Posted in John Wayne, Post-1959 on July 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »
A good friend just stopped by and dropped off a really cool miniature of Davy Crockett from Conté Collectibles (called “Tennessean Swinging Rifle”) — part of their pewter Alamo set.
Another friend snapped this picture of it. (I’m blessed to know such good people.)
Below is a full-size figure that the Conté guy strongly resembles. The subject is one of Wayne’s lines from The Alamo (1960).
Posted in DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Post-1959 on June 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »
This is the wrong decade, even the wrong continent, for this blog, but we’ll let it pass.
Django (1966), Sergio Corbucci’s great Italian Western (the best not directed by Sergio Leone) is available on Blu-Ray from Blue Underground. Taken from the camera negative, this is probably as good as this thing’s ever gonna look. Which, from what I’ve heard, is very good indeed.
Posted in Audie Murphy, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Post-1959, William Witney on June 10, 2010| 5 Comments »
VCI has announced a DVD release of Apache Rifles (1964) for August 31. I mentioned this a while back, but now it’s got an official street date. (Maybe this post should be called “50s Westerns DVD News #11A.”)
Directed by William Witney and starring Audie Murphy, this is as close to a 50s Western as you can get without actually making it in the 50s. It’s a good little cavalry picture — with Whitney’s masterful handling of the action sequences.
The press release states that Apache Rifles will be anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and transferred from a 35mm negative (the color was by DeLuxe). Supplemental documentaries about Witney and Lone Pine are promised, along with a still gallery. All-Region, too.
It’s good to see a “minor” film get the A-plus treatment on DVD. I’m really looking forward to this one.
Posted in DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Paramount, Post-1959 on May 10, 2010| 10 Comments »
If not for Marlon Brando’s excesses — months turning into years of production and a budget that doubled — One-Eyed Jacks (1961) would be a shoe-in for 50 Westerns From The 50s. I may be a bit in the minority on this one, but I think it’s a great, great picture.
It’s also an endless source of geeky Hollywood trivia:
The last film released in Vistavision.
The first, and only, time Brando climbed into the director’s chair.
Stanley Kubrick left the film (and quickly ended up on Spartacus).
Rod Serling and Sam Peckinpah (both uncredited) are among the writers.
Editing took over a year.
Brando’s original cut was something like five hours long.
Even by Timothy Carey standards, Timothy Carey is over the top.
All that time, all that work, all that money — and the finished film ended up falling into the public domain. Thanks to that, One-Eyed Jacks on DVD has become an odd form of legalized gambling. You find it for a couple bucks, you buy it, and with 
your fingers crosses, plug it into your player.
And more often than not, the house wins.
I recently picked it up from Echo Bridge (right), part of a four-movie, five-dollar set. It’s the best DVD of One-Eyed Jacks I’ve seen, which sure ain’t saying much. At least it’s letterboxed. It doesn’t come close to the old laserdisc (also letterboxed), which I’m glad I hung onto. Charles Lang’s Oscar-nominated Vistavision cinematography deserves so much better than these cheeseball DVDs.
If you come across this set (mine came from Target), you might as well pick it up. Kansas Pacific (1952) and The Outlaw (1946) look pretty good. Deadly Companions (1961) is pan and scan, however.
UPDATE: A bit of news here.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 