Westerns | Hollywood Yesterday

Jennifer Jones Promotional Picture for Duel in the Sun (1946)

March 26, 2023 By Joi

Jennifer Jones

Some Westerns simply don’t get enough attention and the one we’re spotlighting today is one of them. Duel in the Sun (1946) was directed by the wonderful King Vidor and features an absolutely phenomenal cast including Walter Huston, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore, Herbert Marshall, Charles Bickford, Lilian Gish, and Butterfly McQueen.

The film is as extraordinary as its cast, which is truly saying something!

You can find Duel in the Sun on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link).

Duel in the Sun: The Cast was an Embarrassment of Riches!

February 3, 2023 By Joi

Walter Huston, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, and Lionel Barrymore

The cast of Duel in the Sun (1946, King Vidor) was LOADED with talent: Walter Huston, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, and Lionel Barrymore are pictured above.

The cast also included Herbert Marshall, Lillian Gish, Butterfly McQueen, and Charles Bickford.

You can find Duel in the Sun on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link).

Jennifer Jones, Duel in the Sun

Maureen O’Hara and Joel McCrea, Buffalo Bill (1944)

February 2, 2023 By Joi

Maureen O’Hara and Joel McCrea

Maureen O’Hara and Joel McCrea lead an outstanding cast in the 1944 Western Buffalo Bill. Directed by William A. Wellman, the cast also includes Linda Darnell, Thomas Mitchell, Edgar Buchanan, and Anthony Quinn.

The movie, based on the life of Buffalo Bill Cody blends fiction with non-fiction and is always a great film to spend a little time with. Beautifully filmed and directed, it’s a movie I always enjoy.

Maureen O’Hara and Joel McCrea

Happy Heavenly Birthday to the Extraordinary Donna Reed

January 27, 2023 By Joi

Donna Reed, Backlash

The wonderful Donna Reed was born on January 27, 1921 in Denison, Iowa. She’s one of my VERY first favorite actresses and remains in the top 8 to this day. I simply adore everything about her, every role she ever graced, and… quite frankly… everything she stood for as a human being. She was simply lovely in every way.

Like Elvis, Marilyn, Rita, Audrey, John Wayne, and Lucille Ball, Donna Reed has been collectively framed in a particular way – as the smiling, perfect wife and mother – both on her wonderful television series and in the extraordinary and larger than life It’s a Wonderful Life. While being framed, collectively or any other way, is pretty much unavoidable, it’s really – in many ways – a shame. After all, Marilyn and Rita were so much more than the sex symbols they’re “framed” as in most people’s minds.

Elvis and John Wayne were more than the images most people have of them

Audrey was a warm and wonderful person and talented actress – not simply a lovely little style icon!

Lucille Ball was more than simply one of the most hilarious people to ever draw breath.

Last but not least, Donna Reed was much more than the characters she created. In fact, while she’s remembered by most as Donna and Mary, she brought a great number of other colorful characters to life as well. Her filmography is alive with color and entertainment and she was extraordinary in each and every role.

I actually (literally 20 minutes ago) just ordered a great-sounding Donna Reed biography, In Search of Donna Reed (Amazon link) by Jay Fultz. I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I’ve devoured it cover to cover!

Happy Heavenly birthday to one of the best actresses of all time, and one I’m always so proud to call a favorite.

Donna Reed and Richard Widmark, Backlash (1956)

The photos in this post are from the 1956 Western Backlash starring Donna Reed and Richard Widmark. You can find Backlash on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link).

The Harvey Girls (1946): The Cast Directors DREAM Of!

December 30, 2022 By Joi

Preston Foster, Angela Lansbury, Judy Garland, and John Hodiak

The Harvey Girls is a wonderfully entertaining 1946 musical-western. directed by George Sidney, the movie stars Judy Garland, Angela Lansbury, Ray Bolger, John Hodiak, Preston Foster, Cyd Charisse, Marjorie Main, Chill Wills, and Virginia O’Brien.

Every role is filled to perfection. It’s rare you watch a movie and think, “I wouldn’t change a single thing…” but this is definitely one of those cases.

You can find The Harvey Girls on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Virginia O’Brien, Judy Garland, and Cyd Charisse

Angela Lansbury Behind the Scenes of The Harvey Girls

December 29, 2022 By Joi

Angela Lansbury, Behind the Scenes of The Harvey Girls (1946)

The extraordinary Angela Lansbury is one of those rare stars everyone seems to love.. and, come on, who can blame us?! She was so incredibly talented, charismatic, colorful, and genuinely lovable and such a gift to those of us who love movies AND those of us who love great classic television.

It’s really, really hard to believe she’s gone, isn’t it? She is and will be missed so much. She’s a great example of the adage, “Live your life so that you will be greatly missed when you’re gone.”

I rewatched The Harvey Girls recently and kept thinking, “I’d forgotten how beautiful she was!” She had a unique, sassy type of beauty that… as far as I’m concerned… is impossible to beat.

The 1946 musical-western was directed by George Sidney and also stars Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, John Hodiak, Preston Foster, Cyd Charisse, Marjorie Main, Chill Wills, and Virginia O’Brien.

You can find The Harvey Girls on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Touching Quote from Beautiful Katy Jurado

November 18, 2022 By Joi

Katy Jurado

“I am very proud to make this picture because I look and act like a Mexican – not imitation. Some Mexicans go to Hollywood and lose career in Mexico, because they play imitation. I don’t want this to happen to me.” ~ Katy Jurado, High Noon (1952, directed by Fred Zinnemann)

The exotic, talented, and beautiful Katy Jurado all but steals High Noon right out from under the rest of the cast. There’s just something so touching and believable about her character and her performance.

I only wish she’d been onscreen more!

You can buy High Noon on dvd or Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the iconic Western on Prime Video.

Yvonne De Carlo, Fuzzy Knight, and Rod Cameron in Frontier Gal

October 13, 2022 By Joi

Yvonne De Carlo, Frontier Gal

One of Yvonne De Carlo’s Westerns is the wildly entreating Frontier Gal from 1945. The cast includes Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron, Fuzzy Knight, and Andy Devine. As you’d expect from a film with both Andy Devine and Fuzzy Knight, there’s plenty of fun to be had.

You can find Frontier Gal on dvd (Amazon link). Unfortunately it isn’t on Prime Video… it’s also hardly ever shown on television. Truth be told, it’s downright impossible to find anywhere! BUT, it’s worth the effort… it’s really a fun Western.

Fuzzy Knight, Rod Cameron, and Yvonne De Carlo in Frontier Gal

Yvonne De Carlo, Frontier Gal: A Fun and Underrated Western from 1945

September 30, 2022 By Joi

Yvonne De Carlo

If you know anything at all about me, you know that Yvonne De Carlo is one of my favorites. Whether she’s Lilly Munster on The Munsters or one of her MANY colorful characters in movies, she’s always as good as good gets in my world. Phenomenal actress and so beautiful it’s almost distracting!

The beautiful photos, here, are promotional pictures for the 1945 Western Frontier Gal. In addition to Yvonne De Carlo, the cast also includes Rod Cameron, Fuzzy Knight, and Andy Devine.

You can find Frontier Gal on dvd (Amazon link), but be warned, it is NOT cheap! Yvonne De Carlo is one of the stars I “collect,” so I need this one for my collection… but holy cats is it pricey?!

Yvonne De Carlo in Frontier Gal

Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan: Silver River (1948)

September 14, 2022 By Joi

Silver River, Starring Ann Sheridan and Errol Flynn

The wonderful western Silver River (1948) was directed by the Raoul Walsh and boasts an outstanding cast which includes Thomas Mitchell, Tom D’Andrea, and Bruce Bennett.

You can find Silver River on dvd (Amazon link).