How the West Was Won (1963)

   John Wayne has a checkered past when it comes to his participation in EPIC MOVIES! (sorry, you simply can't talk about these things except as over-sized motion picture EPICS!) Cecil B. de Mille's reputation as a director focused on his penchant for movies taken on a massive scale; particularly since he did make The Ten Commandments (which about that, see you all in the spring). "How the West Was Won" was Hollywood's love song for the Pioneer Spirit that founded our nation, with its good and bad individual, the mountain man and the naive pioneers with only god in their side. Sometimes that wasn't enough.

   Every once in a while a Hollywood epic corrals its best & brightest stars.Some such efforts fall nothing short of disaster (The Greatest Story ever Told  springs to mind),; others put you right beside the men fighting and dying in the trenches (The Longest Day). The Duke's misfortune was to be a participant in all three of the above-mentioned films. With narration by legendary actor Spencer Tracy, we trace the myth of the West, from the rapids of the Ohio River, to the wagon trains crossing the plains and the divisions of the Civil War. The sequence where they're laying the tracks for the Iron Horse is impeded by the stampeding buffalo and a great train robbery,  bringing the legend of the settling of the West to a close.
 
   Legends are as useless to a story without a person to populate it, and so we have a family whose history we follow through all the hardships of the American 19th Century wilderness. We have mountain man Jimmy Stewart, clearly much too old for the part he was give. America's sweetheart Debbie Reynolds turns in stronger performance as Lilith Prescott than one would think possible. Of course Jimmy picks her sister Eve (Carroll Baker, while Lilith winds up with a ne'er do well gambler, Cleve Van Valen, played by the great Gregory Peck.

   I should mention that John Wayne has a remarkably short cameo, given his star billing. He is having a campfire pep talk with Henry Morgan (M.A.S.H.'s Col. Potter), playing Ulysses S. Grant. The Duke is General. Sherman, which begs the question why they cast these two fellows in roles where their height is obviously working against them. But his job is to pour vinegar on Grant's spine just when he needs a good talking to. Meanwhile their conversation is overheard by two soldiers making small talk behind the lines--a Reb and young Zebulon Rawlings. For the last time we also partake of Raymond Massey's walk-on cameo as Lincoln, for which he received no spoken lines at all.

   There is a great deal of natural spectacle, though most of the history having bent to the conventions of action sequences. Four directors were required for this production (Henry Hathaway, John Ford, George Marshall & Richard Thorpe for the transitions). It's absolutely astonishing how well the finished product melds into one unified production.

   The time jumps make it hard to follow sometimes. And yet it's impossible not to admire the sweeping panoramic shots and birds-eye views of the American wilderness, all ending with a sky-high view of the cloverleafs of the San Francisco freeways of 1963 and all the modern cities our ancestor's sacrifices made possible. Highly recommended.

Getting Back Together: Other Beatles 'Reunions' Besides the Anthology Business

   I'm the same as everyone else. I'd have loved the Beatles to get back together, which they had...in a way, sort of....though it took some graveyard recording techniques to get John involved in the Beatles Anthology project. From what I recall, Paul seemed to have more enthusiasm than George; but then George had pretty much moved on with his life by then.
   Technically speaking of course, they HAD 'gotten back together' numerous times in the 70's, pitching in on the other guy's records. People tend to make more of these things than they should; I mean these blokes knew each other for ten years, it's natural that they might lend a guitar to a track on an old band mate's record. And such are the most egregious examples that follow:

(1) A Toot And a Snore-1974 bootleg LP
   Contrary to popular opinion, Paul and John did spend some social time together after their 'divorce' from the Beatles. It was actually a kind of sporadic contact spaced with vitriol in between lawsuits. There was some warming between the pair before John's murder in 1980.
   Probably the most improbable get-together was this jam session captured in 1974 where they were joined by Harry Nillson, Stevie Wonder and others. This was during everybody's stoner period in the 70's, which might explain why this is such an incoherent mess; you can't tell where one song begins or even what they hell it is they're trying to play, if anything.

(2) Wedding Bells ring again!
   Rock star weddings are always a papparazzi's dream, especially when any one of the Fab Four pops in for an appearance. The 'Threetles' managed this twice in a two-year period, first at the wedding of Eric Clapton to George's ex-wife Patti Boyd. Which had all the makings of an awkward situation, but at least in the pictures Paul, George & Ringo are smiling.
   The wedding of Ringo Starr to Barbara Bach

in 1981 was another occasion to assemble, although there may have been a somber overcast behind their smiles, as this was only a few months after John Lennon was assassinated. But hey it's Ringo, how can you say no to him, especially on a happy day like that? That wedding photo with the mates and all their brides is a classic, and they even jammed a little after the ceremony.

(3) Paul & Ringo at his 70th Birthday Bash-2010
   The last time the 'Threetles' got together socially was for Ringo's 60th birthday, the year before George died. Since then Paul has been no stranger. Actually Ringo had become something of a regular on Paul's albums ever since his Tug of War LP in 1982. Well, everybody else gets together with family for a quiet birthday party. Ringo was treated to a night at Radio City Music Hall for his 70th in 2010. After the last song of the night, "Give Peace a Chance"/"With a Little Help From My Friends", Paul unexpectedly showed up on stage to give the man a hug and to join in a rousing performance of "Birthday".
   Ringo's still helping out on Paul's records, and Paul's reciprocating on his. For the Beatles 50th Anniversary of their 1st appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 2014, CBS mounted a night of stars honoring (in some cases ravaging) classic Beatles songs. What was left of the originals couldn't help but perform, Ringo taking on "Yellow Submarine" & "Boys" and then joined by Paul for "With a Little Help From My Friends" & "Hey Jude".

(4) The Rutles: All You Need is Cash-1978
   George has been a Monty Python groupie from the beginning. He was happy to put in a cameo as a befuddled journalist in this hilarious and loving mockumentary of the greatest rock and roll band in the world. Every event, every song gets the warped Python treatment. Watch out for Eric Idle losing his news van as it drives off without him...and then later as the same van chases after him and runs him down!

(5) Give Us a Hand, except for Paul
   I could  go into all the specific iterations where one ex-Beatle showed up on a  track by another ex-Beatle, but I suspect that would be getting TOO anal. George began the practice by supporting John's Plastic Ono Band lineup for their "Peace for Christmas" concert at London's Lyceum Ballroom in December 15, 1969. This eclectic grouping also included Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann, the Stones' pianist Nicky Hopkins, & on drums a double bill featuring the Who's Keith Moon & future Yes drummer Alan White.
   It became kind of a standard practice for George or John to help out on a Ringo record, or George to lend a note to John's songs, although sadly it seems John never reciprocated on his mate's tunes. Paul would remain the odd man out until the 1980's, and John's murder sad to say, may have had a lot to do with that. Speaking of which...

(6) "All Those Years Ago"-1981
   George had originally offered this track to Ringo, but he didn't feel it was a good fit for him. After John's murder, George was moved to offer some tribute to the man he felt was like an older brother to him. Using Ringo's drum track, he recorded the song himself and invited Paul and Linda McCartney to provide back-up vocals, which was a kind of Beatles reunion in itself. Ringo would do the same in George's honor with his 2003 recording "Never Without You", guest-starring Eric Clapton with his guitar solo.

(7) "Ringo"-1973
   For sheer Beatle reunions that aren't Beatles reunions they don't come better than this. For Ringo's 1973 solo record everyone lent a hand--John and George joined him on "I'm the Greatest" on piano & guitar respectively, while Paul lent a kazoo (seriously) to his hit single "You're Sixteen". John wrote "I'm the Greatest" for the LP & George & Ringo co-wrote his single "Photograph". They'd repeat this feat--almost--on Ringo's follow-up LP Goodnight Vienna. Paul & George were absent, but John contributed another song, "(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna", backing him on piano & lending an acoustic guitar to "Only You (and You Alone".