Happy Birthday, Dean Martin.

Dean Paul Martin (Dino Paul Crocetti
(June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995)

Dean Martin was born 106 years ago today. He loved Westerns and he was good in ’em, especially playing Dude in Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959).

Happy birthday to JK, too.

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4K News #360: Rio Bravo (1959).

Directed by Howard Hawks
Starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Claud Akins, John Russell

Warner Bros. is bringing their new restoration of Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959) to 4K disc in July. Haven’t seen any info on a new DVD or Blu-Ray. This is my favorite Western and it has never been all that stellar-looking on video, so I’m really stoked about this. Hope and pray it doesn’t have that sickly yellow tint that infects so many restorations of older films lately. 

Thanks to Dick Vincent for the news.

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Blu-Ray News #347: Four Guns To The Border (1954).

Directed by Richard Carlson
Starring Rory Calhoun, Colleen Miller, George Nader, Walter Brennan, Nina Foch, John McIntire

Four Guns To The Border (1954) is an excellent 50s Western from Universal International. It’s been a hard one to track down, but our friends at Explosive Media are taking care of that.It’s coming to Blu-Ray in December.

This picture gave actor Richard Carlson one of his few directing credits. He does a tremendous job. Wish he’d done more. Four Guns To The Border has a great cast, gorgeous color and will be terrific on Blu-Ray. Can’t wait!

Thanks to John Knight for the tip!

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Jim Ridley On Rio Bravo.

Nashville Scene used to boast a film writer named Jim Ridley. He’s about my age and he passed away a few years ago. Came across a compilation of his writing over the weekend called People Only Die Of Love In The Movies. In it, there’s his short piece on Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959).

You may know by now that Rio Bravo is my favorite Western. I’m not gonna say it’s the best necessarily, but if I was headed to the electric chair and I got to watch one Western before they threw the switch, that’d be the one I’d pick (and not because of its long-ish running time).

Anyway, Mr. Ridley nailed Rio Bravo. What makes it special. What it is about it that’s so different. After reading his piece, I thought I would’ve loved to have met him for coffee or lunch somewhere just to geek out on Rio Bravo. That woulda really been something.

Here’s a couple gems from his review (from Nashville Scene, November 2, 2006):

“After the big-budget thud of Land Of The Pharaohs, Howard Hawks emerged from a three-year sabbatical, including a stay in Paris and a purposeful study of TV drama, to create his 1959 rifle opera: a laid-back yet hard-headed response to the sanctimonious High Noon — which pissed off the director because no lawman worth his badge would ask civilians to risk their hides doing his job. The result is an irresistible ode to loyalty, cool under fire and masculine honor — which in the Hawks universe extends even to Angie Dickinson’s stand-up saloon girl.”

“Perhaps the most purely enjoyable Western ever made, Rio Bravo only deepens with age and repeated viewing, right down to the genial juxtaposition of Martin’s slouch and Wayne’s saunter. It’s doubtful another American movie has ever taken so much interest in the way its characters walk — or understood why it matters.”

Mr. Ridley, I’m sure sorry we never got to talk Rio Bravo. Would’ve been a blast.

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DVD News #316: The Randolph Scott Collection.

While I was off in the mountains over Thanksgiving, with no Internet, John, Graham and an assorted cast of characters kept the lights on with a steady stream of comments. Y’all are sure something for me to be thankful for!

Anyway, one of the new released that was name-dropped was The Randolph Scott Collection from Via Vision out of Australia. It’s a pretty eclectic set, leaning towards the Harry Joe Brown pictures.

The Texans (1938)
Directed by James P. Hogan
Starring Randolph Scott, Joan Bennett, Walter Brennan
A post Civil War picture from Paramount.

When The Daltons Rode (1940)
Directed by George Marshall
Starring Randolph Scott, Kay Francis, Brian Donlevy, Broderick Crawford, Andy Devine, George Bancroft, Edgar Buchanan
About 80 minutes of nonstop action as the Daltons blast their way from one robbery to the next, with Scott a lawyer friend who tries to help out.

Corvette K-225 (1943)
Directed by Richard Rosson
Starring Randolph Scott, James Brown, Ella Raines, Barry Fitzgerald, Robert Mitchum
Howard Hawks produced this World War II picture, with Scott going after the U-boat that sank his ship and machine-gunned his crew.

Gunfighters (1947)
Directed by George Waggner
Starring Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, Bruce Cabot, Forrest Tucker
A cool Cinecolor picture produced by Harry Joe Brown.

Coroner Creek (1948)
Directed by Ray Enright
Starring Randolph Scott, Marguerite Chapman, George Macready, Edgar Buchanan, Wallace Ford , Forrest Tucker, Joe Sawyer
Ray Enright directs that spectacular cast in Cinecolor. It doesn’t get much better than that.

The Doolins Of Oklahoma (1949)
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Starring Randolph Scott, George Macready, Louise Allbritton, John Ireland , Charles Kemper, Noah Beery Jr.
This is just a terrific movie that gets everything right.

The Walking Hills (1949)
Directed by John Sturges
Starring Randolph Scott, Ella Raines, Edgar Buchanan, Arthur Kennedy, John Ireland, Josh White
A group of men head to together in search of a lost wagon train loaded down with gold. Sturges’ does a great job, and the Alabama Hills and Death Valley locations are put to good use.

Santa Fe (1951)
Directed by Irving Pichel
Starring Randolph Scott, Janis Carter
Scott’s trying to help build a railroad, with even his own brothers trying to stop him.

Most of these pictures can be found elsewhere — some even on Blu-Ray, so there’s likely some duplication with something you already have. But there’s plenty of good stuff to recommend it. Sure wish there was a Blu-Ray version available, too (especially of Doolins).

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Pre-50s Westerns Blu-Ray News #298: Blood On The Moon (1948) & Rachel And The Stranger (1948).

Warner Archive has announced Blu-Ray releases for a couple of pictures we’ve all been pining for — Robert Wise’s Blood On The Moon and Norman Foster’s Rachel And The Stranger (both 1948).

From its cast (Robert Mitchum, Charles McGraw) to its brooding tone to its cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca, Blood On The Moon is one of the best examples of film noir creeping into the Western — and a big indicator of what the 1950s had in store for the genre. It’s terrific, and I can’t wait to see it in high definition.

Rachel And The Stranger is about as far from Blood On The Moon as you can get, a lighter, sweeter film with an unbeatable cast: Loretta Young, Robert Mitchum and William Holden. It was helped along at the box office by, of all things, Robert Mitchum’s marijuana arrest. Warner Archive is promising an uncut version — Howard Hughes cut over 10 minutes out of it — with Waldo Salt’s writing credit restored. This is a big, big deal.

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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 DVD/Blu-Ray News #256: Singing Guns (1950).

Directed by R. G. Springsteen
Starring Vaughn Monroe, Ella Raines, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Jeff Corey, Barry Kelley

Kino Lorber is working on a DVD and Blu-Ray release for Singing Guns (1950), the first of two Westerns singer Vaughn Monroe made for Republic. The picture was slightly modified mid-stream to incorporate the song “Mule Train,” which became a massive hit for a slew of singers. It’s a pretty solid Republic Western — with great parts for Walter Brennan and Ward Bond.

The 4k material from Paramount for this picture is incredible — easily as good as Kino Lorber’s release of Sunset In The West (1950). Not sure what the release date is — I’m working on a commentary for it now.

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Pre-50s Westerns DVD/Blu-Ray News #222B: Dakota (1945).

Directed by Joseph Kane
Starring John Wayne, Vera Hruba Ralston, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond

Kino Lorber has announced a March 21 release date for Dakota (1945), a John Wayne Republic directed by Joe Kane. Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, Nick Stewart and Mike Mazurki round out the cast — along with Vera Ralston. It was shot by the great Jack Marta, and the special effects come courtesy of the mighty Lydecker Brothers.

The DVD and Blu-Ray will include a trailer and a commentary by some guy named Toby Roan.

UPDATE 1/4/2017: Kino Lorber has also announced an upcoming release of the Republic noir picture The Man Who Died Twice (1958), which starred Rod Cameron and Vera Ralston — and was shot in Naturama.

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Pre-50s Westerns Blu-ray News #222: Dakota (1945).

Directed by Joseph Kane
Starring John Wayne, Vera Hruba Ralston, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond

Kino Lorber has gotten hold of some of the Republic titles under Paramount’s control. They’ve announced Dakota (1945), a solid Western from Joe Kane starring John Wayne, for release before the end of the year. This could be a terrific arrangement, folks!

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