Posted in 1959, Gary Cooper, Gene Autry, John Wayne on May 26, 2022| 10 Comments »
Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison)
May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979
John Wayne was born 115 years ago today. Here he is with Gary Cooper and Gene Autry. Judging by what they’re wearing, it looks like Coop was shooting The Hanging Tree and Duke was working on Rio Bravo (both 1959).
This has to be one of the coolest photos ever stuck on this blog.
Posted in John Agar, The Carbon Arc Podcast, The Film Detective on May 18, 2022| 14 Comments »
The first episode of The Carbon Arc Podcast is up and running — with Mr. Phil Hopkins of The Film Detective as our guest. (The second one is being plotted as I type this.)
You can click on the thing up top to hear/see it on YouTube, or you can find it on podcast-y corral things like Podomatic.
Hope you enjoy it.
Posted in The Carbon Arc Podcast on May 9, 2022| 10 Comments »
Posted in 1951, Coleen Gray, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Explosive Media, Hugo Fregonese, James H. Griffith, Universal (International) on May 5, 2022| 3 Comments »
Directed by Hugo Fregonese
Starring Stephen McNally, Coleen Gray, Willard Parker, Arthur Shields, James Griffith, Armando Silvestre, Georgia Backus, Clarence Muse
Apache Drums (1951) was producer Val Lewton’s last film; he died before its release. Though this was his only Western, and the only time he would produce a Technicolor film, Apache Drums is very much an extension of his earlier work in horror films at RKO. It’s a terrific, but sadly overlooked, 50s Western.
It’s coming to DVD and Blu-Ray in November from Explosive Media. I’m so stoked about this one. Highly, highly, highly recommended.
Posted in 1953, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Explosive Media, Glenn Strange, John McIntire, Julie Adams, Lee Van Cleef, Raoul Walsh, Rock Hudson, Universal (International) on May 4, 2022| 2 Comments »
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Starring Rock Hudson, Julie Adams, Mary Castle, John McIntire, Hugh O’Brian, Dennis Weaver, Forrest Lewis, Lee Van Cleef, Glenn Strange
Next up from Explosive Media is Raoul Walsh’s The Lawless Breed (1953), coming to DVD and Blu-Ray (region free!) in September.
Raoul Walsh, Rock Hudson and Julie Adams during shooting.
It’s a pretty inaccurate story of the outlaw John Wesley Hardin, played by Rock Hudson. The manuscript for his autobiography is used to launch the picture as a series of flashbacks.
With Walsh’s typical no-nonsense, propulsive direction, a really strong cast and incredible Technicolor photography from Irving Glassberg (which will really be something to see in high definition), The Lawless Breed plays as a better movie than it actually is. Highly recommended.
Posted in Dan Duryea, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Explosive Media, Gordon Kay, Harry Carey Jr., R.G. Springsteen, Ray Teal, Universal (International) on May 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Directed by R. G. Springsteen
Starring Tony Young, Dan Duryea, Dick Foran, Elsa Cárdenas, Jean Hale, Emile Meyer, David Carradine, Ray Teal, Harry Carey, Jr.
Gordon Kay produced the last batch of Audie Murphy Westerns at Universal International, along with a few other pictures like Taggart (1964). It’s got a great cast, with Dick Foran, Ray Teal and Harry Carey, Jr. supporting Tony Young and the great Dan Duryea. This was David Carradine’s first film. It was based on a Louis L’Amour novel. R. G. Springsteen directed, and he would direct a number of the A.C. Lyles Westerns over at Paramount. These films carried the 50s Western torch into the 60s.
Explosive Media is bringing Taggart to DVD and Blu-Ray in August, part of a summer full of terrific Universal International Westerns. They’ll be Region Free, folks, so order away!
Posted in 1955, Arthur Kennedy, Chubby Johnson, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Explosive Media, I. Stanford Jolley, Robert J. Wilke, Rudolph Maté, Tony Curtis, Uncategorized on May 2, 2022| 4 Comments »
Directed by Rudolph Maté
Starring Tony Curtis, Colleen Miller, Arthur Kennedy, William Demarest, Robert J. Wilke, Chubby Johnson, I. Stanford Jolley
Explosive Media is really coming through for the rest of the year, bringing some prime 50s Westerns from Universal-International to DVD and Blu-Ray. I’ve already covered Seven Ways From Sundown (1960) and Hell Bent For Leather (1960), excellent Audie Murphy pictures, coming in May and June.
Watch this blog, since we’ll do one of these releases a day through the week.
Coming in July is Rudolph Maté’s The Rawhide Years (1955). Tony Curtis is a riverboat gambler who flees when he’s implicated in a murder. He returns three years later to clear his name, track down the real killers and be reunited with his girl (Colleen Miller).
Curtis is cool and Arthur Kennedy makes a nasty villain here. Irving Glassberg shot this in Technicolor and 2.0. Rudolph Maté and editor Russell Schoengarth keep things moving at a steady pace. Can’t wait to see this in high-definition. Highly recommended.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 