Another Look: ARIZONA BUSHWHACKERS (1968 Western starring Howard Keel)

For a long time I rather arrogantly ignored the string of low budget Westerns produced by A.C. Lyles in the mid/late 1960s as sub par movie fare starring has-been actors and actresses in features no better than what was regularly playing on TV in those days.
I was wrong.

True, not all of these features are gems; also true that most of the starring roles are filled by veteran performers no longer in their prime or at the peak of their popularity. But right there is the key to what makes these features work to the extent that they do --- which is better than what I used to give them credit for. Now that I am a veteran of many things and also past my prime in numerous ways, I see things a little differently. And Westerns of a quality as seen in the better of the bygone TV shows would be a welcome change on the big or little screen as opposed to much of the crap currently available.
In short, I've been watching and enjoying several of these A.C. Lyles Westerns lately and have been left feeling a little guilty about my former dismissal of them.

ARIZONA BUSHWHACKERS, despite its rather bland title, is one of the best of what I've seen so far. Starting out with a voiceover narration by James Gagney (uncredited, but it is Jimmy Gagney, a well known friend of Lyles, sure as shootin') it tells the tale of former Confederate officer Lee Travis, now a galvanized Yankee, sent to "clean up" a small, corrupt Arizona town in Indian territory while the war is still going on. In truth, he still has allegiance to the Confederacy and is working undercover to try and secure a cache of much-needed guns and ammo hidden somewhere in the town. It all gets a little corny and a lot complicated with anti-Reb sentiments, double-crosses, good and bad characters not turning out to be what you first thought, and even an Indian raid at the climax. But the actors play it straight and sincere and elevate it higher than the material they have to work with.
Howard Keel, in the lead role, does a particularly good job. As does John Ireland.
With other veterans like Yvonne DeCarlo, Brian Donlevy, Barton MacLane, Marilyn Maxwell, and Scott Brady backing them up, it's a solid cast brought together in a good old-fashioned shoot-'em-up.
If that's what you're in the mood for --- and if you're not, you should be, at least from time to time --- you could do a lot worse.

Another Look: THE BULL OF THE WEST

I'm writing about this film not because it's particularly good, but rather because of the interesting back story.
It is built from two different episodes of the old Virginian TV series, edited and spliced together to form this feature-length movie. The reason? To take advantage of Charles Bronson's peaking popularity --- especially in overseas markets --- in the late '60s/early '70s after his appearance in hit films like THE DIRTY DOZEN, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, and RIDER ON THE RAIN.

Bronson's Virginian episode, titled "Nobility of Kings", was done in 1965; another episode, titled "Duel at Shiloh", made in 1963 and starring Brian Keith, was coupled in to fill up sufficient time. The resulting THE BULL OF THE WEST was released overseas in 1972. Whether or not it was ever shown in theaters in the U.S., I don't know. But it is currently being shown regularly on cable, mainly on the Western channel.


The parallel stories thus brought together involve two ranches bordering Shiloh, the centerpiece for the TV series. One is a small start-up affair run by Bronson, a tormented widower, since re-married, who has previously faced financial ruin and is obsessed with making a success this time around. The other outfit is run by a high-spirited, ruthless woman who has Keith as her ramrod. He is a cocky Texan with a fast gun and a fast lip and a seething hatred for the barbed wire being introduced to section off the different ranch properties in the valley.


Bronson's role makes him alternately sympathetic due to his plight yet sometimes unlikable due to the way he obsessively drives his wife and son. Keith's role is a scene-stealer every time he's on screen. (Though you'd never know it by the various movie "posters" that often don't even feature his name.)

The overall result is watchable, even mildly entertaining. There is some choppy editing, as you might imagine, and a few incidentals that don't get fully explained, but mostly it hangs together. In the end, Keith and his boss get their just deserts; Bronson endures some tragedy yet still comes out of it with some hope for the future.
In addition to the regular series cast members (including stalwart Lee J. Cobb), there are some additional "guest stars" on hand who lend some mighty strong support to the proceedings --- George Kennedy, Ben Johnson, Lois Nettleton, Geraldine Brooks, and DeForest Kelly.
With a cast like that, it would be hard to go completely wrong. I just hope those involved in the original productions got some kind of fair shake for this re-packaged presentation.

Worth the price of a theater ticket or even a low-cost DVD? Not likely. But, if you catch it on cable, like I said, it's watchable and mildly entertaining.
And now, to borrow a phrase, you know the rest of the story ...

Noteworthy Reads: GERONIMO MUST DIE by J.R. Lindermuth

This delightful new novel from John Lindermuth is a blend of fact and fiction skillfully woven into a highly entertaining tale.

The cover blurb adequately covers the plot highlights.

The reader is treated to elements of history, mystery, action, betrayal, romance, tragedy, and humor. Told through the eyes of half-breed protagonist Mickey Free, the descriptions of life on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the late 1870s and the relationships between the different tribes are richly detailed, fascinating, and accurate without ever slowing down the pace or getting in the way of the story. This is a testament to Lindermuth's skill as a writer and his passion for history.

GERONIMO MUST DIE is one of those books that transports you to a different time and place and makes you feel as if you are right there in the thick of exciting events surrounded by colorful characters.

A terrific reading experience. Highly recommended.

My Take: KONG - SKULL ISLAND

We all know by now that movie remakes seldom work out so hot and yet film makers – especially in recent years, it seems – keep going back to the same well again and again. Where remakes work best is when a particular story/concept isn't just re-hashed but rather when it is “re-booted” with some sort of fresh spin on the original concept. The BATMAN/DARK KNIGHT trilogy comes to mind as a good example of this and, more recent and more directly related to this article, 2014's GODZILLA is another.

That's what the producers of KONG: SKULL ISLAND did. They took the basic concept of Kong and his mysterious, uncharted island … then threw away the old plot with the movie crew and the golden-haired “beauty” who ultimately leads Kong to his demise from atop the Empire State Building and re-booted all that with a whole new set of characters, an updated time period (mid-1970s), and a whole new reason for going to Skull Island, complete with a military helicopter squadron escorting them. The motives for the expedition get to be a little complicated and silly (but, hey, this is a giant-prehistoric-monsters-in-modern-times movie so it's not fair to look for hard scientific reasoning) and, of course, there's more to 'em than everybody is at first led to believe.

Upon reaching the island, the team's transport ship cannot land because of the fierce “perpetual storm” that surrounds and obscures the place. So they go in via the military helicopters which are able to penetrate the storm. Once through, they immediately begin dropping explosives from which the accompanying seismologists can test one of the theories (a hollow earth) that brought them there. What they get instead is a pissed-off Kong who doesn't like uninvited guests showing up and setting off bombs in his back yard. To show his annoyance, he attacks the copters, destroys them all, killing many, and splitting the surviving members of the expedition into two groups.

From there, the movie becomes a long chase sequence with the two groups trying to reach a rendezvous with a re-supply team due to arrive at a point on the north end of the island in three days. Along the way, they have several clashes with various prehistoric monsters still in existence on the island – most fearsome of all being the underground reptilian horrors known as the Skullcrawlers. Kong, it turns out, is the island's protector against these predators and other threats.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. I was really looking forward to it, and did not come away disappointed.

The ensemble cast plays well off one another, particularly the banter amongst the soldiers. The male/female leads struck some subdued romantic sparks, though nothing overt came of it. Brie Larsen made an impression as a spunky, somewhat sassy big-time photographer who looked quite fetching in a very tight tank top; Tom Hiddleson, as a former British Special Air Service captain hired as tracker-hunter isn't really given a lot to do as the lead in an action movie, but conveys a certain presence and adequately handles what is asked of him. Samuel Jackson, as the commander of the helicopter squadron, intently portrays a man seeking revenge for the men he lost on the island and also revenge for having to “abandon” the Vietnam war. John C. Reilly, as a WWII pilot stranded on the island for all these years, nearly steals the movie (from the live-action performers, that is) by providing equal measures of humor and grim, sage advice for the newcomers.

The special effects are excellent and, when they are on display, there were two things I really appreciated about them: One, they were filmed in such a way where you could actually follow the action that was taking place (as opposed to, say, the TRANSFORMERS movies, where the screen is just a blur of colors and motion and you have no idea who the hell is doing what to who); and Two, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has a keen sense of how long to let these action set pieces play (as opposed to , say, Peter Jackson who, in his 2005 KING KONG remake, let some of his action scenes go on and on and on, until they were squeezed dry of all excitement and actually became boring).

All in all, a terrific popcorn-action-fun movie to kick off the summer movie-going season. And, perhaps best of all, Kong is left alive at the end (I don't think this is too much of a spoiler because the fact has been widely mentioned) to be appearing again a couple years down the road when he's scheduled to duke it out with another heavyweight contender from the past … Godzilla!

Noteworthy Reads: BLOODY ARIZONA by Frank Leslie

This latest Yakima Henry adventure by Frank Leslie (who most everybody knows is ol' Mean Pete hisself, Peter Brandvold) is the first of a “quartet” of new short novels promised by the author. We haven't seen Yakima in a while and it surely is good to have the rowdy half-breed back in action.

And, as usual for a novel from Leslie/Brandvold, action is the key word. It starts right from the get-go with Yak getting tossed in jail for brawling and then having to blast his way free after the marshal who put him there is savagely gunned down and it falls to the half-breed to go after the killers and the widow they take as hostage.

Subsequently, before the bad guys are made to pay, there is lots more gunplay and some hot sex with a pair of competitive sisters Yakima keeps encountering. There are also some poignant scenes where Yakima reflects on how much he misses his late wife.

The real delight in this yarn, however, is the Rio Grande Kid – a crusty, quasi-loony old outlaw who is long past being a “kid”. At first against Yakima's will (but eventually with the half-breed's gratitude) he becomes a sidekick we hope we'll be seeing more of in future yarns.

Top notch, gun-blazing entertainment you don't want to miss!

Strongly recommended.

Another Look: THE SPOILERS (1942, starring John Wayne)

Prior to a few days ago, anyone would have been hard pressed to name a John Wayne film of any significance (which is to say almost anything post 1939's Stagecoach) that I haven't seen, many of them several times. Yeah, I'm an unabashed Duke fan, inherited from my folks, particularly my mother.

Nevertheless, for some reason I had never before watched The Spoilers until I got the chance to DVR it off cable about a week ago. I knew about it, had read quite a bit about it, had even seen its kindred flick --- Pittsburgh, released the same year starring the same lead trio of Wayne, Randolph Scott, and Marlene Dietrich --- more than once. But never got around to The Spoilers.

Well, now that gap in my movie viewing history has been filled and the experience was quite satisfactory.

The movie is based on a 1906 novel by the same name, written by Rex Beach. A peer of --- and heavily influenced by --- Jack London, Beach was a very popular writer throughout the early 1900s. (He wrote plays as well as novels and played on the silver medal-winning U.S. Water polo team in the 1904 Olympics.) For the most part, critics did not favor his literary output nearly as much as the reading public. Though lauded by one as “the Victor Hugo of the North”, many others found his work formulaic and unoriginal. “Strong hairy men doing strong hairy deeds” summed up one; while an Alaskan historian has since claimed his work is “mercifully forgotten today” … Almost makes you want to rush out and read some of his stuff just for spite, don't it?

At any rate, THE SPOILERS novel proved to be popular enough to be made into a movie no less than five times --- in 1914, 1923, 1930, 1942, and 1955. And each time with pretty well-established stars of the period. (For example: Gary Cooper starred in the 1930 version; Jeff Chandler/Rory Calhoun in 1955.)

But the star package was never bigger than the Dietrich/Scott/Wayne ensemble that Universal put together for this '42 version. Dietrich got top billing; Scott second; Wayne third, largely because he was on “loan” to Universal even though his part was bigger than Scott's and he was playing the hero. (As opposed to the aforementioned Pittsburgh, where Scott was the hero and Duke played the heel.) But, inasmuch as it has since been well documented that Dietrich and Wayne were having a torrid affair during this time period, one can assume that Duke was in a pretty agreeable mood as long as he was getting the lead role with Marlene off camera.

The movie itself is a rousing, two-fisted adventure that takes place in and around Nome, Alaska at the height of the 1900 Alaska gold rush --- a sort of a “Northern” as opposed to a more traditional Western (similar to Duke's North to Alaska that would come out 18 years later). Dietrich plays Cherry Malotte, owner of the town's most popular saloon; Scott plays Alexander McNamara, the newly appointed gold commissioner; Wayne plays Roy Glennister, Cherry's boyfriend and also half owner of the Midas mine (with Harry Carey Sr. as his partner Al Dextry).

In cahoots with a crooked judge, McNamara is allowing bogus cross claims to be filed on many of the best mines in the area, including the Midas, and then tying up the legal proceedings while thousands of dollars worth of gold is being siphoned from the mines during the time they are allegedly shut down. He's also trying to worm his way into the arms of Cherry.

Backed by his pal Dextry and armed with inside information from the judge's niece, who has fallen in love with him, Glennister stages a bank hold-up to get back the stolen money along with some key documents that prove the corruption of the judge and McNamara. This causes the judge to cut his losses and flee and brings Glennister face to face with McNamara in Cherry's saloon. With the townsfolk and other miners looking on, the two men slug it out in a fierce, smashing brawl that wrecks the saloon, spills out into the street, then back into the saloon again. Glennister is finally victorious, not only winning the fight but also winning back his girl and clearing the rights to his gold mine.

The whole thing is a lot of fun. Top production values, a strong cast, and a treatment that takes itself seriously, but not overly so, by injecting bits of drama and suspense but also plenty of rugged humor. The big fight climax is spectacularly staged with Wayne and Scott – not doubles - clearly mixing it up in several of the shots.

For me, finally getting to see this minor classic was worth the wait.

For anybody else who has never seen it before or maybe not for a long time, I'd certainly recommend spending the 87 minutes it takes to watch it if/when you get the chance. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Noteworthy Reads: BULLETS, BRUINS, AND A LADY CALLED CHANCE by Peter Brandvold

This latest from Peter Brandvold (Ol' Mean Pete himself) is number four in the popular Bear Haskell series and it is a corker. I suppose it's sort of redundant to say that about any book by Brandvold (who also writes as Frank Leslie) because they're all action-charged page turners. But in this case, especially, Pete really goes balls out (and when you ready this yarn for yourself you'll see that's more than just an overused euphemism).

This time around, Deputy U.S. Marshal Haskell is sent to the bitter, freezing cold Dakota Territory in the dead of winter to investigate a series of alarming murders (including a previously dispatched U.S. Marshal) that have taken place in the settlement of Sioux Camp. The murder count only escalates after Bear shows up, some of it thanks to him and his own blazing .44.

Before Bear can stop the killings and solve who's behind them, he must first tussle with a pair of hot-blooded north country gals, tangle with a rogue grizzly who seems more interested in chomping on a nosy lawman than hibernating, dodge bullets and blizzards, and uncover layers of deceit and shame that reach far into the past.

Brandvold writes strong prose, rich in detail even in the midst of gun-blazing action (without ever slowing down the pace), introduces an array of colorful and original characters, and plots a mystery that will keep you guessing right to the end.

Good stuff. Recommended.