The Harder They Fall (2021)

Pax and Michael watch the new Netflix Western, The Harder They Fall, directed by Jeymes Samuel. Starring Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, and others as fictionalized versions of actual historical people.

Also, Pax checks out the Jesse James/Billy the Kid issue of Wild West magazine and the Western episodes of the Screen Drafts podcast.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Buck and the Preacher (1972)

Michael and Pax welcome back Evan Hanson to talk about Sidney Poitier's directorial debut, Buck and the Preacher, starring himself as well as Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee.

Download or listen to the episode here.

A Man Alone (1955)

Pax and Michael are joined again by guest Evan Hanson, this time to talk about Ray Milland's directorial debut, A Man Alone, also starring Mary Murphy, Ward Bond, Raymond Burr, and Lee Van Cleef.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966)

Wrapping up a Halloween double-feature, Michael and Pax jaw about Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter with returning Hellbent guest (and co-host with the fellas on the new Crestwood House classic horror podcast), Shawn Robare. 

Download or listen to the episode here.

Billy the Kid vs Dracula (1966)

Pax and Michael are joined on this spooky episode by pal Shawn Robare to discuss the first movie in a Western horror double feature: Billy the Kid vs Dracula!

Also listen to Pax, Michael, and Shawn discuss other classic, pre-80s horror movies on the Crestwood House podcast, available on the Cult Film Club feed! 

Download or listen to the episode here.

Duel at Diablo (1966)

Michael and Pax watch the first of only a few Westerns starring Sidney Poitier, Duel at Diablo. Also starring James Garner and Dennis Weaver. 

And Pax reads the next book in Geoff Darrow's Shaolin Cowboy series.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Buffalo Girls (1995)

Pax and Michael discuss the 1995 TV mini-series Buffalo Girls based on the Larry McMurtry novel. The cast is stacked, including Angelica Huston, Melanie Griffith, Gabriel Byrne, Peter Coyote, and Sam Elliot.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Damsel (2018)

Michael and Pax discuss the Zellner Brothers' underseen and unexpected Damsel starring Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska. As always, we discuss the whole movie and this one is especially best seen without knowing anything about it, so we highly recommend watching the film before listening to this episode.

Pax also reads Bullet Catcher by Joaquin Lowe and Shaolin Cowboy by Geof Darrow, and listens to the How the West Was 'Cast podcast. And Michael watches Jane Russell in Montana Belle (1952).

Download or listen to the episode here.

Hitchin' Post Live!: List of 100 Best Westerns by Cowboys & Indians magazine

Pax and Michael record a rare face-to-face episode to talk about Cowboys & Indians magazine's recent revised list of their 100 Greatest Westerns. 

Download or listen to the episode here.

The Left Handed Gun (1958)

Pax and Michael discuss Arthur Penn's Billy the Kid tale, The Left Handed Gun, starring Paul Newman as Billy with appearances by The Dukes of Hazzard's James Best and Denver Pyle.

Michael also continues his Western History movie project with The Mountain Men (1980) and Two for Texas (1998). And Pax continues reading Thierry Gloris and Jacques Lamontagne's Wild West graphic novels with a volume about Wild Bill. He also checks out the 1989 TV movie redo of The Left Handed Gun, Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid starring Val Kilmer.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Belle Starr (1941)

Following Belle Starr's appearance in The Long Riders, Michael and Pax watch a highly fictionalized biography of the character starring Gene Tierney, Randolph Scott, and Dana Andrews. 

Pax also checks out the Italian Western version of The Belle Starr Story while Michael continues watching mountain man movies with Clark Gable in Across the Wide Missouri.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Skin Game (1971)

Pax and Michael discuss a comedy about slavery with James Garner and Lou Gossett Jr in Skin Game.

Also: Michael picks up his Western History in Movies project again with Alejandro Iñárritu's The Revenant. And Pax checks out Richard Pryor and Fred Williamson in Adios Amigo.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Johnny Guitar (1954)

Michael and Pax watch another much-requested picture, Nicholas Ray's gorgeous Johnny Guitar starring Joan Crawford, Ernest Borgnine, John Carradine, and Mercedes McCambridge as an all-time great movie villain.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Django (1966)

Pax and Michael drag their coffins to a Spaghetti Western legend: Sergio Corbucci's original Django starring Franco Nero.

Plus: Lots of listener feedback on our 100th episode covering The Searchers.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Return of Sabata (1971)

Michael and Pax finish up the Sabata series as Lee Van Cleef comes back to the role for Return of Sabata. 

Something else that returns is the "Whatchoo Been Westernin'?" segment with Pax reading the comic The Legend of Oz: Wicked West by Tom Hutchinson and Alisson Borges and listening to Zaron Burnett's Black Cowboys podcast. Meanwhile, Michael's been watching the 1998 sorta-Western TV series, Little Men.  

Download or listen to the episode here.

Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997)

Pax and Michael are joined by their pal Jeeg (Nerd Lunch) to revisit another East-meets-Western mash-up. This time with Jet Li in the sixth film of the Once Upon a Time in China series.

Download or listen to the episode here.

Episode 100: The Searchers (1956)

Michael and Pax celebrate their 100th episode with a long-requested classic: John Ford's The Searchers starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, and Natalie Wood.

Download or listen to the episode here.

The Long Riders (1980)

Pax and Michael discuss Walter Hill's Jesse James biopic featuring three families of brothers playing the real life James, Younger, and Ford brothers.

Download or listen to the episode here.

El Dorado (1966)

After loving Rio Bravo, Michael and Pax come back for more with the similarly plotted Howard Hawks / John Wayne / Leigh Brackett classic El Dorado. Robert Mitchum steps in for Dean Martin, James Caan subs for Ricky Nelson, and Charlene Holt replaces Angie Dickinson, but how do the films compare?

Download or listen to the episode here.

The Tall Men (1955)

Pax and Michael join Clark Gable, Jane Russell, and Robert Ryan on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana and figure out which Tall Man Russell should choose.

Download or listen to the episode here.