This year the Frontierado Holiday falls on Friday, August 1st. That holiday is about the myth of the Old West, not the grinding reality.
GARTER COLT (1968) – Previously, I reviewed the Spaghetti Western The Belle Starr Story, so this time I’m taking a look at this Italo-Western starring Nicoletta Machiavelli. She portrays Lulu “Garter” Colt, a gunslinging beauty who turns heads, breaks hearts and kicks butts all along the U.S.-Mexican Border.
In most Spaghetti Westerns women are around only to be slept with, assaulted and/or murdered, but a select few feature ladies who get to mow down no-good hombres with giddy abandon. One such woman is Garter Colt, who keeps her pistol stuffed into her garter belt, which provides the excuse to frequently flash a thigh while drawing her weapon.
And naturally the low-cut outfits worn by Lulu and supporting character Rosy (Marisa Solinas) allow for additional alluring shots.
Ms. Colt is a professional gambler, so the director also lets the camera linger near her cleavage as she earnestly contemplates her poker hand in assorted scenes.
Our story is set in 1867 as Mexican rebels are on the verge of overthrowing and executing Emperor Maximilian, the Austrian dictator imposed on them by Napoleon the Third while America was too busy with its Civil War to be able to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. Other Spaghetti Westerns, like the original Django and Indio Black depict the Emperor’s European troops as irredeemable bad guys but in this movie our lovely heroine falls in love with a French officer. Continue reading
FATTY AND MABEL ADRIFT (1916) – This 34-minute film is not only one of the most popular shorts teaming Mabel with fellow comedy legend Fatty Arbuckle but it’s one of the most popular silent comedies ever. When Fatty wins Mabel’s hand in marriage his jealous rival (Al St. John) sabotages their honeymoon cottage by the sea. 
WHO IS DEADWOOD DICK? For newbies to Dime Novels of the American West, let me recap. This character, whose name is practically synonymous with Dime Novels, was created in 1877 by prolific writer Edward L. Wheeler, who also created various FEMALE Dime Novel figures that I’ve reviewed in the past, like 
THE DOUBLE DAGGERS or DEADWOOD DICK’S DEFIANCE (December 21st, 1877) – This hero’s tales were republished over and over again into the early 20th Century, so readers will encounter references to this book supposedly being published years later than this. 
MARVEL FEATURE Vol 1 #1 (December 1971)
CASEY JONES (1957-1958) – Alan Hale, in his pre-Gilligan’s Island years, starred as the legendary train engineer John Luther “Casey” Jones in this series that’s not only appropriate for Frontierado season but makes for a nice watch with the whole family all year ’round. (It never depicted the incident in which the real Casey Jones died.) 
The show lasted 32 half-hour episodes and was set in Tennessee as Casey worked his steam engine the Cannonball Express (just Cannonball in real life) westward and back during the 1890s. Child actor Bobby Clark played our hero’s son Casey, Jr. while Mary Lawrence was Casey’s wife Alice. Eddy Waller portrayed Conductor “Red Rock” Smith.
The Frontierado Holiday falls on Friday, August 1st this year. As regular readers know, Frontierado celebrates the myth of the old west, not the grinding reality. Here’s a seasonal post. 
THE AMERICAN ADVENTURER: STORY OF THE SECOND TRAVELER (1879) – While looking for new blog posts to mark Frontierado this year I unexpectedly came across this short story that is more sci-fi than Wild West. 
Richard Denning is best remembered as the relentlessly affable Governor Paul Jameson on the original Hawaii 5-0 series. He made 74 appearances on that cop show but had previously filled starring roles in other television programs like Mr. and Mrs. North, The Flying Doctor, Michael Shayne and Karen. 
UNKNOWN ISLAND (1948) 
Balladeer's Blog 