Guest
American hero and frontiersman Daniel Boone leads a group of settlers through dangerous territory in this well-regarded feature film. DANIEL BOONE stars RKO’s western series lead George O’Brien as the coonskin cap wearing frontiersman. Muscular O’Brien was a boxer and the Heavyweight Champion of the Pacific Fleet during World War I. Following the war, he became a stuntman during the silent era. O’Brien’s big break came as the lead in John Ford’s epic western, THE IRON HORSE in 1924. He also appeared in the Oscar winning silent classic, SUNRISE. With talkies, O’Brien’s eloquent speaking voice and rugged good looks made him a natural for westerns and he soon became the top grossing cowboy star at RKO studios. Trading his cowboy hat for a coonskin cap to portray Daniel Boone, O’Brien was right at home with director, David Howard, the same man who had been helming his popular B westerns. The budget may even have been a little higher. Set in 1775, Boone is leading a group of settlers from North Carolina to Kentucky but is constantly under attack by Indians lead by another real-life character, white renegade Simon Girty. In what may be an early foreshadowing of things to come, the nasty Girty is played by John Carradine in an early role. If you’ve seen Carradine in John Ford’s DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, you’ll be observing an early incarnation of that same type of villain. Boone’s love interest is the beautiful Heather Angel, soon to be Bulldog Drummond’s sidekick, and later voicing proper British ladies for Walt Disney’s animated features. And you’ll also spot another Disney voice actor in this, young Dickie Jones, just before he starred in the animated classic, PINOCCHIO. This isn’t the Fess Parker version of Daniel Boone you’re familiar with but I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it. George O’Brien has always been a favorite and it’s nice to see him in fringed leather and a coonskin hat. Speaking of which…I’m not sure, but I think that the hat Carradine wears is made from a…skunk. Let me know what you think. Thanks for tuning in. Now let’s go way back to the 1700s for RKO’s 1936 version of DANIEL BOONE. Don’t forget to Subscribe, Comment, Like and Share this episode. Please check out our A WORD ON WESTERNS Patreon page and leave us a comment if you enjoy what we're offering. If you’re one of our Patreon Posse Members, you are helping deliver quality programs and, as a member, can watch them with no commercials. It's fun for us and we hope it's fun, and a little educational, for you, too. Thanks for watching our show. We appreciate your support. #western #freemovie #movie #westernmovie #danielboone #carradine #americanhistory #americanheroes #awordonwesterns #robword #filmhistory #classicwestern #characteractor #westernhero #dickiejones #voiceactor #coonskin #bwestern #georgeobrien #frontier #frontiersman #childactors #history
