up—was Kid and Heyes’ kind of town! At an elevation of almost 9,500 feet, this central Colorado mining town near Pikes Peak was in its heyday at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth (see photo at right). Gold miners working claims in the surrounding hills enjoyed the pleasures of Cripple Creek’s saloons, brothels, and gaming establishments such as Big Jim's (see photo at right -- could this be where he and Clara ended up?). More genteel, respectable, people also lived in Cripple Creek and laws were enforced to keep the peace. Nowadays, tourism and casino gambling drive the local economy instead of mining but the town is filled with history and very picturesque--well worth a day's visit.

Kid and Heyes were very fortunate they didn’t spend any time in the local jail! However, Robert Curry, a member of the Wild Bunch whose alias was Bob Lee, was captured in Cripple Creek and was jailed here for a spell. Standing in its original location, with its original cells, what is now called the Outlaws and Lawmen Jail Museum of Cripple Creek was definitely not a pleasure palace. There are two floors; each floor had a row of four cells on either side of a central aisle (see photo above). Each cell was six feet by six feet—quite small, and with metal walls and ceilings, and cement floors, probably quite uncomfortable, especially in summer. As many as six prisoners were sometimes incarcerated in one cell. To fit that many inside, hammocks were strung from the walls (see photo above); those prisoners did not sleep on beds but when there were fewer inmates in a cell, they did have beds (see photo below). There was no furniture in the cells except a metal protrusion in one corner; perhaps this was a bench to sit on. At one end of the first floor, one cell did not have a metal slatted door but rather was solid metal. This was the dark cell for solitary confinement. There was a separate area for women and juveniles who broke the law. By county law, prisoners had outdoor exercise every day.

Now restored as a museum, The Old Homestead, built in 1892, is the euphemistic name for what was the most exclusive brothel in Cripple Creek; guided tours are available but no photos are allowed indoors. Just inside the entrance and to the right is the parlor, where men were entertained with conversation; behind that is the music room, where a pianist was paid to play popular tunes of the day. The furnishings were imported from various European countries as well as Japan. Walking up a narrow, twisting stairway are two girls’ rooms, side by side, and down the equally narrow hallway was another girl’s room and the room of the madam, Pearl DeVere. According to the tour guide, four girls worked at The Old Homestead at any one time (see photo above). Men had to supply references, which were checked, if they wanted to avail themselves of the pleasures of the house. They paid between $50 - $100 for one trick and if they wanted to spend the night with one girl, it cost them $250. At the top of the stairs on the second floor was a small room where men could observe the girls, who were dressed provocatively, and then make their selection. The tour guide also said that each month, the girls had to pay a head tax in the form of a fine, usually around $40 - $45; The Old Homestead has receipts on display. The girls were allowed to go to the main downtown area of Cripple Creek only from 8:00 – 11:00am on Monday mornings. Prostitution was illegal but tolerated, and there were all sorts of houses of ill repute catering to the men who lived and worked in and around Cripple Creek.

Trains were essential to the growth of the region and three lines operated between the various towns during the time of the gold rush. Nowadays, the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad (see photo at right) takes visitors on a 45-minute journey through the Echo and Anaconda Valleys to see where the miners worked. The trip is narrated and stops a few times at scenic spots. Big holes where individual miners dug for gold can be seen, along with dilapidated shacks and cabins, mine tailings, and way off in the distance, mechanical mining equipment (see photo at right). Hearing the train whistle blow; sitting in the open observation cars, passing through groves of aspen almost close enough to touch, I could almost imagine myself transported back to the days of the Old West.

Info about the Outlaws and Lawmen Jail Museum:
http://www.cripple-creek.co.us/OutlawsandLawmenJailMuseum.aspx

Article about preserving The Old Homestead, with photos:
http://www.savethehomesteadco.org/

Website for the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad:
http://cripplecreekrailroad.com/

The Colorado Railroad Museum

2011-07-31T21:41:00.020-04:00

Located in Golden, Colorado, twelve miles and about half an hour west of Denver, this museum is not to be missed if you are interested in trains and Colorado history. Heyes and Kid would feel right at home here, as they undoubtedly would recognize many of the trains on display (see photo at right). And for ASJ fanfic writers, the Colorado Railroad Museum provides a wealth of useful information.

One of the indoor exhibits is a room set up like a telegraph office (see photo at right), with an explanation of Morse code and a description of the types of messages that would be sent about train arrivals and departures. Another exhibit showcases a huge model train set-up, constructed by local train aficionados; deposit a quarter and watch the trains circle around and through various aspects of Colorado history. Other displays indoors describe the history of train travel in Colorado, with information about particular railroad companies such as the Denver & Rio Grande, whose trains can be seen in numerous ASJ episodes (see photo above; click on the image to enlarge and read the text).

Outside, throughout the grounds of the museum, are actual train cars. Engines (see photo at right), cabooses, passenger cars, and railroad post office cars ranging in age from the latter part of the nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century are exhibited. Many have informational signs that describe their history. It is also possible to enter many of the cars and experience for oneself what it might have been like to work on a train or be a passenger on one (see photo at right). There is also a replica water tower that resembles those seen in various ASJ episodes.

Exploring all the indoor exhibits and train cars outdoors takes at least a couple hours. With a well-stocked gift shop, a shady picnic area, and a reference library available to those interested in researching railroad history, a visit to the Colorado Railroad Museum is a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Website for the Colorado Railroad Museum:
http://www.coloradorailroadmuseum.org/

More information about the museum, with descriptions of many of the cars on exhibit:
http://w3.uwyo.edu/~zeus/crrm/guide.html

Denver: The Denver Mint

2011-07-31T19:19:00.006-04:00

Heyes and Kid were right to disregard Harry Wagoner’s plan for blowing up the Denver Mint, as mentioned in How to Rob a Bank in One Hard Lesson: Although there have been several attempts, the Denver Mint (see photo at right) has never been successfully robbed. It would have been much more feasible for the Devil’s Hole Gang to rob a train bringing a shipment of gold to the Denver Mint, as Harry Briscoe expected would happen in Wrong Train to Brimstone.

Free guided tours of the Denver Mint (see photo below), which last about thirty minutes, explain the history and process of creating coins and paper money. After passing through metal detectors, visitors enter an exhibition room that explains the history of money around the world. Ascending to the second floor, a short video is shown. After that, the tour guide, accompanied by security guards, explains how coins are minted and visitors can observe the process on the machines on the floor below. There are also exhibits visitors can look at that describe the tools and materials used to make money. The building where this part of the tour occurs does not date from the nineteenth century, even though a mint in Denver was authorized by Congress in 1863. In fact, the oldest part of the building currently housing the Denver Mint is only from the early part of the twentieth century.

According to the tour guide, paper money has never been made at the Denver Mint, only coins. However, gold bullion is currently stored there, somewhere—the tour guide said he wasn’t privy to where; hence the need for heavy security. The tour ends at what originally was the main entrance to the Denver Mint (see photo at right). Souvenirs can be purchased at the gift shop but I was disappointed that there was no book specifically about the history of the Denver Mint.

Slideshow about how coins are made by the U.S. Mint:
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/index.cfm?action=vtShell

Webpage for information about tours of the Denver Mint:
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/?action=StartReservation

Denver: The Brown Palace Hotel

2011-07-31T17:30:00.014-04:00

“They have the greatest hotel you ever saw. Brown Palace. You can look right up through the center and see the top floor.” So says Heyes to Brigitte Jordan in The Posse That Wouldn’t Quit, as he answers her question about what Denver is like. Perhaps one reason Heyes was impressed was because the hotel (see photo at right) is in the shape of a triangle, like many of the saloons he and Kid frequented!

Henry Brown (see photo below), who had come to Denver in 1860 to make money off the miners who hoped to strike it rich during the Pikes Peak or Bust gold rush, opened the Henry C. Brown Palace Hotel in 1892. It cost $2,000,000 to build the hotel; the china, linens, and other furnishings were all imported. There are 318 guest rooms on the second through seventh floors—the first floor is for Reception, restaurants, shops, and the atrium in the lobby. When the hotel opened, guests were charged between three and five dollars per night and, because the city had no skyscrapers at the time, they were asked if they preferred the morning or afternoon sun in their room. The Brown Palace also has its own artesian well that provides water to guests’ rooms.

Centrally located, the Brown Palace has hosted every U.S. President since Teddy Roosevelt except Calvin Coolidge and Barack Obama. Three executive suites are named after TR, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan. Many other famous celebrities have also stayed at the hotel. A 75-minute tour of the Brown Palace is offered, for a fee, every Wednesday and Saturday by the hotel historian, who shares many additional interesting facts about the building.

Afternoon tea in the atrium is a special treat, though I doubt Heyes and Curry would have ever had the means to enjoy it, unless they became very successful businessmen after receiving their amnesty. Guests can enjoy pots of three different types of tea, along with scones, finger sandwiches, and other petits-fours. Gazing up at the stained glass skylight in the ceiling (see top photo at right) from the lobby (see bottom photo at right), it is easy to understand why Heyes thought the Brown Palace was a great hotel!

Article about the Brown Palace Hotel:
http://arizonanotebook.com/?p=1001

Website for the Brown Palace Hotel:
http://www.brownpalace.com/index.cfm

Denver: The Byers-Evans House

2011-07-28T22:05:00.018-04:00

It’s not nearly as grand as Soapy’s mansion seen in A Fistful of Diamonds or Silky’s in The Day They Hanged Kid Curry, but if Heyes and Kid got their amnesty, and had successful, honest careers and decided to settle in Denver, perhaps they would live in a home similar to the Byers-Evans House. Built in 1883 by William Byers, who was the publisher of the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News newspaper, the house is a wonderful example of a late nineteenth/early twentieth century home and its contents offer a window into how well-to-do citizens of the time lived.

The Byers family, and the Evans family to whom they sold the home in 1889, were prominent members of Denver society and the interior reflects their wealth and interests. Guided tours are given of the home and enhance the experience of a visit. Most but not all the furnishings are original to the home. According to the tour guide, green was a very popular color at this time (see photo above); walls were painted green, and trim and wallpaper also featured that color.

The interior of the Byers-Evans home is rather dim on the ground floor, perhaps because the furniture tended to be a heavy, dark wood or maybe it is to protect the furnishings from damage caused by the sun. The room off the main entrance exemplifies this very well (see photo at right). Lighting was originally by candle but eventually electricity was installed, as can be seen by the wall sconces over the piano. Although the house appears small in comparison to the buildings around it—it’s in a district where office buildings are now more prevalent than single family homes—that is deceptive because there are many rooms, of various sizes, inside the two-story building. The Evans family had four children and the three daughters lived in the home as adults (one returned after she was widowed). Bedrooms on the second floor are brighter and typically have dressing tables, bookcases, chairs, a closet, nightstands and small tables in them (see photo above).

There are two bathrooms; one is from the nineteenth century and the other was installed in the twentieth century. On the first floor, there is a large, well-appointed kitchen (see photo at right). Kid would never go hungry if he lived here! Note the stove and the icebox, which is the wooden box-like piece of furniture at the right in the photo.

A far cry from life on the trail, Heyes and Kid would certainly be very comfortable in a home like this!

Article about the house and its occupants through the years:
http://www.frontrangeliving.com/architecture/Byers-Evans.htm

Colorado Historical Society webpage about the house:
http://www.historycolorado.org/museums/byers-evans-house-museum

Denver: The Mile High City

2011-07-26T23:37:00.017-04:00

"Denver is a likeable town." -- Hannibal Heyes at the end of The Root of it All.

Several other episodes of ASJ also either mention or are partially set in Denver: Return to Devil's Hole; The Posse that Wouldn’t Quit; Dreadful Sorry, Clementine; The Men that Corrupted Hadleyburg; Bad Night in Big Butte; The Clementine Ingredient. Although it is situated 5,280 feet above sea level (see photo of marker at right), Denver receives lots of sunshine and has a generally pleasant climate. So it seemed appropriate to go to Denver on vacation and spend my time there engaging in various Old West activities.

The discovery of gold in 1858 in the area created a gold rush and in 1859, the settlement on the eastern side of Cherry Creek, which was then part of Kansas Territory, was named after the territorial governor, James Denver. In 1865, Denver became the capital of Colorado Territory and later, the state capitol (see photo of Capitol building at right). Nowadays, this city of approximately 600,000 is a mix of the historical and modern. The downtown area around the 16th Street Mall is full of skyscrapers but smaller buildings from the nineteenth century are still standing.

Eating establishments such as The Blake Street Vault, dating from the 1860s and The Broker, where I ate one night, which is a restaurant created out of a bank vault where customers could view the contents of their safety deposit boxes in privacy (see photo of entrance to the vault at right), maintain their period décor. In the lobby of a downtown Wells Fargo bank, a stagecoach representing the company’s history is on display (see photo at right) and upstairs, there is a small exhibit about the history of the bank. This was fun to see as it reminded me of the scene in Return to Devil's Hole when Big Jim tells Heyes about his plan to rob the Wells Fargo Clearinghouse.

Following in the footsteps of Heyes and Kid, I absorbed as much Old West atmosphere as possible during my trip, and future blog entries will showcase some of the places I visited. It sure is easy to see why Heyes and Kid enjoyed Denver as much as they did!

Website about the founding of Denver:
http://www.denver.org/metro/history

Website with a more detailed history of Denver, from early settlement to today:
http://www.denverrealestateonline.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=537327&NF=1

Website for The Broker restaurant:
http://www.thebrokerrestaurant.com/

Wyoming Renegades

2011-07-03T20:24:00.005-04:00

For a completely different characterization of Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, watch Wyoming Renegades. In this movie Butch, played by Gene Evans (Phillips in The Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg), is a crude, coarse, murderer, very different from the charming rogue depicted by Paul Newman. Curry--his first name is never mentioned and the actor who played him is not credited--wears a black eye patch and likes to hurt people; he also likes to take his pleasure by force. Peter Brocco (Mr. Pincus in the Pilot and the judge in The Posse that Wouldn't Quit) also has an uncredited role.

Wyoming Renegades starts off with a series of bank and train robberies, interspersed with pictures of wanted posters of members of the Wild Bunch and posses chasing after them. After the opening credits, the scene shifts to a lone man riding slowly into Broken Bow, Wyoming. He ignores the whispering townsfolk and stops at a boarded-up blacksmith's shop. He turns out to be Brady Sutton, former member of Butch Cassidy's gang and recently released from prison after serving three years. All he wants now is to make a new start, taking over his father's business as a blacksmith, and marrying Nancy, the daughter of the bank owner who still believes in him. However, the townspeople are suspicious and make it clear they don't want Brady in their midst.

Into this combustible situation comes Charlie Veer, who mysteriously bankrolls Brady and becomes his business partner. Slowly, the business becomes a success. Then one day, when Brady is in the bank, the Sundance Kid enters to size it up for a robbery. He had tried to get Brady to rejoin the gang when he left prison, but Brady beat him up instead. Brady sees Sundance but doesn't think the outlaw saw him; he doesn't realize that Sundance saw him in a mirror. Brady goes to the sheriff and warns him of the impending robbery. Wyoming Renegades shows Brady's uncertain status in the town very nicely: Is he still an outlaw, working for the Cassidy gang, or has he truly changed?

Preparations are made to safeguard the bank's money but the outlaws were also prepared. A gunfight ensues and Brady feels he has no recourse but to run because he thinks the town will blame him for the robbery. Charlie goes with him. They search for the Wild Bunch in order to clear Brady's name, find them, and after some tense moments, insinuate themselves into the gang. The rest of Wyoming Renegades deals with Brady and Veer trying to stop the Wild Bunch from getting the money they left behind during the bank robbery.

In the second half of Wyoming Renegades, there is a train robbery. As in the Pilot, the passengers are herded off the train. However, there are some major differences: a) The passengers are robbed of their valuables, and b) the car that presumably holds the safe is successfully blown up. Also, one of the railroad employees is shot point blank when he refuses to do something ordered by Butch Cassidy.

The ending of Wyoming Renegades is a complete surprise. This 1954 movie is action-filled, shows the inner conflict of Brady, the ex-convict, very well and, at 75 minutes maintains suspense throughout. But it's a good thing Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry were not modeled on Butch and Sundance as portrayed here, since I doubt Alias Smith and Jones would ever have been made if they had been.

Review summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/117808/Wyoming-Renegades/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048814/

Santa Fe

2011-06-19T17:40:00.008-04:00

How difficult was it to build the network of railroads across the Western part of the United States? Santa Fe depicts the construction of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad from its beginning in Missouri to its completion in New Mexico. The movie is probably based on fact but the plot makes it clear that this is a Hollywood version of history.

The opening narration sets the scene by describing the hard times faced by soldiers of both North and South after the Civil War. Then Santa Fe shifts its focus and four men on horses are shown entering a town. They go into a saloon, which looks suspiciously like most other saloons in Westerns, and start verbally sparring with some other customers at the bar, who are a mix of Yankee soldiers and civilians. The newcomers, we soon discover, are Southerners from Virginia who lost their plantation in the war and shortly thereafter a gunfight breaks out and the Southerners flee.

Resembling the scene in The Posse that Wouldn’t Quit, the four men who are being chased by a group of townspeople halt at the top of a ridge. Spying alternative transportation in the form of a train approaching down below, they dismount and jump onto a flatbed railroad car and make their escape. The rest of Santa Fe deals with how the four men, who turn out to be brothers, interact with the railroad. The oldest brother, Britt Canfield, who was a captain in the Confederate Army and is played by Randolph Scott, joins the company building the railroad. He starts off by laying track—though the movie never says how much the railroad is paying for that work, unlike The Day the Amnesty Came Through—and he soon becomes an essential and trusted employee. The other brothers decline the opportunity and make different choices.

Scott plays his typical Western man: strong, taciturn, a take-charge kind of guy, a loner, a man who demonstrates loyalty even though it creates moral dilemmas for him. Santa Fe also includes typical movie Western scenes: There is a section in the middle of the film involving Indians and the movie seems to make fun of them when they encounter the railroad for the first time; there is also a saloon fight that resembles countless other saloon fights; and there is a woman who at first resents Scott’s character but is eventually won over by his charm.

There are also some slapstick moments involving the train engineer and his fireman, which seem somewhat out of place. The train is held up but unlike Alias Smith and Jones, people are shot and die in Santa Fe. This leads to complications for Scott’s Canfield, as it seems his brothers are involved, and a major part of the movie deals with the effects of the robbery. Another subplot is about the competition between the railroad company Canfield works for and the Denver Rio Grande Railroad, whose cars were seen in a number of episodes of Alias Smith and Jones (on the TV show, however, the train is called the Denver & Rio Grande). The westward progress of the railroad is indicated by showing names of the towns it passes through superimposed on shots of train track at ground level, as if a train is driving over it, which is an interesting choice of camera angle.

Produced in 1951 and running only 87 minutes, Santa Fe is a pleasant if unremarkable diversion for an afternoon or evening.

Short biography of Cyrus K. Holliday, founder of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad:
http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/~imlskto/cgi-bin/index.php?SCREEN=bio_sketches/holliday_cyrus

History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad:
http://www.american-rails.com/atchison-topeka-and-santa-fe.html

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A04E5DC1539E43BBC4C53DFB366838A649EDE&&scp=4&sq=santa%20fe%20movie%20review&st=cse

Review summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/108841/Santa-Fe/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043992/

More Dead Than Alive

2011-06-11T22:44:00.005-04:00

If Kid Curry had gone to prison for twenty years and then was released towards the end of the nineteenth century, his life might have resembled that of the main character in More Dead Than Alive. Clint Walker plays Cain, who served eighteen years in an Arizona prison for murder, then is released and has to find his way in a very different world.

More Dead Than Alive starts off with a hanging and then there is a prison break attempt, but Cain, also known as Killer Cain for the twelve men he shot (“I was hired to use my gun and I did”), refuses to take advantage of the opportunity. He makes the right choice, as a prison guard uses a Gatling gun to greater effect than the one in Last Train to Brimstone.

A number of ASJ actors appeared in More Dead Than Alive: Harry Lauter (the sheriff in Smiler with a Gun) is the doctor who certifies the men who were hanged are dead; Clarke Gordon (Charlie Wells in A Fistful of Diamonds, Sheriff McWhorter in The Man Who Broke the Bank at Red Gap, the shopkeeper in High Lonesome Country and the eponymous McGuffin), is Carson, whom I recognized but couldn't place while watching this film; and Orville Sherman (Hank in The McCreedy Bust) as a barber, whom I didn't recognize at all.

Later that year, Cain is released and the warden says he is a changed man. Cain finds himself in the town of Las Rinas and sees, for the first time, a bicycle and a telephone. He appears perplexed by the changes that have taken place while he was incarcerated. He also comes in contact with a “traveling shooting show,” owned by Mr. Ruffalo (played by Vincent Price), which is similar to Doc Snively’s Medicine Show in Witness to a Lynching, except that here, the star attraction is Billy (played by Paul Hampton), a youth who is an expert sharpshooter and who is jealous of Cain’s notoriety. More Dead Than Alive uses the conflict between Billy, who does all he can to provoke Cain into a shootout, and Cain, who wants nothing more to do with a gun but finds he is unable to earn an honest living without resorting to using it.

More Dead Than Alive shows the difficulty an ex-convict had at that time adjusting to life on the outside. Cain wanders all over Arizona searching for work but despite his best intentions, his identity is always discovered and, as a result, Cain is fired from the jobs he had or else someone comes gunning for him.

In an abandoned town, Cain meets an artist from Boston who came West to paint the “local color” before it is all gone. As the romantic interest in More Dead Than Alive, Anne Francis becomes attracted to Cain but not even her love can save him.

It is easy to think that Kid Curry, with a comparable background, would have had similar experiences. Ultimately, More Dead Than Alive is a very appropriate title for this 101 minute 1969 movie.

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B0DE1DC1131E034BC4953DFB3668382679EDE

Review summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/102863/More-Dead-Than-Alive/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064695/

The Outlaw

2011-05-29T23:39:00.008-04:00

Playing fast with historical fact, The Outlaw posits Doc Holliday as an old friend of Pat Garrett, the sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, who transfers his friendship to William Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid. Doc, played by Walter Huston, takes a liking to the Kid, played by Jack Beutel; and Garrett, played by Thomas Mitchell, resents that and does his best to arrest Billy. Into this mix comes Rio, played by Jane Russell in her film debut. The rest of the movie is all about the interaction between these four people and how they betray each other.

Doc Holliday in The Outlaw is completely different from the Doc Holliday character portrayed in Which Way to the O.K. Corral? Here, Doc smiles a great deal, which doesn't fit with my impression of him from other Westerns. And even though The Outlaw was shot in black and white--a colorized version is also available on the DVD I viewed, and it's interesting to watch that for the contrast--it's quite obvious that the pants Doc wears throughout the movie are plaid. It's very hard to take him seriously as a gunfighter when he is wearing plaid.

Billy the Kid is shot and Doc takes him to Rio's house, which she shares with her aunt. It turns out that Rio is Doc's girl, and he asks her to nurse the Kid, not realizing that she has a grudge against Billy and tried to kill him earlier. There are several scenes of her watching the Kid lying in bed, which reminded me of Heyes recuperating in The Fifth Victim. However, Mrs. Carlson never revealed so much cleavage when she was nursing Heyes! In The Outlaw, Jane Russell usually is pouting and in her close-ups, she is backlit, presumably to make her look even more sexy. It must have worked, though, because Billy falls for her, and she for him.

Much of The Outlaw consists of Doc and Billy trying to escape the clutches of Pat Garrett, who comes off as a bumbling lawman. Rio comes along for the ride. But Doc and Billy also face off against each other, often over a horse whose ownership is claimed by them both. At one point, there is a showdown and Doc draws on Billy. But Billy doesn't draw and Doc has trouble understanding why. Billy's laconic excuse: "No, I just don't feel like it; maybe I ate too much" is typical of his laid-back attitude throughout The Outlaw. I can't imagine Kid Curry ever using that excuse!

One aspect of this movie that really stands out is the music. Unfortunately, it's because it is so bad. It's worse than the music in the beginning of Night of the Red Dog, which clearly telegraphs how the audience is supposed to feel. In The Outlaw, the audience is never left in any doubt whatsoever as to how they should react to the action on the screen.

The Outlaw was filmed in 1943 and lasts 117 minutes. Produced by Howard Hughes, it is hard to take the movie seriously due to the historical inaccuracies, the depictions of the main characters by the actors, and the overall silliness of the plot.

Review summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36880/The-Outlaw/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036241/

Yuma

2011-05-13T16:29:00.006-04:00

Broadcast in 1971, Yuma turned out to be a TV movie and not a feature film, which I didn't know until I started watching it. The plot is interesting and Clint Walker is the star. Rudy Diaz, who played minor roles in three Alias Smith and Jones episodes (a guard in The McCreedy Bust, the first policeman in Miracle at Santa Marta, and a man in The McCreedy Feud) has a small role in this movie.

A solitary man (Walker) rides into Yuma on a horse, leading a burro. He pulls up in front of the sheriff's office and before he finishes tying his horse's reins to the hitching rail, a stagecoach careens into town, two men atop it firing their guns. When the coach tips over and the men go inside the nearby saloon, the other man grabs his rifle and follows, pinning on a marshal's badge as he goes. An altercation ensues and at the end of it, a man is dead. Unfortunately, that man is the brother of a powerful trail boss who brings a lot of money into the town. So far, Yuma is all about bringing law and order to the town.

Meanwhile, a young Mexican boy, all alone in Yuma, meets the marshal when he gets caught burgling his hotel room. However, the marshal lets him go and after he witnesses the boy trying to steal some food, he befriends him and gives him a job sweeping the lawman's office. This subplot of Yuma made me think of what life might have been like for Han and Jed after they left Valparaiso and were trying to make it on their own before becoming outlaws with the Devil's Hole Gang.

But there is more to Yuma: The marshal is framed for murder, Indians are being short-changed on their cattle rations, and of course there is a romance with the lady owner of the hotel. Most of the movie deals with the marshal trying to clear his name and avoiding being killed by the trail boss who wants to avenge the death of his brother.

Filmed at Old Tucson Studios, which is immediately recognizable to anyone who has been there, and at Paramount, Yuma is light and diverting and at 73 minutes, an enjoyable way to spend part of an afternoon or evening.

Program overview from The New York Times:
http://tv.nytimes.com/show/66372/Yuma/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066599/

River of No Return

2011-04-30T21:40:00.005-04:00

Rory Calhoun plays a character in River of No Return that is just as sleazy as Jason in Night of the Red Dog. As Harry Weston, he’s a gambler who’s won a gold claim, and he’s desperate to reach Council City so he can file it properly. Presaging Jason by almost twenty years, he says, “All my life I’ve waited for the one big chance a man gets and this is mine.” He takes Kay, a singer in a saloon in a mining camp, played by Marilyn Monroe, along with him. Meanwhile, Matt Calder, played by Robert Mitchum, finds Mark, the son he hasn’t seen in years, in the same mining camp where Kay has taken him under her wing, rescues him, and takes him back to his homestead where they are living happily.

Until Harry and Kay show up on an out-of-control raft on the river near the Calder farm. After being rescued, Harry repays the kindness by stealing Matt’s rifle and horse, which leaves the others at risk of being attacked by Indians. Escaping on the raft at the last possible moment, the rest of River of No Return is about the difficulties faced by Matt, Mark, and Kay as they journey down the river, trying to make it to Council City themselves, where Matt plans to get even with Harry. One of the obstacles is an attack by a mountain lion, which looks very similar to the attack on Curry in High Lonesome Country.

Robert Mitchum as Matt is a complex character. He adds depth to the role and this film makes it clear why Mitchum was a leading man. Matt has a secret, is devoted to his son but treats his female companion shoddily. By the end of River of No Return, the three main characters have grown but Matt most of all.

Marilyn Monroe sings a few songs in River of No Return and if the film had ended when she finished the last one, it would have risen above the ordinary, but there was more after that and Otto Preminger, the director of this 1954 movie, gave it a conventional ending instead. Lasting only 91 minutes the film, while exciting, is also predictable. Bonus features include clips from several of Marilyn Monroe's movies.

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D01E3DB1131E53BBC4953DFB366838F649EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047422/

Autry National Center

2011-04-23T18:14:00.011-04:00

This is a great museum! The Autry National Center, created in 2003 by a merger of three museums devoted to the American West, one of which was founded by actor-singer Gene Autry, is located in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California. There are exhibition halls that catalog aspects of life in the Old West along with galleries that display oil paintings illustrating the artists’ views of the 19th century West. Other exhibits showcase how the West was portrayed by Hollywood. Special exhibitions pertaining to the West are also presented.

I spent most of my time at the Autry National Center in the Imagination Gallery, which describes the history of Westerns in film and, to a lesser extent, on TV. This part of the museum includes an entire section devoted to Buffalo Bill and another to Gene Autry, with other areas focused on Native Americans, women, Mexicans, and Asians in Westerns. A highlight is the area set up as a typical Old West main street. Be sure to look up to see the movie cameras on the balcony!

The explanations of the artifacts—props used in movies, posters and lobby cards, costumes worn by actors—were very detailed, and it was fascinating to read about the early years of Westerns. Many actors I had never heard of and now my interest has been piqued to learn more about them and to see their work. In addition to displays of objects, there were many mini-documentaries about Westerns that lasted about ten minutes, which are well worth the time to watch. Five that I especially enjoyed were those about: Buffalo Bill, with actual footage of him shot at the turn of the 20th century; the first Western movies; early Western movie stars; Westerns on TV, although only shows from the 1950s and 1960s were featured; and how women and minorities have been depicted in Westerns through the years. Although Alias Smith and Jones was not mentioned, this section of the Autry National Center is a must-see for anyone interested in movie and TV Westerns.

Downstairs, the Spirit of Opportunity exhibition included sections on mining and old San Francisco as lived by those in “society.” The Spirit of Conquest exhibition highlighted how the Army and others “tamed” and settled the West. A restored stagecoach was exhibited in this part of the Autry National Center, along with related tools of the trade. The Spirit of Community, spread over a large portion of the downstairs area, featured sections on immigrants from many lands and how they lived in this region of the country; the styles of clothing, the types of work they did, and the everyday objects used by men, women, and children from different ethnic groups was really quite interesting.

Other sections of the Autry National Center, which I unfortunately did not have as much time to spend looking at as I would have liked, included an exhibit on cowboys and their way of life, and the Earps and the O.K. Corral gunfight. I did, however, take the time to look closely at the room set up like an Old West saloon, complete with wooden bar, gambling tables, and lots of whiskey glasses. One of the exhibition halls on the main level is named the George Montgomery Gallery but it was closed the day I visited. I would love to know why the museum has a space named for Curt Clitterhouse (Jailbreak at Junction City)!

The Golden Spur Café has good food and is reasonably priced. Besides jewellery, toys for children, food products, videos and music CDs, the museum shop at the Autry National Center has a large selection of books about the West, both historical and contemporary. I bought a book about train robberies in the Old West; glancing through it, I was disappointed but not surprised to see that Heyes and Curry were not mentioned.

I spent about three hours at the Autry National Center, not including time for lunch at the café or browsing the gift shop, and was not able to see everything before the museum closed. I will definitely return for another visit the next time I am in Los Angeles.

Official website of the Autry National Center:
http://theautry.org

Official website for Gene Autry:
http://www.autry.com/home.php

A King and Four Queens

2011-03-27T15:34:00.014-04:00

Clark Gable stars as Dan Kehoe in this 1956 movie as a man who serendipitously learns about a hidden cache of gold and then proceeds to search for it in a town whose only inhabitants are the women who were married to the four outlaw brothers who stole it and the mother of the outlaws. Three of the four brothers are dead and the fourth may or may not be dead. Their mother, played by Jo Van Fleet, keeps a tight rein on her daughters-in-law but the arrival of Dan shakes things up considerably. Filled with sexual innuendo and little violence, The King and Four Queens runs 86 minutes, giving Dan sufficient time to get to know each of the ladies well enough to decide whom to seduce and also to deduce where the gold is.

There are a couple connections to ASJ but no actors who were in the series appear in The King and Four Queens. The nearest town is named Touchstone, like the one in Everything Else You Can Steal; and one of the widows comments that $100,000 (the haul from the robbery) weighs a lot and would be too heavy for her to move by herself, which harks back to what Heyes tells Alice in The Legacy of Charlie O'Rourke. Partway through the film, Kehoe plays a song on the melodeon (a type of organ), in a scene reminiscent of Heyes playing the guitar in The Posse That Wouldn't Quit, except that in The King and Four Queens, he also ends up dancing with the women. The song, "In the Sweet By and By," is a traditional hymn and could have been sung in the time period of ASJ; a link to an instrumental version played on an organ is included below.

It's not clear if the king in The King and Four Queens refers to Dan Kehoe or to the mother of the outlaws, since she rules her household with iron-fisted absolute authority, nor is it completely clear if Kehoe is a crook or merely an opportunist. But it's always enjoyable watching Clark Gable and this movie, while not a masterpiece, is no exception.

Listen to The Sweet By and By:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-9fPFXPsms

Review summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/27373/The-King-and-Four-Queens/overview

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F04EED8173EE23BBC4A51DFB467838D649EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049407/

The Hired Hand

2011-03-20T10:56:00.008-04:00

Peter Fonda, the director, calls this ninety-minute long 1971 Universal Pictures film "an incredibly different Western," "a revisionist Western." It sure is different from all the others I have seen! Fonda's audio commentary really helps explain what he was trying to do when filming The Hired Hand and makes it obvious that it is definitely a film of its time.

Fonda stars as Harry and Warren Oates as his partner of seven years, Arch. The movie, set in 1881, opens with an oddly-filmed scene along the Rio Grande in New Mexico (the movie was filmed on location). Somewhere along the way, they have picked up Dan, played by Robert Pratt (Billy in Night of the Red Dog); he wants to see California and the Pacific Ocean and since the two older drifters have nothing better to do, they go as well. However, when they stop at a town in the desert to quench their thirst and see to their horses, bad things happen and plans change. Harry, wearing a slightly fancier sheepskin jacket than Kid, goes "home" to the wife and child he abandoned years earlier, and Arch accompanies him. The rest of The Hired Hand is about the relationship between Harry and his wife, Hannah, played by Verna Bloom, and the relationship between Harry and Arch.

The Hired Hand seems almost like it was filmed in slow motion: Each scene takes its time unfolding and there is a minimum of talking. There are lots of close-ups of faces, lots of scenes filmed in silhouette, and lots of sunsets which are filmed beautifully. There are also many places where scenes are slowly dissolved into each other and the audience sees the two images superimposed, a technique that becomes tedious as the movie drags on. The Hired Hand seems more like a sequence of separate scenes strung together than a film with a cohesive plot, until the violent end when it becomes obvious why it was necessary to have a partner in the Old West who would always watch your back.

Because there were no opening credits for The Hired Hand, it wasn't until the end when the closing credits appeared that I realized Severn Darden (Alan Harlingen and his father, Oscar, in Never Trust an Honest Man) was in this movie. He plays a very bad guy and although I hadn't recognized him at first--I don't think I've ever seen him in anything else--once I knew who his character was, the resemblance was obvious. He looks thinner here, even though his appearance in ASJ was the same year, but his voice is very similar. Ann Doran (Mrs. Simpson in Witness to a Lynching) has a small part as a middle-aged busybody who needles Hannah about her husband.

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D01EEDA1E3FEF34BC4A52DFBE66838A669EDE

Review summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/22490/The-Hired-Hand/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067204/

The War Wagon

2011-02-25T09:42:00.011-05:00

So many scenes and lines of dialog in The War Wagon are reminiscent of ASJ episodes that, at times, I felt I was watching a pastiche of the TV show. This movie, based on the book Badman by Clair Huffaker, was directed by Burt Kennedy. It was filmed in 1967, runs 101 minutes and was produced by Universal Studios. Set in and around Emmett, New Mexico, the movie was actually filmed in Durango, Mexico.

Starring John Wayne as Taw Jackson and Kirk Douglas as Lomax, The War Wagon is the quintessential buddy movie. As one character says to another, "A beautiful thing to see--friendship." Taw is a rancher framed for a crime and sent to prison so a rival could get control of the gold on his land. He has many attributes of Hannibal Heyes. Lomax is a gunfighter with scruples who ultimately sides with Taw in his quest to recover the gold that was stolen from him. Lomax resembles Kid Curry in many ways but there is one important difference: Lomax is the safe-cracker in this partnership. There is a lot of great banter between these two characters. Robert Walker, Jr. plays Billy Hyatt, an explosives expert whose character reminds me of Kyle.

Two actors who had multiple guest starring roles on ASJ appeared in The War Wagon. Keenan Wynn (Charlie Utley in Stagecoach Seven; Horace Wingate in Dreadful Sorry, Clementine; Artie Gorman in What Happened at the XST?) played a grumpy old codger who becomes part of the gang Taw assembles. He is immediately recognizable and even wears red underwear like he did on ASJ. Joanna Barnes (Janet in How to Rob a Bank in One Hard Lesson and Mrs. Hanley in Miracle at Santa Marta) is Lola, a card dealer in a saloon; appearing about one hour into the movie, she looks a lot softer here than in ASJ. Two other actors who appeared on ASJ also are in The War Wagon: Boyd "Red" Morgan (Augie Helms in The Fifth Victim) and Hal Needham in two uncredited roles (one of the Devil's Hole Gang members in Wrong Train to Brimstone and Duke in The McCreedy Bust: Going, Going, Gone).

ASJ episodes the movie reminded me of are, listed sequentially as the plot of The War Wagon develops: The Bounty Hunter; Six Strangers at Apache Springs; The Mcreedy Bust: Going, Going, Gone; The McCreedy Bust; How to Rob a Bank in One Hard Lesson; Wrong Train to Brimstone; The Long Chase. Sometimes it is an entire scene and sometimes it is just a line or two that makes the connection for me. In one instance, it is a prop--a safe that is cracked, using nitro by the way, has the name "Pierce Mining Company" on it. Could this be the precursor to the Pierce & Hamilton line of safes? The ending of The War Wagon is very ASJ-like as well.

There are three bonus features and all are worth watching. The first one is production notes about the making of The War Wagon. It includes a very interesting fact about Keenan Wynn. The second bonus feature gives biographies of John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, and Burt Kennedy. I learned that Kirk Douglas attended St. Lawrence University, just like Pete Duel! A theatrical trailer for the movie is the last bonus feature and it includes an oral description of the film by John Wayne, which is pretty interesting.

Watch The War Wagon and draw your own conclusion as to whether it had any influence on the television show that was produced by the same studio only a few years later!

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F04E4D91E3AE63ABC4B53DFBE66838C679EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062472/

Escort West

2011-02-08T20:38:00.006-05:00

If Last of the Mohicans were transported about one hundred years into the future, it might look like Escort West. This 1959 black and white film stars Victor Mature as Ben Lassiter, an ex-Confederate soldier traveling with his daughter in 1865 who, because his wife/her mother has died, are going to Oregon to live with the girl’s aunt. At a waystation, they encounter two sisters, who do not get along, and an Army detail that is escorting them to California, where one sister is going to be married. Naturally, the Army soldiers and the sisters, who are from Boston, take an instant dislike to the “rebel,” as they call him.

Several guest stars on ASJ were in Escort West. Noah Beery (the sheriff in Something to Get Hung About) and Slim Pickens (Mike the bartender in Exit from Wickenburg and three sheriffs in The Man Who Murdered Himself, The Day They Hanged Kid Curry, The Strange Fate of Conrad Meyer Zulick) play two of the soldiers. Slim Pickens was easily recognized, although his voice didn’t have as pronounced a twang as it did in ASJ. Noah Beery was also recognizable, albeit not as easily. X Brands (one of the poker players in The Biggest Game in the West and Roberts in McGuffin) plays a renegade Modoc Indian leader, and underneath all the makeup and a wig, I couldn’t identify him at all. Leo Gordon (Ebenezer in Smiler with a Gun) was also one of the soldiers and I couldn’t identify him, either; additionally, he is credited as one of the three writers of the film.

When Lassiter discovers the women after their party has been attacked by Indians, he ends up taking on the responsibility of escorting the two sisters on their journey. An injured African-American soldier tells them about an Army payroll they were carrying and after locating it, together they all resume their trek west. It was not clear to me why the Army had split up but for some reason they did and Escort West cuts back and forth between Lassiter and his group and the soldiers, who are trapped by the Indians in a canyon. Many adventures ensue before they all finally reunite. There is lots of action, some suspense, a little romance, and betrayal as the movie reaches its climax. There is also a scene with a rattlesnake, which is even sillier than the scene in High Lonesome Country when Kid wrestles with the cougar. Other than that, at 75 minutes, Escort West was an enjoyable diversion.

Review Summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/90587/Escort-West/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051591/

Young Billy Young

2011-01-16T22:54:00.009-05:00

This 1969 movie, directed by Burt Kennedy, had a lot of scenes that reminded me of ASJ episodes. But throughout the course of its 89 minutes, the music in Young Billy Young kept me from enjoying it as much as I might have otherwise as it was very jarring, very out of context--very 1960s in tone.

The opening scenes of a train making its way through the West reminded me of all the train scenes in ASJ that were used to show the passage of time and the movement of characters from one place to another. The train passes through what is apparently supposed to be a Spanish-speaking region, and for quite a while there is no dialog at all in the movie; when people do finally start talking, it's in Spanish. Suddenly, a group of men are lined up against the wall of a church and another group of men who look like soldiers executes them, in an obvious reminder of Kid's daydream or, rather, nightmare, in Miracle at Santa Marta.

Another early scene occurs in a saloon, where the title character, played by Robert Walker, gets into a gunfight and uses his fast draw to his advantage, reminding me of Kid in Exit from Wickenburg. But unlike Kid, Billy has no evident compunction about killing people. He escapes and encounters Ben Kane in the desert, played by Robert Mitchum. Kane is a lawman who travels around the West cleaning up lawless towns; he has a secret which is revealed in the second half of Young Billy Young. They meet up with Paul Fix (Clarence in Night of the Red Dog), who plays a stagecoach driver and has an important part at the end of the movie. Angie Dickinson also stars in the film. There is a climactic gunfight that reminded me of Stagecoach Seven: two men inside a small building trying to hold off a much larger group that was shooting at them.

I think the plot is supposed to be serious but there are many slapstick and sort of silly moments in it, which lessened its impact. There were long periods without dialog, but they seemed to go on interminably instead of add to the suspense. Young Billy Young was filmed at Old Tucson Studios and, having been there, I recognized the location and some of the sets, which made it difficult for me to accept that the movie was set mostly in a lawless place called Lordsburg. Plus, an early scene in the film occurs in Bisbee but it didn't at all resemble the Bisbee I have visited. However, the scenery was beautiful--lots of scenes in the desert filled with saguaro and ringed by mountains. Although several veterans of Westerns were associated with Young Billy Young, the movie just didn't resonate with me.

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9903E7DA1F30E73BBC4E52DFB6678382679EDE

Summary overview in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/118061/Young-Billy-Young/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065230/fullcredits#cast

Medicine in the Old West

2011-01-09T13:33:00.008-05:00

If you overindulged during the holidays and suffered from an upset stomach, perhaps you chewed some mint leaves or drank some mint tea to feel better. If so, you were practicing a health cure that was common in the 19th century. This folk custom, according to Medicine in the Old West: A History, 1850 – 1900, by Jeremy Agnew, was the origin of having an after-dinner mint.

This 252-page book, published in 2010 (ISBN 978-0-7864-4623-0) by McFarland, is both an excellent resource about medical care in the latter half of the nineteenth century and a fascinating look at how people in various walks of life managed to survive during that time period. Considering the general lack of knowledge about pathogens, sanitation, hygiene, and diet, it’s a wonder that so many people lived to adulthood. Of course, they didn’t live nearly as long as we do now—in 1880, life expectancy for men and women was around forty years old.

There are twelve chapters in Medicine in the Old West. After providing a general introduction to medical beliefs, the training of physicians, and general living conditions experienced by various groups of people living on the American frontier in the first three chapters, the author then spends the next two chapters describing numerous “Common Diseases” such as cholera, dysentery, malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, and others, and “Unmentionable Diseases,” which were sexually-transmitted diseases. Information about each disease is presented clearly and includes how they were treated. One chapter at the end of the book describes dentistry and ophthalmology in the Old West.

Perhaps the most interesting chapter in Medicine in the Old West is Chapter 6, entitled “Healing with Drugs.” Purging the bowels was a common treatment as doing so was thought to purify the body. As Agnew writes, “…neglect of the bowels was thought to send a person down the pathway to appalling disease.” (p. 98). Plummer’s pills, a mixture of jalop, antimony, and colomel, was one very powerful laxative. Exit from Wickenburg takes on a whole new meaning when I think of Jim Plummer now!

Later chapters in the book include information on folk remedies, patent medicines, and Native American healing practices. The heyday of medicine shows was from 1870 - 1920, and Dr. Snively and his daughter Cybele in Witness to a Lynching are archetypes of the pitchman, who was "...a distinguished older-looking man dressed in a frock coat and top hat..." who sometimes "...conferred the title of 'Doctor' on himself..." (p. 193), and the entertainer who sang and danced and then sold the show's product.

Chapter 8, "From Sawbones to Surgeons," deals with common injuries and how they were treated. According to Medicine in the Old West, infection almost always occurred after surgery, due to the fact that surgical tools were not sterilized before use and because doctors did not understand how infection could be prevented until the 1870s and 1880s and even then, many did not take preventive measures when they operated on patients. One section in this chapter describes the use of anesthetics. Four and a half pages are devoted to describing how gunshots and arrow wounds were treated. As in other parts of this book, Agnew intersperses medical information with historical accounts of people who were shot and the doctors who treated them, often quoting from primary sources; these eyewitness descriptions offer readers a sense of how difficult life really was at that time. After reading this part of the book, it is obvious that Heyes was exceptionally lucky in The Fifth Victim.

Another chapter in Medicine in the Old West describes several different job occupations and the hazards that arose from that work. Working in a mine, in a mill, and on the railroad are extensively covered. The section on dynamite (pgs. 160 – 165) is very revealing: Kyle Murtree had to be very brave and not nearly as, well, stupid, as he is often made out to be; otherwise, there is no way he would have survived so long using such a dangerous explosive.

A glossary; two appendices: a list of drugs commonly used between 1850 - 1900, and a description of what a doctor's bag typically contained; along with endnotes, an extensive bibliography, and an index round out Medicine in the Old West.

Contributing a beneficial counterpoint to how gunfights and illness are portrayed in movie Westerns and TV shows, and as an essential reference for writers of Western fiction, Medicine in the Old West: A History, 1850 – 1900 is a must-read for anyone interested in the reality of medical care during this time period.

Publisher's website for the book:
http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-4623-0

Review in a Colorado newspaper:
http://www.csindy.com/IndyBlog/archives/2010/07/08/book-review-medicine-in-the-old-west-a-history-1850-1900

Amazon webpage listing Jeremy Agnew's books:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_at_ep_srch?ie=UTF8&search-alias=books&field-author=Jeremy+Agnew&sort=relevancerank

Blue

2010-12-19T19:23:00.005-05:00

An outlaw with a gun, a gringo raised by Mexican bandits--caught between two worlds, the title-named character in Blue has to choose which way of life he wants when he is wounded after a raid on the American side of the Rio Grande and is nursed back to health by a doctor and his daughter. Terence Stamp plays Azul, later known as Blue; Joanna Pettet is the woman who loves him; and Karl Malden is her doctor father in this 1968 movie. Wally Westmore, the brother of Bud Westmore (the makeup artist for The Pilot), is the makeup supervisor.

Starting off like a spaghetti Western, with very little dialog but lots of action and violence, Blue explores the consequences of a life-altering decision. The outlaw is blond and blue-eyed, taciturn; sometimes he needs no excuse to shoot his gun and other times, he only reluctantly shoots, saying, "Don't prod me." But when he does resort to firing his gun, it is clear he knows how to use it well. Superficially, he resembles Kid Curry but his personality is much darker, more violent.

The scenes between Malden and Pettit are especially good, as they try to make sense of what Blue is going through and help him adjust to life as an honest man. Their neighbors are suspicious, however, and when the Mexicans return, they have good reason to worry. English-born Stamp plays the role well, though his American accent is shaky at best. The end of Blue reverts back to a spaghetti Western, with its action scenes, stirring music, and conflict between Blue and his Mexican "father."

Purportedly set on the border between Mexico and the United States, Blue was actually filmed in the Moab area of Utah and the Colorado River substitutes for the Rio Grande. At 113 minutes, the movie sometimes drags, especially in the beginning, but then it picks up and becomes interesting as a character study of a man who has to decide on which side of the law, and on which side of the border, his loyalties lie.

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9807E4DB163AE134BC4952DFB3668383679EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062742/

The Comancheros

2010-12-12T12:24:00.014-05:00

Ina Balin reprises her role of Margaret Carruthers in The Comancheros, a 1961 color film that runs 107 minutes. No, wait, it’s the other way around: Miracle at Santa Marta was broadcast ten years after this movie. But as the female lead in The Comancheros, Balin’s appearance, voice, and mannerisms are all the same as her character on ASJ. In Miracle, she plays the girlfriend of the leader of an outlaw gang; in The Comancheros, she plays Pilar Graile, the daughter of the outlaw gang leader. Early in the movie, Pilar says, “It is unusual to be honest,” a theme Balin’s characters seem to have wholeheartedly embraced!

The story starts off clearly enough, with a duel taking place in 1843 New Orleans. The victor, Monsieur Paul Regret, played by Stuart Whitman, who speaks without a French accent (unlike fellow New Orleans native Michelle Monet in Journey from San Juan), flees to Texas, by way of a riverboat where he meets not only Pilar, with whom he falls in love, but also Captain Jake Cutter, a Texas Ranger played by John Wayne, who arrests Regret by handcuffing him to the bed in which he is sleeping.

A series of adventures ensues as Cutter is determined to bring Regret in to face justice, which would be the gallows in Louisiana. Eventually, Regret escapes and Cutter returns to his Texas Ranger station empty-handed. There, a second plot involving rifles being sold to Comanches, who are attacking white homesteads in the region, takes precedence over capturing the fugitive. Halfway through The Comancheros, Cutter, now impersonating a gunrunner, encounters Regret again and in a somewhat implausible plotline, they end up as partners trying to find out who is buying the rifles so they can put a stop to the Indian attacks. The rest of the movie deals with what happens when they discover what is really going on.

Jon Lormer has a small role in The Comancheros. While his name may not be instantly recognizable, his appearance is. Lormer is the man with unruly white hair and a distinctive-looking face who played minor characters in five episodes of ASJ (perhaps most noticeably the telegrapher in Jailbreak at Junction City, as well as Wrong Train to Brimstone, Return to Devil’s Hole, The Biggest Game in the West, and The Long Chase). In this movie, he plays an elderly gentleman who would like to dance with Pilar as the riverboat on which they are travelling makes its way to Galveston. However, Pilar spurns him for Regret.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, The Comancheros, like ASJ, has loads of witty banter, especially between Cutter and Regret. Another connection to ASJ is that the movie was partly filmed in the Moab area and views of Castle Valley can be seen at about the one hour and twenty-second minute mark. Also, John Wayne sings "Red Wing" (which is anachronstic because the song wasn't copyrighted until 1907) and he sounds as good as Kid Curry singing in Jailbreak at Junction City.

Despite a somewhat disjointed plotline, The Comancheros has enough action and suspense, as well as a strong female lead, to make it a film worth seeing.

Description of the real Comancheros from the Texas State Historical Association:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dfc02

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9900E1D9143DEF32A25751C0A9679D946091D6CF

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054757/

Sergeant Rutledge

2010-11-25T15:42:00.010-05:00

At its core, Sergeant Rutledge is a murder mystery with social and racial overtones. Sergeant Braxton Rutledge, played by Woody Strode, is a former slave who joined the Army and is serving in the 9th Cavalry, one of the Buffalo Soldier regiments. In just one of many connections to ASJ, this movie can be seen as a counterpoint to The Bounty Hunter, where Joe Sims, also a freed slave, chooses to make his way as a bounty hunter. Shot in color in 1960 in Monument Valley (and elsewhere), it is directed by John Ford and runs 111 minutes.

Sergeant Rutledge begins as a military court martial in August 1881 and then is told through alternating flashbacks and courtroom scenes, with very nice camera work to indicate when a flashback is beginning. Miss Beecher, played by Constance Towers, relates how she was trying to get from Junction City (another episode tie-in), Arizona, to Spanish Wells where her father, whom she hasn’t seen in twelve years, lives on a ranch. She meets Lieutenant Cantrell, played by Jeffrey Hunter, on the train. When she disembarks at Spindle Station, where her father is supposed to meet her, the station master is nowhere to be found and after searching without success, the lieutenant and the train conductor must run and hop the train in order not to be left behind. It’s a little strange to see law-abiding citizens doing something Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry do so routinely! Alone at the isolated station, Miss Beecher encounters Sergeant Rutledge and then the action really begins.

Through flashbacks, the audience learns that Apaches have broken out of the reservation they’ve been forced onto (as in Six Strangers at Apache Springs); that just as the court martial is about to end, a new witness appears on behalf of the defense (like Kid in The Posse That Wouldn’t Quit and Harry Briscoe in The Men that Corrupted Hadleyburg); and like many ASJ episodes, especially those in the third season, there is a character in Sergeant Rutledge who may be based on historical fact, the sutler named Hubble. Despite the different spelling, perhaps he is a relative of the family that ran the Hubbell Trading Post located in northern Arizona, since that family operated numerous trading posts in the region.

Unlike Joe Simms, however, Braxton Rutledge not only understands gratitude, he demonstrates kindness and trust as well. Woody Strode’s portrayal is excellent, as is that of Jeffrey Hunter as his commanding officer and defense lawyer. Sergeant Rutledge is a film not to be missed.

Website for the Hubbell Trading Post:
http://www.nps.gov/hutr/index.htm

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9904E7D8153DE333A25755C2A9639C946191D6CF

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054292/

Lust for Gold

2010-11-20T20:59:00.008-05:00

What is a Western? Is it determined by geography? If so, where are the boundaries—west of the Mississippi to the Pacific Coast of the United States? Then why is The Man from Snowy River, which is located in Australia, considered a Western? Maybe it’s a movie that takes place in the latter half of the nineteenth century? But if so, what about Brokeback Mountain, which is set in the mid-twentieth century?

These questions were going through my mind as I watched Lust for Gold, a 1949 black and white movie starring Ida Lupino (Mia in What’s In It for Mia?) and Glenn Ford and co-starring Will Geer (Seth in Smiler With a Gun). The film starts off in the 1940s but then flashes back to a scene in the mid-1800s involving Mexicans and Apaches before reverting to the present. Soon, though, Lust for Gold flashes back to the late 1800s and most of the movie takes place during this time period, with the final part of the movie occurring in the present time again.

Set in the area around Phoenix, Arizona, and the Superstition Mountains nearby, the parts of the move that take place in the twentieth century are narrated, in a somewhat overwrought style, by the grandson of Jacob Walz, a Dutchman who supposedly found a gold mine worth twenty million dollars. The grandson is searching for the lost mine and becomes caught up in a murder, which a sheriff and his deputy, the character played by Will Geer, try to solve.

The section of Lust for Gold that is set in the late 1800s is much more compelling than the other parts of the movie. Jacob Walz is played by Glenn Ford in a decidedly non-heroic role, and Ida Lupino plays his love interest, Julia Thomas, although she is already married; in reality she is after his gold. It’s very enjoyable to see a much younger Lupino in this movie, which is based on the book Thunder Gods Gold, by Barry Storm.

Lust for Gold reminded me of What’s In It for Mia? in an odd sort of way: Lupino’s character finds a drunken man in front of her shop and brings him inside, who wakes up disoriented in her bed; this is just what Charlotte did in the ASJ episode, when she found Kid and Heyes unconscious by the side of the road (as a result of Mia's machinations). However, the same disdain Mia had when she wasn’t happy with people's behavior is evident in Lupino’s face in Lust for Gold, and she is condescending towards others and also not above resorting to blackmail to get what she wants. Julia Thomas is a nasty person and when, in one of the climaxes, she finds herself between a rock and a hard place, literally, it is a testament to Lupino’s acting ability that one can actually feel slightly sorry for her.

Walz in some ways resembles Danny Bilson and in fact, other aspects of Lust for Gold remind me of Smiler With a Gun and not just because Will Geer is in this movie. It is not revealing too much to say that Walz kills for the gold, just like Danny. There’s also a scene involving Julia and her husband caught in the hot sun without water, while Walz watches them suffer. Walz buys up much of the town where Julia lives and someone makes a comment about “getting as excited as a poker player filling an inside straight flush,” which also reminded me of Danny’s poker skills and ownership of a gambling establishment. Will Geer, who is so much younger in this film that he is unrecognizable except for his voice, also plays against type in Lust for Gold; in a way, his character is the opposite of Seth because he is definitely not a kindly man. There is not one but two scenes with rattlesnakes, but the outcomes are quite different from what happens in Smiler.

I suppose, since about two-thirds of the 90-minute Lust for Gold occurs in the nineteenth century and all of it takes place in the southwestern part of the U.S., it can be classified as a Western, but it takes almost half an hour before the characters Jacob Walz and Julia Thomas make their appearances. It is only then that the pace of the film quickens and the action, betrayals, and cliffhangers make Lust for Gold a fun movie to watch.

Tale of the Dutchman's Lost Mine, from the Apache Junction Public Library, including an extensive bibliography about the mine and the Superstition Mountains:
http://www.ajpl.org/aj/superstition/ldm.htm

Website for Lost Dutchman State Park (watch the Introductory Park Video to see what the Superstition Mountains look like now and to hear about the search for the mine):
http://azstateparks.com/Parks/LODU/index.html

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=940DE3DC103DE03ABC4C53DFB1668382659EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041610/

Cheyenne Autumn

2010-10-31T11:54:00.011-04:00

Although I had read about the Cherokee Trail of Tears in secondary school and Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce's attempted journey to Canada in college, I had never heard about the Navajo Long Walk until I visited the Navajo Reservation in 2004, nor had I ever heard about the Cheyenne Autumn Trail until I watched Cheyenne Autumn, a movie from 1964. Even though I am a history buff, it is only thanks to ASJ that I am learning about many events of the 19th century American West.

Cheyenne Autumn is the fictionalized account of the 1,500 mile trek undertaken by a small band of Cheyenne Indians, now known as the Northern Cheyenne, in 1878 from Oklahoma, where they'd been forced onto a reservation, back to the Yellowstone area of Wyoming and Montana, their traditional homeland. None of the actors in this film ever appeared in ASJ; however, there are echoes in the series of some of the characters, scenes and lines in this movie.

Richard Widmark stars as an Army captain named Archer. Unlike Mr. Archer in High Lonesome Country, though, this character never betrays anyone. Carroll Baker plays Deborah Wright, a Quaker who seems to be a missionary, as she is trying to educate the Cheyenne schoolchildren who live on the reservation. Unlike Sister Grace in Six Strangers at Apache Springs, this young religious woman who dedicates her life to helping those less fortunate than herself is much more assertive and worldly, and like Mr. Fielding in the same episode, she rides fearlessly into the Indian encampment and decides to stay with them, a decision that will have serious consequences. James Stewart plays Wyatt Earp, and Arthur Kennedy plays Doc Holliday, in a section of the movie that seems transposed from an altogether different film; it appears about halfway through the running time and is a jarring comedic interlude into what is an otherwise serious and tragic story. These characterizations are nothing like those in Which Way to the O.K. Corral? and instead, are apparently played for laughs as both Earp and Holliday are portrayed as bumbling buffoons. In one scene, though, Earp is playing poker and declares that a deck of cards he is holding in his hand is light, just like in The Fifth Victim. About 41 minutes into Cheyenne Autumn, Captain Archer calls for a soldier named Jones; at first the man doesn't respond and when he finally does, he says, "Name's Smith, sir." Just like Heyes tells Molly in The Reformation of Harry Briscoe!

Cheyenne Autumn is long; it runs 154 minutes and watching it seems to take almost as long as the actual trek itself. Much of the film consists of long, slow shots of either the Indians or the Army walking or riding horses. Nowadays, movies wouldn't spend nearly as much time on these establishing scenes but here they give John Ford, in the last movie he directed, the opportunity to show off the spectacular scenery of Monument Valley and the area surrounding Moab--where many scenes in third season ASJ episodes were filmed--including Castle Valley, which can be glimpsed at about the 72nd minute.

Overall, though, Cheyenne Autumn left me feeling flat. Perhaps it was because most of the dialog spoken by the Indians was not in English, nor was it subtitled or otherwise made clear what the characters were saying. In a movie told sympathetically from the Indians' point of view, this omission often made it difficult to know what exactly was going on. However, on the audio commentary for this movie as well as in other media, it is noted that the dialog spoken by the Indians was not necessarily that which was written in the script.

There are two bonus features on the DVD. One is a hokey but nonetheless interesting documentary, lasting around 20 minutes, where three members of the Cheyenne tribe retrace the journey their ancestors took; it is narrated by Jimmy Stewart. The other bonus feature is an excellent audio commentary by Joseph McBride, a film historian and John Ford biographer. McBride offers not only a different perspective of the movie but also a great deal of information about John Ford's personal views of Cheyenne Autumn and after listening to it, I have a much better appreciation and understanding of this film.

Official website of the Northern Cheyenne Nation:
http://www.cheyennenation.com/

Website that is an overview of traditional and contemporary Cheyenne culture:
http://www.bigorrin.org/cheyenne_kids.htm

Meta site with numerous links to websites dealing with many aspects of Cheyenne history and culture:
http://www.native-languages.org/cheyenne_culture.htm

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B0DE3DB1F3FE13ABC4C51DFB467838F679EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057940/

Tombstone (the movie)

2010-10-02T15:53:00.003-04:00

Watching Tombstone after visiting the town was a completely different experience from seeing it before going there. When I first watched the movie, I just viewed it for its entertainment value. The second time around, I watched for places I had visited and for historical veracity.

This 1993 film, starring Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp, Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, Sam Elliott as Virgil Earp, and several other well-known actors, is thoroughly enjoyable. Slightly over two hours long, at 122 minutes, Tombstone never drags. The audio commentary, by director George Cosmatos is excellent; he explains how the movie is historically accurate and how many of the scenes were filmed. For example, the newsreel-like footage before the title appears contains both real footage of the time period and scenes from this movie edited to resemble early 20th century film stock.

Tombstone was filmed at Old Tucson Studios in Arizona. The mission set was instantly recognizable in the wedding scene at the beginning of the movie, even thought it was rebuilt after a 1995 fire and now looks slightly different. And the signature three mountain peaks could also be seen periodically in the background throughout the movie. The production team did a great job of recreating the real Tombstone that is located just an hour away. It was very interesting to see the Bird Cage Theatre, Fly's Photography studio, the Oriental Saloon, the Crystal Palace, the Grand Hotel, and Boot Hill depicted in Tombstone. When I visited the real Bird Cage Theatre, the employees there told me that the movie producers had wanted to film inside the actual Tombstone building but that didn't work out because they would have had to redo the interior to make it viable for filming.

Two things in Tombstone differed from the historical record (as far as I know it). First, in the movie, the gunfight at the O.K. Corral was far longer than the thirty seconds it was reported to have been. But since this was one of the climaxes of the film, for artistic purposes it made sense. Secondly, in the movie Boot Hill is shown as being part of the town of Tombstone, where in actual fact it is located some distance away on a hill overlooking the town.

Besides taking place in a town that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry visited, another connection to ASJ is a comment made by Wyatt Earp about halfway through Tombstone. He says, to his brothers Morgan and Virgil, "For the first time in our lives we got a chance to stop wandering and be a family." This reminded me of the scene in the Pilot where Heyes was trying to persuade Kid not to draw on the bully in the saloon in Porterville because, as Heyes pleaded, "I'm asking for something, too; something we ain't never had a chance at before." Heyes successfully convinced Kid to stand down. To find out if Wyatt Earp also was successful, you'll have to watch the movie!

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9906E7DD1E3AF937A15751C1A965958260

Overview summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/119908/Tombstone/overview

At IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108358/

Warlock

2010-09-17T21:48:00.004-04:00

No, this is not a Harry Potter prequel! But Warlock did give me a definite sense of deja-vu. This 1959 movie, which is in color and is 122 minutes long, stars Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, and Anthony Quinn, with DeForest Kelley in a supporting role. L.Q. Jones (Clint Weaver in Stagecoach Seven and Peterson in McGuffin) and Ann Doran (Mrs. Simpson in Witness to a Lynching) make cameo appearances; Jones appeared about thirty-five minutes into the movie and although bearded, I immediately recognized him by his voice. I could not, however, tell who Doran was until I looked at the cast list.

Warlock, which is the name of the town where all the action occurs in this film, reminded me somewhat of The McCreedy Bust: Going, Going, Gone. When the movie begins, a group of riders storms into town, shooting off their guns, while the townsfolk scurry out of the way. But instead of humiliating someone by forcing him to dance a jig, the gang shames the sheriff in another way and runs him out of town. Then the gang proceeds to hurrah the town and intimidate all the law-abiding people who live there.

In an attempt to restore law and order, a town committee hires a "marshal," Fonda's character, who along with his sidekick, played by Quinn, rides into town and cleans it up. Their relationship reminded me of the two characters in the recent movie, Appaloosa. There are several subplots involving love interests, a gang member who deserts the gang (Widmark's character), and how the two main characters relate to each other. One of the love interests, played by Dolores Michaels, doesn't believe in killing; of course that reminded me of Louise in Everything Else You Can Steal. Themes of change and redemption are important aspects of this movie. There is lots of shooting but for some reason, Warlock did not have the feel of a movie that was filled with action, perhaps because there were long periods where the people were engaged in just talking to each other.

What made Warlock look familiar was the fact that it was partially filmed in the Moab area! I immediately recognized Dead Horse Point in one scene and other places I recently visited in other scenes. In fact, Warlock also filmed at the place where I stayed, which at the time was called White's Ranch. I enjoyed the movie because of that but I wouldn't rank it among my top favorite Westerns.

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0DE7DD1438EF3BBC4953DFB3668382649EDE

At IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053434

The Jack Bull

2010-09-03T14:25:00.002-04:00

This two-hour 1999 HBO movie, starring L.Q. Jones (Clint Weaver in Stagecoach Seven and Peterson in McGuffin) as a nasty and selfish rancher named Ballard, is set in Wyoming when the territory is on the verge of becoming a state. John Cusack stars as Myrl Redding, the horse trader who seeks justice and wreaks vengeance on Ballard. John Goodman plays Joe Tolliver, a judge, who appears more than halfway through The Jack Bull. His bailiff is a woman--considering that Wyoming was the first state to give women in the US the vote, this is a nice touch in the movie. I immediately thought of Judge Handley when this character made his appearance. Amnesty from the governor of Wyoming Territory plays an important role in the film and the climax of The Jack Bull surprised me.

Notable for its beautiful cinematography--except that it was filmed in Alberta, Canada, not Wyoming--The Jack Bull is also interesting for its set design. The ranches and towns, saloons and offices, all look very different from the way they were depicted on ASJ. The buildings are much smaller and darker, the streets are a lot muddier, the interiors of buildings and the furniture in them are a lot simpler in construction and appearance, and the people look a lot dirtier as well. Probably this is a much more realistic portrayal of life at this time than how ASJ showed it.

The Jack Bull is based on an 18th century book by Heinrich von Kleist entitled Michael Kohlhaas about a horse trader of the same name in what is now Germany two hundred years earlier. It is a true story, and to see it transposed to the Old West of America makes the movie all the more remarkable. The moral issues that are explored in the film still resonate today. Available on DVD, the movie is definitely worth watching.

But by the end of The Jack Bull, I still didn't understand what the title means.

Review summary from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/177426/The-Jack-Bull/overview

At IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171410

Colorado Sundown

2010-08-20T12:16:00.003-04:00

This is the first singing Western I've watched and it may very well be the last: I have finally found a genre of Western movies that I do not like.

Rex Allen was the star of this 1952 black and white film but Slim Pickens, who plays his sidekick, was the ASJ connection (he was Mike the bartender in Exit from Wickenburg, and the sheriffs in The Man Who Murdered Himself, The Day They Hanged Kid Curry, and The Strange Fate of Conrad Meyer Zulick). In Colorado Sundown, his character's name was also Slim Pickens but--get this--the character's real name was Joshua! Although thinner, he was immediately recognizable and his voice was the same, too. Pickens does do some fancy riding in a few places in this movie, proving that he was indeed a rodeo star, as was mentioned in a bonus feature on another Western I watched some time ago.

Colorado Sundown apparently was supposed to be a comedy but to me, it came across as melodramatic and unbelievable. The plot is about a family who owns a lumber mill and forests and who want to cut down the trees, to the detriment of the cattle ranchers on the land below. The brother and sister inherit, or so they believe, a ranch, but to their dismay, there are other owners, too; one is a naive young girl who is accompanied by her African-American maid (played stereotypically, which was often uncomfortable to watch), and the other is Slim Pickens' hillbilly cowpoke. Things get nasty and deadly about 35 minutes in, but they also get silly: a goat provides slapstick interludes and, during a heavy rainstorm when men are working frantically to prevent a levee from bursting, they suddenly burst into song, singing "Down by the Riverside." I burst out laughing. Fortunately, Colorado Sundown is only 66 minutes long.

Two bonus features do their part in the silliness department. Both are the first episodes in sci-fi serials. One is called Radar Men from the Moon, with Commander Cody, and the other is Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. Each was about 15 minutes long and was interesting to watch only to see what the mid-20th century view was of aliens from outer space.

Review summary from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/10317/Colorado-Sundown/overview

At IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044506

3:10 to Yuma

2010-08-05T22:49:00.025-04:00

Whether it's the 1957 black and white film, starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, with a supporting role by Ford Rainey (who made appearances in six episodes of ASJ, in all three seasons) as a town marshal , or the 2007 color remake starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, both versions of this movie are great! Having recently read the Elmore Leonard short story upon which 3:10 to Yuma is based, I wanted to see both movies again.

What's interesting is that the basic plot is the same but with each succeeding iteration, the details are fleshed out more and more. The 1953 short story was only fifteen pages long, the original movie was 92 minutes and the remake was 122 minutes, so clearly additional details had to be provided. But the 2007 movie never seems too long--it is so full of action, and so well-paced, that one doesn't notice its duration. Neither version is better than the other; each fits perfectly the time period it was made in.

Another interesting fact: Although part of the beginning in both versions of 3:10 to Yuma is set in Bisbee, Arizona, those towns looks nothing like the Bisbee I visited! The landscape of the movie Bisbee is flat and scrub desert--just like the countryside around Tucson--whereas the real town of Bisbee is situated on a mountainside, with hilly terrain all around it. Fort Huachuca is also mentioned in both movies but it is never seen.

The original 3:10 to Yuma was filmed at Old Tucson Studios. (I had thought the remake was as well but the end credits to that movie state it was filmed in New Mexico.) A scene in the 1957 movie shows gang members riding into Contention City and in the background, a mountain range is a prominent part of the landscape. During the tour I was on, the guide noted that all Westerns made at Old Tucson Studios included a view of the three close-set mountain peaks in their movies; it is one way to determine if a Western was produced there. Here is a screenshot from 3:10 to Yuma (see top photo) and a picture I took (see photo underneath). The three mountain peaks in the center left of both photos are the ones that symbolize the movies made at Old Tucson Studios. Fifty-three years later, they look virtually the same.

The 2007 version of 3:10 to Yuma includes four bonus features. Besides the typical features about the making of the movie and deleted scenes, the two others are well worth watching. The first is a short documentary entitled Outlaws, Guns, and Posses, in which historians of the Old West describe several outlaw gangs and what happened to them. The other excellent DVD extra features historians expounding on the significance of the Western in American culture.

Original review of the 1957 movie in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B04E4D8133EE23BBC4151DFBE66838C649EDE

Original review of the 2007 movie in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/movies/07yuma.html

1957 version at IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050086

2007 version at IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381849

Article about Elmore Leonard protagonists in his stories and in movies:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/movies/02raff.html?ref=movies

Moab: Which Episode?

2010-08-02T19:58:00.019-04:00

In addition to the other ASJ items in the movie museum at Red Cliffs Lodge, this picture was included in the section about sets that were used for productions filmed in the area (see photo at right). I am not sure which episode this building was in, and would like to ask readers for their opinions. In any case, it's great that the movie museum had so much information about ASJ!

Here is one possibility: High Lonesome Country. In the first case, the picture resembles the Archer ranch. Since Castle Valley is in the background of the scenes when Heyes and Curry arrive at the ranch, it seems possible that the ranch was indeed located in Castle Valley (see ASJ screenshot at right of Archer ranch). The view of the building in the screenshot is different from that of the picture but the landscape in the background--the cliff with its solid rock at the top and the talus underneath--looks almost the same.

The other possibility, suggested by a reader, is the Haney inn in Only Three to a Bed. Even though the building is seen from the front and not from the side, as in the picture of the Pace ranch, the buildings looks very similar to each other, with only some minor differences (see ASJ screenshot at right).

Although I never saw anything that looked like the Pace ranch when I visited Castle Valley, I by no means explored the entire area and could easily have missed it or, after almost four decades, it might not even exist anymore.

If you have an idea about which episode was filmed at this location--whether it be one of the two mentioned above or a different one--please respond in the comment section for this blog entry. Thank you!

Read all about ASJ in Moab in Alias Smith and Jones: The Story of Two Pretty Good Bad Men:
http://astore.amazon.com/bearmanormedi-20/detail/1593930313

Moab: Manti-La Sal National Forest

2010-07-28T14:38:00.027-04:00

The Manti-La Sal National Forest is completely different from all the other places I visited on my trip to Moab (see photo at right). Most noticeably, it is a lot cooler! The temperature at Arches National Park was 103 degrees Fahrenheit when I was there and at Canyonlands, it was 95 degrees F. Moab hovered between 101 – 103F at the beginning of the week and then dipped to 96F and 98F after that. In contrast, the temperature at Manti-La Sal was only 86F. I don’t know how Ben and Roger and the other cast members managed to look so comfortable in all those heavy clothes they had to wear—shooting in this mountain area must have been a very welcome respite!

There are three discrete sections of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. One is located south of Moab, near the town of Monticello, and can be seen from Interstate 191 (see photo at right). Another section is located in central Utah and the third area, the one I visited, is on the outskirts of Moab. The La Sal Mountain Loop road is another scenic byway; about 60 miles long, it takes approximately two and a half hours to drive, including stops for taking photos and eating lunch. The scenery was beautiful (see photo above)!

The elevation where I was, as far as I can tell, was around 6,000 feet at the highest point but the highest peaks in the Manti-La Sal National Forest reach over 12,000 feet. Although trees and vegetation covered much of the mountains, the legacy of a fire can also be seen (see photo at right). A sign provides a telephone number where you can call to find out what happened in the area, which I did after I returned to my lodging, not realizing that cell phone access was available at that particular spot. Further on, I came upon another sign—I thought it very helpful that such information was being made available to the public in this way. The vegetation noticeably changes as you ascend the mountains. At higher elevations, there are, of course, fewer tall trees and the flora is more alpine than desert-like (see photo above). Scattered throughout Manti-La Sal National Forest are State and privately-owned lands. Evidently, ranching is still permitted as I unexpectedly came upon some cattle while taking photographs of a mountain stream I heard trickling in the distance (see photo above). The cattle’s ears were tagged but when I moved closer, they turned and fled into the woods.

When Heyes and Kid are laying their traps in High Lonesome Country, and then tracking the cougar that Kid wounded, those scenes must have been shot in the Manti-La Sal National Forest. I don’t know where exactly ASJ shot those scenes but I assume they were somewhere in this section since it’s the closest one to Moab. About halfway through the drive, I entered an area filled with aspen trees. I took several photos of the aspens and tried to duplicate the shot in High Lonesome Country where the camera pans the tops of the trees (see ASJ screenshot at top right and my photo underneath). But it was sprinkling at that time, as it did throughout the day, and I didn’t want raindrops to fall on my camera lens so I didn’t quite get the same photo.

At the Visitor Center in Moab, you can pick up a sixteen-page booklet about the entire Manti-La Sal National Forest. Interestingly, people recognized way back in 1903 that this area was special and petitioned President Theodore Roosevelt to protect it. It finally became a national forest in 1958.

Visiting Manti-La Sal National Forest is a wonderful counterpoint to the red rock cliffs and arches; the deep canyons and gorges; the narrow, slow-moving Colorado River; and the high desert that surrounds Moab. Along with Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point, Castle Valley, and a boat trip on the Colorado River, it should not be missed on a trip to southern Utah!

Official website for the Manti-La Sal National Forest:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/mantilasal

Utah State University Forestry Extension webpage describing the La Sal Loop Driving Tour (click on the numbered buttons on the map for photos, and on the link for the pdf document for detailed information about specific stops on the drive):
http://extension.usu.edu/forestry/UtahForests/Tours/LasalLoop/LasalLoop.htm

Moab: Castle Valley

2010-07-27T22:24:00.036-04:00

Castle Valley is magical! Perhaps it’s because it is much smaller in area than the national and state parks I visited but when I entered Castle Valley, I almost felt like I was stepping back in time. A paved two-lane road runs through the valley, with red cliffs on one side facing red-rock mesas and buttes on the opposite side. A town of the same name is nestled against the cliffs (see photo above). Driving through Castle Valley probably takes only around fifteen minutes but I spent an hour there, taking photographs, driving slowly through the town—more a village, really—and picking up multi-colored rocks from the desert floor when I was halfway through the valley as souvenirs.

ASJ apparently filmed here but I haven’t figured out which scenes in which episodes yet. However, during the opening credits of High Lonesome Country, there is a long shot of the most well-known landmark in Castle Valley. It’s called Castle Rock and is also known as Castleton Tower; it is the monolith on the left on top of the cliff that is in the center of the photo (see ASJ screenshot at top right and my photo underneath, which is from slightly farther away). My photo was taken from the Manti-La Sal National Forest, as the ASJ shot must also have been, and a future blog entry will describe that scenic area. In 1963, a very famous car commercial was filmed in Castle Valley; a link to it is included below.

Other scenes in High Lonesome Country also clearly show Castle Valley. When Kid and Heyes arrive at the Archer ranch, Castle Rock is visible in the background (see ASJ screenshot at top right; my photo, underneath, is from a farther distance but still shows the same landmarks). It was easy to take lots of photos because, in the time I spent there, only about five other vehicles drove by and none of them were tourists so they didn’t stop; I had unobstructed views of whatever I wanted to photograph. This was the first place on my trip to Moab that was basically devoid of people, so it was easy to imagine Heyes and Kid riding their horses through here. I’m sure they would have admired the view, too--if they weren't running from a posse!

To get to Castle Valley from Moab, you drive on Highway 128, along the Colorado River, until you reach a turn-off on the right at about Mile 15. A short while later, you enter Castle Valley. The paved road leads to the Manti-La Sal National Forest, whose mountains loom up in front of you as you drive out of Castle Valley. To get to Castle Valley town, turn right onto the dirt road where the mailboxes are, soon after entering the valley; houses are scattered throughout that area. If you stay on Highway 128 and go past the turn-off to Castle Valley, at about Mile 16 there is a beautiful view of Castle Rock from the highway. At sunset, the red cliffs glow (see top photo at right) and when the moon rises, Castle Valley looks enchanting (see photo above).

General information about Castle Valley and land use in it (scroll down to read the text):
http://www.redcliffslodge.com/local-secrets/castle-rock.htm

Chevy car commercial filmed in Castle Valley:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvKvP4r4i2o

Moab: Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park

2010-07-26T00:25:00.044-04:00

There are three distinct districts of Canyonlands National Park--Island in the Sky, the Needles, and the Maze—but they are too far apart to visit in the same day. The Island in the Sky district alone is more than 10,000 square miles in size! However, the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park can be combined with a trip to Dead Horse Point State Park, as they are in the same general vicinity--about thirty-five miles southwest of Moab, with Dead Horse Point State Park a detour on the way. That is what I did and both parks are well worth the trip.

Before embarking on drives or hikes in either park, a stop at its visitor center will enhance your trip. The Dead Horse Point Visitor Center carries many of the same books and souvenirs as those at the national parks, as well as items specifically about this state park. Visitors also receive a brochure about the park, just as visitors to the national parks do. I spent about one hour at Dead Horse Point State Park, driving along the scenic route that leads to the eponymously-named location (see photo above). Looking down into the gorge, more than a mile below, was amazing. Seeing the Colorado River, so small and insignificant at the bottom, gives a sense of how vast the West really is. Kid and Heyes could have ridden through the high desert landscape (see photo at right) that you drive through to enter and exit the park but otherwise I do not think they would have been able to traverse this area, unless it was by boat on the Colorado River.

Much of the section of Canyonlands National Park, established in 1964, that I saw, such as Grand View Point Overlook (see photo at right), resembled the geography of Dead Horse Point State Park. As with Arches National Park, Canyonlands began forming around 300 million years ago. Here, however, the ground was covered by a sea and the rise and fall of the water was one of the major causes of the geologic formations seen today, along with erosion and gravity. Each time the sea subsided, layers of sediment were left behind and helped form the structures now visible in the Park. Besides the Colorado River, the Green River has played a major role in shaping the way the Park looks. Canyonlands does have some arches and a half-mile hike brings you to Mesa Arch (see photo at right). Unfortunately, the scale of Canyonlands is so great that my photographs cannot do the place justice.

Despite the apparent barrenness of the landscape, quite a variety of life is present in Canyonlands. Vegetation has adapted to the dry conditions and low-lying bushes and tress may be hundreds of years old (see photo at right). The surface of the land looks like mere dirt, but I learned that it is cryptobiotic crust—numerous living organisms that are essential to the well-being of the Park; one footstep could destroy the crust, which could then take decades to recover and regenerate itself. Many animals, large and small, also live in Canyonlands. I saw lizards such as this one (see photo above) throughout my stay in Utah.

In the 1880s, ranchers began to graze cattle on the grasslands of Canyonlands National Park. Perhaps this is where Heyes and Kid learned ranching, before they went to San Juan some time later. Although ASJ apparently filmed here as well as at Arches National Park, I could not figure out where they might have been. None of the scenery I saw on my visit looked like anything in the third season episodes but that did not detract in any way from my enjoyment of visiting Canyonlands National Park.

Official website for Dead Horse Point State Park:
http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/dead-horse

More information about Dead Horse Point State Park:
http://www.discovermoab.com/stateparks.htm

Official website for Canyonlands National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm

More information about Canyonlands National Park:
http://www.canyonlands.national-park.com

Moab: Arches National Park

2010-07-25T01:52:00.041-04:00

Established in 1971 and covering 119 square miles, what is now Arches National Park is a spectacular example of the effects of weathering, erosion, and time. The origins of this park extend back 300 million years, when salt, water, wind, and other geologic forces combined to form the landscape that exists today. A fifteen-minute video about Arches National Park provides an excellent introduction to the formations and should be viewed before exploring the Park itself. Displays in the Visitor Center give more in-depth explanations about the flora and fauna present in the Park, and the well-stocked gift shop offers tourists souvenirs of their visit. Driving by car on the paved roads through Arches National Park, with stops for short hikes and photographing the vistas, requires a whole day, and that only touches the most popular areas of the Park.

ASJ filmed at Arches National Park in 1972. Before I left home, I made screenshots of scenes in the third season episodes of what looked like unique rock formations, which I hoped I’d be able to recognize when I visited the places where ASJ filmed. Although I was not able to positively identify all of the locations in the screenshots, one of the places cannot be confused with any other setting: the Three Gossips in Arches National Park. I probably spent close to one hour there, taking photographs and admiring the panorama!

Three episodes that included views of the Three Gossips are High Lonesome Country, The McCreedy Feud, and The Clementine Ingredient. One of the photos I took is almost an exact replica of a view in High Lonesome Country (see photos at right and below; the top photo is the one I took and the picture underneath is from ASJ). Not much has changed in 38 years! Note the wide horizontal rock formation at the base of the Three Gossips as well as the pile of rocks on a mound at the bottom in both pictures. That not only the pillars comprising the Three Gossips but also the surrounding rock looks virtually the same almost four decades later just proves how slow the process of weathering really is.

I tried to imagine Heyes and Kid riding here but it was difficult to visualize because the area was so crowded with visitors. Since the Three Gossips is situated within clear sight of the road not too far from the entrance to Arches National Park, there were always many people around. I was curious as to how ASJ could have filmed there so I asked and was told that nowadays, productions have to film in remote areas where there wouldn’t be lots of people present and also that they have to obtain permits and post signs, which I know is standard practice when filming. When I said that ASJ had filmed in the Three Gossips area in 1972, I was told that back then things were very different and that there were far fewer people visiting the Park then than there are now.

The McCreedy Feud also has a screenshot that just about matches a photo I took of the Three Gossips. My photo is of a closer view and is not obscured by trees. But still clearly visible and looking the same in both pictures is the diagonal line of one rock formation at the far left of the pictures and also the two smaller formations to the right of the Three Gossips (see photos at right and above; the top photo is the one I took and the lower picture is the screenshot). The two large squarish-looking rock formations in my photo aren't visible in the ASJ screenshot but I think that's because the pictures were taken at different distances.

There are many other beautiful sights in Arches National Park. One of them is Balanced Rock (see top photo at right), which is farther along the main driving route. Also very interesting is the Devil’s Garden area (see lower photo at right)—I couldn’t help but think of Devil’s Hole when I heard the name and saw this place. Actually, this is only the beginning of Devil's Garden—you can hike farther in from the parking area and see a lot more, though I didn’t do that.

There is evidence of human habitation in the area by the Archaic and Ancestral Puebloan peoples but the only white settlers who made a home for themselves in Arches National Park were the Wolfe family, who lived there from 1898 to 1910. A root cellar and the second home they built still stand and can be visited (see photo above.) It is amazing that they were able to eke out a living for so long in such a harsh environment.

There were many other places I did not have the opportunity to visit at Arches National Park and someday I hope to be able to go back and see them.

Official website of Arches National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm

More information about Arches National Park:
http://www.discovermoab.com/archesnationalpark.htm

Moab, Utah

2010-07-24T18:03:00.042-04:00

According to Alias Smith and Jones: The Story of Two Pretty Good Bad Men, the cast and crew of the show filmed scenes for third season episodes in the Moab area for about three weeks during the summer of 1972. Coincidentally, I was in Moab from July 18 – 22, 2010, some of the same days that ASJ was there 38 years earlier (though I actually departed on July 23rd). It was a memorable experience being there the same time that ASJ had been in Moab! This blog entry describes the general area of Moab; future entries will discuss specific places where ASJ filmed scenes for episodes.

Moab is located in southeastern Utah, in the high desert and surrounded by red cliffs and canyons with the Colorado River running through. The downtown part of Moab extends along both sides of US 191 for about three miles and each side of the road is lined with art galleries, adventure tour companies, restaurants, shops, and places to stay for most of it. The Visitor Information Center is excellent—filled with informational brochures about the area and an extensive collection of books, including one I bought that contained pictures of Wanted posters of the numerous outlaws that operated in Utah.

At the north end of town, just before crossing the Colorado River Bridge, a right turn brings you onto Highway 128, which winds along the Colorado River. At this point, the river is not very wide and the road is considered a scenic byway because of the steep cliffs and canyons that the road cuts through, always with the river just a few yards away and no guardrails for protection. There are designated camping areas along the road. At Mile 14, you reach the Red Cliffs Lodge, which has a winery with daily wine tastings. Two of the wines it produces are called Kid Red and Outlaw Red (see photos above). I supposed it's only fitting that I liked Outlaw Red best, in appreciation of my two favorite outlaws! In addition, Red Cliffs Lodge has a museum dedicated to the many movies, TV shows, commercials, and music videos that have been filmed in the area (see photo above).

I was very curious as to whether or not ASJ would be represented in the museum. I was not disappointed! There is a poster-like display that includes some photos from the show and in the center, text that lists the actors who were filming in the area, an explanation of the premise of ASJ, and a list of places where the show filmed (see photo above). There are similar “posters” for all the movies and TV shows filmed around Moab. I didn’t know that the pilot for McGyver was made here! In addition, there are props, costumes, scripts, pictures of movie actors, displays about the locals who were involved in the films, TV shows, commercials, and music videos produced there and displays about various behind-the-scenes aspects of producing the movies. One of the displays is of three rifles that were used as props on ASJ, according to the informational caption (see photo above). One alcove is a tribute to John Wayne, who filmed several movies in the area. It is a great place!

If you stay on US 191 and cross the Colorado River Bridge, very soon after that you can make a left turn onto a road called, simply, Potash. Driving this sixteen mile road, which also wends its way along the Colorado River, takes you past ancient Indian petrogylphs high up the face of a cliff (see photo above)—fortunately, there is a sign saying, erroneously, “Indian Writing” to tell you where they are, and you can park at the side of the road—and then, a short ways beyond, another sign that directs you up a short hill to a parking area where you can view, again high up on a cliff, dinosaur tracks. There are also places from which you can see natural arches in the cliff walls and, when the road comes to an end, a potash plant. According to the display in the movie museum, ASJ also filmed around the potash plant. I do not know where exactly that might have been, but I’d like to think it used the train tracks and train from the plant in The Long Chase (see photo above).

At the end of Six Strangers at Apache Springs, Kid says, “What now?” Heyes replies, “Something restful. How about going down the Colorado River in a barrel?”

Well, Moab is known for its adventure travel opportunities: mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, motorcycle and 4-wheel drive tours, river rafting. But it is also possible to take a more sedate jet boat cruise along the Colorado River and that is what I did. Many such trips are available and I did a late afternoon cruise that lasted 75 minutes; it was very pleasant and interesting to see the area from the river which, here, does not really have many rapids (see photo above). The boat trip was followed by a “cowboy dinner,” which meant all the food was cooked in Dutch ovens. When I inquired, I was told that around 9pm, the food is put into the Dutch ovens and left to cook there until the following evening when people return from the cruise. I thought the BBQ chicken, BBQ beef, BBQ spicy pork, beans, corn and desert were pretty good!

So if you want an active trip or prefer a more quiet and relaxing vacation, there is something for everyone in Moab. It was a great place to visit and the fact that ASJ had been there made it all the more fun.

Webpage for the Red Cliffs Lodge movie museum (scroll down partway to read the text):
http://www.redcliffslodge.com/museum

Descriptions of the drives along Highway 128 and Potash Road (plus a third drive mentioned in a subsequent blog entry):
http://www.discovermoab.com/byways.htm

Old Tucson Studios

2010-07-23T22:48:00.026-04:00

For anyone interested in the history of Westerns, Old Tucson Studios is not to be missed (see photo at right)! Located on the outskirts of Tucson near the Saguaro National Park, it is basically in the middle of nowhere. Starting in 1939 and continuing up to the present day, more than 70 movies have been filmed at Old Tucson Studios along with several TV shows though not, alas, ASJ.

Be sure to start your visit with a guided tour, which is led by a film historian. This provides a great introduction to all the sets and helps bring the place to life. I’ve blogged previously about some of the movies filmed at Old Tucson Studios: Winchester ’73, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Rio Bravo, The Outrage, and Hombre. The tour guide pointed out where scenes in various movies occurred (see photo above of building used in Rio Bravo and several other films). One thing that struck me is how small the sets are in real life but how, in the movie, they look very expansive—excellent cinematography, for sure. It was really cool to see the sets where these movies were made!

Other movies that I haven’t blogged about (though I may in the future) which were filmed here include: the original version of 3:10 to Yuma, The Three Amigos, 1993’s Tombstone, and The Quick and the Dead. Old Tucson Studios also was the location for a number of TV shows, including High Chaparral, Little House on the Prairie, and The Young Riders. The sets used for the first two shows mentioned above are a little ways off from the main area (see photo above); when I walked over there, there was no one else around, which helped me better imagine the shows.

Once the tour is over, you can walk around and visit places on your own. This is really nice because, unlike the Universal Studios tour where you have to stay with your tour guide, you can take as much time as you want and go anywhere you please. It took me about three hours to wander around but not only was I very interested, I was also taking tons of photos. Old Tucson Studios did not seem crowded while I was walking around but when I watched two shows, there were plenty of people in the audiences. One unusual set was the Chinese alley, set up to resemble what I suppose was the movies’ idea of a typical Chinese street in the nineteenth century (see photo above).

Every day, there are two gunfight shows involving Billy the Kid, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, and also a can-can show (see photo at right of dancers). In addition, there are exhibits of props used in some of the movies produced at Old Tucson Studios, as well as exhibits of other artifacts from the time of the Old West. You can also watch a couple short documentaries about the movies that were made here. For kids—and the young at heart—there are stagecoach rides, a shooting gallery, and the opportunity to pan for gold, along with several other activities.

Last but not least, there are some restaurants and gift shops on site. I happened to see both a Wanted poster and a newspaper with my name on them (see photos above) but unlike Wheat, I bought them. Watch out, Kid and Heyes—it looks like you have some competition!

Official website of Old Tucson Studios:
http://www.oldtucson.com

Old Tucson Studios webpage about the movies filmed there:
http://www.oldtucson.com/films-producers-directors/film-history

Fort Huachuca

2010-07-18T00:01:00.019-04:00

“Ain’t much a black man can do these days.” -- Joe Simms, when asked by Hannibal Heyes how he became a bounty hunter.

Actually, he could have become a Buffalo Soldier, joining one of the Army regiments for African-Americans that were formed after the Civil War. Buffalo Soldiers arrived in Arizona in 1885 and fought in the Indian Wars against the Apaches (see photo at right). They were noted for their military prowess and had the lowest rate of desertion in the Army.

Beginning in 1892, four Buffalo Soldier regiments served at Fort Huachuca, which is located near the town of Sierra Vista in southeastern Arizona: the 9th and 10 Cavalry, and the 24th and 25th Infantry (see photo at right depicting the present-day Army base). Their duties were to protect the civilian population from the Apaches who raided in the area and to capture Apaches who were fighting against the American government, one of whom was Geronimo. Interestingly, Frederic Remington drew many sketches of soldiers based at Fort Huachuca as they performed their work; one illustration made the cover of Harper’s Weekly magazine, which helped propel him to the forefront of artists depicting life in the American West.

Fort Huachuca is still an active Army base and its primary function today relates to the gathering of military intelligence. Two museums on the base showcase its history. One is the Fort Huachuca Museum which details, in chronological order, the historical events that the soldiers at the base were involved with; two buildings near each other house this museum. In a third nearby building is the U.S. Army Intelligence Museum, which explains the history of military intelligence. After providing photo identification at the checkpoint entrance, one is free to drive around the base to the museums.

When Caroline and Mr. Fielding talk about the Apaches in Six Strangers at Apache Springs, I wonder if Buffalo Soldiers played any role in that. And Joe Simms in The Bounty Hunter would have had a very different life if he'd been a Buffalo Soldier.

The Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Huachuca—a magazine article (click on the numbers in the table of contents to read individual chapters):
http://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/comment/huachuca/HI1-00index.htm

Brief history of the Buffalo Soldiers:
http://www.desertusa.com/mccain/oct_buffalo.html

Meta site with many links to websites with information about various aspects of the history of Buffalo Soldiers (although some links are not active):
http://www.buffalosoldiers-lawtonftsill.org/history.htm

Tombstone: Gunfight at the OK Corral

2010-07-17T00:45:00.009-04:00

“Five years from now, there won’t be two people in the whole country even remember the marshal of Tombstone. What kind of name is that anyway—Earp?” -- Hannibal Heyes to Kid Curry in Which Way to the OK Corral?

In this ASJ episode, it is clear the Kid and Heyes know who Wyatt Earp is and it is also apparent that the Gunfight at the OK Corral has not yet occurred. Much has been written about the thirty-second gunfight between the Earps, Clantons, and McLaurys and there is nothing new I can add to the explanation of what happened that day on October 26, 1881. Instead, I will offer a description of how Tombstone today showcases the seminal moment in its history.

Wandering around the downtown area of Tombstone, signs in the street in front of various buildings explain their historical significance and many of the signs note a connection to the Earps. One such building, the Oriental Saloon, was partially owned by Wyatt Earp and was where he and Doc Holliday worked as faro dealers on occasion (see photo at above right). The street outside the Oriental saloon is where Virgil Earp was killed after the gunfight at the OK Corral. The building is currently divided into several smaller places of business (see photo above).

But despite evidence of the Earp’s other activities in Tombstone, it is impossible to escape the legacy of the confrontation between them and the Cowboys. From the shops selling T-shirts with their pictures emblazoned on them--in classic gunfighter stance--and other memorabilia to the innumerable books about them, the influence of Wyatt, his brothers, Doc Holliday, the Clantons, and the McLaurys permeates this town.

Of course, the main reason for visiting Tombstone is to see where the actual gunfight occurred at the OK Corral. To do so, one must buy a ticket ($10) that entitles you to: watch a reenactment by actors of the famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) fight, which is offered several times during the day in an outdoor theater near the actual location; visit the actual location where the gunfight occurred, which is now populated by life-sized animatronic figures of the persons involved in the gunfight (see photo above); wander around the area (which is enclosed by a wall so prying eyes are unable to see inside unless they buy a ticket) and visit the Fly boarding house where Big Nose Kate witnessed the gunfight from Doc Holliday’s room, as well as see other exhibits about life as a cowhand and a working blacksmith’s shop; watch a multimedia presentation at the Historama about Tombstone’s history, narrated by Vincent Price; and pick up a copy of the Tombstone Epitaph article about the gunfight, written the day after it occurred. Whatever one thinks about the gunfight itself and how Tombstone markets it to tourists, it is certainly an enjoyable way to spend a few hours where an event of such historic import happened.

On the outskirts of Tombstone, heading north towards Tucson, is Boothill Graveyard. This cemetery is where the Clantons and McClaurys are buried (see photo at right). Although not within walking distance of downtown Tombstone, it is definitely worth a visit. Besides the graves of outlaws and more respectable citizens, there is an area where Chinese residents of Tombstone are buried as well as, a short distance away, a section where the Jewish residents were interred. Viewing the graves neatly laid out in rows, with a view of the town below, makes it easy to contemplate the history of the Old West and reflect upon the events that happened in Tombstone 129 years ago during the Gunfight at the OK Corral.

About the Oriental Saloon:
http://www.tombstonetimes.com/stories/oriental.html

Original article in The Tombstone Epitaph reporting the gunfight the day after it occurred:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/epitaph.html

Article describing the events leading up to the gunfight and its aftermath:
http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/tombstone/corral.html

Tombstone: Conrad Meyer Zulick

2010-07-16T15:38:00.038-04:00

Conrad Meyer Zulick was born on June 3, 1839 in Easton, Pennsylvania. He became a lawyer and after serving in the Civil War, moved to New Jersey and became active in Democratic politics. Zulick also developed business interests in Arizona and northern Mexico and he moved to Tombstone towards the end of 1884.

The ASJ episode The Strange Fate of Conrad Meyer Zulick highlights an important incident in Zulick’s life. It is true that in 1885, Zulick was being held prisoner by Mexican copper miners in the state of Sonora because of a financial dispute the workers had with the mine company that employed them. It is also true that M.T. “Doc” Donovan, a former Indian scout, organized a rescue of Zulick, which occurred early in the morning. And it is true that once freed, Donovan and Zulick made their way back to the United States in a wagon, with Zulick hiding under a tarpaulin. It is not true, however, that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry were recruited by Donovan to assist in the rescue mission.

When he crossed the border back into the United States, Zulick was told that he’d been appointed Governor of the Territory of Arizona by President Grover Cleveland. Zulick was Arizona’s seventh governor and its first from the Democratic Party. His arrival in Tombstone was greeted warmly and he took the oath of office in the lobby of the Occidental Hotel, part of which is currently a bookstore and saddlery (see photo above).

When it was built in 1883, the Occidental Hotel was two stories high, but the top floor no longer exists (see two photos of exterior at right and below; note date on facade that predates the actual hotel). In 1885, when Zulick became Governor, the Occidental Hotel occupied much of the block between Fourth and Allen Streets.

Conrad Meyer Zulick remained in Arizona for several years after his term of office ended in 1889. He moved back East after he retired and died on March 2, 1926.

Part 1 of a detailed article about Conrad Meyer Zulick:
http://sharlot.org/archives/history/dayspast/days_show.pl?name=1997_09_07&h=%3Econrad%20meyer%20zulick%3E

Part 2 of a detailed article about Conrad Meyer Zulick:
http://sharlot.org/archives/history/dayspast/text/1997_09_14.shtml

Tombstone: Bird Cage Theatre

2010-07-15T02:18:00.022-04:00

Sometimes it’s hard to discern what’s real and authentic in Tombstone, and what has just been recreated for the multitude of tourists who come to see the Old West. The Bird Cage Theatre is no exception. The building itself dates from 1881 (see photo above) and most accounts report that when it was reopened in 1934 after being shut for decades, all the furniture and other accoutrements inside are original and had been left exactly as they were fifty years before. However, I met one person who disputed all this and suggested that all the information reported about the Bird Cage was false. My own opinion? I believe that what I saw inside the building and what the employees told me was true.

In Which Way to the OK Corral? Heyes and Kid find themselves sharing a stagecoach to Tombstone with Georgette Sinclair. The boys are on a mission to clear Big Mac of a murder charge and George has an audition at a dance hall, which turns out to be the Bird Cage Theatre because the name can be clearly seen on the glass front of the building. This ASJ episode is fun but the Bird Cage depicted in it bears no resemblance to the real Bird Cage Theatre of Tombstone (see photo above). All that was accurate in the episode was the fact that singers, as well as actors and other types of entertainers, graced the stage of the Bird Cage.

At present, the Bird Cage is a museum and visitors can take a self-guided tour of the premises. The first floor has a stage at the front with a piano just below. Much of the floor space is occupied by tables piled with period artifacts and furniture lines the walls, including several display cases filled with objects such as chamber pots, medical and mining instruments, and leg irons (see photo above). There is also a second floor with more objects on view, including a hearse that carried Tombstone’s deceased to Boot Hill.

Towards the front of the first floor room, along the wall to the left, is the faro table where Doc Holliday played cards (see photo at right). His fight with Johnny Ringo occurred between the table and the piano in front of the stage. Faro was very popular during this time period and it was an easier game to play than poker.

On the two sides of the main room, lining the walls, were seven boxes, called cribs, in which prostitutes entertained customers (see photo at right). Drinks and cigars could be hauled up from the basement bar in such a way that no one had to leave the compartment. There were other rooms in the basement where men could avail themselves of the favors of soiled doves as well.

The basement also was where the poker games were played. One game ran continuously for over eight years and had a $1,000 buy in. Heyes would have loved it! Perhaps The Biggest Game in the West should have been set in Tombstone instead of Lordsburg. The way this room appears now is how it looked back in the heyday of the Bird Cage (see photo at right). Note the “dice spinner” on the table—it looks just like the one seen in Exit from Wickenburg and numerous other ASJ episodes.

Video interview about the Bird Cage Theatre:
http://clantongang.com/oldwest/birdcage.html

More information about the Bird Cage Theatre:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11288

Tombstone: Old Butterfield Stage Line

2010-07-14T17:53:00.021-04:00

Riding in an authentic Butterfield stagecoach is an experience not to be missed! There are at least three stagecoaches in which visitors can take a guided tour of Tombstone, but only the Butterfield stage is actually from the nineteenth century (see photo at right). Butterfield stagecoaches transported mail from St. Louis to San Francisco in a journey that took over three weeks. My trip was fun but if I had to spend several hours a day for several days riding in a stagecoach, I’d probably have a different opinion!

According to my driver/tour guide, this particular stagecoach was built in Montana in the early 1860s. Mules instead of horses were used because they ate less and cost less to maintain. The interior had two reddish-colored velour-covered seats facing each other (see upper photo at right). It was comfortable to sit on them but inside the stage it was quite small. For tall people or when the stage had six people riding in it, I imagine it felt rather cramped as leg space was limited. The dimensions of the floor were, I estimate, about three by three feet, perhaps a little less (see photo above).

The guided tour I took lasted about twenty minutes and took me on a loop of the downtown area of Tombstone while the driver described landmarks and other points of interest. One of the places was the Tombstone office for the Butterfield stage company (see photo at right). At the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum, I learned that most stagecoaches arrived in Tombstone around midnight so when Heyes, Kid, and George arrive in the middle of the day in Which Way to the OK Corral?, that apparently is not historically accurate, though I do have to laugh when George tells Marshal Earp when she first goes to report the deputy's threat upon her life, that she doesn't care if the stage comes and goes at midnight. The distance from Tombstone to Tucson was 70 – 80 miles; a one-way ticket cost $10 and according to information at the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, the trip took 17 hours. By the end of 1878, two stage lines, the Tucson and Tombstone Stage Company and the Arizona Mail and Stage Company, operated six trips per week between the two cities. The Arizona Mail and Stage Company also ran from Tombstone to Fairbank, where customers could connect with a train to Benson; that trip cost $1.50 and left Tombstone at 1:45pm.

The links below offer interested readers much more information about stagecoaches in the nineteenth century.

All about the Butterfield Stage Line:
http://knol.google.com/k/butterfield-stagecoach-overland-mail-co#Divisions_and_Stations_of_the_Route

1883 Harper's magazine article describing a trip to Tombstone (and what Tombstone was like at the time):
http://www.discoverseaz.com/History/Tombstone_Bishop.html

About Wells Fargo stagecoaches, including rules for passengers:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-wellsfargo.html

Tombstone: The Town Too Tough To Die

2010-07-13T23:00:00.015-04:00

Despite two devastating fires in June 1881 and May 1882, in which much of its downtown was destroyed, Tombstone’s epitaph has yet to be written. In fact, The Tombstone Epitaph, the town’s newspaper (see photo at right), is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Arizona, having been started in 1880. Epitomizing the Wild West, Tombstone was reincarnated as a tourist destination in the last half of the twentieth century.

A mix of the historical and modern greets visitors to Tombstone (see photo at right). The downtown section encompasses a grid that includes First Street to Sixth Street and Toughnut, Allen, and Fremont Streets. In this compact area, tourists can find restored nineteenth century edifices, many of which have been converted to shops or restaurants, and other buildings which maintain their original function or have been repurposed to present the history of Tombstone to outsiders.

The Can Can Restaurant (see photo below) was owned and operated by a Chinese entrepreneur, Quong Kee; an entire section of Tombstone known as “Hoptown” was where the Chinese inhabitants lived. There was also a Jewish community in Tombstone that included several merchants and even some of the lawmen. Near the OK Corral, the boarding house and studio owned and managed by Camillus S. Fly, a well-known photographer, and his wife Molly, also a photographer, can be visited. Perhaps one of his many trips was to Denver, where he took the infamous photograph of Heyes, Kid, and Clementine mentioned in Dreadful Sorry, Clementine.

Museum exhibits provide background information about the history of Tombstone from its founding by Ed Schieffelin in 1877 to the present, and the many shops offer tourists numerous opportunities to take a piece of that history home with them. From reenactments of gunfights and bank hold ups, to period fashion shows, to the many saloons and crib houses where prostitutes plied their trade (see photo of crib above), along with opportunities to ride in stagecoaches and visit a silver mine, which was the source of the town’s original wealth, the Old West comes alive in Tombstone.

Website for The Tombstone Epitaph:
http://www.tombstoneepitaph.com/index.html

Legends of America website about the history of Tombstone:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/AZ-Tombstone.html

Bisbee, Arizona

2010-07-12T21:54:00.042-04:00

“We like the West. That’s why we travel a lot…”
-- Hannibal Heyes to Lucy Fielding in Six Strangers at Apache Springs

Bisbee, the county seat of Cochise County, doesn’t really have a connection to ASJ but it’s one of those towns that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry likely passed through as they roamed the West and certainly would have enjoyed if they ever did spend time there. Located in the southeastern corner of Arizona, Bisbee has a laid-back, funky atmosphere that makes it a nice place to relax for a couple of days (see photo above). I suspect that even if they were recognized, the local law probably would have let Heyes and Curry leave town without being arrested.

Nowadays, Bisbee is known as a center for the arts but back in 1880, when the town was officially founded, it was because of the rich deposits of copper, silver and gold in the surrounding Mule Mountains. The Queen Mine and other mines in the Bisbee area yielded eight billion pounds of copper during their approximately one hundred years of operation. Dynamite was used to blast the rock to obtain the ore (see photo above of miner demonstrating how charges were placed). A tour of the Queen Mine, led by one of the former miners who worked there, offers an excellent introduction to mining in the 1880s.

Although children were not employed in the mines, boys who were fifteen and sixteen years old sometimes lied about their age so they could work there. The pay of $3.50 - $4.50 per day was a decent wage for that period and was sufficient, in fact, to support a family. Miners spent ten hours underground during their shift; they brought their lunches with them and used two-seat commodes (as seen in the photo to the right) to relieve themselves. Maybe Han and Jed, after leaving the Valparaiso Home for Waywards, found their way at some point to Bisbee and got work in the mines. Perhaps that's how they knew what to do when they accompanied Seth to his gold mine in Smiler with a Gun.

Another slight connection to ASJ is that in Bisbee, master hatmaker Grant, at Optimo Hats (see photo of store sign at right), has a website with many styles available for purchase and he can also create a custom-made hat from a photo. After seeing a picture of Kid Curry’s second-season hat, he helped me design a hat that is similar but not exactly the same because the conchas are different. I have searched a long time for conchas that resemble the Kid’s and have not been successful so instead I finally decided to create my own hat, which will be an homage to Kid Curry.

Website about mining in Bisbee:
http://www.queenminetour.com/history.php

Video of an abbreviated tour of the Queen Mine in Bisbee:
http://www.queenminetour.com/5Mps/videotour.php

Flaming Star

2010-06-30T19:43:00.010-04:00

What a surprise this 1960 color movie was! Elvis Presley stars, playing a half-white, half Kiowa man who is forced to choose between the "civilized" life of his white father and stepbrother, or the Indian ways of his mother. His torment over what to do propels Flaming Star to its haunting conclusion.

Flaming Star is a fast-paced movie filled with action as well as philosophical comments about whites settling on land in Texas that traditionally belonged to the Kiowas, who have been steadily losing it to the newcomers. It's 1878 and the Burton family, with John McIntire as the father, Dolores Del Rio as the mother, Steve Forrest as stepbrother Clint, and Elvis as Pacer, are celebrating Clint's birthday with friends who have gone to their homestead for the evening. But tragedy strikes some of the guests upon their return home, and that is the catalyst for everything else that happens in the movie. Despite the Burtons' well-meaning attempts to find a peaceful solution to the problems, another calamity occurs and as a result, everything worsens exponentially. Caught in the middle, Elvis doesn't know which people he "belongs" to, and the pain he feels is palpable. Elvis is excellent and completely believable in this role.

Ford Rainey (appearing in six episodes of ASJ, most notably as Warren Epps in Exit from Wickenburg, Christine's father in Never Trust an Honest Man, and the rancher Collins in The Biggest Game in the West) and L.Q. Jones (Clint Weaver in Stagecoach Seven and Peterson in McGuffin) have small roles as a craven doctor and one of the birthday guests, respectively. Barbara Eden plays a sympathetic role as a girl who tries to help Pacer. The stark landscape is filmed in a beautiful, severe manner. Elvis sings two songs in Flaming Star. At one hour and forty-one minutes long, the film is tautly directed and well worth the time. There are no bonus features except two trailers for other Elvis movies.

Elvis singing "A Cane and a High Starched Collar":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRkChAjUUWg&feature=related

A brief history of the Kiowa in Texas, from the Texas State Historical Association:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/KK/bmk10.html

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9803E5DA103FE63ABC4F52DFB467838B679EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053825/

The Outrage

2010-06-19T20:05:00.032-04:00

This 1964 movie, based on Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, faithfully transplants the story to the Old West. If you haven't seen that film, watch it after seeing The Outrage and compare both movies. To go from Samurai Japan to the American West of the 19th century really isn't a stretch when you consider the similarities between the two societies. The Outrage, in black and white, also uses shadows and light to great effect during its 97-minute running time.

Like its progenitor, The Outrage begins with two characters stranded at an isolated and abandoned railway station, but are soon joined by a third person. William Shatner plays a preacher, fascinating in a role that pre-dates his Star Trek work and who vaguely resembles Reverend Spencer from The McCreedy Bust: Going, Going, Gone; Howard Da Silva is a prospector who both goads and protects the preacher from the third person, Edward G. Robinson, excellent in the role of a con man who is the catalyst for the retelling of the outrage that gives this film its name. After a while, the prospector begins to relate the story of a rape and a murder, disturbing in its details and, as different characters offer their own perspectives, its inconstancy over what really occurred.

Paul Newman plays Juan Carrasco, a Mexican outlaw who is a pretty bad bad man. With Spanish accent and dark hair, the actor doesn't look at all like Paul Newman in his later outlaw incarnation as Butch Cassidy. Carrasco intercepts a man and a woman riding in a buggy through a desert, which reminded me of the desert in The Legacy of Charlie O'Rourke, except that saguaro cacti replaced the innumerable Joshua trees. Claire Bloom is wonderful as the female character at the heart of it all and Laurence Harvey is her husband. Each time the tale is told from a different character's point of view, the story changes. One of the versions is related by an Indian played by Paul Fix (Clarence the miner in Night of the Red Dog), wearing such heavy makeup he is unrecognizable, though a couple times his voice sounded familiar.

At the end, the audience still does not know for sure what really happened. But the moral of The Outrage surely is: Don't stop to talk to strangers you encounter on the road!

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C03E4DD143DE13ABC4053DFB667838F679EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058437/

Jubal

2010-05-21T20:24:00.001-04:00

It's appropriate that Valerie French's character, Mae Horgan, wears scarlet because she is the cause of all the suffering in Jubal. Mae is married to Shep Horgan (Ernest Borgnine, excellent as a coarse and clueless man with an annoying laugh who nonetheless loves his wife dearly), the owner of a large cattle ranch who finds Jubal Troop (Glenn Ford) almost frozen to death on his way home one night. Shep brings Jubal to his ranch and offers him a job, which doesn't go over too well with cowhand Pinky (Rod Steiger, as a very effective villain) although the other man, violin-playing Sam (Noah Beery, whose voice is as distinctive here as it is in Something to Get Hung About, where he plays the Sheriff), is friendly enough and tries to be the peacemaker between them.

Jubal is a film that is mostly psychological rather than action-oriented. Jubal impresses Shep and is offered the job of foreman, which angers Pinky since he's been working on the ranch a lot longer than Jubal. Pinky then proceeds to foment trouble between Shep and Jubal whenever he can, and Pinky's words have serious repercussions. And Mae, who has already seduced one cowhand, makes repeated attempts to seduce Jubal and his determined and continued refusal angers her, with tragic results.

There is a subplot in Jubal about a group of religious pioneers heading westward to the "promised land," which serves as a counterpoint to the behavior of the cattlemen but otherwise seems awkward in the movie. Jack Elam (Boot Coby in Bad Night in Big Butte) has a cameo but the role is very small and I didn't recognize him. There is also a scene about thirty minutes into the movie involving cougars, which naturally reminded me of The Fifth Victim. The color seemed a bit faded in the DVD I watched but the scenery--according to IMDb, the movie was filmed around Jackson Hole, Wyoming--was great. My favorite line was uttered by Shep, "You fellas were any slower, you'd be doin' yesterday's work!" At 101 minutes, this 1956 movie is an interesting alternative to the more common shoot-'em-up Westerns of this era.

Original review from The New York Times;
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E05E0DC103CE03BBC4D51DFB266838D649EDE

Review summary from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/26649/Jubal/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048233/

Lawman

2010-05-09T20:39:00.009-04:00

You would think that with Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, and Lee J. Cobb as the main characters, Lawman would be a great movie. Unfortunately, you'd think wrong. Not even supporting performances by John McGiver (August Binford in A Fistful of Diamonds and Doc Snively in Witness to a Lynching), J.D. Cannon (Harry Briscoe in five episodes), and Sheree North (Bess Tapscott in The Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg), all of whom are instantly recognizable, can salvage this 1971 film.

Here's the plot, which makes a lot more sense reading it than watching it unfold on the screen: A sheriff, Lancaster's character, from one town goes to another to arrest a group of ranchers, led by Cobb's character, who accidentally killed an old man during a night of drunken revelry in the sheriff's town. Naturally the men do not cooperate and go peacefully back to stand trial. The rest of Lawman is about what happens when the sheriff goes after the men. Along the way, there are various incidents involving the ASJ guest stars and other actors. It is difficult to keep track of everyone and I was unable to develop any interest in any of the characters.

Lawman seems like a movie composed of scenes strung together without any purpose or reason; it is disjointed and the plot did not hold my attention through its 99 minutes. The music, composed by Jerry Fielding--so I had hopes it would be good but even here I was let down--is intrusive and annoying. There are some weird scenes interspersed throughout, such as two coyotes eating a dead horse. The love scene between Lancaster and North is not believable. The climax, a showdown on Main Street, is violent and although part of it is unexpected, it still is ultimately unsatisfying. The best part of Lawman is the fact that the church in town looks almost exactly like the one in ASJ. There are no DVD bonus features but that was fine with me as I had no interest in spending any more time than necessary on this movie.

Original review from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F07E6DC1E3FE63ABC4D53DFBE66838A669EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067333/

Celebrating Mark Twain

2010-04-24T00:09:00.008-04:00

April 21, 2010 was the 100th anniversary of the death of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, whose alias was Mark Twain. In honor of the occasion, since he, or rather, one of his books, played a major role in Something to Get Hung About and the title of one of his short stories was the basis of another episode, The Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg, I thought an entry dedicated to Twain would be appropriate.

Years ago, when I was in Elmira, New York, I visited the cemetery in which Mark Twain was buried. Of course I had read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huck Finn in school, so it was really cool to see his gravesite. I find it pretty amazing that Twain is still so popular today--his reflections about Americans and the way they live are just as true now as when he wrote them, and his humor is just as biting and accurate, too, one hundred years later. That eighth graders in the school district where I work still read Tom Sawyer in their English class, and that his stories and life have been the catalyst for so many other creative works, even a two-part Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, is a testament to the power of his writing.

So let's raise a toast to a true American icon (dare I say idol?) and discover once again why Hannibal Heyes and millions of others enjoy the works of Mark Twain.

Official website of Mark Twain:
http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/index.php

Video clip of Mark Twain and his daughters, from the official website:
http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/videos.htm

Description and images of Twain's house in Hartford, CT:
http://www.marktwainhouse.org/thehouse/index.shtml

Mark Twain's literary works, free for downloading at Project Gutenburg (scroll most of the way down the screen to reach the author):
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/t

Roughing It (Twain's book about his adventures in the American West), free for downloading at Google Books:
http://books.google.com/books?id=onVaAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22mark%2Btwain%22+west&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=r8rRS7QciOyyA8rv_fIJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CC8Q6AEwCg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Annotations by Twain of other writers' works, in his own handwriting:
http://documents.nytimes.com/twain-books?ref=nyregion#document/p1

Photos of Mark Twain's grave in Elmira, New York:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=1048

The Desperadoes

2010-04-23T14:10:00.004-04:00

The Desperadoes has great fanfiction potential! Here's why: In 1863, a man arrives in Red Valley, Utah, at the behest of two of the town's upstanding citizens, to rob the bank. Unfortunately, he was delayed, the instigators didn't wait and hired other men to do the job but in the course of blowing the safe, three people were killed. The outlaw who was supposed to rob the bank calls himself Bill Smith but his real name is Cheyenne Rogers; this character is played by Glenn Ford. He meets a young woman named Allison, played by Evelyn Keyes, and falls in love. Cheyenne wants to go straight but he keeps getting recognized and so he has to keep running. He's friends with the town's sheriff, Steve, played by Randolph Scott; at some point in the past, they were partners in Wyoming. Cheyenne now has a sidekick, played by Guinn (Big Boy) Williams, who's named Nitro for what is an obvious reason.

Sound familiar? Here are some more similarities: There's a big fight in a saloon, reminiscent of Six Strangers in Apache Springs, for while the main room is being destroyed, the men playing poker in an alcove of the saloon remain relatively unscathed; there's a real exciting chase scene in the middle of The Desperadoes where a posse is chasing Cheyenne and Nitro after a bank robbery; there's a jailbreak; nitro is used, though it's handled considerably less carefully than Heyes did in How to Rob a Bank in One Hard Lesson; and mention is made of serving twenty years for bank robbery. Plus, one character says, "It'll be no trouble at all," harking back to what Kid says in The Fifth Victim; and Cheyenne is referred to as "a good bad man."

It's hard to believe that The Desperadoes was made in 1943 and was Columbia's first in Technicolor. The colors are vivid and the movie is not dated at all. The cast is large, with many extras as well as lots of animals--it doesn't look like any expense was spared even though the film was made during wartime. At only 83 minutes (and no bonus features), the story is compelling, the acting is excellent, and it's almost eerie watching a film that parallels ASJ in so many ways.

It would be great to see a movie sequel or read some fanfiction that continues the stories of the main characters in The Desperadoes. I highly recommend this film!

Original review from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9F0DE3D8173DE13BBC4B52DFB3668388659EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035798/

Springfield Rifle

2010-04-04T16:57:00.008-04:00

During the Civil War, Union soldiers based at Fort Hedley, Colorado (apparently a fictional Army base), keep trying to herd horses East to help the war effort there. But every time the soldiers make an attempt to get the horses safely on their way, they are intercepted by Southern rebels. Enter Major Lex Kearney, who in his attempt gets caught in an ambush and rather than allow his troops to be massacred by the enemy, which outnumbers him four to one, he orders a retreat. As a result, he is charged with cowardice, court-martialed, and cashiered from the Army. Kearney then throws in with the Southern raiders who are herding the horses south. The rest of Springfield Rifle deals with what Kearney does after leaving the Army and how he manages to live with the disgrace.

The cinematography in this 1952 movie, of snow-clad forests and mountains, is beautiful. There are lots of fistfights and scenes of men shooting at each other, though Springfield rifles aren't actually used until the end of the film and, consequently, the title is rather misleading.

Gary Cooper plays Major Kearney and Alan Hale, Jr. has a small role as a Confederate rebel. It took a while to identify him because he looked so young. But he is definitely the Alan Hale who was the lawyer in The Girl in Boxcar #3. There are many other characters in Springfield Rifle and since they were dressed similarly--as either Union soldiers or Southern sympathizers--it was hard to tell them apart. At 93 minutes, and with no bonus features, this was a pleasant way to spend an evening.

Timeline of news accounts about incidents in Colorado during the Civil War (in pdf format):
www.coloradoscv.org/images/CO%20Newspaper%20Accounts_New.pdf

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C07E6DB103BE23BBC4B51DFB6678389649EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045184/

Virginia City

2010-04-02T21:38:00.012-04:00

Errol Flynn! Randolph Scott! Humphrey Bogart! Alan Hale!

What's not to love? Well, this 1940 black and white movie, unfortunately. According to text displayed at the beginning of the movie, the story is based on historical events. Virginia City takes place during the Civil War and sets Randolph Scott's character, Captain Vance Irby, a Confederate soldier, against Errol Flynn's character, a Union soldier-spy named Captain Kerry Bradford. Humphrey Bogart plays a Mexican villain, Miriam Hopkins plays the love interest, and Alan Hale plays a sidekick to Flynn.

Except that, contrary to my assumption, this is not the same Alan Hale who appeared as the lawyer in The Girl in Boxcar #3. Rather, this is Alan Hale, Sr., the father of the ASJ guest star. I had no idea until I read his bio that it was a different person! His son looks exactly the same and sounds the same, too. That, and the fact that I kept trying to identify Paul Fix (the prosecutor in The Day They Hanged Kid Curry, Clarence in Night of the Red Dog, and Bronc in Only Three to a Bed), who had a small role as a sidekick to Bogart, helped make Virginia City somewhat interesting.

The movie starts off in a prisoner-of-war camp in the East where we are introduced to all the characters but then shifts to Virginia City, Nevada, for the remainder of the film. Captain Bradford has been sent there to stop a shipment of silver, dug from mines owned by Southern sympathizers, from being sent East to prop up the Confederacy, which is in its last gasps of existence at this point in time. There were many scenes that, taken individually, were interesting but the movie as a whole did not captivate me even though the performances of Flynn and of Scott, who looked very young, were very good. Bogart looked weird with a mustache and a bit off-kilter, not at all like the characters in his other movies. Hale, along with another actor, played the comic relief. But perhaps it was because I knew from the start that the attempt to ship the silver to the Confederacy was doomed, since the Union won the war, that I didn't thoroughly enjoy Virginia City.

But I thought Miriam Hopkins was excellent. Her character, Julia Hayne, was demure as a Southern belle but when she was undercover as a dance hall spy, she was confident and self-assured, and it was a pleasure to see a female role in a Western with such depth. Also, her singing was much better than that of Michelle Monet in Journey from San Juan. The saloon in which she performed had a gaming table with one of those cages containing spinning dice, which is seen in Exit from Wickenburg and other episodes. Another ASJ connection was a scene with a woman holding a rifle on Errol Flynn, who said he never argues with a woman with a gun. Just like Leslie O'Hara in The Root of it All! There was also a very exciting chase scene in the desert in the second half of Virginia City, with great stunt riding--I thought it was a pretty good depiction of what being chased by a posse, under gun fire, would be like.

The make-up for the film was done by Perc Westmore, the brother of Bud Westmore, who did the make-up for the Pilot. The DVD commentary, by film historian Frank Thompson, was illuminating. It was only by listening to him that I learned that the Alan Hale in Virginia City was not the same Alan Hale who appeared in ASJ. I actually paused the movie to go online to read a biography of Hale to confirm that they were different actors when I heard that.

This is not a movie with strong connections to ASJ but it's almost worth watching just to see Errol Flynn, Randolph Scott, and Humphrey Bogart working together. On the other hand, if you like seeing strong female characters in movies, definitely watch Virginia City. Otherwise, there are many other, better Westerns available.

History of Virginia City, Nevada:
http://www.greatstreets.org/MainStreets/MainVirginiaCityHistory.html

http://www.desertusa.com/Cities/nv/nv_virginiacity.html#anchor826270

Original review from The New York Times (scroll down halfway, past the first three reviews):
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D00E0DB1130E53ABC4B51DFB566838B659EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033226/

Hombre

2010-03-14T17:21:00.004-04:00

I’ve always wondered why David Canary got special billing in Everything Else You Can Steal and this movie, in which he has a small role, does not answer that question. He plays a stagecoach robber and his character doesn’t appear until about 45-50 minutes into Hombre. He’s only on-screen for a short while and I would not have recognized him had I not known the name of his character in advance as he looks very different from both the sheriff in Everything and from the doctor in The Strange Fate of Conrad Meyer Zulick.

Hombre is really about John Russell, played by Paul Newman. It was strange to see Newman in the role of a half-white, half-Indian White Mountain Apache, especially when his hair was long in the beginning of the film. The plot revolves around what happens after the stagecoach he and a number of other passengers are on gets held up. They are left without water or horses and have to survive on their own in the mountains and desert. Russell, as a man who grew up on the San Carlos reservation, takes charge. Ultimately, everyone, including the robbers, ends up at a deserted mining camp.

The scenery was beautiful. There was little background music, which added to the sense of being outdoors. People were realistically dirty from trekking for miles on end. However, when one of the robbers is shot in the stomach, he is still able to clamber up and down the hillside and talks and laughs as if nothing had happened. There’s a very strong female character, Jessie, played by Diane Cilento, in Hombre, whom I liked very much; she reminded me somewhat of Beegee (JoAnne Pflug in Only Three to a Bed). The ending of this 1967 movie was a surprise.

 Some parts reminded me of a couple ASJ episodes. Early in Hombre, a group of people is sitting in the waiting room at the stage depot and an unsavory-looking man comes in and wants to buy a ticket. However, there are no tickets so he offers to buy one from another passenger. That man refuses and then is called out by the one who wants a ticket: shades of Wrong Train to Brimstone as well as Stagecoach Seven. Also, a major character in Hombre is Dr. Alex Favor, played by Fredric March, who is an Indian agent; he initially seems somewhat sympathetic to the Apaches he oversees on the reservation but his wife is disdainful and, mimicking Mrs. Fielding in Six Strangers at Apache Springs, uses her handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her brow.

One of the lines that stands out for me, uttered by Jessie, is, “I’ve been wedded and bedded and loved and let down.” At just under two hours, Hombre did not let me down.

Website of the White Mountain Apache Tribe:
http://www.wmat.nsn.us/

Original review from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9902E1D61F3BE63ABC4A51DFB566838C679EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061770/

King of Heists

2010-03-01T20:23:00.007-05:00

Subtitled The Sensational Bank Robbery of 1878 That Shocked America, this 2009 book by J. North Conway (ISBN 978-1-59921-538-9) makes me wonder if Glen Larson knew of George Leslie, who was known as the "King of Bank Robbers" and was never caught.

Leslie has some similarities with Heyes: a talent for planning elaborate robberies that did not involve explosives; an aptitude for figuring out how to crack a safe; an aversion to violence; a taste for the finer things in life, including the ladies. He was an architect with a university degree from Ohio who, for some unknown reason, decided to go to New York City and become a bank robber. He worked with a self-picked gang and moved seamlessly between the criminal underworld and the upper crust society of New York. Leslie planned and carried out robberies up and down the East Coast and throughout America as far west as California. It took him three years to plan the robbery of the Manhattan Savings Bank, which netted $2,747,000--according to the author, equivalent to about $50 million today. This of course, brings to mind the scene in The Man Who Broke the Bank at Red Gap, where Kid and Heyes discuss how they will be hunted with more enthusiasm now that they've carried out the most successful robbery west of the Mississippi. But the amount of that robbery, $80,000 in cash and $500,000 in negotiable bonds, pales in comparison.

A couple more ASJ connections: On P. 155, it's stated that "Leslie had always relied on the notion that the public didn't care about bank robberies, since it was only the wealthy who suffered." That's exactly what Roger Davis says in his intro as the opening credits roll! And, on P. 157, two men who committed a bank robbery in Massachusetts and another who'd robbed a bank in Ohio were sentenced to twenty years in state penitentiaries. So Heyes and Curry were correct in saying that's what they faced if they were ever caught and convicted.

King of Heists describes, in great detail, life in the Gilded Age. The book begins with background information about Leslie and then moves on to his life in New York City. It explains how, without any contacts, he met not only rich society folk but also the woman who would help and support him in his criminal enterprises, known as Marm Mandelbaum. The author vividly recreates the world of the latter part of the 19th century, and it is fascinating. He explains the economic forces of the day, the corruption and greed that permeated New York City politics, the machinations of the robber barons, the lives of the teeming masses in city tenements, the workings of the gangs of New York, and the methods of the police and Pinkertons, all in prose that reads like a suspense novel.

Many of the major bank heists that Leslie was involved in--he was responsible for over one hundred robberies--are described in intricate detail and provide excellent source material for writing fanfiction. What makes this book even more interesting are the numerous period newspaper articles interspersed throughout, which create a "you are there" atmosphere for readers. Even though the setting is not the Old West, King of Heists is a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about the time period of ASJ or about robbing banks in the late 1800s.

1879 article from The New York Times about the robbery (contains spoilers):
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F01E0D81F3FE63BBC4E53DFB6678382669FDE&scp=2&sq=george%2Bleonidas%2Bleslie&st=p

Gun Belt

2010-02-20T11:47:00.001-05:00

I don't think I've ever seen George Montgomery in anything besides ASJ (Curt Clitterhouse in Jailbreak at Junction City) so it was enjoyable to watch him as Billy Ringo in Gun Belt. He played a reformed outlaw, engaged to be married; his fiance, Helen Westcott, played by Arlene Reach, was a strong character who made the role more interesting than the usual love interest depicted in many Westerns. Montgomery looked younger and leaner but was recognizable because his voice and facial expressions were the same.

The story starts off with Billy's outlaw brother, Matt Ringo, escaping from an unnamed Territorial Prison. He and his three sidekicks find Billy on a ranch, along with Matt's son. Matt was sprung from prison so he could talk his brother into doing another job for a businessman in Tucson. Billy declines but ends up helping anyway after he is framed for a bank robbery and murder. There is lots of action and adventure, although the ending was predictable and sappy.

The characters in this 90-minute, 1953 color film are a mix of historical persons and fictional ones; for example, Billy Ringo and Ike Clinton appear to be stand-ins for Johnny Ringo and Ike Clanton. But, Virgil and Wyatt Earp make appearances as well. In fact, it was very interesting to compare Gun Belt's Wyatt Earp with the one in Which Way to the O.K. Corral?

A few side notes: Matt Ringo makes a comment about being naked when he was in prison and unable to wear a gun, similar to Kid's comment in the Pilot. There's a scene where Billy and Ike shake hands to seal a deal, presaging Clitterhouse's deal with Heyes. This deal worked out about just as well as that one. Boyd "Red" Morgan, who played Augie Helms in The Fifth Victim, is a gang member in Gun Belt, though I couldn't identify him on screen. There's also a reference to Robin Hood and thieves, which harks back to the opening credits of ASJ. And when one character shoots another and then puts the whiskey glass he'd been drinking from down on a desk, I immediately thought of fingerprints, as described by Heyes in Something to Get Hung About. Gun Belt has lots of ASJ references for those who look for them!

Review summary from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/94013/Gun-Belt/overview

Original review from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9C06E1D81F3DE03ABC4953DFBE668388649EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045845/

The Fastest Gun Alive

2010-02-16T15:25:00.008-05:00

"No matter how fast you are, there's always someone faster." Words for Kid Curry to live--or die--by! This 1956 black-and-white film, with music by Andre Previn, is about a gunfighter, played by Broderick Crawford (Chester E. Powers in The Man Who Broke the Bank at Red Gap), his two followers, one of whom is Noah Beery (the Sheriff in Something to Get Hung About), and a mild-mannered but obviously conflicted owner of a mercantile, played by Glenn Ford.

The Fastest Gun Alive starts out with a quintessential Old West gunfight. Crawford tracks down men with reputations as fast draws and calls them out to see who is faster. He looks the same, perhaps a little thinner, and is definitely a lot meaner. Even his two followers think he's a bit crazy. When they rob a bank, one of the gang members reminds the other not to take the pennies like he did the last time, presumably because they are too heavy to carry. Wonder if the Devil's Hole Gang ever thought about that!

The movie then shifts and we see Glenn Ford out in the desert, shooting his gun. He rides a wagon home to his wife, who suspects something is wrong but is unable to get him to confide in her. It's clear he has a secret but the audience doesn't find out until much later what it is. The scenes depicting the torment of Ford's character are very well acted. He is pushed to the breaking point, breaks, and then The Fastest Gun Alive spends the rest of its time dealing with the consequences.

Early on in The Fastest Gun Alive is a scene straight out of a Gene Kelly musical: There's a barn dance, and a character named Eric is cajoled into doing a jig--yep, that's the word that was used! Not only does he jig, he tap dances, does acrobatics, and uses two shovels to perform very creative, fancy moves. Eric was played by Russ Tamblyn, who played Riff in the film version of West Side Story, which explains a lot. Tamblyn is also connected to ASJ in that he appeared with Ben and Roger at the 2006 Western Film Fair in Charlotte, NC! Having now seen barn dances in several Westerns, I wondered if they really were as popular and common as the movies make them out to be, so I did a little research and learned that barn dances were "the poor man's ball."

I liked The Fastest Gun Alive a lot. It was suspenseful in the traditional sense and also psychologically thrilling. It gave me a vision of what life might be like for Kid Curry if he were to marry and try to settle down. From the way things went in this movie, it would probably be very difficult for him to have a normal life after getting the amnesty.

Short article about the history of barn dances:
http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3barn1.htm

Original review from The New York Times (scroll halfway down to find the review):
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9800E2DB163EE23BBC4B52DFB166838D649EDE

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049201/

Arrowhead

2010-02-13T18:12:00.011-05:00

If Heyes and Curry had seen this film before going into the hills to search for gold in Six Strangers at Apache Springs, it's no wonder they were afraid of the Chiricahua! Arrowhead tells the story of Ed Bannon, a fictional character that a scrolling note at the end of the movie says is based on real-life Indian scout Al Seiber. Bannon, played by Charlton Heston, is suspicious of the Chiricahua Apache's offer to the Army at Fort Clarke, Texas, to make peace. The Army, however, has no such doubts.

Set during the time of the Apache Wars, Arrowhead includes lots of fighting between the Indians and the soldiers; lots of drumming, which sounds stereotypically Indian, as background music; and some romance between Ed and two women that don't make a whole lot of sense. One of the love interests is Nita, a half-Mexican, half-Apache woman, played by Katy Jurado (Carlotta Armendariz in The McCreedy Feud). Although this movie was produced about twenty years before ASJ, Jurado looks the same here as she does in the TV show--she didn't age much but, on the other hand, she looks old and worn out in Arrowhead. Nita is not particularly endearing and it's hard to see why Bannon would be attracted to her.

However, Bannon as a character is very interesting. He was apparently raised by the Apaches for a number of years, but it's never very clear why that was so or why he left them and became a scout for the Army. He wears a red shirt that laces up the front, which reminded me of Kid's similarly-styled shirt that he wears in several later episodes. And when Bannon shaves shirtless, I couldn't help but be reminded of the scene in Never Trust an Honest Man. But Kid looks much cuter, both when wearing the shirt and without it!

At one hour and forty-five minutes, the film dragged at times despite the abundant action. There are no bonus features. After watching the entire movie, I still don't know why it was called Arrowhead. On a positive note, Brian Keith made his film debut in this movie and he plays the role of an Army officer very nicely. Another positive attribute is that Edith Head was the costume designer and because of that, I think the costumes worn by the actors were probably as authentic as they could possibly be.

Official website of the Chiricahua Apache nation:
http://www.chiricahuaapache.org/

Original review in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F05E7D6153EE43ABC4E52DFBF668388649EDE

Review summary in The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/2902/Arrowhead/overview

From IMD:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045518/

Rage at Dawn

2010-02-06T21:50:00.006-05:00

This 1955 film purports to tell the story of the Reno Brothers, the first outlaw gang to rob trains in America, starting in 1866. Besides doing train robberies, the Reno Gang robs county treasury offices and pays off corrupt politicians and lawmen. The movie stars Randolph Scott as an undercover agent with the Peterson National Detective Agency, clearly a stand-in for the Pinkertons, and Forrest Tucker as Frank Reno, leader of the Reno Gang. After doing some research, it seems that Rage at Dawn adheres broadly to historical fact but does take many liberties and also leaves out a lot of detail. Then again, at only 87 minutes, this is a feature film, not a documentary.

It was great to see Forrest Tucker in the role of a bad guy! He was much thinner than the character of Harker Wilkins (from the Pilot) in Rage at Dawn and by listening carefully, I could still recognize his voice. Randolph Scott, of course, played the good guy, though he pretended to be a bad guy so he could infiltrate the Reno Gang. He appears about half an hour into the film, after the audience has seen the Reno Gang in action and knows they are not pretty good bad men--they are just bad men, with Frank Reno being a cold-hearted killer.

There's a scene where a bartender keeps wiping a glass over and over as he talks to someone, reminding me of Sister Grace in Six Strangers at Apache Springs. In another scene, Frank Reno gives a Kid Curry glare to the county prosecutor, who's on the take--that was fun to see. A description of an outlaw was given at one point (it was of Scott's character) and one of the Reno Brothers says it could fit anyone--just like the descriptions of Heyes and Curry on their wanted posters.

The love story in this movie contrasted nicely with the action scenes. Many of the events in Rage at Dawn took place at night and it was often hard to make out what was happening. Not only that but the print I watched was very scratchy; there was lots of dust on it. The shootout towards the end of the movie was difficult to follow, due to all the actors resembling each other. However, the scene in the jail at the end of Rage at Dawn was very effective. I won't give away the ending by revealing what happened, but I will say it explains the meaning of the title very well.

Article about the Reno Gang from OutlawHistory.com:
http://www.outlawhistory.com/Reno%20Gang.html

Overview summary from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/40087/Rage-at-Dawn/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048535/

Last Train from Gun Hill

2010-01-23T15:15:00.009-05:00

This 1959 movie, starring Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn and Earl Holliman, is a psychological Western that reminded me of 3:10 from Yuma in many ways. The original version of that movie came out in 1957 so perhaps it had some influence on this one. Or maybe it's just that the themes explored in Last Train from Gun Hill are common to Westerns: revenge, betrayal, one man against many, flawed characters trying to live their lives as best they can.

In this movie, Rick Belden (Earl Holliman) is the son of rancher Craig Belden (Anthony Quinn) of Gun Hill, whose best friend, Marshal Matt Morgan (Kirk Douglas), whom he hasn't seen in years, learns that his Indian wife has been raped and murdered. One thing leads to another and Rick is captured by Matt, who wants to take him back to his town to face justice. Holliman's character is not a nice person; in fact, he is a lying, snivelling coward. On the other hand, his father is a bully. There are some nice character-establishing scenes between the two early in the movie. There's also a woman (isn't there always?!) of questionable repute, who plays a pivotal role in Last Train from Gun Hill. Much of the reason I liked this movie was due to how the characters tried to outwit each other, through their words as well as their actions. And there is plenty of action to go along with the talking.

Earl Holliman is great in Last Train from Gun Hill. If I hadn't recognized him, I wouldn't have known him from his voice. But if you look closely, at one point you can see him hitching up his pants, just like Wheat! Now I'm going to have to watch more of his films to see if that's an Earl Holliman mannerism. There's a scene where Kirk Douglas has him handcuffed to a bed in a hotel room and is describing what will happen to him after his trial--it's pretty chilling due to the very effective delivery of the lines. It made me think that if Heyes could have said that to Fred Philpott in The Day They Hanged Kid Curry, Fred would have very quickly changed his mind about wanting to go through with the hanging. And it's no wonder Jim Stokely in Something to Get Hung About was desperate to have someone believe he didn't kill Henderson.

A couple more tie-ins to ASJ: When Matt and Craig are first chatting with each other and reminiscing about old times, Craig says, " Who'd ever think you'd turn out to be a marshal?" And Matt replies, "I finally figured out the other side didn't pay." Of course that reminded me of Lom and the boys in The Pilot. The other scene was later in the movie, when several men are shown playing cards in a saloon, and one of them makes a reference to playing "Red Dog;" naturally, I immediately thought of the eponymously-named episode!

One scene I especially liked was when Matt goes to the sheriff's office in Gun Hill to tell him what he's planning on doing. The sheriff is uncooperative and finally Matt says, "I'm calling you yellow." The sheriff says, "That's your privilege." I can kind of see Kid saying that in order to avoid a gunfight, or maybe it's more likely Heyes would resort to a line like that. Either way, I may include it in a fanfic story at some point!

Last Train from Gun Hill held my interest from start to finish, with a climax and ending that were something of a surprise. There are no bonus features on the DVD, so at 94 minutes in length, watching this movie is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon or evening.

Review from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9806E5D91F3CE63BBC4850DFB1668382649EDE

Overivew summary from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/28395/Last-Train-From-Gun-Hill/overview

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052993/

Cowboys Full

2010-01-04T23:04:00.004-05:00

This 427-page book by James Mcmanus, published in 2009, with 44 pages of end notes, a bibliography, an extensive glossary, and a 24-page index, is all about poker. There are fifty-two chapters altogether. The ISBN is 978-374-29924-8. The connection to ASJ is obvious but the title itself, which is a poker term meaning a full house that includes three kings, was enough to pique my interest.

This is not a how-to book that explains the rules of poker. Instead, it is an exhaustive history of the game that begins, after the first chapter's general introduction, by examining the evidence of gambling in prehistoric times. I found his analyses of early human behavior condescending rather than amusing but the factual information provided was interesting. McManus moves on to discuss the origins of poker itself, and this section of the book is absorbing. From early games of chance in Europe in the Middle Ages called brag, poch, and poque, these games made their way in the 18th century to what became America. The game evolved and eventually became known as poker. Descriptions of how the game was played in the 18th and 19th centuries, and who played it, are fascinating. In addition to numerous first-hand accounts, the author provides a multitude of stories culled from period books and newspapers that well illustrate the unsavory aspects of poker. Unfortunately, this history only takes readers through one-third of the book. The remaining pages describe poker in the 20th and 21st centuries. I guess I'm not a true aficionado--since although I learned how to play as a child, I don't rush to watch poker on TV whenever it is broadcast--because I found the chapters relating the minute details of the World Series of Poker pretty boring. In fact, I glossed over the last one hundred or so pages of the book because I was not interested in who won the WSOP (or its rival tournaments), what hands the winners had or how much money they won.

Throughout the book, McManus connects the strategies used in poker to explain why and how national and international events and incidents occurred. He describes the poker habits of all the 20th century US presidents and how the way they played poker influenced how they reacted on the world stage. This is often interesting but can sometimes be a stretch. I'm not sure how much Lyndon Johnson's attitude in poker games really had to do with his policy towards the Vietnam War, for example. Nevertheless, the author does prove his contention that poker is the quintessential American game because it most accurately reflects the spirit and history of America and Americans.

Publisher's website for James McManus:
http://us.macmillan.com/Author/jamesmcmanus

Book review in The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/books/review/Pinsky-t.html?pagewanted=all

Pale Rider

2010-01-01T01:47:00.004-05:00

This 1985 film, produced, directed, and starring Clint Eastwood, pleasantly surprised me. I had watched part of one of his spaghetti Westerns but couldn't see it through to the end, and didn't particularly care for Unforgiven when it came out (I should watch it again) so I wasn't sure what to expect from Pale Rider. But with a character named Preacher at its core, I had to see it!

This Preacher resembles Robert Donner's Preacher (Never Trust an Honest Man) in that he also has a mysterious background and can shoot real well. He rides into a mining camp--Sacramento is mentioned but the movie was at least partially filmed in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, and looks beautiful--after saving a gold miner from a severe beating in town. The prospector, played by Michael Moriarty, is looking after a woman and her daughter, and Preacher ends up staying with them for a while. He protects the prospectors from a greedy mine owner who owns both the town and the surrounding land and wants the canyon where the miners work for his own, and won't stop until he gets it.

Pale Rider captures the details of life in a mining camp exceedingly well: the hardships of mining, the joy of finding a gold nugget, what living in a cramped cabin with few luxuries is like, as well as the antagonism of small-time miners versus a large, more industrial-oriented mine and its workers who are destroying the land in their search for gold. There are predictable plot turns but the acting is excellent. In one scene in the second half of the movie, the greedy landowner bullies one of the miners who has come to town into doing a dance and of course that reminded me of Kid being forced to do the jig in The McCreedy Bust: Going, Going, Gone. But what happens after the miner does the dance is very different from what Kid did.

The final showdown in Pale Rider is classic Western fare. The last few scenes of the movie echo a very famous Western but I don't want to spoil it for anyone by revealing which movie it is. I invite readers to post a comment and guess!

Review from The New York Times:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A07EEDD1E39F93BA15755C0A963948260

From IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089767/

Sam's Wild West Christmas

2009-12-29T20:25:00.014-05:00

This children's book, written by Nancy Antle and illustrated by S.D. Schindler, was published in 2000 by Dial Books for Young Readers. At forty pages, Sam's Wild West Christmas is a quick read. The ISBN is 0-8037-2199-4.

The plot is simple, which is appropriate for a book aimed at children in first and second grade. Sam and Rodeo Rosie, who first appeared in Sam's Wild West Show, by the same author, are travelling home when they come upon a train that has been robbed by outlaws. They track the outlaws to an isolated cabin where they are holding a large man in a red suit hostage, while the rest of the entertainers put on a show for the train crew and passengers. Sam and Rodeo Rosie use their rodeo skills to capture the outlaws, free the man in red and his strange-looking "horses," and rescue the passengers' presents that the outlaws had stolen. They return to the train and everyone is happy.

Although the plot deals with two train robbers, these outlaws are nothing like Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. There is lots of action in the story; the text is full of Christmas allusions both obvious and subtle; there are some fun anachronistic touches; and amusing watercolor drawings. Anyone looking for a Christmas story with an Old West flavor may find Sam's Wild West Christmas just the book to read.

Author's website:
http://nancyantle.com/