A Special Breed
August 31, 2009
The Autry National Center of the American West (aka, the Autry Museum) has a series of short films playing on monitors interspersed among the exhibits. These presentations examine the history of B-Westerns. I’ve written about these films before.
Around the corner from the Charles Starrett exhibit there plays a tribute to the stunt men of the B-Western. It begins with a quick-paced montage of movie stunts (a horse and rider diving off a cliff, a wagon rolling down a hill, etc) and culminates with a long shot of a cowboy maneuvering along a buckboard on a “speeding” wagon, clearly on a soundstage. Recognize someone?
“…a special breed of people who make movie magic appear to be real.”
I’ll agree with the “special” part, but, c’mon, Smiley as a stuntman? The guy can barely pull off a convincing pratfall.
The Many Moods of Charles Starrett
August 30, 2009
F.O.R. = Friend of Raider.
Casque & Gauntlet
August 23, 2009
His senior year at Dartmouth, Charles Starrett became a member of the secret society, Casque & Gauntlet.
The order was founded in 1887, inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King and Sir Thomas Malory’s Mort D’arthur. It is modeled on the knights of the round table, and members take the names of specific knights from the Arthurian legend. The president is called “King Arthur” for the length of his reign, and the vice president is “Merlin,” and so forth.
One has to wonder about Charles’ pledge name. Was he the romantic and conflicted Lancelot? Or the chaste Galahad? The hothead Lucan?
Regardless, the Knights’ code of chivalry, as described by Malory, could be that of the Durango Kid himself.
- To never do outrage nor murder
- Always to flee treason
- To by no means be cruel but to give mercy unto him who asks for mercy
- To always do ladies, gentlewomen and widows succor
- To never force ladies, gentlewomen or widows
- Not to take up battles in wrongful quarrels for love or worldly goods
Durango v. Pirates
August 5, 2009
Ahoy @smileydrowned
The Many Moods of Charles Starrett
July 22, 2009
Careful, Charlie.
Other Cowboy Stars – Tim McCoy in “Ghost Patrol”
July 16, 2009
The Autry Museum of the American West has a wing where the history of the B-Western is chronicled. A short film that plays on a monitor surrounded by posters and props pays tribute to the 5 most influential figures of the B-Western: Tom Mix, Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy and Hoot Gibson. (This is the second film. The first features Gilbert Anderson and William S. Hart.)
This is their list. Personally, I’d leave off Hoot, but that’s me. I would also argue that Charlies is either number 6, or he’s number 1 of the next list. When he debuted as a cowboy star in 1936, Charles was already a throw-back to a more traditional B-Western star, the kind of star embodied by the Autry 5 in their hey-day. Because, even by 1936, the 5 were doing new, weird stuff.
Tim McCoy is flying planes for the DOJ and investigating death rays in ’36’s “Ghost Patrol.” I’ve written about these strange Western/Sci-Fi hybrids before (and better — check out my thoughts on Tom Mix in “The Miracle Rider” or Gene Autry in “Phantom Empire”.)
I like Tim McCoy. He’s cool in a steely-eyed sorta way. He has a casual stiffness and a pretty droll sense of humor.
The film is a bore. It’s terribly slow-paced, and not just because of McCoy’s much-ballyhooed authenticity. Dick Curtis, for example, takes nearly three minutes to set up a ham radio. And we get to watch every second.
Charles replaced Tim McCoy at Columbia. His costume is an echo of Tim’s — white hat and scarf, black shirt.
I’m afraid that “Ghost Patrol” has not inspired me to a very long entry here. So I will sign off, and say a little prayer that some of Charles’ lost titles show up soon, so that this site doesn’t get too boring.
Where’s Charley?
July 6, 2009
This framed poster is for sale at the Autry Museum of the American West.
Let’s examine a sampling of the stars we have here, and count their contributions to the great film library of Columbia studios.
Jane Wyatt made 2 films for Columbia.
Hugh O’Brian was also in a grand total of 2 films for Columbia. Like Wyatt, neither were westerns.
Alan Hale Jr. was cast in 5 films for the studio, 2 of which were westerns.
Terry Moore did 6 films for the studio. Number of westerns = zero.
Walt La Rue made an appearance in 8 films, primarily as a stunt man.
Clayton Moore appeared in 10 films for Columbia, playing second-fiddle to Charles Starrett in 4 of them.
Gail Davis was under contract for Columbia for 2 films, both as the love interest in a Charles Starrett vehicle.
Question: where’s Charles Starrett? Where is Durango? Starrett was the star of 135 films for Columbia, and appeared as the Durango Kid in the longest running western series that the studio ever had. As I’ve noted elsewhere in this blog, Charles’ films make up nearly FIVE PERCENT of the entire Columbia film library.
And his autograph doesn’t rate? Is this justice, I ask!
The final insult is that Charles’ stunt man for years and years, Jack Mahoney, is proudly featured here.
That Starrett Jaw!
July 2, 2009
Charles jaw was such a distinctive feature that the stuntmen doubling for him had to wear this.
That’s right. A stunt jaw for a stunt man.
Other Cowboy Stars – Buck Jones in “Lazybones”
June 26, 2009
As part of my ongoing attempt to find a place for Charles Starrett in the history of B-Western stars, I have watched my third Buck Jones film.
“Lazybones” is a product of William Fox’s decision to bring the preeminent German filmmakers to Hollywood in the early twenties. Frank Borzage, famous for “Seventh Heaven”, “Street Angel” and later “Farewell To Arms”, directs. Like these films, it is beautifully lit and framed with a tremendous sense of structure. It’s also as sentimental as all get out.
Buck plays Steve Tuttle, “slow as molasses in wintertime”, a good-fer-nothing who adopts a little girl and becomes a man.
It’s a very moving piece and, in another context, I would have a lot to say about this film.
Within the context of this blog, Buck Jones at 34 is a very different actor than Charles Starrett.
First off, he’s incredibly physical. In “Just Pals”, 1920, he is casually climbing ropes with one hand and jumping over fences in a single hop — a little more showy than in this film. But his physicality is present in every scene in “Lazybones”.
Also, Buck is given a chance to do many things that Charles never did: like show vulnerability, cry, age 20 years in a picture, and play a father (of sorts.) Buck’s wide-eyed joy for life reminds me a bit of Charles in “Return of Casey Jones” and “Lady And Gent”.
I don’t feel like I’ve seen Buck J. in his prime, as a Western star. “Just Pals” is another sentimental small town drama and “Arizona Bound” (1941) is towards the end of his career where he’s clearly struggling through the horse stunts.
CHARLES SINGS!
June 17, 2009
A reader writes to inform me that Charles’ singing in 1938 “Start Cheering” was dubbed by one Robert Paige.
This actor/singer started life as John Arthur Paige in Indianapolis in 1910, became David Carlyle for his early radio career, and spent the bulk of his film career as Robert Paige while at Columbia, Warner, Paramount and Universal.
Wikipedia has some great info on the fella, as does this entry at IMDB.
Thank you to Scott MacGillivray for the information.
