Westerns With Dad

It’s been too long since we’ve talked Jimmy Stewart on Westerns With Dad, so it’s time to revisit his series of collaborations with director Anthony Mann, with The Man From Laramie! Their final film together, it tells the story of Will Lockhart, seeking justice for his dead brother in the isolated town of Coronado. Once … Continue reading THE MAN FROM LARAMIE!

On this episode, one of Dad’s favorites’ the TV miniseries adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove! One of television’s most celebrated series, it tells the epic story of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana, taking the time to explore the details of frontier life and the the expansive branching stories of over a dozen … Continue reading LONESOME DOVE!

This episode features one of Dad’s favorites, The Cowboys, starring John Wayne. A classic cattle drive Western, this movie features Wayne acting as mentor to cadre of boys on the cusp of manhood, finding adventures, life lessons and tragedy on the open range. And after years of less than favorable memories of a fairly stodgy … Continue reading THE COWBOYS!

In this episode, we’re talking about the legitimate comedy classic, Mel Brooks’s 1974 western satire, Blazing Saddles! Largely agreed upon to be the funniest western ever made, it tells the story of a black sheriff appointed to a small town full of racists to better facilitate a land grab. But the narrative is very much … Continue reading BLAZING SADDLES!

In this episode, we discuss the largely uncommented-on Thunderheart, a 1992 police-on-a-reservation film inspired by the tumultuous events that took place during the 1970s. It stars Val Kilmer as a Federal Agent investigating a murder occurring amidst deep civil unrest. Featuring terrific supporting performances by Sam Shepard and Graham Greene, this movie offers a glimpse … Continue reading THUNDERHEART!

This is an episode I’ve been dying to try out since we started, an in depth look at HBO’s brilliant Western TV show Deadwood. Starring Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant, it tells the story of the historic South Dakota mining camp where Will Bill Hickok was killed. This being the first episode we’ve done wherein … Continue reading DEADWOOD SEASON ONE!

1962’s Ride the High Country is the subject of this week’s episode. An early Sam Peckinpah and a late victory lap for golden age Western stars Joel McRea and Randolph Scott, it follows a pair of aging gunslingers as they attempt to transport gold cross country. It’s a nice adventure film about the twilight of … Continue reading RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY!

Returning to the Spaghetti Western and the films of Sergio Leone, this episode focuses on the middle entry in the Man With No Name trilogy, For a Few Dollars More. Bringing back Clint Eastwood’s iconic gunslinger and adding Lee Van Cleef’s mysterious counterpoint, it’s the most underrated of the series, and a whole hell of … Continue reading FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE!

In attempting to examine the breadth of the Western genre, we want to focus on films from all eras, and that includes the modern movie landscape. So this week, we’re taking a look at The Salvation, a genre exercise from only a few years ago! Starring acclaimed actor Mads Mikkelsen, this is a modern version … Continue reading THE SALVATION!

The Searchers, 1956, is arguably the greatest Western ever made. The most acclaimed film from both John Ford and John Wayne, it tells the purely American story of a kidnapped young girl and the two men driven to recover her, amidst the bloody crucible of the American Indian Wars. Both lauded for its artistic mastery … Continue reading THE SEARCHERS!