Entering the 3rd Dimension :: When Her Honor Cried Out for Vengeance, He Rode South to Get It! (November, 1953)

 

 

 

 

 
Gun Fury (1953) Columbia Pictures / P: Lewis J. Rachmil / D: Raoul Walsh / W: Irving Wallace, Roy Huggins, Kathleen B. Granger (novel), George Granger(novel), Robert A. Granger (novel) / C: Lester White / E: James Sweeney, Jerome Thoms / M: Mischa Bakaleinikoff, Arthur Morton / S: Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Philip Carey, Roberta Haynes, Leo Gordon, Lee Marvin, Neville Brand

Combat Squad (1953) Jack Broder Productions Inc. :: Columbia Pictures / P: Jerry Thomas / D: Cy Roth / W: Wyott Ordung / C: Charles Van Enger / E: Harry W. Gerstad / M: Paul Dunlap / S: John Ireland, Lon McCallister, Hal March, George E. Stone, Norman Leavitt

Entering the 3rd Dimension :: An Adventure so Tumultuous only 3-D Could Unleash All its Fabulous Force! (September, 1953)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Though The Charge at Feather River isn’t the precise origin of The Wilhelm Scream, it does have the honor of coining the phrase itself. Sort of. What the hell am I talking about? And what’s a Whilhelm Scream, you ask? Well, I’m sure you’ve heard it, we all have, and to find out more you can click on over to the Brewery where I get to the bottom of the most heard unheard of Hollywood cliche. And on top of that, The Charge at Feather River also contains one of my favorite applications of 3-D, when an unarmed Frank Lovejoy’s Sgt. Baker spits several volleys of tobacco juice right into a camera to fend of a deadly rattlesnake. *ptui* Wow.

The Charge at Feather River (1953) Warner Bros. Pictures / P: David Weisbart / D: Gordon Douglas / W: James R. Webb / C: J. Peverell Marley / E: Folmar Blangsted / M: Max Steiner / S: Guy Madison, Vera Miles, Frank Lovejoy, Helen Westcott, Neville Brand

Da’King Lives! :: Mr. Rock ‘N’ Roll in the Story He was Born to Play! (November, 1956)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Turns out the rumors of Vance Reno’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, and, upon returning home after the Civil War ends he finds his girl, thinking him dead, has married his younger brother. And to top that off, his old Confederate comrades aren’t real keen on the idea of returning some Yankee gold they liberated, which once more pits brother against brother in a conflict that can only end in tragedy … Originally intended to be a strict dramatic role, but, once Elvis Presley’s latest single, “Love Me Tender”, went through the roof, his debut film, originally slated as The Reno Brothers, went through both a name change and some massive script doctoring to beef up his part and shoehorn in a couple of anachronistic musical numbers to give the public what they wanted and to cash in on a soundtrack.
 

 

Video courtesy of Achim190454.

 
And — spoilers ahoy! — after his mama came unglued after his climactic death scene, Presley demanded that his character must never die again in any future film.
 
This post was part of Da’King Lives, which originated back in January of 2010, to help celebrate the King of Rock-n-Roll’s 75th birthday and throw a spotlight on his fine, fractured forays into feature film.

 

 
Love Me Tender (1956) Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation / P: David Weisbart  / D: Robert D. Webb / W: Robert Buckner, Maurice Geraghty / C: Leo Tover / E: Hugh S. Fowler / M: Lionel Newman / S: Richard Egan, Debra Paget, Elvis Presley, William Campbell, Neville Brand, Mildred Dunnock