Mill Creek has announced a 20-picture Roy Rogers DVD set — “authorized by the Roy Rogers estate” — for release in March. But so far, I can’t track down its actual contents. I have my doubts that it’ll give us uncut, color versions of the movies we’re all waiting for, since those are controlled by Paramount these days. Plus, it sounds suspiciously like the old King Of The Cowboys set from Timeless.
Stay tuned.
Interesting news, Toby, but I cannot see any revelations here either. Fingers crossed of course.
Received the Kino Lorber Blu Ray THE LAST COMMAND overall pretty
good but far more imperfections than on other Republic releases.
A minor quibble really because often the transfer is absolutely stunning.
Very interesting commentary a lot of it regarding The Duke’s battles
with Herbert J Yates in getting his Alamo movie made.
Also lots of historical facts regarding actual events and the movies versions
of these events.
It would seem ESC Edition’s Blu Ray’s of rare Universal Westerns will kick
start early March,first out the gates BADLANDS OF DAKOTA and BORDER
RIVER. Some French sources state that ESC have OVER 20 Western releases
scheduled.
I hope Cole Armin phones in soon as France most certainly will be the main
source of Westerns during 2019.
Sidonis have announced on Blu Ray SIX BLACK HORSES a very superior
Audie Murphy/Dan Duryea Western. The Euro Universal DVD (France,Holland)
was very disappointing,hopefully Sidoins have sourced a better master.
A very Happy New Year to Toby and everyone who follows this blog.
John k ,I already have THE LAST COMMAND from Alive in Germany.I should have waited for the Kino release,but at the time it hadn’t been announced .One cannot foresee these things.I asked ESC about those releases but got no response .I finally received my Samuel Fuller collection .Apparently it was returned to them and they had to resend it.
I saw Ethan Wayne on the morning show over here.He was talking about John Wayne’s travelling exhibit .He also spoke about his part in Big Jake.
John k,ESC has confirmed to me that they will be releasing all the titles that you listed in 2019.It would be nice(and cheaper) if they released them in a boxset.Still waiting for THE SAVAGE GUNS and BITTER CREEK to be released from WB ,if that’s still on the cards.
Hi Graham….and a VERY Happy New Year to you.
So glad you got a reply from ESC Editions,I did also e-mail them but just
got a standard “communication received” announcement.
I will be glad when these films appear on their website-normally their graphics
are pretty good. I understand that ESC (along with other French imprints)
often “gang up” releases in sets of three at a much cheaper price,after the
initial “stand alone” releases have been out a while.
If the information is correct on the French Westerns site
http://www.westernmovies.fr is correct then BORDER RIVER will be in 1.85
widescreen,if so that’s sensational-those wonderful locations will look awesome
in high-def widescreen.
THE YELLOW MOUNTAIN is noted as 2.0 widescreen so that’s good news
as well. I hope among the unannounced titles SADDLE TRAMP is included,
far and away the best of Joel’s 6 Universal Westerns SADDLE TRAMP has,
so far, not even had a DVD release.
As you mention Graham 2019 is going to be a very expensive year for
Western fans judging by the ESC output alone. It looks as if ESC are into
Westerns in a big way,so that’s very good news. I always give Westerns
top priority over other genres (Horror/Sci Fi and Film Noir) so those releases
will have to go on the “back burner” as Westerns,for me are top in the order
of things.
I hope that ESC might also consider releasing those newly re-mastered
Republic titles on Park Circus’s portfolio. Here I’m thinking about titles
like THE PLUNDERERS,HELLFIRE and THE OUTCAST.
I’m also very keen on getting the two Joseph Kane non Westerns FAIR WIND
TO JAVA and ACCUSED OF MURDER.
John k ,SADDLE TRAMP is on A&R productions from Italy which put out a ton of westerns .I have some of their DVDs but next time I email ESC I’ll suggest it as I did with DRAGOON WELLS MASSACRE .ESC told me to watch their Facebook page for updates which I notice that their posts section is empty.The 2 collections I bought from them are nice and compact with no forced subs.I don’t know if I’ll be doubleing up on THE VIRGINIAN and BORDER RIVER ,but of course if they put those 2 together along with another release on a 3 pack ,I may not have a choice and I’ll probably hold out to see if a multipack appears to save money .
Happy New Year to everyone .Down Under we get to the New Year first .
Dragoon Wells Massacre is long overdue. The German DVD is a cropped 1.77 image and so were the last TV showings. Does the original Cinemascope copy still exist ? If the film is in the Paramount library, maybe Kino Lorber could release it ?
Cole Armin ,I just seen a picture for the cover of BADLANDS OF DAKOTA on Amazon France .Any idea if they plan a coffret of these new releases .This film looks like a good little western.
Hi gcwe1, ESC said in a recent interview that they may release thematic boxsets at the end of 2019. There is no word on the content.
Hi John, The aspect ratio of Border River is just a guess on my part. There has been no official information on this yet. Provided ESC gets a recent scan of the film, I do hope it will be in the right format. (ditto for The Yellow Mountain)
As far as I know, ESC has no deal with Republic titles. For now, they mostly released Universal, Fox and United Artists films.
Hi again Graham,
There are a whole heap of Westerns awaiting release by Warner Archive
when they will appear is anybody’s guess.
Apart from the films that you mention I’m still waiting for CHARGE AT FEATHER
RIVER and several RKO Westerns that they say they will release eventually.
I understand several of the RKO titles need more than a little restoration
work,so it’s a waiting game really. The good news is that Warner Bros have
had a sensational year at the Box Office as the year drawers to a close they
are still going “gangbusters” as they like to say in the trade.
That means that there is stacks of money in the kitty to divert to Warner Archive
restorations on films like GREAT DAY IN THE MORNING,DEVIL’S CANYON
and TENSION AT TABLE ROCK.
Hopefully we will eventually get a fully restored Blu Ray of BLOOD ON THE
MOON as well as THE BOUNTY HUNTER…..who knows,perhaps Warners
can finally untangle the “rights issues” that have kept SUGARFOOT from
being released all these years.
As I have mentioned many times before Warner Bros are the only major
studio that really cares about vintage films-all we have to do is be ultra
patient as hard as that is sometimes.
I noticed there’s a German DVD of the A.C. Lyles production STAGE TO THUNDER ROCK coming out in January. It includes the English soundtrack but is shown on Amazon as being 1.77.1 when I think it should be 2.35.1, Perhaps the Amazon data is in error on that .This is the first video release I know of for this movie.
pas the
Hi Cole-great to see you here again-thanks for the info on the ratios
THE YELLOW MOUNTAIN was released by Koch as a DVD only and
was 4×3. The quality of the DVD was pretty good but not great-certainly
not good enough for Blu Ray. I wonder if ESC have sourced a better transfer.
I’m hoping RAILS INTO LARAMIE might be 2.0 that would be wonderful
to say the least.
I just mentioned those Republic restorations in Park Circus’ portfolio which
means that companies outside America could release them-I understand
Hollywood Classics offer more competitive rates than Park Circus.
Cole-it might be worth mentioning to Sidonis and ESC that Toby is prepared
to do the commentary free of charge on HELLFIRE.
Park Circus also have the non Western HELL’S ISLAND in their portfolio
another much sought after film.
Texican the German STAGE TO THUNDER ROCK is a bootleg and
most likely an off air copy. Germany seems to have eclipsed Spain regarding
bootlegs which I feel are best avoided. The best German labels are Explosive,
Koch Media and Spirit Media which all release “official” versions of various
films.
Regarding Toby doing a commentary on HELLFIRE if a French company
released it,it would be better as a “filmed” commentary spoken in English,
well North Carolina actually 🙂 but with French subs….now wouldn’t that be
so cool! My New Years Resolution….to put as many people “on the spot”
as possible in 2019.
Hi John. Thanks for these infos. I will tell Sidonis but unfortunately french labels are not big fans of audio commentaries (which are generally dropped from UK/US equivalents). Perhaps because of the cost to prepare the subtitles…
John k ,I’ve no doubt Toby would do an excellent commentary ,but because it is aimed at the French market they would have to use French subs .I know that when I buy foreign DVDs and they have extras ,they are never in English .
Hello again Cole,
I like the artwork that you posted for the BADLANDS OF DAKOTA
DVD. I note that it is an ESC/Movinside release. I thought that Movinside
were no more although THE VIRGINIAN and KIT CARSON were originally
going to be Movinside releases….perhaps ESC have taken them over.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that SADDLE TRAMP is among the so far
unannounced Universal titles as it’s never even had a DVD release.
Hi John, Movinside seem to have stopped their activities (their last released in june have been pulled) and closed shop. We strongly suspect that ESC (who announced 20 westerns in 2019) have taken over the righs negociated by Movinside. Also, you are right that the covers show both Movinside & ESC’s logos.
It’s strange that Saddle Tramp hasn’t been released yet as there was a strong master shown on TV. Perhaps rights issues ?
Had never seen the aforementioned “Badlands of Dakota” (1941-Univ) before, but saw it available on my cable’s ‘on demand’ service, and watched it this weekend. Pretty broad hokum. As if Andy Devine wasn’t enough comic relief, the producers added Hugh Herbert and Fuzzy Knight into the mix as well! Hardly qualified as essential viewing, but it was agreeably paced, and was exceptionally well-photographed. It just didn’t nearly live up to Universal’s big “A” western of the previous year, the slam-bang “When the Daltons Rode” (1940), which overcame some of its own hokeyness by its sheer over-the-top vitality.
Thanks Bert…I was not expecting BADLANDS OF DAKOTA to be a
classic but it’s swell to see these vintage 40’s Universal Westerns get the
high-def treatment.
Totally agree regarding WHEN THE DALTONS RODE…I must invest in the
Koch Blu Ray sooner rather than later.
I’m hoping FRONTIER BADMEN will be released on ESC sometime-more
of a B effort but Universal always applied A production values to their B’s
as in the Sherlock Holmes series and their Monster Mash-Ups.
The same applies to their Jon Hall Cinecolor B’s THE MICHIGAN KID
and THE VIGILANTES RIDE.
FRONTIER BADMEN is pretty good with a rare Western outing for Robert
Paige who was more of a Noir actor.
Your comment regarding Devine,Herbert and Knight cracked me up, as did
Devine’s role as a “babe magnet” in WHEN THE DALTONS RODE.
With Devine, Herbert, and Knight all jockeying for yuks in “Badlands of Dakota” (1941), I guess I should just be relieved the producers also didn’t add Leon Errol as a saloon patron, and Ben Blue as the saloon janitor. It does seem like Universal in the early-40s was pretty keen on upping the comedy element in their westerns. Maybe it was a reflection of “Destry Rides Again” and its success…? Plus, wasn’t the very spoofy “Frontier Gal” (1945) technically Universal’s first color western? Not counting the Deanna Durbin musical-western, “Can’t Help Singing” from the year before. Frankly, I didn’t care much for “Frontier Gal,” even though I’m exceptionally fond of Rod Cameron and Yvonne De Carlo. Four years later, Universal did have De Carlo in another comedic western, “The Gal Who Took the West” (1949), and I did actually rather like that one.
Back to “Badlands of Dakota,” I did think Richard Dix (as Wild Bill Hickok) came off best, but the role was relatively small and fairly extraneous to the overall plotline. Also always nice to see Ann Rutherford, who is such a pleasing presence. I don’t think Rutherford is often credited as such, but I believe she should qualify as the first regular, recurring leading lady of Republic Studios. Not just because of the trio of early Autry films she was in (not to mention a couple of John Wayne’s), but also due to being so active in that transition period from Mascot to Republic. “Waterfront Lady” (1935) and the serial “Fighting Marines” (1935) were Mascot, and “Doughnuts and Society” (1936) was a Mascot production, released through Republic. Then, I think “Down to the Sea” (1936) and “The Harvester” (1936) were completely Republic. Unfortunately, two of these Republics she was in, the aforementioned “The Harvester” and “The Oregon Trail” (1936) with John Wayne, are widely thought to be the two completely ‘lost’ Republic features, with no extant prints. I don’t think any other actress was as prolific at Republic during this formative stage. Evelyn Venable (whom I adore) came a little close, during that Mascot/Republic transition. Evalyn Knapp and Charlotte Henry were also busy around that first year of the studio. But I think Ann Rutherford pretty clearly leads in this overall race.
Whoops!…..The Jon Hall Universal Cinecolor B I mentioned should
have read THE VIGILANTES RETURN.
A very happy new year to all cowboys and cowgirls !
Thanks Bert, for the incredible info on Ann Rutherford.
I must say her quotes on imdb regarding Wallace Beery and Vera Ralston
are priceless.
I don’t know of any rights issues regarding SADDLE TRAMP I just feel like
RAILS INTO LARAMIE it’s been unjustly ignored.
Also it’s odd that there are no Audie Murphy Westerns (so far) mentioned
in ESC’s roster,hopefully that will change.
HELL BENT FOR LEATHER is way overdue for a Blu Ray release.
I cannot see why there isn’t a decent widescreen master for DRAGOON WELLS
MASSACRE-the Allied Artists Color,CinemaScope Westerns that Warners
own have all been released in decent DVD versions,only OREGON PASSAGE
looks as if it could do with some restoration work.
Furthermore the Allied Artists ‘scope/color Sci Fi films (WORLD WITHOUT
END/QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE) have had sensational looking Blu Ray
presentations. Apart from “Dragoon” I cannot see why there are not decent
masters of the Allied Artists ‘scope/color Westerns Paramount Republic own:
AT GUNPOINT,THE TALL STRANGER and LAST OF THE BADMEN.
GUNSMOKE IN TUCSON – Allied Artists color cinemascope- distribué par WB, comme OREGON PASSAGE, semble aussi avoir été restauré.