My Favorite Westerns

Tag: Jesse James / 1939

  • Moving along …


    long as i can see the light / marc cohn / written by john fogerty

    Mystery Unresolved

    OK I failed to resolve my brothers problem of why he can’t access site. I talked to WordPress Support – detailing the issue. They checked things and said that anybody should be able to find my site and make comments –
    they are not blocking ??
    Not sure what else I can do. I’ll keep my ear to the ground
    and see if I can figure this thing out.

    Onward

    I’m going away for a week.
    Sorry – won’t be able to work on the blog.

    However:
    Projects I’m working on: 

    Tyrone Power / Swashbuckler / Zorro
    Featuring that Prince of Fiends: Basil Rathbone!

    Posters: Jesse James Films
    Fun – but a lot of work finding and fixing
    those old posters.

    The Death of Jesse James 
    Depictions of his assassination in Film.
    But most Jesse James don’t depict this at all!

    I’ve really enjoyed working on this Jesse James thing. (Bet you couldn’t tell).
    Not really finished yet either. He’s an incredible study of
    Western Lore and Legend.
    It seems his Iconic stature outweighs the evil that his did. ??

    Well … you fool some of us humans,
    but … the Big Guy is not so easy.

    Stay tuned.

  • Jesse James / The Long Riders / Stunting Revisited

    jesse james / ry cooder

    Stunts: Jesse James and Long Riders 

    Back on April 5, I made a post called Jesse James (1939): The Stunt of Infamy. It detailed an stunt in the movie whereby a horse was killed. This stunt led to the creation of the The American Humane Association (AHA) – an organization that monitors animal safety in film making
    (among related concerns). 

    Ironically, 41 years after the this original incident, The Long Riders (1980), openly commits more animal safety infractions – while duplicating stunts from this original film?!

    Here is the AHA review of The Long Riders:

    “AHA was not informed of the animal action prior to filming, but confirmed via screening the film on May 19, 1980 that two obvious horse trips occurred. In one fall, a horse landed on its back and in the other fall, the horse did a dangerous forward somersault. Since it was deemed that these falls could not be achieved without the use of tripping wires, AHA rated the film Unacceptable.”

    Below is a clip from Jesse James (1939). Apart from the famous stunt I mentioned it shows no horse trips, but does show another questionable stunt: jumping horses through a window. Yes, we know that’s not real glass, but you have to wonder …

    https://www.google.com/search?q=video+of+longriders+jumping+through+windows&rlz=1C1GCEA_enCA953CA953&oq=video+of+longriders+jumping+through+windows&aqs=chrome..69i57.17405j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:2d30fc3b,vid:NsMwPIy4Ax4

    Another stunt in The Long Riders  is an obvious horse trip.  Little wonder they wouldn’t want the AHA to monitor this. 

                             WHO ??? ME ?!

    Director Walter Hill was a Peckinpah fan. Not hard to tell.

    AHA Movie database and Reviews:

    However over 90 percent of Movies monitored
    by the AHA pass the safety checks.
    Most Movie Directors and Producers do care.

    Here’s a few that didn’t pass:

    Stagecoach (1939)
    Horses are tripped with great abandon in this Classic.
    Ben-Hur (1925)
    In 1925, it’s a certainty that the safety of either beast
    – or man – was of no concern.
    Heaven’s Gate (1980)
    The reputation of this film is damaged anew.
    The Wild Bunch (1969)
    In one scene Sam Peckinpah collapsed a whole bridge full of horses
    and riders into a river.

    I admire Pek’s work as a Director. He was really good.
    And he always said that he didn’t ‘sugar coat’ his bloodshed
    in his movies because it sanitized the true gore of killing –
    which he hoped people would abhore.
    Unfortunately people didn’t abhore it.
    They embraced it.

    AHA Guidelines for Producers / Film Makers 

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