Month: April 2017

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 and a bit notorious for its portrayal of Native Americans, it’s as fundamental as the genre gets, and features a truly revelatory performance from the never-better John Wayne. Might be Dad’s favorite movie. We talk about its inherent greatness a lot, and also the surprising brutality and darkness that gives it such depth. Topics of conversation include the glory of Monument Valley, the film’s evoking of community and day to day life in the Old West, the greatness of the undervalued second lead Jeffrey Hunter, the horror of frontier life (as exemplified by the terrifying ‘lantern scene’), the film’s efficacy as an early revisionist western, the questionable use of comic relief characters, the shocking hatred and viciousness of Wayne’s lead character Ethan Edwards, the difference between a racist film and a film with racist characters, and of course, the film’s famous and iconic final shot, as well as its place in film history. Oh, it’s really something, and it’s been a legitimate concern for us that we won’t be able to fully do it justice. As a production note, my apologies on the larger-than-usual bit of ambient sound. It’s not a real problem or anything, but its a hair less professional than we’re trying to be here.

Additional films discussed are Maureen O’Hara’s essentially unknown Cherokee Territory and the new adventure epic The Lost City of Z. You can reach us through our website, westernswithdad.com, or email us at westernswithdad@gmail.com Also, why not leave us a review and/or rating on the iTunes website, which will no doubt enhance your social standing and bless you with a fine and full harvest. Next week, we’ll be discussing a far more recent offering, the newish Danish immigrant western, The Salvation, starring Mads Mikkelsen and available now on Netflix!

The Searchers was directed by John Ford and stars John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Natalie Wood and Ward Bond. And a bunch of other people.

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The TV miniseries that took 1950s American by storm, the focus of this episode is Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett franchise, starring Fess Parker as the titular frontiersman. Appearing on ABC’s Disneyland television show starting in 1954, this was the crown jewel of Walt Disney’s TV empire and the cornerstone of the beloved Frontierland in Anaheim’s Disneyland Theme Park, leading to the so-called ‘Crockett Craze’, which took the country’s youth by storm, leading to a deluge of coonskin caps and trading cards, all of which Dad was very much caught well up in. Comprised of five parts over several years, the series was unprecedented in its popularity, and I would argue, its influence, as it was one of the most popular Westerns ever produced. Does it hold up? Pretty much, although it’s tough to say for sure, as we’re both kind of overcome by a wave of nostalgia when it comes to this property. This episode dives into the series, and more than usual into the phenomena surrounding it, as it offers a pretty fascinating window into Walt Disney’s empire at the height of his influence. We talk about the Disneyland TV show and the the park as well, which we just so happened to have visited last week, as well as Dad’s childhood Disney fascination (and a chance encounter with Walt in the actual Frontierland). But the Crockett wormhole goes even deeper, offering a chance to explore the foundational American mythology as expressed in tall tales and folklore, branching into Crockett’s role as a legendary figure and how that influenced Manifest Destiny and the arranging of westward expansion as a tenet of the national identity! There’s even an extended discussion of Crockett’s death at the Alamo (and its representation by Disney), the blunt racial language that used to be par for the course when portraying Native Americans and way Cowboys and Indians defines the pioneer spirit of the America, the dangerous allure of the mythic Frontierland, Georgie Russell’s general inadequacy, Disney’s multiple attempts to duplicate Crockett’s success, the tradition of boasting and yelling in folklore, especially as represented by Mike Fink, King of the River, and of course, that part in Mr Toad’s Wild Ride where you go to Hell. It’s a pretty packed episode, our longest to date, but also some of the most fun we’ve had doing the show.

And then at the end we talk a little bit about the new Beauty and the Beast remake. It’s an afterthought. Next time, we’ll be taking a look at another significant one, maybe the most significant: The Searchers, starring John Wayne. You can reach us online at westernswithdad.com, or email us at westernswithdad@gmail.com. Please leave ratings and reviews for us on iTunes!

Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier stars Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen. Davy Crockett and the River Pirates does too, plus Jeff Yorke as Mike Fink.

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