My Favorite Westerns

Tag: Broderick Crawford

  • When the Daltons Rode / 1940 Part 1

    Doolin Dalton – Desperado / Eagles

    Into the Sunset …

    I was just a kid – or not even born – when many of the Greatest Westerns Stars who ever lived had already rode off into the sunset – or died. So I missed a hell of lot of good Westerns from the 30’s, 40’s and even the 50’s. Still haven’t seen most of them. This blog is pretty well a research project for me on a lot of them – trying to discover Western Movie history – and their Stars.

    So … I found this pic from When the Daltons Rode (1940) on the net the other day. I looked at the riders … but didn’t recognize any of them?

    Can you?

    I’ll give you ten plugged nickels and my spurs if you get 2 right.
    And they were all well known Actors of their day and beyond.

    ????

    OK … from Left to Right …
    Stuart Erwin, Andy Devine, Broderick Crawford, and Brian Donlevy.

    Stuart Erwin / (1903–1967)
    as Ben Dalton

    Andy Devine / (1905–1977)
    as Ozark Jones

    Andy as Jingles from Wild BIll Hickok TV Series (1951 – 1958)

    “If there’s anything I don’t like, it’s driving a stagecoach through Apache country.”
    Stagecoach / 1936 

    Broderick Crawford / (1911–1986)
    as Bob Dalton

    Crawford from Johnny Concho

    “I’ve made upwards of a million bucks in the ‘cops and robbers’ business.”

    Brian Donlevy / (1901-1972)
    as Grat Dalton

    Donlevy was the Lead and a big Star in those days.
    He had the chops.

    Oh Yeah … Randolph Scott was the Star of the movie.
    as Tod Jackson

    No Trailer available – but some clips exist on YouTube.

    On this poster though, Crawford’s image is bigger?

    Yet on the screen we see Randolph at the top …

    and Broderick 5th on the Bill ???
    *shrug*

    Director George Marshall (1891 –1975)

    A rather odd movie: (Spoiler Alert) LoL –
    we all know the Daltons don’t ride off into the sunset, but much of the movie is played out as a comedy? – interspersed with other nonsense –
    such as romance. (LoL)
    Even Yakima Canutt reprises his famous Stagecoach stunt.
    But in the end a fun yarn to watch …
    and historically accurate (as we know it) in it’s wrap up.

    Andy … just dandy!

    Hardly anybody can look as mean as Crawford!
    Except maybe Joan.

    Crawford with Kay Francis

    Next:
    When the Daltons Rode / 1940 Part 2

  • Glenn Ford’s ____ the 50’s __ The Fastest Gun Alive / 1956

    “Let`s never forget that to remain free we must always be strong. “

    – Glenn Ford

    In The Fastest Gun Alive Ford plays a reluctant gunfighter (a theme that occurs in several of Ford’s Western roles) who is reluctantly forced into taking up arms against the badguys. We may well be seeing Ford’s personal philosophy at play here, whereby he expresses the need for a vigilant defence in our troubled world.

    The Fastest Gun Alive

    The Fastest Gun Alive

    The Fastest Gun Alive 5

    The Fastest Gun Alive 10

    The Fastest Gun Alive poster 1

    IMDB The Fastest Gun Alive

    The Fastest Gun Alive 7
    The Gun

    _______________________________________________________

    The Fastest Gun Alive - Crawford
    Crawford
    The Fastest Gun Alive - Jeanne Crain
    Jeanne Crain
    The Fastest Gun Alive - JD
    John Dehner

    _______________________________________________________

    How duz a guy get a drink around here?
    How duz a guy get a drink around here?
    The Fastest Gun Alive
    Minors allowed

    _______________________________________________________

    Ford and Jeanne
    Ford and Jeanne

    The Fastest Gun Alive 9

    _______________________________________________________

    Ford / Military Man

    Wikipedia: Ford’s World War II decorations are as follows: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Rifle Marksman Badge, and the US Marine Corps Reserve Medal. He retired from the Naval Reserve in the 1970s at the rank of captain.

    File:Glenn Ford - USN 2.jpg
    Captain Glenn Ford, United States Naval Reserve

    ______________________________________________________________

     

13 responses to “When the Daltons Rode / 1940 Part 1”

  1. Marilyn Armstrong Avatar
    Marilyn Armstrong

    I got Andy and Broderick. Probably wouldn’t recognize Donlevy or Erwinif I fell over them, but two’s not SO bad, right?

    1. jcalberta Avatar
      jcalberta

      Two is superb !!!! You only get 1 spur and 5 nickels though. Don gets the other half. Sorry.

  2. Don Ostertag Avatar
    Don Ostertag

    Won’t ask for your plugged nickels and spurs, JC. I’m old enough to remember all 4 at one glance. Stu Erwin had one of the earliest sitcoms on TV, suit and tie white collar father. Andy Devine probably is the only one of the 4 that was a steady western actor. ‘Brod’ Crawford had a TV series called Highway Patrol, and he won Best Actor for playing Huey Long in ‘All the King’s Men’, strong movie, excellent acting. Donlevy had a life that could have used for several movies. He also had a popular TV show, Dangerous Assignment.
    Like I said, none of them were really western actors per se except for Devine from Kingman, Arizona. John Ford said he never thought of Devine as even an ordinary actor. He cast him in Stagecoach because he was the only one around that could actually a stagecoach.

    1. jcalberta Avatar
      jcalberta

      Thanks Don. I recall a anecdote whereby Ford insulted Devine (he insulted lots of folks I guess!) saying something like he wondered why he had Devine around. Devine shut him up by saying something like “Cuz I’m the only Actor you got who can handle a team of horses.” He was genuine. Thanks for the info on Crawford, Erwin and Donlevy. I remember them all and have seen there impressive and extensive work over the years. But in the pic Devine and Brod are so young I didn’t recognize them. I shoulda got Donlevy though. Shame on me. My plugged nickels are around here somewhere – but I might need my spurs to find ’em.

  3. thoughtsallsorts Avatar
    thoughtsallsorts

    Wow…I have some serious catching up to do. My first reaction to all the names was “Who?”.

    1. jcalberta Avatar
      jcalberta

      When I saw who those guys were I remembered them well. But I was amazed how far back some of them go. Like Devine. Devine has a hell of Western legacy – having been in Stagecoach and Liberty Valance – two Classics – among others.
      There were many entertaining Westerns from that early era that most of us folks don’t know about.

      1. thoughtsallsorts Avatar
        thoughtsallsorts

        Oh ok – I’ve seen both those Westerns you mention so I think if I watch them again I’ll probably recognise Devine.

      2. jcalberta Avatar
        jcalberta

        Not ALL of them are Classics. But because of who’s in them many are pretty watchable.

  4. maui1 Avatar
    maui1

    What a really great post on When the Daltons Rode. I really like all the posters and the black and white pictures on this post.

    1. jcalberta Avatar
      jcalberta

      Those old Publicity Shots seem like a lost art.

  5. Colin Avatar
    Colin

    That poster which gives such prominence to Crawford would have been for a reissue of the movie, some time after Crawford had picked up his Oscar for All the King’s Men and so would have been in the headlines. A neat little movie, by the way.

    1. jcalberta Avatar
      jcalberta

      Thanks Colin. I figured that was the case. I did see one poster with an Oscar on it and I should have investigated further. Crawford was a powerful actor eh!?

      1. Colin Avatar
        Colin

        Yeah, I find I can take him or leave him depending on the role he was playing. Given the right part, he could be very compelling and, as you say, powerful.

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