Tag Archives: Charles Bronson

RAWHIDE (TV Series) – starring Clint Eastwood – S8, E10: “Duel at Daybreak” (Guest star – Charles Bronson)

Posted on by Bradley Crain

This episode of the classic western TV series RAWHIDE opens as Rowdy Yates (Clint Eastwood) and his group of drovers agree to drive 750 head of cattle belonging to rancher Mason Woodruff (Larry Gates) to market. The deal gets off to a bad start when Roman Bedford (Brendon Boone), who’s part of Yates’ outfit, finds himself trying to romance Vicki Woodruff (Jill Haworth), the daughter of the ranch owner. Woodruff’s foreman and world class A-hole, Del Lingman (Charles Bronson) sees Roman making his move and gets pissed. You see, Del wants Vicki for himself, so he tries to bully Roman into a gunfight. Luckily for young Roman, Rowdy and Mason Woodruff are able to momentarily diffuse the situation before the cowboy can be blown away by the experienced gunman. Unable to accept the humiliation that he suffered at the hands of Del, Roman challenges him to a duel to settle the score. Roman is a good shot, but he’s not a fast draw, so a couple of the men with Yates’ crew, Jed Colby (John Ireland) and Simon Blake (Raymond St. Jacques), try to teach him some tricks that just may give him a chance against Del’s superior gunplay. To complicate matters even further, Mason Woodruff has a hidden criminal past that Roman may know about. Because of this, the rancher has another reason to want Roman dead, and Del Lingman is just the man to take care of the problem. Who will survive the duel at daybreak?!! 

As hard as it is to believe, my viewing of “Duel at Daybreak” is the only episode of RAWHIDE that I’ve ever watched, and it’s special to me for two reasons. First, the episode premiered on my mom’s 14th birthday, November 16, 1965. And second, it’s the only time that tough guy icons Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson would appear on screen together. For historical reference, this was the last season of RAWHIDE, with only three episodes of the classic series to come after this. Eastwood was at the beginning of his legendary movie career after filming FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964) and FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965) for director Sergio Leone. Bronson, who was already a well-respected character actor, was two years away from making THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967) and three years away from breaking out as an international superstar by playing Harmonica in Leone’s masterpiece, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968). 

For the episode itself, Charles Bronson is the true standout as Del Lingman. He’s the kind of mean SOB who would goad a man into a gunfight, kill him, and then sit down for dinner without a care in the world. Bronson has a face that makes for a good villain, and he often played the bad guy in his early TV shows and movies. He projects real menace and danger in this role. Clint Eastwood’s Rowdy Yates may be the star of the show and the trail boss, but he’s a bit more of a secondary character in this specific episode as the main tension is between Bronson and the young cowboy played by Brendon Boone. Looking back now, it’s an incredible missed opportunity that the “duel at daybreak” wouldn’t feature Eastwood versus Bronson. Eastwood mostly tries, and fails, to play peacemaker in the episode. The two legends do exchange a potentially badass back and forth when Eastwood is trying to deescalate the situation and keep Bronson from shooting the young cowboy over a little mud on his pants:

Rowdy Yates: “Putting a high price on a pair of pants, ain’t you?”

Del Lingman: “Perhaps you’d like to pay for them.”

Rowdy Yates: “Any time, mister.”

It’s a good scene, but it’s just a shame that they didn’t get a chance to mix it up at the end. 

As Charles Bronson’s biggest fan, I enjoyed seeing a couple of actors who worked with him in the 80’s. John Ireland, who plays Jed Colby in this episode, co-starred with Bronson in MESSENGER OF DEATH (1988) as Morman patriarch Zenus Beechum. It’s not one of Bronson’s best, but one of the highlights of the film is its strong cast. Ireland has roles in so many great films, including MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946), RED RIVER (1948), GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL (1957) and FAREWELL MY LOVELY (1975). He would appear in 11 episodes of RAWHIDE. Raymond St. Jacques, who plays Simon Baker in this episode, has a very memorable role in Bronson’s disturbing hitman thriller THE EVIL THAT MEN DO (1984). In a unique twist in the Bronson filmography, Jacques’ bodyguard character Randolph gets duped into thinking he’s about to get some three-way action with Bronson and Theresa Saldana only to end up dead with a knife sticking out of his throat. It’s a memorable meet and kill. I noticed he played a character named “Coffin” Ed Johnson in COTTON COMES TO HARLEM (1970). With a name like that, he’s got to be good! He would appear in 13 episodes of RAWHIDE. 

Overall, “Duel at Daybreak” is a special episode of RAWHIDE since it put Eastwood and Bronson on screen together for the only time in their careers. I wish they could have fought with fists or guns, but it wasn’t meant to be. Beggars can’t be choosers, and at this point, I’ll gladly take what we got.

MAN WITH A CAMERA (TV Series) – starring Charles Bronson – S1, E3: Profile of a Killer 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Mike Kovac (Charles Bronson) is working on a pictorial profile of a banker in a small town outside of New York City, when a man named Terry Killeen (Tom Pittman) robs the bank and kills the banker. Killeen sees Kovac’s camera and forces him to come along with them. Killeen wants to be famous so he has Kovac document his one man crime spree as he robs a bank every day for six straight days. Kovac takes pictures at each robbery and sends them to his friend and small town newspaper man, Jenkins (Russell Collins), to publish the stories. Jenkins figures out that Kovac is using the pictures to provide clues to where they are heading, mainly the Lone Pine Lodge. It seems the college girl that Killeen loves, Sara (Mayo Loiseaux) is at the Lodge and Killeen thinks she will reciprocate his feelings now that he’s a famous outlaw. With Killeen planning to kill Kovac once he’s taken a picture with him and Sara, will Jenkins be able to figure out the clues and make it to Lone Pine and save his friend before it’s too late?!

The most unique aspect of “Profile of a Killer” is the performance of Tom Pittman as the bank robber / murderer, Terry Killeen. He’s certainly over the top, but his cackling laugh as he murders, robs, and terrorizes everyone around him is somewhat unsettling. Sadly, Tom Pittman would die on October 31st, 1958, one week after this episode aired, in a car accident. I also liked the performance of Russell Collins as Kovac’s friend and newspaper man, Jenkins. Jenkins’ day job may be as a newspaper editor, but he makes it clear throughout the episode to the local sheriff’s deputy Gilligan (Wayne Heffley) that he’s planning on getting out of the office and saving Kovac by himself if he has to. That’s pretty much exactly what he does. The episode concludes with a rifle wielding Jenkins and Kovac working together to take on Killeen in a night time gunfight. It’s a fun scene, with Kovac’s flashbulbs and Jenkins’ deadeye shooting skills both coming in handy. And of course, there’s the continued excellence of Charles Bronson in the lead as Mike Kovac. In this episode he uses his brain more than his brawn. He didn’t get any real cool lines, and he didn’t get the opportunity to kick any butt. That’s always a missed opportunity with Bronson, but he still dominates the proceedings with his unique charisma and presence. 

“Profile of a Killer” doesn’t give Bronson any true badass moments, but it does create some memorable characters for his Mike Kovac to interact with, and I enjoyed that very much!

MAN WITH A CAMERA (TV Series) – starring Charles Bronson – S1, E2: The Warning

Posted on by Bradley Crain

This episode opens with Mike Kovac (Charles Bronson) receiving an anonymous phone call to come to the corner of Myers St. and Brooklyn Ave., and he’s told to bring his camera! When he gets there, he’s forced at gunpoint by two masked man to take a picture as they kill another man. After the killers drive off, Kovac immediately calls the police. We meet Lt. Abrams (Robert Ellenstein), who tells Kovac that the dead man is a new merchant in town named Sam Bartlett (Bill Erwin) who has been refusing to pay the head of the local protection racket, Glenn Markey (Berry Kroeger). Lt. Abrams asks Kovac to let them plant a story in the paper that says they have an eyewitness to the murder, ace photographer Mike Kovac. Worried that he might be the next man to get killed, Kovac turns him down. Not feeling good about refusing to help the police, Kovac goes to see his dad Anton and tells him the story. Shocked to hear that his son has refused to help the police, especially since it could help put an end to Marky’s reign of terror, Anton asks his son if it’s because he’s afraid. Somewhat shamed into it, Kovac finally agrees and calls Lt. Abrams and tells him they can run the story saying he witnessed the murder. Wouldn’t you know it, the next night Glenn Markey and his funky bunch kidnap Anton in order to force Kovac’s hand. Will Kovac be able to save his dad, and his own skin in the process? Will the police be any help? 

“The Warning” seems to be built upon an irrational request from the police of Mike Kovac… let us plant a fake story and put your life in danger so we can hopefully catch the killer as he tries to kill you. When Kovac refuses to be used that way, as any other rational human being would, Lt. Abrams tells him he’d been told that “Mike Kovac doesn’t scare easily. Guess I heard wrong.” It’s bad enough when anyone implies you’re a coward, but when Mike’s own dad seems disappointed that he’s not helping the police out of fear, Mike is almost forced to help. This is not how it would go down if I found myself in this position, and my dad would be on my side! Even though the premise is somewhat flimsy, there are definitely some good moments in the episode. Once Markey has kidnapped his “Pop,” Kovac turns into the badass Bronson we’ve been waiting for. I enjoyed this tough guy exchange as Markey tries to force Kovac to come with him at gunpoint, not knowing Kovac has brought his own gun:

Markey – “This gun says you’re coming along with me.”

Kovac – “This gun says I’m not.”

Markey – “You’re bluffing, Kovak.”

Kovac – “You just think about that when these slugs start ripping into your body. Maybe it’ll be a comfort to you.”

I also like it when Anton admits he was wrong at the end. After somewhat shaming his son into helping the police, and then having to be rescued later, Anton says, “You were right Michael, these things are dangerous. The next time the police ask for your help, you say NO!” It’s a funny, and more realistic, conclusion to the episode! 

Overall, I enjoyed the episode very much, mainly because of Bronson’s strong central performance. I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here! 

MAN WITH A CAMERA (TV Series) – Starring Charles Bronson – S1,E1: Second Avenue Assassin

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Charles Bronson began acting in movies and on TV shows in 1951. Through the mid-fifties, he established himself as a solid character actor with a strong physical screen presence. Beginning in October of 1958, he was given the opportunity to headline his own TV show, MAN WITH A CAMERA. The show, which ran for 29 episodes, features Bronson as a freelance photographer from New York named Mike Kovac, a guy who specializes in the difficult and dangerous assignments that his peers stay away from. Always on the side of truth and justice, Kovak will do anything to get the picture. 

In the first episode of the series, Mike Kovac (Charles Bronson) wants to get a picture of his old neighborhood pal, Joey Savoyan (Tom Laughlin). Joey has risen in the boxing ranks, and is getting a title shot at the champ, Sal Benning (Don Kennedy). But it seems that success has changed Joey from the guy Mike knew, and there have been many reports that he’s turned into a jerk who’d rather punch a reporter or photographer than look at them. When Mike goes to Joey’s training camp, and proceeds to tell him that his attitude is an embarrassment to the people pulling for him back home, Joey gets pissed and the two men end up in the ring. Apparently Mike could whip him back in the day, but times have changed and after absorbing a few of Mike’s jabs, Joey lays his ass out cold with one punch. The photograph that makes the papers that night is Mike laying flat on his back with the headline “Joey Savoyan puts ace photographer in darkroom!” Licking his wounds with spare ribs at a local restaurant that night, another pal from the old neighborhood shows up to see him. This time it’s Dolly (Ruta Lee), Joey’s main squeeze, who’s there on his behalf. Joey’s in trouble and needs Mike’s help. Mike goes out to Joey’s cabin where he’s filled in on the truth. The reports of his punching photographers and reporters were all made up to create his “killer” image. What’s even worse is the fact that Joey had found out the day before that the fights he had won to get the title shot were all fixed. Now, gangster Willie Fletcher (Theodore Marcuse) is putting the pressure on him to take a dive. Joey doesn’t want to do it, so he asks Mike to get a picture of him, Willie, and the champ planning the fix that night. He believes he can use this picture as leverage to turn the dangerous mobster down. It wouldn’t be much of a show if things went exactly as planned, and the fun is seeing how it all plays out! 

The series MAN WITH A CAMERA stretches our ability to suspend our disbelief right off the bat, when it asks us to accept that anyone, including Billy Jack himself, could lay out Charles Bronson with one punch. The fact that Bronson is shirtless, revealing muscle on top of muscle, makes it that much harder to believe. That lack of realism aside, I really did enjoy this first episode. Bronson plays Mike Kovac with a determination and uncompromising integrity that lets us know right off the bat that he will do whatever it takes to get to the truth, and that he doesn’t care who he has to piss off to accomplish that goal. He seems fearless and very tough. When the gangster Willie Fletcher, who’s known for using his gun, threatens Mike, he responds with “Boy, you talk tough… you scare me, Willie” in a way that would indicate it’s impossible to scare him and you get the feeling he can back it up. As a lifelong fan of Bronson, it’s nice seeing his powerful screen charisma and toughness come across so easily at this early point in his career. It’s also fun seeing Bronson and Tom Laughlin on screen together, even if the writers came up with the unrealistic scenario that I discussed earlier. I have to admit I would love to see Billy Jack take on Chaney from HARD TIMES. I think that would be one hell of a show!

This is a solid first episode, and I’m looking to see where the show heads from here. I’ve watched various episodes of MAN WITH A CAMERA over the years, but this will be first time I’ve ever started from the beginning and watched and reviewed each episode. Although he’s only talked about in episode 1, I remember Mike’s dad being a fairly big part of the series. Father/son relationships on TV and in movies are my favorites, so I’m looking forward to seeing that play out. If Tom Laughlin is any example, I’m also looking forward to the quality of guest stars we’ll be seeing. A quick look on IMDB reveals actors like Don Gordon, Angie Dickinson, Gavin McLeod, and Lawrence Tierney will be showing up throughout the series. This should be a lot of fun!

Brad’s “mini-review” of LOVE AND BULLETS (1979), starring Charles Bronson! 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Charles Bronson is an Arizona cop who goes to Switzerland to bring back a gangster’s girlfriend (Jill Ireland). The gangster (Rod Steiger) sends a hitman (Henry Silva) to kill her so she can’t tell his crime secrets to the authorities.  

This isn’t one of Bronson’s best films, but it’s still a fun movie to watch on a chilly, rainy day. There are some good action scenes set in various cold & snowy European locations. This is Bronson in “Bond” mode which is kind of fun and different. And what can you say about a stuttering Rod Steiger screaming at his advisors about the meaning of “love.” It’s fun stuff when you like Steiger as much as I do. I do deduct half a star because Steiger gets so mad at one point that he turns over a table with some of the biggest, most scrumptious looking shrimp I’ve ever seen. That was completely uncalled for and wasteful, but not quite as wasteful as Bronson and Henry Silva in the same movie without an epic battle of some sort. The fact that they didn’t fight it out on the Matterhorn itself can only be described as a missed opportunity. 

Jill Ireland passed away 35 years ago today!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I reviewed the entire SHANE TV series here on The Shattered Lens because I wanted to watch Jill Ireland in a role that did not involve her famous husband Charles Bronson. I really enjoyed it. Here’s a personal story about Jill Ireland in my own life!

From December 4th – December 15th, 1989, a 16 year old Bradley was a resident of the Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. I had a terrible car accident on December 4th and broke my left femur as well as my pelvis in 3 places. As I was healing over those days, I’d watch the morning shows with my mom. Jill Ireland was a guest on one of the shows during that time, and I was excited to watch her. She had a big smile on her face, and she exuded beauty, strength and courage. I have to admit just seeing her made me feel better during a time when I was really struggling. A little over 6 months later, I found out that she had passed away, and it made me very sad.

In 2024, I was able to meet Jill’s niece Lindsay. Finding out what wonderful, caring people they are has been so wonderful. Jill’s children have watched our episode of the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON podcast with Lindsay. It’s so humbling to share my love for this family and actually find out that they also appreciate it. It’s truly wonderful.

See the link to our episode with Linday Ireland below:

Film Review: X-15 (dir by Richard Donner)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

James Stewart, Charles Bronson, and Mary Tyler Moore!?  All in a film directed by Richard Donner!?

Well, kind of.

James Stewart does not actually appear onscreen in 1961’s X-15.  However, he does provide the narration, explaining to us the origins of the NASA’s X-15 project and why it’s important that America be the first to explore and conquer space.  He talks about the men who risked their lives to test the rocket and the women who supported them and who started every day with the knowledge that they might never see their husband again after he left for work.  There’s something undeniably comforting about hearing Stewart’s voice in this film.  It’s the voice of an idealized America.  It’s a little weary.  There’s definitely a bit of age in the voice.  It’s the voice of a man and a country that has had to survive a lot, especially over the past few years.  But it’s also an incurably optimistic voice.  You hear that voice and you know that everything is going to be okay.

Richard Donner’s directorial debut, X-15 is a docudrama that often plays out like a commercial for the X-15 and America’s young space program.  The film mixes actual footage of the X-15 with scenes of the pilots returning (and sometimes not returning) home.  The emphasis is on each man doing what needs to be done to make the program a success and each woman doing what she has to do to support her man.  Throughout the film, there are scenes where the wives and the girlfriends of the pilots hear sirens and explosions and silently hope that they won’t be the one getting the call.

Making her film debut, Mary Tyler Moore plays Pamela, the girlfriend of pilot Matt Powell (played, in rather dull fashion, by David McLean).  When Pamela first arrives at the base, the wives warn her about overreacting to every explosion.  Major Rinaldi (Brad Dexter) warns her to not even try to get pregnant because that would take Powell away from the program.  (When Rinaldi talks to Pamela, he comes across as more than just being a 50s-style sexist.  That would be expected, considering that the film was made in 1961.  Instead, Rinaldi actually comers across as being rather threatening.  It’s kind of disturbing, to be honest.)  Pamela comes to understand the importance of Matt’s work and Matt …. well, Matt’s kind of dull.

Actually, despite being played by wonderful character actors like James Gregory and Kenneth Tobey, just about every man in this film is kind of boring.  This is one of those films that celebrates the idea of cold, hard professionalism.  No one shows much emotion, even when one of the pilots is killed in an accident.  No one is blamed.  No one is shouted at.  It’s just something that happens and everyone understands the risks.  It’s actually an admirable attitude and one reason why I have a thing for pilots.  But the deliberate blandness of the pilots in X-15 makes it difficult to keep track of who’s who.  The only male actor who makes a real impression is Charles Bronson, playing Lt. Col. Brandon.  Bronson’s incredible screen presence makes up for the fact that his character doesn’t have much of a personality.

That said, it’s a bit of a disappointment that Jimmy Stewart is not onscreen and Mary Tyler Moore has to share her scenes not with Bronson but instead with the dull David McLean.  When the film was released in 1961, it was providing audiences with something that they hadn’t seen before and I imagine it was truly exciting to see a rocket fly, however briefly, into space.  However, modern audiences have seen Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick.  I’ve seen The Right Stuff, which covers much of the same material as X-15.  As a result, when viewed today, X-15 is a bit dull and features little of the flair that would characterize Richard Donner’s later directorial efforts.  Today, the main reason to watch the film is for Stewart, Moore, and Bronson.  Not having them acting opposite each other feels like a huge missed opportunity.

Brad’s “scene of the day” – Glenn Ford, Charles Bronson, Rod Steiger & Ernest Borgnine!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

JUBAL (1956) is one of my favorite westerns. It’s set in the Grand Tetons and it stars some of my all time favorite actors, namely Bronson, Ford and Steiger. On what would have been his 109th birthday, I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate Glenn Ford. I visited the Tetons a couple of summers ago and I thought of these great actors often! Enjoy this scene from these icons of cinema!

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – Jill Clayburgh as Jill Ireland and Lance Henriksen as Charles Bronson 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Jill Clayburgh would have been 81 years old today. She was quite an actress, receiving 2 Academy Award nominations during her career for her performances in the films AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (1978) and STARTING OVER (1979). She will always be special to me based on her performance as Jill Ireland in the 1991 Made-for-TV film REASON FOR LIVING: THE JILL IRELAND story. Clayburgh passed away in 2010 after a long struggle with leukemia.