Study Topics

Here is a list of the topics that might be covered in the Final Exam.  Nothing will be included on the test that is not outlined here.

·         Characteristics of the “Hollywood Style”
·         Melodrama & Silent Film – definitions and characteristics
·         The Studios – Majors, Minors, Poverty Row – names and what they were known for
·         Business structure of the Studio System
·         Factors that brought the original Studio System to an end
·         Origins and characteristics of the Star System
·         Genres – categories and conventions
·         Origins and characteristics of Film Noir
·         Censorship – the Hays Code and the MPAA

Double Indemnity - Loved it!

Loved the movie!  Thought it might be difficult to see MacMurray in that type of role, but within a couple of minutes, I was totally into, and convinced, of his character, baby (it sounded good coming from MacMurray!
In the future I will be more suspicious of Barbara Stanwyck's character.  I was caught off guard by the story Lola told MacMurray when they were behind the Hollywood Bowl. I never knew much about Stanwyck's acting abilities out side of the TV western and now I really like her!
P.S.  Our country has come a long way from drive-in's serving beer to a driver as he sits behind the wheel of a car!

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity is without doubt one of the best well written, directed and acted movies to date. Billy Wilder's direction of these fine actors was impressive. Initially when I saw that Fred MacMurray was the lead actor in this film, I was surprised, considering that most of his roles have been the "good guy". MacMurray's character was one of the most memorable characters.  MacMurray's character (Walter Neff) was one of the most complex characters. Neff fell in love with Barbara Stanwyck's character (Phyllis Dietrichson) immediately after meeting her and within a matter of days agreed to kill her husband for the insurance money. what Walter Neff did not know was that from the very beginning of their meeting, Phyllis was and did use him to do her bidding when it came to killing her husband. My favorite character in the film is Edward G. Robinson (Barton Keyes) who was the middle man for the insurance company that Walter Neff and Barton Keyes worked for. Barton Keyes always had a "gut feeling" about people attempting to collect insurance money.  If Barton had that feeling that something was not "kosher" about the death of Phyllis's husband Mr. Dietrichson portrayed by (Tom Powers).  Barton Keyes would not let the case go until he was completely satisfied that he has exhausted all possibilities that the case was complete. There is no doubt why this wonderful film received all the academy award nominations it received in 1944.

DBL Indemnity/Detour

My husband and I watched DBL Indemnity together and we both enjoyed the plot and the characters.  It moved a little slow in some parts, but overall an enjoyable movie.  I thought it was a little "out of character" for Fred MacMurray but he actually did a great job. 
Detour, I found to be depressing, quick talking; not sure what the hurry was.  The voice of Tom Neal reminded me of Jack Webb, Sgt Joe Friday in Dragnet.

Double Indemnity/Detour

I enjoyed both of these movies, each were well done. In Double Indemnity, I thought it was a little strange that Neff would fall in love so fast and be willing to kill for her. All and all the movie had some good twists.

Detour was a little darker in my opinion the Double Indemnity, and I knew that I knew there was trouble for Al the minute that he picked up Vera. This movie was more of the bad things happening to a not so bad of a guy. In reality, Tom Neal who played Al Roberts personal life  was like a Film Noir. He had beaten a rival actor/boyfriend Franchot Tone into a coma, over Barbara Payton in 1951. Then in 1965, he shot his third wife, Gale Bennett, in the back of the head with a  45, killing her. The state of California wanted the death penalty, but he was only convicted on manslaughter serving 6 years in prison. In Film Noir style, he died less than a year later.

Double Indemnity/Detour

Double Indemnity and Detour are two sides of Film Noir. The way to do it right via Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity and, in my opinion, the wrong way via Edgar G. Ulmer's Detour.

I found Double Indemnity to be really engaging and actually somewhat racy considering when it was released. I did find out that a number of actors actually turned down the role of Walter Neff due to the content. It was surprising to see Fred MacMurray in this role considering his squeaky clean image but it worked well because he was so unassuming. Even more shocking to discover that Walter Neff clearly planned the homicide of Mr. Dietrichson. Barbara Stanwyck was awesome as the cheating wife in cahoots with Neff. But I have to say that my favorite of the film was Edward G. Robinson as Barton Keyes, Claims Adjuster. He was relentless in his pursuit that something was wrong with Mr. Dietrichson's death.

The film Detour was definitely filled with tons of Film Noir story staples peppered throughout even down to the quick patter speech with colloquialisms that were the norm of the genre but the story seemed uneven with just too much going on by "happenstance", no chemistry between the leads (Tom Neal & Ann Savage) and just an unbelievable ending. It made it hard for me to remain engaged.

As a general rule, Film Noir is my least favorite of all film genres. There is something about the constant voiceover and the dark tones that doesn't hook me. However, I can now say that I have a favorite film in this genre - Double Indemnity.

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity.  This was a great movie.  A lot of twists.  I still have issues with people falling so madly in love in just a short time.  I am starting to see that in that time period it was the normal in movies.  I have a hard time watching films with Barbara Stanwyck without thinking of her role in The Big Valley which I religiously watched when I was young.   I had the same issue with Fred MacMurray as I remember him from My Three Sons.   But I did really like this movie – I liked the suspense and surprises (never would have thought they would consider it a suicide). I would watch it again.    

Tombstone 1993

Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and his brothers decide to settle in the town of Tombstone with their wives.  Unfortunately trouble was not far behind them.  Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) is a friend of Wyatt and has also come to Tombstone.  A gang called the Cowboys lead by Curly Bill (Powers Boothe) provokes countless problems including killing the town Marshal.  Wyatt is disappointed when Virgil decides to become a Marshal to bring a sense of order to town.  Wyatt has feelings for Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany) from a theater group.  His wife Mattie is addicted to opium due to her headaches.  The plans he had to retire and take life easy are all falling apart.  He had to face the cowboys as a lawman and completely destroy any existence of them.  Doc Holliday and several others fought with Wyatt Earp to end the reign of the cowboys, he had made the statement that Wyatt Earp was the only friend he had.  The best part of the movie is when Wyatt finds Josephine and they dance away in the snow.  My favorite character is Doc Holliday.                  -   J. Jackson

The Outlaw Josey Wales - 1976

Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) was a husband, father and farmer until a gang of Union Jayhawkers murdered and raped his wife and burned their home while his son was still inside.  Wales joined the Confederates and fought with them but when the was was over he refused to surrender.  The men that decided to surrender were betrayed and gunned down by Captain Terrill's Redlegs.  Josey manages to escape numerous difficult situations even with a $5000 bounty on his head.  It does appear that Josey was an outlaw but he only killed when it was necessary for his survival and those he chose to protect.  -    J. Jackson  

Films of the 1960s

Perhaps more than any other decade, the 1960s represented a change in the ways movies were made and viewed.  The following ten titles are not only great films from that period, but were highly influential in terms of style, content and theme.

In the Heat of the Night - 1967

The Graduate - 1967

Easy Rider - 1969

The Manchurian Candidate - 1962

Night of the Living Dead - 1968

Bonnie and Clyde - 1967

The Wild Bunch - 1969

2001: A Space Oddessy - 1968

Psycho - 1960

Dr. Strangelove - 1964

The Big Sleep

I thought this film was so much better than The Long Goodbye. More originality, more acting, and it made a whole lot more sense. Although, I did get confused a few times because of how many characters were being followed, I was able to piece the film together and understand what was happening. Great acting by some solid actors. Overall, it was a good film.

The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye was one of the least favorite films.  It was so drawn out and boring.  There were really no interesting characters which made you want to continue watching.  I don't really like Elliot Gould as an actor, he plays his character with such low energy and lacks any kind of enthusiasm.  Boring. Boring.

The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye starring Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe was extremely long, drawn out and not very entertaining. Marlowe's character was drab, and the supposed quick witty remarks were awful. The acting on all parts was not very good at all. The neighbor girls had to there as a poor attempt to get guys to want to watch the film, because they served no other purpose. All and all a film I would never watch again.

The Long Ggoodbye

I liked this movie a lot.  A lot of twists and turns and the ending was very unexpected.  And I didn’t realize how important the cat was in that movie until the end.  I had forgotten how good Elliot Gould was.   I would watch this movie again.  I  thought it was pretty cool that they used the song in many ways throughout the movie. Also, the amount of smoking was crazy especially in the public buildings.    It reminds me how far we have come with our attitude with smoking.   

Some Neo-Noir Recomendations

For those of you who hated "The Long Goodbye", here are some other noirish films that were made after the classic era.  I can't guarantee anything, but they are all quite good and they are streamable on Netflix.

Charley Varrick - 1973

Cutter's Way - 1981

The Man Who Wasn't There - 2001

Thief - 1981 

The Long (Meandering) Goodbye

I watched The Long Goodbye directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould as famous pulp fiction private detective, Phillip Marlowe.

Like most of Altman's work, I found the movie slow and meandering, with more attention being paid to the incidentals and not enough on the actual art of telling the story. This makes it hard for me to "lose" myself in the film. Instead, I am paying too much attention to that which does not matter including Gould's "stream of consciousness" voice over and the unbelievably poor ADR of the actor's voices in post-production. I do understand that Altman is considered an auteur and I have tried to watch a number of his films but have had the same exact feeling; meandering with no connection to the characters on screen. In fact, I had more of an interest of what happened to Marlowe's cat and if he ever got Courry Brand cat food versus what happened to Terry Lennox or his wife.

I did find it funny that when I Google-searched the word meandering followed by Robert Altman, I came upon a number of articles that refer to his style of direction as such. It was also interesting to note that Terrance Malick is considered to have a similar meandering style. However, what I find to be the major difference is that the way that Malick uses cinematography to tell the story and push it forward so visually, it keeps the viewer engaged. The watching of Marlowe's female neighbors shot voyeuristically seemed for titillation purposes rather than any real intrinsic value to the story.

Farewell Long Goodbye

What a steaming pile of a movie. It not only highlighted everything that was wrong about the early 70's and California, it actually seemed to boast about it. I can't say enough about how bad this movie was. I want my two hours of wasted time back.

Singing in the Rain

I have found myself over the past week, singing and humming the tunes from the musical,  Singing In the Rain.  I had never seen the movie prior to class, and I must say, I was entertained with the actors, the comedy, the dancing and the songs..."what a wonderful feeling, I'm happy again..."  Seeing this movie made me want to see more movies like this.  I am surprised that I have enjoyed some of the films we have watched and am realizing that there are probably so many movies to explore (perhaps after graduation).  The dancing talent was definately put to good use in making musicals for many generations to appreciate.

The Searchers with John Wayne and Natalie Wood

Classic John Wayne movie directed by John Ford. The story is of a Comanche raid on settlers where the family is killed and the young daughters are kidnapped. One is killed, the youngest (approx 12 yrs old), played by Natalie Wood,  is taken and made one of the wives of the leader of the tribe. The Duke, takes out after her and goes on a five year mission to find his niece. He is accompanied by her adopted brother, who is half Cherokee, and never showed any respect by the Duke. The fight scenes are realistic and the landscape is magnificent. Interesting side notes include the valley that this was shot in was the same valley that Ford used for half a dozen other movies, including Stagecoach, John Wayne's first movie. This was the first movie in this location filmed in 

Technicolor, showing the beauty of the area. And Natalie Wood's younger sister plays her role as the young girl that was the focus of the search, when she was abducted as a child. 

Great movie, if you like westerns, this is the bomb. 

The Long Goodbye

Robert Altman is a film-maker I had always had an affection for, however after watching The Long Goodbye, not once but twice. Even after a second time of viewing this film I was completely dis-satisfied. This film starred Elliot Gould a great actor who has starred in many films and in the films that i have seen him in I was always impressed, until this film. First and foremost, I sincerely hope the lack of quality acting was more of a spoof. If not that film should not of been made. The film was very predictable once the plot was revealed, once the police showed up at Phillip Marlow's house the rest of the film became predictable. One of the most noticeable things was the amount of smoking Elliot Gould's character did during the film. What was the purpose? One of the more funnier moments in the film is when the two dogs were having sex, what purpose did that have in the film? Henry Gibson played the Doctor, and has always played more interesting characters in films and television. The surprise person in the film was Arnold Schwarzenegger as one of the bodyguards. I'm glad it was not a speaking role, one could only imaging the thickness of his accent back in 1973.

A Film Noir Gallery

Here are some shots from among the best Film Noir has to offer.  It is a world of shadow, paranoia, sex, violence and cruel fate.  Enjoy.

The Big Heat

Detour

Double Indemnity

The Maltese Falcon

Gun Crazy

Kiss Me Deadly

Touch of Evil

Out of the Past

Murder My Sweet

Nightmare Alley

Singing In The Rain

I really enjoyed this movie and cannot believe that I never saw it before tonight. This movie was done in a time when the movie stars actually had talent, they could sing, dance and act. Many of the stars of today, are stars for being infamous instead of talented.

The Lady Eve

 Henry Fonda (Charlie Pike)  and Barbara Stanwyck (Jean/Eve) star in the Romantic Comedy about a dim witted naive air to the Pike Ale fortune and a beautiful card sharp that travels with her father, "Colonel Harrington" and their compainion Gerald. Pike, along with his body guard, Muggsy just return from a year in the Amazon, where Charlie leaves with an exotic snake (his passion is snakes). Charlie and Muggsy have the ocean liner stop in the middle of the ocean  to have them board, sparking speculation about how rich he must be. After Gerald investigates, Jean gets Charlie's attention by tripping him on the way out of the dinning room, and has him bring her back to her room to replace her broken shoes. Jean actually falls in love with Charlie and keeps her father and partner from conning him.Muggsy, being ever suspicious, finds out about Jean being a con woman and has the purser show Charlie a picture with all the information typed on the back. Charlie is so upset that he breaks off his engagement to Jean.

Upon leaving the ocean liner, Jean finds out that her father kept the 32 thousand dollar check that he conned Charlie out of. After running into another old partner, "Sir Alfred" who has been conning the rich of CT for some time, Jean decides to join him and shows up at Charlie's home as "Lady Eve". He thinks she is the same person, but is not sure and keeps tripping and falling into things, causing him to need to change clothes three times in one evening. "Lady Eve" eventually has Charlie fall in love with her and they marry. On their honeymoon train ride, she starts to confess and names quite a few ex boyfriends and part lovers and Charlie jumps off the train. "Lady Eve" only wants Charlie to end the marriage to her face, but he refuses. Once she finds out he is on another ocean liner, she and her father get on that ocean liner and she trips Charlie the same way she did the first time. They go back to her room, and he confesses that he is married and she said that's alright darling, so am I.

The movie was a little predictable, and no one could ever be as stupid/gullible as Charlie.  William Demarest was great as Muggsy.

Django Unchained

On Saturday evening I decided to go to the movies and watch Django Unchained.....WOW!!!!! This is one of the best written and directed films I have seen in quite a while. Quentin Tarantino has another masterpiece. Not since Reservoir Dogs has Quentin Tarantino had directed a movie that had me intrigued from the opening credits until the end credits.  The acting in this film was AWESOME, the character that stole the film was Samuel L. Jackson who portrayed the character of (Stephen) the role Samuel L. Jackson portrayed evoked multiple emotions, from him being a likable character from a comedic stand-point to his character being hated for his portrayal of the ultimate in "House Nigga". The other actor who stole his role was that of Christoph Waltz who played Dr. King Schultz  his role as a hardened killer with a true sense of goodwill, in spite of his killer role, he ultimately had a heart and wanted to do good by people. I recommend this film to anyone who is looking for a great story with some great action.

The Treasure od Sierra Madre

The Treasue of Sierra Madre

I initially wanted to watch this film to see Humphrey Bogart in a Western type movie. I am really impressed by how great this movie was.

Fred Dobbs (Bogart) meets Bob Curtain (Tim Holt) in a Mexican town where both Americans are begging for money and looking for work. They both end up working for a man named McCormick in the building industry in Mexico. McCormick has many men working for them and promises to pay them $8 US dollars a day once they are back in Tampico. Once they get back, McCormick tells the men that the person that is supposed to meet them with the money is not there. He tells them that he will go to his office and bring the money back to the ferry. Dobbs and Curtain do not trust McCormick and ask to go with him, McCormick gives them some money and tells them to meet him at a bar at 3. Mccormick never shows up and the locals inform them of the scam the McCormick runs on desperate men to get free labor. With hardly any money left after drinking at the bar, Dobbs and Curtain head to a run down rooming house where they meet Howard (Walter Houston). Howard is talking about mining for gold in Sierra Madre, but warns the men that gold can turn good men into bad men. Dobbs and Curtain, after leaving the rooming house, talk about mining for gold and bringing Howard in on it. Dobbs fears that they would have to carry the older man because he would not be physically fit, Curtain said don't under estimate him just for being old. At this point Dobbs asks Curtain if he believes what the old man said about gold turning good guys into bad with greed, and they both decide that they would not be effected by gold and wealth in that way.

The three men make the journey to the mountain and start the mining. The more gold that they mine, the less they trust one another, especially Dobbs. They decided to divide the gold up nightly with each man being responsible for his own share. They are all leery of the others. While they are mining in a cave, the cave collapses and traps Dobbs inside, Curtain has the choice to go in and get him or leave him there, he decides to rescue him. This does not stop Dobbs from feeling like Curtain was going to kill him and steal his gold. On one of the trips into town curtain is tailed by another American, Cody (Bruce Bennett),that wants to mine for gold. Coy does not want a share of what was  mined but what would be mined. The three men decide to kill him instead of sharing the wealth or risk him turning them in. Cody is saved because of bandits, but is killed by the bandits. Curtain wants to give a fourth of the gold to Cody's wife and son, Howard agrees, and Dobbs is totally against the idea. The three decide to close up the mountain and head back into Durango to exchange the gold for cash. Along the way, Indians find them and ask for help for a boy that has nearly drowned by was unresponsive. Howard goes along with them and saves the boy. The Indians come back to repay Howard, where Dobbs does not want to delay going into town and wants to kill the Indians. Howard tells Dobbs and Curtain to take his share of the gold, head to Durango and he would meet them there. Along the way Dobbs gets more and more delusional and decides he wants to take Howards share. Curtain stands up for Howard, which makes Dobbs believe that Curtain is going to kill him. Dobbs shots curtain, and leaves him for dead, and takes off with all the gold. Curtain was not dead, but was found by the Indians and reunited with Howard. Together they go after Dobbs to retrieve their share of the gold. Once they get into Durango, they find out that Dobbs was killed by bandits, and later discover that they gold was lost because the bandits thought it was dirt. Howard and Curtain find humor in  the situation. Howard goes back with the Indians as their Medicine Man, and Curtain decides to go to Dallas, where Cody's widow and child are.

There is a strong moral in this story, that greed can and does change people, and karma is always there. Dobbs shot Curtain for greed and money, and ends up being killed and stripped of his shoes and clothes by bandits in the middle of nowhere.

Unforgiven

Unforgiven is one of my favorite Westerns. Both Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman give great performances in this film.

Unforgiven  is about Munny who tried to leave his past past behind by getting married, having children and becoming a pig farmer. He has a good heart and is a loyal friend, even though he was a killer. His wife dies, the pigs have a fever and he needs money, so when the Kid comes to tell him about a bounty on two men for cutting up a prostitute, he eventually decides to go along. He brings Ned (Freeman), his old partner with him.

Munny gets sick along the way, and Ned will not leave him behind, so they wait for him to get better. Ned and the Kid are taking "advances" from the prostitutes while Munny is on the mend. Delila takes care of Munny and has an admiration for the devotion that he has to his wife.

With Ned being killed, Munny gives his money and Neds money to the Kid to bring Neds share to his wife. Munny goes back into the town to seek revenge for Neds death, and for the way that Neds corpse is being used as a message to others. Once Munny gets his revenge and is leaving town, Delilia is looking at him with I believe as a love and admiration for the man, even though she knows he is a killer, she also knows that there is a good side to him.

The Searchers

I really liked this movie.  I loved the scenery and the plot.  I was a little confused about who was related. The ending was really surprising and very heartfelt.  I thought that John Wayne’s one liners were funny and added some levity to the movie as well as the fight scene over Laurie and how cordial they were to each other during the fight.    I also think they did a great job in conveying the time frame of how long the search took (change of scenery, letters, etc.).  Now I remember why my mother just loved John Wayne movies.

Eastwood, Munny and The Unforgiven...

I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with Clint Eastwood's film "Unforgiven". The film's turning point when Munny discovers that his partner Ned was killed by the Sheriff (expertly played by Gene Hackman) and it was literally like Hell was unleashed on this unsuspecting town. The lesson here is "Be careful what you wish for..." The town would probably never recover from the likes of William Munny riding into town.

Eastwood's use of scenery, shadows and light really turned this gritty western into one of the better thrillers I have seen in a long time.

The Lady Eve - A Review

Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda are partnered in a screwball comedy. After seeing Henry Fonda playing so serious in The Grapes of Wrath, it was fun to see him playing the bewildered man enamored with the con artist played by Barbara Stanwyck. Wackiness and hijinks ensue. William Demarest, best known as his role as Uncle Charlie in My Three Sons was hysterical as the always suspicious Muggsy, looking out for “Hopsie’s” best interests.

The Magnificent Seven

This is a western, I look at the quality and the story line in Shane and then to watch The Magnificent Seven and there was truly a major difference. First of all the character of Chris portrayed brilliantly by  Yul Brynner is a gunslinger with a conscience. Yul Brynner saw an injustice with the treatment of the farmers by Eli Wallah's character and his band of bandits. Chris put together a band of people who all had their own issues and it appears that all the men in The Magnificent seven were attempting to make a mends from their past, and by helping the farmers, it would somehow make up for the things done in the past. The music for this film was in this writer's opinion contributed to making this movie so good. By listening to the film score you felt the emotion of certain scenes. This writer gives this film a 8.5 out of 10

A "whatthef" moment in Unforgiven was. . .

when the sheriff, after being shot with a shot gun at point-blank range was able to move and carry on a conversation . . .

The Good The Bad The Ugly Review

I have never seen the movie The Good The Bad The Ugly and found it quite enjoyable. The movie follows three gunslingers and their ultimate quest of locating $200,000 in gold. Clint Eastwood (Blondie), Lee Van Cleef (Tuco), and Eli Wallach (Angel Eyes) are fantastic in this film. Tuco especially, who is the truly the main character, shines through as a funny yet loveable bad guy. This movie is filmed in 1966 and is a true Spaghetti western were everyone/everything is covered is dust and dirt. What I also loved about this movie was that it was portrayed during the Civil War, in the West, and there were battle scenes and not only gun slinging. The soundtrack also added a lot to the movement and depth to the film.

The link below is interview of the characters. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg0jjjfKvtM

Lady Eve - Snake Charmer

I enjoyed watching Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck in this romantic comedy because their chemistry in this film was simply magical. The premise of a cardsharp falling in love with her very handsome and rich potential victim is in itself fairly predictive, but the characters work so well together it is impossible not to like this film. Barbara Stanwyck really outdid herself in this one by playing two characters who spoke with different accents. Henry Fonda was very funny as a scientist who had no clue when it came to women. This film was funny and held my interest even though this is not a movie I would have chosen to watch on my own on a Saturday afternoon. I am looking forward to other movies with these actors and in this genre, particularly those written and directed by Preston Sturges.

From Wikipedia:

  

Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Preston Sturges
Produced by	Paul Jones Buddy G. DeSylva(uncredited)
Written by	Preston Sturges
Based on	"Two Bad Hats" by Monckton Hoffe
Starring	Barbara Stanwyck Henry Fonda
Music by	Phil Boutelje Charles Bradshaw Gil Grau Sigmund Krumgold John Leipold Leo Shuken (all uncredited)
Cinematography	Victor Milner
Editing by	Stuart Gilmore
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	February 25, 1941
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$660,000[1]

Preston Sturges - An American Original

Preston Sturges was the first filmmaker, who both wrote and directed his projects, to have his name used as a promotional tool based on public recognition.  Hitchcock and Capra, among a few others, had attained name status, but neither one of those men wrote the original screenplays they shot.  Billy Wilder would reach this ranking a few years later.  This week we are watching "The Lady Eve" as a home assignment.  Here are a few more Sturges hits that are well worth seeing.

SHANE > WESTERN

"SHANE" 

I have always enjoyed westerns. Shane was one of few that I was surprised that I had never seen. I've always enjoyed the scenery, colors, and genre of acting in these kinds of films. The music that trailers all the scenes, always grasps your attention and accelerates the action as its played out. I can appreciate the time and effort that went into making these westerns, from filming in rural parts of America, too gathering enough horses and trained actors to play out in the films.

All the scenes seemed to have their own way of grasping your attention. For example, the scene where Mrs. Starrett is trying to convince her husband not to go to town to face Ryker or Wilson and Little Joey is screaming " Bang" with his pistol in hand. What a perfectly directed scene portraying the intensity of the moment. That moment in the scene had me just waiting for something terrible. Also, In the last part of the same scene, when Joe Starrett and Shane are fighting, I found it interesting that the fight ended , with both of them, fist to fist,on the same "Stump" that they had originally met on, when Shane offered to cut it down together with Starrett in the beginning of the film.

Great Western, a new favorite for me

Shane

I did not find this to be the typical western. The homesteaders wanted to keep their land and Ryker wanted to have all the land to run the cattle. The people in the small town were against guns, for the most part. Shane comes along to work for Joe, but seems way to familiar with Joe's wife Marian. Both Marian and Shane seem too comfortable with one another. The secenery was nice, bit a little to drawn out in some parts.

The Wild Bunch - Iconic Scene

I believe Sam Peckinpah's 1969 western, "The Wild Bunch", is one of the top ten American Films of all time.  Certainly it is one of the great titles of its genre.  Here is a sequence towards the end of the film where the four remaining outlaws from the Bunch decide to walk into almost certain death to rescue one of their own who might already be dead.  Director Peckinpah was originally not going to shoot this scene.  It was not in the script, but he suddenly saw the possibilities, re-arranged the schedule and spent the rest of the day staging and then shooting this classic "last walk to the final showdown,"  A point of interest: the leader of the Bunch is played by William Holden twenty years after his starring role in "Sunset Blvd."

The quality on this clip is quite good, so be sure and blow it up to "full screen."

James Cagney the communist

I heard that the reason Cagney did Yankee Doodle Dandy because he was on the list of communists in Hollywood when people were "Naming Names". He did it to show his patriotism, and out flank his accusers in the public eye before his name was brought out publicly.

Public Enemy the PC version

When men were men, and women were slapped around. One has to wonder if society followed art as to what was acceptable behavior at the time. Wouldn't be tolerated today, in movies or real life.

sunset family guy

An episode of Family guy starts with the son, Steve, floating in a pool of cherry Jello with a talk over narration. The cartoon was exactly the same as this scene in the movie.

Groucho's stash

Thinking that I knew a little about the Marx brothers (seeing some movies as a kid), I was shocked to see that Groucho's mustache was actually painted on. I guess I associated  him more with the glasses-nose and mustache popular as a gag pseudo-mask. Besides that, I didn't realize that all of the prat skits were so poorly done and the jokes were nothing more than poor insults. I prefer Buster Keaton or early Chaplin for the visual arts.

Some Recommended Westerns

Here are a few Westerns that are well worth your time, some of which are not seen that often.

Ride the High Country - 1962

Colorado Territory - 1949

The Naked Spur - 1953

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid - 1973

The Furies - 1950

Ride Lonesome - 1959

Duel in the Sun - 1946

Shane - Not Your Average Western

I enjoyed.the movie Shane for several reasons. The scenery and music helped to move the film along for one thing. You could always tell when something threatening was going to happen and in some scenes, the horses seemed to be trotting to the music that was playing. The scenery was quite beautiful and helped to show why the homesteaders did not want to leave their land. At times, I kept wondering why the men kept going into town when they new that there would be trouble, but I guess that is explained by the times that the movie takes place in. I thought the acting of the main characters was very good and each of them held their own in the story and they didn't just take up space because they were the stars of their era. All in all, a very enjoyable movie for a Friday evening!

Shane

Great movie. Not usually a western fan, but the use of color in a film was a welcome sight. Also an interesting movie about homesteaders out west.