"EMPTY SADDLES IN THE OLD CORRAL"

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THEY'RE "HEADIN' FOR THE LAST ROUNDUP..."

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The sad thing is---they're all gone...our marvelous cowboy

heroes that we Clovis boys watched every Saturday afternoon

in the forties, at the Lyceum Theater! Yes, the men in the

white hats....some carrying two "pistols." They're gone.

Not only were they our idols---bulwarks and examples against

vicious rustlers and "mean men," they were one of our only

hopes, as little boys, against the boredom of the day. After all,

a kid couldn't spend all his time reading comic books, building

WWII model airplanes, reading the Denver post funnies, playing

"Tarzan," or listening to Fibber McGee and Molly on the radio!

After seeing a good Johnny Mack Brown movie, we might

rehearse and re-enact it for several days...the set being our

backyards and alleys! (See MIL'S PLACE: "THE ALLEYS OF

FORTY TWO.")

http://milmoore.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-alleys-of-forty-two.html

Who were these cowboys? In Hollywood they were known

as "B movie" actors. Beginning with silent films and through

the first fifty years of movies, and counting their sidekicks,

stuntmen, singing cowboys, and villains---there were dozens

of them. In the still somewhat innocent rawness of the movies

(and the Republic), they were quite popular with everyone---not 
just the kids.

As I sit here at my writing desk, pondering those days of 

sixty-five years ago, even though my guys are all gone, I think

I can see them now, in my mind's eye...yes...off there in the 

distance, riding toward me out of the mists of time and the 

dust of the trail---they are no longer young---their clothes

are ragged and torn....and they are covered with the dust of

their long ride....theirs has been a battle all the way---against

all the vicissitudes life has thrown at them---just think of all the

bandits and robbers they've squelched...their horses are old 

and lathered up...

When they pass by me...ghost-like...they see me and my

admiration for them...a long admiration. They see me...

not as an old guy....but as a ten-year-old boy down at the

Lyceum...our.Saturday meeting place...and their waves to

me are silent, but warm....they remember: ten year old Mil 

had their backs in many a fight!

They're headin' for the last roundup...they're the "ghost 

riders in the sky."

They remain, to this day---my heroes.

In reality their faithful ponies are gone...their saddles are

sitting in some tack room, drying and cracking. Maybe 

their pistols have a fitting place, hanging on the wall in 

a  good ranch somewhere, and well-oiled, we hope!

Likewise, their distinctive hats are languishing, maybe in

some museum, never to have to turn the sun or the rain 

ever again.

Their faces, and memories of their movies are coming back 

to me even now...the faces of men who taught us values... 
like right is right...and wrong is wrong...you should never 
rustle cattle...or steal anything... Don't shoot a guy if you can
sock him or merely shoot the gun out of his hand, thus saving
his life. (Used to happen in nearly every movie!)

There's Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Johnny Mack Beown,

Buster Crabbe, Charles Starrett, Don "Red" Barry, Tim Holt,

Alan "Rocky" Lane, Tex Ritter, Clayton Moore, Jimmie

Rodgers, "Wild Bill" Elliot, Dick Foran, and some I don't

remember. There's two of my favorites---Harry Carey, Jr.

and Noah Berry, Jr.!

I liked Wild Bill---he wore TWO guns, both with butts 

forward. A bad plan I now realize, but it was cool then,

and hey, nobody fooled around with Wild Bill.

Johnny Mack Brown was also a cool guy and a favorite,

and handsome in his day.  Charles Starrett was one of

the greatest! 

Johnny Mack Brown

Of course Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were thought of

as "singing cowboys." Ten-year-old boys were not as

interested in "good singing heroes," as much as in "good

fighting ones." Our feeling was, "let's get the singing over

and get down to business!"

Roy Rogers

In doing this post, I do want to comment a bit on the 

singing cowboys. Not many remember Dick Foran, who 

was the best of them all. Dick sang on Beoadway. Gene 

Autry and Tex Ritter were more your homespun variety of 

singers. Ward Bond ("Wagon Train") had a good voice; Ken 

Curtis was outstanding ("Festus" and "The Searchers.") I had 

forgotten until today how good a singer Roy Rogers was!

To digress a bit---technically a "pistol" is a semi-automatic 

weapon. A  so-called wheel-gun, with a cylinder is a "revolver." 

"Gun" is a term not used much in educated circles. But we little 

kids didn't know any of this---everything to us was a "gun" or

"pistol."

A Saturday afternoon B western ran about 60--65 minutes

and each one had many of the same quintessential elements.

There was usually a well-dressed cigar-smoking citizen, running 

a gang of rustlers, horse thieves, gold hi-jackers, stage coach 

robbers, or some such, out of an office on the back of the saloon. 

He wore a suit and hat and looked respectable. He had a rough 

and tough and greasy-looking gang working for him, with at 

least one fast-gun leader-of-the-ruffians.

You often had a good-guy rancher involved some way...and

he was always a widower with a beautiful twenty year old

daughter. He or his daughter were probably in some kind

of danger from the "mean men."

These movies usually ended with some kind of a shoot-out in

town--- in the bar, the street, or the livery. Often one of the main

gang leaders headed out of town at full speed on his horse,

pursued by the hero, who jumped off his horse onto the crook, 

at a hilly place on the road---they rolled down into the "crick" 

and the hero subdued the villain, after much fighting and getting 

wet all over!

He then rides back into town, displaying the tied-up crook,

gets a kiss from the girl, and heads off, followed by his sidekick

to further adventures at some other troubled town.

The sidekicks were very important to these movies. They 

seem to give a bit of comic relief at times. They were likable,

sometimes bumbling and fumbling, and were dressed usually 

in plain old clothes, more like a real cowboy.Their hats were 

usually weird, their guns had plain grips, their holsters were 

plain, and they seldom helped much in a fight---other than 

breaking a bottle over someone's head---if he drifted into 

range.

Gabby Hayes

Best-known sidekicks were: George "Gabby" Hayes, Smiley

Burnette, Al St. John, Leo Carillo, Pat Butttram, Fuzzy Knight,

and Jay Silverheels (Tonto.) Perhaps the best one of all,

and my favorite, should be mentioned---Walter Brennan---

though he belongs in another post---about "A" Weaterns.

There are many of the old western stars that came along

during the sllent movies, and most of us kids never saw  

them in action. Roy Rogers has a good tribute to four of 

them that were ahead of my time: William S. Hart,

Tom Mix, Buck Jones, and a talking cowboy---Will Rogers.

(His tribute is attached.)

There were many western heroes that I do not remember

ever seeing at the Lyceum: Hoot Gibson, Monte Hale,

Buck Jones, Sammy Baugh, Bob Allen, Bob Baker, Rex

Allen, Smith Ballow, Sunset Carson, Ray "Crash" Corrigan,

Eddie Dean, Tim McCoy, Bob Steele, Tex Williams,

Bob Custer, Buzz Barton, Ken Maynard, and Kermit

Maynard.

I wish Woolworth were still there in Clovis, at the corner

of Fourth and Main---if so, next time I'm over there I'd

drop by for my usual Saturday-after-the-movie ham

salad sandwich (20 cents) at that chromey deli counter

on the south side of the store, fifteen steps from the front 

door.

For, you see, all this western movie talk carries me back to

old times, good  old times---I'd sit there in Woolworth in 

those days, when I was ten, and think of what a fine cowboy

movie I'd just seen...and enjoy my sandwich, and think----

"Ah, life's gonna be good!"  I could tell...

Roy Rogers:  "Empty Saddles in the Old Corral"
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=plpp&v=Wk2Dc9SJ9e4


Dick Foran:  "Oh, Genevieve"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL3U27NCPX4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Dick Foran:  "Go to Sleep, My Little Buckaroo"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSOnfHWKBjM&feature=youtube_gdata_player