Tagged: The Old West
Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight
Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight (2015)
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Samuel L. Jackson as Maj. Marquis Warren, bounty hunter and veteran Union Army cavalry officer
Wyoming Territory, Winter 1877
Film: The Hateful Eight
Release Date: December 25, 2015
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Courtney Hoffman
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy birthday to Samuel L. Jackson! Born December 21, 1948, the actor hustled for two decades before his breakthrough performance as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction (1994), his first of six collaborations with Quentin Tarantino, and he is currently the highest-grossing actor of all time with his films having collectively grossed more than $27 billion worldwide.
The actor’s most recent prominent role in a QT joint was the wintry western The Hateful Eight, released ten years ago this month on Christmas 2015, and an appropriate watch for tonight’s winter solstice.
Jackson leads the ensemble cast as Major Marquis Warren, a former Union Army cavalry officer now working as a bounty hunter who prides himself on his deadly reputation:
My bounties never hang, ’cause I never bring ’em in alive.
Paul Schneider as Dick Liddil in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Paul Schneider and Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
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Paul Schneider as Dick Liddil, smooth-talking outlaw and incorrigible “innamoratu”
Missouri and Kentucky, Fall 1881
Film: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Release Date: September 21, 2007
Director: Andrew Dominik
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The James Gang committed over 25 bank, train, and stagecoach robberies from 1867 to 1881. But, except for Frank and Jesse James, all of the original members were either now dead or in prison. So, for their last robbery at Blue Cut, the brothers recruited a gang of petty thieves and country rubes, culled from the local hillsides.
— Hugh Ross’ narration from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Based on the last few months of the infamous bandit leader’s life, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford illustrates how Jesse (Brad Pitt) and Frank James (Sam Shepard) had fallen from their notorious “glory days” of riding with the Youngers, now reduced to a band of fanboy ruffians like the simple-minded Ed Miller (Garret Dillahunt) and brothers Charley (Sam Rockwell) and Bob Ford (Casey Affleck). One of the more capable members of this new iteration of the gang is Dick Liddil (Paul Schneider), though even he seems more interested in how many women he can “diddle”. Continue reading
Hour of the Gun: James Garner’s “Vendetta Ride” Wardrobe as Wyatt Earp
James Garner as Wyatt Earp in Hour of the Gun (1967)
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James Garner as Wyatt Earp, taciturn Deputy U.S. Marshal
Arizona Territory to Mexico, Spring 1882
Film: Hour of the Gun
Release Date: November 1, 1967
Director: John Sturges
Wardrobe Credit: Gordon T. Dawson
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
A decade after he released Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1957, director John Sturges returned to the legendary gunfight at Tombstone, Arizona for his continuation of the story, Hour of the Gun. While Gunfight at the O.K. Corral fictionalized the events leading up to the titular confrontation, Hour of the Gun begins with the showdown followed by a slightly more fact-based retelling of the “vendetta ride” led by Wyatt Earp, who died 96 years ago today on January 13, 1929. Continue reading
Lee Van Cleef as “Angel Eyes” in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Lee Van Cleef in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
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Lee Van Cleef as “Angel Eyes”, ruthless mercenary
New Mexico Territory, Spring 1862
Film: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
(Italian title: Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo)
Release Date: December 23, 1966
Director: Sergio Leone
Costume Designer: Carlo Simi
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today would have been the 100th birthday of Lee Van Cleef, the actor whose Golden Boot Award-winning contributions to the Western genre began with his debut performance in the iconic High Noon (1952) but remains arguably best known for his back-to-back roles in the latter two films of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars trilogy” that established the spaghetti Western subgenre.
Born January 9, 1925 in New Jersey, Van Cleef served in the U.S. Navy aboard a minesweeper during World War II. Following his debut in High Noon, Van Cleef’s distinctive appearance and sinister mannerisms resulted in a string of supporting—and often villainous—roles in crime stories and Westerns until his breakout role as Colonel Douglas Mortimer in Leone’s For a Few Dollars More (1965), which resulted in his sole Golden Globe nomination.
Leone followed For a Few Dollars More with the Civil War-set The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly—the final installment of his so-called “Dollars trilogy”—which also prominently co-starred Van Cleef opposite Clint Eastwood’s stoic “Man with No Name”. As opposed to the more heroic Colonel Mortimer whose violent quest was driven by a sense of justice, Van Cleef’s character in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly embodied the eponymous “Bad”—a sadistic assassin who kills for money… and occasionally pleasure. Continue reading
Robert Mitchum’s Western Wear in River of No Return
Robert Mitchum with Marilyn Monroe in River of No Return (1954)
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Robert Mitchum as Matt Calder, taciturn farmer, widowed father, and convicted back-shooter
Pacific Northwest, Summer 1875
Film: River of No Return
Release Date: April 30, 1954
Director: Otto Preminger
Costume Designer: Travilla
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The first week of August would contain major milestones in the lives of Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe, two of the biggest stars of the ’50s, as Mitchum was born August 6, 1917, and Monroe died August 4, 1962. Mitchum and Monroe shared the screen just once, as the leads in Otto Preminger’s western River of No Return.
Released 70 years ago at the end of April 1954, River of No Return was a refreshingly small-scaled, personal, and generally non-violent story in contrast to the classic westerns associated with John Wayne and John Ford at the time. Indeed, Frank Fenton’s screenplay was adapted from a story by Louis Lantz that had itself been inspired by the 1948 Italian film Bicycle Thieves. Most was filmed on location in Calgary through the summer of 1953, followed by studio shots in L.A. and long shots in Idaho, where the Salmon River doubled for the eponymous waterway.
Mitchum stars as Matt Calder, a widower recently released from prison who seeks his virtually unknown nine-year-old son Mark (Tommy Rettig) who had been left in them care of saloon singer Kay Weston (Marilyn Monroe) in a rowdy northwestern boomtown. After the reunited father and son save Kay and her fiancé Harry (Rory Calhoun) from the dangerous rapids near their homestead, Harry attacks Matt and absconds with his horse while Kay remains with the Calders.
Eventually, Matt, Kay, and Mark take Harry’s log craft to embark on a journey down the treacherous river to confront Harry in Council City. “The Indians call it the River of No Return,” Matt explains to Kay and Mark. “From here on, you’ll find out why.” Continue reading
Once Upon a Time in the West: Charles Bronson as Harmonica
Charles Bronson in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
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Charles Bronson as “Harmonica”, vengeful drifter
Arizona, circa 1875
Film: Once Upon a Time in the West
(Italian title: C’era una volta il West)
Release Date: December 21, 1968
Director: Sergio Leone
Costume Designer: Carlo Simi
Background
After establishing the spaghetti Western with the popular “Dollars trilogy”, Sergio Leone had intended to move away from the genre until Paramount Pictures compelled him to follow up his success with another Western. With Paramount’s substantial budget in his coffers, Leone reteamed with iconic composer Ennio Morricone and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli, working with Dario Argento and Bernardo Bertolucci (and, once production began, also Sergio Donati) to conceptualize the vengeance-driven epic that would become Once Upon a Time in the West.
Unlike the Dollars trilogy, which invariably starred Clint Eastwood among a mostly Italian and Spanish cast (with the rare exception for Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach), Once Upon a Time in the West featured a cast well-known to Americans, led by Henry Fonda playing one of the few villains of his career. The cast also included Claudia Cardinale (who was a Tunisian-born Italian actress but known to Americans thanks to films like The Pink Panther), Jason Robards, Keenan Wynn, American Western regulars like Jack Elam and Woody Strode, and Charles Bronson, who was recruited after Eastwood turned down the role. Continue reading
Brad Pitt as Jesse James
Brad Pitt as Jesse James in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
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Brad Pitt as Jesse James, legendary outlaw
Missouri, Fall 1881 through Spring 1882
Film: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Release Date: September 21, 2007
Director: Andrew Dominik
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris
Background
An old adage advises us to never meet our heroes, as they’re sure to disappoint. This theme permeates one of my favorite Westerns, Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, depicting the months leading up to the titular betrayal that surprised the country 140 years ago today.
All these years later, Jesse James remains a household name, wisely portrayed on screen by A-lister Brad Pitt to reinforce to audiences the presence that the bandit would have commanded during his heyday. Continue reading
Paul Newman’s Tan Work Jacket as Butch Cassidy
Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
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Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy, affable leader of the Hole-in-the-Wall bandit gang
Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, Fall 1898
Film: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Release Date: September 23, 1969
Director: George Roy Hill
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
“He speaks well and quickly, and has been all his life a leader of men; but if you asked him, he would be damned if he could tell you why,” William Goldman introduced Robert Leroy Parker in his Academy Award-winning screenplay, inspired by the true story of Parker and his partner-in-crime Harry Longabaugh… aka Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, respectively. Continue reading
Glenn Ford in 3:10 to Yuma
Glenn Ford as Ben Wade in 3:10 to Yuma (1957)
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Glenn Ford as Ben Wade, bandit leader
Arizona Territory, 1880s
Film: 3:10 to Yuma
Release Date: August 7, 1957
Director: Delmer Daves
Costume Designer: Jean Louis
Background
Looking for a movie to watch on 3/10? I recommend 3:10 to Yuma, the swift, suspenseful, and compelling Western based on an early short story by Elmore Leonard.
Modern audiences may be more familiar with the 2007 adaptation starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale as the outlaw and the rancher, respectively, though the original black-and-white version was produced in 1957, four years after Leonard’s story was published in Dime Western Magazine.
A decade before revisionist Westerns would become fashionable in “New Hollywood”, the original 3:10 to Yuma followed in the allegorical tradition of High Noon (1952) with complex characters and moral questions that paint a worldview where the concept of right and wrong are less black and white than the cinematography.
Clint Eastwood as “The Man with No Name” in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Clint Eastwood as Blondie, aka “the Man with No Name”, in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
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Clint Eastwood as Blondie, aka “the Man with No Name”, taciturn bounty hunter
New Mexico Territory, Spring 1862
Film: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
(Italian title: Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo)
Release Date: December 23, 1966
Director: Sergio Leone
Costume Designer: Carlo Simi
Background
Today marks the 90th birthday of screen legend Clint Eastwood, born May 31, 1930, in San Francisco. (Between John Wayne on May 26, James Stewart on May 20, and Gary Cooper on May 7, there must be something about being in born in May that positions an actor for stardom in the Western genre!)
After Eastwood’s initial success on the TV series Rawhide, he traveled to Italy to star in a trio of Westerns directed by Sergio Leone, firmly establishing the significance of the “spaghetti Western”. In A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), Eastwood ostensibly played a variation of the same mysterious, laconic gunfighter alternately known as Joe, Manco, or Blondie, respectively, but immortalized in cinema as “the Man with No Name.”
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