Movie Review: The Searchers (1956) directed by John Ford Texas, 1868: Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) finally returns to his childhood home, three years after the end of the American Civil War. He evades questions about where he’s been, though he was emphatically not in California. Ethan gets reacquainted with his brother Aaron’s family: wife Martha, eldest… Continue reading Movie Review: The Searchers (1956)
Tag: Texas Rangers
Book Review: The Warlords
Book Review: The Warlords by Matt Braun It is 1915, and in Europe, World War One is at something of a stalemate. The troops are entrenched, warplanes are still in their infancy, and while the new weapons of war mean far more deaths per capita, both sides have them. Kaizer Wilhelm’s military fears that despite… Continue reading Book Review: The Warlords
Movie Review: The Comancheros
Movie Review: The Comancheros (1961) directed by Michael Curtiz In 1843, gambler and womanizer Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman) kills a man in an illegal duel in Louisiana. This ordinarily wouldn’t be a problem, except that the dead man (who’d falsely accused him of cheating at cards to eliminate him as a romantic rival) had a politically… Continue reading Movie Review: The Comancheros
Movie Review: The Over-The-Hill Gang
Movie Review: The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969) directed by Jean Yarbrough Captain Oren Hayes (Pat O’Brien), (very) late of the Texas Rangers, is visiting his daughter Hannah Rose (Kristin Harmon) and son-in-law Jefferson Rose (Ricky Nelson) in Boulder, Nevada. Jeff, a newspaper publisher, is running for mayor on a reform platform. Current mayor Nard Lundy (Edward Andrews)… Continue reading Movie Review: The Over-The-Hill Gang
Book Review: Heart of the West
Book Review: Heart of the West by O. Henry William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), better known to most readers as O. Henry, moved to Texas from North Carolina for his health. There, he worked on a ranch for a few years before feeling well enough to take up his primary occupation of pharmacist, and fell in… Continue reading Book Review: Heart of the West
Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939
Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939 Edited by Dorothy McIlwrath Short Stories started life in 1890 as a literary magazine, but switched to being a “quality pulp” in 1910, featuring stories of adventure and crime a cut above many of its competitors. Like many of the pulps, it lost sales badly after World War… Continue reading Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939
Movie Review: The Miracle Rider
Movie Review: The Miracle Rider It is 1935 in the Panhandle area of Texas, home to the Ravenhead Tribe Indian Reservation. The Ravenheads are a peaceful, hardworking tribe. Sadly, their land is secretly situated on top of the largest deposit of X-94, an ore with tremendous explosive power, in the world. Somehow, a white… Continue reading Movie Review: The Miracle Rider
Book Review: Blood Aces
Book Review: Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster who Created Vegas Poker by Doug J. Swanson Disclaimer: I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway in the expectation that I would review it. This was an Advance Uncorrected Proof copy, and there will be changes to the final… Continue reading Book Review: Blood Aces