Henry Hathaway – My Favorite Westerns

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 9 / Sunset Pass / 1933

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns
Sunset Pass / 1933

ROMANCE and ADVENTURE tuned to thundering hoofbeats … as a two-gun hero fights his way to a girl’s heart!

In 1933, Henry Hathaway Directed 6 Westerns, but in many like Sunset Pass the cast includes at least 4 icons of early Western Cinema: Randolph Scott, Tom Keene, Harry Carey, and Noah Beery. So it’s sad to see that some seem to be forgotten and lost.

But by the looks of this AllMovie write up maybe is deserves to be lost:

AllMovie Synopsis by Sandra Brennan
(http://www.allmovie.com/movie/sunset-pass-v112292)

In this western, a US marshal goes undercover to bust up a bunch of rustlers. The history behind the film is as interesting as the story. Paramount made this during the Depression when the studio was teetering towards bankruptcy. To save money, much of this film was comprised of footage from the earlier films of former western star Jack Holt. The long shots were old silent footage, while the close-shots were of different actors wearing exactly the same costumes. Paramount made 9 other westerns in this way.

Amazing.

Sunset Pass Posters

Two other versions of Sunset Pass (1929) and Sunset Pass (1946) have been made.

Reviews

The Cast

Randolph Scott

Harry Carey, Randolph Scott and Noah Beery Sr.

Randolph Scott, Kathleen Burke, Tom Keene and Fuzzy Knight

Tom Keene

Almost forgotten now, Tom Keene was a well known and popular Western Star of his day who made about 41 Westerns between 1928 and 1959.

Kathleen Burke and Tom Keene

Kathleen Burke

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 8 / Under the Tonto Rim / 1933

greg allman

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns
Under the Tonto Rim / 1933

MISTAKEN for a ‘BAD MAM’
— and he had to live up to it!

Director Henry Hathaway was 35 years old in 1933.

Storyline:

Tonto Daley (Erwin) A complete failure as a ranch cowhand – then a chuck wagon driver, his embarrassment is total after accidentally causing a wagon to tip over and his boss’s daughter Nina Weston to fall into a creek.

He hits the trail with his tail between his legs, taking a job from Porky and Tom to become a hog farmer. He is miserable and lonely, and things get worse when former foreman Munther tries to railroad Tonto in the rustling of some cattle. He finds out Porky and Tom are in on it, and Nina becomes Tonto’s ally in the fight to make things right.

Then things finally take a turn …

Under the Tonto Rim (1933) seems to be almost a lost movie. I could find no Trailers – or clips – and very few reviews.

From buffoon to hero, Tonto gets the gal (Verna Hillie).

Caterwauling cowboysVerna Hillie with unidentified steed.

Stuart Erwin

Between 1928 and 1968 Erwin appeared in about 120 movies.
He specialized in playing the average Joe, hayseeds
and semi-buffoonish sidekicks.
But was best as boxer Joe Palooka of comic strip fame (Palooka,1939)
and as Judy Garland’s dense brother in Pigskin Parade (1936),
which earned him an Academy Award nomination.
Under the Tonto Rim / Zane Grey / 1926

Verna Hillie

Verna Hillie (5 May 1914 – 3 October 1997) was an American film actress. She starred opposite John Wayne in the 1934 films The Star Packer and The Trail Beyond. She made 19 movies in her career.

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 7 continued …

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 7
Continued …

Before 1800 scientists estimate there were 60,000,000
buffalo/bison on the North American plains.

The Buffalo / Bison has been around for a long time. The cave painting (from France) above is believed to be about 10,000 years old.
The ancient hunters would never have dreamed about wiping all of them out.

Yet it only took a mere fistful of white hunters less than 50 years to slaughter the North American buffalo to near extinction.

And it was done deliberately.

The simple plan was to force the Natives onto the Reservations by killing off their food source.
Thus opening up the West for settlement. (Civilization?)

**Bull Chief, 1908 by Edward S. Curtis**

**Assiniboine hunting buffalo / by Paul Kane**

**The Buffalo Hunt / Charles M. Russell**

**William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody**

Buffalo hunting still goes on today. It’s a bit controversial as you might imagine – as some ‘hunts’ amount only to shooting a Buffalo standing in a field or pasture – for a fee. There are other hunting formats however (Bow, Crossbow, period Firearms … ) and most any real hunter would insist on a greater experience. Myself, I’m against Trophy Hunting, but not conventional hunting whereby the meat would be taken and used.
Myself, I don’t hunt and I own no firearms or weapons.

Next
Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 7 continued …

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 7

Home on the Range / Tom Roush

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 7

The Thundering Herd (1933)

He followed a trail of blazing action across the prairies!

The Thundering Herd – a Pre-Code Western has a rather amazing cast of Western Icons: Randolph Scott, Judith Allen, Buster Crabbe,
Noah Beery, Sr. and Harry Carey.
The film is now in the public domain and also known as Buffalo Stampede.

Buffalo Stampede (1950)

As Big … and Great as the Wide … Wild West!

Buffalo Stampede can be watched on You Tube
in watchable 480 resolution – 57:15 long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px3Dc8txIpY

Storyline:

Sprague (Harry Carey) and Jett (Noah Beery)and their men are buffalo hunters. Doan (Randolph Scott) is with Sprague and is looking for Jett who tried to kill him and is holding his girlfriend Milly (Judith Allen) hostage. Jett’s is also stealing Sprague’s furs. Meanwhile, Indians are attacking the buffalo hunters.

Reviews

There are very few reviews on The Thundering Herd. I watched it on You Tube and I’d give it a 6 out of 10 at best. It’s climax is unusual and not entirely satisfying in how the badguy is dispatched.
Yet the Cast is interesting and it is a Talky.

**Zane Grey – *The Thundering Herd* – 1925**

Next
Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 7 continued …

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 6

Wildfire / Michael Murphey

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 6

Wild Horse Mesa (1932)

A Review … or two

Zane Grey / possibly on a mountain lion-hunting trip with
Buffalo Jones to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 1907.
– Courtesy U.S. National Park Service –

colt-45-bar

Next
Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns / Part 6

Henry Hathaway / Part 5

chris stapleton / tennessee whisky

Henry Hathaway / Director of Westerns

Heritage of the Desert (1932)

Henry Hathaway’s first film Directing solo.

Randolph Scott’s first Starring role.

Next
Henry Hathaway / Part 6

Dean Martin Westerns / The Sons of Katie Elder / Part 4

javi garcia / nightfall

The Sons of Katie Elder / Part 4
Henry Hathaway / Director

Next, Hathaway was Assistant Director under another Fleming film The Rough Riders (1927) – Widipedia says: ” A fictional account of Theodore Roosevelt’s military unit in Cuba – a worthy Western setting, but the film was evidently not very good.

Wikipedia: “Incomplete or fragment prints of this movie are extant at the Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress.” In other words, this is essentially a lost film.

On the poster Noah Beery Sr. gets top Bill – but no image?
It seems his role was mainly comic relief.

Charles Farrell and Mary Astor

Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor
You may recall Mary from her role in the Maltese Falcon (1941)

Just for fun:

Father of Noah Beery Jr.

Brother of actor Noah Beery Sr.

Possibly most well known for his role in the Rockford Files TV show.

Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders:

colt-45-bar

Next: The Sons of Katie Elder / Part 5

Dean Martin Westerns / The Sons of Katie Elder / Part 3

poeme / secret garden

The Sons of Katie Elder / Part 3
Henry Hathaway / Director

“To be a good director you’ve got to be a bastard.
I’m a bastard and I know it.”
– Henry Hathaway

Thought I’d do a little profile on Henry Hathaway, the Director of Sons of Katie Elder. Initially John Sturges ( Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963) ) was supposed to Direct and Alan Ladd was to Star. Ladd bought out his contract with Paramount and left. Film rights were picked up by Producer Hal Wallis and it was announced Dean Martin would Star. But somewhere along the line John Wayne and Hathaway stepped in.

Hathaway directed about 24 Westerns in his career – 67 movies in total between 1929 to 1974 – including John Wayne’s: North to Alaska (1960) and True Grit (1969) – for which John Wayne (1969) won an Oscar. Quite a career. Yet Hathaway’s Directing style seems to have been purely business like – straight forward, bread and butter, and no frills – and he received little recognition and no awards for his work. Not that he seemed to care.

“There’s lots of nice guys walking around Hollywood but they’re not eating.”
– Henry Hathaway

**John Wayne, Henry Hathaway, Dean Martin**

According to one source, Hathaway was an assistant Director under a guy called Victor Fleming on a movie called The Wolf Song (1929). Fleming went on to Direct The Wizard of OZ (1939)and Gone with the Wind (1939) – among several other classics. If your going to understudy with somebody, it might as well be a Master.