A while back, I brought up an exclusive at Collector’s Choice on some Alan Ladd pictures from Warner Archive. Well, that arrangement has about run its course, and those titles will soon be available through normal Warner Archive channels.
Drum Beat (1954)
Directed by Delmer Daves
Starring Alan Ladd, Audrey Dalton, Charles Bronson and Elisha Cook, Jr.
The Big Land (1957)
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Starring Alan Ladd, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O’Brien, Anthony Caruso, Julie Bishop and John Qualen.
Guns Of The Timberland (1960)
Directed by Robert D. Webb
Starring Alan Ladd, Jeanne Crain, Gilbert Roland and Frankie Avalon
__________
There’s another exclusive, this time with Oldies.com, on a couple Allied Artists CinemaScope Westerns to be released July 15.
Oregon Passage (1958)
Directed by Paul Landres
Starring John Ericson and Lola Albright
Paul Landres made some solid low-budget Westerns (Frontier Gun, for instance), so I have high hopes for this one. Incidentally, it’s working title was Rio Bravo. Wonder how the change in title went down, with Howard Hawks’ own Rio Bravo in production around the same time?
Gunsmoke in Tucson (1958)
Directed by Thomas Carr
Starring Mark Stevens and Forrest Tucker
I’ve been on the lookout for this one for quite some time, which goes into familiar range war/brothers-on-opposite-sides-of-the-law territory. I’d also love to see Carr’s The Tall Stranger (1957), starring Joel McCrea and Virginia Mayo, turn up on DVD.
Good news here, Toby! I know John Knight is going to be over-the-moon about these two from Oldies.com – they are high on his “wish-I-could -get” list!
Thanks for bringing this to attention.
I’m really stoked about these, too. It’s good news for all of us that love the lower-budgeted stuff.
Oh, the Oldies exclusive is three months, I think — in case they don’t ship to the UK.
What about ” Jack Slade ” (1953) starring Mark Stevens and Dorothy Malone ?
Bravo! for ” Gunsmoke in Tucson” and ” Oregon passage ” with the sultry Lola Albright.
I’m with ya. Jack Slade is way up there on my Want List.
Yes, it’s nice to know about these. I saw “Oregon Passage” when it came out in 1958 and want to see it again. Never saw “Gunsmoke in Tucson.”
I guess you won’t hear legions of moviegoers saying this, but I’m someone who will say I like both Paul Landres and Thomas Carr.
Blake, I’m with ya on Landres and Carr. Both did some good TV work, and their few Western features always seem to have something going for them.
Certainly not on par with, say, Leslie Selander, but worth watching for.
This is great news. However a note of caution. I do hope the dvd quality is good as many from oldies.com are not. By the way, has anyone noticed the amazon releases to download to your pc or x box. A lot of these are not available on dvd, such as RED MOUNTAIN, THE REDHEAD AND THE COWBOY, PASSAGE WEST, THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK (1950) .
Great news about these 2 DVDS.I will order these for sure .I wish they’d put RE MOUNTAIN on DVD’
Toby ,I have THE TALL STRANGER on a Spanish DVD .
Sorry ,my previous comment should read RED MOUNTAIN
Sadly JACK SLADE is one of many Allied Artists/Monogram titles
sold to Republic decades ago.Olive Films could release this title if
they wanted too but I will not hold my breath!
Other Allied Artists goodies not owned by Warners include:RETURN
OF JACK SLADE,LAST OF THE BADMEN,AT GUNPOINT and
DRAGOON WELLS MASSACRE.
All of those I want really badly, especially AT GUNPOINT.
I support you totally with regard to your last paragraph john. It seems to me that we are getting a raw deal when these paramount movies like RED MOUNTAIN are being released through Amazon directly to your pc or other sources but NOT to dvd. I wrote to Amazon about this, but it appears there is no likelihood of these movies appearing on dvd in the foreseeable future. Incidentally, THUNDER IN THE SUN is available in Spain, region 2 dvd.
Hi Blake,good to hear from you,as you no doubt have already guessed
I too like both Carr and Landres,I think that we have discussed the latter
on previous threads.
Landres’ LAST OF THE BADMEN is arguably the best of four
Westerns George Montgomery made for Allied Artists.
I DO so wish Warners could sort out some sort of “deal” with Paramount/
Republic to release the Allied Artists titles they do not own.
They are,after all,releasing OOP Paramount titles as well as handling
previous Paramount “hits” on Blu-Ray like GUNFIGHT AT OK CORRAL
and DEATH WISH.
Olive Films are still releasing titles from their 2012 schedule so Heaven
knows when we are going to see THE QUIET GUN and STRANGER
AT MY DOOR.
Landres’ OREGON PASSAGE is the only Allied Artists CinemaScope
Western that I have never seen so I’m really looking forward to that
one.GUNSMOKE IN TUCSON is nowhere near as good as the brilliant
JACK SLADE but it’s unusual and offbeat. Mark Stevens’ “blue chip
bandit” outfit may NOT be authentic 1880’s attire,but pretty darn cool,
or what!
Judging by what Ron Hills has said and the large number of people
requesting these titles on the Warner Archive Facebook Page there
seems to be lots of interest in “unreleased” Paramount titles,the very
fine RED MOUNTAIN to name but one.
Ron also mentions a couple of the Pine-Thomas Productions most
of which are on the “missing” list.Cheesy as these films were they look
wonderful,have lavish production values and would be stunning on
Blu-Ray
I have managed to track down most of them in really good quality
apart from CAPTAIN CHINA and THE BLAZING FOREST.
I recently got stunning “off air” copies of TRIPOLI,JIVARO and
SANGAREE. The latter two were made in 3D and I would have loved
to have seen them in that format.
I was also sent a copy of HURRICANE SMITH a rare non Western
from producer Nat Holt. Yet another great Paramount title that really
should be on DVD.Other fine Paramount films that should be on
DVD are CARRIBEAN,THE VANQUISHED,FLAMING FEATHER,
and THUNDER IN THE SUN.
What about ” Bad men of Tombstone”(1949)(Allied Artists) starring Barry Sullivan, Broderick Crawford? Very,very good western noir. Another good Allied Artists starring Sullivan: ” ” Dragoon wells massacre”(1957) ; Also in my want list : ” Gun fever” (1958)(United Artists) directed and starring Mark Stevens.
Y’all are making my mouth water with all this low-budget 50s Westerns name-dropping! How am I supposed to concentrate on real work with all this going on?
Keep it up, please.
BAD MEN OF TOMBSTONE is excellent and I believe it’s one of
the titles Warners do own. Sadly,as i mentioned before they do
not own DRAGOON WELLS MASSACRE which a lot of us would
love to see released.
GUN FEVER is a very low budget,slow moving Western with some
brilliant moments.By the time that one was made Steven’s career
had faded somewhat. Always enjoyed him in Westerns and wish that
he had made more.I also hope Fox Archives release SAND which
teams Stevens with other personal faves Rory Calhoun and Coleen
Grey.
Watching JIVARO and SANGAREE made me think what an underrated
director Edward Ludwig is. I found these two films among the very
best of the Pine-Thomas adventure films.
The beginning of SANGAREE is pretty steamy stuff or to steal a
phrase from Mr Maltin lots of “heavy breathing Fifties style”
Lovely Arlene Dahl and hunky Fernando Lamas have some very
interesting scenes in the early stages of the film,especially when
Arlene asserts her authority by placing her bare foot on Fernando’s
equally bare chest.
The film then changes gear as writer David Duncan throws everything
at his disposal to keep things moving. We get sabotage,explosions,
blazing warehouses extended tavern brawls,swampland duels and
to top it all the Bubonic Plague!
And you wonder why I am a sucker for this stuff!
JIVARO has it’s moments too,especially as Fernando and Rhonda
Fleming are in separate beds on a very humid night heading down the
Amazon on Fernando’s boat… talk about unrequited lust!
Both films are chock full of 3D gimmicks and both films were written
by David Duncan best know as a Sci-Fi writer.
Simply cannot wait for the forthcoming Blu-Ray release of Duncan’s
most well known film THE TIME MACHINE.
Finally…”Lone Pine Laura” if you are out there I think that a “Pine-
Thomas Fest” will be heading your way sometime in the near future!):
.
I know there is resistance out there to “off air” copies of films but I have good copies of “At Gunpoint”, “Gunsmoke In Tucson”, “Dragoon Wells Massacre”, “Bad Men Of Tombstone” and “Last Of The Badmen”, all “off air”. OK, a stunning DVD of each would be good but, in the meantime……
“Gunsmoke In Tucson” is currently doing the rounds on TCM UK as we speak!!
Noting John’s reference to Edward Ludwig above, it occurs to me that he and John Payne must have got to know each other well during those Pine-Thomas days as Ludwig was director on many episodes of “The Restless Gun” TV series, of which Payne was both star and executive producer.
The trouble is Jerry,I don’t want to see films hacked to bits with
hideous logos all over the place and shown as dreadful pan and scan
versions as I am sure GUNSMOKE IN TUCSON will be on UK TV.
I watched the Vic Mature Jungle flick SAFARI on UK TV recently purely
to compare it to the Sony MOD. Not only was it shown in the wrong
ratio but in the first five minutes two key scenes were cut.
I gave up after that. That’s the way it is in P.C. obsessed England
these days!
They are beginning to get the message on TV – some films are shown in letterbox and not p&s.
You’re right about PC-obsessed England. Before long they will probably delete all scenes from films where smoking occurs!!
BTW,Toby,thanks for the “heads up” on all this.
I’ve checked out Oldies site and I must say the artwork for
OREGON PASSAGE looks sensational to say the least!
I have mentioned all this on previous threads but other Allied Artists
goodies that we can look forward to in the future are:
SON OF BELLE STARR
An excellent and energetic little programmer with Keith Larsen
Peggie Castle and a rare female lead for the mysterious Dona Drake
COW COUNTRY (Selander)
ARROW IN THE DUST (Selander…remastered in Widescreen…wow!)
THE TALL STRANGER
Regarding the Ladd titles THE BIG LAND is the least impressive quality
wise of the bunch but I don’t know about the existing elements Warners
had to hand. Anyway it’s good to finally have this film in widescreen
DRUM BEAT is far superior to the Aussie version and it’s in the correct
ratio too.
GUNS OF THE TIMBERLAND was a real surprise the nicest transfer of
the bunch.
If,say ten years ago someone said that we would see the sort of films
we have been discussing appearing on DVD I would have said they
were crazy! I just wish other studios had the commitment that Warners
have in their attitude to vintage films.
.
.
more films for me to find…. thanks for the recommendations. you haven’t steered me wrong, yet!
I can see John K is as much a fan of John Payne as I am as many of his recommendations all star Payne. I have become a fan of Payne while recently watching his Restless Gun TV series. Before that I was only familiar with him from “Miracle On 34th Street”. I was sorry when I watched all the Restless Gun episodes, but I can now start watching his western movies.
I have never been a fan of pirate or “adventure” type movies, but with John Payne as star in many of the ones John K mentioned, I am now interested in seeking these out.
The one John Payne western I don’t have but would love to find is “Eagle & The Hawk”, this sounds like just the kind of Payne western I like. If anyone has either Payne’s “Eagle & The Hawk” or “Sand” I would like to do a trade with you, I have all the rest of the Payne westerns and just about all of the rest of the non-Payne westerns mentioned above.
By the way, these kinds of threads that pop up here every once in a while on the Westerns site are just the kind of threads I really love to carefully read and I take notes on recommended movies to watch. This is my favorite kind of thread, filled with rather obscure but great movies to watch. Thanks so much.
Always good to hear of another Payne fan,Johnny.
Payne’s best Westerns were SILVER LODE and THE ROAD TO
DENVER. Joe Kane really knew what Westerns were all about and his
only teaming with Payne (ROAD TO DENVER) lives well up to expectations.
William Witney’s SANTA FE PASSAGE is another top Republic Payne
Western.This film shows Payne unafraid to portray unpleasant characters,
he is a racist wagon train scout in this one.
Witney directs this one with his usual customary flair for fast moving
action.
Payne’s Paramount/Pine-Thomas Westerns are a mixed batch;I
much prefer Edward Ludwig as a director to Lewis R Foster the other
Pine-Thomas “house” director.
Ludwig’s THE BLAZING FOREST is a big budget logging drama,
with a great role for Richard Arlen as Payne’s ne’er do well brother.
THE VANQUISHED is a sort of Southern Gothic Western with great
“good gal” “bad gal” roles for Coleen Grey and Jan Sterling respectively.
Foster’s Payne Westerns are all flawed IMHO.
Foster’s EL PASO again teams Payne with lovely Gail Russell,although
she is wasted in this one. For me Gabby Hayes’ comic antics jar with
the vigilante violence,but that’s just my personal opinion.
Some great gun-play and strong bad guy roles for Sterling Hayden
and Dick Foran.
THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK is flabby and overlong.I would rather
Ludwig directed this one,as I am sure he would have made a tighter,
shorter running movie.Some great set-pieces and lovely photography
from James Wong Howe.
PASSAGE WEST again for me is flawed,lovely Arleen Whelan on
a wagon train looks as if she had just stepped out of Vidal Sasson’s.
Great chemistry between the very underrated Arleen and Payne
though. There is however a doozy of a fist fight between Payne and
Dennis O Keefe.
I have never been a fan of Foster’s approach to Westerns but like many
directors; give them a Noir and they shine.
Foster’s CAPTAIN CHINA is one of the very best of the Pine Thomas
John Payne films. Foster sure knew how to stage a great fight,however
the punch-up between Payne and Lon Chaney is awesome!
Foster’s best films are Noirs and they include MANHANDLED and
CRASHOUT
Ludwig’s CARIBBEAN is one of the best of the Pine-Thomas adventure
films.I have become more and more aware of the strong sensual
elements to many of Ludwig’s films.
For the last few decades films have become more and more explicit
with sex becoming more graphic,and sadly, more brutal.
Give me the old days any time with a creative director like Ludwig
who made certain scenes in his films far more erotic just by his focus
on the actors body language.
The early scenes between Arlene Dahl and Fernando Lamas in
SANGAREE have a sensual quality that is totally lost on today’s film-
makers.Even more interesting that Fernando is half naked and
Arlene is fully clothed.When Fernando can take Arlene’s taunting
no longer he steals a kiss.Arlene then kisses Fernando with far more
intensity and ends by biting him,hard;on the lip!
In CARIBBEAN Arlene as lovely and imperious as ever strides through
much of the film brandishing a cat o nine tails.
The film has a great sense of humor too, especially with the florid
performances of Cedric Hardwicke and Francis L Sullivan.
Great one-liner too:
William Pullen to Hardwicke “Do you want me to dine with the crew?”
Hardwicke: “My crew does not dine….it gorges!”
I must admit that I too love these threads that focus on the more little
known films,and I hope there will be many more to come in the future.
It’s also great that other people enjoy the work of actors like John
Payne and Mark Stevens. I feel that both those actors will be better
remembered for their contributions to Film Noir rather than Westerns.
It’s also good to know that lots of us are really peeved at all the great
titles buried in Paramount’s archives that possibly will never get
released on DVD.
Apart from the Paramount and Allied Artists titles there is the
wonderful Republic catalog,Paramount’s attitude to vintage films is
a total disgrace.
It also means that so many of John Payne’s films will remain
unavailable on DVD.
Having said all that it’s still great to know that many of us want to see
films like RED MOUNTAIN and EAGLE AND THE HAWK and that they
are not totally forgotten.
I also found it rather odd that in a recent batch of 20 titles in the
Universal Vault series there was not one Western.
(MISSISSIPPI GAMBLER is not a Western,it’s a romantic costume drama,
albeit a very good one)
Finally I would like to say hats off to Toby and Laura for their continued
championing of these obscure,unreleased “lost” films and giving us the
opportunity to air our views as well.
A brief comment on my phone from “Jacques Tourneur country” (Bridgeport) to say how much I love this thread and thanks to John for the kind words and the anticipated goodies. 🙂
Stood today where Robert Mitchum fished in OUT OF THE PAST and Aldo Ray camped in NIGHTFALL. Lone Pine Monday!
Best wishes,
Laura
Whilst on the subject of a lack of western titles currently being released to dvd, I am surprised that Warner Brothers have not yet released the impressive CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER starring GUY MADISON. This was a top western the year it was issued with good direction and cinematography. Columbia too, have not yet released to dvd, another GUY MADISON western – REPRISAL! Another good film which dealt with racial issues but primarily a western.
With regard to “free to air” movies, the website Rare Movies UK have a good catalogue of westerns as well as other genre. Their prints are good. If a print happens to be below satisfactory, they point this out as they do also if a tv logo is present.
They do not provide plastic cases but good prints to the sleeves and dvds
Thanks for the tip on “Rare Movies UK” website, Ron. Could prove useful.
John Payne does really seem to fit in film noirs, 2 I recently saw are “The Boss” & “Crooked Way”. In “Boss” Payne plays a tough bad guy boss, a nasty character who bullies his way through the movie. I prefer though “Crooked Way” where Payne plays an amnesiac return from the war to his old home town. There he discovers thru a few beatings that he was a former bad guy who head bad honcho Sonny Tufts still has not forgotten and wants to get even with. The end scene where Sonny and the boys are after Payne as he hides in poor Percy Helton’s shop is pretty intense. I am looking forward to watching Payne’s other big film noir “99 River Street” soon.
I’m right there with John K and Johnny Guitar on the subject of John Payne. A fine actor who really got into his stride throughout the Fifties. I really enjoy his TV series “The Restless Gun” and both his western movies and especially his films noir were, as others have said, standouts.
I fully agree also with John K’s assessment of Payne’s best westerns – except that he failed to mention “Rebel In Town” and “Rails Into Laramie”, which surprised me. I think “Rails..” is one of his very best. Plus of course it stars Dan Duryea and was made by U.I.
The other really standout Payne “noir” not mentioned above is “Slightly Scarlet”. Heck, the guy really was on a roll during those years.
As a footnote, I so envy Laura’s location trip. The lake Mitchum fished in “Out Of The Past” (wow) – one of my top ten favourite “noirs”!
Speaking of little known Westerns, while on my trip tonight I streamed the Regalscope Western THE STORM RIDER with Scott Brady, Bill Williams, and Mala Powers. Tight story, well staged, 3 actors who did a lot with a little, and evocative musical score. Yet another unsung title which deserves to be more widely seen. Liked it a lot.
Best wishes,
Laura (another John Payne fan)
LEE VAN CLEEF starred in a 1973 spaghetti western also called STORM RIDER. It was alternatively known as THE GRAND DUEL in America and also released as THE BIG GUNDOWN.
More John Payne………..
Jerry we have discussed both REBEL IN TOWN and RAILS INTO
LARAMIE on previous posts/threads.
“REBEL” is very dark and Noirish and directed by underrated Alfred
Werker. It’s a shame this was the only time they worked together.
RAILS INTO LARAMIE is one of the very few Universal Fifties Westerns
not available,somewhere on DVD.
On a recent thread it was noted that this film was made in 2.0
widescreen so hopefully when it appears on DVD it will be in this format.
Even better I am hoping Koch in Germany will release it on Blu-Ray.
Another great Payne Noir is KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL which has
great turns from Lee Van Cleef,Neville Brand and Jack Elam.
Van Cleef had a good early role in RAILS INTO LARAMIE as a “edgy”
gunslinger,and I love the scene where Payne kicks Cleef in the butt in
ROAD TO DENVER.
I am told that the Blu-Ray of THE BIG GUNDOWN is sensational BTW
one of the best Spaghettis’ ever.
The only version of THE BOSS out there is an MGM/UA MOD and
it’s in bad shape.The guys at DVD Beaver think this film deserves a
proper restoration so hopefully the Film Noir Foundation or Criterion
will oblige someday The Union Station massacre scene and a shoot
out in a cavern like cement factory are highlights.
From comments on these blogs and the opinions of film collectors that
I know;there are lots of John Payne fans out there a point that seems
to be lost on Olive Films.
Ron,
The reason CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER has not appeared yet is
because Warners are still considering releasing it in 3D.(as a “flat” and
3D Blu-Ray Combo)
I guess they will evaluate the sales of HOUSE OF WAX in this format
first.It will appear someday either in the aforementioned format or as a
Warner Archive MOD release.
It’s a crime that REPRISAL! and THE HARD MAN have not appeared yet
although there are excellent “off air” versions of these films floating
around.Try as I may the one Columbia Western I cannot find in
watchable quality is the excellent STAGE TO TUCSON,and that’s a pity
because it’s a real goodie!
Lone Pine Laura, was your streamed copy of STORM RIDER in
widescreen,I have only seen it as pan & scan and agree it’s one of the
better RegalScope pictures.Really like Mala Powers, and enjoyed the
recent Koch release of THE YELLOW MOUNTAIN which I have been
waiting ages for.
Thanks John, regarding the information on THE CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER. I hope Warners get a move on and release it soon. I have a dvd of a STAGE TO TUCSON by RETROFLIX and as you say the quality is poor. Perhaps Columbia will release it in a decent format. Another western I have which is of poor quality is HELL CANYON OUTLAWS starring an actor, I admired – DALE ROBERTSON. This was released by some dubious outfit calling themselves SINISTER CINEMA of Oregon. In future I wll avoid these outfits like the plague!
“Lone Pine Laura” checking in! 🙂
THE STORM RIDER wasn’t widescreen on my Kindle, yet despite knowing it should be, I thought it looked good in terms of the composition of the titles, who was on screen, etc. I wasn’t aware of panning & scanning.
Best wishes,
Laura
A recent Warner Archive that I enjoyed far more than I thought I would
is STRANGE LADY IN TOWN. I have made comments on this thread
and others that I generally dislike over-long Westerns.
A point in case being THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK which to me
is a trim 80 minute film trapped in the body of an 105 minute film.
Would I buy the DVD?……you bet because for all it’s faults it has
fine elements and great scenery and action sequences.
Furthermore the color on those early Fifties Paramount titles was
stunning;,that studio seemed to be ahead of the game as far as lovely
saturated color goes.
STRANGE LADY IN TOWN clocks in at nearly two hours and there is
little action.The film IMHO has lots going for it,really interesting
characters,and those beautiful Old Tucson locations.
Great early role for Cameron Mitchell an actor that I really admire.
Also there is an awesome gallery of wonderful character actors who
drift in and out of the film in minor roles.
There is a great fight between Dana Andrews and Bob Wilke
as well. This film is not for all tastes but when it was over I felt like
sitting through it all over again.The Warner Archive MOD is a lovely
transfer BTW.
I’m working on a post on that one now. I didn’t know what to make of it at first, so I watched it again a couple days later. Liked it a lot better that second time.
You’re right, John, about its great use of Old Tucson. It shows it off better than most, I’d say. I love seeing that little bridge at the end of the street.
I had trouble with STRANGE LADY IN TOWN so I was very interested in both your comments. I love the leads and thought there were individual elements which were done well but the movie never came together successfully for me. That said, any movie with those lead actors is worth checking out.
Best wishes,
Laura
Prior to the DVD arriving, all I remembered about Strange Lady In Town was what a slimeball Robert Wilke was in it.
Watching it a few weeks ago, I was throw for a loop by its kitchen-sink plot; seems like they tossed everything into it they could think of. Visiting it again, it worked a lot better for me, with some sequences more successful than others. Like John, I really liked Cameron Mitchell. And that fight between Wilke and Dana Andrews is terrific.
What struck me, and I’m really screwing up my post on this one, is the use of CinemaScope. In the early Scope films, there was a reliance on long takes and an avoidance of close-ups (I bet there’s not a single closeup in the whole movie). The camera moves around or people move around within the frame, and you get a real sense of space. That loss of “geography” is one of the things that drives me nuts about modern films.
I think what I really liked about the film,among other things,is the
sense of “community” that continues throughout the film.
I liked the way the film shows the best and worst of human nature and
also I thought it was really neat the way real life characters like
Billy The Kid and Gen.Lew Wallace were incorporated into the plot.
This ones a keeper!
Really looking forward to your review Toby.
US viewers will get a chance to see what quality Columbia/Sony has on hand, now, for STAGE TO TUCSON. It’s being shown on GET.TV along with THE TEXAS RANGERS on July 4th from 6:20AM to 10:00AM EST. STAGE is supposed to run from 8:05AM to 10:AM EST. They will both run at other times in July.
The George Montgomery RANGERS has been on before and looked great. Since all the Columbia westerns showing on GET.TV also look great, including the ancient Buck Jones and Tim McCoy movies, I have high hopes for STAGE TO TUCSON, on July 4th.
There is an episode of TALES OF WELLS FARGO where Gen Wallace meets Billy The Kid. Did that really happen?
The Texas Rangers (1951) is a really cool little movie. But with Phil Karlson directing George Montgomery, how could it not be?
Yes, Wallace had promised an amnesty to the folks involved in the Lincoln County War. Billy went for it and it went sour.
There’s an excellent book on Billy The Kid, To Hell On A Fast Horse, that I highly recommend.
I was wondering Toby if you have also read the historian ROBERT M. UTLEYS’ book BILLY THE KID – A SHORT AND VIOLENT LIFE that covers his origins from New York, his criminal life to his violent end?
I haven’t read that one, but it sounds like Top Hell On A Fast Horse covers the same ground.
Thanks Bob for the “heads up” on STAGE TO TUCSON I will be on
to my contacts in the “digital underground” to look out for a copy,
at any rate anything’s gotta be better than the one that i had.
Great end sequence filmed at Lone Pine and oddly enough Columbia
lifted much of this footage for the much lower budget THE PHANTOM
STAGECOACH. They also got the actors in that film to wear the same
costumes!.
The Sony MOD is remastered in widescreen and the “blown
up” footage from STAGE TO TUCSON looks very fuzzy/grainy indeed!
Got a lovely upgrade of THE TEXAS RANGERS recently so that will
do until Sony finally decide to release it.
Totally agree Toby about the “look” of STRANGE LADY IN TOWN
the photography is stunning. Only weak spot is a horse and buggy
incident where obvious back projection is used,you just could not
get away with this sort of thing in widescreen.
BTW Toby did that bridge you mentioned earlier turn up in
BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE?
Yep, that’s the bridge! It’s in Gunfight At The O.K. Corral and Rio Bravo. One of these days, I WILL stand on that bridge.
Really don’t want this thread to end as it edges towards 50 comments.
Where is Colin while all this is going on….he is conspicuous by his
absense:)
Bob,I too have never been able to track down a decent copy of
HELL CANYON OUTLAWS (UK title The Tall Trouble)
We have been discussing Paul Landres earlier and this film is one of
his very best,the sort of taut programmer that he excelled at.
Super rain drenched opening too.
I note from imdb that this film was made in 1.85 widescreen so a
“proper” DVD release would be highly desirable to say the least.
Laura has already interviewed Coleen Grey so it would be great if
she could do a follow up as Coleen worked with so many interesting
directors like Landres (several times) also Lesley Selander,
Charles Haas,Louis King,Edward Ludwig and Phil Karlson among others.
I haven’t yet seen STRANGE LADY IN TOWN, but by all accounts I should. Yes, ROBERT WILKE always played a great bad guy – and I think we should salute those actors who were never stars but played thoroughly convincing outlaws and villains – MICHAEL PATE, LEO GORDON, JOHN DOUCETTE, JACK ELAM and the great DAN DURYEA spring to mind. Of course, some of them would go on to be stars – LEE VAN CLEEF, RICHARD BOONE, LEE MARVIN and ERNEST BORGNINE for instance. Perhaps I may have begun a discussion thread ,especially as I have probably forgotten some good bad ‘uns. Yes, without some fine and convincing performances from these people who as LEE VAN CLEEF once said – “My face made my fortune” or words to that effect, westerns of the 50s would have been much the poorer.
I did a brief post on Wilke as one of my Character Actor Of The Day things. http://wp.me/pEScW-2rT
It’s about time for another one of those!
One thing I will say about Colin is he always edits my rants and boy
do I need it!
What sort of B Movie fan am I mis-spelling Coleen Gray’s name;shame
on me.
I should have also mentioned that Coleen was directed by George
Sherman,Hugo Fregonese. and Allan Dwan.
Coleen has,of course spoke in detail about working for Hawks and
Kubrick.
Kinda off-topic but still in Allied Artists land I have just noticed that
Warner archive have just released the last Errol Flynn swashbuckler
THE WARRIORS (UK title The Dark Avenger)
This was a Walter Mirisch production and was filmed in the UK
and directed by Henry Levin..
It was made around the same time Mirisch and writer Dan Ullman
were doing their Joel McCrea Westerns for Allied.
Apart from Flynn the film co-stars Joanne Dru and Peter Finch with
a top notch Brit supporting cast. Photography by Guy green who
went on to be one of the most underrated of British film directors.
This title has been one of the most requested on the Warner Archive
Facebook page.
I’d love to speak with Ms. Gray sometime. So many wonderful films.
I’ve never seen The Warriors. I was more of a western/horror/crime fan, and my knowledge of the swashbuckler stuff is pretty pitiful. (The one that stands out for me is Burt Lancaster’s Crimson Pirate.)
Apart from some of the Pine-Thomas films mentioned earlier
there are other Swashbucklers that I really enjoy,apart obviously
the bona-fide classics with Flynn,Tyrone Power and others.
Lesley Selander’s THE HIGHWAYMAN is a really good one but
sadly it’s yet another Allied Artists title not owned by Warners.
It’s always fun to see Selander work in other genres apart from
Westerns,in fact he also directed Noirs,Colional Adventures,Spy
Flicks,Horrors,Sci-Fi and all sorts of other stuff.
I was recently directed to a Republic Selander Noir by the fine
Where Danger Lives Noir blog. This film called BLACKMAIL has a
virtual non-stop barrage of one-liners that borders on parody.
William Marshall puts the “hard” into hard boiled and must be the most
unlikable Gumshoe in screen history. Film also had a cameo from
slinky Stephanie Batchelor who I am told has a “cult” reputation
among Noir addicts. Yet another hitherto unknown (by me) actress
that I have got to check out,it seems she had the lead in several
Republic Noirs.
Back to Swashbucklers Alan Ladd’s THE BLACK KNIGHT has always
been a firm favorite and George Sherman’s SON OF ROBIN HOOD
is a wonderful bit of fun.Sadly the Fox MOD is yet another pan and
scan horror. BTW in the UK SON OF ROBIN HOOD appeared
top half of a double bill with FRONTIER GUN.
We do digress don’t we;and I am so sorry to have ruined your
STRANGE LADY IN TOWN thread. 🙂
This is the type of long thread that we all love and that has been a bit absent of late so it is most welcome. Lots of great “little” films and character actors getting mentioned!
Referring back to Bob’s question re Billy The Kid and Gen. Lew Wallace, is anyone out there old enough to remember Charles Chilton’s “Jeff Arnold & The Riders Of The Range”?? I think it may have been on radio and it certainly appeared throughout the 50s in the “Eagle” comic in the UK.
Anyway, there was a storyline around 1957 that took our heroes into the midst of the Lincoln County War. One part of the story had Billy The Kid’s relationship with Gen. Lew Wallace, who was at the time writing “Ben Hur”. I often wondered if that had really happened – now it appears, from what Toby tells us, that it certainly did.
As I mentioned earlier, that book on Billy The Kid, To Hell On A Fast Horse, is wonderful — and it goes into all that stuff with Billy and Lew Wallace. You should check it out sometime. I found it fascinating.
Those range wars were not one of America’s finest hours.
I’m really excited to see this thread stretch on and on, even if it’s made my upcoming post on Strange Lady In Town kinda unnecessary.
I must check that book out, Toby – thanks.
Trouble is you could almost see the range wars from both sides in certain circumstances. Either way, some of my favourite westerns centre around them (“Ride The Man Down” is a particular standout for me and is, we know, enjoyed by many contributors to these blogs).
I looked up to see if Sony MOD is releasing “Stage To Tucson” but I see no announcement about it and it’s not listed for sale on several different sites. I will see if GET TV’s version is an improvement on the on I have.
Meantime here’s a great movie poster for the movie (hope this works here):
That IS a great poster, Johnny G., isn’t it?
Jerry mentioning RIDE THE MAN DOWN reminded me that here is
yet another film not available in really good quality.
Many of these Republic A Westerns are out there in excellent quality
but there are a few that are impossible to track down.
RIDE THE MAN DOWN I have had several upgrades of but they
are always below par-I am very fussy BTW,
WOMAN OF THE NORTH COUNTRY is another Cameron epic very
hard to find in decent quality. The excellent Noirish “modern day”
Western HELL’S OUTPOST is also hard to find,a pity because it’s
such a good film.The combo of Cameron,John Russell (at his nastiest)
Joan Leslie and Joe Kane is a winner all the way.
I am sure that the Get TV version of STAGE TO TUCSON will be the
best available and hopefully the Sony MOD will not be far behind.
Another film I am in dire need of an upgrade in THE PATHFINDER with
George Montgomery;didn’t this show on US TV recently in good quality.
Finally com’on gang let’s try for 100 replies to this epic thread.
Blake and Colin…..this thread NEEDS you! 🙂
I’m all for taking this great thread to 100. Thanks to Toby for setting it all up and the ball rolling!
Re Stephanie Batchelor from John K’s above comments on “Blackmail”, a Republic noir – I know her as the female “baddie” in the 1947 Republic “Springtime In The Sierras” starring Roy Rogers. She was evil!! Well worth tracking this lady down.
I might have known that Jerry would have some info on Stephanie
Bachelor and I am very keen to track down some of those Republic
Noirs where she had the lead especially one that was directed by Selander.
That’s part of the fun of film collectin, “discovering” hitherto unknown
talents;by me at least.
Now my Pine-Thomas collection is virtually complete I am going around
like a “Whirling Dervish” trying to track down some of those great
Republic Noirs/Crime Thrillers highlighted by Mark over at the very fine
Where Danger Lives blog.
He has just reviewed WOMEN FROM HEADQUARTERS which he
did not seem to like very much but I loved.
I have commented but don’t know if it’s gone through yet.
WOMEN FROM HEADQUARTERS stars Virginia
Huston another interesting actress with very few credits.
Virginia appeared in OUT OF THE PAST and THE DOOLINS OF
OKLAHOMA as well as a couple of Selander’s the aforementioned
THE HIGHWAYMAN and FLIGHT TO MARS…my kinda credits.
These Republic Noirs are something that I had never really considered
until I saw Mark’s fine gallery of poster artwork.
It’s also fun to see Western specialists like Selander and R.G.
Springsteen work in this genre as well as the delightful Penny Edwards
who I always felt never had the career that she should have had. I know
that Penny is a favorite of Jerry and a certain Mr.Guitar!
Interesting to read about Stephanie Bachelor, I’ll have to take another look at “Blackmail” (I haven’t seen it since the early ’90’s) and now I have another reason to look at the color restored “Springtime In The Sierras”. I checked and I have her also in a couple movies I taped years ago, “Scotland Yard Investigator”, Homicide For 3″ & her biggest movie “Experiment Perilous”. These are now all up for a new viewing.
I love Penny Edwards, one of the cutest gals in the movies. She also appeared when she was older but still with that great smile with Roy & Dale in one of his Happy Trails Theater introductions. Here’s a great picture of Penny just in time for the 4th of July:
That’s a nice picture of Penny, Johnny G.!
Yes, the “Where Danger Lives” poster artwork has opened up a whole new source of those great “Little” films so many of us love. That is a fantastic list of noirs and I have not seen many of them at all – lots to try and collect!
Many thanks for sharing that lovely photo of Penny Johnny G.
I think that I have found out what I was doing wrong regarding trying to post
on Mark’s Where Danger Lives blog,for a “hardcore Luddite” like me it’s so
much less complicated at Toby’s and Colin’s where the comments go straight
through!
SCOTLAND YARD INVESTIGATOR is on my wants list and I think that I
have tracked down a copy.I am really amazed at what good shape some of
these Republic Noirs are in. My highly watchable copy of WOMEN FROM
HEADQUARTERS came from a Honolulu TV station!
In an effort to keep this thread going and further to Ron Hill’s post on
great bad guys I thought I’d expand on overlooked character actors.
This was also inspired by Johnny G’s namedropping of the wonderful
Percy Helton,possibly the only person on this blog to do so!
Anyway here is my list of 10 OVERLOOKED character actors,you
may not know all of their names but you will certainly know their faces.
Jerry Entract,darn his hide; will not only know all these guys but could
probably write an entire book on each one! 🙂
RAYFORD BARNES
PAUL E BURNS
LANE CHANDLER
JOHN CLIFF
GEORGE KEYMAS
PERCY HELTON
RORY MALLINSON
RICHARD REEVES
ADDISON RICHARDS
JAMES SEAY
Hat’s off to all 10 and the immense viewing pleasure these guys have
given me over the years!
Toby has mentioned reviving his “character actor of the day” thread.
This blog,of course is where James Griffith,Myron Healey,Robert
Wilke and Warren Stevens……RULE!
My choice for next character actor of the day…the wonderful
Morris Ankrum.
I must admit John Ks list of names escapes me – apart from LANE CHANDLER who I think starred in a lot of 1930s/40s serials. I am not particularly familiar with these movies, but , I would think a lot of them would be on alpha video dvds.
I am pretty new to this thread so my top ten may well have been mentioned before. Well for what it’s worth here I go:-
FRANK FERGUSON
PAUL FIX
JAY C. FLIPPEN
JAMES MILLICAN
BOB STEELE
RAY TEAL
JOHN DEHNER
ROYAL DANO
SHEB WOOLEY
HENRY MORGAN
I must also apologize for mispelling Peggie Castle’s name.
John, I thoroughly agree with your criticisms of JUBILEE TRAIL but enjoyed the unusual story. I was wrong about Forrest Tuckers character. At first, I thought he was going to be a villainous love rival to John Russells character and not as it happens the good guy.
Ron I am forever mis-spelling actor’s names both here and elsewhere.
Like you I still find lots to enjoy in JUBILEE TRAIL and it certainly
should get a DVD release.
I also enjoy Forrest Tucker’s other two starring roles in Republic A
Westerns,CALIFORNIA PASSAGE and ROCK ISLAND TRAIL.
A very impressive list Ron,BTW I don’t think that we have ever
done this sort of thing here before,all those you mention are firm
favorites of mine.
On my list I was trying to list some of the less well known guys.
All this interest in PENNY EDWARDS made me think of two other ladies who rode the west with aplomb in the 1950s. The gorgeous blonde PEGGY CASTLE who dominated ROGER CORMANS film, OKLAHOMA WOMAN and played an equally commanding role in TWO GUN LADY.A film were the director played a heavy! Who could also forget the lovely JOAN LESLIE who starred in ALLAN DWANS’ impressive THE WOMAN THEY ALMOST LYNCHED and another republic movie JUBILEE TRAIL. This time she looked even better as it was made in technicolor! Wouldn’t it be great if these movies were released to dvd?
Ron,
WOMAN THEY ALMOST LYNCHED is possibly going to be released
by Olive Films at some point.
Warner Archive have just released a couple of Peggie Castle’s best
non-Westerns TARGET ZERO and THE COUNTERFEIT PLAN.
They will release SON OF BELLE STARR with Peggie but don’t know
when.QUINCANNON FRONTIER SCOUT appeared some time ago as
an MGM/UA MOD and it’s excellent and in widescreen too.
I have an off-air copy of JUBILEE TRAIL off TCM and it’s about the
nicest “off air” copy of a film that I have ever seen,hardly any logos
too! It proves there is a decent print in the vaults.
The film is a sort of “guilty pleasure” for me it’s overlong and rambling.
Also musical numbers featuring Vera Ralston are not my idea of fun.
The cast is great however and for all it’s faults I really like it.
Love Joan Leslie BTW.
One thing that did come as a bit of a let down in the film was where
bad guy “dream team” James Millican and Jack Elam turn up both
as mean as snakes. Sadly they are gunned down as soon as they
enter the film…what a waste.
Would I buy a widescreen DVD of this film well that’s a total
“no brainer”
More Peggie Castle…………
One of Peggie’s very best Westerns is on the missing list,
the ferocious THE YELLOW TOMAHAWK.
This tough Lesley Selander Western also stars Rory Calhoun,Lee Van
Cleef and Peter Graves. Sadly this film only exists in black and white
although,I understand a color neg does exist.
Furthermore Peggie complained to the producers that she was
showing too much in a nude bathing scene,which had to be “darkened”
The film was also made in widescreen 1.85.
There is an outfit called Kino Lorber. that is putting out a whole heap
of old United Artists titles on Blu-Ray.
A Blu-Ray of THE YELLOW TOMAHAWK in widescreen would be
beyond my wildest dreams!
Mine too, John K! I caught “The Yellow Tomahawk” for the first time only recently (in B&W) and thought it a very strong western and one that definitely deserves to be seen properly.
I have recently recommended to Laura a very good TV series (made 2008) on the history of the Hollywood musical, called “Hollywood Singing & Dancing”. A number of interesting people are interviewed in it, including the lovely Joan Leslie, looking very good BTW.
As for your great list of character names – I am familiar with all but Paul E Burns and very familiar with Percy Helton. I like your nomination for the great actor Morris Ankrum. I will assume you are familiar with his early roles as Stephen Morris c1937 in several Hopalong Cassidy films? He enhanced many a movie.
Hmm, my last long comment on Roy Barcroft didn’t go thru, “awaiting moderation”. I ain’t typing it all over now. Hopefully it will be approved, either one version or my revised pictures version both of which I posted here. Hope all that excellent Roy Barcroft comments will not have been for nothing.
Well, onto “Yellow Tomahawk”. This is a film I do have a color version of, first only a b/w version but a few years back I got a color one.
Sorry to have lost out on reading what you had to say on Roy Barcroft, Johnny G. He was Republic’s top badman during their most productive years and so I have seen Roy in vast numbers of B-westerns, serials, some noirs and dozens of 50s TV westerns.
Apparently, you could not have met a nicer man.
Johnny,I hate it when that happens,you type out a long comment and
it vanishes. As there was no World Cup last night I thought i’d run a double
bill and the co-feature was STREET BANDITS with lovely Penny
Edwards with Roy Barcroft as the heavy.
This fast moving Republic crime thriller never lets up and involves
slot-machine racketeers gunfights,car chases and several explosions.
It was directed at breakneck speed by R.G.Springsteen and has made
me want to check out more of his Republic “Noirs”
Two of Springsteen’s best Westerns were stark black and white efforts
SHOWDOWN (Audie Murphy) and HE RIDES TALL. Sadly neither film is
available on DVD.
Well as this thread fades into the dust sadly it will not reach the
100 milestone but at least this comment will take it to 80 which I
believe is a record for this blog.
My main feature last night was THE YELLOW TOMAHAWK and I ran
my color version. I have a ropey color version and a very good B&W
one.
With WAR PAINT and FORT YUMA,THE YELLOW TOMAHAWK
forms part of Lesley Selander’s Cavalry Trilogy.
Selander’s West is a far less romantic place than that depicted in
Ford’s threesome. At times it’s hard to find who to root for,the lines
between good and bad are blurred.Selander’s West is more brutal,
ironic.His use of graphic violence to veil an anti-violence subtext is
disturbing,to say the least.
THE YELLOW TOMAHAWK starts quietly with Peggie Castle’s nude
bathing scene. As Rory Calhoun enjoys the view by the lakeside
Peggie says “please oblige me by going away”…grinning broadly.
This scene leaves us ill-prepared for the carnage that will follow.
Although the film was heavily censored it still remains a graphically
violent affair.
Cheyenne Warrior Lee Van Cleef and Scout Rory Calhoun are firm
friends.Circumstances finally force them to engage in one to one
combat.In another Selander ironic twist Van Cleef is armed with a
Winchester and Rory a bow and arrow.
As I have said before,many times this fine film needs a proper
restoration in the correct ratio.
You’re certainly about The Yellow Tomahawk. It needs to be sorted out and made available to those who want to see it.
I’m all for people who champion unheralded directors and I have been
intrigued by Mark’s very positive impression of George Blair over at
Where Danger Lives. I have seen very little of Blair’s films and he
certainly was a very prolific B Movie director.
Unlike most B Movie-makers Blair directed very few Westerns.
He did however make lots of Republic Crime thrillers and i am starting
to check some of these out and really enjoying them.
It’s always nice being directed towards new stuff to discover.
I’m off-line now until Monday when I return with interest to see if
there has been any further “action” on this now epic thread.
Not exactly a well-known name, George Blair. I know him from directing 3 of Republic star Rex Allen’s westerns 1950-51 and then quite a lot of TV series during the 50s.
Well, for some reason my message never did go public. My only guess is the for some reason this time the system wouldn’t accept my pictures. I had attached a picture of a young and an older Roy Barcroft to show how he changed appearance. Don’t know why my other pictures worked but this time it didn’t. So, that all is not lost here is my original Roy Barcroft posting sans pictures, sorry, maybe Toby can OK my original post and you’ll see the pictures. OK, here’s my original Roy post:
I’m sure I would probably recognize all the character actors listed if I could see their picture but of John K’s list I did recognize 4 of the names. Another major player in the character actor role is Roy Barcroft. I watch one, what I call Saturday Afternoon matinee western (hour long westerns mainly directed at kids of the ’40′s & ’50′s to see in a movie theater before TV came around) and Roy Barcroft is in almost EVERY one of these westerns. 99% of the time playing a sneaky bad guy boss or a sometime henchman. I don’t care if it’s Roy Rogers, Lash Larue, Sunset, Bill Elliott, Hopalong, Tim, or you name it, Roy Barcroft is in almost every one of these pictures.
I saw a funny discussion on one of those Roy Rogers introductions on Happy Trails Theater where Roy & Dale’s guest was Gene Autry. Both Gene & Roy laughed and agreed that character actors like Roy Barcroft made a lot more money than they did because they worked constantly and were in everyone’s western.
Interestingly enough, I even see Roy Barcroft pop up in quite a lot of TV westerns, Gunsmoke, Rifleman, Laramie, Annie Oakley, State Trooper (the Rod Cameron series I’m nearing the end of now), Lone Ranger, Cheyenne, Wyatt Earp, Maverick, Deputy, well, I could list more, but needless to say on my Friday nights when I watch TV westerns & one “Sat. Matinee Western” every week, many weeks he shows up 2 or 3 times, quite without my direction. He must have been the busiest actor in Hollywood.
By the way, when he got older (he was only in his 50′s at the time) he got quite fat in these TV western appearances. First time I saw him, I didn’t even recognize that it was Barcroft till I read the credits. Then I realized that he was a lot heavier in the 1950′s and now I recognize him as soon as he pops in. He does look a lot different with the extra weight than he did in the cowboy hero movies.
Here’s Roy as he was in the movies, thin: (CENSORED)
Here’s Roy from TV, fat: (CENSORED)
I’m not exactly as svelte as I was in my 30′s either, so maybe I should just shut my mouth.
I really like that you put time in the week aside for watching TV westerns, Johnny Guitar. I do too. Don’t know how many others out there watch them.
Can you tell me which series really “cut it” for you? I would be really interested – we all have our favourites and I find that my favourites back in the day (50 years and more ago – GULP) stand up as my favourites still generally. One or two like “GUNSMOKE” which I only QUITE liked then I can now see for the terrific classic it was from episode one!
I kept records about them for about 2-3 years at the time with my opinion of each episode as they aired. Fun reading!
Wow, that noir movie with Penny Edwards, “STREET BANDIDTS”, sounds really interesting John K. Maybe we can work a trade sometime. I was able to add GET TV’s “Stage To Tucson” this morning. Don’t have your email though.
Sorry, when I hear about a neat old movie I haven’t seen I just want it asap. I found “Street Bandits” though so no trade needed. Without emails we couldn’t trade anyway. Thanks though for alerting me of the existence of such a movie.
I was pleased with the Get.TV STAGE TO TUCSON. My previous copy was a smeary black and white version, so it was great to finally see it in color.
I have been watching the Lone Ranger TV series lately so I have been seeing plenty of Ray Teal, James Seay, John Cliff, and most of the other character actors that have been named.
Recently I learned to tell the difference between James Millican and Louis Jean Heydt.
I love Ray Teal. He’s terrific as the bartender in One-Eyed Jacks (1961).
Yes, the Lone Ranger does feature a lot of classic stock character actors. If you’ve listened to the radio version, you can even recognize some radio voices in the TV series. I’ve been watching Lone Ranger for several years now on Fridays, I saw the color season then I went back and started the series from the beginning. (I wish the whole series was in color.) My Aunt who’s a bit older than I saw the Lone Ranger in person back in the ’50’s. She said when she first saw him she was disappointed because he was all in color and in a blue outfit, she thought it was supposed to be gray like in the series!
I remember very well my grandfather had lived his last years in an apartment meant only for old people, he had a best friend who he played poker with. He was a little short bald man who spoke in a high voice but had Parkinson’s disease. But I remember at the time I thought then he looked exactly like Percy Helton. I didn’t know the name Percy Helton but I’d even by then seen him in many TV shows. I feel like I knew Percy personally.
Saturdays, generally speaking, is when I watch Western movies and never any from later than 1965 (except Eastwood & Duke).
But for the past 10 years at least I’ve been watching TV westerns on Fridays. I watch about 7 or 8 different series at a time, when one runs out I start another. So far my favorites are #1 Gunsmoke (but only thru the first year of the color shows, the rest of the color episodes, generally speaking, are either highly insulting to Americans or feature anyone but Matt Dillon in them. The best of the Gunsmokes are the 1/2 hour b/w episodes, excellent story telling, dramatic, tragic, and sometimes comic and all feature Matt Dillon as the main focus.
My second favorite is Rawhide, love all the stars and the guest stars. Especially like the first several years and the experimental classic movie salute episodes they did in the 7th season. Next best is hard to pick, could be Have Gun Will Travel. Also liked Gunslinger a whole lot, but I only had a handful of episodes to watch. Another especially good one was “The Loner” st. Lloyd Bridges, really good scripts, dramatic and well acted. Likewise with “The Westerner” with Brian Keith, really interesting and fun kind of show. Colt .45 was also a neat series.
Some others I really enjoyed: Cheyenne, The Deputy, Restless Gun, Shenandoah, Zorro, and one I loved as a kid and still do, Wild Wild West. That was a show my Mom wouldn’t let me watch, “too violent” so I had to sneak watching it, when parents walked by room I’d quickly change the channel.
Those are my favorites, but I also liked Johnny Ringo and Wagon Train (esp. the Ward Bond years), Maverick & Laramie. I can’t say that I’ve seen any really horrible westerns, each has it’s own individual charm. Frontier Doctor is not a favorite but Rex Allen is so likeable in the series he carries it. Big Valley was OK, but could get a bit trying, some episodes I felt like I was doing an assignment in watching them instead of enjoying the show. One show I don’t like so much is Bonanza, I love the color but it’s not enough western and too much family dramas. I suppose that’s why I’m not crazy about Big Valley either.
What an excellent idea, to keep notes on each episode watched, it sure would be helpful to see which individual episodes you liked and why. Wish I had done that. But it’s not too late.
Oh, forgot to mention a series I’m currently watching (I started it when my Restless Gun episodes ran out) Rory Calhoun’s “The Texan”. I really like this series too.
Very interesting all this stuff abour tv westerns we watched when we were young!! I am presuming you are all as old as me! One of my favorites was Boots and Saddles.Do you remember it? Only about 30 episodes were made and it starred John Pickard, otherwise a character actor in movies This tended to be different to other westerns as its hook was about the trials and tribulations of the third cavalry.Other favorites of mine, The Lone Ranger, Have Gun Will Travel, Tales of Wells Fargo ( I’m a big Dale Robertson fan) Rawhide and The Virginian. A while later, I enjoyed the saga of Centennial.
Did you know Gunsmoke was known as Gunlaw in the UK for some reason?
Back before Beta, VHS & DVDs I used to collect old time radio shows on cassette tape. One of the best radio shows was the ’50’s Gunsmoke, it starred William Conrad as Matt Dillon. What a great voice Bill Conrad had, he really was Matt Dillon. But the radio series was created by John Meston, he wrote most of the radio scripts. When it went to television (it started in 1953 on radio) John Meston kept with the series and reused many of his original radio scripts adapting them to TV. That’s why those 1/2 TV Gunsmokes are so good.
When Gunsmoke really “jumped the shark” was when John Meston left the series, then the storys really went downhill and Matt Dillon seemed to be riding out of town after the first 30 seconds and disappearing for the rest of episode and for that matter the series.
My least favorite Gunsmoke episodes are the one’s centering all on Festus esp. in the color years. He is one character that’s good in very small doses, not as the star of the show. The show just wasn’t the same anymore after Meston left.
It’s interesting which tv shows stick in your mind and which don’t. I vividly remember watching Zorro and Sergeant Preston when they were first run and I was four. I did not of course remember individual episodes. Having both series on DVD is a supreme treat. (Don’t hate me purists, but on Zorro I have both the B&W Treasure editions and the colorized versions.)
All I remembered was that I liked them. Both of those shows were rerun briefly, or not rerun at all, in my neck of the woods.
I had relatives that reminded me of showbiz people, too. An aunt that reminded me of Myrna Loy, an uncle that looked like Lyle Talbot, and when I saw all the girl cousins together, they reminded me of the Lennon Sisters.
As a kid I had Roy Rogers and Gunsmoke lunch boxes, but do not collect the DVDs of the TV shows. I love Roy Rogers movies but I am not interested in collecting the public domain editions of the Roy Rogers TV show. Maybe if there were a complete set.
While I agree that Gunsmoke is an excellent show, I do not want to commit to 20 seasons on DVD. Plus I prefer a show that has a strong lead character or two. I really don’t enjoy that 1960’s-1970’s thing where the regulars in a TV series stepped aside for the guest stars to carry the story.
I like to collect the western one-season wonders and the half-hour shows.
I really enjoyed Bat Masterson on DVD. I liked it as a kid, but when they started showing it on THIS-TV a few years back I gave up trying to record it because they were not showing all the episodes. Bat Masterson is fun, well done, TV, like all the ZIV shows.
I was a kid in the ’60’s and I remember having Superman and Batman lunch boxes, my brother had a Gomer Pyle lunch box. Boy I wish I had them now. I used to watch Zorro as a kid too, I had a great Zorro doll that came with his horse that he could ride on and even a whip that he held in his hand. Another toy I’d love to have again. I do have the Zorro show on DVD but am proud to have only the colorized versions, I wish all shows were in color or at least colorized. I remember recording Bat Masterson from This TV too, but they skipped episodes and didn’t play them in a row, when Encore Westerns showed it, they did it right, all in a row and no skips and no cuts.
I used to watch Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp & Lone Ranger as a kid, but never saw Sgt. Preston, still have never seen it. I’ve heard the radio version of it though.
The Sgt. Preston TV show also used scripts from the radio Preston. Radio Preston used scripts from The Lone Ranger radio show. Both were George Trendle Productions
The TV show had to scale back things sometimes from the radio scripts. For example, in the TV episode called “Relief Train” Preston attaches an extra sled to his sled with a couple of extra sled dogs to take needed supplies to a small gold-town being robbed and terrorized by two outlaws. Preston captures them single-handed.
On the radio version, it’s a bigger town and there are 10 or 15 outlaws. Preston takes along about eight supply sleds, and helpers, mounties, a doctor and nurse, and civilian dog-punchers. They are attacked by wolves, and there is a pitched deadly gun-battle, with the outlaws.
Radio Preston went it alone most of the time: Inspector: “Are you going to wait for help, Sergeant?” Preston: “No Sir. There are only 12 of them and I have Yukon King with me.”
Even notice that there were rarely or never any saloons in Sgt. Preston or Lone Ranger stories. They were always cafes.
When I was a kid in the 1950s I went with my friends on a saturday morning to the local cinema for the saturday morning matinee. The program consisted of a cartoon, a sing-along to words on the screen, a serial (ROCKET MAN, FLASH GORDON, SUPERMAN etc) and the main feature, usually a western which starred B western heroes like EDDIE DEAN, TEX RITTER,JOHNNY MAC BROWN, ROY ROGERS and TIM HOLT. Afterwards we would go and play games based on the characters we had watched. Happy childhood days.
Johnny Guitar, Bob G. and Ron, thanks Guys for helping me keep this wonderful thread going! We are a long way from the original subject but Hey Toby we have reached 100 posts – how about that?!
I am guessing, Ron, that you are a fellow Brit? Might we know each other from any of the London or Birmingham B-western conventions?
I don’t know if we are all similar ages (I am 66) but I grew up at a perfect time for the TV westerns. I started with those for the younger viewers(“The Range Rider” was my favourite) and in retrospect wasn’t i perceptive? When the BBC first screened “Tales Of Wells Fargo” I was 9 or 10 and Jim Hardie (Dale Robertson) became my absolute hero! It is still one of my favourite series and stands up well today.
Then when the adult westerns came in I started watching them too – what a bonanza (small B) for any western lover. As I said earlier, I kept notes at the time and rated individual episodes and generally find my opinion then is pretty solid (for me that is). My top favourites after Wells Fargo were “Cheyenne”, “Bronco” and “Laramie” consistently. I liked “Bonanza”, “Wagon Train” and “Rawhide” a lot too but a step down. “Gunsmoke” less so. Now however I see a couple of things differently as I would now rate “Rawhide” up in the top bunch and “Gunsmoke” too.
I agree very much with Johnny G’s assessments about the later “Gunsmoke” etc. though.
John K will have a surprise when he logs on tomorrow! 100 posts and still counting. I hope.
Your assumption about me being a Brit is correct Jerry. I am from the North East so was not aware of these conventions.I will be 69, next week ,as it happens.
I enjoyed THE RANGE RIDER too. In fact at present I am attempting to collect all of JOCK MAHONEYS’ western movies on dvd.
You never know who you do know, has been my experience, Ron. John Knight and I both attended conventions in London (and probably spoke) and recognised one another when we purposely met a few weeks ago, thanks to this blog.
I first attended a London convention 37 years ago now and had the pleasure of meeting some great guests – John Hart, Tex Ritter (different occasion), Gregg Barton and most recently Dick Jones of “Range Rider” fame.Wonderful! I am also a big fan of Jock (Jack) Mahoney and have all his western starrers except for “Slim Carter”, as well as most of that great TV series. The man was a pure joy to watch, wasn’t he?
I have the same experience re playing the games with friends straight after watching your favourite western heroes on screen. Happy, innocent fun.
That this blog could help y’all get together like that makes me happier than you’ll ever know.
If nothing else ever comes from this thing, I’m satisfied.
Thanks Toby.
Gregg Barton was another actor who reminded me of someone in the neighborhood.
One of my favorite character actors was Earle Hodgins, who usually played barkers, con-men, and medicine show hucksters. Sometime he was a slow sheriff or slower deputy. One in awhile he was a lead bad-guy. Some of his– ad-libbed?– huckster spiels ran on and on and became pretty funny.
Bronco: The Complete First Season may be coming from the Warners Archives on July 29th. It was listed at importcds with that date a few weeks ago, but the site changed the date to December. Their leaked release dates for Archive titles have been accurate in the past so I am still hoping Bronco will release on July 29th.
LOLA ALBRIGHT (Oregon passage) a 89 ans aujourd’hui. Happy birthday Lola , you are terrific in ” a cold Wind in August”, ” lord love a duck”, ” les félins”, “Kid Galahad” , “the gray rock hotel”(Rawhide).