High Plains Drifter

[JB42]

Come on, the whole Rooster Cogburn series was awesome.

[Rino]

You guys see Open Range?  I loved the fact that some guys
actually MISSED their targets during the big gunfight

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

John Wayne wanted to do a western with Clint Eastwood for several years. Until Eastwood did "High Plains Drifter".

"Rio Bravo" was done because John Wayne and John Ford thought that "High Noon" was all wrong, with the sheriff begging for help. It worked so well they did "ElDorado" and "Rio Lobo". The James Cann character Mississippi in "ElDorado" was supposed to be a total fool, but he played it mostly straight and the director loved it. I bought a big Appaloosa stud after I watched "ElDorado". We watched it years later, long after the horse was killed by lightning, and my wife said "isn't John Wayne's horse ugly?" I thought my brother would die laughing.

When John Wayne hit Bruce Dern in "The Cowboys", Bruce Dern spent the next SIX WEEKS in a neck brace.

I always thought the worst looking hit in a western was probably when John Wayne hit George Kennedy in the face with a pick handle in "The Sons of Katie Elder". I still flinch every time I see it.

The darkest, most bitter version of Wyatt Earp was probably done by James Garner in "Hour of the Gun".

"Tombstone" would have been Robert Mitchum's last movie, but Mitchum was hurt in an accident with a horse, so they had him narrarate it instead.

They say John Wayne was barely in the top ten of the fastest actors with a sixgun. The fastest was Jerry Lewis. Sammy Davis Jr. was close to the top. One of the smoothest and fastest was James Garner. James Arness, Matt Dillon from "Gunsmoke" was actually VERY slow. Steve McQueen was barely in the top ten as well. Dean Martin was fast. I used to have a clip where Bob Munden (holds the record for fastdraw) went through the top 20.
Kind of funny to see how many I thought were fast weren't even in the top 20.

It's kind of funny, but there's a big group of actors listed at IMDB.com as "one of a group commonly used by John Wanye in his movies". James Garner had a group he used a lot as well.

"Well, let's just say I'm on your side, and this is no........ job for amatuers."

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Originally posted by DREDIOCK
"You can call me father, you can call me Jake, you can call me Jakob You can call me a dirty rotten SOB. But if you ever call me daddy again we're gonna finish this fight"

John Wayne in "Big Jake" to his son, Patrick Wayne.

"Sorry don't get it done Dude, that's the second time you've hit me, don't ever do it again."

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Originally posted by JB42
Come on, the whole Rooster Cogburn series was awesome.

Yeah, they were both pretty good. But the three in the "Rio Bravo" pattern were better I thought.

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Captain Virgil Hilts
John Wayne wanted to do a western with Clint Eastwood for several years. Until Eastwood did "High Plains Drifter".

"Rio Bravo" was done because John Wayne and John Ford thought that "High Noon" was all wrong, with the sheriff begging for help. It worked so well they did "ElDorado" and "Rio Lobo". The James Cann character Mississippi in "ElDorado" was supposed to be a total fool, but he played it mostly straight and the director loved it. I bought a big Appaloosa stud after I watched "ElDorado". We watched it years later, long after the horse was killed by lightning, and my wife said "isn't John Wayne's horse ugly?" I thought my brother would die laughing.

When John Wayne hit Bruce Dern in "The Cowboys", Bruce Dern spent the next SIX WEEKS in a neck brace.

I always thought the worst looking hit in a western was probably when John Wayne hit George Kennedy in the face with a pick handle in "The Sons of Katie Elder". I still flinch every time I see it.

The darkest, most bitter version of Wyatt Earp was probably done by James Garner in "Hour of the Gun".

"Tombstone" would have been Robert Mitchum's last movie, but Mitchum was hurt in an accident with a horse, so they had him narrarate it instead.

They say John Wayne was barely in the top ten of the fastest actors with a sixgun. The fastest was Jerry Lewis. Sammy Davis Jr. was close to the top. One of the smoothest and fastest was James Garner. James Arness, Matt Dillon from "Gunsmoke" was actually VERY slow. Steve McQueen was barely in the top ten as well. Dean Martin was fast. I used to have a clip where Bob Munden (holds the record for fastdraw) went through the top 20.
Kind of funny to see how many I thought were fast weren't even in the top 20.

It's kind of funny, but there's a big group of actors listed at IMDB.com as "one of a group commonly used by John Wanye in his movies". James Garner had a group he used a lot as well.

"Well, let's just say I'm on your side, and this is no........ job for amatuers."

Great read!

[Shuckins]

It doesn't surprise me that Jerry Lewis had the fastest draw.  Lewis was extremely athletic.  Personally, I always harbored the sneaking suspicion that he could kick Dean Martin's arse.

Also heard that Audie Murphy had one of the fastest draws in Hollywood.  Yeah yeah...I know...Duh!

Bob Munden is unreal.  When he was younger, you couldn't even see his hand move.  Muzzle flame just seemed to appear in mid-air.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Great read!

Yeah. Just goes to prove I watch too many westerns.

The other night, we were watching John Wayne's tribute to Red Adair, "Hellfighters". Pretty much the same group of guys he used throughout the years. I looked over on IMDB.com and saw that he died within a couple of days of one of his favorite co-stars, Jim Hutton.

In the middle of the last part of that movie is a scene where Jim Hutton, playing the friend and son-in-law to John Wayne is in trouble in South America, and John Wayne comes done with a plane load of equipment. It's an Air Force transport, and as the nose door drops, you see John Wayne standing there in his cowboy hat, riding jacket, and boots, smiling and waving. I looked at my wife and said, "I'd like to see that damned near as much as I'd like to see my own father again." Damned sure wouldn't do this country any harm either.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Originally posted by Shuckins
It doesn't surprise me that Jerry Lewis had the fastest draw.  Lewis was extremely athletic.  Personally, I always harbored the sneaking suspicion that he could kick Dean Martin's arse.

Also heard that Audie Murphy had one of the fastest draws in Hollywood.  Yeah yeah...I know...Duh!

Bob Munden is unreal.  When he was younger, you couldn't even see his hand move.  Muzzle flame just seemed to appear in mid-air.

Yeah, Audie Murphy was no slouch. Munden said he was way up there in speed. Course, few had the incentive to develop speed and marksmanship he did.

Until age and poor health caught up with him, Jerry Lewis was a master at physical comedy. It took a lot of skill and talent to do the gags and pratfalls he did.

Dean Martin was an amatuer boxer who almost went pro. He'd have never been a legend like he was on the screen or the radio, but he had a pretty decent record. I heard some moron a while back say Dean Martin only had an "average" voice.

Munden is still damned fast, still a master of exhibition shooting, and also a damned good gunsmith.

[Shuckins]

Dean was one of the very best of the old-style crooners.  That's a style of singing that is rapidly dieing out.

Dam shame.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

I still listen to him sometimes, and Sinatra as well. But then I also listen to big band stuff from the 30's and 40's too. I appreciate most styles of music, at least the better artists and groups. But I can't stand any form of "rap" or "R&B" (which ain't rythym and blues, I don't give a ch!t what anyone says).

[lazs2]

best eastwood westerns?  allmost all of em but..  Unforgiven #1 then josey whales  tie for the rest..

The searchers and hour of the gun for older westerns

The shootist for Wayne.

Wild bunch and open range...  even costner didn't screw it up too much.

Best shootouts had to be the wild bunch and open range.

lazs

[lazs2]

most of the real gunfighters weren't particularly fast.... most often they didn't even get the first shot off...  they allways got the killing one off tho.

lazs

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Best Western film evar!!1!! (Jeez, I was in love with Marianna Hill when I was 13)

She was hot.




Yes, that's a Star Trek uniform.

[Godzilla]

Unforgiven is my favorite Eastwood movie.

Bill Munny: Who's the owner of this ****hole?
Skinny Dubois: I, I am. I bought the place from Greeley in '79 and
[Will shoots him]
Little Bill Daggett: You, sir, are a murdering son of a *****! You just shot an unarmed man!
Bill Munny: He should have armed himself if he was goin' to decorate his establishment with my friend.



Bill Munny: I ain't like that no more. I ain't the same, Ned. Claudia, she straightened me up, cleared me of drinkin' whiskey and all. Just 'cause we're goin' on this killing, that don't mean I'm gonna go back to bein' the way I was. I just need the money, get a new start for them youngsters. Ned, you remember that drover I shot through the mouth and his teeth came out the back of his head? I think about him now and again. He didn't do anything to deserve to get shot, at least nothin' I could remember when I sobered up.
Ned Logan: You were crazy, Will.
Bill Munny: Yeah, no one liked me. Mountain boys all thought I was gonna shoot 'em out of pure meanness.
Ned Logan: Well, like I said, you ain't like that no more.
Bill Munny: That's right. I'm just a fella now. I ain't no different than anyone else no more.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ned Logan: Hell, Will. We ain't bad men no more. ****, we're farmers.
Bill Munny: Should be easy killing them, supposing they don't go on down to Texas first.
Ned Logan: How long has it been since you fired a gun at a man, Will? Nine, ten years?
Bill Munny: Eleven.
Ned Logan: Easy, huh? Hell, I don't know that it was all that easy even back then. And we was young and full of beans. I mean, if you was mad at 'em, Will, I mean. If they'd done you some wrong, I could see shooting 'em



Some of the best writing ever in a movie.