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.

Western TV Week : Bonanza

Hey cowpokes and welcome back for Day 3 of Western TV Week.  I thought we would check in on a family homestead that touched America’s heart and tickled its fancy.  A family that more fist fights than Ike and Tina yet always knew how to connect. Ranching can be a difficult undertaking, and in the Ponderosa you could be dealing with anything from cattle rustlers to die hard gunfighters.  It is always best to be on the sheriff’s side when that happens, however I am here to tell you it’s alright when you pick a fight.  This is Bonanza.

 

Lorne Greene's duh face.

Ben Cartwright: Look at it, Adam. Feast thine eyes on a spoiler that approacheth Heaven itself.

Unlucky in love but lucky at cards thrice widowed Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene of Sailor of Fortune, The Buccaneer, Griff and Battlestar Galactica) tends to his 600,000 acre ranch in Lake Tahoe.  A fine place to raise your kids and boy howdy if Ben doesn’t have the politest boys around like his eldest Adam (Pernell Roberts of The Silent Gun, Four Rode Out, Mission: Impossible, Vega$ and The Love Boat) the architect that designed the ranch house, His biggin’ beasty of a boy Eric a.k.a. Hoss (Dan Blocker of Cheyenne, Gunsmoke, The Restless Gun, Cimarron City and Lady in Cement) who built the ranch by knocking over trees with his bare hands(my guess) and youngest boy and a bit of a heart throb, Joseph ‘ Little Joe’ (Michael Landon of Crossroads, Telephone Time, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, High School Confidential!, Luke and the Tenderfoot and Little House on the Prairie) and each son in question is from these different mothers.

You touching me Steve.

Apparently in the 50’s the mother was not allowed to live.   From week to week the Cartwrights got in typical western shenanigans consisting of horse thieves, irate Indians, gunfighters with too much rye in their belly and more than a few bank robbers.  The MacGuffin device of this series was they went into town, it got robbed.  They went to a neighborly farm, Apaches attempt to burn it to the ground and ravage the women. 

And now I have just a few points of observation of the show.  

This is one of the few American shows that managed to go to 14 seasons.   While the show was to take place in Lake Tahoe, primarily the show was filmed on both Stage 17 and Stage 18 in Paramount Studios and Chavez Ravine, Elysian Park, Los Angeles.  Amazingly enough this is one of the few Western TV series that was not shot in Vasquez Rocks for their fist and gun fights as well as long drawn horseback chases.   Holcomb Valley was more for the range warfare and drawn out gun battles.  

Hehe, not a thought in her little head.

Apparently any female even remotely interested in the Cartwrights seem to do die around them.  All kidding aside this was a pretty common reoccurrence.   They are just death to all that hold internal sexual organs.  My theory is some family curse that was thrust upon Ben Cartwright and all of his kin.

Western Week: Rio Bravo

Hey all!  We as we end Western Week I thought we’d finish on a Howard Hawks Film of notoriety.  What do you get when you put two singing legends alongside the Duke in a heaping round of gunfights and fist fights and toss in some eye candy by the name Angie Dickinson?   Well pardners, grab your six guns, check your ammo and board up those windows.  This is Rio Bravo.

Why yes it is only a one horse town.

Dagnab Spoilers!!

Small town sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne of Red River, 3 Godfathers, Rio Grande, The Sea Chase, The Searchers, El Dorado, Chisum, Rio Lobo and Big Jake) arrests a gutless well connected man Joe Burdette (Claude Akins of Gunsmoke, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Movin’ On, Kiss Me, Kill Me, B.J. and the Bear, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo and Murder, She Wrote) prepares to take him to stand trial to the Presidio for murder. His brother Nathan (John Russell of Soldiers of Fortune, Lawman, It Takes a Thief, Alias Smith and Jones, and Pale Rider) will not abide by that decision and shells out plenty of dinero to buy himself a helluva posse to bottleneck the town so Chance can’t take Joe to trial.  His steadfast backup deputies consist of a crippled old grump named Stumpy (Walter Brennan of To Have and Have Not, How the West Was Won, The Real McCoys, The Tycoon, The Guns of Will Sonnett and To Rome with Love) an washed up drunk named Dude (Dean Martin of That’s My Boy, Road to Bali, The Caddy, Living It Up, Some Came Running, The Silencers, 5 Card Stud and Airport).  A well meaning citizen, Wheeler offers his gun hand but Chance can’t accept because he knows his friend has never known the life.   A slick kid with a pretty boy face and twin six shooters name of Colorado (Ricky Nelson of Here Come the Nelsons, Love and Kisses, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, The Over-the-Hill Gang and The Streets of San Francisco) seem to need not prove himself to Chance and Chance respects that. 

That hippie went this away. git 'em!

That evening at The Robantes’ Saloon, they register a complaint (No it was not a Norwegian Blue) about some card sharks at the gambling table.   A dishy redhead name of Feathers (Angie Dickinson of I Married a Woman, Cry Terror!, Big Bad Mama, Police Woman, Dressed to Kill, Death Hunt, Cassie & Co., Wild Palms and Sabrina) has less than standing in Lady Luck’s circle as her husband is a known card hustler.  She claims innocence and tells Chance to toss her room if he still thinks she is a cheat.  Colorado steps in pointing out that it may be a different rascal after all.  Chance aided of Colorado’s keen eye spots the swindler and has him locked in his room.   Wheeler gets gunned down in the back and Colorado offers his support.     Chance and Dude manage to get the back shooter but the week isn't over yet.

Nathan claims to visit his brother the next day and Chance points out how he and his men to need to disappear or there could be an accident to befell Joe.     Colorado clearly with not enough sense throws in with Chance and his lot as the odds is stacked pretty high against them.  

Dammit, what is my line?

And now comes the part of my need to make a few observations of our movie.   Most of the film was in location of Old Tucson in Tucson Arizona as well as Stage 5 and 26 in Burbank California.  This film had such an impact on writer/director/editor/composer John Carpenter he said the whole basis of this movie is the reason he created Assault on Precinct 13.   What I have always found fascinating about Howard Hawks movies is the staging.  His characters are always in unusual and interesting places where they are constantly moving throughout streets or the collection of buildings.  Bit like it is a performance art piece.  Not necessarily with dialogue spoken but there is always an array of expressions and emotions on their faces as it seems they are mentally preparing themselves for the day ahead.  This is another film were I would recommend to film students to get some blocking technique down.

Heh one last note, John Wayne just hums along with Ricky and Dean as they clearly can carry a tune in a bucket but hey we can’t have every talent now, can we?