An Autumnal Sunshine Blogger Award

Cecilia at Craft, Coffee, and Cake has tagged me with a Sunshine Blogger Award!  Thank you, Cecilia!

Rules:

1. Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog. 
2. Thank the person who nominated you. (Thank you again, Liz.) 
3. Provide a link to your nominator’s blog. 
4. Answer your nominator’s questions. 
5. Nominate up to 11 bloggers. 
6. Ask your nominees 11 questions. 
7. Notify your nominees by commenting on at least one of their blog post

Cecilia's Questions:

1. If you had to live out the events in a book as the main character, which book would you choose? 

I'd like to be Miss Mary Russell in The Beekeeper's Apprentice for a run through the book, and get to be mentored and befriended by Sherlock Holmes.

2. Favourite weird combination of flavours that everyone else hates? 

Hmm.  I don't make them often, but I do enjoy peanut butter and onion sandwiches.

3. Whom are your favourite actor and actress? 

John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara!  How lucky I am -- they made five movies together!

4. If you had all the money in the world to buy an outfit for a ball, what would you wear? (The sky's the limit for this one - you can wear any dress, shoes, bag, hairstyle you like!) 

I'd wear anything from White Christmas that would look nice on me -- probably any of Rosemary Clooney's outfits.  These are two of my favorites:

5. Quote from a film that makes you smile/laugh? 

So many!  Basically every single line from Support Your Local Sheriff (1969), which we quote alllll the time.  "I don't really have much to say about old Millard, as he only arrove amongst us a few days ago and was promptly struck down by whatever deadly disease it was that struck him down" tends to be a big favorite, oddly enough.

6. Social situation from a book/film to which you completely relate? 

Again, so many!  How to choose one?  Maybe, let's go with the exchange in The Avengers (2012) where Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is confused by Nick Fury's (Samuel L. Jackson) casual mention of "flying monkeys," and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is all pleased with himself for understanding the reference.  I have been all three of those characters in various situations like that, at different times.

7. Most inspiring quote from a non-religious book? 

I mean, choosing just one is almost impossible.  I do find this line from The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery to be very inspiring, though:

She brushed the old years and habits and inhibitions away from her like dead leaves. She would not be littered with them.

(From my Instagram)

8. What personal quality do you think, if everyone possessed it, would make the biggest difference to the world? 

Cheerfulness.

9. You have to have one antagonist from a novel tag along with you for the next six months. Who would it be? 

Oh my.  How about Severus Snape from the Harry Potter books?  He's a dear favorite of mine, but Harry certainly considers him an antagonist in every single book.  And, odd as this might seem, I don't think I would mind having him living in my house for half a year.  If he got sarcastic about my cooking, I would get sarcastic back.  If he ridiculed my coffee, I'd have an excuse to buy an espresso machine and teach him how to use it.  I'd introduce him to chocolate-chip pancakes and peppermint mocha and sitting outside on the swing reading a book.  Maybe I'd even manage to make him smile once or twice.

10. Can you speak another language? If so, which one? If not, which one would you like to learn? 

I can speak a little bit of German.

11. Would you rather be an amazing homemaker and housekeeper, or be able to write beautiful poetry?

I can write poetry already, and I enjoy doing homemaker things like cooking and baking and arranging nice flowers for the dining room table and switching out some decorations with the seasons... so I pick some kind of magical spell that will turn me into a better housekeeper!  Because I am not good at keeping my house clean and tidy like I ought to be.

Now, it's my turn :-D

My Questions:

1. Thanksgiving or Halloween?

2. Candy apples or caramel apples?

3. Hot apple cider or cold apple cider?

4. Walnuts or almonds?

5. Pecan pie or pumpkin pie?

6. Caramel corn or Chex mix?

7. Bonfire or a fire in a fireplace?

8. Hiking or camping?

9. Canoeing or kayaking?

10. Sweaters or hoodies?

11. Gloves or mittens?

I Nominate:

Anyone who wants to answer these!  I haven't had much time for blogging lately, as you might have noticed, so I'm not going to pick anyone for this.  If it looks fun to you, consider yourself tagged!

Ten Favorite American Civil War Movies

Every week, I watch a movie with my teens over lunch.  During the school year, they take turns picking the movie to watch each week, but during the summer, I get to choose them.  This summer, I chose to have us watch all kinds of movies set during the American Civil War.  I realized while out at the Manassas Battlefield on a field trip last spring that, when I was a kid and teen, I had a really great grasp of the major events of the American Civil War because I had seen quite a few movies set during it, particularly the mini-series The Blue and the Gray (1982), which encompasses the whole war.  And my kids didn't have that because we simply hadn't watched those movies yet.  Sure, we had studied the war repeatedly during school over the years, but it's harder to envision how everything fits together when you are reading about it.

So, we spent the whole summer watching movies set during that war, plus a few that take place shortly after it but are strongly influenced by it.  I eventually added a couple more to the list above as we went, and we didn't manage to watch quite all of them, but my teens now have a good grasp of the basic sequence of events in the American Civil War.  

Inspired by our summer viewing, I decided to share my list of my Top Ten Favorite American Civil War movies.  Here they are!

1. The Blue and the Gray (1982) Yeah, yeah, technically a miniseries.  Anyway!  This is a masterful piece of storytelling that focuses on a young Virginia artist (John Hammond) who has abolitionist leanings and family on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.  He and his extended family and friends end up mixed up in just about every major piece of the war, from John Brown's execution to the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.  It delves thoroughly and entertainingly into the difficulty of a war fought between brothers, cousins, and friends.  I grew up watching it every year or two, and I absolutely credit it with giving me a thorough grasp of the main sequence of events of the war.  Also, nobody but Gregory Peck should ever be allowed to play President Lincoln.

2. Gettysburg (1993)  A talented ensemble cast shows many of the events leading up to and during the battle that is now considered the turning point of the American Civil War. Jeff Daniels turns in a particularly wonderful performance as Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, one of my personal heroes.

3. Little Women (1994)  Four sisters grow up in New England under their mother's guidance while their father is away with the Union Army.  People don't tend to think of this as a Civil War story, but the war influences everything in their daily lives, sometimes more overtly and sometimes subtly.

4. How the West was Won (1962)  A sprawling saga tracing the lives of two sisters (Debbie Reynolds and Carroll Baker) who move west as young women, and the lives of their husbands and children.  The Civil War is technically only shown onscreen briefly, but its echoes sound out across the rest of the movie as it follows the son of one sister, a veteran who heads west and uses his experiences in the war to inform his decisions from then on.

5. Shenandoah (1965)  A Virginia farmer (James Stewart) insists on his large family never getting involved in the Civil War that rages around them, but there is no way for him to keep them isolated from it forever. 

6. Friendly Persuasion (1956)  A Quaker family tries to remain neutral during the Civil War, but there is no way for them to remain uninvolved forever.  Anthony Perkins is so likeable in this.

7. The Horse Soldiers (1969)  A Union Cavalry colonel (John Wayne) sneaks his troops deep into Confederate territory to destroy the railroads and hasten Union victory, but he has this pesky medical officer (William Holden) along who keeps causing problems.

8. Harriet (2019)  Biopic of Harriet Tubman (Cynthia Erivo) that portrays her escape from slavery and courageous rescue of so many others.  I ended up not watching this one with my teens this summer because it is pretty stern stuff and I think my youngest won't be ready for it for another year or so, but it's an excellent movie.

9. Gone with the Wind (1939)  Eating radishes straight out of the ground after drinking whiskey on an empty stomach convinces a spoiled Southern belle (Vivien Leigh) that she will do anything necessary to avoid repeating that sensation.

10. The Undefeated (1969)  A former Union cavalryman (John Wayne) teams up with a former Confederate officer (Rock Hudson) to get a herd of horses and a wagon train of people safely to Mexico.  Technically takes place just after the war, but the war echoes all through the film, so I say it counts, and it's my list, so there ;-)

Have you seen any of these?  Do you have other favorite Civil War movies?  Are you aghast that I left Gods and Generals (2003) off this list?  Do tell!

My Tag Answers for Legends of Western Cinema Week 2025

Time for me to fill out our party tag!  

I'm going to put down the first western movie or TV show that comes to mind for these, and not agonize over whether they are the perfect example or not.  And I'll muse just a little on why each one came to mind for those prompts.

Cliff -- a tense cliffhanger Horizon: An American Saga, Chapter One (2024)  The ending of this movie is a series of cliffhangers, and I have been hanging off those cliffs for a year now with NO word on when they are releasing chapter two!  This is so agonizing!

Gulch -- a cool ambush scene The Professionals (1966) A set of professional gunfighters and adventurers are on a mission to rescue a kidnapped woman, only to get ambushed by her captors when they've almost got her back to her husband.  The gunfighters and the woman are stuck in a desert-mountain pass, and the only way to escape is if one of them stays behind to hold off their enemies... who used to actually be friends with a lot of them.  Lots of excitement and emotional impact.

Canyon -- a big gunfight A Fistful of Dollars (1964)  Oh, that finale, with the lone, nameless hero coolly facing down three evil brothers and their henchmen -- it's positively iconic.  Then you add in this brilliant trumpet theme by Ennio Morricone and the music swelling behind it, the dust in the street, the slow walk toward certain death, the quiet courage with a secret smile in front of it... oh my heart, I love the end of this movie so much.

Mountains -- high stakes The War Wagon (1967) An ex-con gathers a team to help him steal an armored wagon full of gold -- and help him get revenge on the man who had him unjustly accused and sentenced and thrown in jail.  High stakes indeed.

Valley -- a beautiful romance Angel and the Badman (1947)  It's like a Beauty and the Beast retelling where the Beast ends up at Beauty's family home instead.  And when I say the ending gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes, I mean that in the best way possible!

Desert -- a suspenseful plot 3:10 to Yuma (1957)  A desperate rancher agrees to ensure a sly outlaw gets on the train headed for the Yuma Territorial Prison, the outlaw spends the next day doing everything in his considerable power to get free.  The tension just ratchets tighter and tighter --it's masterful.

Forest -- themes about renewal The Rare Breed (1966)  This is a movie about second chances.  A widow gets a second chance at love, a father and son get a second chance at understanding each other, a discontented cowhand gets a second chance at career choices... and it's all revolving around a big Hereford bull intended to bring new life and vitality into a Texas herd.

River -- traveling to a new home Buck and the Preacher (1972)  Black pioneers trying to get to Kansas to start new lives as farmers... but a lot of people seem to not want them to get to do that.  It's the only movie I know of that's set during the real-life Exoduster migration, too.

Plains -- characters who are farmers Shane (1953)  Even though the title character is a gunfighter, he befriends a farming family and gets semi-adopted by them.  If they weren't farmers, he wouldn't have to protect them from people trying to push them off their farm, so the whole plot really revolves around the fact that they are trying to raise crops and animals, not graze cattle.

Mesa -- an animal central to the story The Proud Rebel (1958)  A sweet, unassuming sheepdog is the heart inside this sweet story about family, love, and sacrifice.  And the dog doesn't die, which is a total bonus!

Have you seen any of these?

The Christmas Movies Tag

I love Christmas.  I love movies.  Today, I'm inviting you to join me in combining those two delightful parts of life so we can talk about our favorite Christmas movies! 

The Rules:

• Fill out the prompts (expound as much or as little as you like)
• Tag some friends (however many or few you feel like)
• Have fun (this is mandatory)

The Tag:

1.  A favorite funny Christmas movie:  We're No Angels (1955)

It's only one of the absolute funniest movies I've ever seen, AND it's a Christmas movie!  Who can resist the hilarious tale of three escaped convicts (Aldo Ray, Humphrey Bogart, and Peter Ustinov) who set out to rob a storekeeper (Leo G. Carroll) so they can get off Devil's Island and instead end up helping him and his family escape the clutches of a merciless relative (Basil Rathbone).  Comedy genius AND Christmastime gold all at once!  (And if you think Humphrey Bogart isn't funny, boy, do you ever have another think coming.)

2.  A favorite poignant Christmas movie:  It's a Wonderful Life (1946) is the perfect blend of darkness and hope.  It's remarkably gritty, with enough desperation and anger simmering in it to fuel several noir films, and yet it's also imbued with so much hope and love.  

3.  A favorite romantic Christmas movie: The Holiday (2006) grows more loveable every time I watch it.  Yes, there's a bit of "adult content," but most of it is alluded to, not shown on-screen.  But the themes of standing up for yourself, learning who to trust and how to trust them, and caring for others even when you've only just met -- all so good!  And "W-i-d-o-w-e-d" never fails to make me tear up.  If you know, you know.

4.  A favorite feel-good Christmas movie:  White Christmas (1954)

Have I seen White Christmas a few dozen times?  Of course!  Will I be watching it next weekend when it's on the big screen at our local theater?  Absolutely!  Man, this movie has everything I love in a Christmas movie -- soldiers, war zones, trains, horseshoes, romance, sparkly dresses, earworm songs that make me happy every time I think of them, miraculous snowfalls, and the occasional small, internal muscular hemorrhage.  Magic!

5.  A favorite movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol:  For me, it's a tie between A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) and A Christmas Carol (1999) starring Patrick Stewart.  They both bring me to tears, make me laugh, and make me want to clap.  Sometimes I do clap. 

6.  A Christmas movie you watch any time of year:  While You Were Sleeping (1995)

I mean, it's technically a Christmas movie.  You have a Christmas gathering and a Christmas tree and a gift exchange and snow and mistletoe.  But I watch it any time of year because the fact that it's Christmas is only a sort of backdrop.  And also because it was released in April, and I saw it in late spring at the second-run theater with the girls who were becoming my best friends, and... it's so Christmassy, but I almost never watch it at Christmas time ::shrugs::

7.  A Christmas movie that surprised you:  Holiday Affair (1949)

The first time I watched Holiday Affair, the story and characters kept taking these random left turns that would seem to come out of nowhere, but yet made absolute and total sense.  I just could not ever see them coming, and that entranced me.  Which is a bit odd, because usually when movies start zigging when I am quite sure they will zag, I start to get frustrated.  But every single surprising turn of events made the story So Much Better, and I was spellbound.  I now tend to watch this during the week before Christmas after everyone else is in bed, while sitting on the floor in the living room and wrapping gifts.  It's a private, cozy little pleasure I look forward to and savor.

8.  A favorite "but is it really a Christmas movie?" movie:  The Three Godfathers (1948) is kind of hard to describe.  It's a John Wayne Christmas movie.  You've got three desperadoes and an orphaned baby and a desert and people quoting the Bible, and Ward Bond playing a guy named Perley Sweet... and it's generally considered a Christmas movie, but I am not sure I have ever watched it at Christmastime.  

9.  The oldest Christmas movie you've seen:  The Thin Man (1934), which is one of the most delightful murder mysteries ever filmed.  I think we will introduce it to our kids this Christmas season.  Nick and Nora Charles are #MarriedCoupleGoals, and I find this movie funnier every time I watch it, which is pretty rare.

10.  The newest Christmas movie you've seen:  A Christmas Love Story (2019), which was also the first Hallmark Christmas movie I had ever seen!  My mom is living with us part of the time now, and we don't have the Hallmark Channel.  She was missing getting to watch lots of Hallmark Christmas movies, so I hunted up a few on DVD that sounded like I would also enjoy them, and which were made before Hallmark kowtowed to the pressure to push unbiblical agendas on their audience.  We watched this last week, and it was cute and fun.  I'm pretty sure my youngest is going to want to see it because it stars Kristin Chenoweth, and my little ballerina was just in a ballet version of Wicked, which led to her being a bit obsessed with all things Wicked at the moment.  And you know what?  This movie would be totally fine for her watch.  Yay!

I Tag:

18 Cinema Lane

I'm Charles Baker Harris (and I Can Read)

Ink Calamities

The Maidens of Green Gables

Meanwhile, in Rivendell...

Movies Meet Their Match

Musings of an Introvert

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies

Sidewalk Crossings

Silver Scenes

Taking Up Room

YOU, if I didn't tag you and you want to play!  

Here's a clean copy of the questions, if you want them:

1.  A favorite funny Christmas movie:

2.  A favorite poignant Christmas movie:

3.  A favorite romantic Christmas movie: 

4.  A favorite feel-good Christmas movie:

5.  A favorite movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol:

6.  A Christmas movie you watch any time of year:

7.  A Christmas movie that surprised you:

8.  A favorite "but is it really a Christmas movie?" movie:

9.  The oldest Christmas movie you've seen:

10.  The newest Christmas movie you've seen:

My Answers to the LOWCW 2023 Tag

It has taken me days to fill this out.  So many good moments to choose from!  I'm so glad we decided to say "a favorite" for these so I didn't have to feel pressure to figure out my one absolute top favorite for any of these, as I would probably never have finished it otherwise.

In other words, get yourself a fresh cup of coffee and a biscuit from the chuckwagon and settle back for a series of pretty thorough answers to these tag questions.

The LOWCW 2023 Tag

Stetson -- a favorite hero moment (i.e. highlighting their character and/or making a pivotal decision, etc) 

There's a moment in The Lone Ranger (2013) at the beginning of the finale when John Reid (Armie Hammer) appears above the crowd on his white horse, which rears up, and the first time I saw that, it was like he slotted into this silhouette in my head that's the shape of A Heroic Man.  It's really hard to describe, but it was like this moment of recognition for me and victory for him, and... I love that moment, because it's when John Reid finally OWNS being The Lone Ranger, and he never looks back from then on.

Petticoat -- a favorite heroine moment (ditto)

There's a tiny moment in The Rare Breed (1966) where Hilary Price (Juliet Mills), her mother Martha (Maureen O'Hara), and cowpuncher Sam Burnett (James Stewart) are transporting the prize Hereford bull Vindicator to Texas.  Vindicator is tied behind the wagon that Martha and Hilary usually ride in on the trip, but on this sunny afternoon, Hilary isn't in the wagon, she is riding on Vindicator's back.  She raised him from a calf and loves him dearly, and she's really struggling to accept that he's been sold and is on his way to his new home, where she will have to leave him.  Most of that struggle is not conveyed to us in words, but in how Hilary behaves toward him, and that's most poignant in the moment when she's riding on his back and lies down on his back and closes her eyes.  The love and trust conveyed in that simple moment get to me every time I watch the movie.

Canteen -- a favorite scene with a leader/mentor 

In my favorite movie, The Man from Snowy River (1982), young Jim Craig (Tom Burlinson) has been accused of stealing a valuable horse from his employer, Mr. Harrison (Kirk Douglas).  Jim loses his job and heads home to the mountains.  There, he encounters a friend of his dad's, the crack rider Clancy (Jack Thompson).  Clancy tells Jim that Mr. Harrison is getting together a lot of riders to recover that valuable horse from the herd of wild horses it has joined.  Jim wants nothing to do with it because he's angry over being falsely accused of theft and fired, but Clancy tells him he should join the search because he's a grown man now, not a sulky kid, basically.  Jim is unconvinced.  Finally, Clancy asks him, "What's the first thing you do when a horse bucks you off?"  Jim says, "You don't let him beat you, you get straight back on."  Clancy nods and says, "Well?"  Jim might not like it, but he knows what he has to do.

That bit of advice, to stand up and try again and not let one fall defeat you is something that has been a real help to me all my life.  My own dad has actually quoted it to me, most memorably the first time I put on a pair of roller skates after breaking my arm while roller skating when I was 12.

Gloves -- a favorite sidekick/friend scene 

This is a scene that hurts and hurts, but it's so agonizingly good that I love it anyway.  In Hour of the Gun (1967), Wyatt Earp (James Garner) has just gunned down a man involved in the murder of Wyatt's brother.  Doc Holliday (Jason Robards) has been sitting silently on his horse watching things go down, but once Wyatt's business is finished, Doc can't be quiet anymore.  He tells Wyatt he's not carrying warrants for arrest, he's carrying hunting licenses.  Doc says Wyatt has no intention of bringing any of these people in alive, he's not working for the law anymore, he's turned vigilante and is carrying out his own little vengeful killing spree.

Wyatt is enraged.  It's the truth, but he can't bear to admit it to himself.  He absolutely refuses to admit anything that Doc is saying is true, and ends up belting his friend across the face.

Doc drops to his knees, the blow having started a horrible coughing fit, as he's slowly dying of tuberculosis.  He coughs and coughs and coughs, and Wyatt instantly switches from rage to compassion and remorse.  It's a gorgeous scene where Doc has the guts to tell his friend the truth, and Wyatt refuses to listen, but then his friendship for Doc overrules his anger.

Canyon -- a favorite western landscape 

I can't decide between Monument Valley and the Grand Tetons.  They both pop up in plenty of westerns, and they are both always completely, achingly gorgeous.

Monument Canyon in The Lone Ranger (2013)

The Tetons in Shane (1953)

Pistol -- a favorite fight scene 

The showdown at the end of A Fistful of Dollars (1964) is everything I want a gunfight to be.  The stakes are as high as possible, with the freedom and peace of a whole town riding on the outcome.  The bad guys are evil, and multitudinous, stacked against one lone hero who won't stay knocked down.  Add in a glorious trumpet theme by Ennio Morricone and you can't lose!

Saddle -- a favorite horse / animal in a western 

He may not be my absolute favorite, but Denny, the horse that Jim Craig rides to glory in The Man from Snowy River, is amazing.  I definitely owe my love of buckskin horses to Denny, and I owe my love of all horses to that film.

Sky -- a favorite ambitious / crazy plan in a western 

The War Wagon (1967) is all about a plan to rob an un-rob-able armored stagecoach filled with gold.  It's a heist film disguised as a western, and it might be part of why I love heist films, now that I think about it.  Taw Jackson (John Wayne) was wrongly convicted of a crime and just got out of prison after serving time for it (oh, and that is another favorite trope of mine!).  He decides to get his revenge on the man who framed him (Bruce Cabot) by gathering a group of oddly talented ne'er-do-wells (Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn, and Robert Walker Jr. -- and no, I am not making that cast up) to help him carry out a very elaborate and detailed plan to rob his nemesis's armored gold-shipment coach.  That's the whole plot of the movie.  And it's a fun, fun ride.

Rifle -- a favorite scene with an antagonist 

Basically any scene from The Magnificent Seven (1960) with the bandit leader Calvera (Eli Wallach) in it, to be honest.  He steals every scene, even out from under the likes of Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner.  If I had to pick one favorite, it would be one from close to the beginning where he is justifying his thieving to some townsfolk, because he is totally convinced he makes absolute sense.  He's not stealing from these villagers because he hates them or he's filled with malice or he wants to take over the world, he's stealing from them to feed the men who follow him, and he's not mean and nasty about it, and that makes him one of the few villains I actually like a little bit.

Chuckwagon -- a favorite meal scene 

In Shane (1953), after Shane (Alan Ladd) uses nothing but his quietly menacing presence to scare their enemies away from their homestead, Joe (Van Heflin) and Marian (Jean Arthur) invite him to eat a meal with them.  While they eat, you get the sense that it has been a long time since Shane shared a meal with a family instead of eating at a boarding house or in some beanery.  He thanks Marian and tells her that this was "an elegant meal, ma'am."  His soft and graceful chivalry in that one line communicates to the audience -- and to Joe and Marian -- that there is a lot of depth to this gunfighter.  That he is more than just another tough guy. 

Badge -- a favorite scene with peace officers / sheriff 

There's a moment in Rio Bravo (1959) that has nothing to do, exactly, with keeping the peace or upholding the law, but it's such a sweet and lovely scene that I have to share it here.  The sheriff (John Wayne), his deputy (Dean Martin), the man who sweeps out the jail (Walter Brennan), and a young gunman (Ricky Nelson) are all holed up in the town jail, guarding one prisoner until the judge can come and try his case.  That prisoner's rich and powerful brother is doing everything he can to get the lawmen to release him, but they are standing firm and refusing.  In the middle of a very tense movie that is going to ratchet up the tension even more before it's through, we get a soft and quiet interlude where Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson sing a couple of songs one evening because you cannot have Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson in a movie together without getting them to sing something.  And because the audience needs a little breather between tense and exciting plot points just as much as the characters do.

Lariat -- a favorite cattle drive /roundup

The climax of Chisum (1970) involves a herd of cattle being driven straight through the main street of a town, with cattle going inside the buildings and smashing stuff up and altogether causing a great deal of mayhem.  It's chaotically glorious in a strange way, and I look forward to it every time I watch the movie.  Not quite a cattle drive or roundup in the usual sense, but very memorable!  I may have drawn inspiration from it for the ending of The Man on the Buckskin Horse, actually.

Hey, look at that!  You made it to the end of this very long post!  Hope your coffee held out.

Don't forget that today is the last day to enter my giveaway!  

My Ten Favorite Funny Westerns

Something about the western genre often lends itself to blending with comedy, which I find delightful.  Here are my ten favorite funny westerns -- some are spoofs or meant to be comedies, and others are more just westerns that have a lot of funny stuff in them.

1. Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) A mild-mannered man (James Garner) who is basically just on his way to Australia takes on the job of sheriff in a goldrush boomtown.  His unorthodox methods and unflappable demeanor keep everyone bewildered and off balance, from baddies (including Walter Brennan and Bruce Dern), to the mayor (Henry Morgan), to his former-town-drunk deputy (Jack Elam).  One of the absolute funniest movies I have ever seen.  My family quotes it constantly.

2. The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)  A card sharp (Bill Bixby) takes care of three orphans, marries a stage coach driver (Susan Clark), and captures a famous outlaw (Slim Pickens) while eluding the machinations of two inept would-be robbers (Don Knotts and Tim Conway).  One of my favorites when I was a kid, and still funny and awesome now.

3. North to Alaska (1960) A wealthy Alaska mine owner (John Wayne) brings a dance hall girl (Capucine) back to his claim to replace the woman who jilted his mining partner (Stewart Granger), only to fall in love with her himself.  A western romcom, basically, and one with an amazingly fun brawl in the mud at the end.  Thanks to this movie, I have basically been on my way to Alaska for the last thirty years.

4. Texas Across the River (1966).  A Southern belle (Rosemary Forsyth) pursues her European fiance (Alain Delon) to Texas, where she gets mixed up with an opportunistic gunrunner (Dean Martin).  A few of the jokes have not aged well, but most of them are still laugh-out-loud funny.

5. Along Came Jones (1945) A slow-talking, easy-going cowpoke (Gary Cooper) gets mistaken for a vicious outlaw (Dan Duryea) and falls for the outlaw's girl (Loretta Young). This is a charming western comedy that amuses me greatly.

6. The Sheepman (1958) A sheep rancher (Glenn Ford) insists on raising his sheep in an area dominated by cattle ranchers, no matter how much they pressure or cajole him to be rid of the wooly beasts. The main character's sense of humor and a stubborn and sassy woman (Shirley MacLaine) elevates this above turning into yet another range war picture.

7. McLintock! (1963) A rich rancher (John Wayne) battles his estranged wife (Maureen O'Hara), daughter, land-grabbing bad guys, and various other adversaries. It's actually a western version of The Taming of the Shrew.

8. Cat Ballou (1965) Cat Ballou (Jane Fonda) comes home to her family's ranch just in time to witness her father's murder by the notorious (and noseless) Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin). She straps on a gunbelt and sets out to avenge him, eventually gathering up an outlaw gang of comically inept ne'erdowells, including washed-up gunfighter Kid Shelleen (also Lee Marvin). This is a wacky, wild movie, but I like it.

9. Three Amigos! (1986) Three silent movie stars (Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short) are mistaken for actual gunfighters by the people in a small Mexican village being terrorized by a bandit (Alfonso Arau).  It's basically a really silly version of The Magnificent Seven.

10. Rango (2011) A chameleon (Johnny Depp) accidentally winds up in a middle-of-nowhere town that's in desperate need of some law and order.  It's an animated spoof/homage to all the classic westerns, with tropes and archetypes at every turn, and such a loving homage that I can't help but find it both funny and charming.

Yup, this is another contribution to this year's Legends of Western Cinema Week.  Hope you've been enjoying the festivities!

Stubborn Romance

Classic Hollywood boasted quite a few actor-actress duos that had such good chemistry, studio execs paired them again and again. Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Rock Hudson and Doris Day come to mind. But of all the classic on-screen matches, my favorite remains John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. 

Now, this might have something to do with the fact that John Wayne is my favorite actor, and Maureen O’Hara is my favorite actress. So having them together onscreen would be a special treat for me even if they didn’t display both great chemistry and a wonderful camaraderie. 

John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara both excelled at playing strong-willed, strong-minded characters who did not back down from a fight, who had to be definitively won, not simply wooed. In real life, they were good friends, which I find endearing. I suppose it’s that real-life friendship that made them appear so natural together onscreen. 

In a 1974 speech, John Wayne joked, “I’ve been in more battles than Napoleon and more wars than Germany. I’ve captured Bataan, Corregidor, Fort Apache, and Maureen O’Hara.”* That’s part of what fascinates me—their characters were always almost military opponents as much as lovers. There’s a sense that their characters are excited to have found a worthy opponent at last, and it’s that worthiness that attracts them to each other, even though they spend more time battling than romancing. 

Wayne and O’Hara played opposite each other five times in just over twenty years, and I’d like to recap each of those films for you here. 

In Rio Grande (1950), hard-nosed Cavalry officer Kirby Yorke is tasked with training a bunch of raw recruits, including his son, whom he hasn’t seen in many years. Yorke’s estranged wife Kathleen arrives to take their son away again because she thinks Yorke is being too hard on him. Kirby and Kathleen bicker and fight and slowly fall in love again despite an Indian uprising, a court-martial, and their own proud and stubborn natures. 

In The Quiet Man (1952), ex-prize fighter Sean Thornton returns to his ancestral homeland of Ireland to retire in peace. He soon falls in love with Mary Kate Danaher and marries her, despite the objections of her boorish brother. But when Sean refuses to fight her brother over an insult, Mary Kate declares he’s not a real man after all and leaves him because she doesn’t know about the secrets he’d fled from back in America. 

The Wings of Eagles (1957) tells the true story of Navy pilot Frank ‘Spig’ Wead, who puts aviation above his marriage to Min, causing his personal life to decline until an accident paralyzes him, and he has to learn to live without the things he thought defined him. 

McLintock! (1963) is a loose adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. Cattle baron G.W. McLintock has his hands full trying to deal with a headstrong daughter, his estranged wife, farmers, Indians, and dishonest government officials. He tries to keep everyone happy and peaceful, with comic results. 

And in Big Jake (1971), Jacob McCandles returns home after many years at the request of his estranged wife, who needs him to help rescue their kidnapped grandson. 

I’ve seen both Wayne and O’Hara in many, many movies, opposite many different stars. And, while they could convincingly play love stories opposite others, their five movies together possess a special zing the others lack. I think it goes back to them finally having truly worth opponents, someone who forces them to be at their best in conversation, romance, argument, and everything in between. The actors probably enjoyed acting opposite someone who would go toe-to-toe with them in any scene, the competition forcing them to utilize all their talents instead of falling into predictable or routine acting. 

The question, then, is why am I so entranced by this pair of stars playing generally cross lovers? I think a lot of it is because I am stubborn and strong-willed, so I enjoy seeing characters similar to myself find someone who can challenge them and who enjoys matching wits and wills with them. Also, their real-life friendship shines through in these performances, making their characters’ affection for each other feel warm and genuine even when they’re disagreeing. 

Of the five films John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara co-starred in, my favorite is definitely The Quiet Man. It has the happiest ending for their characters as a couple, and the finest scenes between them overall as well. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys an unusual love story in a charming setting.

*p. 139, Duke in His Own Words, by Editors of the Official John Wayne Magazine. Media Lab Books: NY, 2015.

(This post originally appeared in the January/February 2016 issue of Femnista magazine.)

It's John Wayne's birthday today, so I thought it was the perfect time to repost this Femnista article :-)  Happy birthday, Duke!

My Answers to This Year's LOWCW Tag

Every year, Olivia and Heidi and I have a lot of fun coming up with the questions for our tag.  Every year, I look forward to answering them myself.  And, every year, there's at least one question that stumps me or makes me have to think really hard about my answer.  Which is all part of the fun!  (This year it was question #9 that I struggled with.  Now you know.)

You can find the original tag here, on my kick-off post.  Also, don't forget that today is the LAST DAY to enter my giveaway!

If I've reviewed a movie I talk about here, I've linked its title to my full review, in case you're curious to read more about a particular film.

1) Favorite western focused on a lone hero? 

That would be 3:10 to Yuma (1957), in which struggling rancher Dan Evers (Van Heflin) singlehandedly stands up against an entire outlaw gang to take its leader, notorious Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) to the train that will transport him to prison.  It is a moody, atmospheric, aesthetically pleasing masterpiece of tension.

2) Favorite western focused on a group of compadres? 

The Magnificent Seven (1960), no contest.  It truly is magnificent.  The acting is superb, the writing is taut and masterful, and the score by Elmer Bernstein is one of the finest movie scores ever written.  I never, ever get tired of this movie.

3) Favorite western with a female main character? 

The Rare Breed (1966).  It's about a British widow (Maureen O'Hara) and her daughter (Juliet Mills) who bring a prize Hereford bull to the St. Louis stockyards to auction off.  They get worried that something terrible will befall the bull while it's being shipped to its new owner (Brian Keith) in Texas, so they insist on accompanying the man (James Stewart) tasked with delivering him.  It's a pretty unusual western in a lot of ways, and really enjoyable.

4) Favorite western with a POC main character? 

That would be Silverado (1985).  It has three main characters: Emmett (Scott Glenn), Paden (Kevin Kline), and Mal (Danny Glover), who join forces to take down a common enemy.  Mal's trying to save his family's homestead and convince his sister to abandon some questionable life choices she's been more or less forced to make.

Now, since Silverado is an ensemble piece, I'm going to answer this question twice so I can also mention Buck and the Preacher (1972) , which Sidney Poitier starred in and directed.  It's about African American pioneers seeking new homes in Kansas after the Civil War.  I highly recommend it to older teens and adults.  It probably hits a little too heavy for kids.

5) Favorite western with kids in it? 

Shane (1953) is told through the eyes of a boy (Brandon de Wilde) who idolizes the gunfighter (Alan Ladd) that his father (Van Heflin) and mother (Jean Arthur) have befriended and hired to work on their farm.  It's a beautiful meditation on what happens when a child idolizes an adult, and the kind of influence that idolization can have on the adult in question.  Shane works as hard as he can not to let that little boy down, but he works even harder to convince the boy that his own father is the real hero of the story.

6) Favorite western set somewhere other than the United States? 

The Man from Snowy River (1982).  It's also my favorite movie of all time, and it's all about a young man coming of age in Australia, finding work and falling in love and generally proving himself.  I saw this in the theater when I was two years old and fell in love with horses, Australia, and westerns all in one fell swoop.  It's been my favorite ever since.

7) Favorite "western" that doesn't fit the genre's dictionary definition? 

Well, The Proud Rebel (1958) takes place in Illinois, and so it's not technically a western.  But it feels like a western, so I call it one anyway.  It's about a man (Alan Ladd) searching for a doctor who can cure his mute son (David Ladd).  They end up working for a farmer (Olivia de Havilland) who's being harassed by some neighbors that want to buy her land, or force her off it if she won't sell.  And they have to overcome a bunch of problems, but they also form a nice little family in the process.

8) Favorite funny western? 

Support Your Local Sheriff (1969), always and forever.  A quirky, clever drifter (James Garner) takes the job as sheriff in a lawless goldrush town, makes a deputy out of the town drunk (Jack Elam), falls in love with the mayor's daughter (Joan Hackett), and dispatches a family of ne'erdowells, all in the most unconventional ways possible.  It's a spoof of western tropes, but such a loving spoof that its humor completely works.

9) Favorite tragic/sad western? 

The Alamo (1960).  Almost every single character dies.  Gloriously, yes, but still!  Tragic.  And yet, I watch it over and over.

10) Favorite western TV show?

The Big Valley (1965-69).  I love every member of the Barkley family, most especially Heath (Lee Majors) and Victoria (Barbara Stanwyck).  I want to be friends with them and hang out with them and go on adventures with them and just... can I either get adopted into or marry into that family already?  Please?

There you have it!  I can't believe that today is the last official day of Legends of Western Cinema Week already!  Like I said, if you haven't entered my giveaway yet, do that here.  And if you haven't made your guesses about my movie poster game yet, do that here.