Randyman wrote:I saw one of my favorite old westerns on the western channel last night, Winchester 73 with Jimmy Stewart and Shelley Winters. These old westerns are the types of movies my father and I used to enjoy watching on a Saturday or Sunday morning. They really don't make them like this anymore.
Jimmy Stewart and Charles Drake
The original "True Grit" . . .
Randy . . . I was thinking of you and Frank last night as I watched the original "True Grit" on AMC.
As I've mentioned, one of my uncles worked on that film as well as it's sequal. Rooster Cogburn.
My uncle was not the lighting director on that one, but the assistant to one of the best feature LD's in Hollywood history, Earl Gilbert.
My Uncle traveled the world with Earl during the 60's and early 70's, and they made some all-time classic films. I recall when I was a kid my cousin was always on the road with his dad & mom, that is when school was out. My uncle worked with Earl Gilbert thruout Europe, and here in the States they did films such as the two I mentioned above, as well as "The Graduate", "Catch-22" which wasfilmed here at Paramount Studios as well as Guaymos, Mexico (spelling?).
As I watched True Grit, which they made in the late 60's, I enjoyed the beautiful photography and the brilliant lighting. In those days, the film was a bit slower and this gave it a rich brilliant look when the lighting was balanced correctly. The slower the film emulsion, the more light necessary to illuminate the subjects. On those daytime exterior shots, earl would use quite a few "Arc Lights" which required a lot of power to energize. Instead of a light bulb, and arc light burns carbon like the old search lights you's see on the street at super market openings when we were kids. They would color correct the lights to match the scene and when I saw The Duke lit so nicely, artistically back lit in every shot by the sun it literally gave me goose bumps. Kim Darby looked great. Eastman always made the best film stock,. The Japanese came in during the 70's and tried to push Fuji film, but it didn't measure up to the Eastman stock. Sorry for all the technical dialogue, I got a little carried away by such a beautiful image on the screen. Those images were a lot more difficult to create back in the day, no computers to "fix" things on the screen. Westerns were great to work on, and I'm glad I learned to light them the "old school" way thru my family and Michael LAndon. I'm sure the new "True Grit" looks great, as well. And a part of me wishes I could have lit that film myself, with Michael Landon's legendary cinematographer, the late Ted Voitlander calling the shots from behind the lens. Sometimes it's fun to dream. By the way, I would later have a chance to work with Earl Gilbert myself, as one of his lighting tech's on the moview Zanadu at Universal in 1978. Earl was one of my mentors, the best of the best of Hollywood LD's in the years after my grandfather had retired. Cinematographers would kiss his arse trying to get him to light there big films, he commanded such respect on his big films. The Duke insisted that Earl Gilbert light "True Grit", and the film was delayed until Earl Gilbert had finished a previous film and available for the True Grit production. This came from the top offices at Paramount, who produced the western classic.
. I had seen Montiel fight before, had never been sold on him.....
When we got there it was about noon,the lines were backed up almost to the wall. They move quickly. They have such a high turnover rate that makes me think they must go through a lot of trays during the year. That tray may actually be a week or two old. 
