#5 – Dodge City, 1939

Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan
[ IMDB Link ]
Dad’s Comments: I chose this movie for the interesting plot, stirring musical score, and great action sequences. The barroom brawl is considered one of the best.

#4 – The Iron Horse 1924

Director: John Ford
Cast: George O’Brien, Madge Bellamy, Charles Edward Bull
[ IMDB Link ]
Dad’s Comments: I chose this movie for the plot, the wonderful locations, and great action sequences such as the Indian attack on the train.

#3 – The Searchers, 1956

Director: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Natalie Wood
[ IMDB Link ]
Dad’s Comments: I picked this movie for great musical score, beautiful scenes of canyons and plains, intriguing plot, and acting of Wayne and Hunter
My Comments: I found this western fascinating because John Wayne’s character Ethan is so much more complex than some of his more fun but superficial roles. As a child I found Ethan scary; I was confused as to why he was searching for Debbie as he seemed to both love and hate her at the same time.

#2 – Stagecoach, 1939

Director: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine
[ IMDB Link ]
Dad’s Comments: Film features excellent cinematography and score. I picked this movie because it made Wayne a star and had a very interesting group of characters.

Claire Trevor & John Wayne

#1 – High Noon, 1952

Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell
[ IMDB Link ]
Dad’s Comments: This western has the western triple threat: cinematography, score and plot. I picked this movie because of Cooper’s wonderful acting and exciting editing. One example: continuous shots of the clock, emphasizing how little time Cooper has before outlaws arrive. Finally, it’s important to note that the non-stereotype role of Helen Ramirez, a strong and competent Hispanic businesswoman (well played by Katy Jurado) was a rarity in 1950s Hollywood!

[ Check our Part 1 – Top 10 – 6 Westerns ]

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Dad, thank you for sharing your love of history and films with me, and thank you for showing me that there are two sides to every story, and then there’s the truth.

#10 – Tombstone, 1993

Director: George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre (uncredited)

Cast: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Dana Delaney, Powers Boothe

[ IMDB Link ] 

Dad’s Comments: I chose this movie for:  an interesting plot, great musical score, exciting action sequences. Look for the tense and fast moving gunfight at OK Corral and Wyatt’s Earp’s blazing guns showdown in middle of a river with Curly Bill (Powers Boothe). Great acting by Russell, Kilmer, and the villains (Boothe, Stephen Lang, and Michael Biehn).

My Comments: This is one of my all time favorite westerns. It’s over the top, I love all the actors in their own right and love them even more together in this flick. The score is dramatic, there’s the epic walking scene (below), and Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday is wonderfully eccentric and charming. I asked for this for Christmas in high school and when I opened it on Christmas day, I asked if we could watch it that night. My mom was horrified at the violence but even more so on Jesus’s birthday. I explained to her that everyone celebrates the holidays differently and that she should go back to mooning over Kurt Russell and his amazing mustache.

#9 – Warlock, 1959

Director: Edward Dmytryk

Cast: Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn

[ IMDB Link ]

Dad’s Comments: I chose this movie for the intriguing plot. The town hired a gunfighter (Fonda) as unofficial marshal but then a legally appointed sheriff appoints a former outlaw as Warlock’s deputy sheriff (Widmark). Result? Conflict!  Look for exciting action sequences (see any of the gunfights) and riveting performances by Widmark, Fonda, Quinn, and Dorothy Malone.

#8 – Ride the High Country

Director: Sam Peckinpah

Cast: Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Mariette Hartley
[ IMDB Link ]

Dad’s Comments: I chose this movie for the interesting plot and honest performances by McCrea and Scott in his final movie role. A highlight would be the dialogue between Scott and McCrea as Scott tries to justify stealing the gold shipment that both men are guarding. Another highlight is the final showdown – the two groups marching slowly, relentlessly toward each other, guns blazing.

[ Source: True West Magazine ]

#7 – Shane, 1953

Director: George Stevens

Cast: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin
[ IMDB Link ]

Dad’s Comments: I chose this movie for beautiful scenery, a scene stealing villain (Jack Palance), exciting editing (see tension-packed final gunfight between Ladd and Palance as camera leaps back and forth between the two adversaries), explosive action scenes (see brutal barroom brawl, Ladd and Van Heflin versus the cattle baron’s henchmen) and great ensemble acting of Ladd, Arthur, Van Heflin, and Brandon DeWilde (farmer’s son).

#6 – Gunfight at the OK Corral, 1957

Director: John Sturges

Cast: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming
[ IMDB Link ]

Dad’s Comments: I chose this movie for its rousing musical score (great theme song sung by wonderful Frankie Laine!) and exciting action scenes, like the final gunfight as the four lawmen, including Lancaster and Douglas, march slowly and relentlessly down the main street to the OK corral. Dimitri Tiomkin’s score adds energy and menace to this showdown.

[ Source: Southern Arizona Guide ]

[ Check out the top 5 Westerns – Part 2 ]

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(image source: www.islandoutpost.com)

When I was 20, I went to Jamaica on spring break and went cliff diving. I remember standing on the edge and I couldn’t quite see where I was going to land. I moved even further out, to the point of almost losing my balance forward, and I thought, ‘Am I really going to do this? Am I someone that jumps off cliffs?’ As the rest of the group started counting down ‘3, 2, 1,’ I smiled to myself…because I am someone who jumps off cliffs.

And I jumped.

——-

My mom thinks I’m brave because I’m not afraid to say what I think or I’m the first one up the ladder to swing from a trapeze. Here’s the catch: it’s all relative. Risk does not have to involve jumping out of a plane; it could be throwing out an idea at a meeting, committing to education that could change your career or making a life for yourself in a new place.

The point is this – don’t put yourself in the “boring” bucket because you have a fear of heights or you like to go to bed early. The biggest risk you may ever take is listening to your gut, even when people you trust are telling you otherwise. We all have opportunities to take a chance; we just have to answer ‘Yes’ when we ask ourselves if we’re ready to change.

In the words of the great Van Halen, ‘Go ‘head and jump!’

Dedication

My mom used to erase my homework and make me do it again if it was sloppy. I remember one time I didn’t erase it well, and when I redid it, my mom made me erase it properly and do it a third time. I am certain that I didn’t get her point. She took her risks to push towards her best self and subsequently, she always wanted me to push myself, too. Eventually, I understood why she was tough on me; I started agreeing with her, trying harder and expecting more from myself.

I also started doing my homework in pen.

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Blog Theme(s)
A lot of blogs have themes, whether it’s cooking, travel, movies, etc. I don’t know if this has a theme; I think I’m the only thing holding this together so could the theme just be me?

Views & Feedback
I’m sure at some point I’ll have an opinion about something and I welcome feedback. Don’t make me come back here and edit this section with suggested conduct.

Why
What is the reason I’m putting you and more specifically, my parents, through this? I like writing as much as I like talking, and in that regard, a friend’s mother summarized it best when she asked, ‘Do you pause for breath?’ Let’s just say I’ve been banned from kissing the Blarney Stone.

So lean in, just like Mr. Koala, and I’ll tell you a few tales.

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Speaking of physiques…

The post FAQ: What is your general outlook on physical fitness? appeared first on Alison Hession dot Com.

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