50s Westerns Blu-Ray News #286: The Far Country (1954).

Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Corinne Calvet, Walter Brennan, John McIntire, Jay C. Flippen, Henry Morgan, Steve Brodie

It’s always a good day when another James Stewart/Anthony Mann movie makes its way to Blu-Ray. Arrow Academy has announced The Far Country (1954) for release this November.

The Far Country was Mann and Stewart’s fourth Western together, and it’s a good one. The cast and crew were well-acquainted and the movie feels like a well-oiled machine. Set in Alaska, though shot in Canada, the picture lets Mann and DP William H. Daniels make the most of the locale in widescreen. Speaking of widescreen, Arrow has promised to give us the movie two ways, in both 1.85 and 2.0 aspect ratios. Universal-International at this time was often using 2.0 — Man Without A Star (1955), Mole People (1956), etc.

Like the other Mann/Stewart Westerns, this one’s essential, folks.

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50s Westerns Blu-Ray News #267A: Bend Of The River (1952).

Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson, Lori Nelson, Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Royal Dano, Stepin Fetchit, Chubby Johnson

Kino Lorber has given a solid release date for their Blu-Ray of Bend Of The River (1952) — April 16, 2019.

This is the second of the Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart Westerns, and a very gorgeous thing in Technicolor. Which of the Mann-Stewart Westerns is best is a matter of personal taste, and probably a good way to get an argument going among fans of this stuff. But it’s easy to say that they’re all among the finest Westerns ever made — and absolutely essential.

Providing a commentary for this release was indeed an honor, though in retrospect, wish I’d spent more time on Julie Adams. And while I have the chance, I want to thank Glenn Erickson of cinesavant.com for his help on this one. We got a back-and-forth email thing going about Bend Of The River that really helped me pull stuff together. Thanks, Glenn.

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50s Westerns Blu-Ray News #267: Bend Of The River (1952).

Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson, Lori Nelson, Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Royal Dano, Stepin Fetchit, Chubby Johnson

The second of the Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart Westerns, and a very gorgeous thing in Technicolor, Bend Of The River (1952) is coming to Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber. I’ll be putting together a commentary for it, and I can’t tell you what an honor that is.

Which of the Mann-Stewart Westerns is best is a matter of personal taste, and probably a good way to get an argument going among fans of this stuff. But it’s easy to say that they’re all among the finest Westerns ever made — and absolutely essential.

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Now Playing, 1958.

Here are a couple of interesting movie marquees from 1958. First, Gary Cooper in Anthony Mann’s Man Of The West playing in Buenos Aires.

Next is a marquee for a theatre on a military base somewhere. Friday’s feature is Frontier Gun, a Regalscope picture with John Agar, Joyce Meadows, Barton MacLane, Robert Strauss, James H. Griffith and Morris Ankrum. It was directed by one of my favorite unsung directors, Paul Landres. On Tuesday is It! The Terror From Beyond Space, a terrific little science fiction thing starring Marshall Thompson and directed by Edward L. Cahn.

That marquee is as good a pitch for joining the military as anything I’ve ever seen. Take me back to 1958 and sign me up!

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