For 50s Westerns fans, the Joel McCrea Westerns Collection has to be one of the biggest video releases of the year. We first heard it was coming in early December. There were no titles listed, and it was kind of assumed we’d be seeing the six pictures McCrea made for U-I from 1950-54.
Well, we were right. Sorta. Almost.
Colin pointed out this morning that it’s been officially announced, with a release date of April 2 from TCM. The contents of this much-anticipated set, now that they’re finalized, has me scratching my head a bit.
Two of the six 1950-54 films are there: Cattle Drive (1951) and Border River (1954). Then there’s The Virginian (1946), which is already available from Amazon’s Universal Vault Series, and Mustang Country (1976), which would be McCrea’s last film.
This leaves Universal with four very good pictures to make up the Joel McCrea Westerns Collection Vol. 2. Let’s hope this first one is successful enough to make the second worthwhile. And now that we’re on the subject, where’s the Audie Murphy Westerns Collection Vol. 2?
Wow, I’m both happy and frustrated. It’s kind of an odd selection — as you say, THE VIRGINIAN is already out. Where is SADDLE TRAMP? (At least I recorded it not long ago from Encore Westerns…need to watch it soon! Of course, I could say that about a couple hundred films…grin.) Very interesting. Let’s hope for second volumes, as you say!
Thanks for the great tip!
Best wishes,
Laura
Well I think this makes an interesting collection for those who don’t already own a number of these titles. Personally, I have excellent quality copies of Border River and The Virginian from Germany and the UK respectively. As such, I won’t be getting this set. Cattle Drive interests me, Mustang Country is an unknown quantity – so basically $40 or thereabouts for these two. I’m afraid I’ll have to pass on this. A second volume consisting of what’s left, well that would be a different story.
I’ve never been a big fan of The Virginian. (Am I going to hell for saying that?)
The two 50s pictures are musts for me, and Mustang Country is a really pleasant film, but it’s really seen as a curio — McCrea’s last picture.
Like you, I think Volume 2 will be a fine, fine thing indeed.
To be perfectly honest, I’ve always thought of The Virginian as fairly routine 40s fare myself. I can’t see you feeling the heat for that particlar confession.
In my review a couple years ago I described THE VIRGINIAN as a “fairly traditional Saturday matinee style Western.” I enjoyed it because of McCrea, the Technicolor, and outdoor filming, but unlike many McCrea films, I can’t say it’s really stuck with me over the past two years.
Best wishes,
Laura
Really amazed at the inclusion of THE VIRGINIAN as its out already out
and why not SADDLE TRAMP and THE LONE HAND his two best
Fifties Universal Westerns.As a very die hard fan Im gonna have to
get this;and I already have the top-notch German copy of BORDER
RIVER.Apart from idiots like me I do not see great sales for this set
so I am not holding my breath for Vol 2.Funny;but I kinda get the
impression someone at Universal really likes McCrea.
On the plus side it is great to have CATTLE DRIVE at long last to
replace my off-air copy. Also I am really pleased about MUSTANG
COUNTRY which is more “Wildlife Adventure” rather than Western.
That genre was very popular in the 1970s.The film has very
brief supporting roles for Patrick Wayne and Robert Fuller and does
have some truly jaw-dropping scenery.The film interestingly is set in
1925 and Joel plays a veteran Rodeo rider.
I wonder if BORDER RIVER is a Widescreen presentation that would
be really cool.
Re THE VIRGINIAN I do agree with the comments already made but
in 1946 the film was a smash hit.I have always wondered it Stuart
Gilmore actually directed it because Directors of smash hits were normally
swamped with offers back then.He actually did little else and was best
known as a top editor on many Paramount classics.I get the feeling
producer Paul Jones did him a favour to kick start his directing career.
Gilmore returned to editing in the Fifties and worked on many top
notch Fox Cinemascope films.
Regarding the missing 4 Universal Westerns I hold out more hope
that Sidonis in France will issue these;especially with the rate that they
are putting out Universal Westerns.
Has anyone seen the lovely cover art for the forthcoming Universal
100th Anniversary edition of SULLIVANS TRAVELS?
Oh; by the way Maltin gives MUSTANG COUNTRY three stars and calls
it an “excellent Western”
I watched THE LONE HAND today, recorded on DVR off the Western Channel. This holds up as really superior, beautiful locations as always made expressive by George Sherman, and supporting a really unusual story. And it’s kind of a tricky one because the hero really doesn’t do right to lie to his son and the woman he marries and then loves, even if he is a Pinkerton man and on the side of right–his behavior is disturbing to them and one feels they wouldn’t forget it soon, especially the son, even if they understand it at the end. The movie confronts all this pretty directly, first in Jimmy Hunt’s well-conceived and well-delivered narration and then near the end in a fine scene between McCrea and Hale which does end with them reconciling and the actors get it over (this role really needed McCrea to work) but possibly after that the end glosses over everything a little more than would be ideal; it’s too dramatic for everything to suddenly become so peaceful. And it would have helped if the climax were a little more violent too–McCrea subdues both remaining villains with his fists, but if that perhaps works well with Charles Drake, I see no reason why Alex Nicol couldn’t have died in a shootout with McCrea, perhaps with Jimmy Hunt’s life on the line. But this is mild critique of a movie I actually do consider superior.
I know I’m not alone in considering SADDLE TRAMP (especially, and I also got back to this recently) and THE LONE HAND as best of the bunch, and have to agree the selection is disappointing, especially as it wasn’t made entirely from that 50s group of 6. I’ve said before I like THE VIRGINIAN pretty well, and better than Fleming’s original even though it is a close remake (but Gilmore cannot be faulted for the realization and despite his lack of director credits, I give him points for doing pretty well)–being made in 1946, when Westerns were maturing, helped it. But I mainly value it because it begins McCrea’s concentration on the genre in the postwar period which led to his films with especially Walsh, Fregonese, Sherman, De Toth, Newman, and his ideal director Jacques Tourneur, not to mention RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY.
Speaking of which I wish McCrea had called it a day with that as Randolph Scott did, so sublime are both both actors in it. I still haven’t seen MUSTANG COUNTRY–is it correct that it clips some earlier Universal McCreas as I’ve heard? Given the subject I’m guessing it might be BLACK HORSE CANYON that was used for clips of a younger McCrea. I guess I should see it sometime
as a McCrea completist.
It’s been a long while since I’ve seen The Lone Hand, but I remember it being a good one.
I’m about halfway through a post/chapter on Saddle Tramp — and I’m in love with the film right now.
I think it’s Black Horse Canyon AND Cattle Drive that supply Mustang Country with some younger McCrea shots. It’s not all that good, but since I’d watch a movie called Joel McCrea Brushes His Teeth, it’ll do.
It’s Joel McCrea, you should see it.
My usual gripe again, WHERE do you get these? Is this from the TCM website? As for choices, I agree with everyone’s comments. The last picture I expected to be released was “Mustang Country”. I have all the movies mentioned but being a McCrea nut, I will gladly buy these official versions (once I find out where). Even more interesting to me and to most people would be to see the release of the only 2 “new” McCrea westerns I DON’T have, “Young Rounders” & “Sioux Nation”. I’ve never seen these 2 and don’t have them on DVD, I have “Mustang Country” already. But I’d really like to see the ’50′s McCrea westerns released FIRST. All of them. But getting the official releases of “Cattle Drive” & “Border River” make it worth the price all by themselves.
I love Joel McCrea, but I’ve mostly seen the non-Westerns. The only Westerns of his I’ve seen are The Virginian and Ride the High Country (which he’s great in). Man, I really need to get caught up.
Although “Young Rounders” and “Sioux Nation” are listed on IMDB
I have doubts if they actually exist and if they do they are probably
documentaries.BORDER RIVER has been released “officially” in both
Germany and Spain;the German DVD has a nice trailer too.
No one seems to like MUSTANG COUNTRY that much but honestly
its not that bad.
A great unheralded McCrea Western is SOUTH OF ST LOUIS;big
budget and crammed with action;breathless pacing from Ray Enright.
No doubt the Warner Archive will give this one a DVD release soon.
South Of Saint Louis is a big favorite of mine. With McCrea, Zachary Scott and Dorothy Malone, what’s not to like?
I always thought the gimmick of the spurs with the bells on them was a nice touch, making the big finish even more satisfying.
Funny that 2 of Joel McCrea’s best Westerns were cross-over remakes of earlier Gangster movies .” South of St.Louis” is Westernised from the old Jimmy Cagney film “The Roaring 20′s” and of course “Colorado Territory” from “High Sierra”
I’m also a fan of South of St. Louis–really knocked me out the first time, especially because of the same thing Toby mentioned, the bells on the spurs which added so much to the climax, especially what happens with Zachary Scott’s character at that point–which is the kind of thing I just love about Westerns, and always like Zachary Scott in any event. and he’s so ideal for a role like this one. I think we should mention Alexis Smith too, and Douglas Kennedy as the third former partner. This is by far the best Enright I’ve seen.
I never would have thought of the relationship to The Roaring 20s, Bruce–I see it now that you say it but it’s beautifully transposed and reworked.
I would’ve never caught that Roaring 20s connection, either.
Another great Ray Enright is Paramounts FLAMING FEATHER great
cast and plenty of action.As with SOUTH OF SAINT LOUIS the very
wonderful Victor Jory walks away with the picture. Was there any other
screen villian in movie history that could infuse his “bad guys” with so
much sly humour?What Enrights pictures lack in terms of artistic merit
they make up for in pure drive and energy.Enright also pushed the
violence envelope as far as he could at the time;what about that fight
between Randy and Forrest Tucker in CORONER CREEK with its
head-butting and hand stomping!
Of course Joels two late Forties films SOSL and COLORADO TERRITORY
are outstanding.The latter much admired by Mr.Scorsese no less, for
the feeling of impending doom constant throughout the entire film.
Speaking of Joels late Forties films the Noirish RAMROD is due out
from Wild Side in France on 29 Feb from what I understand to be the
new high definition master.Sadly it will probably have “forced” subtitles.
Interesting that such a good film could be made when the director and
leading man did not get on. De Toth wanted Gary Cooper to star and
Joel wanted Raoul Walsh to direct.Andre de Toth of course went on
to make six films with Joels buddy Randy Scott.
I’d be very interested to see how RAMROD turns out; it’s great little film that needs a decent release. I had heard rumors that another (very reputable) Euro outfit were looking to release it, but I don’t know how that will pan out.
As I mentioned the excellent FLAMING FEATHER I began thinking
that its a shame that its not among the classic Paramount Westerns
that are due to be released by Olive Films. I am not holding my breath
as they have had the rights to these for a couple of years now.
Its a shame that Paramount do not have an MOD program as they
also;I am led to believe; hold the rights to the Republic library.
Not only that but also the aforementioned RAMROD; so a USA release
is highly unlikely.
Then there is all that AC Lyles stuff that is lost in the ether;OK these
films are no classics but are worth seeing for the casts alone.
I am sure AC would have tried to get his buddy Joel to star in some
of these;I am sure glad that he did not!
Olive Films to me seem to be an art-house outfit not the sort of people
to market Fifties Westerns.How come VCI never got involved!
I was dismayed,Toby when you mentioned somewhere that their
super “Darn Good Westerns” sets were poor sellers.
If that is so are people going to pay $20 for a single title when they
can get six films for the same.Also the amount of “bootlegging” going
on is alarming;already even over here in the UK bootlegs are available
of the Audie Murphy and Tim Holt sets. It would seem the people who
killed off “proper” DVD releases in the States are also determined
to do the same to MOD. A slight ray of hope that over here in the UK
local councils have clamped down on selling “bootlegs” at all Film Fairs.
I have no problem with people recording films off air that are not
otherwise available;but ripping off “official” releases I am dead against.
To prove my point just look at how Westerns have dropped off in
the MOD series from Columbia and MGM/UA.
More power to the folks at Warners for still supporting Westerns in
spite of all this!
Also finally these bootleggers are going to end up with their homes
filled up with worthless junk;just look at how much “official” DVDs go
for when they are out of print;after all its always nice to have something
that is one day going to be a “collectors item”
I first saw THE VIRGINIAN in the 1950s when it was re-released. Oddly enough, the theatrical print I saw was in black and white. I was a child at the time and loved the movie, but it was years later before I realized I had seen a black-and-white print of a color film. Same thing happened with HALLS OF MONTEZUMA.
I first saw some Randolph Scott movies on TV in b/w that I later discovered were actually released in color. The first time I saw “The Nevadan”, “Coroner Creek” & “Cariboo Trail” on TV they were all in b/w, I knew they looked like they were supposed to be color, esp. the opening credits, they just looked like they were supposed to be in color. But only in recent years have I been able to get the color versions of these, very happy to say. I prefer color over b/w, and colorized over b/w, but please let’s not start arguing over colorized vs. b/w, if you prefer b/w bless you, go in peace and allow me to enjoy my colorized “Fighting Kentuckian” (& many others).
Johnny G; was your copy of CARIBOO TRAIL off a TV broadcast.
I had one but it was pretty bad;also the film came out in Spain,but
I understand the quality is horrific!
The 3 Nat Holt/Randolph Scott released in the early Fifties by Fox
were all filmed in Cinecolor.One of the three FIGHTING MAN OF THE
PLAINS is the “Holy Grail” for Western collectors;no one seems to have
a color copy.
A Dutch company Ignite Films http://www.ignite-films.com has decent black
and white copies of all three (the other title being CANADIAN PACIFIC)
and they tell me that they are trying to source decent color elements
of all three films.
These were far from the best films Randy ever made but I would love
to have good color copies of them.
Victor Jory is magnificent in CARIBOO TRAIL.
There’s a pretty nice laserdisc of Cariboo Trail that paired it with Allan Dwan’s Restless Breed.
They pop up on eBay every once in a while for $50 or so.
I originally recorded these b/w versions of “The Nevadan”, “Coroner Creek” & “Cariboo Trail” all from the TNT cable channel 20 years ago, back when TNT used to show great old movies. But all of these were broadcast in b/w, I was thrilled to get color versions in recent times. As for “Fighting Man of the Plains”, I’ll have to check whether mine’s in b/w or color, I don’t remember.
Speaking of Joel McCrea, over the weekend I saw for the first time “Saddle Tramp”, what a truly fine and excellent film (in beautiful color too). It’s a movie your kids could watch, a nice story with good people. They sure don’t make ‘em like this anymore. I give it 4 Sheriff stars.
It’s really an outstanding little film. It’s a crime that it’s hard to find.
Just a follow-up: Fighting Man of The Plains will be on TCM on 3/15 at 10:15 a.m. E.S.T., TCM website lists the film as being in color. So hopefully this means they’ll be showing a color version of the movie. (The version I have right now is b/w.) Be there or be square!
I don’t know if anyone will read this, but BAD news, TCM’s showing of Fighting Man… was in b/w!! You’d think TCM of all places would have a color print to show esp. since they even list the movie as being in color. What a disappointment. I wonder if a color print exists?
There are at least partial (nitrate) color elements at UCLA, I believe.
Unfortunately, I don’t see this being a big priority for restoration. What a drag.
Jimmy Hunt, “Saddle Tramp” and “The Lone Hand” is my son-in-law’s father. I can tell you he’s one of the kindest, gentlest and funniest guys I know. A prince of a guy to know. We have a blast when we are together. He hits some of the sci-fi shows once in a while. Do you remember “Invaders from Mars?” Great fun to watch today. Joel McCrae was one of the best and nicest of the old stars with whom he worked.
Lou
Most of his movies are on a site called demonoid,they have all the great and not so great westerns
How do I get the dvds
You order them direct from TCM:
http://shop.tcm.com/joel-mccrea-westerns-dvd-collection/detail.php?p=366928&v=
You might also try Movies Unlimited, this is where I got it. It was on sale there when I bought and was a lot cheaper than TCM & Amazon. Don’t know what the price is now on Movies Unlimited, but it’s worth a look to see.