Ben Johnson

[pvitari]

Here we go.. Tomboy and the Champ DVD artwork. :)

[Maricatrin]

Mary-Kate, you can use anything on my website or that I've posted here.

I can't wait to see your video and you can bet it will get a big mention at the Ben page once it's done!

Thanks a lot! (and uh oh, don't raise hopes too high ) I'm using more than several of your magazine/publicity photos, but last time I checked, just two screenshots. I experimented briefly with saving a whole bunch of screenshots and running them together to fake a video effect, but it only proved that I didn't have a future in animation.

Wendy, I never did find that CD I mentioned, so I've edited together parts of several songs that I think can work with the footage (I know your youtube address, so I might be uploading some private preview clips for suggestions/criticism.

The Tomboy and the Champ artwork looks nice, and it reminds me that Rex Allen is in it. I love his singing voice (and of course, his speaking voice is very pleasant too!)

[JackFavell]

No problem, Mary-Kate, I'll be happy to offer suggestions, but I am far from an expert! Better to ask someone who actually knows what they are doing.

[Maricatrin]

Oh Wendy, I'd be grateful to get your suggestions, don't run yourself down! (sayeth Mary-Kate, who just ran herself down a post ago )

I found a bunch of "The Monroes" episodes on youtube the other day, can anyone recommend some that feature Ben more notably?

[pvitari]

Mary-Kate, the big Monroes episode for Ben is "War Arrow." Warning: bring a hanky. This has one of my all-time favorite Ben line readings, but I'm not going to say which one line it is right now. :)

Another good one is "Teaching the Tiger to Purr" where Sleeve (Ben's character) has several scenes dealing with the kids, and gets to manhandle guest star Opie, I mean Ron Howard, a bit. :)

Also the episode "Man Hunt."

Ben's character Sleeve was actually absent from a number of episodes -- I have the list of those at home and can post the no-Sleeve ones later.

The Monroes is number one on my list of "Ben stuff not yet on DVD."

[CineMaven]

"THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN." - Saturday - January 21st - 2:00AM

[MissGoddess]

T,
Sounds heavy but I will try to record it since Ben has the lead. Paula, I'm sure you've seen it...is it any good?

[pvitari]

Cinemaven beat me to it! :) :) :) :) I just got online to remind everyone about the broadcast of The Town That Dreaded Sundown at 2 a.m. (in the wee hours between Friday and Saturday, basically tomorrow night) and there it was. :)

Here's a trade ad that was published in Variety. Eek! ;)



Miss Goddess, yes, I have an "unofficial" DVD of this movie -- and in widescreen too! (It was filmed in Panavision.) It's VERY low-budget with all that that implies, and director Charles B. Pierce has an unfortunate tendency towards inserting unfunny bits of goofy comedy -- he did the same in Grayeagle which he made with Ben the following year -- but at the same time it's a very effective, very creepy semi-documentary style film about the serial killer who terrorized Texarkana, TX in 1946. (I was immediately reminded of it when I saw David Fincher's masterful Zodiac -- I'm willing to bet Fincher is a fan of Sundown.) Pierce's earlier very low-budget horror film The Legend of Boggy Creek was a huge hit, especially on the Southern drive-in circuit, and Sundown did very well too and became very influential in the development of the slasher sub-genre of horror -- though it is nowhere near as graphic as a lot of what followed. Ben plays a superstar Texas Ranger J.D. Morales who's brought in to catch the killer and finds himself just as mystified as everyone else. This is not an "important" film for Ben though it's important in the history of horror filmmaking. Sadly it remains locked up in MGM/UA's vaults but I keep hoping that they set it free via their Limited Edition Collection MOD program. It's a title the fans would really love to see out on DVD. I definitely recommend everyone record it for their collection, but if you don't have TCM, I can make a copy for you. P.S. Ben doesn't actually show up until about a half hour into the movie, as I recall.

Bringing back a couple of previously posted oldies but goodies...

[Maricatrin]

Mary-Kate, the big Monroes episode for Ben is "War Arrow." Warning: bring a hanky. This has one of my all-time favorite Ben line readings, but I'm not going to say which one line it is right now.

Another good one is "Teaching the Tiger to Purr" where Sleeve (Ben's character) has several scenes dealing with the kids, and gets to manhandle guest star Opie, I mean Ron Howard, a bit.

Also the episode "Man Hunt."

Thank a lot, Paula! I located all those episodes mentioned, and I watched War Arrow, so on with any and all "spoilers" (Oddly, I didn't need a handkerchief, though I am one of those sentimental suckers who cry during sad stories ... I think I was all cried out from a load of onions I cut up earlier.)

Next will be Teaching the Tiger to Purr; I'm really looking out for Ben-with-kids footage/photos.

Somebody put up a trailer for The Town That Dreaded Sundown on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOTOxk1naC4 Plenty scary stuff.
I think Ben's character name is based on that of Texas Ranger captain Manuel T. (Lone Wolf) Gonzaullas (who was born in Spain to Spanish and Canadian parents.)

[pvitari]

I posted several screencaps from that Monroes episode showing Ben applying a little discipline to Ronnie Howard (just picking him up, making him do something he doesn't want to do -- that kind of thing) but dang, I can't find them on my computer. I will keep on looking.

That last scene in "War Arrow" absolutely flattens me, it's just so sad and Ben gives such a delicate, melancholy performance. The line reading that always gets me is when he turns his head and says "Do you?" in a whisper to Michael Anderson. It's just the saddest thing. :( I have a FABULOUS publicity picture from that episode (autographed by Ben too!) that I will scan in one of these days.

"War Arrow" was directed by Robert Totten, who was a very good friend of Ben and Carol Johnson and had known them since he (Totten) was a teenager. He was an actor, writer and director, and directed Ben in a number of projects -- DIsney's Ride a Northbound Horse, the 1973 TV movie of The Red Pony, the TV mini-series The Sacketts, the obscure feature film Dark Before Dawn -- but my favorite collaboration is their first, "War Arrow."

[moira finnie]

I have been reading two wonderful books recently self-published by Alan Mowbray, Jr. The first is called Snapshots from the Road, a memoir of the author's impressions growing up as the son of one of the essential character actors of the studio era--Alan Mowbray. The other book is Up From Central Park, a memoir that was written by Alan Jr.'s father over forty years ago and edited by his son and just published now. This memoir is filled with stories about the elder Mowbray's experiences in the trenches during WWI, the theater on both sides of the Atlantic, Hollywood with its struggles (Mowbray Sr. was instrumental in creating SAG in the "30s) and social fun (the Mowbray family sounds delightful). You can see information about purchasing these very affordable books here.

In Alan Mowbray, Jr.'s Snapshots from the Road, the author recalls a time when his father's appearance in John Ford's Wagon Master(1950), led to an encounter with Ben Johnson:

Cowboy Conversation

In 1950, my father had just finished portraying medicine show entrepeneu, Dr. A. Locksley Hall in John Ford's epic western 'Wagonmaster.' He had convinced my mother that they should host a "wrap" party for the cast and crew at our home in Beverly Hills.

On the appointed day, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr., Joanne Dru, Ward Bond, Charles Kemper, Jane Darwell, James Arness, and other members of the cast and crew gathered in our living room to share mom's delicious hors d'oeuvres and sample drinks from dad's ample cocktail cart. They were all quite ready to relax and 'let their hair down' after working long hours for an exacting taskmaster.

As the afternoon wore on, someone--I believe it was Joanne Dru, organized everyone into teams to play a popular parlor game called charades.

At this point Ben Johnson ambled to the kitchen in search of coffee--he was no parlor game enthusiast and not much of a drinker either. When he saw me seated at the kitchen table working on my homeword, he asked if I wanted some company.

I had been introduced to Ben on a recent Saturday afternoon--dad had taken me along with him to the studio to watch as some of Wagonmaster's interior scenes were shot. When I discovered that Mr. Johnson was not merely an actor, but a real-life cowboy and champion bronco rider and roper, I was hooked!

I quickly agreed--he sat at one end of the table, tipping his chair back, crossing his long legs in front of him. I was an awkward, bashful teenager back then, so I was a little tongue-tied at first, but Ben's easy-going manner quickly changed that. We talked for an hour or so--at one point I ran upstairs to my room to fetch my prized Remington pump-action .22 caliber rifle--when I proudly showed it to him, he drawled "Handy lookin' piece."

At some point during our conversation, I noticed that although he wore a western-styled suit and carried a tall Stetson hat, he wasn't wearing cowboy boots!

When I asked him why he wasn't [he] replied 'Cowboy boots have those high heels--I was always turnin' my ankles on 'em and they got stuck in my stirrups, so I bought these low-heeled boots.'

The next day I used my paper-route savings to buy a postal money order so I could send off for a pair of Norm Thompson Adventure Boots I'd seen advertised in 'True Adventures' magazine--they had low heels, just like Ben's...

Even now, I can still picture Ben Johnson sitting across the kitchen table, laconically sharing tales of his cattle ranching and rodeo ridin' an ropin' days--treating a spellbound teenage kid just as if he was an old cowboy pal.

Following Ben's lead, I promptly named my pump-action Remington rifle "Old Handy"...

I just discovered that the website Immortal Ephemera has two wonderfully detailed articles by Cliff Aliperti about Alan Mowbray Jr.'s books and an appreciation of the actor's long career, both of which are linked below:

Alan Mowbray Book Review: Up From Central Park

Alan Mowbray by Alan Mowbray, Jr.

[MissGoddess]

What a sweet story! What amazing stories I'm sure are contained in those books, thank you Moira. The things you find.

[pvitari]

Wow! Thank you Moira.

That story is so Ben. He always took such an interest in other people and always concentrated all his attention on them, and always made the other person feel special. He often would turn away from the main group and find the person who was shy or on the outside, and spend his time with him or her. I have another book with a story a lot like that. It's called "My Life Among the Icons," by Johnny Ortiz, a well-known boxing expert and entrepreneur, also actor, writer and all around sports and showbiz personality. He has a great chapter about the time he worked crew on The Swarm and his job as driver for Olivia De Havilland and Ben, and how Ben decided to move into the front seat with Johnny and spent hours talking with him (while Olivia took a cat nap in the back seat).

Alan Mowbray was a member of the "Bundy Drive Boys," a rowdy, hell-raising group of hard-drinking and hard-playing actors, writers and bon vivants, whose most famous members included Errol Flynn, W.C. Fields, John Barrymore, John Carradine, and Thomas Mitchell. The guru and main instigator was artist John Decker. Other members were writer Gene Fowler and critic/philosopher/poet/artist (and more) Sadakichi Hartmann. Anthony Quinn and Roland Young also hung out with this crazy group, and there were many others who came in and out. Here's a picture of Mowbray from Greg Mank, Charles Heard and Bill Nelson's great book (one of my favorite Hollywood books), Hollywood's Hellfire Club, about the Bundy Drive Boys.



Thanks again, Moira!! I really appreciate you posting this. I just ordered Mowbray Jr.'s book and I'll add it to the Book page at my Ben site. (Need to do the same with the Ortiz book.)

[Maricatrin]

Thank you for the stories, ladies. It's so refreshing and reassuring in this crazy world, that whenever someone has a Ben Johnson story to share, you just know it will increase your respect and affection for the man.

[pvitari]

Mary-Kate, I went over my Monroes notes. Here is one more good Ben episode: "To Break a Colt." I think this is the one where we learn how Sleeve's arm became paralyzed.

Ben is not in the following episodes: "Ride With Terror," "The Friendly Enemy," "Court Martial," "Silent Night, Deadly Night," "Lost in the Wilderness," "Gold Fever," "Pawnee Warrior," "Mark of Death," "Gun Bound," "Killer Cougar," "Trapped" and "The Ghosts of Paradox."

I made some quickie screencaps from the TCM broadcast The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Hopefully MGM/UA will release this before too long on an official DVD. Enjoy! ;)

Batch one.