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.