I’ve been watching Turner Classic Movies lately, more so than ever before.
Three movies I recorded on my DVR I watched today.
STAGECOACH(1939)
I’d never seen this one before. Heard a lot about it over the years. A classic. After seeing it, I have to agree. Directed by John Ford, It starred a young, svelte John Wayne as The Ringo Kid, who broke out of prison to go after the Plummer brothers for murdering his father and brother.
The stagecoach was making it’s way to Lordsburg through country besieged by Geronimo and the Apaches. The passengers ran the gamut of types: a gentleman gambler, a whiskey drummer, a drunken doctor, a pregnant officer’s wife, a banker fleeing with money stolen from his bank, The Ringo Kid picked up afoot along the way, and, though it was never made clear, a prostitute. There was the stage driver and the shotgun guard, the sheriff.
Abandoned by the army partway through, the coach and it’s passengers ended up in a running battle with Geronimo’s band before the cavalry swooped in near the end to save the day. The Ringo Kid gets his showdown with the three Plummers. Thoroughly enjoyable. Wayne, Andy Devine as the driver, and John Caradine as the gambler were the only actors I was familiar with.
MARLOWE(1969) James Garner stars as Raymond Chandler’s private eye, Philip Marlowe, It’s based on the novel The Little Sister. It stuck pretty close to the novel. Garner does a decent job playing Marlowe. The only problem I had was the setting. Too modern. For this fan of the novels, Philip Marlowe belongs in the gritty past, in the time the novels were wrote. The movie was okay. Not perfect though.
HOUR OF THE GUN(1967) One of the many takes on the Gunfight at the OK Corral. James Garner stars as Wyatt Earp, Jason Robards as Doc Holliday. It was okay and I had a fine time watching this one.