Thursday, September 30, 2021

Go West!

 

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events!

Thu Oct 14 10am-11am:
Spooky seasons greetings from the librarians at ONL!  Join us in the Community Meeting Room or on Zoom (email registration required) for a run down on the latest and greatest October scares along with some favorite creepy movies as well!  Registration: https://emmetoneal.libnet.info/event/5473260

Thu Oct 14 6pm-10pm:
An Evening with the Author: Patti Callahan Henry! Registration required here: https://emmetoneal.libnet.info/event/5523114
Please join us on Thursday evening, October 14, to celebrate the launch of Patti Callahan Henry's new novel “Once Upon a Wardrobe.” This event will be available to our patrons via Zoom as well as in-person attendance. Please choose how you would like to attend. If you choose Zoom, please double check the spelling on your email address! 

Sat Oct 16 7pm-9pm:
Join us on the lawn across from the Library for a classic Halloween creature feature. There will be thrills and chills and gills!

Books & Beyond (BAB) returns on Tue Oct 26th at 6:30pm, in-person and on Zoom (email registration required at https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/4597974)!  Browse the display at the 2nd floor reference desk or online under the “Adults” tab and “Book Recommendations,” then look for “World Spiritual Beliefs.” 

 

This week, BAB chatted about westerns of page, screen, and podcast!  Read on to see what popped up in the discussion.  (descriptions from Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes)

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
In Upright Women Wanted, award-winning author Sarah Gailey reinvents the pulp Western with an explicitly antifascist, near-future story of queer identity.

American Hippo by Sarah Gailey
In 2017 Sarah Gailey made her debut with River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow, two action-packed novellas that introduced readers to an alternate America in which hippos rule the colossal swamp that was once the Mississippi River. Now readers have the chance to read both novellas in American Hippo, a single, beautiful volume.

His to Claim by Brenda Jackson
When navy SEAL and honorary Westmoreland Mac McRoy returns home, he discovers his wife has left. Teri has retreated to the Wyoming ranch they’d planned to visit together and is resentful when he follows. She doesn’t want a second honeymoon; she wants a marriage Mac doesn’t take for granted. But life-or-death circumstances are about to put their love to the ultimate test.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (has film)
With The Sisters Brothers, Patrick deWitt pays homage to the classic Western, transforming it into an unforgettable comic tour de force. Filled with a remarkable cast of characters-losers, cheaters, and ne’er-do-wells from all stripes of life-and told by a complex and compelling narrator, it is a violent, lustful odyssey through the underworld of the 1850s frontier that beautifully captures the humor, melancholy, and grit of the Old West and two brothers bound by blood, violence, and love.

Trigun (anime)
Vash the Stampede is a wanted man with a habit of turning entire towns into rubble. The price on his head is a fortune, and his path of destruction reaches across the arid wastelands of a desert planet. Unfortunately, most encounters with the spiky-haired gunslinger don't end well for the bounty hunters who catch up with him; someone almost always gets hurt - and it's never Vash. Oddly enough, for such an infamous fugitive, there's no proof that he's ever taken a life. In fact, he's a pacifist with a doughnut obsession who's more doofus than desperado. There's a whole lot more to him than his reputation lets on - Vash the Stampede definitely ain't your typical outlaw.

Cowboys & Aliens
Gunslinger Daniel Craig and greedy cattle baron Harrison Ford lead a small town against a hostile alien invasion in this sci-fi/western.

Westworld (HBO remade into series, Season 1 not in the library system)
The one-hour drama series, WESTWORLD is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world in which every human appetite, not matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged. No rules, no laws, no judgment. Live without limits.

Westworld (1973)
Westworld is a futuristic theme park where paying guests can pretend to be gunslingers in an artificial Wild West populated by androids. After paying a sizable entrance fee, Blane (James Brolin) and Martin (Richard Benjamin) are determined to unwind by hitting the saloons and shooting off their guns. But when the system goes haywire and Blane is killed in a duel with a robotic gunslinger (Yul Brynner), Martin's escapist fantasy suddenly takes on a grim reality.

Cold Mountain
In this classic story of love and devotion set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, a wounded Confederate soldier named W.P. Inman (Jude Law) deserts his unit and travels across the South, aiming to return to his young wife, Ada (Nicole Kidman), who he left behind to tend their farm. As Inman makes his perilous journey home, Ada struggles to keep their home intact with the assistance of Ruby (Renée Zellweger), a mysterious drifter sent to help her by a kindly neighbor.

Bad Girls
Prostitutes Cody (Madeleine Stowe), Anita (Mary Stuart Masterson), Eileen (Andie MacDowell) and Lily (Drew Barrymore), work a saloon in the Old West. They decide to flee the bordello for a better life elsewhere, but trouble follows close behind. They're tailed by Pinkerton detectives, Cody's savings are stolen by a bandit (James Russo), and Eileen is wrongfully jailed for bank robbery. Now the remaining three girls must decide whether to liberate their friend or their funds first.

The Misfits
While filing for a divorce, beautiful ex-stripper Roslyn Taber (Marilyn Monroe) ends up meeting aging cowboy-turned-gambler Gay Langland (Clark Gable) and former World War II aviator Guido Racanelli (Eli Wallach). The two men instantly become infatuated with Roslyn and, on a whim, the three decide to move into Guido's half-finished desert home together. When grizzled ex-rodeo rider Perce Howland (Montgomery Clift) arrives, the unlikely foursome strikes up a business capturing wild horses.

The Quick and the Dead
A mysterious woman gunslinger, Ellen (Sharon Stone), saunters into the town of Redemption looking for revenge. Her father was killed by the town's sadistic mayor, Herod (Gene Hackman), who is in the midst of organizing a quick-draw tournament. The lady enters, joining a cast of miscreants and outlaws for a brutal competition in which the loser dies. Among the competitors is "The Kid" (Leonardo DiCaprio), an upstart who has his own score to settle with Herod.

True Grit
After an outlaw named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) murders her father, feisty 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a boozy, trigger-happy lawman, to help her find Chaney and avenge her father. The bickering duo are not alone in their quest, for a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) is also tracking Chaney for reasons of his own. Together the unlikely trio ventures into hostile territory to dispense some Old West justice. Search for the John Wayne version here.

Unforgiven
When prostitute Delilah Fitzgerald (Anna Thomson) is disfigured by a pair of cowboys in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, her fellow brothel workers post a reward for their murder, much to the displeasure of sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman), who doesn't allow vigilantism in his town. Two groups of gunfighters, one led by aging former bandit William Munny (Clint Eastwood), the other by the florid English Bob (Richard Harris), come to collect the reward, clashing with each other and the sheriff.

City Slickers
Every year, three friends take a vacation away from their wives. This year, henpecked Phil (Daniel Stern), newly married Ed (Bruno Kirby), and Mitch (Billy Crystal) -- terrified of his midlife crisis -- decide to reignite their masculinity by taking a supervised cattle drive across the Southwest. Under the supervision of gruff cowboy Curly (Jack Palance), the men set out on a journey that turns unexpectedly dangerous. The three men bond along the way to conquering their fear of aging.

The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, The Plague of Doves—the first part of a loose trilogy that includes the National Book Award-winning The Round House and LaRose—is a gripping novel about a long-unsolved crime in a small North Dakota town and how, years later, the consequences are still being felt by the community and a nearby Native American reservation.

Inland by Tea Obreht
In the lawless, drought-ridden lands of the Arizona Territory in 1893, two extraordinary lives unfold. Nora is an unflinching frontierswoman awaiting the return of the men in her life—biding her time with her youngest son, who is convinced that a mysterious beast is stalking the land around their home. Meanwhile, Lurie is a former outlaw and a man haunted by ghosts. He finds reprieve from their longing in an unexpected relationship that inspires a momentous expedition across the West. The way in which Lurie’s death-defying trek at last intersects with Nora’s plight is the surprise and suspense of this brilliant novel.

Deadwood (tv series)
"Deadwood" is set in a mining town that was not part of any U.S. state or territory in the post-Civil War years, and thus was literally lawless. Deadwood attracts people looking to get rich after a huge gold strike, as well as those looking to capitalize on the lack of organized law in the town, built on land stolen from the Sioux.

Deadwood: The Movie
Saloon owner Al Swearengen clashes with Sheriff Seth Bullock as the residents of Deadwood celebrate South Dakota's statehood in 1889.

My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand et al.
Welcome to 1876 America, a place bursting with gunslingers, outlaws, and garou—better known as werewolves. And where there are garou, there’re hunters: the one and only Calamity Jane, to be precise, along with her fellow stars of Wild Bill’s Traveling Show, Annie Oakley and Frank “the Pistol Prince” Butler. After a garou hunt goes south and Jane finds a suspicious-like bite on her arm, she turns tail for Deadwood, where there’s talk of a garou cure. But rumors can be deceiving—meaning the gang better hightail it after her before they’re a day late and a Jane short.

Last Podcast on the Left: Billy the Kid
A rootin’ tootin’ series on Billy the Kid—AKA Henry McCarty, AKA Kid Atrim, AKA William H. Bonney—who is perhaps the most famous gunslinger of America’s Old West.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

Damsel
Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope. As his group traverses the West, the once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel.

The Ridgeline by Michael Punke
In 1866, with the country barely recovered from the Civil War, new war breaks out on the western frontier – a clash of cultures between a young, ambitious nation and the Native tribes who have lived on the land for centuries. Throughout this taut saga – based on real people and events – Michael Punke brings the same immersive, vivid storytelling and historical insight that made his breakthrough debut so memorable. As Ridgeline builds to its epic conclusion, it grapples with essential questions of conquest and justice that still echo today.

The Revenant by Michael Punke
The year is 1823, and the trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company live a brutal frontier life. Hugh Glass is among the company’s finest men, an experienced frontiersman and an expert tracker. But when a scouting mission puts him face-to-face with a grizzly bear, he is viciously mauled and not expected to survive. Two company men are dispatched to stay behind and tend to Glass before he dies. When the men abandon him instead, Glass is driven to survive by one desire: revenge. Search for a copy of the film here.

The Hunger by Alma Katsu
Whether it's a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner (who some think might be a witch), their ill-advised choice of route through uncharted terrain, or just plain bad luck, the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history. As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains...and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along. Effortlessly combining the supernatural and the historical, The Hunger is an eerie, thrilling look at the volatility of human nature, pushed to its breaking point.

Caroline: Little House, Revisited by Sarah Miller
In this novel authorized by the Little House Heritage Trust, Sarah Miller vividly recreates the beauty, hardship, and joys of the frontier in a dazzling work of historical fiction, a captivating story that illuminates one courageous, resilient, and loving pioneer woman as never before—Caroline Ingalls, "Ma" in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward John Ford (film)
Infamous and unpredictable, Jesse James (Brad Pitt), nicknamed the fastest gun in the west, plans his next big heist while he launches pre-emptive strikes against those looking to collect the reward the law has placed on his head. Jesse's newest recruits, Robert (Casey Affleck) and Charley Ford (Sam Rockwell), grow increasingly jealous of the outlaw. When they sense an opportunity to kill Jesse, they gun him down, but their actions backfire when Jesse's fame is elevated to near mythical status.  Want to read the book? Search for an available copy here.

GENERAL DISCUSSION:

John Wayne films

Clint Eastwood films

In a Valley of Violence
A mysterious drifter (Ethan Hawke) and his dog journey toward Mexico through the barren desert of the Old West. Hoping to shorten their trip, they cut through a large valley, landing in the forgotten town of Denton -- a place now known as a valley of violence. The once-popular mining town is nearly abandoned and controlled by a group of misfits and nitwits, including the seemingly untouchable Gilly (James Ransone), the troublemaking son of the town's difficult marshal.

Godless (requires Netflix subscription)
Notorious criminal Frank Griffin and his gang of outlaws are on a mission -- get revenge on Roy Goode, a former protege who betrayed the brotherhood. On the run, Roy seeks refuge in isolated mining town La Belle, N.M., where he lives with Alice Fletcher, a hardened widower and outcast. When word reaches La Belle, which is governed mainly by women, that Griffin is headed there, the residents of the town band together to defend against his murderous gang.

3:10 to Yuma
This remake of a classic Western improves on the original, thanks to fiery performances from Russell Crowe and Christian Bale as well as sharp direction from James Mangold.

Elmore Leonard western stories (I could not find the British film I mentioned.  I believe I’ve gotten the details mixed up with another author.)

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