Raoul Walsh trailer final.mov "The first feature-length film on the life of the legendary Hollywood director follows a career that encompassed more than 200 films in almost every genre (musicals, comedies, Westerns, gangster and war), from the silent film era to the tumultuous 1960s. Based on texts from Marilyn Ann Moss's biography of Walsh, and using rare, personal and production photos and footage, the film documents his life and extraordinary adventures (both on and off the set); his apprenticeship with D.W. Griffith; his discovery of John Wayne and Rock Hudson; his friendship and classic work with Jimmy Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable and Errol Flynn; his many masterpieces and innovations (the first fill-length gangsters film, 1915's "Regeneration"; the first full-length, special-effects laden extravaganza, 1924's "The Thief of Bagdad"; the first 70mm film, 1930s "The Big Trail"); and his groundbreaking work on such Hollywood gems as "The Roaring Twenties," "White Heat," "High Sierra" and "They Died With Their Boots On." Above all, this is the story of one man's love of films and filmmaking ... and the women he loved in his life. Raoul Walsh's life is nothing less than the story of Hollywood itself."
"Peter Bogdanovich interviewed Walsh twice, the first time in 1970. He remembered: [Walsh] was very friendly, and his wife [Mary] was very hospitable. She made us some great orange juice from oranges they had growing there. It was a sprawling ranch style, but not that big. He was not that tall by then, maybe five foot ten or so. Oh, he was attractive, though, still attractive. He was very vital and funny. He was a guy. Men aren’t like that anymore. He was macho but he was gentle, and he liked women. He wasn’t the type of macho guy who doesn’t like women that [we] mostly [have] now. He was kind of courtly. —"Raoul Walsh: The True Adventures of Hollywood's Legendary Director" (2011) by Marilyn Ann Moss"
The Queen (Danielle Rocca) having dinner with The Director. Left to right: Raoul Walsh holds Richard Egan's son on a changing stand, Egan's wife (Patricia Hardy), and Mr. Egan. Others unidentified.
This is a nice picture. The setting is Grauman's Chinese handprint ceremony, 1930 (wagon in the back from The Big Trail). A Tweet implies the man on the left is John Ford, but it can't be. Possibly the producer of the film, Winfield Sheehan.
"Raoul Walsh was the first film director to have his imprints taken for the Chinese Theater Forecourt, and this says a good deal about his stature among film personalities. An actor originally, Walsh had a long career as a director, which generated some significant films. His ceremony was the the first to be connected to a film playing at the Chinese, in this case, Walsh's film The Big Trail, which had its World Premiere at the theater on October 2, 1930." Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California. Raoul Walsh Forecourt ceremony, Friday, November 14, 1930. To help with the proceedings, the Fox studio brought out a wagon used in and cast members from The Big Trail along with (left to right) Harry E. Jones, president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Dr. John C. Parrish, president of the California Historical Society, Joseph Meller, president of the California Pioneer Association, actors Louise Carver, Tully Marshall, Helen Parrish, Marguerite Churchil, and Raoul Walsh. On the right, is 87-year-old Thomas C. Hull, California Pioneer. On the extreme right is cement artist Jean Klossner's valise.
It all started when I saw The Lone Ranger's hat, which made me think of Jay Silverheels. Kept wandering through the forest, following Tonto, and this picture popped up. From the set of They Died with Their Boots On, 1941. The man on the right is Robert Schoenhut, Sr. [Sioux Warrior (Uncredited)] I left a trail of bread crumbs, but the birds ate them. .
I could never find a picture of Mr. Schoenhut except that one. I watched a clip of Custer's last charge in that movie. Amazed at how difficult that must have been to film at the time. To get everyone coordinated. Jim Thorpe was also in the movie. I believe he may be the one who yells "Sioux!" (0:50) in this clip. "Three men were killed during the filming. One fell from a horse and broke his neck. Another stuntman had a heart attack. The third, actor Jack Budlong, insisted on using a real saber to lead a cavalry charge under artillery fire. When an explosive charge sent him flying off his horse, he landed on his sword, impaling himself. Errol Flynn collapsed from exhaustion. Jim Thorpe, who appears as an uncredited Native American warrior, reportedly had an off-camera fight with Errol Flynn, knocking him out with one punch."
An Expert Horseman Turned Amateur Actor Jack Budlong. Classic Movie Hub "The best known of the deaths occurring on the set of They Died With Their Boots On – and a tragicomic one at that – was the unfortunate demise of Jack Budlong (1913 – 1941). An experienced horseman and a personal friend of Errol Flynn, with whom he frequently played polo, Budlong badgered the famous actor into getting him on set. Flynn relented and got him a role as an extra. It did not seem problematic: Budlong was a great horseman, the movie was about a famous cavalryman, and it would have many horseback riding scenes." "Unfortunately for all concerned – and especially for Jack Budlong – Errol Flynn’s buddy got carried away by amateurish enthusiasm, or perhaps more accurately, by simple stupidity. It occurred while filming a scene that depicted a Civil War clash between Union and Confederate cavalry. Instead of using a prop sword, Budlong insisted on using a real saber while leading a Rebel cavalry charge against Union artillery. As seen below, a coroner’s inquest put the blame for Jack Budlong’s demise squarely on the shoulders of the deceased would-be actor." "Jack Budlong, dressed in a Confederate cavalryman’s costume, charged across the “battlefield” on the set of They Died With Their Boots On. He rode headlong, enthusiastically waving his saber while prop explosions went off all around, to simulate enemy artillery rounds. Unfortunately, Budlong’s horse was not trained to deal with the explosions and battlefield chaos and noise. Not sharing its rider’s enthusiasm for battle, it panicked and started bucking. Budlong was thrown off his saddle 15 to 20 feet in the air, resulting in one of the more tragicomic ways of shuffling off the mortal coil. "Budlong landed on and was impaled by his own saber – the one he had insisted on using instead of a prop. It ran him clean through, piercing his abdomen and exiting out his back. Budlong was rushed to an LA hospital, but his injuries were too severe to survive. His demise brought to three the number of deaths during production, making They Died With Their Boots On one of Hollywood’s deadlier film sets. The movie’s name was an apt descriptor of those who lost their lives during filming: dressed up in military costumes when they met their ends, they had literally died with their boots on." https://historycollection.com/these-people-all-met-a-tragic-and-slightly-comedic-end/20/
"When the critics from Cahiers du cinéma were conferring auteur status upon erstwhile Hollywood hacks, they tended to favour the sort of macho directors whose lives were as rugged and red-blooded as the films they made. Raoul Walsh was the epitome of the brawny, no-nonsense maverick who demonstrated a vigorous sense of adventure both on and off the screen... His forte was the action picture, fuelled by an abrasive energy and gruff decency, in which two-fisted heroes defined their own moral code in an indifferent universe. With a trio of gangster movies, he took the genre to new heights: The Roaring Twenties (1939), High Sierra (1941) and White Heat (1949)." - Lloyd Hughes (The Rough Guide to Film, 2007) "Raoul Walsh is now accepted as an example of a master Hollywood craftsman who worked with naive skill and an animal energy, a director who was both frustrated and buoyed by the studio system." - Douglas Gomery (The St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia, 1998)