As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
Beth sent me a link about her favorite Western inn The Grey Fox, so I decided to dig around and see who was in it, as I like doing that, and it was a nice tidy cast of Canadians, led by the beloved Farnesworth. Always am amazed in his ability as he was a stunt man for almost 40 years and then starting with Anne of Green Gables repeatedly stole movies in everything he appeared.
Plot
Stagecoach robber Bill Miner (Richard Farnsworth) is caught and sent to prison for 33 years. He is finally released in 1901. He wanders around, a man out of place in the new century, until he sees one of the first films, The Great Train Robbery, and is inspired to copy it in real life. After a couple unsuccessful attempts, he successfully robs a train and hides from the law in a mining town in British Columbia, becoming a respectable resident. There, he meets and falls in love with early feminist and photographer Katherine Flynn (Jackie Burroughs). He considers settling down with her, but one last robbery proves to be his downfall. True to his nickname, the Grey Fox escapes from prison as the ending credits start.
Cast
- Richard Farnsworth as Bill Miner / George Edwards
- Jackie Burroughs as Katherine 'Kate' Flynn
- Ken Pogue as Jack Budd
- Wayne Robson as Shorty (William) Dunn
- Timothy Webber as Sergeant Fernie
- Gary Reineke as Pinkerton Detective Seavy
- Sean Sullivan as Newspaper Editor
Jackie Borroughs
I wonder at an accomplished actress in Jackie Borroughs who I never really noticed performing. That is one of the oddities of the arts, and while I have not yet watched Grey Fox, I suspect she is probably the reason this movie never became well known. She is like Greta Scacchi in Broken Trail with Robert Duvall. Movies simply need a female of exceptional talent or exceptional looks to reach the masses.
It is like Downton Abby with the Dowager being wonderful, but the public always wants something pretty to look at.
Ken Pogue
I always remember Ken Pogue as I get him mixed up with a Conservation Officer murdered by Claude Lafayette Dallas back in the 1980's. Pogue starred in the best television drama that Canada ever produced in Night Heat with the fine Canadian actors Scott Hylands and Jeff Wincott.
| Scott Hylands | ... |
Det. Kevin "O.B." O'Brien
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Jeff Wincott | ... |
Det. Frank Giambone
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Pogue was Canadian one dimensional as most Canadian actor are, but he always had an imposing statue type presence that everyone else had to act around.
Wayne Robson
Wayne Robson is the epic Michael Jeter of Canada in the perfect smarmy snail you expect to crawl up your pants if you sit in the grass. Robson is best known from the Red Green Show which had the best comic cast Canada ever assembled.
The remaining trio I honestly do not recognize as they had lengthy careers but never appeared in anything I saw. This will sound bad, but it is why I lament Canadian films as they always have that Canadian feel of being laid back, and Canadian actors in host actually lose movies as they lack drive. It is like Italian westerns are always squirrely and too many Mexicans make a movie siesta grubby.
The English make out ok on their own, but salt in too many Americans like the Great Escape and you get bunch of English standing around posing like Blacks in being exposed there is little talent there.
Timothy Webber
Gary Reineke
Sean Sullivan
I am going to close this out with the Boys of Twilight.
This was a pilot episode starring Wilfred Brimley and Richard Farnesworth. It always perturbed me that CBS never bought this pilot and let it develop. The reason was not what snots say in it was geezer television in two old police officers in the American West, because they miss the point. This show was about rural Americans and exposing the real difference with metro Americans. That made CBS uncomfortable along with the rest of the pompous urbanites.
This series was summed up in the pilot where a most brutal murder took place. There was blood all over the walls. It was Richard Farnesworth who looked up and explained, "This was not someone from the country. This was someone from the city as only they could do something like this".
I doubt I will ever get a peek at the pilot of the Boys of Twilight ever again, but The Grey Fox is on the to do list of one of the good movies to enjoy.
Nuff Said
agtG
