Came across a few Fred MacMurray Westerns on YouTube. I’m not a big fan of watching movies on the computer, since it’s a pretty lousy approximation of the theaterical experience. But these pictures are hard to see otherwise. Many of them were in CinemaScope and are presented pan-and-scan here, so beware.
Face Of A Fugitive (1959) features an early role for James Coburn. A Columbia picure, it was 1.85 — so it looks OK on YouTube. Pretty good picture, too. Link here.
Day Of The Badman (1958) from Universal-International gives MacMurray a fabulous cast to work with: Joan Weldon, Skip Homeier, Marie Windsor, Lee Van Cleef, Edgar Buchanan and more. It was in Eastman Color and CinemaScope. Watch it, or about half its width, here.
At Gunpoint (1955) from Allied Artists boasts another great cast: MacMurray, Walter Brennan, Dorothy Malone and Skip Homeier. Another one that screams for a widescreen transfer. It’s showtime!
While he had his own ranch (now a vineyard), it’s said that MacMurray didn’t like all the riding these pictures required. But he did quite a few of them in the late 50s and plays quite well in a Western. A Good Day For A Hanging (1958), which is available on DVD, is well worth seeking out.
The gunfight in “Face of a Fugitive” is one of my favourites. Exciting fight in an interesting location. Well done!
For some reason, it’s hard for me to imagine MacMurray in Westerns. I guess he always comes across like the guy who’d rather be schmoozing in the back rooms than the one drawing a gun. But maybe he’ll surprise me.
I was right there with ya — Mr. Douglas or the Absent-Minded Professor in a Western?
But just like Double Indemnity showed how good, and versatile, MacMurray could be, these cowboy pictures do, too. He seems right at home in ‘em. None of these are outstanding 50s Westerns, but they’re not junk, either. Face Of A Fugitive is a really cool little film — I find more to like about it every time I see it — and I really dig A Good Day For A Hanging.
Give Frontier Fred a shot, you’ll be surprised.
Can’t say I liked THE MOONLIGHTER (for a MacMurray/Stanwyck film, it was rubbish), but I’m interested in both AT GUNPOINT and QUANTEZ owing to their featuring of Dorothy Malone, who’s one of my favourites.
I’m quite fond of At Gunpoint. It’s a kind of a variation on High Noon, and fairly successful until it cops out at the end. There’s a Spanish DVD that only features a Spanish dub – no original English track!
Do you know anything about the Spanish DVD of Face Of A Fugitive?
Sorry Toby. I can’t dig up any info on that one. One of the annoying things about Spanish discs is that it’s nearly impossible to find out anything definite short of buying the things – or happening upon someone who’s already got a copy.
MacMurray is one of many veteran actors who grew in screen authority with maturity and it shows very much in a half-dozen late 50s Westerns (1955-1959), to which he was well-suited whether he himself especially enjoyed them or not. Taken together, these are an excellent group–I’m referring specifically to AT GUNPOINT (1955; Alfred Werker), GUN FOR A COWARD (1957; Abner Biberman); QUANTEZ (1957; Harry Keller), DAY OF THE BADMAN (1958; Keller); GOOD DAY FOR A HANGING (1959; Nathan Juran), and FACE OF A FUGITIVE (1959; Paul Wendkos), most of these already noted appreciatively here. MacMurray’s roles in four of these are the solid citizen (rancher, storekeeper, lawman, judge) and though variously fine, neither he nor the films are quite as interesting (even COWARD, which is unusual and notably interesting) as the best two, QUANTEZ and FACE OF A FUGITIVE, in which MacMurray is on the other side of the law, in the first a mysterious (and it turns out legendary) gunman who has drifted into outlawry and the second a hardened outlaw. These two films, which I believe are outstanding, have the redemption/renewal theme that peaked in late 50s Westerns and is one of the genre’s strongest and best expressed in so many films, and I think these two films are outstanding Westerns, especially FUGITIVE, my favorite MacMurray Western, and one in which he is especially superb, and my favorite Wendkos movie, given my favoritism of the genre.
What really motivated me to post here were Toby’s comments about pan and scan, because as it happened, it was a viewing of AT GUNPOINT on the Western Channel perhaps five or six years that finally made me swear off pan and scan for good after years of being willing to endure it. It’s not that the film is so brilliantly composed for ‘Scope
–perhaps because it’s not, but rather workmanlike and conscientious and aware of the wide screen as its format, and that was enough on this occasion, given my memory of a theatrical viewing in ’55, to finally feel the acuity of just what happens to any movie when it is subject to pan and scan, and not only those that are masterly in use of wide screen. It’s not just that part of the images are missing—the mood and feeling of the film changes and is really hurt by it. I had looked forward to seeing this one again—it still seemed good, and I would watch it tomorrow if I could see it in the right format, but something just clicked and I felt I didn’t want to watch films like this anymore. By now, I’ve seen just about everything that’s a must for me, but some not for a long time, and I only hope they will become available as they were meant to be seen, but I know it’s not happening fast, and they are still hard to see, as Toby observes.
You’re right, Blake. These are excellent films. Coming across these on YouTube, and watching the DVD of Good Day For A Hanging reminded me.
As you also said, these pictures are a good example of the whole widescreen dilemma. As excited as I was to come across them the other day, I couldn’t actually watch the CinemaScope ones. And to think that for years, we used to see almost every Scope picture this way on TV!
I want to include a Regalscope picture in my book. The Quiet Gun is a good one (it’s got Hand Worden in it), but the only way I can find it is pan and scan — and it’s impossible to sit through.
In addition to the pan and scan problem which ruins movies, there also is the commercial break which we used to put up with all the time on TV. Now at least TCM, Fox Movie Channel, and the Western Channel will show movies without commercials. AMC unfortunately uses commercials all the time and I no longer can watch a western on their channel.
Regarding the Spanish version of “Face Of A Fugitive” I seem to
recall the screen grabs on the Mundodvd website looked pretty good.
It is quite expensive and surely Columbia Screen Classics MOD series
will get around to releasing it some day.According to Amazon UK the
same Spanish company have now released it on Blu-Ray!
The Spanish version of “The Oregon Trail” is a top class transfer.
“The Oregon Trail” was sort of Regalscope Plus!
Considering the sort of stuff appearing on the MGM Limited Edition
Collection MOD series I dont know why they dont throw in a few Regalscope
titles;its the same parent company after all.
Anyone out there in Fiftieswesternland got the goods on the German
Public Domain imprint Vergessene Western.They recently released
“Sitting Bull” in Widescreen and its an OK transfer.
What I would really like to know is if their version of Allan Dwans
“The Restless Breed” is any good. Like Colin says sometimes the only
way to find out is to buy the darn things yourself.
I’m sorry to post a non-MacMurray western related question – but I came across a Spanish DVD of “Great Day In The Morning” on Ebay. Has anyone got any info on it’s quality?
“The Oregon Trail” was a 20th Century-Fox CinemaScope picture in Color by De Luxe. RegalScope was Fox’s name for black and white CinemaScope second features, or supporting films, made between 1956 and 1959. They were shot with the same Bausch and Lomb anamorphic lenses and were, in fact, CinemaScope films in all but name. I went to see “The Oregon Trail” as a 13 year old in April, 1960 and that was the last time I saw the film full width until buying the Spanish 2.35:1 CinemaScope DVD of it a year ago. It’s a beautiful transfer and the original English language version with a choice of either English or Spanish dialogue. Only the DVD cover and menu are in Spanish, the DVD itself is of the original American version. It can be obtained through amazon uk or eBay uk. For some some reason, Fox have released a lot of their old movies, including Westerns, on Region 2 DVD in Spain, but not in the UK or US.
Not too long ago, I interviewed Maury Dexter who worked on several of the RegalScope films — he was employed by Lippert/Regal. He had some great stories about making those cheap Westerns (which I like very much). I’m working on a post on Frontier Gun.
Dexter also, I believe, worked on Oregon Trail.
I haven’t seen “Frontier Gun” with John Agar since I was 12 in 1959. Oddly enough, I do have a complete Front-of-House set from it of eight black and white stills and I feel sure I also have the 30 x 40 inches quad poster for it in my collection. It was originally released in the the UK as the supporting film to “The Son of Robin Hood”.
I think MacMurray was way underestimated. He was up there equal with the big boys in my book. Great actor, no ifs ands or buts about it.