Chris Recommends

Jesse James, notorious train and bank bandit of the late 19th century, and an important figure in the history of the midwest frontier, gets a drastic bleaching in this film made in 1939. Script by Nunnally Johnson is an excellent chore, nicely mixing human interest, dramatic suspense, romance and fine characterizations for great entertainmet. Tyrone Power capably carries the title spot, but is pressed by Henry Fonda as his brother. The story follows historical fact close enough with allownace for dramatic license, hitting sidelights of James in his brushes with the law. The initial train holdup is vividly presented, with all other robberies left to imagination. The picture starts with a foreword on the ruthless manner in which railroads acquired farms for right-of-way through the midwest.

The three Marx Brothers ride a merry trail of laughs and broad burlesque in a speedy adventure through the sagebrush country. Story is only a slight framework on which to parade the generally nonsensical antics of the trio. Attracted to the wide open spaces by tales of gold lining the street, Chico, Harpo, and Grouch get involved in ownership of a deed to property wanted by the railroad for its western extension, and the action flashes through typical dance hall, rumbling stagecoach and desert waste episodes – with a wild train ride for a climax it outwit the villains. It’s not near as funny as Duck Soup, but few comedies are in my estimation.

Sam Sixkiller was one of the most accomplished lawmen in 1880s Oklahoma Territory. And in many ways, he was a typical law enforcement official, minding the peace and gunslinging in the still-wild West. What set Sam Sixkiller apart was his Cherokee heritage. Sixkiller’s sworn duty was to uphold the law, but he also took it upon himself to protect the traditional way of life of the Cherokee. Sixkiller’s temper, actions, and convictions earned him more than a few enemies, and in 1886 he was assassinated in an ambush. This new biography takes a sweeping, cinematic look at the short, tragic life of Sam Sixkiller and his days policing the streets of the Wild West.

This is by no means a conventional giddyap-oater feature, being a western in the truer sense of the ranking with some of the select few that have become classics in the outdoor field. Director George Stevens handles the story and players with tremendous integrity. Alan Ladd’s performance takes on dimensions not heretofore noticeable in his screen work. Van Heflin commands attention with a sensitive perfpormance, as real and earnest as the pioneer spirit he plays. The story takes place in Wyoming, where a group of farmer-settlers have taken land formerly held by a cattle baron. The latter resents this intrusion on the free land and the fences that come with the setting down of home roots. His fight is against Heflin cliefly, who is the driving force that keeps the frightened farmers together. Just when it seems the cattle man may eventually have his way, a stranger, known only as Shane, (a name that is repeated one too many times during the film in my estimation), rides on to Heflin’s homestead, is taken in and becomes one of the settlers, as he tries to forget his previous life. Jean Arthur plays the role of Heflin’s wife, who is attracted to the stranger. A standout is the young stage actor Brandon deWilde, who worships Shane. Jack Palance plays a hired killer in the film and he is exceptional.

I had the good fortune of hearing John Chandler sing at this year’s Western Writers of America convention in New Mexico. Chandler sang two songs from his album The Gang and it was one of the most impressive performances I’ve ever witnessed. Chandler’s music breathes life into some colorful characters of historical note, as well as some of the colorful characters he’s known as a 30-year member of the Hole In The Wall Gang. The spirit that inhabits the magnificence of Wyoming shines brightly in these songs. “Morning Star Moon,” the album’s cornerstone, was awarded a 2012 Spur award for Best Western Song by the Western Writers of America. It was inspired by Wyoming’s Dull Knife Battlefield, where the 4th Cavalry raided a Cheyenne encampment in 1876. Many Cheyenne froze to death during the winter that followed. The entire album is a treasure.

Considerable excitement is whipped up in this suspense drama, and fans who go for tight action may not be that fascinated with the picture. Besides telling a yarn of tense suspense, the picture is concerned with a social message on civic complacency. Basis for the smoothly valued production is a story by Howard Breslin and adapted by Don McGuire. To the tiny town of Black Rock, one hot summer day in 1945, comes Spencer Tracy, war veteran with a crippled left arm. He wants to find a Japanese farmer and give him the medal won by his son in an action that left the latter dead and Tracy crippled. Tracy is greeted with an odd hostility and his own life is endangered when he puts together the reason for the cold, menacing treatment. The film is paced to draw suspense tight and keep expectancy mounting as the plot crosses the point where Tracy could have left without personal danger and plunges him into deadly menace when he becomes the hunted. There’s not a bad performance from any member of the case, each socking their characters for full value. To top it off, the movie was made in one of the best locations in the world, Lone Pine, California.

Doris Day is an incredible talent and she is brilliant in the musical Calamity Jane. Released in 1950, this film closely patterned on Annie Get Your Gun, though less stagebound and with a more wholesome star in Day. Calamity Jane follows the lengthy wooing of Howard Keel’s Wild Bill Hickok by tomboy Day. The plot offers Day and Keel ample opportunities to dress in the clothes of the opposite sex to comic and sometimes disturbing effect. David Butler’s animated direction is well suited to the material. Paul Francis Webster and Sammy Fain got an Oscar for ‘Secret Love’ as the best song of 1953. A year later, her recording of the song garnered Day her sixth million-selling record.

Written by my favorite author, Dorothy Johnson, The Who Shot Liberty Valance is western fiction at its best.  The Summary of the story is as follows:  In 1910, Sen. Ranse Stoddard and his wife, Hallie, arrive in the small town of Shinbone to attend the funeral of Tom Doniphon. A reporter questions him about his unannounced appearance, and Ranse tells about his early days as a young lawyer in Shinbone, when he opposed the ruthless rule of Liberty Valance, a notorious gunfighter.  The only other two men in the town who were unafraid of the outlaw were Dutton Peabody, a drunken but courageous newspaper editor, and Tom Doniphon, a respected rancher in love with Hallie, who was then a young waitress. Valance became outraged when Ranse was elected delegate to a territorial convention and taunted him into a duel. Hallie knew that Ranse could not handle a gun and pleaded with Tom to save Ranse; but Tom, sick of Ranse’s foolhardy bravery, refused. Late one night, Ranse and Valance faced each other on the darkened main street of the town. Several shots were fired, and although Ranse was wounded, Valance was the one who lay dead. Ranse became known as “the man who shot Liberty Valance” and was nominated to run for Congress. Unable to face a career built on a killing, he decided to refuse the nomination. Tom then appeared and confessed that it was he who, out of love for Hallie, fired from the shadows that night. Tom, in effect, became Ranse’s conscience, the force that carried him to the U. S. Senate and a brilliant career in Washington, while Tom died a pauper. Ranse’s story finished, the reporter decides not to print it because in the old West the legend had become fact.  It’s work like this that prompted Time Magazine to compare the best of Johnson’s stories to Bret Harte and Mark Twain.

Tom Selleck is perfect in this classic Louie L’Amour story set against the backdrop of Wyoming.  Selleck plays a cowboy who makes a promise to a dying friend to watch over the man’s ranch and wife, and means to keep his word.
Crossfire Trail also contains one of the best final shootouts I’ve seen. Not only is it well choreographed and understandable, it also pulls off the unique trick of resolving some minor character questions – in particular those surrounding the town sheriff (Barry Corbin), who tries to drown his self-loathing while the guns are blazing. Simply a strong and smart western, essential for classic western fans.  Mark Harmon plays a great bad guy.  It’s a pleasure watching all the truly deplorable villians get theirs.  It’s not something you’ll see anywhere but in a western.

In 1965 television took a new turn in programming, cashing in on the James Bond craze.  What developed was a sudden trend of secret agent and spy shows that literally controlled the prime-time airwaves.  The Western format that was so prominent in the 1950s and early 1960s was virtually being pushed aside, making way for intrigue, espionage and adventure.  Thank goodness someone found a way to combine the popularity of the Western series with spy power because the Wild Wild West would never have been born.  The pitch to the television executives was “James Bond on a horse.”  The concept was quickly embraced.  James T. West was the James Bond of the Westerns.  West was an undercover agent for President Grand whose assignments usually involved exposing or undermining the attempts of various radical, revolutionary, or criminal groups to take over all or part of the U.S.  Helping him was his fellow Secret Service agent, Artemus Gordon, a master of disguises and dialects.  The two of them traveled in a special railroad car that supplied them with the materials to concoct all sorts of bizarre weapons and devices to foil their adversaries.   Beautiful women, contrived situations, and fantastic devices populated this series throughout its four-year run.  One villain who had remarkable facility for evading capture, or escaping from prison if caught, was the evil genius Dr. Miguelito Loveless.  Loveless was a brilliant antagonist bent on taking over the world.  The Wild Wild West ran from September 17, 1965 to September 7, 1970.  I have watched the reruns for this show over and over again and enjoy them each time I see them.  It’s mindless fun and Robert Conrad isn’t bad to look at either.