Exhibitor magazine’s top cowboy stars for 1951. Not a bad batch.
Archive for the ‘1951’ Category
The Exhibitor, 1951.
Posted in 1951, Gene Autry, George "Gabby" Hayes, Rex Allen, Roy Rogers, Tim Holt, William Boyd on January 12, 2023| 24 Comments »
DVD/Blu-Ray News #345: Apache Drums (1951).
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.
Blu-Ray News #341: Bullfighter And The Lady (1951).
Posted in 1951, Budd Boetticher, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Indicator/Powerhouse, John Wayne, Katy Jurado, Paul Fix, Ray Nazarro, Republic Pictures on April 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Directed by Budd Boetticher
Starring Robert Stack, Joy Page, Gilbert Roland, Virginia Grey, John Hubbard, Katy Jurado, Paul Fix
Indicator has announced a special edition of Budd Boetticher’s wonderful Bullfighter And The Lady (1951) for a July Region B release. You get both Boetticher’s complete 124-minute cut and the 87-minute version released by Republic. John Wayne produced the picture, which landed Boetticher (and Ray Navarro) an Oscar nomination for Best Original Story.
You also get a slew of extras:
• Audio commentary with Glenn Kenny & Farran Smith Nehme
• My Kingdom For… (1985) Boetticher’s autobiographical documentary about bullfighting
• Interview with Mary Boetticher (2022)
• An Evening With Budd Boetticher audio recording
• Limited edition booklet
The Olive Blu-Ray was nice, a bare-bones release of the extended cut. It certainly deserves this deluxe edition. It’s a great, great film. Highly, highly recommended.
Can I Borrow 14 Cents?
Posted in 1951, Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, The Durango Kid, William Elliott on December 29, 2021| 13 Comments »
Happy Birthday, Fred F. Sears.
Posted in 1951, Charles Starrett, Fred F. Sears, Ray Nazarro, Sam Katzman, Smiley Burnette, The Durango Kid on July 7, 2021| 3 Comments »
Fred F. Sears
(July 7, 1913 – November 30, 1957)
Director Fred F. Sears was born 108 years ago today. He also worked as a character actor, and he’s the officer on the left in this lobby card from Fort Savage Raiders (1951). While this picture was directed by Ray Nazarro, Sears directed quite a few of the later Durango Kid pictures.
When that series shut down, Sears signed on with Sam Katzman’s unit (today’s his birthday, too) and made quite a few films before his untimely death in 1957.
Happy Easter!
Posted in 1951, Gene Autry on April 4, 2021| 1 Comment »
Of course, Easter’s about a whole lot more than colored eggs and chocolate bunnies and stuff. But this being 50 Westerns From The 50s, Easter’s about Gene Autry, too.
Gene sang “Peter Cottontail” in Hills Of Utah (1951), and the record has been re-issued about a million times over the years.
Here’s wishing you all a great and glorious Easter Sunday.
Merry Christmas!
Posted in 1951, Dale Evans, Roy Rogers on December 25, 2020| 10 Comments »
Here are a couple of trading cards from the Sears Happy-Time Toy Town, circa 1951. Hope everybody out there has a safe and happy Christmas.
And if you haven’t done it already, think about dragging out your copy of Trail Of Robin Hood (1950). And remember, “ev’ry day is Christmas in the West!”
DVD News #316: The Randolph Scott Collection.
Posted in 1951, Arthur Kennedy, Columbia, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Edgar Buchanan, Forrest Tucker, George Marshall, George Waggner, Gordon Douglas, Harry Joe Brown, Joe Sawyer, John Ireland, John Sturges, Noah Beery Jr., Pre-1950, Randolph Scott, Ray Enright, Wallace Ford, Walter Brennan on November 30, 2020| 6 Comments »
While I was off in the mountains over Thanksgiving, with no Internet, John, Graham and an assorted cast of characters kept the lights on with a steady stream of comments. Y’all are sure something for me to be thankful for!
Anyway, one of the new released that was name-dropped was The Randolph Scott Collection from Via Vision out of Australia. It’s a pretty eclectic set, leaning towards the Harry Joe Brown pictures.
The Texans (1938)
Directed by James P. Hogan
Starring Randolph Scott, Joan Bennett, Walter Brennan
A post Civil War picture from Paramount.
When The Daltons Rode (1940)
Directed by George Marshall
Starring Randolph Scott, Kay Francis, Brian Donlevy, Broderick Crawford, Andy Devine, George Bancroft, Edgar Buchanan
About 80 minutes of nonstop action as the Daltons blast their way from one robbery to the next, with Scott a lawyer friend who tries to help out.
Corvette K-225 (1943)
Directed by Richard Rosson
Starring Randolph Scott, James Brown, Ella Raines, Barry Fitzgerald, Robert Mitchum
Howard Hawks produced this World War II picture, with Scott going after the U-boat that sank his ship and machine-gunned his crew.
Gunfighters (1947)
Directed by George Waggner
Starring Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, Bruce Cabot, Forrest Tucker
A cool Cinecolor picture produced by Harry Joe Brown.
Coroner Creek (1948)
Directed by Ray Enright
Starring Randolph Scott, Marguerite Chapman, George Macready, Edgar Buchanan, Wallace Ford , Forrest Tucker, Joe Sawyer
Ray Enright directs that spectacular cast in Cinecolor. It doesn’t get much better than that.
The Doolins Of Oklahoma (1949)
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Starring Randolph Scott, George Macready, Louise Allbritton, John Ireland , Charles Kemper, Noah Beery Jr.
This is just a terrific movie that gets everything right. 
The Walking Hills (1949)
Directed by John Sturges
Starring Randolph Scott, Ella Raines, Edgar Buchanan, Arthur Kennedy, John Ireland, Josh White
A group of men head to together in search of a lost wagon train loaded down with gold. Sturges’ does a great job, and the Alabama Hills and Death Valley locations are put to good use.
Santa Fe (1951)
Directed by Irving Pichel
Starring Randolph Scott, Janis Carter
Scott’s trying to help build a railroad, with even his own brothers trying to stop him.
Most of these pictures can be found elsewhere — some even on Blu-Ray, so there’s likely some duplication with something you already have. But there’s plenty of good stuff to recommend it. Sure wish there was a Blu-Ray version available, too (especially of Doolins).
DVD News #308: Forth Worth (1951)
Posted in 1951, Bob Steele, Chubby Johnson, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Edwin L. Marin, Randolph Scott, Ray Teal, Warner Archive, Warner Bros. on July 30, 2020| 20 Comments »
Directed by Edwin L. Marin
Starring Randolph Scott, David Brian, Phyllis Thaxter, Helena Carter, Dickie Jones, Ray Teal, Michael Tolan, Paul Picerni, Emerson Treacy, Bob Steele, Walter Sande, Chubby Johnson
Warner Archive has been righting a few wrongs lately, bringing some pictures back to DVD that’ve been missing for a while. One of the latest to be announced is Edwin Marin’s Fort Worth (1951). (Click the lobby card for the Warner Archive link.)
It’s a pretty good one, with a great cast and gorgeous Technicolor photography from Sid Hickox. It was the seventh Western Scott and Marin did together. It was also the last, with the director passing away a couple months before it opened. (Wish a Blu-Ray was also on the way.)
DVD Review: The Roy Rogers Happy Trails Collection.
Posted in 1950, 1951, Dale Evans, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, George "Gabby" Hayes, Joe Kane, Mill Creek Entertainment, Penny Edwards, Republic Pictures, Sons Of The Pioneers, William Witney on March 14, 2019| 5 Comments »
Mill Creek’s new four-disc set, The Roy Rogers Happy Trails Collection, gathers up 20 Rogers pictures spanning his entire career, and presents most of them in the same unfortunate condition we’ve seen before. However, the set does have its advantages.
Here are the Rogers movies you get:
Young Bill Hickok (1940)
Sons Of The Pioneers (1941)
Cowboy And The Senorita (1944)
Sunset In El Dorado (1945)
Don’t Fence Me In (1945)
Man From Oklahoma (1945)
Along the Navajo Trail (1945)
Rainbow Over Texas (1946)
Down Dakota Way (1949)
The Golden Stallion (1949)
Susanna Pass (1949)
North Of The Great Divide (1950)
Trigger, Jr. (1950)
Trail Of Robin Hood (1950)
Bells Of Coronado (1950)
Twilight In The Sierras (1950)
Spoilers Of The Plains (1951)
South Of Caliente (1951)
In Old Amarillo (1951)
Pals Of The Golden West (1951)
Many of these are from the later period, when William Witney was packing these things with action — and shooting some in Trucolor. They also had longer running times, which is where we run into trouble. Trail Of Robin Hood (1950), for instance, runs 67 minutes. In this set, it runs just 63 minutes and that includes the Happy Trails Theatre introduction. So it’s fair to say that up to 10 minutes of the film is gone. This pattern continues throughout, with the damage depending on how long or short each movie was originally. Young Bill Hickok runs under an hour, so it might not have too much missing. Cowboy And The Senorita (1944), Roy and Dale’s first film together is the odd man out. It does not have an introduction, and it runs its full 77 minutes. Looks pretty good, too.
There are a few supplemental videos, some of them from the Roy Rogers Museum, which are nice to have — especially since the museum is no more, and it’s about as close to a tour as we’re gonna get anymore.
Some of these films are available elsewhere uncut. (Trigger, Jr. from Kino Lorber is incredible.) Wouldn’t it be great to have them complete with the introductions included as an extra, the way the Gene Autry pictures are done? I’m dying for a full-length Spoilers Of The Plains.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 