Author Topic: Westerns  (Read 46134 times)

Corndog

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #160 on: March 06, 2017, 10:04:54 AM »
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

1SO

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #161 on: March 06, 2017, 10:32:40 AM »
Northwest Passage (also on your list) is a pretty original Western, one where you could debate if it's really a Western at all or just a wilderness adventure story. It has a Lewis and Clark vibe to it.
We're around the same on this one, though I rated it Okay. What I took with me was Spencer Tracy, who usually plays a city boy, as a rugged adventurer and Walter Brennan doing his thing. Is this really your first Spencer Tracy film? Not Father of the Bride, Bad Day at Black Rock, Boys Town or Adam's Rib?)

Brennan is himself as always. I am starting to really enjoy every time he shows up in one of these Westerns.
You are very close to watching The Westerner, which is easily Top 5 Brennan. I'm not even afraid to hype it.

Corndog

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #162 on: March 06, 2017, 11:22:29 AM »
Yea, I went to look at Tracy's filmography and to my surprise it is my first of his. As for Walter Brennan in The Westerner, I have watched ahead this weekend (just need to catch up with reviews), and he comes as advertised in the role of Judge Roy Bean.
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

Corndog

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #163 on: March 06, 2017, 12:13:24 PM »
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

1SO

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #164 on: March 06, 2017, 01:17:46 PM »
I wouldn't have guess you to put this over Dodge City since it's further away from the Robin Hood template. I agree the 2nd half is rather bland. Being a glass half empty person it took away a lot of the goodwill from the first half. Also, while Miriam Hopkins has grown on me since I watched Virginia City, she's a poor substitute for Olivia de Havilland. Also, I thought Humphrey Bogart was more out of place here than in The Oklahoma Kid. At least that had everyone playing a gangster in western clothes.

Can I get a Ranking from you of the following Western Stars. I especially wanted to ask this after you watched Virginia City.

Gary Cooper
Clint Eastwood
Errol Flynn
Henry Fonda
Randolph Scott
James Stewart (if not too soon)
John Wayne

I'll probably revist this when the time is right to include Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Joel McCrea, Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum

Corndog

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #165 on: March 06, 2017, 01:39:54 PM »
Oh, I think I preferred Bogart here to The Oklahoma Kid, though that's not a surprising difference given how we differed on that film. It was strange because I didn't realize he was supposed to be a Mexican "bandito" (thought he was just American) until halfway through the performance, but that didn't bother me. I liked the character and how he fit into the overarching story, and I liked how Bogart played him.

As for ranking, that is difficult, especially this early. Ranking based on who I would most be excited to see in a Western, but I will go with:

1. James Stewart (have only also seen Liberty Valance, so perhaps premature)
2. Errol Flynn
3. John Wayne
4. Clint Eastwood
5. Henry Fonda
6. Randolph Scott
7. Gary Cooper

I like them all honestly, so the rankings are very tight with not a ton separating them at this point. I think once I have seen some more Cooper, Scott, and Fonda, they may also compete at a higher level.
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

Corndog

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #166 on: March 06, 2017, 02:35:35 PM »
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

Sandy

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #167 on: March 06, 2017, 05:11:20 PM »
1SO, do you have a ranking of those actors? I'm guessing you do, but I don't want to have to go searching for it. :)

Corndog, I don't think that list is going to be any easier to make, the more Westerns you see. They each bring something unique and great to the screen. (I haven't seen much of Randolph Scott's work though.)

1SO

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #168 on: March 06, 2017, 05:48:57 PM »
I had a feeling you were going to put Flynn up high. That's why I wanted to get a prelim ranking up to now.

I don't have one myself, but let me see...

John Wayne
Clint Eastwood

Gary Cooper
James Stewart
Henry Fonda
Robert Mitchum
Kirk Douglas
Joel McCrea

Errol Flynn
Dana Andrews
Burt Lancaster

Randolph Scott
Gregory Peck



I left out the many. many great character actors, of which the top would have to be Walter Brennan followed by Andy Devine, Ward Bond, Jack Elam and Eli Wallach.

Wayne and Eastwood are the masters of the genre, and I like how naturally the films of Wayne flow into the more modern approach by Eastwood. One extends to the other, but I could never see them finding material that would be good for a team up.

I like Cooper more than most anyway, but he's at his best playing a cowboy.

Stewart is an interesting case because he doesn't have a specific western persona. He's just great at everything. There are the Mann westerns that helped bring the darkness out of him, but his non-Mann work is also great.

I added Dana Andrews because he's been in Canyon Passage, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Westerner. I also like him in Three Hours to Kill and The Town Tamer

Gregory Peck is the guy you get when nobody else wants the job. He fills boots and tries not to bump into the cactus, but he's superb in The Gunfighter.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2017, 05:55:19 PM by 1SO »

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Westerns
« Reply #169 on: March 06, 2017, 06:12:19 PM »
See Flynn so much as a swashbuckler that I'm not quite able to picture him as a cowboy. I will have to investigate.