Directed by Frank Lloyd
Starring Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish
Kino Lorber has announced the upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray release of The Last Command (1955), Republic’s Trucolor tribute to the brave men who fought at the Alamo. Made after John Wayne took his Alamo movie and left the studio to produce his movie on his own.
My mom was from Texas, and The Last Command never failed to tear her up. It doesn’t have the spectacle of Wayne’s The Alamo (1960), but it’s got plenty going for it, and I’m looking forward to doing a commentary for this one.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 
I think this is a fine and intelligent account of the siege of the Alamo and the build-up to it. A very fine cast headed by an excellent Sterling Hayden as Bowie. Republic did a great job.
This new release should look terrific and will be enhanced hugely by a highly knowledgeable narrative from our Mr. Roan!
I think this is an important film to have ,if only to compare it with John Wayne’s film Both are good in my opinion.
Yet another Republic title rejected by Olive Films because of issues
with elements now saved by Kino Lorber.
A “must buy” of course with a Toby voice over being the icing on the cake.
By the way am I alone in thinking Olive Films have lost the plot-
their recent releases have been dire-I just don’t know what audience
these cats are targeting, especially considering all these restored Republic
titles we keep hearing about.
Terrific buzz on Kino’s Facebook page regarding this…..
lots of “likes” and a whole raft of comments.
This should indicate Kino might have a top seller with this one,
certainly the potential audience goes beyond us Western fans.
Anyone else seen the bizarre snippet that Clint might make a return
to acting playing a 90 year old drug “mule”…script by the guy who
wrote GRAN TORINO.
Very good news indeed, both the release and Toby’s involvement.
Congratulations Toby, because you will do a great commentary. Do you know if Ben Cooper, Anna Maria Alberghetti, and Cheryl Callaway will be contacted about their memories of the making of THE LAST COMMAND?
We haven’t done any interviews for these before, though I’d love to talk to Ben Cooper for the blog, my book and other stuff.
Jay Dee Witney has recorded some stuff about his dad to be folded into my commentary for Trigger Jr. It’s gonna be cool.
Hi my name is Pete Searls and Ben Cooper is my uncle. Unfortunately he is in a memory care facility in Tennessee. He has dementia and I don’t think he would ever be able to do an interview.
Thanks so much for writing in. I really hate to hear your uncle’s in a memory care facility. He made some really fine movies.
I’d love to see Clint as a 90 year old Dirty Harry, WOW! Now that’s a film I wouldn’t miss.
YEP!
Johnny,I’d go for that too…I’d love to see what Harry makes
of today’s increasingly p.c. world..so many opportunities for
a barrage of classic one liners.
John K thanks for the heads-up about Clint Eastwood’s possible return to the screen. Here is the exclusive story. https://movieweb.com/the-mule-movie-director-actor-clint-eastwood/
I would like to see Clint back in front of the camera again, but I don’t know if I would want to see him playing a 90-year-old drug courier for Mexico’s Sinaloa Drug Cartel. Anyway, I meant to post this site for the exclusive story. http://www.tracking-board.com/clint-eastwood-circling-90-year-old-drug-courier-tale-the-mule-at-imperative-entertainment-exclusive/
Thanks for the links Walter…it will be super to see Clint back
in front of the camera.
Back on topic I wonder if this revival of all things Republic has anything
do do with FWOTF and blogs in general, and the encouragement of
us “bloggers”
It was not too far back that Republic was considered by the majority
as purely a B Movie outfit.
I’d love it if that was the case, but I’m not going to take any credit for this stuff.
However, I think we should all — through Facebook and other means — encourage Kino Lorber to add HELLFIRE to their roster. That’s one I know a lot of us would love to see make its way to DVD and Blu-Ray — and it HAS been restored by Paramount.
Here’s a writeup on the HELLFIRE screening I came across today: http://www.screenslate.com/features/715 Sure hope Kino Lorber puts it out!
Best wishes,
Laura
And here’s one more article which discusses HELLFIRE:
https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/02/06/restorations-from-republic-pictures-reveal-a-studio-that-got-its-hands-dirty/
Thank you Laura for the heads up on this really good article. I liked the title also. I’m glad to see Republic Pictures, the little studio that could, receiving the recognition that it deserves. Many of us have known this for decades.
Wasn’t it the story that John Wayne wanted to film The Alamo ever since the late ’40’s but Herbert Yates wouldn’t agree to fund the movie for his Republic Pictures as Duke originally wanted it. So I wonder why Republic went ahead and made their version of The Alamo when they wouldn’t do it when Duke wanted them to. Probably they didn’t give it as big a budget as Duke wanted for the project. That’s my guess why Duke went ahead with his own plans. But still it’s odd that in ’55 Republic did actually do an Alamo movie. Seems they could have done Duke’s plan as they went ahead and did it anyway, though with a smaller budget.
Yep, that’s pretty much the story of The Last Command. So, whether you like the movie or not (I really do), it was a bit of a screw-you to John Wayne.
Echoeing John K.’s thoughts, I had been wondering too whether all the noise made on these blogsites and admonition of Paramount for sitting on their vaults had had any effect. I guess the project that Scorsese is involved in has its own legs but it IS an interesting speculation……. Whatever the reason, it is a most welcome development.
Nice to see THE LAST COMMAND is getting a quality release, yet equally sad to know that Wayne’s bigger epic version is rotting away in limbo land in serious need of a quality restoration, if that’s even possible. I can only assume that the film elements are now too far gone, or is there still hope that some mysterious Fannon out there may actually ride to the rescue and still save the fate of Wayne’s THE ALAMO?…Still, it’s ironic how the lesser film (cost wise) will be the version preserved. The Duke’s dream deserves better.
Sidonis,France with their repulsive “forced” French subs,
have just announced FORT TI on DVD.
As I have stated at least a million times before this is the sort of thing
Mill Creek SHOULD be releasing.
The good news is that Hollywood Scrapheap will no doubt be releasing
their de-subtitled version soon,hopefully along with THE PATHFINDER.
Sidonis DESERVE to be ripped off.
Speaking of The Scrapheap they have just announced three new titles
the underrated Randolph Scott Western GUNFIGHTERS along with
two Murphy’s POSSE FROM HELL and SHOWDOWN.
These are no doubt clones of Euro releases and I am quiet happy with my
Koch,Germany Blu Ray of SHOWDOWN,thank you very much.
The Scrapheap continue to release Westerns that USA companies
continue to avoid-sadly at the moment Kino Lorber do not have an
arrangement with Columbia/Sony or Universal..
I have just finished watching my new Hollywood Scrapheap release of Guy Madison’s excellent “THE HARD MAN”, not available on DVD anywhere else. The picture and sound quality are superb. This guy deserves support for what he is doing.
Koch,Germany who have been pretty quiet on the Western front
lately have announced a couple of new Blu Ray releases for later this
year….making their Worldwide Blu Ray debut as far as I know.
Firstly there is Robert Aldrich’s APACHE so that’s a must..blue eyes
and all.
I understand Sidonis may be releasing this as well but they don’t count.
Furthermore Koch are also releasing SHOWDOWN,the Rock Hudson,
Dean Martin picture
I remember really enjoying this one at time mainly because of the stunning
locations and the equally stunning Susan Clark.
SHOWDOWN was the final film from director George Seaton and as far as I
know,his only Western.
Jerry,THE HARD MAN is available on DVD in France which I accidently bought and also in Italy which I have.
John K,George Seaton was Producer on THE TIN STAR and is also listed as Producer and Director on the excellent THE COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR .
Graham,
Don’t know if those Euro releases are still available – they don’t show up on Amazon.com. Is the French release from Sidonis?
Jerry ,the French copy is from Sidonis .I don’t know if the Italian version has been deleted but there is still a copy on Amazon It for 8.99 EURO .
Jerry and John K ,I just had some visitors from the UK and I happened to mention Jack Elam.They had no idea who he was .Too young I think.
I’m off to Sydney for a couple of days so I will be off line .I will be meeting Tony Bonner and getting an autograph .He is an Australian Actor who appeared in Skippy,COP SHOP and SKYWAYS.He has also worked with Charles Bronson and Tony Curtis.
In 1996 Jack Elam(1920-2003) attended the Memphis Film Festival. He usually didn’t attend festivals, but he was there because his good friends, filmmakers Burt Kennedy(1922-2001) and Charles B. Pierce(1938-2010) were being honored. Ray Nielsen, producer and host of the GOOD TIMES PICTURE SHOW(1976-1998) interviewed Jack. Jack told Ray that there were four stages in an actor’s career. (1) Who is Jack Elam? (2) Get me Jack Elam! (3) Get me someone like Jack Elam. (4) Who is Jack Elam?
gcwe1, you mentioned that you will be meeting Tony Bonner. Is he the same actor that was in QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER(1990) and THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER(1982)?
Personally I think bloggers and other fans have a great deal to do with keeping up the interest in pre-1967 movies and television shows. Also, if the powers that be, who hold the rights to all the vaulted movies, see a way to make a buck they will. So, keep up the pressure on Paramount and all the others. Also, kudos to the Martin Scorsese Film Foundation for partnering up with Paramount to restore 30 films from Republic, which are being presented in a series organized by the Museum of Modern Art. It would really be something to see these Republic movies on the big screen. http://deadline.com/2018/01/martin-scorsese-paramount-back-moma-republic-pictures-screening-series-1202240835/
Also making the situation worse is that old Paramount movies of the ’30’s, ’40’s & ’50’s are hardly ever shown on TV or cable. A few of the most popular are seen, but so so many really great classic comedies and dramas are NEVER shown on TV anymore. Back in the ’60’s and ’70’s these movies were shown on normal local broadcast stations on a regular basis. But now they are nowhere to be found, not even on TCM. The old non-commercial version of AMC used to show Paramount movies, but AMC hasn’t been worth watching for more than a decade, it’s just a commercial wasteland now playing the worst of modern movies. AMC, believe it or not, used to be just like TCM, commercial free and dedicated to classic movies, those days are long gone. But they WERE even better than TCM as they showed movies from Paramount and other studios TCM ignores.
Yes, I remember when 1930’s, ’40’s, ’50’s, and ’60’s movies were shown on local tv stations. Those were the days my friend, we thought they would never end. My apologies to singer Mary Popkin. I used to watch movies on CBS affiliate Channel 3 WREC. This local station showed a late movie every night at 10:30 and an early movie at 3:30 in the afternoons. This station owned a vast library.
Needless to say, I saw a lot of movies from the 1930’s-’60’s. MGM, Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal, Twentieth Century Fox, Republic, RKO, Columbia, and so forth. This was during the 1960’s-1980’s. A local PBS station had the GOOD TIMES PICTURE SHOW(1976-1998), produced and hosted by Ray Nielsen, who was very knowledgeable. This station showed classic movies from the ’30’s, ’40’s,and some ’50’s. Ray would interview, mostly by telephone, Maureen O’Hara, James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Don Ameche, Robert Mitchum, Marie Windsor, and so many others, who sadly are no longer with us. All this wonderful entertainment was free on the local broadcast stations.
Although you had to pay, from 1990-2002 AMC showed commercial free 1930’s-’50’s movies from Paramount, Universal, Columbia, and Twentieth Century Fox. Also, they did show some silent movies. Nick Clooney was host and he introduced and presented backgrounds of these classic movies. All these movies are still in the Paramount vault. The reasons given for the change in format was the lack of subsidies from cable providers and with the addition of advertising, the ad agencies insisted on programming relevant to their products’ consumers as the reason for the shift to recent movies instead of just classics.
As Leonard Maltin advises, we better hold onto our DVD collections, because don’t expect Netflix and Amazon to keep streaming the classics.
Just like the old maxim goes for collectors, buy it when you see it because it may not be there again tomorrow. As with all things on the internet, I don’t rely at all on it being there in the future for me to enjoy whenever. If you don’t get something you see when you see it it is almost a guarantee it will disappear “one day”. How many times have movies I’ve found on YouTube and bookmarked and when I went back to them they were gone. Most recently this happened with a great website that had all sorts of classic cartoons on it, including my favorite old Hanna Barberra cartoons, went there last week and POOF the whole website is gone now. Glad I recorded the toons I wanted when I did, otherwise I’d be kicking myself now.
Backtracking…………
Firstly Jerry THE HARD MAN was released by Sidonis,France and
I’m pretty sure The Scrapheap version is a de-subtitled clone
of the French version, as is REPRISAL!
All this will be proved if The Scrapheap release THE PATHFINDER
and FORT TI.
Luddite that i am I am not too clued up on this “streaming” lark but
I am told by those with the know how there are stacks of classic films
in high-def available to stream-many Columbia titles.
This may be,of course where The Scrapheap have obtained the
Madison pictures but I’ll lay money that the two Montgomery’s will appear
on The Scrapheap,which should look awesome.
In spite of those subtitles Sidonis releases normally look excellent.
A buddy of mine has just streamed a high def version of the very fine
THE DOOLINS OF OKLAHOMA which he says looks wonderful-it
even surpasses the excellent version on the excellent TCM Scott set
(now sadly deleted) of a few years back.
Walter you seem to be a fairly new member of the FWOTF gang and your
excellent and well informed comments have given this blog a breath of
fresh air…most welcome.
gcew 1 thanks for the George Seaton info…indeed THE COUNTERFEIT
TRAITOR is excellent one of Holden’s very finest.
According to bluraydisc-de SHOWDOWN and APACHE are in face
Explosive Media releases-distributed by Koch.
Explosive are also, on Blu Ray releasing UNCONQUERED…De Mille
at his most ludicrous but fun anyway…should look gorgeous in high-def.
Classic moment when Coop and Paulette Goddard are thrown over a
waterfall and are saved by grabbing onto what looks like a twig!!
Explosive have also announced the Raoul Walsh sea saga
THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS….B Western regular Gregg Barton mentioned
what fun they had making this film. I had the pleasure of seeing Gregg in
person with buddy Walter Reed at the London B Western convention
circa 1994.
Yup, I am more than happy to have Hollywood Scrapheap’s de-subtitled (and very fine quality) versions of those two Guy Madison/George Sherman westerns. As you say, John, it will be interesting to see if the two Montgomery films turn up from them.
John K, thank you for your welcome. We, as fans, must do our part, because access is the key to keeping Western movies alive and well for generations to come.
John K, again thank you for the welcome. I think this a good site and Toby does a wonderful job.
THE DOOLINS OF OKLAHOMA(1949) is a fine movie, although not the usual Scott Western. I won’t give up why it isn’t the usual, because some may have not seen it. Well worth a look see.
Thanks for the compliments. I really love The Doolins Of Oklahoma.
Correction to above…….
APACHE is actually a Koch Media release not Explosive Media.
Koch are also on Blu Ray releasing THE INDIAN FIGHTER for fans
who cannot play the USA region B Kino release.
Great to see all these fine Blu Ray releases from Europe long may
it continue and with Blu Ray they cannot be cloned by Hollywood
Scrapheap at least for the time being
Whoops….Region A Kino release
I received my Spanish DVD of RAILS INTO LARAMIE today and, although this has always been a terrific Western, I’m afraid I can’t recommend this DVD. I can’t find a releasing company for it either on the insert card or the disc, but the number is LL3752. It’s not an authorised Universal transfer and, although the sound quality is excellent, the image quality is rather poor and looks like it was transferred from a poor quality NTSC video tape. The colour is rather subdued too, not a patch my recorded off air video done years ago. There is no Universal International opening title on it and the ending cuts off abruptly, with just the end title, which has no music and no cast. The most charitable thing I can say about it is that’s it’s just about watchable until Universal release the film properly on DVD. Considering how expensive it is, plus shipping costs, this is one Spanish DVD to avoid.
That release sounds disappointing, David. Those Spanish releases with the LL number appear to be from a bunch called CINEMA INTERNATIONAL MEDIA S.L. I have bought several of their other releases and (so far) found them to be very good quality. Wonder why there should be such a problem with sourcing an ace copy of “RAILS INTO LARAMIE”.
Oddly, Jerry, the Spanish DVD of SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDOWN I received three weeks ago was obviously an authorised Universal transfer and the quality was excellent, although it appears to be from an entirely different DVD company than the one that released RAILS INTO LARAMIE.
Toby, concerning your being able to talk with Ben Cooper. It appears that Ben’s health is on the down hill slide. He is in either an assisted living home or a rest home in Memphis, Tennessee. Apparently dementia is setting in. This is really sad, because he is a good man and had such a great memory. He loved working in movies, especially Westerns.
If you haven’t already viewed this wonderful interview by Cheryl Rogers Barnett(Roy Rogers’ daughter) with Ben at the Lone Pine Film Festival of October, 2009, it is a gem. My only complaint is that it is too short. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV9ZosZIt7w
That’s terrific. So glad some of these folks go to do good interviews before they got too old to tell their stories or they passed away. There are a lot of them who passed before those stories were collected, which is a real loss to us old movie nuts. For one, I’d love an interview with character actor Frank Ferguson.
A really great interview. Thanks for posting the link, walter. He looks just the same only much older, of course, and still with plenty of energy, despite his age. It’s strange to think that when I went to see him 61 years ago in 1957 in DUEL AT APACHE WELLS, I was only ten and he was a young man and now it looks like we’re both the same age.
David, yes it was a great interview and Ben Cooper is really a good actor. He talked of his favorite role in the GUNSMOKE episode “Apprentice Doc” which first aired on December 9, 1961. This is a really good show written by the great Kathleen Hite and directed by Harry Harris, who Ben named as his favorite director. Milburn Stone and Ben Cooper were great in this one. I highly recommend it to anyone.
I read where Director Sam Peckinpah wanted Ben Cooper to play the part of Heck Longtree in RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY(1962), but MGM wanted Ron Starr, who was one of their contract actors.
David, I remember watching this Republic Western years ago. 1960’s television was full of these movies. The old National Telefilm Associates company made them available to local tv stations like CBS affiliate Channel 3 WREC and ABC affiliate Channel 8 KAIT, which were the stations that I watched Republic movies on. When I saw that giant eagle on the small mountain peak, I knew I was in for some good entertainment.
Besides Ben Cooper, DUEL AT APACHE WELLS and THE LAST COMMAND had the always good Jim Davis and the lovely and talented Anna Maria Alberghetti. The last time I watched Anna Maria being interviewed, she was still lovely and talented at age 75.
Ron Starr was okay, but Ben Cooper would have had a greater screen presence. I would liked to have seen him in RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, or GUNS IN THE AFTERNOON as it was re-titled over here.
I just enjoyed “THE FIGHTING CHANCE” (1955) a Republic feature starring Rod Cameron and Ben Cooper squabbling over Julie London. Cooper was always a great presence in westerns because it was obvious he loved doing them. (this particular film was not a western though; a horse-racing saga).
Your addition to our little blogsite ‘family’ is most welcome, Walter. One learns so much from folk like you.
Jerry, thank you. I have learned a lot from you and the others on this site and that is why I like it. It is all about sharing information and having fun. Also, it helps keep classic movies alive and well.
Toby, I wish you could have interviewed the wonderful character actor Frank Ferguson. That is what I miss in today’s movies, the great character actors of the classic movies. Actors like Frank Ferguson made the movies so much better every time they made an appearance. One of my favorite tv shows, when I was a youngster, was MY FRIEND FLICKA(1955-56), of which Frank was a regular on it. So. I guess I have always known who he was and liked his performances. He had that good voice.
Yesterday, I received my Fox Cinema Archives DVD of the 1954 Technicolor film THE RAID and it’s a beautiful transfer which I highly recommend. This is a really splendid film based on an actual event that happened on Monday, October 19th, 1864, during the American Civil War, in which a group of Confederate prisoners led by Major Neil Benton (Van Heflin) escape to Canada and from there plan to cross back over the border into the United States to rob the banks in and set fire to the small town of St Albans in Vermont. Their plan is to raid towns in New England and force the union army to send troops to patrol the Canadian border and take pressure off the south. To get the lye of the land, Benton spends a few days in the town and finds he is getting drawn into its life and especially into that of Katy Bishop, an attractive widow (Anne Bancroft) and her fatherless young son, Larry (Tommy Rettig). He soon finds himself growing to love the pair and that they are growing to love him, which severely complicates his well laid plans for the raid on the town…An exciting and colourful Civil War Western (or should that be an Eastern) with Richard Boone; Lee Marvin and Peter Graves. Marvin is a standout as a violent, Yankee hating Confederate officer who is too fond of the bottle and nearly wrecks the operation with his indiscipline. One odd thing about the DVD though. Someone has mistakenly put a ‘Twentieth Century-Fox presents a CinemaScope picture’ opening title on the beginning, when this film wasn’t filmed in CinemaScope, but ‘flat’ with an aspect ratio of 1.37:1.
David – am very interested in picking this up so thank you for the recommendation. Find the Civil War to be fascinating and a big Van Heflin fan plus with Lee Marvin & Richard Boone below the title – ++; one question – I see your point about the aspect ratio but was the FCA DVD at least converted (if that’s the right word) to widescreen format or is it – 4 by 3? Thank you.
It’s 4 x 3, as with all the FCA releases of films from the late 1930s to the early 1950s that were made before wide screen and CinemaScope films were introduced. You don’t miss any of the image, it’s all there, and as you may be able to see from my frame captures on my Facebook page, it’s a nice clear transfer.
Frame captures from the DVD of THE RAID can be seen on my Facebook page, which is open to all Facebook members at this link: https://www.facebook.com/david.rayner.37266
Walter, firstly ,wecome to our blog.Sorry for taking so long to reply to your question about Tony Bonner but I have just got back from Sydney.Tony was in both QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER and THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER .He autographed my DVD of COP SHOP in which he starred .I asked him if he knew Ty Hardin when he was filming the TV series RIPTIDE in Australia.He said he did know him and lent him a car to drive around Sydney .He was also a good friend of Chips Rafferty,John Mellion ,and worked with Tony Martin and Charles Bronson.
Tony also co-starred in EYEWITNESS, filmed on the island of Malta in the summer of 1969 and starring Mark Lester; Susan George and Lionel Jeffries. He played an Australian tourist named Tom Jones and his memorable line in the film, spoken to Susan’s character, was: “The name’s Jones, Tom Jones, and I don’t sing!”
To gcwe1, thank you for the welcome. I’m sure it was really neat talking to Tony Bonner and I bet he has a lot of good stories.
David that was a good line that Tony had in EYEWITNESS, which I remember seeing on tv back in 1977 under the title SUDDEN TERROR(1970).
Walter ,yes it was good talking to Tony ,but he had another job to go to ,I told him I had a couple more of his films and he said to bring them with me and he’d sign them and we’d have more time to talk .I may go back to Sydney in a couple of months time so I’ll see what happens.
Olive films have announced THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL on DVD .I probably won’t get this as I am not a big fan of comedy westerns.
gcwe1, welcome back! Good to hear that Tony Bonner is still doing well. I’ve been a fan of his since “Skippy” days. Tony’s one of those actors with the physique and physical presence to play “rough and tough” but also had the sensitivity to play “meek and mild”. He was meek and mild in the excellent Australian heist thriller, “Money Movers” (1978) but of course showed he was brave enough when the chips were down to play his part in the gun-blazing showdown. This really was a terrific movie, full of action and intrigue, with a dream Aussie cast from that period – Ed Devereaux, Bryan Brown, Terry Donavon, Bud Tingwell, Huw Pryce – in fact just about every part was played by a recognisable name or at least a recognisable face. And of course it was directed by Bruce Beresford! I think it was his last film before he made the great “Breaker Morant.”
And also gcwe1, I’ve got to thank you for the tip about “The Last Day”, starring Richard Widmark. I’ve always been a fan of his, but I’d never even heard of this film! On your sayso I sent away for it from Ioffer, got a good copy from an honest dealer, watched it last night – and loved it! It’s a terrific little movie with a very good cast, some interesting moral dilemmas, and a “townspeople against the outlaws” gunfight at the end which is really very well done – at least as good, I reckon, as the one in “The Long Riders”.
A real find for a Widmark fan!
Thanks again, gcwe1!
Barney Bailey ,I just bought QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER today which Tony was in.I’ve never seen it before so I thank Walter for bringing it to my attention.
I am glad you enjoyed THE LAST DAY ,a forgotten gem of a western .My copy is in English ,but it has German printing on it ,so I don’t know if there was a German DVD release.Probably not .We will have to see if Olive or Kino Lorber can do a DVD release seeing it’s from Paramount .I notice it’s the last western for producer A C Lyles although he did have a hand in a western mini series .
Ben Cooper is one of those actors I see but wouldn’t know his name, I remember him though in different shows. I thought you all would appreciate this from my favorite western, Gunsmoke:
Johnny Guitar, that is a good picture of Ben Cooper and Milburn Stone. Is it a picture from a 1965 episode? I think that was about the time Ben may have been being considered for a regular or semi-regular role on the show. I think he would have been much better than Roger Ewing.
Ben Cooper was a member of the Dancin’ Kid(Scott Brady) gang in JOHNNY GUITAR(1954). He was Turkey Ralston, who was hanged.
Tonight I saw The Last Day. I recorded this many years ago at that time because Robert Conrad was in it. Now with a little more westerns under my belt I appreciate it even more. This was a 1975 A.C. Lyles production and as with all A.C. movies from the early ’60’s this one is loaded with familiar (if now much older) faces. There was one guy, I thought I recognized, Douglas Fowley, who played Doc Holiday on Hugh O’Brien’s Wyatt Earp. But didn’t see his name in the credits, I don’t think they even had a name for his character. But he was an old guy with big sticking out front teeth (I think they were false) and a white mustache who kept asking a lot of sensitive questions to one of the main characters. Sounded like and looked like an older Fowley, but no credit.
Anyway the movie was great, I kept waiting for Lon Chaney Jr. or Rod Cameron to show up like they did in earlier Lyles movies. The style of the movie reminded me of Cahill, US Marshal or Big Jake, with a narrator (Harry Morgan) telling the story of each main character. Robert Conrad needed a shave but was good as a bad guy, I like him better though as Jim West. Movie was a bit on the slow moving side, but still very enjoyable, if for no other reason than for all the many familiar but older faces.
A.C. Lyles also made for a fascinating guest, as his whole adult life pretty much covered the history of Paramount. I’d love for some of his 60s westerns to hit blu. Bumped into him and his secretary at an event one time, and it extended into a nice visit. I’ve still never seen a film he produced that we discussed “Short Cut to Hell” (1957), in which James Cagney made his sole directoral effort. Lyles seemed to think the world of Cagney.
Anyway, I’m sorry to hear (from Walter) the confirmation that Ben Cooper is doing poorly. I’d been gathering as much from folks I’ve talked to the past couple of years. Cooper was indeed an enjoyable and enthusiastic guest at the film festivals, and I’d always been hoping to see him again. The window really seems all but closed on the few old-time western genre vets that remain. Even the gents I always regarded as ‘young’ representatives, like L.Q. Jones and Jan Merlin (interesting guys who’ve also made appearances at shows), are now past 90 years of age! Still boggles my mind.
Wasn’t some of the spectacular Alamo attack footage from LAST COMMAND used in the 1987 James Arness TV movie, THE ALAMO: 13 DAYS TO GLORY?And that footage was directed by an uncredited William Witney if I remember correctly.
John, yes battle footage from the LAST COMMAND(1955) was used in the tv movie THE ALAMO: THIRTEEN DAYS TO GLORY(1987). That footage was directed by the best action director in the business, William “Bill” Witney. He is known for his fast paced and action packed serials and feature movies. His influence is still being felt and copied today. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have admitted that those serials helped inspire the INDIANA JONES movies. Director Quentin Tarantino has called Witney a forgotten master. Well, he may be in for a much deserved reassessment, currently the Museum of Modern Art is playing the restored TRIGGER, JR.(1950), which is a gem directed by Witney.
Walter, yes, totally agree with you about William Witney. I remember first encountering his name in 1954 when I went to see the terrific western “The Outcast”, starring John Derek. I was just a kid at the time, but I could tell there was something special about this movie – the way it moved – the realism and excitement of the action scenes. I kept a lookout for the name and saw a lot of his movies and TV shows. He never let me down. He was the master of “intelligent action” – maximum excitement and clean, swift movement, but never action just for its own sake. His action scenes always carried the story forward – that’s why they’re so satisfying. Recently, thanks to recommendations by people on this blog, I tracked down a very good print of “The Outcast” and was pleased to see that it stands up very well. Those action scenes are just as vivid now as they seemed in 1954, especially the full gallop horseback duel between Bob Steele and John Derek. Jaw dropping stuff! Good performances by Ben Cooper and many other western stalwarts. John Derek fine as the hero – I reckon he’s a bit undervalued as a westerner – he made quite a few good’uns!
THE OUTCAST is a good one as is Witney’s SANTA FE PASSAGE with John Payne, Rod Cameron and Slim Pickens. There’s a shocking incident in the first 10-15 minutes of the film that still gives me the shivers thinking of it.
You’re referring to what happens to the wagon train members, aren’t you? If so, I completely agree. That’s something you don’t forget in a hurry.
I actually have the full version of THE ALAMO on DVDr but I wouldn’t rush out and buy it unless someone like Criterion does a restoration and I can’t see that happening .I have the Criterion release of the full version of IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD and they had to use picture stills to compensate for film missing .If you’re a comedy fan this is one to put on your bucket list to watch.Highly recommended even if you only watch the cut version.
Yes, I have a 1990 MGM/UA Video VHS of THE ALAMO(1960) that is 202 minutes long. If you subtract the overture, intermission, and exit music it is 192 minutes long. The DVD I have is only 162 minutes long.
I agree, IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD(1963) is a Classic comedy that everyone should see. I have the MGM/UA Video VHS that is 188 minutes long. Also, I have the DVD that is 161 minutes long. Which goes to say, keep your DVD collections and VHS, if you have them. Here is a good article about keeping your collections. http://collider.com/why-you-should-keep-buying-blu-rays-and-dvds/ Also, Leonard Maltin says to keep your DVD collections.
MGM’s Alamo laserdisc set had the roadshow version, and it looked good back then. The material it was transferred from is the stuff that’s too far gone now. So sad.
It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a family favorite around here. While the long version is really cool, I think the shorter cut plays better.
Walter ,thanks for the link on a good article.I wish I knew how to post links like that as there is a very good interview with Joel McCrea where he talks about FOUR FACES WEST interviews with Mark Rydell and John Sturgess.
It is called THE WESTERN INTERVIEW and is from TVO archives .Well worth checking out .
gcwe1, what a great find. These interviews with Joel McCrea, John Sturges, Robert Aldrich, and Mark Rydell were so informative. John Sturges was so right about what Westerns are. Sturges talked about authenticity. I personally believe he hit the nail on the head about why the Classic Westerns are so great.
TALKING FILM was presented by TVONTARIO, a public tv broadcast from the early 1970’s. A must watch. Thank you. https://tvo.org/video/archive/talking-film/the-western
Walter,I’m glad you enjoyed the interviews.THE FOUR FACES WEST segment would have made a good extra on the recent DVD release from Kino Lorber.
gcwe1, THE FOUR FACES WEST(1948) is, in my opinion, one of the best Western movies ever made. It is an unusual Western, especially at the time it was made. The source material came from the great chronicler Eugene Manlove Rhodes'(1869-1934) classic novel PASO POR AQUI(1927). There are so many good things to say about this movie, but I don’t want to spoil it for a new viewer. Yes, Joel McCrea’s interview would have been a good extra for the Kino Lorber release. I still have my old VHS tape that I bought in 1990. The movie was a Harry “Pop” Sherman production released through United Artists. My VHS copy is a Republic Pictures Home Video.
Walter ,I now have 3 copies of FOUR FACES WEST ,the second copy came with YELLOW SKY.It is one of my most watched westerns,and strangely enough I had never heard of it until a friend sold it to me .I guess I took a chance buying an unwatched film,but I am glad I did .Joseph Calleia was good in this and Frances Dee was lovely.
I love FOUR FACES WEST. I wished that Kino Lorber had interviewed Wyatt McCrea for the disc, as he is very knowledgeable about his grandparents’ career and a great “keeper of the legacy.” (His father is David McCrea.) I’ve been fortunate to get to know Wyatt a bit over the last few years. You might like to see a 25-minute interview with Wyatt about his grandparents here:
Many thanks for the link to the Joel McCrea interview, I saved the link and will be watching it in the next day or two.
Best wishes,
Laura
Count me in to the group which admires and loves “FOUR FACES WEST”. I first saw this unusual and terrific western on UK TV on Boxing Day 1957 and have loved it ever since.
It was released in the UK incidentally as “THEY PASSED THIS WAY” (after the title of the original story).
May 2018 :
THE DOOLINS OF OKLAHOMA ( face au châtiment) chez Sidonis-Calysta
Laura, what a wonderful interview with the personable Wyatt McCrea. Thank you for sharing it with us.
While watching this interview, I was reminded of a telephone interview that producer/host Ray Nielsen of the GOOD TIMES PICTURE SHOW(1976-98) did with actor James Mitchell(1920-2010). STARS IN MY CROWN(1950), which I think was one of Joel McCrea’s favorite movies, had just been shown. Joel, if my memory serves me right, had just passed away. So, this was in 1990. McCrea had just arrived on the MGM set, where the movie was being filmed. Mr. Mitchell observed that McCrea had probably been up early doing chores on his ranch, because his boots still had some manure on them. Yes, Joel McCrea was a rancher.
Delighted you enjoyed the interview. The description by Mitchell definitely sounds just like Joel. (Fun related fact, the STARS IN MY CROWN trailer was filmed at the McCrea Ranch!)
Best wishes,
Laura
Johnny Guitar, backtracking a little bit. Being a fan of GUNSMOKE(1955-75), I thought you might enjoy this musical and visual tribute. I think most everyone else would also.
Johnny Guitar, backtracking a little bit. Being a fan of GUNSMOKE(1955-75), I thought you might enjoy this musical and visual tribute. I think most everyone else would also. I guess I’m getting tired, so here goes . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1_BGm-8ANk
Thanks Walter, I’ll definitely check it out, (it’s late here too) but as Laurel & Hardy say, “One good toin deserves another”, here’s Tex Ritter (of High Noon song fame) singing the original Gunsmoke theme. Some neat scenes of Gunsmoke too as you listen to Tex sing the theme. I remember it was back in the ’70’s that I first even heard Tex Ritter’s version. I had had no idea Tex sang the theme. Gunsmoke fans will like this:
Thanks Walter, I couldn’t resist, I had to look at your tube posting now. Really well done, it was the Gunsmoke theme the way they did it in the color years, what I posted was the way it sounded on the radio version and in the b/w TV version (sans Tex’s vocal, that is). Really liked how they matched perfectly the pictures with the tempo of the music in your tube posting. I continue to watch Gunsmoke every week using Gunsmoke to start off my Friday Night TV Westerns night. I make a night of it, making chili to eat as I watch my TV westerns. Feel like I’m out on the range with the chili. My favorite of all Gunsmokes are the b/w 1/2 hour versions, the stories were all so well written, tragic, funny, dramatic, they had it all. Many of the TV 1/2 hours were based on scripts done for the radio version of Gunsmoke. William Conrad made a perfect sounding Matt Dillon, by the way.
Harking back, last night I saw an episode of Mike Hammer, the ’50’s version with Darren McGavin, and it was directed by none other than William Whitney! I remember that name also from many serials and also from one of my favorite TV shows as a kid and still today, Adv. of Superman with the real Superman, George Reeves. Whitney was a real busy guy.
I have the old DVD of 4 FACES WEST put out by Artisian/Republic and I did watch this movie a couple years ago, but the only thing I remember about it is that it was in b/w and I was disappointed it wasn’t in color as I expected it. Looks like I’ll have to watch this one again to see what I’ve been missing.
Johnny Guitar, thanks for the really enjoyable Tex Ritter version of the famous GUNSMOKE theme. GUNSMOKE is the best tv series Western of all time, bar none. Far as I know it has never been off the airwaves since it was canceled by CBS. Thanks for re-run syndication.
Yes, director William Witney was a busy journeyman after Republic Studios ceased production. He was all over the place, even directing LASSIE(1954-73).
I watched BONANZA(1959-73) every Sunday night on NBC. Several of the episodes that stuck in my mind were directed by William Witney. Of course, I didn’t pay any attention, at the time, to who produced, wrote, or directed anything. It was later in re-runs when I became interested in who wrote, directed, and produced. Witney’s directed episodes were good, especially the action oriented ones. He would get the Cartwrights off of the Paramount Studios lot and out on location at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park. One was a 2-parter episode “Ride the Wind,” which first aired in January, 1966. Joe Cartwright(Michael Landon) joins the Pony Express as a rider. The show co-stars Victor Jory, Rod Cameron, and DeForest Kelley. There is a memorable bare knuckle fight between Ben Cartwright(Lorne Greene) and Curtis Wade(Rod Cameron). This 2-parter was released overseas as a feature movie.
William Witney is one of my heroes. The upcoming Trigger Jr. DVD and Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber will have a commentary from me — get this, with Witney’s son Jay Dee coming in a few times to share some stuff about his dad! I’m so stoked to be part of such a thing.
Toby, looking forward to Trigger, Jr.(1950). You’ll do a great job
Just watched my German release of THE LAST COMMAND .Although this is in English ,and is not a bad copy it does need a good restoration as this German release has element problems like lines and scratches in some parts .Lets hope that Kino do a good job.Also,I noticed when Jim Bowie is reading a note,it is in German as are the credits.