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 :):)
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