The Last Western You Watched ?

[Phantom Stranger]

Howdy Everyone,

Nice new site you have here, so I think I'll move this thread over here from the old place. So, plain and simple what was the last western movie you watched? Here's mine:

"Appaloosa"(2008)
-Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen

Plot Synopsis: IMDB

New Mexico.Territory.1882. Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are itinerant lawmen, hired by desperate towns as marshal and deputy. The city fathers of Appaloosa hire them after Randall Bragg, a newly-arrived rancher with money and a gang of thugs, disrupts commerce and kills three local lawmen. Cole and Hitch contrive to arrest Bragg and bring him to trial, but hanging him proves difficult. Meanwhile, a widow has arrived in town, Allison French, pretty, refined, and good-natured. Virgil falls hard, and it seems mutual, but there may be more to Allie than meets the eye.

Phantom's Review: I loved this movie ! Great acting from all the stars, beautifully filmed and a nice balance of action and humor. A wonderful western.

[C. F. 'Charley' Eckhardt]

WHISPERING SMITH was also a very good Western novel, but the movie didn't follow much of the plot.  Ladd's sidekick was played, I believe, by Harry Carey, Sr., who'd been making Westerns since the silent days.  Carey was from NY & he never lost that NY accent.

 

His son, Harry Carey, Jr., was in just about every movie John Wayne made back in the late '40s & '50s.  Carey Sr was a stage-trained actor & one of Wayne's mentors.  The 1st time I recall seeing Carey Jr was in The Three Godfathers, which I saw at a drive-in back in the '40s.  It was a John Ford Western, & Ford was always the director who could get the best work out of Wayne.  The 3 central characters were played by Wayne, Carey Jr, & Pedro Armendariz, & they had to carry abt 90% of the movie.  They're 3 guys who've escaped from prison.  They come across a house where a woman's just given birth but is dying.  She doesn't know they're prison escapees.  She gives 'em the baby & dies.  Except for the final scene, when Wayne & Carey finally get to civilization--Armendariz's character gets killed abt half way thru--it's just the main characters, traveling mostly afoot, trying to dodge the law & some Indians while keeping themselves & the baby alive.  It's a very good movie--all John Ford movies are good, especially if they have Wayne in them--& I saw a DVD of it several months ago.

[Phantom Stranger]

Taggart" (1964)
-Tony Young, Dan Duryea

Plot: IMDB
Newly arrived settlers are attacked by local ranch owner Ben Blazer and his men. Kent Taggart sees his parents killed by Blazer's son, whom he tracks home. Taggart kills the boy in front of Blazer, himself dying of a wound, who then puts a price of $5,000 on Taggart's head, an offer enthusiastically taken up by ruthless killer Jason. Taggart has no option but to head out into hostile Apache country followed by Jason and other no-goods.

Phantom's Review: Based on a novel by Louis L'Amour, this is a solid well made western film. You might call it a "B+" movie. Solid direction,good cast and a wonderful story. Tony Young is good as the quintessential western hero. A square jawed man of few words, and Dan Duryea is great as the fast talking hired gunman out to get our hero. With Plenty of action. This a fine way to spend a movie watching afternoon.
--

[anthony martin]

  VERA CRUZ

      A fun 1950's western with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster.Look for small standout roles by Charles Bronson,Jack Elam and George McCready.The action takes place during the Mexican revolution of 1866 and the plot,cinematography and acting are first rate.

[Phantom Stranger]

"The Ride To Hangman's Tree" (1967)
-Jack Lord

Plot: IMDB
Three young outlaws try to stay together and keep one step ahead of the law.

Phantom's Review: Likable, light hearted western adventure. A good (and very recognizable) cast intentionally pull out all of the western cliche's. and have fun doing it. Very enjoyable.
--

[Murray A. Gewirtz]

This is not really the exactly appropriate spot for the film I'm gonna recommend as it isn't a fictional or dramatized western, but a documentary. I just finished watching the film"Buck" on TV. Especially for you westerners, cowboys, wranglers, horse trainers, ropers out there, it's a fine documentary about Buck Brannaman, a true "horse whisperer"( he was an inspiration and advisor for the movie with Robert Redford), cowboy, horse trainer, trick roper ...all of the above, and apparently a great teacher, parent, and fine and wise human being. Buck seems to embody the virtues that those cowboy codes of Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, etc. preached, but he's the real deal. Catch the film, if you can. 

[jimpickens]

Keoma

[Phantom Stranger]

"Joe Dakota"(1957)
-Jock Mahoney

Plot: IMDB
A stranger rides into town and says he is looking for a local Indian. Told he left town, the truth everyone has been hiding comes out including the stranger's true identity.

Phantom's Review: Standard, but entertaining "B" movie. While the plot is nothing out of the ordinary, the film still has some good action, acting and a few nice light hearted moments. Star Jock Mahoney was a good leading man in these kind of films. Not a classic, but worth watching.
--

[C. F. 'Charley' Eckhardt]

Jock Mahoney started out a a stunt-man.  If you ever see the old Charles Starrett 'Durango Kid' films, you'll see a lot of very spectacular stunts.  Mahoney was Starrett's stunt-double in those films.  The stunt-coordinator, for a lot of 'em, was either Yakima Canutt or one of his two sons.  They were the best stunt-men/stunt-coordinators in Hollywood for years.

[Brian Sculac]

Does the Series Hell on Wheels count? I loved this Series...good to see a Western Series on TV again:)

[Buck Grizzly]

I know it has a lot of reenactors in it but watched a show called '6 Gun' over the weekend and it was one I had recorded from a while back. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. From the ridiculously poor story line to the equally really bad acting, directing, filming, etc... etc... This was a real wanker, and that is about as nice as I can get.

　

Glad to see some of my reenactor friends working but...

[anthony martin]

   Buck,

      Only occasionally is a reenactor actually an actor and you are very right -it shows!

[Buck Grizzly]

My favorite quote on acting from George Burns.

 

 "Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made."