Blu-Ray News #370: The Tin Star (1957).

Directed by Anthony Mann
Starrings Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, Betsy Palmer, Michael Ray, Neville Brand, John McIntire, Lee Van Cleef

I’m really excited to announce this one. Arrow is bringing Anthony Mann’s The Tin Star (1957) to Blu-Ray in late April, and I had the extreme honor of doing a commentary for what will certainly be an incredible disc. You should see the list of extras on this thing!

The in-progress file I worked from was unbelievable — highlighting Loyal Griggs’ remarkable B&W Vistavision cinematography. What he and Anthony Mann do with the format’s deep-focus will really knock you out.

The Tin Star doesn’t get the credit it deserves since it’s often compared to the Westerns Mann made with James Stewart. But this one more than holds its own, especially when seen in high-definition. Essential!

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Blu-Ray News #326: There Was A Crooked Man… (1970).

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn, Warren Oates, Burgess Meredith, John Randolph, Lee Grant, Arthur O’Connell, Barbara Rhoades, Alan Hale, Jr., Gene Evans

After their screenplay for Bonnie And Clyde (1967), David Newman and Robert Benton cooked up this comic, oddball Western, There Was A Crooked Man… (1970). Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz was more at home with heavy dramas, but he gives this one his all.

It’s getting a welcome Blu-Ray release from Warner Archive in June.

Kirk Douglas is his usual swaggering self, and Henry Fonda is the new warden at an Arizona prison, hoping to reform Douglas and the other assorted crooks. This came at a time when Fonda was playing around with his Western persona, appearing in pictures like Burt Kennedy’s Welcome To Hard Times (1967), Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In The West (1968), Firecreek (1968) and The Cheyenne Social Club (1970). So while this one might not be a total success, it’s certainly interesting — and that cast is terrific, a great gathering of 50s and 60s character actors. Recommended.

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Music From The Westerns Of John Wayne And John Ford.

The music label Cherry Red out of the UK has released (or is about to release) a 3-CD set Music From The Westerns Of John Wayne And John Ford. Featuring music from Stagecoach (1939), Fort Apache (1948), Three Godfathers (1948), She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Searchers (1956), Horse Soldiers (1959) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Of course, music is always a huge part of a John Ford picture, so there’s plenty of good stuff here.

Sometimes it’s the original soundtrack (Rio Grande, Horse Soldiers), sometimes it’s from other sources. You can see a track listing here. This promises to be a very cool set. Can’t wait.

Thanks to Mr. Richard Vincent for the tip.

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50s Westerns DVD News #194: Directed By John Ford (1971).

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Starring John Ford, John Wayne, James Stewart, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Harry Carey, Jr. Peter Bogdanovich, Orson Welles (narrator)

Some of my all-time favorite movie dialogue comes from this documentary.

Peter Bogdanovich: Mr. Ford, you made a picture called Three Bad Men which is a large scale western. You had a – quite elaborate land-rush in it.
John Ford: Mmm hmm.
Bogdanovich: How did you shoot that?
Ford: With a camera.

That pretty much sums up Directed By John Ford (1971). It’s a wonderful film, though I always come away from it glad I’m not Peter Bogdanovich (though I’d love to lay claim to What’s Up, Doc?). Bogdanovich’s documentary is coming to DVD from Warner Archive. If you don’t have it, you need it. (This would make a great pairing with the upcoming Blu-ray of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.)

Love that Dodgers cap! Hope they make it to the Series this year.

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TCM Alert: Warren Oates.

Turner Classic Movies is dedicating Monday, August 24 to the great Warren Oates. Beginning with Yellowstone Kelly (1959), they’re running 13 of his films, including Ride The High Country (1962) and The Wild Bunch (1969). The still above is from Welcome To Hard Times (1967). Times shown here are Eastern Standard Time.

For my money, Oates is one of the greatest screen actors to ever get in front of a camera — ever see Two Lane Blacktop (1971) or The Brinks Job (1978)? — and this attention is well deserved.

Thanks to Dick Vincent for the tip.

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RIP, Betsy Palmer.

Betsy Palmer
(November 1, 1926 – May 29, 2015)

She only made one 50s Western, and it’s a good one: Anthony Mann’s The Tin Star (1957) with Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins. She worked extensively over the course of her 50-year career — a few soaps, a regular on I’ve Got A Secret and a really good role in Mister Roberts (1955), among other things — but today she’s largely known for playing Jason Voorhees’ mom in the first two Friday The 13th films (1980 and 1981).

Seeing one obituary after another focusing on the slasher pictures (she claimed to only take the first one because she needed a new car), I decided Betsy’s lone 50s Western was worth a post. And I’m reminded that The Tin Star has received very little coverage in the blog, which needs to be rectified.

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Screening: How The West Was Won (1962) In Las Vegas, Chicago And Maybe Elsewhere.

Directed by John Ford, Henry Hathaway and George Marshall
Starring Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, Eli Wallach, John Wayne and Richard Widmark. Walter Brennan, Andy Devine, Agnes Moorehead, Russ Tamblyn, Lee Van Cleef. Narrated by Spencer Tracy.

How The West Was Won (1962), the star-studded three-strip Cinerama blockbuster, is scheduled for the Century 16 Suncoast Theater in Las Vegas, January 25 and 28. Check for other theaters in the Cinemark chain. The screen won’t be curved, but at least it’ll be bigger than your television.

Of the epic’s many segments, I’ve always felt Ford’s Civil War segment was the best thing in the picture.

Thanks to Noel for the tip.

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A 50s Western Mystery.

OK, folks, let’s see if we can sort this one out. John has written in trying to pin down a certain Western. Here’s what he wrote:

“I saw a western in the fifties as a kid that had a scene in which one of the secondary characters gets killed with a rake. You don’t see the killing, just the aftermath of a bloody rake leaning against a wall and blood on the wall. That image has stayed with me lo these many years but I cannot remember the title.”

Firecreek (1969) came to mind, but that’s the Sixties and a pitchfork. Then there’s Violent Saturday (1955). Again, a pitchfork and not a Western.

Anybody got any ideas?

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50s Westerns DVD News #154: My Darling Clementine (1946).

John Ford’s shadow hangs over the Western to a huge degree. How huge? Well, My Darling Clementine (1946) is one of the finest Westerns ever made, yet I can think of several he made that I think are better.

But who cares what I think? Criterion is giving Ford’s tale of the O.K. Corral the treatment it deserves. It’s due in October on both DVD and Blu-ray. And that’s certainly something to hoot and holler about.

Thanks to Dick Vincent for the tip.

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Anthony Mann Goes To UCLA.

Another day, another reason I’m living on the wrong end of the country. UCLA will present a very thorough Anthony Mann retrospective, covering all the noir and Westerns we know and love, at the Billy Wilder Theater starting this week. Click on Gary Cooper for details.

The 50s Westerns include:
The Furies (1950) January 31
Devil’s Doorway (1950) March 3
Winchester ’73 (1950) March 15
The Naked Spur (1953) February 9
The Far Country (1954) March 23
The Man From Laramie (1955) February 5
The Last Frontier (1956) February 21
The Tin Star (1957) March 30
Man Of The West (1958) March 30

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