Help me make it through the night / Kris Kristofferson / 1970

On top of his incredible Hall of Fame Music career
Kris appeared in about 16 Westerns.
For most Entertainers that would be a Career in itself.

Kris’ Westerns started of with a literal bang …
Sam Pekinpah‘s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
And unquestionable Western Classic.

Peckinpah had a ‘stable’ of Actors that he employed over and over.
Thus Kris got a bit part in
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

This led to an even bigger bang:
Michael Cimino‘s extremely controversial
Heaven’s Gate (1980)
– that bankrupted United Artists.
Yet some think this too may eventually be considered a Classic?

Then came a Remake of the Western Classic Stagecoach (1986).

The Highwaymen rode again in
The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James(1986)

The Tracker (1988)
“He thought his days of violence had ended.
But the battle between good and evil is never over.”
Amen.

Miracle in the Wilderness (1994)

Sodbusters (1994)

Coming … 
Part 3 

Field of Crosses Memorial 2024

and never forget.

In a system where a convicted criminal rapist who openly believes that
good is evil and evil is good is allowed to become the leader of the
most powerful country in the world.

What could go wrong?

Originally posted by me in 2016.

The Highwaymen / Live Forever

Kris Kristofferson Western Filmography / Part 1

Kris’s Kristofferson’s Western film career started off with a definite Bang!! TWO HUGE BANGS to be exact. He first Starred in Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973). Peckinpah was already a controversial figure – and the story surrounding the making and dismemberment of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is legendary stuff – Sam eventually walking away from the project – the movie undergoing several edits –
resulting in 3 different versions.

Kris’s second Western – Heaven’s Gate (1980) may be the most controversial movie project in Film History – bankrupting United Artist Film Studio – due to the outrageous behavior of Director Michael Cimino – equally as controversial as Peckinpah.

The parallel between Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and Heaven’s Gate is amazing: Two controversial renegade Director’s – possible both genius’s – who made two controversial Western movies – which were both dismembered by their respective Studios – ending up in multiple versions of each – but which were ultimately manifested into what many people consider as Westerns Classics. The verdict is still out on Heaven’s Gate –
but Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is in solid.
And Kris was in both of them. Amazing stuff.

In 1986 Kris made two Westerns: A remake of Stagecoach and The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James. Stagecoach Starred Kris, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings. The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James Starred Kris and Johnny Cash. Willie had a bit part in that one too.

Yep … these guys eventually formed the Country Music Supergroup
The Highwaymen.

Kris appeared in at least 16 Westerns …
Part 2 coming …

Watch Rathbone – he can barely contain himself!

Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, Basil Rathbone …

Amazing stuff !

And Danny Kaye … Genius.

Closer to the Bone / Kris kristofferson / September 28, 2009

Seems like every week somebody I grew up with dies.
But I didn’t know that Kris kristofferson
had died on September 24 of this year, until just now.

I just don’t watch the News like I used to.

This should not have been a shock to us though because Kris himself had advised us fairly recently that he didn’t think he’d be around much longer.
He was 88 and in poor health.

There had been recent false claims that he had already passed.

So I had to double check to see if this was true.
Sadly it was.

Kris, of course, was a brilliant Songwriter and many of his songs are regarded as Country Music Classics.

That we be a great enough legacy for anybody, but Kris also made more than a couple of notable Western Movies.

One of those is in my Top Ten Favorite Western Movies of all time:
Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid / 1973

Kris proved that he that indefinable thing that you can’t buy or create:
Star Power.

Next:
Kris Kristofferson Western Movie Filmography

I Nominate:

Best Movie / Best Actors / Best Writing / Best Director …

That’s my review.

My Top Ten Westerns Stars
No. 5
The Lone Ranger / Clayton Moore

This wasn’t a tough choice.
Truthfully, the Lone Ranger / Moore should have been my
First Choice as a Western Star.
Because The Lone Ranger/Moore achieved dimensions of
Western Stardom that will never be equaled.

‘Perfect Casting’?

Some people seem to be born for a certain role.
Though others had played the Lone Ranger before Moore,
there was never an Actor who identified and personified the role as genuinely and completely as Moore did to the Lone Ranger.
Moore WAS the Lone Ranger.
A role he authenticall carried until the day he died.

There’s a ton of things about the Lone Ranger that make him
unique as a Western Hero.
Too many to list here.
My admiration surely started with
The Lone Ranger Radio Show when I was a kid.
From 1933 to 1956 The Lone Ranger rode the radio waves
in one of the most successful radio programs in history,
producing over 3,000 broadcasts.
WOW!
Top that amigo!

“Who was that masked man?”

Why it was
Clayton Moore!

“It was a hell of a ride Kemosabe”
– Tonto

“Couldn’t have done it without you Tonto.”
– The Lone Ranger

HI YO Silver ! Away!

Automobile / John Prine / 1979

How do you like my car?

It’s the blue one Silly.

Nice eh?

Heading for The Great Divide

I couldn’t guess how many times I’ve crossed
The Great Divide between Alberta and British Columbia.
In most instances I was heading for the
Pacific Coast and Vancouver Island.
I timed that drive once and found that if i drove
pretty well non-stop I could get from
Calgary, Alberta to Port Alberni on Vancouver Island
in about 16 hours.
My only rest was the Ferry Ride over to the Island.
But I was younger then. Don’t know if I could do that now?
On the way though (if it wasn’t nighttime)
I’d had lots of great scenery.

Glacier

A Shard of your former immense glory.
Sitting high on a rocky crag.
Awaiting the inevitable.

You once moved Moutains …
made Mountains … then Ruled them.
Children of Ice.
Stand now in testament.

Yes, there’s still Glaciers. Remnants.
But not for long.
In the age of ‘climate change’.
Their decline, and death, is even faster.

Moving On …

Road construction, especially in British Columbia,
has cost Billions of dollars.
Imagine what it took to cut through that small mountain below?

So that I could drive here:

Amazing …

Brother Richard sent me a link to this
Western Quiz:

https://play.howstuffworks.com/quiz/there-are-hundreds-of-classic-westerns-well-be-impressed-if-you-can-guess-20

I’ve never claimed to be a Western Expert. Just a Fan.
I did get 39 out of 40 (he bragged),
though I was guessing at 3 of ’em.
But I don’t think this quiz would challenge many
real Western Fans.

The one that did stump me was the 1941 Classic
“They Died With Their Boots On”.
I confess I don’t think I’ve ever seen it?
Shows what kind of expert I am.

But it was still fun.

Pardner.

A Minor Ballad / Gordon Lightfoot / 1967

“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
– Sir Edmund Hillary

Castle Mountain

Showing the ‘saddle back’ behind it
and the high meadows where many hikers venture.

Majestic, Powerful, Inspiring.

We head for Revelstoke, BC, Halcyon Hot Springs.
Then to Nakusp, BC and Nakusp Hot Springs.

We’re back.
We were only gone 6 days, but it still took me a couple of days to recover. (LOL!)
Remember when Holidays used to be relaxing adventures?
But I’m 76 now … so hardly anything is relaxing.
Sadly, at times it’s just nice to get back to your own bed.
Not that this trip wasn’t enjoyable. It was wonderful! (Thanks Rose.)
We saw and experienced a lot of great things.
It’s just that travelling is not what it used to be when you get older.
Look a this for instance:

I recall a time when all I needed was a duffle bag and my thumb.
Crazy enough though, I think we used most of this stuff.
Even crazier, we often find we forgot something?

Heading Out

Thems the ROCKIES in the distance.
No snow on them. (Yet)
And you might think that after driving through them
about a thousand times, it would be boring.
You’d be wrong.

But …
Uh Oh! Some kind of road construction … ?

Ah … they’re building another Wildlife Bridge over the highway.

They’ve built a lot of them over the years.
So they must work?

Moving along …

There used to have signs telling what Mountain we were lookin’ at.
Don’t know why they stopped that?

Over the years I’ve taken a lot of pics of Cascade Mountain.

Why not?

You will often see people who have hiked up to the bottom of the Falls.
But not today.

Next: Castle Mountain …

More coming …

The Rose – sung by Bette Midler – written by Amanda McBroom

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.
– Audrey Hepburn

I think that most Miracles are small and flow right past us.
Like tests.
To see if we’re paying attention.
They are like Gifts and Rewards for feats
we didn’t even know we were achieving.

When we left on our little holiday, Rose’s Sunflowers were green.

I really never thought they were going to open. It was so late in Summer.

But when we returned they had suddenly exploded.

I could hardly believe it.

The bees were happy.

Rose and I are heading into the BC interior for a few days.
It’s our Birthday present to ourselves … both Virgos …
(whatever that means?)
Going to jump in some Hotsprings and look at the Stars.
Nakusp Hotspings is one of our destinations.
Just hoping for decent weather –
though I’ve never been a person who could get defeated by weather.
See you soon.

“Yet hope remains while all the company is true.”

Just an Old Fashioned Love Song / 3 Dog Night / 1975

A very good series.

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
A translation?/interpretation
by Edward FitzGerald (1859).

I have only memorized this first quatrain of Fitzgerald’s wonderful translation/interpretation of Khayyám’s epic and sublime poem.

A vast amount of the World’s Greatest Literture
lies uncreated in the English Language.
In fact, a unfathonable amount of such great literature was created before the English language (as we know it) even existed.
And in dialects now lost to us.

Therefore, unless we can speak every language and dialect ever created we can’t access a massive amount of Art/Literature.
Even then, it would be possible to encompass only a small amount of it.
However, there have been valiant attempts to bring such works
into our own Language and Culture.
– even as this meets the problems of interpretation.

Omar Khayyám

Below: just 3 of FitzGerald several attempts
to interpret just the first quatrain:

Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night
Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:
And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultán’s Turret in a Noose of Light.
FitzGerald, Stanza I, 1st ed.

“Wake ! For the Sun behind yon Eastern height
Has chased the Session of the Stars from Night ;
And, to the field of Heav’n ascending, strikes
The Sultan’s Turret with a Shaft of Light.
FitzGerald, Stanza I, 2nd ed

WAKE! For the Sun, who scatter’d into flight
The Stars before him from the Field of Night,
Drives Night along with them from Heav’n, and strikes
The Sultan’s Turret with a Shaft of Light.
FitzGerald, Stanza I, 5th ed

FitzGerald probably worked, reworked, refined, and re-edited
Khayyám sublime epic poem until the day he died.
And then was still unlikely content.
Even as we sense what was likely
‘a labour of love’on his part

“He’s not really dead, as long as we remember him.”
– Dr. McCoy, (Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, 1982)

Though I once knocked my sister out with the ‘Vulcan neck pinch‘
(that’s my story and I’m sticking to it),
I never considered myself a Trekkie –(Star Trek Super Fan),
cuz I could never do the Vulcan Salute/Greeting.
(I’m also lousy at Mind Melding).

Below are most of the places I’ve lived in Southern Alberta:
Except Vulcan.

So I’ve always considered myself to be an Albertan.
And I know Big Town and Small Town, Alberta.
Which brings us to Vulcan, Alberta which under ordinary circumstances
would be considered to be your typical small Alberta Prairie Farm town.
BUT nothing ever seems to have been ‘Typical’ about Vulcan.
Firstly, it’s unusual name:
“Vulcan was named by a surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway back in 1915 for the Roman god of fire—all of the streets throughout the town were originally named for gods and goddesses …
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/vulcan#:~:text=Vulcan%20was%20named%20by%20a,who%20mostly%20work%20in%20farming.
Also …
Wikipedia says:
“Vulcan once had nine grain elevators, more than any other location west of Winnipeg, Manitoba, making it the largest grain
shipping point at that time.”

I remember locomotives like this below.

There are 57,200 farms in Alberta.

Next: Part 3 …

Space … the final frontier / Leonard Nimoy / Spock

A while back Don Osterag was talking about
Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and Star Trek.
https://donostertag.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/qa-with-nimoy-in-iowa/comment-page-1/#respond

This interested me because Nimoy had visited the small Alberta town of Vulcan in 2010 in response to an invitation from locals who had proclaimed Vulcan as the “Official Star Trek Capital of Canada” – 
Vulcan being Spock‘s home planet in the Star Trek TV show.

Being the good sport that he was, Leonard came up.
To say that this was a BIG DEAL for Vulcan (population about 2000)
would be an understatement.

Nimoy demonstrated his generous and affable nature.

In all this, Rose and determined to visit Vulcan
this summer and enjoy our time there.
So we did …

Next:
Vulcan Visit / Part 2

Lately we’ve been getting very direct warning about how tenuous our survival and existence is – and how dependent we are upon many resources outside of our personal control.
First, our whole communtications systems in this area
went down for 24 hours.
The only thing we had was Radio.
No phone, no TV, no computer, no WiFi …
– no way to find out what was going on.
The next thing was a major City water pipe broke –
forcing water consumption restrictions for a month.
Then we had an electrical storms that knocked out
electricity in some areas.
Now, yesterday, the town of Jasper was devastated
by a forest fires that swept into Jasper National Park.

Still on the grid ?
– dependent upon resources outside of your control?

Think about it.

How much food do you have around?

I went out on our front steps yesterday evening and took these pics:

Forest fires in Alberta.
We don’t worry too much about them out here on the Prairie –
and wouldn’t even know they were happening –
if it wasn’t for the smoke.

HOWEVER, most of Canada is FOREST.
Check any map.
So this is a big problem.
AND NOW in the age of Climate Change
it’s amplified. Considerably.

Almost like living on another planet.

Feel the heat.

I’d heard this was cancelled.
Guess they changed their mind.

Frankly, I enjoyed Season 1.

INVICTUS by William Ernest Henley

Possibly the most memorized poem in the English Language?
Certain to be on the Literature circulum of most schools.
Powerful, uplifting, inspiring …
and short.

Click to enlarge.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved these guys.
I listened to the Lone Ranger on Radio 
in those Thilling days of Yesteryear … the early 50’s.
… long ago.
But not forgotten.

Next: Clue Number 2 !!!

Edgar Albert Guest

BURT LANCASTER

KIRK DOUGLAS

JAMES STEWART

GLENN FORD

Next  …
No. 5

I haven’t been posting much lately.
Sorry about that.
I’m just too much of a perfectionist
to just throw something up on the board.
BUT …

Here’s stuff I’m working on:

“To B or not to B”

Why B Westerns don’t have to be B.

Greatest Western Movie Songs

My next
Top 10 Favorite Western Star of all time …

and other stuff …

Hang in there.

(I’m trying)

It’s Rose’s Garden.
Gardening is a Rose’s passion – so I don’t interfere.
I only ask her to plant Poppys and Nasturtiums.
Poppys is easy – they pop up by themselves.
Nasturtiums are Annuals though and you gotta plant ’em.

Below:
some of Rose’s Poppys in bright sunlight.

Mini Libraries are another thing we like.

We put books in and take ‘me out.
I look for Louis L’Amour Westerns and the Classics like
The Three Musketeers and Gulliver’s Travels …
especially if they are illustrated.

Carburn Park

Rose and I go out somewhere pretty well every day.
Just to get some exercise.
Carburn Park is one of our favorite places to go here in Calgary.

It’s big – has nice pathways, flowers, wildlife,
and lots of water.

Gooslings Ahoy!

A small flotilla …

… time for a break …

The Bow River is running high right now.
It’s still ‘run off’ in the nearby Rocky Mountains.

Alberta Roses … our Provincial Flower.

A nice day for a short hike.

Next …
The Ol’ Water Hole !

“Nobody gets to be a cowboy forever.”
– Jack Palance

Monte Walsh … a real maverick

MFW: Monte Walsh seemed to get decent promotion – lots of excellent posters –  and boasts a stellar cast …
yet somehow seemed to slip under the fence?
But I believe this is one Western that will age well and eventually earn it’s rightful place at the bar.

I’d say this is a Western Classic.

MFW: “100%” from critcs and “57%” from viewers ??
That’s a pretty large canyon.
But I liked it.

“When we get through… you’re gonna want to take a nap, sit on the porch and wait for the mares to come callin’.”

To Justice.

Cheers.!

U.S. Memorial Day
Canada Remembers /
Canada Honors

Thank You America-
Champions of the Free World

Andy Williams

yep … hard work.

July 12, 1942 – March 17, 2016
He was 73.

The Lone Ranger Opening and Closing Theme 1949 – 1957

As I said, Glenn Ford made 26 Westerns. Ive been trying to catch up.
BUT he was making Westerns before I was born!
Therefore I cannot profess expertise. Only what I like.
I can say that his Westerns definitely display
his unquestioned Star Power. He could carry the ball –
and was a Box Office Star for at least 40 years – in any film genre.
FYI: Several of his Westerns are available to watch for Free
on YouTube and other Internet Locations.
And most are of watchable quality.

I just watched The Violent Men (1955) on YouTube …

I have to think that a lot of Western Fans
would consider The Violent Men to be a Western Classic.
It is a good Western with a stuning Cast:
Glenn Ford, Edgar G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck, Brian Keith,
Richard Jaeckel, Jack Kelly …
With great Writing and dialogue.

I then rewatched The Man from Colorado
also on YouTube.

… and I have to confess it’s still tough to watch Ford play a Badguy.
But he did it again in 3:10 to Yuma.

A few other Favorites:

Thanks Glenn!

Moving on.

Been working on my last post for Western Favorite Glenn Ford.

I want to do a good job and it’s not coming together swiftly.
I’m not all that swift myself right now,
but we’ll be right along.

Hope you’re all having a great Spring.

I’m Posting this because maybe it will be useful information for somebody?
I’ve been getting sick a lot recently. Never happened before. I’ve had great health most of my life. But now I seem to be getting sick quite often. Even worse, I don’t heal up like I used to before. A bug I caught recently lasted 6 weeks! In the past I normally would have gotten such a thing within a week. My conclusion that my Diabetes 2 has seriously impacted my immune system. I didn’t know this could happen. I will have be aware of this going forward. This is my new reality/normal. To say this in influencing me in a lot of ways is an understatement. That’s life I guess. Things can change and we have to adapt. Or else. This is mainly why I haven’t been Posting much lately. Thank You for hanging with me.

Onward …

It’s official.

We’ve been back for a few days, but I got sick again right away.
It’s a Cold? I guess? ….  but who knows these days?
The Cruise was great – tarnished a bit by our inexperience at such things.
Yet ever interesting.

That ship is … Large.

I’ll get back at things right away …
… He said.

Looks promising …

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1978.

In 1942 he joined the American Marines for 3 1/2 years then transferred to the navy as a captain , a rank he held for the rest of his life.

Awarded the French Legion of Honor Medal (Legion d’Honneur), and appointed to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1992, by the French Government for service in World War II. Created to honor extraordinary contributions to the Republic of France, the Legion of Honor is France’s highest distinction.

“William Holden and I weren’t just good friends.
He was my very best friend. I feel his loss very much still.” 

In 1967 Naval Reserve Officer Lt. Cmdr. Ford (then aged 51) volunteered to serve for three months as a liaison officer attached to a Marine unit, with the Marine rank of full colonel, in Vietnam, and on several occasions endured enemy shelling.In 1967 Naval Reserve Officer Lt. Cmdr. Ford (then aged 51) volunteered to serve for three months as a liaison officer attached to a Marine unit, with the Marine rank of full colonel, in Vietnam, and on several occasions endured enemy shelling.

Went on a jungle mission with a Special Forces team
during the Vietnam War.

Credited with being one of the fastest “guns” in Hollywood westerns; able to draw and fire in 0.4 seconds, he was faster than James Arness
(Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke (1955)) and John Wayne.

Ford and Van Heflin … ‘3:10 to Yuma’

He had intended to portray Hondo Lane in Hondo (1953), but backed out when John Farrow was chosen to direct. Ford and Farrow did not got along while making Plunder of the Sun (1953), causing Ford to lose interest in the role. The role was subsequently portrayed by John Wayne.

His few attempts at playing villains were not generally well-received.
Critic David Thomson complained “3:10 to Yuma” suffered because of Ford’s “inability to be nasty”.

“What are you squeezin’ that watch for?
Squeezin’ that watch ain’t gonna stop time.”
– Glenn Ford as Ben Wade / 3:10 to Yuma

Quiet on the set! Master at Work …

One critic has noted the likely influences of German Expressionist film makers in 3:10 to Yuma. Such insight is beyond my ken – so it’s much appreciated. Other, closer to home influences, are more obvious, as from Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon and John Ford’s Classics  Stagecoach,
My Darling Clementine … others.

No color? No Computer Generated Effects?

No problem.

All the unique virtues of Black and Film making are in evidence. Plus more:

high angle … low angle … wide angle … echo shots … close ups … lighting … shot framing … scene composition … dramatic use of Light/Dark/Shadow … Direction …

Nearly every shot in 310 to Yuma is crafted … seamlessly and unpretentiously integrated.

Daves knew it all – used it all …

3:10 to Yuma: Western Classic.

That’s a wrap.

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

“The Western is a man`s world and I love it.”
– Glenn Ford

Back in 2013 I did some posts on Glenn Ford
which probably all need updating by now.

I’ll see what I can come up with.

Rose has signed us up for another Cruise.
This time it’s a 10-day Caribbean Cruise.
On this big ship:

The Enchanted Princess

WOW!
Leaving Monday.
Flying to Fort Lauderdale (5 hours from Calgary).
Jumping on Ship.
Will hit Anigua, Martinique, St. Lucia, Dominica,
St. Thomas, and Grand Turk.

I’m still a rookie at this Cruising thing so I don’t know what to expect?
Hoping the seas are glassy and sunsets beautiful!

I’m 75 now, so my travelling days may soon be over.
But I’m sure I’ll suffer through it all somehow.
*KOFF*

See you later …

I thank everybody for their kind feedback on my annoying QUIZ!
But I did really figure somebody woulda got him right away?
There was indeed some educated guesses to be sure.

OK then … LOL! … this is my last hint:
*Drum roll*
(or at least smoke signals)

He’s not in this pic:

But he IS in this pic

That rumpled hat never gave him away eh?

The QUIZ:
Though I thought my previous hints would have given him away …
I’ve recieved a request for an additional hint about
Who wuz that mysterious Western Movie Star?

Additional Hints:
– Was a prominent Film Actor for over 50 years.

– One of the biggest box-office draws of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

– Five of his films have been selected for the National Film Registry 
by the Library of Congress as being
“culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.

-inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

I hope these hints will be sufficient?

Still workin’ on a couple of
My Top Ten Favorite Westerns Stars.

One of them might surprise ya?

So I’ll start a bit of a Quiz:

First Clue:
This Star made over 25 Westerns!
Spanning about 40 years!

BIG CLUE:
Seemed to wear the same kind of rumpled cowboy hat in a lot of ’em.

???

OK … No Cheatin!

OK, OK, go ahead and cheat.
Likely won’t help none anyway.

Next Clue coming … (if necessary)

Only in Theatres …

Dune: Part Two had its world premiere at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City on February 6, 2024 and is set to be released internationally on February 28, 2024 and in the United States on March 1, 2024,
by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Denis Villeneuve / Dune 3 Script Almost Finished …
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/denis-villeneuve-dune-3-script-almost-finished-1235829382/

February 27 on HULU

That Song …