Hello, Posse!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I am not going to lie, I took the weekend off from everything to spend some quality time with P.R.. Now, I'm sure at least some of you are thinking, "aren't you two both working from home and spending all day, every day in the same house together for the most part?"
While it is true that we are both here, believe it or not we rarely see each other. P.R. is working in the living room and I have the guest bedroom as my office. P.R. is a morning person and is up at dawn and goes to bed at a normal hour. I am a night person and wake up around 9 or 9:30 most days and will be up until 2 or 3 am almost every night (with an occasional 4 or 5 am bed time). We make a point to have dinner together every night so we can talk, but then we usually both go back to our parts of the house to work some more.
This past week we took several days to actually hang out together. We watched movies, we played video games, and we talked a lot. It was some great quality time I think we both really needed. I think it helped with the stress I have been feeling writing this new opening chapter. I plan to finish it today and hopefully my characters will not be trying to go so dark in the story now that I feel more relaxed. We will see. Some of those rascals can be ornery!
But enough about me, it's time to talk about James Stewart and The Far Country!
The Far Country was released in 1954 and was directed by Anthony Mann and written by Borden Chase. It is classified as an American Technicolor Western Romance film. This film stars some very recognizable western actors from the time period beginning with one of my favorite actors, James Stewart. I love his westerns. He has such an easy relaxed manner to his acting that just makes him perfect (in my opinion) for the "everyman" kind of characters.
Joining Stewart on the cast is Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan, John McIntire, Corinne Calvet, Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Steve Brodie, Connie Gilchrist , Robert J. Wilke, Chubby Johnson, Royal Dano, Eugene Borden, Jack Elam, Eddy Waller, Kathleen Freeman, and Connie Van. If you don't recognize the names, I guarantee you will recognize some of the faces of these actors.
The Far Country was one of several film collaborations for Stewart and Mann. Their other films include: Winchester '73 (1950), Bend of the River (1952), The Naked Spur (1953), Thunder Bay (1953), The Glenn Miller Story (1954), Strategic Air Command (1955), and The Man from Laramie (1955). They made some truly iconic films together and I dare ay their westerns were their best.
The Far Country follows cowboys Jeff Webster (Stewart) and his partner, Ben Tatum (Brennan), as they attempt to cash in on the Yukon Gold Rush in Alaska. The pair decide to drive their herd of cattle from Wyoming to Yukon to make some serious cash for their herd. On their way, they meet a self-appointed judge named Gannon (McIntire) as he is trying to hang a man. Gannon confiscates their cattle as punishment, but the men manage to get their cattle and get out of town with Gannon and his men hot on their trial. Webster and Tatum manage to shake their pursuers and make it to Yukon, but it turns out Gannon has business in the town and eventually the men are forced to face off and settle their differences once and for all.
Movie Snack Recipe
I don't know about you, but when I think of Alaska, one of the first foods that come to mind is Salmon. These tasty Smoked Salmon Cucumber Rolls by Simply Homecooked (<--- click for recipe) is not only supper easy to make, but looks fantastic and tastes even better.
If you are not a fan of fish, you can always use shredded chicken or make it vegetarian and use spinach instead. These make a tasty and healthy snack to enjoy with today's movie or any time you want a light snack that is not going to take a lot of preparation. I plan to whip up a batch this next week for our own family movie night.
Great Westerns
Remember, many great western movies started out as great western books. If you haven't already, why not read my Into the West Saga Serial Collection (<---click to view books). Parts one through five are available now on Amazon.com and BN.com. I'm currently writing part six for a planned September release and part seven, the final book in this serial, is slated for a Christmas release (cross your fingers).
You know what time it is now, posse! It's time to grab your snacks and settle in for another great western movie!
Enjoy!
Stephen
The Far Country Trailer (1954)
It's National Tell a Joke Day, so it's the perfect time to share a joke from James Stewart.