James Warren in Zane Grey's "Wanderer of the Wasteland", and "Four Boys and a Gun" starring Frank Sutton and James Franciscus

Lat night, another classic Zane Grey: "Wanderer of the Wasteland"(1945) once again starring James Warren, one of the best of the ZG leading men. Warren plays "Adam Larey", a man out to avenge the killing of his father. The movie opens with his character as a boy. Adam is shown wandering Death Valley and is about to collapse when he's rescued by the Rafferty family, who happen to be driving their wagon across the desert. Here we get some family history on Zane Grey's mainstay character  "Chito Rafferty", who's also shown as a child. He's riding with his Irish pa and Spanish ma. The Raffertys rescue Adam, who directs them back to the site where his own parents were killed, in a robbery carried out by a man whose horse was shot dead by Mr. Larey. The horse bears the brand for the CJ Ranch. Adam Larey the boy vows to find the man behind that brand if it takes him the rest of his life. The Raffertys adopt Adam and he stays with them for a while, until he's fifteen. Then he sets out to find his pa's killer. 

Fast forward ten years. Chito is now a grown man. One day, he's in the town of Randsburg, California, near his parents' sheep ranch, when someone throws a ball of paper at him. Lo and behold, it's Adam. They haven't seen each other in years, but they're blood brothers, so they catch up over a beer and make plans to go see Ma and Pa Rafferty, who are delighted when Adam shows up. While he's in town, he spies a pretty girl (Audrey Long) checking into a hotel. Her suitcase bears the CJ brand. He stops her and asks the name of her ranch and where it's located. C stands for Collinshaw. J stands for "Jeanie", her name. Adam asks her about a job, so he can look around and investigate. She takes him there and he meets Harry Woods, the foreman.

He also meets Jeanie's brother "Jay" (Robert Clarke), a angry young man who gambles and drinks too much (a Robert Clarke specialty). Jay doesn't like Adam because Adam showed him up earlier, in a quick draw contest at a bar. Adam sees Jay as a distraction to his real goal; to find out who at the CJ ranch killed his father. So far, it's looking like the culprit is Old Man Collinshaw (Robert Barrat), who's confined to a wheelchair. Adam thinks his infirmity is a result of having his horse fall on him, when it was shot by Mr. Larey during the robbery/murder all those years ago. There's a subplot involving money that keeps disappearing from the CJ safe. Jay Collinshaw is taking it without telling his father, so he can gamble at the local casino. but the casino is rigged (do you sense a Zane Grey Theme here?), with marked cards supplied by CJ ranch foreman Harry Woods, who gets a cut of the crooked profits. Adam Larey finds this out, too, and because someone's been shooting at him out in the desert, he starts to suspect Woods is the culprit. Adam keeps a rifle shell he found out in the rocks, and compares it to rifles owned by old Mr. Collinshaw, and Harry Woods. He also rides into town, to check property records on the CJ ranch, and discovers it was paid for with 10K in cash by the old man, right around the time his dad was robbed and murdered.

Adam is ready to confront old Mr. C, and wants to kill him to uphold his vow, made as a little boy. But he remembers what Mama Rafferty once told him, that only bad things come to those who seek revenge. Also, by now he's in love with Jeanie Collinshaw. He can't bring himself to kill her father, so he forces a confession out of the old man and leaves.

Then old Mr. C is shot dead. I can't tell you by whom, but the murder is blamed on Adam Larey, and a posse is formed to hunt him down. Luckily, Chito is a witness to what happened. He knows who the real killer is, and has evidence to prove it.

I probably don't have to tell you that this is as good as it gets, but I'm doing so anyway, just so you won't miss this movie. The plot is all business this time, with no comic relief or dancing girls, likely due to the revenge motif. A little bit of humor is interjected through the banter between Mama and Papa Rafferty (he's a happy Irish drunk, she's an emotional Spaniard), but overall it's serious stuff. James Warren is the quintessential Western hero; I wish they'd made more ZGs with him in the lead, and Harry Woods is as blandly evil as ever. Two Huge Thumbs Up for "Wanderer of the Wasteland". Shot in the Alabammy Hills as always, the picture is razor sharp. ///// 

The previous night we saw a crime film, late-50s style with a swingin' jazz score and a youthful angst theme. In "Four Boys and a Gun"(1957), four young pals, all down on their luck in different ways, conspire to rob the box office of a boxing arena. "Johnny" (James Franciscus) is a champion amateur boxer. The ringleader, "Ollie" (Frank Sutton aka Sergeant Carter) works for a bookie. "Stanley" (William Hinnant) is a dorky little guy with immigrant parents who bust their tails to make ends meet, but he doesn't wanna get a job and his Dad is ready to kill him. "Eddie" (David Schwimmer doppleganger Tarry Green) has a job as a truck driver but he hates it, and to make matters worse, his boss steals his girlfriend. Sergeant Carter owes the bookie 300 bucks. He's already been beat up for it. The bookie gives him one more week to pay. Then the friends get an idea, from a bunch of frat boys, to throw a dance at the loft they hang out at. They're gonna raffle off a TV set to attract a big turnout. They get a good crowd of young people, but then the bookie has his thugs rob the take. As an aside, I should mention the great musical performance at the dance, by a swingin' bunch of cats called Stan Rubin and His Tigers. Johnny the boxer has a wife to support, and a child on the way. He was counting on the dance money to pay his bills. Sergeant Carter still owes the bookie, and is in danger of being killed if he doesn't pay it back. Eddie is completely fed up with life by this point, and Stanley just wants to look cool in the eyes of the other three. He's up for whatever they decide to do. After a night in which Johnny wins the amateur championship, they decide to rob the arena, after he's told by his manager that he'll never make it in the pros. Eddie is out of a job and is sick of eating pancakes (his mom is poor). Stanley's never had a job and doesn't want one, and Sergeant Carter is in deep trouble with the bookie.

So, they rob the arena and kill a cop in the process. We already know this because it's the first scene in the movie, which then goes into flashback mode to tell how each of the boys got to this point in their lives. It's one of those 1950s "This Could Be You!" juvenile warning films, except that these guys are a little older than teenagers, they're all around 20.

They all get caught right after the robbery/murder of the cop, and are locked up together when the prosecutor visits. He tells them "one of you is going to The Chair, if he talks. If no one talks (admits to the murder) you're all going to The Chair". The movie then, for the final fifteen or twenty minutes, turns into a 12 Angry Men-style debate over who should cop to the killing. It was dark in the arena when the officer was shot, but it looked like Sergeant Carter had the gun. The four decide to roll dice to see who will take the blame (one of them just happens to have a pair of dice in lockup). When Eddie loses, he says he won't talk after all. "Why should I?" he says. "I didn't shoot the cop". He's right, but he already agreed to the dice game. This is in keeping with his petulant nature as the whiner of the group. He keeps bitching to his Mom about the pancakes, among other things. I can't tell you what ultimately results from the dice game, but if you think of the Three Musketeers slogan, or "I Am Spartacus", you'll get the general idea.

The actor playing the bookie is really good, and in fact this is a New York-style method acting flick, quite good for a B movie. Sergeant Carter is the best of all, showing the vulnerability of a young man in his position. We never see if he has parents, or a place to live. After he kills the cop, he goes to a bar where an older woman picks him up. He goes with her to her apartment, to have a place to hide, but she figures out that he was part of the robbery gang (it's all over the news) and she calls the cops after sending him to the liquor store. Then his night spirals out of control and the next thing you know, all the boys have been apprehended. 

It's great stuff in a late 50s jazz score kind of way, a mixture of "How did such nice boys go wrong"? with some slammin' Be-Bop blazing in the background. Well, the truth is, not all of them were nice. Eddie was the most messed up, followed by Carter. Stanley is a misfit who only feels comfortable in his clique, and Johnny is the odd man out, the married boy with a chance for success (at boxing). He's never done a wrong thing in his life.

But now, they're all gonna go to The Chair. The Chair, I tell you! Two Big Thumbs Up for "Four Boys and a Gun". It's highly recommended and the picture is razor sharp.  /////

That's all I know for tonight. I hope your week is off to a good start, and I send you Tons of Love as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):) 

Rick Wakeman at The Ace Hotel, and "Nevada" starring Robert Mitchum

Last night, as noted in the last blog, I went to see Rick Wakeman at The Ace Hotel in Downtown L.A. It was my first concert since Opeth on March 4th, 2020 at the Hollywood Palladium. I went with Grimsley, we took the Red Line from North Hollywood to the Metro/7th St. Station. I didn't know quite what to expect, having not ridden the subway since Covid (and mass homelessness), but it wasn't much different than before, except for masks. Ditto DTLA. It feels safer at night in the last 10 or 15 years, because it's been revitalized and there are are a lot of "regular folks" walking around, going to restaurants and bars. We got to the theatre at 7:40, did the Covid check and found our seats. Wakeman came on at 8:15, and proceeded to blow everyone's mind with musical perfection and some of the most melodic pianism that only he can deliver in his inimitable style. He told stories in between songs, mostly ribald or off color, including one about how he and Keith Emerson wound up in a restroom stall together, and came out to find Jon Lord staring at them. He played three of the Six Wives (mindblowingly incredible), he played "Morning Has Broken", "Life on Mars", a wide selection of his solo work and a Beatles medley played in the styles of Saint-Saens and Prokofiev. His musicianship was impeccable. It blows my mind to think that I saw him almost 50 years ago, and his playing is even better now, if that's possible. Rick Wakeman is one of those musicians like Neil Peart or Edward Van Halen, where God touched them on the shoulder and said "you're it". Except in Rick's case, unlike Neil and EVH, he's kept going with no problems. He brought along a synth this time to replicate the pipe organ in "Jane Seymour". He played a long, complex improv on "And You and I". He did a q and a session, with cards filled out by fans before the show, and he read my question, which was: "will you tour the Red Planet in the USA?". I already knew the answer when I filled out the card. He said "I would love to tour it, but it depends on the promoters". Freakin' promoters. Why should they have the final say in everything? Well anyhow, the whole thing was Off the Charts as you can imagine.

As mentioned in the last blog, concertwise Rick Wakeman is the artist whose been with me the longest. I first saw him in September 1974, and then - think about this - 42 years went by before I saw him again, with ARW (Anderson Rabin and Wakeman) in November 2016 at the Orpheum Theatre. Since then I've seen him thrice more, once again with ARW in 2018 at the Greek, and then solo on the first Grumpy Old Rock Star tour in 2019, and then last night on the Even Grumpier solo tour, both at the Ace Hotel. To think that he's been around all this time, and that he wrote Six Wives when he was 23, and and then to think that he plays those pieces better than ever at 73, life and time are strange and blessed things. God bless Rick Wakeman is all I can say. He's like family, and one of my very favorite musicians and composers. He's also (I think) The King of Progressive Rock. Not only has he been in Yes and had an amazing solo career, but he was also an original member of The Strawbs, and has played on albums by everyone from Bowie to Lou Reed to Black Sabbath and Ozzy to Cat Stevens and Elton John. I mean, holy smokes. C'mon already. So that's my review, of my first Covid-era concert. Next up will be Alice Cooper in April. I wanted to go to Paul McCartney at SoFi in May, but it was very expensive (Dodger Stadium in 2019 was only 65 bucks), and I also didn't wanna go by myself. I think those days are mostly over for me. I'm only gonna go to shows where I have someone to go with, and if that means just a few select shows, so be it. I've probably been to 800 concerts in 48 years (since California Jam in 1974), so it won't kill me if I don't go as regularly any more. (but don't hold me to what I just said, just in case.....)

On the motion picture front, the previous night I found another Zane Grey, "Nevada"(1944), starring Robert Mitchum as "Jim Lacy", a cowhand and gambler plying his trade in Gold City, Nevada. Right around the time of his arrival, a mining claim is brought in to assayer "Cash Burridge" (Craig Reynolds), who examines the ore and discovers it's full of silver. He keeps the news to himself, telling the miner it's worthless "blue dirt". Then he tries to buy up all the claims, or force the claimants out so he can get rich. The movie is the story of the Comstock lode, which was bigger than the California gold rush. Jim Lacy gets his nickname of "Nevada" when he stops the runaway wagon of showgirl "Julie Dexter" (Anne Jeffreys). She's traveling to Gold City with her six beautiful dancers, and when Lacy comes to their rescue, she invites him to come see her revue, at a place called Red Berry's.

He wants to go, but his partners "Chito Rafferty" (Richard Martin) and "Dusty" ("Big Boy" Guinn Williams) think it's a waste of time. Red Berry's casino is rigged, they say. Lacy says "I don't wanna be a 20 dollar cowpoke all my life. I've got a hunch I'm gonna win big". So he goes there, and Big Boy and Chito end up trailing along. Chito is always up for some beautiful women, and when they get to Red Berry's, Lacy is indeed winning big at craps. He's up seven thousand dollars and wants to cash in. The owner asks him to play one more game. "C'mon, Lacy. Gimme a chance to win some of my money back". He tries to give him loaded dice. Lacy sees he's about to be robbed, and - with the help of Big Boy and Chito - he shoots his way out of the joint, after securing his 7 thou in a satchel. He's been payed in a type of cash called Yellowbacks; hundred dollar bills from the Bank of California. Nevada isn't yet a state, not even a territory. It's lawless out in the desert. Will Lacy and the boys be safe traveling back to Virginia City? Well, they split up. Lacy goes it alone, and in the Alabama Hills he hears a shot.

Someone has killed "Mr. Ide" (Harry McKim), a nice gentleman who was traveling to V-City to have his ore assayed. In town, all the miners have been wondering what The Blue Stuff is. Cash Burridge knows its silver, but keeps telling them it's worthless dirt. He and his henchman "Powell" (the great Harry Woods) have ambushed Mr. Ide and stolen his ore, leaving his daughter "Hattie" (Nancy Gates) alone in the world to look after her little brother.

The plot conflict happens when Jim Lacy, on his way back from Red Berry's, hears the shot, rides out to investigate and finds Mr. Ide dead. A posse in turn rides up and sees Lacy kneeling over the body. He just so happens to have his seven thousand dollars in Yellowbacks in his possession, but it's bad for him because seven thousand dollars, also in Yellowbacks, were stolen from Mr. Ide along with his ore. That makes it look like Lacy robbed and killed Mr. Ide, though Lacy tells the Sheriff he won the money gambling. "Go ask the dice players at Red Berry's, they saw me".

The posse members wanna string Lacy up on the spot, but the Sheriff holds them off. He takes Jim back to jail, where the townsfolk form a vigilante group and use a battering ram to extricate him. Powell and Burridge offer a hundred dollars to the man who will hang Jim Lacy. Big Boy Williams takes the offer, and fakes the hanging so his pal can escape. By now, everyone except Hattie Ide knows that Cash Burridge is behind the silver scam. Powell gets shot and confesses. There's a very interesting scene with another mining engineer who refines some of the blue ore in his office smelter. Then he uses a chemical process to determine that the ore contains silver. Its fascinating scientific stuff in the middle of a traditional Western. "Nevada" has a script with all the proper ingredients: dance hall girls (complete with a rehearsal scene), sweet orphans, runaway wagons, gambling dens, evil mining assayers, comic relief from Emmet Lynn as "Pancake" the town drunk, Big Boy Guinn in the Good-Natured Behemoth role, and Bob Mitchum as the laconic, rebellious-but-honest "Nevada" Jim Lacy. He's chivalrous but he doesn't get romantic. Shot in Lone Pine as always in the Zane Grey Westerns, with the Alabama Hills as a backdrop, "Nevada" is as good as Westerns get. Two Huge Thumbs Up, therefore, and a very high recommendation. The picture is razor sharp. /////

That's all for this evening. I hope you're having a nice weekend. I'm going to listen to some Rick Wakeman and you should, too. I send you Tons of Love, as always.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)   

Two From Johnny Mack Brown : "The Texas Kid" and "Lawless Land"

This time we have a Johnny Mack Brown Double Feature, starting with "The Texas Kid"(1943). JMB actually has the co-starring role in this one, as the focus is on "The Kid" (Marshall Reed), who's joined The Scully Gang, but quits when they kill a bank guard in a robbery. "I didn't sign up for no killin' ", he tells them. Leader "Scully" (Edmund Cobb) doesn't take kindly to The Kid's departure. He has his henchmen follow him into town, to make sure he doesn't rat out the gang for the bank murder. When he arrives, The Kid stops at the general store to buy new clothes. There, he meets "Nancy Drew" the proprietress (Shirley Patterson). They get to talking, and it turns out they have something in common - both of their dads were killed by gunmen. Nancy took over her Dad's store and sold half to "Mr. Naylor" (Robert Fiske), a local businessman. The Texas Kid, when his dad was killed, went west to California and ended up with The Scully Gang. After buying his clothes, he runs into the man who shot his pa. The Kid kills him. Scully happens to be there and talks The Kid into rejoining his outfit. All is forgiven for awhile, and Scully promises there will be no more killing, just robberies. 

Meanwhile, "Ranger Jack Mackenzie" (Johnny Mack) is trailing a gang of stage robbers. They've been hard to catch. He's hiding out on near Rocky Peak in an attempt to surprise them. The stagecoach gang is ruthless; they've killed every driver on the route. They steal the ranch payroll every time it goes through. Nancy Drew and Mr. Naylor, who run the stage line out of their store, are at their wits' end. They don't know what to do.

The Texas Kid, who's become right friendly with the beautiful Nancy (Shirley Patterson was Miss California), is outraged about the murderous stage robbers. Remember, he don't like no killin'. He volunteers to drive the next stage through with the ranch payroll. He meets Ranger Jack through an introduction to Mr. Naylor. Naylor hears through Nancy that The Kid has money to invest, and sells him half his interest in the store. What nobody knows is that Naylor is behind all the robberies, he controls The Scully Gang who are also pulling off the stage jobs! Naylor plans to use The Kid to his advantage, then kill him. Ranger Jack teams up with a grizzled old snake oil salesman named "Sandy Hopkins" (Raymond Hatton), who's really an undercover U.S. Marshall just like he is. They arrange a meeting of the ranchers, to lure Naylor, who still thinks no one is on to him. He's double dealing as an honest businessman who supposedly wants the stage robbers stopped. He pretends to be a father figure to Nancy. But Sandy Hopkins has the lowdown on Naylor. He brings in Ranger Jack, who tells The Kid, and the three of them set up a sting operation to nail Naylor and The Scully Gang, by going through with The Kid's plan to drive the stagecoach.

"The Texas Kid" is one of the best Johnny Mack Brown movies we've seen so far, though actually Marshall Reed as The Texas Kid carries most of the weight. The finely layered script has his story at the core, along with Nancy's, where - as victims of gun violence - they're drawn together to stop the killing. Oddly enough, no romance develops. You wish for a happy ending for Nancy and The Kid, but it doesn't happen (and I can't tell you what does). There's also no comic relief this time around, maybe because of the serious nature of the story. JMB is great as usual, and you'll recognize the location immediately as Iverson Ranch. Two Big Thumbs Up, don't miss it, the picture is razor sharp. ////

The previous night, we watched Johnny Mack in "Lawless Land"(1937), this time as "Ranger Jeff Hayden". He's working undercover again, on the case of a murdered Sheriff. It seems someone's got it in for lawmen in this border town, down by ol' San Antone. In the opening scene, the Sheriff is watching a Mexican dancer (Anita Camargo) excite a cantina full of rowdy cowboys. She's hot stuff; the local big shot wants her; so does a macho Bandito (Julian Rivero). The sheriff has a laugh at all the competition for her hand, then he goes home and is shot dead through his windum by a mysterious figure.

Well, the town big shot "Clay Wheeler" (Ted Adams) calls a meeting. He's incensed about the disregard for law and order in the town. "This isn't the first sheriff we've lost!", he cries. Maybe they should call in Cleavon Little. Wheeler appoints himself as temporary Sheriff until the state can send a new one. The townsfolk say "ravvid!", then Johnny Mack steps up and introduces himself. But he doesn't let on that he's a Ranger. A young lady named "Letty" (Louise Stanley) admires him. She owns a ranch. But Clay Wheeler decides he wants Letty too. This pits him against JMB. When Letty's wagon goes out of control in Placerita Canyon, Johnny rides like the wind to save her. One hell of a stunt is filmed, in which he (or a stuntman) jumps from a sprinting horse, onto the wagon, which he then reins in just in time before they go over a cliff. Actually the wagon does go over, which means the horses pulling it must have gone over, also. They filmed it from a distance, though, and I don't remember seeing horses. I don't think they would (or could) have done that, but it's edited to great effect.

Back to the story, Clay Wheeler keeps sending the Bandito out to kill Johnny Mack, but he screws it up every time. He's played as a self-important amigo who's actually a nitwit, and as such, he's great comic relief. Letty is sweet and forthright. At first she sees Clay Wheeler as a protective big brother type. She doesn't love him, but he presses her into marriage. Letty's heart really belongs to Johnny Mack, but she thinks he's is in love with the Mexican dancer also, so she shuns him for a while.

Johnny has to enlist Horace Murphy once again (playing a storekeeper this time) to help him stop Clay Wheeler from marrying Letty. Murphy, who played ranch cook "Calico" in our last JMB flick ("Boothill Brigade), does his "old Betsy" routine with his rifle again, only this time there's no nickname for the gun, and his target is the pompous Bandito. Ted Adams is great as Clay Wheeler. A reviewer on IMDB called him Snidely Whiplash, which I got a huge kick out of, because that I used the same comparison to describe another villain in one of our recent 60 minute westerns (can't recall which one at the moment, check old blogs). You absolutely can't go wrong with any of these Johnny Mack Browns. They really knew how to make movies in those days. Give the fans what they want, the formula works every time, and as my Dad said, "you put the White hats on and ride in one direction, and then you have the same guys put on the Black hats and have 'em ride in the other direction", and that's how you make a classic Western movie!

The old time Westerns are the best. They're audience-friendly, and have Good Guys, Bad Guys, love, and a little comedy. The early filmmakers knew how to do it; this one was made again by Sam Newfield, one of the greats in my book. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Lawless Land". Shot at Walker Ranch, the picture is good but could be better. In that regard, all the JMBs call for a razor sharp restoration. Criterion, are you listening? ////  

That's all I know for tonight. Tomorrow night, I'm going to see Rick Wakeman at the Ace Hotel. It's my first concert in two years. Also of note is that Rick holds the record - for me - for the longest period by a performer between the first and most recent time I've seen them. For Rick Wakeman it'll be 47 and a half years. I first saw him at the Hollywood Bowl on September 27, 1974. It was the third concert I ever went to. To think that he's still doing it, almost half a century later, is amazing. I'll report on the concert in the next blog. Stay tuned..........and pray for world peace.

I send you Tons of Love, as always.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)  

Lex Barker and Ann Bancroft in "The Girl In Black Stockings", and "Boothill Brigade" starring Johnny Mack Brown

Last night, another late-50s Noir with a touch of melodrama, billed on Youtube as a Drive-In Classic. I'm talking about "The Girl In Black Stockings"(1957), shot on location in the resort town of Kanab, Utah. As the movie opens, lawyer "David Hewson" (Lex Barker) is romancing "Beth Dixon" (Ann Bancroft) at a swanky motel. They've just met, and they're out by the pool when a car pulls in. It's headlights reveal a dead woman on the lawn. Beth screams; Hewson comforts her. "Sheriff Jess Holmes" (John Dehner) arrives. The dead girl is Marsha Morgan, a local hussy. "Edmund Parry" the motel owner decries her. "I'm not sorry she's dead. She was a wanton, vapid predator." Parry (Ron Randell) is an invalid, paralysed except for his toes. He doesn't seem to like women very much, except for his doting sister "Julia" (Marie Windsor) who is also his caregiver.

Hewson, being a lawyer, gets interested in the case. Sheriff Holmes considers everyone at the motel a suspect, and in that sense it's a Ten Little Indians plot. But it's not an everybody-in-one-room movie; the budget is bigger than that. The Sheriff's first suspect is a drunken Indian named "Joe" (Larry Chance), who's found in the nearby hills with a bloody knife.

Also at the motel is an aging movie star (John Holland) and his armpiece, a young starlet played by Mamie Van Doren. She gets hammered at a party and throws herself at the quadriplegic Parry. This infuriates him, because he can't stand oversexed women. There are psychological reasons for his anger, one being his condition. But there's another that I can't reveal.  After the party, Van Doren is found dead, her throat cut in the same manner as Marsha Morgan. It seems to have something to do with Parry. Is he really paralysed, or is he faking? Sheriff Holmes startles him by throwing a glass to catch Parry off guard. Does he react and raise his hands? No. Therefore his paralysis must be genuine.

But what about his sister? Sheriff Holmes suspects her, too. She seems overprotective of Parry. Is she killing women who come on to him? There's a racy suggestion by the Sheriff about her motives, pretty advanced for a 1957 film. The topic is not further explored.

As I watched, I didn't like the movie for a while. The acting was stiff, even bizarre. Ron Randell as Parry talks out the side of his mouth in a Gilbert Gottfried voice. Some of Lex Barker's line readings sound like he's trying out for the school play, whereas in other films we've seen him, he's always been pretty good. The soundtrack is constant and oppressive at times, and it telegraphs the desired emotions. This is one weird/bad/good movie. The director doesn't seem to know which way he's going. There's also a smug private detective character who shows up and gets murdered......or does he? He dead, that's for sure. They find him in the pool. But it feels like a red herring and has no real purpose in the story. The screenwriter must have dug himself a huge hole, because he adds a speech at the end, five minutes of straight exposition by Sheriff Holmes, to explain all the plot twists. He even mentions characters you haven't heard of. Look for Stuart Whitman in a small role at the end. Sheriff Holmes goes on and on about him, as if he was a major character. I was going "who the hell is Prentiss"? If anyone can figure out who or what the Sheriff talking about in his speech, they must be a freaking genius.

Other marginal characters walk through the plot. You've heard me talk about "no-fat" scripts? This one is highly saturated! Still, despite my disdain, by the time it was over I was thinking, "that was actually pretty good, in a bad/weird way". Not bad/good like Ed Wood, or a bad drama, just a unique movie, with a solid cast and a bunch of unnecessary but interesting scenes.

If nothing else, watch it for Ron Randell's performance. He looks like he's having fun as he recites lines of poetic anguish in his unidentifiable accent . He and John Dehner keep the whole thing from going off the rails. The "Frankie" character, who I haven't mentioned, is in it for literally no reason! We never find out who he is, or why he's a suspect. He's just a big muscular tough guy that Dehner and his cops are hassling. Then he trips and falls at his sawmill and is cut into a million pieces. It's like they filmed him for a separate movie and inserted him.

Oh, and Hoss Cartwright has a five minute scene as a bartender. It really is a Drive-In Classic after all. Let's be generous and give "The Girl In Black Stockings" Two Big Thumbs Up". If it wasn't so unusual, it would rate Two Regulars at best, but because it's weird (and you might not guess whodunit) it gets the higher rating. It's recommended and the picture is razor sharp. ////

 The previous night, we saw another good Western from Johnny Mack Brown. In "Boothill Brigade"(1937), he plays "Lon Cardigan", a cowhand who discovers that his girlfriend's dad has purchased all the land in their valley. He's gonna evict the local farmers so he can build a giant ranch, and he's already called in surveyors to start the project. He's also got an enforcer named "Bull" (Dick Curtis), who tells the locals they'd better leave without a fight. And, he's fired all his long time ranch hands and replaced them with thugs.

Some of the farmers vow to stay put. "We've got squatters rights", says their leader. Johnny Mack gives them a speech about how violence won't solve the problem. "Let me talk to Mr. Reynolds", he says. "He's my girl's pa". Johnny talks to the old man (Frank LaRue), but it does no good. Reynolds claims he bought the land fair and square at a government auction. He offers Johnny a job at the soon-to-be-built new giant ranch, but JMB says no, he's siding with the locals. He then visits a lawyer, who goes to the city to investigate Reynolds' claim. The lawyer comes back with bad news: "I'm sorry Lon, but the purchase is legitimate, even if it's morally wrong".

Johnny then partners up with "Calico", the ranch cook (Horace Murphy). He's got a piece of paper - that he stole from Mr. Reynolds's desk - that shows the land is actually owned by a "Mr. Porter" (Ed Cassidy), a valley big shot who owns the mortgage on Reynolds's ranch and is using him as a front man for the land buyout. Now Johnny Mack knows who the real bad guy is. He and Calico trail Mr. Porter to a meeting with the crooked surveyors. Punchouts ensue; Calico can't wait to use "Betsy", his antique rifle. "Just wait until Betsy warms up to those galoots". Calico's the comic relief, played well.

Claire Rochelle is only fair as "Bobby", Johnny Mack's girlfriend, compared to some of the other female Western leads we've seen recently. I think this is a fault of the script, which doesn't give her any featured scenes. All she gets to do is react, here and there, to the dastardly deeds that are afoot, and to Johnny's plans to stop her father, who for most of the movie is portrayed as the villain. Overall though, at 52 minutes, you've got another big time winner. It's the old land grab story again, with twists, such as the teenage kid who wants to shoot it out with Mr. Reynolds, over the way the surveyors have treated his father. JMB gives the kid a speech about how he's too young for guns, and anyway, "once you kill a man, it stays with you forever". That's good Western writing. Too bad they didn't give any good lines to Claire Rochelle. It would have made her a more sympathetic love interest. The bottom line is still Two Big Thumbs up for "Boothill Brigade". Shot once again at the Walker and Jauregui ranches in Placerita Canyon, it's an early effort from our pal Sam Newfield, aka America's Most Prolific Director. The picture is soft but entirely watchable. ///

And there you have it! Two more good ones. I'm still looking for more Zane Greys, and we're gonna delve into other movie cowboys while we continue to scour for Noirs. Maybe we'll try Ken Maynard or Hoot Gibson. Stay warm on this frigid L.A. night (or wherever you're reading from if it's freezing), and don't forget to Swirl The Numbers.

I send you Tons of Love, as always.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):) 

Barbara Payton and Paul Langton in "Murder Is My Beat", and "Rogue of the Range" starring Johnny Mack Brown

Last night we watched a Noir, "Murder Is My Beat"(1955), the final film of the tragic Barbara Payton. I came across the movie because I'm reading her book "I Am Not Ashamed", and I'm reading her book because the story of her life includes her relationship with actor Tom Neal (another sordid life story), and because Tom Neal was Ann Savage's co-star in "Detour", well, that's how the whole thing started. No tragedy or sordid business with Ann. She was pure class through and through. But our Ann Savage mini-fest got me thinking about Tom Neal (who we saw recently in "Train to Tombstone"; he was a decent actor), and Tom Neal once got into a notorious punchout with Franchot Tone over Barbara Payton, whose life was the all-time Hollywood train-wreck. I Googled her and found out she had a book, which I ordered from the Northridge Libe. Her story's so sad and ugly that it caused me to look for her movies. We've already seen her in "Bride of the Gorilla" and "Four Sided Triangle" and she was a competent actress. She could've had a lasting career in motion pictures if her life hadn't been such a mess.

Well anyhow, her final film is a good one. As it opens, "Detective Ray Patrick" (Paul Langton) is trying to solve the murder of a man who was killed in his apartment in Hollywood. His head and hands fell in his fireplace, thus he is burned beyond recognition and has no fingerprints. An elderly neighbor lady identifies him as Fred Dean. She tells Detective Patrick he dated a woman who sings at a local bar. Patrick goes there, but the singer has left town on a train, heading for Modesto. He talks instead to "Patsy Flint" (Tracey Roberts) the bar's "picture-snatcher" (as she is called by the owner), a brassy photographer gal from the days when you could have your photo snapped at your table. Patsy is uppity with attitude to spare. I didn't like the character at first, but then I learned she has something to hide. She has a photo of the singer on her mantle, which she took. The singer's name is "Eden Lane" (Barbara Payton). Patsy won't say why she's on the train to Modesto. "I have no idea. Why don't you go there and ask her yourself?" Detective Patrick does just that, after calling the Modesto cops to have Eden detained at the train station. When he arrives, he finds out she eluded the police, so he has to track her down at a snowed-in motel in the mountains (are there mountains in Modesto? I don't think so) but anyway, he finds her there, and she confesses, but not to the murder. "Yeah, I dated Fred Dean. We got in a fight and I conked him on the head with a fireplace poker. But I didn't think I hit him hard enough to kill him".

Detective Patrick brings Eden back to L.A. for trial. She's convicted, and now he's taking her back on the train to prison. A prison matron is traveling with them. All of a sudden, while the matron is in the dining car, Eden looks out the windum and screams. "That's Fred Dean! I just saw Fred Dean on the platform!" They've just left a station, so the train is traveling slow. Detective Patrick, who's had doubts about Eden's guilt all along, decides in a split second to help her out. While the prison matron is still gone, they jump off the train together to find Fred Dean, who apparently isn't dead after all. Now Detective Patrick is complicit in Eden's escape, but he believes in her innocence and is willing to risk his futchum. He's also falling in love with her. The plot becomes convoluted after this, but in a good way, and you really have to pay attention to the details. There is indeed a murder victim, but if Eden is right, it wasn't Fred Dean, who she claims she just saw at the last train station. Knowing that the murder weapon was a ceramic statue, Detective Patrick goes to a ceramic factory in "Lindville", a nearby town. There, he finds the exact same statue being manufactured, OMG, am I right? He talks to the factory owner about the wholesale distribution of the statues. "Do you keep a list of who buys them?" But the factory owner seems suspicious, and then his wife shows up later at a church service in Hollywood, with Patsy Flint, the photographer gal from the bar. What in the world is going on here? Blackmail, is what.

While Detective Patrick is tracking down the murder weapon, and discovering a blackmail plot in the process, Eden leaves the motel and turns herself in at the prison. She doesn't want to live as a fugitive, and starts serving her prison sentence. "Maybe that wasn't Fred Dean after all", she thinks. "Maybe I really did kill him". But, she was right the first time. It turns out that Fred Dean is indeed alive, and that's not his real name. The dead man in the apartment is therefore still unidentified, and Detective Patrick has to start from scratch with the blackmail plot. He's in love with Eden Lane, and wants to solve the case so he can free her from prison, but he's in the doghouse with his chief, who's now protecting him from discovery. Remember that Patrick helped Eden escape, and is now facing arrest himself, if caught. He asks the chief for the proverbial "24 hours to solve the case". Man, oh man what a plot. Barbara Payton is in blonde bombshell mode, but there's something very inward about her onscreen persona. Her son, whom she never saw after he was seven years old, believes she was abused as a child. Something must account for the way she lived her short life, which is described in lurid detail in her book. in 1965, she was found laying by a trash dumpster behind a Thrifty in Hollywood, a broken down prostitute with her front teeth missing and presumed dead by her discoverers. She was still breathing, though, and went to live with her parents in San Diego, where she died two years later of multiple organ failure at the age of 39.

This is a woman who dated and slept with Gregory Peck, Bob Hope and Howard Hughes, among a hundred or more others, including women. Hollywood chewed her up and spit her out, but she willingly participated in her downfall and doesn't deny it, hence the title of her book. But it's as grim a story as you will ever read, and it's a shame because she was likely mentally ill. Be sure to see her in "Murder Is My Beat", which gets Two Big Thumbs Up. It's directed by Edgar G. Ulmer of "Detour" fame, and it's chock full of layers and plot twists. Very highly recommended, the picture is razor sharp. ////

The previous night we were out on the trail with another new cowboy star, Johnny Mack Brown, in "Rogue of the Range"(1936). I've been aware of Johnny Mack for a while now, having browsed his Monogram dvd set at Amazon when I bought the Tim Holt collection. From what I read, he was supposed to be one of the best of the Western "White Hat" good guys, but it wasn't until now that I got around to seeing one of his films. Well, he lives up to the hype. In this movie, he plays an undercover federal agent posing as a stagecoach robber so he can get caught and sent to jail, where he gets friendly with a con who's part of an insurance scam on the outside.

As the movie opens, after robbing a stage to set up his cover as an "outlaw", JMB sees a runaway wagon, careening out of control down the trail in Placeritca Canyon, where the movie was filmed. A sign on the side reads "Gospel Wagon", at the reins is young "Tess" (Phyllis Hume), whose preacher father is deceased in the back. Johnny Mack doesn't have the heart to break her the news, so he leaves it up to the town doctor (Lloyd Ingraham). Tess is taken in by heart-of-gold chanteuse "Stella Lamb" (Lois January), who opens a cafe in town. She's protective of Tess, who's proposed to by "Lige Branscomb" (Stephen Chase), a banker who's running the insurance scam.

Johnny Mack plots an "escape" from jail, which is of course assisted by the Sheriff (Horace Murphy). JMB invites the con to escape with him, so he'll be led to the inner circle of the scam. When he finds out the banker Branscomb is behind the whole thing, and that he's trying to marry Tess in the bargain, Johnny goes into action. He's quick on the draw and fast with a horse, as he and Sheriff Tom tie everything up and bust the gang in the end. Stella the chanteuse gets mad at Johnny Mack because she thinks he's in love with Tess, but he's really in love with Stella, so everyone is happy at the end (except the Bad Guys).

I had a feeling I knew the name Johnny Mack Brown from somewhere else besides the movies, and after some Googling I discovered I was right. He was a star football player for the Crimson Tide of Alabama, where he led the team to a national championship in 1925, and helped them win the Rose Bowl over the Washington Huskies. That got him on the cover of Wheaties cereal boxes, and being that he was very handsome, it was only natural that Hollywood came calling. With his soft Southern accent and easy smile, he was a big hit in B-Westerns, making over 160 of them according to Wiki. I thought he was great in "Rogue of the Range", which - as mentioned - was shot in Placerita Canyon and specifically at Walker Ranch! I recognised some of the trails I've hiked on over the years, and a distinctive, white-faced mountain in the background that still looks the same, 86 years later (well, duh, Ad. 86 years is the blink of an eye to a mountain).

Two Big Thumbs Up for "Rogue of the Range". The picture is razor sharp. We're loving our western movies and we'll be looking for more from Johnny Mack Brown. ////

That's all I've got for this evening. I hope you had a nice weekend and I send you Tons of Love, as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Buster Crabbe and Marsha Hunt in "Arizona Raiders", and "The Dude Ranger" w/George O'Brien, plus: Long Live The Great Jim Svejda

Last night, Buster Crabbe and Marsha Hunt were back, in "Arizona Raiders"(1936), another Ton of Western Fun from the pen of Zane Grey. Crabbe is a cowpoke and Marsha is a ranch owner, and as the movie opens, Buster is about to be strung up for horse thievery. He isn't guilty (he just swapped horses without telling the other guy), but that doesn't stop the law-and-order vigilantes who're holding the rope. Fortunately for Buster, he's able to pull a fast one on the gang and ride away, albeit with his hands tied behind his back. After freeing himself, he rides through the mountains to find that a man named "Tracks Williams" (Raymond Hatton) is about to suffer the same fate. Buster doesn't like the hurry-up-and-hang-em crowd, so he rescues Tracks even though he doesn't know him. When they get to a safe hiding place, Buster sees a wanted poster for Tracks, with every crime in the book listed. Tracks is a goofy sort, though. Buster isn't much threatened by him. They make their way to a ranch owned by Marsha Hunt, who gives them jobs. 

Hunt has just broken up the pending marriage of her younger sister "Lenta" (Betty Jane Rhodes). "You're only 17", she tells her. Lenta doesn't like it, she gets all depressed and it's an excuse for a musical interlude where she sings "My Melancholy Baby" whilst accompanying herself on piano.

There's a great scene, in which Crabbe and Tracks, with Lenta's jilted fiancee along for the ride, start a cattle stampede by blowing off fireworks. Marsha Hunt's lawyer is trying to take over her ranch, and plans to steal the cattle, so Crabbe makes his own plan to steal them first and thus negate the lawyer's scheme. The result is an awesome stampede, and you've gotta wonder how they got some of those camera angles without anyone getting trampled. "Arizona Raiders" is high on the hijinx from Raymond Hatton as "Tracks". It could've used a stronger villain (Harry Woods should've been the lawyer) and better production values. They seem to have splurged on the set of the town, but went cheap on the action shots. The kind of wonderful scenic footage that we saw at Garden of the Gods in "Desert Gold" is missing here, replaced by blurry riding scenes that look like they were back-projected. Still, Crabbe is at his best here, adding some gallantry and even a little humor to his role. He was very serious in the other two films we saw previously, so he's more of a matinee idol in this one.

They may have made "Desert Gold" and "Arizona Raiders" back to back, as Crabbe, Hunt and Hatton are in both films, and both were made the same year. This one's almost freewheeling, as if the filmmakers said, "well, we spent most of our dough on 'Desert Gold'. Let's just have fun this time". It doesn't feel like a full-on Zane Grey script, except in the serious parts where Marsha Hunt confronts her sister. I would love to see this movie again, with a better print. The quality was marginal; all the other Zane Greys we've seen were either razor sharp or close to it. The villain aspect is almost non-existent compared to the other ZGs, but for just letting loose and lettin' er rip, "Arizona Raiders" gets Two Big Thumbs Up. You can't go wrong when you have Buster Crabbe and Marsha Hunt, and for that reason it's very highly recommended. ////

The previous night, good ol' George O'Brien was back in "The Dude Ranger"(1934), the earliest Zane Grey we've seen so far. George plays "The Dude"(long before Jeff Bridges), heading west from New York to take over a cattle ranch in Arizona that he's just inherited from his uncle. Zane Grey loves cattle ranches in Arizona, as you may have noticed, haha. When The Dude gets there, after a cross-country train ride, he finds out that his ranch is only worth half its former value, due to an as-yet-unidentified cattle rustler, who is stealing all the Dogies in a mystifying way. To try and catch whoever it is, The Dude decides to pose as an anonymous cowboy looking for work. After all, nobody knows him. He gets hired at the ranch by the beautiful "Ann Hepburn" (Irene Harvey), the daughter of his uncle's business partner. The first half of the movie is devoted to rom/com push and pull between the The Dude and Ann. She's trying to make her current beau jealous, and she does so by inviting Dude to the upcoming square dance. Her beau, the ranch foreman "Dale Hyslip" (LeRoy Mason) wants Dude out of the way, even though Dude assures him he has no designs on Ann (yeah sure).

Dude meets "Sam Hepburn", Ann's dad, an invalid confined to a wheelchair. She can be a prima donna, but she does love her pa, and takes care of him with the help of "Martha" (Alma Chester), the Hepburn's hosekeeper. Meanwhile, Dude partners up with ranch hand "Nebrasky" (Syd Saylor), a banjo strummin' cowpoke who's prone to break out a tune or two. While riding up in the hills, Dude and Nebrasky discover a "box canyon", a canyon with only one exit, and they observe Hyslip moving cattle out the other end. Aha! So, he's the rustler!

What Ann Hepburn doesn't know is that her father isn't crippled, he's just faking it so he can watch what happens when his men think he's confined to his wheelchair and can't observe them. He knows someone is stealing the cows, but doggone it, he can't figure out who. Then we see him jump up out of his wheelchair when no one is around, and ride a horse out to box canyon, where he too sees Hyslip stealing the cattle. George O' Brien is the most athletic of the Zane Grey stars we've seen, including Buster Crabbe, who - although he was an Olympic champion swimmer -  doesn't have O'Brien's nimble jumping and climbing abilities. But the real star of this movie is Irene Harvey, who looks and acts modern, like a girl from our time. Is that a good thing or a bad thing, lol? Well, you know what I mean. Watching these old films, and this one is almost ninety years old, I have a theory that people have always been people. Put the right makeup and clothing on a woman from 1934 (or 1834), and the right hairstyle, and she'll look and act like a woman from today. Same with men. The only thing that's changed is the culture created by our inventions. Anyway, another great Zane Grey, this time shot in Arizona with a finale at the Grand Canyon, featuring one stunt during a fight scene where it's lucky someone didn't go over the edge. Two Big Thumbs Up! The picture's a little soft, but as with every Zane Grey, it's very highly recommended. ///// 

I'm listening to the last Jim Svejda show as I write. Right now, he's playing a piece called "Lux aeterna" by Morten Lauridsen, a choral work that's a perennial KUSC favorite. He began the show with "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" by Richard Strauss, the piece he said introduced him to classical music. For me, as noted in a previous blog, it would've been either Mozart K545, or Bach Minuet in G major, or maybe a sonata by Scarlatti, all of which Dad either had on LP or played himself on the piano. Dad was also a big fan of Richard Strauss, whose "Tod und Verklarung" was perhaps his own personal favorite classical piece.

I've said it before; I can't begin to explain the effect, or the importance, or the meaning of Jim Svejda's influence on my life. He's literally been here every night for me for the past twenty five years, with the exception of maybe 20 nights a year (1& 1/2 a month) when I've gone to a concert or some other event. Really, since I moved in with Mom in 1997, then continuing through my years with Pearl, I've haven't gone out much, and haven't had much of a social life, but I've always had KUSC, and at 7pm, I've always been tuned in to 91.5 fm, to hear the strains of Bohuslav Martinu's Piano Sonata #1 open the show, followed by the unmistakable voice saying, "Good evening..........this is Jim Svejda". Longtime fans are comparing his tenure and cultural significance in Los Angeles to that of Vin Scully, and I agree, he's a legend on that level, but for me he's even more important because I've been listening to him every night, or close to it. I'd say Jim Svejda, more than anyone or anything else, is most responsible for classical overtaking rock n' roll as the music I listen to the most. Nothing against rock - I love it and always will, and still listen a lot. But I mostly listen to classical now, and that's due to the influence of KUSC, and especially Jim Svejda (and Dad, who got the ball rolling).

It's gonna be hard to not have him with us anymore, he's like a family member to so many loyal listeners. I'm hoping the station (or someone) has a Jim Svejda archive. A rough estimate tells me he did around 13,000 shows during his time on the air. Man, if they could do re-runs, even just a program a week would keep us from missing him entirely.

Long live Jim Svejda. The one and only. There'll never be anyone like him.

That's all I know for tonight. I wish you a happy weekend and I send you Tons of Love, as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)         

Buster Crabbe & Tom Keene in Two Zane Grey Westerns : "Drift Fence" and "Desert Gold" (featuring Bob Cummings and Marsha Hunt)

Last night we watched "Drift Fence"(1936), another Zane Grey Western, this time starring Buster Crabbe, the Olympic swimmer who became a movie star. Crabbe plays "Slinger Dunn" a gunman who's working for cattle rustler "Clay Jackson" (Stanley Andrews). The movie opens in Arizona at a rodeo, where a New York city slicker named "Jim Traft" (Benny Baker), is watching the action with a local man, "Jim Travis" (Tom Keene). Traft is in Arizona to take over his uncle's cattle ranch. He doesn't want to be there (he's a geek in a checkered suit, played for comic relief), so he asks Travis, an experienced cowboy, to go in his place. "We have almost the same name, just pretend you're me. You'll get a free ranch out of it". Travis hedges at first, until he hears that Clay Jackson is rustling cattle in the area. The name seems to ring a bell for Travis and causes him to change his mind.

He goes to the ranch and poses as Jim Traft, wearing a three piece suit. He looks like a city boy and the ruse works. Travis-as-Traft is then sent out by the ranch foreman to work on building the drift fence, which keeps rustlers from stealing the cattle. Clay Jackson hears about the fence, and sends Slinger Dunn out to warn Travis and his men. "You'd better stop putting up this fence if you want to stay alive". But Travis doesn't stop, and we figure a showdown is coming. Slinger seems pretty tough. but when he goes home, we find out that he's under the thumb of his domineering Grandma (Effie Ellsler, our earliest actress to date, born in 1855!). She is a complete witch, who thinks fence builders should be shot, and if Slinger isn't man enough to do it, she's gonna send out her granddaughter Molly (Katherine DeMille, daughter of Cecil B) to do the job. In fact, Slinger doesn't want to be involved in battles with the ranchers. He's actually a passive kind of guy, but his Granny grinds him down to a nub. Finally, she sends Molly to go shoot Travis, but on the way she falls off her horse. Travis comes to her rescue and now she's too embarrassed to shoot him.

There's a romantic interlude in which Travis (still posing as Jim Traft), becomes friendly with Molly when he sees her at a square dance. Of course, their initial friction means love will result, as written in the Motion Picture Code of Law. We later find out that Jim Travis is really an undercover Texas Ranger who's been looking for Clay Jackson for years. He realizes that Slinger and Molly are under Jackson's control, and offers them a chance to be on his side. This sets up a showdown between Jackson's men (the rustlers) and Jim Travis and the Dunns. By now, Granny Dunn has seen the light and is fighting for the good guys. She grabs a rifle in the final shootout, and.....that's all I can tell you.

We can't end the review, however, without mentioning the star power of Buster Crabbe. I'm surprised we haven't seen him before. He was big box office in the 1930s, and played Tarzan and Flash Gordon, as well as appearing in a ton of Westerns and jungle movies. Crabbe of course was a champion swimmer at USC before going on to compete in the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928, then Los Angeles in 1932, where he won a gold medal. It must be noted that he's very handsome, resembling a young Marlon Brando in both looks and voice. He's a natural as a movie star and we'll be on the lookout for more of his films. Tom Keene, with his Pepsodent smile, is also great as the prototypical White Hat, Jim Travis. Benny Baker supplies goofy comic relief as Jim Traft, ditto Chester Gan as the Chinese cook.  This is a jam packed 56 minute movie with plenty of authentic Western detail, courtesy of Zane Grey. Two huge thumbs up! The picture is razor sharp. /////

The previous night - you guessed it - yet another Zane Grey Western, once again with Buster Crabbe. In "Desert Gold"(1936) he plays "Moya", an Indian chief whose tribe owns a secret gold mine in the Superstition Mountains in Arizona. As the movie opens, cowboy "Randolph Gale" (Tom Keene again) and "Ford Mortimer" (Bob Cummings of "Love That Bob" fame) are headed to the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, to work as mining engineers for "Chet Kasedon" (Monte Blue), the town big shot who's after the Indians' gold mine (Iverson Ranch is standing in for the Superstition Mountains). The first ten minutes is hijinx in the stagecoach, as Ford Mortimer has a toothache, and the town doctor, who happens to be riding shotgun on the stage, hops inside the carriage to pull his infected tooth. The doc is also the father of passenger "Judy Belding" (Marsha Hunt, who's still alive at 104 years old! She's the oldest living Hollywood star, and she's only 19 in the movie!) Anyhow, Bob Cummings is quite funny as the goofball Mortimer. But when he and Randolph Gale get to town, they see Chet Kasedon whipping Moya, to get him to tell where the Indian gold mine is located. Naturally they are horrified. Gale pulls a gun on Kasedon and tells him to back off. "I'm not gonna work for you now". Instead, he and Mortimer team up with Moya and the Indians to protect the gold mine, but Kasedon won't give up without a fight.

There's a lot of shenanigans in this one from Love That Bob, and a major rom/com angle with Tom Keene and the beautiful Marsha Hunt, who went on to become a cult figure in film noirs until her movie career was cut short by HUAC, who blacklisted her in the 1950s for her political views. But, she outlived 'em all, haha, and is presumably having the last laugh.

Buster Crabbe is once again great as Moya. The last fifteen minutes is a shoot-em-up extravaganza, shot on location at the Garden of the Gods in the Santa Susana Pass. The great Lief Erickson has small roles in both of the movies in this blog. He was of course the star of the High Chapparal TV series in the mid-60s. There are all kinds of bit parts from wonderful cowboy actors. This was the most lively of the Zane Greys we've seen so far, with large doses of comedy and romance added to the mix to lighten the grim persecution of Moya. He gifts Tom Keene with a beautiful Palomonio horse, to show his appreciation for Keene saving his life.

Once again, there are so many layers to the script that you could watch the movie three times to get it all. Two Huge Thumbs Up for "Desert Gold". It's very highly recommended and the picture is razor sharp. ///

That's all I know for tonight. I hope your week is going well, and I send you Tons of Love as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):) 

Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino in "Beware, My Lovely", and "The Light of Western Stars" with Victor Jory and Jo Ann Sayers

Okay, wow. Are you ready for Robert Ryan in "Beware, My Lovely"(1952)? He plays "Howard Wilton", a handyman who is hired by "Helen Gordon" (Ida Lupino) to do some work around her rooming house. It's 1918, we're in a small town at Christmastime. As the movie opens, we see Howard finishing up a previous job. He turns up at Mrs. Gordon's house, just as her only renter is leaving for the holidays. A group of children have also just left. They were at the house for piano lessons. She has a dog named Corky who isn't well-trained. He runs off. She's home alone when Howard arrives.

We already know a little bit about him, and what we know is that he's a psycho. But we don't know just how unhinged he truly is until he starts breaking down mentally in front of Mrs. Gordon as he polishes her floor. Boy, I am here to tell you, Robert Ryan is freakin' scary in this role. He shows a whole range of psychotic mood swings. I've always thought Ryan was a great, underrated actor, and he proves it here, in one of the most unnerving performances you will ever see.

His character traits are laid out early, so there's no suspense as to who he is or what he's done. We know he's crazier than a hoot owl from the get go, but it gets worse and worse as the movie goes along. You just wish he would get the hell out of the house (and so does Ida Lupino), but how do you get him out when he can't remember what he's doing from one minute to the next, and when he doesn't trust anyone, including himself?

There isn't a plot to speak of, other than pitting Howard against Mrs. Gordon, in a battle of madness versus wits. We've seen the formula work brilliantly in movies like "Wait Until Dark". It's extra brilliant here, except that I wish we had some backstory on Ryan's character. He seems to have been rejected for service in World War 1 and is resentful, therefore, of the men who were accepted. Mrs. Gordon's husband was killed in combat in the war, which plays a minor part in the story, but we wish we knew more about why Howard feels the way he does. There's also "Ruth Williams" (Margaret Whiting), a bratty teen who thinks she's the Queen of the Neighborhood. She's Mrs. Gordon's niece, and is at her house to do work, as punishment for "staying out late" the night before. She doesn't like it, and takes it out on Howard Wilton, who she immediately notices is weird and - to her - an ineffectual male. "Scrubbing floors is women's work", she says to belittle him. Though he towers over her, and is ready to snap, she continues to mock him as she heads out the door. She thoroughly dominates him without fear, and it would be nice to have her reintroduced in the movie later on, but it doesn't happen.

Still, even as a two person drama, this is one hell of a scary movie, just because Howard is so unpredictably crazy. Various children come to the door during the period of Mrs. Gordon's torment. They notice something's wrong, but it always comes to naught. Finally a man from the phone company shows up, to inquire about a disconnected line. 

And then the ending blows you away, in a quiet and unexpected manner. While you do wish there was more character development or background for Howard Wilton, this is still big league stuff. Two Huge Thumbs Up, if you can handle it. Send Robert Ryan to the top of the acting class. The picture is razor sharp. ////

The previous night, we saw another Zane Grey Western, "The Light of Western Stars"(1940). "Madeline Hammond" (Jo Ann Sayers) is just off the train to visit her brother "Al" (Russell Hayden), when she's approached by "Gene Stewart" (Victor Jory), a hard drinking ranch hand who's made a bet that he'll marry the next girl who comes to town. Stewart drags Madeline in front of a Mexican preacher. Because she speaks no Spanish, she doesn't realize until it's too late that she's just been in a wedding ceremony. Now she's married to Gene Stewart, and is none too happy about it.

This is a socially conscious Western. Victor Jory, who usually plays a bad guy, is all honor and altruism here as he tries to stop a gun running big shot from selling arms to Mexico. He makes a speech, about how guns are only good for killing people, that would fit in to today's debate over stricter gun laws. He also sticks up for the Mexican people when nobody else in the town gives a hoot if they shoot each other or not. As Madeline gets to know him better, she sees that Gene is a good-hearted man, and she goes on a crusade to cure him of his alcoholism. Once he's well, she buys the ranch he's foreman of, to help him try to stop the gun runners. Jo Ann Sayers is not only an excellent actress, but one of the most beautiful women you will ever see. A character named "Poco" is the sidekick this time, instead of Chito Rafferty. As played by Noah Beery Jr., he's used for sympathy instead of comic relief. It's a very good film, but different from the other Zane Greys in that it has a strong cultural and social message. Victor Jory was a very talented actor, but I don't think he was right for this role, because he's not a romantic lead.

Still, it's a Zane Grey, so it has story to spare. Thus, Two Big Thumbs up. Shot in Newhall and the by-now-familiar Alabama Hills, the picture is good but not razor sharp. ////

Well, how about them Rams? How about the first Super Bowl win in L.A. Rams history? Of course, they won it all in St. Louis with Kurt Warner and the Greatest Show On Turf. That was the greatest Rams team ever, but Matthew Stafford and company are damn good.

Don't worry about Joe Burrow and the Bengals. They'll be back, and they nearly won this game. A lot of folks will cite the bogus holding call on the Cincy linebacker on the Rams final drive (and it was indeed a bogus call), but then, if you argue that it cost the Bengals the game (which is a legit argument, but not proof), you also have to consider the non-call on the face mask grab that should have nullified Cincinnati's touchdown on the first play of the third quarter. Anyway, the Bengals are one hell of a team. They scored 17 straight unanswered points and it looked like the Rams were done for. I am proud of myself for watching the whole game and never once changing the channel or closing my eyes and plugging my ears. I toughed it out, and I'm glad I did. Usually, I can't take the pressure. But I admit, the only reason I was able to watch is because I like the Bengals also. If they were playing anyone but the Rams, I'd be rooting for them to win.

I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, and have you heard of Dordle? It's two Wordles in one. Google it and give it a try. Or you can try Quordle, which is four Wordles in one, but it's too much trouble if you ask me. You'll be sitting there all day. Also, try Nerdle, a math version of Wordle. It's fun, too.

That's all I know for today. Don't forget to listen to the last four Jim Svejda shows : 91.5 KUSC, 7 to 12pm.

I send you Tons of Love, as always.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):) 

Robert Mitchum and Barbara Hale in "West of the Pecos", and James Warren and Raymond Burr in "Code of the West" (plus Wordle)

How about a Zane Grey Western starring Robert Mitchum? Yes indeed, and he's great as "Pecos Smith" in "West of the Pecos"(1945), playing an independent cowhand riding the range in Texas. The movie begins in Chicago in 1887. Wealthy old "Colonel Lambeth" (Thurston Hall) is warned by his doctor to start getting some exercise or he's looking at an early grave. The doc suggests he get a job doing physical work and says "Try Texas. They do a lot of bricklaying there". The Colonel of course doesn't need a job (he's rich), but his daughter "Rill" (Barbara Hale) wants him to do it for his health. She goes with him, along with their French maid, and on their way, their wagon breaks down. The horses run off, their water barrel spills. They're stuck in the Texas desert all alone.

Well, who should come riding down the dusty trail but Pecos Smith and his pal Chito Rafferty. Chito seems to have a different partner in each of the Zane Grey movies, but this time he's played by Richard Martin, who popularized the character in the Tim Holt series. Pecos and Chito escort the Lambeths to Texas, but once there, Rill finds it hard being a woman in a town full of tough men. After being accosted on the street, she figures it's safer if she poses as a boy. She buys some jeans and boots and a vest and a hat. She tucks her hair up and affects a low voice. When Pecos sees her again, he doesn't recognize her. He assumes she's a "kid" (a teenage boy), and he treats her as such, giving her (him) a kick in the seat of her/his pants. This sets up a gender-bender scenario that takes up the middle of the movie, and acts as the romantic comedy focus of the plot. This was not a typical Western, in that it didn't feature shootouts and showdowns. Instead it was about the relationship confusion between Pecos and Rill as a boy. Chito, of course, falls in love in every movie he's in. This time it's with the Lambeth's maid (Rita Corday).

The bad guy is Harry Woods once again, as "Brad Sawtelle" leader of a group of vigilantes. When the Lambeths arrive in town, he tells them "we don't have police here. we solve our problems ourselves and save the townsfolk money". He's running a protection racket in which he protects the town from his gang. But he robs the stage and kills Pecos's best friend. That was a huge mistake. Now Pecos is out to avenge him. I loved the Pecos Bill stories as a kid, and Mitchum's backstory is based on him. He tells Rill he was "born beneath a covered wagon". That is total Pecos Bill.

"West of the Pecos" is mostly a romantic comedy with traditional Western elements mixed in. It's is all about the possibilities in play when Pecos thinks Rill is a boy. 

Once again shot in the Alabama Hills. Barbara Hale, best known as "Della Street" on Perry Mason, is outstanding as Rill Lambeth. Two Big Thumbs Up for "West of the Pecos". You can't go wrong with the Zane Grey Westerns. The picture is razor sharp. ////

The previous night, yet another Zane Grey. In "Code of the West"(1947), James Warren is back, in the lead Good Guy role of "Bob Wade", homesteader in the small Western town of Ricin (don't ask me why they named it after a poison gas). Chito is his sidekick again, and it's kind of the same deal as in the Tim Holt movies, where Tim had a different character name in each movie, but basically played the same guy, and Chito was always Chito. Anyway, as the movie opens, they're leading a wagon train into town. Bob and Chito are the guardians of Ricin's honest citizens. Both are courageous and quick on the draw. A stagecoach passes them in the desert, carrying "Henry Stockton" (Harry Harvey), his daughter and son. Mr. Stockton comes from back East. He's got 30 grand to invest in a land venture with the town's only bank. Raymond Burr is "Carter", Ricin's rich hotelier. He's also a crooked land baron who is trying to force the homesteaders out. He wants their land so he can make a killing when the railroad comes through. When he hears about Mr. Stockton's plans from the Marshal (Harry Woods), he wants Stockton robbed and killed. He sends his henchmen "Matt Saunders" (Steve Brodie) and "Westcoat" (Phil Warren) to do the job, but they fail because Bob Wade and Chito stop them.

The Stocktons join the wagon train and arrive safely in Ricin. But "Harry Stockton" (Robert Clark), Henry's son, becomes enamored with "Milly" the dance hall gal (Carol Forman). He starts gambling away his allowance, to impress her, but the roulette wheel is rigged in Carter's hotel. Soon sonny boy Stockton is deeply in debt. Meanwhile, Carter has the Marshal shoot and kill an elderly homesteader who has the temerity to complain about being forced off his land. "Quinn", the town doctor (Emmett Lynn) knows Carter's a crook, but no one can prove it because he has Saunders and the Marshall do all his killing.

But finally Carter goes too far. When Mr. Stockton starts buying cattle to open a beef wholesale business, Carter thinks all the land will be taken over for grazing, and the railroad will never come through. so he has Saunders and his henchmen burn down all the homesteads, even Bob Wade and Chito's. Now Wade and Chito are really pee-oed, but they know they still won't be able to convict Carter in a court of law without eyewitness testimony, and no one has ever seen him commit a crime. But this time, Saunders wants to make an escape while the gettin's good. He's secretly married to Milly the dance hall gal. They kidnap Stockton's son and rob him of the rest of his money, then they hold him hostage till they can make their way out of town. Bob Wade and Chito track them down, to rescue Harry Stockton, and also because they need Saunders to testify against Carter in court.

Raymond Burr in his early roles, was one of the most treacherous, evil bad guys in the history of motion pictures. Somebody at IMDB made the comment, "That's why he did Perry Mason, to atone". He's great as the horrible "Carter" the hotel owner, and as an aside, it's interesting that both he and Barbara Hale, who played Rill in "West of the Pecos", wound up together on Perry Mason years later.

Steve Brodie, as always, plays a sociopath. In another aside, when I was about 11, I first saw him in some old movie on TV, and I thought "that's where Brodies must come from". You know what I mean; the sweeping skids you do on your bike. I thought, they must have named them after this actor Steve Brodie. After all, I'd never heard the word, or the name, in any other context. But when I was about 16, I found out from Mad Magazine that "Brodie", as a skid, actually came from another Steve Brodie, a daredevil who jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge. So, doing a Brodie on your bike was equated with jumping off a bridge, but I originally associated it with Steve Brodie, the actor, who always played a bad guy. Either way, it meant something dangerous. If you haven't pulled a Brodie lately, you should do one. But having said all of that, nobody was as bad a Bad Guy as Raymond Burr.

I also Googled Zane Grey just now and read about him on Wiki. He's considered the creme de la creme of Western writers, with the more popular Louis L'amour coming in second. We'll have to see if L'amour has available movies, but for now, the Zane Greys are among the best Westerns we've seen in short format. "Code of the West" had A Ton of Stuff in the script.

RKO seems to use a stock cast in these pictures. Besides James Warren and John Laurenz (who's back as Chito), Harry Woods returns as yet another bad guy (the Marshal), and so does Robert Clarke, who played Ash Preston in "Sunset Pass". Steve Brodie has also been in all three of the Zane Greys we've seen, and Chito has another romance, this time with a senorita who's opening a chili/tamale parlor.

"Code of the West" is some great great stuff, Two Huge Thumbs Up! The Alabama Hills was once again the location, and the director was again William Burke. The picture was razor sharp. ////

Regarding Wordle, I just want to say "please don't cheat". I'm not saying you do (and I'm sure you don't), but I read online that a "perfect Wordle word" has been devised by some algorithmic spoilsport, which causes the game to be easily solved within a guess or two.

They way I see it, if you need a perfect opening word to win at Wordle, you're a dumb bunny to begin with. Wordle, while a lot of fun, is pretty easy. I've played eighteen games and have always gotten the correct word. My average guess is three tries. I've gotten two twos. I got one six (where it said "phew" on the computer generated comment.) I've also had a few fours and fives, but the point is, I've never cheated. What would be the fun in that? it would be like having your Mom or Dad take a test for you. "Oh, I got 100 percent on my test"! No you didn't. So anyway, please don't cheat at Wordle, and I know you don't. I just wish people wouldn't spoil stuff. Just pick an opening word at random, it's much more fun that way.

That's all I know for tonight. The Super Bowl is tomorrow, Go Rams! But if the Bengals win, it's all good as I said before. My parents were from Cincinnati, and you've gotta love Joe "Cool" Burrow. Be sure to watch the game. I send you Tons of Love, as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)  

Donald Barry in "Train to Tombstone", and "Sunset Pass" with James Warren, Robert Clarke and Nan Leslie

Last night's movie was "Train to Tombstone"(1950). Now that's how you do a one hour western! An eclectic group of passengers boards a train, which is delayed by a telegraph message. Is there trouble ahead? The conductor thinks so, but he won't reveal any information. The passengers discuss it. They include a spiritualist/alcoholic auntie (Minna Phillips) and her paralyzed niece (Barbara Stanley), a doctor (Tom Neal), a corset salesman (Wally Vernon), a US Marshal (Robert Lowery) and his deputy (Claude Stroud), two tough-talking prostitutes (Judith Allen and Nan Leslie), and a minister (Bill Kennedy). Some think an Indian attack is coming. Others say it's an ambush by train robbers. The conductor and engineer pass out rifles to everyone aboard. "Be prepared to defend yourselves", is all the conductor will say. The journey starts off quietly (except for some hijinx from the corset salesman), and we get to know everyone's story. 

Then suddenly, in the desert, a man is riding hell bent for leather on a horse. He's being chased by another man, and they shoot it out. Then the first man jumps aboard and tells everyone not to worry. "My name's Len Howard (Donald Barry). I'm from Tombstone. That other man was trying to rob me". The conductor finds a Wanted poster for Howard in the luggage car. He has the Marshal arrest him.

But then comes the trouble: it is an attack by Indians. They're on the rampage and the conductor needs all the help he can get. The passengers have rifles, but half are women who have never been in a gunfight. Len Howard talks the Marshal into removing his handcuffs. "I'm an expert shot. You need me if you don't want everyone else to die". He almost single-handedly stands the Indians off. But as it turns out, the Indian attack is not what the telegraph message was warning of. There's a quarter million dollars in gold on the train. The conductor is supposed to keep it a secret, which is why he can't tell anyone about a robbery attempt that's supposed to lie ahead.

Meanwhile, in the downtime, a romance develops between Len Howard and the paralyzed gal. She thinks he's a hero for saving everyone from the Indians, and in truth, he seems like a good guy. Something doesn't square with the details on his Wanted poster. He could've escaped when the Marshal let him shoot, but he didn't. He saved the passengers and was true to his word. Something is afoot with the subplot about the gold. Could one of the passengers turn out to be the robber?  

I kept thinking Tom Neal would be the bad guy, because he often played villains (and he was a bad guy in real life, read his bio). He plays the doctor here, and I thought he would turn out to be the gold robber in disguise. I won't tell you if I was right or wrong. The photography is terrific in this well-produced film. There are many great action shots of the train smoking down the tracks, with white mountains in the background. The mix of characters is entertaining on a number of levels. The corset guy is the right kind of comic relief, subtle, not heavy handed, and then you have Aunt Abby and her communications with the spirit world, and with her bottle of spirits! The prostitutes talk about their plans to open a brothel, while the minister reminds them of the wages of sin. All of this is written and acted with a light touch, but the shootouts are serious business (there are two, both extended). 

"Train to Tombstone" gets Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's a ten on all counts. It's highly recommended, and while the picture is very good, it calls for a Criterion restoration. /////

The previous night, we saw another fantastic Western, "Sunset Pass"(1946), part of the Zane Grey series that was put out by RKO. This one also begins on a train. James Warren stars as "Rocky", a Wells Fargo security agent who is riding the train, along with his sidekick "Chito Rafferty" (John Laurenz), to protect a gold shipment (just like in "Train to Tombstone"). A gang of robbers led by a gunman named "Cinnabar" (Harry Woods) sets up an ambush and and steals it. In the shootout, Rocky is injured. He re-alicecooper-ates at the Ash Preston ranch. While there, he falls for Ashs's sister "Jane" (Nan Leslie again). She knows that Ash (Robert Clarke) was in on the train robbery. The Preston ranch is in debt. This puts Ash at the mercy of Cinnabar and his cohort "Slagel" (Steve Brody), the Wells Fargo bank clerk who helped Cinnabar stage the robbery. 

They hide the stolen loot under a tree outside of town, but another rancher's son sees them and Cinnabar shoots him. When Ash tries to quit the gang, Cinnabar threatens to frame him for the murder. At some point, Ash is gonna have to come clean to Rocky, and own up to his part in the robbery, to clear himself of the murder.

Man, these Zane Grey's are great, if Sunset Pass is an indication. The RKO production values are top notch, with tremendous black and white photography set against the Alabama Hills location. The character of Chito Rafferty originated in the Tim Holt series that we watched a couple years ago (when did we watch it? everything before the pandemic is a blur). The original Chito is funnier than the one in this movie, but John Laurenz isn't bad in the role, and there's a romantic subplot involving him and Jane Greer (famous for "Out of the Past"). She plays a dance hall girl, and both she and Chito sing a few numbers, so there's a musical aspect also.

I'm glad we're mixing in a few Westerns lately. It looks like we've exhausted the supply of available Ann Savage movies, but you never know, she might turn up again, like John Agar or Ron Foster do, just when we think we've lost them. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Sunset Pass". The picture is razor sharp. If you watch it on a double bill with "Train to Tombstone", you'll have a classic Western evening and you'll finish in exactly two hours. ////

That's all I know for tonight. I hope your week is going well, and I send you Tons of Love, as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)  

Jack Haley and Ann Savage in "Scared Stiff", and "Fear", with Peter Cookson and Anne Gwynne (plus, the great Jim Svejda is retiring)

Last night, we found another Ann Savage comedy from Pine-Thomas Productions, the folks who brought us "Midnight Manhunt", but unlike that film (a total blast), the yucks were scarce in "Scared Stiff"(1945). Part of it was due to the casting. Jack Haley, famous as The Tin Man, overdoes it as "Larry Elliot" a dumb, third rate reporter who's relegated to covering chess matches while everyone else at his paper is looking for a the scoop on an escaped murderer. When the chess match is cancelled, due to an all out brawl, his editor sends Larry to Grape City in Central California, to cover a festival at a winery. At the train station, he runs into "Sally Warren" (Ann Savage), an antique dealer he's got a crush on. She's heading out to look for acquisitions, but she's getting off at Grape Center, not Grape City. Larry tags along, and ends up in Grape Center by mistake. On the bus, he's playing chess against an Eskimo who lives in Alaska and sends him his moves through the mail. The man sitting next to Larry is dead, murdered with a chess piece. Naturally, Larry becomes the prime suspect. There's an obnoxious kid on board, a twelve year old genius, who - besides being a chess master - is conducting a study on "fear reaction". He follows Larry and Sally to a winery in Grape Center, but it's not the one Larry was sent to. He's in the wrong town. Two weird brothers run the joint, which has a secret room accessible only by a revolving wall. Somehow, the escaped murderer has found his way there. He's after a rare chess set (god knows why) but Sally has already found it at the winery. It belongs to the two weird brothers. The murderer is Barton Maclane, but he doesn't show up until midway through the movie, and then he isn't given much to do. The script is so inept it almost qualifies as bad/good. The real problem is the direction, which lacks energy, and Jack Haley - much as we love him - is just not the right man for the job as the slapstick reporter. I'd say it would be nice "if he only had the heart" for it, but then you'd shoot me.

I really wanted to like "Scared Stiff", and in a way I do, because it means well. I sat through it, but I am easygoing with movies, and you may not be in this case. But because it was so confusing and "stiff"ly directed, it erred on the side of bad/good just enough to make it watchable in my opinion. The Annoying Brat was played by Buddy Swan. Veda Ann Borg plays a blonde bombshell insurance agent. Like MacLane, however, her role doesn't match her talent. She's great in every other movie we've seen her in. Why hire actors like Borg and MacLane, if you're just gonna have them play cardboard characters? There's a creepy old couple who run the inn where everyone stays. You keep waiting for them to be outed as necrophiliacs or other such weirdos, but again, nothing happens. If the director had any talent, he'd have had a winner with this cast, but the guy strikes out. I'm still gonna give it Two Regular Thumbs, just because it's Well Intentioned as I said. And, it has our gal Ann Savage, who tries her best. But if you can make heads or tales of the plot, I congratulate you. The picture is soft and on the grey side.  ////

In "Fear" (1946), our previous night's film, Peter Cookson stars as "Larry Crain", a med student who's just lost his scholarship. He's living in a rooming house, he can't pay his rent, his landlady is hassling him, so he takes a gold watch that was a gift from his father and sells it to a professor, who runs an illicit pawn shop out of his apartment. The professor is a skinflint, and only gives Larry eight bucks for the watch. The money doesn't even cover his back rent, so he treats himself to dinner at a local cafe, and ponders his next move. A girl named "Eileen Stephens" (Anne Gwynne) comes in for a bite to eat. She discovers she has no money in her purse, so Larry pays for her meal. He also overhears the conversation of some classmates, who are talking about the skinflint professor. "One of these days, somebody's gonna knock him off", one guy says. "He keeps all his money in a box". Larry gets the idea to rob him, then all his money problems will be over. He goes to the professor's apartment and conks him on the head with a fireplace poker. The professor dies, but Larry doesn't get away with the money, because just as he's trying all the keys to the strongbox, two other students knock on the professor's door. When he doesn't answer, they worry that something is wrong and alert the building superintendent.

Larry manages to sneak out, by hiding in a room that's being painted.

When the professor is found dead, "Police Captain Burke" (Warren Williams) gets involved. He has a detective bring Larry to the station, but only to reclaim his watch, because the dead professor was running an illegal pawn shop. Slowly but surely, however, Captain Burke turns the screws on Larry by insinuating he committed the murder. Burke does a Columbo on him (or Clodumbo, if you prefer Mad Magazine), where he never comes out and accuses Larry of anything, but the way he words his questions and conversation are right up to the edge of accusation. This drives Larry crazy because of his guilty conscience. In the meantime, he's received a 1000 dollar check for an article he's written for an academic magazine, about how important men should be above the law. This doesn't sit well with Captain Burke, who questions him on his philosophy.

By now, a suspect in the murder is in custody. It's the painter of the empty apartment Larry hid in. He was the only other person who can be proven to have been in the professor's building that night. We know he didn't do it, but for some reason he confesses anyway. Larry is thinking he's gotten away with the murder, and he starts dating Eileen Stephens. He gets more and more arrogant in his personal conduct, until Captain Burke questions him one final time, in the deceased professor's apartment.

"Fear" is based on Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment". I haven't read it, but I'll assume the adaptation is faithful. I thought it was quite well done, except for one twist. I won't tell you what it is, nor when it comes, but you'll know it when you see it. Maybe it's in the book, and if so, I'll let it go. But in the movie, it kind of changes everything that's gone before, and I didn't like it, even though it made for a......well, I shouldn't say. I don't think we've seen Peter Cookson before, but he was very good as the self-centered Larry, who - if he had waited one more day, til his check came - wouldn't be in his current mess.

Two Big Thumbs Up for "Fear". It's in the Hitchcock mold. It's also highly recommended, and the picture is almost razor sharp. ////

That's all for tonight. The big news today - huge news, actually, but sad, is that Jim Svejda has announced his retirement from Classical KUSC. If you've been reading the blog for a while, you've seen me mention Svejda from time to time. I've been listening to his show regularly for 25 years, and there's hardly been a weeknight in all that time when I haven't tuned in for at least a few minutes. The thing is, classical music has been in my life even before The Beatles. Some of the first melodies I can remember hearing were from my Dad's old Scarlatti and Chopin records. He also played piano for a while. So, even before my life was transformed by "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", I already knew things like Bach's Minuet in G major (a famous melody now attributed to Christian Petzold), or Mozart's Piano Sonata #16 K545, another famous one.

During my teens, I didn't listen to classical music (or didn't seek it out), but by the time I was 24, I was putting KUSC on late at night, and then leaving it on at low volume as I slept. I resumed that practice when I was 37, and at a certain point, can't remember exactly when, I never turned the radio off. I mean that almost literally. Inside my Tiny Apartment, I have KUSC playing all the time (at low volume when I'm sleeping or watching movies, etc.) I had it on all the time at Pearl's house, too. One of our treats in the evening was to listen to Jim Svejda after dinner. His familiar theme music began at 7pm on the dot, and I always tried to be there when he signed off at midnight ("on behalf of engineer Steve Seavey, this is Jim Svejda.....good evening"). And as I say, most nights I was listening in between for an hour or two, sometimes for the whole show. As other fans will attest, Jim Sveja has been like a family member or best friend in our lives. He's like Vin Scully; he's always been there. He also happens to be, in my opinion, the greatest DJ who ever lived (yeah, even greater than The Real Don Steele). For certain he's the most knowledgeable about classical music.

I was fortunate to meet Jim, at an in-store appearance by Hilary Hahn, the violinist. As you probably know, I'm a huge HH fan, and when she played a mini-concert at The Apple Store in Santa Monica in 2009, I was there. Jim Svejda was also there, to introduce Hilary, and with him was the son of composer Arnold Schoenberg, who's concerto she had just recorded. I didn't know Jim Svejda was going to be there, and was surprised when I saw him. I had to say something, so I got up and shook his hand. What came out was "thanks for your show, Jim. You make every day a great day". He thanked me, but it was the response of Schoenberg's son that I'll always remember.

"That should be written in stone", he said.

And I agree, so I'll do it now. Imagine a stone tablet, and I have a chisel in my hand. I'm chipping the words I said at The Apple Store, with a slight paraphrase :

"Thanks To Jim Svejda. He Made Every Day A Great Day".

There will never be anyone like him, so be sure to listen while you still can. His last show will be Friday, February 18th, from 7 to Midnight.

I hope you had a nice day, and I send you Tons of Love, as always. 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Ann Savage, George Zucco and Leo Gorcey in "Midnight Manhunt", and "Bank Alarm" with Conrad Nagel and Eleanor Hunt

We had a blast last night, with another Ann Savage comedy. In "Midnight Manhunt"(1945), the search is on for the corpse of "Joe Wells" (George E. Stone), a jewel thief who gets shot by "Mr. Jelke" (George Zucco) at the beginning of the movie. Jelke steals his diamonds, and the dying Wells stumbles into a nearby wax museum, where he expires. The museum is conveniently devoted to likenesses of dead gangsters, so when the night watchman thinks he's found Wells's body in the lobby, he's quite excited. But then he goes back to double check, and it's gone. That's because ace crime reporter "Sue Gallagher" (Savage), has hidden it in the museum so that she can write a scoop: "Wells Found Dead in Wax Museum!" She'll also collect a five thousand dollar reward. Meanwhile, "Mr. Miggs" (Charles Halton), the museum's elderly owner, finds Wells' corpse among the exhibits (where Sue Gallagher hid it), and wants to turn it in, but his janitor "Clutch Tracy" (Leo Gorcey of Bowery Boys fame) talks him into hiding the body in a freight car to avoid being accused of the murder. The cops think Wells has been dead for years, and don't believe Sue Gallagher's reports. Then Mr. Jelke comes back to dispose of the corpse, and takes Gallagher hostage in the process.

This one's a Poverty Row cheapie, but the players are "all in", so it's hoot. It's basically a case of "where's Wells's body"? set in a macabre wax museum, with Leo Gorcey providing comic relief with his malaprop-laden schtick, and expository dialogue to help the audience through the confusion. Ann Savage is goofy-tough this time around. Her foil is "Pete Willis" (William Gargan), a reporter for a rival paper who wants to break the story too. Savage keeps beating him to the punch, until she's kidnapped by George Zucco. Then of course, Willis has to come to her rescue, setting the stage for romance in the end. If you're a Savage fan (which you should be by now), it's interesting to watch her in this role. She employs a lot of "actressy" mannerisms and reactions that would've endeared her to large audiences, I think, had her career taken off the way it should have. We'll also have to look for more from Leo Gorcey, who's a riot as "Clutch" the janitor. His pairing with Charles Halton as "Miggs" the museum owner is comedic oil and vinegar. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Midnight Manhunt". Enjoy it for what it is, a daffy farce. Get lost in the wax museum and the fun. The picture is a little on the grey side. //// 

In "Bank Alarm"(1937), the previous night's film, Conrad Nagel stars as "Alan O'Connor", an FBI agent hunting down a bank robbery gang in Los Angeles. He's at odds with police chief "Macy" (William L. Thorne), who's arrested Bugs O' Hearn, the guy who pulled the latest job, but Bugs is just an operative, a lackey. O'Connor is after the big fish, the brains behind the gang. When Bugs is shot dead, to keep him from naming names, O'Connor is upset with the Chief, for screwing up his investigation.

Then he goes out to a nightclub with his girlfriend "Bobbie" (Eleanor Hunt). His sister "Kay" (Wilma Francis) tags along. She's asked to dance by the handsome "Jerry Turner" (Frank Milan), a patron. When he excuses himself to use the telephone, we find out that Turner is a member of the bank robbery gang. He reports directly to "Mr. Karlotti" (Wheeler Oakman, great movie star name), the owner of the nightclub. Karlotti wants to move on from banks to bigger jobs. What could be bigger than a bank? A payroll heist, that's what. Hey, I'm just going by what Karlotti says. He knows of a stash of 40 grand that's being held at a post office in Nevada. He sends Jerry Turner and another lout there, to pose as vagrants. The idea is for them to get arrested (because the Sheriff in the town hates vagrants), and then to break into the post office, because it's in the same building as the jail. It's a clever setup and it works. The men steal the money, they are let out of jail the next day with an admonition to leave town. They do this and return to Los Angeles with the 40 thousand dollars.

The trouble for Mr. Karlotti begins when he starts to work with a counterfeiter. The guy creates a perfect looking Fitty Dolla Bill, but by sheer coincidence, he gives it a serial number that is identical to one of the stolen Fitties from the payroll job. Agent O'Connor finds it in the wallet of Jerry Turner, who he already suspects is a criminal. He uses his sister to set him up, and figures whoever engraved the Fitty must be in on the payroll job (although it's a screenwriter's stretch to suggest that the engraver would use the same serial number by accident).

Well, anyhow, by now, Mr. Karlotti is circling the wagons, because he knows the bogus bill has tripped him up. He then has Jerry Turner set up a plan to kidnap O'Connor's sister Kay, to get him to back off the gang. O'Connor's girlfriend Bobbie poses as an intrepid reporter to get close to Mr. Karlotti. She pretends to be sympathetic to his plight as an unjustly persecuted "honest businessman".

Comic relief (if you can call it that) is supplied by Vince Barnett as a perpetually inept photographer. He keeps tripping over his box camera, a few too many times for my liking, hardy-har-har (not!). A little would have gone a long way in this department, however, the overuse of this gag doesn't upend the plot, which is multi-layered and has subthemes to spare. This is one of those 60 minute scripts that has A Ton of Stuff Going On, and it was written by Eleanor Hunt, who plays Bobbie.

I loved "Bank Alarm" (except for Vince Barnett), and I especially enjoyed Frank Milan's performance as Jerry Turner. He does the Snidely Whiplash "arch villain" vocal delivery, like Ralf Harolde the other night in "Framed". According to Wiki, the movie was one in a series of four crime flicks, in which Conrad Nagel and Eleanor Hunt were teamed up as Agent O'Connor and Bobbie. We'll have to look for the other three, as "Bank Alarm" gets Two Big Thumbs Up. It's highly recommended, and the picture is razor sharp. /////

That's all for tonight. I hope you had a nice weekend. I'm batting 100% on Wordle and I send you Tons of Love, as always.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):) 

Peggy Shannon in "Deluge", and "The Dark Horse", starring Phillip Terry and Ann Savage

Last night's movie was "Deluge"(1933), an early disaster film that hold up 90 years later as one of the best in the genre. As the movie opens, scientists are watching a weather front develop over the Atlantic ocean. It's looking bad. They call for all aircraft to land, all ships to return to port, but before the storm hits, an earthquake strikes the West Coast. As an aside, the Long Beach quake - a biggie - was also in 1933. It would be interesting to know if it hit before or after this film was released. At any rate, in the movie, California is plunged into the sea, just like the doomsayers always said would happen. But the quake doesn't end there. It's truly a whopper, and continues to spread across the Midwest, the South, and all the way to the East Coast. There's a sequence about 15 minutes in, where New York is destroyed, and it has to be seen to be appreciated. What the filmmakers accomplished with models is more terrifying than any CGI, as skyscrapers topple one after the other, and a tidal wave submerges the coastline.

Only a handful of survivors are left, and all of man's systems are wiped out. Money is worthless. There are no laws, no law enforcement, no government whatsoever. We're in Walking Dead territory here, minus the zombies. Crime and brutality are rampant. Women are treated like property. "Claire Arlington" (Peggy Shannon), a long distance swimmer, is captured by a beast named "Jepson" (Fred Kohler). She manages to escape his clutches, and is found on an island by "Martin Webster" (Sidney Blackmer), a decent man who is also on his own after losing his wife and two children in the catastrophe. They hole up in Bronson Cave (which stands in for the New York wilderness), but Jepson wants his woman back, and he'll stop at nothing to get her. Although he sees himself as the Shotcaller in this brave new world, he has to negotiate with The Bellamy Gang, a tribe of railroad tramps and convicts who terrorize the countryside. 

Martin and Claire have to use their wits to survive, and have several battles with Jepson. But unbeknownst to them, a budding township of civilized men and women has been organised in the ruins of New York City, and the men have formed a posse to stop The Bellamy Gang. Procreation is a subtheme, because most of the population has been wiped out. All of the women in the ramshackle new town are required to marry and have babies. When Martin and Claire are rescued from Jepson by the posse, they learn that Martin's wife and children aren't dead after all. They're alive and well in the town. But by now, Martin is in love with Claire. They've been through the apocalypse together, and he thought his family was dead. Now that he learns they're alive, he has to deal with being in love with two women. Who will he choose, his wife or Claire? And how can he choose either one, without being unfair to the other?

I didn't like the ending, and that's all I'm going to tell you, though I'm not referring to the choice Martin ultimately makes. I'm talking about what happens after that. Peggy Shannon gives a realistic, pre-Code performance as Claire, whose heart is broken by the discovery of Martin's wife. Shannon's real-life story is tragic as well, she died at only 34 from a heart attack brought on by alcoholism. How sad for such a talented actress. But while the ending is a downer, the movie itself is thrilling, and again, the earthquake sequence is freakin' spooky. It made me a little nervous to watch it, just because we're overdue for the Big One. Well, let's put that out of our minds, shall we? Two Big Thumbs Up for "Deluge", an amazing film that explores the breakdown of society. It calls for a Criterion restoration; the picture is good but slightly damaged. ////

The previous night, we found an Ann Savage comedy! Yes, she can do it all. In "The Dark Horse"(1946), she plays "Mary Burton", secretary for "Honest John Rooney" (Donald MacBride), a political mover-and-shaker who's looking for a candidate to unseat "John Aldrich" (Raymond Largay), a local alderman. "George Kelly" (Phillip Terry) is just back from the war, and staying with his "Aunt Hattie" (Jane Darwell). She asks him to take a book to her church for donation, a biography of George Washington. On the way, he passes a rally for Aldrich. Rooney's man "Willis Trimble" (Allen Jenkins) bumps into him and starts a punchout. In the aftermath, he finds Kelly's book, and thinks of him as the perfect candidate to run against Aldrich, even though he has no political experience. "Think about it", Trimble tells Rooney, "he's a fan of George Washington, which means he cannot tell a lie. What a great promotional gimmick!" They plan to run him as George "Washington" Kelly, but he wants nothing to do with it.

To get George to comply, they send Ann Savage to entice him. The plot is a Frank Capra/Preston Sturges type setup, think "Mr Smith Goes to Washington". The problem is that it's talky and features too much Donald MacBride, who's a ham sandwich as John Rooney. Still, it's fun, and worth watching for Ann Savage, who is excellent at farce and comes across here with crack comic timing. If you're a Savage fan, it's a must see. Otherwise just Two Solid Thumbs up.

Sorry for the short reviews this time. I'm just trying to get caught up. I promise to be more in-depth with the next blog, and I send you Tons of Love, as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)