Hellbent for Letterbox

Michael and Pax talk at length about the financial and critical disaster that was William Fraker's  Legend of the Lone Ranger , starring Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, and Christopher Lloyd. But along the way, they cover other iterations of the masked rider's adventures, including the original radio dramas, the 1938 serial, the Clayton Moore TV show, and a couple of cartoons.  Also in this epis...

This time on Hellbent Michael and Pax are discussing the Coen Brothers' re-adaptation of Charles Portis' novel.  We also get in some discussion on the original John Wayne version.

Michael and Pax finally visit the John Ford/John Wayne classic, also starring  Claire Trevor, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell, Tim Holt, Tom Tyler, and (uh oh?) Andy Devine.  Also: Pony Express mail and quick reviews of McLintock! (1963) and The Great Missouri Raid (1951).

On this episode of Hellbent Mike and Pax discuss the 1971 East meets West western Red Sun starring Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune, Ursula Andress, and directed by Terence Young.

Michael and Pax giggle and groan over Hal Needham's slapstick comedy starring Kirk Douglas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Ann-Margret.  Also: a brief Lone Ranger discussion and mini-reviews of 1967's  Hour of the Gun  (with James Garner as Wyatt Earp) and  Mighty Marvel Western featuring Rawhide Kid, Kid Slade, and Two-Gun Kid.

On this episode Mike and Pax are once again joined by Shawn Robare and this time we are discussing another Raquel Welch vehicle, Hannie Caulder from 1971.  We discuss what we thought of the movie as well as the influence it had on Quentin Tarantino.

Michael and Pax are joined by special guest Shawn Robare ( Branded in the '80s , Cult Film Club ) to talk about the Netflix mini-series  Godless  starring Michelle Dockery, Jeff Daniels, and Jack O'Connell. And in "Whatchoo Been Westernin'?" we discuss the '80s cartoon  Bravestarr  and the movie  Hostiles starring Christian Bale and Wes Studi.

Mike and Pax discuss the podcast on its 2nd anniversary, give a few hints as to what's to come and partake in a little Westernin'.

This episode Mike and Pax are talking about the 1975 western, Bite the Bullet starring Gene Hackman, James Coburn, Candice Bergen and Jan Michael Vincent.  

On this episode, Michael and Pax take a detour from traditional Westerns and talk about Blake Edwards' murder mystery in which Western movie star Tom Mix (Bruce Willis) and Western legend Wyatt Earp (James Garner) try to catch a killer in 1920s Hollywood.  And as long as we're covering not-quite-Westerns, Michael shares some thoughts about last year's  The Hero , starring Sam Elliott, Laura Prepon...

In this Hitchin' Post Michael and Pax recast the 1967 spaghetti western Day of Anger with a modern cast!

This time on the show we are talking about the 1967 spaghetti western, Day of Anger, starring the awesome and manly Lee Van Cleef!

It's cold out there, but Michael and Pax stay warm by talking about one of their favorite Westerns, 1994's  Maverick  with Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner. And in a special "Whatchoo Been Westernin'?" segment, they discuss some of the episodes of the  Maverick  TV show that they watched, too.

On this episode of Hellbent for Letterbox Mike and Pax discuss the 1968 western Bandolero! starring Jimmy Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch and George Kennedy.

Michael and Pax are joined by special guest Evan Hanson to discuss  The Outrage , a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Rashômon , starring Paul Newman, William Shatner, and Edward G Robinson. And in "Whatchoo Been Westernin'": Grit TV (feat.  Death Valley Days ), a comics adaptation of  True Grit , and Jeff Bridges in  Wild Bill .

Mike and Pax delve into the 1992 modern classic Unforgiven starring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman.

Michael and Pax continue their love affair with Lee Van Cleef by talking about this Spaghetti-inspired, American-made thriller co-starring Warren Oates, Forrest Tucker, Kerwin Mathews, Mariette Hartley, and Marie Gomez. And in "Whatchoo Been Westernin'?": DC Comics'  Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam Special  and the Billy the Kid episode of  Brad Meltzer's Decoded .  

On this episode Mike and Pax are discussing the western comedy farce, Support Your Local Sheriff! from 1969 starring James Garner, Jack Elam, Bruce Dern, Harry Morgan and Walter Brennan.  We also talk a little bit about the "sequel" Support Your Local Gunfighter from 1971 starring many of the same people but in a completely different story.

Michael and Pax discuss the weird relationships and mega misogyny of Howards Hughes and Hawks'  The Outlaw . It's Billy the Kid vs Doc Holliday with Jane Russell and a horse as the prizes (and Pat Garrett kind of crying in the corner, but with a gun in his hand).  Also: Pony Express mail and quick reviews of  The Undertaker  and  Hombre Rosa  comics and the movie  Three Godfathers  (1936).

On this Hitchin' Post Michael and Pax discuss the two reunion movies for The Wild Wild West starring Robert Conrad and Ross Martin.  We also delve into the 1999 Wild Wild West movie with Will Smith and Kevin Kline.  

This time on Hellbent Pax and Michael discuss the 1965 TV series The Wild Wild West starring Robert Conrad and Ross Martin.  We talk about the stars, we talk about the villains, we go all through our favorite episodes.  It's a deep dive into the 4 season long TV series.

Michael and Pax finally watch the epic classic from directors Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall; starring Carroll Baker, Debbie Reynolds, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, and George Peppard. And with cameos by everyone else alive at the time. Does it live up to its reputation? Will the fellas finally be able to tell it apart from  Once Upon a Time in the West ? Only one way to find out. A...

This episode Michael and Pax delve back into the world of spaghetti westerns with the Lee Van Cleef vehicle, Sabata, about a supernaturally accurate gun for hire and the crazy cast of characters he meets on the job.  

Michael and Pax deal with the shock of realizing that Tom Gries'  100 Rifles is not the light-hearted heist movie they expected from the cast of Jim Brown, Raquel Welch, and Burt Reynolds. But before they get to that, there's some discussion of the TV show  Rawhide , the comic book  Brimstone , and the 1965 film  Cat Ballou . Closing music for this episode by Daniel Pemberton from his score to  Th...

Much of our discussion with guest Chris Schweizer happened outside of the shows we recorded.  Here's a part of our discussion where we talk about a bunch of different western movies and books.