I vaguely remember Richard Edson’s camera. Maybe it was an Olympus. There was a lot going on and I didn’t examine it closely. In retrospect, we should have included that camera as part of his drummer boy costume. It would have fit the anachronistic scheme of things. But then we would have had to put charges in it, and blow it to bits along with the drum…
We were making WALKER in Nicaragua, in 1987. We shot in various cities including Managua, Granada, and RIvas, and what was then a small village on the beach, San Juan del Sur. Richard was acting in the film, playing William Walker’s drummer boy, Turley. He has a great speech, where he tells the Colonel that every picture of a battle scene he’s seen depicts the company drummer boy, lying dead beside his drum. Turley wonders if he can put down the drum, and carry a rifle instead. Walker smiles, puts a reassuring hand on Turley’s shoulder and declares, “As long as you are under my command, no harm will come to you.”
Next day Walker leads his little army into Rivas. Turley is the first to be shot down.
Tom Collins was our “official” set photographer: he played the journalist interviewing Walker in Granada. Lynn Davis, Rene Auberjonois, and others took some very nice pictures, on set and off. But until last week I hadn’t seen any of Richard’s photographs. Now he has sent me some, and generously given his permission for me to share a few here.
Above are Dick Rude and Edward Tudor Pole, standing in front of the church into which Walker (both the historical Walker, and our actor, Ed Harris) notoriously rode a horse. They too are actors, as you may have guessed. This was one of our Granada locations.
And here’s Joe Strummer. After playing kool, hipster assassins in STRAIGHT TO HELL, he and Dick were determined to do something different. Dick wore a fat suit and played the cook, Washburn. Joe chose to be the least-noticeable, scumbliest of all Walker’s Immortals as Faucet, the cook’s assistant. Several of Richard’s photos work like this, with different planes of action. In the forground, Strummer, distracted. In the background, the director and Dr. Jones (Rene Assa).
This is my favourite of Richard’s WALKER pix. It works on four or five planes. In the forground is Ed Pansullo, in character for his portrait, as Major Angus. But our eyes are drawn past Ed, to the wonderful Abbie Fields, one of the ADs, bringing Richard his drum. Following Abbie is another Ed – Colonel Walker. In the middle distance, Doc Holliday appears to have wandered in from TOMBSTONE RASHOMON. And in the background, taking advantage of the shade, are the Nicarguan extras, in costume.
This one has a somewhat vignetty, antiquy thing going on. On the left, Ed Tudor Pole again (there were numerous Eds in WALKER, including the executive producer, Ed Pressman). On the right, Zander Schloss, soon to become part of Joe’s Latino Rockabilly War. There was a lot of music in and around WALKER, which Richard E I’m sure enjoyed.
This brief gallery would not be complete without a portrait of the artist. Here is Richard, in civilian attire, with three of our extras from the Battle of Rivas.
The man is a serious photographer. He has a new book of photos which he took during the pandemic, YEAR ZERO. And also a previous collection, MOVIE LIFE, the cover of which features him and Frederick Neumann – the muleskinner from WALKER. (I assume the two shots of Richard were taken by Tom Collins — official photographer to The Pogues, with an eye for group portraiture).
There is also a film in the works, about Richard and his YEAR ZERO photographs, directed by Nick Ebeling.
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