Came across this ad for Stars In My Crown (1950) and thought I’d share it.
Archive for the ‘Joel McCrea’ Category
“Hello, Folks…”
Posted in 1950, Ads, posters & art, Jacques Tourneur, Joel McCrea, MGM on March 8, 2023| 11 Comments »
DVD/Blu-Ray News #352: Border River (1954).
Posted in 1954, DVD/Blu-Ray News, George Sherman, Joel McCrea, Kino Lorber, Universal (International) on January 1, 2023| 37 Comments »
Directed by George Sherman
Starring Joel McCrea, Yvonne De Carlo, Pedro Armendáriz
Kino Lorber has announced Border River (1954) for DVD and Blu-Ray release in March of 2023. This year’s getting off to a pretty good start already, especially for me — I get to do a commentary for it!
This is the next-to-last of Joel McCrea’s six Westerns for Universal International, released from 1950 to 1954. It’s got a great cast, featuring Yvonne De Carlo, Pedro Armendáriz and the wonderful Mexican character actors Alfonso Bedoya and Nacho Galindo. George Wallace, Commando Cody himself, is in it, too.
It’s directed by George Sherman, so you know you’re in for a good ride. Highly recommended!
RIP, L.Q. Jones.
Posted in Audie Murphy, Budd Boetticher, Joel McCrea, LQ Jones, Randolph Scott, Sam Peckinpah on July 10, 2022| 16 Comments »
L. Q. Jones (Justus Ellis McQueen, Jr.)
(August 19, 1927 – July 9, 2022)
The great Western character actor L.Q. Jones has passed away at 94.
His real name was Justus Ellis McQueen, Jr., but for the screen, he took his name from his first picture, Battle Cry (1955).
Jones worked with some of the greats of 50s Westerns: Randolph Scott (1958’s Buchanan Rides Alone, above), Joel McCrea and Audie Murphy. Sam Peckinpah made him a member of his stock company, casting Jones in five of his films. He stayed extremely busy on TV, often in Westerns, throughout the 60s and 70s. And he wrote, produced and directed the 1975 science fiction film A Boy And His Dog.
He was a great storyteller, as the many YouTube videos of him will prove. 
L.Q. is T.C., the bad guy on the far right, in this promo still from Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969). He became close friends with Strother Martin (upper left).
RIP, Joan Weldon.
Posted in 1953, 3-D, Andre de Toth, Columbia, Fred MacMurray, Gordon Douglas, Guy Madison, Harry Keller, Joan Weldon, Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Warner Bros. on March 5, 2021| 8 Comments »
Joan Weldon
(August 5, 1930 – February 11, 2021)
Joan Weldon, a lovely actress who appeared in some terrific pictures in the 50s, has passed away at 90.
She appeared with Randolph Scott in two Westerns, The Stranger Wore A Gun (1953) and Riding Shotgun (1954), both directed by Andre de Toth, along with The Command (1954) with Guy Madison, Gunsight Ridge (1957) with Joel McCrea and Day Of The Badman (1958) with Fred MacMurray. But the big one, the one she’s known for, is Gordon Douglas’s great giant ant picture Them! (1954).
She was quote a singer and did a lot of musical theater, including appearing with Forrest Tucker in The Music Man.
Blu-Ray News #320: Union Pacific (1939).
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.
Happy Birthday, Joel McCrea.
Posted in 1957, Joel McCrea on November 5, 2020| 3 Comments »
Joel McCrea
November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990
Let’s remember the great Joel McCrea on what would’ve been his 115th birthday. He’s seen here in The Tall Stranger (1957).
Blu-Ray News #300: Western Classics I.
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!
Happy Birthday, Roy Rogers.
Posted in Joel McCrea, Roy Rogers on November 5, 2019| 9 Comments »
Roy Rogers
November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998
Roy Rogers — the King Of The Cowboys, was born 108 years ago today.
So was the great Joel McCrea. Quite a day.
Thanks to Bob Madison for the reminder!
50s Westerns Blu-Ray Want List.
Posted in Allan Dwan, Andre de Toth, Anthony Mann, Audie Murphy, Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Ben Johnson, Budd Boetticher, Burt Kennedy, Clayton Moore, Clint Walker, Dale Evans, Dale Robertson, Delmer Daves, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Frank Ferguson, Fred F. Sears, George Montgomery, George Sherman, Glenn Ford, Gordon Douglas, Guy Madison, Hank Worden, Jack Arnold, Jacques Tourneur, James Coburn, James H. Griffith, Jay Silverheels, Jeff Chandler, Joel McCrea, John Ford, John McIntire, John Payne, John Sturges, John Wayne, Julie Adams, Kirk Douglas, Lesley Selander, Lippert/Regal, Mara Corday, Marie Windsor, Paul Landres, Phil Karlson, Randolph Scott, Ray Nazarro, Republic Pictures, Richard Widmark, Robert Mitchum, Rory Calhoun, Roy Rogers, Sam Katzman, Sam Peckinpah, Sterling Hayden, The Lone Ranger, Universal (International), William Castle, William Elliott, Yvonne DeCarlo, Zachary Scott on September 4, 2019| 22 Comments »
A while back, I asked for Want Lists of the 50s Westerns still lost on the high-def trail. Here they are, presented in chronological order. The titles in bold are the ones that were brought up most frequently.
With the recent news about Fox/Disney’s lack of interest in their back catalogs appearing on shiny silver circles, getting this finished and posted seemed very timely. Many of these, mind you, haven’t even turned up on DVD yet.
The Virginian (1946)
Albuquerque (1948)
Coroner Creek (1948)
Whispering Smith (1948)
3 Godfathers (1949)
Colorado Territory (1949)
Hellfire (1949)
Streets Of Laredo (1949)
Ambush (1950)
Branded (1950)
Devil’s Doorway (1950)
The Nevadan (1950)
Saddle Tramp (1950)
Short Grass (1950)
Showdown (1950)
Trail Of Robin Hood (1950)
Across The Wide Missouri (1951)
Along The Great Divide (1951)
Apache Drums (1951)
Best Of The Badmen (1951)
The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Inside Straight (1951)
Man In The Saddle (1951)
Red Mountain (1951)
The Redhead And The Cowboy (1951)
The Secret Of Convict Lake (1951)
The Texas Rangers (1951)
Westward The Women (1951)
Vengeance Valley (1951)
Warpath (1951)
The Big Sky (1952)
Bugles In The Afternoon (1952)
Hangman’s Knot (1952)
The Lawless Breed (1952)
The Lusty Men (1952)
The Naked Spur (1952)
Ride The Man Down (1952)
The Savage (1952)
The Story Of Will Rogers (1952)
Untamed Frontier (1952)
Ambush At Tomahawk Gap (1953)
Charge At Feather River (1953)
City Of Bad Men (1953)
Devil’s Canyon {1953)
Escape From Fort Bravo (1953)
The Great Sioux Uprising (1953)
Jack McCall, Desperado (1953)
Last Of The Comanches (1953)
The Last Posse (1953)
The Silver Whip (1953)
The Stranger Wore A Gun (1953)
Wings Of The Hawk (1953)
Tumbleweed (1953)
Apache (1954)
The Bounty Hunter (1954)
Cattle Queen Of Montana (1954)
The Command (1954)
Dawn At Socorro (1954)
The Law Vs. Billy The Kid (1954)
The Outcast (1954)
Ride Clear Of Diablo (1954)
Silver Lode (1954)
Wyoming Renegades (1954)
The Yellow Tomahawk (1954)
At Gunpoint (1955)
Chief Crazy Horse (1955)
The Last Frontier (1955)
The Man From Bitter Ridge (1955)
Shotgun (1955)
Smoke Signal (1955)
Tennessee’s Partner (1955)
The Violent Men (1955)
Wichita (1955)
Backlash (1956)
Dakota Incident (1956)
Fastest Gun Alive (1956)
Fury At Gunsight Pass (1956)
Great Day In The Morning (1956)
The Last Wagon (1956)
The Lone Ranger (1956)
The Maverick Queen (1956)
Reprisal! (1956)
Seven Men From Now (1956)
Stagecoach To Fury (1956)
Tribute To A Bad Man (1956)
Copper Sky (1957)
Domino Kid (1957)
Dragoon Wells Massacre (1957)
Hell Canyon Outlaws (1957)
From Hell To Texas (1958)
Frontier Gun (1958)
The Lone Ranger And The Lost City Of Gold (1958)
Face Of A Fugitive (1959)
Last Train From Gun Hill (1959)
No Name On The Bullet (1959)
Thunder In The Sun (1959)
Yellowstone Kelly (1959)
The Alamo (1960)
Hell Bent For Leather (1960)
Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
Firecreek (1968)
Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid (1973)
As this was being compiled, a few titles actually made their way to Blu-Ray, one of them being the exquisite new Wagon Master (1950) from Warner Archive.
RIP, Nancy Gates.
Posted in 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, Budd Boetticher, Jacques Tourneur, Joel McCrea, Nancy Gates, Randolph Scott, RKO, Tim Holt, William Castle on April 14, 2019| 6 Comments »
Nancy Gates
(February 1, 1926 – March 24, 2019)
Nancy Gates has passed away at 93. She was from Dallas, signed with RKO at just 15, and made some really good movies before retiring in 1969 to concentrate on her family.
She was particularly strong in Westerns such as Masterson Of Kansas (1954), Stranger On Horseback (1955), The Brass Legend (1956), The Rawhide Trail (1958), The Gunfight At Dodge City (1959) and Comanche Station (1960). Her other pictures include Hitler’s Children (1943), At Sword’s Point (1952), Suddenly (1954), World Without End (1956) and Some Came Running (1958). She was busy on TV, too, with everything from Maverick and Wagon Train to Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Perry Mason.
Around here, we’ll probably always remember her as Mrs. Lowe in Comanche Station. She’s really terrific in that one.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 