B-1/2 Westerns

[mrsl]

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The Encore Western channel has had a lot of these B-1/2 westerns on in the month of May. I call them that because they are not good enough or have a strong enough cast to fall into the 'A' category, but they're better than the average 'B' movie. Shootout at Medicine Bend, The Lawless Breed, and Hombre' are a few of them. One is Randolph Scott, another is Rock Hudson, and finally Paul Newman in his early days of starring roles. They will all hold your interest for the short 90 to 120 minutes utilized, and it's kind of fun to see these eventual superstars as they were in the beginning, when they were just learning.

I'm a little angry with all the old western cowboy TV programs they are running, but at least they are good ones. I'm getting to learn about The Virginian since I never saw it on primetime, and now and then a Have Gun will Travel will spark a memory of the original viewing when I was a very young mother. I miss The Big Valley and the Rifleman and hope those will be returning eventually, but there are a lot of others to choose from, especially the Warner Brothers corrall along with Cheyenne we might also get Sugarfoot, Bronco, and The Rebel. Especially good are the 90 minute episodes of Cimarron Strip on Saturday, and hopefully that will lead to High Chapparal. I'm crossing my fingers on that one.
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[stuart.uk]

Anne

Laramie with Robert Fuller and John Smith is a series worth watching. I have a friend who had a crush on Fuller's Jess Harper when the show aired in the early 60s. I have often thought of after one hit western show Wanted Dead Or Alive Steve Mqueen hit the big time with The Magnificent Seven, while playing the same character Vin in The Return Of The Seven that the talented Fuller didn't become a big movie star.

[mrsl]

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Escort West:

Well, I bit my tongue and managed to get through this one with Victor Mature in the lead. Basically it's a matter of a Confederate Captain finding two stranded women after an Indian attack, while he's traveling with his daughter. So he leads them to the safety of a Union patrol group. Of course the war is over, but tensions are still high, so that causes a lot of problems.

So, as I explained earlier, to me this is a B-1/2 movie. A semi leading man, with unknown surrounding cast, and a mediocre script, but fun for a time filler.
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[mrsl]

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Singing Guns:

Oddly, the lead in this one, Vaughn Monroe doesn't strike many memories to many people, except folks like me who think his version of Ghost Riders in the Sky is the best ever. He has a nice voice, much like Howard Keel, where he doesn't have to push to get the notes out, but his acting ability is not the best. In this one however, he is surrounded by such a sterling supporting cast, I wonder why he was chosen as the star. The leading lady is Ella Raines, the sheriff is Ward Bond, and the preacher/doc is Walter Brennan. Vaughn is the bad guy who goes good with the help of Brennan, but out of jealousy Bond still lies and tricks Vaughn because Ella prefers Vaughn over Bond.

I like Vaughn Monroe as a cowboy because he's big and strong, and built well like Clint Walker (oh. . . that chest ), Chuck Conners, Jim Garner and more. Several guys got into the westerns a little too late in life, like Bob Taylor, and I liked McCrae and Randy Scott in their younger days, but they were the exceptions, even as they aged, they had been around long enough to move and have the mannerisms of cowboys. Whatever, I have my idea of what a western star should look like and happily a lot of the guys fill that picture quite well.

Whatever the case, Singing Guns is a good western, better than a lot, not as good as some, but still worth relaxing with on a slow day.
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[movieman1957]

Someone somewhere mentioned Sunset Carson so I put one of his films on Netfilx. I guess this is a what a stereotypical B Western must have been once upon a time. Some little picture called "Rio Grande Raiders." Also starring Bob Steele I came to the conclusion that Carson must have been popular because he was tall. Clearly a head taller than anyone else in the picture his other talent must have been in his ability to ride a horse and look pretty good. He can't act a lick. Steele was by far the best in the cast. (That is not saying much but he was believable.)

Brothers on opposite sides of the law caught in the middle of stage coach robberies is the basic plot. There are plenty of chases, fights, continuity issues, plot miscues and a couple of laugh out loud moments. Street lamps seem to be filled with light bulbs. Bob Steele, as the bad brother, comes back to a depot that he visited the day before wearing the same clothes but this time with a "mask" pulled up over his nose so that no one would notice him. (I seemed to be the only one.)

When one man picks off someone with a rifle from a tenth of a mile but then later caught in a gunfight where no one can hit anything at half the distance it makes you wonder if they are killing time or just incompetent. At one point Steele's scarf falls off his face and he looks around to see if anyone noticed like a lady might look when she discovers her slip is showing. But it all ends happily with the brothers reconciled and on to greater things.

Bob Steele is as short as they come and I've seen him in other things and he can be worth watching. This may be my one and only Carson film. It's good to be tall.

[klondike]

Singing Guns:
Vaughn is the bad guy who goes good with the help of Brennan, but out of jealousy Bond still lies and tricks Vaughn because Ella prefers Vaughn over Bond.

This must be based on the Max Brand novel of the same name, which I read back in the early 80's . . I remember it well, because the lawman who tracks down the outlaw, and the outlaw himself, who gets captured & reformed early on, were both of Welsh descent, and Brand made that fact a minor, recurring plot device, which I thought was kind of unique.
I'm rather surprised the film version kept the original title - Singing Guns is a little lyrical sounding to hang on a horse opera!
And Anne, I know what you mean about a memorable chest . . . . why just the other day, I was fondly recalling an actress who was blissfully blessed with . . . well, early in the day to be less than discreet, I reckon . . I ha'nt e'en had me a bowl of hot steel-cut oats yet . . .

[MissGoddess]

Chris, I saw Bob Steele on an episode of "Family Affair", it was rather bittersweet. He played a kind of forgotten cowboy star. It was my first glimpse of him as I had not seen a Bob Steele movie yet. I think I've only seen one, if at all...maybe the one you mention! I wish I knew more about the cowboy stars like Steele, Johnny Mack Brown, Hopalong Cassidy, Hoot Gibson, et al. I'm a little more familiar with Roy Rogers and, thanks to Encore, Gene Autry. I like Autry. He's no "great actor" but a very pleasant guy who seems like what you see is what you get.

Being tall does help, but I bet most real cowboys were on the small side. The ones around where I grew up were never as cute as those in the movies.

[movieman1957]

It may not get the 1/2 but "Thunder Mountain" is a Tim Holt film based on a Zane Grey novel. Bad blood between feuding neighbors (Tim Holt and Martha Heyer) is helped along by local bad guy who wants Holt's ranch to build a dam and make a fortune. Nothing new there.

Running at about 60 minutes it plays like later TV shows. Adequate acting coupled with story that has a few too many coincidences all set in nice location. Small quibble with 1890's setting but seem to be wearing mostly 1947 clothes trying to look like 1890. Also at final gun fight the guys raise up a bit too high for my taste and felt like they were easy targets. No matter though.

If you stumble on it it's okay but I wouldn't go out of your way to get it.

[JackFavell]

I like Tim's Wagon Train, it starts out 'B' but by the end I'd give it the 1/2, for some stark situations, and the good acting of Holt and Martha O'Driscoll. Also, Ellen Lowe really looks like a western woman.

Sorry for the misprint here, not my fault!

http://archive.org/details/WagonTrain1940-TomHolt