Hello Friends …

I’m heading out for 4 days. I haven’t been posting much lately, but I can assure that I am working on projects all the time. Typically I’m working on 3 posts at once.

These days it takes me longer to put a post together. I’m more particular than I used to be. I’m trying to include more content – do more research – and I rework pretty well every image I post. This takes a long time, but I want to do good stuff.

There are a number of projects of that I haven’t finished – including John Wayne’s Filmography. I will get back to those.

Ongoing:

  • Between 1929 and 1971 Henry Hathaway Directed about 25 Westerns. I’m working through them one by one. It’s an interesting project for me. I hope it’s interesting to you too.  Hathaway’s Westerns include several films by 2 to of the Greatest Western Stars of all time: John Wayne and Randolph Scott.

  • I’m still working on a photo essay and Bio of Esther Ralston – who co-Starred with Randolph Scott in To the Last Man (1933). She had an amazing film career spanning 1915 to 1940 – appearing in about 45 films. She was a top Star in her day and was also ‘drop dead’ gorgeous – as you can see. There are a ton of superb images of her, but most require some re-working. Incredibly, she is almost unknown today. I figure she deserves more than a passing nod.

  • Mighty Niagara – a photo essay of our adventures in Ontario this summer.

Onward …

Back soon. 

 

The Professionals / Claudia …

The Professionals claudia 2

Claudia Cardinale Westerns

Claudia Cardinale only made about 3 Westerns – which is rather startling since she is an Italian actress and was a major Star in Europe during the height of Spaghetti Westerns.

However, when she did her aim was extremely good – starring in 2 of the greatest Westerns ever made: The Professionals and Sergio Leone‘s Once Upon a Time in the West – which many rank as the Top Western of all time.
Not bad at all.

The Professionals claudia 5

 

The Professionals / Jack Palance

” … Without love, without a cause, we are… *nothing*!
We stay because we believe. We leave because we are disillusioned.
We come back because we are lost. We die because we are committed …”

– Jack Palance as Jesus Raza

The Professionals Palance

Jack Palance Westerns 

Shane 1953 / Arrowhead 1953 / The Lonely Man 1957 / The Professionals 1966 / The Mercenary 1968 / The Desperados 1969/ Companeros 1970 / Monte Walsh 1970 / The McMasters 1970 / Sting of the West 1972 / Chato’s Land 1972 / It Can Be Done Amigo 1972 / The Godchild 1974 / God’s Gun 1976 / The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang 1979 / Welcome to Blood City 1984 / Young Guns 1988 / City Slickers 1991 / City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold 1994 / Buffalo Girls 1995 / Monte Walsh 2003

 

The Professionals / 1966 cont’d …

The Professionals …

The Professionals / Laurel Award
The Professionals / Laurel Award

The Professionals Banner

Three 1966 Academy Award Nominations:

Best Director: Richard Brooks

Best Adapted Screenplay: Richard Brooks

Best Cinematography: Conrad Hall

The film won two Motion Picture Magazine Laurel Awards in 1967, for Best Action Drama and Best Action Performance for Lee Marvin.
In Germany, it was one of only four movies to receive a Golden Screen award (the others were Doctor ZhivagoMerveilleuse Angélique and You Only Live Twice) in 1967.

The Professionals Banner

The Professionals Lee Marvin
The Professionals / Lee Marvin

The Professionals … 1966

“Maybe there’s only one revolution, since the beginning, the good guys against the bad guys. Question is, who are the good guys?”
– Burt Lancaster / The Professionals 

The Professionals … 

Truly.

Lee Marvin moves into full blown stardom – becoming a legitimate box office titan – in one of the greatest Westerns ever made (My Favorite) starring along side Western Film Greats Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Claudia Cardinale, Ralph Belamy … What a cast!

Following Cat Ballou (Oscar) this is one of 4 Westerns remaining in Marvin’s Western filmography: Monte Walsh / 1970 (with Jack Palance); Paint Your Wagon / 1969 (with Clint Eastwood); Emperor of the North / 1973 (with Charles Bronson).

A true Western Star.

The Professionals posters
The Professionals posters

Marvin Western Filmography 6 The Comancheros (1961)

Marvin Western Filmography 6 The Comancheros (1961).

Marvin Western Filmography 6 The Comancheros (1961)

9MAY

Lee Marvin / John Wayne 

Lee makes it to the Top of the Mountain – A Western with John Wayne

The Commancheros banner

The Comancheros banner

The Commancheros - posters

The Comancheros – posters

… But he’s still 5th on the Bill

The Comancheros Trailer

A Western actors dream - a scene - and a drink with the Duke

A Western actor’s dream – a scene – and a drink with the Duke.

Revisionist Postering ... Lee moves to the front/

Revisionist Postering … Lee moves to the front.

The Comancheros - The Duke

The Comancheros – The Duke

Marvin and Wayne

Marvin and Wayne

The Comancheros - The End

The Comancheros – The End

Marvin Western Filmography 6 The Comancheros (1961)

Lee Marvin / John Wayne 

Lee makes it to the Top of the Mountain – A Western with John Wayne

The Commancheros banner
The Comancheros banner
The Commancheros - posters
The Comancheros – posters

… But he’s still 5th on the Bill

The Comancheros Trailer

A Western actors dream - a scene - and a drink with the Duke
A Western actor’s dream – a scene – and a drink with the Duke.
Revisionist Postering ... Lee moves to the front/
Revisionist Postering … Lee moves to the front.
The Comancheros - The Duke
The Comancheros – The Duke
Marvin and Wayne
Marvin and Wayne
The Comancheros - The End
The Comancheros – The End

Marvin Western Filmography 6 Pillars of the Sky (1956)

Lee Marvin and Jeff Chandler 

Pillars of the Sky (1956) Banner
Pillars of the Sky (1956) Banner
Pillars of the Sky (1956) posters
Pillars of the Sky (1956) posters

Marvin … 5th on the Bill

Chandler at left - Marvin at center
Marvin at center – Chandler at right

Marvin Western Filmography 5 The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953)

Lee Marvin and Randolph Scott

The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) Banner
The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) Banner
The Stranger Wore a Gun posters 1953
The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) posters
The Stranger Wore a Gun 1953 Marvin and Borgnine
The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) Marvin and Borgnine
The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) Billing
Marvin … Billed behind Borgnine
DVD Talk – Partial Review / Review by Stuart Galbraith IV | posted August 24, 2005

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/17309/stranger-wore-a-gun-the/

The Stranger Wore a Gun is a muddled mess made palatable by Scott’s likeable hero, a strong supporting cast, and the novelty of 3-D at its most nakedly exploitive.

Marvin Western Filmography 4 … Seven Men from Now (1956)

Lee Marvin and Randolph Scott 

7 Men from Now - Banner
7 Men from Now – Banner

7 Men from Now - Posters
7 Men from Now – Posters

Lee moves up to 3rd on the Bill …

7 Men from Now - Lee Marvin
7 Men from Now – Lee Marvin

Warning: Huge Spoiler below … 

…  Lee gets killed … 

Marvin Western Filmography 3 … The Raid (1954)

Lee Marvin and Van Heflin 

The Raid (1954) - Lee Marvin
The Raid (1954)
The Raid (1954) - Posters
The Raid (1954) – Posters

Lee moves up to 4th on the Bill

The Raid (1954) - Heflin (right) Marvin (left)
The Raid (1954) – Heflin, Graves, Marvin
The Raid (1954) - Marvin - Heflin
The Raid (1954) – Marvin – Heflin

… a change of plans …

One Line Reviews: Iain Stott

http://1linereview.blogspot.ca/2009/03/raid-1954.html

The Raid (1954)
Recommended
USA Feature Film
Director: Hugo Fregonese
Writers: Sydney Boehm, Francis Cockrell, Herbert Ravenal Sass
Cinematographer: Lucien Ballard
Composer: Roy Webb
Cast: Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone, Lee Marvin,
Tommy Rettig, Peter Graves

Fregonese’s fact based US Civil War film, chronicling a confederate soldier’s infiltration of a small town in Vermont as he prepares to sack it, complicated by his meeting of an attractive young widow, is, with its excellent performances and uncompromising scripting, a thrilling yet intelligent examination of the ambiguities of war and human relationships.

Marvin Western Filmography 2 … Gun Fury (1953)

Gun Fury (1953)
Gun Fury (1953)

Pretty lousy posters …

Gun Fury - Lee Marvin (right)
Gun Fury – Lee Marvin (right)

Marvin molesting … what? again?

Gun Fury - Sedona
Gun Fury – Sedona, Arizona

MFW: about the only thing I liked about Gun Fury was that is was filmed around Sedona, Arizona – one of my favorite places on the planet.

 

Marvin Western Filmography … Hangman’s Knot 1952

lee marvin hangman's knot
Lee marvin  / Hangman’s Knot  / 1952
lee marvin - randolf scot - hangman's knot
Randolph Scott – Lee Marvin – Hangman’s Knot / 1952

Trailer:

lee marvin hangman's knot posters
Hangman’s Knot posters / 1952

Lee is 5th on the Bill

lee marvin - hangman's knot
Lee Marvin – Hangman’s Knot

Badguys: Part 1 … Lee Marvin

Badguys: Part 1 … Lee Marvin

(The Man who Shot) Liberty Valance – Gene Pitney

Lee Marvin

Liberty Valance - Lee Marvin - Iconic Images

“This time, right between the eyes.”

Yu tokkin’ to me  … ?

Liberty Valance - Lee Marvin - Iconic Images 2
Lee Marvin Western Filmography

Gun Fury (1953) / The Raid (1954) / The Comancheros (1961) / The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) / Cat Ballou (1965) / The Professionals (1966) / Paint Your Wagon (1969) / Monte Walsh (1970) / The Spikes Gang (1974) …

TV Westerns: Wagon TrainBonanza, and The Virginian … 

Lee Marvin - Oscar

Lee with Oscar for Cat Ballou

Military career

Allegiance – United States
Service/branch United States Marine Corps
Years of service 1942–1945
Rank Private First Class
Unit 24th Marine Regiment
Battles/wars
World War II
Battle of Saipan
Awards Purple Heart

Not so bad after all … 

via Badguys: Part 1 … Lee Marvin.

Gregory Peck … Western Star

Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck

“You have to dream, you have to have a vision, and you have to set a goal for yourself that might even scare you a little because sometimes that seems far beyond your reach.”

Gregory Peck Bio
Gregory Peck Awards

Gregory Peck Awards

Peck was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning once. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird.
In 1968 he received the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Peck also received many Golden Globe awards. He won in 1947 for The Yearling, in 1963 for To Kill a Mockingbird, and in 1999 for the TV mini series Moby Dick.
He was nominated in 1978 for The Boys from Brazil.
He received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1969, and was given the Henrietta Award in 1951 and 1955 for World Film Favorite – Male.
In 1969 US President Lyndon Johnson honored Peck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
In 1971 the Screen Actors Guild presented Peck with the SAG Life Achievement Award.
In 1989 the American Film Institute gave Peck the AFI Life Achievement Award.
He received the Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema in 1996.
In 1986 Peck was honored alongside actress Gene Tierney with the first Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival Spain for their body of work.
In 1987, Peck was awarded the George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.
In 1993, Peck was awarded with an Honorary Golden Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1998 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
In 2000 Peck was made a Doctor of Letters by the National University of Ireland.
He was a founding patron of the University College Dublin School of Film, where he persuaded Martin Scorsese to become an honorary patron.
Peck was also chairman of the American Cancer Society for a short time.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Gregory Peck has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6100 Hollywood Blvd.
On April 28, 2011, a ceremony was held in Beverly Hills, California celebrating the first day of issue of a U.S. postage stamp commemorating Peck. The stamp is the 17th commemorative stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series.

Gregory Peck

gegory peck 9

Gregory Peck stamp
‘Stamp of Approval’

“There’s some things a man has to prove to himself alone… not to anyone else.”
Gregory Peck / The Big Country

Gregory Peck Star