Monday Movie Madness: The Shadow Riders

Hello Posse!

Sorry this is a little late. The combination of too much stress, a horrible low pressure front, and not eating enough yesterday just put me in migraine hell for a while. Sometimes I can still work with a migraine, but then I have days like yesterday when it affects my eyesight and I can't do much of anything. I was glad to see the message I wrote for you all yesterday was at least mostly correct. I had to guess at what I was typing because I could see nothing but blurry, black marks on the screen.

But enough about that, on with the movie!

Today's flick reunites actors Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott and Jeff Osterhagein (from The Sacketts) in another fantastic made for TV movie based on a book by Louis L'Amour, The Shadow Riders. The supporting cast also stars well-known such actors as Dominique Dunne, Katharine Ross, Ben Johnson and Geoffrey Lewis. While you may not recognize the names, if you watched any TV in the 70s and 80s, I guarantee you will recognize the faces.

The Shadow Riders aired on September 28th, 1982, exactly 38 years ago yesterday (man, that makes me feel old) and was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The story begins at the end of the Civil War. Confederate soldier Dal Traven (Elliot) is rescued by Major Ashbury and his forces just as he is about to be executed by a firing squad. Ashbury and his men are planning to continue to fight against the Union despite the war being declared over. Ashbury asks Dal to join him but Dal declines. He just wants to go home and live out a quiet life.

On his way back to Texas, Dal meets up with his brother Mac (Selleck) who had been fighting for the Union. The brothers hold no ill will against each other, even though they had fought on opposite sides of the war. When the brothers arrive home, they find the place has been raided by Ashbury and his men. The raiders also kidnapped their family; their brother Jesse (Osterhage), their sisters, and Dal's girlfriend, Kate (Ross).

The brothers set out to rescue their family and to stop Ashbury and his men. They track the men to the Gulf of Mexico where they had been camped. They find their brother who had been wounded and presumed dead in an escape attempt. Ashbury had made a deal with a smuggler, Holiday Hammond, to trade the raided goods and prisoners for guns to continue his fight against the Union. Hammond and Ashbury take them to Mexico to sell them.

With the help of Jesse, Dal and Mac attack the Confederate camp and manage to rescue Kate who hadn't been take with the rest to Mexico. She tells the brothers what happened. They decide they need a guide to help them track their sisters though the unknown Mexico territory. The decide the best man fo the Job is their uncle Jack (Johnson). They break him out of jail and head for the border.

In Mexico, things are not going as Ashbury had planned. Hammond is not being straight with him and the men finally have a confrontation. Hammond reveals he never intended to supply Ashbury with guns and takes him prisoner. Uncle Jack manages to lead the brothers to Hammond and a rescue attempt it made. Ashbury escapes during the fighting but Dal apprehends him. Dal was going to shoot Ashbury for taking his sisters but changes his mind. Ashbury had saved his life once so to repay that, Dal lets Ashbury live. His debt is paid.

Hammond manages to escape the battle with the Traven sisters. They catch a train but Dal and Mac are not about to give up on their sisters. The set out in pursuit and manage to catch the train, save their sisters, and capture Hammond who happens to be the most wanted man in Texas. Just as things look to be going their way with the whole family back together again, the Texas sheriff who had arrested uncle Jack shows up to take him back to jail. The brothers make him a deal with him and turn over Hammond to him instead. With the bad guys caught and the family reunited, the Travens head for home.

I remember watching this on TV when it first aired. It is definitely worth the time to watch it, but I can say that about any Sam Elliott and Tom Selleck western. They are both amazing actors but I especially love them in westerns.

Today's movie snack is something I cannot make too often because they are easy and delicious and I will inhale them all very quickly. I am talking about Beyond the Chicken Coop's, Puff Pastry Straws (<--- click here for recipe). Seriously, I have no willpower where these are concerned.

Pair them with some pasta sauce or salsa for dipping and they are even better! I love them with sesame seeds but not a fan of the poppy seeds. If you want to add some protein, try chia seeds. I also like trying different cheeses, like a good cheddar. Any hard cheese you can finely grate should work with this recipe. Experiment and find which one you like the best.

Now, the recipe I shared does not have you making the puff pastry. If you want to go that extra mile and make your own, I highly recommend the recipe from Gemma's Bigger Bolder Baking (<--- click here for recipe) site. Honestly, I recommend every recipe on her site, she's fabulous and so are her recipes!! I am constantly using her crazy dough recipe for pizzas. I may have to share my pizza recipe with you next week.

One last note . . .

I think I am going to change things up a bit for October. I love Halloween. It is my favorite holiday. It is the only holiday that is just about having fun and eating candy. How great is that? But it is also a season for watching scary movies, which I also love! So for the Month of October I think we will have Monday Movie Madness: The Halloween Edition!

Now, I promise this will not be the gross, blood and guts kinds of movies, though in the first blog I may write a bit about the different sub-genres in the horror category. However, for these Halloween Movie blogs, I am going to focus more on the psychological thrillers and some of my favorite old classics. I will do my best to find a way to tie them all into the western genre. It will be a challenge but check back every Monday to see how well I manage that.

But for now . . .

Grab your snacks and settle in, it's time for another great western movie!

Enjoy!