The Bel-Air pictures continue from MGM’s DVD-R program.
Rebel In Town (1956) has a great cast — John Payne, Ruth Roman, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper and Ben Johnson. It was directed by Alfred Werker. This is one I’m really looking forward to.
The Broken Star (1956), directed by Lesley Selander, stars Howard Duff and Lita Baron. It was available on Hulu for a while, in a nice-looking, though full-frame transfer.
Outlaw’s Son (1957), another one from Lesley Selander, stars Dane Clark, Ben Cooper and Lori Nelson.
The Iron Sheriff (1957) is a Grand Production, not a Bel-Air, with Sterling Hayden, John Dehner and Constance Ford — directed by Sidney Salkow.
Hopefully, these will be widescreen. By 1956-57, 1.85 was pretty much the standard, and these pictures really benefit from that cropping.
I find many times, that my favorite films are not the “classics”, but the lesser known films that go under the radar and under appreciated.
Many feature some of the best character actors in the business, appearing
in Westerns and Film-Noir that still pack that punch of entertainment.
Mr. Jim – Amazon Vine Reviewer
Glad you’re adding the (R)!
If I remember correctly, all of these Bel Air films used to play in open-matte transfers on TCM, and the DVDrs are using the same masters. Which sucks, because I just watched THE BLACK SLEEP, and while it looks okay played in full-frame, when I zoomed it on my TV to approximate the 1.85 masking, all the flaws in the lo-fi transfer (edge enhancement, etc.) revealed themselves. So it’s kind of a lose-lose situation that you wouldn’t have with Warner or Sony, which puts a little more care into its MOD releases.
The silver lining is that, after I went back to 4:3 in THE BLACK SLEEP, the compositions didn’t bother me too much — the credits are clearly protected for 1.85, but otherwise it felt a little tight at that aspect ratio. Hopefully that’ll be true for the other Bel Airs, because I suspect that’s as good as we’ll get.
That picture alone has convinced me that I must buy REBEL IN TOWN.
Rebel in Town is 4:3. Not 16:9.
This is a capture from a 16:9 copy shown in a spanish TV channel, you can clearly see that Payne has been decapitated:
This is another capture in 4:3 from another TV release:
P.D: Sorry for my bad english.
Thanks a lot for supplying those images. I’m eager to hear how the DVD-R is presented.
According to the AFI, this picture is indded supposed to be 1.85. Sounds like all the transfers to date have been incorrect in one way or another.
As Mr Bowie correctly noted Warner Archive and Columbia put far
more care into their DVDrs. The problem is they are hardly putting
out any Westerns these days.MGM/UA on the other hand are
releasing several Westerns in every batch that they put out.
The latest batch from Columbia features not one Western which is
a great shame considering all that Sam Katzman stuff in their vaults.
Also some of George Montgomerys best Westerns were made for Columbia.
Warners have some fine Allied Artists rarities like Jack Slade,Arrow in The
Dust,Son of Belle Starr and so on which never seem to see the light of
day.
Actually Rebel In Town which I believe is full frame would not benifit much
from widescreen treatment as there are few outdoor scenes.
Also film has a claustrophobic “Noirish” feel.”Hero” John Payne is most
unlikable throughout the film which gives a neat balance between him and
the bad guys.
I may be wrong but I believe Outlaws Son and Broken Star are both
widescreen.
I always enjoyed The Black Sleep; in spite of its bad reputation;it predates
the Hammer and Roger Corman Poe films.A shame it was not shot in color as
originally intended;an even greater shame that Peter Lorre was not on
board as his salary demands were too high!
Back to Columbia although there are no Westerns in the latest releases
there are a couple of “Lone Wolf” pictures which look worth the price
for the DVD cover art alone! Also check out the lovely poster artwork
on their DVD of the rare Jack Holt/Fay Wray voodoo chiller Black
Moon from the always reliable Roy William Neill!
John Payne, Ben Johnson and an aspect ratio dispute — complete with photos. It doesn’t get much better than this, folks!
And … ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI and LONE STAR announced for Warner Archive today, among a batch of six Gable flicks.
The American Film Institute lists Rebel in Town as 1:85. The confusion rolls on…
I should add that Rebel in Town is a terrific little picture about the consequences of violence in the post-Civil War era and I anxiously await its official appearance on DVD, though I am wondering about that full-frame aspect ratio.