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TCM Morning & Afternoon Movies: Western Comedies
TCM, Beginning at 8:45 a.m.
Westerns and comedies have been among the most popular movie genres, so it makes sense that filmmakers have frequently combined the two. You can enjoy some of the finer results of that pairing of genres this morning and afternoon on Turner Classic Movies with a lineup of Western comedies beginning with The Harvey Girls (pictured) (1946). This film, set in the 1890s, also throws in elements of the musical genre for good measure as it tells the story of young women, led by spunky Susan (Judy Garland), who head to Arizona for waitressing jobs at Fred Harvey’s pioneering restaurant chain and discover just how wild the Wild West can be. The movie also stars Garland’s Wizard of Oz costar Ray Bolger, Cyd Charisse, John Hodiak and Angela Lansbury, and it features the Oscar-winning song “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.” Next, Rachel and the Stranger (1948) stars Loretta Young, William Holden and Robert Mitchum in a rare film addressing the role of women in the Old West as well as America’s indentured-servant trade. After that is Callaway Went Thataway (1951), a spoof of the craze inspired by the popular Western TV show Hopalong Cassidy that stars Fred MacMurray, Dorothy McGuire and Howard Keel. Rat Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin star in the next film, 4 for Texas (1963), playing card sharks who scheme to get rich in 1870s Galveston. They enlist the aid of two women (Anita Ekberg and Ursula Andress) in their plans but must also deal with a gunslinger (Charles Bronson) and a local heavy (Victor Buono). The fun film even manages to squeeze in a cameo appearance from the Three Stooges (Larry Fine, Moe Howard and
Curly Joe DeRita). Finally, Western staple John Wayne has a little fun with his most famous genre as the title character in the 1963 Western comedy McLintock! This loose retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew re-teams Wayne with his The Quiet Man costar Maureen O’Hara, who plays cattle/timber/mining baron McLintock’s estranged wife. She wants a divorce and custody of their daughter, and the battle of wills between the two literally gets down and dirty when it leads to a famous muddy brawl.