UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 2, Page 1
September 9, 1993
Heigh-ho, Silver! - Grade B westerns revisited

     When Frank Scarpitti, who chairs the sociology and criminal justice
department, was a small boy growing up in Butler, Pa., he and his brother
were each given a quarter every Saturday to go downtown, to see the double
feature, with cartoons and serial, at the Majestic Theater. The quarter
covered the 14-cent admission, and a dime's worth of popcorn, with a penny
to spare.
     This was a ritual familiar to kids all over America, from
approximately 1930 to 1950, before the advent of television, shopping malls
and more sophisticated entertainment.
     Scarpitti's favorite movies then and now are grade-B westerns, and
3,000 were filmed during that 20-year period, by more than 100 cowboy
stars, including such favorites as Gene Autry, Tom Mix and Roy Rogers.
     "I guess I like these movies because of nostalgia, looking back on
simpler times," the professor said of his hobby.
     The Saturday westerns' influence did not stop at the movie theatre,
Scarpitti recalled. "My brother and I went home and played cowboys in the
backyard or in the living room, riding on the arms of the overstuffed
chairs as horses.
     "The plots of the grade B movies were simplistic-good versus evil and
no gray, with the good guys always triumphing over the bad guys. The
westerns were based on the traditional American virtues of honesty,
courage, chivalry and hard work. In those days people accepted that
reinforcement. In movies today, you sometimes wonder who won."
     Horses also were important companions, like the Lone Ranger's Silver,
Tom Mix's Tony and Roy Rogers' Trigger.
     Many of the cowboys had sidekicks, like Tonto, or humorous types,
played by character actors such as Smiley Burnette and Gabby Hayes, who
played opposite several western heroes.
     There were far fewer women than men in grade B westerns. They played
secondary and supportive roles, Scarpitti said. In those days, steamy sex
scenes were out.
     "Cowboy stars were heroes to kids, and the westerns provided high
adventure and escape from small town America," Scarpitti said, looking back
at his boyhood.
     Over the years, Scarpitti forgot about the old westerns until he
happened to catch a few on late-night TV. Then he became hooked once more.
He began collecting films on videotapes (he now has about 70) as well as
books about the vintage westerns and their stars.
     He also has attended a western film festival, held in North Carolina,
for true afficionados. There were four theatres continually showing
westerns from 9 a.m. until midnight. The last time he attended, he managed
to rack up an impressive 19 movies in only a few days.
     In addition, some of the old western stars who are still alive make
guest appearances at the event. Not the famous, rich ones, such as Roy
Rogers, he explained, but some like Lash LaRue, who was famed for his skill
with a whip. Also attneding are some women actresses who were about 18
years old when the movies were made.
     According to Scarpitti, the first western was filmed in 1903 by the
Edison Co. in the "wilds" of New Jersey. Called The Great Train  Robbery,
it starred Broncho Billy Anderson.
     In  1929, talkies were introduced, the first western being Overland
Bound about pioneers heading west, and a new genre was born.
     Tom Mix was one of the leading western stars who successfully made the
change from silents to talkies. He was quite short and always wore a tall,
specially designed Stetson to add to his height, Scarpitti said. Mix had a
Delaware connection-he was stationed at Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island
during the Spanish American War and was known to have visited several
watering holes in the area. Making his last film in 1935, Mix died in 1940.
     Some western stars like John "The Duke" Wayne and Bobbie Blake- who
played Little Beaver in Red Ryder and much later in life was one of the
killers in In Cold Blood and the star of TV's Baretta-earned their spurs in
Grade-B Westerns and then moved on to successful acting careers.
     Republic Studios cranked out most of the grade-B westerns, Scarpitti
said, sometimes filming them in a week's time. In those days, there was
instant western scenery on the outskirts of Los Angeles and sets were used
for the western towns.
     The stars learned to be good horsemen, Scarpitti said, did many of
their own stunts and made personal appearances at rodeos and theatres
across the country.
     Actors playing the bad guys made a career of it, appearing in movie
after movie. Roy Barcroft was one of the most well known "black hats."
     Scarpitti has been invited to talk about his hobby and show old film
clips, at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 24, at the Everett Theatre on West Main
Street in Middletown.
     "It will be like going full circle back to the old Majestic in
Butler," he commented. The special Middletown-Odessa-Townsend community
program, "A Chuck Wagon Treat," which also will feature country/western
music, dance and comedy, will benefit the landmark theatre.
     Scarpitti has also spoken about this topic to students at the
University's Academy of Lifelong Learning and in the Master of Arts in
Liberal Studies (MALS) program. These audiences share his memories of
Saturday afternoons at the movies. "When I showed Gene Autry in South of
the Border, they all joined in singing the title song at the end of the
movie," he said.
     Tickets for the Everett Theatre benefit performance are $5 for adults
and $3 for students. For further information, call 378-9396 or 378-1200.
                                        --Sue Swyers Moncure