king of the road / dean
Dean Martin Westerns / Sergeants 3 /1962
In 1962 Dean Martin makes his 3rd Western: Sergeants 3. No Classic, but interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s Produced by Frank Sinatra – and Directed (believe it or not) by the great Director John Sturges, Director of the Great Western Classics: The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Gunfight at OK Corral (1957) – plus The Great Escape (1963) – among others. Amazing! So why would Sturges want to Direct such an offbeat project? Well why not! You get to work with some of the Greatest names in Las Vegas/Hollywood entertainment history: Sinatra, Martin and Sammy Davis Jr!! The real trick would be to keep this set from turning into an outright party – though it’s said that the Pack usually behaved like the Pros they were.
Sturges Westerns:
And impressive Western line-up.
Next: Sergeants 3 / Part 2
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I love Sergeant 3. Frank Sinatra Jr. told me in person: “My dad thought they would use a stuntman for the drag under the wagon, which they did, but for the close-up Sturgis pushed Sinatra to do it twice.” John Sturges’ has great compositions of groups within the frame. In my top 20 favorite movies is ‘The Satan Bug’ directed by Sturges.
Sturges was one of the greatest Western Directors. Worked with some of the greatest Stars of the day. Wonderful stuff.