THOSE OLD COWBOY HEROES

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the Author

I imagine most of you are like me, you love the West, the stories, the history, the people, and the myths. One thing I've always enjoyed was the older 'B' Westerns from the 1930s-50s. The old serials, short films, and of course the hero Cowboys. These films go back to the old Johnny Mack Brown, Buck Jones, and Ken Maynard. I thought for fun, I'd spend some time talking about some of those famous heroes. Yes, Gary Cooper, Jahn Wayne, Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, and James Stewart made films during this time, along with Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, but I'll be looking at the actors who were favorites back then, but not so well known now. As we head into a different Memorial Day Weekend, here's to the memories these stars have given moviegoers over the years.

In the 1930s Charles Starrett, Bob Steele, Robert Livingston, and William Boyd began making films.



Bob Steele: 1907-1988  Bob Steel probably had one of the longest careers in the industry with 244 film credits. He began performing at age two with his father and starred on film age 14. I still remember him in the TV series F-Troop and the Clint Eastwood film "Hang Em High"



Charles Starrett:  1903-1986 Charles Starrett is best known for his work as 'The Durango Kid" films. He began playing the character in 1945 and ended in 1952. At the time of his death he held the record for the longest-running lead in feature films. He began his career while at attending Dartmouth College where he was hired as an extra for the film "The Quarterback". He was on the college football team at the time. And I do enjoy the Durango Kid film when I can find it.



Robert Livingston: 1904-1988. Robert Livingston also billed as Bob Livingston, was born in a town about thirty-five miles from my home town. He was one of the original Three Mesquiteers and also played The Lone Ranger and Zorro. He began as a newspaper reporter in for the LA Daily News, his father was an editor in Robert's home town and gradually moved into film.



William Boyd: 1895-1972 Best known for his work as Hopalong 'Hoppy' Cassidy, Boyd was one of the early actors who bought the rights to his films and transferred to the new medium of television. He also marketed merchandise based on his character. According to his biography, his family moved to Oklahoma when he was seven and he lost both in his early teens. He dropped out of school to provide for himself. Now tell me, who doesn't love Hoppy?


In the 1940s  Buster Crabbe, George Montgomery, and Allan 'Rocky' Lane began their careers



Buster Crabbe: 1908-1983 While Buster Crabbe is more well known for his roles as Tarzan and Flash Gordon, he made a number of westerns as the character Billy the Kid/Billy Carson with Al 'Fuzzy' St. John. He also won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1932 for the 400- meter freestyle swim event.



George Montgomery: 1916-2000  George Montgomery was a jack of many trades. His career began in the 1930s with a number of uncredited roles. He started to come into his own in the 1940s with roles in a number of Westerns. He moved into television, even had a television show 'Cimarron City', in the 1950s while still doing films.



Allan 'Rocky' Lane: 1909-1973 Allan Lane, other than the voice of the talking horse in the television series Mr. Ed, Lane is probably best known for his series of films in the late 1940s early 50s staring as the character Rocky Lane. I admit I've always loved his films.

By 1950 television was becoming more popular and these films began to wane. Still, some wonderful, fun films were made during this time. Sunset Carson, Lash LaRue, and Wild Bill Elliott were fun to watch.



Sunset Carson: 1920-1990. At 6'6" Carson was one of the taller stars. He was briefly popular in the late 1940s and ending in 1950.



Lash LaRue: 1917-1996 Alfred 'Lash' LaRue was known not only for his use of the bullwhip and his likeness to Humphrey Bogart. His films had him starring as the character "The Cheyenne Kid/Cheyenne Davis".



Wild Bill Elliott: 1904-1965 Elliott's Western career began with the fifteen chapter serial, "The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock" in 1938. Although he'd been in other films, it was this series that built his career, which lasted through the early 1950s. A lot of films in Elliott's middle years were a step above the standard 'B' Westerns.

I can't end this post without talking about two actors who remain favorites. Walter Brennan and Audie Murphy.



Walter Brennan: 1894-1974  Brennan is the only actor so far to win three Academy Awards for Best-Supporting Actor. Brennan was comfortable on the large and small screen. I loved him in "Red River' with Wayne, and of course in TV in "The Real McCoys".



Audie Murphy: 1925-1971 Perhaps best known for his Westerns, Murphy was also in the film version of "Red Badge of Courage" and "To Hell and Back" based on his biography and time in WWII. By the age of twenty-one, Murphy was the most decorated soldier of that war.

On this coming Memorial Day, please remember Murphy and all others who have given so much for family and country.

Below are links to Westerns by decades:

Western Films 1930s
Western Films 1940s
Western Films 1950-1954

For those who like the Western, check out this anthology.

Amazon ebook

And if you like Western TV shows:

Amazon ebook

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

Books: Angela Raines Books

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

LET'S GO TO THE MOVIES! By Cheri Kay Clifton

During this covid-19 pandemic, it's trying times for us all. Just as I know my sister authors at SOTW feel, I hope and pray that America and the world will soon conquer this horrible virus and return to some semblance of normalcy. With "shelter in place" mandates issued for many of us, we have more time at home than we are used to. Consequently, I thought it would be a good time to review some westerns I regard as the best ever made and have enjoyed watching again either from my DVD library, Netflix, Amazon Prime or other rentals.

I ask you, when's the last time a true western frontier film has been produced? Certainly not many in the last few years. So I took a trip way down memory lane and listed 10 western movies I liked in no particular order of preference except for the first one, Dances with Wolves, which remains one of my favorites. 

Granted, hundreds of 20^th century cinematic westerns Hollywood made were for pure entertainment, often at the expense of factual and historical accuracy. Still others were commended for their realistic portrayal of life on the frontier and because of that, didn’t do as well at the box office.

Let me know what you think, which ones you liked as well as your favorites not on the list. (At the bottom, I also added two websites that list 100 greatest western movies of all time.)

Saddle up and grab some popcorn!

1.      DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It won the Oscar for Best Picture. 

2.      HIGH NOON (1952) starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The movie was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 1989, the NFR's first year of existence.

3.      SHANE (1953) starring Alan Ladd. I remember the scene of young Joey chasing after him and yelling, “Come back, Shane!”

4.  HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962) starring many well-known actors including, to name a few, Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, James Stewart, and directed by John Ford. 
The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. Set between 1839 and 1889 and covering several decades of Westward expansion in the nineteenth century - including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads, it follows four generations of a family as they move westward.

5.      BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as the notorious bank and train robbers whose exploits were made famous in the Oscar-winning film.

6.      LONESOME DOVE (1989) starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. Yes, I know this was a TV mini-series, but I considered it one of the best. It was a four-part adaptation of the 1985 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry which I enjoyed reading as well.

7.      UNFORGIVEN (1992) directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as the lead actor, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. Many may remember Eastwood’s start in the TV western, Rawhide. From there, he rose to international fame in numerous western movies, (some referred to as spaghetti westerns made in Europe, typically by an Italian producer and director and very popular in the ‘60’s), the famed Dirty Harry series of movies as well as many more award-winning movies that he directed as well.

  8.    THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992) starring Daniel Day-Lewis. An epic historical drama, set in 1757 during the French and Indian War and based on James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 novel.

9.   TRUE GRIT (1969) starring John Wayne, who won an Oscar for his performance, Glen Campbell, Robert Duval.

 10.    STAGECOACH (1939) starring John Wayne. I added this movie even though I have not seen it; however, reading about it, I plan on adding it to my DVD collection. This significant film which was made before I was born launched the “Duke’s” acting career. The movie was directed by the legendary director, John Ford and set in Monument Valley, Utah. Monument Valley became known as, “John Wayne country.” He made four more movies there in his lifetime, “Fort Apache” (1948), “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949), “Rio Grande” (1950), and “The Searchers” (1956). In 2008, The American Film Institute voted “The Searchers” the “Greatest Western of All Time.

100 Greatest Western Movies: 

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls002124326

https://www.historynet.com/100-greatest-western-movies.htm

Please visit me and check out my books at www.cherikayclifton.com

LOVE ME SOME WESTERNS

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the author

I am going to go out on a limb and say most of those who write for and read this blog love westerns. For myself, I've been re-visiting and finding the old television shows and movies between work and writing. I thought I'd share some that have been fun, along with the stars that made them memorable.

One of the first series I watched was "Yancy Derringer". It only ran one season, and actually took place in New Orleans. Not really west, but the idea of the lone hero (or anti-hero depending on your view), righting wrongs fits the idea of the early Western. It starred Jock Mahoney. Here is a link to some additional information about the show: Yancy Derringer

Cast of Yancy Derringer, Jock Mahoney is on the right
photo from Wikipedia

Of course, who doesn't remember "The Cisco Kid"? Even if you never saw the show, the Cisco Kid is a part of our combined consciousness. The show ran for six seasons and as the official IMDb site, " The Cisco Kid and his English-mangling sidekick Pancho travel the old west in the grand tradition of the Lone Ranger, writing wrongs and fighting injustice wherever they find it." The show was filmed in color, even though most televisions were black and white. The other interesting fact was Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo had starred in Cisco Kid movies prior to the television show. And Carrillo was seventy years old when filming the series. For more info: Cisco Kid

Duncan Renaldo as Cisco and Leo Carrillo as Pancho

These were followed in short order by "Whispering Smith" with Audie Murphy as a Denver Colorado police detective, "The Dakotas" with Jack Elam and a young Chad Everett, as two of four federal marshals and "The Texan" with Rory Calhoun, a loner who traveled the west righting wrongs.

Of course the "B" movies with the likes of Alan 'Rocky' Lane, Sunset Carson, Don 'Red' Barry, Wild Bill Elliott, and of course Charles Starrett as "The Durango Kid".

Alan 'Rocky' Lane with Lucille Ball
Photo from Wikipedia

There was also the "Gene Autry", "Roy Rogers" and the ever-popular "Hopalong Cassidy" movies and TV shows.

I once read that when William Boyd, who starred as Hopalong Cassidy, finally meet the author who created the character, Clarence Mulford, Mulford was reputed to have said something to the effect of  "So you're the SOB who changed my character". Still, the two were reputed to have gotten along well. Clarence Mulford

Of course, there were many movies and TV shows that came after these early offerings.

And just in case you think it's only movies and TV westerns, I've also been revisiting the stories of Western writers, T.T. Flynn, Alan LeMay, Peter Dawson, Lauran Paine, and L.P. Holmes. If you get a chance, give them a read if you have some time after you read your favorite author and are waiting for their next book to arrive.

What were your favorite old-time movies and TV Westerns? I know all the above and more inform my stories, including my most recent ones 'Duty', in the anthology "Hot Western Nights" and "The Outlaw's Letter"

Purchase from Amazon

Purchase from Amazon

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

• 
  

LET'S GO TO THE MOVIES! By Cheri Kay Clifton

I bet some of you were as surprised as I to see promos for the new western movie, Hostiles, released this month.  I ask you, when’s the last time a true western frontier film has been produced? Certainly not many in the last few years. I’m not sure I’ll make it to the “silver screen” to see it, but there’s always DVD rental later.

Seeing the trailer prompted me to think back on a bygone era when western films were so popular and it conjured up a nostalgic feeling for recalling some of my favorites.  Granted, hundreds of 20^th century cinematic westerns Hollywood made were for pure entertainment, often at the expense of factual and historical accuracy. Still others were commended for their realistic portrayal of life on the frontier and because of that, didn’t do as well at the box office.

Out of the plethora of westerns I’ve seen and liked, I’ve listed ten in no particular order of preference other than the first one, Dances with Wolves, which remains my favorite.  (In doing a Google search, I also found many classics I hadn’t seen but would have liked to. I may soon add them to my collection of DVD’s!)

So, here’s a ride down memory lane. Sit back in the saddle with a handful of popcorn and let me know what you think, which ones you liked as well your favorites not on the list. 

 1.      DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It won the Oscar for Best Picture.  

2.      HIGH NOON (1952) starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The movie was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 1989, the NFR's first year of existence.

3.      SHANE (1953) starring Alan Ladd. I remember the scene of young Joey chasing after him and yelling, “Come back, Shane!”

4.      HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962) starring many well-known actors including, to name a few, Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, James Stewart, and directed by John Ford. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. Set between 1839 and 1889 and covering several decades of Westward expansion in the nineteenth century - including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads, it follows four generations of a family as they move westward.

5.      BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as the notorious bank and train robbers whose exploits were made famous in the Oscar-winning film.

6.      LONESOME DOVE (1989) starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. Yes, I know this was a TV mini-series, but I considered it one of the best. It was a four-part adaptation of the 1985 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry which I enjoyed reading as well.

7.      UNFORGIVEN (1992) directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as the lead actor, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. Many may remember Eastwood’s start in the TV western, Rawhide. From there, he rose to international fame in numerous western movies, (some referred to as spaghetti westerns made in Europe, typically by an Italian producer and director and very popular in the ‘60’s), the famed Dirty Harry series of movies as well as many more award-winning movies that he directed as well.

8.      THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992) starring Daniel Day-Lewis. An epic historical drama, set in 1757 during the French and Indian War and based on James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 novel. 

9.      TRUE GRIT (1969) starring John Wayne, who won an Oscar for his performance, Glen Campbell, Robert Duval.

10.   STAGECOACH (1939) starring John Wayne. I added this movie even though I have not seen it; however, reading about it, I plan on adding it to my DVD collection. This significant film which was made before I was born launched the “Duke’s” acting career. The movie was directed by the legendary director, John Ford and set in Monument Valley, Utah. Monument Valley became known as, “John Wayne country.” He made four more movies there in his lifetime, “Fort Apache” (1948), “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949), “Rio Grande” (1950), and “The Searchers” (1956). In 2008, The American Film Institute voted “The Searchers” the “Greatest Western of All Time.

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN! By Cheri Kay Clifton

Last month my blog was how famous western historical legends died and where they "rested in peace." When doing the research I also found myself reading with nostalgic interest about three 20th century legends.  All were born well before our time, but I know some of us western enthusiasts remember them with fondness from listening to their songs and seeing reruns of their movies & TV shows when we were children.

The Singing Cowboy, The King of the Cowboys & The Queen of the West: Can you guess who they were?

Yep, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans. Do you remember their horses' names?  Champion, Trigger, Buttermilk & not to forget Roy's dog, Bullet!

Born in 1907 in Tioga, Texas, Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry became an actor, singer and major league baseball team owner. In 1928 he began singing for a local radio station and within three years had his own radio show and was making records. His movie films in the 30's & 40's defined the B-western movies, despite cars, airplanes and other modern devices in them.

In World War II, he served as an officer in the Army Air Corps as a pilot. After the war, he returned to making movies and during the 1950's had his own television show. He wrote over 200 songs, best known for his theme song, "Back in the Saddle Again." His rendition of the popular Christmas song, "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" was a favorite along with the song he wrote, "Here Comes Santa Claus."

Few are aware of Autry's longtime involvement in professional rodeo. He owned a company that provided livestock for most of the major rodeos in Texas, Colorado, Montana, and Nebraska. When the company was sold in 1968, he continued to be active in rodeo. For his work as a livestock contractor, Autry was inducted into the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1997.

 A shrewd businessman, he retired from show business in the late 1950's, a self-made millionaire. In the late 1980's he built a museum to showcase his personal collection of authentic western memorabilia. He has five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording, Movies, Television, Radio and Live Theater.

Gene Autry died of cancer in Los Angeles, California in 1998 and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, CA. Married twice, he had no children.

Born in 1911, Leonard Franklin Slye (Roy Rogers) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to a musical family. At nineteen, he moved to California and formed a band which became known as the Sons of the Pioneers. Soon they were on the radio and sang their way to stardom. Their recording "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" became a number one hit on the charts.

Leonard began working as an extra at Republic Pictures and after winning a singing cowboy contest, the Republic Pictures staff suggested he use the stage name, Roy Rogers after Will Rogers and the shortening of Leroy. He teamed up with his Palomino horse, Trigger and under contract with Republic Pictures, became a "matinee idol" making a total of 37 movies. During World War II, Roy made numerous USO tours with Trigger, raising millions of dollars through the sale of War Bonds. 

He began making movies with Dale Evans (who also changed her name from her birth name, Francis Octavia Smith) which led to marriage in 1947 and a partnership which lasted the rest of the lives. The Roy Rogers TV Show lasted seven years while the song written by Dale, "Happy Trails" became a hit and the Rogers theme song. In 1988 Roy was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame and he also received three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for TV, Radio and movies.

The couple remained favorites through their connection with Christian programs and the Roy Rogers Museum in Victorville, CA. Another popular song Dale wrote was "The Bible Tells Me So." They had five children and adopted four.

In 1998 Roy Rogers died at 86 in his home in Apple Valley, CA from heart failure. Fitting of an American legend, Roy's public funeral was held at the Church of the Valley with a western theme. Sons of the Pioneers sang his western songs while his body was conveyed in a glass enclosed 1898 hearse drawn by a single Clydesdale to his final resting place, many attendees wearing western style clothing. Dale Evans died three years later and was buried next to Roy at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Apple Valley, CA.

Trigger who lived to be 33, Dale's horse, Buttermilk and even their dog, Bullet were mounted with places of honor in the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum. However, the history of the museum doesn't end there ….

The stuffed animals as well as the museum, with attendance dwindling, was moved from Victorville to Branson, Missouri in 2003. Then in 2010, a Nebraska cable TV network purchased the stuffed and mounted Trigger at an auction in New York City for $266,500. The network also purchased Bullet for $35,000 and both are on display at their main offices. Many other items and memorabilia were sold to people well above estimates.

Rogers' son Roy Jr. cried at the beginning of the sale as he spoke of the family's decision to auction Roy's belongings. "We hope you get a piece of Roy and Dale to take home and pass it on to your children."

I hope you buckaroos enjoyed reading about these three American legends.

 I'll end my post with "Happy trails to you, until we meet again," … I bet some of you can remember with fondness hearing Roy & Dale singing that song. I know I can!

For more information about Cheri Kay Clifton and her books, visit her web site at www.cherikayclifton.com    You can also find her on Facebook.