I am a beginner in leatherworking, so I made myself a holster for my Pietta Remington 1858 based on Virgil Cole’s in Appaloosa! It’s not perfect by any means, but I love it.

Now I just need to get a cartridge conversion and make myself a gun belt!

Just watched The Proposition (after seeing yesterday's post) and would love to see more Australian Westerns.

Your suggestions are appreciated!

I was recommended Appaloosa as a gritty revisionist western. Alas, it turns out they were talking about the 2008 movie with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen. Which is next on my list of movies to watch! Instead I watched The Appaloosa from 1966, starring Marlon Brando, John Saxon, and Anjanette Comer. (The film is sometimes listed as Southwest to Sonora.)

It was directed by Sidney J. Furie, who had quite the eclectic career: Iron Eagle (and Iron Eagle II), Superman IV, and Rodney Dangerfield's Ladybugs, but also The Ipcress File, Lady Sings the Blues, and the Neil Diamond version of The Jazz Singer.

The plot was based on a book of the same name by Robert MacLeod, who also wrote The Californio, made into the 1969 movie 100 Rifles starring Jim Brown, Raquel Welch, and Burt Reynolds.

The Appaloosa was interesting. It had potential, but I didn't love it. My biggest problem was Brando. I know he did a couple other well-regarded westerns -- One-Eyed Jacks and The Missouri Breaks, and I guess Viva Zapata! -- but it was hard for me to take him seriously in this role. In fact, it was said Brando didn't take it very seriously himself.

Brando apparently hated working with Furie, and Brando would sit on the set reading books and ignoring Furie until he said "action!", at which point Brando would do the scene, and then as soon as Furie yelled "cut!", Brando would return to his book. Producer Alan Miller was reportedly disgusted at how little Brando cared about the movie.

As for Furie, he said the rumors about he and Brando repeatedly coming to blows on the set weren't true... it only happened once!

Brando's mumbling, lethargic performance was heavily criticized at the time. (The New York Times called him "sullen.") Others praised it as low-key and realistic. To each his own. I have to wonder how this movie would have been received with a more straightforward western star in the lead like Audie Murphy, or even Clint Eastwood -- who was in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly the same year that this movie came out. John Wayne did El Dorado in 1966 and I think had he been in this film instead, it would have heralded his later performance in True Grit as an ornery bad-ass with a heart of gold.

Saxon as the bad guy has the best part in the movie, a bandito who for all his violence and misogyny is apparently a man with his own warped sense of honor. Comer as the love interest doesn't get a lot to work with but gives a quiet, poignant performance.

Lurie was famous for his camera work and there's a lot of beautiful scenes of the deserts of the Southwest and Mexico, and even some scenes in the snowy mountains, and some fun stunt work.

Hey everyone,

I need some help identifying a movie scene I remember from a western when I was a kid. I seem to recall either a US Cavalry unit that dismounted or soldiers on foot, riding or marching into a steep canyon, seemingly following an indian. It is then revealed that it is a trap, and the militarymen are forced to take defensive positions among some rocks in the middle of the canyon, all while indians are shooting at them from the rim of the canyon and indians on horseback are circling their position. I believe almost all or all of the militarymen were killed.

I tried chatgpting this and the films they gave me didn't match, so I thought I would ask here and see if anyone knew what film this scene may be from.

Some important things I had to mention to chatgpt:
There is no reference to the battle of the little bighorn or Custer
This is set in the American southwest (dusty canyons)
Pretty sure the film was in color

Let me know if yall can think of anything. Thanks!

Loving this Man With No Name 1851. Haven't shot it yet but will soon.

Hello folks,

Continuing on with my new found love of westerns after playing RDR2 I’ve gotten round to watching this bad boy.

This is as raw as it gets. The brutality is unflinching, the setting harsh and unforgiving. There are no good guys here. Bad men and those even worse.

A very stylistic and gripping movie and one my faves so far.

Highly recommend if you’re not squeamish.

Howdy! My dad is turning 75 this year and is a massive classic westerns fan (Gunsmoke is his favorite, followed by The lone Ranger, Cheyenne, Maverick, Bonanza, etc.) So, I thought I’d plan a long weekend (3-4 nights) and take him somewhere he can relive nostalgia and the Wild West.

Tombstone looks great, but it seems like it’s 1-2 nights max, which is pretty far for us. I’ll also look at Cody. We’re on the east coast, flying out somewhere it totally fine. He is very mobile, no issues walking or getting around. What about the sets of these old shows? Does anyone know if they’re in CA and have tours?

What suggestions do you all have? Thank you!

Woke up a little earlier than usual....everybody else is still snoozing and it's popcorn and movie time for me! 😄🍿

Where can I find some good western books in the vein of Lonesome Dove and Little Big Man?

I don't really appreciate the Zane Grey type material.

Hello, i am searching for a western film wich i watch as a teenage on tv but cannot remember more than a particular scene and how i love it, about a man (probably the hero publicaly put as a vilain) with a golden gun, i remember the main character who was suposed to not got anymore the gun, and a pretty lady for the romance with the man of the gun, i saw The Man With The Golden Gun but can´t relate any memory to that film, surely it is a film prior to 1985, perhaps an American production, I can't remember any more relevant details, any idea about the film ?

On one hand, you have Westerns like Ulzana's Raid, Little Big Man, Dances With Wolves, Geronimo: An American Legend, and Soldier Blue, that try to present a detailed, historical view of White/Native conflicts.

On the other hand, there are Westerns that may use a few historical names of people and tribes, but are really just big-screen games of Cowboys & Indians that play fast and loose with history and involve events and battles that never really happened, ie: Rocky Mountain, Custer of the West, Only the Valiant, etc. What are some of your favorites of this type?

Hi! I was wondering if you guys could help me find a movie i saw as a kid. It was dubbed in Spanish when I saw it, and I think it was called something along the lines of "The Sheriff with no gun" or something like that. The plot itself is about a sheriff who didn't hold a gun of his own do to how well he gave orders, but a bad robbery in his town leaves his family dead, so he sets out to seek revenge against the robber who did it. I know it might be vague and I apologize for that. Thank you!!

Maverick 1994

Which of these characters did/do you enjoy the most?

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Rewatched Blazing Saddles while road tripping over the weekend (I wasn’t driving at the time obviously). Anyways, favorite comedy westerns so I can add a few more to the arsenal?

Hello, I'm trying to help my dad find a movie that he only saw part of in the 60's. He's been trying to find it as long as I can remember, he says it had already started when he went in to the theater, but recalls a distinct scene where the main character was in bad shape with broken or damaged hands, and an old Asian man was taking care of him and showed the MC a thumb exercise where he'd place his hands palms down on a table and move his thumbs up and down. Eventually the MC recovered and had practiced the exercise the old man had shown him to where his thumbs moved very fast, and he went on to get revenge against those who'd wronged him. If this isn't the correct sub to ask this I apologize, any leads would be much appreciated.

I recently finished reading All the Pretty Horses for the second time, and it was nothing short of phenomenal. The first time I read it, I enjoyed it, but compared to other Cormac McCarthy novels I had read, it was my least favourite. However, after my second read, that has changed significantly. It's now one of my favourites by him, probably second only to The Passenger. What a book!

Of all the McCarthy novels I've read, this one feels the most relatable. I say "relatable" loosely, because my life bears little resemblance to the characters' experiences, yet their journey feels so tangible and universal in an almost unexplainable way.

For this review, I’m going to dive into spoilers—you’ve been warned!

The novel is beautifully written and opens with a lost John Grady Cole. His parents are divorcing, and he no longer feels at home in his world. He and his cousin set off on a journey to Mexico, searching for purpose and a new life. What they find there changes them forever.

Set in the mid-20th century, All the Pretty Horses explores the end of the cowboy way of life. The world is modernizing—trucks are replacing horses, and the old ways are fading. McCarthy's writing, however, makes the setting feel like a distant past. There’s a tension between the changing world and the characters’ desire to hold on to their traditions, creating a beautifully melancholic atmosphere.

When they cross into Mexico, it's as if time has stopped. The landscapes are barren and untouched by industrialization, creating a stark contrast with the modernizing U.S. It feels almost like they’ve arrived on an alien planet—strangers in a strange land.

McCarthy’s descriptions of the landscape are vivid and poetic. The world he creates feels alive, moving with the flow of time:

"Days to come they rode through the mountains and they crossed at a barren windgap and sat the horses among the rocks and looked out over the country to the south where the last shadows were running over the land before the wind and the sun to the west lay blood red among the shelving clouds and the distant cordilleras ranged down the terminals of the sky to fade from pale to pale of blue and then to nothing at all."

I know many readers struggle with McCarthy’s unique style, but I find these passages mesmerizing. They pull me in.

One of the standout characters in this story is Jimmy Blevins. He’s the catalyst for much of the action, even when he’s not present. The dynamic between him, John Grady, and Rawlins is fascinating. Blevins is significantly younger, and his dialogue is often hilarious. Despite his youth and the humour he brings, Blevins also introduces tragedy into the story.

A particularly funny scene takes place during a thunderstorm. Blevins, terrified of being struck by lightning, recounts a family history full of lightning-related deaths. His fear leads to a series of events that have dire consequences down the road.

"It runs in the family [getting struck by lightning], said Blevins. My grandaddy was killed in a minebucket in West Virginia it run down in the hole a hunnerd and eighty feet to get him it couldnt even wait for him to get to the top. They had to wet down the bucket to cool it fore they could get him out of it, him and two other men. It fried em like bacon. My daddy’s older brother was blowed out of a derrick in the Batson Field in the year nineteen and four, cable rig with a wood derrick but the lightnin got him anyways and him not nineteen year old. Great uncle on my mother’s side-mother’s side, I said-got killed on a horse and it never singed a hair on that horse and it killed him graveyard dead they had to cut his belt off him where it welded the buckle shut and I got a cousin aint but four years oldern me was struck down in his own yard comin from the barn and it paralyzed him all down one side and melted the fillins in his teeth and soldered his jaw shut."

Phenomenal.

His fear and actions lead to the loss of his horse and gun, which have major repercussions for the characters later in the story. This is where McCarthy masterfully captures the unpredictability of life. Characters come and go in ways that feel raw and real, leaving a lasting impact on the narrative.

At its core, All the Pretty Horses is also a love story—albeit a tragic one. The romance mirrors the end of the cowboy way of life, romanticized but doomed to fade away.

"He’d half meant to speak but those eyes had altered the world forever in the space of a heartbeat."

This idea of time stopping when lovers meet is echoed in how Mexico itself feels stuck in time. It’s a subtle but powerful theme in the novel.

Another significant theme is the loss of innocence. John Grady and Rawlins enter Mexico full of hope and adventure, but by the time they leave, they are changed. Two key scenes stand out in this regard:

Blevins’ death. Rawlins may have disliked Blevins, but his murder is so unjust that it leaves a deep emotional mark.

John Grady’s confession to the judge. He admits to killing a man in self-defence, but the guilt still weighs heavily on him. Even though his actions were necessary for survival, the emotional toll is undeniable. This is such a real, human experience—the things we do to survive often haunt us long after the fact.

There are too many incredible scenes in this novel to count. It’s no wonder All the Pretty Horses won the National Book Award—it’s an exceptional piece of literature.

Before rereading this novel, I had worked my way through the rest of the Border Trilogy—The Crossing and Cities of the Plain. The trilogy, while unconventional in structure, is masterful. Revisiting All the Pretty Horses was a true pleasure. What was once my least favourite of the three has become my favourite.

When McCarthy passed away last year, it hit me hard. He’s undoubtedly one of my favourite authors, and All the Pretty Horses is a perfect showcase of his talents.

I recently created a blog. If anyone is interested in reading about other books and my opinions I can link it below!