Review || Wanted: Dead or Alive, Season 2 with Steve McQueen

I have to say... Season 2 fully lives up to the high expectations set by Season 1. W:DOA is a firm house favorite around here. (That about covers all the relevant points, right??)

In all seriousness, W:DOA episodes themselves always strike me as so original. (Ok, the one involving a ginormous jungle animal is ever-so-slightly/rather-a-stretch, but I love so many of the others so much that I'm absolutely willing to just roll with it.) 

I have more thoughts on revisionist westerns as a whole (among which W:DOA would generally be classed), but for now I'll just say it definitely has the grit and shadows, the layered complexity of its fellows. 

Besides the creative plot points and premises, there are quite a lot of fence sitting characters + a general assortment of straight up mysterious ones. Things are not always as they seem... We have again the complex characters of the first season. One could say gray, but that wouldn't be quite true. The morality isn't in question. It's more that bad guys can often wear a face of great respectability and good guys can be weak or fail at the point of testing. But it's not done in a fatalistic or nihilistic way. It's about life being real, requiring great strength of character, and sometimes people who have a strong backbone -- enough to have gone through great difficulties already -- still buckle. It takes a steely, robust, dyed-in-the-wool sense of moral duty to see and do what's right when the going gets messy -- when fear lies at the door -- when the wrong way out is very, very easy.

Throughout, our protagonist (Josh Randall), does what he does, not because he's felt a high, mystic call to heroism, or even considers himself the best person for the job, but because he's in a given place at a given point in time and something has to be done. And somebody has to do it. And so he does it. He steps in it every once in a while, but he's not an anti-hero (if an anti-hero is one who sometimes does good things for the wrong reasons). Randall is all about doing the right things. He's not a superhero, but something more relatable... an honest man doing his level best -- absolutely determined -- to see that everyone gets a fair shake.

And all done with the stripped back, understated storytelling which westerns do so well -- forcing you to think, to see, to confront things. There are also flashes of (often wry) humor -- unexpected moments and quips that make me actually laugh. There is sweetness and hope, too. And it all comes together to create stories that are consistently, deeply, satisfying.

Incidentally, this season also has the unique episodes where Randall is riding with a partner and those definitely added an entertaining little twist on everything.

As to the small fry... With parental guidance, for the most part I think these are all absolutely family friendly. Especially with the first two episodes revolving around children, my young sidekick was totally invested. (It's really the first western that's come alive for her, so Mama's absolutely delighted.)

Ninja Turtles is still a big thing around here, so her favorite was the Black Belt episode. We watched it twice (obviously). And there was much giggling, lots of "hiyas!", and full on cheering. Total investment. XD

Other eps have also prompted some deep -- as in deep -- conversations. And I'm so grateful for the conversation starter and just being able to experience the stories together. It's been really, really good.

So yes, highly recommend seasons 1-2 and can't wait to start 3! 💚

Movie Review || 2 Zorro Episodes (1990's) with Duncan Regehr

I've wanted to do a lot more Zorro-ish-ness on this blog for years -- and, one day, hopefully it'll happen -- but meanwhile, I'm just really wanting to add a little Zorro flair to LOWCW. There's a lot of debate out there on whether or not Zorro's a western and, properly speaking, it does belong more to the genre of swashbuckling cloak-and-dagger tales (think royal intrigue, spies and assassins, Three Musketeers, etc). But it's in CA, as far west as you can get, and -- though it's true the first mental image I always tend towards when it comes to the west is high plains, mountains, cattle ranchers, cowboys etc. -- the southwestern flavor is also an entirely valid influence on western history, literature, films, etc. And like some of the most famous spaghetti westerns, this particular Zorro was filmed entirely in Europe (i.e. Madrid, Spain), which is just a fascinating link to those more famous films as well.

So! Here's my humble Zorro contribution. Also FYI, they're not my personal absolute favorites from the series or even 5 star eps, they're just ones that specifically overlap most with my ideas of typical western iconography. In addition, while these particular episodes are pretty simplistically straightforward plot-wise (they are, after all, 20 min eps for a tv series), they're absolutely family friendly. And as there are 88 episodes for the series in total, (as you may imagine) the stakes and emotional investment do intensify as you delve into the entire thing. ;) 

For me now, though, too, it's also just a great deal of nostalgia, so I'm definitely looking forward to finally introducing and rewatching it all in the near future with my own small person.

So! All that said, let us to a quick recap of the two eps in question. First up we have:

Season 2, Episode 18: The Whistling Bandit

Summary: "A bandit robs the people of Los Angeles while whistling Beethoven's Ninth Symphony."

This one is getting honorary mention as the entire inciting incident revolves around a stagecoach hold-up -- with Zorro performing some masterful feats of agility to stay on the speeding stage. It's also especially good fun as it makes you genuinely wryly sympathize with the Alcalde (Zorro's bumbling arch-nemesis). In fact, in this one, pretty much everyone is on the same page. Cousin Hermalinda is frightful. (And she's way over-acting, but either way, it's a fantastic visual object lesson in how terrible it is to be a bona fide scold of a woman. xP) While checking up on a spelling, I also found the entire transcript here, which kinda tickles me. Anyway, yes, definitely a memorable one!

Season 3, Episode 4: The Man Who Cried Wolf

Summary: "A family is traveling to the Oregon territory to make a new life, but they are pursued by a man who the father crossed when he fought him for his pet wolf."

An unusual ep, this one brings a buckskin clad leather-fringed fighting mountain man into Zorro's territory.

Warning: Historical Rabbit Hole upcoming... Because... *coughs* I wasn't sure how much this one was fudging on time period and... I went down the rabbit hole. XD (Also keeping it to US western history in the following, but for an era reference, Jane Austen's Persuasion was published Dec 20, 1817.) 

Zorro adaptations are, of course, pretty fluid on dating: basically they just have to take place any time after 1781 (when Los Angeles was founded), but before 1821 when Mexico gained independence from the Spanish crown and took over control of California. Mexico then oversaw the region till Feb 1848 when the Mexican-American War ended and California became part of the ginormous amount of territory ceded to the US. 

It's a little confusing, but as for the Oregon Territory proper (encompassing what is now Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming) it existed from Aug 1848 to Feb 1859 (during which time you had the massive influx of settlers coming in via the Oregon Trail). Interestingly, it doesn't seem to have exactly been called Oregon Territory (only kinda, sorta?) before 1848, but from 1818-1846 the region was jointly controlled by the US and Britain (including British Columbia; but also apparently the entire region, which makes sense as I know the British Hudson Bay Company was dominating the area around Portland -- and I believe much more of the PNW as well -- in the early 1800's). So in a sense, it was still Oregon Territory before 1848, just didn't have a US governor? According to Wikipedia: "Although the Oregon Treaty of 1846 settled the boundaries of U.S. jurisdiction, the provisional government continued to function until 1849, when the first governor of Oregon Territory arrived. A faction of Oregon politicians hoped to continue Oregon's political evolution into an independent nation, but the pressure to join the United States prevailed by 1848, four months after the Mexican-American War."

I just think this is all so interesting -- and so interesting to overview and factor into our definitions of what makes 'western' films / stories. And what I found really attention grabbing, is just fleshing out how everything came together to create the set-up we see in the mid to late 1800's. It's like the stage is perfectly arranged and everything is poised for the giant explosion of activity that we see in the era of classic westerns. 

To sum up: 

• Spain establishes Los Ángeles in 1781
• Zorro takes place anywhere from 1781-1821 (in 1821 Mexico acquires control of what is now California)
• Meanwhile Britain and the US (from 1818-1846) are jointly ruling what becomes the Oregon territory via a provisional government, and there's a lot of fur trade and logging going on in the region + (I think) much burgeoning maritime activity / ports developing up and down the Pacific seaboard (another entirely interesting rabbit trail). This is the window where our current Zorro episode could definitely take place. (So it is historically possible!)
• Jan 1848 gold is discovered in CA
• US Oregon Territory becomes an official thing in Aug 1848
• The Mexican-American War also ends in 1848 and the US acquires control of what is now California (can't believe how much was happening in this year! I didn't even list two other smaller 1848 things I ran across)
• Heyday of the Oregon Trail in the 1840's-1860's
• In the 1850's we enter the era of the famous railroad barons and there was a lot of survey work being done
• Pony Express ran April 1860 - October 1861
• The first transcontinental railroad was completed from Omaha to Sacramento in 1869 

So yes, you can see the definite frames and transitions happening, but on the ground, in real life, we know things are rarely so clear cut and people's lives actually overlapped all the different eras. As a for instance, I often think of all the shifts that happened between 1915 and 1965, but a lot also happened in the 50 years between 1815 and 1865. 

Anyway! A lot of interesting research sparked from that one little episode, so it definitely gets points just for that. ;D

~

I enjoyed working on this! And as there are tons of Zorro adaptations out there, I thought it'd be great to toss out yet another western-y trail for y'all to explore. :) Have fun!

Inklings // December 2020 (Christmas is coming!)

Here ye! Hear ye! It's time for our December Inklings! It's lots of fun and we'd love to have you hop along and join us -- the more the merrier, say I! ;) (For more see the first post here or the rules below.)

Rules:

1. At any time during the month, on your own blog post a scene from a book or film that matches the prompt, including a link back here in your post.

2. Leave a link to your post in the comments section on this post and I'll post all your links with the next prompt. That's it!

November Round-Up:

 Revealed in Time // Downton Abbey

Movies Meet Their Match // Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Along the Brandywine // Ever After

~

December's prompt is:

A Christmas scene in book or film that makes you happy

My contribution comes from BBC's Midsomer Murders: Season 16, Episode 1, A Christmas Haunting. (Note: obviously I don't unreservedly recommend all the seasons/episodes of the show and/or for all audiences and so on and so forth. You get the idea. ;))

If you're a MM's devotee, this episode has quite a few highlights and fun moments (including a new sergeant coming on the team and Barnaby in a reindeer sweater) + a number of familiar faces. The scene I'm highlighting though comes part way through with two long lost sweethearts meeting in a dilapidated village playground. No spoilers (cause it's a mystery and all that),

but suffice to say, there's a sweet, patient, faithful Anne Elliot-ish auntie figure

and a haunted, brooding, battle and world weary warrior -- returning home to very little welcome.

And (with the police searching for them) they end up having this impromptu little heart to heart moment. And there are twinkly lights. And it's CHRISTMAS. (Obviously.) And there're so many undercurrents and mysterious tensions and things left hanging in the air and other things they don't even have to talk about because they both know... and I really really really want to write an entire story based on their characters. 

The ending is pretty dramatic and tingly and quivery (in both deeply sad and happy ways), but I won't talk about that or even share any more pics cause it would give away too much and I promised no spoilers. 

(I have to mention this gooorgeous wreath from earlier in the episode though. Isn't it amazing??)

~ 

Getting screen caps for this I'd forgotten just how delightfully Christmas-y the entire episode is and also all the other secondary characters, some of whom actually make me tear up at the end. Definitely one that needs to go on my Christmas movie list. <333

Looking forward to seeing what you all come up with -- have fun!

Legends of Western Cinema Week 2020 // Wrap-Up & Giveaway Winners

 

Well here we are at the end of our LOWC Week! Thank you so much to everyone for joining in and making it such a great time. :) 

 

 

I'm not sure what all my schedule's like for tomorrow (hence deciding to post this today), but I'm hoping to keep reading through the entries and commenting on any that I haven't ASAP. Also, the party's technically still on, so keep the posts coming!

And our giveaway winners:

 

Sally Silverscreen ~ #1: Two sets of John Wayne playing cards

Hamlette ~ #2: Western word search book

MovieCritic ~ #3: Wanted: Dead or Alive, Season 1 DVD's

I'll be emailing you directly for shipping info etc., but thanks for entering, congratulations to everyone and I hope you enjoy your prizes!

Here again are all our entries for this week -- make sure to keep reading and visiting around if you haven't already. :)

 

Thanks again to everyone for participating. Till next time!

~ My Tag Answers for Legends of Western Cinema Week 2020 ~

1) What's the last western you watched? 

The Fastest Gun Alive (1956).

2) A western of any stripe (happy or tragic) where you were highly satisfied by the ending? 

Apart from my top favs (cause, for me, I have to be very satisfied with the ending for it to land on that list a'tall, obviously) and I've only seen it once, but I was floored with how much I actually enjoyed The Gunfighter (1950) with Gregory Peck. It does end with a funeral, but somehow it's not ultimately tragic. It was gripping and just ended up giving that deep "ahaaaaaa" feeling. 

3) The funniest western you've seen? 

Um... of the ones I feel like mentioning at the moment (and I know it might not be everyone’s cup of tea and I really have to do a Deeper Examination post one of these days), but the 2013 Lone Ranger took me by surprise. There are so many unexpected lines, quirky funny camera angles, and oft-times dead pan delivery; I was literally giggling while watching (and now cracking up writing this), so we'll go with that one. 

4) What similar elements/themes show up in your favorite westerns?

For more of why I deeply love westerns you can click here, but manly friendships/brothers in arms/a good sidekick pairing, and loyalty. I’ve also been thinking a lot the last couple weeks about how manly men are sometimes a bit rough round the edges and how that comes out so perfectly in westerns. There’s evil to fight right there in front of you and it isn’t a time for mincing words and feel-goodiness. Men and women stand strongly and unapologetically for what they believe in, because generally they believe it’s worth dying for. 

5) Favorite actress who made one or more westerns? 

Ooh, this one’s super hard… There are so many lovely, talented actresses, but Claire Trevor would be high on the list, and Katy Jurado's talent and interpretation of her role in High Noon is excellent.

6) Favorite western hero/sidekick pairing? 

I can't decide if it's your typical sidekick situation, but one that keeps coming to mind a ridiculous amount lately is Jeff Butler (Joel McCrea) and Dick Allen (Robert Preston) in the 1939 Union Pacific. It's all a long standing, erstwhile friendship, with one friend turning to scoundrelly ways. And at such times real, deep, have-your-back, loyal friendship hurts. 

And there's a love triangle. And lots of outside tensions and pressures and sticky situations that land them ultimately in a giant shootout (which isn’t really between each other... it’s complicated), and it's so big and huge and leaves me in an emotional puddle and I still want to break down in floods of tears whenever I think of it. And after all that it still has a happy ending. *sniffing for all the deeply right reasons* 

7) Scariest villain/antagonist in a western?  

Apart from some spaghetti westerns (where the villains tend to be very despicable and scary to boot), Jack Elam's character in Rawhide (1951). Everyone's ok, but the way he plays out the ending makes your stomach drop through your boots. Of course, because it's a classic oldie though, the final climactic shoot out with the hero is epic. 

8) Favorite romance in a western?

 

Ringo and Dallas in the 1939 Stagecoach. 

 Always. <333 

9) Three of your favorite westerns? 

Soooo... what to do, what to do... *tapping fingers on keyboard in long indecision...* You’ve all heard about my top favorites list before (which list is due for a teensy shuffle and shake up anyhow), so going instead with the ones that I want to drop everything and watch right here and right now, at least bits and pieces: 

Wanted: Dead or Alive

 

The Magnificent Seven

Silverado 

10) Share one (or several!) of your favorite quotes from a western.

 

 

“I've got two guns. One for each of ya.” Tombstone 

“If anything’s worth having, it’s worth fighting for.” 

“If you want a man to do a job, don’t take away his tools.”

Both from Wanted: Dead or Alive

Movie Review // Wanted: Dead or Alive, Season 1 with Steve McQueen

Sooo…. after some inexcusable and longwinded delays (which you don’t want to hear about and we won’t get into here), I FINALLY delved properly into this and… oh my great cactus blossoms, it ended up totally sucking me down its splendid rabbit hole. (Thank you for that Natalie and Hamlette, true friends ye are XD), and I’m so happy about it!! 

First to get some generalities out of the way. This review is for the first season. When I last checked Prime has seasons 2 & 3 too, which is where I’m hoping to watch them (our tv is just giving me a bit of a hassle with compatibility for some reason, so figuring that out).

It has a number of familiar, and some quite famous, faces, so that’s fun. The acting’s good, and the plot lines are varied and original -- it’s quite impressive in that regard actually. Some of the dialogue and also the fight scenes are sliiiiiightly staged (i.e. even I know there’re some better self defense tactics than some of the folks used), but of course, even for the most skilled in that area there’s the difference between practicing something and actually doing it in the heat of the moment, and in this case there’s the whole cinematic effect thing as well. Also, like it or not, I’ve realized even heroes have to mess up occasionally for things to get out of hand and create story and all that. 

Content wise, there's lots of shooting and some of the bad guys are real baddies with explicitly wicked intent; also due to Randall’s job description there are some more complex themes to grasp, (and he does enjoy chatting with saloon girls here and there, though it never states or shows that that actually develops into anything), so with younger fry I’d say it’s a step up from Andy Griffith and the Richard Greene Robin Hood, if that’s helpful. (And the great thing is, it's a tv series, so as with all tv series, some episodes are more intense and/or just a slight cut above the others, but if you're concerned about anything, you can easily skip any eps and adjust for viewership, etc.)

Now we’ll get down to more of the good stuff and why I enjoyed it so much. 

There are lots of surprising twists and turns, and while not mystery, it is about fulfilling the mission and thwarting the bad guys, and as such y’all know how I’ll love it. ;) It’s about building and maintaining justice in a lawless land, and our protagonist Josh Randall actually using his role as a bounty hunter in building that, fighting to make sure everyone gets fair play.

And, I know both still exist today, but for all the lawlessness in a time and place where there was a real marketable need for bounty hunters, it shows the historical fact that (though it was the wild west) they were sticklers for proper procedure, and there were also way more records and official justice than you might think. 

As for the characters peopling this wild west: real life is messy. Because of common grace and because they bear God’s image, bad people can still do good things -- and, as is the case since the beginning of time, some of the 'bad guys' aren't so much out and out evil as just downright Pigheaded Idiots. By the same token, good people sin, and good people, trying to do good to others as best they can, also sometimes just plain put their foot in it. 

One thing I found most interesting and somewhat unusual, is in it showing the bad, black-hearted women of the frontier (and I don’t mean saloon girls), just as much as the men. Much as I love a sweet, rosy-haloed Dickens heroine once in a great while, it’s bracing to see something realistic, without being morbid or depressing either, so I grew to appreciate that. There isn't any ongoing love interest, but there are a couple good sweet women he meets (and I'm totally going to need to write at least a short story spinning off the Double Fee episode).

As for our main character, Josh Randall: he’s resourceful and smart -- generally smart as a whip, careful not to rush to judgment but clearheaded as to the depravity of man; a loner yet able to make friends easily; and with little flashes of dry humor, usually with a wry twist. (To applicably quote Blackadder, “You’ve really worked out your banter, haven’t you?” “No, not really. This is a different thing; it’s spontaneous and it’s called wit.” Ha, love that quote and it keeps coming to mind when thinking of WDoA. ;D) 

I’ve realized (despite Shadow on the Mesa being such a top favorite), I’d not thought a terrible lot on how other people would perceive the character of a bounty hunter. I guess because in SoTM, you can figure out pretty quickly his level of honorableness, etc., so you don’t see (quite) as much what preconceptions other people have coming face to face with it, i.e. viewing him as being a heartless, violent mercenary. But that’s part of what makes this so good too -- it’s a job someone has to do, but Randall makes sure he does all in his power to bring the wanted in alive for a proper trial, even to the extent of putting his own life on the line. And practical, sometimes brusque, and always laconic, he often quietly helps those in need -- sometimes with his services, at other times even giving away his reward money, and then after all that, downplaying his good deeds and sidestepping effusive appreciation -- it’s like he feels it’s no more than he ought to do.

As you've gathered, usually I do like a good romance, but I don’t feel like this needs it. You do feel achy sorry sometimes for just what a lonely job it must really be, not being able to trust anyone hardly ever, except (most of) the grizzled old sheriffs, but I think here it helps contribute to that relentless twinge of longing that most all good epic westerns have. Very satisfying. 

 ~

In conclusion I’m very VERY happy to say I ended up loving it (well, season 1 and looking forward with cautious yet very enthusiastic optimism to seeing the others ;D). Seriously y’all, you’ve GOT to come and join me down this particularly splendiferous rabbit hole!!

Legends of Western Cinema Week 2020 // Kick-Off, Tag Questions, Giveaway Goodies & Link-Up Spot

Well, boy howdy we've arrived, Legends of Western Cinema Week 2020! I'm so glad y'all are here. :)

I don't know how it is where you're at, but it's fire season and close to record triple digits here, so life in general is hot and sticky and smoky and feels like some long slow scene out of a spaghetti western or something, so forgive me if I ramble at all this week.

First, a link to my lovely cohost's blog (and kindred spirit on all things western), Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy. She also has an amazing giveaway and lots of fun games planned etc, so be sure to visit over there ASAP.

Now for how y'all can participate this week! 

We came up with a tag below (I'm super pleased and excited with how it turned out), so you can cut and paste that to your own blog. Then, if that's all you'd like to do/have time for, that totally works, but we're also open to further movie reviews, character studies, bios of famous western actors, film score composition studies, details about the creation of famous westerns, your thoughts on classic westerns in general... basically anything you can dream up on the topic. ;) And have no fear if anyone else has written on something similar, the more the merrier!

First, for your copying pleasure:

~ Legends of Western Cinema Week Tag 2020 ~

1) What's the last western you watched?

2) A western of any stripe (happy or tragic) where you were highly satisfied by the ending?

3) The funniest western you've seen?

4) What similar elements/themes show up in your favorite westerns?

5) Favorite actress who made one or more westerns?

6) Favorite western hero/sidekick pairing?

7) Scariest villain/antagonist in a western?

8) Favorite romance in a western?

9) Three of your favorite westerns?

10) Share one (or several!) of your favorite quotes from a western.

My Giveaway

I have three prizes for y'all this year. (And due to various technicalities I'm keeping it to US entries only this year, but Hamlette's giveaway is open internationally, so again, be sure to check hers out HERE.) I'll be drawing the winners on Friday morning. I can't make promises, but if you list your favorite prize/s in the comments section, I'll do my best to match you up with one of them. Also, after the giveaway you'll have a week to respond by email with shipping information before I'll need to draw another winner.

Prizes

 

#1 - Two sets of John Wayne playing cards in collector's tin

 

#2 - Classic westerns word search book 

 

#3 - Wanted: Dead or Alive Season 1 4-DVD set (more on this theme coming later in the week! ;))

Make sure to enter here:

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Final Important Stuff

Don't forget to grab the tag questions above, fill them out on your own blog, then come back and leave a link to your post in the widget-y thing here or on Hamlette's kick-off post (either way it should quickly show up in both places). Also, if you write more than one post (i.e. topical posts, movie reviews, etc) add each one as a separate entry so everyone can easily find everything you've posted. That's it!

Hurrah! Let the fun begin!