Post by rmichaelpyle on Jan 9, 2012 9:57:16 GMT -6
Yesterday I watched bottom of the barrel that should be watched by anyone who loves to see great stunt work nevertheless! I watched a grade Z western called "Canyon Hawks" (1930) starring Yakima Canutt. Yak's a pretty good actor, not the best, by any means, but decent. But Renee Borden!! Yikes, it was very similar to watching a high school girl in a badly done play deliver lines! Absolutely horrendous! (She only made 7 films, and you can see why when you watch this atrocious job!) And some of the other scenes went nearly as badly when two or three or more were gathered together to deliver lines to each other. Not that anyone in 1930 in the company of the five to fifteen year old boys who probably went to see this indy play anywhere cared one iota. Also in the film were Hal Taliaferro (here billed as Wally Wales), Buzz Barton, Robert Walker, Bobby Dunn, Bob Reeves, and Cliff Lyons - in other words, the same names that pop up in every "B" Western ever made! Even Hank Bell had a small part. These guys lived in the movies! Robert Walker was in 250 movies; Hank Bell was in 400! Hal Taliaferro was in 225; Cliff Lyons acted in 160 films, but was stunt man in 300 more! Yak was about the same as Cliff Lyons. You want to know why they all had bowed legs??!!
What grabbed the attention, however, was the absolutely incredible stunt work that went with this production. First of all, it starred the finest stunt actor in the history of Hollywood - Yak. Secondly, this was directed by J. P. McGowan, a man who'd been in films since their inception, and whose work in Westerns is legendary. There's a scene in this one where Yak drives an open wagon driven by two horses straight down a precipitous hill that just blows the mind! The scene is shot with a group of men on horses watching from the top, obviously afraid of riding their own single horses down the hill - let alone a wagon with two horses attached - and Yak sitting in the seat in the middle at the front! Also, just watching Yak handle his six-shooters is like watching a Wild West Show.
As for the rest - the story's continuity half the time made absolutely no sense!! There were moments when I wondered what the heck was going on! Who cares -
I sat back and watched and enjoyed all 57 minutes or so anyway, glad that I had the opportunity to see such a rarity that'll never be shown on television, and to see the greatest stunt actor of all time perform some of the best stunt work ever done.
As far as the love story was concerned - it made me blush and want some more red hots from the lobby...
What grabbed the attention, however, was the absolutely incredible stunt work that went with this production. First of all, it starred the finest stunt actor in the history of Hollywood - Yak. Secondly, this was directed by J. P. McGowan, a man who'd been in films since their inception, and whose work in Westerns is legendary. There's a scene in this one where Yak drives an open wagon driven by two horses straight down a precipitous hill that just blows the mind! The scene is shot with a group of men on horses watching from the top, obviously afraid of riding their own single horses down the hill - let alone a wagon with two horses attached - and Yak sitting in the seat in the middle at the front! Also, just watching Yak handle his six-shooters is like watching a Wild West Show.
As for the rest - the story's continuity half the time made absolutely no sense!! There were moments when I wondered what the heck was going on! Who cares -
I sat back and watched and enjoyed all 57 minutes or so anyway, glad that I had the opportunity to see such a rarity that'll never be shown on television, and to see the greatest stunt actor of all time perform some of the best stunt work ever done.
As far as the love story was concerned - it made me blush and want some more red hots from the lobby...