Thursday, May 12, 2016

Blackthorne--Review, Part V




Blackthorne

Cinemagenics 30-35.

Review, Part V

“I sent my first draft, in treatment form, of my screenplay for
RIDE VALIANT off to Los Angeles last week. First comments
seemed favorable; waiting for more feedback for changes.”
--Glenn

Thirty-One: Sipping & Jawing--Wallace inquires about Antlered Buck.
Buck is surprised that so many folks know that the ranch had its
taxes paid annually by an absentee landlord. Bronson wants to buy
it, increasing his spread. Buck admits he has taken up residence, &
that he plans, “to fix the place up”. Wallace points out that Bronson has
controlling interest in the town bank as well. Buck said, “Money is not
an issue.”  An attractive young woman entered the store in a riding
outfit. It is Wallace’s daughter, Salina. She is very upset that her father
mouthed off” to the sheriff. Wallace introduced Rod Buck. She looked
at him & said, “I know who he is.”

Thirty-Two: The Offer--Salina rails against Buck for putting her father
in the middle of the squabble. Wallace tries to calm her down. She
said, “So you decide to come home at last?”  Buck replied, “Looks that
way.”  She blurts out, “Do you want to sell your ranch?” Buck, stunned,
asked, “Sell to who?” “Dad & I,” she replied, smiling, “Because Cash
Bronson wants it, & we would prefer he doesn’t get it.” She felt that he
still was a drifter, & when he tired of being in one place, & moved on
again, “the ranch would be host to blow sand. Either that or you will
tangle with Bronson’s bunch, & get your damn fool head blown off.”
He stood there considering her thoughts, while they waited for his
reply.

Thirty-Three: Memories--Buck said,” Well--I’m not really interested in
selling at this time.” Salina flared up,” Why in hell not? You could stay
drunk for a year on what we’d pay you. You are waltzing in a rattlesnake
nest here.”  Buck became irritated, “I don’t want to get drunk, or ride out,
or sell my ranch, or run from Bronson. My bones will be buried right there
on the ranch, next to my folks.” She said, “OK, if you’ve made up your mind,
I’ll be sure to put flowers on your grave every other Sunday.” She left the
store & stood out in the back yard near the flower garden. Buck then
remembered the freshly white-washed picket fence, & the wilted flowers
on the graves in his family plot. He flushed red. He said, “Your daughter
seems to have iron staves in her petticoat.” He watched her out the back
door, standing with her hands on her hips, her Mexican scarf fluttering.
Wallace poured them another drink. “Yup, she is her own person,
that’s a fact.” Buck then remarked that if Wallace had known his
father, it must have been after he lit out, “Because I don’t recall
knowing you.”  Wallace said, “Yeah, you were gone, but old Bill
talked about you a lot. I knew him during his worst years, when
you could trip over him any morning sleeping on your porch, or
out in the barn.”  Cut to Salina, weeping,  holding a single yellow
rose, staring out at the horizon.

Thirty-Four: Courtship--Buck thanked Wallace for “befriending
a man who didn’t deserve one.” Wallace said, “Deserving had
nothing to do with it. I don’t expect thanks for caring about a
man most folks spit on.”  Buck made it clear that, “My father
was one man, I’m another--you & I don’t have to be friends.”
Wallace said, “Whoa, Hoss, looks like my whiskey stirred up
some past dust.”  Buck talked about rebuilding his horse herd
for the ranch, asking where he might find some brood mares
& a stallion. Wallace pointed out that Bronson had the best
stock in those parts. Buck said he’d find another way. Wallace
said, “You’ll probably need to hire a hand.” Buck asked, “Are
you looking for some part time work?”  They both laughed.
Wallace mentioned Johnny Eagle, a half-breed bronc-buster
that used to work with his Pa. “He’s easy to find--he hangs out
at the Cantina.”  Buck got ready to leave. Wallace assured him
that their offer for the ranch was solid & good intentioned, and
that if he sold to them, “He’d always be welcome there.” Buck
asked out of the blue, “Does your daughter have any suitors?”
Wallace smiled, “She’s the hog’s drawers around here, and she
knows it; but so far she hasn’t hooked up with any of the local
tomcats. She scared most of them.”  Buck: “I like her.”  Wallace:
So does Thor Bronson.”

Thirty-Five: Equus--We are introduced to a large herd of wild
mustangs--rippling muscles, long manes & tails, galloping at
full speed. A tall magnificent Appaloosa stallion led the herd,
running like the beautiful lyrics of an Apache song, like the
paintings on Navajo drums, like the stories told around Comanche
campfires. There is a lone albino bison on a bluff above them, a
medicine brute. Overhead drone shot with the pair in counterpoint,
as the horses halted--the white buffalo on the right side of the
frame, the Appaloosa on the left, with the morning sun rising
up hot between them.
*********************************
We are introduced to Johnny Eagle, a wrangler in a horse-breaking
corral, with a dozen cowpokes on the fence watching him work with
a chestnut mustang mare. The horse reared up furiously on its hind
legs. The Eagle smiled. He was short & heavily muscled. A red-
faced pot-bellied man in a drugstore Western shirt & a derby said,
Come on, you half-breed bastard, we don’t have all day. Are you
going to fuck it or ride it?”  The Indian gave no acknowledgement,
keeping his focus on the mare.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub OLN


14 comments:

brudberg said...

I truly love the recap, and this one contained a few installments I must have missed.. I look forward to read the next... and when it continues... Good luck with the screenplay.

Sanaa Rizvi said...

“My father was one man, I’m another--you & I don’t have to be friends.”

Glenn, this installment to the Blackthorne series is absolutely riveting and the dialogues which follow are always spot on. This particular line is unforgettable. Excellent write.

Lots of love,
Sanaa

tonispencer said...

I hope things are going well with the screenplay! The recaps are always great. I always find something I missed or, am now reading with a different perspective.

Scarlet said...

Thanks for the recap Glenn ~ The imagery of wild mustangs must be glorious on the screen, smiles ~

Good luck with the screenplay ~

Grace

Anonymous said...

I know I missed a few recaps but man this is good and I picture it all in my head. :)

Thrilling and beautifully written.

Hope all is well with you and hope the screenplay is coming along great.

:)



~Charlie Zero the Poet

Truedessa said...

Hi Glenn,

I had to come over for a read and I'm so glad I did. Sounds like that courtship might get a bit dangerous. I like Salina's spirit she is her own woman for sure. I can just picture the whole thing up on the screen. Always a treat to read these and how exciting that you are getting feedback on Ride Valiant - Giddy Up!

Edward said...

wrangling horses
and bad weather
every time I read these
I get propelled just above
the treetops, seed and wind
spent across the lake country
in the middle parts of this continent
with erratics, cousins
and each coast
of sand, family
ancestral looms


------------

brightest blessings
in your endeavors
and pleasures

Magaly Guerrero said...

Oh! I could see the horses, smell their musk, watch the work of their muscles... Wonderful imagery. Especially powerful because I've been thinking of home, of horses, of open fields...

De Jackson said...

Exciting, Glenn!
Good luck!
I love the staccato feel of this. A feast for the senses.

kaykuala said...

running like the beautiful
lyrics of an Apache song,
like the paintings on Navajo drums,
like the stories told around Comanche
campfires

Beautiful descriptive narration! Missed some episodes, great recap here. it seems the Comanche song and dance routines are just as thrilling as in any camp-fires.Cannot imagine how one can create a screenplay to show and to captivate audience attention. Your thinking process is fantastic Glenn! You must be at full alert all the time.

Hank

Hank

Petru J Viljoen said...

I admit to not being a fan of 'Wild West Fiction' and I will also admit that your work draws me in every time! I hope the horses win. Much regard for the talent displayed here and good luck with the movie script.

Gayle Walters Rose said...

Good luck with that screenplay, Glenn. I sense some love/hate happening between Salina and Buck coming up and a complicated triangle with Thor Bronson. I would love to see an albino buffalo. Really enjoyed catching up with your story.

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

I so want to see this on the screen! Favorable comments - of course!
Now for me....I must say I've enjoyed reading your parcels as you've presented them.
Thirty Five -- in particular this time -- the way you've set the scene is a poem in and of itself! Absolutely stunning -- never mind the characters that will enter...or what comes before and aft.

Anonymous said...

Always amazed at your work, Glenn. I especially enjoyed Thirty Three: Memories...some very vivid visuals of Salina. I reall like this line..." “Whoa, Hoss, looks like my whiskey stirred up some past dust.” Wishing you much success with your screenplay!