THE WESTERN TALKS!, 1928-1937

"It would seem that the western, telling its story in terms of action rather than dialogue, should have been relatively unconcerned about the mechanical problems of sound .... [But] because of many actual and alleged problems, including most specifically the recording of the camera's own operational noise, the camera became rooted to the ground and housed in small 'sweat boxes.'

"In the first year or two of sound, the western didn't seem important enough to justify the necessary effort.  Like the big elaborate swashbuckler, it was considered a dead relic of the silents and of no major commercial value." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

The humble B-western dominated western filmmaking in the silent era, just as it did during the first two decades following the advent of sound.

There were some silent westerns produced to appeal to adult audiences, those starring William S. Hart, for example, or directed by a young John Ford, but the biggest star of the era was Tom Mix, whose fast-moving, action-filled films were geared to a younger audience.

Hart

Mix and Tony

But since westerns were by their nature outdoor films, the coming of sound, and its crude sound equipment, meant that most productions would be filmed indoors and consequently the western would be at a disadvantage.

This was true even after IN OLD ARIZONA (Fox, 1928) proved that sound movies could be filmed outdoors.  However, even this film was unavoidably stilted and static because of the problems presented by the sound equipment which dictated that the camera had to remain stationary much of the time.

Warner Baxter is the Cisco Kid in IN OLD ARIZONA

Despite the success of the film, the major studios tended to shy away from outdoor pictures. Under the best of conditions, it was still a cumbersome process when compared to filming on a sound stage.  As it turned out, it would be the Poverty Row studios that rushed in where the majors feared to tread.

Many of them didn't even own a sound stage and didn't possess the necessary financial wherewithal to rent one. For that reason, among others, B-westerns flooded the market.  Many of them were so crudely done and amateurishly acted and unintentionally laughable that they are extremely painful for even lovers of western films to watch today.

But the equipment improved and the films began to slowly but surely improve as studios such as Republic and Monogram began to produce superior B's and some of the majors also got back into the business of making quality B-westerns.

And as equipment improved and logistical problems were worked out the majors also began to film A-westerns geared to adult audiences.  It was still a slow process, however, and did not build up a head of steam until the landmark year of 1939.

As Les Adams and Buck Rainey noted in their detailed study of western movies, Shoot-em-Ups, the years from 1933 to 1937 were boom years for the B-western programmer, but not so much for the A-western.  In fact, almost 500 of the 530 western features shot during the period were B-westerns.

What follows are some of the significant sound A-westerns made prior to 1939, beginning with, naturally:

IN OLD ARIZONA (Fox, 1928)

DIRECTOR: Irving Cummings and Raoul Walsh;  WRITERS: adaptation by Tom Barry based on O. Henry's short story, The Caballero's Way; CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Arthur Edeson

CAST:  Warner Baxter, Edmund Lowe, Dorothy Burgess, Henry Armetta, Frank Campeau, Tom London, J. Farrell MacDonald 


Warner Baxter is the Cisco Kid, a Robin Hood type who robs the rich and gives to the poor.  In O. Henry's short story the Kid was actually an Anglo, but Baxter plays him as a Mexican, unconvincing accent and all, and in the many Cisco Kid films (and TV series) that followed, he would never return to his original Anglo status. 

In the second year of the Academy Awards the film was nominated for five Oscars out of a possible seven.  However, Baxter's award for Best Actor was the film's only winner.  Despite the award it is difficult today to watch his attempt to portray a Latin outlaw without cringing at its stereotypical nature.  Neither his performance nor the film has stood the test of time.


"[It] was of its time -- a romantic triangle melodrama with a gloomy ending." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"[It] was hardly a super-western but was certainly one of style and importance.  Microphones hidden under prairie scrub and foliage enabled naturalistic sound effects to be picked up, and even more than the gunshots and the galloping hooves, the sound of frying bacon impressed itself on viewers and showed that the realistic quality of sound was perhaps just what the western needed. -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"Novelty of first major sound western and first talkie to take microphones outdoors has long worn off, leaving only a stilted performance led by Baxter's dubious Oscar winner as the Cisco Kid." -- Leonard Maltin

THE VIRGINIAN (Paramount, 1929)


DIRECTOR: Victor Fleming;  PRODUCER:
B.P. Schulberg;  WRITERS:  screenplay by Howard Estabrook based on novel by Owen Wister;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: J. Roy Hunt;  Assistant Director: Henry Hathaway;  Dialogue Coach: Randolph Scott

CAST:  Gary Cooper, Walter Huston, Mary Brian, Richard Arlen, Chester Conklin, Eugene Palette, Victor Potel, Ernie Adams, George Chandler, Bob Kortman, Ethan Laidlaw, Lee Meehan, Jack Pennick, Randolph Scott, Charles Stevens


TRAMPAS (Walter Huston):  "Well, who's talkin' to you?"

THE VIRGINIAN (Gary Cooper):  "I'm talkin' to you, Trampas!"

TRAMPAS: "When I want to know anything from you, I'll tell ya, you long-legged son-of-a-...."

THE VIRGINIAN:  [Trampas stops talking abruptly as the Virginian's pistol is pressed against his abdomen.]  "If you want to call me that, smile!"

TRAMPAS:  "With a gun against my belly, I -- I always smile!"
[He grins broadly.]
  

Owen Wister's seminal western novel is perhaps the most famous ever written. It was so popular that it was twice produced as a play and has been the basis for six films, including two during the silent era.  And then there was the popular TV series that ran for nine seasons from 1962 to 1971.

The 1929 film is known primarily for the above scene and the exciting shoot-out conclusion.  An early talkie, it is generally considered to be a classic film and easily the best production of the story.  It also made Gary Cooper a leading man though real stardom would have to wait a few more years. 

"[It] remains a classic: the essential western, still vital, still funny and moving by turns .... Cooper's performance ... still impresses, but Huston and Arlen aren't far behind ... THE VIRGINIAN is fun, and very good; possibly we may never come nearer to the ultimate western." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

".... stiff but interesting western, salvaged in good climactic shoot-out." -- Leonard Maltin

".... verbose, slow and unlikely .... The film's slowness is a direct result of the new slower pace sound brought to the cinema." -- Phil Hardy, The Western



BILLY THE KID (MGM, 1930)

DIRECTOR: King Vidor;  PRODUCER: King Vidor; WRITERS: dialogue by Laurence Stallings, et al. based on book by Walter Noble Burns, The Saga of Billy the Kid; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gordon Avil;  TECHNICAL ADVISER: William S. Hart

CAST: Johnny Mack Brown (as John Mack Brown), Wallace Beery, Kay Johnson, Wyndham Standing, James Marcus, Russell Simpson, Roscoe Ates, Warner Richmond, Hank Bell, Chris-Pin Martin

The story of Billy the Kid had been filmed a couple of times during the silent era, but by the dawn of the sound era he had become an almost forgotten historical character.  That all changed in 1926, however, with the publication of Walter Noble Burns' pseudo-biography, The Saga of Billy the Kid, which was not as much a biography of historical Billy as it was of the legendary Billy.  The bestselling book effectively resurrected Billy from the dustbin of history -- or at least the legendary version, the tragic hero, the misunderstood one who was a victim of circumstances.

Johnny Mack Brown ... brought athletic ability and a pleasing personality to the role of Billy, although it was Wallace Beery as Pat Garrett who gave the best performance, a surprisingly underplayed piece of acting for such an extrovert player and an equally surprising underwritten role. -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

William S. Hart served as technical adviser to the film and this no doubt added an air of authenticity to the production.  And so did the fact that the film was shot on the actual locations of the Lincoln County, New Mexico conflict.

However, the old cowboy actor had to be displeased with the happy ending that was added to the film, one that allowed Billy to ride across the border to enjoy a peaceful life with the woman he loved.  At least that is what happened in the version released in the U.S.; the film distributed in Europe included the historical ending in which Garrett shot and killed Billy.  One supposes that the producers didn't think U.S. audiences would be willing to accept such a tragic conclusion.

It was hoped by all concerned that the film would make a star of Brown and it did, but not the kind that he or the studio envisioned.  

What he did eventually become, after being demoted to Poverty Row for a time, was one of the most pleasing and most durable of all the B-western stars, spending most of his career at Universal and later Monogram.


"The slow film is rather talky but it recaptures the legend of Billy the Kid very nicely .... The movie conveys an overpowering flavor and sense of history, in terms of time and place, rather than the facts ... and the movie was shot on actual locations at a time when they hadn't changed perceptibly." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

" ... the photography is good, but always naturalistic, the characters drab in dress, the buildings ramshackle, the streets dusty .... its script is frankly untidy, yet the film is quite certainly the best and most convincing of all the Billy the Kid sagas." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"[It] is undeniably faithful to the look of the old West, despite its big budget and romantic plot." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"Realistic early talkie western ...; some performances seem highly dated today." -- Leonard Maltin 



THE BIG TRAIL (Fox, 1930)


DIRECTOR: Raoul Walsh;  PRODUCER: Winfield R. Sheehan;  WRITERS: screenplay by Marie Boyle, Jack Peabody, and Florence Postal based on story by Hal G. Evarts;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lucien N. Andriot and Arthur Edeson

CAST: John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel, Tully Marshall, Tyrone Power, Sr., Charles Stevens, Chief Big Tree, Ward Bond, Iron Eyes Cody

"The most important picture ever produced" was apparently not a unanimous opinion.

Great pains were taken to give this wagon train tale an authentic look, but the film is severely hampered by a B-western script and Wayne's lack of experience as an actor.  "The most important picture ever produced" was a failure at the box office where it really counted.

Much has been written about this film due to the fact that it provided John Wayne with his first important role. THE VIRGINIAN made Gary Cooper a leading man, but BILLY THE KID failed to do the same for Johnny Mack Brown. And Wayne, like Johnny Mack, would be relegated to B-westerns, but finally, unlike Johnny Mack, he would finally escape in 1939 when John Ford chose him to star in STAGECOACH (UA, 1939)  
  

But even then, like Cooper before him, the film made him a leading man but true stardom would have to wait several years, in his case, almost a decade, until Howard Hawks cast him in RED RIVER (UA, 1948).  The actor's long and fruitful association with John Ford began after that and eventually he became the biggest star of them all, especially in, but not restricted to, western films.


In a perverse way the failure of THE BIG TRAIL may have worked in the actor's favor. Those years at Monogram and Republic starring in B-westerns are where he finally learned his craft.

"THE BIG TRAIL was a surprising box office failure .... Wayne ... is more than adequate in the lead .... The sequences of the wagons fording rivers and being manhandled up mountains and the action scenes are both realistic and visually breathtaking." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

".... an outstanding early sound epic .... But ... the authenticity of detail and the sweep of history was somewhat let down by a standardized 'B' plot ...." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"The script is poor, but so is Wayne's acting; he is wooden at best, and embarrassingly inept at worst." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"Epic western may seem creaky to some viewers, but remains one of the most impressive early talkies, with its grand sweep and naturalistic use of sound." -- Leonard Maltin

CIMARRON (RKO, 1931)


DIRECTOR: Wesley Ruggles;  PRODUCERS: William LeBaron and Wesley Ruggles;  WRITERS: dialogue by Howard Estabrook based on novel by Edna Ferber;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Edward Cronjager;  SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR: B. Reeves Eason

CAST: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, William Collier, Jr., Nance O'Neil, Roscoe Ates, George F. Stone, Stanley Fields, Edna May Oliver, Bob Kortman, Frank Lackteen, Ethan Laidlaw


CIMARRON is primarily noted for two things: 1) it was the first western to win an Oscar for Best Picture (the second to win the award was DANCES WITH WOLVES [1990], fifty-nine years later) and 2) the Oklahoma land rush scene staged by the incomparable action director B. Reeves Eason.

It was reported that the land rush scene took a week to film, utilizing 5,000 extras, 28 cameramen, 6 still photographers, and 27 camera assistants.

Unfortunately, as critics have noted the land rush is the most exciting thing about the film and it occurs at the beginning.  After that, it is unsurprising that the film had a tendency to lose its momentum.

However, it was nominated for seven Oscars and won three (Best Picture, Art Direction, and Best Writing Adaptation).  Both of its stars, Richard Dix and Irene Dunne (her film debut), were nominated for their performances but neither won.

Dix would go on to star in 18 other westerns, but except for one comedic contemporary western, this would be the only one for Dunne.

It was also the year's biggest money maker at the box office, but because of its expensive production costs it still lost money.  


"The opening spectacle -- the Oklahoma land rush -- is tremendous and it's a solid empire-building movie about the conversion of Indian Territory into the state of Oklahoma and the subsequent building of oil fiefdoms ..., it's soap more than horse opera ... it leaves quite a lot to be desired for modern audiences, and with the climactic land rush at the beginning rather than the end, it has nowhere to go but downhill." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"... it tended to be bogged down in character studies and had the structural flaw of presenting its highlight -- the massive Cherokee Strip land rush sequence at the beginning of the picture .... the film was well-served by Richard Dix and Irene Dunne in the leads [and] many good supporting performers .... " -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of Western Film

"Though Ruggles' spirited direction seems dated now, the outdoor scenes still remain impressive." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

" ... it dates badly, particularly Dix's overripe performance -- but it's still worth seeing." -- Leonard Maltin



LAW AND ORDER (Universal 1932)

Based on W.R. Burnett's novel, Saint Johnson, the film is a thinly disguised fictional treatment of the events leading to and including the shoot-out at Tombstone's O.K. Corral.  It stars Walter Huston as a Wyatt Earp-like character with Harry Carey filling the role of the Doc Holliday-like character.

I earlier reviewed the film and if you wish you can read it here.



THE TEXAS RANGERS (Paramount, 1936) 

DIRECTOR: King Vidor; PRODUCER: King Vidor: WRITERS: screenplay by Louis Stevens from a story by King Vidor and Elizabeth Hill based upon data from Walter Prescott Webb's book, The Texas Rangers; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Edward Cronjager 

CAST: Fred McMurray, Jack Oakie, Jean Parker, Lloyd Nolan, Edward Ellis, Benny Bartlett, Fred Kohler, George "Gabby" Hayes, Stanley Andrews, Irving Bacon, Hank Bell, Neal Hart, Charles Middleton

Three desperadoes (L-R): Fred McMurray, Jack Oakie, Lloyd Nolan; two will eventually go straight.

What a pleasant surprise!  It is a much better film than the attention it has received would indicate.  I had read about it, but had never viewed it until recently.  It wasn't because I didn't want to, it was because I couldn't locate it. But what I had read in works dealing with the history of the western, with one exception, had never given the film much more than a  brief mention.

The exception is A Pictorial History of the Western by William K. Everson.  Everson writes:

"By far the best of Paramount's quartet of mid-thirties epics was THE TEXAS RANGERS and indeed, despite its weaknesses, it is still one of the most enjoyable Paramount super-westerns from any period.  It was directed by King Vidor in 1936, his first western since BILLY THE KID [1930], and a much more polished if gripping work .... [T]he script ... was not ambitious enough ... ostensibly based on Texas Rangers records, but actually it seems to consist of well-known Ranger incidents ... fused with a very standard "B" picture plot which constantly threatens to reduce its epic stature.

"[B]ut Vidor fills his film with enough incident, action, and well-developed characters for these flaws to matter too much.

"Even though not a classic, [it] is an exhilarating western with a refreshing schoolboy vigor."

By the way, the other three Paramount super-westerns that Everson alludes to and ranks below THE TEXAS RANGERS are: THE PLAINSMAN (1936), WELLS FARGO (1937), and THE TEXANS (1938).  Two of them are coming up next and I plan a complete review of THE TEXAS RANGERS in the near future.

Fred McMurray: outlaw?

McMurray and Oakie: Rangers or outlaws?

Gabby: crooked judge?

THE PLAINSMAN (Paramount, 1936)

DIRECTOR: Cecil B. DeMille;  PRODUCERS: Cecil B. DeMille and William H. Pine; WRITERS: screenplay by Waldemar Young, Harold Lamb, and Lynn Riggs; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Victor Milner;  SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR: Arthur Rosson

CAST:  Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Ellison, Charles Bickford, Helen Burgess, Porter Hall, Paul Harvey, John Miljan, Fred Kohler, Harry Woods, Anthony Quinn, Francis McDonald, George "Gabby" Hayes, Fuzzy Knight, Stanley Andrews, Francis Ford, Irving Bacon, Hank Bell, Monte Blue, Lane Chandler, Bud Osborne, Charles Stevens, Chief Thundercloud, Hank Worden

Gary Cooper is Wild Bill Hickok, Jean Arthur is Calamity Jane, James Ellison is Buffalo Bill Cody, and Cecil B. DeMille is in charge of what was his first western epic.  The film should have benefited from its big budget, but it didn't always. The director always preferred shooting his epics indoors and never liked spending much time on location, to the detriment of this film and others he helmed.  Consequently, the film is marred by phony studio "exteriors," back projection shots, and actors riding mock-up horses. In fact, most of the outdoor scenes, and not just the action scenes, were shot by second unit directors, in this case, Arthur Rosson.

Wild Bill gets the drop on crooked gambler

But the audiences of the '30's didn't seem to mind and it was a popular, if not critical, success.  And the good cast is able to overcome its shortcomings to some degree and the end result is entertaining.

Jean Arthur is Calamity Jane

James Ellison is Buffalo Bill Cody

And, by the way, Porter Hall is Jack McCall, the dastardly coward who dispatches Wild Bill in a Deadwood saloon, shooting him from behind, of course. Oh, and another thing, if you are interested in the true history of the three principal characters it would be best to look elsewhere.

"... for all its attention to petty historical detail ... it plays fast and loose with history .... Slow moving and overly romantic by modern standards in its depiction of westward expansion, [it] remains an entertaining spectacle." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"[W]hile a big popular success, it was hardly a good picture.  Its script was heavy-handed and obvious, and far too much of the film was spoiled by DeMille's over-fondness for shooting as much of his pictures as possible within the confines of the studio.  Nevertheless ... the production as a whole was big and certainly entertaining." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

" ... performances by most of the players are spirited.  But its juvenile, an overblown programmer.  [It] isn't much of a movie but it did establish Cooper as the archetypal western hero." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"Typical DeMille hokum, a big, outlandish western .... About as authentic as BLAZING SADDLES [WB, 1974], but who cares -- it's still good fun." -- Leonard Maltin



WELLS FARGO (Paramount, 1937)

DIRECTOR: Frank Lloyd;  PRODUCERS: Howard Estabrook and Frank Lloyd; WRITERS: screenplay by Paul Schofield, Gerald Geraghty, and Frederick J. Jackson based on story by Stuart N. Lake;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Theodor Sparkuhl

CAST: Joel McCrea, Bob Burns, Frances Dee, Lloyd Nolan, Ralph Morgan, Johnny Mack Brown, Porter Hall, Robert Cummings, Harry Davenport, Frank Conroy, Peggy Stewart, Ernie Adams, Hank Bell, Lane Chandler, Richard Denning, Jack Perrin, Hal Taliaferro, Harry Woods

Joel McCrea and Frances Dee were Mr. and Mrs. McCrea in real life.  

There's a lot of soap in this hoss opera, a nation-building epic about the formation of Wells & Fargo, Co. McCrea portrays a troubleshooter who is instrumental in the company's efforts to establish an overland freight and mail service. The film covers the years represented by the California Gold Rush, the Pony Express, and the Civil War. This requires the stars to age several decades and suffer through many trials and tribulations, including strains on family life, during those eventful times.

Before all is said and done the story evolves, make that devolves, into more of a costume drama than western adventure.  My advice is to skip this one and to watch Four Faces West, a much more satisfying western starring McCrea and Dee. 

However, WELLS FARGO was McCrea's first starring role in a western and there would come a time when he would devote his entire career to starring in the genre.  And those of us who love westerns (and that should be everyone) can grateful for that.


"[Joel McCrea] proved at home in the saddle here, and hence his selection as the star of UNION PACIFIC [Paramount] two years later ... but the film can be a bore unless you are in a tolerant mood." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

" ... a long, carefully made, but stiff, dull and practically actionless movie, long on historical data, romance, and interior scenes, short on excitement and exteriors." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"Paramount's production values are solid enough, though Lloyd wisely eschews any crowd scenes, but the material doesn't stretch to the 115 minutes' running time." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

HIGH NOON: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic by Glenn Frankel

This is a review of a book written about the making of the classic western film, HIGH NOON (UA, 1952).  If you wish, and I hope you do, you can read my review of the film here.


HIGH NOON is one of the most famous and popular western movies ever made.  Despite the fact that westerns had never been held in high esteem by the Motion Picture Academy, it was nominated for seven Oscars, and won four.

Practically everybody, even non-western movie fans (surely a small number), is familiar with the plot of a retiring marshal, Will Kane (Gary Cooper), who is deserted by his town in his hour of need.  Even his Quaker bride (Grace Kelly), who is of course a pacifist and therefore abhors violence, threatens to leave him on their wedding day if he refuses to leave town with her.

But because he is a man of courage and integrity, he single-handedly, not by choice, takes on a gang of four murderous gunmen who plan to kill him.

The Author

Glenn Frankel combines his love of classic films and American history in a fascinating study of HIGH NOON and its rocky backstory, one that almost prevented the film from even getting off the ground.  

It didn't start out that way.  In fact, the project appeared in its early stages to be one that would have been characterized by little, if any, controversy. Screenwriter Carl Foreman's initial vision was that the film would be an allegory about the necessity of peaceful nations acting multilaterally through the infant United Nations organization to combat the aggressive actions of rogue nations.

Instead of Marshal Kane finding himself in isolated circumstances when the four gunmen come after him, he would be able to count on the people of the town to come to his aid -- just as the UN ideally would come to the aid of a peaceful nation threatened by an aggressor. As it turned out, Foreman's screenplay did become an allegory, but not the one that was originally intended.

During the film's early stages of production, and while the screenplay was still being developed, Foreman was summoned to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) which was investigating communist influence in the film industry.

Foreman and his wife, like many other Americans, had joined the Communist Party during the '30's.  The Great Depression had thrown the nation -- and the world -- into a state of economic chaos and capitalism, in its perceived inability to solve the twin problems of unemployment and poverty, was viewed by activists on the right and the left as being part of the problem rather than the solution.

While some Americans flirted with fascism, some on the left joined the Communist Party because they saw it as a solution to not only getting a handle on poverty, but also as the best defense against the spread of fascism at home and abroad.

Like many Americans who joined the party, Foreman became disillusioned after World War II with the onset of the Cold War and also when the brutal excesses of the Stalin regime became publicly known.  It was then that the party's membership began to evaporate in the United States.  Among those dropping their membership were Mr. and Mrs. Foreman.  

A happier Carl Foreman, 1961

In his appearance before the committee he testified that he was not then a member of the Communist Party, but took the Fifth when he was asked if he had been a member before 1950 and refused to "name names" as some others had done. Consequently, he was branded an "unfriendly witness," which was not only tantamount to admitting guilt as far as the committee was concerned, but it resulted in the individual's name being placed on a blacklist, which in turn meant that person's career was seriously damaged or even totally destroyed.

At least five hundred people were blacklisted for a decade or more.  There were even several suicides as a result of the blacklist.

It also meant that because of the fear of association that few people, if any, were going to come to the "accused" person's defense.  In fact, producer Stanley Kramer wanted Foreman to be more forthcoming with the committee and when he wasn't, Kramer feared Foreman's association with the film would doom it at the box office. Although Foreman did receive credit for the screenplay, Kramer stripped him of his associate producer credit.

This is why Foreman began to visualize the film as an allegory for the evils of the witch hunt and the blacklist and why he began to reshape the screenplay to reflect his vision.  His life had become exhibit no. 1.  As far as he was concerned, he was Will Kane trying to do what was right, but having to do it alone, because the fears of guilt by association that others felt had the effect of isolating him, just as it did Will Kane.

Ironically, Foreman received an Oscar nomination, his third, for best screenplay, but it is no surprise that he did not win.  By the time the awards were announced he had left the country.  He had gone into self-exile in England where he continued his career with notable success.  As for Stanley Kramer, his treatment of Foreman would forever be a blot on the record of a producer who was noted for movies with a "social message."

By the end of the '50's, the blacklist activity had faded.  HUAC was re-named the House Committee on Internal Security, but was eventually abandoned by 1975.

Frankel's High Noon book is his second in which he skillfully interweaves film-making and American history.

The first was The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend.  That classic Western, starring John Wayne in his greatest performance, was inspired by the real-life kidnapping of young Cynthia Ann Parker from her Texas frontier home by Comanche raiders.

As he does in High Noon, Frankel provides the readers with insights into both the making of the film and the history upon which it is based.  Both books are well-written and thoroughly researched, but then that is what one would expect from a Pulitzer winning journalist.

******
"The real strength of Frankel's account lies in its illustration, in many shades of gray, of the Hollywood blacklist and what it did, in political terms, as it ruined or derailed many, many careers." -- Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

"Though Frankel began this sumptuous history long before the latest election, he ends up reminding us that 2016 was far from the first time politicians trafficked in lies and fear, and showing us how, nonetheless, people came together to do exemplary work." -- John Domini, The Washington Post

GABBY HAYES: Part II -- A-Western Sidekick

Part I can be viewed here.

After becoming a popular sidekick in the Hopalong Cassidy series, George Hayes moved to Republic in 1939 where he was paired with up and coming B-Western cowboy star Roy Rogers, to the benefit of both actors.  Roy would soon become "the King of the Cowboys" and Hayes, now nicknamed "Gabby," would be the most popular of all the B-Western sidekicks in the business.

One of the promises that Republic made to Hayes to entice him to sign a contract was that he would be allowed to occasionally appear in their bigger-budget films. Gabby, in the years that he was employed at Republic (1939-1946), appeared in four A-westerns, three of which were Republic productions.

MAN OF CONQUEST (Republic, 1939)



DIRECTOR:  George Nichols, Jr.; PRODUCER:  Sol Siegel; WRITERS: screenplay by Wells Root, E.E. Paramore, and Jan Fortune based on original story by Harold Shumate and Wells Root; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Joseph H. August


CAST:  Richard Dix, Gail Patrick, Edward Ellis, Joan Fontaine, Victor Jory, Robert Barrat, George "Gabby Hayes (as George Hayes), Ralph Morgan, Robert Armstrong, C. Henry Gordon, Max Terhune, Leon Ames, Ernie Adams, Billy Benedict, Lane Chandler, Edmund Cobb, Iron Eyes Cody, William Desmond, Earle Hodgins, Jack Ingram, Fred Kohler, Jr., George J. Lewis, Chief Many Treaties, Chris Pin-Martin, George Montgomery, Horace Murphy, Sarah Padden, Charles Stevens, Hal Taliaferro, Jim Thorpe, Chief Thundercloud, Slim Whitaker, Robert J. Wilke, Guy Wilkerson, Chief Yowlachie

SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR: B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason

STUNTS: Yakima Canutt, Duke Green, Cliff Lyons, George Montgomery, Duke Taylor, Bill Yrigoyen, Joe Yrigoyen


This Sam Houston biopic was at the time Republic's most expensive film.  It also enjoyed the largest advertising budget ever provided for one of the studio's films. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, for: Art Direction; Musical Score; and Best Sound.

The usual suspects make an appearance in the film: Sam Houston (Richard Dix), Andrew Jackson (Edward Ellis), William Travis (Victor Jory), David Crockett (Robert Barrat), Stephen F. Austin (Ralph Morgan), Jim Bowie (Robert Armstrong), and Santa Ana (C. Henry Gordon). And Gabby?  Well, he played a fictitious character named Lannie Upchurch who was befriended by Houston.  In other words, a sidekick.

The cast list included many familiar faces that any B-western fan worth his salt would recognize, including Max Terhune who did stints as a comedic sidekick in three different B-western series: The Three Mesquiteers (Republic), The Range Busters (Monogram), and Johnny Mack Brown (Monogram).

******
REVIEWS:

"... good acting and big battle scenes expertly filmed by second-unit director B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason, but it was poorly written.  The effect was that of an overbuilt programmer." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"... is still the best movie biography of Sam Houston and, John Wayne's grandiose budget for THE ALAMO notwithstanding, the best account of Texas' fight for independence .... Richard Dix ... was a perfect choice for Houston." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of Western Film, 1969

"Republic Pictures tried to give this biography of Texas' Sam Houston good production values, but script slows down action." Leonard Maltin

"... it is, in the main, an admirably contrived biography, honest enough to mention Houston's sodden spree among the Indians, making dramatic capital of his progression from self-aggrandizing adventurer to instrument of national development.  Houston, as Richard Dix has played him, is a full-bodied portrait, earthy, human, and virile."  -- Frank S. Nugent, New York Times

DARK COMMAND (Republic, 1940)



DIRECTOR: Raoul Walsh; PRODUCER: Sol Siegel; WRITERS: screenplay by Grover Jones, Lionel Houser, F. Hugh Herbert, and Jan Fortune;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jack Marta

CAST:  Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Walter Pidgeon, Roy Rogers, George Hayes, Porter Hall, Marjorie Main, Raymond Walburn, Joseph Sawyer, J. Farrell MacDonald, Trevor Bardette, Al Bridge, Tom London, Glenn Strange, Ernie Adams, Jack Rockwell, Harry Woods, John Merton, Edmund Cobb, Hal Taliaferro, Yak Canutt

STUNTS:  Yakima Canutt, Cliff Lyons, Bill Yrigoyen, Joe Yrigoyen 


The film represents the third pairing of Claire Trevor and John Wayne.  It all began, of course, with their roles in the classic film, STAGECOACH (UA, 1939), with Wayne appearing on loan-out from Republic.  At the time he was starring in that studio's B-western series, The Three Mesquiteers.  There would be no more B-westerns in the actor's future, but one of the Mesquiteers films was not released until after STAGECOACH made its way to the screen.

Striking while the iron was hot Republic loaned Wayne to RKO that same year for another co-starring role with Trevor.  The film was ALLEGHENY UPRISING and this collaboration was much less satisfying than the initial one, though it was not the fault of the two stars. Republic then made the decision to film its own production with the two stars.  DARK COMMAND does not rank with STAGECOACH, of course, but it is a far superior to ALLEGHENY UPRISING.

DARK COMMAND is loosely based on the life of William Clarke Quantrill, the Kansas schoolteacher who became a notorious Confederate guerilla leader during the Civil War.  In the film his name is Will Cantrell (Walter Pidgeon), but there is no doubt about who is supposed to be.

The film is also a re-teaming of John Wayne and Gabby Hayes who first appeared in the same film in Wayne's initial Lone Star/Monogram entry, RIDERS OF DESTINY (1933).  Hayes went on to support Wayne in many of the films in that series, sometimes playing a villain, but also beginning to hone the character that would make him famous in the Hoppy and Roy Rogers films.

Speaking of Roy Rogers, he is in this film, too.  At the time, he was on the verge of replacing Gene Autry as the most popular B-western cowboy riding the cinematic range (partly by the fact that due to military service Autry was absent from the screen for a couple of years).  This is the only time that the three western movie icons -- Wayne, Rogers, and Hayes -- appeared in the same film. 

The film is noted for the famous stunt in which four men and a team of horses and a wagon drive off a high bluff into a lake.  The stunt was performed by Yak Canutt, Cliff Lyons, Bill Yrigoyen, and Joe Yrigoyen.

DARK COMMAND was nominated for two Academy Awards: Art Direction and Musical Score.

******
REVIEWS:

"Walsh's direction is efficient, but surprisingly anonymous." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"Dramatically uneven, but entertaining." -- Leonard Maltin

"... a towering Walter Pidgeon performance ... [and] Roy Rogers in a supporting role, comes off surprisingly well as the male ingenue.  The music is fine .... and Walsh directed with verve.  It's essentially big-budget "B" stuff but it's very entertaining." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"A lot of experience and talent has gone into the manufacture of Republic's DARK COMMAND ... and the consequence is the most rousing and colorful horse-opera that has gone thundering past this way since STAGECOACH ... Raoul Walsh ... directed it with an artist's eye for flavor and dramatic movement, and John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Walter Pidgeon and a company of character experts have filled it with brimming life and gusto .... There are ... some spicy contributions made by George Hayes as an itinerant barber-dentist and Raymond Walburn as an overstuffed shirt. -- Bosley Crowther, New York Times


        

The original title of the film was IN OLD OKLAHOMA.  It was later changed because the producers of the musical OKAHOMA charged that it created confusion with their film.

 IN OLD OKLAHOMA (Republic, 1943)


DIRECTOR: Albert S. Rogell;  PRODUCER: Robert North; WRITERS: screenplay by Ethel Hill and Eleanore Griffin based on original story by Thomson Burtis; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jack Marta


CAST:  John Wayne, Martha Scott, Albert Dekker, George "Gabby" Hayes, Marjorie Rambeau, Dale Evans, Grant Withers, Sidney Blackmer, Paul Fix, Irving Bacon, Byron Foulger, Roy Barcroft, Yakima Canutt, George Chandler, Lane Chandler, Myna Dell, Kenne Duncan, Rhonda Fleming, Bud Geary, Fred Graham, Jack Kirk, Tom London, LeRoy Mason, Harry Shannon, Tom Steele, Slim Whitaker, Harry Woods, Will Wright

STUNTS: Yakima Canutt, Bud Geary, Fred Graham, Cliff Lyons, Eddie Parker, Tom Steele, Post Park, Bill Yrigoyen, Joe Yrigoyen

         

Gabby and Marjorie Rambeau

Oil exploitation in Oklahoma is at the heart of this story which takes place at the turn of the 20th century.  Daniel Somers (John Wayne) and Jim Gardner (Albert Dekker) are rivals in both the oil business and the business of romance as they both seek the affections of Catherine Allen (Martha Scott).  Gabby is stage driver Desperit Dean, who is also Somers' friend, or should I say sidekick.

Dale Evans, at the time known more for singing than acting, has a small part as saloon girl "Cuddles" Walker.  A year later she would become a fixture in the Roy Rogers series and not long after that a fixture in Roy's life as Mrs. Roy Rogers.

At least Evans' name appeared in the cast list.  Rhonda Fleming made her screen debut in this film, also portraying another saloon girl, but receiving no billing.

The setting of the movie was Oklahoma, but location shooting took place in Sedona and Kanab, Arizona and nearby Zion National Park.

The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Musical Score and Sound Recording.

******
REVIEWS:

"... good action; obligatory romance." -- Leonard Maltin

"Periodically, the folks over at Republic do themselves proud by turning out a highfalutin' picture with all the high-budget trimmings, and IN OLD OKLAHOMA ... is one of them....Once it gets going, [it] does make a lot of noise." -- New York Times

"... the best thins in the film are the action sequences, notably the convoy of oil-filled wagons dashing across the prairie through a brushfire." -- Phil Hardy, The Western




TALL IN THE SADDLE (RKO, 1944)


DIRECTOR: Edwin L. Marin;  PRODUCER: Robert Fellows; WRITERS: screenplay by Robert Hogan and Paul Fix; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert de Grasse


CAST: John Wayne, Ella Raines, Ward Bond, George "Gabby" Hayes, Audrey Long, Elisabeth Risdon, Don Douglas, Paul Fix, Russell Wade, Emory Parnell, Raymond Hatton, Harry Woods, Clem Bevans, Russell Simpson, Eddy Waller, George Chandler, Ben Johnson

STUNTS: Fred Graham, Ben Johnson, Henry Wills

Gabby is a stage driver once again and he befriends the hero played by John Wayne. Nothing unusual about that, except for this: This is the last pairing of Wayne and Hayes, an association, as noted above, that began with RIDERS OF DESTINY (Lone Star/Monogram) in 1933.

One of the co-writers of this range war feud was Paul Fix, who also had a major acting role in the film.  Fix was one of Wayne's mentors and one that Wayne often acknowledged in interviews.  He was also the father-in-law of actor Harry Carey, Jr.

The poster takes suggestive liberties with the movie's plot (see upper left corner).

In addition to Gabby, two other B-western sidekicks were in the cast.  Raymond Hatton who, as earlier noted, played that role in three series: The Three Mesquiteers (Republic,); The Rough Riders (Monogram); and Johnny Mack Brown (Monogram), and Eddy Waller, who became Allan "Rocky" Lane's sidekick at Republic.

******
REVIEWS:

"Unfortunately the plot, while amiable, is strictly programmer stuff, with a lot of static talk leading to a detective-story denouement, unmasking the villain ... still Raines is lovely, Hayes is funny, Bond is nicely villainous and Wayne is Wayne." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"is memorable for Raines' tempestuous performance as the independent woman who romances Wayne with a mixture of aggression ... and sultry sexuality ...." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"TALL IN THE SADDLE is exciting and adventurous drama in the best western tradition.  Picture, mounted with fine scenic backgrounds of the action, combines all the regulation ingredients of wild stagecoach rides, rough-and-tumble fights, gunplay and chases.  Story carries unusual twists from regulation formula to provide top interest as strictly exciting escapist entry.  -- New York Times

BADMAN'S TERRITORY (RKO, 1946)


DIRECTOR: Tim Whelan; PRODUCER: Nat Holt;  WRITERS: screenplay by Jack Natteford and Luci Ward; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert de Grasse

CAST: Randolph Scott, George "Gabby" Hayes, Ann Richards, Ray Collins, James Warren, Morgan Conway, Virginia Sale, Chief Thudercloud, Lawrence Tierney, Tom Tyler, Steve Brodie, Phil Warren, William Moss, Nestor Pavia, Isabel Jewell, Kermit Maynard, Ben Johnson, Bud Osborne, Elmo Lincoln, Bob Wilke, Emory Parnell, Harry Harvey

STUNTS: Ben Johnson, Kermit Maynard



"See them ALL in action in one picture!" proclaims on poster for the film.  The ALL being a whole host of flea-bitten varmints and owl hoots who, at one time or the other, rode the outlaw trail -- but not all at the same time -- except in this movie (and one other, which we will get to later).  There's Frank and Jesse James (Tyler and Tierney); Bob, Grat, and Bill Dalton (Brodie, Phil Warren, and Moss); Sam Bass (Pavia), Belle Starr (Jewell), Bill Doolin (Carl Eric Hansen); and Charlie Bryant (Glenn McCarthy).

Even Elmo Lincoln (born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt), the screen's first Tarzan, makes an appearance as Dick Broadwell.

And lawman Mark Rowley (Scott) has to contend will all of these bad men and this bad woman who have congregated in the Oklahoma Territory.  Well, of course you have to suspend your annoying tendency to point out historical inaccuracies in films in order to enjoy this one. This is primarily necessary because several of these individuals had already bit the dust well before the Daltons became wanted outlaws.  Belle had been assassinated a year earlier; Jesse four years earlier; and Sam Bass had been gone for over a decade.

As it often happens, Oklahoma looks a lot like California.    

But never mind.  Viewers didn't seem to mind (or know) about historical chronology and the movie did good business at the box office.  The film is also significant in that it represents the beginning of Randolph Scott's transition to full-time western star.

It also represents Gabby's first appearance in a Randolph Scott film, but it wouldn't be the last.

Two years earlier Gabby appeared in his final John Wayne film, TALL IN SADDLE (RKO).  Then in 1946, weary of the grind of making eight pictures a year plus his work in A-westerns, Gabby left Republic and the highly popular Roy Rogers series.

RKO had liked him in TALL IN THE SADDLE and even gave him second billing in BADMAN'S TERRITORY. Ironically, with all those historical outlaws, Gabby portrays a fictitious ex-outlaw known as the "Coyote Kid."

******
REVIEWS:

"Nat Holt produced this absurdity; history twisted beyond belief.  The "B" antics are actionful, the performers mostly likable, the script bewildering.  Poor, but amusing for the kiddies." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"The number of featured parts necessarily make for an episodic structure but Whelan's spirited direction lifts the material well above the rut of routine." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"Solid Western...nonstop fireworks.  Rich characterizations, with Hayes fun as the Coyote Kid." -- Leonard Maltin 

"....it’s a Randolph Scott Western of the 1940s and as such is definitely worth a watch. Put your credulity on hold and enjoy it for what it is. But don’t expect too much. No one would put it at the top of the Randy list." -- Jeff Arnold's West



TRAIL STREET (RKO, 1947)


DIRECTOR: Ray Enright;  PRODUCER: Nat Holt;  Screenplay by Norman Houston and Gene Lewis based on novel by William Corcoran;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: J. Roy Hunt

CAST:  Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George "Gabby" Hayes, Madge Meredith, Virginia Sale, Harry Woods, Steve Brodie, Ernie Adams, Si Jenks

You have seen this disclaimer many times:

The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictional. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The above appears in TRAIL STREET's opening credits.  So, were they telling us that we should regard as coincidence that the hero's name is Bat Masterson?  And that he is a famous Kansas lawman?  Oh, really?

Well, the rest of the movie is certifiably fiction. To wit: Billy Burns (Gabby Hayes), an old friend of Bat Masterson (Randolph Scott), asks him to come to Liberal, Kansas to take the marshal's job and to help settle a range feud between farmers and ranchers.  In reality Bat Masterson was never a lawman in Liberal, Kansas and may never have even been in the town.  No matter, in the movie he answers his friend's call and makes things right.

Evidently the film confused Brian Garfield.  Ordinarily, I will defer to him on matters (most of the time) when it comes to western movies, but not in this instance. In his review he has Bat cleaning up Dodge City and identifies Robert Ryan as the villain.  Well, as already established, it was Liberal, not Dodge City, and furthermore, Ryan is a good guy this time.

3 good guys: Ryan, Hayes, and Scott

******
REVIEWS:

"Set in town of Liberal, it features farmers versus cattlemen, wilderness versus cultivated land, East versus West, democratic versus individual action and is punctuated by Gabby Hayes' tall stories about the likes of a Texas grasshopper tall enough to pick their teeth with barbed wire." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"It is just another pistol drama in which the good marshal ... cleans out a nest of cowboy villains who are making life miserable on the Kansas farms." -- New York Times

WYOMING (Republic, 1947)


DIRECTOR:  Joseph Kane;  PRODUCER: Joseph Kane; WRITERS: screenplay by Lawrence Hazard and Gerald Geraghty; CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Alton


CAST: William Elliott, Vera Hruba Ralston, John Carroll, George "Gabby" Hayes, Albert Dekker, Virginia Grey, Marie Ouspenskaya, Grant Withers, Harry Woods, Dick Curtis, Roy Barcroft, Trevor Bardette, Paul Harvey, Tom London, George Chesebro, Jack O'Shea, Charles Middleton, Eddy Waller, Olin Howlin, Glenn Strange, Charles King, Rex Lease, Marshall Reed, Ben Johnson

STUNTS: Fred Graham, Ben Johnson, Chuck Roberson, Tom Steele


This was the second in a new series of Republic films starring William "Wild Bill" Elliott. While the studio had earlier filmed two ambitious, big-budget (for them) films, MAN OF CONQUEST and DARK COMMAND, these films were not part of a B-western series in that they had longer running times, bigger budgets, more mature plots, and better production values than those films, but they were characterized by many B-western elements, beginning with the star.

Elliott had become a B-western star at Columbia beginning in 1938. In 1943 he signed on with Republic and starred in two series there, first as himself and then as Red Ryder. In 1946 Republic moved him into this new series which the studio hoped would hold appeal for both adult and juvenile audiences. One of the B-western holdovers in these films was the presence of a comic sidekick.

Gabby, considering his popularity, would have seemed to be a natural for the films. However, he had cut his ties with Republic the year before and WYOMING was his only appearance in the series, and in fact was his final film for that studio.

Andy Clyde had the sidekick role in the initial entry and after WYOMING Andy Devine, who had replaced Gabby as Roy Rogers' sidekick, supported Elliott in a couple of his films, while continuing his role as Roy's sidekick, Cookie Bullfincher.

One of the drawbacks to these films was the presence of Vera Hruba Ralston, an ice skater from Czechoslovakia, who had been brought to the U.S. by Republic's boss, Herbert J. Yates, who attempted to make her an actress. He mandated that she be put in films, but it was impossible to make her an actress. Her English was so limited initially that she had to learn her lines phonetically. But because Yates' relationship to Ralston was more than professional, he persevered to the detriment of these films.

WYOMING's plot is the one about a dispute between a cattle baron and homesteaders that has been filmed many, many times. So, there isn't anything new here. Gabby is Thomas Jefferson "Windy" Gibson, who befriends the Elliott character. So, there isn't anything new there either.

It isn't SHANE, of course, but it isn't a bad film either.

******
REVIEWS:

"Beautifully lit by Alton with a vividness unusual for the period ... and energetically directed by Kane .... This is one of Elliott's best prestige westerns." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"The players are typecast, the script mostly formulaic, the direction typically speedy; it's a pretty good Elliott oater but rather juvenile. -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

ALBUQUERQUE (Paramount, 1948)

DIRECTOR: Ray Enright;  PRODUCERS: William H. Pine and William C. Thomas;  WRITERS: screenplay by Gene Lewis and Clarence Upson Young based on novel by Luke Short, Dead Freight for Piute;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Fred Jackman, Jr.


CAST: Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, George "Gabby" Hayes, Lon Chaney, Jr., Russell Hayden, Catherine Craig, George Cleveland, Irving Bacon, Russell Simpson, Dan White, Lane Chandler, Chuck Roberson, Lee "Lasses" White

STUNTS: Chuck Roberson

The Luke Short novel that the screenplay is based on is characterized by a plot that is a little out of the ordinary.  Many of his novels feature a range feud plot, but this one is a story about a conflict between competing ore-hauling outfits.

Gabby, as Juke, is on the right side of course.  And although Randolph Scott starts out on the wrong side he quickly sees the error of his way and switches sides.  

Russell Hayden, who began his acting career as Hopalong Cassidy's young sidekick, Lucky Jenkins, and then went on to star in a couple of series of his own, is the owner of the freight line that Scott helps win the competition.

Earlier in the decade, Lee "Lasses" White was a comic sidekick for Tim Holt and Jimmy Wakely.

Russell Hayden as Lucky Jenkins

******
REVIEWS:

"Smoothly scripted by Lewis and Young, with Scott making the central character a believable one ... the production is only marred by Enright's spotty direction which slows the action down too frequently." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"It's a good fast Luke Short yarn, well plotted with plenty of twists and fairly adult characters.  Minor, but well done by all." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

RETURN OF THE BAD MEN (RKO, 1948)


DIRECTOR: Ray Enright;  PRODUCER: Nat Holt; WRITERS: screenplay by Charles O'Neal, Jack Natteford, and Luci Ward based on story by Jack Natteford and Luci Ward;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: J. Roy Hunt


CAST: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George "Gabby" Hayes, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, Tom Keene, Robert Bray, Lex Barker, Walter Reed, Michael Harvey, Dean White, Robert Armstrong, Tom Tyler, Lew Harvey, Ernie Adams, Victor Adamson, Hank Bell, Lane Chandler, Earle Hodgins, Kenneth MacDonald, Bud Osborne, Harry Shannon, Charlie Stevens, Forrest Taylor


We're back in Oklahoma Territory and the usual suspects have been rounded up and Randolph Scott is once again a lawman forced to contend with many of the same outlaws he confronted in BADMAN'S TERRITORY two years earlier.  But he isn't the same person.  Mark Rowley in the former, he is now Vance Cordell in the latter.  But that isn't the only confusing aspect associated with RETURN OF THE BADMEN.  The same kind of inaccurate historical chronologies are as true of this film as were true of its predecessor.  So the viewer is advised to just go with the flow and accept the film for what it is, a work of pure fiction that utilizes the names of real people.      

Here is the outlaw lineup and the actors who portrayed them: 

• The Sundance Kid (but no Butch) -- Robert Ryan

• Cole, Jim, and John Younger -- Steve Brodie, Tom Keene (RKO's first B-Western series star at the beginning of the sound era), and Robert Bray

• Emmett, Bob, and Grat Dalton -- Lex Barker (a year later he would become RKO's Tarzan), Walter Reed, and Michael Harvey

• Billy the Kid -- Dean White 

• Wild Bill Doolin -- Robert Armstrong

• Wild Bill Yeager (never heard of him) -- Tom Tyler

• Arkansas Kid (ditto) -- Lew Harvey

Gabby gets to play a banker in this one while Anne Jeffreys, as Cheyenne, is billed as the "notorious gun girl."  Gun girl?    

Sadly, we have to say goodbye to veteran character actor Ernie Adams who died shortly before this film, his 427th, was released.

Ernie Adams

******

REVIEWS:

"Ryan is splendid as lead heavy." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"Ryan's edginess and Scott's air of assured competence complement each other well and, despite the showier roles of Brodie and Armstrong, they are always at the center of the film.  This is a superior RKO star western. -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"Stand-out is Robert Ryan, always one of the best bad guys available...." -- Jeff Arnold's West

THE UNTAMED BREED (Columbia, 1948)

(L-R): George E. Stone, Barbara Britton, Sonny Tufts, Gabby Hayes

DIRECTOR: Charles Lamont;  PRODUCER: Harry Joe Brown;  RITERS: screenplay by Tom Reed based on story by Eli Colter; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Charles Lawton, Jr.


CAST: Sonny Tufts, Barbara Britton, George "Gabby" Hayes, Edgar Buchanan, William Bishop, George E. Stone, Joe Sawyer, Gordon Jones, James Kirkwood, Virginia Brissac, Reed Howes, Russell Simpson, Paul Burns, Syd Saylor, Dick Elliott

STUNTS: Yakima Canutt (also stunt co-ordinator), Fred Graham, Jock Mahoney


Stop me if you've heard this one.  Texas ranchers import a Brahma bull to improve their cattle herd.  The bull escapes and commits havoc in the area.  He injures people and kills other bulls.  Some people want to kill the bull, but our hero (Sonny Tufts), whose idea it was to import the bull in the first place, is adamantly opposed.  And so he sets out to capture the bull.  

However, he decides that the only way he can capture the bull is to capture and gentle a wild horse known as the Widow Maker. Only then, will he have enough horse to subjugate the bull.  If he is successful (and of course he is), he might win the hand of the leading lady (Barbara Britton) away from his rival (William Bishop) (which of course he does).

I'm not sure what the editor of the Saturday Evening Post saw in this story, but that's where it first appeared.  Furthermore, what did the producers of this movie see in it?


Director Lamont's forte was not westerns.  He specialized in cornball comedies starring the likes of Abbott and Costello, Judy Canova, Ma and Pa Kettle, and even Francis the Talking Mule.  THE UNTAMED BREED, which referred to the bull, or the horse, or the people, or all three, is not a comedy -- or at least not intentionally.

The leading man was a problem, too.  Like the director, Sonny Tufts (nee Bowen Charlton Tufts III) never had much experience with westerns.  He was born in Boston, and it showed. A good actor might have been able to overcome that fact, but Sonny was never accused of being a good actor.

Not even Gabby Hayes (as 'Windy' Lucas) and Edgar Buchanan in the same picture could save this one.  There were some other pros in the cast, too. For instance, Barbara Britton had been in a ton of westerns and always gave a good account of herself.

Speaking of pros, Yak co-ordinated and performed stunts and was ably assisted by Fred Graham and Jock Mahoney.  Charles Lawton was a talented cinematographer and some of the location shooting took place in the scenic Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California.  Producer Harry Joe Brown, unlike the director and the film's star, had a long list of westerns on his resume, and there would be many more in the future.  However, all these pluses were not enough to offset the critical minuses.

On the sidekick front, two years later Gordon Jones (as 'Splinters' McGonigle) would replace Andy Devine ('Cookie' Bullfincher) as Roy Rogers' comic sidekick. It was not an improvement, since Jones turned out to be a graduate of the buffoon sidekick school.

******
REVIEWS:

"... Tufts and Bishop look strained trying to follow the episodic plot .... Only Buchanan and, surprisingly, Britton, seem able to just get on with it." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"Apparently no one connected with it had much respect for it; it's an unintentional parody -- a textbook example of hokey lousy horse opera. The acting is terrible -- Tufts is howlingly inept with his Brooklyn sounding speech mannerisms -- and the script convoluted, the directing amateurish and the story dull. -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide 

NOTE: As pointed out above, Tufts was born in Boston, not Brooklyn, so that must have been the accent that Garfield heard even though they are quite different.  

This is one of those cases in which the poster was more exciting than the movie.  Furthermore, those movies cited at the top did not contain all that much "Action," "Excitement," or "Adventure" but tended to be overblown and on the turgid side.  No surprise since two of them were directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

EL PASO (Paramount, 1949)


Director: Lewis R. Foster;  PRODUCERS: William H. Pine and William C. Thomas;  WRITERS: screenplay by Lewis R. Foster based on story by J. Robert Bren and Gladys Atwater;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ellis W. Carter


CAST: John Payne, Gail Russell, Sterling Hayden, George "Gabby" Hayes, Dick Foran, Eduardo Noriega, Henry Hull, Mary Beth Hughes, H.B. Warner, Bobby Ellis, Arthur Space, Steven Geray, Irving Bacon, Lane Chandler, John Hart, Reed Howes, John Merton, Jack Perrin, Denver Pyle, Keith Richards, Lee Roberts, Dan White, Lee "Lasses" White, Chief Yowlachie

Clay and Pesky

Shortly after the end of the Civil War, Clay Fletcher (John Payne), an eastern lawyer, travels to west Texas to conduct some legal business.   Unfortunately, he runs afoul of a gang of thieves headed by Bert Donner (Sterling Hayden) and sheriff LaFarge (Dick Foran), his partner in crime. What really riles Fletcher is the fact that the crooks are stealing the land from returning war veterans.

When nothing else works, Fletcher teaches himself to handle a gun and organizes a vigilante organization to oppose Donner and La Farge.

However, the vigilante organization evolves into a mob that takes the life of an innocent man, forcing Fletcher to rethink the situation.  In the end, he opposes the violence, but nevertheless prevails against the lawless element led by Donner.

The film had a decent cast.  It was Payne's first western, but he would go on to make quite a few, and when the script allowed he could give a good account of himself.  The same could be said about Sterling Hayden, who always played a tough guy, and he could give an authentic performance on either side of the law.

Gail Russell didn't appear in many westerns, but she was very good in two that are fondly remembered by fans of the genre: THE ANGEL AND THE BADMAN (Republic, 1947)  and SEVEN MEN FROM NOW (Batjac/WB, 1956).

Both John Payne and Dick Foran began their movie careers as singers.  In fact, Foran was one of the very first singing cowboys and was Warner Brothers answer to Gene Autry in the '30's.  

Singing cowboy Dick Foran, Smokey, and friend.

And Gabby, well Gabby is "Pesky."  And guess what, he becomes friends with the hero; not exactly what one would call being cast against type.

******
REVIEWS:

"The one about the lawyer who reluctantly learns to strap on a gun.  Flabby and wheezy with dull slapstick relief." Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"The idea of the lawyer taking the law into his own gunhands is quite original and Payne manages the change from educated Easterner to dynamic outlaw leader rather well, in his restrained way." -- Jeff Arnold's West

"Even "Gabby" Hayes as the comic looks rather woe-begone." -- Bosley Crowther, New York Times



THE CARIBOO TRAIL (Fox, 1950)

DIRECTOR: Edwin L. Marin; PRODUCER: Nat Holt;  WRITERS: screenplay by Frank Gruber based on story by John Rhodes Sturdy;   CINEMATOGRAPHER: Fred Jackman, Jr.


CAST: Randolph Scott, George "Gabby" Hayes, Bill Williams, Karin Booth, Victor Jory, Douglas Kennedy, Jim Davis, Dale Robertson, James Griffith, Lee Tung Foo, Fred Libby, Ben Corbett, Franklyn Farnum, Kermit Maynard


The writers attempted to tell a different a story that would be a departure from the run-of-the mill western oater, but in the end it is a routine affair.

The plot has Jim Redfern (Randolph Scott), his partner Mike Evans (Bill Williams), and their cook Ling (Lee Tung Foo) driving a small herd of cattle from Montana up the Cariboo Trail into British Columbia where they hope to establish a cattle ranch. Or at least Redfern does; Evans is more interested in finding gold.

The two men meet an old prospector on the trail who decides to travel with them.  Of course that would be Gabby Hayes, whose character's name is Grizzly. That night riders stampede the cattle through the camp with Evans being so badly injured that he loses an arm, one that is amputated by Redfern who in doing so saves his friend's life, but an act for which he receives no thanks.

After that, the story proceeds much like one would suspect.

Victor Jory, Douglas Kennedy, and Jim Davis are the villains, though Davis is dispatched by Redfern early in the film.  Karin Booth portrays a saloon owner with the proverbial heart of gold who falls for Redfern.  A young Dale Robertson has a small part, but would soon be on his way to making a name for himself in the western genre.

Some exteriors were filmed in British Columbia, but it appears that most of the film was shot in Colorado. One shot in the film I recognize from my own experience, because I have photographed the same area.  Here are two examples:

 

     

These photographs were taken along the Gunnison River, which is located in central Colorado.  Those dark clouds coming in from the west were about to become even more ominous looking.  As I discovered, they represented the front edge of a snowstorm making its way across the Continental Divide.

Gabby Hayes had started portraying grizzled old-timers in films beginning when he was still in forties.  And even in 1950 when THE CARIBOO TRAIL was released he was still only sixty-five and could have soldiered on for several more years if he had wished.  But he decided to call it quits, which was just as well. By this time he had become a cliche and seemed to be going through the motions, not even being asked to do as much acting as was once required of him in his days with William Boyd and Roy Rogers.

But he didn't shave his beard, or get rid of his floppy hat, or vest, or patched jeans. Instead, still in character he moved from the big screen to the small screen.  In 1950-54, he hosted The Gabby Hayes Show, a fifteen minute program that ran on NBC three times a week.  As host of the show he promoted his sponsor, Quaker Oats, spun yarns, and narrated clips of old B-westerns.  In 1956, he hosted a thirty minute show that ran Saturday mornings on ABC.  It lasted thirteen weeks.  And that was it; he retired from show business for good.

So long, Buckaroos

George Francis Hayes died in 1969.  He was eighty-three years old.