Directed by Henry Levin Starring Jack Palance, Anthony Perkins, Elaine Aiken, Neville Brand, Robert Middleton, Elisha Cook, Jr., Claude Akins, Lee Van Cleef Kino Lorber has announced that they are getting Henry Levin’s The Lonely Man (1957) ready for Blu-Ray. It’s a good one, a solid father-son redemption story with an excellent performance from Jack ..read more

Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1925 – May 28, 1971) Audie Murphy — the most-decorated American soldier of World War II and later a major star of 50s Westerns, was born on this day in 1925. Here he is with the lovely Felicia Farr in what has become my favorite Murphy film, Hell Bent For Leather (1960). It was the first of the Murphy pictures produced by Gordon Kay for Universal International. George Sherman directed. It boasts some really incredible Lone Pine location work, in CinemaScope and Eastman Color, from Clifford Stine. The Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber is beautiful. We all owe Audie a huge de ..read more

Directed by William Dieterle Starring Alan Ladd, Lizabeth Scott, Arthur Kennedy, John Ireland, Jeff Corey, Neville Brand Kino Lorber has announced that they’ll be bring Red Mountain (1951), starring a pre-Shane Alan Ladd, to Blu-Ray later this year. It’s another Quantrill’s Raiders story, with John Ireland as the Confederate guerrilla this time around. The plot is a stew made up of a posse, a lynch mob, Indians, a gold mine and the Civil War.  It was shot in Technicolor by the great Charles Lang, so expect a stunning Blu-Ray of this one. Recommended ..read more

Barbra Fuller (July 31, 1921 – May 15, 2024) Actress Barbra Fuller has passed away 102. Republic put her under contract in 1949 and put her in pictures like The Savage Horde (above, with Bob Steele), Rock Island Trail (1950) and Lonely Heart Bandits (all 1950). The Savage Horde, starring William Elliott, is excellent. She was on the radio soap opera One Man’s Family from 1945 till 1959 and spent the late 50s working in TV quite a bit (Perry Mason, My Three Sons, etc.). She was in a 1953 episode of Adventures Of Superman. Ms. Fuller was married to Lash La Rue for a while. Thanks to Ralph Brad ..read more

Directed by Joe Kane Starring Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Carol Hughes, the Maple City Four Over at my other blog, we’ve been really excited about what the folks at Film Masters have been up to. In addition to their line of nice restorations packed with all sorts of goodies on Blu-Ray, they’ve kicked off a run of more obscure pictures on DVD. So far, each title has been a significant improvement on anything that’s been available before. Now they’ve turned their attention to a Western, Roy Rogers’ first film as a Republic star, Under Western Stars (1938). Republic wanted to get their new sin ..read more

Directed by Sam Peckinpah Written by Rudy Wurlitzer Starring James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Barry Sullivan, Jason Robards, Slim Pickens, Bob Dylan Criterion is bringing out Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid (1973) on 4K and Blu-Ray in July. And since Peckinpah’s last Western was such a mutilated mess by the time MGM dumped it into theaters, Criterion is packing all three existing version into the set — • 50th Anniversary Release, supervised by editors Paul Seydor & Roger Spottiswoode • Sam Peckinpah’s Final Preview Cut • Original ..read more

Directed by John Ford Produced by John Ford & Merian C. Cooper Screenplay by Laurence Stallings, Frank S. Nugent & Robert Nathan Based on The Three Godfathers by Peter B. Kyne Director Of Photography: Winton Hoch, ASC Film Editor: Jack Murray Musical Score: Richard Hageman Cast: John Wayne (Robert Marmaduke Hightower), Pedro Armendáriz (Pedro Encarnación Escalante y Rocafuerte, AKA Pete), Harry Carey Jr. (William Kearney, The Abilene Kid), Mildred Natwick (Mother), Ward Bond (Sheriff Perley “Buck” Sweet), Mae Marsh (Mrs. Sweet), Jane Darwell (Miss Florie), Guy Kibbee (Judge), Hank Wo ..read more

Directed by Anthony Mann Starring Robert Taylor, Louis Calhern, Paula Raymond, Marshall Thompson, James Mitchell, Edgar Buchanan One of John Alton’s pictures making its way to Blu-Ray is a reason to celebrate — so get out the champagne, here comes Devil’s Doorway (1950) from Warner Archive.* This Anthony Mann picture — one of the first of what we’d come to label “50s Westerns” — is terrific in every possible way. Robert Taylor is great as the Indian who returns home from the Civil War with a Medal Of Honor, only to find the typical respectable townspeople (Louis Calhern is one of ’em) tryin ..read more

Today’s Opening Day for major league baseball — and the home opener for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The thing around here is to mark the first game at Dodgers Stadium with the great John Ford sporting a Dodgers cap. Let’s go Dodgers ..read more

Bob Madison’s book Tom Mix And The Wild West Christmas has been named the Spur Award Finalist for Best Juvenile Western by the Western Writers of America. Bob writes as Scott McCrea. You can get a copy here. In addition to being my friend, Bob is a huge Westerns fan and a big supporter of this blog. Congratulations, Bob ..read more