A half century ago, a new Western arrived on NBC, and four seasons later, it was gone, leaving a legacy of just under 100 episodes—less than a...
DVD Review: Gun the Man Down
When a wounded bank robber’s partners and girl abandon him, he leaves prison looking for revenge. This suspenseful 1956 B-Western is an unexpected...
The Kinder, Gentler, Sam Peckinpah
Hollywood’s famous Chinese theatre celebrated L.Q. Jones’s 90th birthday with a screening of the controversial masterpiece that saddled Sam...
Solitary, Singular Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard died July 27, 2017, at the age of 73, after a hard-fought battle with A.L.S. His understated, natural style recalled actor Gary ...
Gambling, Gold and Women
Deadwood has always attracted big names. In 1874, even before the town’s creation, George Armstrong Custer and his command scouted the Black Hills...
High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic
In this engrossing follow-up to his bestseller about The Searchers, the Pulitzer Prize-winning international reporter reveals much more than the...
The Best of the Weird Western
Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, an endlessly-in-the-works film that finally premiered on August 4, disappointed fans because, unlike the novels, it’s...
Farewell to Curly Bill
On May 14, 2017, actor Powers Boothe died just short of his 69th birthday. A magnetic and commanding presence, he enjoyed simultaneous stardom as...
Val Kilmer at Doc Holli-Days
The first “Doc Holli-Days” celebration, taking place in Tombstone, Arizona, this August 12-13, is already attracting at least one big name: Val...
I Killed John Wayne
Who would’ve guessed that, in the last decade of his life, a lung lost to cancer, John “Duke” Wayne would star in a dozen films, three of...
In Theaters: The Hero
Lee Hayden (played by Sam Elliott), once a Western movie icon, now uses his golden voice to narrate barbecue-sauce ads. He receives bad news and...
Keeping Movies Alive
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was among the first. Dr. Rennard Strickland found the movie poster for the 1962 John Ford classic, “Together for...