Thank You for Listening
westernswithdad's podcast
I’ll just say it outright: After a two year battle with pancreatic cancer, my father has passed away. I don’t know what words can do it justice, but here’s quite a few anyway. I’ve recorded a final episode, the bulk of which is a conversation with my immediate family about my father’s legacy, and a lot of talk about what kind of man he was. I think it more or less speaks for itself, and I understand if it’s not something you want to listen to, but I do believe the episode itself is less depressing and more affirming than you might imagine. You’ll hear about the things Dad loved,...
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GODLESS!
westernswithdad's podcast
On this episode, we’ll be discussing the new limited series on Netflix, Scott Frank’s Godless! The small mining town of LaBelle becomes the battleground for a conflict between two outlaws, one good, one very bad, and the population, mostly widows, find themselves in a war for their way of life. Real western stuff! Despite appearances to the contrary, this is much more of a straight-up western in the old tradition than you might expect, and on those terms, it succeeds quite well. Topics of conversation include the confused doctrine of madman villain Frank Griffin, the winning performances...
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BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID!
westernswithdad's podcast
Finally, an episode we’ve been looking towards since the start, one of the most beloved American Westerns and a film listed on the AFI’s list of Hundred Best Films: 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, featuring the classic pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the titular roles. An affable, seriocomic romp through the end of the legendary Old West, the film features two of the greatest movie stars in history defining and perfecting their screen personas. The film, a loose ramble about the adventures of two infamous bank robbers, features countless iconic scenes, a...
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EBENEZER!
westernswithdad's podcast
Merry Christmas, everyone! On this special holiday episode of Westerns With Dad, we’re discussing the little-seen 1997 Canadian TV production, Ebenezer! Starring noted Western stars Jack Palance and Ricky Schroeder, it’s an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ oft-adapted classic, A Christmas Carol, reset in the Old West. Utterly inessential, clearly not intended for posterity, and fairly half-assed in every aspect of production, it works best as a clear demonstration of both Jack Palance’s dynamic charisma and the utter indestructibility of the Dickens story. This ends up being a bit of a...
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TRUE GRIT 1969 & 2010!
westernswithdad's podcast
On this belated episode, we are talking about both versions of the Charlie Portis novel True Grit! The original, from 1969, is famously the film that won John Wayne his Oscar, and the 2010 remake from the Coen Brothers! Both are great, as it turns out, and surprisingly similar in a number of ways (largely owing to the use of Portis’ dialogue, we assume, having not read the original book). Both are largely esteemed classics of the genre, well worth your time, although they’re so beloved you’ve probably seen one or both already. Topics of conversation include a merciless comparison of each...
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DEAD MAN!
westernswithdad's podcast
Jim Jarmusch’s utterly bizarre 1995 ‘Acid Western’ Dead Man is the subject of this episode, featuring Johnny Depp at his height as a tenderfoot traveling into the Frontier and also, potentially, the reincarnation of the poet William Blake. Shot in B&W and featuring a unique Neil Young soundtrack, Dead Man defies easy description and is a strong contender for strangest film we’ve covered on the show. And while I reveled in the unusual, avant-garde style and philosophical explorations, Dad found the whole remarkably interminable, a word that will come up more than a few times when...
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JUBAL!
westernswithdad's podcast
Coming from director Delmar Daves, 1956’s Jubal tells a story of sexual obsession on the open plains, highly reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Othello. Starring Glenn Ford as stoic loner Jubal Troop, it has come to more prominence lately, possibly owing to a fine Criterion restoration, and features a cast of beloved character actors sinking their teeth into some high melodrama with aplomb. An unusually adult 50s western, it’s worth a look for its maturity and as usual, its glorious location photography, as well as a divisive Rod Steiger performance as the Iago of the piece. Topics of...
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GRIM PRAIRIE TALES!
westernswithdad's podcast
To finish out our October tradition of Spooky Westerns, we wanted to talk about Near Dark, the cult classic vampire western from academy award winning director Kathryn Bigelow, but due to a lack of streaming options, we were unable to easily find it and instead watched a forgotten anthology Horror film no one remembers or cares about, Grim Prairie Tales! In truth, I’ve always been curious about this bizarre title, starring terrific character actors James Earl Jones and Brad Dourif as wandering cowboys sharing a campfire and swapping ghost stories. And it’s not really that good, I’m...
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HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER!
westernswithdad's podcast
Once again, October means that we’re talking about Horror and Horror-Adjacent movies on Westerns With Dad, and this time, it’s Clint Eastwood’s 1973 allegory about Divine Justice, High Plains Drifter! Taking the form of a more traditional yarn - in this case, a town, threatened by villains, hires a gunslinger to defend them - this film slowly reveals itself to be far more diabolic than it initially seems. Topics of conversation include John Wayne’s habit of letting you know when he’s been offended, old Tales From the Crypt comics, the ugly sexual politics of the film’s infamous...
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LITTLE BIG MAN!
westernswithdad's podcast
Arthur Penn’s rambling, whimsical approach to the Western, Little Big Man follows the long life of Dustin Hoffman’s Jack Crabb, a white man raised amongst the Cheyenne Indians, and observes the wave of Manifest Destiny rise, crest and recede in the American frontier! One of the early examples of the Revisionist Western, this film takes on the Native American genocide in America directly and yet still manages to be a sly, satirical comedy, while making its point crystal clear. We really liked this one, especially me, as I had never had the experience of seeing it before. A really smart,...
info_outlineThe TV miniseries that took 1950s American by storm, the focus of this episode is Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett franchise, starring Fess Parker as the titular frontiersman. Appearing on ABC’s Disneyland television show starting in 1954, this was the crown jewel of Walt Disney’s TV empire and the cornerstone of the beloved Frontierland in Anaheim’s Disneyland Theme Park, leading to the so-called ‘Crockett Craze’, which took the country’s youth by storm, leading to a deluge of coonskin caps and trading cards, all of which Dad was very much caught well up in. Comprised of five parts over several years, the series was unprecedented in its popularity, and I would argue, its influence, as it was one of the most popular Westerns ever produced. Does it hold up? Pretty much, although it’s tough to say for sure, as we’re both kind of overcome by a wave of nostalgia when it comes to this property. This episode dives into the series, and more than usual into the phenomena surrounding it, as it offers a pretty fascinating window into Walt Disney’s empire at the height of his influence. We talk about the Disneyland TV show and the the park as well, which we just so happened to have visited last week, as well as Dad’s childhood Disney fascination (and a chance encounter with Walt in the actual Frontierland). But the Crockett wormhole goes even deeper, offering a chance to explore the foundational American mythology as expressed in tall tales and folklore, branching into Crockett’s role as a legendary figure and how that influenced Manifest Destiny and the arranging of westward expansion as a tenet of the national identity! There’s even an extended discussion of Crockett’s death at the Alamo (and its representation by Disney), the blunt racial language that used to be par for the course when portraying Native Americans and way Cowboys and Indians defines the pioneer spirit of the America, the dangerous allure of the mythic Frontierland, Georgie Russell’s general inadequacy, Disney’s multiple attempts to duplicate Crockett’s success, the tradition of boasting and yelling in folklore, especially as represented by Mike Fink, King of the River, and of course, that part in Mr Toad’s Wild Ride where you go to Hell. It’s a pretty packed episode, our longest to date, but also some of the most fun we’ve had doing the show.
And then at the end we talk a little bit about the new Beauty and the Beast remake. It’s an afterthought. Next time, we’ll be taking a look at another significant one, maybe the most significant: The Searchers, starring John Wayne. You can reach us online at westernswithdad.com, or email us at [email protected]. Please leave ratings and reviews for us on iTunes!
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier stars Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen. Davy Crockett and the River Pirates does too, plus Jeff Yorke as Mike Fink.