Westerns

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MissGoddess
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Re: Westerns

Post by MissGoddess »

Yes, if it weren't for Ben, Jeff would really turn into a hard case, maybe even end up dead or in jail. Does anyone know what year this was set in? I was curious if it was the war that made Jeff so cynical.
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movieman1957
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Re: Westerns

Post by movieman1957 »

A post on imdb has it set in 1896. That sounds right as other movies set in Alaska happen around 1900.
Chris

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Re: Westerns

Post by MissGoddess »

so he might be too young to have been in the war? i'm bad at calculating, ha. Maybe he's like Rick in Casablanca ("I stick my neck out for no one"). cherchez la femme?
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Re: Westerns

Post by movieman1957 »

That might put the character in his early 50s at worst. That is a little older than Stewart was himself so, it is possible that the character was there if even only for the end of the war.
Chris

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movieman1957
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Re: Westerns

Post by movieman1957 »

King Vidor's The Texas Rangers was made in 1936 and stars Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie and a young Lloyd Nolan. The basic premise is the three are stage robbers that eventually break up and because Fred and Jack get hungry enough they join the Rangers. Fred's dedication starts to waiver when he thinks life would be more lucrative on the wrong side again but after a series of events changes his mind for the inevitable showdown with Nolan.

What is it about pre-Stagecoach westerns that make them look so creaky? There is some decent action and the locales are good but the acting, often regardless of the cast, always seems somewhat stiff. It is not that Fred isn't good considering how wonderful he is in his 30's comedies but there just isn't much depth. (This may be the script.) Maturity and a little age under his belt helped make Fred's late 50's westerns better. Nolan seems surprisingly at home playing a western villain.

Not much to recommend but if you have time to watch it after watching the other feature on the disc, Canyon Passage, might be the only time to check it out.
Chris

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RedRiver
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Re: Westerns

Post by RedRiver »

I find this piece of film history delightful, in spite of the shortcomings you accurately observed. Maybe even BECAUSE of them! It's SO "bygone era"! I'd watch this rickety old thing again in a minute.
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movieman1957
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Re: Westerns

Post by movieman1957 »

It picked up steam as it went along.

One thing I thought amusing, if you'll forgive the term, is that while being besieged by what seemed to be thousands of Indians, just prior to the rock slide, is Fred and Jack picking off two moving Indians with their pistols from what seems a mile away. Later on they weren't always so accurate.

There was some good stunt work.
Chris

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Re: Westerns

Post by RedRiver »

When I was a tiny little cowpoke, there was a TV show called THE TEXAS RANGERS. "The eyes of Texas are upon you..."
tinker
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Re: Westerns

Post by tinker »

I think they used to show that on Australian TV on Saturday afternoons when we used to get alot of US Westerns.

Is that the one where they had two charcaters playing relatives at different times in the west, some modern, some old time. It had two well know n western character actors who always played bad guys Willard Parker (?) and Harry Lauter(?) playing good guys.

I think Harry Lauter must have shown up as the villian in every wwestern ever made at some stage.


dee
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RedRiver
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Re: Westerns

Post by RedRiver »

I couldn't tell you. I must have been five years old when I watched it!
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Re: Westerns

Post by movieman1957 »

Gun Fury is a sturdy but basic western. The plot is pretty simple. Rock Hudson is on the trail of kidnapped fiance Donna Reed. An interesting twist involves Leo Glenn who was bad guy Phil Carey's former partner teaming with Hudson for his own motives.

Obviously made for the 3D crowd it suffers a little from those shots as well as a couple of odd edits and some awkward acting moments. All in all it is a pretty good film. Carey is menacing as the head bad guy. He is well supported by Neville Brand and Lee Marvin. Hudson was okay but I kept wondering how much differently, and maybe better, it would have been if Randolph Scott had played the role. (Scott and Reed had already done "Hangman's Knot" and that worked.)

Some good action and good scenery. Check it out.
Chris

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Re: Westerns

Post by RedRiver »

GUN FURY is fun. The blatant use of 3 D is distracting, but the story and the personalities more than make up for it. Am I way off here, or is this a Raoul Walsh film?
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Re: Westerns

Post by movieman1957 »

You are right on.

As long as I've been watching movies the one thing I have trouble with is picking out styles of most directors. I know enough about them that if I see a name I know the quality of the film but on just watching something I don't know them apart.

After Ford, Hitch, Capra and one or two others they could be done by almost anybody and I couldn't tell them apart. And that is pretty much the way my week is going.
Chris

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Re: Westerns

Post by mrsl »

.
Don't feel bad Chris, I'm the same way with directors, except for if I get about 30 minutes into a certain movie, sometimes in less time, I know I'm watching Douglas Sirk, and I grab the Kleenex to wipe my eyes from the tears of laughter I know I'll be crying. His movies are sooooo tawdry, and sugar-sweet, they can't be mistaken for anybody else.
Anne


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RedRiver
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Re: Westerns

Post by RedRiver »

I assure you I didn't peg the director because I'm so astute. I remembered from when I watched the movie!
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