Tag Archives: Westerns

Showdown (1973)

“Showdown” is a movie I watched in my attempt to expand my repertoire. It’s a western-gunslinger-love triangle, and I enjoyed it despite the fact I didn’t think I would. Rock Hudson is Chuck Jarvis, the sheriff in town. His best friend is Billy Massey (Dean Martin) and they’ve known each other just about their entire lives. They both fell in love with the same girl, Kate (Susan Clark) and they went into partnership on a ranch. When Kate chose Chuck, it was hard on Billy and he decided to sell Chuck his share of the ranch. Billy rode off for … Continue reading →

Author Interview – Marsha Ward and Her Books

Marsha Ward is our featured author today. If you missed yesterday’s installment of our interview, click here. Journalist, poet, and novelist all wrapped up in one, Marsha has written two novels and has another on the way. Will you tell us about those books? In “The Man from Shenandoah,” Carl Owen returns from the Civil War to find the family farm destroyed, his favorite brother dead, food scarce, and his father determined to leave the Shenandoah Valley to build a cattle empire in Colorado Territory. Crossing the continent, Carl falls in love with his brother’s fiancée while set to wed … Continue reading →

Author Interview – Marsha Ward, Multi-Facted

Our author interview for today features Marsha Ward, novelist, journalist, and poet. Marsha, you have published over 900 articles. I can’t even begin to imagine how you did that. Tips? Advice? Are you magic? I’m not magic. I merely worked for several newspapers, and was editor of three of them. The bulk of my article credits come from those days. I also edited and published two periodicals for writers, one a newsletter and the other a small magazine. I had a couple of columns in other small publications, as well. That sounds pretty magical to me. Plus, you’re a published … Continue reading →

Calamity Jane (1953)

“Calamity Jane” is the story of a girl (Doris Day) who doesn’t quite know she’s a girl. She has dressed in buckskins her whole life, knows how to shoot better than most men, can lasso, ride, and drink just like a man. But beneath all that bravado beats the very real heart of a woman – she’s in love with Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin (Philip Carey, who later went on to play Asa Buchanan on “One Live to Live.”) After all, didn’t she ride in and save him from a band of Indians? But no matter what she does, she just … Continue reading →

Jack Palance Dies

They say only the good die young, but they must have not been thinking about Jack Palance. This great Academy award-winning actor died Friday, November 10th. Associate press records who his age as 85, however, his family gave his age as 87. Either way, Jack lived a long, productive life. He played many roles in his 40 years in show business. While even he felt many of his movies were “garbage,” the audience always loved him. His debut film was 1950’s “Panic in the Streets” in which he played a murderer. He earned his first Academy Award nomination for the … Continue reading →

Horse Breeds – The American Quarter Horse

Chances are you’ve seen a Western on television or the big screen. If you have, then you have more than likely seen an American Quarter Horse. One of the first breeds to be native to the United States, the Quarter Horse evolved from Turk, Arab and Barb breeds. The foundation stock was brought to the colonies from Ireland and England in the early 1600s. The combination of characteristics produced a heavily muscled, compact horse that was capable of running short distances very quickly. The quarter in the name refers to the speed they cover a quarter of a mile in. … Continue reading →