"Court Martial" -- My Favorite "Star Trek" Episode

I'd been a fan of Star Trek for several years before I finally saw this episode.  I knew a lot about it, because my brother and I spent hours poring over books like The Nitpicker's Guide for Classic Trekkers by Phil Farrand and The Star Trek Encyclopedia by Michael and Denise Okuda.  From what I read in those books, I knew I was going to love this episode when I finally saw it.  I just didn't know how much.

I've always been drawn to stories of someone proving themselves.  Whether it's proving they're good at something when someone else says they're worthless, or proving they're innocent when everyone assumes they're guilty, those stories have pulled me in for as long as I can remember.  I especially love stories of people wrongly accused of committing a crime and needing to clear their name.

At the beginning of the season one episode "Court Martial," the Enterprise is orbiting Starbase 11, seeking repairs after sustaining severe damage during an ion storm.  During the storm, they lost one crew member, Lt. Cmdr. Ben Finney (Richard Webb).  Captain Kirk says he jettisoned the pod Finney was in after the storm became so severe he had no choice.  However, the computer log shows him jettisoning the pod before he needed to.  Commodore Stone (Percy Rodriguez) discusses this with Kirk, soothing him, trying to chalk the mistake up to pressure.  We all know Kirk is the youngest Starship Captain ever, and Stone clearly things he's just too young and inexperienced to do the job correctly.

Commodore Stone, who always seems to be sneering a bit.

Captain Kirk insists he's been under worse pressure, that he did not make a mistake, and that the ship's record must be wrong.  Stone reminds him that computers don't lie.  Man versus machine becomes a major theme for this episode -- can you trust a computer more than a person?  Are computers only tools, or are they becoming revered as much as people, possibly even more?  In 1967, when this first aired, such considerations probably struck the audience as silly.  How could a computer be smarter than a person?  Those foolish 23rd-century Starfleet types, trusting computers so implicitly.  Here in 2016, however, we live in a world where computers are considered more trustworthy than people for performing particular tasks, because... they don't lie.  They don't cheat.  They don't fall asleep at the wheel or get distracted by a rowdy toddler in the back seat.  Technology has changed amazingly much in the twenty years since I first saw this episode, which makes "Court Martial" feel more timely every time I watch it.

But I digress.  Captain Kirk insists he did not make a mistake, that the computer must be in error.  Commodore Stone tries to convince him to take a desk job somewhere, stay with Starfleet but give up his captaincy.  Kirk sees this for what it really is:  trying to bury a problem.  Commodore Stone says that no Starship captain has ever been put on trial before.  Surely Kirk doesn't want to be the first, does he?  No no, better to go quietly and not make a fuss.  For the good of the service, Jim.  Come on, be a good boy.

Doesn't exactly look cooperative, does he.

Um, yeah.  Stone clearly doesn't know James T. Kirk.  Defeat, retreat -- those words are not in Kirk's personal dictionary.  Which gives me one of my favorite exchanges in the whole episode.

Kirk:  "So that's the way we do it now -- sweep it under the rug, and me along with it.  Not on your life.  I intend to fight."
Stone:  "Then you draw a general court."
Kirk:  "Draw it?  I demand it!  And right now, Commodore Stone.  Right now!" 

Complicating this whole scenario are two women:  Jame Finney (Alice Rawlings) and Lt. Areel Shaw (Joan Marshall).  Jame is the daughter of Ben Finney -- we learn that Finney and Kirk were best buddies for many years, dating back to when Kirk was a cadet at Starfleet Academy, and Finney was an instructor.  In fact, Jame is named after James Kirk.

I always wanted a shiny blue skirt like Jame's.

Jame is here on Starbase 11, and her presence ensures that Kirk constantly feels horrible about Finney's death, whether it was Kirk's fault or not.  She cries and fusses and tries to punch him, and generally behaves as a distraught teen daughter is expected to, at least at first.

Areel Shaw is a lawyer in the judge advocate's office, and an old flame of Kirk's.  She knows down to the hour how long it's been since they saw each other last, so I get the feeling that for her, at least, their relationship was quite serious.

I've also always wanted earrings like Areel's.

They seem to have parted on good terms, though, because she greets him warmly.

I'm not sure if her dress is supposed to say "free spirit" or "color blind."

Not only that, but she gives him some free legal counsel and recommends a defense attorney.  He asks if she'd represent him instead, but she says she's busy.  She tells him several strategies that the prosecution will use against him, and when he finally asks how she knows all this, she admits that it's "because, Jim Kirk, my dear old love, I am the prosecution."

You know, I'm starting to think there's an actual method to Kirk's tomcat ways.  How helpful to have someone from the judge advocate's office who is so fond of you she'll sabotage her own case, possibly her career, to help you out.

When Kirk returns to his room, he finds it filled with stack after stack of books.  Perched amid the books is an odd little man, one Samuel T. Cogley (Elisha Cook Jr.), who gives Captain Kirk a delicious lecture on the importance of books.

This will be my brother in 40 years.

This little speech is actually my favorite part of the entire episode, and I quote it frequently.  I know my book-loving friends will enjoy it, so here it is, in its entirety:

STC:  "What's the matter?  Don't you like books?"
JTK:  "Oh, I like them fine.  But a computer takes less space."
STC:  "Huh.  A computer.  I've got one of these at my office.  Contains all the precedents, a synthesis of all the great legal decisions written throughout time.  I never use it."
JTK:  "Why not?"
STC:  "I've got my own system.  Books, young man, books.  Thousands of 'em.  If time wasn't so important, I'd show you something:  my library.  Thousands of books."
JTK:  "What would be the point?"
STC:  "This is where the law is.  Not in that homogenized, pasteurized synthesizer.   Do you want to know the law?  The ancient concepts in their own language?  Learn the intent of the men who wrote them?  From Moses to the Tribunal of Alpha Three?  Books!"
JTK:  "You have to be either an obsessive crackpot who's escaped from his keeper or Samuel T. Cogley, attorney at law."
STC:  "Right on both counts.  Need a lawyer?"
JTK:  "I'm afraid so."

This is the first thing I ever saw Elisha Cook Jr. in, and I'm always delighted when he pops up in an old movie or TV show.  I have such a fondness for him, whether he's playing  dastardly gunsels in classic film noirs like The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The Big Sleep (1946) or sweethearts in things like Shane (1953).

Wouldn't you love to just sit down and chat with him?  What stories he must have!

The rest of the episode concerns the trial itself.  I'm quite fascinated by trials, to be honest.  Although I've never wanted to become a lawyer (I left that in my brother's capable hands), I love watching TV shows and movies about court cases, reading books about them -- they're so interesting to me.  I actually got to be on a jury once, eleven years ago, which I really dug.  However, I know that not everyone is as fascinated by courtroom scenes as I am, so I won't go into details here.  Everything hinges on the fact that computers can't lie, can't make mistakes, and are therefore considered more trustworthy than people.  Samuel T. Cogley insists this is morally wrong, and with Spock's help, proves that it is also false in this case.

Starfleet Courtrooms are very austere, huh?

As Areel Shaw said earlier in the episode, "You're not an ordinary human, you're a starship captain, and you've stepped into scandal."  Kirk isn't allowed to make mistakes, to have a lapse of judgement, to forget what order to do things in.  He has to be perfect in every official action he does.  No errors.  No off days.  Not only do all the lives of his crew depend on him, but often, the lives of countless others that they encounter.  And wherever he goes, he represents Starfleet -- his every action reflects on them.  It's a terrible burden, even for Kirk's broad shoulders.  But he once again proves that, young as he is, he is perfectly capable of handling it.

There it is, that theme of proving yourself.  Kirk proves he's innocent, but also proves he's able to do what others think he might not be.  No wonder I love this episode so much.

Annnnnd I might also love it because Jim Kirk has never looked yummier.  I must admit I spent more time screencapping drool-worthy shots of him than I did anything else in the episode.  I can't resist sharing some with you now.

This has been my contribution to this year's Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon.  Visit the official list of blogathon entries at A Shroud of Thoughts, where you'll find so many wonderful posts about classic shows.

The Deadly Paragraph -- Inkling Explorations for March, 2016

Time for me to quick post my Inkling Explorations selection before March is over!  This month's topic is "A scene involving a letter, package, or post office in film."  You can read more about the series on Heidi Peterson's writing blog, Sharing the Journey.

I'm going to share part of the wonderful Christmastime comedy We're No Angels (1955), which I have reviewed here.

Joseph (Humphrey Bogart), Jules (Peter Ustinov), and Albert (Aldo Ray) are convicts on Devil's Island who have escaped the prison and taken refuge in a mercantile, where they've persuaded the proprieters to let them do a few odd jobs.  While up on the roof, supposedly fixing it, they watch the family through various windows and learn all about their troubles.

While they're watching, the daughter, Isabelle (Gloria Talbott) accepts a letter for her father and opens it.

She reads part of it, then faints.

The three men scurry down from the roof to assist her and her mother, Amelie (Joan Bennett).

They then give the letter to the girl's parents, telling her, "It's there, on the second page, the deadly paragraph."  The letter contains the news that the owner of the store and his nephew were coming to see for themselves why the business is failing.  Poor Isabelle has convinced herself she's in love with said nephew, and the letter also contains the news of his engagement to someone else, hence all the fainting.

By the end of the movie, the three convicts have solved all the family's problems, including Isabelle's infatuation, and although they may not be angels, they earn halos just the same.

If you've never seen We're No Angels, I urge you to find it and watch it -- you can buy it on DVD quite inexpensively right now, and it is delightful.

Blog Events This Spring

You've probably noticed the buttons for these two events in my sidebar already, but I want to quick post about them anyway.  There are two things coming up in April and May that I'm quite excited about!

First, throughout the entire month of April, I'm hosting a Poetry Month Celebration on my book blog, The Edge of the Precipice.  I'll be hosting a poetry give-away to kick things into gear, and I'll also provide a tag for bloggers to fill out if they so desire.  All through the month I'll be doing posts about my favorite poets and so on, but other bloggers can also join in, and I'll provide links to their posts as well.  Please go here for more info, the list of participants, and to sign up yourself.

Second, Carissa is hosting a Frank Langella Blogathon in May.  I'll be writing about Dave (1993), one of my favorite comedies.  Visit this page on her blog to sign up!

Interesting Patterns in My 100 Favorite Movies

So I've been pondering my lists of 100 Favorite Movies that I've just posted, and I decided to just point out some interesting stats, patterns, whatever.  Interesting to me, anyway :-)

What Actors Do I Love?

8 Harrison Ford movies (The Fugitive, Sabrina, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars:  A New Hope, Star Wars:  The Force Awakens, Witness)

6 John Wayne movies  (The Sons of Katie Elder, Rio Bravo, Operation Pacific, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, North to Alaska, The Longest Day)

4 Hugh Jackman movies -- and all as the same character!!! (X-Men:  Days of Future Past, X2:  X-Men United, X-Men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

4 Maureen O'Hara movies (Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, The Rare Breed, The Parent Trap, The Black Swan)

4 James Stewart movies -- (Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, The Rare Breed, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Destry Rides Again)

3 Bobby Darin movies (Gunfight in Abilene, Hell is for Heroes, Captain Newman M.D.)

3 Glenn Ford movies (3:10 to Yuma, Blackboard Jungle, The Fastest Gun Alive)

3 Dana Andrews movies (Laura, The Best Years of Our Lives, State Fair)

3 Alan Ladd movies (Shane, Whispering Smith, This Gun for Hire)

3 Rudolph Valentino movies (The Sheik, Moran of the Lady Letty, The Son of the Sheik)

3 Russell Crowe movies (Master and Commander:  The Far Side of the World, The Quick and the Dead, LA Confidential)

3 Steve McQueen movies (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Hell is for Heroes)

3 Tom Hanks movies (Toy Story, You've Got Mail, Apollo 13)


Right now, my top 3 favorite actors are John Wayne, Hugh Jackman, and Harrison Ford.  So that meshes pretty well with who I have the most favorites from.


What Genres Do I Love?

21 Dramas
19 Westerns
13 Action/Adventure movies
9 WWII-related movies
6 Comedies
6 Fantasy movies
5 Superhero movies
4 Musicals
4 Rom-coms
3 Sci-fi movies
3 Film noir


What Decades Do I Love?

3 from the 1920s
3 from the 1930s
8 from the 1940s
12 from the 1950s
17 from the 1960s
4 from the 1970s
14 from the 1980s
17 from the 1990s
13 from the 2000s
8 from the 2010s

Conclusion:  the 1970s are best ignored, for the most part.


What Ratings Do I Favor?

18 Not Rated
24 Approved
6 G
22 PG
22 PG-13
6 R

You probably know this, but for those who don't, movies didn't used to have ratings.  In the 1920s and early '30s, there was no rating system at all.  Individual theaters and the towns or cities they were in decided what was appropriate for their audiences.  In 1934, the Hays Code went into effect, and from then on until the mid-1950s, movies who didn't pass muster didn't get distributed.  In the mid-1950s, that changed to movies being labeled "Approved" if they passed the code, but others did get distributed without a rating.  In the late 1960s, that was changed to the MPAA rating system that was basically like what we have now, except the ratings were G, M, R, and X.  In the mid-1970s, that was changed to G, GP, R, and X.  And in the 1980s, we got G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17.  Which means that movies until the mid 1980s that we would now consider PG-13 were either PG or R.  Which can be a little confusing when you deal with a lot of old movies like I do, so just thought I'd explain what all those Not Rated and Approved things are -- those are old movies!

Oh, and for those of you who are now wondering which movies on my list were R so you can avoid them, they're Conspiracy Theory, Hamlet, Tombstone, Witness, The Quick and the Dead, and L.A. Confidential.  Now you know.

My 100 Favorite Movies -- Part Two

And here, as promised, is the list of my top 50 favorite movies.  You can read numbers 51-100 here.  Once again, I've linked individual titles to the appropriate posts if I've blogged about a movie.  And again, with the exception of the top three movies (which have been my three favorite movies since I was about 15), these can slide up or down the rankings a little, but they're absolutely my favorites.

1.  The Man from Snowy River (1982)  (Some things don't change.  Ever.)
2.  The Fugitive (1993)
3.  The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
4.  The Avengers (2012)
5.  The Magnificent Seven (1960)
6.  The Lone Ranger (2013)
7.  We're No Angels (1955)
8.  While You Were Sleeping (1995)
9.  The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
10.  White Christmas (1954)

11.  3:10 to Yuma (1957)
12.  The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
13.  Sabrina (1995)
14.  The Bourne Identity (2002)
15.  Rio Bravo (1959)
16.  X-Men:  Days of Future Past (2014)
17.  Laura (1944)
18.  The Mask of Zorro (1998)
19.  Operation Pacific (1951)
20.  Robin Hood (1973)

21.  The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
22.  X-2:  X-Men United (2003)
23.  Toy Story (1995)
24.  Ben-Hur (1959)
25.  The Hobbit:  The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
26.  Gunfight in Abilene (1967)
27.  Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)
28.  Guys and Dolls (1955)
29.  The Russians are Coming!  The Russians are Coming!  (1966)
30.  The Sheik (1921)

31.  The Rare Breed (1966)
32.  X-Men (2000)
34.  The Great Escape (1963)
35.  The Princess Bride (1987)
36.  You've Got Mail (1998)
37.  The Parent Trap (1961)
38.  Moran of the Lady Letty (1922)
39.  The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
40.  Chocolat (2000)

41.  An American in Paris (1951)
42.  101 Dalmations (1961)
43.  A Knight's Tale (2001)
44.  Father Goose (1964)
45.  Master and Commander:  The Far Side of the World (2003)
46.  Tangled (2010)
47.  Anne of Green Gables (1985)
48.  The Man Without a Face (1993)
49.  North & South (2004)
50.  Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

You know what looking at this list tells me?  I have many, many wonderful movies to review on this blog still!

My 100 Favorite Movies -- Part One

I'm in a listy mood, and Eva recently did a list of 30 of her favorite movies, and I decided hey, why not do a new list of my favorite movies too?  I did a list of my top 30 lo these twelve years ago, but So Much Has Changed, my friends.  So much.  Time for a fresh list.  And a more comprehensive list.  Here's the first half, numbers 51 through 100.  I'll post numbers 1 through 50 tomorrow.

I've tried really hard to put this in order of how much I love them, but that's very subjective, so just know that if a movie is on this list, I reeeeeeally love it, and today I love it more than the ones under it, but tomorrow it might slide a little higher or a little lower.  But I'd still love it.

If I've blogged about a movie, I've linked the title to the appropriate post.

51.  Support Your Local Sheriff (1969)
52.  Conspiracy Theory (1997)
53.  Silverado (1985)
54.  Star Wars:  The Return of the Jedi (1983)
55.  Apollo 13 (1995)
56.  Charade (1963)
57.  Mr. Mom (1983)
58.  The Sting (1973)
59.  Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
60.  Emma (1996)

61.  10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
62.  Pirates of the Caribbean:  Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
63.  Star Wars:  A New Hope (1977)
64.  X-Men Origins:  Wolverine (2009)
65.  Willow (1988)
66.  Hamlet (2000)
67.  The Black Swan (1942)
68.  The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
69.  The Three Musketeers (1993)
70.  Rocky III (1982)

71.  Hell is for Heroes (1962)
72.  Pride & Prejudice (2005)
73.  Destry Rides Again (1939)
74.  The Blue and the Gray (1982)
75.  Oscar (1991)
76.  Risen (2016)
77.  Tombstone (1993)
78.  Captain Newman, MD (1963)
79.  Shane (1953)
80.  Blackboard Jungle (1955)

81.  North to Alaska (1960)
82.  Star Wars:  The Force Awakens (2015)
83.  The Longest Day (1962)
84.  The Son of the Sheik (1926)
85.  Witness (1985)
86.  The Thin Man (1934)
87.  Jane Eyre (1983)
88.  The Quick and the Dead (1995)
89.  Rocky (1976)
90.  Whispering Smith (1948)

91.  The Mark of Zorro (1940)
92.  L.A. Confidential (1997)
93.  To Have and Have Not (1944)
94.  State Fair (1945)
95.  GoldenEye (1995)
96.  Giant (1956)
97.  Amazing Grace (2006)
98.  The Fastest Gun Alive (1956)
99.  Romancing the Stone (1984)
100.  This Gun for Hire (1942)

Check back tomorrow for my top 50!

"The Princess Bride" (1987) Soundtrack Guest Post

I've got another soundtrack post up here on J and J Productions today, this time for the soundtrack to The Princess Bride, one of my favorite movies.

I know I throw the phrase "favorite movie" around a lot, so I'm working on the list of my 100 favorites, which I'll share soon!

Another Western Giveaway!

Just a heads-up for my fellow western lovers -- Annie is hosting a giveaway over at her blog The Western Desk.  Go check it out!

"Whispering Smith" (1948)

This is precisely the sort of western I love best:  unironic and uncomplicated and unapologetic.  It's old-fashioned, with heroic heroes and villainous villains, and characters I just want to hang out with a lot.

Don't get me wrong -- I love me a really intense, deep, psychologically dramatic western too.  Definitely do.  (Remember when I wrote three huge posts about 3:10 to Yuma?  Yeeeeeeeeeeah...)  But when I think, "Time to watch a western!" this is the kind I usually mean.  (Other times I think, "Time to watch a deep western," you see.)

NOTE:  If you're totally confused by this post because you thought that Audie Murphy played the character of Whispering Smith, don't worry.  I was confused by that too.  Murphy starred in a TV show by the same name.

The movie centers around the title character of Luke "Whispering" Smith (Alan Ladd), a quiet, serious railroad detective who rides around the country catching bad guys who rob trains.

We first meet him in pursuit of a gang who shoot his horse out from under him and then skedaddle.  Luke flags down a train and climbs aboard, where he finds his good buddy Murray Sinclair (Robert Preston, who'd starred in This Gun for Hire with Ladd too).  Luke and Murray go way back -- they came west with the railroad together as young men, but haven't seen each other in some years.

Murray works for the railroad too, with a wrecking crew that goes and cleans up train wrecks.  (These seem to be pretty regular occurrences, though we never find out if it's because of the rough terrain or hold-ups or what.  Maybe trains just fell off the tracks all the time back then, and we have forgotten that one perilous detail of the iron horse conquering the west.)

Anyway, the gang Luke is tailing seems to be hiding out somewhere in the vicinity, so Murray invites Luke to stay at his ranch while he's trying to find the outlaws.  Luke is reluctant to do so, however, and we soon learn why.  Murray's wife Marian (Brenda Marshall) used to be in love with Luke, and he with her.

Luke gets wounded, though, and winds up at Murray and Marion's house to convalesce.  Sparks still sizzle between Luke and Marian, and Luke honorably stays as far away from her as he can.  He takes a room in town with his good friends Bill and Emmy Dansing (William Demarest and Fay Holden) and avoids Marian and Murray as much as he can.

But of course he keeps bumping into them a lot anyway, because this is a small town and he's the star of the movie.  Marian admits to him that she wishes he'd have proposed because that's all she was waiting for, but he tells her it's no good wishing to change the past, and she should just be happy with Murray.  And she did seem to be reasonably happy with Murray until Luke showed up.  Which is why he's been staying away, I expect.

(Every time Alan Ladd says Marian's name, I think of Shane.  Every time Robert Preston says her name, I think of The Music Man.  This keeps me heartily amused.)

So Murray has this buddy named Barney Rebstock (Donald Crisp) who is a shifty rancher that nobody else much likes or trusts.  Rebstock also has this creepy gunhand named Whitey Du Sang (Frank Faylen) who makes everyone uncomfortable whenever he's around.  And we all know what they say about bad company corrupting good morals.

And then Murray gets in trouble with the railroad because he and his crew have been keeping some of the damaged goods from the train wrecks they help clean up, and the railroad says that's looting.  Murray gets very angry about this and turns against he railroad.  He also figures out that Marion still has feelings for Luke, and he jumps to the conclusion that she must be two-timing him, even though we know she isn't.  He starts hanging out with Rebstock a lot, spending time with saloon girls, and generally degenerating as fast as possible.  And of course, when Murray starts attacking the railroad, who has to go stop him?  His erstwhile best pal, Luke Smith.

I love stories about one-time friends who are now on opposite sides of a problem, and that is a lot of why I like this movie so much.  It's not the best western I've ever seen (though it's also far and away not the worst), but it's a solid, enjoyable story with some first-rate actors who seem to be having a good time playing cowboys.

You can get some deeper things from this movie as well as just good-guys-versus-bad-guys, too.  Like I mentioned above, hanging out with bad people and shunning your good friends is not a good plan.  Also, I feel like Marion has a cautionary tale to tell us.  First of all, don't wait around for a guy to do all the romantic work -- what if he's shy, or worried about messing things up for his best friend?  Make your own intentions and feelings clear.  Second, if you give up on one guy and marry another one, then devote yourself to your husband and quit pining around for the other guy.  And if that other guy comes back into your life, whatever you do, don't make googly eyes at him.  Be mentally faithful to your husband as well as physically, because you are going to end up hurting everyone with your foolishness, both the husband who loves you and the guy who gave you up.

(Um, yeah, can you tell I'm not a Marian fan?)

Anyway, I watched this for the first time last month before offering it for the western movies giveaway I did, and it's the movie that bumped Alan Ladd up from "hmm, he's nice" to "I Need More Alan Ladd Right Away!" status for me.  I watched it again last week and still liked it so, so well.

This is my 8th movie reviewed for the PDC.  Time to talk about costumes!  We've got lots of them to ogle.  Marian gets most of them.  We first see her in this pretty dressing gown.  You can tell from their house that Murray is doing well for himself, can't you?  No simple cabin for them!

The next day, Marian has this smart shirtwaist and dark green split riding skirt.

I really like her blue dress, and Tootie has informed me she wants it for Halloween.  (However, yesterday she said she wanted to be a cupcake, and the day before that she wanted to be Mary Poppins, so I have no idea what she'll want six months from now.)

I don't care for this dress of Marian's at all.  It's like a two-sided blanket or something.  Just weird color choices and style.  (But Luke looks mighty nice all cleaned up, doesn't he?)

I wish I could've gotten a full-length shot of this cloak, though, because it is amazing.  I love the color, a deep cranberry.  I would wear it.

But this is my favorite of Marian's ensembles (and Luke's too).  I love the yellow shirt, so very Victorian.  I think the green skirt is the same one from earlier, and I like it when movie characters wear the same clothes more than once because it's so much more realistic than having a new dress for every day.  Luke's got dark green on here too, though it's hard to tell in this shot, and I think it's a lovely color for him.

This fringey buckskin jacket makes me think of Shane, how about you?  (I have this private head-canon story where Shane and Luke Smith are actually the same guy.)

They mostly put Luke in blue, which is also a good color for Ladd, with his lighter hair and blue eyes.  Not a huge fan of the pattern of this shirt, though.  I mostly included it to point out the tea set, because I have a great fondness for red-pattern china.

He pulls off the gentleman-gunfighter look really well too.  (He's not a gunfighter, he's a railroad detective, but whatever.  This shot says "gentleman-gunfighter" to me.)

Emmy mostly wears plainer dresses that manage to be practical without looking dowdy.

I love this shot of the Dansings' sitting room.  They're doing right well for themselves too, aren't they?  This is such a peaceful shot, Luke playing Solitaire and Emmy knitting.  So companionable.  I want to sit down on that sofa behind them and read a book, enjoy the chummy quiet.

For saloon girls, these two have fairly demure dresses, don't they?  I love the contrast of the bright purple and green.

Is this movie family friendly?  Yes.  Zero cussing, and all violence is old-school and minimal.  The above saloon girls are too friendly with Murray, implying he's been tomcatting around, but nothing overt.  Luke and Marian Do Not have an extramarital affair.  They never so much as kiss.  Good boy, Luke.