Crossroads of Laredo is a Western film compiled by extant silent footage of the unfinished Streets of Laredo (c. 1948), the first known film project of Ed Wood. It runs 23 minutes in length. [1] Wood was the director, the writer, and one of the actors of the film. [2] The film today includes an added music score by Ben Weisman and added narration by Cliff Stone, but still plays like a silent movie with a sound effects track. [1] The film was not restored, as its myriad scratches and splices are still very evident (it was shot on very inferior quality film stock initially).
The original footage was located by Brett Thompson, John Crawford Thomas, and Wood's ex-girlfriend Dolores Fuller. (John Crawford Thomas had produced the film back in 1948 and saved the extant footage for decades, hoping to some day do something with it.) They were responsible for editing the film and adding a soundtrack to it.
Dolores Fuller wrote an original theme song for the picture and had Elvis Presley Jr. sing it on the film's soundtrack. The film was first shown at a special screening in Hollywood in 1995, along with the premiere of the 1995 documentary The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr.. The screening was in tribute to Ed Wood and was attended by many of Wood's friends and acquaintances, including Paul Marco, Maila Nurmi (Vampira), Dolores Fuller, John Crawford Thomas, Conrad Brooks, Gregory Walcott, Ann Robinson, the Reverend Lyn Lemon and make-up man Harry Thomas. It was later included on the DVD release of the documentary in 2005, digitally restored. [1]
The film opens to close-ups of "a gun holding a six-gun in its holster". A young cowboy (played by Ed Wood) is introduced, who according to the narrator sold his herd of cattle at San Antonio for top dollar. He is now seen riding in a crossroads town in the vicinity of Laredo, Texas, looking for an old friend. He is soon ambushed by another cowboy, called Tex (Don Nagel) who first disarms him and then shoots him in cold blood. [1]
Later, Tex heads for the local saloon, and the narrative introduces two other main characters: Lem (Duke Moore) and Barbara (Ruth McCabe). They are old friends who are seen walking together. But Tex wants Barbara, and he soon manages to kiss her. Lem chooses not to interfere, and Tex proceeds to propose marriage. According to the narrator, Tex has had many women and knows just what to say to sweep Barbara off her feet. They are married right away. [1]
A year later, a more weary Barbara is seen. Tex has proved to be a neglectful husband. A scene depicts him rejecting his wife and newborn child. He claims that he only needs his gun and the money it brings him. He spends his money with saloon girls. [1] Lem heads out to see Barbara and informs her of Tex's cheating ways. He also explains his suspicion that Tex kills men for money, then confesses his own love for her. He offers to kill Tex for her. [1]
The two gunfighters meet in a fight at the streets of the small town, and Lem bests his rival. Tex is fatally wounded and soon dies; only four prostitutes are seen mourning for him. The camera then follows his funeral procession to the grave. Barbara leaves Tex's gun and holster on the wooden cross of the grave. Lem chooses the funeral as his moment to surrender to the local sheriff. [1]
The crowd attending the funeral turns into a lynch mob and the sheriff is willing to execute Lem without a trial. Then Barbara approaches the prisoner and gives him a passionate kiss. She informs the crowd that she loves the man. No longer eager to avenge the widow, the crowd releases Lem. The new couple walks out of town together. [1]
Bride of the Monster is a 1955 American independent science fiction horror film, co-written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood Jr., and starring Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson with a supporting cast featuring Tony McCoy and Loretta King.
Dolores Agnes Fuller was an American actress and songwriter known as the one-time girlfriend of the low-budget film director Ed Wood. She played the protagonist's girlfriend in Glen or Glenda, co-starred in Wood's Jail Bait, and had a minor role in his Bride of the Monster. After she broke up with Wood in 1955, she relocated to New York and had a very successful career there as a songwriter. Elvis Presley recorded a number of her songs written for his films.
Edward Davis Wood Jr. was an American filmmaker, actor, screenwriter, and pulp novel author.
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The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a gunfight that lasted less than a minute between lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona, United States. It is generally regarded as the most famous gunfight in the history of the American Old West.
Louis Burton Lindley Jr., better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting, and appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows. For much of his career, Pickens played mainly cowboy roles. He is perhaps best remembered today for his comic roles in Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, 1941, and his villainous turn in One-Eyed Jacks with Marlon Brando.
Ed Wood is a 1994 American biographical comedy-drama film directed and produced by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as Ed Wood, the eponymous cult filmmaker. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films as well as his relationship with actor Bela Lugosi, played by Martin Landau. Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Lisa Marie, and Bill Murray are among the supporting cast.
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George Glenn Strange was an American actor who appeared in hundreds of Western films. He played Sam Noonan, the bartender on CBS's Gunsmoke television series, and Frankenstein's monster in three Universal films during the 1940s.
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Tom London was an American actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to The Guinness Book of Movie Records, London is credited with appearing in the most films in the history of Hollywood, according to the 2001 book Film Facts, which says that the performer who played in the most films was "Tom London, who made his first of over 2,000 appearances in The Great Train Robbery, 1903. He used his birth name in films until 1924.
Kenneth Olin Maynard was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest Western stars in Hollywood.
Barton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC television comedy series I Dream of Jeannie, with Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman.
Claude Aubrey Akins was a Cherokee-American character actor with a long career on stage, screen, and television. He was best known as Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series B. J. and the Bear, and later The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, a spin-off series.
Hank Worden was an American cowboy-turned-character actor who appeared in many Westerns, including many John Ford films such as The Searchers and the TV series The Lone Ranger.
Addison Byron Owen Randall was an American film actor, chiefly in Westerns. He often used a pseudonym for his film work, chiefly Jack Randall, and he played roles as Allen Byron and Byron Vance.
John Nicholas "Dick" Foran was an American actor and singer, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. He appeared in dozens of movies of every type during his lengthy career, often with top stars leading the cast.
Wild Bill Elliott was an American film actor. He specialized in playing the rugged heroes of B Westerns, particularly the Red Ryder series of films.
Bullwhip is a 1958 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Harmon Jones and starring Guy Madison and Rhonda Fleming. The film is about a cowboy in Abilene, Kansas who agrees to a marriage to avoid being hanged. The film was shot at Kenny Ranch in Murphys, California. It was the final feature film screenplay of Adele Buffington.
Empty Holsters is a 1937 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and written by John T. Neville. The film stars Dick Foran, Patricia Walthall, Emmett Vogan, Glenn Strange, Anderson Lawler and Wilfred Lucas. The film was released by Warner Bros. on July 10, 1937.