Category Archives: The Duke

The Alamo [1960)

America is at a dangerous crossroads.

Hot tamales.

And they’re red hot.

Donald Trump is currently being politically persecuted in four different U.S. jurisdictions.

In New York (34 state felony charges with a potential of up to 136 years in jail for the former President [brought by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg]).

In Florida (40 federal felony charges with a potential of up to 440 years in jail for the former President [brought by Joe Biden appointee Merrick Garland’s appointee special counsel Jack Smith]).

In Washington, DC (four more felony counts with a potential of up to 55 years in jail for the former President [also brought by Joe Biden appointee Merrick Garland’s appointee special counsel Jack Smith]).

In Georgia (13 state felony counts with a potential of up to 75 and 1/2 years in jail for the former President [brought by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis]).

That adds up to 701 and 1/2 years of potential jail time for Donald J. Trump.

That is obscene.

How many times did Bill Clinton ride on Jeffrey Epstein’s Lolita Express?

Was George W. Bush the President who presided over an administration that perpetrated a false-flag/stand-down (self-inflicted terror attack) on 9/11/01?

Did Barack Obama cover up the crimes of his false-flagging neocon predecessors (Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush, Stephen Hadley, Elliott Abrams, David Wurmser, John Bolton, Elliot Cohen, Douglas Feith, “Scooter” Libby, Rabbi Dov Zakheim, W., etc.)?

All of these other former Presidents are still alive.

None has faced so much as a parking ticket since leaving office.

Trump could have misused his Department of Justice (as Joe Biden is misusing his), but Trump didn’t do that.

For all the “Lock Her Up” rhetoric, Trump did not go after Hillary Clinton during his Presidency.

Which brings us to the courage of Texas.

William Barret Travis.

Born in South Carolina.

Died at age 26 for the freedom of his adopted state.

Jim Bowie.

Born in Kentucky.

Died at age 40 for the freedom of his adopted state.

Davy Crockett.

Born in Tennessee.

Died at age 49 for the freedom of his adopted state.

Let’s be frank.

There is no plan.

There never was a plan.

QAnon was either:

A. the FBI

B. FSB/GRU (Russian intelligence)

or

C. the FBI pretending to be Russian intelligence

D. Russian intelligence pretending to be FBI

In 1836, it was 13 days of darkness.

That was real.

Not made-up, PSYOP bullshit.

Not hopium meant to have you be a spectator rather than an actor in your own destiny.

YOU have to have a plan.

Local action = national impact.

Now is the time to put aside differences.

What is the major issue for you?

For me, it is the murderous vaccines that were all-but-forced upon (and acquiesced to by) a vast majority of American citizens (not to mention the coercive mass vaccination that occurred in the rest of the developed world).

For this reason, I want to vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 2024.

He is (BY FAR) the strongest candidate on this issue.

So Trump is not my first pick (even though I voted for him in 2016 and 2020).

But what is being done to Trump is unacceptable.

Why can’t Biden and the Democrats just beat Trump at the polls in 2024???

Why seek 700+ years in prison for him (AFTER HE’S ANNOUNCED HIS CANDIDACY FOR A SECOND TERM [a race in which he is currently lapping all other Republican candidates])?

The leader (Biden) is seeking (by proxy [Garland]) to imprison the opposition leader (Trump).

This is what the West accused Putin of doing to Navalny.

This is what Lula is doing to Bolsonaro.

And it is the same type of thing currently being experienced by Imran Khan.

So the United States is now, politically, very similar to “devoloping countries” (think Third World) Russia, Brazil, and Pakistan.

The comparison to Pakistan is particularly rich considering Imran Khan was the most recent Prime Minister (analogous to President Trump) and he has now been jailed.

Furthermore, Pakistan is a “lower middle income” country according to the IMF (as opposed to “upper middle income” countries Russia and Brazil).

One month ago (August 5th), Imran Khan was sentenced to three years in prison.

His conviction was, however, suspended and he was granted bail on August 29th.

In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro was barred on June 30, 2023 by the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court from running for office again until 2030.

Were the post-election Brazilian riots of January 8, 2023 as provocateured as the post-election American protest of January 6, 2021?

If so, by whom were these events provocateured?

The playbook is the same.

Trump and Bolsonaro are both accused of “undermining the validity” of “democratic” elections.

The federal governments of both the USA and Brazil are attempting to lawfare these former leaders into submission.

In the case of Bolsonaro, he is set to appeal the career-derailing decision against him.

The defenders of the Alamo sacrificed themselves.

REMEMBER THE ALAMO united Texans.

Trump is sacrificing himself.

Rudy Giuliani, a true American patriot, is also being dragged through the mud in Georgia.

Forced to pose for a mugshot.

Ditto for American patriot Sidney Powell.

So congratulations, liberals.

Enjoy your Alamo slaughter.

Enjoy your mugshot vengeance.

Half of America is SEETHING over what is happening to Trump.

Because roughly half of the electorate voted for him in the last election.

Polls be damned!

Remember those amazing 538 polls from 2016?

Remember the New York Times putting Hillary’s chances of winning 2016 at 95%…EVEN UP TILL AND DURING THE ELECTION???

How were those polls so wrong?

Because they were fucking lies meant to demoralize conservative voters into staying home and not bothering to cast a ballot.

QAnon was meant to keep you lazy and WAITING FOR “THE MILITARY” TO COME AND SAVE THE DAY.

Ain’t gonna happen.

YOU ARE the military.

Our military has all been sent to secure the borders of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

And this was IMMEDIATELY AFTER they had been finghting pointless wars (predicated on absolute lies) in Afghanistan and Iraq for two decades–wars which bankrupted America.

And now the final bankrupting of America is happening.

Most of it happened during the scamdemic.

To be fair to Joe Biden (thought he does not at all deserve a fair shake), “Bidenflation” is largely the fault of U.S. Congress spending during the scamdemic.

The nails in the coffin are interminable aid to Ukraine and the rapid ascendency of BRICS.

It is time to have courage, America.

Pray to God.

Pray to know your mission.

Your mission IS NOT violence.

Your mission is in the realm of fifth generation warfare (5GW).

Your mission is to spread to word.

And have some fucking courage.

Like the defenders of the Alamo.

But each of us has a unique mission.

Pray to the Lord Jesus Christ to show you the way.

There is no time.

There is no future.

The future is now.

We are in a perpetual present.

You can either live bravely–with your head held high–and die with honor.

Or play it safe and cast your lot with Joe Biden and the America-destroying Democrats.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could save the Democrat Party.

He could make a Democrat out of me.

But I have a feeling he won’t be getting the nomination.

In which case, I’m voting for Trump.

In any case, there is much to be done before the 2024 election (if it even occurs at all).

Now is the time to pull out all the stops on the organ.

-PD

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The Longest Day [1962)

Two lines from Verlaine.

Fake them out so many times that they become crazy.

Now do you understand QAnon?

Be on the precipice of all out attack.

Call it off.

Ike did.

82nd.

101st.

Resist.

Vive la France!

Who will save us?

We are the resistance.

We are digital soldiers.

Rubber dummies.

Gliders.

Loveless.

My bloody Valentine.

You must defy all logic to win.

Logical thinking.

Our enemy is evil.

But they aren’t stupid.

When the CIA was headed by military.

Walter Bedell Smith.

Teddy Roosevelt Jr. on Utah Beach.

His son Quentin Roosevelt II on Omaha Beach.

Teddy made it a month more after the Utah landing.

The only general on D-Day to land by sea.

Age 56.

The oldest man in the invasion.

Had a heart attack one month later and died.

Quentin lived four more years.

Till 1948.

Plane crash in Hong Kong.

He was 29.

Robert Mitchum heading up (assistant) the 29th Infantry Division with his cigar.

Fort Belvoir.

Omaha.

Norman “Dutch” Cota.

Neptune.

Normandy.

It’s not where you think it’s gonna be.

It’s not the easy route.

It’s not the obvious point.

It’s the most difficult length.

It is different from previous modus operandi.

Robert Ryan heading up (assistant) the 82nd Airborne.

James M. Gavin.

But nothing beats the voice of The Duke.

A true American patriot.

Now being cancelled by the communist Left in the United States.

505th Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne.

Fort Bragg.

2nd Ranger Battalion.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

75th Ranger Regiment.

Fort Benning.

Jeffrey Hunter.

With the torpedoes.

Richard Beymer.

Must have missed him.

Red Buttons gets hung up.

Deafened by the bells.

A bit of comedy.

Sal Mineo.

4th Infantry.

Fort Carson.

Paul Anka.

Fabian.

Tommy Sands.

Bernard Montgomery.

Colin Maud with his dog.

Richard Burton is equally magnificent as John Wayne in this film.

Sean Connery is conspicuous.

Irina Demick brings us our only true beauty.

Using breasts as weapons.

As Louise Boitard.

Arletty.

Must have missed her.

Jodl wouldn’t wake up Hitler.

Who had taken a sleeping pill.

Lost time moving panzers.

Attack just after midnight.

Hitting beaches at 06:32.

Curd Jürgens knows the war will be lost.

Because Hitler took a sleeping pill.

Walter Gotell.

Must have missed him.

Heinz Reincke has good reason to be pissed.

Because the assets were in the wrong place.

Only two planes.

To counter 5,000 ships.

Peter van Eyck is annoying as fuck.

Pluskat suddenly sees 5,000 ships.

And it is too late.

Gert Fröbe will not be bringing any more coffee.

It’s too late.

This is not a masterpiece.

But it is essential viewing.

To understand the planning.

And the execution.

To have a great plan.

And things still go wrong.

Nothing will ever work out quite as you have planned.

And sometimes you have to attack during a storm.

-PD

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El Dorado [1966)

Funny thing about Westerns…

Sometimes you seen ’em, but you done FORGET you seen ’em.

And this one is that type of affair.

Except that it’s a masterpiece.

This here film takes multiple viewings to fully appreciate the craftsmanship at work.

Because back in those heady nouvelle vague days, it seems that the Cahiers crowd were known as the Hitchcocko-Hawksians.

I may be borrowing a term from Richard Brody’s book on Godard.

But he may have been borrowing it from elsewheres.

I don’t rightly know.

But El Dorado is certainly the spitting image of another film…by the same auteur.

Yes, Rio Bravo was the first incarnation.

1959.

It’s the one that gets all the praise.

But if my eyes and heart don’t deceive me, Robert Mitchum is a better actor than Dean Martin.

[as much as I love Dino]

And James Caan bests Ricky Nelson as well.

But it’s hard to replace Walter Brennan.

Damn near impossible.

That said, Arthur Hunnicutt is pretty darn fabulous in El Dorado.

But let’s get back to those Hitchcocko-Hawksians.

The first part is probably pretty self-explanatory.

These Cahiers du cinéma film critics revered Alfred Hitchcock.

Above all else.

Hell!

Before Truffaut did his book of interviews with Hitch (1967), Chabrol had written a monograph on the master (1957).

To be more exact, Chabrol cowrote the book with Rohmer.

Might as well say Rivette (“Rivette!”) just to round out les cinq.

Like the Mighty Handful (Balakirev, Cui, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Borodin), and one short of les six (Auric, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud, Poulenc, and Tailleferre), the Cahiers crew were the Hitchcocko-Hawksians.

But what of that second seme?

Indeed, it was Howard Hawks.

The director of our film.

And an auteur which Jean-Luc Godard has gone on about at length…in a profusion of praise.

But why are we even talking about these Westerns?

What do El Dorado and Rio Bravo have in common besides diagesis and director?

Ah yes:  John Wayne!

In El Dorado, our villain is Ed Asner.

Quite rich when considering that he was one of the very few to be a true hero in America after 9/11.

That’s right.

Ed Asner was on the front lines of getting the truth.

And we never got the truth.

Not from any official source.

But that’s ok.

Because we have gathered the general gist of the situation.

And so Ed Asner’s most important performance was what he did in real life.

To try and honor those 3000 souls who perished and were draped in a lie.

But we’re in Texas.

And Texas is a lonesome land.

Inhospitable.

And we aim here to mainly talk about the examples of the silver screen.

In Technicolor.

“details…deliberately left out” says Wikipedia…

Ah yes…something David Ray Griffin spotted with his razor-sharp mind.

“Omissions and distortions”, he called it.

That is the beauty of film.

It gets deep.

It burrows.

And it fuses to what we have experienced as visceral verities.

Charlene Holt was actually from Texas.

And she is every bit the female lead here.

Charming.  Strong.  Sexy.

I won’t go comparing her to Angie Dickinson, but let’s just say that Ms. Holt fit the bill.

To a T.

T for Texas.

And Ms. Holt passed on (God rest her soul) in Tennessee.

We get horses and streams.

Rifles and pistols.

And a lot of earthy talk.

As you can tell.

Gets under your skin.

Your tongue.

Burrows.

Say, was you ever bit by a dead bee?

[Oops, wrong funnyman.  And Hemingway.]

Pound born in Idaho.  And Papa H died there.

Because the pain was too much.

Gut shot.

You can’t turn your back in these parts.

Gotta waddle out backwards.

On yer horse.

In high heels.

And keep your peripheral sharp.

Cardsharp, not shark.

Tiburon country.

Anyone missing Angie Dickinson likely ogled Michele Carey for the better part of El Dorado.

Though the appearances were brief.

John Wayne turns the other cheek.

Smears blood on the cowhide.

Get outta here.

Tough guy gets back on his horse.

Always guns in the river.

But you gotta retrieve it.

Dr. Fix (Paul Fix) isn’t up to the procedure.

Doesn’t wanna bungle a good man.

Tells him take care uh that whens you get tuh proper chirurgien.

Christopher George looks spitting Willem Dafoe.

Ping!

But the real story is Diamond Joe.

Or so.

It seems under the bridge.

Natchez.  Matches.

Jarmusch maybe…

Always.

Revenge.

Gotta git your own justice.

Around these skillet lickers.

Like the freaks from Octopussy, knife to a gunfight.

Had to saw off a holstered piece at the Swede.

Following me?

If the top is a high hat, Mississippi’s is low.

I think Tom Petty adopted one.

Mine never fit quite right.

From crown to gun butt…soft wobble with every bump.

But enough phrenology.

Only love can break your heart.  Neil Young said that.

And I know all too well.

Stuck behind an 18-wheeler from Dallas.

And the rains set in.

And Górecki just makes you cry even more.

Feels like an addiction.

And sometimes you substitute one addiction for another.

Because you got an empty place there in your ribcage.

Friendship rides in least expected.

Crusty.

Professional killer don’t have no friends.

A liability.

Can’t get too connected.

Go soft./

Stayed in Mississippi a day too long.  Bob Dylan said that.

And I think maybe he meant Robert Johnson.

When the poison of whisky ain’t enough.  I said that.

Not enough holes in the world get a rise outta me at Royal Albert.

But I’m not too worried about it.

Just modulating grammar.

Because El Dorado is filled with sine qua non dialogue.

Seeming hapex legomenon with every breath.

Latin/Greek shift.

Cipher.

A lot of soap.

Running joke.

The others’ll come to me.

Maybe.

High low, do-si-do.

My uncle died with a stack of VHS Westerns on his TV set.

That smoking’ll kill you.

Two uncles.

But only one owned a square dance barn.

So that no matter how Cahiers I get, I’ll always be from Texas.

City boy.

Country heart.

Not even aware how much of a rube I really am.

It’s a concoction you gotta pinch the nose to force down.

A medicine resembling asphalt.

Alcohol, 4 days

No punctuation.

I’m just lucky to never have done more’n cowboy tobacco.

But Texas is lonesome.

Unless you’re riding with John Bell Hood.

In which case you’re shitting yourself with fear.

Itch on the back of your neck.

But learn to play a good bugle.

Close quarters combat.

Urban warfare.

In the Wild West.

Two walk forward, two reverse.

To slap a RICO charge on a greasy bastard.

Like the goddamned Great Gate of Kiev.

And back to the five.

A gamelan of adobe marksmanship.

Distraction.

Diversion.

Deputy was just the courage.  Pin on “I do”.

We think Pecos.

Information travels.

And to have a leg up.

[no pun]

Old wounds and creaky bones.

Been knocked down too many times.

Fallen off my horse.

[shift]

We don’t negotiate with terrorists.

But do we terrorize negotiators?

Turns out the whole thing was about water.

When it’s dry.

And you gotta wake up.

And you didn’t just win the Super Bowl.

Why you can’t take a giant leap in chess.

Giant steps.

Because your plan sucks.

Just showing up is pretty damned brave.

Every day.

Fight.

[And I didn’t even get to Edith Head and Nelson Riddle]

-PD

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True Grit [1969)

To get through life, you need grit.

Toughness.

I know of no tougher people than my parents.

And they have been an infinite inspiration to me.

So it is a pleasure to review what is one of my dad’s favorite films.

He always told me to watch this, but I guess I had some subliminal aversion to Westerns.

Well, dear friends, this here is a masterpiece.

I haven’t written much about Westerns (aside from the three Clint Eastwood spaghetti Westerns I reviewed long ago).

I know the genre is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Jean-Luc Godard commented once that his soulmate Anne-Marie Miéville really couldn’t stand this genre, whereas Monsieur Godard has been open about his admiration for John Ford and other directors of the American Western.

But here we have a film by Henry Hathaway.

Sure, John Wayne is in the movie (big league!), but it was Hathaway behind the camera ostensibly calling the shots.

You might know Hathaway from the film noir Call Northside 777.

Or perhaps The Desert Fox:  The Story of Rommel (starring the inimitable James Mason).

But he also directed Rawhide and The Sons of Katie Elder (another flick starring The Duke).

But let’s bring out the big gun.

John Wayne was born Marion (!) Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa.

That’s right.  Not Texas.  Not Oklahoma.

Iowa.

So how did John Wayne become such a badass?

Much of it might be attributable to his attention to detail.

And just what (or who) was he paying attention to?

Wyatt Earp.

That’s right.

Deputy sheriff of Tombstone, Arizona.

But let’s get on to this fantastic film, shall we?

The real surprise is Kim Darby.

Sure, Glen Campbell is great here, but Darby is sensational!

And though this might be thought of as Kim Darby’s only significant film role of her career, it is timeless.

She knocked it out of the park as Mattie Ross.

All our actors are gritty, but the real toss-up is between Kim Darby (who was 22 at the time) and John Wayne (who was 62).

Toughness is the theme of the movie.

He or she who is toughest will overcome.

Sure, some obstacles are insurmountable.

But GRIT will get you through some harrowing situations.

It’s almost funny when a film (like this one) includes minor roles for the likes of Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall.  Duvall’s role is a bit more substantial, but the main focus is on the troika of Campbell, Darby, and Wayne (particularly the latter two).

Fans of the recent film Sicario will notice precursors to “rough justice” present all throughout True Grit.

But director Hathaway manages to make a G-rated film.

For that and other reasons, I am recommending this as a family film (though it may be unsuitable for particularly young ones).

The narrative device which keeps the film “all ages” is that Mattie is supposed to be 14 years old (though, as stated, Kim Darby [Mattie] was actually 22).

The action of our film centers around Fort Smith, Arkansas (at first) and later in the “Indian Territory” around McAlester, Oklahoma.

The film features prominently a Colt Model 1848 Percussion Army Revolver a.k.a. Colt Dragoon Revolver (.44 caliber).

Firearms aside, John Wayne is magnificent in the denouement when he takes on four armed horsemen.

That said, a Sharps rifle comes in particular handy for Wayne in a near-death imbroglio.

Glen Campbell’s greatest moment is just getting on the horse and setting the beast in motion.

It is this scene in which Campbell proves himself to be just as gritty as Darby and Wayne.

But the film is not over yet.

And we see John Wayne take action:  as a leader!

Doing what needs to be done!

But the scene which brought tears to my eyes was when John Wayne bet on the toughness of Kim Darby.

And that is the message.

What great encouragement it is when people have faith in us!

When they say, “I know you can do it!”

We may not believe it ourselves, but their faith lifts us up.

We think, “Maybe they know something I don’t.”

When we’re at our lowest point.

Those who stand beside us with compassion are displaying that priceless characteristic of true grit.

The very end of the film is quite touching as well.

We see an actor 40 years younger than her leading man offer a hand of friendship with an act of love.

It’s not even romantic.

It’s just classy.

Humane.

In truth, very poetic.

I wholeheartedly recommend this film for all doubters of John Wayne and the Western genre in general.

Yee-Haw!

-PD

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