The first of three pictures Clint Walker did for Warner Brothers in the wake of his Cheyenne TV fame, Fort Dobbs (1958) is coming from Warner Archive. And if you ask me, it’s the best of the lot. Written by Burt Kennedy (with George W. George), it comes pretty close to the tone he set for the Scott/Boetticher pictures (The Ranown Cycle) — and that’s certainly a recommendation. Having Virginia Mayo and Brian Keith on hand don’t hurt, either.
Gordon Douglas was a good action director, and his work is usually worth seeking out. The Doolins Of Oklahoma (1949) is a really terrific Randolph Scott picture — the next year’s The Nevadan (1950) is almost as good. Them! (1954) is the first, and best, of the giant bug movies. Follow That Dream (1962) is an amiable Elvis flick. And the Frank Sinatra vehicles he did in the late Sixties — Tony Rome (1967), its sequel Lady In Cement (1968) and The Detective (1968) — are often quite good, even if Frank seems to be walking through them at times.
The other two Walker/Douglas films, Yellowstone Kelly (1959) and Gold Of The Seven Saints (1961, which has Nestor Paiva in it), are already available from Warner Archive. (Note to self: do a post on Paiva.)
[An aside: It's been interesting lately to see just how fast the "International Old Western Geek Network" — of which I'm a proud member — spreads the news about these things. Keep up the good work.]
It’s blogs like yours that help us along the way, Between Encore/Starz western channel and what Netflix makes available, it’s wonderful rediscovering these classics.
Keep up the wonderful work.