John Wayne | dual personalities

February 2, 2016

“I hope you have the pleasure of buying me a drink on your next payday.”

by chuckofish

Yesterday was the birthday of the great director John Ford (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973). In fact, he is probably the greatest of all film directors. Even Bergman and Kurosawa looked up to him.

“Stagecoach” 1939

When I was watching Red River (1948) the other day, which is directed by the great Howard Hawks, I kept thinking, “This is good, but it would have looked so much better had John Ford directed.” There are some good shots in this movie–notably of the swarming cattle herd–but he never gets the huge vistas that Ford would have had. You never get the sense of the size of Texas or the sky in Kansas. Most of it looks like it was filmed on a soundstage with bad lighting. John Ford would have opened it up.

The iconic approaching storm scene in “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” 1949

“The Searchers” 1956

A lot of Ford’s success is due to his close association with two great cinematographers, with whom he worked on many of his greatest films: Winton C. Hoch (3 Godfathers (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), and The Searchers (1956); and Bert Glennon: Stagecoach (1939), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Rio Grande (1950), Wagon Master (1950), Sergeant Rutledge (1960).

He knew how to pick ’em. And he knew how to cast. His ensemble casts are second to none.

“The Long Voyage Home” 1940

He won four Best Director Oscars–for The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1942), and The Quiet Man (1952).

“How Green Was My Valley” 1942

He won two more Academy Awards for best Documentary–The Battle of Midway (1942) and December 7th (1943). Of course, not one of them was for a western. There are so many for which he should have at least been nominated–The Searchers (1956) and My Darling Clementine (1946) chief among them.

I’m not saying that all his films are great. In fact, they are quite inconsistent. He can succumb to a weepy Irish sentimentality which is unfortunate and can be embarrassing. Any movie involving James Cagney, Tyrone Power, Grace Kelly, Spencer Tracy, and/or English history (yes, I’m thinking Mary of Scotland) should be avoided. But even these can be entertaining and worth watching.

John Wayne and Henry Fonda were never better than under the direction of John Ford. And John Ford had the good sense to use them often. He famously cast the relatively unknown John Wayne in Stagecoach when the producer wanted Gary Cooper and Marlene Dietrich. The result using the big stars would have been a good movie, but Marlene would have taken over and Gary would have been all aw shucks and adorable–standard fare.

Directors who copied his style have made a lot of standard movies. His never were.

John Wayne gave the eulogy at his funeral.

So a toast tonight to the great John Ford!

Sgt. Beaufort in Fort Apache (1948)

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February 1, 2016

In a mirror, dimly*

by chuckofish

In flyover news, the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company announced last week that Mac, the first foal of 2016, was born at Warm Springs Ranch in Boonville, Mo., joining more than 160 other horses in the beer giant’s stable. Hello, Mac!

Over the weekend the OM and I attended the “Elegant Italian Dinner,” an annual fundraising event for the youth mission trip at church. It was, as usual, a jolly good time. What is it about heated up lasagna and a side salad in a dimly lit church hall that always hits the spot?

The next morning I got up and went to the 8 o’clock service at church so that we could go out to breakfast afterwards with the boy and daughter #3 at our favorite diner.

photo from yelp.com

The OM had never been there, but he liked it, I guess, because he ate his slinger and then finished daughter #3’s waffle a la mode.

Anyway, the 8 o’clock service is a shorter service because there is no music (besides the Voluntary at the beginning and end of the service). It appeals to an older crowd and also to the golfers in the congregation. It is not really my cup of tea. I also skipped the 155th Annual Meeting which followed. I forgave myself.

I finished the mystery I was reading by the Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen, The Keeper of Lost Causes. It is the first in the Department Q series about detective Carl Morck. I thought it was very good–character-driven and darkly humorous. I will definitely read more in this series.

I watched Red River (1948) and really enjoyed it. John Wayne and Montgomery Clift are really pretty great together. Clift never overplays his hand, never tries to upstage John Wayne, but is a real presence in every scene. He appears to be confident and at ease and not bad on horseback. I was impressed. Needless to say, this is no mean feat, because John Wayne is mythic in this part.

SO…

*I Cor. 13: 12 (or “through a glass, darkly” KJV)

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January 7, 2016

Thursday pep talk

by chuckofish

And as we like to remind ourselves: Philippians 4:13! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

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October 27, 2015

“Ramrod, wreckage and ruin”*

by chuckofish

R.I.P. Maureen O’Hara. She was 95 and had quite a life.

She made five movies with John Wayne (lucky lady!),

but she made a lot of other good ones too, like Oscar-winner How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Parent Trap (1961) with Brian Keith and Hayley Mills and Miracle on 34th Street (1947) with Natalie Wood. In fact she was in quite a few of my favorites! She even made a movie with John Candy–she played his mother!–Only the Lonely (1991).

In 2014, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selected Maureen to receive the Academy’s Honorary Oscar. She was only the second actress, after Myrna Loy in 1991, to receive an Honorary Oscar without having previously been nominated for an Oscar in a competitive category.

Maybe I’ll watch Rio Grande (1950) tonight…

and toast Maureen O’Hara!

Into paradise may the angels lead you. At your coming may the martyrs receive you, and bring you into the holy city Jerusalem. (BCP, 500)

*Kathleen York in Rio Grande (1950)

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September 30, 2015

Big Time flyover news and some other stuff

by chuckofish

Well–yay–now we have our very own IKEA store in our flyover town. Woohoo. This is big news for us, but since I have been to the College Park store many times, I’ll wait ’til the crowds thin out a bit before I venture down to see it.

Of course, there are always some ~~weirdos~~ zealous shoppers who camp out for days so that they can be the first ones in when the store opens on the first day. Prizes are usually involved.

Free meatballs for a year–not an incentive for me. But far be it from me to judge–to each his own.

Speaking of to each his own, here is something from the Advice-I-Don’t-Need Department via Apartment Therapy:

Without logos, brand names and stores taking up free advertising real estate in your bathroom, the whole place looks cleaner. A little more streamlined and a lot more elegant. Here’s what you need to do:

Peel the labels off. Take your hand soaps and lotions and peel the sticky labels right off, cleaning up any stubborn pieces with a solution like Goo Gone.
Re-pot anything that needs a new container. Shampoo in a brightly colored bottle that’s totally messing with your chi? Funnel it into a shatter-proof bottle with a cork pour spout.
Use glass jars and bowls to wrangle small items. Take cotton swabs out of their cardboard boxes and cotton balls out of bags. Arrange bobby pins in a neat little bowl (IKEA is great for these).

Okay, I admit I already put cotton balls and Q-Tips in a glass jar and bobby pins etc in a variety of little bowls, but who has time to peel the labels off their shampoo bottles? Get a life, people!

I wonder why people are so obsessive these days about their living spaces. I blame social media.

Speaking of social media, here’s a funny picture I found on the John Wayne Facebook page.

You gotta admit: That. is. great. Have a good Wednesday!

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August 19, 2015

“Yes, ma’am, just as hard as I could.”*

by chuckofish

John Wayne and some old coots in “Tall in the Saddle”

Well, the films of John Wayne are featured on TCM all day today, so set your DVR!

I am especially looking forward to Tall in the Saddle (1944) which I have not seen in quite a while.

My mother always liked Tall in the Saddle, because she liked Ella Raines who plays the female lead. I think she thought she was more “normal” looking than a lot of the stars of the 1940s–i.e. pretty without the need for elaborate hair, extensive makeup and penciled on eyebrows.

She also has a good part to play in this western–a tomboy who gets to ride around on horseback and kick symbolic dust at the goody-two-shoes who is competition for John Wayne’s affection, Audrey Long.

The reviewer for the New York Times called the film “a regulation rough-and-tumble Western”, complete with a thundering stage coach ride through sagebrush country, fist fights, shootings, and “the customary romantic clinch”. The reviewer acknowledged that Wayne saves the film from its predictability:

Mr. Wayne has to fight his way through every inch of this film, against toughies like Ward Bond, a crooked judge; Harry Woods, a no-account rustler, and Russell Wade, a weakling gun-happy young rancher. Even Ella Raines sends some bullets whizzing perilously close to our hero’s head … Mr. Wayne walks into a mess of trouble in Red Rock, but in eighty-seven noisy minutes he bowls over the opposition, turns up the murderer of his cousin and has Miss Raines purring in his arms. Just take Tall in the Saddle for what it is, a rousing old-fashioned Western, and you won’t go wrong.

Yes, Mr. Wayne saves the day and the movie.

All the movies showing today are worth viewing for their star. That cannot be said for a lot of the movies shown this month on TCM’s Summer Under the Stars.

Anyway, The Quiet Man (1955) is on tonight, followed by The Searchers (1956) and Rio Bravo (1959). So enjoy!

Here is the schedule.

*John Wayne in response to the statement, “I saw you hit that poor man!”

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August 10, 2015

“The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.”*

by chuckofish

This past week I have happily returned to my usual work-and-home routine. Over the weekend it was hot, so I puttered around the air-conditioned house a lot. I did get outside, but ever-careful not to overdo it, my endeavors were minimal.

I did find a few estate sale “treasures”, including a small bookshelf which I snapped up. Bookshelves are a priority in this household!

For now it is in the living room, but who knows where it will end up? As you can see from my dual personality’s post on Saturday, daughter #2 has quite a few of my finds in her apartment.

I received a Couroc tray as a wedding present, and ever since then I have loved those mid-century modern designs and have collected them when they turn up at estate sales. This cowboy tray is too perfect.

I also got a chair back from the upholsterer. He had had it for quite some time, so it was a pleasant surprise to ~~finally~~ get it back. It is now back in my office by the window.

Don’t you love that arrow fabric?

I watched several movies over the weekend. I rather enjoyed Mixed Nuts (1994), which frequently appears on worst-movies-of-all-time lists. I was curious to see this “disaster” directed by Nora Ephron, starring Steve Martin, Madeleine Kahn, Rita Wilson and featuring in early appearances Parker Posey, Jon Stewart, Adam Sandler, and Liev Shreiber in a Caitlyn Jenner part. It wasn’t terrible and I thought Madeleine Kahn was hilarious.

I have seen many, many movies that were much, much worse. Why does this movie receive such over-the-top criticism? Perhaps everyone’s expectations were too high.

I also watched El Dorado (1966) in honor of Robert Mitchum’s birthday and, of course, enjoyed it immensely. I especially enjoyed James Caan this time around. He hit it big a few years later in The Godfather, but I bet he never forgot that early outing with the Duke. You can tell all the actors are enjoying themselves in this one.

Also here’s a PSA: August is TCM’s ‘Summer Under the Stars’ month where they feature the movies of a different actor or actress every day. Be sure to check out their schedule. For instance, Tuesday, August 12 is Robert Mitchum and August 19 is John Wayne. You’ll want to set your DVR!

Over the weekend I group-texted with my daughters who were together in New York City this weekend, daughter #2 visiting daughter #1.

Anyway, it was almost like being there with them (and Nate who was off engaged in bachelor party doings for some friend most of the time)!

And P.S. have you noticed that these guys are doing Awesomely? Well, they are. Awesome.

PI-MLB-Cardinals-ON-009-040615.vadapt.620.high.0

Fox Sports

Have a great week!

*Samuel Beckett, “Murphy” (1938)

5 Comments

July 3, 2015

I hear America singing*

by chuckofish

Chris party

Well, tomorrow is my big brother’s birthday. Here are some pictures of him celebrating his birthday in the olden days. Time was when he was usually off fishing somewhere. When he found himself in flyover country we would celebrate in fine fashion.

Last year my dual personality and our better halves visited our bro in Michigan. We couldn’t do it this year. I will miss them.

Our fourth of July at home will definitely be low-key. We’ll toast our forefathers and listen to some Sousa marches. Perhaps we will light some sparklers. Yes, it will be pretty lame.

But don’t feel too sorry for me. I plan to binge-watch John Ford’s cavalry trilogy: For Apache (1948 ), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950).

You could do worse, but hardly much better.

And here’s good news: Shirley Temple is Star of the Month on TCM! Here’s a list of the movies they’re showing. Time to set your DVR.

Have a great weekend!

*The first edition of Walt Whitman’s book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published in Brooklyn, New York on July 4, 1855.

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June 12, 2015

“For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”*

by chuckofish

Finally Friday again. Yay. I have a few things of interest to note.

On June 10, 1915, the Astor Theater in Times Square presented the first documented public exhibition of three-dimensional motion pictures. In honor of the centennial of 3-D the Museum of Modern Art is celebrating “3-D Summer.”

For those of you in NYC, you can go to the MOMA this weekend to see Hondo (1953) on the big screen in all its 3-D glory. They’ll be showing it through July 4 on selected dates, so, hello, check your calendar! (The Duke’s daughter-in-law will be introducing the showing on Saturday.)

The rest of us will have to be satisfied with watching it on our TVs. C’est la vie. I have blogged about Hondo before. It is well worth watching again.

I must note that Christopher Lee (1922–2015) has died at the age of 93. The 6’5″ actor served in the RAF during WWII and afterwards had a long and semi-distinguished career as a movie actor. I say semi because many of his movies from the 1950s on were horror films of the Dracula variety. I read through his entire list of his film credits and couldn’t come up with many to recommend (besides, of course, the LOTR trilogy which I cannot watch anymore).

However, he did play “Bernard Day” in Scott of the Antarctic (1948) which is a favorite of mine.

That same year he played a “Spear Carrier” in Olivier’s Hamlet. Coincidentally, Peter Cushing also appeared in this Hamlet as scene-stealing “Osric”.

Well, you can watch a whole bunch of his movies on TCM on Monday if you are so inclined. You have to give him props for being a working actor all those years!

In other news, the new McDonnell Polar Bear Point opened recently at the St. Louis Zoo. We have been without polar bears at the zoo for several years and we have missed them.

stlpublicradio.org photo

So now we have Kali, a two-and-a-half year old bear, who looks so cute…until…

stlpublicradio.org photo

Yikes. I need to go check out this new (and very fancy) bear enclosure soon.

Have a good weekend and stay hydrated!

*Isaiah 18:4 (KJV)

6 Comments

June 1, 2015

A cup of blessing

by chuckofish

It was a rainy, overcast weekend–which is kind of nice sometimes. It gives one permission to slow down and read a book instead of trying to get a million things done. You know what I mean?

However, I did manage to do a few things anyway. I saw this weird bug on my garage.

Have you ever seen anything like him? He was big like a cicada, but didn’t look like our typical flyover cicadas. Zut alors!

I found this while going through a bunch of old books in my basement.

According to the sentiment written inside the cover, my mother gave it to me February 14, 1968. She was always trying to encourage me in my endeavors francaise, but it really was a lost cause.

Apres le petit dejeuner, il avait repete sa chanson pour bien la savoir par couer, et maintenant il se la chantait tres gentilment, sans se tromper. Cela donnait a peu pres ceci:

Tra-la-la, tra-la-lere!

Zim-boum-boum, ran-tan-plan!

Brrm-brrm-brrm, la-di-dere!

Pout-pout-pout, zim-pan-pan!

(Sorry, no accent marks!)

I’m afraid Winnie the Pooh loses something in translation!

I watched To Have and Have Not (1943) in honor of Howard Hawks’ birthday on Saturday. It was as good as a Hemingway novel adapted for the screen by William Faulkner can be. And by that I mean excellent. Which Hawks classic did you watch?

I also watched a really terrible movie: Rhinestone (1984) starring Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton. I had never seen it, and despite Dolly doing her best, it was pretty awful. Stallone was painfully bad.

It is amazing that Bob Clark, who had directed A Christmas Story the year before, ever worked again.

Sunday night I DVR’d Grantchester and watched The Cowboys (1972) which is the story of a cattle owner (John Wayne) who is forced to go on a cattle drive with only a bunch of underage cowboys to help.

The young boys in this movie are excellent. Indeed, the movie is excellent and well directed by Mark Rydell. And although the Duke (spoiler alert) dies at the hands of some lesser men in the movie, it ends well.

The highlight of my weekend was when my old friend Dick, who was in town from Atlanta for our special event at work this week, dropped by my office on Friday and brought me this:

A Mike Matheny autographed baseball! He asked Mike to sign it when he was in Jupiter for spring training. Wasn’t that thoughtful? It certainly made my day!

Have a good Monday!

*Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting–a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.”

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