A Celebration of Western Movies… Pardner!
Van Morrison
Buck’s career as a solo headliner was winding down.
But Buck had a lot of real Cowboy in him.
and knew how to Keep his doggies rollin’ …
Next:
1937
Buck and the studio have a proven formula
and keep cranking them out.
But the end is near.
Next:
1936 – Buck makes 8 movies …
Next:
1935 – Buck makes 7 movies …
Next:
Buck Jones and the Old Time Theatres has turned into another Blog Monster – so huge that it could literally take dozens of posts to do it justice …
And Palaces they were. Do you Remember? Some lucky folks will. Others (mostly the young) may not.
Fortunately, a few of these incredible Movie Palaces still remain – have been saved. Unfortunately, most of them have been callously torn down.
Testifying to their beauty, those that still remain are now usually the domain of Fine Arts.
Beautiful indeed they were. The sensation. The atmosphere. The Grandeur …
Going to the Theatre in those days was a special event. The Names suggested so: The Grand, The Palace, The Ritz, The Royal … The Majestic … The Orpheom …
Outside, The Marques blazed – large and spectacular with lights and neon.
Inside – the Entrance – The Doors – plush carpeting – staircases – balconies – brass, mirrors, glitter, gold, lighting, chandeliers, curtains, soft music – everything was exquisite. Somebody really cared. And made you feel like royalty – a palace – a grand experience. Undeniable elegance. Here was an appreciation of Culture – Arts – and Craftsmanship – something to aspire to – and inspire us – as all great Art does.
Then there was the Program:
You’re were seated. Lights dim. Grand music swelling. The beautiful stage – the curtains slowly part …
First on the program you’d typically get a black and white Newsreel – news on the current War; the launching of the Titanic; the crash of the Hindenburg; a new motorcar; celebrity gossip; recent sports achievements; ??? – in these 5 to 10 minute reels. Then came the cartoon – sometimes three! Followed by previews of Upcoming Attractions. The pre-movie show was an entertainment experience in itself – often half an hour long – or more – before the curtains would close again … and then re-open. Now for the main attraction!
In this posting – for the sake of brevity – I take the privilege of showcasing just a few of these marvelous theatres that we had in Canada.
Theatres of Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia
Hard to believe they showed movies at these places/palaces isn’t it?
But they did.
Next: The Old Time Theatres of Alberta
if i didn’t have a dime / gene pitney
Diligent investigative reporting by My Favorite Westerns has uncovered
Stunt Fraud in the 1934 Buck Jones Western Serial ‘Red Rider‘!
Close scrutiny of photo images and the Serial clip clearly reveal
that Buck and his heroine riding Silver did not jump the yawning chasm as
they appear to have done in the clip! Zounds!
Look closely and you will see that the dust from Buck’s steed does
not fall into the canyon – but instead alights on some invisible platform!
Indeed! The illusion of Buck jumping a chasm is achieved by
the clever splicing and overlaying of two separate images!
Buck is really merely jumping a ditch only 2 feet deep.
When confronted with the evidence, Jones responded:
“Only an idiot with risk the life of a young lady and his horse
by actually jumping across a chasm.”
Good point Buck.
But it was a nice illusion while it lasted.
Coming up: The Movie Palaces
Some of that ‘Extreme’ stuff you see these days has been going on
for a long time.
Here’s yet another ‘Cliff Hanger’ stunt (literally) from
Buck Jones ‘Red Rider‘ serial / 1934.
You’ll notice that the Steed – with it’s 2 riders (whoever they were?)
barely make it across the chasm.
One has to wonder what happened when such stunts didn’t come off?
Clip below:
Jump scene occurs at about the 2 minute mark …
Rather amazing.
Next: The Movie Palaces
Them Dance Hall Girls / Fraser and Debolt
During the 30’s, Buck Jones made a few Movie Serials. One such was Red Rider.
Movie Serials first appeared in the 1910’s and were popular the right up into the late 50’s. These were usually about 15 (black and white) Episodes that were less than 10 minutes in length and shown at Saturday Matinees prior to the main attraction. They always had a ‘Cliff Hanger’ ending. – the idea being that you’d have to come back again next week to see what happened to your Hero.! Would Buck, survive the fall off that cliff?
Of course he would, but we wanted to see how?
These old time stunts were amazing. And dangerous. No wires or CGI.
Sploosh !!
This is why stuntman Richard Farnsworth
eventually formed the Stuntman’s Union.
Below: Buck takes the plunge …
Those old time “Movie Palaces” ?
Coming right up …
Time / Pozo Seco Singers
Dear Western Movie Fans,
I’ve been having a few problems with the blog. The main problem is that I make mistakes. Then I try to correct them – after the post has been posted. This then sends a new post out. Which I don’t wish to do most of the time unless the mistake is a big one. So I don’t know how to edit/correct the posts without that happening. I apologize. If you know the solution to that – which is likely very simple – I’ll be able correct things here without annoying you. Thank you kindly.
-Yours sincerely,
– My Favorite Westerns.
Buck continues his notable ride through the early 30’s. We see romance – the ladies becoming prominent
in Buck’s movies and posters. As a kid, I wasn’t interested in that ‘mushy stuff’, but there was still plenty of action to keep me around.
Next:
The Impossible Dream / Jackie Evancho
See Buck rearing up 4 times on his wondrous Steed!
Yeee Haww!
Next:
Carry Me / The Stampeders
Buck was hitting his stride in the 1930’s – averaging over 6 movies a year. And if we ever needed Western Heroes, it was during the ‘Dirty Thirties’ the Great Depression.
Buck was there to answer the call.
This manifested in some beautiful poster art.
I hope you can appreciate what I say about the Art quality
of these posters. Frameable stuff.
Buck’s poster collection from the 30’s is massive !
So I’m going to space them out a bit.
Otherwise I’ll have posts that are extremely long.
Next:
i won’t back down / cash
Buck was now making 7, 8 or 9 movies a year – production was swift in those days. Buck had achieved Top Bill/Stardom – his name is often larger and posted before the movie title. He was the draw. – but not necessarily as a Western Star. A good portion of the 42 films he is received credits for in the 1920’s were non-Westerns. In a lot of these films, Buck he was Billed as “Charles Jones” – and on at least a couple of occasions as “Charles ‘Buck’ Jones”. I’ve posted a couple of these non-Western here (“Big Dan”/1923) just because the posters are so darn nice.
Not revealed as a Western … but I do see a cowboy galloping there … ?
Some nice stuff eh!
Way to go Buck!
1928 The Big Hop Buck Bronson
1928 The Branded Sombrero Starr Hallett
1927 Blood Will Tell Buck Peters
1927 Black Jack Phil Dolan
1927 Chain Lightning Steve Lannon
1927 Good As Gold Buck Brady
1927 Hills of Peril Laramie (as Charles ‘Buck’ Jones)
1927 Whispering Sage Buck Kildare
1927 The War Horse Buck Thomas
1926 Desert Valley Fitzsmith
1926 30 Below Zero Don Hathaway Jr.
1926 The Flying Horseman Mark Winton
1926 The Gentle Cyclone Absolem Wales
1926 A Man Four-Square Craig Norton
1926 The Fighting Buckaroo Larry Crawford
1926 The Cowboy and the Countess Jerry Whipple
1925 The Desert’s Price Wils McCann
1925 Lazybones Steve Tuttle, aka Lazybones (as Charles ‘Buck’ Jones)
1925 Durand of the Bad Lands Dick Durand
1925 Timber Wolf Bruce Standing
1925 Hearts and Spurs Hal Emory
1925 Gold and the Girl Dan Prentiss
1925 The Trail Rider Tex Hartwell
1925 Dick Turpin Crowd Extra (uncredited)
1925 The Arizona Romeo Tom Long
1924 The Man Who Played Square Matt Black
1924 Winner Take All Perry Blair
1924 The Desert Outlaw Sam Langdon
1924 Against All Odds Chick Newton
1924 Western Luck Larry Campbell (as Charles Jones)
1924 The Circus Cowboy Buck Saxon (as Charles Jones)
1924 The Vagabond Trail Donnegan (as Charles Jones)
1924 Not a Drum Was Heard Jack Mills (as Charles Jones)
1923 Cupid’s Fireman Andy McGee (as Charles Jones)
1923 Big Dan Dan O’Hara
1923 Hell’s Hole Tod Musgrave (as Charles Jones)
1923 Second Hand Love Andy Hanks (as Charles Jones)
1923 Skid-Proof Jack Darwin (as Charles Jones)
1923 The Eleventh Hour Brick McDonald (as Charles Jones)
1923 Snowdrift Carter Brent (as Charles Jones)
1923 The Footlight Ranger Bill Moreland (as Charles Jones)
1922 The Boss of Camp Four Chet Fanning (as Charles Jones)
1922 Bells of San Juan Roderick Norton (as Charles Jones)
1922 The Fast Mail Stanley Carson (as Charles Jones)
1922 West of Chicago Conroy Daly (as Charles Jones)
1922 Trooper O’Neill Trooper O’Neill (as Charles Jones)
1922 Roughshod ‘Steel’ Brannon (as Charles Jones)
1922 Western Speed Red Kane (as Charles Jones)
1922 Pardon My Nerve! Racey Dawson (as Charles Jones)
1921 Riding with Death ‘Dynamite’ Steve Dorsey (as Charles ‘Buck’ Jones)
1921 Bar Nothing Duke Smith
1921 To a Finish Jim Blake
1921 Straight from the Shoulder The Mediator
1921 Get Your Man Jock MacTier
1921 The One-Man Trail Tom Merrill
1921 The Big Punch Buck
1920 Two Moons Bill Blunt
1920 Just Pals Bim
1920 Sunset Sprague Sunset Sprague
1920 Firebrand Trevison Firebrand Trevison
1920 Square Shooter Chick Crandall
1920 The Spirit of Good Minor Role (as Buck Gebhart)
1920 Forbidden Trails Quinton ‘Squint’ Taylor
1920 The Last Straw Tom Beck
1920 The Cyclone Minor Role (as Buck Gebhart)
A Simple Song of Freedom / Buckwheat 1971
Despite Jones impressive list of 168 Credits, most of his early work was as a Stuntman/Stunt Rider/Support Actor/Stunt double for Tom Mix, William Farnum, William S. Hart and others. No shame in that, but it did take a while for Buck to achieve Stardom. He paid his dues.
Photos/Pics of Jones are often confused with Photos/Pics of Tom Mix. They could almost have pass as brothers – so Jones probably made a pretty good Double for Mix. Even in photos sometimes the only way to tell them apart is that Tom Mix had a fairly large nose. Yup.
The 50’s is often referred to the Golden Age of Westerns – as they achieved their height of popularity at that time. But I also I refer to the 20’s, 30’s and 40.s as the Golden Age of Western Posters – with many exceptional pieces of poster art being done during this time/era.
Between 1910 and 1920 Buck is credited with appearances in 27 Movies, Shorts or Documentaries – though some are unconfirmed. Most seem to have had no posters? or they are lost.
Existing Images:
Buck later changed his name from Buck Gebhart to Buck Jones.
Due to the First World War, German names were likely not too popular.
Pretty skimpy. I couldn’t find many Buck Jones Poster images for this era. There could be plenty around ? but I didn’t locate them. But there’s some great stuff coming up.
Buck Jones Filmography 1900 to 1920
1919 The Feud – Minor Role (as Buck Gebhart)
1919 The Cowboy and the Rajah – (Short)
1919 Cupid’s Roundup (Short) – (unconfirmed)
1919 The Speed Maniac – Minor Role (as Buck Gebhart)
1919 Brother Bill – (Short) as Roy Dexter
1919 Rough-Riding Romance – (as Buck Gebhart)
1919 When Pals Fall Out – (Short) Bill (uncredited)
1919 The Wilderness Trail – Indian (as Buck Gebhart)
1919 Shackles of Fate – (Short)
1919 The Puncher and the Pup – (Short)
1919 The Coming of the Law Henchman – (as Buck Gebhart)
1919 The Uphill Climb (Short) Rockcliffe Stone
1919 Pitfalls of a Big City – Minor Role (as Buck Gebhart)
1919 Vengeance and the Girl – (Short)
1919 Fighting for Gold – Cowboy (as Buck Gebhart)
1919 The Sheriff’s Son – Cowboy
1919 Hell’s Fury Gordon – (Short) (unconfirmed)
1919 The Two Doyles – (Short) Outlaw Henchman
1919 The Desert Rat – (Short) Standing Bear
1918 The Rainbow Trail – Cowboy (as Buck Gebhart)
1918 Riders of the Purple Sage – Cowboy (as Buck Gebhart)
1918 Selfish Yates – Member of the Posse (uncredited)
1918 True Blue – Cowboy (as Buck Gebhart)
1918 Western Blood – Cowboy (as Buck Gebhart)
1917 A Rough Shod Fighter
1914 The Outlaw Reforms – (Short) Bill (as Charles Gebhart)
1914 Life on the 101 Ranch, Bliss Oklahoma – (Short) Sergeant
My Heroes have always been Cowboys / Willie Nelson
Post # 600 / My Favorite Westerns
Like the old prospector said: “I really never counted on living this long.”
The Last Roundup / Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers
A movie star for over 20 years – dying early at age 53.
Over 160 movies.
I couldn’t count the number of photos I found of Buck Jones. Must be hundreds. (If I had a nickel for every Buck … ) Too many to post here. They would cover pages. And most of them are excellent. Likewise, though I’m not certain how many – or where you’ll get them – many of his movies are still around. There are also several excellent bios and recollections of his work on Western websites and blogs. Buck is not unknown or forgotten in the Western fan fraternity.
Below:
I was finally able to locate another photo of Buck and Silver Buck rearing.
This time you can see Buck’s face though – but the photo is of poor quality.
Below are just some of the outstanding Publicity photos of Buck.
As you can see – excellent Publicity Images.
More to come.
The Last of the Silver Screen Cowboys / Rex Allen Jr.
from the movie Rustlers’ Rhapsody (1985)
I’ve seen Buck Jones‘ beautiful horse alternately identified as Silver or Silver Buck. I believe Silver Buck is his correct name.
Any way you call him – a beautiful mount.
