Posts by porfle

Kim Darby's performance in the film doesn't let me down at all. I think she's absolutely brilliant in the role. She helps make the film as great as it is. Not only is she the perfect foil for Wayne's over-the-top character, but her scenes with Strother Martin are wonderful. Hopefully as time goes on more people will come to appreciate how good Kim is in this movie because I hate to see such a great performance constantly derided.

Thanks! They're a lot of fun to make.

Here are some of the blooper videos I've made for YouTube:

Funny Extra Blooper in "In Harm's Way"

John Wayne's Magic Bullet in "The Man From Utah"

Same Actor, Two Characters: "The Sons of Katie Elder"

Modern Vehicle Blooper in "The Searchers"

Two Fun Bloopers From "The Alamo"

Pickup Truck Blooper in "The Undefeated"

Modern Vehicle Blooper in "Fort Apache"

Here's a video I made:

John Wayne's Magic Bullet in "THE MAN FROM UTAH" (1934)

http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com…c-bullet-in-man-from.html

Here's a YouTube video I made a while back about THE SEARCHERS:

Modern Vehicle Blooper in "THE SEARCHERS" (1956)

Here's a new QUIET MAN video I just made tonight and posted to YouTube:

Maureen O'Hara's Unquiet Whisper in "THE QUIET MAN" (1952)

Serpico was one of the first R-rated movies that I managed to get in to see by myself when I was underage. Very exciting. This was before kids could just watch R-rated movies on TV whenever they wanted.

The last non-western I watched was a DVD set with episodes of Dragnet, Peter Gunn, and Burke's Law. The last non-western movie I watched was MURDERLUST (1985).

THE BIG TRAIL and THE COWBOYS are my two all-time favorite John Wayne movies. I think THE BIG TRAIL is a magnificent achievement and one of the finest westerns ever made.

Here's my detailed review of it:

http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com…dvd-review-by-porfle.html

THE BIG TRAIL and THE COWBOYS are my two all-time favorite John Wayne movies. I think THE BIG TRAIL is a magnificent achievement and one of the finest westerns ever made.

Here's my detailed review of it:

http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com…dvd-review-by-porfle.html

Here's a "Magic-Eye"-type 3D pic that I did today in MS Paint:

Rooster Cogburn..jpg

Sorry I can't figure out how to get the actual picture to post instead of the link.

Thanks! I'll try to come up with some more.

John Wayne Search&#.jpg

I've been experimenting with making 3D pictures that you view the same as you would one of those "Magic Eye"-type 3D pics. Here's one I did today.

Just watched this for the first time since I saw it on the big screen in '74. Wasn't too impressed with it then and didn't remember a thing about it besides that car chase on the beach, so I had low expectations this time around. Fortunately, I enjoyed it quite a bit and found it had more action than I recalled (nice car chases). Plus, I could enjoy the dramatic scenes more now and understand the plot better. I find the Duke convincing as an old, world-weary cop approaching retirement age.

One thing that struck me--during the beach chase, the part where McQ's car hits a log and goes up in the air, then comes down on its nose, is almost identical to that wagon stunt in ANGEL AND THE BADMAN (which is repeated two or three times) and some other early Wayne films I can't remember right off. Same stunt, different vehicle!

Just bought a 4-disc set with CAHILL, McQ, THE TRAIN ROBBERS, and CHISUM at Wal-Mart. I already have the latter two films but had yet to get CAHILL and McQ on DVD. Just watched CAHILL for the first time, and must say it's quite bland. It makes CHISUM look like a sweeping epic in comparison. Elmer Bernstein, who had a tendency to steal from himself, contributes a score that sounds like leftovers from BIG JAKE.

Worth having, definitely, and not a total loss, but resolutely unspecial and at times even somewhat unappealing.

Now to watch McQ, which I haven't seen since catching it on the big screen when it was first released.

This is one of my top five favorite John Wayne movies. I can watch it again and again without getting tired of it. I think it is quite simply one of the most amazing movies ever made.

Here's a 2011 repost of my review that I wrote back when the 2-disc DVD was released:

http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com…dvd-review-by-porfle.html

I like that Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer nabbed such a small-but-memorable role in this. He did a great job and even had his own catchphrase: "Whatever's customary."

Besides being a lesser Hawks effort all around, RIO LOBO suffers from an astonishingly amateurish performance by Jennifer O'Neil and some less than stellar supporting players. At least everyone in THE TRAIN ROBBERS is a fully competent actor (more or less) although Ann-Margret's drunk scene is a bit wince-inducing.

Funny how the opening titles sequence seems to be a nod toward Sergio Leone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST with its depiction of a man silently awaiting the train at a lonely station, and no music--only ambient sounds like the creaking of a windmill and the whistling of the wind. The similarities end there, of course--the two films couldn't be farther apart stylistically or philosophically.

It's all done in one continuous shot so it looks real to me. At any rate, she did enough of it herself for me to be impressed! And she comes to a standing stop just in the right spot for her close up.

One of the most impressive things about this movie is the way Gail Russell handles that two-horse team in her big introduction scene, whipping the wagon around a corner and then bringing it thundering to a stop right on her mark.

To me, this movie has the easygoing spirit of the early oaters combined with a burgeoning maturity--it's like a fun kids' western with a heartfelt adult sensibility. Every element of the film is exquisitely rendered. It's just a beautiful, emotionally rich, visually stunning western that is endlessly and effortlessly appealing.