Western (genre)

The Western is a genre of various arts, such as comics, fiction, film, games, radio, and television which tell stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West, often centering on the life of a nomadic cowboy or gunfighter. Westerns often stress the harshness of the wilderness and frequently set the action in an arid, desolate landscape of deserts and mountains. Specific settings include ranches, small frontier towns and saloons of the Wild West. Characters typically include Native Americans, bandits, lawmen, outlaws and soldiers. Some are set in the American colonial era.

Western films first became well-attended in the 1930s, and were highly popular throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the most acclaimed Westerns were released during this time – including High Noon (1952), Shane (1953), The Searchers (1956), and The Wild Bunch (1969). Classic Westerns such as these have been the inspiration for various films about Western-type characters in contemporary settings, such as Junior Bonner (1972) set in the 1970s and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005) in the 21st century. The Western was the most popular Hollywood genre from the early 20th century to the 1960s.

John Wayne

Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison; May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known by his stage name John Wayne and by his nickname "Duke", was an American film actor, director, and producer. An Academy Award-winner for True Grit (1969), Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades. An enduring American icon, for several generations of Americans he epitomized rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height.

Born in Iowa, Wayne grew up in Southern California. He found work at local film studios when he lost his football scholarship to USC as a result of a bodysurfing accident. Initially working for the Fox Film Corporation, he mostly appeared in small bit parts. His first leading role came in Raoul Walsh's lavish widescreen epic The Big Trail (1930), which led to leading roles in numerous B movies throughout the 1930s, many of them in the Western genre.

Wayne's career took off in 1939, with John Ford's Stagecoach making him an instant mainstream star. Wayne went on to star in 142 pictures. Biographer Ronald Davis says: "John Wayne personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage. Eighty-three of his movies were Westerns, and in them he played cowboys, cavalrymen, and unconquerable loners extracted from the Republic's central creation myth."

Rio Lobo

Rio Lobo is a 1970 American Western film starring John Wayne. The film was the last film directed by Howard Hawks, from a script by Leigh Brackett. The film was shot in Technicolor with a running time of 114 minutes. The musical score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith and the movie was filmed at Cuernavaca in the Mexican state of Morelos and at Tucson, Arizona.

It was the third Howard Hawks film varying the idea of a sheriff defending his office against belligerent outlaw elements in the town, after Rio Bravo (1959) and El Dorado (1966), both also starring John Wayne.

Plot

During the American Civil War, Col. Cord McNally (John Wayne) has instructions telegraphed to his close friend, Lt. Ned Forsythe (Peter Jason), in charge of the Union troops on a Union army payroll train. However, Confederates led by Capt. Pierre Cordona (Jorge Rivero) and Sgt. Tuscarora Phillips (Christopher Mitchum) hijack the train. Their plan is to listen in on the telegraph wires, grease the tracks to stop the train, disconnect the payroll wagon from the engine so it rolls back down the hill, using a hornet's nest to force the Union guards to jump off the train, then catch the train with many ropes tied to trees. In the process, Lt. Forsythe is fatally injured.

Phil Karlson

Phil Karlson (born Philip N. Karlstein; July 2, 1908 – December 12, 1985) was an American film director. Karlson directed 99 River Street, Kansas City Confidential and Hell's Island all with actor John Payne in the early 1950s.

Other films include Rocky (1948), The Texas Rangers (1951), The Phenix City Story (1955), 5 Against the House (1955), The Young Doctors (1961) and Walking Tall (1973).

Karlson was the son of the Irish actress Lillian O'Brien.

He studied painting at Chicago's Art Institute, and law, at his father's request, at Loyola Marymount University in California.

Karlson got into the film industry working as a prop man while a law student. After working a variety of jobs in the business, including assistant director on a number of Abbott and Costello films, he made his directorial debut in 1944. He directed Marilyn Monroe's first film, 1948's Ladies of the Chorus, and worked on a number of low-budget projects for Monogram Pictures and Eagle-Lion Films before finally hitting his stride in the early 1950s, when he turned out a string of tough, gritty, realistic and violent crime thrillers.

Full Length LP

Full Length LP is the debut album by the Huntington Beach, California punk rock band Guttermouth, released in 1991 by Dr. Strange Records. It introduced the band's style of fast, abrasive punk rock with tongue-in-cheek humor and sarcastic lyrics. The album was originally released as an LP but was repackaged the following year as a CD including tracks from the band's first 2 EPs Puke and Balls, as well as the previously unreleased tracks "Malted Vomit" and "Ghost." It was re-released again in 1996 by Nitro Records under the title The Album Formerly Known as Full Length LP.

The album proved to be a success for the band, expanding their fan base and giving them opportunities to play shows all over southern California alongside other popular punk rock bands. An animated music video was made for the song “1, 2, 3…Slam!” and played on local punk rock and skateboarding video programs. Many of the songs from Full Length would remain staples in the band's live set throughout their career.