Open Range … the Firearms – Part 3.
Part 3 of Guns and the 20 minute climactic Open Range gunfight.
Very well done.
A Celebration of Western Movies… Pardner!
Open Range … the Firearms – Part 3.
Part 3 of Guns and the 20 minute climactic Open Range gunfight.
Very well done.
No … it’s not the Earps …
… but there is a corral. OK?
Winchester’s 1873 rifle was the “Rifle that Won the West.” It was chambered in a new, more powerful cartridge, the .44-40—a .44 caliber bullet, propelled by 40 grains of black powder. However, a factor that really insured the success of the 1873 Winchester rifles was that Colt quickly offered its Peacemaker chambered in .44-40, as well. A cowboy could have both a lever-action rifle and his six shooter, and needed only one cartridge belt for both. Most Texas Rangers and every old West cowboy worth his salt carried 1873 rifles. Chappo, the son of Apache war chief Geronimo, packed an 1873. And Buffalo Bill carried an 1873 lever-action rifle along with a pair of .44-40 Colts in 1876 when he worked as an Army scout …
Cimmarron Firearms Company
http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/repeating-rifles-1/model-1873/special-sporting-1/1873-sporting-rifle-44-wcf-24-in-ca242.html
“A Cowboy’s word is his sacred bond,
a handshake is more binding than a contract.”
http://www.topspine.ch/html/code_of_the_west.html
Corny as it may sound there truly was a ‘Code’ in the Old West.
And it was very important.
Break your “Word” and no one would deal with you.
It truly threatened your survival.
Too bad not many people feel the same way today.
I didn’t count the bullets – or the bodies – but the climactic gunfight in
Open Range is one of the longest in all Western movies – some 20 minutes
– give or take a bullet.
A number of different types of firearms are used in this exchange:
3 different handguns; 2 rifles and a shotgun.
The fight is a brilliantly choreographed and certainly one of the more memorable gun battles in all Western Film.
<iframe width=”500 ” height=”230″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/5uFarFM9sow?feature=player_detailpage” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>
“When I knew nothing, I thought I could do anything.”
– Robert Duvall
Lonesome Dove / Open Range / Broken Trail / True Grit / Joe Kidd / Lawman /
The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid
Kevin Costner and Modern West – “Intense”
“I haven’t lived a perfect life. I have regrets. But that’s from a lifetime of taking chances, making decisions, and trying not to be frozen. The only thing that I can do with my regrets is understand them.”
– Kevin Costner
Silverado (1985) / Dances With Wolves (1990) / Wyatt Earp (1994) /
Open Range (2003)
Kevin Costner and Modern West – “Intense”
“I haven’t lived a perfect life. I have regrets. But that’s from a lifetime of taking chances, making decisions, and trying not to be frozen. The only thing that I can do with my regrets is understand them.”
– Kevin Costner
Silverado (1985) / Dances With Wolves (1990) / Wyatt Earp (1994) /
Open Range (2003)
The Bronze Wrangler is an award presented annually by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to honor the top works in Western music, film, television and literature.
The awards were first presented in 1961. The Wrangler is a bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback, and is designed by artist John Free.
The awards program also recognizes inductees into the prestigious Hall of Great Westerners and the Hall of Great Western Performers as well as the recipient of the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award, named in honor of the Museum’s founder.
1961 The Alamo /1962 The Comancheros /1963 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance /1964 How the West Was Won /1965 Cheyenne Autumn /1966 The Sons of Katie Elder /1967 Appaloosa /1968 The War Wagon /1969 Will Penny / 1970 True Grit / 1971 A Man Called Horse / 1972 The Cowboys / 1974 The New Land / 1976 Bite the Bullet /1981 Heartland / 1984 Never Cry Wolf / 1989 Young Guns / 1991 Dances With Wolves / 1992 Thousand Pieces of Gold / 1993 Unforgiven / 1994 Geronimo: An American Legend / 1995 Legends of The Fall / 1999 Hi-Lo Country /2003 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron /2004 Open Range / 2006 The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada / 2007 Truce / 2008 3:10 to Yuma / 2009 Appaloosa / 2011 True Grit / 2012 Yellow Rock …
Past individual winners have included Owen Wister, William S. Hart, Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, Harry Carey, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Rex Allen, John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Richard Widmark, James Stewart, Buck Taylor, Howard R. Lamar, Ben Johnson, Pernell Roberts, and Tom Selleck …
(MFW: lots of worthy films and folks on those lists. Surprised to see Never Cry Wolf (1984) on there though – not really a Western (IMO) – but a great movie to be sure. (I have a couple of ‘suspect’ inclusions on my own lists so I can’t say much). However in researching 1984 I find it truly was a bad year for Westerns. BUT one film that was made in 1984 (that I have never seen) was Draw with Kirk Douglas and James Coburn. It’s listed as a TV Movie, but you’d figure that anything with Douglas and Coburn would automatically be pretty good. ?? I’ll have to check that out.)
Where to go next … ?? There is no end of possibilities. So many great Westerns … so little time.
I’ve received two suggestions: Eastwood’s Academy Award winning Unforgiven – Academy Awards Best Picture in 1992. (Wow, was it really that long ago?)
And Open Range (2003) a worthy duster (also shot in Alberta) with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall.
I worked as a set painter on Unforgiven which was shot near Longview, Alberta – the small Western town set was built on some (well guarded and secluded) private property. I wish I could tell you that it was a glorious experience where I smoozed with Movie Stars, Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Richard Harris. But it wasn’t.The set was tight and strict – high security. I never saw any of the Stars at all, but there was strict rules not to approach or talk to them unless invited.
My work has hot, dirty and tough. And even dangerous. I recall being up 3 storeys on a rickety scaffold – painting the back a building – by myself – that never even appeared in the film.
I made 8 dollars an hour – working alongside carpenters who were making 100 dollars an hour – or more.
Aw yes … the romance of film. Eastwood had a couple of henchmen whose only job seemed to be to go around kicking ass and hustling chicks on the set … who all mysteriously got better jobs. It’s not what you know …
We worked hard long days – bused in at 5 in the morning and often leaving sometimes late in the evening.
As I said, I never saw any of the Stars. There were several Locations in the area and I always seemed to working somewhere else.
Later, I got a temporary job with an outfit called F&D (Fast & Dirty) Scene Changes building the train station that was used in the movie – in a large hanger in Calgary. The station was then dismantled and shipped down to Senora California (that’s where the train was) and reassembled for some scenes that really take very little time in the movie. Clint has a blank cheque in Hollywood – his movies make money.
I hope I don’t sound too jaded – it was a worthy experience.
I’m sure I can come up with a few dozen more anecdotes surrounding my experience with Unforgiven … and I will.
Westward Ho !!!