Dawn at Socorro Again on TCM on June 24 Th at 8:30 A.M.

[PhiI C]

You have been given a reprive and a second chance. Don't miss it! If you have to be gone record it or have it recorded. This is a great movie! I will keep posting daily to remind you since I was criticized for not announcing it enough especially since I will be out of town the week it is showing but I have seen it already! :)

[Gasilla]

What is it about?

[JasperDog94]

Seems like I've heard about this movie somewhere....I just can't quite put my finger on it.....

[PhiI C]

Gasilla this is a great western movie made in 1954 with a great crew and cast starring Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, David Brian, Alex Nicol, Lee Van Cleff and Edgar Buchannan. All of the acting is very good but the two outstanding ones are Edgar Buchannan is very good as the sheriff of Socorro and Alex Nicol is outstandingly good as the villian Jimmy Rapp who has a sense of honor too. The setting is in beautiful New Mexico with great scenery and the background music is outstanding! It is a suspensful western with pleanty of action. The movie is basically divided into three parts. The first part takes place at Lordsburgh NM where the beginning showdown takes place between Calhoun and his friends agains the Ferrises who are Nicol's adopted family. The middle part takes place on the stagecoach ride to Socorro where there is another gunfight at a stage stop and then the last part takes place in Socorro which leads up to the final showdown between Calhoun and Nicol. It is a great movie and one that you will enjoy. I have only touched on the surface because I want to give an ad just enough to have everyone interested and watching it.

[PhiI C]

Don't forget to watch! :)

[PhiI C]

Magnificient movie!

[PhiI C]

Don't miss it!

[PhiI C]

It is great!

[Phil C]

You will be glad you did. Remember the setting is in New Mexico.

[Phil C]

There really is a Lordsburg, NM which is the setting for the first part of the movie. It is located about 154 miles South - SW of Socorro. Socorro, NM is located about 76 miles South of Albberquerque, NM. Lordsburgh population today is about 3400 and Socorro is about 9000. Rory Calhoun and Alex Nicol and Piper Laurie in the movie leave Lordsburg by stagecoach to Socorro where Calhoun plans to catch a train to Colorado Springs, Colorado which is about 354 miles north of Socorro. Alex Nicol is on the stage to go to Socorro to be paid a debt and also follow Calhoun to get into a shootout for vengence. Piper is going to Socorro for a job. Of course in the movie the stage ride is just a few hours unlike real life which would probably have taken a few days back then but movies aren't always realistic in terms of geography and distance and time but who cares? :)

[Sans Couth]

I have been to Lordsburgh several times. They have a truck stop, a MacDonalds, a Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a bus stop.:D

[Phil C]

I haven't been to Lordsburg or Socorro NM or Colorado Springs, CO but I may visit there someday.

[PhiI C]

ttt Makes me nervous when it gets too low! I want to make sure everyone knows about this great movie!

[Phil C]

ttt again! Don't miss it! No I don't work for TCM. :)

[Phil C]

Rory Calhoun the top billed actor in Dawn at Socorro was discovered by Alan Ladd a great actor. They both met while they were horseback riding and Ladd pulled some strings to get Calhoun an acting job.

[PhiI C]

ttt

[Sans Couth]

Isn't Alan Ladd, Cheryl Ladd's daddy?

[Phil C]

No Sans he is her father in law. Cheryl Ladd was married to Alan Ladd's son for a while. She had a different last name but when she married him she used his name and kept it after the divorce because by then she was famous.

[Phil C]

Getting a little low here so ttt.

[PhiI C]

ttt

[Phil C]

ttt

[Phil C]

I watched Dawn at Socorro again last night. It is one great movie!

[PhiI C]

Getting a little low with all the updates here. :)

[Phil C]

I know I have said that Alex Nicol should have got the oscar for best supporting actor in Dawn at Socorro. However, by the Academy rules he was not eligible. In the title credits he is listed as the last (no. 5) star. Then the other stars are listed as co-stars. The Academy had a rule (which was a sorry rule) that one could not win a supporting oscar if you were a star. This was because of such incidents as two stars in Going My Way getting oscars - Bing Crosby for best actor and Barry Fitzgerald for best supporting actor even though they both had major starring parts. This rule was later changed because many people thought Stephen Boyd should have got best supporting actor for Ben Hur even though he had a star billing (he really was a supporting actor in the movie) his performance was deserving. Hugh Griffith won best supporting Ben Hur and he was very good in it too. That was how Robin Williams got his best supporting oscar even though he had top star billing! Another actor that was great in Dawn at Soccoro in a supporting role was Edgar Buchannan as the Sherriff of Socorro but his performance though great was probably not quiet good enough for oscar nomination material. Had they put Alex Nicol in a supporting role biling he would have been a shoo in for the nomination and oscar.

[PhiI C]

Dawn at Socorro puts Citizen Kane to shame.

[PhiI C]

Getting a little low. Only 18 days to wait! :)

[Phil C]

Now that Ranger Mom answered the question of why Alex Nicol didn't help his adopted family in their shootout with Rory Calhoun at the first part of the movie (because he was passed out drunk) I can perhaps inhance even more interest especially since it happens at the first part of the movie and doesn't give away anything major. When the shootout starts Nicol in a drunken stupor looks out the window and is horrified to see his adopted family in the shootout with Calhoun and his friends. He throws the bottle of whiskey to the floor and reaches over his bed to get his gun and staggers outside the room and in the hotel lobby passes out drunk. This is great acting and a great scene. Even though he is the villian in the movie you can't help but feel sympathy for him and wish that somehow he would live in the end. A great classic example of acting. Perhaps the best supporting role of a non oscar nominated actor.

[Phil C]

This movie lasts about 80 minutes but it is great. The first 25 minutes takes place in Lordsburg, NM where a gunfight based on the gunfight at the OK Corral takes place. The next 15 minutes takes place on the stagecoach ride from Lordsburg to Socorro New Mexico where Rory Calhoun plans to catch the train to Colorado Springs, CO for his health. The last 40 minutes of course takes place in Socorro, NM which leads up to an exciting suspenseful ending.

[Phil C]

There are other actors of note in Dawn at Socorro even t hough their appearances are not long. Several of them appear in the first 25 minutes of the movie. One is Skip Homier who is in the first part of the movie playing a hot headed gunfighter that draws on Calhoun and gets killed which leads to the gunfight based on the OK Corral. He was very good in the 50s playing hot headed young gunfighers trying to make a reputation for himself such as in The Gunfighter with Gregory PecK. Another is Kathline Hughes who plays the saloon girl that Homier annoys that leads to the gunfight. She actually had a starring role in the movie even though she is not seen again after the first 25 minutes. Also Roy Roberts is in the first 25 minutes and he stars as the doctor and is the one that tells Calhoun that he needs to go to the mountains to regain his health. He was a character actor and was in many movies quiet often as the older man that gave good advice to the hero.

[PhiI C]

One of the stars Piper Laurie was 22 at the time this movie was made and is a favorite of many people. I know she got an oscar nomination for the move The Hustler made in the early 60s with Paul Newman and another one that I can't remember. This is a chance for you to see her at 22 and maybe at 21 when filming was done.

[Phil C]

Dawn at Socorro is also a great movie and exciting western. It is one that one can watch with the family comfortably because there is no cussing, bloody violence or nudity. It is just a good old fashion entertaining movie with action and suspense. Don't miss it.

[Phil C]

Alex Nicol is such a villian in this movie but he is one with honor. As you watch it you hope that he will turn from his ways and become a good guy. I won't tell you because you must enjoy the movie and I don't want to give anything away. So be sure to watch. I will probably ask trivial questions on the trivia question thread and you will have to have seen the movie to know even though wild guesses can be done.

[La Grange]

Phil C did you enjoy the movie Open Range? I was just wondering if you liked the more realistic version of the western cowboy/frontiers man. Open Range depicted a different perspective of what the old west was truly about.

[Phil C]

La Grange I certainly did enjoy Open Range very much. The dialogue between Duval and Costner was outstanding. A great movie indeed.

[Phil C]

David Brian is another villian like Alex Nicol except he has no honor and one does not like him at all. You wish that Nicol the other villian would join Calhoun against him as you watch it. He is a great actor but his performance in this movie does not match Alex Nicol. He stared as the defense attorney in the suspenseful movie Intruder in the Dust.

[Ranger Mom]

HeHe....I noticed earlier that there was no mention of "Dawn at Socorro" on the first page. I thought to myself, "Phil C must not have been on for a while"!!:D

[Phil C]

The director of Dawn at Socorro, George Sherman, directed many movies and tv episodes during his career. Perhaps his most famous movie was Big Jake in 1971 that starred John Wayne and Richard Boone.

[PhiI C]

The thing that makes this movie great is that it satisfies movie fans of all ages. It has enough action to keep the kids and action fans interested, it has enough romance for those inclined to those type movies, it has the suspense of High Noon, and it has a psychological effect with interesting characters. Indeed an outstanding western and movie.

[PhiI C]

Kathleen Hughes has a brief role in the first 25 minutes and is listed as one of the stars. She spent most of her movie and tv carrer as a regular guest star on various tv shows throughout the years. She did not have a celebrated career in spite of being a talented and beautiful actress. An outstanding and beautiful actress that unfortunately Hollywood wasted. A pity indeed.

[Phil C]

Although the entire cast and crew do a good job in Dawn at Socorro one that stands out as very good (next to Alex Nicol of course) is Edgar Buchannan's performance as the Sheriff of Socorro. He is probably most famous for being Uncle Joe in the tv series Petticoat Junction. As the Sheriff he also has some great lines that are also humorous even though one can tell that he is a good sheriff and knows his business and can handle himself if forced in a gunfight. A great performance indeed. Had it not been for Nicol's performance his would have stood out among a great cast.

[PhiI C]

This movie is good. Another good movie made a few years later was Massacre with Dane Clark.

[slpybear the bullfan]

Phil,

What do you think about "My Darling Clementine"?

I'd like to hear your opine.

[PhiI C]

My Darling Clementine is a great movie. Henry Fonda was a great Wyatt Earp. It is hard accepting Walter Brennan in such a villaneous role but he is good in it. Overall an outstanding western.

[Phil C]

In this movie Alex Nicol just magnificiently dominates each scene even when he is just learing in the background. He is great throughout the movie but he is especially outstanding in a few scenes that are very short. For example at the first of the movie when he is drunk and looks out the mirror and horrified that his adopted family is shooting it out with Rory Calhoun without him. Mad at himself he throws the whiskey bottle to the floor smashing it and reaches for his gun and struggles down the stairs to the balcony but alas he is too far gone and colapses in the lobby passing out unable to help his adopted family. Even though he is a villian you can't help but feel sympathy and almost try to will him to get up on the screen. The scene only lasts about 20 seconds but it is so devastating. Then of course on the stagecoach ride between Lordsburg to Socorro after Lee Van Cleef has tried to ambush Calhoun at a stage stop Calhoun, and Piper Laurie and Nicol have a conversation that lasts about 2 minutes but what a powerful two minutes. Very devastating and powerful.

[Phil C]

Just 8 more days to go! :)

[PhiI C]

The big day is next week. Be ready. Remember if you can't watch it record it or get someone to record it for you. You will be glad you did.

[PhiI C]

the time is getting closer! :)

[sinton66]

I don't have cable Phil, you'll have to record it for me.;)

[PhiI C]

Be glad too 66. I will get it to you when we meet at the Sinton football games!

[sinton66]

I appreciate that. Thanks.

[PhiI C]

Just a few more days to go. :)

[Phil C]

Just a few more days! Be ready. I am planning on taking off a few hours Thursday morning to watch it again. I will be recording of course for Sinton 66 and when I get it to him and he watches it maybe he can pass it on to others that don't get to watch it or record it or have someone record it for you. The best time to have watched the movie would have been when it was first released and was on the big screen or later when it was on the big screen as part of a double feature. The next best time on tv is when it is shown live. After that recorded videos and dvd's are great. Don't miss the movie. :)

[Phil C]

It is coming!!

[Phil C]

Getting closer!! :)