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126-476: Big Jake is a 1971 American Technicolor Western film starring John Wayne , Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara . The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years, and Maureen O'Hara's last film with John Wayne and her last before her twenty-year retirement. The supporting cast features Patrick Wayne , Christopher Mitchum , Glenn Corbett , Jim Davis , John Agar , Harry Carey Jr. and Hank Worden . In 1909, near

252-524: A Radio Picture entitled The Runaround (1931). The new process not only improved the color but also removed specks (that looked like bugs) from the screen, which had previously blurred outlines and lowered visibility. This new improvement along with a reduction in cost (from 8.85 cents to 7 cents per foot) led to a new color revival. Warner Bros. took the lead once again by producing three features (out of an announced plan for six features): Manhattan Parade (1932), Doctor X (1932) and Mystery of

378-424: A beam splitter consisting of a partially reflecting surface inside a split-cube prism , color filters , and three separate rolls of black-and-white film (hence the "three-strip" designation). The beam splitter allowed one-third of the light coming through the camera lens to pass through the reflector and a green filter and form an image on one of the strips, which therefore recorded only the green-dominated third of

504-477: A mordant solution and then brought into contact with each of the three dye-loaded matrix films in turn, building up the complete color image. Each dye was absorbed, or imbibed, by the gelatin coating on the receiving strip rather than simply deposited onto its surface, hence the term "dye imbibition". Strictly speaking, this is a mechanical printing process most closely related to Woodburytype and very loosely comparable to offset printing or lithography , and not

630-509: A 17-centimeter one was found in 1963. Images of the animal appear drawn or etched into a variety of objects, but since the 1980s, the city of Durango has promoted souvenirs which have real dead scorpions encased in plastic. The arachnids are also cooked and served as a delicacy in markets such as Gomez in the capital. However, they were not traditionally eaten. Durango's soccer team is called the Scorpions. The state likes to promote itself as

756-462: A Pueblo Mágico. The most important mine is Ojuela, now famous for its hanging bridge which connects the town with the mine, separated by an extremely deep ravine. It one of the largest of its kind in the Americas. Nazas has a house that Benito Juárez slept in while he was here. Probably the best-known tourist product of the state relates to scorpions. In the 1980s, a number of entrepreneurs turned

882-404: A Technicolor cartoon sequence "Hot Choc-late Soldiers" produced by Walt Disney. On July 28 of that year, Warner Bros. released Service with a Smile , followed by Good Morning, Eve! on September 22, both being comedy short films starring Leon Errol and filmed in three-strip Technicolor. Pioneer Pictures , a movie company formed by Technicolor investors, produced the film usually credited as

1008-546: A black-and-white picture again." Although Disney's first 60 or so Technicolor cartoons used the three-strip camera, an improved "successive exposure" ("SE") process was adopted c.  1937 . This variation of the three-strip process was designed primarily for cartoon work: the camera would contain one strip of black-and-white negative film, and each animation cel would be photographed three times, on three sequential frames, behind alternating red, green, and blue filters (the so-called "Technicolor Color Wheel", then an option of

1134-578: A former indigenous population center. The indigenous here were (and are) distinct from those in the center and south culturally. True to its dangerous reputation, the best-known animal of the state is the scorpion. The sting was possibly fatal in the past but the availability of antidote today makes this very rare. One reason why the creatures are so abundant is that the Sierra Madre Occidental make for perfect breeding grounds. Most scorpions range in size from one to twelve centimeters but

1260-450: A green filter and one behind a red filter. The difference was that the two-component negative was now used to produce a subtractive color print. Because the colors were physically present in the print, no special projection equipment was required and the correct registration of the two images did not depend on the skill of the projectionist. The frames exposed behind the green filter were printed on one strip of black-and-white film, and

1386-624: A large number of bird species. At higher elevations, between 600 and 1200 meters, the vegetation changes to pine forests and the climate is more temperate. This area has had the most human habitation and agriculture. When the Jesuits arrived to the Quebradas, they introduced the grazing of cattle and large-scale farming of corn, sugar cane and fruit trees. In the hotter and wetter areas, they introduced bananas, cherimoyas, guavas , zapotes, plums, avocados, oranges and other types of citrus. However,

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1512-591: A mean elevation of 1,750 m in the Valleys region and 2,450 m in the Sierra region. The city of Durango is on the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental, with an elevation of 1,857 m. Durango is landlocked, bordered by Chihuahua , Coahuila , Zacatecas , Nayarit and Sinaloa . It is divided into 39 municipalities, based on the 1917 Constitution of Mexico , and several additional divisions have been made since. The Sierra Madre Occidental blocks moisture from

1638-410: A message to meet the gang with the money in an old fort outside town. He tells them the conditions - they are to ride together, and not try anything until after the gang has left with the money because their own sharpshooter Duffy is hidden far away with a rifle trained on Little Jake at all times. Big Jake convinces Dawson that Michael was killed by the bandits, so he, James, Sam, and Dog follow Dawson to

1764-445: A photographic one, as the actual printing does not involve a chemical change caused by exposure to light. During the early years of the process, the receiver film was preprinted with a 50% black-and-white image derived from the green strip, the so-called Key, or K, record. This procedure was used largely to cover up fine edges in the picture where colors would mix unrealistically (also known as fringing ). This additional black increased

1890-601: A possible shot-in-the-arm for the ailing industry. In November 1933, Technicolor's Herbert Kalmus and RKO announced plans to produce three-strip Technicolor films in 1934, beginning with Ann Harding starring in a projected film The World Outside . Live-action use of three-strip Technicolor was first seen in a musical number of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature The Cat and the Fiddle , released February 16, 1934. On July 1, MGM released Hollywood Party with

2016-490: A stalemate from behind their respective hiding places, and Big Jake tells his grandson to run to James. Goodfellow slashes Sam and Dog with his machete, killing the Indian, and pursues Little Jake into a stable, where Dog attacks Goodfellow a second time and is killed. Big Jake, out of bullets, makes a run for it and kills Goodfellow with a pitchfork in the stables. John Fain corners the weaponless grandfather and grandson outside

2142-750: A synchronized score and sound effects. Redskin (1929), with a synchronized score, and The Mysterious Island (1929), a part-talkie, were photographed almost entirely in this process also but included some sequences in black and white. The following talkies were made entirely – or almost entirely – in Technicolor Process 3: On with the Show! (1929) (the first all-talking color feature), Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929), The Show of Shows (1929), Sally (1929), The Vagabond King (1930), Follow Thru (1930), Golden Dawn (1930), Hold Everything (1930), The Rogue Song (1930), Song of

2268-799: Is a pioneer for the reintroduction of the critically endangered Mexican grey wolf . The Tecuan National Forest is in the Quebradas. As a rural state, traditional agriculture is still the main economic activity for most of the population, despite only ten percent of the land being suitable for crops, and only fifteen percent being suitable for pasture. The main crops include corn, beans, chilli peppers, apples, alfalfa, and sorghum. Fruits such as apples and pears are grown in Canatlán, Nuevo Ideal and Guatimapé; nuts in Nazas and San Juan del Rio; and membrillo, apricots and peaches in Nombre de Dios. Most agriculture

2394-488: Is a rural state. It is sparsely populated. The three main cities contain almost 65% of the total population (Durango – 35%, Gomez Palacio 20.1% and Lerdo 8.6%). The remaining 35% of the population is scattered among 37 small urban centers and 5,757 villages of less than 2,500 inhabitants. Ninety-one percent of these have less than 250 residents. The state is associated with elements of the wild frontier: banditry, Revolutionary battles, mining and drug traffic. It claims to be

2520-568: Is a syncretism of indigenous and Catholic beliefs. The most important type of ceremony is the mitote or xibtal , which centers on dance around a bonfire accompanied by one-stringed instruments. They are most common at the beginning and end of the agricultural cycle. For patron saint days, cattle are usually sacrificed for feasting, accompanied by the dance of the Matachines and violin music. The second-largest indigenous group in Durango

2646-442: Is basketry and other items made with stiff fibers. These include baskets proper, carrying nets or bags, petites, sombreros, furniture and decorative items made from ixtle, wicker, mesquite roots, reeds, pine needles, pine strips and cactus ribs. Textile work is produced all over the state, using cotton, ixtle , lechugilla and wool usually to make clothing. Cloth made with both backstrap and pedal looms are found frequently, but

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2772-586: Is concentrated in the Valleys region, in particular, the municipalities of Guadalupe Victoria and Poanas. This is also the area with the highest profit agriculture. It is supported by its three main rivers: the Florida, the Alto Nazas, and the Tunal-Mezquital, which have been dammed primarily for agricultural purposes. Pastures in this area support large herds of cattle, much of which are exported to

2898-505: Is covered in forest with under five percent covered in rainforest. The state ranks second in Mexico in expanses of temperate forest land areas with 4.9 million ha. It is the country's main timber producer and the largest timber stock, estimated at 410,833,340 m . Its output accounts to between 20 and 30% of Mexico's total, producing mostly pine (73.3%) and oak. Although 18 municipalities have forestry operations, six account for just under 80% of

3024-848: Is defined by two rivers: the Nazas and the Aguanaval . The region has two reservoirs: the Lázaro Cárdenas (Palmito) and the Francisco Zarco (Tórtolas), located between the Cuencamé and Lerdo municipalities. Animals that can be found here include coyotes , gavilanes ( sparrowhawks ), various snakes , owls , chameleons , tarantulas and scorpions . Most of the economically important natural resources come from mining, including deposits of gold , silver , iron and mercury . There are also large deposits of marble. The La Laguna

3150-541: Is flat and its climate is dry. Temperatures are cold in the winter and hot in the summer. These municipalities are classified as either part of the Chihuahua Desert or in the transition zone. The area is relatively flat with some mountain ranges and a slight incline towards the interior of the country. The area was at one time under the sea, but today the vegetation consists of scrub, nopal cactus, maguey plants, barrel cactus and other arid zone plants. It

3276-414: Is rugged with freezing temperatures in the winter and snow in the higher elevations. There is also a rainy season in the summer. The vegetation in the Sierra region is mostly pine–oak forest , consisting of pines , oak , cedar , and strawberry trees as well as grasslands . The fauna includes deer , pumas , coyotes , foxes , badgers and wild turkeys . Fish such as bass and catfish are found in

3402-450: Is short for La Comarca de la Laguna (the region of the lake) or Comarca Lagunera (region of lakes), an arid and semi-arid region that covers a significant portion of northeastern Durango and southeastern Coahuila. The area was created by sediments from torrential river flows deposited over large valleys. These river flows also created lagoons which served to recharge underground aquifers or remain as intermittent surface waters. Originally,

3528-795: Is still done by hand, often using crude wheels and local deposits of clay. The clays vary by region including the kaolin found in Peñón Blanco and Cuencamé. Those found in the Guadiana Valley produce cream tones. Green, red and white clays are found all over the state depending on the other minerals found in the soil of the area. There are a number of notable artisans who produced glazed pieces, including José Trinidad (Trino) Núñez and Rafael del Campo. Other important artisans include Margarito Palacios, Santos Vega and Catarino González. In Gómez Palacios and Ciudad Lerdo, there are some workshops doing high-fire work. The next most-widely done work

3654-567: Is the Huichol. Their communities are found on the edges of the state that border with Nayarit and Jalisco, where the Huichol are more numerous. The Huichol here identify with those in the other states, there is no separation. The Mexicaneros are the remnants of the indigenous brought by the Spanish from central Mexico to colonize the region. Today, only a small number survive in the communities of San Agustín de Buenaventura and San Pedro Jícaras in

3780-532: Is the Wayne personality—carefully catered for by the script—that accounts for most of the pleasure." It grossed $ 7.5 million in the US. Big Jake was released to DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on April 29, 2003, as a Region 1 widescreen DVD and on May 31, 2011, as a Region 1 widescreen Blu-ray DVD. Technicolor Technicolor is a family of color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1,

3906-500: The Los Angeles Times stated, "To say that 'Big Jake' is a typical John Wayne Western is pretty much to say it all. His fans should be well-satisfied with its tried and true combination of action and comedy. 'Big Jake' is scarcely distinguished but is certainly enjoyable." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called it "a rather insufferable sort of 'typical' Wayne vehicle" with "an undercurrent of vindictiveness that spoils

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4032-833: The Nazas , Florido and Tunal Rivers. Reservoirs for this purpose include the Santiaguillo, Guatimapé and Refugio Salcido. It has large areas with grass, huizache , sabinos and poplar trees . There is a shallow wetland area called the Guatimapé, or Santiguillo. It provides vital habitat for flocks of migrating birds in winter, especially cranes , geese and ducks . Around this lake, there are Mennonite communities who are noted for their cheeses and cured meats. The region also provides habitat for coyotes, rabbits, squirrels, foxes, geese and ducks. The rivers contain fish such as catfish, bass, carp and tilapia. The area also has hot springs due to tectonic activity. The best known springs are

4158-404: The spectrum . The other two-thirds was reflected sideways by the mirror and passed through a magenta filter, which absorbed green light and allowed only the red and blue thirds of the spectrum to pass. Behind this filter were the other two strips of film, their emulsions pressed into contact face to face. The front film was a red-blind orthochromatic type that recorded only the blue light. On

4284-692: The "Tierra del Cine" (Land of the Movies) due to its history of the making of Hollywood western. Today, some film and TV is still shot here. Although a number of the state's indigenous ethnicities disappeared with the coming of the Spanish, there are still a significant amount residing in the state, most still speaking Uto-Azteca languages. The four main ethnicities are Tepehuans (North and South), Huichols , Tarahumaras and Mexicaneros . The Mexicaneros speak Nahuatl . The Coras and Huichols speak languages named after their groups and are fairly closely related to Nahuatl. The Tepehuano and Tarahumara languages are of

4410-518: The Acme, Producers Service and Photo-Sonics animation cameras). Three separate dye transfer printing matrices would be created from the red, green, and blue records in their respective complementary colors, cyan, magenta and yellow. Successive exposure was also employed in Disney's "True Life Adventure" live-action series, wherein the original 16mm low-contrast Kodachrome Commercial live action footage

4536-798: The Basís Quebrada on the Presidio River. The sinkholes and rock formations, such as the El Espinazo del Diablo , are visible from the old highway to Mazatlan. It is one of the most representative landscapes of northwest Mexico. Cerro Gordo is the highest point in the state and is considered sacred to both the Tepehuanes and the Huichol people. This area is home to the La Michilía Biosphere Reserve , which

4662-630: The Bell Tolls : Durango The area of Durango is 123,451.2 km or 12.3 million ha; this accounts for about 6.3% of the entire territory of Mexico. It is the fourth largest state, lying at the extreme northwest of the Central Mexican Plateau , where it meets the Sierra Madre Occidental —the highest peaks in the state. The state has an average elevation of 1,775 meters above sea level, with

4788-859: The Eastmancolor negative (Process 5). Process 4 was the second major color process, after Britain's Kinemacolor (used between 1909 and 1915), and the most widely used color process in Hollywood during the Golden Age of Hollywood . Technicolor's three-color process became known and celebrated for its highly saturated color, and was initially most commonly used for filming musicals such as The Wizard of Oz (1939), Down Argentine Way (1940), and Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), costume pictures such as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Gone with

4914-759: The Flame (1930), Song of the West (1930), The Life of the Party (1930), Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1930), Bride of the Regiment (1930), Mamba (1930), Whoopee! (1930), King of Jazz (1930), Under a Texas Moon (1930), Bright Lights (1930), Viennese Nights (1930), Woman Hungry (1931), Kiss Me Again (1931) and Fifty Million Frenchmen (1931). In addition, many feature films were released with Technicolor sequences. Numerous short subjects were also photographed in Technicolor Process 3, including

5040-779: The Mexican states of Durango and Zacatecas , including scenes shot at the El Saltito waterfall and in the Sierra de Órganos National Park . John Wayne's son, Patrick , portrays James McCandles. Robert Mitchum 's son, Christopher , portrays Michael McCandles. Wayne's youngest son, Ethan , portrays Little Jake. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years, and Maureen O'Hara 's last film with John Wayne and her last before her twenty-year retirement. Howard Thompson of The New York Times encouraged theatergoers to "stick it out" until

5166-705: The Mexico-United States border, Martha McCandles runs a massive ranch with the help of her sons Jeff, Michael, and James. The Fain Gang (The Fain Brothers, the Devries Brothers, John Goodfellow, Kid Duffy, Breed O'Brien, Pop Dawson, and Trooper) attacks the ranch, slaying many members of the staff. Jeff kills the Devries brothers but is badly wounded; his son, Jacob "Little Jake," is kidnapped before

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5292-547: The Pacific Ocean, impacting the local climate of the state. Las Quebradas region, located over the mountain chain and on the northwest of the state, has a humid subtropical climate . Excepting the highest elevations, the rest of the state has semi-arid and temperate climates. It is hot and dry in the East, with some temperate areas existing at higher elevations. Most of the state is mountainous and heavily forested, with

5418-580: The Pacific through the state of Sinaloa. Further south, the Acaponeta , San Pedro Mezquital , and Huaynamota rivers flow southwest through the state of Nayarit. The region, especially its ravines and canyons, is hot and humid. It receives the most rainfall in the state. There is greater diversity of flora and fauna in its rainforests compared to the desert regions of the state. Animal species include pumas, white-tailed deer, armadillos, badgers, iguanas and

5544-471: The Pima branch. Language preservation varies from communities in which the language dominates to those in which only vestiges remain. The Southern Tepehuans are the largest indigenous group in Durango. The name comes from Nahuatl and means "masters of the hills" or possibly "conquerors in battle." The Tepehuans call themselves o'dam , which means "those who inhabit." Indigenous resistance to Spanish colonization

5670-475: The Quebradas. Most forest land in the state is held by collectives called ejidos, but these have trouble competing with cheaper imported timber. Minerals were the initial draw to the area for the Spanish, the heyday for this activity was the 18th century as most of the state's historical landmarks can attest. However, mining continues to be an important economic activity. Durango is one of Mexico's leading producers of gold. There are deposits of gold and silver in

5796-475: The Rangers, putting the cars out of commission, Jake allows his two sons to accompany him, although relations are strained between them. John Fain, pretending to be only a messenger boy, intercepts the group and warns them that bandits are now after the box. He tells them the gang will kill Little Jake if Big Jake (who is pretending to be a hired hand) doesn't do things exactly the gang's way. He also arranges for

5922-724: The San Jacinto in the Silla Mountains and Peñon Blanco, which many schoolchildren in the area take trips to. Other major geographical formations in the Valleys Region include cliffs called Las Catedrales, along with those called Malpaís and La Breña, which were formed by lava flows over 250,000 hectares. The area is also home to the Cerro de Mercado which is important for its large deposit of iron . The valleys proper are flat and suitable for farming, with irrigation from

6048-579: The Semi-desert. The Semi-desert (sometimes called the Bolsón de Mapimí ) is located in the northeast of the state and includes the municipalities of Hidalgo , Mapimí (including the Silent Zone , Tlahualilo , San Pedro del Gallo , San Luis del Cordero , Nazas , Lerdo , Gómez Palacio , Cuencamé , Santa Clara , General Simón Bolívar and San Juan de Guadalupe . Most of the terrain here

6174-412: The Sierra Madre Occidental covering around two-thirds of the state. Like much of northern Mexico, the state has worked to reforest the degraded forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental. Reforesting efforts have focused on replanting native tree species, versus those used for wood production. However, the tree density in many areas is still too low, especially on the eastern slopes of

6300-460: The Sierra Madre Occidental where tree poaching and clearing for agricultural activities is problematic. Many rivers begin in Durango, but lead into other Mexican states. Some of these rivers empty into the Pacific, or into the lake area of La Comarca, while one, the Florida, flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Ecologically, the state is divided into four regions: La Quebrada, the Sierra, the Valleys and

6426-410: The Sierra and Quebrada regions, most agriculture is subsistence for auto-consumption. Important crops include corn, beans, potatoes and oats. The Sierra is an important dairy producer, with its cheese notable in the state. In Las Quebradas, rivers are an important source of fish, especially trout and catfish. Today, forestry has great importance economically and politically. About 41% of the territory

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6552-457: The Sierra region, San Dimas, Otáez and Topia. The Valleys region has deposits of gold, silver, iron and mercury. Most of the state's commerce is related to agriculture and mining. Gomez Palacio is home to most of the state's industry. There are factories which make cars, textiles, clothes, soap, oils, cookies, pasta and more. Food process, especially of chicken and dairy is important here as well. Durango's main source of income from outside

6678-552: The United States. Sheep and goats are also raised here. Despite its dry climate, another important agricultural area has been the La Laguna region. Cotton was the main commodity crop of the La Laguna from the late 19th century to the 1970s. While some cotton and other crops such as alfalfa, wheat, grapes, sorghum and corn are grown, it is limited to areas along the Nazas and Aguanaval rivers that provide irrigation. Most of

6804-515: The Wasteland , was released in 1924. Process 2 was also used for color sequences in such major motion pictures as The Ten Commandments (1923), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), and Ben-Hur (1925). Douglas Fairbanks ' The Black Pirate (1926) was the third all-color Process 2 feature. Although successful commercially, Process 2 was plagued with technical problems. Because the images on

6930-487: The Wax Museum (1933). Radio Pictures followed by announcing plans to make four more features in the new process. Only one of these, Fanny Foley Herself (1931), was actually produced. Although Paramount Pictures announced plans to make eight features and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer promised two color features, these never materialized. This may have been the result of the lukewarm reception to these new color pictures by

7056-631: The Wind (1939), the film Blue Lagoon (1949), and animated films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Gulliver's Travels (1939), Pinocchio (1940), and Fantasia (1940). As the technology matured, it was also used for less spectacular dramas and comedies. Occasionally, even a film noir  – such as Leave Her to Heaven (1945) or Niagara (1953) – was filmed in Technicolor. The "Tech" in

7182-561: The Zape, Atotonilco and the Hervideros. The area is home to the state capital of Durango and many former haciendas that attest to the area's agricultural history. The Sierra region is in the west of the state. It includes the municipalities of Guanaceví , Tepehuanes , and parts of Santiago Papasquiaro , Topia , Canelas , Otáez , Tamazula , San Dimas , Pueblo Nuevo , Mezquital , Durango , Ocampo and San Bernardo . The terrain

7308-544: The additive Kinemacolor and Chronochrome processes, Technicolor prints did not require any special projection equipment. Unlike the additive Dufaycolor process, the projected image was not dimmed by a light-absorbing and obtrusive mosaic color filter layer. Very importantly, compared to competing subtractive systems, Technicolor offered the best balance between high image quality and speed of printing. The Technicolor Process 4 camera, manufactured to Technicolor's detailed specifications by Mitchell Camera Corporation, contained

7434-607: The agricultural land is in the municipalities of Gómez Palacios, Lerdo and Tlahualilo, part of the Lagunera region. Tlahualilo is also known for the production of watermelon and other melons. The rest of the land is too dry. Livestock is another important activity raising sheep, goats, cattle and chickens. In 1936, Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated 225 profitable haciendas in the La Laguna region to create agricultural collectives called " ejidos ." However, this effort failed to significantly improve life for poor farmers in

7560-518: The animal into an unofficial symbol of state pride. Most are sold encased in acrylic and mounted on knickknacks such as ashtrays, napkin holders, keychains, earrings, wood boxes and wall mountings. These objects dominate tourist markets such as the Gomez market in Durango City. One reason for the limited economic development has been the limited transportation and other communications. The railroad

7686-460: The areas corresponding to the clearest, least-exposed areas of the negative. To make each final color print, the matrix films were soaked in dye baths of colors nominally complementary to those of the camera filters: the strip made from red-filtered frames was dyed cyan-green and the strip made from green-filtered frames was dyed orange-red. The thicker the gelatin in each area of a frame, the more dye it absorbed. Subtle scene-to-scene colour control

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7812-468: The arrival of the train in the city of Durango. The first movie set was constructed in 1922 in the former La Trinidad hacienda just outside the city of Durango, which made three movies. In 1954, 20th century Fox filmed the movie White Feather (La Ley del Bravo) with Robert Wagner and Debra Paget . It was the first Hollywood feature to be shot in the state, followed closely by Robber's Roost (Antro de ladrones) by United Artists. The two films mark

7938-537: The beginning of a movie industry that continues to the present day, although its heyday was in the 1960s and 1970s. The attractions for Hollywood here were the landscapes and the lighting. The first are similar to those of the Old West and the latter due to the climate. From 1954 to 1964, thirteen major productions were shot here and attracted stars such as Burt Lancaster , Audrey Hepburn , Charlton Heston , Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne who worked on films directed by

8064-400: The birthplace of Francisco Villa. For its history, Durango has been both a frontier and central Mexican entity, especially the city. During the colonial period, Durango eventually became one of the main cities of New Spain in part because it was both part of the center and periphery of the territory. One distinction the city has from other colonial cities is that it was not founded on or near

8190-474: The box. Michael McCandles arrives on a motorcycle with news he has found the kidnappers. Martha decides to allow him and his older brother James to set off with the Rangers in REO Runabouts to try to overtake the kidnappers. Jake disapproves and sets off with the box, a mule, packhorses, and his elderly Apache friend Sam Sharpnose, preferring to do things the old-fashioned way. After the kidnappers ambush

8316-445: The center of the state and include the municipalities of Nombre de Dios , Durango , Nuevo Ideal , Canatlán , Guadalupe Victoria , Pánuco de Coronado , Poanas , Súchil , Vicente Guerrero , Ocampo , San Bernardo , Indé , Coneto de Comonfort , El Oro , Rodeo , San Juan del Río and Peñón Blanco . The region consists principally of river valleys and plains located among small mountain ranges. The main peaks in this area include

8442-680: The city, including the Ganot-Peschard Museum of Archeology , which is recognized by the National Institute of Anthropology and History as a site of historical significance. In Súchil, the former hacienda of El Mortero was the home of the Count of the Valley of Súchil and is one of the state's major examples of colonial architecture. The town of Mapimí has conserved its traditional urban layout which has permitted it to become

8568-645: The company's name was inspired by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , where Herbert Kalmus and Daniel Frost Comstock received their undergraduate degrees in 1904 and were later instructors. The term "Technicolor" has been used historically for at least five concepts: Both Kalmus and Comstock went to Switzerland to earn PhD degrees; Kalmus at University of Zurich , and Comstock at Basel in 1906. In 1912, Kalmus, Comstock, and mechanic W. Burton Wescott formed Kalmus, Comstock, and Wescott, an industrial research and development firm. Most of

8694-459: The company, and Technicolor Inc. was chartered in Delaware. Technicolor originally existed in a two-color (red and green) system . In Process 1 (1916), a prism beam-splitter behind the camera lens exposed two consecutive frames of a single strip of black-and-white negative film simultaneously, one behind a red filter, the other behind a green filter. Because two frames were being exposed at

8820-480: The contrast of the final print and concealed any fringing. However, overall colorfulness was compromised as a result. In 1944, Technicolor had improved the process to make up for these shortcomings and the K record was eliminated. Kalmus convinced Walt Disney to shoot one of his Silly Symphony cartoons, Flowers and Trees (1932), in Process 4, the new "three-strip" process. Seeing the potential in full-color Technicolor, Disney negotiated an exclusive contract for

8946-413: The cupped ones could be shipped to their Boston laboratory for flattening, after which they could be put back into service, at least for a while. The presence of image layers on both surfaces made the prints especially vulnerable to scratching, and because the scratches were vividly colored they were very noticeable. Splicing a Process 2 print without special attention to its unusual laminated construction

9072-486: The difficulty of crossing the mountains to the more prosperous Valleys region limited the economy here. Las Quebradas has mineral deposits, principally silver with some gold. Most of these deposits are found in an area that extends from the Humaya River to San Diego. During the 18th century, a number of royal mines were in operation here. They have been worked intermittently since them, with the last major activity in

9198-560: The early patents were taken out by Comstock and Wescott, while Kalmus served primarily as the company's president and chief executive officer. When the firm was hired to analyze an inventor's flicker-free motion picture system, they became intrigued with the art and science of filmmaking, particularly color motion picture processes, leading to the founding of Technicolor in Boston in 1914 and incorporation in Maine in 1915. In 1921, Wescott left

9324-548: The exchange to take place in the town of Escondero. On arrival, the family checks into a hotel and lays a trap for the bandits, killing them. During the attack, the strongbox is accidentally opened, revealing the money has been replaced by newspaper clippings. Both boys believe Jake has stolen the money, until Jake reminds them of the people killed and wounded by the Fain Gang and tells them that he and Martha had decided that they should not profit from it. Pop Dawson arrives with

9450-482: The exciting climax, to which the rest of the film was a "long prelude" that "simply jogs along fairly tediously on the rescue trail, with the star being his laconic self, plus conventional spurts of violence, likewise the saddle humor." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2 stars out of 4 and wrote, "With a little bit of restraint, the latest John Wayne Western, 'Big Jake,' might have been one of

9576-596: The far north of Durango. The Coras have some presence in communities near the Northern Tepehuanos, although they are more numerous in Nayarit and Jalisco. The Northern Tepehuanos are profoundly religious but language and culture is not significantly different from those in the south. The craft items of the state are very similar to those of Zacatecas and Chihuahua. Most of the items made are utilitarian and ceremonial. They are less known compared to those of

9702-495: The feature film industry would soon be turning out color films exclusively. By 1931, however, the Great Depression had taken its toll on the film industry, which began to cut back on expenses. The production of color films had decreased dramatically by 1932, when Burton Wescott and Joseph A. Ball completed work on a new three-color movie camera. Technicolor could now promise studios a full range of colors, as opposed to

9828-464: The film had an extremely slow speed of ASA 5. That, and the bulk of the cameras and a lack of experience with three-color cinematography made for skepticism in the studio boardrooms. An October 1934 article in Fortune magazine stressed that Technicolor, as a corporation, was rather remarkable in that it kept its investors quite happy despite the fact that it had only been in profit twice in all of

9954-412: The first color sound cartoons by producers such as Ub Iwerks and Walter Lantz . Song of the Flame became the first color movie to use a widescreen process (using a system known as Vitascope , which used 65mm film). In 1931, an improvement of Technicolor Process 3 was developed that removed grain from the Technicolor film, resulting in more vivid and vibrant colors. This process was first used on

10080-406: The first live-action short film shot in the three-strip process, La Cucaracha released August 31, 1934. La Cucaracha is a two-reel musical comedy that cost $ 65,000, approximately four times what an equivalent black-and-white two-reeler would cost. Released by RKO , the short was a success in introducing the new Technicolor as a viable medium for live-action films. The three-strip process also

10206-467: The fort. Fain reveals he is the ringleader and reiterates Dawson's threats. Jake throws the key to Fain while Michael gets into position atop the fort with his rifle. Just as Fain opens the chest and realizes the deception, Big Jake opens fire and kills Fain's brother Will, who is holding Little Jake. Michael takes out Duffy, Sam kills Trooper, and James shoots down Dawson and O'Brien but breaks his hand. Fain and Big Jake find themselves both wounded and in

10332-422: The frames exposed behind the red filter were printed on another strip. After development, each print was toned to a color nearly complementary to that of the filter: orange-red for the green-filtered images, cyan-green for the red-filtered ones. Unlike tinting, which adds a uniform veil of color to the entire image, toning chemically replaces the black-and-white silver image with transparent coloring matter, so that

10458-630: The gang flees to Mexico, leaving behind a ransom note for $ 1 million. Martha places the ransom in a strongbox, and delegates from both the United States Army and the Texas Rangers offer to take the box for her. Martha decides instead to send for her estranged husband Jacob "Big Jake" McCandles, who is generally thought to be dead but is really wandering the west as a gunfighter. Jake arrives with his black Rough Collie mix, simply named "Dog," and they confer in secret about what to do with

10584-442: The gate, it cooled and the bulge subsided, but not quite completely. It was found that the cemented prints were not only very prone to cupping, but that the direction of cupping would suddenly and randomly change from back to front or vice versa, so that even the most attentive projectionist could not prevent the image from temporarily popping out of focus whenever the cupping direction changed. Technicolor had to supply new prints so

10710-578: The highlights remain clear (or nearly so), dark areas are strongly colored, and intermediate tones are colored proportionally. The two prints, made on film stock half the thickness of regular film, were then cemented together back to back to create a projection print. The Toll of the Sea , which debuted on November 26, 1922, used Process 2 and was the first general-release film in Technicolor. The second all-color feature in Process 2 Technicolor, Wanderer of

10836-447: The introduction of color did not increase the number of moviegoers to the point where it was economical. This and the Great Depression severely strained the finances of the movie studios and spelled the end of Technicolor's first financial successes. Technicolor envisioned a full-color process as early as 1924, and was actively developing such a process by 1929. Hollywood made so much use of Technicolor in 1929 and 1930 that many believed

10962-573: The late 19th and early 20th century. The deposits attracted Europeans, displacing the native Acaxes , Xiximes and other indigenous groups, whose numbers fell with the introduction of European diseases. Many of the towns in this area including Félix de Tamazula, Valle de Topia, Santa Veracruz de Topia, Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Siánori, Santa María de Otáez and San José de Canelas began as mining towns. The mountains over 3,000 meters above sea level are dominated by dramatic landscapes, including waterfalls, old-growth pine forests and ravines, such as

11088-529: The likes of John Huston and Sam Peckinpah . Between 1965 and 1973, John Wayne alone worked on seven films including the Sons of Katie Elder . During the 1970s a total of 86 films was shot here. Forty-three were U.S. productions; 33 were Mexican productions and nine where collaborations between the two countries. To date, over 130 films have been shot here both because of the Western-type landscapes and

11214-418: The limited red–green spectrum of previous films. The new camera simultaneously exposed three strips of black-and-white film, each of which recorded a different color of the spectrum. The new process would last until the last Technicolor feature film was produced in 1955. Technicolor's advantage over most early natural-color processes was that it was a subtractive synthesis rather than an additive one: unlike

11340-629: The materials. Original Technicolor prints that survived into the 1950s were often used to make black-and-white prints for television and simply discarded thereafter. This explains why so many early color films exist today solely in black and white. Warner Bros., which had vaulted from a minor exhibitor to a major studio with its introduction of the talkies , incorporated Technicolor's printing to enhance its films. Other producers followed Warner Bros.' example by making features in color, with either Technicolor, or one of its competitors, such as Brewster Color and Multicolor (later Cinecolor ). Consequently,

11466-419: The middle and south of the country. Many craft items are still important to local cultures and identities. The most widespread and developed handcraft in the state is pottery, found in just about all of the territory. All of the indigenous groups produce pottery, almost all for utilitarian and ceremonial purposes. There is more modern and varied pottery and ceramics in southern Durango, especially in and around

11592-448: The municipality of Mezquital. This is a mixed ethnic zone and they live near groups of Tepehuanos and Huichols who have traditionally been their enemies. Their presence as a community was practically unknown until the academic work of Honrad T. Preuss in the late 19th century. More recent studies of the people have been carried out by Neyra Patricia Alvarado. The Tarahumaras are mostly in the state of Chihuahua but there are communities in

11718-510: The natural light. The state is still called La Tierra del Cine (Land of the Cinema) although movie production here has waned with the decline of westerns starting in the 1980s. Many of the old sets are still standing, if not used, and some have been converted into tourist attractions, and one has been converted into a real town. Tourism is a small industry here, despite the state's natural resources and history. The government has worked to promote

11844-558: The northern border as well as both coasts. As the nearest seaport, trade and travel to Mazatlan have always been important to the state. The port has been a source for luxury goods since the colonial period, generally paid for with silver mined in the state. The Interoceanic Highway now connects the state with both coasts, and cuts travel time to three hours, less than half what it was before. Newspapers of Durango include: Contacto Hoy , Diario de Durango , El Siglo de Durango , El Sol de Durango, and Victoria de Durango. Durango

11970-464: The only movie made in Process 1, The Gulf Between , which had a limited tour of Eastern cities, beginning with Boston and New York on September 13, 1917, primarily to interest motion picture producers and exhibitors in color. The near-constant need for a technician to adjust the projection alignment doomed this additive color process. Only a few frames of The Gulf Between , showing star Grace Darmond , are known to exist today. Convinced that there

12096-478: The ostensible humor. It's obvious that young actors are needed to appeal to younger viewers and to perform the kinds of physical action that require youth and dexterity and that Wayne is just too visibly massive and slow to accomplish these days—but they're treated almost exclusively as stooges ... There's no good reason why the young leads in a Wayne picture shouldn't be allowed to function with at least as much importance and dignity as Ricky Nelson in ' Rio Bravo ' or

12222-403: The production. Most of the economy of the Sierra region revolves around forestry, including the sawmills and other wood processing facilities located there. Wood products from there are sold both in Durango and other parts of Mexico. They include plywood, furniture, shipping crates for agricultural products as well as pulp for paper. Most of this wood is pine but cedar is also cut in some areas of

12348-432: The projection print made of double-cemented prints in favor of a print created by dye imbibition . The Technicolor camera for Process 3 was identical to that for Process 2, simultaneously photographing two consecutive frames of a black-and-white film behind red and green filters. In the lab, skip-frame printing was used to sort the alternating color-record frames on the camera negative into two series of contiguous frames,

12474-510: The public. Two independently produced features were also made with this improved Technicolor process: Legong: Dance of the Virgins (1934) and Kliou the Tiger (1935). Very few of the original camera negatives of movies made in Technicolor Process 2 or 3 survive. In the late 1940s, most were discarded from storage at Technicolor in a space-clearing move, after the studios declined to reclaim

12600-441: The red-filtered frames being printed onto one strip of specially prepared "matrix" film and the green-filtered frames onto another. After processing, the gelatin of the matrix film's emulsion was left proportionally hardened, being hardest and least soluble where it had been most strongly exposed to light. The unhardened fraction was then washed away. The result was two strips of relief images consisting of hardened gelatin, thickest in

12726-420: The region, often due to a lack of knowledge and technology, especially in the redistribution of water. The failure of this effort exacerbated the effects of droughts leading to crises in the 1950s and 1960s, only overcome with massive federal investment in hydraulic infrastructure, public works and industrialization. However, the effects of these works still have negative consequences for the La Laguna region. In

12852-516: The rivers supported habitat for native grasses, rush and ditch reed which provided habitat for various water birds and fish. The area is home to Durango's only caverns. The Rosario Caves (grutas) are located near Ciudad Lerdo , as well as the Mapimí Biosphere , noted for various plants and the desert tortoise. It is a highly protected area centering on where the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango meet. The Valleys are located in

12978-635: The rivers, along with various species of birds and reptiles. Most of the state's rivers originate in the mountains of this region. Las Quebradas is found in the far west of the state, including parts of Mezquital , Pueblo Nuevo , San Dimas , Otáez , Santiago Papasquiaro , Tamazula , Topia , Canelas and Tepehuanes . The region is subdivided by the rugged, western flank of the Sierra Madre. The terrain features deep ravines, canyons and fast-flowing rivers. The Humaya , Tamazula , Los Remedios, Piaxtla , Presidio , and Baluarte rivers flow west to

13104-573: The same time, the film had to be photographed and projected at twice the normal speed. Exhibition required a special projector with two apertures (one with a red filter and the other with a green filter), two lenses, and an adjustable prism that aligned the two images on the screen. The results were first demonstrated to members of the American Institute of Mining Engineers in New York on February 21, 1917. Technicolor itself produced

13230-439: The stable, but Michael, having come down from his perch, shoots Fain from behind. As Fain dies, Big Jake finally reveals his true identity to him, and to Little Jake, who has never met his grandfather before. Reunited at last, the family acknowledges their renewed bond and prepares to go home. Written as The Million Dollar Kidnapping , which was used as the shooting title, it was filmed from early October to early December 1970, in

13356-444: The state capital in the municipalities of Durango, Poanas and Villa Unión. Common products include flower pots, jars, pots and cazuelas (large cooking vessels). The most decorative pottery is found in and around the city proper, with techniques such as pastillaje (laying small rolls or balls of clay over a pot before firing to make a raised design) and sgraffito , especially in the newer generations of pottery. Pottery production

13482-415: The state for tourism, but this is concentrated mostly on the capital (including the movie sets around the city), two other towns in the state and to some extent, ecotourism. There are many historic and tourist sites in the Valleys region, in particular in the city of Durango. The San Juan del Rio municipality has the house in which Francisco Villa was born. There are several important architectural sites in

13608-403: The state starting in the mid-20th century has been with the production of films. The first known filming in the state occurred when Thomas Edison sent producer James White and cameraman Fred Bleckynden here to film train rides, along with landscapes and scenes of daily life in 1897. The project produced six films, each fifty feet long and included bullfights, women washing clothes, road repair and

13734-480: The surface of its emulsion was a red-orange coating that prevented blue light from continuing on to the red-sensitive panchromatic emulsion of the film behind it, which therefore recorded only the red-dominated third of the spectrum. Each of the three resulting negatives was printed onto a special matrix film. After processing, each matrix was a nearly invisible representation of the series of film frames as gelatin reliefs, thickest (and most absorbent) where each image

13860-494: The three-strip process. One Silly Symphony , Three Little Pigs (1933), engendered such a positive audience response that it overshadowed the feature films with which it was shown. Hollywood was buzzing about color film again. According to Fortune magazine, " Merian C. Cooper , producer for RKO Radio Pictures and director of King Kong (1933), saw one of the Silly Symphonies and said he never wanted to make

13986-475: The two sides of the print were not in the same plane, both could not be perfectly in focus at the same time. The significance of this depended on the depth of focus of the projection optics. Much more serious was a problem with cupping. Films in general tended to become somewhat cupped after repeated use: every time a film was projected, each frame in turn was heated by the intense light in the projection gate, causing it to bulge slightly; after it had passed through

14112-608: The use of the process in animated films that extended to September 1935. Other animation producers, such as the Fleischer Studios and the Ub Iwerks studio, were shut out – they had to settle for either the two-color Technicolor systems or use a competing process such as Cinecolor . Flowers and Trees was a success with audiences and critics alike, and won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film . All subsequent Silly Symphonies from 1933 on were shot with

14238-474: The veteran star's recent best. The most obvious excess, and this is unusual for a John Wayne film, is violence." Arthur D. Murphy of Variety wrote that the film had "[a]n above-average script, plus excellent direction by vet George Marshall and superior photography by William Clothire on Mexican locations," but was "gratuitously violent far beyond the legitimate requirements of the action plot." Kevin Thomas of

14364-405: The years of its existence, during the early boom at the turn of the decade. A well-managed company, half of whose stock was controlled by a clique loyal to Kalmus, Technicolor never had to cede any control to its bankers or unfriendly stockholders. In the mid-'30s, all the major studios except MGM were in the financial doldrums, and a color process that truly reproduced the visual spectrum was seen as

14490-488: The young actor who played opposite Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in ' Ride the High Country ' or, better yet, Montgomery Clift in ' Red River .'" Allen Eyles of The Monthly Film Bulletin declared, "Another genial celebration of Big John's ability to carry a film practically single-handed. Although supported by the group of dependables who usually appear in his films, as well as by a good proportion of his family, it

14616-427: Was an important development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but its benefits did not extend far past where the lines went. The state has one international airport serving the capital, which has limited flights to other major Mexican cities and to the United States. However, its geographical position is becoming a benefit, rather than a hindrance to economic development, with its proximity both to Mexico City and

14742-412: Was apt to result in a weak splice that would fail as it passed through the projector. Even before these problems became apparent, Technicolor regarded this cemented print approach as a stopgap and was already at work developing an improved process. Based on the same dye-transfer technique first applied to motion pictures in 1916 by Max Handschiegl, Technicolor Process 3 (1928) was developed to eliminate

14868-412: Was darkest and thinnest where it was lightest. Each matrix was soaked in a dye complementary to the color of light recorded by the negative printed on it: cyan for red, magenta for green, and yellow for blue (see also: CMYK color model for a technical discussion of color printing). A single clear strip of black-and-white film with the soundtrack and frame lines printed in advance was first treated with

14994-641: Was first duplicated onto a 35mm fine-grain SE negative element in one pass of the 16mm element, thereby reducing wear of the 16mm original, and also eliminating registration errors between colors. The live-action SE negative thereafter entered other Technicolor processes and were incorporated with SE animation and three-strip studio live-action, as required, thereby producing the combined result. The studios were willing to adopt three-color Technicolor for live-action feature production, if it could be proved viable. Shooting three-strip Technicolor required very bright lighting, as

15120-517: Was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and-white films running through a special camera (3-strip Technicolor or Process 4) started in the early 1930s and continued through to the mid-1950s, when the 3-strip camera was replaced by a standard camera loaded with single-strip "monopack" color negative film. Technicolor Laboratories were still able to produce Technicolor prints by creating three black-and-white matrices from

15246-399: Was managed by partial wash-back of the dyes from each matrix. Each matrix in turn was pressed into contact with a plain gelatin-coated strip of film known as the "blank" and the gelatin "imbibed" the dye from the matrix. A mordant made from deacetylated chitin was applied to the blank before printing, to prevent the dyes from migrating or "bleeding" after they were absorbed. Dye imbibition

15372-433: Was no future in additive color processes, Comstock, Wescott, and Kalmus focused their attention on subtractive color processes. This culminated in what would eventually be known as Process 2 (1922) (often referred to today by the misnomer "two-strip Technicolor"). As before, the special Technicolor camera used a beam-splitter that simultaneously exposed two consecutive frames of a single strip of black-and-white film, one behind

15498-423: Was not suitable for printing optical soundtracks, which required very high resolution, so when making prints for sound-on-film systems the "blank" film was a conventional black-and-white film stock on which the soundtrack, as well as frame lines, had been printed in the ordinary way prior to the dye transfer operation. The first feature made entirely in the Technicolor Process 3 was The Viking (1928), which had

15624-530: Was only used indoors. In 1936, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine became the first color production to have outdoor sequences, with impressive results. The spectacular success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), which was released in December 1937 and became the top-grossing film of 1938, attracted the attention of the studios. Film critic Manny Farber on the 1943 Technicolor film For Whom

15750-561: Was particularly fierce there in the north. Eventually, Spanish might forced many to flee into the rugged mountains, where most of the indigenous communities still reside. It was this process that led to the northern and southern branches of the Tepehuan communities. Main Southern Tepehuan communities include Santa María de Ocotán, San Francisco, Teneraca, Taxicarinaga, San Bernardino de Milpillas and Lajas. The Tepehuan religion

15876-432: Was used in some short sequences filmed for several movies made during 1934, including the final sequences of The House of Rothschild ( Twentieth Century Pictures / United Artists ) with George Arliss and Kid Millions ( Samuel Goldwyn Studios ) with Eddie Cantor . Pioneer/RKO's Becky Sharp (1935) became the first feature film photographed entirely in three-strip Technicolor. Initially, three-strip Technicolor

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