It’s one of my favourite Duke movies …
Sure, Wayne plays against type, but that doesn’t automatically make it good.
Cemetery Without Crosses, still getting better every time.
Rewatched Deth Rides A Horse yesterday.
And as good as ever, if not better?
Indeed.
What puzzles me a bit …
Yes, me too. Surely his performence in The Shootist is better?
Death of a Gunfighter (1969/Dir: Alan Smithee)
Frank Patch (Richard Widmark) is an old Marshal of a prospering Western Town. The Civilization with Cars and Electricity has arrived and the city council wants a new modern police force. But Frank Patch sees it as his duty to remain and the council gave him twenty years ago a job for lifetime. Through the years Marshal Patch learned a lot about the secrets of the town folks therefore he has too many enemies in his own city …
Alan Smithee is never a good sign for movie. It was the first time someone used this Pseudonym. Don Siegel and Robert Totten are behind this name. Both directed more or less half of the movie which can be seen in an uneven storyline and characterizations. It’s one of these Westerns which want too much: too much subplots and too much side characters for 90 minutes. No doubt about it Widmark is Top Notch again and Lena Horne as his wife is a beautiful Eyecatcher. John Saxon like most of the others supporting actors has not much to do. Even in the Shootouts you can see the difference between Don Siegel and Robert Totten. Whereas Robert Totten hides the gunfight Don Siegel has no fear to show blood. To sum it up the movie is better as his reputation and the unconventional plot kept my attention. The story is interesting but I was wondering why the City Council didn’t try to pay Frank Patch (of course he would deny). In our rating a solid 3/5. 
“Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter”
Legendary outlaw Jesse James meets…well you get the idea.
Phantom’s Review: One of the greats…if you like truly God awful movies. Hysterically funny even though it’s not supposed to be. Awful on every level. Perfect for a bad movie night.
20.000 Dólares Por Un Cadaver
My thoughts on the films thread.
The Comancheros (Michael Curtiz/John Wayne
Simple, fun Duke action adventure western. Wayne would increasingly star in these types of films. I can’t say that Whitman and Wayne make that good of a pair but it’s a fun film with a couple great action sequences. Though Stanton probably wouldn’t like them.
4/5
Well spotted Korano.
Comancheros is a good fun film with Wayne at his best. But the bigger action scenes are hopelessly oldfashioned and a let down.
I quite like The Comancheros and Wayne does what he does best, but for me, Lee Marvin steals the whole show.
Yeah, Marvin is also great. They should have made his role bigger.
Aside from The Wild Bunch, which American Westerns do you think have good action scenes, Stanton? Very curious and I’m sure you might have told me before but oh well.
I’m not too picky about my action, myself.
A lot, too much to name them all. The ones which spring to my mind at first in random order:
Jesse James
Gunfight at the OK Corral
True Grit
The Sons of Katie Elder
Santa Fe Trail
High Noon
Shane
Union Pacific
Ambush
Warlock
Open Range
My Darling Clementine
Blood on the Moon
Wagonmaster
The Tall T
Rio Bravo
El Dorado
Escape from Fort Bravo
The Far Country
Pony Express
Winchester 73
One Eyed Jacks
Bad Company
The Oklahoma Crude
Tombstone
Gold of the 7 Saints
Rio Conchos
Flaming Star
The Duel at Silver Creek
…
Interestingly sometimes even good action directors make films with pretty disappointing action scenes.
The ending of Hathaway’s Garden of Evil is incredibly bad, or the ending of 2 Mules for Sister Sara is far beyond the usual Siegel standard. Siegel’s The Duel at Silver Creek is a minor film, but it shows how good he was generally in the handling of action.
Good films there Stanton, but the actual gunfight in Gunfight at the OK Corral
wasn’t that great. It was okay, but what happened before and after it was the thing.
I thought the gunfight in OK. Corral was very good.
I did too, it’s just that the actual gunfight wasn’t the high point for me. I prefered it when it concerntrated on Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster’s (both very undrrated actors) characters.