The Mandalorian

Good day my readers and welcome back. So with the pandemic I have been asked to do a few outbreak/plague/zombie movie reviews and...no. I will maybe partake in a little of that click bait later but as of now, I would rather talk about a decent series instead. With Disney behaving like Skynet consolidating multiple companies under the Conglomerate of the Mouse, it leaves us wondering how will the Disney Star Wars hold up. Well I enjoyed Rogue One, The latter sequels have a varied effect (we won't be going into that right this minute) and the Solo prequel was...a film. So instead of that, the flavor of the last 5 months has to be the lone hunter roaming the planetary systems...catching bounties. This is The Mandalorian.

Better than Boba, baby!

As it was written following closer to the Expanded Universe (Star Wars Novels) we have a tale of a capable hunter (Pedro Pascal of Good vs Evil, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Without a Trace, The Good Wife, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, Red Widow and The Mentalist) from the Mandalorian tribes as the planetary system of Mandalore was long since attacked and unified under the Empire during a military campaign simply known as The Purge. Yeah I may have read a few Star War books. Our hunter is hot on pursuit claiming bounties left and right as a true Mandalorian does, the art of the hunt is very much part of his culture, as is wearing and brandishing weapons a part of his religion. They reveal themselves to no one as the helmet and armor is their identity. They can chose to reveal their name but it is rare the trust outside of the clan is warranted.

It's a living...

Head of the Bounty Hunter's Guild,Greef Karga (Carl Weathers of Rocky, Force 10 from Navarone, Rocky II, Death Hunt, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Predator, Action Jackson, Street Justice and In the Heat of the Night) is doling out bounty contracts left and right but pickings are slim. Not everyone in the galaxy like paying Guild costs but a private customer wants a job done and done right. The contract has been open to anyone thinking they can do the job so Mando has quite a bit of competition to deal with. Meeting with the Ugnaught tinkerer/farmer/ Blurrg rancher Kuiil (Nick Nolte of Rich Man, Poor Man, 48 Hrs.,Under Fire, Farewell to the King, Another 48 Hrs., The Prince of Tides, Blue Chips, Mulholland Falls, Nightwatch, Affliction, Hulk and The Beautiful Country) , Kuiil begins to warn Mando how many strangers are on this rock of a moon he has claimed for his own. Including one of those damn IG (Assassination Droid or Combat Model) that operate on pure logic and no emotional or behavioral protocols. Nevertheless IG-11(voiced by writer/director/actor Taika Waititi of Thor Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit and What We Do in the Shadows) find the asset to find out it is an infant. A species of slow gestation period and this puts Mando on the spot.

The commission puts our gunslinger in a moral quagmire. On one hand, he is honor bound to fulfill his contract. With the other is the contract is an abduction and handing it over to the Remnants of the Empire as his client. So what is a well-armed, well-trained fella to do?

The prophecy spoke of this one. He who will save the franchise.

Mando feels a certain responsibility for this young charge and cannot believe how much the little one's bounty has gone up. With "fellow" hunters, cut throats, raiders and the like are gunning for this child, Mando has to keep a clear head, watch his alliances and hope his skills last.

On the run, he encounters a former Heavy gunner Cara Dune (Gina Carano of Blood and Bone, Haywire, Fast & Furious 6, Almost Human, In the Blood, Heist, Extraction, Deadpool, Kickboxer: Vengeance and Scorched Earth) a woman wearing her heart on her sleeve and haunted by her demons and loss of friends in the war. Survivor's guilt for a warrior without a war.

What this show is ultimately is Space Spaghetti Western. A lone gunslinger with his own code and honor. Ruffians, back shooters and cowboy trash hate him because he is one of the best at what he does. Clients are thrilled how effective and thorough he is for each job and his liaison for the Guild loves how much money this man rakes in for him.

Thinking of his own childhood and how everything went pear shaped for Mando, he worries for the child and genuinely has feelings for him.

For those paying attention, our conflicted gunfighter has a rapport with the master armorer (Emily Swallow of Southland, The Good Wife, Monday Mornings, The Mentalist, Adoptable, Timeless and Castlevania) while she makes him the finest armor of Beskar Steel (strongest steel of Mandalore), she asks him of his hunts and if they have been successful. There is a distance between them but you almost feel as though she still considers him a young charge and not the seasoned hunter he is.

For the more keen eyed Stars Wars buff, you damn right we got Easter eggs. I will give only one spoiler though. Salicious Crumb (Jabba the Hutt's little puppet friend that attacked C-3PO in Return of the Jedi), one of his species is roasting on a spit. Damn near choked on my drink.

With director/producer Jon Favreau (Swingers, Made, The Big Empty, Dinner for Five, Iron Man Iron Man 2, Cowboys &Aliens) along side writer Dave Filoni (Star Wars Rebels, The Mandalorian, Star Wars Resistance and Star Wars: The Clone Wars) basically reworking episodes of Westerns worthy of Gunsmoke and the Virginian, the lawlessness of the galaxy is shown, mercy is in rare amounts and people tend to not stick their neck out, even for a worthy cause. But like the morals of the first three films, there will always be dreamers, warriors and adventurers in the strangest of settings, looking for a cause or an out of their own lives and fight for what's right.

Plenty of references to the original trilogy so nothing gone wrong there and saddle up cowboys, Season 2 has to be a go. They would be damn fools to let this potential goldmine sail away. Between Cosplayers already building this armor, Halloween costumes at the ready, action figures of the series and yes more than a fair share of Baby Yoda prototypes in the mix, this should do well for itself and gives us old fart Star Wars fans hope that good writing will prevail.

E-Webs are damn fun.

700th Blog!! Weird West Week: The Shadow of Chikara

Salutations youngins and welcome back for Day 4 of Weird West Week. Well we have had vampires, weeping women, monstrous gunslingers and even a dinosaur so what could possibly be next? How about we journey to Arkansas (only watching the film.. kind of a weird state) towards the last days of the Civil War, when one of the confederates knows he is not gonna make it so he tells two of his buddies of a mound of rocks that may be a treasure in the makings. This is The Shadow of Chikara a.k.a. Curse of Demon Mountain a.k.a. Demon Mountain a.k.a. The Ballad of Virgil Cane a.k.a. Thunder Mountain a.k.a. Wishbone Cutter a.k.a. Shadow Mountain.

Damn Yankees took all our bacon!!

Former Confederate Captain Wishbone Cutter (Joe Don Baker of Lancer, Wild Rover, Walking Tall, Mitchell, The Pack, To Kill a Cop, Fletch, The Living Daylights, In the Heat of the Night and GoldenEye) Irish Indian Half Moon O' Brian (Joy N. Houck Jr of Night of Bloody Horror, Creature from Black Lake, The Brain Machine and Down by Law) and mellow geologist Amos Raymond (Ted Neely of Jesus Christ Superstar, A Perfect Couple, Hard Country, Summer Camp Nightmare, Of Mice and Men and Django Unchained) decide to journey the remote regions of the Arkansas wilderness. Hopefully they avoid a collection of grossly disfigured inbred cannibalistic mountain men similar to the villains of Wrong Turn.

Rough mountain terrain moves deep into the cave their late compatriot described and discover a cache of diamonds. Wealth beyond their wildest dreams and thus far no disturbing hillbilly melee weapon wielding psychos. Then Moon recounts of a tale he has heard of demons that guard a sacred mountain and realizes it may possibly be this mountain (NOW A WARNING??!!!). Warnings aside the threesome collect as many rocks as possible but still light enough to move around the treacherous underfoot when they encounter a battered woman who claims to be the lone survivor of a vicious Indian attack. As shell shocked as she is, she tells the fellas her name is Drucilla Wilcox (Sondra Locke of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Every Which Way is Loose, Sudden Impact, Ratboy and Clean and Narrow). Wishbone less than thrilled a damn woman (his words!) is along to get in the way and may make a play for their treasure reluctantly deals with her joining the party. Methinks he is just bitter because Amos and Moon are vastly prettier than he and more likely to get the girl.

So... live around here?

The long trek back the Untouchable Trio Plus One are ambushed and confused to what is laying these onslaught of attacks. Roving band of Apaches?? The moonshiners from Deliverance? Demons watching over their sacred mountain? The answers to these questions begin to frighten the hell out of them as they become scared, paranoid and loaded with firearms. Will they strike it rich only to die for their uncovered funds? Will life be more important than the diamonds? Why does Wishbone look like Meatloaf?

A few comments on the flick now. Factually speaking diamonds were not discovered in the hills of Arkansas until 1906, 41 years AFTER the Civil War and the use of dynamite for mountaineers, farmers and railroad workers won't happen until two years after the film's set timeline because Sweden hadn't developed it yet. Aside from these mildly interesting facts, this has all the hallmarks of a 70's slow build-up Horror movie. The gradual and meticulous tone that says something spooky is on the rise but we have no idea when the trap is sprung. Painfully staked with an excellent mood altering musical score this film is low key and definitely worthy of the term Ghost Story of the Old West.

The cast is superb, the film has a fair degree of violence for PG which would be bumped to R these days and the setting has a good creep factor. Frankly this is a forgotten gem that deserves a good DVD release. The copy I saw was grainy as hell, recorded in Technicolor and mono so adjust your speakers accordingly. Curiously enough, our director/writer Earl E. Smith also created The Legend of Boggy Creek, The Town That Dreaded Sundown (Original 1976 version) and Sudden Impact. Folks I am 4 for 4 this week and loving it!!! Easiest copy to find is the title Curse of Demon Mountain.

So I'm too doughy to be the Lone Ranger?  Damn.

Wild West TV Week: Maverick

And Day 4 of Wild West TV Week is here and booming, folks.  As we look back at the fun of frontier life, fending off outlaws and trying to make order of a lawless land I thought we should look at a series that had nothing to do with that particular theme.  Instead, we focus on the underbelly of society.  Your conmen, card sharks, gamblers and hustlers looking for a easy pot of money to be had and suckers to be taken advantage of.  This is Maverick.

That "lady" had an Adam's apple and a vicious right hook.

Bret Maverick: As my old pappy used to say, you can be a gentleman and still not spoil all you know about self-defense.






Two well heeled gamblers Bret (James Garner of Cheyenne, Darby's Rangers, The Great Escape, Support Your Local Sheriff!, Rockford Files and Space Cowboys) and Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly of Forbidden Planet, She Devil, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Commandos, Young Billy Young and Get Christie Love!) happily out of the Union service are living life a day at a time, enjoying towns, women and the big score at a poker table.  Now lest you think these are not men of action; it could be concluded that both Bret and Bart saw too much death in the Civil War that neither of them wish to engage in mindless fisticuffs or gunfights.  Their action was 5 card stud and wooing crowds of looker-ons and rivaling in the profits.  But there are more then a handful of cheats, back shooters and gunslingers from town to town.  With conflicts waiting to happen, our swindlers do their level best to fast talk their way out of the impeding danger but when push comes to shove or a damsel is in distress our boys spring into action with more than their share of cowboy roundhouses and boots to the stomach.

Dapper and feeling dandy.

Roaming the frontier in search of that illusive "gold ring" or "big score" our fellas get into all sorts of mischief, aid the downtrodden and improve lives all the while swindling barbarous men at cards.  One would come to the conclusion the Maverick boys live in a certain sense of balance but I fail to see the cowardice that some viewers tend to mention.

Just a few points to be made about the show now.  With elaborate costumes and a constant altering background this was relatively inexpensive to make but only seem to have enough life for five seasons unlike shows like Bonanza lasting 14 seasons and Gunsmoke last 20 seasons.

We have two protagonists that traveled together or sometimes separately throughout the show giving plenty of alternative story arcs to work with.

GIN!  Oh dash it all, we're playing poker.

Wild West TV Week: The Big Valley

Day 3 of Wild West TV is upon us and we journey to California in Calaveras County, not to be confused with Calaveras Big Trees State Park.  This frontier land deals with the usual issues of cattle rustlers, bandits, revolutionaries and robber barons.  Only one woman can hold this family and ranch together.  This is The Big Valley.

Horse's killing my bionic butt.

Heath: Boy Howdy! I've got spoilers in places I didn't even know I had places.






Wealthy widow Victoria Barkley (Barbara Stanwyck of Meet John Doe, The Lady Eve, Double Indemnity, Sorry, Wrong Number, Crime of Passion, Wagon Train, Dynasty and The Colbys) owner of the Barkley Ranch is a stubborn, tough as nails yet refined lady in an uncivilized land.  Head of the household has to keep her land and family in order with a hybrid grace and guts. Her eldest son Jarrod (Richard Long of Matinee Theatre, House on Haunted Hill, Maverick, Bourbon Street Beat, 77 Sunset Strip and Nanny and the Professor) is a reknown and respected attorney who manages all the family's legal and business affairs and while prefers to side with the law on disputes was not above frontier law and drawing a gun when needed.  Audra the only daughter in this sea of testosterone (Linda Evans of Those Calloways,  Beach Blanket Bingo, Hunter, North and South, Book II and Dynasty) is pretty as a picture, a bit self-involved and a bit of a tomboy.

Ahh disembodied floaty hot head!!!

Last but certainly not least is the illegitimate son of the late Thomas Barkley, Heath (Lee Majors of Will Penny, The Virginian, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Fall Guy, Tour of Duty, Raven, Trojan War and The Protector) a young man that claims on his mother's deathbed, she never bothered to tell his father of his existence (Thanks mom!) and he has to stake his claim in this family to be recognized as a Barkley.  With more than 30,000 acres to watch over you almost get the same feel as Bonanza but it does have enough episodes to stand alone if not a bit similar and Stanwyck is the glue of this show from her demure performance one minute to ironclad and hard hitting the next.

A few comments about the show now.  Apparently it is Hell being a Sheriff in this region as they went through more than 5 sheriffs in 4 seasons.  Originally there was a fourth Barkley son Eugene played by Charles Briles who was in 8 episodes for season 1 but in real life he was drafted by the U.S. Army and his character was written off as he went to college and was never mentioned again.  Not even a postcard or a drop-by with dirty laundry?

Lee Majors' portrayal of Heath is to this day deemed one of the most likable characters in TV history. For his level headed attitude to his steadfast loyalty to family and friends, Heath was a stand-up guy that you could depend on in a clinch.

With guest stars of Joe Don Baker, John Carradine, Claude Akins, Judy Carne, Charles Bronson, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Oates, Jack Lord, Kathleen Nolan and William Shatner, the popularity of this show had some of the highest Nielsen ratings.
In spite of those ratings, the show was canceled after 4 seasons due to network trying to steer away from Westerns and move to a more modern TV era.  Smooth move, CBS.  Bunch of dinks.

Oh great, clutch is stuck!

Wild West TV Week: The Rifleman

Day 2 of Wild West TV Week is upon us!!!  Soon the white eye will know the agony of...  okay so I wanted to change it up now and again.   This day I thought we would focus our attention on a show that became a bit of a cliche with widow/widower with a child.  What could be more interesting than Father Knows Best with a 1892 .30-30 or a .44-40 Winchester with a custom action.  This is The Rifleman.

Pa, I'm slipping off the horse again.

Mark McCain: You hit him pretty hard, pa.
Lucas McCain: Well, he was pretty spoiled, son.






Our series is focused around Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors of Geroninmo, Flipper, Arrest and Trial, Branded, Cowboy in Africa, Support Your Local Gunfighter, The Horror at 37,000 Feet, Soylent Green, Roots and Airplane II: The Sequel) a veteran officer of the Union who received more than a few battlefield in the 8th Indiana Infantry Regiment buys a ranch out in the New Mexico Territory in the fictitious town North Fork.  He and his son Mark (Johnny Crawford of Branded, Indian Paint, Village of the Giants, El Dorado, The Naked Ape, The Great Texas Dynamite Chase, William Tell and The Thirteenth Floor).  Trying to avoid trouble and just raise his son as best as possible but this wild territory needs a firm hand and not unlike Wanted: Dead or Alive has the same 1892 rifle with a modified large ring lever allowing him rapid fire as was shown in in the opening credits and standing at 6'5"  and square jawed he cut an imposing figure.

Ladies, I know I'm your type.  I will even take my monthly bath early.

The town U.S. Marshall Micah Torrance (Paul Fix of The Big Valley, Land of the Giants, Death Valley Days, The Undefeated, Young Billy Young, El Dorado, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, The City and The Rebels) a recovering alcoholic is on and off the wagon throughout the series.  A broken man filled with tragedy and hurt, you see this secondary character evolve as he goes through his trials and tribulations.  Worried for his son's safety, McCain considers selling the ranch and moving on but sees the benefits to the growing expansion of this territory in spite of the bandits, irritated Native Americans and cattle rustlers, his son feels like they belong here and this could be a true home for them.

A few interesting notions of the series now.  More than 500 actors and celebrities made guest spots on the show such as: John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr.,  Jack Elam, Agnes Moorehead, Denver Pyle, Lee Van Cleef, Robert Culp, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dennis Hopper.  Hell, Buddy Hackett managed to stay G rated on this show as well.     Director Sam Peckinpah's directorial debut is due to The Rifleman before expanding to the realistic violence of The Wild Bunch.

Shot in sound stage Fox Western Studio for Season 1 they moved out to Paramount Ranch in Agoura California.  Connors turned down the role prior due to the low salary and producers Arthur H. Nadel and Jules V. Levy kicked around sweeting  the pot to keep Connors in the game.  Smart investment for 5 years.

Charles Atlas diet!

Wild West TV Week: Wanted: Dead or Alive

Welcome pardners to Day 1 of Wild West TV Week and I hope to have a slew of heroes and desperadoes at the ready for you.  This write-up is about a bounty hunter that with his charm, wit and million dollar smile is to this day one of the most popular actors even after his untimely death.  A man that looks like he could handle himself in a bar fight as easy as picking up a lady.   This is Wanted: Dead or Alive.

Itchy shoulder can set off an itchy trigger, see?

Josh Randal: You want your friend here to keep spoiling, don't step out of line.







Civil War veteran Josh Randall (Steve McQueen of The Blob, The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery, Never So Few, The Great Escape, Nevada Smith, The Thomas Crowne Affair, The Getaway, Papillon, The Towering Inferno and The Hunter) is a bounty hunter by trade and brings the horse thieves and back shooters in dead or alive.  A lone operator in a sea of despicable men he roams the countryside on horseback looking for profitable outlaws.  The pilot episode has him visiting the local US Marshall Jeff Wilcox (John Cliff of Riverboat, Bat Masterson, Oklahoma Territory, Maverick, Perry Mason and That Darn Cat!) looking for one Andy Martin's bounty when he is ambushed but Andy's younger brother who cold cocks him with a pistol and then drills the Marshall.

It's NOT ALRIGHT since I picked that fight!!!

Randall wakes up with a headache and a plethora of accusations and he probably sprung this outlaw and got double-crossed.  Vengeance isn't so much swift in this town but they put an express land in it.  Randall clocks the two loud mouths, rides out of town and goes after the Martin boys to clear his name and avenge his friend Wilcox.  What treachery will be waiting for him along the way?  Will the Martin brothers have a gang to match Randall?  Interesting trivia in this, prior to being Little Joe via Bonanza, Michael Landon is a back shooter in the pilot episode and doesn't look a day over I Was a Teenage Werewolf era.

With influences like John Wayne of the big screen totting a 30.30 carbine rifle with longer barrel, custom action to chamber rounds faster or a maple wood stock to make it lighter.  This show took a different spin on this old thing that has armchair historians crapping themselves in anger.  It's just poor research, people.  Randall's Mare is a sawed off 1892 Winchester 94 which is his primary firearm giving him more rounds in a gun fight.   Now the Weekend Gunslingers got their spurs in a knot about the show being set in 1870's and therefore Randall's weapon does not exist yet and then they go on endlessly about the practicality of that chopped down rifle used like a club and blah blah blah.  Sorry McQueen is prettier than you, fellas but you really need a hobby.

The theme of the anti-hero was not uncommon for the latter 50's and early 60's with TV and Movies but this is possibly the first truly likable anti-hero.  Josh has been pinned down in some box canyon giving away the better chunk of his earned money to the families of the victims or just to see the victim gets a proper burial.  Helping folks under siege from an Indian attack (I will be hard pressed to find a true Native American in the lot), bandits holding up banks or even a good old fashion train robbery, Randall has the uncanny ability to be the right guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Could have something to do with the writing of course.

Take it, Phil. I'm inbred and illiterate, remember?

Wild West TV Week

Hey there! Now before you roll your eyes and groan, "Jake, you have already done a Western TV spot before."  I would point out that the 50's and the 60's produced a slew of Western TV shows and I covered some of the most popular but I did not cover every Western I wanted to.   I also made mention that I would eventually get back to it and give it some life to the readers that are not familiar with these particular shows.

Heeeeeeere's..... Steve McQueen?

The basis of the week is to touch (not bad touch) on a few that were beloved but some barely reside in DVD land and are still relegated to piss poor VHS copies that have had anything from being in the direct sun too long or the VCR chew the tape something fierce and cannot be replaced.  Most of the series I will be reviewing this week can be found on the Encore channel so set the DVR up and record those bad boys.

Chuck Connors for the NRA.

So relax in the easy chair or couch and try to take in some of these classics and don't spoil it by counting how many rounds from each six shooter or rifle have been fired.  Just accept they are on God Mode and they have Infinite ammo.

Indiana Jones Week: The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Day 5 of Indiana Jones Week and yes we still are NOT reviewing Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. YAY!!!!   For reasons following that, how about another Young Indy adventure?  This time around I thought I would bring us stateside with Indy surviving the horrors of High School, being a soda jerk and dating Nancy Stratemeyer (daughter of Edward Stratemeyer, creator of the Bobsy Twins, Tom Swift and Nancy Drew).  Not too interesting, you say?  How about a Spring Break that ends with a Mexican Revolution?   This is The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure.

Father drones on after a few sherries. 

Pancho Villa:  I thought I was riding with men, not killers.  Soldiers and heroes not looking for more spoilers to be spilled.




In February 1916 with Spring Break on the rise, Indy (Sean Patrick Flanery of The Storyteller, Into the Fire, Masters of Horror, The Insatiable, Stephen King's Dead Zone and Dexter) is itching to take his gal Nancy (Robin Lively of Wildcats, Teen Witch, The Karate Kid, Part III, A Deadly Obsession and The Wrong Woman) to the prom.  But Mr. Stratemeyer is busy with the latest Tom Swift and hasn't the time to have the car repaired before the dance.  Thomas Edison's assistant Professor Thompson (Mark L. Taylor of Innerspace, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Arachnophobia) assures Indy he can fix the generator to the car when thugs steals Edison's new battery design plus the prototype.  With the break-in, the theft of both plans and battery swiped and word of German spies; Nancy and Indy try to unravel the mystery.

Gee whiz, bicycles don't get you girls!

The adventure doesn't end there when Indy travels with his father to visit family in Albuquerque New Mexico where Indy goes "camping" with his cousin Frank (Stephen Graf of No Job for a Lady, Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal and 6:41) to Columbus New Mexico for a taste of a good ole brothel.  Unbeknownst to the boys, Pancho Villa (Mike Moroff of La Bamba, Robocop, Cage, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn) and his revolutionaries had raided the town for goods and supplies.  Indy chases the bandito Francois (Francesco Quinn of Platoon, Casablanca Express, Murder Blues, Top Dog, Nowhere Land and The Young and the Restless) jumps the guy and the two start grappling.  Indy is taken at gun point thinking this is the end when Villa is less than pleased with this petty behavior, chastises the men and they fall in line.
Stirred by the General's passion and words, Indy joins the revolution and carries on the fight to free Mexico as the US forces seethe their way into Mexico waging war against the revolutionaries at the request of the Mexican government.

A few comments to make about the film now.   During the riding sequence, Flanery got to ride Tornado, the horse Harrison Ford rode in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  This episode is later referenced in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as Indy talks with Mutt.

 Mike Moroff's grandfather actually rode alongside the actual Pancho Villa and his aunt received love letters from the revolutionary himself which Moroff inherited.  A true piece of history in Moroff's eyes.

One more Frito Bandito joke and you are off the picture!

Western TV Week: Gunsmoke

Howdy buckaroos and welcome to the finale of Western TV Week.  Now given I had not seen this series prior to this write-up I got to find out all sorts of facts.  Placed in the surrounding area of Dodge City Kansas this is the first of the TV Westerns to be shown in the Midwestern states rather than the West coast.   So get your daisy suits cleaned, polish them spurs and prep for one mighty fine shindig.  This is Gunsmoke.

Hmm wonder how Peter Graves is doing.

Festus: Spoiler Dillon!!!!

Right off the first episode you get a feeling this show is going to have a sense of style to it.  It gets introduced by the Duke himself, John Wayne.  Giving praises to both the show and cast members.  Not too shabby for right out of the gate and was adapted from the same name titled radio show to television.

Deputy US Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness of The Thing from Another World, Iron Man, Hellgate, Hondo, Them! And McClain’s Law) dispenses justice in Dodge City and the surrounding areas.   Having two regular deputies Festus Haggen (Ken Curtis of Rio Grande, The Searchers, The Killer Shrews, The Giant Gila Monster and Ripcord) a cantankerous grump and Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver of Touch of Evil, Kentucky Jones, Gentle Ben, Duel and McCloud) a scrappy fellow with a good gun hand, Dillon had the authority to deputize anyone of use and wanting to serve the good folk of Dodge City and the surrounding territories.   Keeping the peace with compassion but backed up with six shooters and rifles.

Low down horse thieving...Hey is that Scotty?!!

One of notoriety in my opinion is the half breed Indian blacksmith, Quint (Burt Reynolds of Dan August, Deliverance, Shamus, White Lighting, The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit and Malone) whose main role was to go into a residing town and apparently get the crap wailed out of him.  Granted Quint gave as well as he got but still lay off the poor guy.    

When the fellas are not out keeping the peace, they are taking in a show at the Long Branch Saloon to catch Miss Kathleen “Kitty” Russel (Amanda Blake of Sunny Side of the Street, Lili, A Star is Born, The Red Skelton Hour and Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge) who is quite the eyeful.  Miss Kitty is the sole proprietor of the saloon/hotel/brothel and yet was never viewed as a madam in the town’s eye but a business woman.

 

Gator McKlusky??!!!

A few points of interest I thought I would bring up.  While the story takes place in Dodge City; there are more than a few locations that look awfully familiar.  Such as Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, Paramount Ranch, Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth California and Simi Valley.  For most of the interior shots from anything to a gunfight to a bar room brawl we can surmise these shots took place in the CBS Studio Center as well as California Studios for the in-depth rafter lighting for the bar’s interior shots.

Miss Kitty takes no guff.

Also the barrage of guest stars of the show such as Claude Akins, Ed Asner, James Doohan, Barbara Eden, Leif Garrett, Beverly Garland, Jodie Foster and Dennis Hopper  just to name a handful.  Lasting for 20 years this Western truly gripped the imagination.

Western TV Week: Rawhide

Welcome back folks to Day 4 of Western TV Week and boy I sure do hope I haven’t caught you lot at the other end of the cracker barrel!  Yeah I can’t do old west colloquiums so sue me.  This fine day I thought we would saunter into a cattle drive with a stern but fair trail boss Gil Favor.  So throw a blanket on that horse before you saddle it, keep your gunpowder and your pants dry.  This is Rawhide.

 

Jeepers I hates this neckerchief!

 Gil Favor: It’s not the roundin’ up and the ropin’ and the branding of the spoiler that’s the big problem for ranchers. It’s getting’ ‘em to market-  fifteen hundred bone weary miles from the the southern tip of Texas to the railhead at Sedalia.

You know you are in good company with a fella name of Gil Favor (Eric Fleming of Joan of Arc. Conquest of Space, Fright, Queen of Outer Space and Curse of the Undead) one of the best dangnabbit trail bosses this side of the Ponderosa.   Carnswallot I can manage these comments!

Give us your lupines!!!

 With Gil is his trusted ranch hand and dead shot Rowdy Yates (Clint Eastwood of Ambush of Cimarron Pass, A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, Hang ‘Em High, Where Eagles Dare, Kelly’s Heroes, Dirty Harry and City Heat) and Yates’ sidekick the cantankerous Wishbone (Paul Brinegar of Hell on Devil’s Island, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Vampire, Copper Sky, How to Make a Monster and Country Boy). As their new herds get in and across the lands, trouble always seems a brewing.  Plenty of cattle rustlers, card sharks and crooked politicians as much as the Cartwrights…the difference being our beef cattle hands were in a new location every episode.    Not to be sticklers on a tight schedule our riders would stop to help settlers from an Indian attack, farm folk that got jumped by raiders and the occasional silver miner that was flogged away from his claim.  

 

Here are just a few notes I made about the series.   This was the competition of Paramount as a Universal Studios production and it lasted 8 years and was the fifth longest running Western show next to exceeded only by 8 years of Wagon Train, 9 years of The Virginian, 14 years of Bonanza and 20 years of Gunsmoke.     The first 3 years of Rawhide were in glorious black and white and then Technicolor reared its evil head and ensnared the show.   Locations had to vary from the standard studio lots of Universal Studios as well as Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park and Simi Valley California for most of the trail shots.  Red Rock Canyon State Park got a fair amount of use during Indian raids against the cattle hands.  Yeah the portrayals of Native Americans from 1935 to 1975 are not the most flattering.    

Well cow, did I fire 6 times or only 5?

CBS Studio Center had a fair amount of sound stages for the local towns but just watch a few episodes and you will notice more than a few similar sets per town.   This is was a big career changer for Eastwood as at the time in question he was better known for Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns.

Western TV Week: The Wild Wild West

Back again kids and welcome to Western TV Week and let’s kick off this shindig right with embracing right after the Civil War we still have dangers to the country so President Grant enlisted some deep cover operatives for a long term operation.  So let’s dust off your spurs, grab your Stetson and your six-shooter.  This is The Wild Wild West.

 

Yes ladies I am a bit sweaty.

James T. West: It wasn’t your spoiler.

Lydia Monteran: It was…until you made me give it back.

Under the order of President Grant, James T. West (Robert Conrad of Sea Hunt, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Young Dillinger, The Bandits, The D.A., Assignment Vienna, Black Sheep Squadron, Centennial and The Lady in Red) a Civil War veteran and military intelligence officer is assigned to a long term deep undercover agent as well as his partner who is a master of disguise and tinkerer Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin of Geronimo, The Ceremony, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, The Return of Charlie Chan, Vega$ and Jana of the Jungle).  West is decked out as an East Coast dandy with a private train and more than a few bucks to spare for the expansion.   

Snap out of it, West! You've been playing 8 ball all day!

With no back up, no real cavalry to speak of these two men are outfitted with the true sense of steampunk based weapons.  Hidden blades, unusual firearms and a few odds and ends stave off warlords, privateers and banditos.    During the midst of this madcap tales there were plenty of reoccurring villains such as; Doctor Loveless (Michael Dunn of Ship of Fools, Get Smart, Burke’s Law, You’re a Big Boy Now and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) and Count Carlos Mario Vincenzo Robespierre Manzeppi (Victor Buono of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Batman and Target: Harry) both note worthy rogues in this den of thieves.  When West and Gordon are not trading punches and bullets they are wooing the ladies and let’s face it, a private train is the cat’s meow fellas.  Methinks that pool table got more than a few things racked on it.

And now I have just a few points to make about the show itself.  Primarily shot around Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth California as well as many horseback chases and gunfights found in a popular Paramount shooting location known as the Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, commonly used for Gunsmoke, Star Trek and The Planet of the Apes films.   Another very popular location for filming was Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park for its more hilly terrain and greenery as it has been shot for TV show such as: Bonanza, Star Trek, Gunsmoke, Knight Rider and MacGyver. 

Mmm...hope she comes with the house.

This show is a conglomerate of Ian Fleming’s James Bond savvy, the hard hitting western era and a smidgeon of Jules Vernes science fiction.  Our villains could double for the 1930’s serials or comic book characters.  You commonly saw anything from a secret society in the wings to mad scientists, revolutionaries of the Mexican Army, former Confederates to corrupt politicians feathering their own nest of ill repute.   I always got a kick out of the newest invention or mad scientist weapon of mass destruction every other week.

Western TV Week

Howdy pardners and welcome to the mass conglomerate that is TV Westerns.  And boy howdy we have more than a few to get through this week and I hope yer six guns and spurs are clean and ready for action. So I will meet you in the tavern for a boilermaker and a round of cards.  Remember there is a no tolerance for cheaters.

I hope you all enjoy and again feel free to drop suggestions, comments and complaints so I know how I am doing.

I crap bigger than you!