CaptWinkie Reviews

Laugh Killer Laugh (2015)

Future Cult Favorite

[9/10 · 20 May 2024]

Only beginners would give this movie negative reviews- it's got everything, including monsters.

Bill Forsythe has been underrated for decades; he does a stellar job with this bad guy. What i love is he stays a bad guy through the whole show.

The director being new, i waited for an idiotic plot twist that would ruin the movie for me but it didn't happen. From the start, I just fell into the movie and as questions came up in the story, they got answered. For a minute there, the setup was so great, i thought the payoff would disappoint, but it didn't.

Would have been a plus imo to have Tony walk to the door on crutches, then have Frank noticing from the shadows before fading out--that would have required a different little ditty from Sizemore's character, but I guess it worked out okay.

Loved this one-

Batman & Robin (1997)

Batman is a comic book character

[7/10 · 11 April 2024]

In the spirit of the movie theme, it delivers.

As a "cartoon", the colors are vibrant, the characters have a plot along with a sense of humor, the costumes are terrific (my favorite was the assistant to Mr Freeze) and the cast was top-notch. Uma has the most recognizable lips in the business imo, so watching her talk was as enjoyable as listening to her voice. Arnold always brings the weight, the heavy, to his part- Clooney brought the good looks- Alicia was feisty and an excellent complement to Chris O'Donnell and, the big one, Michael Gough, has been Alfred since 1989 when Michael Keaton was Batman. If all of you Batman snobs could see yourself, you look like your parents. Kids like Batman too, they always did. This movie was clearly made to capitalize on toy sales like other films were enjoying and it would have except for your crappy reviews.

This Batman is just as good as any previous Batman, enjoyed by those with younger minds, broader intellect and other than myopic character boundaries. One day perhaps those qualities will be yours and you can give this version another showing.

Dragged Across Concrete (2018)

It's YOU That Gets Dragged

[1/10 · 17 March 2024]

Familiar actors plumped a weak story with racial language, a ridiculously unnecessary opening (sex) scene, an even more ridiculous disemboweling and a few cripples for your heartstrings. The ending was empty and pointless. It takes an hour to set up the players and the rest is just suffering through the thing to see how it all ends. Well i can tell you, it ends with you scratching your head wondering how two men can go from Hacksaw Ridge to this crap. It's a heist movie, but connected to virtually everything that happens is a voice in your head saying 'there's no way' or 'that's stupid'. HARD PASS.

The Virginian: Big Tiny (1968) Season 7, Episode 13

Please Curb Your Grinch

[3 December 2023]

Oh dear- so many big brains casting giant aspersions on our fair horse opera and it's starring dynamic duo- they should be ashamed of themselves because ALL actors are insecure and 6'6" is giant enough for our purposes here. John Wayne was considered tall at 6'4" ~ and Arness was only an inch taller than Tiny, so Torrey qualifies as 'giant'. It would if it were me. Dogging someone for their height is lame anyway.

Dave Sutton is a little bland, yes, but the stories would have carried him if most of the writers hadn't gone to greener pastures the year before. As it is, David Hartman got a year, Tim Matheson got a year, they revamped and gave Stewart Granger a year, then that was it--they couldn't keep beating a dead horse, the series was done. Nobody's fault. Context is important.

Dave (6'5") and Trampas (6'1") are sent to Durango, Colorado (6,512 ft above sea level vs Denver's 5,280) to get in on a top-of-the-line bull auction. Dave is not really needed if they are able to bring the bull back by rail but space isn't guaranteed this time of year and it may have to be walked back to Shiloh--in that case, Dave will help out considerably.

Arriving finally in Durango, Dave is accosted by an average-height female (Julie Sommars 5'5" playing Martha Carson) who coincidentally has the same problem as the Polish girl in the last show of the first season--a giant (6'2" in that case) man wants her but she doesn't want him but he won't leave her alone. Trampas helped the girl in the first season because he was in love and it was serious. This one is Dave and it's played for laughs--probably because it was also the last show of fiscal year 1968. Big Tiny aired the week before Christmas, the next aired a week into January 1969, so the pace of this show was more likely aimed at little shavers and cowgirls on break from school rather than to negative grownups who thought there would be cattle drives and licorice whips. Santa enjoys Context too.

Trampas earned an extra star for being 'cuddly' ~ it's the only time in nine years of the show imo that you could use that word to describe him. Just like a Trampas teddy bear: soft, warm, smiling and eminently huggable. You'll know it when you see it. Santa calls that a "sugarplum".

This one is easy to watch with your kids on a couch with blankets and pillows and mugs (any size) of hot cocoa if possible. Scrooges will look through your frosted windows and wish they had been more kind.

Thank you Everyone who shares with us in the Joy of the Holidays and in Joyful Appreciation of The Virginian.

The Virginian: Jed (1968) Season 6, Episode 17

Put on Your Soap Opera Hat

[1 December 2023]

These shows are called "horse operas" anyway, but Jed is especially so. Things happen at the pace of real life, but people talk about it or react to it at the pace of a soap opera.

We have nesters blocking a path near water that has been used for years by cattlemen driving herds to market after the big roundup. This year, they have to go around--about 50 miles out of their way; but if they do it this year, the railroad may make a spur available by next roundup... Many cattlemen would rather just punch through, follow normal routine, and nesters be damned. Grainger isn't one of them, but Tallman (Walter Coy) is - and he has a little (Stuart Margolin) bird in his ear whispering how it can be done.

Enter Steve Ihnat as the titular Jed, the guy who rawhided Trampas apparently 8 years ago. Jed calls him 'Cowboy'.

Margolin, playing Yeager, knew Jed before too and traveled some distance to hire him for Tallman's 'drive' in Medicine Bow. Jed didn't know Trampas was in Medicine Bow and Yeager didn't know Jed knew him, but once the information is known, Yeager with Tallman's approval pays Jed more money to hire on at Shiloh as a double-agent. He agrees.

Good thing you're wearing your soap opera hat.

It's more difficult to get out of something, usually, than it is to get in it, and you'll see this story is no different. What's different about the western sand in this hourglass, however, is the love Jed has both for Trampas and for Ron's (Sammy Jackson) little sister Abby (Brenda Scott)--which is reciprocated by them both. That much love usually demonstrates itself, but Trampas and Abby are quick to see Jed is holding back, he's struggling against something and can't say what it is. So, as normally happens under this hat, other people say it for him--and at just the right time(s) too.

All at once then, everything gets turned on its ear. The sky had opened up enough to let you peek into Jed's possible life of kids, cattle and good friends enjoying a wide safe range of river-fed grassland before dark clouds settled back into their usual positions and destroyed it. Hey, but maybe it could be fixed. That's why these stories are so popular, see?

This has the feel of a story carried by a guest star, but Ihnat isn't really in that category- he's more like a regular player that stepped up into a guest star position and killed it. If he could only have lived, he would have been at least another John Malcovich imo. He never made it through his demons tho and passed away at age 37 in France in the Spring of 1972.

Extra star for the roundup sequences built into the storyline. Watch and have fun. Don't forget your hat.

The Virginian: Stacey (1968) Season 6, Episode 23

Well, I Hope Nobody'll Be Offended If I Tear Myself Away

[20 November 2023]

This show talks about the disability possibility conundrum.

Stacey has a girl, Janie, they're serious, then an accident happens and his strong arm gets hamstrung. The arm gets put in a sling and everyone goes about their normal business as much as possible while it heals. Bingo-Bango, weeks go by and the arm skin is healed, but he still can't feel anything, arm is still incapacitated. Okay, how about an operation- it's risky but if you don't try something, it won't get better anyway. Somebody said if the arm had been mangled where amputation was required, that would have been one thing but with the arm still attached and seemingly normal but unusable, nobody knew anything, so they opted for surgery. Yay- surgery went well, there was a blood clot impeding the nerve, try to move your fingers. Nope, no movement. No matter, keep trying, massage the arm, if it recovers it will happen sooner than later so don't give up. Now Stacey is afraid to hope, plus he enjoyed the attention he got while winged, so he joins his arm in the hamstrung department and walks around with his lip hanging out.

Clay Grainger and the Virginian don't need a strong and capable man crippling himself psychologically and being a burden to folks if it can possibly be helped, so they jerk him around and mouth off until Stacey is finally mad enough to do something about it, if he can.

Janie ran away grossed out as soon as Stacey offered to let her massage the arm, but there was apparently good reason for that. You'll have to watch to see how it all plays out. It's interesting- Trampas throws in a joke-

This is the last show that Don carries/plays the main character. He does the support for The Decision in a couple weeks, then he's out and apparently happily as president of the Professional Karate Association.

The Virginian: A Welcoming Town (1967) Season 5, Episode 26

I'm Sorry Your Dreams Were Crushed

[20 November 2023]

Emotions run the gamut for everyone but Trampas, who is attempting to cut through it all with the powerful force of Reason. He also tries to enlist the support of the local sheriff, but that guy is disinclined.

Trampas is in town to see Joe Martin and his mother Ida, who put him up for a year when he was a boy and who he's visited regularly since. Turns out Joe is recently deceased and Ida doesn't live in her house anymore. When Trampas asks the neighbors, Atkins folks, for information on how he can get in touch with Ida and how did Joe die, he hears crickets while looking at clams. He says he'll go find out in town, so they tell him they own Ida's place now and Joe was shot by posse for trying to attack a young girl. Trampas knows better and the rest of the movie is him trying to find out while others try to stop him.

Trampas doesn't go around without a shirt in this one, but Robert Fuller walking around in snug pants wearing eyebrows for close-ups kinda makes up for it. He's not a bad guy in this one, just a greedy guy who has to do bad things to get his greed on. Eh, for some reason it works, he's believable.

Russell Thorson really put on the dog for this one, he is sure something to see. The young him shines through the old wrinkles, he probably saw mad action in his day.

Not great/Not terrible, extra star for Bob.

The Man from Nowhere (2010)

I'm Tingling With Curiosity

[10/10 · 19 November 2023]

This one is shaped like a cannonball, story-wise. It's difficult to convey how much actually goes on by how many people across how many sets in 119 minutes, it's amazing. Not only that, but more amazing is the cohesiveness of the cast- nobody sticks out or tries to take over the scene. There seems to be just as much going on without dialogue as there is with speaking parts. That just doesn't happen in every movie and the balance of so much is enough imo to recommend the show.

Won Bin is CHA Tae-sik, aka Pawnshop, who doesn't stand out initially as anyone special. He's slim, dressed in black, has shaggy hair- looks like a loner. Because of his past, which we don't know yet, his heart has inadvertently attached itself to a young girl who is also a loner living in the same building. He fights getting attached while she's regular at his pawnshop window, swapping her MP3 for cash to save up for nail art supplies. The little girl has a derelict but not absentee mother, there is a little shop on the corner with a chubby bespectacled owner and there are street cops patrolling the neighborhood even in the daytime. We get to know all these little players as well as we know the big ones.

There are two brothers as the main bad guys who work for a drug czar and create a side business selling body parts. Soon they decide they are big enough to take over the czar's drug trade before he can opt himself into the body parts business. SONG Young-chang is perfection as the smarmy mid-level high-strung drug spank for the Chinese mafia and he's magnified by the Chinese major in his employ. He has his eyes on the prize for sure, but the more serious he gets, the more comical he appears. Great fun!

The girl's mom is the idiot who gets this cannonball of a movie rolling by stealing drugs from a mule, hiding the stuff in a camera case, then pawning it, apparently thinking her boyfriend who knew about the deal will take the blame. Yeah, no.

The counterweight to Won Bin's CHA Tae-sik is Thailand's Thanayong Wongtrakul (nickname Kradum) playing Ramrowan. This guy stuck out. He looked edgy, dangerous, deadly and bored. People saw him as a hired gun- the now kidnapped little girl saw him as maybe a good friend like Pawnshop- they were about the same age and build. His heart inadvertently attached to her also, but he had a tiny little hard heart. In my estimation, Ramrowan wanted to belong to a better life and I think he knew "the stranger", Pawnshop, would get him there. He wanted the battle of a warrior, not an eventual bullet in the back from his current employers.

One of the things I enjoyed about the movie were the various things being chased by others: cops after the bad brothers, the bad brothers after control, our hero after the little girl, the little girl after her mother, her mother after escapism and Ramrowan after our hero so he could fight him and die well. The things everyone was after were things nobody could easily turn loose from. You couldn't say to the character: "What an idiot, just let go!" Such a smart, violent movie with plenty of blood and a splash of requisite nudity. A corpse doesn't have erect nipples but of course it does in Man From Nowhere.

This movie kicks butt. It's violent- the warnings aren't for nothing- but it's great.

The Garry Shandling Show: 25th Anniversary Special (1986 TV Special)

If that's comedy, you can keep it

[1/10 · 9 November 2023]

This show takes hold of older but greatly aging stars, throws them into a Shandling condom, publicly displays violent jerking motions for laughs, then shoots them out, one or two at a time, to take a swim in junk. In no possible world does this qualify as comedy- satire or otherwise; it's awful and a complete waste of time, even for the 80s. Anyone who says they laughed or that this was funny is paid to make that statement because it isn't true. Stars showed up, likely because they had to and not because they were delighted to be there. Showers afterward wouldn't have helped. Doug McClure looked great but was treated as a sad and stupid waste of everyone's time. Zero stars. Hard pass.

Humanoids from the Deep (1980)

McClure Just Headlines

[7 November 2023]

Hopefully Doug McClure got movie star wages, a private trailer and choice connubiality because he was gone and must have been taking advantage of all that while this movie was being filmed. He barely made an appearance once other characters were introduced, except in the last half hour to shoot rapist fishmonsters, uncover nude seaweed-laden nymphettes and ask a bunch of questions.

Btw, The music during the scary scenes sounded just like Jaws or Jason/Halloween- clearly ripped off since those movies were out first.

Also disappointed that Doug McClure is attached to this project when Larry Hagman or Barry Corbin would have been naturals. It's camp, but on the stupid side and the cheap side- wait a minute, that's my description of the girls- where was I...oh yeah...Doug could have done better, esp since the nude parts weren't largely (haha) added until after filming wrapped, but like I said at the beginning- if they offered him many many perks to do it, then he had to do it and who could blame him.

This one would have been better imo with cannabalistic mermaids and handsome fishermen, but porno is rated differently so, good thing it isn't up to me.

This one is worth a watch if it's free. Don't lay out any hard-earned cash and you'll probably have a good time.

The People That Time Forgot (1977)

I'm only here for McClure

[6 November 2023]

THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT was supposed to have a happy ending. It wasn't happy but then again, it wasn't altogether sad either. It was an agonizing wait for this, the sequel, THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT.

Patrick Wayne is a big name and worthy as the brother of the Doug McClure character; however, they gave him the whole show. It was 40-45 minutes before we see Doug, then 10 minutes later he's gone. He gets to make a last statement and I hope to understand its actual meaning someday, if there is one, but right now I'm just trying to get over the shock. Yeah, we waited for the sequel why? Hoped for a better outcome the first movie and expected what outcome now? Why can't the ending of at least one dinosaur movie be pithy and predictable? The rest of it was fun, but you don't leave the theater with that feeling- it's ruined by the ending. Again.

The Virginian: Siege (1963) Season 2, Episode 13

At Logan Gunpoint

[1 November 2023]

Crabby little sandcrab loves to get grease by being squeaky but it's just as easy to be groovy like me when I say Trampas looks great in his ubiquitous blue shirt, and better without it.

Campanella got the part for his eyebrow, not his accent- bet sandcrab has neither- so he's great as the leader of the comancheros.

Trampas hits a lucky streak and borrows more than $10 to parlay his four aces into a stack of bills large enough to pay off some gambling debts he and his father (killed in 2x1) acquired in Logan NM about five years ago. Everyone is still there, plus a new guy (Ron Hayes) Brett who serves as town marshal. Trampas wants to see his old girlfriend Carol (Elinor Donahue) who is the sister of the town banker (Phil Carey) Duke. Duke used his position as Carol's brother to force Trampas out of town before, but things are changed now. Other things have changed too. The comancheros used to trade with indians in Logan when Trampas and his dad were there before, but cavalry eventually ran out the indians and all that remained were comancheros; rather than get raided and/or slaughtered by them, Duke as banker and member of the town council came up with a shaky truce, to live and let live.

Trampas pays his debts, sees old friends and decides to go back home but wants to make one last stop to see Fred and Sarah who he used to work for. He finds them dead in their back yard, their house ransacked and their horses stolen. He trails the horses to a comanchero camp, shoots one dead who goes for his gun, then bundles the other two on horses and brings them and the loot they stole back to town for trial. The marshal puts the two in jail and explains how Fred and Sarah lived outside his jurisdiction, that they have to wait for the territorial judge maybe two weeks, then they can have a trial. Trampas has to sign a complaint plus stay in town--no affidavit on a double-murder.

This one isn't like High Noon or Warlock or Johnny Concho because nobody is a hired killer, nobody begs others for help and nobody got killed first so that revenge became the plot- it's more like Fred MacMurray's At Gunpoint. Just a guy, Trampas, trying to do the right thing and everyone else being too scared to trust their own instincts. It's a good show and worth your time to watch.

The Virginian: The Accomplice (1962) Season 1, Episode 13

what's to like, except one thing...

[24 October 2023]

Starts out with Trampas getting arrested on his birthday while eating cake in the bunkhouse with Betsy and the crew. Everyone knows he is reckless but innocent, the trick is getting it proved. The weight of the law, good friends, good lawyers and straight sheriffs trying to find the truth were brought to bear in this first great legal trial and - what will be typical of most hereafter - their verdict was incorrect and profound.

On eyewitness testimonies and no evidence, Trampas is set to go behind bars for twenty years and the Virginian helpless to do anything about it. The little miscarriage of justice thing would have perhaps been satisfied during appeal but i doubt it. Our fair-haired cowboy was only saved by an unlikely confession, which is also a recurring theme where courtroom trials are involved--it's aggravating and stupid imo because other trials that we don't see are vindicating other innocents or vice versa. If they just wanted to make a point with this show, that would make sense, but it keeps happening all through the series.

"Smile when you say that" is a common phrase in instances when one is speaking truth but it cannot be revealed as such, it has to look like a joke. When the Virginian spoke to Miss Miller and told her he would follow her around, he wasn't kidding and he wasn't going to use his own money to do it. If it also references the book, that's great.

The part Bette Davis played was well written enough that any of a number of guest stars would have done justice to the part; in fact, Bette may have been a little too old since her character lost her mother "as a young girl" and she took care of her father "for twelve years". It was just super cool that she even showed up on tv because movie stars didn't do that at the time. When the Virginian opened her robe to reveal the dress underneath, i was shocked because it was Bette Davis that he was exposing that way--had any of a number of other guest stars played the part, it wouldn't have had the same effect maybe. Same thing when Trampas claps a hand on her mouth!

The best thing, the only thing, the singular mission of this show isn't law or satisfying censors or the great guest stars- it's the relationship between Trampas and the Virginian. It's early in the series but it would have played the same way at the end: "(blank) is Guilty, Trampas is just Stupid!" -solid Virginian and probably cross-stitched on a pillow somewhere. But did you see his face when he walked into his hotel room and there was Trampas? Did you see Trampas' face when the Virginian offered his horse? It's the thing they developed in the first season that turned into real life for them. On the series, as it progressed, they couldn't spend more or less equal time on the same show due to production schedules, so they alternated taking the lead while the other at times leant support. McClure also made movies at Universal for the first several years he was doing the Virginian, so he didn't lead as often either. Echo of Another Day, Riff-Raff and Impasse would be more first season episodes to see.

The Rebel: Deathwatch (1960) Season 2, Episode 6

Waares Best?

[10/10 · 21 October 2023]

James Best passed away in 2015 with his best-known part being that of a bumbling sheriff on Dukes of Hazzard; this show from 1960 (75 years earlier) will give you an idea of what his best could have been--and another Jimmy Stewart with a little more time, imo wouldn't have been a far reach.

Best went easy to comedy but his work in drama is as underrated as it is exceptional.

Here, he plays a shepherd in the middle of southwest nowhere with a small flock of half-starved sheep on open range land that banditos claim is used by their jefe(hefe) for cattle. They want him gone and all his sheep with him, but he's not leaving on principle--open range belongs to everyone.

Yuma is somehow passing this veritable wasteland on his way west, both he and his horse thirsting for water- and spots the shepherd's campfire. He falls down, grabs the canteen, just about gets the top off and lifts to take a drink when a rifle lines up on his left ear--it's Best, but he drops away when we learn the name of his character the shepherd is Lt. Waares, son of General Waares, originally from Virginia.

Everyone's heard that story...right...?

This one starts out a little kooky and then gets seriously dark and personal. The only way it could be told is the way it got told; however, there's a countdown of sorts folded in for drama and expediency here. The shepherd is actually an emotionally crippled patriot, once perfect and proudly standing among other patriots in his family and in his own unit. Yuma is quick to pronounce him out of place in this faraway sheep dip and wants the goods. Waares doesn't give, so they battle, Yuma wins, then the banditos show up and yeah, now They win. Besides every weapon the two men had, they take the lieutenant's watch his father had engraved for him and they dispatch his flock of sheep with extreme prejudice. They say they'll be back at dawn to make sure no one is in the area or whomever they find will be "underneath" the area.

In that darkest hour before dawn we learn the whole story: we feel what Waares felt, we see what Waares saw, we believe what Waares suffered because Best killed it, he's Waares, he gets us there. Yuma is affected by the story like we were, but he cuts through with another viewpoint, the other side of the coin. I didn't see it before he said it, chances are you didn't either. Definitely worth your time to watch it on youtube (free currently).

Memento (2000)

overrated hooey

[3/10 · 15 October 2023]

Trinity, Cypher and LA Confidential stars + good reviews = i had to buy the DVD, sight unseen, it had to be a sleeper hit, was wondering how i missed it years ago when it first came out... well, now i know. It's no sleeper and it's no hit. It's also nowhere near Tarantino, so there's no big puzzle to solve, you just have to stay engaged and let yourself ride along with the story. At the end is just the end, no sudden realization, no great moral to the story, just a slice of life told in a different way. The actors must have had to fill an obligation for so many movies in a certain amount of time and did this one. It didn't suck, but it didn't seem up to the level of all the stars together. Not only that, but Carrie-Ann's character had a minute-long expletive-riddled rant of cuss words that an irritated drunken sailor wouldn't think to string together. She may consider herself male, but most of the rest of us don't see it when we look at her and those words did nothing for her character or the movie- the point could have been made some other way imo without all that.

Watch it if it's free somewhere, is my recommendation. You'd get more joy out of a jar of mustard and it would last longer.

Overland Trail: Sour Annie (1960) Season 1, Episode 13

Flip Grundy Anyone...?

[5/10 · 13 October 2023]

Some folks might think this is a cheap ripoff of a Wagon Train episode, but guess who owned both shows? Yep- NBC, specif Revue Studios- so they get to recycle anything they already own matter which of their properties aired the story first in their respective formats --includes set locations, players and anything else they can think of to make a dollar and stay in business. It's what i would do if reruns weren't invented yet, the last time i used the story was 3yrs ago and i didn't want to pay a writer, only a kid who could rework an existing script. Some people are just happy to complain maybe.

Mercedes was the Dan Duryea/Cliff Grundy-type character and Doug McClure the Robert Horton/Flint McCullough personality. Mercedes and Doug seemed to go easy to comedy, so that's how they played it- but it threw off the dramatic tempo imo. At least there wasn't a guy in a bear suit walking around making it worse.

Richard Devon was the heavy but not too heavy. Overland Trail consists of only 17 shows, but the people in those shows have appeared in many other series and movies that we enjoy, so just eat your popcorn and stop complaining- they don't make them like this -or this remake -or this version over here anymore.

The Virginian: The Brothers (1965) Season 4, Episode 1

Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

[12 October 2023]

Love is a many splendored thing Anton (Tony) Leader "leads" his Virginian directorial debut with this fourth season opener loaded with action and emotion.

Matt (Robert Lansing) is a long-time resident of Medicine Bow with a wife Ellen (Jan Shepard) and a teen son Andy (Kurt Russell) and everyone who knows him holds him in high esteem. Matt has apparently worked as hard and as honestly as he knows how and has earned a solid reputation among a wide circle of friends. He has a younger brother Will (Andrew Prine) whom he raised from a pup but who never seemed 'good'--Matt always gave him help and the benefit of the doubt. Now here we are years later, Little Will is screaming his innocence from a military jail because the army isn't as forgiving. Big Brother Matt believes Will is guiltless but has exhausted all legal avenues and sees only one thing more he can do- break him out. The guard (Loyal Lucas, who passed away in 2001 at the age of 96) was surprised, not because he was struck from behind- because he wasn't- but because this good man, Matt, was going to do this lawbreaking thing that nobody would have expected in a million years.

After Matt has freed Will from prison bars, they disappear into the night, but in the morning before they make for Canada they have to pick up Matt's wife and son, who decided they would rather brave the rigours of escape than stay behind and worry. On their tails will be the Army, led by Sgt Cohane (Myron Healey) to recover their escaped prisoner Will, and Ryker (Clu Gulager) to recover his friend Matt who aided and abetted said escape. Complicating matters is Sgt Cohane's belief that Ryker knew about Matt's plan to break Will out of jail from the beginning and is using his sheriff's badge to block the Army from finding them and bringing them to justice.

And that's just the first ten minutes.

The whole show imo explores the power, the strength, the depth and breadth of Love: love in a family, love in a wife, love in a community, love in good men for other good men, love in a country and its laws, love enduring against whatever because it must.

Dick Nelson has writing credit for this one (he also wrote Laramie's the Barefoot Kid, another of my favorites) and imo he killed it. The director Directed, the Leader led- and it shows- because everybody keeps moving, the story keeps unfolding, your emotions keep changing. It's one of my favorites though it's not one i could watch every day.

Clu Gulager's range is phenomenal- i barely missed Trampas and the Virginian (they pop up). It would be great to have him listed again as a special guest star during times like these when he can open up. He more than kept up with Lansing and he does it again (more and better) a couple years later in Star Crossed S06E04 with Tom Tryon.

And who would ever have thought to cast Robert Lansing for the part of Matt? He always seemed more of a military guy or a detective to me. He was a gunfighter on a previous Virginian- here he's a big brother in a big hat. Lansing was under his own eyebrows the whole show, permeating his character Matt with musk and testosterone, using hard edges in leather coverings to forge new paths to right and might for himself, his family and the people he cared about. He played a heavy, it's what he does, he did it great. His last handshake was perfect- it had to have been real somewhere in his life because i felt it in mine all these years later.

Myron Healey is just right in his part, like Goldilocks- he doesn't take over and he doesn't disappear. The familiar faces of Hal Baylor and Brad Weston round out his section of the story.

The production schedule for this series is grueling and some stories are better than others- this is one of the good ones.

The Virginian: If You Have Tears (1963) Season 1, Episode 20

Like Sand Through the Hourglass...

[10 October 2023]

So are The Days of Our Lives... This one reads like a soap opera ad nauseum-- slow and tedious with lots of close-ups and pseudo dramatic dialogue.

Robert Vaughn was a bright spot, though he toned it down to match the 'tears' concept of the show. Nancy Sinatra had the voice but hadn't donned her sex kitten look yet. The Virginian had his same clothes on and he rode his same horse, but that wasn't him-- it was him playing Mickey Horton before John Clarke originated the role on the same network a few years later.

Trampas never looked better. The grey-brown palette of the first year was killer--the blue of his remaining years on the show washed him out a little imo. I guess they were trying to bring out his eyes- but this show seems to swim in blue eyes at times and it can be overdone.

Dana Wynter and Phyllis Avery acted like sisters well enough after our eyes told us they couldn't be, and Britt Lomond portrayed a weak character completely detached from the valor both Trampas and the Virginian claimed for him. Maybe connoisseurs of soap understand this boring nonsensical hilarity but i don't and wouldn't recommend it for uninitiated others.

Lomond's Kyle shows up at Shiloh looking for his Cuban war fighting buddies, Trampas and the Virginian. He's been measured for murder and needs a hideout. They know he's no killer, so they hide him out then go investigate what happened. A series of unlikely events in the saloon gets the Virginian placed in the center of the story and establishes Trampas as the friendly but potentially deadly backup.

Vaughn's Simon is brother-in-law to Kyle and serves as part comic relief, part red herring. As the only warmth in the family, he does a marvelous job- Avery's Martha is hard as stone while Wynter's Leona is cool as ice.

That's the setup. Better than an infomercial but not as good as a rerun of My Favorite Martian.

A star for Trampas, one for Nancy, one for Vaughn and one for John Milford snarling the words "snuggle up".

The Virginian: The Awakening (1965) Season 4, Episode 5

sappy silly sugary subterfuge

[24 September 2023]

This is a must-miss as there is no action, no adventure, no gunfight, no reason to stay awake, no jokes about the coffee or the food, Randy doesn't sing until the show is almost over and it's not one of his better voices- it feels forced. The reason he was singing the song- like he was losing a friend in Betsy- was forced; in fact, the whole show feels forced. Everyone speaks their lines, usually while they are still looking at the card with the lines printed on it; imo everyone tried to look serious and tried to just get through it.

The minister kissed Betsy once, then apologized and gave no further encouragement; she stopped doing everything so she could follow him around like she did an attractive orphaned blacksmith jailbird in S02E05 and that's the show you should be watching right now.

There were five men all dressed up in the same room with no weird pictures on the wall at the very end of the show and that is the only thing to see here. If i can get a screen grab, i'll add it to the photo lineup and save you an hour and fifteen minutes.

The Virginian: Holocaust (1970) Season 8, Episode 17

THE END IS NOT YET

[11 September 2023]

Trampas/McClure is looking tired and shaggy at the end of 1969. He's been doing this series on a grueling production schedule for seven years plus more than four movies over the same period; he's seen some great western tv shows cancelled- even those with high ratings- and it's likely he's just waiting for it to end so he can go home and spend time with friends and family. Holocaust would have made a stellar final episode, and was likely filmed for that purpose; however...

The Virginian/Drury could have gone on for ten more years. Everyone had worked so hard for so long and got to know each other so well, it was impossible to think of it ending, so they looked around for a way to keep it going...

Enter Stewart Granger. He was a big deal for decades but fell into a bog of a career later in life and was trying to find solid ground in any country. Likely his reputation as a difficult personality kept him from many projects, but in this case that didn't matter, the Virginian had nothing to lose by trying.

Subsequently, the studio finished out the season- kind of awkward after such a perfect ending- but tv stations didn't now have to fill their time slot with another variety show and plans were made to use the shell of the Virginian (just Drury and McClure, plus a frequent supporting character actor, John McLiam) to put Stewart Granger somewhere near the top of his game again.

The result was the ninth season of the Virginian being renamed The Men of Shiloh with Granger taking the "Grainger" spot at the ranch.

Trampas/McClure stayed through the end of the fiscal year 1970- he isn't seen after Spencer Flats, which aired a year after Holocaust- while the Virginian/Drury rode his horse to the bitter end- just as we would have expected from the titular champion of our hearts.

None of us wanted the show to end, or the genre as we knew it. It's violent, it's expensive, the industry has changed- that's what they say. We all watched westerns in our youth: we got hats and boots and guns for Christmas, and as far as ive kept in touch with others, none of us grew up to be bigoted killers. It's important and worth the money, imo, to have role models like Trampas and the Virginian. If we cant yet, then let's enjoy these cowboys for as long as we can.

Ten Stars on Many Levels.

The Virginian: Blaze of Glory (1965) Season 4, Episode 15

They Shoot No Horses Here

[9 September 2023]

Always a crabby sandcrab that doesn't understand about Trampas and his lack of costume change- guess crabby didn't notice the Virginian or Ryker not making costume changes either...the studio figured out that one (1-1/2 hour) show per week takes eight days to shoot, so the production schedule is tight and continuity is key- meaning key players like Trampas and the Virginian get no costume changes for the most part because they are working on two or more shows at a time (that's why i give extra stars for any key players finally able to doff their shirts).

This is probably the only show in the whole series where Trampas has a girl who seems his match, whose relationship evolves like a normal relationship would and which ends amicably like most relationships will under similar circumstances. Once Shenandoah hit theaters, it seems the Trampas character never had another normal relationship imo unless you count the somewhat May-December of A Touch of Hands; most had to have some kind of shock associated. The Virginian seems to flow through his relationships just fine- Trampas does better without them, in fact, those are my favorites.

Saw Serrazin in the seventies, didn't really care for him- but he rocks his little bad guy part here--he's alert, confident, quick and sly like a snake who charms people with sad blue eyes. Speaking of which--most players in this show have blue eyes, excepting perhaps the Virginian and Noam Pitlik as the banker--even John Mitchum as the bartender has blue eyes. Weird. Noam Pitlik btw will go on to become a prolific director, best remembered for Barney Miller.

Jim Boles stops by between Don Knotts movies to be Henry Wirtz.

Overall, this is a nice easy show to watch. Get a TV dinner and a tray to set it on, you'll see what I mean!

The Virginian: The Captive (1966) Season 5, Episode 3

VIRGINIA VINCENT, HEAVY HITTER

[7 September 2023]

Nowadays for many reasons, parents are separated from their kids- some for awhile, others for awhile longer. Many have no scar, birthmark or the same loud laugh as their great Aunt Bessie, so if there's no immediate recognition, it may take some effort to find shared songs or memories to confirm kinship. If it were happening to one of the people we already know on Shiloh, that would be one thing, but this is happening among guest stars and support players- esp Virginia Vincent as Louise Emory. She starts out kind of goofy and then grabs the part and kills it- very surprising and memorable. Worth watching for that. You might need a hankie.

The Virginian: Experiment at New Life (1970) Season 9, Episode 10

It'll Never Work

[4 September 2023]

Starts out a great story, then everything pivots on an escape attempt. The Virginian is caught in a crossfire, the bad guy takes careful aim, shoots and the Virginian goes down-oh no- he's out cold and presumed dead. Miraculously, he wakes up without a scratch but everything he had with him during the escape is robbed from him, including his horse--but not his gun. He walks back to a known house for help (Lyle Bettger, way underused but good to see) -thankfully some coffee is all it takes to revive him before he's on the way back to collect what was taken. The Virginian uses a distraction, retakes all he wants, bad guys discover the ruse and one of them admits they should have killed him when they had the chance--alluding to the crossfire and the expectation that the Virginian would awaken and go home. Oh brother.

Other than that, it's a good story with action, a great supporting cast and outstanding guest stars.

Vera Miles is one of the loveliest women in the business- a quiet yet timeless beauty- she's still alive at the time of this writing, more than fifty years after filming.

The Virginian: The Girl on the Pinto (1967) Season 5, Episode 27

A Killer in Our Midst?

[4 September 2023]

Valora Noland is no neglected starlet- she quit acting after being forced to appear as a Nazi in Star Trek, even though everyone watching knew she wasn't from Earth. No matter- she would have objected to something else and she couldn't do beach movies forever, so win-win.

Valora plays a dim young neighbor, Amanda, who likes to ride her pinto wherever she pleases- frequently crossing into Shiloh and seemingly only noticed by Trampas. He's with the Virginian in town one day when he spots the 'ghost' in real life and rides up to ask her to a dance. She declines but her adoptive mother is with her and is thrilled that Amanda was asked. Adoptive mom talks to RG Armstrong, playing adoptive dad and he shuts down all invitations. Trampas isn't discouraged and talks to dad, who has a good story, but since it doesnt have anything to do with dancing, Trampas shows up on dance night to get permission from mom in front of dad and Amanda. McClure seems to jump from his Trampas persona into real life when he asks the mom for permission, it's something to see- he had more the easy grace and dialogue of a seasoned professional actor than the manner of a warm, flirtatious cowhand.

Amanda's real dad shows up in town to get some cash and take her away, but after so many years absent from her life, it's not easy to do- esp since the girl is a little slow and the cash he picked up wasn't his.

This show is mostly guest stars and supporting cast but they are good, Trampas is worth watching and the action is fairly consistent.

The Virginian: Man of Violence (1963) Season 2, Episode 14

will the real story plot please stand up

[2 September 2023]

Trampas just sold the ranch his dad bought in S02E01 and he's sitting in the saloon with his alcoholic uncle trying to decide whether to gamble it like his dad would have or save it for something good. Uncle says he and his brother were not good examples, says Trampas could be a good name, that Trampas should get out of the saloon and get a ranch, be happy in his old age, dont look back on empty bottles like he's had to do- it's a great start to what promises to be another warm and interesting Trampas story... Nope, let's have none of that- they kill the uncle and send Trampas out for revenge. Is it a revenge story then? No-no, none of that either, Trampas kills nobody for revenge.

There's some fellows out digging for gold, is this a story about gold fever and striking it rich? Yeah, no, guess again.

Kinda sappy, but there's a lady out looking for her husband, maybe this is going to be a happily ever after love story. No, thank goodness, none of that syrupy ick.

Okay, what then? There's a doctor on an army base with a drinking problem and a sick patient, so obviously no happy outcome...hello, that's what they write about- no wonder- it's probably close to home and by this time, also close to the end of the show.

Trampas, healthy and unhurt throughout all the plot changes, emerges at the end as someone weak and in need of rescue- as if- and the reason for his journey is obscured because the rest of it was obscure.

There's plenty of action with no direction and no real purpose. Half-heartedly recommended.