tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post1686841768111963852..comments2024-03-28T18:21:09.285-05:00Comments on Rough Edges: Tuesday's Overlooked Movie: Seven Men From NowJames Reasonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-80278672513492764912014-06-04T22:08:34.723-05:002014-06-04T22:08:34.723-05:00The Boetticher/Kennedy/Scott films rank among my t...The Boetticher/Kennedy/Scott films rank among my top-10 westerns, and this one is probably my favorite.The scene in the covered wagon with Lee Marvin is powerful and unnerving.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-4300843373192208652014-06-03T16:33:45.327-05:002014-06-03T16:33:45.327-05:00Yeah. I really miss movies for grown ups, too, Jam...Yeah. I really miss movies for grown ups, too, James. So few of them these days. This is one hell of a good movie in every respect.Ed Gormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06126267358266480356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-10470760314739408562014-06-03T11:13:57.202-05:002014-06-03T11:13:57.202-05:00Glad to hear from another Burt Kennedy fan, Wayne....Glad to hear from another Burt Kennedy fan, Wayne. I was so enamored of Comanche Station I took the basic plot and characters and set it 400 years in the future on another planet and called it Tulon Station. It later became the first chapter of my space western novel Jack Brand. The Tulon landscape bears a striking resemblance to Lone Pine. <br /><br />John M. WhalenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-346400255350097432014-06-03T10:50:09.255-05:002014-06-03T10:50:09.255-05:00No doubt, this is a very good Western and near the...No doubt, this is a very good Western and near the top of the Scott/Boetticher collaborations (I personally rate RIDE LONESOME higher).<br />I agree with Mr. Whalen that the scripts by Burt Kennedy played a big part in making these films so memorable. In fact, it has occurred to me more than once that Kennedy may be one of my favorite Western "writers".wayne d. dundeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12468818760811792020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-52398560708640056652014-06-03T08:53:09.439-05:002014-06-03T08:53:09.439-05:00Randolph Scott is just about the perfect Western h...Randolph Scott is just about the perfect Western hero, and he was at his peak in these films, and in Peckinpah's RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY.James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-9911401694527173082014-06-03T08:49:47.238-05:002014-06-03T08:49:47.238-05:00I'm not sure I've ever seen FORT DOBBS. I&...I'm not sure I've ever seen FORT DOBBS. I'll have to look into that. YELLOWSTONE KELLY and SIX BLACK HORSES were favorites of mine from when I saw them at the drive-in as a kid. I really need to watch them again. I looked up Boetticher on IMDB, and while I'm not sure about DECISION AT SUNDOWN, I'm certain I've seen all the others with Randolph Scott. COMANCHE STATION is probably my favorite, although I like all of them. That was a great era for Westerns. James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-604802208442986712014-06-03T08:44:35.063-05:002014-06-03T08:44:35.063-05:00I've seen this movie several times and accordi...I've seen this movie several times and according to my notes, I've liked it more and more each time. I've gone on record before about my respect for Randolph Scott but here I go again.<br /><br />He is my favorite actor in western movies. He has everything down perfect: the look, the clothes, the horse, the tough, spare dialog. I've seen him in some below par westerns but his acting raises a film to the outstanding level. <br /><br />The only actors, still acting, that can compare to him are old timers like Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, and a couple others. But they are now getting pretty old and soon all we will have is the action and special effects actors.<br /><br />It's lucky we have TCM and the encore western channels, otherwise we wouldn't see anything on TV worth a damn, especially if it was black and white.<br /><br />That's one of my reasons that I've built up my own library of favorite films on dvd. Walker Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16089880902426182100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-12006131887994810192014-06-03T08:34:17.714-05:002014-06-03T08:34:17.714-05:00I agree with Mr. Hocking. In fact, Comanche Statio...I agree with Mr. Hocking. In fact, Comanche Station is in my opinion the finest western ever made. Boetticher gets a lot of credit for the flicks he made with Randolph Scott, and deservedly so, but Burt Kennedy's scripts have a lot to do with it. They're pure gems. "Pure," as Claude Akins says at the end of Comanche Station. If you check out "Yellowstone Kelly" "Fort Dobbs," and "Six Black Horses," which Kennedy wrote, you'll find plots, dialog and scenes very similar to those in the Boetticher films. He had a unique way of putting a story together, at least in those days. He could write but as a director later in his career he was no Budd Boetticher. <br /><br />John M. WhalenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-37907649291103604692014-06-03T06:55:45.698-05:002014-06-03T06:55:45.698-05:00James, this might be my favorite western film. I...James, this might be my favorite western film. It certainly stands up to re-watching more than most any other.<br /><br />There are so many gem-like scenes where the script and performances shine. <br />Like the scene where Marvin and Barry ride into the ghost town to meet with Payte Bodeen’s gang. This whole sequence is gold, but Marvin’s sly reveal that the woman slain in the robbery was Ben Stride’s wife is met with a moment of stunned, muffled shock by the gang that speaks volumes without a single line of dialogue.<br /> <br />And how about that stylish final showdown? Randolph Scott is so freakin’ epic that you don’t even have to see him draw. Marvin’s reaction is perfect, ending with him clutching at the treasure he’ll never see.<br /><br />I love all of the Scott/Boetticher films and cannot pick a favorite. <br />James, pardon my excess enthusiasm but you really ought to check to determine if you’ve seen them all. There are a couple more, but to my mind the unmissable ones include The Tall T, Ride Lonesome and Comanche Station.<br /><br />John Hocking<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com