Ben Johnson

[pvitari]

Mary-Kate, that's so fantastic when you find these scenes of Ben doubling in movies that are not on his IMDB filmography. He said in interviews he did lots of doubling for Bill Elliott so I'm not at all surprised there is a lot more out there.

I started working on screencaps from that first one (the one with the oil well) some time ago but never finished them up.

Now I will dig up this second movie and see if I can do both... sometime. (April is an insane month for me -- it's always the worst month of the year for me at work.) I love it that Ben doubled for Wild Bill in fight scenes, not just riding.

Update: VCI Entertainment has Marshal of Laredo available on a "Red Ryder Double Feature" DVD with Tucson Raiders. Ordered! ;)

[Maricatrin]

Mary-Kate, that's so fantastic when you find these scenes of Ben doubling in movies that are not on his IMDB filmography. He said in interviews he did lots of doubling for Bill Elliott so I'm not at all surprised there is a lot more out there.

It's a lot of fun trying to spot him, glad you think so too! I'm sure there's lots more of the same that neither of us have seen ... yet.

I started working on screencaps from that first one (the one with the oil well) some time ago but never finished them up.

Ah yes, I remember that one. I wasn't even looking for him there, my Ben sensor just got activated suddenly.

I love it that Ben doubled for Wild Bill in fight scenes, not just riding.

Someone once tried to tell me different, but I proved him wrong. No hard feelings though.

Update: VCI Entertainment has Marshal of Laredo available on a "Red Ryder Double Feature" DVD with Tucson Raiders. Ordered!

Wow, no grass growing under your feet!

[pvitari]

Wow, no grass growing under your feet!

Not when it comes to my favorite cowboy. :)

OK, the Tim Holt thing has percolated at the top of the Ben page for a few days so it's time for something new. This is from the October 1949 issue of Movie Life magazine. :) You can download a somewhat larger scan from the webpage.

[pvitari]

Here's another pic of Ben with Linda Blair and George Burns at the 1976 Oscars. Ben and Linda presented in the best supporting actor category and George Burns won for The Sunshine Boys.

[pvitari]

John McElwee of the great Greenbriar Picture Shows blog has added his two cents to the great Shane Blu-ray controversy:

http://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot. ... um=twitter

Or should I say, one cent, since part two of his discussion about the movie's cropping to 1:66 for its 1953 premiere engagements will be published on Tuesday. ;)

[pvitari]

Ben died 17 years ago today. :(

Today's post is two articles from the Summer 1996 issue of Films of the Golden Age which were published to commemorate Ben. The first, by Gregory Walcott, recounts Ben's memorial service in Mesa, Arizona. The second, by Robert W. Phillips, is about his visit to Pawhuska a couple of days after Ben's funeral and burial in the Pawhuska town cemetery. Both are very touching pieces.

[pvitari]

More on the Shane Great Blu-ray Aspect Ratio Controversy, from John McElwee of the fabulous Greenbriar Picture Shows blog -- as always, lavishly illustrated with stills and other promotional material from McElwee's seemingly inexhaustible collection. Much fascinating info and history is provided.

McElwee's article is in two parts with the second part at the top of the blog, so scroll down to read the first part dated April 7, then scroll back up to read the second part which was just posted this morning, dated April 9.

Here's one of McElwee's stills -- Ben's on the left, seen from the back.

[mrsl]

.
Aw geez, I was feeling pretty good and having a not so bad day, then I read a Yahoo news bit about Obama having to slice Social Security and Medicare and got a little tiffed, but I posted my response and felt a little better after getting it off my chest . . . THEN, I check in here to see about Ben and what do I get? Tears in my eyes, that's what ! ! ! because of all the tributes to him upon his death. I'm going to go sit in a dark room and suck an egg.
.

[pvitari]

Dear Anne, I wouldn't worry about the Social Security and Medicare thing, because it won't happen, that budget will not be approved. I won't get into it more because this is not a political thread.

I will be posting a picture tomorrow that will put a GREAT BIG HAPPY SMILE on everyone's face, too. :)

[JackFavell]

Wonderful, emotional post, Paula.

I have to mention something. It suddenly came to me today.

I've been reading Shelby Foote's The Civil War, volume 1 and I came across certain descriptions of Ulysses S. Grant. Every time I read something about him, I wonder why they never made a biopic about him. I've always thought him fascinating, but as I get to know him through Foote's words I begin to see how similar he is to Ben. Apparently, he felt the kinship of horses, and though he was a simple and friendly man, he always felt a bit suspicious of men. A horse, on the other hand, always won his respect and he could be found talking and patting his horse when he had leisure time. He trusted them and they trusted him, because he was kind to them. Apparently, he was an excellent rider. Here's one of many excerpts that remind me of you know who (the full quote is Foote's, but the internal quotation marks denote newspaper accounts of Grant):

....the features stern "as if carved of mahogany," the clear blue eyes (or gray some said) and aquiline nose, the strong jaw, "squarely set, but not sensual". One reporter saw three expressions on his face: "deep thought, extreme determination, and great simplicity and calmness." Another saw significance in the way he wore his high crowned hat: "He neither puts it on behind his ears, nor draws it over his eyes; much less does he cock it on one side, but sets it straight and very hard on his head." People enjoyed reading of that, and also of the way he "would gaze at anyone who approached him with an inquiring air, followed by a glance of recollection and a grave nod of recognition." On horseback, they read, "he sits firmly in the saddle and looks straight ahead, as if intent on getting to some particular point." The words "square" and "straight" and "firm" were the ones that appeared most often, and people liked them. Best of all, perhaps, they enjoyed hearing that Grant was "the concentration of all that is American. He talks bad grammar, but talks it naturally, as much to say, 'I was so brought up, and if I try fine phrases I shall appear silly.' "

Now isn't it a shame they were never able to make a really good movie about Grant? They had all the information they needed, a perfect star to play him, and his story is terribly moving.

[pvitari]

I always felt that General Grant, despite his many flaws, was under-appreciated.

OK, so here's a picture that should make you want to sing (instead of suck eggs). ;)

This is courtesy Melinda Carey -- yes, Harry Jr.'s daughter. It was on her Facebook page and the minute I saw it I wanted it for the Ben page, so I sent her a message and eventually she responded. :) A little version of this is also in Richard Jensen's bio of Ben The Nicest Fella (though it's a different copy -- no autographs) and he identifies the event as the premiere of Wagon Master in Pawhuska.

[JackFavell]

OH MY GOD! What a GREAT picture!!!!!

!!!!!

[pvitari]

Chisum pic. ;)



I'm almost done transferring the old page over to the new "Fan Page" except for the Memorabilia section. I'm thinking of dividing that into two pages, a "Photo Gallery" and a page called "Print" which would encompass magazines, newspaper articles and miscellany like that promotional brochure for the housing development Ben built. That Memorabilia section is so unwieldy -- it's now 104 albums!

[pvitari]

It's done... the Screencaps page is now the Ben Johnson Fan Page. The old Screencaps page will stay up so as not to break anyone's links but there will be nothing new added to it. All the new stuff is at the Fan Page, which has also undergone some reorganization and alphabetizing of albums and additional very minor tweaking.

Here's the new address, so please change your bookmarks. :) http://benjohnsonfanpage.shutterfly.com

To start things off right, here is the first new picture added to the Fan Page, from She Wore a Yellow Ribbon:

[JackFavell]

Nice going, Paula! It looks great! Very organized and I love the header.