Western RoundUp: Western Film Book Library – Part 9

Western Film Book Library – Part 9

It’s time for another survey of books on Western movies!

This month’s column is prompted in large part by the publication of an important new book, The Cavalry Trilogy: John Ford, John Wayne, and the Making of Three Classic Westerns by Michael F. Blake.

Blake, the son of character actor Larry Blake, is himself a noted movie makeup artist and film historian whose earlier works include books on Lon Chaney and Code of Honor: The Making of Three Great American Westerns. In this new book, a 292-page paperback from Rowman & Littlefield’s TwoDot Books, Blake brings together extensive new research on the making of Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and Rio Grande (1950).

This engagingly written book features numerous photos I’d never seen before, along with an impressive three dozen pages of footnotes. Given that the second two films in the trilogy are among my all-time favorite movies and that I’ve visited their locations in Monument Valley and Moab, I found this “deep dive” into the making of the movies an extremely enjoyable and informative reading experience, filled with new-to-me stories.

Above, my photo of author Blake (center) with Patrick Wayne and Rob Word at a 75th anniversary screening of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon at the October 2024 Lone Pine Film Festival.

While I’m on the topic of Michael Blake, I have not yet read Code of Honor, but I recently realized it was in the film book collection I inherited when my father passed away last year. I look forward to reading it soon and expect great things, given my enjoyment of The Cavalry Trilogy.

Code of Honor is a 260-page paperback on the filming of High Noon (1952), Shane (1953), and The Searchers (1956). I can say it contains some remarkable photographs; my favorite is of John Qualen, Natalie Wood, and Olive Carey filming the final scene of The Searchers (1956). Code of Honor was published in 2003 by Taylor Trade Publishing.

Switching from books on “A” Westerns to the stars of “B” Westerns, I made a fantastic discovery in The Fabulous Holts by Buck Rainey. Rainey, who passed away in 2009, also wrote Shoot-Em-Ups, which I discussed here earlier this year, and Sweethearts of the Sage, which I discussed in a 2023 column. The Fabulous Holts covers the lives and films of Western actors Jack Holt and his children Tim and Jennifer.

I first learned of the Holt book from the back cover of another of Rainey’s books, and thanks to a kind friend’s assistance I found an affordable copy on eBay. It’s a 215-page book originally published in 1976 by Western Film Collector Press.

The book has relatively small print and is packed with information, including detailed biographies of the family and close looks at their films. The author personally interviewed both Jennifer and Tim; Tim passed away before the book’s publication, but his widow provided family photographs to the author. Other photos in the book were from Jennifer’s collection.

Along with the late David Rothel’s book Tim Holt, which I discussed here in my November 2019 column, The Fabulous Holts is an absolute “must” for fans of this acting family.

I’ve been interested in Dale Evans and Roy Rogers, on and off screen, since I met Dale as a child at the Lighthouse Christian Bookstore in Long Beach, California. Dale was signing her 1971 book Dale: My Personal Picture Album, and I was in awe, as I often watched afternoon TV reruns of The Roy Rogers Show; she was one of the first celebrities I ever met in person. Her book filled with stories and photos of her large family fascinated me, and I went on to read several other books by Dale.

Queen of the West: The Life and Times of Dale Evans, was written by Theresa Kaminski and published by Rowan & Littlefield’s Lyons Press imprint in 2022. I just picked it up in a sale this year and found it a very “readable” and insightful book. It’s extensively researched, with over 50 pages of footnotes, and also had the advantage of being fact-checked by Dale’s oldest stepdaughter, Cheryl Rogers Barnett.

This is a good place to also mention the very enjoyable memoirs written by Cheryl, Cowboy Princess: Life With My Parents, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Cowboy Princess Rides Again.

I’ve been fortunate to meet Cheryl on multiple occasions at the Lone Pine Film Festival, where she’s a regular guest. Her books are charming stories of growing up in Hollywood as part of the large Rogers family; she’s also honest about some of the struggles she faced as a teen, loving yet clashing with her stepmother Dale. She continues to be a wonderful historian and ambassador for the Rogers family.

As I’ve mentioned here in the past, I’ve always had a particular interest in actress Julie Adams as I appeared on stage with her in a bit role in a theatrical production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in the late ’70s. Adams got her start in movies appearing in low-budget Lippert Pictures Westerns, a couple of which I’ve written about in past columns. As her career developed she starred in numerous Universal Pictures Westerns, as well as appearing in TV Westerns such as Maverick, Cheyenne, and The Rifleman.

Adams published the charming memoir The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections From the Black Lagoon in 2011. It was cowritten with her son Mitchell Danton, who was also the son of actor Ray Danton. It’s a marvelous book, with 263 heavy, glossy pages and dozens of photos from her personal collection.

Above, a montage of color posters for Adams’ films which are seen inside the cover, along with a set of photos from one of my all-time favorite Westerns, Bend of the River (1952). The book includes many fun anecdotes, including how she learned moviemaking while shooting several Lippert Westerns simultaneously!

For even more ideas on books on Western movies, please visit my lists from July 2019, November 2019, May 2020, January 2021, July 2021, August 2022, May 2023, and April 2024.

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– Laura Grieve for Classic Movie Hub

Laura can be found at her blog, Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings, where she’s been writing about movies since 2005, and on Twitter at @LaurasMiscMovie. A lifelong film fan, Laura loves the classics including Disney, Film Noir, Musicals, and Westerns.  She regularly covers Southern California classic film festivals.  Laura will scribe on all things western at the ‘Western RoundUp’ for CMH.