The Western is the highest form of film art, you know.
Happy New Year!
ldb
K5WLF
Agreed. We saw the Shootist on the big screen when it was released, John Wayne's last film, and it was excellent. Even though was missing a lung and several ribs by then. I heard recently the the film makers couldn't get insurance to cover him for the movie.
There will never be another John Wayne, but Bridges fills the role quite well.
If you have read the biography of Billy the Kid, I think Johnny Depp could do quite well in any movie made about him.
From Wikipedia:
One widely reported characteristic of McCarty ()Billy the Kid) has stood the test of research: his personal charisma and popularity. Various accounts recorded by friends and acquaintances describe him as fun-loving and jolly, articulate in both his writing and his speech, and loyal to those for whom he cared, He was fluent in Spanish, popular with Latina girls, an accomplished dancer, and thus especially well-loved within the territory's Hispanic community. There, he was regarded as a champion of the oppressed."His many Hispanic friends did not view him as a ruthless killer but rather as a defender of the people who was forced to kill in self-defense."
If I was writing a Western, he would be my next candidate to cover.
I've been to Lincoln, NM. What a history down there. What a neat place. We have almost thought of retiring down there.
Frank Coe, who rode as a Regulator, recalled years after the Kid's death: "I never enjoyed better company. He was humorous and told me many amusing stories. He always found a touch of humor in everything, being naturally full of fun and jollity. Though he was serious in emergencies, his humor was often apparent even in such situations. Billy stood with us to the end, brave and reliable, one of the best soldiers we had. He never pushed in his advice or opinions, but he had a wonderful presence of mind. The tighter the place the more he showed his cool nerve and quick brain. He never seemed to care for money, except to buy cartridges with. Cartridges were scarce, and he always used about ten times as many as everyone else. He would practice shooting at anything he saw, from every conceivable angle, on and off his horse.
I am waiting for that flick!
In 2010, Bill Richardson considered pardoning, posthumously, McCarty for his role in the death of a law enforcement officer. The pardon was considered to be following through on a purported promise was made by then Governor Lew Wallace 130 years ago. However, a pardon for him would be reprehensible as he murdered three law enforcement officers.
On December 31, 2010, on the last day of his term, NM Gov. Bill Richardson announced his decision not to pardon McCarty citing "historical ambiguity" surrounding the conditions of the deal surrounding pardon.
I have found aged campfires here on the HG Radio Ranch. Old enough so that moss has grown over the burned rocks. And I have found a few Paper 10 gauge shotgun cartridges. The campfires were a long time ago; the Old West is all real to me.
Here's one story I liked. Back in the late 1800s, gunslingers would only load 5 cartridges in a 6-shooter. The gun's hammer would sit on an empty chamber, so that dropping it wouldn't cause it to accidentally fire. ( I do that with my .357 mag) Billy was playing cards in a saloon with a drunk that kept saying he could blow him away. Billy asked to see his revolver, and he turned the cylinder so that the next shot would be on the empty cylinder. Returning the gun to the braggart, he announced who he was.
Guess who lost the subsequent exchange of gunfire..
