BUCKSKIN JOE’S, Colorado. I love this place. Going around the place you see dozens of spots used in a number of Westerns. There’s the schoolhouse that was used in John Wayne’s THE COWBOYS – It’s the “Hole in the Wall” retreat from CAT BALLOU – as well as other locations in that film. Bronson walked these dusty streets in MR MAJESTYK and WHITE BUFFALO. The crazy lunatic western, THE DUCHESS AND THE DIRTWATER FOX. Oh and Wayne came back here to shoot TRUE GRIT. True Legends shot in these buildings, streets and the area.
To get a great look at the whole Royal Gorge, we took off on a train from Canon City – through Royal Gorge and back. Epic train ride, can’t recommend it enough. Same with the braised game hen they served. Seeing the remnants of the old abandoned Ghost mining operation that used to be there… what an amazing decrepit oak aquaduct channelling water through the craggy canyon walls. Busted apart, just a memory of what it once was.
Also the rock slides that have taken old buildings with them. It was so cool, and the first train I’ve been on in years. Maybe even 20 years. There’s nothing like train travel to make you long for a lower berth with Ms Saint. Sigh. From this winding railroad we could look up at the Royal Gorge bridge a thousand feet above us. It was like a million miles. I couldn’t help but flash to Indy’s rope cutting in TEMPLE OF DOOM – even though that had nothing to do with this.
We had arrived very early to the city that day, which was just 9 miles to BUCKSKIN JOEs. Problem was, the tyke had puckered out early that day, so we went back to the hotel room so he could rest up, and so Father Geek and I could shower and get road wear off of us. While I was cleaning up, PapaSan went out and purchased a Jackalope – a peculiar creature of the West that many silly folks believe is an actual taxidermy gaffe, but any true explorer of the West has seen the Jackalope “Boundin’” and well – owning a Jackalope mount… it’s like owning a piece of a legend, a tall tail tale.
The day before, in Colorado Springs we got to the Garden of the Gods right before sunset. When we told my nephew we were at the Garden of the Gods - he became quite hushed, very unusual for this talkative tyke. At one point, in the heart of the Garden of the Gods - my nephew looked up at his grandfather and said - "Grandpa, don't worry, I won't touch anything, the Gods won't get us!" - and it dawned on us... He thought he was in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS. This was one of the great geek moments of the trip for me. That rules.
Now, of all the films that Tim and the Rolling Roadshow programmers programmed, I knew the one that would have the least turn out would be CAT BALLOU. It is a vastly unappreciated film that is just fantastic. I’ve always looked at it as the Western BARBARELLA. Jane Fonda is in her innocently fuckable state, having to through sexual allure attract several broken useful men to serve her in her task at hand.
First, whatever her politics.. no matter where you come down on her, this Jane Fonda… this Jane Fonda is 3 weeks of glee. Her, “What Me?” face alone is worth 3 loads. She’s just sexual. No wonder Roger Vadim absconded with her. There’s one shot where all the beta males following their alpha female are staring at her levi’d ass swaying on the rump of a horse… all with wistful want upon their brows. It’s classic.
Then there’s Lee Marvin. Ok, he won an Academy Award for these roles – but have you ever really sat down and watched this performance? Just how unbelievably awe-inspiringly hilarious he is? He’s in his own movie. You almost believe that the script they handed to him wasn’t titled CAT BALLOU, but rather… KID SHELLEEN – cuz at no point does his character think he’s second fiddle to anyone. KID SHELLEEN is a character of legend. Whoever that stunt rider was, whatever became of that amazing horse, that crazed wig – that outstandingly hilarious get-up he’s wearing. That’s all just the brick-a-brac surrounding a towering comedic performance. Lee Marvin just is acting circles around the world in this film.
And all for a tiny audience. I mean, here we were… A partly cloudy night sky with that silvery quilty look to the clouds lit by the thinnest sliver of a crescent moon. Maybe 20 folks. This was a screening for Tim and the Rolling Roadshow. This was “our” screening. A few folks came in, the locals attached to the location were there. We drank beer and laughed ourselves into hysterics. This gorgeous place was ours, this fantastic film was singing and cutting loose.
Seriously – until you’ve sat with a tight group of the best film geeks in the world on a lonely precipice on the edge of the Rocky Mountains on a beautiful night in the coral of one of THE western towns in films… And listened to Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye sing to you about the wild decadent shameless adventures of that brazen hussy of the west, CAT BALLOU – you just haven’t quite felt the same sense of glee, joy and just pure love of cinematic adventure that this little group felt this night. There’s so much life and joy and exuberance in Nat’s face in this film. He lights up the screen with his giddiness as he sings these songs – and they wash over the few of us here like a Christmas Morning Smile from a Child. It’s great.
In many ways, it is for nights like this that I think Tim and his wife Karrie decided to hit the long road for this epic filmic adventure. In addition to it being a gargantuan task – at a great personal cost – they looked upon this not solely as a business undertaking, but as a full on vacation.
Tim & Karrie’s idea of a vacation are different from most folks. You see, they not only love films – they love the showing of films – and they love to work to make their dream of a presentation come off. Every show, you’d see Tim on a ropeline pulling along with the rest of the crew. He took his turns with the sledgehammers driving the giant spikes into the ground to rope off that big screen.
It reminded me that one morning that my father, sister and I woke up to go out on the edge of town to see a big top circus put up the tent. Remember that sequence in DUMBO or maybe you remember it from THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH. Where you see the crew of the circus working hand in hoof with the animals of the show pulling up the great tent. Pushing the center pole to it’s great height. Well, in DeMille’s film – after the trainwreck they built the circus anyway, cuz the SHOW MUST GO ON – and that’s the spirit of the Rolling Roadshow.
Following this Road – has been one of the great adventures – can’t wait for the final stop on this leg of the Rolling Roadshow.
