I like to watch Westerns on Sunday nights. Tonight I picked one of LohMan's favorites (Angel and the Badman from 1947) and one of mine (Seven Men from Now from 1956). Gail Russell happens to be in both of these and she's probably a key reason LohMan likes Angel so much. She's a very appealing woman in both movies, although she has gone from a young woman to practically a "matron" in the interim. In real life, she was 32 when Seven came out. Gail Russell had a lot of personal demons, apparently, and she died in 1961 a month shy of 37.
Seven Men from Now is a great movie, written by Burt Kennedy, directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. Whatever happened to Randolph Scott? He's mostly in my DVD collection. Lee Marvin has the best part in Seven and I can't help but wonder how much of the character he plays was his own invention. A scene where he practices his fancy draw in a practically deserted tavern is priceless. Did he come up with the idea of twirling those guns, of weighing them in the palm of his hands and then deciding the gun in his right holster would work better in his left?
"Exquisite miniatures" is how the commentator describes the Boetticher-Scott westerns. Short, economical, beautifully shot, intelligently written, well acted. Wonderful stuff. Worthwhile stuff. I hope Gail Russell watched herself on the big screen and thought, "I did good work there."
Seven Men from Now is a great movie, written by Burt Kennedy, directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. Whatever happened to Randolph Scott? He's mostly in my DVD collection. Lee Marvin has the best part in Seven and I can't help but wonder how much of the character he plays was his own invention. A scene where he practices his fancy draw in a practically deserted tavern is priceless. Did he come up with the idea of twirling those guns, of weighing them in the palm of his hands and then deciding the gun in his right holster would work better in his left?
"Exquisite miniatures" is how the commentator describes the Boetticher-Scott westerns. Short, economical, beautifully shot, intelligently written, well acted. Wonderful stuff. Worthwhile stuff. I hope Gail Russell watched herself on the big screen and thought, "I did good work there."