If you were around in 1980, you can, sadly, imagine the confusion that might be caused if a woman drove up to the 20th Century Fox gate on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles and claimed to be the new head of the studio. This simply didn't happen. Women didn't run Hollywood studios.
Someone had to shatter that glass ceiling, and Sherry Lansing was as qualified as anyone to do it. She started out as an actor (appearing opposite John Wayne in Howard Hawks' swan song "Rio Lobo"), but quickly grew dissatisfied with that area of the industry. She was far more interested in the behind-the-scenes aspect of filmmaking, and quickly proved she possessed the savvy and good taste to succeed as an executive. At Columbia Pictures, she was one of the driving forces behind such critical/commercial successes as "The China Syndrome" and "Kramer vs. Kramer".
This made Lansing a hot Hollywood commodity,...
Someone had to shatter that glass ceiling, and Sherry Lansing was as qualified as anyone to do it. She started out as an actor (appearing opposite John Wayne in Howard Hawks' swan song "Rio Lobo"), but quickly grew dissatisfied with that area of the industry. She was far more interested in the behind-the-scenes aspect of filmmaking, and quickly proved she possessed the savvy and good taste to succeed as an executive. At Columbia Pictures, she was one of the driving forces behind such critical/commercial successes as "The China Syndrome" and "Kramer vs. Kramer".
This made Lansing a hot Hollywood commodity,...
- 4/29/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Dean Smith, a Hollywood stuntman who worked in dozens of Westerns after winning a gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, died on Saturday, his son Finis announced on social media. Smith was 91.
Born and raised in Texas, Smith competed in track and football for the University of Texas at Austin and qualified for the Olympics at the age of 20. While he finished just off the podium in the 100-meter dash by landing in fourth place, he claimed the gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay as part of a team with 1948 100-meter Olympic gold medalist Harrison “Bones” Dillard, 1952 100-meter gold medalist Lindy Remigino, and 1952 200-meter gold medalist Andy Stanfield.
After playing running back for the Texas Longhorns and helping the team win the 1953 Cotton Bowl, Smith had a brief career in the NFL as a scout team player. After that, he moved into motion pictures and worked as a stuntman who...
Born and raised in Texas, Smith competed in track and football for the University of Texas at Austin and qualified for the Olympics at the age of 20. While he finished just off the podium in the 100-meter dash by landing in fourth place, he claimed the gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay as part of a team with 1948 100-meter Olympic gold medalist Harrison “Bones” Dillard, 1952 100-meter gold medalist Lindy Remigino, and 1952 200-meter gold medalist Andy Stanfield.
After playing running back for the Texas Longhorns and helping the team win the 1953 Cotton Bowl, Smith had a brief career in the NFL as a scout team player. After that, he moved into motion pictures and worked as a stuntman who...
- 6/25/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Finis Dean Smith, a stuntman regular in John Wayne Westerns who turned to Hollywood after becoming an Olympic gold medalist, died Saturday. He was 91.
Smith was born in Breckenridge, Texas and began his athletic career competing in track and field competitions, earning All-American status in the 100-meter dash in 1952.
He went on to win varying athletic championships, culminating in his inclusion on Team U.S.A. as a member of the 4×100-meter relay team at the Helsinki Olympics, where he would win the gold medal. Following his graduation from University of Texas at Austin, Smith would play for the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers for a few years ahead of his career in the entertainment industry.
Working as a stuntman, Smith was a part of several Oscar-winning Western films, including “True Grit” and “How the West Was Won,” in addition to “The Quick and the Dead,” “El Dorado” and “Rio Lobo.
Smith was born in Breckenridge, Texas and began his athletic career competing in track and field competitions, earning All-American status in the 100-meter dash in 1952.
He went on to win varying athletic championships, culminating in his inclusion on Team U.S.A. as a member of the 4×100-meter relay team at the Helsinki Olympics, where he would win the gold medal. Following his graduation from University of Texas at Austin, Smith would play for the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers for a few years ahead of his career in the entertainment industry.
Working as a stuntman, Smith was a part of several Oscar-winning Western films, including “True Grit” and “How the West Was Won,” in addition to “The Quick and the Dead,” “El Dorado” and “Rio Lobo.
- 6/25/2023
- by McKinley Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
Dean Smith, who won a gold medal as a sprinter at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics before becoming a top-notch Hollywood stunt performer who worked on a dozen films starring John Wayne, has died. He was 91.
Smith died Saturday at his home in Breckenridge, Texas, after a battle with cancer, his friend Rob Word told The Hollywood Reporter.
Smith, who got into the business with help from James Garner, appeared in seven Paul Newman films, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), The Sting (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974).
The tough Texan, who loved to say he could “ride, run and jump,” doubled for good friend Dale Robertson on the 1957-62 NBC series Tales of Wells Fargo, the 1964 film Blood on the Arrow and the 1966-68 ABC series Iron Horse.
He also did the dirty work for Ben Johnson...
Smith died Saturday at his home in Breckenridge, Texas, after a battle with cancer, his friend Rob Word told The Hollywood Reporter.
Smith, who got into the business with help from James Garner, appeared in seven Paul Newman films, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), The Sting (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974).
The tough Texan, who loved to say he could “ride, run and jump,” doubled for good friend Dale Robertson on the 1957-62 NBC series Tales of Wells Fargo, the 1964 film Blood on the Arrow and the 1966-68 ABC series Iron Horse.
He also did the dirty work for Ben Johnson...
- 6/25/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
John Wayne is a Western film icon and starred in many notable films during the Hollywood Golden Age. For over 30 years, fans saw his name attached to Westerns and war movies and couldn’t wait to see what he was filming next. But that doesn’t mean filming came easy for the superstar, especially in regard to injuries. Wayne suffered numerous physical difficulties through the years, and while filming Rio Lobo, he couldn’t use one side of his body. Here’s why.
John Wayne had difficulty filming ‘Rio Lobo’ due to a torn shoulder John Wayne in ‘Rio Lobo’ | CBS via Getty Images
Rio Lobo, a remake of Rio Bravo and El Dorado, came out in 1970 and featured John Wayne as the lead. Wayne played Cord McNally, a Civil War veteran searching for two traitors who caused McNally’s unit to go down. McNally travels to the town of...
John Wayne had difficulty filming ‘Rio Lobo’ due to a torn shoulder John Wayne in ‘Rio Lobo’ | CBS via Getty Images
Rio Lobo, a remake of Rio Bravo and El Dorado, came out in 1970 and featured John Wayne as the lead. Wayne played Cord McNally, a Civil War veteran searching for two traitors who caused McNally’s unit to go down. McNally travels to the town of...
- 6/24/2023
- by Lauren Weiler
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Movie star John Wayne was familiar with the type of work that went into being a stuntman. He had a deep appreciation for the folks who made the dangerous stunts come to life on the silver screen. However, Wayne had a favorite stuntman whom he deeply respected and enjoyed working with. In fact, they made a total of 32 movies together, making it clear that they had a long history together.
Who was John Wayne’s favorite stuntman? John Wayne | John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images
Wayne had one stuntman that he valued working with above all the rest – Chuck Roberson. He went from working as a police officer to serving in World War II to stuntwork. It all started thanks to a well-known stuntman named Guy Teague, he got his first job in the field at Republic Pictures.
Roberson starred in small roles as an actor, but he also went on...
Who was John Wayne’s favorite stuntman? John Wayne | John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images
Wayne had one stuntman that he valued working with above all the rest – Chuck Roberson. He went from working as a police officer to serving in World War II to stuntwork. It all started thanks to a well-known stuntman named Guy Teague, he got his first job in the field at Republic Pictures.
Roberson starred in small roles as an actor, but he also went on...
- 4/7/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
It's not easy for every film to be a hit, but Quentin Tarantino wants his body of work to be as close to perfect as possible. Almost every movie he's ever made has been met with widespread critical acclaim, and he plans to keep it that way. Although there's no surefire way to make every movie a success, there is one method that Tarantino's sticking to — quit while you're ahead.
Two of Tarantino's favorite directors are old Hollywood auteurs Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder. Both have a diverse set of hits in their extensive filmography, from noirs like "The Big Sleep" to musicals like "Some Like it Hot" and Westerns like "Rio Bravo." They also churned out successful movies for decades, but Tarantino and most critics would agree that they continued working past their prime. Making a film like "Rio Lobo," the sequel to "Rio Bravo," is Tarantino's worst nightmare as an artist.
Two of Tarantino's favorite directors are old Hollywood auteurs Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder. Both have a diverse set of hits in their extensive filmography, from noirs like "The Big Sleep" to musicals like "Some Like it Hot" and Westerns like "Rio Bravo." They also churned out successful movies for decades, but Tarantino and most critics would agree that they continued working past their prime. Making a film like "Rio Lobo," the sequel to "Rio Bravo," is Tarantino's worst nightmare as an artist.
- 3/19/2023
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
Movie star John Wayne and filmmaker Howard Hawks collaborated on a couple of the most iconic movies in either of their careers. However, their interactions with one another didn’t end there. The pair shared some heartwarming moments during awards season that their fans continue to talk about. Wayne fans reminisced over how Hawks directed the actor during the Academy Awards.
John Wayne starred in 5 Howard Hawks movies L-r: John Wayne and Howard Hawks | Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Wayne and Hawks largely remained within the Western film genre, as four of their five movies explored this form of storytelling. Similar to the collaboration between the actor and John Ford, a couple of these movies launched the star into stardom in a way that he didn’t initially anticipate.
He first considered himself a “real” actor after starring as Thomas Dunson in 1948’s Red River. From there, they...
John Wayne starred in 5 Howard Hawks movies L-r: John Wayne and Howard Hawks | Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Wayne and Hawks largely remained within the Western film genre, as four of their five movies explored this form of storytelling. Similar to the collaboration between the actor and John Ford, a couple of these movies launched the star into stardom in a way that he didn’t initially anticipate.
He first considered himself a “real” actor after starring as Thomas Dunson in 1948’s Red River. From there, they...
- 3/17/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
No filmmaker loved ripping off their own work more than Howard Hawks. And if your oeuvre is riddled with all-timers like "Bringing Up Baby," "Only Angels Have Wings," "His Girl Friday" and "Ball of Fire," you might copy yourself, too.
Hawks' most egregious act of self-theft has its roots in "Rio Bravo," which is widely and correctly considered one of the finest Westerns ever made. The film that Quentin Tarantino calls the greatest "hangout" movie stars John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance, who teams up with his alcoholic former colleague (Dean Martin), a hotshot young gunfighter (Ricky Nelson), and Stumpy (Walter Brennan) to keep the outlaw brother of a wealthy local rancher in stir until the federal authorities can ride into town and take him into custody.
In an interview in the 1997 book, "Backstory 2: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1940s and 1950s," scriptwriter Leigh Brackett shared that Hawks'...
Hawks' most egregious act of self-theft has its roots in "Rio Bravo," which is widely and correctly considered one of the finest Westerns ever made. The film that Quentin Tarantino calls the greatest "hangout" movie stars John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance, who teams up with his alcoholic former colleague (Dean Martin), a hotshot young gunfighter (Ricky Nelson), and Stumpy (Walter Brennan) to keep the outlaw brother of a wealthy local rancher in stir until the federal authorities can ride into town and take him into custody.
In an interview in the 1997 book, "Backstory 2: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1940s and 1950s," scriptwriter Leigh Brackett shared that Hawks'...
- 2/15/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Quentin Tarantino is as much a film-lover as he is a filmmaker. His work is packed to the brim with references from classic cinema and he often sings the praises of his favorite directors by incorporating their styles into his work. If an artist is only as good as his influences, then Tarantino is one of the all-time greats. The writer-director has cited Howard Hawks as one of his biggest inspirations, as both the best and the worst of Hawks' films have guided Tarantino's choices as a filmmaker.
Howard Hawks is best known for making successful and fondly-remembered movies in nearly every old Hollywood genre, from the musical comedy "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" to the noir film "The Big Sleep." He also directed the iconic 1959 Western "Rio Bravo," starring John Wayne. Tarantino was first introduced to Hawks when he saw "Rio Bravo" as a child. "The first time I saw it...
Howard Hawks is best known for making successful and fondly-remembered movies in nearly every old Hollywood genre, from the musical comedy "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" to the noir film "The Big Sleep." He also directed the iconic 1959 Western "Rio Bravo," starring John Wayne. Tarantino was first introduced to Hawks when he saw "Rio Bravo" as a child. "The first time I saw it...
- 1/11/2023
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
As the 1960s drew to a close, John Wayne's macho, man-of-few-words act was wearing thin. Though some of the movies were pretty good (namely "The Sons of Katie Elder" and "El Dorado"), they were tonally and aesthetically indistinguishable from his '50s work. And this was a problem because the Western was undergoing a metamorphosis via the Spaghetti antics of Sergio Leone's "Man with No Name" and the bloody revisionism of Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch." If Boomers were going to check out an oater, they weren't going to bother the outmoded, out-of-step-with-the-times Wayne.
The Duke exacerbated his situation in 1968 by making the jarringly jingoistic "The Green Berets," which sought to boost domestic morale for the Vietnam War. The best that can be said is that it was too outlandishly stupid to be taken seriously on any level, but it most certainly harmed Wayne's image. He was...
The Duke exacerbated his situation in 1968 by making the jarringly jingoistic "The Green Berets," which sought to boost domestic morale for the Vietnam War. The best that can be said is that it was too outlandishly stupid to be taken seriously on any level, but it most certainly harmed Wayne's image. He was...
- 8/26/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
From video store clerk to eventual New York Times bestseller. It makes for quite the trajectory, eh?
That’s still clearly Quentin Tarantino’s thinking too. The mercurial and celebrated filmmaker behind such modern classics as Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds has teased for years that he looks forward to the day he can retire from filmmaking and leave his filmography at an allegedly perfect 10 films. He’s been discussing it since at least Django Unchained, and as he’s approached that mythical “tenth” film (he counts both volumes of Kill Bill as one movie), his opinion hasn’t changed on the matter. In fact, in a new interview with Pure Cinema Podcast (via Collider), Tarantino sounded audibly thrilled about the idea of settling down and being a family man author.
“Most directors have horrible last movies,” Tarantino said on the audio interview. “Usually their worst movies are their last movies.
That’s still clearly Quentin Tarantino’s thinking too. The mercurial and celebrated filmmaker behind such modern classics as Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds has teased for years that he looks forward to the day he can retire from filmmaking and leave his filmography at an allegedly perfect 10 films. He’s been discussing it since at least Django Unchained, and as he’s approached that mythical “tenth” film (he counts both volumes of Kill Bill as one movie), his opinion hasn’t changed on the matter. In fact, in a new interview with Pure Cinema Podcast (via Collider), Tarantino sounded audibly thrilled about the idea of settling down and being a family man author.
“Most directors have horrible last movies,” Tarantino said on the audio interview. “Usually their worst movies are their last movies.
- 6/4/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Mike Henry, a former NFL linebacker and actor known for playing Tarzan in the 1960s, has died. He was 84.
Henry died Jan. 8 at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after many years of dealing with chronic traumatic encephalopathy and Parkinson’s disease brought on by the head injuries in the NFL and at the University of Southern California.
He traded football for acting and went on to star in the Tarzan films of the 1960s and worked alongside Burt Reynolds in the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies.
Henry grew up in East Los Angeles. In high school, former city council member John Ferraro saw him play football and facilitated his tryout for USC’s football team. After college, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, for which he played from 1958 to 1961. Wanting to try his luck with acting, Henry requested a transfer to play for the Los Angeles Rams.
In...
Henry died Jan. 8 at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after many years of dealing with chronic traumatic encephalopathy and Parkinson’s disease brought on by the head injuries in the NFL and at the University of Southern California.
He traded football for acting and went on to star in the Tarzan films of the 1960s and worked alongside Burt Reynolds in the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies.
Henry grew up in East Los Angeles. In high school, former city council member John Ferraro saw him play football and facilitated his tryout for USC’s football team. After college, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, for which he played from 1958 to 1961. Wanting to try his luck with acting, Henry requested a transfer to play for the Los Angeles Rams.
In...
- 2/4/2021
- by Haley Bosselman
- Variety Film + TV
It takes a lot to stand out when you’re standing between Robert Mitchum and John Wayne. And it surely isn’t easy when you’re also standing in front of the venerable Howard Hawks. But this was the position 25-year-old James Caan found himself in when he took on the role of Alan Bourdillon Traherne, otherwise known as Mississippi, in Hawks’ 1967 Western, El Dorado. Though Hawks was nearing the end of his filmmaking career (this would be his penultimate movie) and Caan was just at the start of his (following two features and about five years of extensive television work), they were each entering the project under similar circumstances. Indeed, it was their shared experience on the disappointing Red Line 7000 (1965) that left them both wanting. It may have been a personal letdown for Caan, but that film’s poor reception wasn’t a deal-breaker as far as his prospects were likely to continue.
- 5/15/2017
- MUBI
Huddleston and John Wayne in Howard Hawks' 1970 Western "Rio Lobo".
By Lee Pfeiffer
Like many character actors, David Huddleston's name may not be familiar to movie fans- but they certainly would recognize him, especially if they are retro film fans. Huddleston, who this week at age 85, was a star of stage and screen. He began making feature films in the 1960s and became steadily employed in both low-budget and major Hollywood productions, generally playing folksy, good old boy Southern characters, though he did snag the title role in the 1985 Salkind production of "Santa Claus" as well as the 1998 Coen Brothers cult classic "The Big Lebowski". He scored with audiences for his performance as the foul-mouthed town dignitary in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" and appeared in "Capricorn One", 'Smokey and the Bandit II", "Haunted Honeymoon" and two films with John Wayne: Howard Hawks' "Rio Lobo...
By Lee Pfeiffer
Like many character actors, David Huddleston's name may not be familiar to movie fans- but they certainly would recognize him, especially if they are retro film fans. Huddleston, who this week at age 85, was a star of stage and screen. He began making feature films in the 1960s and became steadily employed in both low-budget and major Hollywood productions, generally playing folksy, good old boy Southern characters, though he did snag the title role in the 1985 Salkind production of "Santa Claus" as well as the 1998 Coen Brothers cult classic "The Big Lebowski". He scored with audiences for his performance as the foul-mouthed town dignitary in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" and appeared in "Capricorn One", 'Smokey and the Bandit II", "Haunted Honeymoon" and two films with John Wayne: Howard Hawks' "Rio Lobo...
- 8/5/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
NEWSPortoThe late summer film festival lineups are starting to be unveiled. Toronto, partially announced, already looks massive (highlights include new films directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Jonathan Demme, and, yes, Nick Cannon), San Sebastien has announced the 14 films in its New Directors competition, including Notebook contributor Gabe Klinger's sophomore film Porto, and the Venice Days unofficial sidebar of the Venice Film Festival has its full lineup online.Speaking of lists, Filmmaker Magazine has picked its "twenty five new faces of independent film."A petition has been posted online to save the historic Rko studio globe in Hollywood.Recommended READINGThe Criterion Collection has posted King Hu's notes made for the Cannes Film Festival screening of his prize-winning wuxia classic, A Touch of Zen:But when I started working on the scenario, I discovered that translating the concept of Zen into cinematic terms posed a great many difficulties. Not long afterward, I...
- 7/27/2016
- MUBI
A review of tonight's "Fargo" coming up just as soon as I tell you to kiss my grits... "This kind of thing didn't work in Westerns, and it's not gonna work tonight." -Lou Howard Hawks' 1959 Western "Rio Bravo" didn't invent the idea of lawmen protecting a jail from outlaws looking to free one of their own. (After all, that trope's just a subset of the fort under siege premise that fueled so many Westerns.) But the movie was so entertaining(*) and so successful that Hawks and star John Wayne remade it twice more (as "El Dorado" and "Rio Lobo"), and it's served as inspiration to various unofficial remakes over the years, whether "Assault on Precinct 13," a recent episode of "Banshee," and tonight's crackling installment of "Fargo." (*) Even the musical interlude, designed to take advantage of the primary talents of Wayne's co-stars Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson, is fun.
- 11/17/2015
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
Wayne in John Sturges' 1974 thriller "McQ".
On Thursday July 16, Turner Classic Movies (North America) will present some terrific John Wayne action flicks back-to-back, concentrating on the Duke's work from the 1970s. Things kick off with Wayne as tough detectives in "Brannigan" and "McQ", followed by "Cahill: U.S. Marshall", "Rio Lobo" and "Chisum". Sounds like a good evening to be happy if you suffer from insomnia. The action kicks off at 8:00 Pm (Est). ...
On Thursday July 16, Turner Classic Movies (North America) will present some terrific John Wayne action flicks back-to-back, concentrating on the Duke's work from the 1970s. Things kick off with Wayne as tough detectives in "Brannigan" and "McQ", followed by "Cahill: U.S. Marshall", "Rio Lobo" and "Chisum". Sounds like a good evening to be happy if you suffer from insomnia. The action kicks off at 8:00 Pm (Est). ...
- 7/15/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
El Dorado
Written by Leigh Brackett
Directed by Howard Hawks
USA, 1966
When El Dorado was first shown in 1966, the Western in its classical form was beginning to disappear from American cinema. John Ford, synonymous with the genre, released his last feature that year, and El Dorado would be the second-to-last film by its own legendary director, Howard Hawks. The Western was evolving and its old masters were giving way to modern innovators. The stylishly self-conscious films of Sergio Leone first signaled the shift (the films of his “Dollars Trilogy” came out in 1964-1966), and it was certified by the critical, ominous, and violent The Wild Bunch, directed by Sam Peckinpah in 1969. Hawks decried the slow-motion bloodletting of Peckinpah. He argued that he could kill four men, get them to the morgue, and bury them before this newcomer could get one on the ground.
With this as the context of its gestation,...
Written by Leigh Brackett
Directed by Howard Hawks
USA, 1966
When El Dorado was first shown in 1966, the Western in its classical form was beginning to disappear from American cinema. John Ford, synonymous with the genre, released his last feature that year, and El Dorado would be the second-to-last film by its own legendary director, Howard Hawks. The Western was evolving and its old masters were giving way to modern innovators. The stylishly self-conscious films of Sergio Leone first signaled the shift (the films of his “Dollars Trilogy” came out in 1964-1966), and it was certified by the critical, ominous, and violent The Wild Bunch, directed by Sam Peckinpah in 1969. Hawks decried the slow-motion bloodletting of Peckinpah. He argued that he could kill four men, get them to the morgue, and bury them before this newcomer could get one on the ground.
With this as the context of its gestation,...
- 3/14/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Patricia Norris with her lifetime achievement from the Costume Guild in 2007Patty Norris is a national treasure but I believe she'd be the last person to say so. When I spoke to the enduring costume designer over the phone about sixth Oscar nomination for 12 Years a Slave, she shocked me again and again with her modesty and her absolute lack of sentiment about what I've always thought of as a very illustrious Hollywood career. But her honestly was, shall we say, refreshing.
The 82 year old's career, as we know it at least, began over just over 40 years ago with westerns like Rio Lobo (1970) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) but she doesn't get misty-eyed or nostalgic about her filmography. "I think it was just luck. I started as a stock girl at MGM and I've always been comfortable with clothes," she explains. But to hear her tell it, her developing career...
The 82 year old's career, as we know it at least, began over just over 40 years ago with westerns like Rio Lobo (1970) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) but she doesn't get misty-eyed or nostalgic about her filmography. "I think it was just luck. I started as a stock girl at MGM and I've always been comfortable with clothes," she explains. But to hear her tell it, her developing career...
- 2/25/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Needham in 1980.
Stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham has died from unspecified causes at age 82. Needham had a long history as one of the best stuntmen in feature films and television before he moved into directing movies. Needham's films were hardly the stuff of art house theaters. He specialized in testosterone-packed action sequences designed to appeal squarely at male audiences. Along the way, he was also credited with developing methods that reduced the risk for the many stuntmen who populated his films. Needham made his directorial debut in 1977 with Smokey and the Bandit starring his old friend Burt Reynolds. Critics scoffed at the cornball humor and endless car stunts and the film laid an egg in urban play dates. However, it resonated with its intended audiences in rural areas and eventually the grosses brought to blockbuster status. The movie not only cemented Reynolds as a genuine superstar but gave new life to the...
Stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham has died from unspecified causes at age 82. Needham had a long history as one of the best stuntmen in feature films and television before he moved into directing movies. Needham's films were hardly the stuff of art house theaters. He specialized in testosterone-packed action sequences designed to appeal squarely at male audiences. Along the way, he was also credited with developing methods that reduced the risk for the many stuntmen who populated his films. Needham made his directorial debut in 1977 with Smokey and the Bandit starring his old friend Burt Reynolds. Critics scoffed at the cornball humor and endless car stunts and the film laid an egg in urban play dates. However, it resonated with its intended audiences in rural areas and eventually the grosses brought to blockbuster status. The movie not only cemented Reynolds as a genuine superstar but gave new life to the...
- 10/29/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Air Force screens on October 19 at the Museum of the Moving Image's retrospective, The Complete Howard Hawks. For more of Dan Sallitt's writing on Hawks, go here and here.
Air Force occupies an unusual place in Howard Hawks' filmography. As a war propaganda film, its subject matter is necessarily tendentious, with an overt message that is not only coercive but also repetitive. Hawks, whose control over his choice of material was quite unusual by Hollywood standards of the time, shows no sign of resisting the project's wartime agenda, and willingly accepts the character stereotyping and up-front ideology that comes with the package: the eager young recruits, the cynic to be converted, the proud parent set up for loss. In addition, Hawks' streak of dark humor combines with the project's built-in tone of righteous vengeance against the Japanese in a way that can strike peacetime audiences as callous.
On the other hand,...
Air Force occupies an unusual place in Howard Hawks' filmography. As a war propaganda film, its subject matter is necessarily tendentious, with an overt message that is not only coercive but also repetitive. Hawks, whose control over his choice of material was quite unusual by Hollywood standards of the time, shows no sign of resisting the project's wartime agenda, and willingly accepts the character stereotyping and up-front ideology that comes with the package: the eager young recruits, the cynic to be converted, the proud parent set up for loss. In addition, Hawks' streak of dark humor combines with the project's built-in tone of righteous vengeance against the Japanese in a way that can strike peacetime audiences as callous.
On the other hand,...
- 10/14/2013
- by Dan Sallitt
- MUBI
The “adult” Western – as it would come to be called – was a long time coming. A Hollywood staple since the days of The Great Train Robbery (1903), the Western offered spectacle and action set against the uniquely American milieu of the Old West – a historical period which, at the dawn of the motion picture industry, was still fresh in the nation’s memory. What the genre rarely offered was dramatic substance.
Early Westerns often adopted the same traditions of the popular Wild West literature and dime novels of the 19th and early 20th centuries producing, as a consequence, highly romantic, almost purely mythic portraits the Old West. Through the early decades of the motion picture industry, the genre went through several creative cycles, alternately tilting from fanciful to realistic and back again. By the early sound era, and despite such serious efforts as The Big Trail (1930) and The Virginian (1929), Hollywood Westerns were,...
Early Westerns often adopted the same traditions of the popular Wild West literature and dime novels of the 19th and early 20th centuries producing, as a consequence, highly romantic, almost purely mythic portraits the Old West. Through the early decades of the motion picture industry, the genre went through several creative cycles, alternately tilting from fanciful to realistic and back again. By the early sound era, and despite such serious efforts as The Big Trail (1930) and The Virginian (1929), Hollywood Westerns were,...
- 1/4/2013
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
I’ve got Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino on my mind these days. It’s a product of the end-of-year hurrahs for Scorsese’s Hugo. The film goes into the Academy Award ceremonies with 11 Oscar nominations – the most of any film this year – including a Best Director nod for Scorsese. Win or lose, Marty’s on a roll having already taken a Golden Globe for his work on the film, and selection as Best Director by the National Board of Review (the Board also named Hugo Best Picture). And that doesn’t include the film’s placing on any number of critic’s Year’s Best lists.
What does all this have to do with Tarantino? It brings to mind a statement the younger filmmaker had made about Scorsese some years ago.
They’ve always been linked, these two. Tarantino had been anointed by more than a few as “the...
What does all this have to do with Tarantino? It brings to mind a statement the younger filmmaker had made about Scorsese some years ago.
They’ve always been linked, these two. Tarantino had been anointed by more than a few as “the...
- 12/18/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
We love a chamelonic director here at The Playlist, and Howard Hawks was one of the first, and one of the best. Across a 55-year career that spanned silents and talkies, black-and-white and color, Hawks tackled virtually every genre under the sun, often turning out films that still stand as among the best in that style. Romantic comedy? Two of the finest ever. War? "To Have And Have Not" and "Sergeant York," the latter of which won him his only Best Director Academy Award nomination (though he did win an Honorary Award in 1975, two years before his death). Science-fiction? The much ripped-off "The Thing From Another World." Gangster movies? "Scarface," which practically invented a whole genre. From film noir and melodrama to Westerns and musicals, Hawks took them all in his stride.
The filmmaker famously said that the secret to a good movie was "three great scenes and no bad ones,...
The filmmaker famously said that the secret to a good movie was "three great scenes and no bad ones,...
- 5/30/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
In our writers' favourite films series, Tony Paley saddles up for a heartwarming tale of friendship and courage in the old west
• Did this review miss the target? Fire away with your own attempt here – or get set for a showdown in the comments
Move aside Hitchcock, Welles, Ozu and Ophüls. They only managed to make what I consider the greatest movies. Howard Hawks made the ones I love.
Rio Bravo, not to be confused with Rio Lobo or the director's other pale imitation, El Dorado, is Hawks's masterpiece. And a weekend BBC movie matinee slot some three decades ago was a perfect introduction. Watching Rio Bravo demands the best part of an afternoon or evening and a particular frame of mind. It is a nigh-on two and a half hour western in which the tumbleweed lazily rolls across the main street from one character to another. Of course there are shootouts,...
• Did this review miss the target? Fire away with your own attempt here – or get set for a showdown in the comments
Move aside Hitchcock, Welles, Ozu and Ophüls. They only managed to make what I consider the greatest movies. Howard Hawks made the ones I love.
Rio Bravo, not to be confused with Rio Lobo or the director's other pale imitation, El Dorado, is Hawks's masterpiece. And a weekend BBC movie matinee slot some three decades ago was a perfect introduction. Watching Rio Bravo demands the best part of an afternoon or evening and a particular frame of mind. It is a nigh-on two and a half hour western in which the tumbleweed lazily rolls across the main street from one character to another. Of course there are shootouts,...
- 11/10/2011
- by Tony Paley
- The Guardian - Film News
John Wayne holds a very dear place in my film fandom – it was his films, and his Westerns particularly that I remember most from my very early childhood. Watching them with grandfathers on a Sunday afternoon, I’d come to welcome films like The Searchers, Shane and True Grit as part of my life, and I still count The Quiet Man as one of my favourite of all time, and I continue to base my idealised vision of male heroism on his wide shoulders.
A lot of Wayne’s films will forever be cruelly classified as too similar, and I suppose there is a very pressing argument that you know what to expect from Wayne, especially in his Western work. But that isn’t to say they aren’t still great film experiences.
Two of the great man’s lesser known films – Rio Lobo and Big Jake – have just been released on blu-ray,...
A lot of Wayne’s films will forever be cruelly classified as too similar, and I suppose there is a very pressing argument that you know what to expect from Wayne, especially in his Western work. But that isn’t to say they aren’t still great film experiences.
Two of the great man’s lesser known films – Rio Lobo and Big Jake – have just been released on blu-ray,...
- 10/2/2011
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
X-Men: First Class – James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
Movie of the Week
X-Men: First Class
The Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
The Plot: In 1963, Charles Xavier (McAvoy) starts up a school and later a team, for humans with superhuman abilities. Among them is Erik Lensherr (Fassbender), his best friend, and future archenemy.
The Buzz: The film’s preliminary reviews have been solid, with 41 favorable reviews to 1 unfavorable, as of today at Rottentomates. The cast is really strong too. However, I personally have zero interest in this film, as it looks to have zero style (other than the standard nerdy film-version X-Men vibe), but perhaps this will be the first good X-Men film? I loved the comic books, was a pretty big reader for awhile there, and I’ve always felt like, of all the Marvel films, the X-Men films have fallen the furthest from their book.
X-Men: First Class – James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
Movie of the Week
X-Men: First Class
The Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
The Plot: In 1963, Charles Xavier (McAvoy) starts up a school and later a team, for humans with superhuman abilities. Among them is Erik Lensherr (Fassbender), his best friend, and future archenemy.
The Buzz: The film’s preliminary reviews have been solid, with 41 favorable reviews to 1 unfavorable, as of today at Rottentomates. The cast is really strong too. However, I personally have zero interest in this film, as it looks to have zero style (other than the standard nerdy film-version X-Men vibe), but perhaps this will be the first good X-Men film? I loved the comic books, was a pretty big reader for awhile there, and I’ve always felt like, of all the Marvel films, the X-Men films have fallen the furthest from their book.
- 6/1/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
The National Film Preservation Foundation announced today that the next volume in their invaluable series of DVD releases will be Treasures 5: The West, 1898-1938. The 10-hour, 3-disc box set celebrates "the dynamic, gender-bending, ethnically diverse West that flourished in early movies but has never before been seen on video."
The full lineup is here and today's announcement plucks out a few of the highlights: "Among the 40 selections are Mantrap (1926), the wilderness comedy starring Clara Bow in her favorite role; Ws Van Dyke's legendary The Lady of the Dugout (1918), featuring outlaw-turned-actor Al Jennings; Salomy Jane (1914), with America's first Latina screen celebrity Beatriz Michelena [image above]; Gregory La Cava's sparkling Old West–reversal Womanhandled (1925); Sessue Hayakawa in the cross-cultural drama Last of the Line (1914); one-reelers with Tom Mix and Broncho Billy, Mabel Normand in The Tourists (1912), and dozens of other rarities." The set is slated for a September release.
Speaking of the wild,...
The full lineup is here and today's announcement plucks out a few of the highlights: "Among the 40 selections are Mantrap (1926), the wilderness comedy starring Clara Bow in her favorite role; Ws Van Dyke's legendary The Lady of the Dugout (1918), featuring outlaw-turned-actor Al Jennings; Salomy Jane (1914), with America's first Latina screen celebrity Beatriz Michelena [image above]; Gregory La Cava's sparkling Old West–reversal Womanhandled (1925); Sessue Hayakawa in the cross-cultural drama Last of the Line (1914); one-reelers with Tom Mix and Broncho Billy, Mabel Normand in The Tourists (1912), and dozens of other rarities." The set is slated for a September release.
Speaking of the wild,...
- 5/31/2011
- MUBI
Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 George Lucas directs American Graffiti: Special Edition (1973) Stanley Kubrick’s period masterpiece Barry Lyndon: Amazon Exclusive (1975) John “The Duke” Wayne stars in the classic western Big Jake (1971) Academy Award nominee Javier Bardem stars in Biutiful (2010) Italian horror master Dario Argento’s Cat O’ Nine Tails (1971) Malcolm McDowell stars in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange: Anniversary Edition (1971) Nicolas Cage & Amber Heard star in Drive Angry 3D (2011) Tom Cruise & Tim Curry star in Ridley Scott’s Legend: Ultimate Edition (1985) James Mason & Shelley Winters star in Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita: Amazon Exclusive (1962) Richard Harris stars in the western A Man Called Horse (1970) Sergio Leone’s western masterpiece Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) Mickey Rourke & Megan Fox star in Passion Play (2010) Harrison Ford Double Feature: Frantic / Presumed Innocent Howard Hawks directs John Wayne in...
- 5/30/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Another John Wayne movie is debuting in high-definition, 1961’s The Comancheros. In honor of the film’s 50th anniversary, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will release the classic western on Blu-ray on May 17.
In The Comancheros, Wayne plays Captain Jake Cutter, a Texas Ranger who’s trying to stop an outlaw gang from selling guns to the Indians and aims to bring to justice the gambler Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman of TV’s Knots Landing), who’s wanted for murder. Both missions get entangled when Cutter unexpectedly crosses paths with Regret and and the two men form an unlikely friendship, while Regret decides which side of the law he’s on. Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen) also stars.
The movie will come to high-definition in special Blu-ray book packaging with these new and old special features:
commentary by film historians and Patrick Wayne, John Wayne’s son and an actor...
In The Comancheros, Wayne plays Captain Jake Cutter, a Texas Ranger who’s trying to stop an outlaw gang from selling guns to the Indians and aims to bring to justice the gambler Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman of TV’s Knots Landing), who’s wanted for murder. Both missions get entangled when Cutter unexpectedly crosses paths with Regret and and the two men form an unlikely friendship, while Regret decides which side of the law he’s on. Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen) also stars.
The movie will come to high-definition in special Blu-ray book packaging with these new and old special features:
commentary by film historians and Patrick Wayne, John Wayne’s son and an actor...
- 4/20/2011
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
Two John Wayne westerns are making their high-definition debut, courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment: Big Jake and Rio Lobo will arrive on Blu-ray on May 31.
Rio Lobo
Released in 1970 and 1971, respectively — a year after 1969’s True Grit — Rio Lobo and Big Jake are two of the later movies from Wayne’s extensive resume.
In Rio Lobo, director Howard Hawks’ (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) last film, Wayne plays Col. Cord McNally, who, after the Civil War, goes in search of the traitor who caused the defeat of McNally’s unit and the loss of a close friend. The movie is rated G.
PG-13 rated, adventure film Big Jake stars Wayne as the titular Jacob McCandles, whose ranch is overrun by a gang of cutthroats led by the evil John Fain (Richard Boone). The gang kidnaps Jake’s son and hold him for a million-dollar ransom, and Jake must save him. The...
Rio Lobo
Released in 1970 and 1971, respectively — a year after 1969’s True Grit — Rio Lobo and Big Jake are two of the later movies from Wayne’s extensive resume.
In Rio Lobo, director Howard Hawks’ (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) last film, Wayne plays Col. Cord McNally, who, after the Civil War, goes in search of the traitor who caused the defeat of McNally’s unit and the loss of a close friend. The movie is rated G.
PG-13 rated, adventure film Big Jake stars Wayne as the titular Jacob McCandles, whose ranch is overrun by a gang of cutthroats led by the evil John Fain (Richard Boone). The gang kidnaps Jake’s son and hold him for a million-dollar ransom, and Jake must save him. The...
- 3/23/2011
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
Director Sergio Leone’s glorious and acclaimed 1969 Western Once Upon a Time in the West makes its Blu-ray debut on May 31, 2011 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Henry Fonda is bad to the bone in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.
If you’re a diehard Leone fan like me (Once Upon a Time in America baby!), you’ve got to be pumped about this one. I personally can’t wait to see the opening sequence—one of the greatest in movie history—in glorious high-definition. And my wife says she’s psyched to check out a bad ass Henry Fonda’s baby blues as rendered in Blu-ray.
The Once Upon a Time in the West Blu-ray will carry a list price of $19.95.
All the extras from Paramount’s 2003 Collector’s Edition of the film are being ported over to the Blu-ray. Here’s a complete list of...
Henry Fonda is bad to the bone in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.
If you’re a diehard Leone fan like me (Once Upon a Time in America baby!), you’ve got to be pumped about this one. I personally can’t wait to see the opening sequence—one of the greatest in movie history—in glorious high-definition. And my wife says she’s psyched to check out a bad ass Henry Fonda’s baby blues as rendered in Blu-ray.
The Once Upon a Time in the West Blu-ray will carry a list price of $19.95.
All the extras from Paramount’s 2003 Collector’s Edition of the film are being ported over to the Blu-ray. Here’s a complete list of...
- 3/22/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Scanners (Original Release Date: 14 January 1981)
If you bring up David Cronenberg when talking movies with a casual moviegoer, chances are the moviegoer will at some point say to you, “Isn't he the guy who directed the movie with that scene where _____?” Some Cronenberg movies offer multiple moments -- most of them grotesque -- to fill in the blank. With The Fly, you get multiples. There's the meatymass that used to be an ape. There's the arm-wrestling match. There's the final transformation into Brundlefly. (Maybe next week I'll finally write a review that doesn't mention Brundlefly. We'll see.)
The blank for Scanners will forever be filled in with “that guy's head explodes.” You don't even need to have seen the movie at this point. “Hey, have you ever seen Scanners?” “Sure. My favorite part is where that guy's head explodes.” “Word.” The asker doesn't really care whether or not the askee has seen it.
If you bring up David Cronenberg when talking movies with a casual moviegoer, chances are the moviegoer will at some point say to you, “Isn't he the guy who directed the movie with that scene where _____?” Some Cronenberg movies offer multiple moments -- most of them grotesque -- to fill in the blank. With The Fly, you get multiples. There's the meatymass that used to be an ape. There's the arm-wrestling match. There's the final transformation into Brundlefly. (Maybe next week I'll finally write a review that doesn't mention Brundlefly. We'll see.)
The blank for Scanners will forever be filled in with “that guy's head explodes.” You don't even need to have seen the movie at this point. “Hey, have you ever seen Scanners?” “Sure. My favorite part is where that guy's head explodes.” “Word.” The asker doesn't really care whether or not the askee has seen it.
- 1/20/2011
- by Thurston McQ
- Corona's Coming Attractions
In under 80 minutes, the documentary American Grindhouse is a rather impressive and very entertaining documentary on the history of exploitation films and the theaters that hosted them. The film's producer and director, Elijah Drenner, took some time out before its world premiere at this year's South by Southwest Film Festival to talk to Cinematical about the making of the film and how the grindhouse influence still exists in today's cinema.
Cinematical: When films are done as well as yours, you submit an abbreviated brand of film school to moviegoers everywhere. But what do you think that today's film students can learn for the better from grindhouse cinema?
Drenner: I'll start by saying that I don't really agree to describing a movie as a grindhouse movie. It's not accurate. A grindhouse movie theater is a relic of the 20th Century. They do not exist anymore. Jonathan Kaplan explains, although we did...
Cinematical: When films are done as well as yours, you submit an abbreviated brand of film school to moviegoers everywhere. But what do you think that today's film students can learn for the better from grindhouse cinema?
Drenner: I'll start by saying that I don't really agree to describing a movie as a grindhouse movie. It's not accurate. A grindhouse movie theater is a relic of the 20th Century. They do not exist anymore. Jonathan Kaplan explains, although we did...
- 3/14/2010
- by Erik Childress
- Cinematical
The Western movie genre is something most of us consider a relic from the 1950s, and yet, two of the better regarded films – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and El Dorado – are products of the 1960s, even though they feel older given the changes to American cinema in that decade. Both movies, coming out Tuesday as part of Paramount Home Video’s Centennial Collection, are both solid and entertaining.
The former may be best recalled for line, "This is the west, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." It stars James Stewart and John Ford playing entirely different kinds of men of the west. Wayne was a rancher, a fairly decent sort but narrow-minded, prone to jealousy, and believed using a gun was essential to surviving on the frontier. Stewart, a lawyer by training, came west to start his career. Both loved Hallie (Vera Miles) and had...
The former may be best recalled for line, "This is the west, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." It stars James Stewart and John Ford playing entirely different kinds of men of the west. Wayne was a rancher, a fairly decent sort but narrow-minded, prone to jealousy, and believed using a gun was essential to surviving on the frontier. Stewart, a lawyer by training, came west to start his career. Both loved Hallie (Vera Miles) and had...
- 5/17/2009
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Good Lord! How long have I been gone? Well, here's the deal, Fangorians. You may or may not know that I took over as team captain for Blog@Newsarama, with my new group kicking things off on December 1st. I also made some preparations for my original site, ShotgunReviews.com, to begin celebrating its Tenth Year online. Needless to say, it's been busy. But I haven't wanted to neglect my Fango friends, so I've been giving a lot of thought to what to do for the third installment of this (now more) regular series. The first two go-rounds, I talked '31 Frankenstein and Dracula. I really kicked around covering Spanish Dracula, and I Will get back to that eventually. Today, though, I've decided to cover someone that's still in the game. And I'll begin with this question: between 1978 and 1988, was there a genre director that had a better run than John Carpenter?...
- 1/21/2009
- Fangoria
Remake rights to the 1952 classic Western High Noon, starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, were acquired Monday at AFM by producer Mark Headley, actor Christopher Mitchum and their business partner, Toni Covington.
Rights were secured from actress Karen Sharp Kramer, wife of the late Stanley Kramer, producer of the iconic original about a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself.
The newly formed Los Angeles-based High Noon Prods. is seeking a director and a star to play the lead and hopes to begin shooting early next year with a target budget of about $20 million, Headley said.
Mitchum, son of actor Robert Mitchum, worked on the Westerns The Last Hard Men with Charlton Heston and James Coburn in 1976 and Rio Lobo with John Wayne in 1970. He noted that he had wanted to remake High Noon for years.
Kramer confirmed the deal but declined to reveal its terms.
The original High Noon was written by John Cunningham and Carl Foreman and directed by Fred Zinnemann; it was based on pulp short story, The Tin Star.
Rights were secured from actress Karen Sharp Kramer, wife of the late Stanley Kramer, producer of the iconic original about a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself.
The newly formed Los Angeles-based High Noon Prods. is seeking a director and a star to play the lead and hopes to begin shooting early next year with a target budget of about $20 million, Headley said.
Mitchum, son of actor Robert Mitchum, worked on the Westerns The Last Hard Men with Charlton Heston and James Coburn in 1976 and Rio Lobo with John Wayne in 1970. He noted that he had wanted to remake High Noon for years.
Kramer confirmed the deal but declined to reveal its terms.
The original High Noon was written by John Cunningham and Carl Foreman and directed by Fred Zinnemann; it was based on pulp short story, The Tin Star.
- 11/6/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Character actor Jack Elam, best known for his roles as the scene-stealing, wild-eyed villain in westerns such as Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Once Upon a Time in the West, died Tuesday at his Ashland, OR, home of an unspecified illness; he was 84. Though most film biographies listed the actor as 86, longtime friend Al Hassan confirmed that Elam was actually 84, having lied about his age early in his career in order to qualify for work. A Hollywood accountant in the late 40s, Elam toiled away in bit parts until his tough-guy turn opposite Tyrone Power in 1951's Rawhide, which proved to be his breakout performance. Roles in High Noon, Rancho Notorious, Kiss Me Deadly and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral followed as he racked up innumerable credits in a variety of films. The late 60s saw the actor turn more towards comedy, parodying his longtime villain status in movies like Once Upon a Time in the West, Support Your Local Sheriff and Rio Lobo. Instantly recognizable by his immobile cockeye (the result of a scuffle as a 12 year-old), Elam worked mainly in television through the 80s and early 90s; in 1994, the actor was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers in the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 10/22/2003
- WENN
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