The Star Packer is one of John Wayne’s early, early westerns and, as such, is as formulaic as they come. It features Wayne alongside regular sidekick George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, with whom he made fifteen films from 1933 to 1943, although this time he’s the baddie. It tells the tale of stranger who […]
Hang ‘Em High is my favorite Clint Eastwood Western. Yes, most would choose a true spaghetti western like The Good, The Bad and the Ugly or A Fistful of Dollars, but Hang ‘Em High is an American film through and through. And if there is a genre that benefits from true American roots, […]
Blazing Saddles is Mel Brooks’ boldest film. Not by today’s standards, of course. In an age more defined by American Pie, it’s rather tame. Only it’s liberal use of the “N” word qualifies as being in any way shocking in this day and age.
But back when it was first released, it was […]
Now, I’ve been a big fan of Bob Hope since the days of my youth, when the local independant station used to show his movies every saturday or Sunday morning. (This is also the cause of my love for Godzilla and Blondie movies.) But ever since then, my favorite has been Son of […]
Viewed November 8, 2006
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter would probably qualify as the strangest western I’ve ever seen if I hadn’t already seen Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (made the same year by the same production team). These were the last two films directed by William Beaudine, whose career stretched back to 1915. […]
Viewed October 29, 2006
The Paleface is a pretty standard entry from Buster Keaton during his pre-feature days. It’s a funny little short about a white man who is taken for a god by a tribe on American Indians on the verge of losing their land to an oil baron.
There are plenty of Buster’s trademark […]
Viewed October 7, 2006
In Old Caliente is a formulaic western starring a pre-Dale Evens Roy Rogers and his usual sidekick from this era, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes. The most interesting aspect of the film is the portrayal of racial tensions between the Hispanic populace and incoming white settlers.
It’s basically a typical story of treachery and […]
Viewed August 18, 2006
Home On The Range at one point looked to be the last traditional animated film fom Walt Disney Feature Animation. Then CEO Michael Eisner, stung by the relative failure of the last few Disney animated features, declared that, starting with 2005’s Chicken Little, all Disney animated features would be computer generated. […]
Viewed July 29, 2006
Pony Express Days tells the tale of the brief lifespan of the Pony Express. George Reeves plays Bill Cody and much of the focus of the short is on his desire to ride for the Express. Things come to a head when secession talk in California leads to a desperate […]
Viewed July 15, 2006
West of Hot Dog is Stan Laurel’s parody of the 1922 film West of the Pecos. It follows the travails of a young “tenderfoot” who travels to the West to claim his inheritance from a deceased uncle. Along the way, he runs afoul of a group of bandits determined to […]
Viewed April 18, 2006
Quigley Down Under is the story of Matthew Quigley, a sharpshooter (a sniper, really) brought to Australia by Elliot Marston (Alan Rickman), a landowner who wants Quigley to use his skills to take out the aboriginies who are giving him trouble. When Quigley refuses (rather violently), he finds himself dropped in […]
Viewed March 15, 2006
Joe Kidd stars Clint Eastwood a year after his seminal Dirty Harry, riding high on the cool persona he had cultivated in “Spaghetti Westerns” in the 60s. Although it sees Eastwood playing a part very similar to those he played in films such as The Good, The Bad and the Ugly […]
Viewed February 9, 2006
The “Carry On” gang tackle the American western in Carry On Cowboy and it proves to be a very entertaining entry, if not one of the best.
The main problem is, I must admit, the accents. Kenneth Williams does allright, as does Joan Sims. But Sid James’ accent is so bad […]
Viewed January 28, 2006
Out West is a much stronger entry than the last couple of Arbuckle/Keaton shorts. A parody of westerns (naturally), it successfully tells its short tale without letting the jokes fall by the wayside.
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle still hasn’t recaptured the positive nature that he displayed in The Butcher Boy, but he’s at […]
Viewed January 13, 2006
Okay, so I’ve been on a bit of a “Kong” kick this past week. After watching the new King Kong (2005) in theaters and the original on DVD, I was in the mood for more giant gorilla antics, so I also watched the two classic follow-up pictures. (I’ll save King […]