Author: jcalberta
Howdy!
I love Westerns.
... and the intent of MyFavoriteWesterns.com is to celebrate Western Movies/Film - old and new.
This site will eventually show my top 30 favorite Westerns - or more. I will have original graphic work with regular updates.
All this - and more ...
Yee Haw ... !!
- jcablerta / Moderator / Administrator
The Man Who Planted Trees
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Unusual People …
Welllll …
Hmm …
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Passing by … Gunfight at the OK Corral … Part 2: Triva
Gunfight at OK Corral / Frankie Lane / 1957
In response to comments about Deforest Kelley as
Morgan Earp and later as Dr. McCoy on Star Trek:
Interesting stuff …
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Passing by … Gunfight at the OK Corral … Part 1
Gunfight at OK Corral / Frankie Lane
Well … I couldn’t just gallop past the Gunfight at the OK Corral
without a few parting shots – so to speak.
Deal me in …
I figure that the ‘Definitive Film’ on this most famous gunfight
in the Old West will never be made.
Why? Because even though some folks think they’ve got it all figured out
there’s just too much conflicting testimony –
even among professed eyewitnesses.
Some don’t even agree on just which ones wuz the Badguys?
– the Earps or Clantons?
Amongst all known or unknown facts however, only one thing IS clear:
Them Earps had had enuf of them Clantons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM0AWZDkNYc&t=4s&ab_channel=Dylan%27sEntertainmentchannel
Stirring the pot:
One thing does make me wonder?:
I’ve seen it said that Ike Clanton didn’t have a gun.
That the Earps had disarmed him earlier in the day?
So … if you were going a gunfight …
wouldn’t you bring a gun?
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Another Tournament … another GOLD
It doesn’t matter what country or what rink we play in …
We win.
Nice work Lads.
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Kirk Douglas: Western Filmography Part 1 of 3
My Top Ten Favorite Western Actors:
Kirk made 18 Westerns so I’m going to run them in 3 parts.
I reworked all the images.
Most of these early Westerns can be seen in full for free
on a few different sites on the net. Some can be downloaded as well.
The image quality varies from poor to excellent.
Raoul Walsh
Also Starring Walter Brennan.
Kirk was 35.
Axe practice for The Vikings?
Kirk said: “It’s a bad movie.”
But IMDB gave it 5.7 out of 10.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7rky7m
Directed by Howard Hawks.
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Arthur Hunnicutt and Dewey Martin also appeared.
Directed by King Vidor
Richard Boone was the Badguy.
The Indian Fighter 1955 – Kirk Douglas – Bing video
Walter Matthau is the badguy.
On the Poster, Kirk looks exactly like his son Michael Douglas.
Gunfight at the OK Corral 1957 HD – Bing video
Lancaster and Douglas in their prime.
Easily one of the Top Ten Westerns of all time.
12 to go …
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The REAL Supermen …
David Bowie playing his song Heroes
at the Bridge School Charity Concert / 1996
Life Magazine is currently running a Front-Page story on the
first Superman Movie starring Christopher Reeve.
But I wonder, however if they aren’t missing
the REAL Supermen story.
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, dedicated to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders.
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
The organization’s mission statement states, “The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy.” Since 1982, it has distributed over $138 million to spinal cord researchers, and $28 million to nonprofits that aim to support better quality-of-life for people with disabilities.
History
The foundation was started in 1982 by Henry Stifel, whose son had been injured in a motor vehicle accident. Its original name was the Stifel Paralysis Research Foundation, and it was later renamed the American Paralysis Association (APA). In 1995, the actor Christopher Reeve became quadriplegic as a result of a horse riding accident. Reeve sought out the help of the APA and raised funds for it. In 1996, the foundation was renamed the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and then the Christopher Reeve Foundation.
After Reeve’s death in October 2004, his widow, Dana Reeve, assumed the chairmanship of the Foundation. Dana Reeve herself died 17 months later, in March 2006, of lung cancer.
On March 11, 2007, the Foundation announced that it had changed its name to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation on the first anniversary of Dana Reeve’s death. As of 2020, all three of Christopher and Dana Reeve’s children serve on the foundation’s board of directors.
Superman #2:
Michael J. Fox
“Our single, urgent goal: Eliminate Parkinson’s disease in our lifetime.”
Over $1 billion funded in research programs to date.
https://www.michaeljfox.org/
Awards:
- 2000: Honoured by the Family Television Awards for Acting.
- 2000: Inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame, located in Toronto, Ontario, which acknowledges the achievements
and accomplishments of successful Canadians.[91] - December 16, 2002: Received the 2209th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the motion picture industry, presented to him by the Chamber of Commerce.[92]
- 2005: Received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement.[93][94] - 2011: Honoured with the Golden Camera Award
for Lifetime Achievement – International. - 2010: Appointed Officer of the Order of Canada –
The Officer O.C. recognises national service or achievement.[95] - 2010: Received the National Association of Broadcasters
Distinguished Service Award.[96] - 2010: He received an honorary doctorate from the Karolinska Institute
- 2013: Honoured with the Golden Apple Award
by the Casting Society of America. - 2021: Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, from Simon Fraser University.[97]
- 2022: Received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
from 95th Academy Awards[98]
Honoring 2 Real Supermen
who turned personal TRAGEDY
into major enterprises for
Human good.
Bravo!!!
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My Top Ten Favorite Western Actors: Kirk Douglas: Part 2
I’ve seen very few Actors who looked as comfortable
‘in the saddle’ as Kirk Douglas.
(Maybe Ben Johnson).
He looked like he was born there and lived there.
This is what happens when you love what you do.
It shows.
And Kirk was a consummate Craftsman/Artist in his profession.
When he took a role, he owned it.
He wasn’t just Acting – he became that character.
He was ‘all in’.
And I figure that if you were going to work with Kirk,
you better get ‘on board’ pretty fast – or get lost.
He wasn’t fooling around.
Well … not much anyway.
I once found a pic once of Kirk standing on his horse looking around.
Now I can’t locate it.
I’m not sure he was copying Tom Mix, who was seen to do
this a while back. Probably not.
Tom Mix was a real Cowboy of course,
and could do most any horse stunt he wanted.
Digressing …
Did Tom Mix actually jump over Beale’s Cut in California?
He said he did. But the film footage that would have
proven it was lost in a fire.
I believe he did though because it’s known
that other riders had done this jump.
So it definitely was possible.
If not foolhardy.
But some folks
just seem to be ‘larger than life’ …
Coming …
Kirk’s Filmography continued.
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Thanks Thom
Found this over at one of the best blogs around:
The Immortal Jukebox
A Blog about Music and Popular Culture
https://theimmortaljukebox.com/
Still hits home.
Bonus:
Into the sunset kids …
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My Ten Favorite Western Stars … Kirk Douglas Westerns: Part 1…
I am no expert on Western Movies/Film.
Don’t pretend to be.
Just a fan.
Feel free to disagree with anything – and everything – I say.
“Obey the voice within – it commands us to give of ourselves and help others.
As long as we have the capacity to give, we are alive.”
– Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas was/is indeed an Iconic Western Film Star.
He made 18 Westerns.
(Bet you didn’t know that.)
Most every one is watchable.
Some are Western Classics:
Along the Great Divide / 1951
The Big Trees / 1952
The Big Sky / 1952
Man Without a Star / 1955
The Indian Fighter / 1955
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral / 1958
Last Train from Gun Hill / 1959
The Devil’s Disciple / 1959
The Last Sunset / 1961
Lonely Are the Brave / 1962
The Way West / 1967
The War Wagon / 1967
There Was a Crooked Man / 1970
A Gunfight / 1971
Posse / 1975
The Villain / 1979 film
The Man from Snowy River / 1982 film
Draw! / 1984
Impressive indeed.
Coming up:
Kirk’s Western Filmography Part 1
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Kirk Douglas … My Ten Favorite Western Stars continued …
My second Favorite Western Star is
“You haven’t learned how to live until you’ve learned how to give.”
– Kirk Douglas
But first … a bit of a Bio:
AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1984.
Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter on 17th January 1981. This is the highest US honor a civilian can receive.
Received a UCLA Medal of honor 14 June 2002 from the University of California, Los Angeles, during school’s graduation ceremony for theater, film and television students.
Previous recipients include former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and actors Laurence Olivier and Carol Burnett.
AFI Life Achievement Award:
1991 Accepted AFI Life Achievement Award
Academy Awards:
1996 Honorary Award for 50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community
1995 nominated for Honorary Awards
1956 Lust for Life nominated for Best Actor
1952 Bad & the Beautiful nominated for Best Actor
1949 Champion nominated for Best Actor
Berlin International Film Festival:
1975 Posse nominated for Competing Film
New York Film Critics Circle Award:
1956 Lust for Life won for Best Actor
1951 Detective Story nominated for Best Actor
President of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980.
Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970.
Awarded the American National Medal of Arts in 2001 from
The National Endowment of the Arts.
“Unknown to many, Kirk has long been involved in humanitarian causes and has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the US State Department since 1963. His efforts were rewarded in 1981 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 1983 with the Jefferson Award. Furthermore, the French honored him with the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. More recognition followed for his work with the American Cinema Award (1987), the German Golden Kamera Award (1987), The National Board of Reviews Career Achievement Award (1989), an honorary Academy Award(1995), Recipient of the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award (1999) and the UCLA Medal of Honor (2002).”
IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000018/bio
Helped break the Hollywood blacklist by hiring Dalton Trumbo, a member of the “Hollywood Ten”, to write the screenplay.
Despite widespread criticism from many in the industry, including John Wayne and Hedda Hopper, Douglas refused to back down and Trumbo received a screen credit under his own name.
When presenting Douglas with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement at The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996) (TV), Steven Spielberg thanked Douglas for his courage.
His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6263 Hollywood Blvd.
Has a street named after him near Palm Springs International Airport: Kirk Douglas Way. (2004)
____________________________________________
Kirk Douglas / Author of books:
The Ragman’s Son: An Autobiography (1988, memoir)
Dance with the Devil (1990, novel)
The Gift (1992, novel)
Last Tango in Brooklyn (1994, novel)
Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning (1997, memoir)
My Stroke of Luck (2002, memoir)
Let’s Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning (2007, memoir)
___________________________________________
He knew he wasn’t perfect.
That’s what made him great.
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into white …
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Dune …
When you read Dune you realize why it’s so been so captivating
to so many people.
It’s Spirituality.
It Rings True. It’s inspired.
That’s rare Art.
That’s also why it so hard to interpret.
It’s like the Christian Bible.
Nobody is going to agree upon ANY one interpretation.
Yet to me all interpretations of Dune -including each Mini Series –
have been well done and entertaining.
I found them enjoyable and they did at points
they captured some of that Spirituality.
BUT …
I liked the first part of the current interpretation. It’s very good.
I’m certain the second part will also be well done and entertaining.
BUT …
If you haven’t read the books all this will likely mean nothing.
You are free to merely enjoy the cinema.
But if you have read the books …
Current Trailers:
… may your vision not chip and shatter.
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Ten Favorite Westerns Stars: Burt Lancaster continued …
Big Iron / 2020
Colter Wall written by Marty Robbins
“You sit in your tepee and dream and then you go to wherever the dream may take you. It might come true. You wait for real life to catch up.”
–Burt Lancaster
IMDB (Internet Movie Database) says that
Burt Lancaster made 16 Westerns.
That’s wrong.
Desert Fury (1947) ain’t no Western.
Just because a movie is made in Sedona AZ
or somebody is wearing a Cowboy hat
doesn’t make it a Western.
So … let’s say about 15
Burt Lancaster Westerns.
Did you know that?!
(I didn’t.)
But I regard 5 of them to be
Western Classics.
Here’s my list:
The Gunfight at the OK Corral / 1957
Definitely one of the most
influential Westerns of all time
Vera Cruz / 1954
Lancaster and Cooper
Wa do ya want?
The Professionals / 1966
One of the Top Ten Westerns every made.
The Unforgiven / 1960
One of the most controversial Westerns ever made.
And some said that Hepburn doesn’t look very native.
But it’s Hepburn – so all is Forgiven.
The Rainmaker / 1956
Some say this isn’t a Western.
But it’s got Hepburn.
So let it rain.
Honorable Mention:
The Kentuckian / 1955
Moving along …
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My Top Ten Favorite Westerns Stars 1: Burt Lancaster
Heroes / Angu / 1964
“I walked out of class one day and I never went back.”
-Burt Lancaster
In no special order:
My First Western Star is
Burton Stephen Lancaster
But he’d definitely be near the top.
Born in New York, New York, U.S,A.
November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994
As a kid in the 1930s New York, Burt learned to Act
in local theatre productions in also studied Circus Arts –
eventually becoming a Circus Acrobat and Trapeze Artist.
He seemed ‘custom made’ to be a Action Film Star.
But it also helps to have a ton of Charisma/Star Power.
Burt’s first Action Film:
The Flame and the Arrow / 1950
Yes … well … not an auspicious beginning to be sure …
(Burt’s swordfighting skills need a bit of work too.)
But his second Action Film
The Crimson Pirate / 1952
opened the flood gates to Stardom.
Heave Ho and up she rises!
Question?
Can you identify this kind of ship for me
that was used in The Crimson Pirate ?
Frigate?
Coming …
Burt’s Westerns
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My Top Ten Favorite Westerns Stars 1
Cool Water / Walter Brennan / 1964
Well … you’re definitely a Favorite around here Walter,
but I’m not putting you on this list just yet …
First Western Star I’m putting up is …
Burton Stephen Lancaster
Indeed it is Burt.
Born in New York, New York, U.S,A.
November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994
More coming on Burt.
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My Top Ten Favorite Westerns Stars ???
Ghost Riders in the Sky / Sons of the Pioneers
Saw some guy claim he could list the
Greatest Western Stars of all time.
I figured that was a pretty presumptuous claim
since the list of Great Western Movie Stars is very long
and goes back quite a ways.
Right back into the 1920’s and 3o’s.
And since I wasn’t around in those years and
my own Western Movie education is lacking thereof,
I’m not sure how such a claim could be made?
Many of the Great Western Stars of of the early era should
most certainly appear on any such list.
Western Stars like
William S. Hart
TOM MIX
BUCK JONES
To name just 3 …
Incredibly, some of these guys – like Buck Jones –
are almost forgotten.
Shouldn’t happen.
Soooo …
I certainly wouldn’t attempt to name the
Greatest Western Stars of All Time.
BUT …
I can definitely name 10 favorites …
So I will.
Coming up …
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Rose’s Garden …
The Rose / Bette Midler / 1979
I’ve tried ordinary.
It’s just not me.
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Alberta Tornado …
Not common … yet.
