There’s something about this blog I’ve always been uncomfortable with. Through DVD/Blu-Ray new release information or reviews, by plugging a Kickstarter campaign to restore something, or by mentioning a book that’s on the way (including mine), I have a tiny influence on people’s buying decisions. I work in Marketing and Advertising and do this every day, so I ought to be OK with it, but it’s different at this more informal, semi-personal level. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know quite a few of you, and I make a point of not telling my friends how to spend their money.
Having said all that, now I want to tell you how to spend your money. Not really, but kinda.
Back in the 90s, before 50s Westerns took over my life, I used to watch a lot of old Poverty Row horror and 60s spy movies (especially those goofy European James Bond ripoffs). A great source for such things was a company in Oregon called Sinister Cinema. Maybe you’re familiar with them. A friend and I (how ya doing, DV?) ordered from them quite a bit (it was VHS back then) or would rent their stuff from a mail-order place called Video Vault.
Nowadays, Sinister Cinema deals in DVDs, of course, and they’ve taken a real shine to B Westerns of the 30s and 40s. You’ll find some terrific pictures on their site, from Hoot Gibson to Bob Steele to Ken Maynard. And some titles I’d been looking for decent copies of — Riders Of The Whistling Skull (1937), Hell Canyon Outlaws (1957) and A Lust To Kill (1958).
The folks at Sinister Cinema are talking about shutting down. First, I’d hate to see that happen because old movie nuts aren’t supporting them like we should. So I encourage you to visit their site. Click on the logo above, and away you go! And I highly recommend Hell Canyon Outlaws. (Click the lobby card up top for that link.) It was directed by Paul Landres and has a great part for Dale Robertson. Sinister’s copy is from a well-worn 16mm print, but it’s very watchable. It’s full-frame, so if your TV will let you zoom a bit, you can approximate its 1.85 framing.
And since these titles are less than $10 each, I don’t feel so bad about trying to make you part with your dough. You might even thank me for it.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 
Toby,I don’t feel like you are encourgeing me to spend my money.If I felt that way ,I wouldn’t visit this blog everyday .The information and friends I’ve met by visiting here are invaluable.I have HELL CANYON OUTLAWS and THE MARSHALL’S DAUGHTER from Sinister Cinema.It’s a shame they don’t have the technology to clean up some of their transfers ,but they still have a place in the market place.
I actually purchased HELL CANYON OUTLAWS from Sinister Cinema a few years ago. I’m not sure it’s even available anywhere else.
It’s not available anywhere else. If I won the lottery, this is a picture I’d fund a cleanup of. It’s terrific.
THE GUNFIGHTER is coming to BLU RAY on October 20th 2020 from Criterion.
Video Vault in Alexandria, VA? One of my regular stops for many years. And I ordered JUDEX on VHS from Sinister Cinema many years before the Criterion DVD (and later Blu-ray). It was the only way to find the Franju film on easily accessible home video in the late ’80s. The same was true of many many Sinister products.
Hello Fred, l’ve just finished reading your Spaghetti western book, you know your stuff.
That’s the one. Boy, did I blow a lotta coin at that place. A friend and I would have weekend marathons going through all the stuff that came in, so we could send em back on Monday.
Back in the VHS days l had dozens of their tapes, as we had nothing like them here in the UK. Quality varied from average to very good, with a few extras like adverts and trailers thrown in the mix. They were a good company, but things moved on, and l moved on to other suppliers, especially at start of the DVD age. To be honest, l didn’t realise they were still active.
Their double feature discs are a lot of fun.