Set your DVRs... King of the Khyber Rifles is scheduled to air on the Fox Movie Channel on November 10, 2010, 7:00 am EST, and the website states it will be in WIDESCREEN.

FINALLY.

Actually a lot of movies previously show in pan and scan on Fox have begun airing in their correct widescreen aspect ratios which some of us suspect means that Fox is indeed gearing up for its own "movies on demand" program, much like the Warner Archive and Sony's new Screen Classics on Request programs. There have been some other hints that Fox -- the last major studio not to have such a program, though MGM's seems to be in suspended animation -- is preparing for such a program next year.

This is one of my favorite films from Ty's last years at Fox -- I'm not saying it's an undiscovered masterpiece or anything (it's not) but it definitely has its moments. That is, I think it does, all I've seen is a poor quality pan and scan. It will be very interesting seeing this properly presented.

Thanks for mentioning this Peachtree--I haven't seen this before, so it will be nice to see it as well as it was originally shown/filmed.

Wooooow, great news!!!!! Many thanks for the head's up, Peachtree!!!!! At last, is right! Agree as well that this film has its moments. No less so than that this has a more likeable leading lady character in Terry Moore from Piper Laurie in The Mississippi Gambler. I always thought Laurie slightly overdid the nasty bit in that film.

We're certainly getting a lot of crumbs off the table between this and the Fox mini doc. :-)!!

When I think of Terry Moore, the first thing that pops into mind is her oversized pet, Mighty Joe Young. :) The nightclub rampage scene really has to be seen - it's an epic of stop-motion destruction from the big guy! (Well,not so big compared to King Kong but still pretty big.) Besides Terry and Joe the other reason to see the movie is Ben Johnson's acting debut. He's very good for an acting greenhorn! (He'd been doing horse-related stunts and doubling for years and was widely regarded as the best horseman in Hollywood. How he went from stuntman to actor is an interesting story but it's completely off-topic so I won't go into it here.)

I only saw that film once and it was years ago but it's a film that stays with you (the good ones usually are). Very well done and crafted I thought and yes technically it was amazing. If memory serves, it's highly regarded critically as well, I think.

wow, I didn't know that was Ben Johnson's debut! I'd love to know how the transition happened, Peachtree, if you feel like typing :-)!

The fact that he had boyish good looks probably didn't hurt, I'm thinkin' (?)

Joanne...

(Deep Breath)

Ben was a born and bred Oklahoma Tall Grass Prairie cowboy (his dad was a rodeo champ and ranch foreman) who in 1939 was hired to bring some horses from Oklahoma to the set of Howard Hughes' The Outlaw (which wasn't released until 1943). He literally arrived to the movie business in a boxcar with the horses. Hughes took a liking to the kid (he was 21 -- he'd been working as a cowboy from age 11) and hired him on as a horse wrangler. The money was so much better than the one dollar a day Ben made as a cowboy that he decided to stay and try and make it in the movie business. Before long he was a top riding double and stuntman, doubling for many famous stars, and occasionally throughout the 1940s he even got some "face time" on camera. Eventually he was introduced to John Wayne, who hired him to double him for riding sequences in Tall in the Saddle (1944) and Angel and the Badman (1948). Wayne got him hired to do stuntwork and doubling in John Ford's Fort Apache. You remember that huge horse fall that Henry Fonda's character has? That's Ben Johnson doing that stunt.

In Fort Apache, there was supposed to be an action sequence with some stuntmen in a wagon, but something spooked the horses and they ran. The wagon was overturned and the stuntmen were being dragged underneath towards a big outcropping of rock. They would have been killed except that Ben rode up to the running horses, blocked their way, grabbed the harness and stopped them. He saved the lives of the three stuntmen. Ford, who had already taken notice of Ben for his amazing riding skills, told Ben he would be "rewarded" for his bravery. Eventually Ben was called into Ford's office and offered a "personal services" contract with Ford's company Argosy. Ben thought it would be for more stuntwork and was stunned to see that Ford was offering him $5000 a week to work as an actor. Ford suggested taking the contract to his lawyer, but that money so was tremendous he signed right then and there. Ford soon cast him as the male lead (well, the human male lead) in Mighty Joe Young, which Ford was producing with Merian C. Cooper, to play a cowboy character for which Ben was, of course, perfect. Ben had never acted and was extremely nervous, but it turned out he was a "natural" -- he had real presence and authority on screen, he was very goodlooking, and they all soon realized he could act. As an actor he's raw in those first movies but he caught on very quickly. His Oscar-winning performance 23 years later in The Last Picture Show is a truly beautiful piece of acting. He's also the only person ever to be a world rodeo champion (in 1953, for Team Roping) and an Oscar-winner. ;) He always said he valued his rodeo championship more! ;)

Ben getting "face time" in Tall in the Saddle.



May I, er, introduce you all to my Ben Johnson webpage?

http://benjohnsonscreencaps.shutterfly.com

Just checked the King of the Khyber Rifles broadcast, and it IS widescreen indeed. Woo hoo! I think this is the first time ever for a broadcast in the correct aspect ratio.

Great, great stuff Peachtree :-)!!! Had no idea about the runaway horses incident! Fascinating. (He was quite the looker in his younger days and seemed to retain the baby face features, though craggier in his later days.) He was a natural as an actor, as well. The Johnson site is great (the "Premiere" pic from '94 is a riot!)!!

BTW, I need to clean up the links page and I'm thinking of adding an "other sites of interest" links section as well. Is it ok if I add your "Movie Page"?

>BTW, I need to clean up the links page and I'm thinking of adding an "other sites of interest" links section as well. Is it ok if I add your "Movie Page"?[/quote]

Dear Joanne, please add both my movie page and my Ben Johnson page (I've added a lot of stuff to it since the Premiere photo on November 6, too).

That's so sweet of you. Thanks!

Speaking of westerns, I wish Ty had made more. Rawhide is a favorite of mine, I think it's an underrated gem.