Lone Texan (1959).

Directed by Paul Landres
Produced by Jack Leewood
Screenplay by James Landis & Jack Thomas
Music by Paul Dunlap
Cinematography: Walter Strenge
Film Editor: Robert Fritch

Cast: Willard Parker (Clint Banister), Grant Williams (Greg Banister), Audrey Dalton (Susan Harvey), Douglas Kennedy (Maj. Phillip Harvey), June Blair (Florrie Stuart), Dabbs Greer (Doc Jansen), Barbara Heller (Amy Todd), Rayford Barnes (Finch), Tyler McVey (Henry Biggs), Lee Farr (Riff)

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Clint Banister (Willard Parker) returns to Texas after the Civil War. Since he chose to fight for the Union instead of the Confederacy, he gets a chilly reception when he gets back his home town. He also learns that his younger brother (Grant Williams) is sheriff, and he’s running the town into the ground.

Paul Landres’ Lone Texan (1959) was the last of the Regalscope pictures. In the mid-50s, B producer Robert Lippert entered into an arrangement with 20th Century-Fox where his Regal Films, Inc. would produce a series of second features for the studio — two black and white CinemaScope pictures a month. They called the “process” Regalscope — black and white CinemaScope, nothing more. Lippert made around 50 Regalscope features between 1956 and 1959 — all of them cheap, most of them Westerns. 

These films were made in about a week, often using sets left over from other pictures. Paul Landres was quite adept at making something out of nothing, with a string of excellent B movies to prove it — The Vampire, Hell Canyon Outlaws (both 1957) and The Return Of Dracula (1958). He worked largely in TV, where his efficiency was certainly appreciated. I sure wish he’d done more features.

Director Paul Landres: “On Lone Texan, we worked on the Western street over at Fox. I had six days on this show. I had a crane and I had lots of stuff that I was doing on the crane. I shot all day on that crane and every cut, every setup was unrelated. And the producer (Richard E. Lyons), who didn’t have the greatest experience, came to me and said ‘Paul, what are you doing? I can’t follow anything!’ Well, when it all went together, it made sense. You don’t shoot in continuity, and when you’re on that crane you shoot all the crane shots you need on the Western street throughout the picture.” I’m happy to report that Lyons eventually caught on to the whole moviemaking thing, and he went on to do pictures like Ride The High Country (1962) and Coogan’s Bluff (1968).

The cinematographer on that crane was Walter Strenge, who shot a number of the Reglalscope pictures, including the first one, Stagecoach To Fury (1956), which was nominated an Oscar for best B&W cinematography. You’d never know he was working on such a tight schedule — these films look good and use lots of long takes, which are so effective in early ‘Scope movies.

Paul Dunlap scored a number of the Regalscope movies, along with lots of other B pictures. It’s a shame he’s not better known. His music adds a lot to pictures ranging from Jack Slade (1953) to The Angry Red Planet (1959). Dunlap scored bigger films every once in a while, such as Big Jim McLain (1952) and Sam Fuller’s The Naked Kiss (1964).

The lovely Audrey Dalton has already appeared in Titanic (1953), Casanova’s Big Night (1954), Drum Beat (1954) and The Monster That Challenged The World (1957). In a couple years, she’d do William Castle’s Mr. Sardonicus (1961).

Willard Parker made plenty of B movies, and he’s as good here as he ever is. Grant Williams did this one a couple years after The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), the movie he’s known for today. Douglas Kennedy and Dabbs Greer are always great to bump into. 

The Regalscope pictures are hard to see, especially if you want to see ’em in their original 2.35 Regalscope framing. Very few are out there on Blu-Ray. Lone Texan is probably one of the better ones, thanks largely to its director and cast. It’s a nice mix of a number of common 50s Western themes — post-Civil War life, the relationship between brothers, a town run by a corrupt businessman, etc. There are certainly worse ways to 70 minutes. Recommended.

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DVD News #333: Indian Uprising (1952).

Directed by Ray Nazarro
Starring George Montgomery, Audrey Long, Carl Benton Reid, Eugene Iglesias, Joe Sawyer, Douglas Kennedy, Hugh Sanders, George Chesebro, Robert J. Wilke

Critics’ Choice and Mill Creek have been quietly adding to their Critics’ Choice Collection, bringing out some cool double- and triple-featureson DVD. The George Montgomery Western Triple Feature set gives us Indian Uprising (1952), Battle At Rogue River (1954) and Masterson Of Kansas (1954). Those last two were also part of Mill Creek’s set The Fastest Guns Of The West: The William Castle Western Collection, which many of you probably already own.

While the repetition is unfortunate, it’s great to have Ray Navarro’s Indian Uprising available again. It’s a cavalry picture, shot at Corriganville, Bronson Canyon and the Iverson Ranch in Super Cinecolor by Ellis Carter. I kinda doubt these will ever make it to Blu-Ray, but the DVD transfers are top-knotch — and the price is nice, too.

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Blu-Ray News #327: Rails Into Laramie (1954).

Directed by Jesse Hibbs
Starring John Payne, Mari Blanchard, Dan Duryea, Joyce Mackenzie, Barton MacLane, James Griffith, Lee Van Cleef, Myron Healey

Universal’s German “branch” has announced an upcoming nine-movie Blu-Ray set featuring a good, but somewhat random, selection of Westerns — many available on Blu-Ray for the first time.

There are two Audie Murphy pictures, Jesse Hibbs’s Ride Clear Of Diablo (1954) and Gunpoint (1966).

Jesse Hibbs’s Rails Into Laramie (1954) is a cool, sadly under-seen 50s Western with a really terrific cast. It’s been on my Want List for quite some time. 

Also in the set are Jacques Tourneur’s Canyon Passage (1946), George Sherman’s Comanche Territory (1950), Douglas Sirk’s Taza, Son Of Cochise (1954), Smoke Signal (1955), Lonely Are The Brave (1962) and The Ride To Hangman’s Tree (1967).

While packages like this tend to lead to some duplication in your DVD/Blu-Ray collection, they offer up some really good stuff. Recommended.

Thanks to (birthday boy) John Knight for the tip!

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Blu-Ray News #274: Sitting Bull (1954).

Directed by Sidney Salkow
Starring Dale Robertson, Mary Murphy, J. Carrol Naish, John Litel, Iron Eyes Cody, John Hamilton, Douglas Kennedy

Shot in Mexico to save money, Sitting Bull (1954) was the first independent production shot in CinemaScope. As history, it’s hogwash, but as a cowboy movie, it’s pretty good — especially with that cast and with a sympathetic look at the Indians.

This picture seems to have falling into the public domain, which means we’ve been looking at terrible, pan-and-scan transfers for years. Spirit Media, from Germany, have announced a Blu-Ray release. Let’s hope it presents it the way it ought to be seen, with its CinemaScope intact and it’s Eastmancolor looking, well, as good as Eastmancolor can look. (Boy, it’s good to see somebody announcing a 50s Western on DVD or Blu-Ray.)

Thanks to John Knight for the news.

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The Lone Ranger And The Lost City Of Gold (1958).

Directed by Lesley Selander
Produced by Sherman Harris
Written by Robert Schaeffer and Eric Freiwald
Based on the Lone Ranger legend
Cinematography: Kenneth Peach
Film Editor: Robert S. Golden
Music by Les Baxter

CAST: Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger), Jay Silverheels (Tonto), Douglas Kennedy ​(​Ross Brady​)​, Charles Watts ​(​Sheriff Oscar​), ​Noreen Nash ​(​Mrs. Frances Henderson​), ​Ralph Moody ​(​Padre Esteban​), ​Lisa Montell ​(​Paviva​), ​John Miljan ​(​Chief Tomache​), ​Norman Fredric ​(​Dr. James Rolfe​), ​Maurice Jara ​(​Redbird​), ​Bill Henry ​(​Travers​), Lane Bradford ​(Henchman​)​

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I watched the Moore-Silverheels Lone Ranger features countless times as a kid (you could get complete Super 8mm prints of them) and always preferred the second one, The Lone Ranger And The Lost City Of Gold (1958). Seeing them again recently, and placing them within the context of the 50s Western as a whole, I still love them. And I’m still convinced the second one’s the best.

The Lone Ranger And The Lost City Of Gold would be the last time Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels played The Lone Ranger and Tonto. The TV series wrapped up in June of ’57, a year before this picture would open. Luckily, they were able to go out on a high note.

“Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas…”

It begins with a brief recap of The Lone Ranger origin, set to a cool song from Les Baxter (see the record above). This gives way to the prerequisite “William Tell Overture.” It’s a shame they didn’t head to the Iverson Ranch for a big-screen shot of Moore and Silver next to Lone Ranger Rock.

The plot’s a variation on a fairly common one — a group of Masked Raiders are searching for a series of medallions that reveal the location of a vast cave filled with Indian gold. The Lone Ranger and Tonto must prevent the Raiders from getting the last of the medallions and taking the treasure that belongs to the Indians.

Of course, one of the Raiders is Douglas Kennedy. It’s always a treat when he turns up in something. Ralph Moody is great as a padre. Noreen Nash is a woman in cahoots with the Raiders. Nash didn’t have a real stellar career, though she’s in an episode of The Lone Ranger, a Dragnet and the Tim Holt picture Road Agent (1952) — so who’s complaining? Lisa Montell ​plays ​Paviva​, a lovely Indian maiden. She’s a favorite of mine thanks to World Without End (1956). Then there’s a baby boy that seems to be played by a girl — given away by tiny little earrings.

Lesley Selander cranks up the action and violence a notch for The Lone Ranger And The Lost City Of Gold. As a kid, it drove me nuts that, on TV, Clayton Moore just shot the guns out of the bad guys’ hands. Here, he actually drills somebody. So does Tonto. There’s also a terrific fistfight towards the end.

Much of this was shot at Old Tucson, and it gives you a great view of the place. The climax has Moore, Silverheels, Kennedy and others sneaking around the small houses you’ve seen in all kinds of stuff. The beautiful San Xavier del Bac Mission is also featured. And while all the location work’s gorgeous and adds plenty of production value, the absence of the familiar Iverson rocks from the TV show is a bit jarring.

This picture was clearly meant for kids. But there’s something about The Lone Ranger and Tonto I find more appealing the older I get. Their friendship, their fairness and their ongoing fight for justice are things we all could use some extra exposure to. I love this movie.

The Lone Ranger And The Lost City Of Gold is pretty easy to find on DVD. The VCI release from years ago presents it in its original aspect ratio, though a non-anamorphic letterboxed version. It’s the best one around. I’d love to see both of these Moore-Silverheels features make their way to Blu-Ray.

Just realized, thanks to Bob Madison, that today is the anniversary of the first Lone Ranger radio broadcast (1933).

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DVD (Re-)Review: The Lone Gun (1954).

Directed by Ray Nazarro
Screen Play by Don Martin and Richard Schayer
Story by L.L. Foreman
Director Of Photography: Lester White
Film Editor: Buddy Small

Cast: George Montgomery (Cruze), Dorothy Malone (Charlotte Downing), Frank Faylen (Fairweather), Neville Brand (Tray Moran), Skip Homeier (Cass Downing), Douglas Kennedy (Gad Moran), Fay Roope (Mayor Booth), Douglas Fowley (Bartender), Robert J. Wilke (Hort Moran)

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I covered Lone Gun (1954) shortly after it appeared on Shout Factory’s four-movies-on-one-DVD package, Movies 4 You Western Classics. A solid George Montgomery picture, it’s worth a second look.

It’s easy to dismiss a movie like The Lone Gun as just a programmer. From its original reviews to DVD reviews, that’s the way a lot of folks have seen it. The plot’s nothing new. They were obviously working on a tight budget and short schedule. They ride past the same Iverson rocks you’ve seen in dozens of pictures like this.

But in some ways, these things that seem like liabilities are some of the key strengths of The Lone Gun. Because, interestingly, they let us see what a huge difference good writing, direction and acting can make to something familiar.

Mayor Booth (Fay Roope): “Robert Booth’s the name. I own the Malpine Hotel.”
Cruze (George Montgomery): “Mine’s Cruze. I own this shirt and those two horses out there.”

The story’s so simple. Montgomery ends up the marshal of Malpine, and he’s soon on the trail of the Moran brothers (Neville Brand, Douglas Kennedy and Robert J. Wilke), brothers/rustlers/killers/trash who are hiding their rustled cattle among the small herd of Charlotte and Cass Downing (Dorothy Malone, Skip Homeier), siblings trying to keep their small ranch afloat. Also on hand is Fairweather (Frank Faylen), a gambler who’s cleaned out the pockets of just about everybody in town — and one of Cruze’s only friends.

Glance back at that previous paragraph (above the Moran brothers), and consider those names. That’s one helluva cast, and it’s a joy to spend 74 minutes with them. Ray Nazarro is an old hand at stuff like this, and his direction is as brisk and efficient as you’d expect. Everyone else involved, from editor Buddy Small to director of photography Lester White, is up to the same high standard.

The Lone Gun is in color “by the Color Corporation Of America.” That translates to SuperCinecolor. It was shot to be projected at 1.66. The Shout Factory DVD offers pretty decent color — remember, this is SuperCineColor. It’s full frame, with plenty of that annoying dead space at the top and bottom. My TV lets me zoom it a bit to approximate the original 1.66, which looks a whole lot better.

The reason folks dismiss movies like this is often because there are so many of them. Which for those of us who can’t get enough of these things, is good news indeed. The Lone Gun, thanks largely to its cast, is one I like a lot.

Oh, and another thing. It’s original title was Adios, My Texas. If you ask me, they were wise to change it.

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