More on Alan Smithee

["Meet Alan Smithee!"]

By RM
sunday, february 22, 2026 at 4:08:00 p.m. est

My teeth are fine, thanks-they're the wooden set George Washington loaned me just before he went off to fight the British! Never did give them back...

The "analogy" is silly, but no worse than saying that a pseudonym that was devised in 1969 was "used throughout film history"! Not worth getting agitated over. The movie sounds like something that WOULD annoy me, a turn-of-the-century Western about "changing times" that has Richard Widmark marrying Lena Horne! Yikes!

This is amusing, from wikipedia:

"Despite the [directorial] dispute, critics praised the film and its 'new' director. The New York Times commented that the film was 'sharply directed by Allen Smithee who has an adroit facility for scanning faces and extracting sharp background detail,' [Sounds like the cameraman's work to me!] Roger Ebert called the film, 'an extraordinary western ... director Allen Smithee, a name I'm not familiar with, allows his story to unfold naturally.'" [As opposed to UNnaturally?] Well, if it was about race-mixing, no wonder they liked it-surprised it wasn't up for an Oscar!

Directorial pseudonyms aren't that common, but as I recall, Fatty Arbuckle was directing comedies under a fake name after the scandal that halted his acting career-so they're not exactly new, either!

-RM


By Grand Rapids Anonymous
sunday, february 22, 2026 at 4:59:00 p.m. est

Who would have accepted the best director award for Smithee, if he/it won? Maybe Bob Hope would have run onstage. --GRA


By RM
sunday, february 22, 2026 at 8:14:00 p.m. est

Somehow I can't get the ridiculous image of Richard Widmark and Lena Horne as a married couple out of my head. He would have thrown her down the stairs long before she reached wheelchair age!

They should have called the movie GUESS WHO'S COMING TO THE SHOOTOUT!

-RM


By Grand Rapids Anonymous
sunday, february 22, 2026 at 9:47:00 p.m. est

That was about the year they matched jim brown and Raquel Welch, I believe--pushing the race mixing agenda.

--GRA



N.S.: That was also about the time (1969) that Dick Widmark's career tanked. He was an insufferable racial "liberal."