Fancy Pants Goes West

Billy Rice appeared in Dry Gulch, with all his fancy togs on and was named Fancy Pants. He joined the posse as the Deputy. Sarah, a mentally, disturbed, fleshy girl tried all kinds of tricks to get him. She was jealous o one of the Akin sisters because Billy liked her and she kidnapped her but the other sister was taken by mistake also. The Mexican banditos caught them. The Akin sisters put sleeping powder in their soup and escaped. A new church was built and a Minister, his sister and mother came to town. Gray Wolf, of the Apaches, turned outlaw with his braves and he was determined to marry the Princess. She hated him, so the Chief and her came to see the Sheriff for help. Pedro, one of the Mexican banditos saw Crystal, the Minister’s sister and he fell in love with her. He was determined to leave the gang. The Minister married the Princess and Gray Wolf took them captive. Pedro happened upon them and rescued but was killed by the leader of the gang. Marshall Tom came, saw Crystal and fell in love with her. He sang and played his guitar for her as she tried to get over Pedro’s death.

Billy Rice appeared in Dry Gulch, with all his fancy togs on and was named Fancy Pants. He joined the posse as the Deputy. Sarah, a mentally, disturbed, fleshy girl tried all kinds of tricks to get him. She was jealous o one of the Akin sisters because Billy liked her and she kidnapped her but the other sister was taken by mistake also. The Mexican banditos caught them. The Akin sisters put sleeping powder in their soup and escaped. A new church was built and a Minister, his sister and mother came to town. Gray Wolf, of the Apaches, turned outlaw with his braves and he was determined to marry the Princess. She hated him, so the Chief and her came to see the Sheriff for help. Pedro, one of the Mexican banditos saw Crystal, the Minister's sister and he fell in love with her. He was determined to leave the gang. The Minister married the Princess and Gray Wolf took them captive. Pedro happened upon them and rescued but was killed by the leader of the gang. Marshall Tom came, saw Crystal and fell in love with her. He sang and played his guitar for her as she tried to get over Pedro's death.

This groundbreaking film study begins with a survey of American print humorists from eras leading up to and overlapping the advent of film--including some who worked both on the page and on the screen, like Robert Benchley, Will Rogers, Groucho Marx and W. C. Fields. Six comic film genres are identified as outgrowths of a national tradition of Cracker Barrel philosophers, personality comedy, parody, screwball comedy, romantic comedy and dark comedy. Whether it is Mark Twain or a parody film involving Steve Martin, comedy is most often about blowing "raspberries" at the world, and a reminder you are not alone.

A dictionary of short entries on American musicals and their practitioners, including performers, composers, lyricists, producers, and choreographers

“An excellent study that should interest film buffs, academics, and non-academics alike” (Journal of the West). Hollywood’s West examines popular perceptions of the frontier as a defining feature of American identity and history. Seventeen essays by prominent film scholars illuminate the allure of life on the edge of civilization and analyze how this region has been represented on big and small screens. Differing characterizations of the frontier in modern popular culture reveal numerous truths about American consciousness and provide insights into many classic Western films and television programs, from RKO’s 1931 classic Cimarron to Turner Network Television’s recent made-for-TV movies. Covering topics such as the portrayal of race, women, myth, and nostalgia, Hollywood’s West makes a significant contribution to the understanding of how Westerns have shaped our nation’s opinions and beliefs—often using the frontier as metaphor for contemporary issues.

Film Composers in America is a landmark in the history of film. Here, renowned film scholar Clifford McCarty has attempted to identify every known composer who wrote background musical scores for films in the United States between 1911 and 1970. With information on roughly 20,000 films, the book is an essential tool for serious students of film and a treasure trove for film fans. It spans all types of American films, from features, shorts, cartoons, and documentaries to nontheatrical works, avant-garde films, and even trailers. Meticulously researched over 45 years, the book documents the work of more than 1,500 composers, from Robert Abramson to Josiah Zuro, including the first to score an American film, Walter C. Simon. It includes not only Hollywood professionals but also many composers of concert music--as well as popular music and other genres--whose cinematic work has never before been fully catalogued. The book also features an index that lets readers quickly find the composer for any American film through 1970. To recover this history, much of which was lost or never recorded, McCarty corresponded with or interviewed hundreds of composers, arrangers, orchestrators, musical directors, and music librarians. He also conducted extensive research in the archives of the seven largest film studios--Columbia, MGM, Paramount, RKO, 20th Century-Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros.--and wherever possible, he based his findings on the most reliable evidence, that of the manuscript scores and cue sheets (as opposed to less accurate screen credits). The result is the definitive guide to the composers and musical scores for the first 60 years of American film.

A noted Hollywood historian takes a first-ever marketing look at the selling of classic motion pictures generated by Hollywood's fabled movie factories in this lush coffee-table retrospective. Movie buffs will enjoy seeing the effects of the Depression, censorship, world war, the Cold War, television, and the counter-culture movement on the changing tastes of moviegoers, and the way showmen responded with creative and sometimes zany ad campaigns. Chapters include the sexy and salacious pre-Code pictures; the launch of the new dance team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Flying Down to Rio; MGM’s gamble on the Marx Brothers with A Night at the Opera; lavish campaigns for The Wizard of Oz in original release and reissue; creation of a new star, John Wayne, in John Ford’s Stagecoach; Orson Welles’ failed Citizen Kane campaign; Billy Wilder’s unusual and dark Hollywood statement picture, Sunset Boulevard; the selling of Rebel Without a Cause, Giant, and East of Eden following the death of James Dean; Alfred Hitchcock’s personal gamble with Psycho; and much more!

The 1930s are routinely considered sound film's greatest comedy era. Though this golden age encompassed various genres of laughter, clown comedy is the most basic type. This work examines the Depression decade's most popular type of comedy--the clown, or personality comedian. Focusing upon the Depression era, the study filters its analysis through twelve memorable pictures. Each merits an individual chapter, in which it is critiqued. The films are deemed microcosmic representatives of the comic world and discussed in this context. While some of the comedians in this text have generated a great deal of previous analysis, funnymen like Joe E. Brown and Eddie Cantor are all but forgotten. Nevertheless, they were comedy legends in their time, and their legacy, as showcased in these movies, merits rediscovery by today's connoisseur of comedy. Even this book's more familiar figures, such as Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers, are often simply relegated to being recognizable pop culture icons whose work has been neglected in recent years. This book attempts to address these oversights and to re-expose the brilliance and ingenuity with which the screen clowns contributed a comic resiliency that was desperately needed during the Depression and can still be greatly appreciated today. The films discussed are City Lights (1931, Chaplin), The Kid From Spain (1932, Cantor), She Done Him Wrong (1933, Mae West), Duck Soup (1933, Marx Brothers), Sons of the Desert (1933, Laurel and Hardy), Judge Priest (1934, Will Rogers), It's a Gift (1934, W.C. Fields), Alibi Ike (1935, Brown), A Night at the Opera (1935, Marx Brothers), Modern Times (1936, Chaplin), Way Out West (1937, Laurel and Hardy), and The Cat and the Canary (1939, Bob Hope).

The moderate climate and majestic western landscapes of New Mexico make it an enchanting locale for the motion picture industry. Thomas A. Edison's crew shot the very first film in the state at the Isleta Indian Pueblo in 1897. Silent-era icons like directors Romaine Fielding and Tom Mix shortly followed to take over the small town of Las Vegas, setting the stage for an explosion of western movies. Today, New Mexico's generous incentive programs and quality facilities make it one of the top filming destinations in the country, attracting big projects like the Academy Award-winning No Country for Old Men and AMC's critically acclaimed television series Breaking Bad. In this comprehensive volume, local author and film historian Jeff Berg explores the history and legacy of New Mexico on the big screen.