The Hyphen

Flying Leathernecks (RKO Radio Pictures 1951)

Thanks to ASM826 over at Random Acts of Patriotism for this week's ECM of the Week!

Can you be a leader? Can you be the type of person who can guide a business, a college, an organization, or a military fighting force? Keep in mind you may have to fire personnel, or cut funding, or perhaps put troops in harm's way.

The old saying It's a tough job but somebody's got to it was never more true with John Wayne's character in the 1951 WWII film Flying Leathernecks! Here is the synopsis from IMDb...

Major Daniel Kirby (Wayne) takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers just before they are about to go into combat. While the men are well meaning, he finds them undisciplined and prone to always finding excuses to do what is easy rather than what is necessary. The root of the problem is the second in command, Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin. Griff is the best flier in the group but Kirby finds him a poor commander who is not prepared to the difficult decision that all commanders have to make - to put men in harm's way knowing that they may be killed.

Here are some interesting facts I found about this movie...

Flying Leathernecks is often considered merely another assignment of Director Nicholas Ray's at RKO for Howard Hughes to prove his political and professional alliance during the Red Scare. A pro-war movie that Hughes cared about and Ray did not, Ray disagreed with the film's politics and is said to have, along with Robert Ryan, intentionally over-act. Ryan and Ray, who were leftist liberals, constantly fought against John Wayne and Jay C. Flippen, who were conservatives and supported the Blacklist.

Here is the trailer...

Trouble Along the Way (Warner Bros. 1953)

Well, my depression state hit an all time new low this weekend watching my guys get their asses destroyed by another subpar team. The old guy who sits beside me at the stadium every year said it best, "We started off great but we knew there would be trouble along the way." And that's the story how Trouble Along the Way starring John Wayne and Donna Reed became the Edge Conservative Movie of the Week!

A lot of times I hear my friends with kids say I would do anything for my son or daughter. If that's true with you, then you should enjoy this week's movie!

You know, sometimes we ask a lot out of people. Sometimes we ask things or expect things that are almost impossible (no comments about ECU from the peanut gallery!). We ask our elected officials to fix our problems, and when they fall short...well...they're the biggest SOB's that ever lived...even if we voted for them.

Ex-football coach Steve Williams (Wayne) is going through a terrible divorce. He is seeking custody of his little girl, but with no job he has almost no hope of keeping her...or seeing her again.

Williams meets Father Burke (Coburn) who runs a small Catholic College in New York. The college is very poor and will be closing its doors unless it can bring in revenue in a hurry! Burke hires Williams to coach the football team, revitalize the program and bring interest back to the failing school, but the team is undermanned and has zero talent.

Oh and did I mention that Father Burke went over Williams head and constructed the most difficult football schedule ever for 1953? VS. Santa Clara? VS. Villanova? VS. Notre Dame?

If the school closes, the students will leave, Williams is out of the job and will lose his daughter. The only way for Williams to have instant success with these huge expectations is to start bending some recruiting rules...which he regrettably does.

Maybe it's a stretch that this movie is conservative, but I liked it. It's a good comedy/drama about a parent that would do anything to keep their kid...even if it means getting really dirty.

Here is trailer...



Neat story about the movie...

Island in the Sky (Warner Bros. 1953)

You're down.

You're cold.

You're alone.

You're scared.

Now...how will you survive?

The Edge Conservative Movie of the Week, Island in the Sky starring John Wayne and James Arness is a true story about survival, courage, friendship and faith!

This has to be one of the best unknown John Wayne films of all time, and there's a reason. John Wayne, in this movie, is not John Wayne! Now, I'm not gonna explain any further. I'll just leave it at that, but you have to watch the film to find out what I mean, and trust me it will be worth it! He's still the hero, he still gets it done, but just watch! This may be John Wayne's best acting job!
Here's the plot from IMDb!

A simple group of commercial flyers, post WWII, one plane is downed in uncharted Canadian tundra, dead of winter, wicked cold. Limited resources. Other pilots start a search. Simple, huh? Remember...No GPS, No Radar, Limited radio and supplies! And that relentless bitter cold! But wait. These aren't ordinary commercial pilots. We soon learn these guys have some real history, military types, probably in WWII. They're tight, driven and fearless, and they're gonna find and rescue The Duke and his crew if it kills them! Like a fine wine, what starts out as a simple story draws us into the lives of these fine men, and their families as well. Before you know it, your heart is racing, and the tears are flowing! Perhaps an overused cliche, but truly, they just don't make films like this anymore! What's more, you get to see James Arness cry! Real men, these.

It's the Duke vs. Mother Nature, and folks...Mother Nature's REALLY pissed!

Here's the trailer from the movie!

The Alamo (MGM 1960)

The Alamo has to rank right up there with all of the great American stories of guts and sacrifice; Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Iwo Jima, D-Day, Flight United 93 and countless others. These are the kind of stories that we should pass on to the young ones to help them understand that their freedom was paid for by the courage and blood of others. I am proud to say that John Wayne's 1960 epic The Alamo is Edge's Conservative Movie of the Week! If you have not seen it...SEE IT! It is long, but worth every second!

I just wonder what all those guys would think about our border situation today. Keep that in mind when you watch this film, huh?

And as they say down in the great state of Texas...REMEMBER THE ALAMO!

Again here is the movie review from IMDb.

The legendary true story of a small band of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in hopeless combat against a massive Mexican army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas. To be able to stop them, General Sam Huston needs time to get his main force into shape. To buy that time he orders Colonel William Travis to defend a small mission on the Mexicans' route at all costs. Travis' small troop is swelled by groups accompanying Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett, but as the situation becomes ever more desperate Travis makes it clear there will be no shame if they leave while they can.

Here is the trailer.



Music from The Alamo.

Deano & the Duke

Very, very, very cool.

Mars Needs Maureen O'Hara!

Here is a clip from the 1950 film Rio Grande starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. If you look over the Duke's right shoulder you will see something flying around in the distance. Is it aliens? Russian spies? Whatever it was it left in a big dadgum hurry (those aliens probably knew John Wayne was the man!)

Big Jim McLain (Warner Bros. 1952)

To my father, politics are very simple. If the Democrats are for it, he must be against it. If the Democrats are against it, well...then he must be for it. Sometimes this formula works well in picking out films with conservative themes too. And if ever there was a movie a lib would love to hate, may I introduce you to the 1952 classic Big Jim McLain.

John Wayne plays McLain, a tough as nails US House of Un-American Activities investigator sent to Hawaii with his partner Mal Baxter (James Arness) to bust a crime ring run by Communists. Al Napier (Alfred from Batman) plays the role of the red-ringleader, Sturak. In the story, McLain falls for Nancy Vallon, played by actress Nancy Olson, who helps the Duke find information about Sturak and the Commie's evil plans.

I'll be the first one to admit it, this ain't John Wayne's best film. Wayne claimed that the movie helped re-elect Joe McCarthy to the Senate in 1952. Of course, the McCarthy hearings were soon to follow and innocent American lives were destroyed. If there was a lesson learned from McCarthyism, it should be the fact that always trusting your friendly government is a BIG mistake. I can't dispute that this was one of the most unfortunate and embarrassing times in our country's history.

However, I also believe Big Jim McLain is an important conservative film because it does spell out who the bad guys are...da' commies and Wayne's character must defeat THEM!

Over time we have allowed the word McCarthyism to become a battle cry for our most dangerous enemies whether it's communists or terrorists. It has given THEM the ability to maneuver and plot against the very freedoms we all hold so dear. Instead of stopping an enemy dead in his or her tracks, today we have politicians, educators, and entertainers that basically say, "Yep, they have the right to kill us all!" Now, some libs will call this paranoia, I call it a fact and I can find a list of over 3000 dead Americans to prove it!

As I mentioned before this isn't a great film. The extras who were told to act natural seemed more interested staring into the camera. However, when you finish watching the movie, especially if you're a conservative, you have to smile and say, "Damn, why can't they make a movie like that anymore?"

Here are some other interesting facts about Big Jim McLain I found on-line .

Nancy Olson hated the script but she figured six weeks in Hawaii and a chance to work with an icon like Wayne seemed a good enough reason to accept. Besides, she thought the film would flop and nobody would see it. She didn't count on the constant TV exposure the film has had and says people stop her all the time to say they've seen her in the film. Olson, a staunch liberal Democrat, said she and Wayne would often have political arguments but she would always let Wayne have the last word.

The German title is "Mathuana". In this dubbed version for the German market John Wayne plays a hunter of drug smugglers, not an investigator for the Un-American Activities Commitee as in the original film.

The first film produced by Wayne-Fellows Productions (later renamed Batjac Productions), John Wayne's independent production company.

Unfortunately, I could not find any clips from Big Jim McLain on YouTube. But never fear! Here are a few John Wayne clips I think you will all enjoy!



John Wayne, America...Why I Love Her!

Rio Bravo (Warner Bros. 1959)

Watch Rio Bravo and then High Noon, and tell me what big story differences stand out to you the most. In one movie the town supports its sheriff of ridding the area of scumbags. The other town wusses out and expects the outgunned lawman to do all the work.

If I was doing a blog on liberal movies, High Noon would be up there in my top 5, which is a shame because I really like Gary Cooper. Rio Bravo on the other hand, which stars my hero John Wayne, Dean Martin and Walter Brennan is an instant classic conservative western. Wayne's character, John T. Chance, is the kind of guy who wants to do things on his own and usually refuses the help he's offered by his pals. Did I mention Martin's character is a drunk and Brennan is an old cripple?

In this scene Wayne tracks down the bad guy in a not so friendly saloon.




I guess it was a good thing for Coop Grace dropped the whole "I'm a afraid of guns" thing, huh?