Larry McMurtry has completed the fifth book in "The Last Picture Show" Saga, entitled
"Rhino Ranch" and it completes the series that spans some 50 years.

 

Trip to Archer City Finds Last
Episode in "The Last Picture Show" Saga

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

The Royal Theater, in Archer City, shown at right, was the scene of the John Wayne Movie "Red River," that

was the last picture show to be shown in the movie "The Last Picture Show." You'll also recognize the other
buildings and the ones in the photos below.

 

For those of you who traveled to Wichita Falls, last weekend for the Wildcat Football Game with WF Rider, the small North-central Texas towns of Alvord, Bowie, Windthorst, Gainesville, etc., may have been in your travel itinerary. Well, twenty-five miles south of Wichita Falls, lies the town of Archer City, home of Texas Author, Larry McMurtry. The town was the fictitious setting of "Anarene" and "Thalia" in his "The Last Picture Show" Saga, that began with the 1966 release of the first book, by that name, and touted by many as a semi-autobiography of his life.

 

 

"The Last Picture Show" was made into a movie by director Peter Bogdanovich, that was released in 1971, to be nominated for 8 Academy Awards. The Black & White movie, that depicted the coming of age of Sonny Crawford, Duane Moore, and Jacy Farrow, three students at Anarene High School, in the small North-central Texas town.

The town was depicted as "one-horse" with not much of anything going on, but the ranching and cattle industry, and the oil patch, except on Friday nights, when the local high school football team took to the field, and they weren't even very good, in the early 1950's setting. Cybill Shepard played the part of Jacy Farrow, in her film debut, as the heiress of Farrow Oil. Sonny and Duane weren't so lucky to have a privileged up-bringing. Most who saw the movie, or read the book, will remember "Ruth Popper" the famous coach's wife, in her role of seducing Sonny.

 

 

Ranching, above, and the oil patch, below, are the primary economic
ventures in and around Archer City.

 

 

 

 

Next, McMurtry wrote the sequel to "The Last Picture Show," and called it "Texasville," that found Sonny Crawford and Duane Moore, as grown men, in the 1980's oil boom and bust. This novel was also made into a movie.

Subsequent sequels included: "Duane's Depressed" and "When The Light Goes."

 

The Archer City Football Field, home of the Archer City Wildcats, and located right next
to the Church of Christ.

 

Last Friday's trip to Archer City found the town in "much the same shape" as it was in McMurtry's saga, ranching and the oil industry are still the chief economic sources in the town. I ate breakfast at The Wildcat Cafe, just north, off the square, and me and four other customers were the bulk of the trade...a man that looked like an oil field worker, an EMT with the Archer County Fire & Rescue, and an elderly gentleman who looked to be retired from the oil patch, and what appeared to be the owner of the cafe, enjoying breakfast and his morning coffee. The waitress in the cafe even favored the one I recalled in "The Last Picture Show." However, I can report that the Western omelet, hashbrowns, and biscuits were "good and filling."

 

 

 

 

 

A trip to the antique store, next door, revealed a number of historical artifacts from the area, as well as a wide selection of McMurtry's books, and other memorabilia. And, a subsequent trip to McMurtry's own "Booked Up" Bookstores, that occupy four buildings in the downtown area of Archer City, revealed a very nice selection of rare and unique books.

 

 

 

While there, I obtained the new and "final" release of "The Last Picture Show" Saga, entitled  "Rhino Ranch." For those of you who have enjoyed the earlier releases, you're going to find this segment a fitting end to the saga. Duane Moore is back in "Thalia" following a recent divorce, and a billionairess, K.K. Slaughter, has bought property next to his cabin, where she works to save the almost extinct Black Rhinos. Slaughter brings the giant animals to the area with mixed emotions by the townspeople and suddenly finds a couple of hunters who "take aim" at one of her prized animals.

 

 

 

 

 

Duane, now in his 70's, finds himself on a journey into retirement, having problems with the adjustments and doubting his self-worth. He befriends Slaughter, as she purchases the local motel and converts it into a home. You'll find local humor in Bub and Dub, twin employees of Rhino Ranch, and the retired cowboy, Boyd Cotton, who chases rhinos instead of steers. Duane and his former employee, Bobby Lee Baxter, both lament their aging process in "Thalia," and even attempt to take college classes to occupy their time.

 

 

The Dairy Queen in Archer City.

 

"Rhino Ranch" is a fitting end to "The Last Picture Show" Saga, as it delivers an emotional and bittersweet tribute to the lives of the townspeople, who have captured the hearts of millions in one of the more long-standing Texas sagas. Get your copy of "Rhino Ranch" at your local bookstore.

 

As stated in "The Last Picture Show," "all roads lead away from Archer City!!"

 

 

And....I didn't find any "rhinos" on my trip, but I gave this large beast plenty of
room, when we met-up beside the road, near Archer City!!!

_____