clint eastwood in joe kidd posters

After the post about Clint Eastwood in Joe Kidd, here are some posters for it. Once again, like the lobby cards, l just like the artwork.

toodle pip

joe kidd lobby cards

I wasn't keen on the film, but l can still appreciate the artwork.

toodle pip

joe kidd (1972) - john sturges

This is one of the few Clint Eastwood films l can't remember seeing when l was a kid. Then again, maybe l had just forgotten about it, as it is not one of his better ones.
Clint Eastwood plays the titular Joe Kidd, an enigmatic ex bounty hunter, who gets persuaded to join a posse looking for Luis Chama (John Saxon), a rebel Mexican leader, who is uniting the Mexicans to fight against the landowners. Good old Clint eventually decides he is on the wrong side, and then cajoles Chama into giving himself up, and fighting for justice through the courts.
The film, even though it was written by Elmore Leonard, was pretty unexciting, and it didn't exactly keep you on the edge of your seat. The killings seemed to mean nothing, and there was no dramatic tension, although there were the odd humorous moments.
Clint Eastwood however, was his usual cool, sexy, rugged and good looking self, playing an independently minded maverick (for a change).
The acting (including the other actors) wasn't really the problem, as it was fine. It was just the film itself, it certainly lacked something, and couldn't hold a candle next to some of Eastwood's other westerns.
It all could have been soooo much better.

toodle pip

chisum (1970) - andrew mclagen

Chisum is based on the Lincoln County Wars, so features Lawrence Murphy, Billy The Kid, Pat Garrett and Chisum (JOHN Chisum) himself (played by John Wayne). There are disputes over land, lawlessness, and trying to do the right thing by the law, when the law itself is corrupt. Another classic western!

The amazing thing for me, is how it was not so long ago when the USA was so lawless. The picture at the top is of George Coe, who was involved in the fighting, lost a finger at the Blazers Mill gunfight, and was (obviously) still alive just before the Second World War, as this photograph was taken in 1934.

As l said - amazing.

toodle pip

bandolero! (1968) - andrew mclagen

Another classic Western (if you are into that sort of thing). Bandolero! has it all. There is a great cast, with stars including Dean Martin, James Stewart, George Kennedy and Raquel Welch, and plenty of desert scenery and killings.

Dee Bishop (Martin) and his gang are apprehended after robbing a bank. They are then assisted to escape by Mace Bishop (Stewart), who had been posing as a hangman, and Mace then robs the bank after the gang escape and the townsfolk give chase, not being aware that he had aided them in their getaway. During their escape, they capture Maria Stoner, a wealthy widow (Welch) and flee over the desert, where they are rejoined by Mace, but also followed by sheriff July Johnson (Kennedy) and his deputy and sidekick Rosco Bookbinder (Andrew Prine) plus his increasingly reluctant posse. The sheriff continues with the chase into bandit country, as he hopes to win the hand of Maria, but (as happens in these films) she has already fallen for the charismatic/misunderstood/messed up from the war/good at heart Dee. Let's face it, who wouldn't? Dean Martin is one cool character and looks pretty good in a cowboy outfit. At the end, there is a shootout with the bandits, and it does not end well. Marvellous, but it would have been improved if Dino also sang some kind of theme tune (it's an instrumental).

toodle pip

winchester 73 (1950) - anthony mann

One of the classic black and white westerns, Winchester 73 concerns sibling rivalry and revenge, the Indian threat (and their treatment), and the ownership of the eponymous rifle (the 'one in a thousand'). Lin McAdam (James Stewart) travels to Dodge City (where Wyatt Earp is the sheriff), and wins a shooting competition hosted to celebrate the USA centenary of independence(1876). It is then stolen from him by the runner up in the competition, Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally), and passes through various hands, until it is once again in the hands of Dutch, resulting in a shoot out at the end (you could have anticipated that) between Lin and Dutch (and guess who wins). There is an early film role for Tony Curtis, and Rock Hudson gets to play an Indian chief, Young Bull. Did I mention Dutch Henry and Lin are brothers, and Dutch Henry had shot and killed their father? Of course he did (he's a bad 'un). Shelly Winters is Lola, the feisty love interest, who also plays a mean piano. Marvellous stuff, and it takes me back to the old fleapit on a Saturday morning in Bootle when l was a kid (many, way too many years ago).

toodle pip