Pale Rider is a 1985 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as the pale horse's ghost rider (Eastwood) represents Death. The film, which took in over $41 million at the box office, became the highest-grossing Western of the 1980s.
Jesse Donald Knotts was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also played Ralph Furley on the sitcom Three's Company from 1979 to 1984. He starred in multiple comedic films, including leading roles in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966). In 2004, TV Guide ranked him number 27 on its "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" list.
Gunfighters, also called gunslingers or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslinger" is more or less used to denote someone who is quick on the draw with a handgun, but this can also refer to those armed with rifles and shotguns. The gunfighter is also one of the most popular characters in the Western genre and has appeared in associated films, television shows, video games, and literature.
Wagon Train is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). Wagon Train debuted on September 18, 1957 and reached the top of the Nielsen ratings. It is the fictional adventure story of a large westbound wagon train through the American frontier from Missouri to California. Its format attracted famous guest stars for each episode appearing as travelers or residents of the settlements that the regular cast encountered.
Benjamin Franklin "Frank" McGrath was an American television and film actor and stunt performer who played the comical, optimistic cook with the white beard, Charlie B. Wooster, on the western series Wagon Train for five seasons on NBC and then three seasons on ABC. McGrath appeared in all 272 episodes in the eight seasons of the series, which had ended its run only two years before his death. McGrath's Wooster character hence provided the meals and companionship for both fictional trail masters, Ward Bond as Seth Adams and John McIntire as Christopher "Chris" Hale.
The Paleface is a 1948 American Comedy Western film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bob Hope as "Painless Potter" and Jane Russell as Calamity Jane. In the movie, Hope sings the song "Buttons and Bows". The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year.
Alias Jesse James is a 1959 American Western comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bob Hope and Rhonda Fleming. Based on a story by Robert St. Aubrey and Bert Lawrence, the film is about an outlaw who tries to kill an insurance agent who has been mistaken for him in order to collect on a big policy. Costumes by Edith Head.
Angel and the Badman is a 1947 American Western film written and directed by James Edward Grant and starring John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey and Bruce Cabot. The film is about an injured gunfighter who is nursed back to health by a young Quaker woman and her family whose way of life influences him and his violent ways. Angel and the Badman was the first film Wayne produced as well as starred in, and was a departure for this genre at the time it was released. Writer-director James Edward Grant was Wayne's frequent screenwriting collaborator.
Terry W. Wilson was an American actor most noted for his role as "Bill Hawks", the assistant trail master, in all 267 episodes of the NBC and ABC western television series, Wagon Train, which aired from 1957 to 1965.
Appaloosa is a 2008 American Western film based on the 2005 novel Appaloosa by crime writer Robert B. Parker. Directed by Ed Harris and co-written by Harris and Robert Knott, Appaloosa stars Harris alongside Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger and Jeremy Irons. The film premiered at 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in selected cities on September 19, 2008, then expanded into wide-release on October 3, 2008. This movie has won four different awards, including the Western Heritage Award in 2009.
Barbara Rhoades is an American actress, known primarily for her comedy and mystery roles, especially as lady bandit Penelope Cushings in The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968) with Don Knotts.
Guns of Diablo is a Metrocolor 1965 Western film directed by Boris Sagal, produced by Boris Ingster, and starring Charles Bronson, Susan Oliver and Kurt Russell. It follows a wagon train master, who runs into difficulties when he meets his girlfriend Maria, now married to Rance Macklin, whose father owned a ranch that Murdock once worked on.
The Omaha Trail is a 1942 American Western film directed by Edward Buzzell. It stars James Craig and Pamela Blake.
Rango is a 2011 American animated action comedy Western film directed by Gore Verbinski from a screenplay by John Logan. Co-produced by Verbinski with Graham King and John B. Carls, the film stars the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant. The film's plot centers on Rango (Depp), a pet chameleon who accidentally ends up in the town of Dirt, an outpost that is in desperate need of a new sheriff. Rango was produced by Nickelodeon Movies, Verbinski's Blind Wink Productions, and King's GK Films, and distributed by Paramount Pictures, with the animation provided by Industrial Light & Magic.
The Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in Orange County, California, originated from a berry farm owned by Walter Knott (1889–1981). In the 1920s, Knott and his wife, Cordelia, sold berries, berry preserves and pies from a roadside stand beside State Route 39, near the small town of Buena Park.
The Brooks–McFarland feud was a family feud that took place between 1896 and 1902, in what is now the state of Oklahoma. It began after the death of Thomas Brooks on August 24, 1896. The Brooks family blamed the McFarlands and from there followed a series of confrontations that culminated in a historic shootout at Spokogee on September 22, 1902. During the shootout, Willis Brooks and two others were killed while a fourth man was seriously wounded. The feud ended about three weeks later, on October 10, 1902, when Jim McFarland was ambushed and killed near his home. According to the author Edward Herring: "The deaths of Willis Brooks and Jim McFarland signaled the end of an era when disputes were settled with gun smoke and hot lead. With them also died the old feud."
Rio Grande Patrol is a 1950 Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Tim Holt and Tom Tyler.
The Outriders is a 1950 American Western film directed by Roy Rowland and starring Joel McCrea.
Toughest Man in Arizona is a 1952 American Western film directed by R. G. Springsteen, written by John K. Butler, and starring Vaughn Monroe, Joan Leslie, Edgar Buchanan, Victor Jory, Jean Parker and Harry Morgan. It was released on October 10, 1952, by Republic Pictures.
The Dalton Gang is a 1949 American Western film starring Don "Red" Barry and Julie Adams. It was directed by Ford Beebe.
