Welcome Jack Giles (& Friends).

When easyrider45 turned up among Davy’s Followers, I didn’t know who he was. But after putting on my Philip Marlowe hat I finally figured out he’s western authors Jack Giles and Ryker Frost, who are really Ray Foster. Confused? It gets better. Ray is the grandfather of western writer Peter Avarillo (whose real name, I think, is Chantel), who will have a story in the upcoming Express Westerns anthology. He also has a cat named Dog who is actually a jackalope. No, I made that part up. Maybe.

Ray has written nine Black Horse westerns as Jack Giles and two as Ryker Frost. His latest book (by Jack) is Lawmen, published last year. You can ride with him on his blog, Open Range, or peek behind the authorial mask on his website. Finding no pictures of Jack/Ray on blog or website, I commissioned a renowned illustrator to come up with an artist's conception. Then, after the painting was done, I found a photo elsewhere. Both are presented here. Can you tell which is which? I didn't think so.

The Tall Man: Billy's Baby

Since more and more TV westerns are coming out on DVD, I’m able to catch up on series I missed as a kid. The Tall Man is one of them. It was on Saturday night right after Bonanza, which I watched, but my parents must have switched over afterwards to Leave It to Beaver.

That explains why I don’t remember Clu Gulager as Billy the Kid. I remember him mainly from The Virginian, where he landed a few years later. Barry Sullivan (Pat Garrett), of course, I remember from everywhere.

In this episode, “Billy’s Baby,” Billy shoots a guy (in self-defense, natch) in Lincoln, then runs for the border, unsure of getting a fair trial. This worries Pat, because the Mescaleros have just jumped the reservation. Pat races to arrest/rescue him.

Coming across a burnt-out homestead, Billy naturally stops to dig graves, and discovers a baby in a basket (just like Moses in the bullrushes). When a convenient cow moseys by, Billy makes a teat from a finger of his leather glove. Heart warming. Billy calls the kid “Little Joe” (an interesting choice airing right after Bonanza). But after changing diapers (the episode’s low point) he changes the name to Josephina.

Pat arrives, and there’s an almost-tense moment when he insists on bringing Billy back for trial. Luckily the Apaches show up, separating them from their horses and chasing them into a canyon. Do they get out alive? Far be it from me to spoil it for you.

In all, a surprisingly not bad episode, with good music, much of it variations on the “Tall Man” theme. I’ve heard Leonard Nimoy turned up in a couple of episodes as Deputy Johnny Swift. Here’s hoping I have one of those to review.

Coming Attraction: James J. Griffin

Yes, prolific western writer Jim Griffin (still another member of the Owlhoot gang) will appear on these pages next week to present Part 6 of the Wild Bunch Wednesday Story Challenge, otherwise known as The Story with No Name. Jim (seen here with Yankee the Wonder Horse) is the author of seven Texas Ranger novels and a passel of short stories. Visit him at jamesjgriffin.net.

At the Bijou with Gobe: Fort Massacre.

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR: For the past several years Mr. Dale Goble and I have been contributors to the Old West APA (amateur press association) Owlhoot. (Other Owlhoot members who’ve popped onto the Almanack recently include Mr. James Reasoner, Mr. Bill Crider, Mr. Steve Kaye (aka Clay Burnham) and the head Owlhoot himself, Cap’n Bob Napier.) Anyway, I’ve long admired Dale’s movie reviews, and he’s kindly agreed to let me share a few with you. Thanks Gobe! Here’s the first:

It can't just be my bad memory. I have always assumed that I saw every movie made between 1955 and 1962. Lately, evidence is gathering that this might not be correct, because I sure don't remember seeing FORT MASSACRE. And I can't remember Joel McCrea ever being old--until RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY--or being anything but the white hat hero until TALES OF THE TEXAS RANGERS. Sorry, that last part just slipped out. I was joking. Erase, erase. Here we have Joel McCrea in a cavalry movie. He's older, and the luster seems to be a bit tarnished.

Here's what the tagline was:
THE WEST'S MOST SAVAGE STORY OF HATE, PRIDE AND CUNNING! (original print ad - all caps)
The poster reads "The West has never known a "Hero" like the killer who commanded "Fort Massacre." In 1958, the quotation marks around Hero wouldn't have raised any flags for me. Cavalry good, Injun bad. Here's the synopsis:
During the Indian Wars in the Southwest, a sergeant assumes command of a cavalry detachment after it is mauled in an Apache ambush that killed its captain and seriously wounded its lieutenant. The surviving troopers must reach either a larger cavalry column or a wagon train the column is to escort. But first they need water and the nearest water hole is in Apache hands....

Joel McCrea is the sergeant, Sgt. Vinson, a three striper who is both driven and unsure of himself, and who takes a lot more guff from his troopers that any sergeant since Joey Bishop. Vinson has, predictably, a rag-tag bunch of troopers, each with their own past and peculiarities. This is standard "Lost Patrol" stuff, but the individual histories are somewhat unique. Well, not all of the characters are totally clichéd. McCrea is supported by Forrest Tucker as Pvt. McGurney, John Russell as Pvt. Robert Travis, Denver Pyle as Pvt. Collins, and the usual cavalry ensemble. Anthony Caruso plays the faithful Paiute scout. The bad guys are the Apache. The campaign Sgt. Vinson is engaged in is pure fiction, there was never a large confrontation with the Apache. Susan Cabot gets third billing but doesn't appear much or do much. Russell gets fourth billing, but is actually the co-star. If you're a thirteen year-old or me, the ending is a little unexpected.

See, there's this here problem. Sgt. Vinson/Joel McCrea is the hero. Every kid born in the Forties knows that Joel McCrae is a cowboy hero. But some of the stuff he does here seems a little hard to understand, since he's the white hat and all, and it confuses a young teenager to try to figure it out. Remember, also, that these were the days that the Injuns were the bad guys, all bad, savages, they can't even speak'um good. So probably Sgt. Vinson is justified, I mean, he's got to be justified, he's trying to save his men and the wagon train and the column and the fort. The dumb Privates just don't understand the ways of the Injuns. Joel McCrea knows better, right?

The movie is more than I expected from a 1958 cavalry film, and required more attention than the usual boots-and-
saddles second feature. I would suggest that it's worth a watch if you run across it. I give it three guidons.

The Story with No Name, Part 5

Wearing his Jack Martin hat, Gary Dobbs has posted Part 5 of the Wild Bunch Wednesday Story Challenge over at THE TAINTED ARCHIVE. It's more action, more mystery, more who knows what's coming next.
As of this moment, Part 6 is still up for grabs. Stake your claim on Gary's blog.

To catch up, read:
Part 1 by I.J. Parnham
Part 2 by Jack Giles
Part 3 by Chuck Tyrell
Part 4 by Evan Lewis

The Crockett Lifestyle: Bedspread

You’ll sleep tight and dream of glory with this embroidered cotton bedspread. And when wash day comes, you’ll want to skip the clothes dryer and hang it out for the neighbors to admire. The perfect complement to your Crockett pajamas, nightlight and alarm clock. And Hugh Hefner thinks he has it good.

Followers or Leaders? You decide.

Davy and I would like to pay belated tribute to three loyal Followers who have been following his adventures for quite some time. These three women are long-suffering members of critique groups he and I have infested for years. Yes, believe it or not, Davy sometimes turns up in my writing, and they know the old boy well. Good critique groups are hard to find, and I’ve been lucky enough to land in two. These stalwarts have helped with all aspects of storytelling, but each also has a specialty. Ann keeps me honest in plant and animal matters, Marilyn reminds me I need a setting to go with the dialogue, and Kassandra always wants more emotional punch. My everlasting thanks to them all.

Marilyn McFarlane (aka “gardener”) has traveled the globe to write innumerable travel books, a cookbook and an illustrated book on sacred myths. (Yes, that's the Eiffel Tower behind her.) She’ll soon be making her mark in the mystery field too. She has a novel about wiccans in Oregon just about ready to market, and has just started something new and completely different. Visit her sophisticated website here.

Ann Littlewood is already a star. Her zoo mystery Night Kill was published last year by Poisoned Pen, and has garnered dozens of rave reviews. The group is now following her progress on book 2 in the series, and we’ve had the privilege of already reading book 3. Ann’s an ex-zookeeper, so when she talks animals it’s the real deal. Drop by her website for a sample chapter of Night Kill, and her blog for more zoo musings.

Kassandra Kelly refuses to be put in a genre box. When our group started she was writing a mystery, but it had aliens in it (maybe). In the years since she’s done straight sf, fantasy, horror, western, and cutting edge YA. Her current project has elements of all those genres. She’s been experimenting with the story and sharing large portions of it on her blog, Madison, After. You’ll find her fiction at various places online. Read The Moon Dreams of Water or Nine- or Ten-Foot Angels, or listen to The Cat, the Desert and Lucky .003. For a mere $2.50 (a steal, believe me) you can even download a complete novel, intriguingly titled Girl on Girl.

O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie... Please!

This is a great-looking movie poster. It’s the type that makes me want to see the film. But now that I’ve seen the movie, I’m thinking I was better off with the poster. It’s not a bad film, really. It’s just less than I expected from Johnny Mack Brown, and therefore a disappointment.

It starts off OK. It’s 1870, and there’s a gold rush… somewhere. Three frustrated prospectors see three of their luckier fellows strike gold, and decide to jump the claim. One of the “lucky” guys lives just long enough to reach Johnny and tell him the news. It seems one of the already-dead prospectors was Johnny’s brother. It's five minutes into the film and things are looking up. Johnny swears revenge! And then… proceeds to fool around for the next 55 minutes without doing much about it.

Actually, most of the fooling around is done by Fuzzy Knight (not to be confused with Fuzzy St. John), who provides comedy relief—enough comedy relief for at least six movies. This might have been okay if he were JMB’s sidekick. But he ain’t, and the two are rarely even on screen together. Seemed to me Fuzzy had more screen time than JMB. Heck, even the bad guys had more to do than Johnny.

The best scene takes place around the campfire, where Jimmy Wakely his Rough Riders (who serve no other purpose in the film) deliver some fine harmonies on the title tune. Then Fuzzy, a would-be bear hunter, picks up a squeeze box and sings a ditty called “The Bear Gave Me the Bird,” which certainly sounds like the same kind of bird we might give someone today. Was that expression in use in the Old West?

JMB is seen occasionally, smiling at everyone and being smiled at, until we reach the second best scene, a brief bust-up with two of the bad guys. Johnny seems to know they killed his brother, but still does nothing about it. Eventually, because time is running out in the movie, he chases them down, flings himself from his speeding Palomino and gets both their heads in armlocks. Then, instead of whupping holy hell out of them, he turns them meekly over to the sheriff. That’s it, except for a Looney Tunes finish with Fuzzy mugging in blackface.

Yikes! I gotta run plug my disc of bargain-basement Buster Crabbe Billy-the-Kids back into the DVD player.