Author Archives: Jedadiah Leland

Six-Gun Law (1948, directed by Ray Nazarro)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Steve Norris (Charles Starrett) has moved to a new frontier town and is making a good living as a cattle rancher.  The sheriff (Ethan Laidlaw) takes a dislike to Steve and even accuses him of being a cattle rustler.  Steve is so angered that he plays right into the hands of Decker (Hugh Prosser), a corrupt businessman who secretly puts blanks into Steve’s gun and then tricks Steve into thinking that he has shot and killed the sheriff.

Decker appoints Steve as the new sheriff but demands that Steve do exactly what Decker orders him to do.  If Steve actually enforced the law, Decker will turn him in as the first sheriff’s murderer.  Steve may not be able to do anything about Decker’s crimes but his alter ego, The Durango Kid, can!  As always, working with Steve is his loyal sidekick, Smiley Burnette.

The stand-out set piece of this Durango Kid film is an exciting stagecoach chase, which features the Durango Kid (in the form of legendary stuntman Jock Mahoney) making some thrilling moves.  The scene was so exciting and popular that it was used in a dozen other Durango Kid films.  These movies were never shy about reusing good scenes, effective stunts, and plot twists.  (It’s easy to lose track of how many times Steve has been appointed as sheriff of a town.)  This was also neither the first nor the last time that Hugh Prosser and Robert Wilke would play bad guys in a Durango Kid movie.  However, this is the only Durango Kid film to feature the Rodeo Rangers providing musical accompaniment  to Smiley Burnette’s songs.

Six-Gun Law will be best appreciated by fans of the western genre.  Charles Starrett is as tough and authentic a cowboy as always and the storyline has some nice twists and turns.  For once, with Steve being blackmailed by Decker, it makes sense that Steve would put on his disguise and solve his problems as the Durango Kid.

Music video of the Day: We’re In This Together by Nine Inch Nails (1999, directed by Mark Pellington)

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This video was shot in Guadalajara and a dry lake in Sayula.

This video was directed by Mark Pellington, who was one of those directors who worked with everyone who was anyone.  Pellington went on to direct films like Arlington Road and The Mothman Prophecies.

Today is Trent Reznor’s birthday.  Getting older is never fun but Reznor has said that he is happier now than when he first started his career.  Reznor has gone from being the poster child for excess and dark tendencies to being one of the film industry’s most acclaimed and in-demand composers.

Enjoy!

Gunning For Vengeance (1946, directed by Ray Nazarro)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Steve Landry (Charles Starrett) rides into another town and is once again named the new sheriff.  Luckily, Steve’s old friend Smiley Burnette is working as the town’s blacksmith.  Steve makes Smiley his deputy and then sets about trying to break up a gang of cattle rustlers.  When Steve learns that his jurisdiction does not extend beyond the city limits, he dons the disguise of his alter ego, The Durango Kid, to go after the outlaws.

Has Steve met his match in Belle (Phyllis Adair), the saloon owner who is the secret leader of the outlaws?  She notices that The Durango Kid’s boot tracks are the same as Steve’s boot tracks.  I’m surprised that no one has ever noticed that before.  Steve went through a lot of trouble to disguise himself as Durango but he never bothered to change his boots.

This entry in the Durango Kid series features a lot of Smiley Burnette so your enjoyment on the film will depend on how much tolerance you have for Smiley’s songs and his style of humor.  Each film featured Smiley being followed around by a different group of musicians.  In this one, Smiley is accompanied by The Trailsman.  When Smiley accidentally locks himself in a jail cell, the Trailsman stand on the other side of the bars and sing a song about how Smiley can’t get out of the cell.  Smiley does eventually get out but, later on, he’s knocked out cold during an attempted jail break.  Smiley’s not much of a help in this one.

This has all of the typical Durango Kid elements, including the stock footage of the stampeding cattle that appeared in nearly all of his films.  There’s another saloon fight and a gunfight towards the end.  Durango rides out of town alone, leaving Smiley behind, but we know they’ll soon be reunited in another adventure.

Music Video of the Day: Hall of the Mountain King by Savatage (1995, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This video was filmed in Japan during the band’s 1994 tour.

Though the band has been through many personnel changes over the years, Savatage is still recording and touring and it is still led by Jon Oliva, who founded the band in 1978 with his brother Criss.  The band was originally called Avatar until the brothers learned that there were already several other bands with that name.  Criss was tragically killed in a 1993 car accident and Jon has kept the band going in his memory.

Enjoy!

The Desert Horseman (1946, directed by Ray Nazarro)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Steve Godfrey (Charles Starrett) is in trouble again.  He has been accused of stealing another payroll and the only man who can clear his name has just been murdered.  Steve thinks that he is being set up by outlaws who want to take control of the dead man’s ranch, which is now owned by Mary Ann Jarvis (Adele Roberts).

Luckily, Steve’s old friend, Smiley Burnette, is working as a cook at the Jarvis Ranch.  When Smiley isn’t singing songs with the Colorado Hillbillies, he tries to help Steve clear his name.  He explains that Mary Ann Jarvis won’t listen to Steve but maybe she’ll listen to Steve’s alter ego, The Durango Kid!

Durango rides again in this movie, though, the majority of the hour runtime is made up of Smiley Burnette singing songs and making jokes.  Smiley Burnette is not for everyone.  I enjoy the broad humor he brought to these films but I can understand why others might not.  Whenever Smiley sings a song, it does bring the action to a halt but that’s true of every Durango Kid film.  If you’re a fan of the series, you either like Smiley or you can at least tolerate him.  Smiley does do more than just sing in this movie.  He also throws black pepper in the eyes of one of the bad guys.

Even with all of the attention paid to Smiley, The Desert Horseman delivers all of the expected horse chases and gunfights.  The story is a little more interesting than usual.  Steve has been framed for not one but two crimes that he didn’t commit and that adds some urgency to the proceedings.  Charles Starrett, as always, is a believable western hero and he takes the role seriously.

 

Music Video of the Day: Electric Crown by Testament (1992, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Electric Crown was the first single off of Testament’s fifth studio album, The Ritual.  Both the album and the single were seen as a musical departure for Testament, who were previously known for being a trash metal band.

Testament was founded in 1983 and the band still exists and tours, though guitarist Eric Peterson is the only founding member of the band to still be with Testament.  (He and vocalist Chuck Billy are the only two members to have appeared on every Testament album.)

Enjoy!

The Fantastic Four (1994, directed by Oley Sassone)

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It’s not that bad.

Produced by Roger Corman and made for a budget of only a million dollars, the very first film version of The Fantastic Four is best known for having never been released.  Stan Lee always claimed that the film was never meant to be released and that it was only made so that German producer Bernd Eichinger could hold onto the rights for the characters.  Eichinger has always said that he wanted to release the flm and it was Avi Arad, the future founder of Marvel Studios, who asked him not to because he felt a low-budget B-movie would damage the Marvel brand.  Arad has said that Eichinger is telling the truth and considering the reception that Albert Pyun’s Captain America received, I can understand why Arad was concerned.

Though the film was never officially released, bootleg copies are out there.  I’ve seen the movie a few times and I watched it again last night.  Watching it, I was reminded that The Fantastic Four is not as bad as people say.

It’s an origin story.  Reed Richards (Alex Hyde-White) flies into space with his girlfriend Sue (Rebecca Staab), her annoying kid brother Johnny (Jay Underwood), and Reed’s best friend Ben (Michael Bailey Smith).  Cosmic comet rays lead to them developing super powers.  Reed can stretch.  Johnny can burst into flame.  Sue can turn invisible.  Ben turns into a creature with orange, rocky skin.  On Earth, they battle both the evil Doctor Doom (Joseph Culp) and the Jeweler (Ian Trigger) for possession of a powerful diamond.

The low budget is obvious and the script isn’t great, with the Jeweler being a truly unimpressive villain.  (Unlike Doctor Doom, the Jeweler was created specifically for this movie.)  But the movie still has more genuine heart than the future big-budget Fantastic Four films. Alex Hyde-White plays Reed as being brilliant but self-absorbed.  Sue is a thankless role but Rebecca Staab does her best.  Jay Underwood is annoying as Johnny but Johnny was annoying in the comic books as well.  This version of The Fantastic Four is the only movie, so far, to capture and stay true to the spirit of the characters.

This is especially true when it comes Michael Bailey Smith’s performance as Ben Grimm.  More than either Jamie Bell or Michael Chiklis, Smith realistically portrays Ben’s bitterness over knowing that he will never be able to return to his former life.  Of all the film versions of the Fantastic Four, this is the only one that adequately captures both the look and the personality of The Thing.  He become a real person and not just an actor in a rubber suit.  This movie is also the only one, so far, to really do a decent job of portraying Dr. Doom’s megalomania.  It’s interesting that the film that Marvel didn’t want released is the one that stays true to the original comic book.

The Fantastic Four will be joining the MCU in 2025.  Ironically, considering that Marvel Comics started with the Fantastic Four, they’ll be among the last of the major characters to get an MCU film.  There’s hope that the new Fantastic Four will reverse the MCU’s declining fortunes.  I’ve been skeptical ever since I heard the Silver Surfer was going to be played by Julia Garner but hopefully, I’ll be wrong.  Galactus is one of the great Marvel villains and I hope the new Fantastic Four will do him justice.  When people are watching the massively hyped, big budget, CGI-heavy version of The Fantastic Four, I hope at least some will remember the low-budget version that could barely afford a single special effect and I hope they’ll remember that it wasn’t that bad.

Music Video of the Day: Madalaine by Winger (1988, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s video is very much a product of the 80s.  Kip Winger spent many hours perfecting his guitar spin pose and this video gave him a chance to show off the progress that he had made.

Remember when Lars Ulrich used to throw darts at a poster of this guy?  I have to side with Lars as far as that’s concerned.  Kip Winger will always be the artist who tried to keep Beavis and Butt-Head from critiquing his videos, which is why their friend Stewart become Winger’s biggest fan.

Regardless of what I think, Winger has their fans and the band is still going.  Just last year, they released their seventh studio album.  That’s seven more than I’m ever going to release.

Enjoy!

The Stranger From Ponca City (1947, directed by Derwin Abrahams)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

After spending the past few years cleaning up the west, Steve Leary (Charles Starrett) rides into the town of Red Mound and says that he is ready to buy a ranch and settle down.  What Steve finds is an unfriendly town that is divided between law-abiding citizens on one side and cattle rustlers on the other.  The cattle rustlers want to prevent Steve from purchasing the old Atkins ranch and they’ll do anything to keep the deed from being signed over.  It’s a good thing that Steve also happens to be the legendary Durango Kid.

This is a standard entry in the Durango Kid series.  To me, it’s interesting to see that, even though Steve seems like he wants to settle down and live a peaceful, ranching life, he still can’t bring himself to give up his secret identity.  It is also interesting that Steve cannot escape Smiley Burnette.  This time, Smiley is the owner of Red Mound’s restaurant and he’s accompanied by Texas Jim Lewis and the Lone Star Cowboys.  It seems like Smiley sings even more than usual in this entry.

I liked the opening of The Stranger From Ponca City, in which Steve rides into town and all of the townspeople demand to know which side of Red Mound he supports.  Smiley even explains that food made on one side of the town cannot be taken to the other without it leading to violence.  After the opening sequence, The Stranger From Ponca City focuses on all of the usual horse chases and gunfights that showed up in all of the Durango Kid films.  Most of the Durango Kid stock company shows up as well.  Keep an eye out for Jock Mahoney, playing a bad guy with Kermit Maynard.

Director Derwin Abrahams keeps things moving, even if his direction is not up the level of the work of Durango’s usual directors, Ray Navarro and Fred F. Sears.  This isn’t the best of the Durango Kid films but fans of the genre should enjoy it.

Music Video of the Day: The Angel and the Gambler by Iron Maiden (1998, directed by Simon Hilton)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day comes from Iron Maiden’s Blaze Bayley Era.  The video and the aliens that appear in it were almost entirely computer generated at a time when that was still considered to be unusual.

Director Simon Hilton has also done videos for Mark Ronson, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Robert Plant, The Black Crowes, and many others.

Enjoy!