DVD Review: Movies 4 You Western Classics (Gun Belt, The Lone Gun, Gunsight Ridge, Ride Out For Revenge).

Shout Factory has done us all a huge favor, pulling four 50s Westerns from the MGM/UA/Fox libraries — featuring no less than George Montgomery, Rory Calhoun and the mighty Joel McCrea — and offering them at a great price. All four pictures boast nice, clean transfers. They’re all presented full-frame, though three (the post-1953 titles) played theaters cropped to widescreen. I played around with the zoom on my HDTV and was satisfied with the results.

As we all know, there are dozens and dozens of films like these, and the more the better. Let’s hope this is the first of many.

Gun Belt (1953)
Directed by Ray Nazarro
CAST: George Montgomery, Tab Hunter, Helen Westcott, John Dehner, Jack Elam, James Millican, Willis Bouchey.

George Montgomery is Billy Ringo, a gunslinger who wants to settle down. We’ve all seen enough of these films to know how that usually works out.

Before the picture’s 77 Technicolor minutes are up, Johnny Ringo hands Ike Clanton over to Wyatt Earp! Director Ray Nazarro began his career as an assistant director in the Silents and ended it with these George Montgomery films, a few with Rory Calhoun and TV for Gene Autry’s Flying ‘A’ Productions.

The Lone Gun (1954)
Directed by Ray Nazarro
CAST: George Montgomery, Dorothy Malone, Frank Faylen, Skip Homeier, Neville Brand, Robert J. Wilke.

Who cares what it’s about when you have Montgomery, Dorothy Malone, Skip Homeier and Frank Faylen, not to mention Ray Nazarro, on hand? For what it’s worth: George Montgomery goes after the Moran brothers — alone, thanks to the gutless townspeople.

Produced by the Color Corporation Of America, it was probably done in the SuperCineColor process. It looks good here, with the color surprisingly true. It was originally run 1.66.

Gunsight Ridge (1957)
Directed by Francis D. Lyon
Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo
CAST: Joel McCrea, Mark Stevens, Joan Weldon, Slim Pickens.

I found this a good, tight little Western — better than its reputation. McCrea’s charm and strength, along with Ernest Laszlo’s beautiful black and white cinematography, make the most of an uneven script. Mark Stevens is a tortured, evil bandit pursued by McCrea, as a Wells Fargo agent, through and around Old Tucson.

Joan Weldon is wasted in a nothing part, but Carolyn Craig — who’s in a couple of my favorite films, Fury At Showdown (1957) and House On Haunted Hill (1959) — has a nice scene at the end of the picture. There are enough ideas here for half a dozen 50s Westerns — Stevens being a frustrated pianist is a good one — but they aren’t given the time and attention they need in this brisk 85 minutes. Those with a keen eye and a nice TV will see a jet trail and an autombile.

Ride Out For Revenge (1957)
Directed by Bernard Girard
CAST: Rory Calhoun, Gloria Grahame, Lloyd Bridges, Vince Edwards.

In the mid-50s, a number of Westerns went beyond the sympathetic, or apologetic, approach to Native Americans of, say, Broken Arrow (1950) and tackled racism itself. John Ford’s The Searchers (1956), of course, is the best of these — though I urge you to seek out George Sherman’s Reprisal! (1956). Ride Out For Revenge is a solid B film, from Kirk Douglas’ Bryna Productions, that manages to make its point without sacrificing action. Probably the best film in the set, and I have to admit I knew almost nothing about it beyond the title and cast. A real find.

Beulah Archuletta, “Look” in The Searchers, can be seen in a couple shots. She’s also in Calhoun’s The Hired Gun, from the same year.

This blog was set up to champion films like these, and I urge you all to give Shout Factory a strong economic reason to release further volumes.

Read Full Post »

50s Westerns DVD News #116: Universal Classic Westerns.

If you don’t have these, consider this essential. If you do, it’s a good way to free up some shelf space. Universal has packaged 10 previously-released Westerns — including a couple only available on DVD-R — in a snazzy package. You get:

When The Daltons Rode (1940) George Marshall directs. Randolph Scott leads an incredible cast — Kay Francis, Brian Donlevy, Broderick Crawford, Andy Devine, George Bancroft, Edgar Buchanan. I prefer Scott with more age on him, but this picture has do much action, you don’t have time to care.

Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940) A 67-minute Paramount Western — a sequel to their Texas Rangers (1936) — starring Ellen Drew, John Howard, Broderick Crawford and Anthony Quinn.

The Spoilers (1942) John Wayne and Randolph Scott in the same movie. (Yet some people still wonder if there’s a higher power.) Marlene Dietrich and Harry Carey are in it, too. The climactic saloon brawl is terrific.

The Virginian (1946) Joel McCrea is stunning Technicolor. Universal’s getting a lot of mileage out of this one — it’s also available on DVD-R from the Universal Vault Series and as part of the Joel McCrea Westerns Collection.

Albuquerque (1948) Ray Enright directs Randolph Scott again, this time in color and with Gabby Hayes, Scott Hayden  and Lon Chaney on hand.

Whispering Smith (1948) Any movie that has both William Demerest and Frank Faylen in its cast is worth seeking out.

Comanche Territory (1950) The great, and unsung, George Sherman directs Maureen O’Hara and Macdonald Carey.

Sierra (1950) Audie Murphy is joined by Wanda Hendryx, Burl Ives, Dean Jagger, Tony Curtis, Houseley Stevenson and James Arness. It was directed by Alfred E. Green, in Technicolor. Murphy and Hendryx were husband and wife at the time.

Kansas Raiders (1950) Audie Murphy again,backed by Brian Donlevy, Marguerite Chapman, Scott Brady, Tony Curtis and Richard Arlen. Ray Enright directed.

Tomahawk (1951) stars Van Helfin and Yvonne De Carlo and was directed by George Sherman. Also available as part of the Universal Vault Series, where this one film costs more than the set we’re looking at here. Do the math, order one today.

By the way, its release date is Tuesday, March 12. Thanks to Mike for the tip.

Read Full Post »

50s Westerns DVD News #107: Western Horizons: Universal Westerns Of The 1950s.

Turner Classic Movies and Universal have come through with exactly the kind of set many of us have been waiting for. Western Horizons: Universal Westerns Of The 1950s brings together five excellent examples of why Universal was top gun in Hollywood in the 50s. The absolutely essential set, slated for release on February 18, 2013, will include:

Horizon’s West (1952) stars Robert Ryan and Rock Hudson as brothers on opposite sides of the law. Directed by Budd Boetticher, it costars Julie Adams.

Saskatchewan (1954) gives us Alan Ladd, Shelley Winters, J. Carrol Naish and Jay Silverheels in a Canadian mounties picture directed by Raoul Walsh.

Dawn At Socorro (1954) stars Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, Lee Van Cleef and Skip Homeier and was directed by George Sherman. (Love that Reynold Brown artwork, above.)

Backlash (1956) puts Richard Widmark, Donna Reed, William Campbell, and Edgar Buchanan in the capable hands of John Sturges.

Pillars Of The Sky (1956) from George Marshall is a CinemaScope cavalry picture with Jeff Chandler, Dorothy Malone, Ward Bond and Lee Marvin.

Universal made so many worthwhile cowboy movies in the 50s — and this is a good lineup. Let’s hope it’s the first of many.

Read Full Post »

50s Westerns DVD News #103: Three More John Wayne Republics.

I haven’t seen the first three Blu-rays of John Wayne’s Three Mesquiteers films from Olive Films. But I’ve heard very good things.

Three more early Wayne Republics are on the way, with one being The New Frontier (1939), directed by George Sherman. They list it under its TV title, Frontier Horizons. This is probably because they’re also bringing out the other John Wayne Republic called The New Frontier (1935)! The 1939 film co-stars Jennifer Jones.

The third title in this batch is King Of The Pecos (1936), directed by Joe Kane. Republic put this one out on DVD several years ago. Confused yet?

Read Full Post »

Jimmy Hunt On Joel McCrea.

Joel Albert McCrea
(November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990)

Joel McCrea’s birthday seems like a good time to share a bit more of my interview with Jimmy Hunt. Here Mr. Hunt discusses working with McCrea on The Lone Hand (1953).

Jimmy Hunt: “He was so nice. The guy was as nice as you could get. When you’d ask him what he did for a living, he was not a movie star, he was a rancher. He was so cool… He invited me out to his ranch after the movie was over. That was in 1952, and I went again in February of this year.

He was so good to me. I had a lot of lines in that movie, and lots of things that I did, and he was supportive of me and everything.

When we up there (in Durango), at lunchtime they had box lunches. They’d bring the box lunches out and we’d have lunch. All the wranglers would sit up on their horses and they’d wrap their leg around the saddle horn and sit up there and eat their lunch — and then have their chewing tobacco. They’d chew a little bit and spit it out, and I thought that was so cool. As a 12-year-old, that was cool. These were cowboys. And so, one morning, Joel McCrea comes and he says, ‘Jim, come here.’ I come over and he says, ‘Here,’ and he gave me this black licorice in these little squares, and it looked a bit like chewing tobacco. I’d take a bite off of it and chew it for a while, and when you spit that stuff, it looked like chewing tobacco, you know? I was in seventh heaven.

He’d teach me about horses and stuff and we’d sit between scenes while they were setting stuff up, and he’d tell me about brands — he had a brand for his ranch — and we made up a brand for my ranch.”

Read Full Post »

50s Westerns DVD News #100: Comanche Territory (1950).

Universal’s Vault Series has made Comanche Territory (1950) available for pre-order. No release date has been given.

MacDonald Carey is Jim Bowie, trying to keep peace after silver is discovered on Comanche territory. Maureen O’Hara and Charles Drake are the sinister siblings trying to break the treaty.

George Sherman, as you’d expect, makes great use of the Arizona locations — beautiful in Technicolor. And it’s cool to see Maureen O’Hara getting in on the action scenes (she’s seen below in a Jergens Lotion ad that appeared in Life in March, 1950). In her book ‘Tis Herself, she described Comanche Territory as “a fairly decent Western and the film in which I mastered the American bullwhip. By the time the picture was over, I could snap a cigarette out of someone’s mouth.”

Comanche Territory isn’t a great Western, but it has plenty to recommend it.

Read Full Post »

Jimmy Hunt On The Lone Hand (1953).

Child actor Jimmy Hunt is best known today as the kid in the original Invaders From Mars (1953). But he also appeared in two of Joel McCrea’s Universal Westerns — Saddle Tramp (1950) and The Lone Hand (1953). I’ve spoken with Mr. Hunt a couple times about these wonderful films, and about what a terrific guy Joel McCrea was. As I transcribe it all, here’s a bit on making The Lone Hand.

Jimmy Hunt: “They took me out where they now have all the Universal Studios rides. That used to be the old backlot. They got this horse from a little girl and figured ‘If a little girl can ride it, this horse’ll be good.’ I got to go out and ride and ride and ride.

One day I’m out riding, and this thing takes off on me. I’m trying to stop it, and it won’t stop. I’m pulling on the reins so hard, its mouth is bleeding. It dumps me off on the side of a hill, then heads back to the barn, and the wranglers end up out looking for a kid. I’m walking back with tears in my eyes, saying, ‘I don’t want to get back on that horse again.’ On the way to Colorado (location work was done in Durango), that little horse got in a fight with another horse, and that horse kicked the crud out of it. So they had to send it home, and I got another horse. I was the happiest kid in the world to get a different horse.

We stayed at a dude ranch that had a man-made lake with a little island. It had sulfur water for medicinal purposes. Everybody hated it because it smelled like crap, but I would go swimming in it because I thought it was cool. I’d have my makeup on and I’d wash off in that thing and swim around at night.”

More will come as my typing skills permit.

Read Full Post »

Lorne Greene, Somewhere Other Than The Ponderosa.

Here’s Lorne Greene, Linda Cristal and Jock Mahoney in Last Of The Fast Guns (1958), a CinemaScope Universal Western from George Sherman. This film really needs to make its way to DVD.

Be sure to head over to INSP TV to enter their Saddle Up and Getaway Sweepstakes. Greene and Bonanza are part of their extended lineup.

Read Full Post »

50s Westerns DVD News #92: Four Three Mesquiteers (1938-39).

Since starting this blog, and the book that’s its namesake, I’ve come to really love the work of George Sherman. He’s a sadly overlooked Western director, with a handful of films that rank with some of the genre’s very best. Reprisal! (1956) is a particularly good one.

Olive Films has done us a favor (again) by prepping four of Sherman’s The Three Mesquiteer films, all starring John Wayne, for an October DVD and Blu-ray release. These are the first series Westerns to hit hi-def — it’s appropriate that they’d be Republics — and I’m excited to see ‘em coming. The titles are: Overland Stage Raiders (1938), Red River Range (1938), The Night Riders (1939) and Three Texas Steers (1939).

Wayne’s co-stars are Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune, the other two Mesquiteers. In Overland Stage Raiders, they’re joined by Louise Brooks. As a kid, I thought The Night Riders was really, really cool. Looking forward to revisiting it.

Read Full Post »

Meet TheBrinkswayBoy. You’ll be glad you did.

One of our knowledgeable friends out in Bloggywood maintains an amazing Flickr photostream — and it’s high time you were all introduced to it.

His name’s David Raynor from Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK. He’s been uploading his collection of film stills, posters, handbills, scans and personal photographs — as TheBrinkswayBoy — providing us all with an incredible resource and hours of obsessive fun. David was a projectionist, so he’s not only got a ton of film paper, but he knows how these pictures were exhibited. (For instance, he solved the mystery of how Davy Crockett, King Of The Wild Frontier played theaters: 1.66. He knows because he ran it.)

A couple examples, chosen almost at random. Above, Rory Calhoun in George Sherman’s The Treasure Of Poncho Villa (1955), is a scanned frame from a Technicolor SuperScope print. (Be sure to read his comments for a lesson in anamorphic processes.)

Below is Rhonda Fleming in Bullwhip (1958). In his notes on this one, David even tells you when and where he saw it. By the way, Bullwhip was scored by the great character actor James Griffith.

There’s plenty more where these came from.

Read Full Post »