The blog Jeff Arnold's West is one of the unique stories among CMBA members. Started in 2010 by Jeff Arnold, the blog had a prolific output about Western Films. But in 2024, Jeff became sick and tragically died. Two people stepped in to carry on his work despite being an ocean apart. Let Bud and RR tell you their remarkable story of how they continue the blog started by Jeff Arnold at jeffarnoldswest.com in this CMBA's new member profile.
Your site, Jeff Arnold's West, focuses on Westerns. Tell us a bit about the site and how you both ended up running it following Jeff's death. What is your vision for the future of the site?
The blog has existed since 2010 and encompasses 1820+ posts about the American west. While some posts cover historical figures, books, and geography, the majority are about Western film, from the earliest silents to the present.
Prior to June 2024, all content was authored by the site’s namesake, Jeff Arnold. That May, however, Jeff was stricken with an aggressive illness. He announced that he would no longer post…. and also asked if anyone within the blog’s readership would consider taking it over. We both responded.
Jeff provided his blessing in late May. And passed away in early June.
Neither of us knew anything about blogs except how to read them. We did not know Jeff outside of his site. Nor did we know each other. And we are inconveniently separated by a large distance (and the Atlantic Ocean).
The site has a loyal base of readers. Even so, we soon realized that new posts were needed to maintain engagement. So we administer the site and develop new content as partners. Some posts are co-written while others are written by one of us and edited by the other.
Our partnership is built upon a shared responsibility to maintain Jeff’s legacy; ensuring the continuance of his blog was one of the last acts of his life. We are also keenly aware of an audience that was already in place. Unlike most bloggers, we did not have to build a site and readership from scratch. These factors are not taken lightly.
As for the future… new Westerns are produced, although infrequently. Jeff was decidedly prolific and covered the majority of the genre’s cinematic classics. So we face a slight dilemma with future content. We don’t prefer to repeatedly plow the same ground except to present an interesting angle or differing opinion.
Still, the genre has veins to mine. Milestone anniversaries and career retrospectives, like our ongoing Peckinpah series, have potential if utilized sparingly. We continue to uncover the occasional picture from the classic era that Jeff somehow missed. B-Westerns and serials are a subgenre generally avoided by Jeff (but enjoyed by Bud in particular). Astonishing restorations of classic film are appearing with some regularity. Finally, despite the rumors of its demise, physical media in the form of blu-ray (and the occasional 4K) discs of classic Western films and television shows are frequently released. The upgrades in audio and video quality are generally worth noting.
Which three classic era Westerns would you recommend to someone who has never watched one before?
RR:
- High Noon
- The Ox-Bow Incident
- The Naked Spur
The first two are terrific films (both quite short so they won't try a novice's patience) that show how the Western is just the best when it comes to compelling morality plays. The third introduces the “psychological” Western at its most engaging. And between the three you get Coop, Fonda and Stewart - three of the genre's greatest stars - and on top of them, a host of terrific supporting actors, and fine scriptwriting, direction, cinematography and (particularly in the case of High Noon) editing.
Bud: RR highlighted three of the genre’s greatest leads, so my picks will highlight three others.
- Four Faces West: This film showcases Joel McCrea’s understated strengths, playing an outlaw on the run who risks all for an act of human decency. The chemistry with real-life spouse Frances Dee leaps from the screen, as does crisp black-and-white cinematography by Russell Harlan. And no shots fired!
- Hellfire: Wild Bill Elliott, veteran of serials and B-movie series, plays a reformed gambler aiming to build a church “the right way.” Ellliott co-produced and fought to cast co-star Marie Windsor; the film has a cast of Western stalwarts (Windsor, Forrest Tucker, and Jim Davis). The picture is Wild Bill’s best overall (although his finest acting would occur two pictures later in The Showdown) and just a fantastic Western. (Added bonus: Jeff Arnold has not reviewed, so this capsule is something of a sneak preview…)
- Coroner Creek: A list of classic era Westerns without Randolph Scott would be a sad list indeed. Boetticher and Scott’s “Ranown Cycle” (films directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott), plus Seven Men from Now have a certain notoriety among film aficionados, but Scott as relentless avenger first appears in Creek. Forrest Tucker again is in the cast, always a good thing. A tough-minded film with at least one sequence that is hard viewing now, let alone in 1948.
Besides Westerns, what are some of your other favorite film genres?
Bud: Film noir, and particularly those of favorite actor Robert Ryan. (In the Bud household, Robert Ryan pictures are practically a genre.) The comedies of Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, and WC Fields. Classic animation: Tex Avery at MGM; the Tom and Jerry series by Hanna Barbara; Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, with Yosemite Sam a particular favorite.
RR: 1930s screwball comedies, ‘40s and early '50s noir. Some musicals - not all. The odd classic French or Japanese movie... And having kids who are now in their late teens, as they grew up, we as a family watched more or less the whole cycle of Marvel and DC films of the last twenty years and I have to admit I enjoyed many of them. Oh, and since Bud has mentioned them, I love Robert Ryan and classic cartoons, too!
How did you both become classic film fans?
RR: Growing up in England (in an Irish family) in the 1970s and ‘80s, Hollywood (and British) movies of the 1930s to ‘50s were very much a staple of certain TV channels - particularly on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. So I saw quite a few of those films and became familiar with some of the actors - like John Wayne and James Stewart. My dad was particularly keen on Westerns which I watched with him (some of them he'd no doubt seen in the cinema in Ireland on their original release). Later I drifted away into other interests but found myself being drawn back later, in adulthood - and alternating phases of not watching too many old movies while busy with other aspects of life, with phases of gorging on old movies every chance I got.
Bud: One of my earliest memories is sitting in my grandmother’s kitchen around midday, transfixed while watching an episode of the 60’s Batman series on her 13-inch television. My appreciation for genre fare made itself known at a young age.
Growing up, my parents were of the mindset deplored by movie moguls: why pay extortionate prices at a cinema when television was free? So my movie-going was limited to special occasions and always a Disney release or re-release.
My hometown of 3,000 was too small for cable television. But, it was close enough to three midsize cities to access three channels of over-the-air programming.
Later, however, my parents purchased a large antenna and a tower (which did, in fact, tower over our modest split level home) with a wired directional controller. THIS increased options, as we could regularly tune in broadcasts from 70-100 miles away. Depending upon the time of day and atmospheric conditions, we could occasionally pick up WGN from Chicago, some 200 miles away.
Anyway, I spent many an oppressively cold or hot Saturday afternoon in our family room as my mom watched series movies aired by a Saint Louis independent station: the Tarzans of Weissmuller and Barker; Ma and Pa Kettle (ugh); and, her particular favorites, Abbott and Costello. (Alas, the weekend matinees ended when an ice storm wreaked havoc with the antenna set-up, leaving tines drooping forlornly in its wake…but cable television did arrive later.)
Few of these pictures could be deemed classics. But the experience sparked an interest in classic comedians besides A&C and kindled my affinity for genre movies.
Why should people care about “old” films today?
RR: So many of them are so good! And even when they're not so good they shed interesting light on the times in which they were made and the people who made them.
Bud: A personal note building upon RR’s comment: I love language. Movies, especially those set around their production date, are a moving time capsule of the words and expressions popular during their production.
More importantly, any art form, even a popular one like film, provides some insight into the human condition. Those insights are timeless. And one can argue that some old films highlight that condition to a greater extent since their creators could not indulge in cold digital bits.
What do you consider to be the most rewarding thing about blogging?
RR: Turning one's slightly disorganised initial ideas into coherent ones and presenting them in readable prose - and then seeing what people make of the information and opinions you've shared. It can be gratifying when people agree with you but sometimes even more interesting when they disagree. Provided they're polite about it! In the case of our blog, it's also particularly rewarding to keep Jeff's work and community going - it feels like giving something back, as when he was with us I'd be checking into his site every few days and in a small way it added to the pleasure, and lessened the pain, of life.
Bud: My work requires considerable writing about mundane topics and is, of necessity, geared towards short attention spans. So I appreciate the opportunity to stretch a bit.
I also enjoy the research needed for posts, weaving information from disparate sources into a (hopefully) cohesive whole.
Echoing RR’s point, the site’s comments are generally a pleasure. Certain readers clearly visit after watching a picture (“What did Jeff think?”) so comments are not limited to the most recent post(s). During our tenure, we’ve received comments from relations of classic film participants (Virginia Mayo’s daughter, as an example) and actual participants, such as stunt woman Sylvia Durando, around whom we built a post, and a writer/director who took umbrage at Jeff’s somewhat critical post about his work. I’m curious if other members have had such experiences!
What is something that most people don’t know about you that you would like to share?
Bud: I am passionate in my devotion to the Oxford comma and my abhorrence of mayonnaise.
Punctuation and condiments aside, I am an enthusiastic musical omnivore, collecting jazz, classical, and pop vocal recordings. Should anyone care to raise a pint and listen to a fantastically emotive album by that awful Western actor, Frank Sinatra, let me know.
Also, I have reworded my response to this question entirely too many times.
RR: My persona on the site is guarded about anything in my personal life beyond film-watching so most readers know nothing about me, other than possibly inferring that I live in London, am middle-aged, and am partial to Westerns! So what can I share that won't shatter the enigma?? How about that I play the banjo, very poorly and never in public, but find it therapeutic and to be one of those instruments that sounds pleasant even when played poorly...
PS by Bud: My response to this question just had to be positioned first, since no reply could possibly follow RR’s epic admission.
Please visit Jeff Arnold's West at jeffarnoldswest.com
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