Our friend Joe Engesser over at Rock Island Auction Company has put together a compendium of the firearms featured in 1923. A fine piece of work it is, too — surely a pleasant task, given that this era is kind of a pinnacle in the development of the gun. Joe caught something cool that I missed — Spencer Dutton carries an heirloom from 1883, noting:
Another Dutton family legacy arm, Elsa’s knife was a gift from Sam, her Comanche husband, and is now carried by her brother Spencer 40 years later.
He also gives a pretty solid ID for the double rifle Dutton wields in the bush. It doesn’t look like a precisely period-correct double to me — which is understandable, since such rifles are as expensive as a house. Joe surmises:
A Sabatti or similarly affordable modern Italian model is likely the gun during 1923’s dangerous game scenes in Africa.
Check the post out — there’s a lot of good stuff, especially for those of us who have a soft spot for Winchester 97s and the like…
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Bifurcated seasons seems to be the way it’s done these days. The final four episodes of 1923 will kick off on February 5, in which it appears that Lady Marilyn will have to deal with Spencer turning that double rifle on another form of predator. Her favorite predator. Uh-oh…
And, let me just take a moment to tip the Baldwin Hat to the sheer magnificence that is Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton.
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If all of this 1923 jazz has whetted your appetite for the times when the Old West collided with the modern era, you must throw back a shot of Samuel K. Dolan’s Cowboys and Gangsters: Stories of an Untamed Southwest, and chase it with The Line Riders: The Border Patrol, Prohibition and the Liquor War on the Rio Grande.
This is x-ring Frontier Partisan history, done as well as it can be done. You can trust the factual basis, but Dolan never loses sight of the fact that the men of that era were living a humdinger of a story — and he’s got the writing chops to put you right there with smugglers and lawmen on a star-spangled desert night.
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I finally broke down and subscribed to History Hit, the history documentary treasure trove looked over by Dan Snow. At $3.49 a month right now, why not? Watched a well-put-together video on George Washington igniting the French & Indian War in 1754. Below is a short version.
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YouTube sensation Colm McGinness just dropped a cover of Corb Lund’s I Wanna Be in the Cavalry. This pleases me.
Matthew says
Bifurcated seasons are probably a trade off for good production quality. A short schedule causes things to get rush. Anime, for example, does this to maintain quality of animation (and the fact it can be over two years to produce another 20 something episodes.)
Haven’t seen any Yellowstone, but I finally got around to watching more Black Sails. I have been putting it off for a lot of reasons, but mostly because I don’t think it is an appropriate show for everybody who comes in my house. My five year old niece does not need see a man’s throat ripped out like in one episode:)
Greg Marshall says
I always assumed the split season was to avoid competing for eyeballs with US football.
Matthew says
That might be it too.
Quixotic Mainer says
Great cover of “Cavalry”! I’ve used that song as a concise answer when people ask; “What is wrong with you?”.
A few years ago, I got back into riding after many years’ hiatus. I grew up doing western pleasure, with a little bit of jumping, but the only stable that was convenient was dressage. I was dubious at first, but I found out I just didn’t understand it. My instructor has a history obsession too, and recognizing a sympatico mind, explained how the maneuvers came from the European cavalry schools, and what the martial application was for each. I was in hog heaven.
Joe says
100% agree with your assessment of Helen Mirren’s Cara Dutton character. Her chemistry with Harrison Ford reminds me of the relationship between my grandparents. Very much a naturally equal relationship where both parties compliment their strengths and flaws. In the early 20th century, enduring hardships and economic depression, strong women were not difficult to find, and these qualities surely emerged by necessity. Would love to see Hollywood touch on this more. Many couples survived by leaning on and complimenting each other, and that didn’t diminish their own personal agency. Thanks for the repost and kind words!
I thought the scene with Cara at the livestock committee meeting was handled beautifully in that regard. Realistic, in that she was questioned multiple times, yet was able to buy her family a bit of time with some clever maneuvering. “Ser Bronn” might have bit off more than he can chew 😉