David Soul and Here Come the Brides

               By Clay of Saranac, NY, Guest Contributor, and Chris Ayers

In a classic but not well remembered TV western, shown on ABC from 1968 to 1970, Here Come the Brides featured three brothers who ran a 1800's logging camp in Seattle, Washington Territory. David Soul, as Joshua Bolt, starred with Robert Brown (Jason), Bobby Sherman (Jeremy), and Bridget Hanley (Candy Pruitt) in logging adventures in northwest America after the Civil War.

In the first episode, hard-working lumberjacks were up-in-arms because there were so few women in their small community to court! Most of the men were threatening to quit and move away to a more desireable area. What to do?

Well, to entice women to come to their neck of the woods. It didn't take long for older brother, Jason Bolt, to seek out, locate, and bring a number of very eligible young maidens to the Bridal Veil Mountain Logging Camp near Seattle to pacify the loggers. With the subsequent exciting delivery of very alluring young ladies, the fun began. 

In Episode 14 of Season 1, The Firemaker, co-starring Monte Markham (Bass) as a possible arsonist who was eventually accused of starting deadly fires in the Bridal Veil Mountain forests. If left unchecked, this act could deystroy the local logging industry, not to mention the randy exploits of the boys attempting to conquer the young maidens.

Joshua, having broken his arm, was first to discover the disastrous ploy. Late one night, after the exhausted brothers had climbed into their beds, Joshua rolled over on his arm, groaning and waking up from the pain. In his union suit, he quietly climbed out of his cot and carefully tip-toed outside the tent, half asleep, so as not to awaken his sleeping brothers.

Bumping his head on a lantern just outside the flap of the tent...

...Joshua became fully awake to see extensive fire in the trees not far from camp. 

The more he stood there in his union suit gazing in wonder, the more he realized the fires were growing rapidly! 

But he wasn't the only one to view the danger. What was Bass, a Veil Mountain lumberjack, doing out here, fully dressed, in the middle of the night?!

But, no time to wonder about him. Joshua ran back to the tent and yelled for his brothers to wake up and come running! 

He grabbed a metal plate with his good hand and began loudly banging and yelling to alert the camp of the danger.

Jason and Jeremy, came rushing out of the tent, pulling on their clothes, to see what in the world was the alarm...

They were soon followed by the logging community, arriving in their long underwear, others half dressed. 

Jason set to work organizing the men into teams to fight the fire...

Joshua had run back to the tent to grab his pants as Swede ran up to Jason in his red union suit offering to help. 

But he told Swede to get some clothes on first. It was going to be a long, tough night. He sent Bass, already dressed, on his way to begin saving the trees.

It was then that Jason realized that Bass had already been fully dressed while all the rest of the crew had shown up ready to assist in putting out the fires, partially clothed or in just their underwear.   Hmmmm...

With the help up their men, will the Bolt boys be able to put out the forest fires in time to save the logging camp and Seattle itself?

You can find out by viewing this episode on line on several platforms including DailyMotion and YouTube.

 

David Soul (1943-2024)

With the passing of renowned actor and singer, David Soul earlier this month at the age of 79, I received the following email from long time Unon Suit Fan fan, Clay of Saranac, NY:

"Chris: most people probably remember David Soul best from the 1970's action-packed hit series, Starsky and Hutch. He starred as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson along with Paul Glaser (Detective Dave Starsky) on ABC from 1975 to 1979. I remember that being a great show, even in syndication. 

David Soul in Starsky and Hutch

But before that, I wonder if anyone remembers him as one of the Bolt boys from the 1960's western, Here Come the Brides, a sort of take off of the celebrated movie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. 

In Here Come the Brides, Joshua Bolt (Soul), like all the other Seattle lumberjacks, wore union suits. I just thought you'd like to know and maybe share his early contribution to television with your blog fans. Stay warm...Clay"  

Before the recent news reports of Soul's death and the email from Clay, I must admit I didn't know much about this actor. However, I have since discovered he was born in Chicago, IL, grew up in Sioux Falls, SD and that he was a singer as well as a pretty good actor. He had a number one US Billboard hit back in the day, "Don't Give Up On Us," which I've listened to and remember having heard. It's a really good single, nearly forgotten. I've also learned that he starred in the 1979 TV movie, Salen's Lot and also as Officer John Davis in Magnum Force (1973). Before then, in 1966, he made his TV debut at age 23 in the series, Flipper, and made guest appearances in many, many other television shows.

After hearing from Clay, I proposed he and I collaborate in presenting Soul's role as a young, union suit wearing lumberjack in the sixty year old western, Here Come the Brides.  Clay agreed. So, look forward to our introducing Joshua Bolt, as played by David Soul, in Union Suit Fans in the Limelight in the next week or two...Chris

David Soul as Joshua Bolt in
Here Come the Brides

 Whoa Horse!!

In my fourth and final installment of my November posting, "Movie & TV Trivia!! Stripped and Hung Out to Dry" found in Union Suit Fans in the Limelight, additional photos of the man in white sitting upon his horse with a noose around his neck (Entry No. 3). How did that occur?

In the 2014 EuropaCorp / Ithaca film, The Homesman, Tommy Lee Jones stars as George Briggs. Jones also co-wrote the screenplay and directed this film.

Briggs is an 1854 Nebraska Territory claim jumper, who steals land from his neighbor who was out of town at the time. One early morning, four men decide to hold Briggs accountable for his thievery by sneaking up onto the roof of his sodhouse abode. 

One drops explosives down into the fireplace chimney. 

Within moments the widow and door are blown out....

Briggs, who had been resting, stumbles out of what remains of the door, 

covered in soot, barefoot in his union suit.

One man takes aim but decides not to shoot the disoriented Briggs in the back. He has a much better idea!

Wondering what the blazes has happened, Biggs faces his captors and then looks back at what remains of the abode. While mustering as much dignity as he can, he buttons the rear flap of his union suit...

 as the men command him to follow them to a large tree. There he is made to sit on his horse wearing only his long underwear. His hands are tied behind his back and a noose hung around his neck. Rather than slap the horse in order to have it lunge forward, hanging the thief, they leave Briggs carefully and quietly sitting astride the animal, carefuly coaxing it not to move a muscle. 

That same morning, spinster Mary Bee Cuddy (Hillary Swank) is on her way to assist three distressed women whom she hopes to transport safely back to a more civilized part of the country. It is hoped there they can finally receive the help they need.  

From a distant, she spies a man in white quietly sitting on a horse underneath a massive tree. 

.

As she urges her mules closer to the horseman, she sees that he sits there tied, wearing nothing but his soot covered union suit. 

Miss Cuddy sees that he needs her help as much as she needs his. After assessing the situation, desperately needing a driver to help protect the women across a cold, uncertain future, 

and only after Briggs agrees to assist her, she climbs down from her wagon, walks over to cut the rope holding him to the tree, freeing him from certain strangulation. 

 

Stumnned and relieved, Briggs sits atop his horse...  

before falling exhausted to the ground:

Miss Cuddy offers to drive him back to the destoyed dwelling. Briggs climbs up into her wagon for the short ride back.....

Arriving, he climbs down and heads for whatever clothes and personal affects are left inside and, no doubt, wondering just what he has gotten himself into:  

 

The Homesman is dark, authentic and somewhat depressing. But the film is noted for its excellent cinemantography and top-rated acting. Streaming everywhere or for purchase at about $10.00, spend a quiet evening watching a thought provoking movie.