Venus + "The Virginian"

I forgot to mention that on my evening walks for the past week or so, I have been enjoying the sight of Venus playing tag with the Moon. Have you seen it? It's been all lit up like a diamond, and several days ago when the Moon was crescent, Venus was situated very close. I think it was just beneath it, and it looked really beautiful, like something you'd see in a Biblical epic. I had to Google it to discover that it was Venus. I had figured on Mars or Jupiter since they are the planets most often visible to the naked eye. By tonight, Venus was farther away from the Moon, so the configuration wasn't as mystical, but it's still shining brightly. Also, there is a very red star or planet in the southeastern sky, maybe 35 degrees above the horizon. Have you seen that one? I figure it's gotta be Mars. Whatever it is, it looks awesome, so be sure to check out the night sky this Summer. Maybe Venus will catch up to the Moon again.  :)

It's Sunday Night and therefore You Know The Drill. You know that the singing was good in church. After choir practice I drove to Burbank to take Sophie shopping. Perhaps you did not know that but now you do.

Tonight I watched an excellent Western from my 10 Pack dvd set. It was called "The Virginian" (1946), and it is not to be confused with the popular 1960s television show of the same name, which I referenced in my "Rawhide" blog from last night. This "Virginian" was based on the original book from 1905, and stars Joel McCrea as a Cattle Boss who plies his trade in the town of Medicine Bow, Wyoming. I know I just wrote about Cattle Drovers last night, but I swear this is just a coincidence. It's a Western, so it's practically got to have a cattle drive. And there will be a stampede, too, except it won't come til later.  :)

Anyway, the main theme of the movie is romance. The film opens back East in Vermont, where a young schoolteacher (the beautiful Barbara Britton) awaits the train that will take her to her new job, all the way across the country in Wyoming. They need teachers out West and she is up for the challenge. What she isn't up for, at least at first, is the roughneck approach of the local cowpokes. No sooner does she step off the train in Medicine Bow then she is accosted by the handsome and friendly but not too bright Sonny Tufts, who has an easy but pushy charm. She fends him off, but only to be taken in hand by the more formidable straight arrow McCrea, who was the star of many a Western in his day.

He tells her from the start that they are meant to be. This provides a slight comedic element in the typical love/hate relationship that usually precedes a love affair in the movies, Western or otherwise. In Westerns it goes like this : Cowpoke comes on macho but friendly, respectful and with a light touch, slightly humorous. Pretty woman, usually independent, resists his advances and chafes at his forwardness, accusing him of making assumptions. She is feisty and always wins Round One. The cowpoke backs off because he is a gentleman and because chivalry is the order of the day.

That is the romantic formula for these types of Westerns, and many other movies of the era, and it works. It always plays out for maximum effect because the couple, mismatched at first but ignited by a mutual spark, find themselves in a conflict with a Villainous Third Party, who provides the cowpoke a chance to protect his girl and thereby become The Hero.

This is the formula for many a script, and it works in real life because the viewer can feel him or her self in the respective roles. In fact, this is how it works in any romantic movie and you can trust me because.........well, let's just say you can trust me.  :)

In "The Virginian", the Villain is a Cattle Rustler played by Classic Bad Guy Brian Donleavy. He had a face, which though handsome, had a chisel and a smirk that was made for such roles, and he played them to the hilt.

In the end, he has to square up against fast gun Joel McCrea in a showdown, and this one takes place at the Ultimate Western Setting of "Sundown". In this case the Bad Guy (Donleavy) actually tells the Good Guy (McCrea) to "get out of town by Sundown".

This may be the origin of that well known bit of Western mythology.

Two Big Thumbs Up for "The Virginian", a classic Western shot in Thousand Oaks, California (just outside the Valley) in gorgeous Technicolor. The print on this dvd looks as good as when it was shown in theaters in 1946.

I am running out of Westerns and am gonna need more soon.

Thankfully I have some more Horror Movies to hold me over.

See you in the morning.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)