Cowboy Church #254

 Hello my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church. 


Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with Have You Read the Bible Today. It is important for each of us to read our Bible each and every day. The Bible is not just some book, it is the living breathing word of God. It is easy for our faith and Christian walk to become idle and stagnant and the easiest way for this to happen is to simply not read our Bible. Taking some time each day to read the Bible is the best way for our faith and our walk with God to continue growing and maturing.  This recording is the B-side of a 1955 Little Golden Record by Roy and Dale. The A-side was The Bible Tells Me So. 

This is followed by Red Sovine with The Treasure I Lost. 

Afterwards is the Kentucky Jubilee Four with their 1927 recording of Let Us Cheer the Weary Traveler. 

Then comes Susan Raye with Who at My Door is Standing. This recording comes from her 1973 gospel album, Hymns by Susan Raye. 

Next is Elvis Presley with his 1957 recording of Peace in the Valley. As much as Elvis is known as the King of Rock and Roll, perhaps no other type of music was nearer and dearer to his heart than gospel music. This was the music he grew up with and that continued to have a major influence on him through all the years. Elvis has been quoted as saying "I know practically every religious sing that's ever been written." There is no doubt that these songs moved him very deeply. After Elvis had made his first two appearances on TV's The Ed Sullivan Show, he was clearly a very controversial figure. These performances consisted of pure rock and roll music and Elvis shook his hips to them in a way that was considered much too suggestive for the 1950's. Many groups were quick to condemn this as a horrible influence on the kids and some even claimed it to be demonic. Yet Elvis' third appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was quite different. This time Elvis did not perform rock and roll but instead did a gospel number in a slow and traditional manner. The song was Peace in the Valley and the performance was a huge success. Elvis had never done a studio recording of any gospel songs, but fans of the performance quite writing letters requesting a recording of Elvis singing Peace in the Valley. RCA quickly rushed Elvis to make a four-song gospel EP entitled Peace in the Valley. This EP of course included the title song, as well as Take My Hand Precious Lord, It is no Secret and I Believe. The EP was a huge success and gospel music would soon play a major role in Elvis' singing career.

Then comes Ray Price with Where He Leads Me I Will Follow. This recording comes from his 1960 gospel album, Faith. 

Afterwards is Johnny Cash and U2 with The Wanderer. This song was written by Bono in 1993 (under the working title The Preacher). The song was inspired by the book of Ecclesiastes but takes place in a future time with a narrator who is worried about the lack of God in society. It is considered to be one of Bono's best songs, but for some reason whenever he tried to record it himself, it didn't work for him. Then he came up with the brilliant idea of having Johnny Cash sing the song (this idea came to Bono when he learned Johnny was going to be in Dublin). Bono would say that Johnny would teach him a lot about how to deliver a song like this during this recording section giving advice about how to put over each word effectively. Johnny told a reporter, "I don't know if it will ever be released or even what it's called." The song would be released on the U2 album, Zooropa (one of U2's most experimental albums) and John would state that this song gave him a sense of artistic renewal.

Today's musical selection ends with The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1937 recording of Power in the Blood. Though it may be simple doctrine that we have heard since Sunday school, I hope we never forget how much power there truly is in the blood of Jesus. No matter what temptations and struggles we may face in life, Jesus' blood spilled on Calvary's cross has overcome all of it. With man something may be impossible but with God all things are possible. 

Now for a sermon from Reverand Martin Luther King Jr. 

Today's movie is Riders of the Rockies (1937) starring Tex Ritter.

Psalm 97

1 The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;

    let the distant shores rejoice.

2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;

    righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3 Fire goes before him

    and consumes his foes on every side.

4 His lightning lights up the world;

    the earth sees and trembles.

5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

    before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

    and all peoples see his glory.

7 All who worship images are put to shame,

    those who boast in idols—

    worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and rejoices

    and the villages of Judah are glad

    because of your judgments, Lord.

9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;

    you are exalted far above all gods.

10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil,

    for he guards the lives of his faithful ones

    and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11 Light shines on the righteous

    and joy on the upright in heart.

12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,

    and praise his holy name.

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again. 

Silent Film of the Month: A Roman Scandal (1919)

 

Run Time: 24 minutes. Studio: Christie Film Company. Director: Al Christie. Writers: Scott Darling, Frank Roland Conklin. Producer: Al Christie. Main Cast: Colleen Moore, Earle Rodney, Eddie Barry,

Billy Bletcher, Ward Caulfield. Cinematographer: Anton Nagy. 

Most silent comedy fans know the work of the Keystone (or Mack Sennett) and Hal Roach comedy studios very well. However other comedy studios of the era tend to go quite overlooked. One such studio is the Christie Film Company. This is a shame as many of their comedies are still delightful today. Case in point is our Silent Film of the Month, A Roman Scandal.  

In this film Mary (Colleen Moore) refuses to get married until she makes it in show business, which upsets her fiancée Jack (Earle Rodney). When a nearby stage company goes on strike, Mary volunteers herself and her fiancée to fill in for some of the roles. However, the two end up causing more trouble than help.

This is a truly delightful comedy. Certain story points may have dated. For instance, if this were made today, there is no reason why Mary couldn't have both gotten married and pursued a stage career. Despite this the humor has not dated at all. This is still a very funny movie. The play, even before Mary and Jack get ahold of it is hilarious in its cheapness and ineptitude. It is even more funny thanks to Mary's reaction to the play. Her being as enamored of this play as if it was a great masterpiece is very funny. When Mary and Jack get ahold of the play, it becomes even more hilariously inept. The scene with the fake bull will never cease to crack me up. With delightful gag after delightful gag, a fast pace and the charms of its stars, this is a winner in every area.   

Al Christie (this film's director and producer) was born on November 23, 1886, in London, Ontario, Canada (legendary comedy producer Mack Sennett was also born in Canada). Al Christie had worked as a stage manager and director for Liebler and Company. During a summer lay-off he began his movie career in 1909 as a director for the Nestor Film Company. It wouldn't be long until his career was tied to comedy. In 1911, he went to direct a series of comedies based off Bud Duncan's Mutt and Jeff comic strip that starred, Bud Duncan. In 1912 he moved to the studio's new California facility to direct a series of shorts known as Wild West Weekly. On this series he worked with such comedy stars as Eddie Lyons, Lee Moran, Victoria Forde, Betty Compson, Stella Adams, Billie Rhodes and Neal Burns. By January 1916 along with his brother Charles Christie, he began to produce his own comedies under the Nestor name. Later that same year he established his own studio. This studio would become one the three most popular comedy studios at the time along with Mack Sennett (or Keystone) and Hal Roach. Unlike those other studios the Christie Film Company would often rely more on situational humor than outright slapstick. The films also tended to focus more on younger stars. A 1917 trade ad stated, "Christie Comedies are Comedies of Youth!" In this ad "Youth" was spelled all in capital letters and had images of the studio's stars appearing within the word. The films also tended to have a greater focus on female characters having them play a direct part in the comedic action. This brings us to the star of this film, Colleen Moore. 

Colleen Moore was born as Kathleen Morrison on August 19, 1899, in Port Huron, Michigan. Her first screen test was made at Essanay and came about because the famous film director D.W. Griffith owed her uncle, Walter Howey (managing editor of the Chicago American) a favor. However, the test went well, and she made her film debut in the feature length crime drama The Bad Boy (1917). Though some false publicity claimed she was an extra in D.W. Griffit and h's movie Intolerance (1916), this statement has been proven to be erroneous. With her gift for comedy, it was decided that she would benefit from working with a studio that specialized in comedy. Colleen would state in her 1968 memoir, Silent Star, that her grandmother disapproved of the rowdy Sennett comedies and that is why she signed up with Christie. For Christie she would make two short comedies (this one and Her Bridal Night-Mare (1920)) and two features (So Long Letty (1920) and His Nibs (1921)). Both the short comedies are still available to watch, while the two features are considered lost. 

Scott Darling, a writer on this film was born on May 28, 1898. During the silent era he had written many short comedies for both the Kalem studio and Christie Film Co. as well as having directed 27 movies for Universal. However, he is best remembered today for his work in talkies. During the talkie era he wrote scripts for such movies as The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943) and Laurel and Hardy's films for the Fox Studio. 

Exhibitor's Herald, 1919

Motion Picture News, 1920

The following is from an issue of The Moving Picture World dated, February 20, 1920.

"Starting the New Year right, the Plaza, San Fransico, Calif., comes out with a page for its New Year attractions and gives rather more than half a space to a Christie comedy, 'A Roman Scandal.' This is going to be a great year for comedy and live managers realizing this, are starting in to make the most of their comedy material.

"There has never been a time when comedies could not sell some tickets the feature could not reach, but the demand now is for more and more for comedy and the wise manager caters to this demand by giving more space to his small stuff. More than once the comedy has topped the five reel feature on the general proposition that the feature can take care of itself, and in every instance the additional space has paid. This full page is exceptional, but it is by no means an isolated instance."    


If you wish to watch this delightful film, you can do so below.




    

Resources Used

A-Z of Silent Film Comedy by Glen Mitchell

https://mediahistoryproject.org/