Undressed Under Duress, Season Two: Part 5 - Pintsize

                         Augie's Kidnapping

Silverado. You've seen it. Nearly everyone has. It's that 1985 classic western film from Columbia Pictures, Delphi IV Productions. One of the greatest westerns ever, don't you agree? The film was produced and directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starred many top Hollywood names including Kevin Kline, Brian Dennehy, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, Scott Glenn and others. The film was shot on location in New Mexico at the Cook Ranch.

August “Augie” Hollis, played by young Thomas Wilson Brown, was a boy kidnapped one night from his parents while at home preparing for bed. His daddy was shot by Ethan McKendrick's men who had murdered Ezra and burned the land office. Mama was traumatized.

Augie, wearing a nightshirt over this union suit, was rushed to a remote ranch house, owned by McKendrick, a crooked but wealthy cattleman and land owner. The boy who had been gagged to keep him quiet eventually was taken upstairs in the ranch house. 

The gag was removed as there was no danger anyone would hear him. He was watched over so he wouldn't try to escape on his own. The anguished boy wondered if he would ever be rescued.

Eleven year old Augie was the nephew of Emmett (Scott Glenn) and Jake (Kevin Costner), hero characters in the movie. The men were not about to see the boy harmed so set off for the ranch house where they surmised he had been taken. It wasn't long before cattle were stampeding, gunshots erupting, with the men breaking into the house to rescue poor Augie. 

Emmet shot his way into the bedroom and was soon consoling the boy who thougth Jake had been killed falling off his horse. Emmet gave Augie his coat to wear over his nightshirt and union suit. Urging him out and onto the roof top, he dropped him down to Jake who sat astride his horse. 

He and the boy soon galloped away and out of danger. The men got Augie safely back to town 

before their big shoot out to end the corruption.

The good guys won afterall.

Undressed Under Duress, Season Two, Part 4 - Pintsize

Our Gang - Union Suit Fans

Our Gang's Alfalfa always seemed to be under duress for one reason or another. Perhaps never so much as when he was undressed having lost his boxer shorts to Butch in a rip-roaring boxing match!  He must then finish the fight in just his long-handled Union Suit! Photos are from 1938's "Came the Brawn."  The following was first posted in "Union Suit Fan," November 14, 2016. It's worth another look, don't you think....

Carl Dean Switzer 
(August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959) 
One of Our Gang's most popular characters

   

Poster Announcing the Big Contest

Thanks to Hal Roach Studios

And

Thanks to Russell of Hays, Kansas 
for sending me this poster:
(March 1, 2017)

Undressed Under Duress, Season Two: Part 3 Continued 

               Against A Crooked Sky

Surrounded by dozens of menacing young bucks, Sam and Russian decide their best course of action, at least for now, would be not to fight it out. They are out numbered, standing there in just their underwear with no guns or knives. Struggling would be of no use. So, having no chance at an escape, Sam and Russian, meekly offered themselves over to their captors.

Conveniently, the indigenous men just happened to have had ropes with which to secure their trespassing captives. Young Sam, wearing only his union suit and boots, and Russian in his long johns, are marched to a hostile Apache Indian camp.

Inexplicably, one of the Indians had, considerately, retrieved their clothes from the bush where britches and shirts had been left to dry. Fortunately, the boys would not have to spend the rest of the movie in their long underwear. Docile as lambs, Sam and Russian allowed themselves to be led to the edge of the encampment and roughly made to sit in the dirt, awaiting for who knew what.

Soon an an old, toothless woman rather gently forced a wooden spoonful of some type of porridge into their mouths. Now, that was odd. Protesting, the substance laced with a foul tasting mixture was swallowed by both. 

Before long, man and boy passed out, dead to the world.

Sometime later, Sam woke up, dazed but alive. He aroused Russian. They believed their only chance to save themselves, was to sneak quietly away. 

Still in their underwear, they tried crawling close to the ground to escape. But wouldn't you know, they had gone only a few feet before their guards stopped them and pulled them to their feet. 

They were taken to join a crowd of Indians where Sam got a glimpse of his sister. She was still alive and well!

As it turned out, Sam was to try and rescue his sister but only after a grueling test of the “Crooked Sky.” The boy would be made to race the sun across desert, cliffs, cactus and heat. If he failed, Charlotte would be sacrificed by plummeting blind-folded over the edge of a cliff, having been done in by an executioner's arrow to the chest.

Catch the ending to this western drama on DVD, YouTube, and other streaming platforms.

Coming the first week in April: Kidnapped! Don't miss it!