Sherriff Jeff Conner (Jack Rockwell) is having trouble ridding his town of outlaws so his son, Larry, (Mickey Kuhn) writes a letter to his hero to ask for help. He addresses the letter to “Durango Kid, Texas.” That’s all it takes for Steve Randall (Charles Starrett) and his sidekick, Smiley Burnette, to show up in town.
Steve and Smiley apply to be deputies but Sheriff Conner explains that someone is circulating a petition to get him fired. Steve dresses up as the Durango Kid and pressures the citizens to give the Sheriff another chance. Realizing that the Durango Kid is making them look bad, the outlaws decide to dress up one of their own as Durango and make the Kid look bad. With the town turning on Durango, will Durango and Smiley be able to save Sheriff Conner from an assassination attempt?
This Durango Kid film is different from the rest of the series in that, for once, Steve is hired to be a deputy instead of a sheriff. This really is Sheriff Conner’s story, as he tries to win the respect of the town and keep its citizens safe, even while his own brother (Ed Cassidy) is working with the outlaws. There are all the usual horse chase and shootouts but this time, Durango and Smiley are mostly around to provide support to a man who is trying to do the right thing. B-western fans will enjoy it.
Smiley sings a few songs, as always. This time, musical accompaniment is provided by Merle Travis and his Bronco Busters.
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Mondays, I will be reviewing Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show can be purchased on Prime!
This week, the Canadians are coming!
Episode 2.15 “One Way Ticket”
(Dir by Craig Bolotin, originally aired on January 24th, 1986)
This week’s episode of Miami Vice opens with one of the most unintentionally hilarious shots that I’ve ever seen. The action starts at a fancy wedding. The daughter of District Attorney Richard Langley (Jon DeVries) is getting married. The cream and the crop of Miami society has turned out. The camera pans over all of the formally dressed men and women until it finally comes to a stop on Sonny, wearing his white suit, a blue t-shirt, and no socks. He’s attending the wedding Tubbs, who at least bothered to put on a dress shirt.
Seriously, Sonny …. it’s wedding! Would it kill you to wear a tie or maybe put on socks to go to a wedding? And, I know I bring this up every week, but how can Sonny continually convince every bad guy in Miami that he’s a drug dealer named Sonny Burnett when he’s doing stuff like attending the wedding of the District Attorney’s daughter? Does he think that no one is going to notice that the drug dealer who always wears the same white suit looks and sounds exactly like the cop who is always wearing the same white suit?
That said, I guess it’s good that Sonny and Tubbs are the wedding because, during the reception, a coked-up assassin named Sagot (Lothaire Bluteau) pulls a gun and kills not only Langley but also two bridesmaids who happened to be standing close by. Sagot manages to escape from the reception but, that night, Zito and Switek track him down to Miami’s hottest French Canadian nightclub, Le Lieu, and arrest him on possession charges.
Sagot is working for a French Canadian drug lord named Faber (Jean-Pierre Matte) and, as with all of Faber’s men, his attorney is Laurence Thurmond (John Heard). Thurmond was a good friend of Langley’s and it’s obvious from the start that he’s not comfortable with the idea of defending the men who killed him. Thurmond and Crockett also have a long history together. Crockett blames Thurmond for getting a case dismissed against someone who shot one of Crockett’s partners, though it sounds like Thurmond was just doing his job and Crockett is actually to blame for not following proper procedure while making his arrest. (Seriously, due process may be a pain in the ass but Sonny has no excuse for not knowing what’s going to happen when he violates it.) Crockett continually demands to know how Thurmond can live with himself. Thurmond, who likes to fly a private plane in his spare time, says that it’s not easy. Then again, Thurmond can afford his own airplane and a wedding suit so, even if it is difficult to live with himself, at least he’s living well. (And again, Sonny may not like it but everyone has the right to an attorney. Again, if you’re sloppy enough to not read someone their rights or to search someone’s house without probable cause, that’s on you and not on the person who pointed it out.)
As much as Crockett would love to spend all of his time harassing Thurmond, he has a case to solve. He wants to get revenge for Langley’s death. He also wants to figure out who keeps sending him anonymous tips that are full of information that presumably only a defense attorney would know….
Lothaire Bluteau’s makes for a memorably unhinged villain and all of the evil French Canadians made for a nice change of pace from the show’s usual rogue’s gallery. That said, this episode was pretty much dominated by John Heard, playing the type of role that he played best. Heard’s morally conflicted attorney has a lot in common with the morally conflicted police detective that he later played on TheSopranos and Heard’s melancholy performance was a nice contrast to Don Johnson’s intensity. Full of twists and turns, this episode ended on a perfect note. In the end, Crockett may still not like Thurmond but he finally understands him.
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in hosting a few weekly live tweets on twitter and occasion ally Mastodon. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of Mastodon’s #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We snark our way through it.
Tonight, for #MondayActionMovie, the film will be 1996’s Danger Zone, starring Billy Zane and Robert Downey, Jr!
It should make for a night of fun viewing and I invite all of you to join in. If you want to join the live tweets, just hop onto Mastodon, pull up Danger Zone on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!
Today’s scene that I love comes from the 1940 film, The Philadelphia Story, and it features my favorite Golden Age actor, James Stewart, carrying Katharine Hepburn and singing a song that might sound a bit familiar to our readers.
This is the performance, by the way, that won Stewart an Oscar. Stewart himself often said that he felt the Academy rewarded him to make up for not giving him the Oscar for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. That’s probably true but still, this film features Jimmy Stewart at his most charming. Teaming Stewart up with not just Katharine Hepburn but also Cary Grant makes The Philadelphia Story one of the best romantic comedies to come out of Hollywood’s pre-war era.
(Before the war, Stewart was Jimmy. After he served bravely in World War II and returned to America, he was definitely James.)
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, we celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest American actors of all time, the wonderful James Stewart! It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 James Stewart Films
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939, dir by Frank Capra, DP: Joseph Walker)
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946, dir by Frank Capra, DP: Joseph Walker and Joseph Biroc)
Rear Window (1954, dir by Alfred Hitchcock, DP: Robert Burks)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, dir by John Ford. DP: William H. Clothier)
Nuclear Assault is today best remembered for being the band that was formed by one of the founding members of Anthrax, bassist Dan Lilker. (Linker left Anthrax shortly before the release of the band’s first album.) Back in the day, though, Nuclear Assault was one of the top East Coast thrash metal bands.
Brainwashed was the first single to be released from their second album, Survive. The single was Nuclear Assault’s first big hit. Helping the song become popular was a music video that featured two of the top pastimes of the 80s, going to the mall and watch TV.
The 2012 film, New Hope, is narrated by Michael Evans (Samuel Davis).
Michael is a seventeen year-old preacher’s kid whose father, Alex (Will Schwab), has just gotten a job in the small town of New Hope. As a result, Michael has to move in the middle of his senior year. (Yikes, not fun!) He’s not happy about that and, to make things even worse, Michael’s father has talked the high school basketball coach, Tom Miller (Reg Rob), into putting Michael on the team.
(Is it normal for coaches to put someone on a team without having them first try out? The basketball team is in the playoffs, after all.)
Michael tries to explain to Coach Miller that he’s not that good of a basketball player. Coach Miller replies that he doesn’t really care whether or not Michael is a good player. Instead, he wants Michael on the team so that Michael can be a role model for the younger players. Coach Miller assumes that, as a preacher’s kid, Michael will automatically be a good influence.
Uhmm …. has the coach ever met any preacher’s kids before?
Seriously, I live in Texas and, when I was growing up, my family moved all over the Southwest. I have known a lot of preacher’s kids and, for the most part, almost all of them were wild. Even the ones who were religious and planning on going into the family business were wild. When you’re a teenager, your natural instinct is to rebel against whatever it is that your parents are about and, as a result, preacher’s kids usually have a lot to rebel against. There’s a reason why everyone automatically understands what that Sweet Talkin’ Son Of A Preacher Man song is about.
And even if Michael isn’t wild (and, because this is a faith-based film, Michael is a surprisingly well-behaved high school student), how is it fair to tell anyone that they have to be a role model for a bunch of people that they barely know? Michael’s only been a student at his new school for a day.
Michael quickly finds himself in conflict with the team’s star player, Lucas Green (Ben Davies, giving the closest thing that the film has to a good performance). Lucas’s brother also played for the team until he committed suicide. Lucas, with his unresolved issues of anger, feels that Michael tying to take his brother’s place. Lucas gets even angrier when Michael starts to date his dead brother’s girlfriend, Jasmine (Perry Frost). Meanwhile, Michael’s parents get upset when they discover a condom wrapper in his jacket. Oh, you silly parents! Michael isn’t a typical preacher’s kid. The only reason he took the condom out of the wrapper was so he could throw it away.
(Seriously, Lucas seems more like a preacher’s kid than Michael.)
There’s a whole genre of faith-based films that use sports as a metaphor for having faith and not questioning authority figures and New Hope is definitely a part of that genre. Michael has no real desire to be on the basketball team but both his father and his coach want him on the team so Michael goes with it. It’s hard not to feel that Michael really needs to stand up for himself. The film is all a bit too long (the film clocks in at over two hours) and unrealistic. It’s a film that tries to tackle all of the important issues of growing up but it does so in far too ham-fisted a manner. Personally, I think Michael should have quit the team, bought a beret and a pack of Clove cigarettes, and taken a creative writing class. He would have been much happier and no one would have expected him to be a role model. There’s nothing wrong with trying different things and making your own decisions. There’s nothing wrong with being a rebel. That’s what being a teenager is supposed to be all about.
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi Junior High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1987 to 1989! The series can be streamed on YouTube!
This week’s episode broke my heart.
Episode 3.5 “Loves Me, Loves Me Not”
(Dir by John Bertram, originally aired on November 28th, 1988)
Oh my God, this episode! This episode had me cringing with second-hand pain. As you can probably guess from the title, this week’s episode is all about crushes and we all know how painful a middle school crush can be. Still, even with all that knowledge, nothing prepared me for the pain of this episode….
Of the three main storylines, the simplest features Yick noticing that Arthur’s cousin, Dorothy, keeps staring at him. Arthur looks away from the business page long enough to tell Yick that Dorothy has a crush on him and goes on to explain that Dorothy is strange. Yick looks concerned.
Meanwhile, Michelle has developed a crush on BLT (Dayo Ade). Michelle goes to Alexa for advice because Alexa has been dating Simon for nearly a year and that makes Alexa and Simon the most stable couple at Degrassi. Alexa suggests that Michelle come hang out with her, Simon, and BLT. Michelle agrees but it turns out that BLT would rather talk to Alexa. Alexa tells Michelle that Michelle doesn’t really have much in common with BLT. In fact, Alexa seems to really like BLT, despite the fact that she’s dating Simon. Simon, as usual, seems to be a bit confused by the whole thing.
Finally, Caitlin has a crush on Joey. Both Caitlin and Joey are students in Mr. Raditch’s class. Caitlin, who now has the blonde streak in her hair that would be her trademark for the rest of the original Degrassi series, is the best student in the class. Joey, who is repeating the 8th Grade, is still struggling. Caitlin has such a crush on Joey that she even buys the Zit Remedy demo tape and starts listening to Everybody Wants Something over and over again.
When Mr. Raditch assigns the class to watch and review a movie, Caitlin asks Joey to be her partner. Joey is totally excited because Caitlin is smart and Joey feels that he’s dumb. Caitlin and Joey go to see Teen Academy 4. (Apparently, Teen Academy is a forerunner to the Clown Academy films that everyone was always going to see in Degrassi: The Next Generation). Joey thinks the film was funny. Caitlin thinks the film was sexist. For their presentation, they both give their own opinion and playfully debate the merits of the film. Awww, what a cute couple! And hey, the school dance is coming up!
For the dance, Caitlin — who says she’s never had a boyfriend or been on a date before, which I’m sure would be news to Rick Munro — gets a pretty black dress and gets all made yo. She arrives shortly before Joey. When Joey walks into the gym, he walks over to Caitlin, smiles, and says, “Hey, Caitlin, have you seen Liz?”
AGCK!
SERIOUSLY, THE PAIN!
JOEY!!! — Liz doesn’t even like you!
When we next see Caitlin, she’s crying, wiping her makeup, and throwing away her demo tape. Poor Caitlin! I mean, if you’ve watched Degrassi — The Next Generation, you know that Joey and Caitlin are eventually going to get back together (they’re actually going to get back together several times), but it’s still painful to watch her face when she realizes that Joey is still interested in Liz. My heart broke for her. I mean, Caitlin’s hair is a hundred times prettier than Liz’s! There’s no way Liz could pull off a blonde streak.
The next day, an oblivious Joey is surprised to discover that Caitlin is upset with him and no longer wants to help him out with his classes. “I thought you liked me,” Joey says, right before the end credits roll. (To be clear, clueless Joey means “like” as in friendship.) Poor Caitlin. I can see where this is probably going to lead, with Caitlin doing Joey’s homework while Joey asks for advice about Liz.
This was a powerful episode, one that I think anyone could relate to. Pat Mastroianni and Stacie Mistysyn both gave strong and likable performances and the show deserves a lot credit for realistically portraying their relationship. I think everyone has been Caitlin at some point in their life. Don’t worry, Caitlin — it’s going to get better!
Another frontier town is in trouble.
Through the Shattered Lens 