The very definition of an Internet Rabbit Hole

[FiveDriver]

I wanted to delve a little deeper into that great John Ford movie "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" which was shown on Turner Classic Channel last night. Part of Ford's 'Calvary Trilogy' this film was shot in Technicolor, and won an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

So with nothing important to do on a Friday afternoon, I googled the wiki page for Yellow Ribbon. The film starred John Wayne, with make-up aging him 20 years beyond his actual age. The rest of the cast were regulars from the John Ford Stock Company like Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr, and of course, Victor Mclaglen. (Ward Bond must not have been unavailable for this shoot.) Joanne Dru lent her beauty to the scenery....but the real eye-opener was the backdrop of Monument Valley, which set the screen ablaze. I've always thought all of Ford's Monument Valley Westerns should have been filmed in Technicolor. The wiki page had some interesting stories in the Production Notes section, including the prairie storm that blew in while they were filming.

The Cinematographer used the paintings of Frederic Remington as inspiration for those long shots with the towers of Monument Valley as a backdrop.

Now, with a click of my mouse I was transported to Remington's wiki page, which featured a fine assortment of his depictions of Life Out West. Here's where I whiled away the rest of the day. These iconic paintings represent the ideas that formed our vision of the Old West.

Well worth your time. Click on the small images to expand.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frede...File:Frederic_Remington_-_Arizona_cow-boy.jpg

 

[donheff]

I never looked through a whole catalog of his paintings, they are good. This one caught my eye for an odd reason. It looks like he cloned his cowboy.

 

[rk911]

...Well worth your time. Click on the small images to expand.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frede...File:Frederic_Remington_-_Arizona_cow-boy.jpg

Those images are...what's the proper adjective? Wonderful just doesn't cut it. You have to see Moument Valley in person to truly appreciate it. We've been fortunate to have been there twice, once spending several hours driving thru the Valley in our Jeep. If you ever get the chance to visit do it, even if it takes you out of your way. Stay at Goulding's (lodge and RV park) with a great view of the valley. That's where Ford, Wayne and others on the shoot stayed during filming. They have a small John Wayne museum on the grounds.

 

[calmloki]

Those images are...what's the proper adjective? Wonderful just doesn't cut it. You have to see Moument Valley in person to truly appreciate it. We've been fortunate to have been there twice, once spending several hours driving thru the Valley in our Jeep. If you ever get the chance to visit do it, even if it takes you out of your way. Stay at Goulding's (lodge and RV park) with a great view of the valley. That's where Ford, Wayne and others on the shoot stayed during filming. They have a small John Wayne museum on the grounds.

Gal's stepdad worked at Goulding's Trading Post and Lodge with Mike and Harry Goulding - not sure if it was pre-war or just after. Lots of stories about rethreading scrapped iron line to run water a mile or so to the lodge, balancing generators, reading coded numbers on items to know what they could value them at when trading to the Navajo, and running tours with a rig they mounted landing gear rubber on to float on the sand. His son was raised there and is pretty heavily influenced as far as belief systems on death and such. Jack did not have a favorable impression of John Wayne. At all.

 

[rk911]

Gal's stepdad worked at Goulding's Trading Post and Lodge with Mike and Harry Goulding - not sure if it was pre-war or just after. Lots of stories about rethreading scrapped iron line to run water a mile or so to the lodge, balancing generators, reading coded numbers on items to know what they could value them at when trading to the Navajo, and running tours with a rig they mounted landing gear rubber on to float on the sand. His son was raised there and is pretty heavily influenced as far as belief systems on death and such. Jack did not have a favorable impression of John Wayne. At all.

From some of the really old timers we spoke with at Goulding's it seems Mr. Wayne was, umm, a difficult person off-screen. As was John Ford and Ward Bond. But they sure knew how to make movie magic.