An old steam engine, once featured
in the John Wayne film, The Wings of
Eagles, has long been an iconic part of the city of Orlando, Florida. But
now, it may become part of a scrapheap as well.
Affectionately known as the “Orange
Blossom Special”, the 100 year old locomotive currently sits on a section of
track next to the old Orlando railroad depot on Church street, where it has
been since 1976. The property’s current owner, however, Tremont Realty Capitol,
have decided that they do not want the locomotive there any longer, and would
like someone to take it away.
Estimates for moving the train range
from $350,000 to significantly less, but so far, there have been no takers. The
Florida Railroad Museum of Tampa would like the train, but cannot afford to
have it moved. They are hoping the city will shoulder the expense. Although it
is possible they will, no decision has been made as of yet. If there are no
takers, then the historic engine will likely be sold for scrap.
So, if there are any wealthy John
Wayne fans out there, who would like a unique one-of-a-kind piece of John Wayne
memorabilia, now’s your chance!
Well, “Black Friday” has passed and thank goodness
for that! Every year I read about riots and assaults and weapons being used –
all by shoppers on “Black Friday.” Are these people insane? All in all, I am so
very glad that I don’t go anywhere near a store on that day! But, Christmas is
just around the corner and there are still deals to be made on some terrific
(and some not so terrific) John Wayne related items. So, if you are a collector
of all things Waynian, or if you know someone who is, slap some bacon on a
biscuit and start shopping. You’re burnin’ daylight!
Of course, the obvious choice among many new John
Wayne collectors as well as their friends and families are John Wayne movies
and soundtracks. Most department stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart and
such will have an abundance of John Wayne DVDs for sale, and usually pretty inexpensively
priced. The thing to watch out for, however, are the mega-packs of the old John
Wayne films. Not that they’re not worth watching, because they most definitely
are. That being said, however, you should be forewarned that many of them that
contain the old John Wayne serials (he did three of them) do not contain the
complete serial, as in all 12 chapters. Usually you will find that both The Hurricane Express and The Three Musketeers serials contained
in these mega-packs are actually edited “feature length” versions of these two
serials. They are still worth having, and both are enjoyable to watch, but don’t
expect to get the full 12-chapter serial. The full serials are available, but
you do have to look for them.
Soundtracks are another gem that many if not most
John Wayne collectors love to have, and there are multiple outlets available.
Of course there is always eBay, and there are tons of John Wayne film
soundtracks on eBay, both original LP’s and 45’s, as well as remastered CD’s.
In my opinion, however, if you would like to find some of the best CD’s of John
Wayne soundtracks, especially some of the limited edition CD’s, the
BuySoundTrax.com is the best. Sometimes they can be a little slow with
delivery, but the products are well worth the wait. You can check out some of
their John Wayne soundtracks by clicking here.
Now if it’s collectibles you’re after, then again
there are several outlets, both online and off, that can fill your needs. But
in all good conscience, I need to add a caveat here. Being a John Wayne fan and
collector for a good many years I think there are two definitions for the word “Collectible.”
The first definition is, that a collectible is anything that people collect.
And of course, that definition would encompass just about anything, and a large
percentage of John Wayne collectibles would fall into this category. Since John
Wayne passed away, folks have been slappin’ his image and name on just about
everything imaginable, and then mass producing it. Although these items can be
considered “collectible,” they are only worth what you are willing to pay for
them, and most of them do not increase in value over time.
In my
opinion, although these are some very nice items, and items I would enjoy
having, they are all extremely overpriced, and I am certain that they will not
hold their value as the years pass by. Personally, I would not buy any of these
items, however, I would not turn them down if my friends and family purchased
them as gifts (hint, hint).
As
overpriced as these items are, however, if you have some really deep pockets
(and I mean REALLY DEEEEEEP), then visit the Sports Memorabilia website (www.sportsmemorabilia.com) and
check out some of their John Wayne collectibles. For example, they are
currently offering an 8x10 black and white photo of John Wayne on the Mike
Douglas show in 1976. They are currently offering this photo on sale for $41.58
(plus shipping, handling & applicable tax). A might steep if you ask me,
and this is one of the least expensive John Wayne items they have. (See it here)
If you are looking for a John Wayne
display with a replica autograph, they have one of those for only $920.12
(marked down from $1,076.54!). The display includes a replica U.S. Marshal’s
badge, two color 8x10 photos, a replica True Grit poster, a couple of
descriptive plaques, a replica autograph, and a 1”x1” square piece of cloth cut
from a neckerchief worn by John Wayne in the film True Grit. Now call me skeptical,
but again, I think the price is more than a might high, especially for what you
are getting. The fake autograph, badge, poster and photos are only worth about
$20, and the one square inch piece of cloth – pardon me for saying so, but I
wanted a bandana worn by John Wayne, I want the whole dang thing, not just a
piece the size of a postage stamp! Somehow it really irks me that someone would
snap up a piece of clothing worn by John Wayne and cut it up into little pieces
just to make a buck (or a thousand bucks as the case may be), and as a John
Wayne fan and collector, I would not buy anything from someone who cuts up the
man’s clothes like this. If you are interested, you can see this item by
clicking here.
And the prices just keep getting
steeper at the Sports Memorabilia store. They have another John Wayne display
containing a couple of photos, a reproduction poster, repro badge, miniature
replica shotgun, a deck of playing cards, a couple of pieces of film from a
copy of True Grit, a piece of card stock with the words True Grit printed on
it, and a small piece of paper with an allegedly authentic John Wayne
signature. What I find interesting about this particular display is that it is
supposed to be a “True Grit” display, and yet of the two photos included in the
display, one is from Hondo and the other an El Dorado publicity still. And the
shotgun? Funny, I don’t remember John Wayne using a shotgun in the film. Oh,
and the price for this item is only $4,075.00 (on sale). You can view this item
by clicking here.
The final item I would like to
mention from the Sports Memorabilia site (and only because I just cannot
believe anyone would actually pay this kind of money for their items) is
another John Wayne display. This particular display features seven replica mini
posters, a replica six-gun, a replica badge, another one-inch square from the
same bandana (argh!), and a page from what is purported to be an autograph
album. This page contains a black and white publicity photo of Wayne from The
Flying Tigers, and two signatures. The first signature reads “John Wayne” and
the second signature reads “Marion M. Morrison”. Now again, call me skeptical,
but I really have to question these signatures. Granted, the photograph is not
very clear, but the John Wayne signature
just doesn’t look like his signature when compared to the authentic ones I have
seen, and as a matter of fact, neither does the Marion M. Morrison signature. And I also question just why he would
sign both names? It doesn’t make much sense to me. In my opinion, it seems more
likely that a fan attached the photo to the album page, and then wrote (in
cursive) both names, as well as the other information written on the page. At
any rate, the display does come with a certificate of authenticity, and a
guarantee that the signatures are correct and authentic, but how would you
check the provenance of the signatures without being able to actually speak to
the original owner who acquired the signatures? I suppose you could take the
display to an expert and have them authenticate the signatures, but…who knows?
The price on this item is $7,296.10 (and again, that is on sale and marked down
from $8,536.44!). You can see this display by clicking here.
All in all, I personally would not
buy these items, even if I did have a few hundred thousand just laying around
in loose change, and I would seriously wonder about anyone who did.
A quick check of eBay shows replica
John Wayne signatures and reprinted John Wayne signed photos for only $5 to
$10. A much better deal than the $920 (on sale) at Sports Memorabilia, and I
saw an actual John Wayne autograph (being sold by the person who got the
autograph from Wayne) being sold for $475. Again, much better than the $4,000 -
$7,000+ range I wrote about above. You can see these two items and more John
Wayne autographs (both real and reprint) by clicking here.
Personally, it is my opinion that if
you are looking for John Wayne memorabilia, then eBay is probably the way to
go. On eBay the John Wayne fan & collector (as well as anyone looking to
buy for their favorite John Wayne fan or collector) can find just about any
type of John Wayne collectible and or memorabilia. A quick search for “John
Wayne” on eBay today showed books and magazines about John Wayne, vintage John
Wayne Adventure Comics, original and reprint movie posters and lobby cards,
film props, costumes, DVDs, VHS tapes, and many of the mass produced “collectibles”
available elsewhere such as plates, playing cards, knives, radios, lamps, wall
hangings, photos, badges, figurines, tin signs trading cards, coffee mugs,
ornaments, NASCAR cars (both large and small), belt buckles, medallions,
jewelry, watches, toys, and porcelain & ceramic John Wayne items. I even
found several pieces from the recent Heritage Auctions auction of John Wayne’s
Personal Property (so if you missed out on that historic once in a life time
auction, you now have a second chance!). In other words, if it is a John Wayne
collectible, it can probably be found on eBay.
So happy shopping Pilgrim, I hope
you come up with some great deals on some great John Wayne collectibles and
memorabilia. And if any of my family members read this, Christmas is comin’!
The big John Wayne tribute sponsored by the Jules Verne organization is over. Although I did not attend, there is an excellent write up on the event on Henry Parke's blog: Henry's Western Round-up. Check it out by clicking here.
And while you're there, I would heartily recommend checking out the posts on Mr. Parke's blog. It is a great blog, and I have already spent most of my day perusing the posts!
Warner
Home Video has announced that they will be releasing John Ford’s classic 1948 western,
Fort Apache, starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple and John Agar on
Blu-Ray February 21, 2012.
Review of the film:
I think that a list of John Wayne's
five best pictures has to include Fort Apache. It's the first and best of the
cavalry trilogy that he did with John Ford. Oddly enough he has less screen
time here than in the other two, due to the fact that he was co-starring with
another big Hollywood name in Henry Fonda.
It's first and foremost the story of a clash between two men who see the United
States Army in very different terms. Fonda is a former general who's seen glory
in the Civil War, but has been shunted aside. He wants to get back on top in
the worst way. He's exiled to Fort Apache in the Arizona territory while the
big headlines concerning the Indian wars are going to the campaign against the
plains Indians which was true enough.
Wayne has also seen some glory in the Civil War. But he's a professional
soldier and just wants to live long enough to retire. In fact Ward Bond who is
the sergeant major at the post has also dropped down in rank; he was a major in
the Civil War and a Medal of Honor winner. This was a common occurrence at the
end of the Civil War. During the war, promotions came swiftly because of
battlefield service. Something called a brevet rank was instituted a kind of
temporary promotion. You could be a brevet brigadier general and have an actual
rank of something like major. After the Civil War as the U.S. Army shrunk to
its pre-war size, soldier reverted to previous ranks. This was something John
Ford was keenly aware of when he made Fort Apache.
Ford's stock company was never better. Even minor bit parts are woven nicely
into the whole story. And his photography of Monument Valley, it's beauty and
vastness was never better even when he used color. Look at the scenes with John
Agar and Shirley Temple riding and with Wayne and Pedro Armendariz on their way
to parley with Cochise. Really great cinematography.
Ford had a couple of inside comments in the film. In a scene where Henry Fonda
is getting an incomplete message from the post telegrapher, the telegrapher who
might have strolled in from a Cagney-O'Brien film informs his commander that
the message was interrupted "in the middle of the last woid." With
both Irish and southern recruits in Fort Apache, a Brooklynese telegrapher
would not have been out of place.
George O'Brien and Anna Lee, play Sam and Emily Collingwood who both knew Henry
Fonda's Owen Thursday way back in the day. It's hinted that O'Brien had a
drinking problem and that's why he's at Fort Apache, but he's looking for a
transfer out. It comes as the regiment is moving out against Cochise.
Charles Collingwood was the second in command to Admiral Nelson at Trafalgar.
Nelson became a British hero martyr, historians know about Charles Collingwood.
When newspapermen at the end of Fort Apache remark about men like
"Collingworth"not being remembered, it was John Ford making a statement
about the worth of all the men who contribute their lives to defend their
nations not just the leader heroes.
That remark by the way is the stage for one of John Wayne's finest acted scenes
in his career. A soliloquy photographed through a cabin window about the life
of the professional soldier, the camaraderie, the toughness, the bravery
required of these men and how they deliver for their nation.
In a later film John Ford uses the line that in the west "when the legend
becomes fact, print the legend." Henry Fonda's quest for martial glory was
a blunder, but his story for the sake and tradition of his regiment is
whitewashed and he becomes an inspiration.
Of course some of the lowbrow comedy that one expects from John Ford is here
aplenty with the four drinking sergeants and their efforts to make soldiers out
of the recruits. Led by Victor McLaglen, the quartet rounds out with Dick
Foran, Jack Pennick, and Pedro Armendariz. See how they dispose of the
contraband they are charged with destroying and its consequences.
Fort Apache also takes the side of the Indian here. Cochise played by an
impassive Miguel Inclan is a figure of strength and dignity. Later on Jeff
Chandler in another film brought speech to the dignity and that role launched
his career. Cochise is the only true major figure in the film. He bedeviled the
U.S. Cavalry for over a decade in Arizona Territory with guerrilla tactics Mao
Tse Tung would have envied.
Fort Apache is a grand ensemble film and you will not be bored for one second
in watching it.
(review written by bkoganbing, courtesy
of IMDb.com)
There has been no word as of yet as
to the specs and special features for this disc, but the suggested retail price
is $19.98. Amazon is already advertising it for $13.99.
Stealing Angels - left to right; Carloline Cutbirth, Jennifer Wayne, Tayla Lynn
I’m not sure if you’ve heard of them or not, but if you
listen to country music, you soon will. The group is called Stealing Angels and
its members are Tayla Lynn, Caroline Cutbirth, and Jennifer Wayne. If those
names sound kind of familiar, they should. Tayla Lynn is the granddaughter of
country music legend Loretta Lynn, Jennifer Wayne is the granddaughter of
American icon John Wayne, and Caroline Cutbirth is a descendent of frontier
hero Daniel Boone. But rest assured, these angels are not riding on the coat
tails of their famous relatives, each one is a star in their own right.
The singing group met a couple of years ago as guests on
a failed television reality show about relatives of famous people. Although the
show never aired, the three became fast friends and due to their love of music,
excellent voices and song writing talents, they formed the group Stealing
Angels. You can check out their web page by clicking here, and they also have a
Facebook page as well, that you can visit by clicking here.
Not only have they been touring around the country
winning fans wherever they go (they are currently opening for Lady Antebellum),
but they also have a debut album due out next year. Their newest single “Paper
Heart” (which is featured on their upcoming album) has had an impact on country
radio stations around the country. Rather than go on talking, I think maybe you’d
like to take a listen to these three young ladies. I know you will enjoy it.
Here are two of their music videos.
Story by MARIELLE D. MARNE | NOVEMBER 9, 2011 | Sonoran News
CAREFREE – John Wayne is a legend,
and if their gangbusters first month of business is any indication, Duke's Chop
House & Saloon will be following in the American icon's footsteps.
Owner Ken Moss explained the restaurant is a tribute to John Wayne. "We
looked at it like what would John Wayne want? What would John Wayne eat? It was
like restoring the Wild, Wild West to Carefree." The decor, the ambiance,
the friendly service – The Duke would be impressed.
