Posted in Anthony Quinn, Barbara Stanwyck, Brian Donlevy, Cecil B. DeMille, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Joel McCrea, Kino Lorber, Paramount on February 6, 2021| 2 Comments »
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Akim Tamiroff, Robert Preston, Lynne Overman, Brian Donlevy, Anthony Quinn
Union Pacific (1939) is a great big Cecil B. DeMille picture about the building of the railroad. It’s got a great cast, some remarkable action sequences and the overall DeMille thing we all love so much.
Kino Lorber is bringing it to Blu-Ray this summer, which should really be something to see. Highly recommended.
Posted in 1950, 1954, Andre de Toth, Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy, Charles McGraw, Coleen Gray, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Edgar Buchanan, George Marshall, Hugo Fregonese, James H. Griffith, Joanne Dru, Kino Lorber, Randolph Scott, Stephen McNally, Universal (International) on April 14, 2020| 31 Comments »
There’s a lot going on these days, which is probably a huge understatement. At the same time, within the confines of each of our homes, there’s not much going on at all. I hope everyone is safe, healthy and watching a lot of movies. Thought I’d bring up a few things.
Apache Drums (1951) is coming to Blu-Ray from Sidonis out of France. This is very good news. It’s a terrific picture.
RIP, James Drury.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been asked for quite a few movie recommendations, and it’s been a blast to suggest Westerns and crime/noir movies to my homebound friends. It makes me feel good to know that yet another person has come to appreciate Man In The Saddle (1951) or Armored Car Robbery (1950).
Saw Day Of Triumph (1954), a low-budget, heartfelt, but talky story of Christ. It had a great cast — Lee J. Cobb, James H. Griffith (as Judas!), Joanne Dru (as a lovely Mary Magdalene), Burt Mustin, Robert Cornthwaite, Barbara Billingsley, Mike “Touch” Connors and Ralph Moody. The minimal sets are pretty effective, but Burbank is a long way from the Holy Land, in about every possible way.
Completed the commentary for Kino Lorber’s When The Daltons Rode (1940) last week. Due to coronavirus closings and stuff, we recorded it at the engineer’s home. We had to take a break when a train came through town — the tracks run behind his house. Ironically, it was the train robbery sequence.
Hang in there, folks!
Posted in Alan Ladd, Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Edgar Buchanan, Frank Faylen, Joel McCrea, Kino Lorber, Paramount, Pre-1950, Randolph Scott, Universal (International) on March 20, 2020| 9 Comments »
Kino Lorber has announced their first volume of Western Classics for June — When The Daltons Rode (1940), The Virginian (1946) and Whispering Smith (1948).
When The Daltons Rode offers up about 30 minutes of constant riding, shooting and just general mayhem in its last reels, all courtesy of the great Yakima Canutt. Amazing stuff. Whispering Smith was tailor-made for Alan Ladd — his first Western and his first color film. The Virginian puts a couple of my favorites in the same movie — Joel McCrea and William Frawley.
Working on the commentary notes for When The Daltons Rode has been a lot of fun, especially watching all the stunts again and again.
I love the first volume of sets like this, since it comes with the promise of more!
Posted in Brian Donlevy, Criterion, DVD/Blu-Ray News, George Marshall, Jimmy Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Pre-1950, Universal (International) on January 16, 2020| 14 Comments »
Directed by George Marshall
Starring Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart, Brian Donlevy, Una Merkel
Criterion has announced they they’re bringing George Marshall’s Destry Rides Again (1939) to DVD and Blu-Ray in April. (We’ve sure seen a lot of James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich making its way to Blu-Ray lately.)
It comes with a slew of terrific extras, of course, but the draw for me is a new 4K restoration done with the Film Foundation. Can’t wait to see how this thing will shine! Absolutely essential.
Posted in 1957, Andy Devine, Audie Murphy, Ben Johnson, Brian Donlevy, Brian Keith, Dan Duryea, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Harry Carey Jr., Jack Arnold, Jack Elam, Jacques Tourneur, Jay C. Flippen, Jeff Chandler, Jimmy Stewart, Kino Lorber, Lloyd Bridges, Maureen O'Hara, Post-1959, Pre-1950, Robert J. Wilke, Royal Dano, Universal (International), Ward Bond on January 2, 2020| 41 Comments »
Kino Lorber is serving up four terrific Universal Westerns in March, an announcement that gets. 2020 off to a great start.
Canyon Passage (1946)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Starring Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, Patricia Roc, Ward Bond, Hoagy Carmichael, Andy Devine, Lloyd Bridges
Canyon Passage was Jacques Tourneur’s first Western and first film in color. It’s got a great cast (Ward Bond is terrific — and very scary) and incredible Technicolor photography from Edward Cronjager, who also shot Lang’s Western Union (1941). This is a very overlooked, underrated film.
Night Passage (1957)
Directed by James Neilson
Starring James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Dianne Foster, Elaine Stewart, Brandon de Wilde, Jay C. Flippen, Robert J. Wilke, Hugh Beaumont
Shot in Technirama, a high-fidelity combination of VistaVision and anamorphic widescreen, Night Passage is as sharp as movies could get in the late 50s. And with loads of incredible location work in Durango, Colorado, it’s stunning — and a perfect candidate for Blu-Ray. The movie itself, while it’s no masterpiece, has been unjustly maligned. You’ll find the story behind all that in an old post.
Man In The Shadow (1957)
Directed by Jack Arnold
Starring Jeff Chandler, Orson Welles, Colleen Miller, Barbara Lawrence, John Larch, Royal Dano, James Gleason
There are a thousand reasons to be excited about this modern-day (well, 1957) Western — Jeff Chandler, Orson Welles, B&W CinemaScope and Jack Arnold, for starters. Welles and producer Albert Zugsmith got to talking here, which led to Touch Of Evil (1958).
The Rare Breed (1966)
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Starring James Stewart, Maureen O’Hara, Brian Keith, Juliet Mills, Ben Johnson, Jack Elam, Harry Carey, Jr.
The best thing The Rare Breed has going for it is its incredible cast — how could it go wrong? Not to mention the Technicolor/Panavision cinematography of William H. Clothier.
All four films will feature a commentary (I’m doing both Passage films) and an original trailer. It’s no easy to recommend these things!
Posted in Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy, Dana Andrews, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Jacques Tourneur, Kino Lorber, Lloyd Bridges, Pre-1950, Susan Hayward, Universal (International), Ward Bond on June 12, 2019| 48 Comments »
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Starring Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, Patricia Roc, Ward Bond, Hoagy Carmichael, Andy Devine, Lloyd Bridges
Canyon Passage (1946) is a large-scale tale of the Oregon Territory. Jacques Tourneur’s first Western and first color film, it was a big hit back in 1946. It’s got a great cast (Ward Bond is terrific — and very scary) and incredible Technicolor photography from Edward Cronjager, who also shot Lang’s Western Union (1941).
It’s coming to Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber later this year. You can bet it’ll look great.
Posted in Barry Sullivan, Brian Donlevy, James Whitmore, Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Sam Peckinpah on November 4, 2016| 3 Comments »
The character Joel McCrea played in so many of his Westerns was a confident, moral man — absolutely true to his word (even when he was an outlaw). Many say that character is a perfect match for McCrea himself. Here in the States, with our contentious, divisive 2016 election coming to an end just a few days after McCrea’s birthday, there’s an irony there that’s hard to miss. There’s also a realization that we could sure use someone like McCrea today.
I could go on and on about Joel McCrea’s incredible career, working with some of Hollywood’s greatest directors on some of their finest films (many of which will be covered over the course of this blogathon), but there’s a quote from a 1978 interview that pretty much says it all —
“I liked doing comedies, but as I got older, I was better suited to do Westerns. Because I think it becomes unattractive for an older fellow trying to look young, falling in love with attractive girls in those kinds of situations… Anyway, I always felt so much more comfortable in the Western. The minute I got a horse and a hat and a pair of boots on, I felt easier. I didn’t feel like I was an actor anymore. I felt like I was the guy out there doing it.”
Below you’ll find links for a series of posts from a very fine roster of bloggers, writers, fans, etc. Keep checking back.
Day 3
South Of St. Louis (1949)
50 Westerns Of The 50s
Day 2
These Three (1936)
The Jade Sphinx
The Outriders (1950)
50 Westerns From The 50s, by Blake Lucas
Gunsight Ridge (1957)
Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings
Day 1
Ride The High Country (1962, by Jerry Entract)
50 Westerns From The 50s
The Virginian (1946)
Caftan Woman
Wichita (1955)
The Round Place In The Middle
Four Faces West (1948)
Speakeasy
The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
The Hannibal 8 (by Jerry Entract)
Stranger On Horseback (1955)
50 Westerns From The 50s by Allen Smithee
Posted in Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy, Dana Andrews, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Frank Ferguson, Jacques Tourneur, Panamint, Pre-1950, Universal (International), Ward Bond on August 24, 2016| 22 Comments »
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Produced by Walter Wanger
Screenplay by Ernest Pascal
Adapted from the Saturday Evening Post story by Ernest Haycox
Director Of Photography: Edward Cronjager
Film Editor: Milton Carruth
Cast: Dana Andrews (Logan Stuart), Brian Donlevy (George Camrose), Susan Hayward (Lucy Overmire), Patricia Roc (Caroline Marsh), Ward Bond (Honey Bragg), Hoagy Carmichael (Hi Linnet), Fay Holden (Mrs. Overmire), Stanley Ridges (Jonas Overmire), Lloyd Bridges (Johnny Steele), Andy Devine (Ben Dance), the Devine Kids, Frank Ferguson, Ray Teal
__________
There seems to be a general consensus around here that Canyon Passage (1946) is a damn good Western, typically fine work from Jacques Tourneur, and a picture that has been unjustly overlooked over the years. We also tend to agree that the DVD from Universal is a terrific example of how to present three-strip Technicolor on our hi-def TVs. So much so, that a few folks have commented that they couldn’t imagine how much difference a Blu-ray upgrade would make.
Well, the new Blu-ray from Panamint offers up a stunning example of just what Blu-ray can do — that beautiful transfer of Edward Cronjager’s Technicolor photography is, well, even more beautiful than it was before. Sharper, crisper, more detailed — and with a real sense of depth. After viewing this, the old DVD seems way too bright by comparison. The extras — from newsreel footage of the premiere to a series of radio shows to a nice booklet on the film — really make this a premium package.
Patricia Roc and Jacques Tourneur
Then there’s the movie itself. Director Jacques Tourneur’s first Western, and his first time working in Technicolor, Canyon Passage is a big, beautiful, complex tale of the Oregon territory in 1856. Dana Andrews runs a freight business and winds up in a love triangle with Susan Hayward and Brian Donlevy — while dealing with both Indians and a positively evil Ward Bond.
Ward Bond and Dana Andrews duke it out
It’d be easy for Canyon Passage to get bogged down in melodrama, but Tourneur’s too smart for that. He treats us to incredible vistas of the Oregon locations (Crater Lake is one of them), gets top-notch performances from the entire cast and offers up a great fistfight between Andrews and Bond. Bond deserves special mention: he’s a real scumbag in this one, a sharp contrast to roles that came later like Wagon Master (1950) and The Searchers (1956).
Jacques Tourneur came to this film with some classic horror movies under his belt — Cat People (1942) and I Walked With A Zombie (1943), and he’d follow it with one of the finest noirs, Out Of The Past (1947). Tourneur’s body of work is certainly worth seeking out. Case in point: his other Westerns include Stars In My Crown (1950) and Wichita (1955).
It’s easy to recommend Canyon Passage — both the film and Panamint’s high-definition, Region B presentation of it. It takes a good thing and makes it better.
Posted in Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy, Dana Andrews, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Jacques Tourneur, Lloyd Bridges, Panamint, Pre-1950, Ward Bond on June 8, 2016| 7 Comments »
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Starring Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, Patricia Roc, Hoagy Carmichael, Ward Bond, Andy Devine, Lloyd Bridges
Here’s a good one coming from the fine folks at Panamint Cinema — Jacques Tourneur’s first Western, Canyon Passage (1946).
This has been available elsewhere for a while, but this will be a great opportunity to experience its eye-popping Technicolor in high definition.Remember what a great job Panamint did with Abilene Town (1946)? Watch for it in July. Highly recommended.
Posted in 1953, 1956, 1957, Alan Ladd, Allan Dwan, Anne Francis, Ben Johnson, Brian Donlevy, Charles Bronson, Charles Haas, Daniel B. Ullman, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Edgar Buchanan, Edwin L. Marin, Forrest Tucker, George Stevens, Jim Davis, John Agar, Kino Lorber, Leo Gordon, Lesley Selander, Lewis D. Collins, Lippert/Regal, Lloyd Bridges, Mara Corday, Olive Films, Panamint, Paramount, Peggie Castle, Pre-1950, Randolph Scott, Republic Pictures, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Boone, RKO, Robert Mitchum, Rory Calhoun, Sam Fuller, Skip Homeier, Thomas Carr, Universal (International), Warner Archive, William Claxton, William Elliott, William Witney on January 8, 2016| 28 Comments »
First, thanks to everyone who sent in their picks — we had a larger turnout this year. Your responses were very thorough, and they made it clear to me what a good year this was for 50s Westerns on DVD and Blu-ray — you brought up tons of em. Here are the Top 10, ordered by the number of votes they received.
Abilene Town (1946, Blu-ray, Panamint Cinema)
This one topped the list in a big way. I was so stoked to see this fairly obscure Randolph Scott picture rescued from the PD purgatory where it’s been rotting for years — a lot of you seemed to feel the same. Mastered from 35mm fine-grain material, it’s stunning.
Shane (1953, Blu-ray, Eureka)
The Blu-ray release from Paramount made last year’s list, and this UK release was a strong contender this time around. Eureka gives us the opportunity to see what Paramount’s controversial 1.66 cropping looked like.
The Wild Bill Elliott Western Collection (1951-54, DVD set, Warner Archive)
I’m pretty biased when it comes to this one, and I was happy to learn that others were as pleased with it as I was. One of the greatest Western stars goes out on a high note, even if it is a low-budget one.
The Quiet Gun (1956, Blu-ray, Olive Films)
It’s hard to believe this was a 2015 release, since it was on Olive Films’ coming-soon list for such a long time. These Regalscope movies look great in their original aspect ratio, and for my money, this is the best of the bunch.
Woman They Almost Lynched (1953, Blu-ray, Olive Films)
It makes me feel good to see Allan Dwan get some attention, and stellar presentations of his work, like this one, should continue to fuel his (re-)discovery.
Man With The Gun (1955, Blu-ray, Kino Lorber)
A solid Robert Mitchum Western, with the added punch of a terrific 1.85 hi-def transfer. This is a lot better movie than you probably remember it being.
Run Of The Arrow (1957, DVD, Warner Archive)
This really knocked me out — I’d somehow missed out on what a great movie this is. It took me a while to get used to Rod Steiger and his affected accent, but this is prime Sam Fuller.
The Hired Gun (1957, DVD, Warner Archive)
Black and white CinemaScope is a big attraction for me, so I’d been waiting for this one for years. It was worth the wait.
Stranger At My Door (1954, Blu-ray, Olive Films)
A really cool little movie from Republic and William Witney. It was Witney’s favorite of his own pictures, and it’s pretty easy to see why he’d be partial to it. His work here is masterful.
Star In The Dust (1956, Blu-ray, Koch)
Koch out of Germany is treating us (or those of us with a Region B player) to some great Universal 50s Westerns on Blu-ray. This one was released in Universal’s 2.0 ratio of the period. Some found it a bit tight, but it’s a gorgeous presentation of a movie not enough people have seen.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 