Westerns With Dad

One of the greatest movies ever made, according to the American Film Institute, this week we’re dealing with George Stevens’ 1953 classic Shane. Setting the basic tone and template for dozens of westerns to come, Shane features Alan Ladd as the titular gunslinger, who arrive out of the mist to help a family of good-hearted … Continue reading SHANE!

1991’s big hit Billy Crystal comedy about nostalgia for old westerns is this weeks episode! Featuring an oscar-winning supporting turn for Western legend Jack Palance, this beloved family comedy explores what it means to be honest, to be masculine, and to be happy in the modern age while looking back at the genre that defined … Continue reading CITY SLICKERS!

In this episode, Dad and I take on the 1956 Bud Boetticher picture Seven Men From Now. The first collaboration between Boetticher and Randolph Scott, this set the tone for a series of formalist westerns and featured a memorable, star-making supporting turn from none other than Lee Marvin. It tells the story of a sheriff … Continue reading SEVEN MEN FROM NOW!

In hopes of creating the most awkward episode to date, Dad and I watched The Hateful Eight, Quentin Tarantino’s violent pressure cooker of a Bounty Hunter story. Taking place almost exclusively inside a general store during a blizzard, this ultra-violet Western takes on an enormous amount, exploring nothing less than the history of racism in … Continue reading THE HATEFUL EIGHT!

This episode delves into the 1985 Lawrence Kasdan Western homage Silverado. The first appearance of Kevin Costner on the podcast, Dad and I have a good time reminiscing about watching this particular Western excessively in the 1980s, where it introduced me to the genre. The nostalgia extends back to a famously ugly piece of shop … Continue reading SILVERADO!

After a longer than usual break, the podcast is back with a look at the 1953 “Western noir” The Naked Spur, starring Jimmy Stewart and Janet Leigh. And Robert Ryan, who we kind of shit talk a little bit here. One of Stewart’s several Western collaborations with Anthony Mann, this is a spare, exciting bounty-hunter … Continue reading THE NAKED SPUR!

This episode marks the first appearance of Clint Eastwood on the podcast, and we’ve chosen his first Western directorial effort, The Outlaw Josey Wales. A pure 1970s revisionist Western, this one offers the unusual perspective of heroic Confederates and evil Northerners clashing across the unreconstructed South in the embers of the Civil War. We talk … Continue reading THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES!

In this episode, we discuss last year’s low budget cannibal horror western, Bone Tomahawk. Starring the great Kurt Russell, this surprisingly great thriller is many things at once: charming, harrowing, stately, witty, and stomach-churning. Featuring a talented cast of bigger names than you’d expect, this starts as a search and rescue adventure yarn and takes … Continue reading BONE TOMAHAWK!

On this week’s episode, Dad and I take a look at the 1960 John Sturges classic, The Magnificent Seven. Starring Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen, this all time favorite inspired countless scores of sequels and imitations, establishing the basic parameters of ‘Men on a Mission’ films for decades to come. But of course, it was … Continue reading THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN!

Episode Two is now available for download. It covers the 1990 Tom-Selleck-goes-to-Australia Western Quigley Down Under. Chosen this week for the presence of the late, great Alan Rickman (who plays the villainous rancher Marston), this mostly ignored adventure yarn is considerably better than you might think. The conversation covers the squandered career potential of almost-Indiana … Continue reading QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER!