Riot in Cell Block 11 grew out of producer Walter Wanger’s personal experience. In 1951, Wanger spent four months in prison for shooting Jennings Lang; an agent he believed was having an affair with his wife, the beautiful actress Joan Bennett. Wanger was appalled at the conditions prisoners were expected to live in. Deeply affected by it, he was prompted to make a film about
Sergio Leone’s Man with No Name Trilogy—A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)—made a movie star out of Clint Eastwood, but by the early 1970’s the spaghetti western had fallen out of favor with Hollywood and audiences alike. Like a lot of things that become very popular very quickly, spaghetti westerns started
In a career that spanned five decades and roughly 142 films, John Wayne became one of the biggest stars of the silver screen. Released in 1953, Hondo is probably Wayne’s most beloved film not directed by John Ford or Howard Hawks. Instead, John Farrow (Wake Island) was at the helm. To Farrow’s credit, while he shot the film in 3-D during Hollywood’s first fascination with
As Paramount continues its centennial celebration, the studio has announced the June 5th Blu-ray release of Hondo. The classic western stars John Wayne (True Grit) as the title character, a cavalry despatch rider who becomes the unwitting protector to a family living in dangerous Apache territory. Directed by John Farrow (Wake Island) the film also features Lee Aaker (Bye Bye Birdie), James Arness (The Thing