Last night, we traveled forward to the present time and went to the theater to see "Top Gun: Maverick". You've seen it too, I imagine. It's a rite of passage, an iconic sequel to an iconic movie, and since you've probably seen it I shant review it except to say it was tremendous in every respect. As Tom says at the beginning of the movie (and I really appreciated his introduction): "you're gonna see real G's, real F-16s", in other words, real action, real photography and a minimum of computer generated imagery, which is causing all movies to look the same. Thank you, Tom. CGI is why I rarely go to the movies nowdays, but I've been looking forward to this one for a long time, and it is as great as everyone hoped. Besides all the aerial action, the scene with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer was worth the price of admission by itself. Real emotion from real people, and God Bless those guys. They knocked this movie out of the park, it was a return to the style of big '80s action pictures, with a storyline that, being an aficionado of WW2 films, reminded me of the true-life plot of a film called "The Dam Busters"(1955). That film (very highly recommended) depicted a Veddy Brrrittish low altitude raid on several German hydroelectric plants, using a new munition called the bouncing bomb, the invention of which was shown in the movie. The training segment in Maverick also had some Star Wars elements mixed in, as with the approach through the canyon. One thing nigh impossible was the sideways bridge fly-through, but that's not the point. The point is that it's about the dedication, loyalty and brotherhood (with a sister involved too) of the pilots. Miles Teller was the perfect choice to play Rooster, and again, they got some real, raw emotion in the facial expressions of Teller and Cruise near the end, when the mission has been completed. Jennifer Connelly was great also. For me, Two Huge Thumbs Up for "Maverick." I hope you liked it as much as I did. ////
The previous night, we found another Johnny Mack Brown movie! Wouldja believe it? And, it was a good one, too, with Fuzzy Knight, Tex Ritter and the Jimmy Wakeley Trio, and the beautiful Jennifer Holt. In "The Old Chisholm Trail" (1942), Johnny Mack plays "Dusty Gardner", a drover leading his cattle across the Chisholm Trail in Texas. When he and his men arrive in the town of Gunsight, they're stopped in their tracks by a locked gate at the Turner Ranch. Their cattle are getting thirsty, and old Oswald, the smartest steer, is known for his ability to smell water. In fact he's led them to this point. But the gate has a sign that informs all comers that the water at the ranch will cost them: five dollars per head of cattle, a fortune in Old West money. Johnny Mack can't pay it, and his cows are gonna die of thirst if he doesn't get them something to drink. Just then the ranch foreman rides up, and informs JMB that he's better get mounted and get going if he knows what's good for him. "If you don't want to pay for the water then you ain't got no business here". Johnny tells him that on open range, water is free for everyone. The foreman (Roy Barcroft) tries to draw on him, but that's always a mistake with Johnny Mack Brown, who shoots the gun out of the big goon's hand. Chastened, he takes Johnny to see the ranch owner, a woman named "Belle Turner" (Mady Correll). Belle is downright evil. She's got every cattleman in the area over a barrel, and tells Johnny "yeah, the water is free, but this land is not open range. I own the road that leads to the well. The charge is for using the road. Pay it or get lost."
Johnny tells her he's gonna get the Sheriff, but Belle says "go ahead". She owns him, too. Finally, she tells JMB to go to the town of Lost River. "There's water there", she lies. Johnny finds that out when he gets there, but he also meets "Mary Lee" (Jennifer Holt), who runs the local store. She's trying to keep Lost River from going belly up. Her business depends on the pass-through of the cattlemen, but now that the river has dried up, they don't stop there any more. Mary is a sweet lady, the opposite of Belle Turner, so Johnny sticks around and decides to help her restore the river. He has to sign a contract with Belle, who also owns the only drilling company in the region, because they need a well drilling engine, a modern piece of machinery that tells us we're watching a Hybrid Western (as I've learned they are called). Hybrids took place in a "nether time" of modern day (1942) for theater goers, but for the characters in this movie, it's 1882, even with drilling machines that didn't yet exist.
Belle rents Johnny the drilling engine because she figures he and Mary have no chance of finding water. "That's rivers all dried up," she tells her henchmen. The rental brings her money, which Belle always likes, and when they fail Johnny will leave town and good riddance, she thinks. But then, he decides to use his remaining money to hire a specialist, a hydro-geologist with ample experience in drilling wells. When it looks like they might have success after all, she has her henchmen stampede Johnny's cattle. This leads to an all-hands-on-deck punchout that even involves a catfight between Mary and Belle. Good grief. I don't like seeing women fight (it's bad enough with men), but I suppose Belle has to get her comeuppance. She certainly has it coming to her. When even the stampede doesn't get rid of Johnny, Belle arranges for her men to destroy the drilling equipment, but by this time, the specialist has suggested that dynamite could be used to open a fissure underground, making Belle's plan irrelevant.
Jimmy Wakely sings a signature version of "Beautiful Dreamer" and Fuzzy Knight provides extended comic relief as an Old West sideshow hypnotist named Solipso, who has a running gag with an Indian named "Hopping Crow" (Earl Hodgins). Crow, having seen Fuzzy's show and finding it fraudulent, wants a refund. He follows Fuzzy throughout the movie, turning up at various points, knife in hand, saying "me wantum money back". Late in the film, Crow discovers that Fuzzy's a real hypnotist after all, when he turns Crow into a Cigar Store Wooden Indian. It's a laff riot, and Crow returns the favor at the end.
Tex Ritter plays "Montana Smith", a gunslinger friend of Mary's who's suspicious of Johnny's motives towards her. Prior to Belle Turner's attempt, he tries to wreck the well engine with a pickaxe, because he thinks Johnny's in love with Mary, who Montana adores. This leads to the obligatory fight between JMB and Tex, which happens in every movie in which they appear together, but these are always resolved with the two becoming friends. Tex sings two songs himself, there is no shortage of music in this movie. And talk about packing a ton of stuff into a one hour script! "The Old Chisholm Trail" is one of the champs in that regard, that's why were going a rung higher this time, with Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's one of the very best Johnny Mack Brown movies so far, and the picture is very good. ///
That's all I know for tonight. I'm still working on Captain Marvel (up to chapter 9 so far), and I'm listening to "The Beach Boys Love You" by The Beach Boys. I hope your week is going well, and I send you Tons of Love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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