Up High – Monument Valley

[from My Photo a Day Adventure blog]

Saturday, November 13, 2021 … Blame it on director, John Ford … his first Monument Valley film, Stagecoach, 1939, would have been enough … but he returned 8 times … 8 more films … color and black & white … 8 more visions of Monument Valley … The celluloid mirage became real on my first journey to the Navajo Nation, Arizona / Utah … and Monument Valley … I’ve returned 4 times …

Navajo horseman … on John Ford’s Point … Monument Valley … June 2, 2004

John Ford’s Point, in the photo above, appears in one of my favorite Ford films, The Searchers, 1956 … John Wayne has been looking for his niece, Debbie / Natalie Wood, for years … the search is almost over … In the near distance below John Ford’s Point … Comanche Chief Scar’s camp … and Debbie … (I lightened the 2 screenshots below, from the much darker “night” scene … begins 1 hour, 48 minutes into the movie) …

John Wayne on John Ford’s Point … Chief Scar’s camp below … The Searchers, 1956

Wider view … John Wayne on John Ford’s Point … Chief Scar’s camp below … The Searchers, 1956

John Ford … directing The Searchers, 1956 … on John Ford’s Point … Chief Scar’s camp below … A good book to read, The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend, 2013, by Glenn Frankel

On John Ford’s Point … Monument Valley … 1995 … April 7, 2019 – About Me Part 2

The Searchers, 1956 … movie poster

Red arrow points to John Ford’s Point … Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Fun with Movie Books

[from My Photo a Day Adventure blog]

June 9, 2021, Wednesday … What I’m Reading … history and movies, all in one … nice to have a stash at hand … the switch this past year, with libraries closed to in-person browsing, led to these purchases … details below …

Teeny Tuxedo says … “I’ve been practicing my dance moves … How ’bout it, West Side guys? … Can I join the gang??” …

• Saw Glenn Frankel discuss his books:
• The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend, 2013  … one of my favorite John Ford films … set me on the trail to Monument Valley, Navajo Nation … 6 times!
• High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic, 2017 … High Noon’s not a favorite, but intrigued to see the Hollywood Blacklist connection

• Saw Peter Fitzgerald’s documentary, West Side Stories, 1996 … great behind-the-scenes footage, interviews (both stage and film) … sadly, has been removed from you-know-where. This led me to:
• West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic, 2020, Richard Barrios, Turner Classic Movies … LOVE the soundtrack … first heard in high school English Lit class, vinyl LP record album (what a terrific teacher, Mr. Somebody, just out of college) … the only weakness of the 1961 film (10 Oscars!), Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer (Maria and Tony)

Summer Under the Stars – Ramon Novarro!

Yesterday, Aug. 8, 2013, was Ramon Novarro Day on TCM!

After 19 years, a full 24 hours  finally dedicated to his films … He’d shown up in birthday tributes to others, like C. Aubrey Smith, Son of India, 1931, and Jeanette MacDonald, The Cat and the Fiddle, 1934.

As a TCM junkie since 1995, I’m grateful to have recorded, over the years, all 13 films shown on Ramon’s day …

Now that I’m soaring free with over the air tv (just like the old days, but this time in HD!), there’s no TCM … Grateful to have my grand DVD collection of 3,000+ recorded movies and short subjects!

Above, Ramon and Myrna Loy, The Barbarian, 1933 … My favorite Ramon film … Just discovered this photo today … Love his intense, powerful gaze …

To celebrate … more Ramon, some from my stash, some found today:

Left – The Sheik Steps Out, 1937 … Wonderful view of horse’s head;  Right – Earlier Hurrell photo with white horse – I have this framed.

Left – Laughing Boy, 1934, with Lupe Velez;  Right – The Pagan, 1929, with Dorothy Janis

Left – Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro, Andres Soares, 2010;  Right – Ramon on cover of Motion Picture, Feb. 1927 … I have both!

Ramon’s Summer Under the Stars day highlighted in TCM’s Now Playing, Aug. 2013