Rin Tin Tin (The Real Story)

Now I never knew this before, but Rin Tin Tin was a real dog! If you already know this to be a fact you can stop reading now. But, if like me, you have been ignorant of this for about the last 60 years, read on. It’s a pretty cool story.

Rin Tin Tin was actually a German Shepard who was rescued from a battlefield by an American soldier. He had no idea that he would become a star at the time. He was just glad to get off the dam battlefield alive. Lee Duncan, the American soldier who found him, named him Rinty and began to train him for work as a stunt dog in silent films. He made 27 of the films in all. Darryl F. Zanuck is said to have built his storied career on the success of those 27 films.

The only dog who had achieved such success in films at that [point was another German Shepard named Strongheart. These 2 dogs are responsible for making German Shepherds acceptable as family pets. When the 1929 Oscars rolled around Rin Tin Tin received the most votes for Best Actor in the film “Frozen River”. But the Academy decided to go with a human that year instead.

In 1932 Rin Tin Tin made his final exit from stage and life. But the show must go on, and several dogs related to the original Rin Tin Tin were now featured in stories in movies and on the radio. Rin Tin Tin, Jr; Rin Tin Tin III both appeared in films during the 1930’s, and Rin Tin Tin III went on to help train dogs for the Second World War. That must have been strange; German Shepard’s training to fight other Germans. C’est le guerre. He also appeared in a film in 1947 with Robert Blake.

By the mid 1950’s Duncan was training Rin Tin Tin IV for a role in a television series. But the dog just ccouldn'tcut it and was replaced with a dog from noted canine trainer Frank Barnes's kennel. That dog was named Flame, Jr. This was not something which the network wanted to advertise. Rin Tin Tin IV was secreted away to his home in Riverside and Flame, Jr. performed in his name.

Hopefully this information has not caused any emotional harm to anyone. It would seem strange though, to see an episode of the show and see the credit as “Flame, Jr!” instead of Rin Tin Tin. It just doesn't have that ring to it.

"The Jack Bull" with John Cusak and John Goodman (1999)

John Cusak plays rancher Myrl Redding in this story based on true events. It is a story of the search for justice; justice denied; and then a hard lesson. When no one is willing to back up; when no one is willing to compromise; the results can never be satisfactory.

Mryl is a proud and hard-working rancher. He raises some of the finest horses in Wyoming. When he takes a group of his horses; along with his hired hands; on a trip to complete a sale, he finds himself caught in a struggle with the wealthiest landowner in the territory of Wyoming; which is poised to become a state. But for the time being it is still a lawless place; which works in the favor of Henry Ballard, played by L.Q. Jones.

Ballard has erected a toll gate on the only path to the markets in the rest of the territory. He demands $10 per person to cross his land. There are no roads. When Myrl leaves 2 horses as collateral for the cash he does not have, a chain of events is unleashed, and impacting both men in ways they could never have foreseen.

Myrl returns to retrieve his horses, only to find them half-starved and abused beyond recognition. He tells Ballard that he has 2 weeks to nurse the horses back to health or pay the value of the animals. Ballard laughs and drives him off.  This leaves Myrl with no other choice than to seek redress in the courts. But the territorial judge is in the pocket of Ballard and so nothing is done to make Myrl whole.

Myrl now intends to bring a petition for statehood directly to the state capitol, where he intends to present it to the Governor. His wife Cora, played by Miranda Otto, takes the petition instead. She is accompanied by Myrl’s best man. But when they arrive at the capitol Ballard’s men are waiting.

They beat the hired hand and frighten the horses, causing Cora to be run over by a wagon. She dies on the journey home. Myrl has now been pushed beyond all reason and decides to take revenge. During the ensuing violence another man’s wife is killed and property damaged. The local judge is such a joke that another Judge is sent into the territory to stage a trial of both men. Their actions have now impacted others who were not involved in the original argument.

Judge Tolliver, played by John Goodman, is a tough and fair man. He intends to deliver justice to both men. He is also a very compassionate man, but he finds fault with both.

After a short trial the judge delivers his verdict. Ballard will restore the horses to their former state. Moreover, he will do this while working in Myrl’s stable. Ballard is furious with the verdict. But the judge is not through yet. He imposes the ultimate sentence on Myrl; to be carried out after his horses have been restored.

His reasoning is simple; Myrl wanted to see justice done so badly that he was willing to break the law in pursuit of that goal. So the judge lets him live long enough to get the justice he demands; and then punishes him for his crimes against others.

This is a film about the inability to compromise; or to see beyond your own personal goals. The desire for justice; when meted out without regard for mercy or compromise; can often be just as bad as justice denied. That is a lesson which both Myrl and Ballard have to learn the hard way. Judge Tolliver has the hardest job of all; he must find a balance which addresses the transgressions of both parties; leaving little room for the mercy and compromise which both men have previously rejected.

Intense acting from all parties, along with a tightly written script, give this movie an air of authority. Originally made for television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2010, this film is eerily reminiscent of the Chinese film "The Story of Qui Ju", which was released in 1992. For a review of that film, use this link;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2012/03/story-of-qiu-ju-with-li-gong-and.html 

"The Blue Hotel" by Stephen Crane with James Keach and David Warner

This was the first time I have seen this remarkable film from Jan Kadar. It was first released in 1977 and then again in 1984 as a PBS special. Set in the last days of the American frontier, the story takes place in the parlor of the Blue Hotel, located in the small town of Fort Romper, against the backdrop of an impending blizzard.

Three men get off the train for an overnight stay in the hotel. Almost immediately the viewer is aware that one of the men is not quite right. The character known as "Swede", played by David Warner, is angry, apprehensive and almost expectant of trouble. He announces that "many men have died in this room", a charge vehemently denied by the owner. The Swede then further declares that he too will be killed that night, in that very room. Thinking him mad, the owner, Scully, does all he can to placate the Swede, mostly to no avail.

The owner's son, Johnnie, played by James Keach, is caught cheating at cards in a game with the Swede. The two then go outside, in the blizzard, to fight it out. The other guests, who have by now taken a dislike to the Swede, are all there to cheer on the owner's son. Initially, as he is beating the Swede, the other guests are crying out for the younger man to "Kill him, kill him!" They are sorely disappointed when the Swede nearly beats the younger man to death.

When everyone adjourns back into the hotel, the Swede decides to check out. When the owner refuses to accept any payment from the Swede a new argument is born. Just as that argument is escalating, a stranger enters the hotel seeking shelter. The Swede begins to pick on him, demanding that he listen to his story. The man refuses and the Swede puts his hands on him. The man asks him to remove his hand from his shoulder, and when the Swede does not, the man swiftly stabs him to death with one thrust. He then turns his knife over to the proprietor and asks to be awoken when the sheriff arrives in the morning.

Who is responsible for the death of the Swede? Was it the Swede himself? Had he read too many dime store novels about what to expect out west? Was he fulfilling a self-perpetuating fantasy? Or was it the intolerance of the other guests, and the hotel owner, for not understanding the strain the Swede was under? Thinking he was about to be killed could not have been easy to live with. But that only begs the question of why he would go someplace to experience what he fears the most?

In the end, director Jan Kadar has left us with a stunning visual adaptation of the Stephen Crane story. 130 years removed from the action portrayed in this film, these questions of intolerance still remain unanswered.

"Confessions of a Wandering Man" by Louis L'Amour

This book, by one of America's most prolific authors, was first published in 1989. This is my third time reading it. Louis L'Amour is best known for his paperback Western novels, which can be found on any ship at sea, or on any military base in the world. They are easily read, packed with excitement, and the good guy always wins. I never liked them much, picking them up only when nothing else was available to read. Still, the author himself was intriquing to me. He had, apparently, done all of the things he wrote about in his books. That really interested me. The idea that his fiction was part fact made me very interested in the man himself.

Not just a writer of Western novels, Mr. L'Amour also wrote short stories and some poetry and non-fiction. His memoir is one of my all time favorites. In it he recounts most of his adventures as a seaman, rodeo rider, and hobo. There is even a fascinating section on the difference betwen hobo's, tramps and bums.

At age 17 he was in Singapore while his high school class was holding graduation in Jamestown, North Dakota. The education which Mr. L'Amour received aboard ship, in lieu of high school, was to prove more valuable to him than any classroom could have ever been.

This book was reprinted in 2008 and contains some new photographs not seen before. They offer even more insight into the world of the author. The list of books and plays that he read while traveling, also give the reader a unique perspective on what influenced Mr. L'Amour's own writing, beyond his travel experiences.

But, the most important lesson impatred by the author in this memoir is that education is available everywhere, everyday, in some form. All you have to do is reach out for it and it can be yours.