"Flashing Spikes" is a
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...
television play directed by
John Ford and starring
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
, with a lengthy surprise appearance by
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
, billed in the credits as "Michael Morris" (apparently based on Wayne's birth name "Marion Michael Morrison"). The hour-long drama revolving around a disgraced ex-
baseball player (Stewart) was broadcast as an episode of the
anthology series ''
Alcoa Premiere'' hosted by
Fred Astaire.
The script was based upon a novel by
Frank O'Rourke and the supporting cast includes
Jack Warden,
Tige Andrews,
Patrick Wayne,
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball, D ...
,
Vin Scully,
Harry Carey, Jr.
Henry George Carey Jr. (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films, including several John Ford Westerns, as well as numerous television series.
Early life
Carey was born on a ranch near ...
, and
Edgar Buchanan. The
Director of Photography was
William H. Clothier
William H. Clothier, A.S.C. (February 21, 1903 – January 7, 1996) was an American cinematographer.
Biography
Born in Decatur, Illinois, Clothier entered the film industry painting sets at Warner Bros., and at the end of the silent era ...
.
This show's director John Ford, actors James Stewart and John Wayne, and
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
William H. Clothier also filmed ''
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'' together the same year. Ford and his cast had made a similar show earlier, with Ford directing a half-hour baseball television drama shown on ''
Screen Director's Playhouse'' in 1955 with an almost identical motif, ''
Rookie of the Year'', also with Patrick Wayne as the phenomenal young player but with his father John Wayne, Vera Miles, and Ward Bond in the leads, all of whom Ford would direct in ''
The Searchers'' the following year.
"Flashing Spikes" remains available for public viewing at the
Paley Center for Media in
New York City and
Los Angeles.
External links
*
''Senses of Cinema'': Flashing Spikes
{{John Ford
1962 television plays