Who would win, Paladin or Marshall Dillon?
Thoughts?
shareBrady Hawkes. And raise a toast to both.
shareJames Arness was well known to be the slowest draw in Hollywood. Paladin knew of Marshal Dillon and mentions him in an episode, IIRC it was called THE PROTEGE.
Sorry. If it makes you feel any better, Arness was taller. ;D
Richard Boone would be faster in a footrace, but Arness lost part of his foot in WWII, so it wouldn't be fair. If you look closely you can see Marshall Dillon limping slightly in some shots. Arness was awarded the the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
Richard Boone was awarded medals for his WWII service as well but the list of his awarded medals has never been published. He threw them into the waste basket when he came home. His mother rescued them and preserved them. (My father-in- law did the same thing with his medals when he came home after he burned his uniform in the back yard. His mother rescued them as well.) Senator Kerry's actions were not unfounded in the history of returning heroes.
Fastest draw in Hollywood information:
http://truewest.ning.com/main/search/search?q=fastest+gun+in+hollywood
Here's the quote and below is the page. Still, he was a damn good actor and what sounds like an all-around nice guy. Too bad we lost him last year. Wish he'd done more films.
The slowest (draw) was James Arness. They actually had to use a stand-in to draw for him. He never managed to master getting that 7½" SAA out of the leather with any speed.
http://truewest.ning.com/forum/topics/fastest-draw-of-hollywood?id=2518161%3ATopic%3A28360&page=3#comments share
I seriously question that quote. Anybody who has watched Gunsmoke -vs- HGWT will readily see that Richard Boone's draw is one of the slowest of all TV Western heroes - ridiculously slow.
Arvo Ojala was the master of the fast draw and taught many actors the technique, including James Arness. In fact, he was the opponent in Gunsmoke's classic opening showdown. Here's a quote that was attributed to him and is found in his obituary:
"In 1959, Ojala ranked Preston, Garner and Arness as the best of those he taught to draw fast, though "not necessarily in that order."
Please post the link, I'd love to read what Ojala said himself.
shareSure - I've seen it in other places, probably the Gunsmoke reference book, but here's a quote in his obit:
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jul/20/local/me-ojala20
The reference books I've read disagreed, but clearly Mr Ojala's would be significant. I was unaware he had written one. I must read it asap.
Thanks for the link, it's much appreciated. Clearly I've been leaning on broken reeds heretofore. I'm off to Amazon to search out a new read. ;)
Just curious, I wonder how Mr. Ojala would have done against Jay Silverheels (Tonto on the old Lone Ranger series). I never heard of Mr. Ojala before, but it's well known that Silverheels trained a truckload of actors.
"I'm only in Show Biz by injection"
Mention of Mr. Ojala takes me back. I hadn't remembered his name, but I remember him being a guest on "I've Got a Secret" (or possibly "What's My Line?") in which the panelists tried to guess that he was the fastest gun on television and the figure against whom Matt Dillion draws at the beginning of every episode of Gunsmoke. After the secret (or occupation) had been revealed, the host of the show pointed out that Marshall Dillion's shot is AFTER the other guy has shot.
shareTrue. Another interesting yarn is that Arness was goofing off on the set while filming the opening scene and fell dead when Ojala fired. Arness quickly confiscated the film out of concern that the producers would use it to write him out of the show in the event that they couldn't come to a contract agreement at some future date. I've seen it before on youtube - pretty funny...
shareAS FAR AS THE CHARACTER THOUGH I THINK PALLIDIN WAS THE SLOWEST I HAVE EVER SEEN. HE WOULD CROUCH LOW AND THEN PULL HIS ARM WAY BACK WHEN HE PULLED THE GUN AND THRUST IT FORWARD. MUST HAVE TAKEN 2 SECONDS OFF HIS DRAW TIME.
IF YOU WATCH THE FAST DRAW EXPERTS TODAY. THEY FIRE AS SOON AS THE END OF THE BARREL IS ABOVE THE HOLSTER. SHOOTING FROM THE HIP.
IF YOU EVER TRY IT, IT IS AMAZING TO ME THAT THESE GUYS HAVE SUCH SPEED. THE GUNS THEY USED IN THE 1800'S WERE DOUBLE ACTION. YOU HAD TO COCK THE GUN AS YOU PULLED IT OUT SO YOU COULD FIRE. I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY JAMES ARNESS WAS SLOW.
You're very likely right. I know nothing about the topic whatsoever. I've been trying to locate Ojala's book to no avail. Does anyone know the title?
shareIt was always mentioned that Dillon always let his opponent draw first, maybe that leads to the perception of him being slow. In quite a few episodes he looked pretty fast and some others he looked slower. Usually, the hero is ridiculously fast on the draw. That's why Matt Dillon made such an impression, he wasn't superhuman; he took his share of bumps and bruises and got outdrawn on occasion.
shareGood point, ChesterPrynne. Come to think of it, all the 'good guys' and White Hats let their opponents draw first. They always drew after the other guy so as not to be the aggressor or the bad guy.
There was a single episode in HGWT when Paladin and his adversary drew on a drop of water falling from a pump. Charles Bronson was the Black Hat in THE OUTLAW. Interestingly enough, Bronson wore a white hat and Paladin wore his usual (black hat). Andy McLaglen directed and the visual was better than most series westerns of the time. It's well worth viewing if you can find it.
That scene with the pump was the most famous HGWT gunfight. In a lot of retrospectives of TV history, when HGWT is mentioned that's the scene that was shown. Back to Dillon for a moment, a man that big just will not look fast compared to most gunfighters on screen. Take into account long arms, very big hands, and a holster that isn't particularly low on the hip. All of those factors give the appearance of being slow. Often people with long legs give the same impression, they don't look like they are moving that fast, but, in many cases, they cover a lot of territory.
shareTHE GUNS THEY USED IN THE 1800'S WERE DOUBLE ACTION. YOU HAD TO COCK THE GUN AS YOU PULLED IT OUT SO YOU COULD FIRE.What you describe is single action. Double action includes cocking, rotation of the cylinder and firing.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_6009532_double_action-vs_-single_action-revo lvers.html
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Drake
FYI
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Drake, do you know the title of Mr Ojala's book?
shareDrake, do you know the title of Mr Ojala's book?No, but there is quite a bit of information at this obituary link:
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jul/20/local/me-ojala20
I thought Ojala was Spanish (Ojalá means "May it be so."), but it turns out that his parents were Finnish.
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Drake
FYI
[spoiler][/spoiler]
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Never mind, I was mistaken.
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I actually just saw the episode where Matt Dillon is mentioned on this show. How freakin' classic is that?! I looked up both shows, and sure enough they were both on the same network. Very cool =)
shareI believe the episode was called "The Protege." Peter Breck played a young man who wanted Paladin to teach him how to shoot. It was interesting to see the future Nick Barkley a novice with a gun. On "The Big Valley," Nick was noted for his fast draw as well as his fighting skills. Maybe a bit of Paladin rubbed off on him.
shareExcept in a real gunfight, speed isn't the crucial factor. You can't be slow true -- Wyatt Earp explained you need to "take your time in a hurry," meaning you go as fast as you can without rushing and being sloppy, and therefore missing, because it doesn't matter how fast you are if you miss. One movie that really got it right was Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven," in which Gene Hackman's character explains that what makes a gunfighter really dangerous is his ability to keep a cool head, and not get rattled when people are shooting at him, so that he doesn't hurry too much and miss. Another one that got it right was John Wayne's last film "The Shootist," where Wayne explains to Ron Howard that most men actually find it hard to kill someone, and hesitate at that crucial moment, and the most dangerous gunfighters won't.
Fast draw was strictly a Hollywood thing, and in fact the holster the TV gunslingers wore didn't even exist in the old west; it was designed by Hollywood stuntman Arvo Ojala, and was metal lined so you could start cocking the gun (and therefore turning the cylinder), before the gun even cleared leather -- fine with studio blanks and the worst that happens is you scorch your pants leg should you fumble your draw, but you could shoot yourself if that happens with live ammo.
If you look at real, historical gunfights, they didn't resemble Hollywood fast draw fights -- Wild Bill Hickok, John Wesley Hardin, Morgan Earp, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett and so on... they got shot from behind, or killed in ambushes; they weren't outdrawn by a deadlier pistolero.