Empty Saddles
Empty Saddles

Author: Michael Kennard

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2003-02-26

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0595270166

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Captain Morgan Trelawney's research into the mysterious disappearance of his great grandfather, the legendary Texas Ranger Zachariah Trelawney, who disappeared into Mexico one hundred years earlier, takes an unexpected turn when the mutilated bodies of an entire family are discovered at the old Blevins homestead. It looked like a drug related murder, but Morgan saw it differently, call it a gut feeling. So close to the Mexican border, with every law enforcement agency swarming all over. It just didn't make sense. Drawn into the dangerous world of Mexican drug dealers, events both personal and otherwise soon turn Morgan's case into a quest for retribution rather than justice. With the icy north wind whipping around his coat tails, Zachariah removed his hat and held it in front of him. As he stared down at the freshly dug mound of earth he uttered a silent prayer. He'd known the girl only briefly, yet somehow he felt a sense of guilt. Long Tom believed he'd done for them both, ' well he was wrong, and he was gonna pay!' thought the Ranger. Taking the reins of his horse he mounted and without looking back, rode off. Thus begins a chain of events that will lead finally to the foothills of the Sierra Madre and those Empty Saddles......

Hollywood Musicals You Missed
Hollywood Musicals You Missed

Author: Edwin M. Bradley

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2020-06-22

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 1476673586

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Pre-World War II Hollywood musicals weren't only about Astaire and Rogers, Mickey and Judy, Busby Berkeley, Bing Crosby, or Shirley Temple. The early musical developed through tangents that reflected larger trends in film and American culture at large. Here is a survey of select titles with a variety of influences: outsized songwriter personalities, hubbub over "hillbilly" and cowboy stereotypes, the emergence of swing, and the brief parade of opera stars to celluloid. Featured movies range from the smash hit Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), to obscurities such as Are You There? (1930) and Swing, Sister, Swing (1938), to the high-grossing but now forgotten Mountain Music (1937), and It's Great to Be Alive (1933), a zesty pre-Code musical/science-fiction/comedy mishmash. Also included are some of the not-so-memorable pictures made by some of the decade's greatest musical stars.

Back in the Saddle
Back in the Saddle

Author: Gary A. Yoggy

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 1998-09-01

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780786405664

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The western is one of the most popular genres in American film history, and some estimate more than 20,000 of them have been produced. Its popular portrayal of the American West, as a place where good and evil are clearly defined, created heroes that are still among the most respected and remembered in film history. Writers Lane Roth and Tom W. Hoffer, William E. Tydeman III, R. Philip Loy, Gary Kramer, Raymond E. White, Michael K. Schoenecke, Sandra Schackel, Jacqueline K. Greb, Jim Collins, Richard Robertson, and Gary Yoggy each contributed an essay, focusing on the performances of some of the most famous of Hollywood's leading cowboys and cowgirls. Analyses of the works of G.M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson, Tom Mix, Buck Jones, Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, James Stewart, Barbara Stanwyck, Steve McQueen, and James Arness are included. James Drury of The Virginian relates his firsthand experiences of movie making by way of introducing this collection.

Assault on the Deadwood Stage
Assault on the Deadwood Stage

Author: Robert K. DeArment

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 2012-09-10

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 0806184671

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In the 1870s, Deadwood was a thriving—and largely lawless—boomtown. And as any fan of western history and films knows, stagecoach robberies were a regular feature of life in this fabled region of Dakota Territory. Now, for the first time, Robert K. DeArment tells the story of the "good guys and bad guys" behind these violent crimes: the road agents who wreaked havoc on Deadwood's roadways and the shotgun messengers who battled to protect stagecoach passengers and their valuable cargo. DeArment shows in dramatic detail how for two years gangs of robbers ruled the road, perpetrating holdups and killings, until lawmen and stage-company and railroad agents finally brought an end to the mayhem. The characters populating this violent tale include such legendary figures as Wild Bill Hickok and the famous railroad detective James L. "Whispering" Smith, a formidable opponent of bandits. We also get to know the men who operated the stages, the lawmen and company men who ran and defended the coaches, and the outlaws who fought against them. DeArment tells where these men came from and what became of them after the outlawry ended. He ends his account in the 1880s with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and its spectacular rendition of a shotgun robbery, featuring an actual Deadwood stagecoach. After nearly a century and a half, the Deadwood stage continues to command our attention.

Universal Sound Westerns, 1929-1946
Universal Sound Westerns, 1929-1946

Author: Gene Blottner

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2024-10-17

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 1476606781

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After Fox released In Old Arizona, the first feature length western with sound, in 1929, Universal president Carl Laemmle decided that Universal's westerns should follow suit. Beginning that same year, with the release of The Wagon Master starring Ken Maynard, up until 1946, when the studio merged with International Pictures, Universal Pictures captivated audiences with its sound westerns. Individual entries for the approximately 180 feature films and serials released by Universal during that period are presented here. Each entry includes the film's title release date, alternate title, cast, credits, songs, location of filming, running time, source if the film was an adaptation, plot synopsis, commentary from the author and from the actors and directors, representative excerpts from reviews, and a tag line from the original advertising. Also provided is a chronological listing of Universal's short western films and a chronological listing of Universal's sound westerns.

Black Sun
Black Sun

Author: Glenn Starkey

Publisher: Abbott Press

Published: 2016-02-22

Total Pages: 517

ISBN-13: 1458220036

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From the underworld of the Ojuela Mine to the majestic Sierra Madre Mountains and across the desert plains of northern Mexico, a boy is forced to survive and grow into manhood through a turbulent decade that erupted into the bloodiest revolution of the twentieth century--the Mexican Revolution of 1910. On the run for a murder he didnt commit, forced to hide even his name, Arnulfo Triana is swept into a maelstrom of tragedy as revolutionaries, led by his mentor and friend Pancho Villa, collide with the forces of a corrupt dictator. Black Sun is based on actual events. A young mans life unfolds against a background of poverty, injustice and political corruption that finally explodes into a devastating revolution.

He Rode with Butch and Sundance
He Rode with Butch and Sundance

Author: Mark T. Smokov

Publisher: University of North Texas Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 1574414704

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The definitive biography of infamous western outlaw Harvey Alexander Logan, better known as Kid Curry. A violent conflict with a ranching neighbor in Montana caused him to flee to the Hole-in-the-Wall valley in Wyoming, where he became involved in rustling and eventually graduated to bank and train robbing as a member of the Wild Bunch. This outlaw group was a melding of the best of the Hole-in-the-Wall gang and Butch Cassidy's Powder Springs gang. Smokov shows that Curry was not the bloodthirsty killer that many have claimed. He contends that Curry was the actual train robbing leader of the Wild Bunch.

Hollywood's West
Hollywood's West

Author: John E. O'Connor

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2005-11-11

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 9780813123547

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Hollywood’s West examines popular perceptions of the frontier as a defining feature of American identity and history. Seventeen essays by prominent film scholars illuminate the allure of life on the edge of civilization and analyze how this region has been represented on big and small screens. Differing characterizations of the frontier in modern popular culture reveal numerous truths about American consciousness and provide insights into many classic Western films and television programs, from RKO’s 1931 classic Cimarron to Turner Network Television’s recent made-for-TV movies. Covering topics such as the portrayal of race, women, myth, and nostalgia, Hollywood’s West makes a significant contribution to the understanding of how Westerns have shaped our nation’s opinions and beliefs—often using the frontier as metaphor for contemporary issues.