What Westerns Have You Seen? Jan/Feb/Mar/Apr 2017 Edition
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Spikeopath — 9 years ago(January 06, 2017 06:03 AM)
Don't Wait Django Shoot!
Non aspettare Django, spara (1967)
Low, Low budgeted Django clone fails to ignite.
Django (Ivan Rassimov) returns to the family home to find his father has been robbed and murdered by bandits. Ignoring the advice and pleas of his sister Mary (played by Rassimov's real life sister Rada), Django sets off to town for revenge. But this is merely the beginning of things
There's enough enjoyment here for the very hardcore Spaghetti Western fan, but expectations levels really should be set at low. There's plenty of the standard Spag shootings, stand-offs and posturings, moody atmosphere and the music is pretty ace (Felice Di Stefano), but the structure of the pic is off.
Directed by Edoardo Mulargia and written by Vincenzo Musolino, the creators take a gamble by having the revenge aspect played out very early in the piece, the plot then thrusts a multitude of characters involved - in one way or another - in the search for the missing money taken when Django's pa was killed. The whole piece feels like a string of sequences stacked up against each other without a flowing sense of rhyme or reason. It doesn't help that this incarnation of Django is bland and it is in fact his side-kick Barrica (played by Ignazio Spalla) that engages more on the fun and entertainment front. The low budget shows on occasions (watch out for that deja vu feeling), whilst logic jumps and daftness are never far away.
Needlessly complex in telling and structure, pic is marginally saved by the action and some colourful characters, but really it is for those die-hard Spag fans only. 5/10
The
SpikeopathHospital Number
217 -
joscco — 9 years ago(January 09, 2017 11:48 AM)
So far, I've watched The Gunfighter, The Big Country, Hombre, Ride the High Country, and probably others I don't recall at the moment. I watch the Starz Western Channel a lot, so they tend to blend together. I'll try to keep better track of them for this thread.
"We all have it comin', Kid." Unforgiven (1992) -
joscco — 9 years ago(January 12, 2017 01:04 PM)
Hi, Spike. Yeah, I did. Hombre is one of my Top 50 movies, and The Big Country I've watched off and on since I was a kid growing up. The Gunfighter I discovered only a couple of years ago, and that was a rewatch. I hadn't ever seen Ride the High Country in its entirety and, as a big Peckinpah fan, it was fun to watch his second effort as a film director.
"We all have it comin', Kid." Unforgiven (1992) -
gordonl56 — 9 years ago(January 09, 2017 03:05 PM)
CONTAINS SPOILERS
TRACKDOWN "The Marple Brothers 1957
This is the first episode of the 1957 to 1959 western series, TRACKDOWN. Robert Culp stars as a Texas Ranger who wanders the State putting the grab on various wanted types. The series ran for a total of 70 episodes.
Texas Ranger Robert Culp is on the trail of four wanted brothers, the Marples. Culp and another Ranger had caught up with them a while back and wounded one of the foursome. Culp's fellow Ranger though had been fatally wounded.
Culp has now tracked the Marple brothers to the small town of Stockton. The men have holed up in the town church. They have has hostages, the local Sunday school group. They want a doctor pronto like or bodies of the Sunday school bunch will start to pile up. They have already killed one man to make their point.
Ranger Culp now arrives on the scene and takes charge. He has the local Sheriff, Roy Engel, keep an eye on the local men to make sure they do not do something stupid. Culp heads to the church to see about the women and kids being held inside.
A deal is reached with the villains to get the wounded brother to the town doctor. James Griffith, the eldest brother, tells Culp everyone will be okay if the townsfolk play ball. They just want their brother patched up and a head start on a getaway.
Needless to say, several of the local men decide to make a stab at a rescue. The fat is soon in the fire and bullets are flying every which way with a few finding live targets. After the smoke clears, three of the outlaw brothers are toes up, ready for Boot Hill and the other in cuffs.
This is a pretty nifty episode for a series starter. The cast is all top flight and includes, besides, Griffith and Engel, James Best, Jan Merlin, Gail Kobe and Tom Pittman.
Behind the camera, we have a pair of b film and television veterans, director, Thomas Carr and cinematographer, Guy Roe. Fans of film noir will know Roe from the excellent b-noir, TRAPPED, RAILROADED, THE SOUND OF FURY, IN THIS CORNER and ARMORED CAR ROBBERY. -
Spikeopath — 9 years ago(January 10, 2017 05:57 AM)
Fort Utah (1967)
Utah Saints.
Fort Utah is directed by Lesley Selander and written by Steve Fisher and Andrew Craddock. It stars John Ireland, Virginia Mayo, Robert Strauss, Scott Brady, John Russell, Richard Arlen and James Craig. Music is by Jimmie Haskell and cinematography is by Lothrop Worth.
Drifter Tom Horn (Ireland) teams up with Indian Agent Ben Stokes (Strauss) to help a pioneer wagon train against army deserters and Indian renegades.
Filmed in Technicolor/Techniscope out at Vasquez Rocks and Santa Clarita in California, Fort Utah, in spite of being shot in 1966, feels like a 1950s Oater. Of course the big giveaway is that the headliners in the cast are more long in the tooth than back in the day. Yet collectively they have produced a a very decent Oater with old fashioned value.
There's plenty going on in the plotting. The Indians have had enough of the reservation living arrangements so a renegade band have fled, leaving Ben Stokes the not unenviable task of trying to locate and placate. There's a gang of army deserters - The Marrauders - led by nefarious Dajin (Brady) out for what they can get their hands on, illegally of course. Right in the middle of hostile territory is a wagon train of pioneers who unbeknown to themselves are going to need help to survive, enter Tom Horn and the Fort Utah of the title.
Pic never wants for action, Horn gets into a fight pretty much every ten minutes, be it fisticuffs or shoot-outs, there's barely pause for him to take breath, well except for when he's getting smitten with Linda Lee (Mayo a gorgeous mature at 46) that is. She's travelling with the wagon train and has a secret as well as a major cleavage that gets an airing during a ferocious Indian attack on the wagon train. Whilst unsurprisingly she's getting unwanted attention by a scallywag pioneer fellow
Some of the stunt doubles are very poor, which sort of sits with Haskell's cheesy musical score, and the big finale features a WTF moment to close down the encounter. But with some very nice photography for the night time scenes, and the superb backdrop of Vasquez Rocks pleasing the eyes, one can't grumble about not having it all. It's not a classic of course, and it has some formulaic baggage to carry around, but for old fashioned Oater lovers this has much to recommend. 6.5/10
The
SpikeopathHospital Number
217 -
Spikeopath — 9 years ago(January 12, 2017 09:27 AM)
Denver and Rio Grande (1952)
Train Tribulations.
Denver and Rio Grande is directed by Byron Haskin and written by Frank Gruber. It stars Edmond O'Brien, Sterling Hayden, Dean Jagger, Kasey Rogers, Lyle Bettger and J. Carol Naish. Music is by Paul Sawtell and Technicolor cinematography by Ray Rennahan.
Two railroad companies battle for the right of way through Royal Gorge - with murderous results
In truth it's without doubt that the scenery on offer here, and if you happen to have any kink for olde steam trains, are what puts this in the above average department. Plot is based around real instances during the advancements of the Denver and Rio Grande railway. It plays out for entertainment purposes as baddies against goodies and as a notable observation of what some will do to get their way. There's strands involving wrongful accusations, simmering passions and a whole host of train sequences snaking through gorgeous locations. There's even some amazing train carnage, which is thrilling and more potent as it's not model work on show. Cast are fine and turning in perfs that we accept as viable for our enjoyment - with a pat on the back for Zasu Pitts and Paul Fix who are playing out a cute and funny mature courtship in the making - and all other tech contributions are safe and appealing enough.
Opening with a voice over narration set to scenes of the then modern D&RG railway, before whisking us back to its formative years, this is a nice nostalgia piece that overcomes its plotting failings courtesy of big heart and ocular delights. 7/10
The
SpikeopathHospital Number
217 -
joscco — 9 years ago(January 14, 2017 02:56 PM)
Just finished watching
The Unforgiven
with Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn. Wow. What a powerful exploration of racism, hatred, and family. Pretty good movie although, for me, it jumped the shark about the time the Kiowa war party decided to break out the sacred flutes. No offense to anyone who loves it, but this western is crying for a remake.
"We all have it comin', Kid." Unforgiven (1992) -
Spikeopath — 9 years ago(January 15, 2017 06:47 AM)
I was only talking about this one last week with a guy on CFB.
John Huston
disliked the movie, was never happy with it. I like it well enough, it does beg your patience for the first third but once the Injuns turn up it kicks up a few gears. Always loved
Hepburn
in this, to see her go earthy with no glam and glitter was most pleasing.
The
SpikeopathHospital Number
217 -
jxh13 — 9 years ago(January 17, 2017 05:36 AM)
Neat cast, but an awkward story. I gather Huston never got to make the points he wanted about race relations, and the narrative is kind of odd. Novelist Alan Le May also wrote
The Searchers
, which I caught most of last Saturday.
Still, Lancaster, Bickford, Audie Murphy, John Saxon, the creepy Joe Wiseman, screen legend Lillian Gish, the affable, square-headed Doug McClure, and the offbeat casting of Miss Hepburn make it a worthwhile watch. -
gordonl56 — 9 years ago(January 15, 2017 07:17 AM)
CONTAINS SPOILERS
JOHNNY RINGO "The Assassins" 1960
JOHNNY RINGO was a western series that ran for 38 episodes during 1959-60. The series starred Don Durant as the title character with Karen Sharpe, Mark Goddard and Terence De Marney as series regulars. The series follows Durant, (Ringo) a former gunfighter who decides to go straight. He becomes the Sheriff in the small town of Velardi in the Arizona Territory. The series was one of several (Rifleman, Wanted Dead or Alive, Shotgun Slade etc) with a "gimmick gun". Durant carries a special LeMat revolver equipped with a shotgun barrel under the six gun barrel.
This episode is the 20th episode of the series.
This one starts with the stage from out of town dropping off a dapper looking Akim Tamiroff. Tamiroff steps right into the middle of a dispute between the town bully, Ed Nelson, and local, Dennis McMullen. The two men are both after the same girl, dancer, Connie Hines. Hines wants McMullen and Nelson is not amused. Nelson is handy with a gun and calls McMullen out.
Tamiroff steps between the two and stops Nelson from killing McMullen. Nelson gives Tamiroff a solid punch to the noggin, knocking him to the ground. Now Sheriff Durant arrives on the scene. Nelson may be handy with his shooting iron, but he is no match for Durant. Nelson fades away.
Tamiroff it appears is a Russian on the run from his country's Secret Police. Said Tsar's Secret Police are now in town looking to finish off the enemy of the State, Tamiroff. Tamiroff had been involved in the death of a Policeman back in Russia. It had been an accident, but the Tsar's boys had no sense of ha, ha.
Tamiroff, tired of running just wants to end it all. He is suffering from a heart condition and does not have long to live anyway. He picks a fight in the bar the next day with thug Nelson. Nelson is happy to "help" out and plugs the old guy. This forces Sheriff Durant to step up and drill a few extra holes in Nelson.
Not really much of an episode, with a plot one has seen before on various TV productions. Tamiroff though does his best with the limited lines he has.