Music Video of the Day: I Found Somebody by Glenn Frey (1982, directed by ????)

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

What if Glenn Frey never joined the Eagles and became a superstar before pursuing even more success as a solo artist?

This video imagines that Glenn would have been the type of talented bar musician who had his fans but who was still able to sit down and have a drink in peace between performances. In this video, Glenn finds somebody at the bar and they leave together. It’s a simple video that probably made a lot of 1982 teens wish they had a job singing at a bar.

This song originally appeared on Glenn’s debut solo album, No Fun Aloud. Despite the title, this album was all about mellow fun in the California sun.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Boat on the River by Styx (1979, directed by ????)

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

It’s a funny story. My first choice for today’s music video of the day was I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band) by the Moody Blues. I wrote up a long and in-depth post about the history of the song, the history of the Moody Blues, and the history of the video. It was the type of post that I would hope to be remembered for.

Then I discovered that I had already featured the video in 2020.

With a deadline looming and not much time to find something new, I did what I think anyone would have done in my situation. I grabbed the first Styx video I could find.

This simple video is for Styx’s song Boat on the River. Boat on the River appeared on Styx’s 9th album, Cornerstone. It was only released as a single in Europe, where it proved to be very popular in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Like many of the music videos that were made in the days before MTV, the video for Boat On The River is a performance clip, with the emphasis less on what the song is about and more about the musicianship of Styx as a group.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Jailbreak by AC/DC (1977, directed by Paul Drane)

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

The music video for AC/DC’s Jailbreak was filmed for the Australian musical program, Countdown. This was in the years before MTV, when music videos were still a rare thing and there certainly weren’t any channels or streaming sites dedicated to showing them. The video was filmed in Albion, a suburb of Melbourne. Bon Scott, Phil Rudd, and Angus Young all played prisoners. Malcolm Young and Mark Evans played the guards who, during the attempted jailbreak, shoot Bon Scott dead.

At the time, this video was controversial for its use of violent imagery. It is considered to be the first music video to make use of fake blood and explosions.

The video’s director, Paul Drane, was also the director of Countdown. In the United States, his best known work is a television special that he directed about Nostradamus which was re-edited and released theatrically as The Man Who Saw Tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Let’s Forget About It by Lisa Loeb (1997, directed by Chris Applebaum)

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

This song, which appeared on Lisa Loeb’s fourth album, Firecracker, features Loeb asking her significant other to just move on from whatever they are fighting about. She sings that there is no use in crying over the little things in life but, at the end, she says that she’ll stop crying if her partner stops lying, suggesting that their fight may not have been as minor as it seemed.

This video features Lisa Loeb trashing a hotel room and was directed by Chris Applebaum, who has done videos for everyone. If you were a successful musician or rock artist back in the day, Chris Applebaum did at least one video for you.

This song peaked at #38 in the U.S. It did somewhat better in Canada, reaching the 21st position in the charts.

Enjoy!

Ride Him, Cowboy (1932, directed by Fred Allen)

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

The year is 1898 and the frontier is still a tough and harsh place where even horses can face the long arm of justice. Because a horse named Duke is viewed as being wild and uncontrollable, a judge is on the verge of sentencing him to death. Fortunately, John Drury (John Wayne) happens to be passing through town and he agrees to take the horse for himself. Duke is so grateful for being rescued that he not only allows Drury to ride him but he also looks out for Drury when Drury announces that he is going to go after a mysterious outlaw known as the Hawk.

Underneath his mask, the Hawk is actually Henry Simms (Frank Hagney), who everyone thinks is a trustworthy member of the community. When Simms and Drury go searching for the Hawk, Simms ties Drury to a tree and then frames Drury for murder. Fortunately, both Duke and Ruth Gaunt (Ruth Hall) are determined to clear Drury’s name and help him stop the Hawk’s reign of terror.

This was one of John Wayne’s early films, from the pre-Stagecoach days when he was getting small roles in A-list films but was spending most of his time appearing in in the type of B-westerns that were typically shown as the bottom part of a double bill. Though it is obvious that Wayne was still getting used to being in front of the camera when he made Ride Him, Cowboy, Wayne shows hints of the charisma that eventually led to John Ford casting him as the Ringo Kid in Stagecoach. The true star of the film is Duke, the horse that is smart enough to unsaddle another horse, untie the bound Drury, and keep the bad guy from escaping. Without Duke, John Drury would have spent the rest of his life tied to that tree and the Hawk would never have been stopped. Duke did such a good job that he was rewarded with a film career and he would go on to co-star with John Wayne in five more films.

Music Video of the Day: Remember The Heroes by Sammy Hagar (1982, directed by ????)

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

This video of a 1982 concert in St. Louis is probably as close as we will ever get to a music video for Remember the Heroes, Sammy Hagar’s tribute to the men and women who have fought and died in America’s wars. I know that some people think this is a pro-war song but the lyrics are actually a plea not to forget the soldiers once the war is over and they’ve returned home. The song calls out those who expect the military to fight for them but who then “turn their back” once the fighting is finished.

This song was co-written with Jonathan Cain, the keyboardist from Journey.

Enjoy!

West of the Law (1942, directed by Howard Bretherton)

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

In the mining town of Gold Creek, an outlaw gang has been hijacking shipments of gold. Newspaper publisher Rufus Todd (Milburn Morante) has learned that the head of the gang is saloon owner Jim Rand (Harry Woods). Todd is planning on publishing a story identifying Rand as the outlaw leader on the front page of his newspaper so Rand’s secret partner, businessman John Corbett (Jack Daley) arranges for Rufus’s printing press to be blown up.

Rufus calls in his old friend, Marshal Buck Roberts (Buck Jones). Buck arrives in town with his fellow Rough Riders, Tim McCall (Tim McCoy) and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton). As usual, everyone is working undercover. Buck pretends to be an outlaw named Rocky Sanders. Tim claims to be a preacher who is not afraid to draw his gun and force everyone in the saloon to put down their drinks and listen while Rufus identifies Rand as being an outlaw. Sandy is the new undertaker and his coffins prove useful for smuggling in some much needed equipment.

The eighth Rough Riders film trods familiar ground. Once again, Buck is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and, as always, the villains are a businessman and a saloon owner. Still, I enjoyed seeing Tim to pretend to be a preacher and Sandy had some funny moments are the town’s garrulous undertaker. As always, McCoy, Roberts, and Hatton possessed an authentic western toughness that made them compelling heroes even in B-westerns like this one.

Since Tim McCoy reenlisted in the U.S. Army following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, this was the last Rough Riders film to feature the original three riders and their chemistry and friendship are as strong as when the series first began. The movie ends with the promise that the Rough Riders would ride again but sadly, it was not to be. Though West of the Law doesn’t break any new ground, it’s still a decent finale for the original team.

Previous Rough Rider Reviews:

Riders of the West (1942, directed by Howard Bretherton)

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

In a frontier town, a gang of rustlers are stealing cattle as a part of a plot to force cash-strapped ranchers to take out exorbitant mortgages on their ranches. Ma Turner (Sarah Padden) summons her old friend, Marshal Buck Roberts (Buck Jones), to come to town and take on the rustlers. When the town’s corrupt banker is murdered and Ma Turner’s son, Steve (Dennis Moore), is framed for the crime, Roberts calls in his fellow Rough Riders, Tim McCall (Tim McCoy) and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton), to help him take down the gang.

In many ways, this is a familiar Rough Riders film, right down to the main bad guy being the owner of the town’s saloon and Charles King showing up as a member of the gang. What sets it apart from the film that came before it is that, this time, Tim pretends to be an outlaw while Buck sets himself up as the new law in town. Tim takes on the identity of Tim Steele, a sarsaparilla-drinking ne’er do well who has just gotten out of prison. Jones and McCoy both seem to enjoy getting to switch their typical roles. As for Sandy Hopkins, he goes undercover as a peddler of snake oil and provides the comic relief. Riders of the West is a typical B-western but the chemistry between the three leads continues to shine through.

Previous Rough Rider Reviews:

Down Texas Way (1942, directed by Howard Bretherton)

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

The sixth entry in the Rough Riders series finds Marshal Tim McCall (Tim McCoy) traveling from Wyoming to Texas so that he can help Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton) celebrate his birthday. When he arrives, he discovers that the birthday celebration is on hold because Sandy has been accused of murdering his best friend, John Dodge (Jack Daley). Dodge was the richest man in town and the townspeople think that Sandy murdered him as a result of a disagreement over a card game. What they don’t know is that Sandy and Dodge were only pretending to be mad at each other as a practical joke.

Dodge was really murdered by Bert Logan (Harry Woods), an outlaw who has hired an actress named Stella (Lois Austin) to pretend to be Dodge’s long-lost wife. When all of Dodge’s property is given to Stella, Stella will then give it all to Dodge. While Tim tries to keep the sheriff (Glenn Strange) from prosecuting Sandy, Marshal Buck Roberts (Buck Jones) goes undercover and infiltrates Logan’s gang.

After five previous films that just featured the Rough Riders talking about what their lives were like when they weren’t chasing outlaws, Down Texas Way shows us Sandy Hopkins’s life in Texas. It’s about what you would expect. Sandy likes to spend his time playing cards and hanging out in the lobby of his hotel. It seems like an nice life, at least until Bert Logan tries to frame him for murder. Luckily, the other Rough Riders are always there to have his back. Down Texas Way is not one of the better Rough Riders films because Bert’s scheme never makes much sense but Hatton is relaxed and engaging and McCoy and Jones are their usual tough selves. As with the previous film, the appeal of this Rough Riders film is the Rough Riders themselves and the way that they always stick together and have each other’s back. That’s especially true in Down Texas Way, in which both Tim and Buck show that they’ll travel across several states if it means helping out a friend in a jam.

One final note, the town’s sheriff is named Trump, though I assume he’s no relation. Glenn Strange, who played Sheriff Trump, would later play Frankenstein’s Monster in the last of the Universal horror movies.

Previous Rough Rider Reviews:

Ghost Town Law (1942, directed by Howard Bretherton)

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

When two U.S. marshals are ambushed and killed while searching for a group of outlaws in a nearly deserted ghost town, Marshal Tim McCall (Tim McCoy) leaves his ranch in Wyoming to investigate the crime. He was friends with the two murdered men, making this case personal. Of course, McCall’s two fellow Rough Riders ride into town to help McCall out. Buck Roberts (Buck Jones) and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton) arrives separately and pretend to be prospectors. Their investigation leads to the outlaws (led, as usual, by Charles King), a corrupt member of the community, and a network of underground tunnels that might lead to a gold mine. As with all of the Rough Rider films, Ghost Town Law features a younger secondary protagonist who was there to appeal to audiences who didn’t remember Jones, McCoy, and Hatton from their silent and pre-code era heyday. Virginia Carpenter plays Josie Hall, who comes to the town to search for her grandmother and brother.

Starting with the two marshals getting gunned down in the line of duty, this is one of the more violent of the Rough Riders films. Since the Rough Riders are as interested in getting revenge as they are in getting justice, the Rough Riders themselves are quicker on the draw than usual. The identity of the main villain will not be a shock to anyone who has watched any of the other Rough Rider films but the use of the underground tunnels adds a new element of danger to the movie. For once, the outlaws and the Rough Riders seem evenly matched. The film also features the very lovely and likable Virginia Carpenter, making the last of her five film appearances.

As always, the main appeal is watching Jones, McCoy, and Hatton acting opposite each other. Due to the nature of the case, all three of them are more serious than usual in Ghost Town Law but it is still enjoyable to watch them discuss what’s been happening at their ranches since the last movie.

Previous Rough Rider Reviews: