The MoFo Top 100 Westerns: Countdown

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My first rectification, watching Warlock


Very good western with some ambiguous mindsets when it came to where people stood. A number of who, would shift their positions, almost like a chess game as the story played out.
There were also a few secondary folks I was happy to see. Such as DeForest Kelley as all us Trekkies know as "Bones" McCoy. Along with Frank Gorshin playing Richard Widmark's brother, Billy.
As I mentioned before, this was one I had wanted to see and I'm glad I finally did. With several other favorites pushed out of my final list, I wouldn't have had any room for it, sadly. But, regardless, VERY glad to have seen it.


Watched 2 out of 8 (25%)
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Both The Unforgiven and The Misfits were on my watchlist for this countdown, but I ran out of time before I could watch them. They both sound interesting, so I've kept both movies on my watchlist.
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The Unforgiven is the only film I've seen so far, since it has 2 of my favorite actors in it. Just because Burt and Audrey are joy to watch it's enjoyable, but I don't think that it's that good other then that.
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The Austrian/German film The Dark Valley (Das Finstere Tal) is a tale of revenge set in a cold, remote town in the Austrian Alps where a mysterious stranger rides in and people start dying. One could not find a film more its opposite than the big screen adaptation of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s hit Broadway show Oklahoma!, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain and the corn is as high as an elephant's eye. As disparate as the two productions are, separated by six decades and just about everything else one could conceive of, they finished with the same 41 points and both were on three ballots. While The Dark Valley boasted a solid tenth place 16-point vote as its highest spot, Oklahoma! is the first title to make our countdown with a full 25-point first place vote (it also had a one-point nod and a 15-pointer).

Five days in we have the first ten reveals. From this cross section at the bottom of the list you get to see some of the true variety contained within the genre. We already have a comedy (North to Alaska), a Musical (Oklahoma), a foreign film (The Dark Valley), a pair from the 21st Century (The Dark Valley and Slow West), a contemporary drama (The Misifts), a Revisionist examination of a Native American hero (Geronimo: An American Legend), a Clint Eastwood picture, two John Waynes, and two directors already with a pair of films each in Henry Hathaway and John Huston.

And we’re just gettin’ started, Folks.




Not seen The Dark Valley, sounds interesting though. Did rewatch Oklahoma! for this though and it's enjoyable enough with some nice song and dance numbers but was never really in contention for a place on my list.

Seen: 6/10
My list:  

Faildictions (yee-haw version 1.01):
90. Convict Stage
89. Return Of The Seven



The Dark Valley is the first film from my ballot. I had it at #10. It's a quite good looking and grim revenge film. Kinda like a modern spaghetti from Austria. I haven't seen Oklahoma!

Seen 1+2/10

My List  
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The Dark Valley was another of Mark's recommendations. It's a gorgeous revenge tale with a lot of atmosphere. I had it at #12.

Obviously, I didn't vote for Oklahoma!. I've not yet seen it either and I hope to keep it that way.


My Ballot:
12. The Dark Valley (#92)
18. Slow West (#95)
25. In Pursuit of Honor (One-Pointers)



Seen neither, I've heard of Oklahoma! however, looks interesting I guess.

Seen: 1/10
- Slow West (#95)

My ballot:
None
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Surprised I haven't heard of Dark Valley. Sounds like something I should check out.

Not sure if I have watched the movie Oklahoma properly, but I saw the play in middle school and have been around the music enough to know I probably won't any time soon.
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Oklahoma! is my #11. The Dark Valley was very close to making my ballot and very well-deserving of our list.

Oklahoma! probably ranks, along with The Wizard of Oz, as the film I saw on TV the most times by the time I was 12 years old. I loved that film! The beginning of the film was filmed completely outdoors, naturalistically, by Fred Zinnemann (High Noon, From Here to Eternity), and those wonderful songs at the beginning, "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" and "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top" totally blew me away as a kid. Gordon MacRae, not exactly a househld name nowadays, will always be significant to my family, if only for the first 20 minutes of this wonderful movie. I certainly had a crush on the object of his affections, Shirley Jones. I enjoy this film in its entirety, but sometimes it's attacked for being filmed on soundstages. Well, I agree that it is, but one of the production's greatest songs is the "Pore Jud is Daid" number with MacRae and Rod Steiger (very good after his On the Waterfront role-- and that is done wonderfully on a soundstage.

Oklahoma! is awesome Americana and extremely funny. The relationships between the main characters couldn't be more realistic, no matter how outlandish they appear at first. The huge supporting cast includes the wonderful Gloria Grahame's Ado Annie ("I Can't Say No"), Gene Nelson, Charlotte Greenwood, Eddie Albert, James Whitmore, Barbara Lawrence and Jay C. Flippen. MacRae and Jones did reteam the next year for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel.
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I really liked The Dark Valley but there were a couple things about it that kept me from loving it enough to vote for it.

I may have seen Oklahoma! for the 60's countdown but I have to check my notes. I give it one strike already for having a punctuation mark in it's title.



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I haven't seen The Unforgiven or The Misfits but I'd like to see them.

I wasn't expecting The Dark Valley to make it to be honest. I had it at #15 on my list. It's very tense and atmospheric and it was interesting to watch a non-American Western.