Posted on 03/11/2017 10:56:52 AM PST by nickcarraway
A favorite scene of mine is in Open Range when Kostner walks up to the guy and says “You The One Who Killed Our Friend.” No sooner does the guy admit it than BOOM! Loved it!!!!!!
Another one in that same genre that was not mentioned anywhere, Hombre, with Paul Newman. That's an existentialist western if there ever was one.
However, the one that I will watch whenever it is shown is The Outlaw Josey Wales. The action and the humor in that film never disappoint. Casting Chief Dan George was a stroke of genius.
“Most cowboys in fact were blacks and Latinos”Where did this idea come from? I’ve seen this assertion several times.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend.[1] A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first defined as such in the late 19th century, had a less-well documented historical role, but in the modern world have established the ability to work at virtually identical tasks and obtained considerable respect for their achievements.[2] There are also cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly South America and Australia, who perform work similar to the cowboy in their respective nations.
The cowboy has deep historic roots tracing back to Spain and the earliest European settlers of the Americas. Over the centuries, differences in terrain, climate and the influence of cattle-handling traditions from multiple cultures created several distinct styles of equipment, clothing and animal handling. As the ever-practical cowboy adapted to the modern world, the cowboy's equipment and techniques also adapted to some degree, though many classic traditions are still preserved today.
[...]
Ethnicity
American cowboys were drawn from multiple sources. By the late 1860s, following the American Civil War and the expansion of the cattle industry, former soldiers from both the Union and Confederacy came west, seeking work, as did large numbers of restless white men in general.[52] A significant number of African-American freedmen also were drawn to cowboy life, in part because there was not quite as much discrimination in the west as in other areas of American society at the time.[53] A significant number of Mexicans and American Indians already living in the region also worked as cowboys.[54] Later, particularly after 1890, when American policy promoted "assimilation" of Indian people, some Indian boarding schools also taught ranching skills. Today, some Native Americans in the western United States own cattle and small ranches, and many are still employed as cowboys, especially on ranches located near Indian Reservations. The "Indian Cowboy" also became a commonplace sight on the rodeo circuit.
Because cowboys ranked low in the social structure of the period, there are no firm figures on the actual proportion of various races. One writer states that cowboys were "... of two classes—those recruited from Texas and other States on the eastern slope; and Mexicans, from the south-western region ..."[55] Census records suggest that about 15% of all cowboys were of African-American ancestry—ranging from about 25% on the trail drives out of Texas, to very few in the northwest. Similarly, cowboys of Mexican descent also averaged about 15% of the total, but were more common in Texas and the southwest. Other estimates suggest that in the late 19th century, one out of every three cowboys was a Mexican vaquero, and 20% may have been African-American.[24]
Regardless of ethnicity, most cowboys came from lower social classes and the pay was poor. The average cowboy earned approximately a dollar a day, plus food, and, when near the home ranch, a bed in the bunkhouse, usually a barracks-like building with a single open room.[56]
An extended list would include “Missouri Breaks”. There are also the many frontiersman/mountainman movies.
“John Wayne. Now there was a great American.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdaGBNXMinY&t=202s
This is an interview with Maureen O’Hara. Earlier on she describes a scene from “The Quiet Man”. But skip to 4:18 and it has a clip of her asking Congress to award John Wayne the Congressional Medal. Very touching, and sums up this article!
As to movies - I’m not sure it is a western, but I loved “Jeremiah Johnson”.
Chief Dan George was also in Little Big Man. Pretty much playing the identical character. He announced, “Today is a good day to die”. Then he climbed up onto his raised death pyre in open air,........ but when he felt a drop of rain he changed his mind. Movie legend has it that the Klingons got that phrase from Chief Dan George in that movie.
Yep, Old Lodge Skins who became invisible. :D
Ben Johnson is one of my all time favorites. Had the best voice in the movies.
He refused the part of “Sam The Lion” in “The Last Picture Show” because of the bad language. Peter Bogdanovich agreed to eliminate the language and Johnson won an oscar.
I still remember him from “Mighty Joe Young” when he said: “There are cowboys in Oklahoma too” or something like that.
Tom Horn
A couple of others which might be called westerns:
Quigley Down Under
The Mountain Men
Windwalker
“McCabe and Mrs. Miller” was an interesting western.
Wonderful read. A lot of backstory, I really enjoyed this and now I want to watch every one of them again with a better understanding.
For me there are two scenes indelibly sketched in my memory of this film. First, the gang start off with a murderous intention as they find out where their quarry is. The ugliness of one of the faces stands out.
Next, the scene in the cemetery. The haunting sound again and again, as Elie Wallach acts as the half crazed seeker of buried gold . The shots of the gravestones in a very erie setting are well done. Unforgettable is the bad guy, Tuco. He runs crazily looking for the right gravestone. Archie Stanton.
Of course one has to put aside authenticity here and enjoy. The scene of Tuco in the bathtub drilling his would be killer for example.
It should have played out like the first episode of 'The Rebel' (Nick Adams), that's how you handle lawless gangs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQCDtiiTZw8&list=PLtMw5Y6TBaTPUT3PE1nmFJEUC_pNIdaI4
High Noon was a tale crafted about Hollywood's persecution of communists in cinema. Gary Cooper represented the ethical, good hearted communist being outgunned by the McCarthy types.
Rio Bravo was made in response to High Noon. Rio Bravo depicted the good guys (those who were fighting communism) against the evildoers in Hollywood.
I used to like Gary Cooper until I read about what a philanderer he was and how he used to beat his mistress, Patricia Neal. (Also a favorite actress of mine.)
So true, but Kurt Russell was additive.
And whomever the directors was got the most out of the story and the actors.
How is one suppose to ‘enlighten’ those who’s minds have been corrupted and desensitized to the point they can’t recognize homo-erotica when they see it?
Anything with John Wayne.
Open Range has a great if not the best shootout ever put to flim.
My theme song; “I was born under a wandering star”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTymtAbaG08
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