Hellbent for Letterbox

Paxton Holley and Michael May talk Westerns in movies and sometimes other media.

The Violent Men (1955) 05/23/2025

The Violent Men (1955) Thanks to a listener's suggestion, Michael and Pax watch Glenn Ford, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G Robinson, and Brian Keith in Rudolph Maté's The Violent Men. The movie also features Dianne Foster and Richard Jaeckel. It begins with a couple of classic Western tropes, but takes them in surprising and dark directions. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/36616435

There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) 05/09/2025

There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) In this episode Mike and Pax talk about a twisty western comedy called There Was a Crooked Man starring Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Warren Oates, Hume Cronyn, Burgess Meredith, and John Randolph. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/36490955

Tall in the Saddle (1944) 03/28/2025

Tall in the Saddle (1944) Michael and Pax check out Young John Wayne and Ella Raines in the Western mystery Tall in the Saddle. The movie also features Gabby Hayes and Ward Bond. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/35901945

My Darling Clementine (1946) 03/19/2025

My Darling Clementine (1946) In this episode Mike and Pax continue watching OK Corral movies with this acclaimed adaptation by John Ford starring Henry Fonda and Victor Mature. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/35780500

The Dead Don't Hurt (2023) 02/14/2025

The Dead Don't Hurt (2023) For Valentine's Day, Michael and Pax watch the Western romance, The Dead Don't Hurt, written and directed by Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen also wrote the score and acted alongside the movie's real star, Vicky Krieps. The film also features Danny Huston and Deadwood favorites W Earl Brown and Ray McKinnon. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/35279230

Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957) 01/25/2025

Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957) Mike and Pax discuss another OK Corral movie, this one starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as Wyatt and Doc. And with appearances by DeForest Kelley, Jack Elam, and Dennis Hopper. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/35004900

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) 01/10/2025

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) Michael and Pax finally revisit Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, a movie that Michael liked on first viewing, but Pax didn't, and neither has seen in a very long time. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/34731430

The Old Way (2023) 12/21/2024

The Old Way (2023) Mike and Pax discuss The Old Way from 2023 starring Nic Cage. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/34564675

Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1980) 11/22/2024

Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1980) Always on the lookout for Westerns starring women, Michael and Pax watch Lamont Johnson's Cattle Annie and Little Britches. Amanda Plummer and Diane Lane insert themselves into a demotivated outlaw gang (run by Burt Lancaster and Scott Glenn) as it tries to avoid capture by Marshal Rod Steiger. Pax also watches The Thicket (2024) while Michael takes a look at Heart of Arizona (1938) and The Bold Caballero (1936). /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/33963677

Joe Kidd (1972) 11/13/2024

Joe Kidd (1972) In this episode Mike and Pax discuss another Clint Eastwood western, Joe Kidd, also starring Robert Duvall, John Saxon, and directed by John Sturges. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/33901122

House II: The Second Story (1987) 10/31/2024

House II: The Second Story (1987) Michael stretches the definitions of both "Western" and "Horror" when he makes Pax and guest Shawn Robare watch House II: The Second Story. Though it does have undead cowboys. The movie is the sequel to 1985's House and stars Arye Gross, Jonathan Stark, Royal Dano, John Ratzenberger, Bill Maher, and Lar Park-Lincoln. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/33700622

Knife for the Ladies (1974) 10/19/2024

Knife for the Ladies (1974) It's October! Check out the first of Hellbent's Halloween episodes where Mike and Pax are joined by Shawn Robare to discuss Knife for the Ladies from 1974 starring Jack Elam! /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/33521077

Comanche Station (1960) 10/11/2024

Comanche Station (1960) Michael and Pax finish watching the Budd Boetticher / Randolph Scott Westerns with Comanche Station, also starring Nancy Gates and Claude Akins. And Michael also watched a couple of 1930s Westerns: Buck Jones and Louise Brooks in Empty Saddles (1936) and William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy in Partners of the Plains (1938). /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/33387207

Last Train from Gun Hill (1959) 09/20/2024

Last Train from Gun Hill (1959) Mike and Pax discuss a listener request; The Last Train from Gun Hill from 1959 starring Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/33127167

Westbound (1958) 09/04/2024

Westbound (1958) Michael and Pax welcome back Evan Hanson (the Classic Film Jerks podcast) as we get back to Budd Boetticher and Randolph Scott's Ranown Westerns. This time Scott plays a Union officer tasked with transporting gold from California to Washington DC through Confederate-sympathizing territory. Westbound also features Karen Steele, Michael Dante, Andrew Duggan, Michael Pate, and Virginia Mayo. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/32868997

The Grand Duel (1972) 08/21/2024

The Grand Duel (1972) Mike and Pax welcome hosts of the New Classic Film Jerks, Evan and Jeff, to discuss a Lee Van Cleef spaghetti western, The Grand Duel from 1972. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/32673582

The Shadow Riders (1982) 07/12/2024

The Shadow Riders (1982) Michael and Pax celebrate a listener's birthday with a Sam Elliott Western, specifically The Shadow Riders, a TV movie co-starring Tom Selleck. It was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and also features Katharine Ross, Ben Johnson, and Geoffrey Lewis. Pax also watches James Arness and Angie Dickinson in Gun the Man Down (1956). /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/32039352

Cat Ballou (1965) 06/12/2024

Cat Ballou (1965) In this episode Mike and Pax are discussing the western comedy Cat Ballou starring Jane Fonda as Cat Ballou and Lee Marvin as the drunken, washed up gunfighter Kid Shelleen. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/31716262

The War Wagon (1967) 05/29/2024

The War Wagon (1967) Michael and Pax continue celebrating their birth month with movies from their birth years. This time, Michael picks John Wayne and Kirk Douglas in Burt Kennedy's The War Wagon. The movie also features Howard Keel, Robert Walker Jr, Keenan Wynn, Valora Noland, Bruce Cabot, and (briefly) Bruce Dern. Pax also talks about the comic Ladies with Guns by Olivier Bocquet and Anlor. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/31472862

Boss (1974) 05/21/2024

Boss (1974) For the month of May, Michael and Pax are doing movies released within their birth year. First, up, Pax picks the Blacksploitation western Boss from 1974 starring Fred Williamson. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/31386047

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) 04/26/2024

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) Michael and Pax continue April Fools Month, talking about movies that are Western-connected if not actual Western movies themselves. For this episode, we talk about Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure featuring time-traveling historical figures like Billy the Kid. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/30923868

Bloodrayne 2 - Deliverance (2007) 04/17/2024

Bloodrayne 2 - Deliverance (2007) Happy April Fool's Month! In this episode Mike and Pax cover Bloodrayne 2: Deliverance which features Pat Garrett and a vampire Billy the Kid! /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/30862058

Buchanan Rides Alone (1958) 03/27/2024

Buchanan Rides Alone (1958) Michael and Pax continue exploring the Ranown Westerns with Budd Boetticher's Buchanan Rides Alone, starring Randolph Scott and also featuring one of our favorites, LQ Jones. And Pax reads a Western detective novel, Holmes on the Range. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/30560733

Shanghai Joe (1973) 03/14/2024

Shanghai Joe (1973) Mike and Pax are joined by their good buddy Jeeg to discuss the 1973 Eastern meets Western, Shanghai Joe starring Chen Lee and Klaus Kinski. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/30381873

Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023) 02/23/2024

Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023) Michael and Pax celebrate the 150th episode of Hellbent with last year's Bass Reeves mini-series starring David Oyelowo, Lauren E Banks, and Forrest Goodluck. And guest-starring Barry Pepper, Shea Whigham, Dennis Quaid, and Donald Sutherland. Pax also talks about discussing Theodore Sturgeon's novelization of The Rare Breed. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/30006863

My Little Chickadee (1940) 02/16/2024

My Little Chickadee (1940) Michael and Pax foray once more into western comedy with the Mae West classic, My Little Chickadee, from 1940 costarring WC Fields. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/29990728

Decision at Sundown (1957) 12/19/2023

Decision at Sundown (1957) Michael and Pax resume their tour of the Ranown Westerns directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. In Decision at Sundown, Scott comes to town gunning for vengeance against the community's most powerful citizen, but Scott's not saying exactly why. The movie also features John Carroll, Karen Steele, Valerie French, John Archer, and Noah Beery Jr. And in a special Christmas-themed edition of Whatchoo Been Westernin'? the fellas talk about Jack Palance as the title character in Ebenezer, a Western retelling of A Christmas Carol that also stars Ricky Schroeder. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/29110868

Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969) 12/08/2023

Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969) Mike and Pax talk about the other 1969 western starring Robert Redford and Katharine Ross. This one also kind of based on true events. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/28988338

The Wind (2018) 10/27/2023

The Wind (2018) Michael, Pax, and their Crestwood House podcast co-host Shawn Robare talk about another weird Western just in time for Halloween. The prairie is full of eerie isolation in Emma Tammi's independent film, The Wind, starring Caitlin Gerard, Ashley Zukerman, Julia Goldani Telles, and Dylan McTee. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/28427933

Grim Prairie Tales (1990) 10/12/2023

Grim Prairie Tales (1990) It's Friday the 13th! Mike and Pax are joined by their Crestwood House co-host Shawn Robare to begin the Halloween season with Grim Prairie Tales from 1990 starring James Earl Jones, Brad Dourif, William Atherton, and Marc McClure. /episode/index/show/hellbentforletterbox/id/28298648

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