Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

The last day of this year's Legends of Western Cinema Week is upon us!  Accordingly, I had to scramble to get my tag answers written up and posted this morning.  Here, then, they are. ⸻ 2025 Tag Share one or more stories for each prompt: Cliff — a tense cliffhanger I can't remember for sure, but I assume that virtually every episode of The English (2022) ended in a stomach-clenching cliffhanger.  There's a lot going on in that show.  A little too much, actually. Gulch — a cool ambush scene In Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969), McCullough manages to ride some of his would-be assassins out of town by booby-trapping the main drag instead of participating in shootouts with them, which could be considered an ambush and which I certainly consider very cool of him. Canyon — a big gunfight Following along in that lighthearted vein, the hostage situation/brief shootout at the bank in The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) is fun.  It always tickles me pink to see the townswomen...

I don't have much for you by way of a preamble today, because the title is really as self-explanatory as I can make it.  I can, however, tell you that I got the idea for this post randomly earlier this year, and it's a little odd that I did, to be quite honest with you, since I don't tend to have much interest in Westerns set in the present day.  (I like a lot of Westerns that were made in the present day, but they're all set in the "Old West".)  But, there it is:  one day I was listening to some country songs and started thinking about how well they would fit into the soundtrack of a contemporary Western, and I realized that that could make a fun LoWCW post.  So, here we are. 😉 Read on, then, for a list of songs that I would include in a modern-day Western film, along with a brief blurb about how I envision each song fitting into a given story. ⸻ "Daddy's Mugshot"  by Laci Kaye Booth Paging Hailee Steinfeld, paging Hailee Steinfeld.  It'd b...

{The Plot} As a child, Nat Love watched notorious outlaw Rufus Buck murder his parents at their breakfast table.  Rufus spared Nat's life but carved the shape of a cross into his forehead.  Years later, Rufus is imprisoned in Yuma and Nat, knowing that he can no longer exact vengeance on Rufus himself, roams the West as a vigilante, trying to content himself with killing as many members of Rufus' gang as he can.  But when Nat learns that Rufus has escaped, and that some of Nat's own partners have unwittingly robbed a coach carrying the fugitive's money, he must scramble to reunite his scattered crew and prepare for a final confrontation with Rufus. NOTE:  Several of the main characters in the film are based on historical figures — e.g., Bass Reeves — but the director has been clear that this is, and is intended to be, a fictionalization of history.  In real life, most of these people didn't know each other and led very different lives than their movie counterpar...

Care to cozy up with a new Western show or a new Western book?  Then toss your hat into the ring to win one of the prizes below!  (Entry instructions are at the end of the post — United States only, I'm afraid.) Prize #1:  The Big Country (1958) — DVD, new One of my personal tip-top favorite Westerns!  Very worth the watching. 😉  As stated, this DVD copy is brand-new and in the original retail packaging. Prize #2:  Classic Westerns:  Zane Grey — book, new This gorgeous clothbound omnibus is part of the Cloud Classics line, which means both the front and the back cover feature a lot of fun quotes and other aesthetic details.  I purchased it quite a while ago and have flipped through it briefly, but it's never been read and has been only minimally handled. Prize #3:  Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958-1961) — DVD, used I've never watched this show, but I am reliably informed that it is a popular one among the Western-loving set. 😉  This DVD cop...

Welcome back to our annual celebration of the Western genre, friends!  Heidi and Rachel and I are stoked to see what you all contribute this year. 😉   Over the course of the next few days, you can expect to see reviews, giveaways, lists, games, and who knows what all?   One of the pillars of this event is the annual tag, a list of questions or prompts that we cohosts share in order to get participation rolling.  This year's tag is below — feel free to publish your answers in your own post, or share them in a comment! 2025 Tag Share one or more stories for each prompt: Cliff —  a tense cliffhanger Gulch  —  a cool ambush scene Canyon  —  a big gunfight Mountains  —  high stakes Valley  —  a beautiful romance Desert  —  a suspenseful plot Forest  —  themes about renewal River  —  traveling to a new home Plains  —  characters who are farmers Mesa  —  an animal centr...

Saddle up, buckos!  In case you were wondering, yes, Rachel and Heidi and I are indeed returning to your blogging spaces with another week of uproarious Western fun this year!   2025's event will take place from August 25-29, and we need your help to round out the event.  We can't wait to read all of your reviews, lists, character studies, thematic analyses, and so forth.  As per usual, you may also expect a tag to fill out, and most likely some games and/or giveaways to add spice to the proceedings. 😉  In the meantime, spread the word with one or two of these delightful buttons made by Rachel! See you there! 

*peeks timidly around the corner* Hello, there. Who's this sneaking back to very belatedly wrap up a party that ended several days ago? Couldn't be me, certainly . . . Yes, folks, I must admit that the end of this year's Legends of Western Cinema Week rather got away from me.  Several real-life engagements commandeered my attention in rather unavoidable ways; c'est la vie.   Still and yet, I enjoyed this year's party and look forward to (hopefully?) sharing more posts in next year's.  Thank you to everyone who joined in the fun last week; be sure to check out everyone's contributions (linked below); and we'll see you next time. *waves*

Before we begin, a few notes: #1.  I purposefully decided to go with "heroes" instead of "cowboys" for the title of this post, because not all of these characters fit the "cowboy" job description.   #2.  I also decided to limit myself to one character per given show, hence why Print and Heck from Broken Trail or Vin from The Magnificent Seven don't make appearances. #3.  As usual, I'm none too confident in all of my picks for this list, nor in all of their rankings.  I knew of about six or seven characters who deserved the title "favorite," no question, but the well started to run a bit dry after that.  In other words, to be ruthlessly frank, I was rather scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to rounding out this list.  It's a stretch to call the first few characters in this post "favorites," but one does what one must for the sake of continuity. 😜 Now to it . . .  ⸻ #10.  Billy Hyatt The War Wagon (1967) "Won...

Another Legends of Western Cinema Week has come around the mountain, y'all!  Today marks the beginning of a rollicking summer tradition hosted by Heidi , Rachel , and myself, during which we celebrate all things Western.  We invite you to join in the fun by contributing your own Western-themed posts over the next several days:  reviews, lists, analyses, games, etc. — you name it!   As always, we're starting things off with a fresh set of tag questions — or, in this case, tag prompts.  Following last year's lead, we're providing you all with a list of adjectives to fit to the Western of your choice.  Want to see what I mean?  Read on for my own answers. 2024 Tag Prompts Cozy Gritty Serious Comedic Romantic Lively  Unpredictable Hopeful Joyful Adventurous My Tag Answers Cozy Does it get any cozier than the outrageous Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)?  Not in a conversation about Westerns, at any rate.  Romanticized pioneer lifes...

Look what the cat dragged in:  another Legends of Western Cinema Week! My pals, Heidi (of Along the Brandywine ) and Rachel (of  Hamlette's Soliloquy ), and I are teaming up yet again to bring you this year's rip-roaring, boot-stomping week of Western fun.  Won't you join us?  We'll be celebrating and analyzing our favorite Westerns (or our not-so-favorite Westerns; the key is to keep any criticism essentially productive/constructive and to generally embrace the positive spirit of the event), and I promise you that it's a grand old time. 2024's event will run from July 22 through July 26.  As always, there will be tag questions for everyone to answer if they are so inclined.  (And comment answers are just as valid as post answers, for those of you who want to participate but don't have blogs!)   Beyond the tag, we'll have to see what comes to fruition by the time next month rolls around, but generally speaking, participants can expect to find revi...