“Like plenty of other small screen programs, AMC’s Hell on Wheels has opted to shoot in Canada. The Calgary-based program is set to return to the schedule for an action-packed Season 3 premiere on August 3. However, recent and major floods on set may make it harder for the show to finish shooting Season 3 for a while. The show was busy filming last week when floods overtook the set, causing production to shut down. … “
Rose and I (and four other folks) took a very bumpy Jeep ride
(hang on to your saddlehorn folks) up Schnebly Hill Road. (Theodore Carleton (T C) Schnebly and his wife SEDONA Arabella Miller Schnebly
moved to the area in 1901. Guess how Sedona got it’s name?
Sedona Jeep tour
Eventually we jostled and jerked our way up to a viewpoint near Schnebly Hill Vista … then jumped out for a jaunt. Climbing a short, but steep,
little path we arrived at a location overlooking the whole valley. Beautiful! There are lots of vista shots around Sedona.
Sedona – the view from Schnebly Hill
Here’s where Nick – our Jeep driver – points to a certain tree and tells us “This is John Wayne Tree”. Really!! (He had no knowledge that I had a blog called My Favorite Westerns). There’s a photo (somewhere) of John Wayne posing by this tree when he was filming Angel and the Badman in 1947.
I believe I saw that photo once, but after hours of searching the net was unable to locate it.
John Wayne Tree
Nick claims that Wayne posed somewhat like this (above) in the famous photo. You know … I could almost hear Duke whispering in my ear: “Get yer hand off my tree pilgrim.”
Rose doing a “Maureen O’Hara” at John Wayne TreeSedona – Cathedral Rock
“Rider of the Law” – 1919, black and white silent movie – Told of the adventures of the Texas Rangers.
“3 Bad Men” – 1926, Ford’s last silent western. Filmed in the Mojave Desert and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“Stagecoach“ – 1939, Ford’s first western with sound. Starring the unknown John Wayne, along with Claire Trevor, this movie is still the most admired and the most imitated of all the Hollywood movies.
“MoDrums Along the hawk“ – 1939, Ford’s first Technicolor movie. It co-starred Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert.
“My Darling Clementine“ – 1946, romanticized version of the legend of Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Film’s starred Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp, Victor Mature as Doc Holliday, and Linda Darnell.
“Fort Apache” – 1948, The first of Ford’s “Cavalry Trilogy”. John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and also Shirley Temple in one of her last movie appearances. It was one of the first movies to present a sympathetic and authentic view of Native Americans.
“She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” – 1949, second of the “Cavalry Trilogy”. In Technicolor.
“Rio Grande“ – 1950, Third part of the “Cavalry Trilogy” starred John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, and screen debut of Wayne’s son Patrick Wayne.
“The Searchers“ – 1956, The only western Ford made in the 1950’s besides “Rio Grande”, this movie was named “the greatest western of all time” by the American Film Institute in 2008. Featured the rising star Natalie Wood as well as Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, and others.
“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” – 1962, said to be Ford’s last great movie. It starred John Wayne, Vera Miles, James Stewart, Edmund O’Brien, Andy Devine, Lee Marvin, Denver Pyle, and John Carradine.
Moonrise over Monument Valley / Wallpaper
“We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”/ Navajo Proverb
In scouting between the lines of the trailer for the new The Lone Rangermovie (starring Johnny Depp as Tonto), we glean that Depp’s portrayal of Tonto appears to be – in part – that of a Native Shaman. (Tread softly Johnny. Critics – and many natives – await in ambush.)
The image below is stated as that which Depp bases his portrayal of Tonto upon:
In the best interests of tabloid journalism … questions – like smoke signals – do arise. And where there’s smoke ….
Yet Depp’s answers give us hope:
“One of the more curious aspects of the Tonto make-up is the series of black lines that run down his face. According to Depp, those lines are meant to symbolize the character’s emotional life. “There’s this very wise quarter, a very tortured and hurt section, an angry and rageful section, and a very understanding and unique side. I saw these parts, almost like dissecting a brain, these slivers of the individual,” Depp explained. “That makeup inspired me.”
The revitalized Tonto has been met with more than its fair share of criticism, much like Jack Sparrow was in the very beginning. No part of the character’s new look has been mocked as much as the crow that sits on top of his head, another inspiration from the Sattler painting. “It just so happened Sattler had painted a bird flying directly behind the warrior’s head. It looked to me like it was sitting on top,” Depp said. “I thought: Tonto’s got a bird on his head. It’s his spirit guide in a way. It’s dead to others, but it’s not dead to him. It’s very much alive.”
