Far more than most actors, with Dan Duryea there was a pronounced dichotomy between the man and the roles he tended to play. Duryea, by all accounts, was the salt of the earth. He was a devoted husband and family man. He devoted free time to helping improve the towns in which he lived. And heck, he was even a Boy Scout troop leader! And those activities are very far removed from his behavior in the Westerns in which he was often featured. In point of fact, he was most often cast as a villain and sometimes an out-and-out monstrous one. For instance, the chaotic and malevolent Waco Johnny Dean in Winchester '73 (1967), was one of the nastier Western villains you will see.

Duryea's first Western appearance came in Along Came Jones (1945), but his Western career really took off in 1954. In that year he turned up in Ride Clear of Diablo (with Audie Murphy), Rails into Laramie, and Silver Lode. Thereafter and up through Stranger on the Run (1967), Duryea was pretty much a fixture as a Western baddie. Heck he even made a Spaghetti--The Hills Run Red (1966) alongside Henry Silva.

Duryea died of esophageal cancer at the age of 61. A good man--and actor--met a bad end.

Hail! Hail! All hail Dan Duryea!

Critics have generally given Nevada Smith (1966) a mixed assessment, praising Steve McQueen’s charismatic performance and the film’s impressive Western scenery, strong supporting cast, and gritty revenge-driven storyline, while criticizing its excessive length, uneven pacing, and occasionally sluggish direction. Although the story of a young man transformed by grief and vengeance offers opportunities for compelling character development, some reviewers felt the narrative became repetitive and labored, diminishing its emotional impact. Overall, Nevada Smith is regarded as a solid, entertaining Western with notable strengths in its performances and production values, but one that falls short of its full potential because of its drawn-out storytelling.

Classic Western Theater presents "Gunmen Of Abilene" released in 1950 by Republic Pictures studios.

Has anybody heard when they're going to release the 2nd part of Kevin Costner's "Horizon"?

Hey Guys Today I Watched This Movie Wanna Know What Happens To Wales After Movie Like Does He Survives To Live With That Girl ??

Dabbs Greer made a Western career of playing bit roles such as bankers, storekeepers, preachers, etc. He was very rarely a central character--although he did play a US marshal alongside Lee Van Cleef in The Desperado (1954)--but added essential Western texture in his supporting work. He was certainly on the folksy side, had some comedic ability, and often projected an air of surprise.

Greer may be best known for playing the recurring character of storekeeper Wilbur Jonas in Gunsmoke. He made 42 Gunsmoke appearances, most of them as Mr. Jonas. His first Western film role was in Devil's Doorway (1950) and his last was in The Cheyenne Social Club (1970). Noteworthy Westerns in which Greer appeared were Stranger on Horseback (1955), The Young Guns (1956), Tension at Table Rock (1956), Showdown (1963), and Day of the Outlaw (1959).

Hail! Hail! All hail Dabbs Greer!

By the way, I’m a fan of the protagonist’s signature weapon—the harmonica rifle—from the film Adiós, Sabata :)

Also, I hope the translation works perfectly

Rory Calhoun starred as gunfighter Bill Longley, a Texas native whose reputation for being a fast gun found him both trouble and adventure during his travels.

"The Texan" aired for two years on the CBS television network from 1958 until 1960.

From TV and Movie Western magazine, Monarch publishing, June 1959

For those of us who grew up with holly, jolly Burl Ives warbling about silver and gold and Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer, it's kind of hard to wrap our heads around the idea of him as a hardcore Old West roughhouser, but he did indeed have a noteworthy career as a Western character actor. He didn't make a huge number of Westerns, but some of the ones he did make were pure-dee choice.

Ives' first Western was Smoky (1946) and his last was Uphill All the Way (1986). He won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of ruthless Rufus Hannassey in The Big Country (1958), and also appeared in Day of the Outlaw (1959).

Physically, Ives looked rather like Chubby Johnson, but with much better teeth. However, whereas Chubby was almost always a friendly and obliging fellow, Ives was often a bitter and dangerous bear of a man, and not one to be trifled with. Little kids from the 60s and 70s might have been shocked to realize the avuncular crooner could appear in such a different light.

Hail! Hail! All hail Burl Ives!

Source https://bsky.app/profile/jauntworksstudio.bsky.social/post/3mxrbahtvr226

Can anyone critique the prologue of my short story I am writing

Hello, I have just written this short prologue and have intentions of continuing into a short story, this is my first piece of writing and would appreciate any help.

Thanks

Prologue

Sand. Sand was all he thought about. Sand replaced the hair on his face and dark leather of his coat; sand filled his black engineer boots, grating against his pale flesh. The man, a sole speck on a vast rolling plain, nothing but a lone star a dark night's sky.

The man had once had a name, but the memory was almost lost to him as if it were a life 1000 years before. As he walked on through the seemingly endless wasteland, he considered the distance he had travelled. He supposed he had walked about 150 miles over the 3 days since he had departed. Looking back, he watched as the gentle wind covered his tracks. the sand, an ever-flowing golden river, always shifting and never content.

He could no longer see the home he had left or hear the familiar sounds of the cattle which his family had relied upon. He had left the house, and the cattle, just as he had left the shallow grave of his wife and unborn child. His wife had been 27, only 5 years younger than himself, and she had Soley occupied his thoughts for the first 2 days and nights of his journey. The man was heavy with grief and carried the blame for her death like an iron chain around his ankle.

\\\\\*

6 men, drifters all, had come to his farm drunk and demanding that he saddle them with good mounts in exchange for a price below what he himself had paid for the 4 Mares they had selected, when he refused, the youngest of the group, no more than 19 years, drew his pistol and fired, scarcely missing the man and startling the mount he was sitting on causing her to rear on her hind legs throwing him off. Rising quickly, he drew and fired twice. Catching one man square in the forehead and another high in the chest. Before he could turn to face the other men, he felt the hard impact of the stock of a rifle to his temple.

When he awoke, the 4 mares were gone, and his cattle had been driven off into the plains. His barn and farmhouse had both been set alight, blazing like an unnatural sunrise in the dark of night.

The man stood above the charred carcass of what was once his wife and wept for he knew he was to blame, he knelt and cried until the rising sun grew too hot on his back he could kneel no longer.

He set off in the direction of the 4 remaining drifters after burying his wife and covering the grave in a cairn of large stones to prevent scavengers from digging it up. As he walked by the two dead men, he watched a large buzzard tear into the flesh of the young outlaw, and he felt no pity, only regret.

Sing along with Johnny to "The Battle Of New Orleans" from "Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beechnut Show" in 1959.

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans

We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

We looked down the river and we seen the British come
And there must have been a hunnerd of 'em beatin on the drum
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
We stood beside our cotton bales 'n' didn't say a thing

We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets till we looked 'em in the eye
We held our fire 'till we seed their faces well
Then we opened up the squirrel guns and really gave em
Well we

Fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Yeah they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

We fired our cannon till the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with cannonballs and powered his behind
And when we touched the powder off the gator lost his mind

We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin' On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Yeah they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Hup, 2, 3, 4
Sound off, 3, 4
Hup, 2, 3, 4
Sound off, 3, 4

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Most people probably know Brian Keith as the paterfamilias in the 1960s TV sitcom, Family Affair, but he also had a very extensive career as a Western character actor. His Western debut came in Arrowhead (1953) and his finale was in Young Guns (1988). Between those two, Keith appeared in no fewer than 16 Western features including Run of the Arrow (1957), Ten Who Dared (1960), the Sam Peckinpah Western, The Deadly Companions (1961), and Nevada Smith (1966). He was also a regular in television Westerns.

Physically, Keith was cast from a similar mold as guys like Bo Hopkins and Jerry Reed. They all had the same curly, blonde hair and coarse features that verily screamed "rowdy." However, Keith's acting was very different. His demeanor was quiet, dignified, and even sometimes a bit melancholy.

Much like Albert Salmi, Keith's end-of-life wasn't happy. At the age of 75, afflicted by the recent suicide of his daughter, and plagued by emphysema and lung cancer, Keith died of a gunshot. The pathologist ruled suicide, but his good friend Maureen O'Hara claimed that suicide was highly unlikely.

Hail! Hail! All hail Brian Keith.

if anyone is looking for a good western show the Roy Rogers show is really good!

I'm a huge fan of the original Gunsmoke TV series. Own all 635 episodes on DVD and have watched them all at least once. However, I have not seen any of the five made-for-TV Gunsmoke films that aired between 1987 and 1994. Are they worth watching? Is James Arness still convincing even though he's rather long in the tooth?