Directed by Marlon Brando
Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, Timothy Carey
The AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD, will run the gorgeous 4K restoration of One-Eyed Jacks (1961) on June 30th and July 1st. Both showings are at 4:10 PM. A fine way to spend an afternoon.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 
Let’s hear it for the AFI ! It’s so rare for a vintage western to be screened theatrically nowadays, I hope everyone within driving distance makes the effort. You’ll be glad you went.
Gary Tooze at dvdbeaver has just posted “100 Best Westerns on blu-ray” complete with links where to purchase:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/100_greatest_westerns_blu-ray.htm
I disagree violently with a number of his choices.
Thanks,Richard for the link to Gary’s list.
I must say that DVD Beaver (after FWOTF) is my first
port of call when on-line. His fair and balanced reviews are most important
when deciding if to go for a high-def upgrade.
He’s certainly saved me a fistful of dollars over the years especially
on “not so essential” purchases that get Gary’s “thumbs down”
If,say a very non essential guilty pleasure like SHALAKO gets a rough
time from Gary then it’s off my shopping list-simple as that.
Furthermore Gary is reviewing more and more European releases,so
that’s great-I would say that there are more and more essential Westerns
appearing in France and Germany with only Kino Lorber and Warner
Archive holding the USA end up.
Gary’s list is eclectic to be sure but I enjoyed his choices although I would
rather undergo waterboarding than sit through BONE TOMAHAWK again.
I was pleased to see unheralded fare like MAN WITHOUT A STAR make
Gary’s list.
The version of WAGONMASTER that Gary mentions is a Japanese import
which really points out that it’s high time this Ford masterwork had a
domestic release.
With the pending Euro releases of Mann classics (way,way overdue IMHO)
WINCHESTER’73,BEND OF THE RIVER,THE FAR COUNTRY soon to
appear I thought I’d list several classics that are also way overdue for
a high def upgrade.
COLORADO TERRITORY
THE GUNFIGHTER
SEVEN MEN FROM NOW
THE TALL T
WICHITA
THE PROUD ONES
FROM HELL TO TEXAS
DRUM BEAT
TRIBUTE TO A BAD MAN
LAST TRAIN FROM GUN HILL
THE LAW & JAKE WADE
RUN OF THE ARROW
CHEYENNE AUTUMN
PAT GARRET & BILLY THE KID
WILL PENNY
I’ve omitted RIDE LONESOME ‘cos it’s strongly rumored to be
due for a German Blu Ray release. Needless to say there are a whole
raft of lesser known Westerns that I’d get the high def upgrade in a
heartbeat….to name a few. THE LAWLESS BREED,SEMINOLE,
THE VIOLENT MEN,HELL BENT FOR LEATHER,THE COMMAND,
and so it goes on..in fact ANY Western starring Scott,McCrea or Murphy.
Your want list is my want list, john k. I hope you’re right that RIDE LONESOME is coming to blu-ray in Germany. The sooner the better. I also look forward to more Anthony Mann and James Stewart. I find their collaborations reassuring. Fox needs to restore NAKED SPUR from scratch, probably. I wonder what’s holding up THE GUNFIGHTER; it came out in the same DVD box-set as GARDEN OF EVIL and RAWHIDE both of which are on blu-ray now. Paramount is also sitting on a lot of classic westerns, from THE VIRGINIAN in 1929 to THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER in 1965.
I think transferring the 2005 Special Edition of PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID to hi-def would be very problematic since, as I understand it, it only exists in the digital realm. This is the 1973 theatrical release restored to the shape Peckinpah had intended, before it was cut by MGM. A remarkable effort and one that I appreciate. They’d have to rescan the negatives and let Paul Seydor redo the edit from scratch. A very time consuming and expensive endeavor even with Paul donating his time. Then they’d have to rescan the preview cut, which has won many fans, myself included. I hope it happens.
You’d rather undergo waterboarding than sit through BONE TOMAHAWK again? So would I. I feel the same way about the anti-westerns MEEK’S CUT-OFF, THE HOMESMAN, THE MISSING, A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST, DEAD MAN and DJANGO UNCHAINED. Sick movies made by sick minds.
Thanks Richard…actually THE NAKED SPUR
was an MGM picture now owned by Warners.
I hope that it gets the restoration it deserves at some point…
it’s more than worthy of the Criterion treatment.
I totally loathed THE MISSING and THE HOMESMAN-
DJANGO and DEAD MAN to a lesser extent.
For me it would take an act of extreme Masochism to endure
A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST…in fact I’d rather
undergo a two hour session in Mistress Vikki’s Pleasure Parlor
For Naughty Boys!
Backtracking………..
From my list one serious omission was of course
THE NAKED SPUR. The DVD has never looked right to me,so
I guess this Mann classic could need some considerable restoration.
Missing from Gary’s list and this is only my opinion….
Joseph Newman’s underrated FORT MASSACRE which has been given
a stellar upgrade from Germany’s Explosive Media (also out on Kino Lorber)
Also from Explosive Sturges’ quirky but highly entertaining BACKLASH.
Twilight Time’s stunning transfer of Arnold Laven’s underrated
THE GLORY GUYS. Kino Lorber’s THE INDIAN FIGHTER with a Toby
commentary much admired by Gary.
Other odds & sods…from Koch Germany NO NAME ON THE BULLET,
THE CIMARRON KID,GUN FOR A COWARD and WAR ARROW.
Black Hill Pictures Germany LAWMAN..a decent transfer but minus Sheree
North topless scene ); THE WAY WEST super transfer of a deeply
flawed film…great price too!THE BRAVADOS..super transfer from Explosive
…just out.Last but not least two great transfers of Universal programmers
STAR IN THE DUST and RAW EDGE both highly recommended.
Richard,the doggone way you are…you have really started something
here…even brought me out of retirement!
I wish you were in charge of all the home video divisions at the studios, john k. I’d have all my favorite westerns in hi-def by now.
As much as I appreciate Gary Tooze’s efforts, and the premise of his page devoted to westerns, let’s face facts: Face to Face, Django, My Name Is Nobody, Day of Anger, A Bullet For the General, A Fistful of Dollars, Django Prepare a Coffin, A Hanging for Django, The Good the Bad and the Ugly are spaghetti westerns, which is a separate genre from the western. They are NOT westerns. Internally the content and sensibility mirrors Europe, no America. It’s just maddening to see this Eurotrash listed side by side with the great American westerns of John Ford and Henry Hathaway and Howard Hawks and Budd Boetticher. It just mystifies me and frustrates me beyond belief when people are unable to make the distinction between a real western and a spag. If he had a separate page for “The 100 Great Spaghetti Westerns on Blu-ray” I’d have no argument with him, providing he kept real westerns out of it.
Likewise, period Australian films like The Proposition that borrow the iconography of the American western are not westerns, either. There’s a growing number of them. They’re not westerns because they’re not about the American west, they incorporate no knowledge or sensibility of the American west, they’re about Australia. Why is it so difficult for Gary Tooze and others to understand that the American west happened in America, in states west of the Mississippi, not in Australia? The Proposition and others like it are period films set in Australia which exploit our genre.
Further, Drums Along the Mohawk is not a western, either. It takes place in the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York, on the east coast of America, in the 1770s during the Colonial period when we were still “governed” by England. It is certainly a great film and a classic film, but geography and chronology prevent it from being a western. Drums Along the Mohawk is a period historical drama about the American Revolution. There are many of those, and some great ones, but the American Revolution didn’t happen in the west. Likewise, Tarantino’s repugnant Django Unchained takes place in Georgia, I understand, before the Civil War. Georgia is not in the west. The Civil War was fought in the southern states east of the Mississippi; there was some bleed-off west of the Mississippi but Django Unchained doesn’t go there. So Django Unchained is a period Civil War era film, not a western. Criminay!
I have to admit I’ve committed some of those crimes myself, including The Horse Soldiers in the 50s Westerns my book will cover. The personnel, and the simple fact that I wanted to write about it, were my mains reasons for putting it through.
It’s okay when you do it, Toby.
THE HORSE SOLDIERS is a remarkable film, don’t you think. Ford shows things I haven’t seen done in any other film, like heating the rails in order to bend them so that they can’t be used again, detailing the medical side of battles, etc. The conflicted motives, contentious dialogues, barely civil disagreements and competitive relationships are the work of a highly evolved dramatist. The film also boasts one of John Wayne’s most original characters and committed performances. He should have been nominated.
As I see it, The Horse Soldiers is one of most overlooked great movies ever. That “lesser Ford” tag really cheeses me off.
You’re right, it IS a remarkable movie. That scene with the kids marching off is somehow cute, funny and heartbreaking at the same time.
Also, the Blu-Ray is one of the best reasons I can think of for making the move to hi-def. It makes for a whole new experience and forces a re-evaluation from those who’ve blown it off in the past.
Thanks, Richard — I know what I’m doing tonight!
Oh, another reason for putting it in my book — I get to open with Wagon Master and close with The Horse Soldiers, letting Ford bring us in and take us out. The way it ought to be.
Toby ,some good lines in the THE HORSE SOLDIERS – lady -“are you a doctor too” Wayne -“Huh” .Great soundtrack also.
I’m also looking forward to seeing HORSESOLDIERS with Chris Hemsworth when it gets released soon.
Can’t wait to get your book. I know it will be very much after my own mind, as they say.
I hope you will give RIDE THE MAN DOWN (1952) the attention it deserves.
As one who watches and enjoys Spaghetti Westerns I suppose I should chime in my two cents. Let me just say that I agree with Richard W. I’ve always considered Spaghetti Westerns as a separate entity. When thinking of or listing (I love to list) my top Westerns, Spaghettis just don’t qualify, for precisely the reasons Richard W mentions. However, I still enjoy all the macho posturing, fast draws, quirky dialogue and pulsating soundtracks. And some are really good films, especially the ones Richard W has listed.
A lot of Western fans just don’t think that the Italians have any right invading our sacred domain, the American West. But we’re just as guilty, giving them our own Hollywood versions of ancient Rome with BEN HUR, SPARTACUS, CLEOPATRA, THE SILVER CHALICE (Paul Newman, really?) and others. Richard Burton and Rex Harrison as Romans? Even Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis as Vikings?….And granted, these are major productions and stars, but we’ve been intruding on European history since the beginning of silent film. So I have no problem with Italians making Westerns, good, bad or ugly. I don’t put them in the same category as American Westerns, but I do enjoy their effort to at first copy, and then to create their own version of our beloved genre. The influence of the Spaghetti Western is obvious in American Westerns of the late 1960s, early 70s. BANDOLERO, HUNTING PARTY and even BIG JAKE fall victim, for the worse. The violence and just downright meanness of the American product of this period just goes to show how little we really knew of the Italian sensibility and style.
But back to what defines a Western. And I’m talking about the home-grown product. If a Civil War film takes place out west, it’s ok, but RED BADGE OF COURAGE, no. NORTHWEST PASSAGE, DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, FORT TI, no. Contemporary settings, JUNIOR BONNER, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, no. Comedies, BLAZING SADDLES, PALEFACE, no. Westerns made by other countries, Germany, Italy, France, etc., no.
When I (and this is just me being me) think of a Western, it’s a film that takes place out west, confined to a specific historical period, usually from somewhere around the period of the Alamo to maybe Poncho Villa times. It’s not a comedy with Western trappings or a Musical or a film made in Turkey…but then again, that’s not to say that I wouldn’t enjoy the Western made in Turkey, but probably not.
You have here, with your comments, the BEST explanation of these so-called ‘westerns’ from Italy and other countries passing as films about the American West and filmed in Europe- which is , in my book (and others as well) a MAJOR point -of-FLAW MAXIMUS , which heads a list of reasons and pertaining issues under the subject head of the AMERICAN WESTERN ! AND the obnoxious music with stupid, insipid characters belching out rude dialogue that never seems to match the faces of these ‘cowboy’ morons. Biggest flaw of course is WHERE they are filmed…and as you know it is NOT the AMERICAN WEST, or anywhere near it!! White-washed buildings says it all. ! The satisfied thought at a first glance look at these blood-splattering abortions justifies a scream of bad adjectives from folks like us who can immediately confirm that what one sees at that first glance can explain it all; the number one reason OF our discord: THAT THIS WAS NOT FILMED IN the southwest AMERICA, or PERIOD!! for
I do so agree with Richard’s strong opinions about what makes a western and that the ‘spaghetti’ variety are a separate genre (and one I personally don’t care for).
The most crazy comment I ever heard was a BBC commentator trailing an episode of “THE WALTONS” as ‘now we go way out West with the Waltons’ – Really?? In Virginia.? Of course, silly me! I suppose I should be thankful he didn’t finish the intro with a ‘yeehah’!!
I don’t care for spags, either, as a rule. I bought a lot of them because I wanted to study the genre but I found only a handful of good ones — THE BIG GUNDOWN, CEMETERY WITHOUT CROSSES (actually a French production) and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST mainly. THE GREAT SILENCE (actually a Spanish production), DAY OF ANGER, DEATH RIDES A HORSE and TEPEPA were also good films. There are odd moments in THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY that are memorable. If the entire film had been devoted to Lee Van Cleef’s bounty hunter I’d like it better; he was amazing. FACE TO FACE is a film of considerable merit if one doesn’t think of it as a western. I sold off and traded-in the rest of my spags — about a 150 of them — and I don’t miss them.
Jerry Entract, there is a growing number of USA film buffs who have seen more spags than American westerns. It’s frightening to think about, but there is an entire generation of Americans who hate westerns because they think the genre is racist and sexist and politically incorrect. At the studios, the young execs find westerns objectionable because “it is a male-dominated genre” which “does not represent diversity.” Yet, Clint Eastwood is their cool god. They respond to the nihilism, ambivalence and amorality that he represents, and watching spags feeds them more of that. In comparison, American westerns seem tame and boring to this growing number of spag fans. I keep bumping into spag fans who ridicule American westerns because they’re not like spags. There’s a creep on Film Score Monthly who uses the handle “BillCarson” (the name on the tombstone under which the gold is hidden at the end of The Good the Bad and the Ugly, if I recall correctly) who snipes and snarks when American westerns are discussed. Since his put-downs are clean the mods let him thrive. He’s just one example of many.
Depressing, isn’t it, Richard?! People seem unable to enjoy straight entertainment without filtering everything through some strident PC view. Very arrogant.
THE HORSE SOLDIERS is being remade? Chris Hemsworth is just the right actor for westerns. Let’s hope he chooses smartly.
Last night I got reacquainted with TRACK OF THE CAT (1954). I should have been working toward the deadline because I’m going to be late as it is, but I needed a break. I watched the film three times in a row. William I. Wellman’s intimate drama of a troubled pioneer family and wintery mise en scene rewards repeated viewing. As you know, it’s a Cinemascope film in deep rich color, except that the production design, props, and wardrobe are rigidly controlled in shades of black, white and grey with consistently correct flesh tones and an occasional splash of red or yellow to make a point. Color timing at the lab helps. Think if it as a color film in black & white, or a black & white film in color. The snow-banked craggy peaks on Mt. Rainer are an impressive landscape for a winter western. One of my most-wanted western on blu-ray.
Richard W,HORSE SOLDIERS is not a remake of the Wayne film THE HORSE SOLDIERS .It is about CIA agents and Special Forces soldiers heading into Afghanistan weeks after 911 and teaming up with a war lord to topple the Taliban .They have to learn how to ride horses when they fight.
A couple of other key Blu Ray releases missing from Gary’s list….
THE SHOOTIST from Pidax,Germany,a very decent transfer.
Also CHISUM on of The Duke’s best 70’s Westerns in a stellar
transfer from Warner Bros.
I’d also give a special mention to Richard Wilson’s MAN WITH THE GUN
one of the most overlooked of all 50’s Westerns the transfer from Kino
Lorber is exceptional.
Richard, I knew that you really started something here-I hope Gary
gets to read these comments..he seem well aware of FWOTF in any
case.
Another prime omission is BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK given a lovely
2.55 widescreen transfer from Warner Archive.
I have heard by a very good authority that RIDE LONESOME will be
released in Germany on Blu Ray,hopefully sooner rather than later.
Sadly,my contact in Germany is recovering from an accident and has been
off the scene for several months now; but I’m informed that he will be
back on the scene in a couple of weeks or so.
Meanwhile as I’ve mentioned before THE FAR COUNTRY is due for a
Blu Ray release from Sidonis,France…with their horrible “forced”
subtitles.I understand a subtitle free version will later appear
in Germany….it will be wonderful to have this Mann classic in high-def in
widescreen…possibly 1.85 or even 2.0
Richard,very interesting comments regarding Spaghetti’s vs REAL
Westerns…I won’t comment further as we have ridden that trail far too
often,having said that you make some great points.
One Euro Western that may be of minor interest to you is the recent Spain
Blu Ray/DVD combo release of George Sherman’s JOAQUIN
MURRIETA (1965) The picture quality is pretty good I might add.
The film is of interest to Sherman fans as it straddles two themes of
his American Westerns..films that play fast and loose with history like his
Universal Westerns.The film also is similar to films like REPRISAL!
with it’s subtext of racism.Sherman has tried to make the film as much like
an American Western as possible;which is probably why it’s totally
overlooked by the Spaghetti crowd.
As history the film is total nonsense but Jeffrey Hunter is very good in
the lead.The great Arthur Kennedy is given too little to do as the decent
law enforcer who is forced to hunt down his one time friend..all in all
worth a look.The alternate title of the film was VENDETTA.
I totally get Richard’s comments on Gary’s choices but I feel if any of us
composed such a list there would be areas to invite adverse comments.
As mentioned before Gary provides a stellar service for dedicated film
collectors and it’s great that he continues to review more and more
international releases. I’m also encouraged that Gary refuses to review
Sidonis releases because like the rest of us those forced subs drive
him crazy.
Toby-your choices for opening and closing your long awaited book are
truly inspired,to say the least..
Once the One-Eyed Jacks book is done (which shouldn’t be much longer), the 50 book will go on the front burner. Every six months or so, I revisit my list of titles. It shifts every so slightly as I try to make sure all the actors and directors I want to cover are included. People like Ray Nazarro and Lesley Selander are great because they worked with so many actors, I can easily move things around to make sure a couple extra boxes are checked.
Reprisal is a terrific movie.
Richard,
It was great to see you name drop RIDE THE MAN DOWN.
I avoided mentioning any Republic A Westerns from my list
as their chances of a future release are in many cases highly unlikely.
Kino Lorber say they have about three more Republic Westerns in the
works including another Rogers…(TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD for Christmas
perhaps??)
At least with the major studio titles we know that eventually they will appear
in high def.
RIDE THE MAN DOWN on Blu Ray would be far more than a dream come
true.
Glad to hear Kino Lorber has three more Republic westerns in the works. Let us know what they are when you find out. I’d be surprised if the Roy Rogers film isn’t MY PAL TRIGGER as that one has held up well in Trucolor and is considered Roger’s best film, generally. If RIDE THE MAN DOWN is in the pipeline it will be the release of the year.
Was REPRISAL a Republic western? I agree with Toby it’s under-rated and I look forward to his write up on it.
Don’t mind giving George Sherman’s JOAQUIN MURRIETA a look-see. I’ve read a lot about Murrieta in early California. It’s one of the great stories of the American west, and an epic tragedy. Just think, the pristine landscape in which Murrieta lived is one long endless suburb now.
I need to catch up on a number of German blu-rays of American westerns. I’ve been waiting for a domestic release on most of those titles. Watch what happens, soon as I buy them on German blu-ray, Olive or Kino will announce them here.
Second attempt to post….
Backtracking on Richard’s comments It is indeed odd that Peck’s
finest THE GUNFIGHTER has not been given the high def treatment.
That is certainly odd,as Richard correctly states, that the other two
films in the excellent Fox DVD set (RAWHIDE,GARDEN OF EVIL)
have been given great Blu Ray versions.
It’s even odder that in September Koch will give us their Blu Ray version
of GARDEN OF EVIL….that’s good news, I guess, by those put off by
Twilight Time’s prices.
Also in September Koch are releasing Boetticher’s very fine SEMINOLE
on Blu Ray. While on the subject of all things Koch another key film
missing from Gary’s list is their super version of Daves’ THE LAST WAGON
considered by many to be Widmark’s finest hour.
It is odd that The Gunfighter’s missing on Blu-Ray. Hope that doesn’t mean there’s trouble with the material.
I need to get that Blu-Ray of The Last Wagon. Early Scope is terrific in hi-def.
Another Peck classic from Fox, Twelve O’Clock High, is also missing on Blu-ray. I anxiously await the day that both The Gunfighter and Twelve O’Clock High get the deserved high-def treatment.
I hope that someone releases RIDE THE MAN DOWN with English .I have it,but with German audio only .I wanted to buy a western pack with a couple of westerns made in the 80s and 90s and 2 older films but the same story again ,German audio only .These later made westerns normally don’t appeal to me but when I checked them out on U tube they looked ok.I just received a Sam Peckiinpah box with 3 of his films ,2 of which I don’t have and have never seen before ,THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND and JUNIOR BONNER the latter which was better then I thought .I am not a real fan of modern westerns.The other film in the pack is STRAW DOGS which I have in another collection and which I don’t like at all .
gcwe1, I agree the film is way overdue on DVD.
Any western adapted from a Luke Short novel is starting out on the right foot, and Ride the Man Down is a particularly smart adaptation of Short’s best novel. He liked to drop readers into the middle of the action already underway and let the backstory gradually reveal itself in the first act as the story unfolded. Maintaining that approach is precisely what gives adaptations an edge, as evidenced in Blood On the Moon, Ramrod, Ambush and others. The script is an A-list adaptation given a B level production. I think it’s the grittiest and most literate western Republic ever made, with the strongest performance Rod Cameron ever delivered, and the best western Joseph Kane ever directed. Everything clicks. That it was photographed in the red rock country of Kanab, Utah in Trucolor doesn’t hurt. The Westerns Channel used to show it from time to time when I was a subscriber. I made an inadequate DVD-R of that.
I also have the Republic VHS, which has held up well. If anyone wants to borrow it and transfer it to DVD-R for themselves and for me I will send it along.
Sam Peckinpah was sick and barely hanging on when he directed THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND. It is the only one of his films to disappoint me, and I love his work. I remember seeing it in an empty theater. Being a Peckinpah completist I recently upgraded the DVD with the blu-ray. I watched both cuts once and will probably never watch it again. It is smartly directed but I wish he’d chosen different material to begin with. JUNIOR BONNER reminds me of people I know. It’s a mirror reflection of modern western life. I used to live in the town it was filmed in and hope I never have to go back there.
If I may offer a personal note, those of you who love westerns and the American west from which they sprung might enjoy a glimpse of my Cochise County A.T. / Tombstone / Wyatt Earp / Doc Holliday shelves
about two years ago. More books have been added since then. Those are just the books, not the research files or manuscripts. It is the smallest part of my home western history library, which includes many bookcases devoted to various topics of the old west. All history and biography, not fiction although some popular culture inevitably finds its way in. Many first editions, some signed. Need to get new bookcases.
Recently I came across this painting of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral on the cover of an old magazine. There are many paintings of the gunfight, but much to my surprise this is one of the more accurate:
Richard W ,yesterday I posted a comment but for some reason it disappeared.I wanted to ask you if you could recommend a book on Gary Cooper about his film career .There seems to be a few around which talks about his love life which does not interest me.
REPRISAL and THE HARD MAN are both available on DVD .Sidonis have or did have a deal with Sony .REPRISAL is available from Italy on A&R productions .I have the Jubal copy which I think is deleted .Mill Creek would be perfect for these 2 films as they have a deal with Sony so if we all requested them they may take notice .A couple of months ago I requested another 7 WESTERN SHOWDOWN comp and they said they would consider it .Imagine these 2 films on such a comp.
gcwe1, I hate to disappoint. But I’ve never read a book on Gary Cooper. I have no idea. I know there are several books because seen them around but all I know is what I’ve looked up at wikipedia and imdb.
Asking Mill Creek to include REPRISAL and THE HARD MAN on another 7 WESTERN SHOWDOWN compilation is a good idea. Let’s everybody remind them.
I used to have a book called The Films of Gary Cooper, all films, no scandal or love life, a very good one from the Citadel film book series. Second hand copies are still around.
Forget The Two Jakes..this highly entertaining thread has
brought together The Two Richards (W & O)
I think it was Richard O who mentioned elsewhere that Rod Cameron
on his first Spaghetti Western earned more than the entire cast
of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS.
You can hardly blame American actors being enticed by the Spaghetti’s-
decent paydays aside, Europe really was Swinging in the Sixties-a
wonderful place to be and from interviews with some of these guys
there was plenty of La Dolce Vita as well.
I’m sure guys like Lex Barker and Guy Madison were earning far more
in Europe than they would had they stayed home making A.C.Lyles
epics.
Speaking of Madison actually REPRISAL! was a Columbia picture
like it’s companion piece THE HARD MAN directed by George Sherman.
Madison has never been better than in these two films.,
THE HARD MAN has two stunning set pieces;first the beginning where
Madison during a thunderstorm is forced to kill his buddy Myron Healey.
Secondly there is an amazing scene in a bar where Madison “breaks”
swaggering bully boy gunslinger Rudy Bond.
It’s a hard choice which is the better of these two little gems.
One Spaghetti very much on my wants list is SUNSCORCHED starring
and directed by Mark Stevens…anyone seen this one?
Most spags were shot for under $200,000 I understand and most of that went to the American star if they imported one so I doubt if the payscale was that high. The American actors just wanted to work. So they’d travel, put in their time and take what little money was offered, or they would not have been working at all.
Is Sherman’s THE HARD MAN on a DVD?
Never heard of SUNSCORCHED but I’ll go looking for it.
The Hard Man, like Reprisal!, are absent on DVD. That’s a real shame. Both are terrific, but I think I prefer Reprisal!.
I’d give REPRISAL! the edge too but that opening scene
in THE HARD MAN is awesome…both actors play it
pitch perfect.
Both have been released on DVD by Sidonis,sadly,- I’m hoping
other Euro imprints will pick them up.
This is the sort of fare Mill Creek should be releasing.
This stuff would be perfect for Mill Creek. If only they’d ask us!
I’m waiting for them to bring to Saw Katzman stuff to Blu-Ray like they did with William Castle. Imagine Fred Sears’ The Werewolf on Blu-Ray.
THE HARDMAN on Sidonis with burned-in non-removable subtitles in PAL? Are the subs in French or English? I might get it just to see the film, now that you’ve stoked my curiosity.
Interesting….some American actors like Richard Harrison and Robert
Woods entire careers were based in Euro movies.
Sadly THE HARD MAN is only available from Sidonis,France
with horrible “forced” subtitles,the transfer is very good,however.
This is the sort of fare that used to appear on Sony’s MOD series
which now seems to have ground to a halt.
Anyone know what’s happened to Olive’s Signature series…another
one to bite the dust I guess.
I read a piece by Woody Strode that he only started making
decent money when he started doing the Spaghetti’s around
$36,000 a picture..Prior to that John Ford gave him the $2.000 to
cover the cost of his Mother’s funeral.
Remember Eastwood did A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS
for $15.000 because Leone could not afford Coburn or Bronson,
who he really wanted.Eastwood was still stuck in RAWHIDE
at the time.
Woody Strode was on the professional wrestling circuit when he played the gladiator in Spartacus, and still wrestling even after Spartacus was big time in cinemas. Maybe the promoters paid him more after that.
Richard W…most impressive book collection and shelving system-dare
we ask to see your DVD/Blu Ray collection.
I agree with your previous comments that RIDE THE MAN DOWN
was Joseph Kane’s finest although many of his Republic A’s are great
too.I did ask Kino regarding the chance of them releasing other Republic
A’s and mentioned several titles previously announced by Olive Films.
They replied saying-as did Olive previously; that the master elements
were in bad shape and there were further issues with Trucolor itself.
When all is said and done it would seem the Republic masters were not
given the loving care and attention that they deserved. Warners have
made the same statement regarding many vintage Monogram films.
Sadly it looks as though A MAN ALONE and THE LAST COMMAND
(previously announced by Olive) will now not be happening.
Of the “off air” copies of vintage Republic Westerns that I have seen
by far the best quality is Joe Kane’s THE JUBILEE TRAIL-far from Joe’s
best but certainly the biggest budget film that he made for Republic.
Needless to say I’d buy a Blu Ray of THE JUBILEE TRAIL in a heartbeat.
I’ve sadly never encountered a good quality version of RIDE THE MAN
DOWN and I would suspect that it needs a major restoration-I would imagine
the film is miles off the radar for the likes of Criterion.
Well now I’m off to Toby’s Hannibal 8 where Toby has done a great piece
on THE KILLER IS LOOSE…I’m off for a second read….yet another title
for my ever growing shopping list.
You won’t be disappointed in the Killer Is Loose Blu-Ray. It looks terrific, and I don’t have to tell you how good the movie is!
THE KILLER IS LOOSE — one of my favorite noirs of the fifties. Wendell Corey gives the best performance of his career in that. Another noir I’d like to see on blu-ray is Maxwell Shane’s independent NIGHTMARE (1956) with Kevin McCarthy double-featured with its original version FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1947) starring, of all people, DeForest Kelly. It would take some savvy individual to champion these low-budget independent films to a botique label to get them properly transferred and released today.
My western DVDs and blu-rays fill four bookcases, consisting of eight shelves each. Filing is chronological by year, then alphabetical within the year. Right now the shelves are in chaos. When I get everything put away and cleaned up I’ll post a picture for you. Mean while, would you like to see my Custer bookcases or my Texas cattle industry bookcases or my cattle towns bookcase? or my Billy the Kid / Lincoln County War bookcases?
I didn’t know Richard Harrison and Robert Woods were American actors. I can’t say their work in spags interests me, no not at all.
Don’t think I’ve seen THE JUBILEE TRAIL. Will look into it.
Next time you communicate with the DVD label, tell them this: fans understand about the deterioration and inherent flaws and don’t expect a perfect transfer. Fans will accept a flawed transfer rather than no transfer at all. Remind them to put a notice before the film starts and on the back cover of the packaging advising customers that there is deterioration and flaws and that this is the best that could be done with it to meet consumer demand, and fans will still buy it with that understanding. It will still sell. Tell them that one way to beat the supposed disappointment is to pair the flawed transfers as double-features or triple features. Fans will really appreciate that. But do put the films out. Don’t keep them out of circulation.
What is this Hannibal 88 you keep referring to?
The Hannibal 8 is my other blog, dedicated to movies I like that aren’t 50s Westerns.
http://www.thehannibal8.wordpress.com
Its namesake: the car Jack Lemmon drove in The Great Race.
I have seen Ride the Man Down twice, a great film, but each time the ending is ruined because the print is far too dark at the climax, and over too quickly. I would love a remastered blu ray.
Yep! I saw the screen grabs on Gary’s site recently
which proves what a valuable service he provides when deciding to
upgrade. To say the Blu Ray totally smokes the MOD is an understatement!
I agree with John that the Two Richards have provided us with some very entertaining comment but also very interesting too. My shelves contain a lot of films and TV series plus separate shelving for movie books but NOTHING compared with Richard W’s fantastic collection. LOVE that OK Corral print – a real beauty!
Add me to the long list who want a tip-top print of “RIDE THE MAN DOWN”. Even without that it is still in my list of Ten Best Westerns (and high in the list what is more).
Has anyone seen these 2 Jeff Hunter films THE MAN FROM GALVERSTON ,which apparently was a pilot for a tv series and runs at 57 mins and SUPER COLT 38 ,which he made overseas and one of his last films .Has anyone seen this on DVD as it is very hard to get ,but him starring in it would make it interesting.
More backtracking in reverse order……………..
Firstly gcwe1 I think THE MAN FROM GALVERSTON was an early
Warner Archive release.
I have never seen SUPER COLT 38 but would love to purely because of
Hunter’s involvement. It was originally intended to star Nick Adams
(another actor,like Hunter who’s career had hit the skids) before his
untimely passing.
Another Hunter Spaghetti FIND A PLACE TO DIE is actually rather
good partly directed by Hugo Fregonese.
FIND A PLACE TO FIE is a re-working of GARDEN OF EVIL and the
beginning where the desperadoes gather in an abandoned church,
(reputedly directed by Fregonese) is outstanding.
The VCI DVD of FIND A PLACE TO DIE is horrible and not recommended.
Another Hunter Euro Western is THE CHRISTMAS KID co starring
Louis Hayward and I’ve not seen that either.
Hunter was, I feel, a very appealing actor and deserved a far better career.
Richard,for someone who loathes Spaghetti’s I’m amazed that you have
purchased some 150 of them on DVD. I agree that THE BIG GUNDOWN
and DEATH RIDES A HORSE are excellent. I only have a half dozen or so
myself and am mainly attracted to ones that have American leads.
I have no interest in films starring the likes of Anthony Steffan or Peter
Lee Lawrence…perhaps I need some sort of education here.
If,and it’s highly unlikely, the following appear on Blu Ray I will certainly
give them a go: SUPER COLT 38,FIND A PLACE TO DIE,SUNSCORCHED,
and certain other titles staring the likes of John Ireland.
Richard the Sidonis version of THE HARD MAN has “forced” French subs
not burned in. They can be removed if you have the technical know how.
I don’t have the know how myself but know several cats who do!
One Spaghetti I found highly enjoyable was LONG RIDE TO HELL
the only Western starring Peplum superstar Steve Reeves.This was
Reeves’ final film and it’s a good one the heavy is COLT 45’s Wade
Preston.I understand why it’s overlooked by the Spag crowd is because it
tries to look too much like an American Western.
I set Louis Hayward in The Christmas Kid, which was shot in 19 days, not an especially brief shooting schedule, in Almeria, Spain as part of a four picture deal with Sidney Pink and Westinghouse Broadcasting. The attorney representing Pink and Westinghouse was Arnold Kopelson, a great guy who went on to have a career in film most people don’t even dream about. Hayward and Hunter hit it off like gangbusters and stayed in touch after returning to the states.
john k,
Regarding More Backtracking in Reverse Order:
Richard,for someone who loathes Spaghetti’s
I’m amazed that you have purchased some 150
of them on DVD.
Let’s be clear: my mind is always open to the possibilities of cinema. before the era of home video, I went to the movies almost every day of my life. I always give new movies a chance, went to see old movies in repertory theaters, and took a chance on films both foreign and domestic that I knew nothing about except what the descriptive paragraph and admat revealed in the local paper (the NYTimes, Newsday, Cue Magazine etc). I’d seen the Man With No Name films as a double-feature and then as a triple-feature. I’d seen DEATH RIDES A HORSE, FIVE MAN ARMY, TEPEPA and a couple of others in theaters. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST was the only one I went back to see again and again. In 1971 I went to see THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA on a double-feature (you remember double-features, I’m sure) with a spaghetti western. I have a vivid memory of being bored to death by the spag, which title I quickly forgot. About five-six years ago it started to irk me that I couldn’t remember a film I’d seen, and I wanted to identify it. So I started looking at spags.
I began with a few big-box public-domain sets because they were cheap. Additionally, I’d always been fascinated by ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST and I hoped to find another spaghetti western that good. Further, the spaghetti western was a genre I knew nothing about, so I thought I’d better learn. I read a few books and started gathering the films, including import DVD’s and DVD’s from domestic botique labels. I asked for and received a lot suggestions at a couple of popular movie forums. I was advised to watch the films of Peter Lee Lawrence, this director and that director, for example. So I did. My study of the genre quickly became an ordeal. The films were just awful. I found a few good ones, but not enough to make the study a pleasant adventure in cinema. Every once in a while along the way something okay turned up to keep the search and the study going — CEMETERY WITHOUT CROSSES, THE BIG GUNDOWN, FACE TO FACE, A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL etc. But the bad films outnumbered the good by like 20 to 1. I concluded that the genre was a waste of time after I watched the films, not before.
Also, I found the title of the film I was trying to remember: LONG RIDE TO HELL. I watched the Wild East DVD. Like most spags, it has 20-45 minutes of story stretched out to a grueling 90 minutes. Perhaps it’s a notch above most spags, but only a notch. But the study did have one lasting and positive effect: it reaffirmed for me the singular greatness of the American western. Americans knew how to make westerns. The western came out of our history, culture and way of life. It’s our genre, our contribution to world cinema. Other countries can imitate it, but they’ll never get it right.
Last night I watched two B westerns: MASTERSON OF KANSAS which I loved, and ROBBERS’ ROOST. Both starring the vastly under-rated and poorly used George Montgomery. I thoroughly enjoyed them. Italy never made a spag as good as those two B westerns.
Amen to that last para, Richard!!
Nice response Richard…
I too remember the days of double bills.
I endured so many Peplum movies because,in the UK at least
they were normally paired with an old Universal Western that I had
missed first time around-remember this was way before the multiplex-
I saw these films on single screen cinemas.
One typical double bill I remember: HERCULES IN THE CENTER OF
THE EARTH paired with SEVENTH CAVALRY.
I agree with you that you have to sift through a wagon-load
of drek to sift out the occasional gem with the Spaghetti’s.
As you well know there is little historical accuracy in Hollywood
Westerns-the weapons,the clothing and so on.
Hollywood Westerns are a fantasy world but having said that they
are wonderful entertainment. The Spags take that fantasy world to
even more ridiculous levels.
MASTERSON OF KANSAS entertains to be sure,but as you well
know as history it’s total nonsense. Even an early Spag DUEL AT
RIO BRAVO (GUNFIGHTERS OF THE RIO GRANDE) where Guy
Madison plays Wyatt Earp makes as much sense.
ROBBERS ROOST is superior-how novel to see a working ranch
where folk actually “work”
I agree George Montgomery should have made better movies-he
certainly went for quantity over quality-besides he was not purely
a movie star he had other interests and was among other things
a master craftsman. George was good even when the films were
not- for me his finest are BELLE STARR’S DAUGHTER,
DAKOTA LIL (Lesley Selander “got” Montgomery and it’s a
pity they only made two films together.) THE TEXAS RANGERS,
CRIPPLE CREEK,JACK McCALL DESPERADO, (nonsense as
history but engaging and well made) INDIAN UPRISING
and CANYON RIVER.
I’d watch George in any Western however.
LONG RIDE TO HELL I thought was a notch above the usual
Spag as you state. Apart from a ill judged sight gag which is pure
Laurel & Hardy it’s a pretty decent entertainment I feel.
The second half of the film is bathed in Autumnal russet
tones which are very appealing.I don’t know if special filters
were employed but it’s most effective.
Back to Hollywood Westerns-if you look out for things like “belt loops”
and Winchesters before they were even invented then you
sidetrack from the pure entertainment they offer-just accept the
Hollywood West for what it is and enjoy.
Richard,just a prod to show us your Custer/Billy The Kid books and
from a personal note I’d love to see your Earp/Tombstone
DVD/Blu Ray collection.
The trouble with this “High Definition” World that we live in today
is that the old standards have now,more or less bit the dust.
Gary at DVD Beaver for instance,I believe, views his films on a 60″
TV and has a state of the art Oppo player. In UK money a bog standard
Oppo will set you back some £500 quid.
Viewing to this standard every slight imperfection is visible.
Such are things today not only Gary,but Blu Ray.com;DVD Savant and
others will tear releases apart if there is any hint of things being
sub-standard.High quality imprints like Criterion,Kino Lorber and Olive Films
just cannot risk their reputations on releasing anything that is less than top-
notch.Occasional these companies will take a long shot-a point in case
Olive Films recent release of a “lost” Brit Noir APPOINTMENT WITH CRIME.
The “off air” copies of this great film have been wretched and the Olive
release is streets ahead of anything we have seen before,but probably
Olive would have preferred to have sourced a better master,but that is not
going to happen.Richard, on other blogs,notably Colin’s you have stressed
a great interest in Brit Noir..believe me you need APPOINTMENT WITH
CRIME a total cracker of a crime film…darkly comic and subversive to boot!
The other problem is a company like VCI would love to release some of
the Republic titles that we have discussed but could not afford the price that
Paramount would want.
I find the Home Theater Forum site incredibly geeky especially with some of the
total drek some of the contributors want on Blu Ray
They even have the audacity to pull apart some of the transfers that myself,
and others find outstanding. I am not alone in finding the recent Explosive Blu Ray of THE BRAVADOS exceptional..especially when compared to the
DVD. Yet there is some cat at Home Theater Forum who hopes he can get
an “upgrade” when (and if) Twilight Time release.it.
Another of these geeky people is most upset that the blink and you miss
it Sheree North topless scene is missing from the German Blu Ray of
LAWMAN. This fellow hopes Twilight Time will release the film with the
Sheree topless scene intact…really Dude! you are willing to pay $30
for a few extra seconds.The Black Hill Blu Ray of LAWMAN is a very nice
transfer..better in fact than Twilight Time’s CHATO’S LAND…but guess what
TWILIGHT TIME will release LAWMAN in September.
The Two Richard’s like to place certain Western genres into
compartments and I was wondering how they place the following in
their files:
European made Westerns (mainly Spain,but not always) mostly with
American directors always with American leads and generally American
financed- more or less American mainstream movies.
RETURN OF THE SEVEN,THE HUNTING PARTY,A MAN CALLED SLEDGE,
THE DESERTER,SHALAKO and CHATO’S LAND.
Then there are hybrids like the USA/Spain THE TEXICAN and the UK financed
HANNIE CAULDER.
Richard I’d love to see your Custer/Billy The Kid/Lincoln collection.
Jeepers.I’m going to be so sad when this thread bites the dust.
Another great Western missing from Gary’s list…Karlson’s criminally
underrated GUNMAN’S WALK
Just a suggestion Richard W made that I did not answer…..
the only contact that I have with DVD/Blu Ray companies is through
their Facebook pages,I only joined Facebook to post comments on the
pages of Warner Archive,Kino Lorber,Twilight Time,Elephant,France
and Explosive Media. These are all high quality outfits and would never
release anything from a less than perfect source.
Apart from that I don’t really understand Facebook or all these people I don’t
know from Adam who want to be my “friend”
In most cases these companies give some sort of reply-that’s how I discovered
that Kino have three more Republic Westerns in the works.
I might add that companies like VCI do not have the resources to do
extensive restoration work on films like RIDE THE MAN DOWN and I’m not
prepared to invest in a DVD release which would be no better than an
“off air” copy that I have.
Richard,you are probably aware of the Hollywood Scrapheap site-they have
many hard to find Republic and Paramount unreleased Westerns,generally
in very good quality at very reasonable prices.
Until Toby wins the “big one” on the lottery I guess we will have to wait
for a fully restored version of RIDE THE MAN DOWN-as I’ve mentioned
before I’ve never seen a good “off air” copy of this film so I very much doubt
if a pristine master actually exists…I’d LOVE to be proved wrong.
I’ve given some thought, and done a little research, on the viability of doing some MOD DVDs of my own — licensing a few select pictures and raising the startup dough through Kickstarter or one of those things. (My dream project was Bill Elliott’s Hellfire.)
One, I don’t think it could sustain itself — if the licensing fees weren’t too much, the other companies wouldn’t have abandoned pictures like these Republics. Two, since this blog is often based around which of these terrific movies are turning up on DVD or Blu-Ray (as this thread demonstrates), I don’t wanna cheese off these companies by becoming a competitor. And three, I don’t want this blog to be seen as a promo device for a video company. (It’s bad enough that I’ll be using it to hawk my One-Eyed Jacks book in a few months!)
Another thing I failed to mention — though the idea was to “rescue” movies seen as too expensive to restore, I didn’t want to subject the whole project to the complaints about the transfers.
Sites like the previously mentioned DVD Beaver,
DVD Savant,Home Theater Forum and Blu Ray.com
really only seem to hone in on high definition (Blu Ray)
releases. I don’t really think it’s fair to give DVD’s that sort
of intense scrutiny. The major pitfall with DVD releases is
releasing CinemaScope films as 4×3 (pan & scan)
Just look at the flak Fox Archives have received regarding this.
Even Fox would not dare release a ‘scope Blu Ray as a pan & scan
On the positive side there are enough boutique imprints
to ensure a steady flow of much sought after films..
A few years ago I would never have believed a film like
RAW EDGE would be given a Blu Ray release;so who knows
what the future holds.
The outlay of $ for rights and expenses is bound to be high.
Why not produce a low-budget indy instead?
I’m highly bemused that this thread is generating a huge response
but nothing at all relates to the thread’s subject matter…it’s a funny old World!
That happens with this thing sometimes. Go figure.
The last round up……..possibly!
I’d still like to see Richard W’s Custer/Billy The Kid shelves.
Richard O seems to have vanished from this thread and that’s a shame…
I’d love to know if he’s seen the Mark Stevens Spaghetti.
There is a strong rumor that Koch,Germany have done a deal
with Columbia/Sony…if that’s so there is a great chance we could see them
releasing fare like THE HARD MAN and REPRISAL!…possibly on Blu Ray.
They sure love their programmer Westerns…just look at the Universal ones
that they have released on Blu Ray…..
THE MAN FROM BITTER RIDGE,RED SUNDOWN,STAR IN THE DUST,
GUN FOR A COWARD,RAW EDGE,NO NAME ON THE BULLET,QUANTEZ,
A DAY OF FURY and Audie Murphy’s SHOWDOWN to follow next month.
Richard W if you are still with this I can highly recommend the blog
Jeff Arnold’s West which combines Western movies with Western history.
It’s been a slow starter but his latest piece on the Westerns of Glenn
Ford has generated 11 replies so things are heading in the right
direction. I do hope the traffic on Toby’s fine Hannibal 8 continues to grow.
The Hannibal 8 continues to attract more folks, but not at the pace this blog did.
John K,THE LAST COMMAND is on the A&R Productions label .I have BANDIDO from them and THE LAST COMMAND from Germany in English .
gcwe1, the A&R Productions label is German, right?
Richard W,I am 99% sure that A&R are Italian .
Thanks, gcwe1. Are BANDIDO and THE LAST COMMAND English friendly, and on blu-ray? where do you order them from?
Richard W,both BANDIDO and THE LAST COMMAND have English .THE LAST COMMAND I got from Amazon De on the Filmjuwelen label .BANDIDO I got from Amazon UK .I usually prefer to shop from Amazon but will see which Amazon has the best price if it is too expensive .Import CDs usually have cheap prices on US releases.
Richard W ,I cannot see any BLU RAY listing for THE LAST COMMAND or BANDIDO .Maybe they need a better restoration or better film elements before they go down the BLU RAY road .I don’t have a BLU RAY player but I do have a couple of BLU RAYS that have come with DVD and BLU RAY combo packs.
john K, are you saying that:
THE MAN FROM BITTER RIDGE, RED SUNDOWN, STAR IN THE DUST,
GUN FOR A COWARD, RAW EDGE, NO NAME ON THE BULLET, QUANTEZ,
A DAY OF FURY and Audie Murphy’s SHOWDOWN
will be released in the USA next month, or in the U.K. on blu-ray?
I’ll look up Jeff Arnold’s West, it sounds interesting.
Richard W,
I DID say that those titles are all out on Koch Media,Germany.
The point that I was trying to make is that if this rumored deal
between Koch and Sony/Columbia goes through then we might
see films like THE HARD MAN and REPRISAL! on Blu Ray.
Just to avoid any confusion-I might add that Audie Murphy’s much sought
after SHOWDOWN will be released by Koch at the end of this month.
The other mentioned titles are already out.
Gary at DVD Beaver has just given a glowing review to the Arrow
Blu Ray of TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN..another film that we thought
we would never see in high definition.
Richard,just to backtrack I wonder what pigeon hole that you slot
Euro Westerns with American leads,generally USA productions,
(occasionally UK) mainly filmed in Spain.
SHALAKO,THE HUNTING PARTY,VALDEZ IS COMING,RETURN OF THE
SEVEN,THE DESERTER,CHATO’S LAND, HANNIE CAULDER,A MAN CALLED
SLEDGE, and THE TEXICAN (USA/Spain co production) All of these had
American directors.,
john k, I’ve seen some excellent Eurowesterns, which are distinctly different from spags. Spags are shot mos and then dubbed into whichever languages later. Few of them make any effort to tell a structured story or to incorporate the basic tenants of dramaturgy. Eurowesterns, on the other hand, are legitimate films that give careful attention to recording actor’s dialog on the set. THE HUNTING PARTY is well-cast crap. SHALAKO, CATLOW and A MAN CALLED NOON are okay. Some of my favorites are HANNIE CAULDER, LAWMAN, CHATO’S LAND, RED SUN, CHINO aka THE VALDEZ HORSES, and the under-rated EAGLE’S WING. The latter has a credibility problem with nice Jewish boy Sam Waterston playing a Comanche in a breachcloth. Aside from that it’s a superb film. BILLY TWO HATS, although shot in the Sinai desert with an American cast and an English director, is an excellent western. It was written by Alan Sharp, an Irish scriptwriter of considerable talent from his desk in Beverly Hills. He gave it the same ending that he gave to ULZANA’S RAID.
I haven’t been able to get my hands on a decent blu-ray of THE DESERTER. Do you know of one?
I’ve never seen SHOWDOWN. But if Audie Murphy’s in it I’ll want to pick it up next month.
Hi, Richard W! I was happy to see your reference to Alan Sharp – I’ve always thought of him as one of the best screen writers, not just of westerns, but of movies in general. I first encountered his work in the mid 1960s, when he published two novels within the space of a couple of years, “A Green Tree in Gedde” and “The Wind Shifts”, which were intended to be the first two parts of a trilogy. They were set partly in his native Glasgow area (he was Scottish, not Irish) and partly in London. I still remember the impression these two books made on me. Intense, powerful writing, edgy but poetic. I awaited the third novel with great interest, but it never turned up – the trilogy remained incomplete.
In those pre-internet days it was difficult if not impossible to research stuff like that, and in the course of moving from Australia to England in the late 60s for a long working holiday I forgot about him. Then I spotted the name Alan Sharp as the writer of a very interesting western called “The Hired Hand”, and wondered if it could be the same guy. Almost immediately I thought “Of course it is!” – because I remembered a lovingly described little vignette in the first novel, when one of the main characters, John Moseby (a “western”-sounding name in itself), whilst wandering aimlessly around Glasgow, decides to drop in to a small cinema, where a black and white western movie is playing. I can’t remember the name of the movie, or even if Sharp gave the name, but I remember the affectionate detail he devoted to it, and that he went out of his way to praise the performance of Willard Parker, who played the lead. All this had nothing to do with the story line of the novel – it was clearly just a “nod of the hat” from a western fan to a well-made little western! So I was certain that this was the same guy – he must have lost interest in completing the trio of novels, instead setting out for Hollywood to pursue a career as a writer of the type of movies that he most admired.
It turned out that I was right in this theory. He had a long career as a screen writer and was highly regarded. Even though a minority of his movies are westerns, many of them, such as “The Last Run” and “Damnation Alley”, have elements of the western in their structure. In my opinion his greatest movie is “Rob Roy”, directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring Liam Neeson. This one certainly has a western structure, with Neeson as the outlaw chief and Tim Roth as the gunfighter brought in to track him down. It also has what in my opinion is the best period dialogue ever (wonderfully delivered by a host of top British actors), brilliant, unobtrusive directing, superb action scenes – topped off by what has to be one of the three best sword fights of all time. (I reckon the other two would be “The Mark of Zorro” and “Scaramouche”. I’d have trouble putting them in order).
But it’s the writing, above all, that makes this movie great!
Vale Alan Sharp – from all accounts a “colourful”, hard-living sort of guy – but what a writer!
Barney Bailey,
Alan Sharp was a Scott, not Irish. Got it. He was one superb scriptwriter. I wish he had written more westerns. You could tell that he must have done a lot of primary research and understood how to use it without weighing down the story. He worked hard to get the details right while still putting cinema first. He novelized at least two of his films — I have his paperbacks on THE HIRED HAND and NIGHT MOVES. You could probably still find them on ebay or amazon I should think. The name Moseby comes up again in NIGHT MOVES — the private eye played by Gene Hackman is named Harry Moseby. I was fascinated by this film when it was new. I saw it as a reaction to THE LONG GOODBYE, a modern-day private eye film that questions the legitimacy of the occupation, or the delusional aspect of such an undertaking, only without Robert Altman’s vicious humor. I really dislike the film now. But there’s no question that it’s superbly written. My favorite Alan Sharp film is THE LAST RUN (1971) with George C. Scott. The script is perfect. Perfectly written and perfectly realized. I wish Sharp had novelized that. The older I get the more I identify with it. Witness George C. Scott’s repressed rage. Wow. You could see Bogart playing the role. Sharp wanted to write a film for Bogart and then find an actor who could deliver that kind of personality and performance. With Scott, they found it. Every script Sharp wrote in the 1970s is memorable. The quality is still high in the 1980s and 1990s cable films. I made a point of gathering Sharp’s cable films that have been released on DVD. He wrote a lot of them:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788991/?ref_=tt_ov_wr
I agree that ROB ROY is his major work, and an important film. It went to the right actors, too, as you point out, which is important.
I wish I could write like Alan Sharp. My scripts are not as good, but nobodys’ are.
Sam Waterston is and was, Episcopalian.
Oops.
Barry, I remember watching EAGLES’ WING with my wife and sister-in-law. Whenever the rear of Sam Waterston’s breachcloth blew up in the breeze, or bounced up while he was riding, my sister-in-law would giggle. They considered it a good giggle movie on the basis of his pale white butt.
Whoops!….apart from CHATO’S LAND directed by the very English
Michael Winner!
Is it my imagination or are westerns priced higher than other blu-rays?
Richard,
No,as far as i know THE DESERTER has never even had a DVD
release. I have requested this several times on Kino Lorber’s Facebook
page but they are not interested…this is odd considering all the Spag’s
and Euro Westerns that they are releasing.
The film is interesting in that it flies in the face of all the pro-
Native American films around at the time (LITTLE BIG MAN,CHATO’S
LAND,TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE and so on.)
The main interest for me is the stellar cast and Burt Kennedy as director.
ULZANA’S RAID is an outstanding Western by anyone’s standards-
the recent Elephant,France Blu Ray is excellent.
SHOWDOWN was the only Audie Murphy Universal Western shot in
black & white-by the excellent Ellis Carter in lovely Lone Pine locations.
Murphy’s Mirisch/UA Western CAST A LONG SHADOW was also in
black & white.
I always thought LAWMAN was actually made in America.
Both LAWMAN and CHATO’S LAND gain from intelligent scripts from
Gerald Wilson.Although Wilson and Winner occasionally had “issues”
Wilson liked the fact that Winner generally shot what he wrote without
too much interference-on their Westerns at least.
To my knowledge Westerns are priced the same as other genres,
you just have to “shop around” that’s all.
John, l think Lawman was filmed in Mexico.
John K ,THE DESERTER was released on DVD in Australia on the Reel label but when I’ve tried to order it they say it has been deleted .However , there are still new copies on Amazon and there are some with different covers,so it may have been rereleased.The customer reviews say that it is a very poor transfer.I have never seen the film ,but I would like to,with Chuck Connors and Richard Crenna starring .
I have EAGLE’S WING along with 3 other westerns called WILD WEST BOX.
This thread is galloping along at a good pace I notice .
Sad to say I just heard the news Skip Homeier has gone to that great big ranch in the sky. He was always a great bad guy and sometimes a good good guy too. Skip’s the one on the left:
Thanks Johnny,
I note that according to imdb Skip’s passing was on June 25th.
It goes to show how news about REAL talent goes totally unheralded in
today’s ghastly vacuous world of “celebrity” culture.
Skip had many great roles-I really liked his sadistic hitman called Roxy
in Mark Stevens’ blistering Noir CRY VENGEANCE.
To backtrack to Richard’s point I think the reason Western DVD’s and
Blu Ray’s seem more expensive is because the only two USA labels
releasing them on a regular basis (Kino Lorber/Warner Archive) tend to
be at the more expensive end of the market.
Import Cd’s do seem to offer most competitive prices on these two
labels.
I have to research this more because I have no knowledge of the label at
all,but according to the French Western fansite http://www.westernmovies.fr
a new imprint called Movinside has some interesting Blu Ray releases
announced for later this year.
Firstly in October they have announced THE EAGLE & THE HAWK a
big budget Pint Thomas production starring John Payne,Rhonda
Fleming and Dennis ‘O Keefe.
Then in December they have Joel McCrea’s CATTLE EMPIRE on Blu Ray
as well as a real rarity the excellent SIERRA BARON in widescreen.
SIERRA BARON is only available as a pan & scan Fox MOD.
SIERRA BARON is an excellent,unheralded Western with Brian Keith,
Rick Jason and Mala Powers-strikingly shot by Alex Phillips.
Don’t know anything about Movinside-forced subs or picture quality
and if “Chip” is reading this perhaps he can enlighten us.
After lots of messing around I have finally found Movinside’s
Facebook page. I have left a message regarding “forced” subs…..
let’s see what happens.
Their web site is still under construction.
I have been hoping for years for a widescreen edition of SIERRA
BARON (yes Toby as I’m sure you know this was a “Lippert Special”
as was CATTLE EMPIRE.)
SIERRA BARON was released in the UK the same week as
Hathaway’s supreme FROM HELL TO TEXAS but against such
stiff competition SIERRA BARON still blew us thrill seeking kids away
at the time. Alex Phillips wonderful CinemaScope compositions are trashed
on the wretched Fox MOD.
As the French are fanatical about their Westerns this will be a top seller
and bodes well for future Western releases from Movinside.
Sifting through this highly entertaining thread I was bemused by
Richard W’s earlier comment that no Spaghetti Western was as good
as MASTERSON OF KANSAS…really dude! this Sam Katzman quickie
is superior to THE GOOD,THE BAD,AND THE UGLY.
What Richard (and his Greek chorus Jerry) are really saying is that they
would rather watch MASTERSON OF KANSAS than TGTB&TU.
If push came to shove and in the right mood I guess I would too-one things
for sure MASTERSON OF KANSAS is one hell of a lot shorter;and as I’m
sure Richard and Jerry agree,a lot more fun.
Regarding John K’s info above I too am really “stoked” about SIERRA
BARON finally appearing in widescreen and in high def to boot.
I hope his info is correct and it begs the question will the film be released
in time to make it into Toby’s long awaited book. SIERRA BARON is a
totally overlooked little gem..
It’s been ages since I’ve seen Sierra Baron, and it was on TV and looked awful. So I’m hoping that one really happens.
By the way, at this point, the Regal to be included in my book is The Quiet Gun≥
THE QUIET GUN is an inspired choice-I just wish more
RegalScopes were available in that sort of quality.
SIERRA BARON was of course RegalScope “plus” as was CATTLE
EMPIRE,THE DEERSLAYER,and even FORTY GUNS. Lippert
seemed to like to reward those who ground out cheapies
for him by giving them better budgets and casts.
He up-graded THE QUIET GUN’s Bill Claxton by letting him loose
on the delightfully lurid DESIRE IN THE DUST-which played as an
A picture in the UK at least.
This new French Movinside sounds most promising they seem at
this early stage divided between classic titles and “cult” favorites.
In any case it’s always great to have a new label prepared to
release Westerns-I just hope they don’t do “forced” subs.-Sidonis
seem to be the only French imprint to do this and DVD Beaver’s
Gary refuses to review them.
On the French fansite THE EAGLE & THE HAWK has also been
announced it could of course be a typo and might mean the
thirties Cary Grant film. If it’s the Fifties Paramount/Pine Thomas
Western then that’s great news because it means that other
Paramount (or perhaps Republic) titles may follow.
The Paramount unreleased titles alone include some gems
including THE GREAT MISSOURI RAID,FLAMING FEATHER,
WARPATH,THUNDER IN THE SUN and selected A.C.Lyles titles
some of us would love to see in all their Techniscope glory.
Plenty of Paramount titles are sorely needing a high def upgrade
especially LAST TRAIN FROM GUN HILL.
It looks as if Movinside are a bona fide imprint leasing titles from
the majors and certainly not a “bootleg” outfit.
There you go, mentioning a Blu-Ray of Last Train From Gun Hill. I’ll have that in the back of my mind all day. What a glorious thing that’ll be — and I’d give a kidney to do a commentary for it!
John k, Beg to differ with you on your call of SIERRA BARON, FORTY GUNS as well as CATTLE EMPIRE, ‘ as ‘RegalScope +PLUS pictures?!? These were 20th CENTURYFOX CinemaScope pictures filmed in BLACK AND WHITE, a policy that started in 1956 with TEENAGE REBEL, and LOVE ME TENDER. These and others that followed until the end of that series (CinemaScope), in 1967;. And Lippert & Companys’ RegalScope series ALSO started with B & W ‘scopes that same year, STAGECOACH TO FURY, BLACK WHIP, etc.and graduating in the early 1960s with better results as far as their westerns went, filming in COLOR BY DELUXE with a few little gems which included stuff like WALK TALL, & THE PURPLE HILLS faring best.
I’ve just had to backtrack through the posts, did someone say “Masterson” is better than The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, or even the wonderful Once Upon A Time In The West ??!!
Hi Linnet, I agree with everything you say about that comment.
Though I do agree, not every Spaghetti western is a winner, and some are really bad, but “Masterson” over the best Spaghetti westerns, no way.
Finally, George Montgomery is one of my all time favourite westerners, so this isn’t a George put down.
I’ve never seen TGTB&TU ( you what?! I hear you say) so can’t comment on that film and I think Once Upon A Time is very good BUT yes I would rather watch the Montgomery film than any of the many other spags I have seen. Once was more than enough of those for me.
It has been a lot of fun to sit back and watch all this take place. I’ve finally decided to offer my two cents.
To me, spaghetti westerns so at odds with other movies about cowboys that they aren’t westerns at all. Comparing them in that way is a waste of time.
Toby,I’m so glad that you have been getting a kick out of all
this nonsense-any cursory viewer of this thread would initially say
“wow” Marlon Brando as a Western star is incredibly popular until
you discover none of this thread is about ONE EYED JACKS.
Funnily enough I don’t own any of the “dollars” trilogy but I’m
more than tempted by Kino’s ultimate 2x Blu Ray set.
Import Cd’s have it for a mere $18 which seems like very good value
to say the least. Import Cd’s in my experience post out Kino back
orders on the Thursday before their release date on the following
Tuesday.
I have not seen TGTB&TU since the Sixties,in cinemas I might add.
During the 90s, a friend and I went on a number of genre binges — 60s Italian horror and science fiction movies, 70s European crime pictures, sword and sandal stuff, Jaws ripoffs, kung fu movies and spaghetti westerns.
It was all a lot of fun, but the main takeaway was that the quality of these things varies tremendously — with most of each batch being total junk. This is especially true with the spaghetti westerns.
Wonderful fun thread this is, Toby. Thoroughly agree with your assessment re comparing Spags with American westerns. This ‘Marlon’ thread has been a real ‘Wild One’!
Well, we made it to 100 comments with the only mention of One-Eyed Jacks being someone pointing out from time to time that we aren’t mentioning One-Eyed Jacks.
(YOU) MADE IT, MA! TOP OF THE WORLD! Congrats on another ‘ton’, Toby.
I have purposely not contributed to this thread (except for the news of Skip Homeier) mainly because I dislike so intensely both subjects, One Eyed Jacks and Italian or foreign made “westerns”. I have expressed my dislike for foreign westerns before and encountered the wrath of the few fervent spaghetti lovers. I find them all to be repellant and are really Anti-Westerns, totally against decency, right winning over wrong and not even allowing that there is such a thing as good over evil presenting a world where everyone is corrupt, evil, selfish and incapable of kindness or concern for anyone else but themselves. These views no doubt reflect the culture of the countries where they are made and are trying to infer that America has the same anti-qualities. As I say, these are Anti-American anti-decency movies more than anything else.
There are a couple exceptions of spaghetti dishes I can either enjoy or tolerate. But I like them mainly because of the star involved, Clint Eastwood’s Leone westerns and Charles Bronson’s Once Upon A Time In The West (though I do find this one detestable too). So I figured I’d just allow you all to have your love fest over the spaghetti westerns, and not be the lone voice of descent. But now I see more of you coming out and stating your distaste for these too, so I’m putting in my vote too. But as I said once before when the subject came up and was attacked from pasta lovers everywhere, if you like these things, fine, but I am allowed my opinion too.
Johnny,
Could not agree with you more.
Lovely Elsa Martinelli, the one lady who can please us all, because she made one American western and one Spaghetti western, died July 8.
She supported Kirk Douglas in The Indian Fighter and starred in The Belle Starr Story with Robert Woods.
John K. :
I have THE HIT (1985) Stephen Frears. DVD moVinside, with FV, OV with ” forced ” french subtitles . Good quality, good film.
Thanks Chip,
I’ve already ordered THE HIT to check Movinside out.
I’ve ordered the Blu Ray-I hope I can remove the French subs.
I remember THE HIT as being very good at the time.
If I cannot remove the subs I will not buy their other releases except for
SIERRA BARON which I am desperate to get in widescreen.
Are Movinside connected with Carlotta-who don’t have forced subs?
OK! All Right! Let’s stop this nonsense about Italian westerns, and anti-Marlon Brando comments very much at odds with the thread-topic here, with this long sludge of remarks (mine included), about other flicks and subjects NOT pertaining to the restoration of Marlon’s masterpiece, ONE EYED JACKS!!! Finally–over a Half Century in waiting, and a bummer that he could not have lived longer to witness this wonderful Blu Ray Edition of his only directed film….