Cowboy Classics [100 Movie Pack]Cowboy Classics [100 Movie Pack]

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DVD FEATURES:
  • Number of Discs: 24
  • Screen: Black and White
  • Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
AWARDS
  • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  •     Nominated Best Color Cinematography - 1961 (Charles B. Lang)
  • Directors Guild of America
  •     Nominated Best Director - 1961 (Marlon Brando)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
REVIEWS:
  • A good cast and Joseph Kane's solid direction elevate Bad Man of Deadwood from the merely routine, as indeed was the case with many of Roy Rogers's early westerns. The hayseed crooner later allowed music and production numbers to take center stage -- much to the chagrin, one would expect, of action fans everywhere -- but in 1941, guns were still blazing and fist were flying everywhere. George "Gabby" Hayes remains his old reliable self as well and is ably supported by peppy Sally Payne, B-Western history's sole female sidekick. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • Although more variety show than B-Western, Git Along Little Dogies does have beautiful Kernville location photography and an especially slimy villain in former leading man Weldon Heyburn. Action fans, however, may be greatly dismayed by a prolonged radio broadcast involving such weird Depression era acts as Will & Gladys Ahern and the Maple City Four, not to mention The Cabin Kids, an African-American harmony group featuring a young lad more intent on fidgeting than joining an otherwise heartfelt rendition of "After You're Gone" -- much to the uninhibited amusement of Gene Autry and leading lady Judith Allen. The latter, a Joan Crawford look-alike, is fine as the story's irrepressible heroine even if she does seem slightly out of place among the sagebrush. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • An extremely entertaining Gene Autry Western, Boots and Saddles goes a long way to explain the "Autry phenomenon, " a Depression-era quirk that tends to puzzle many a modern viewer. As opposed to the majority of low-budget oaters, this fast-paced Autry effort simply has everything -- good songs, including Autry's own "Give Me My Boots and Saddles"; eye-popping stunts, such as a branch-snapping "mistake" that turns out to be an indigenous method of disabling two henchmen in one fell swoop; and best of all, true comedy, not the usual sidekick routines that tended to bring a B-Western to a screeching halt. In one hilarious scene, Autry, William Elliott, and Guy Usher deliver their lines at the top of their lungs after Gene has been convinced by a duplicitous Judith Allen that her father, the colonel, is hard of hearing. Autry even takes a pratfall or two! Boy violinist Ra Hould later changed his name to Ronald Sinclair and became a film editor for low-budget producer/director Roger Corman. A Freddie Bartholomew type with a penchant for stuffiness, even Hould is fairly tolerable here. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • Aside from the presence of Rita Hayworth, Hit the Saddle is hardly earthshaking, what with a plot told many times before -- a wild stallion falsely accused of murder -- and a villain, whose identity should be obvious to anyone who has ever seen a Hollywood sagebrush tale. But Republic Pictures' original Mesqueteers -- Robert Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Max Terhune -- are so engaging and the production so well assembled that a good time should be had by all. Add to that a surprisingly serious discussion about the rights of animals and you have more interesting B-Westerns of its day. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • As the future would prove beyond anyone's wildest dreams, the teaming of Roy Rogers and George "Gabby" Hayes proved felicitous. Hayes, who had been corralled by Republic from Harry Sherman's "Hopalong Cassidy" westerns, added some good, old-fashioned comedy relief to the Rogers oaters and his popularity with the small fry helped immeasurably to move the still neophyte singing cowboy into the upper echelon of B-Western performers. While perhaps not the best of Roy's early "historical" westerns, Southwest Ho remains a fast-paced, well-acted action adventure which, in addition to Hayes, also benefits from the presence of the always competent Mary Hart. Beginning her career as Lynn Roberts, the brunette performer later became Lynne Roberts and went on to co-star in a total of 19 B-Westerns for Republic Pictures alone. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • For once in a Gene Autry oater, there is actually more rootin' and tootin' than rhythm. The film Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm commences with the obligatory songs in the introduction and then gets down to business. Business that is by no means unusual or in any way startling, but satisfying nonetheless. The highlight: Smiley Burnette incapacitating a whole gaggle of infuriated ranchers by blowing sneezing powder at them. This time, Burnette even gets a love interest of his very own, a statuesque blonde named Ann Pendleton. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • "He's the meanest, stubbornnest, most conceited, high-hat dude tenderfoot I've ever seen," Irene Hervey says of George O'Brien in The Dude Ranger, "but how he can kiss!" And that's the kind of Western this Zane Grey adaptation is: more talk -- and some of it quite amusing -- than action. There is the Utah desert scenery of course but Hervey, who appeared "by arrangement with MGM," and most of the supporting cast seem more at home in drawing rooms. And that is where director Edward F. Cline keeps them most of the time, playing out a sort of prairie version of The Taming of the Shrew. With that kind of sophistication, there isn't much LeRoy Mason and his cutthroats can do, other than stay back and listen to the barbs fly. Sol Lesser used the Zane Grey connection and threw out the rest in the 1937 Smith Ballew opus Roll Along Cowboy, which is sometimes listed as a remake but isn't. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • "If you want to serve that warrant, you will have to do it in hell!" Charles Middleton hisses right before he steps off a steep cliff to his death. Needless to say, the triumphant final statement is followed by an insane laugh worthy of one of the screen's best villains. The future Ming the Merciless of Flash Gordon fame rather steals the show with an alternately restrained and deliciously ripe performance, but Mystery Ranch offers several other pleasures, including first-rate photography by the reliable Joseph August, and a fine evocative score by, among others, Dr. Hugo Friedhofer. Mystery Ranch was based on The Killer, a 1920 novel by Steward Edward White, which had been filmed under that title in 1921 starring Jack Conway, and, in the title role, Frank Campeau. The remake, however, remains a prime example of that popular subgenre of the early '30s, the haunted house Western. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • In his final Western for low-budget Diversion Pictures, veteran cowboy ace Hoot Gibson plays a pony express rider who discovers that his worst enemy is his own long-lost brother. As a child, Clint Knox (Jerry Tucker) and his mother Martha (Nina Guilbert) escaped a gang of bandits who killed Mr. Knox Steve Clark and abducted Clint's brother Asa (Barry Downing). Eleven years later, Clint (now Gibson) rescues Martha and pretty Mary Chrisman (Marion Shilling) from being ambushed by Ace (Rex Lease), a notorious highwayman. A gunfight ensues and Clint's life is saved when his pocket bible stops one of Ace's bullet. But when Ace, now Clint's prisoner, recites an illegible inscription in the book, Clint realizes that he is his brother. At the trial, Clint successfully convinces the jury to acquit Ace because of the young man's harsh upbringing in the hands of his kidnappers. Despite a meager budget, hit-and-miss direction from Harry L. Fraser and a hero no longer in the bloom of youth, Cavalcade of the West remains an enjoyable B-Western and a worthy conclusion to Gibson's long starring career. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • In its own low budget way, Colorado Sundown has it all: pleasant songs sung by star Rex Allen, one of the best in the genre; an above-average "good cop, bad cop" team of villains in June Vincent and former stuntman Fred Graham; arguably the best natural B-Western sidekick of all times in the delightful Slim Pickens; great additional humor provided by African-American actress Louise Beavers, as heroine Mary Ellen Kay's companion; and the accustomed fight scenes, runaway stages and assorted other mayhem typical of the producer, Republic Pictures, even at this late stage in the game. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • It is, of course, great fun to see Gene Autry and Roy Rogers square off against each other, but their early scenes together are not The Old Corral's only positives. Milburn Morante, a veteran silent screen comedian who was rarely very funny, is actually amusing this time around as a farmer with car troubles, and Lon Chaney Jr., never one of the most subtle of actors, is well cast as the villain's lumbering henchman. Better-than-average leading lady Hope Manning later signed with Warner Bros., changed her name to Irene Manning and starred as Fay Templeton opposite James Cagney's George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). In addition to the little Western's other pleasures, The Old Corral is probably the only chance to see silent screen cowboy star Buddy Roosevelt playing a tuxedo-clad mobster. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • Ken Maynard's famous horse Tarzan performs his usual tricks in The Lone Avenger -- including untying his master when Ken is in danger of being lynched -- and villain Al Bridge is his snarling self as well. The real surprise here is inveterate Bad Guys Charles King and Edward Brady, who, for once, are on the side of the angels as roughhewn but good-natured brothers Nip and Tuck Hawkes. Their names alone ought to have insured them future appearances in KBS Westerns but harried producer E.W. Hammons, who probably had his hands full handling the often temperamental Maynard, failed to follow up a promising bit of teamwork. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • Often described by director Martin Scorsese as his favorite Western, Marlon Brando's only foray into directing resulted in one of the most interesting films in the genre. Brando plays an outlaw abandoned on a Mexican mountainside by his partner Karl Malden, while escaping from a posse. After doing a five-year hitch in a Mexican prison, Brando goes looking for revenge. A film whose troubled production history included contributions by Sam Peckinpah and Stanley Kubrick, in many ways it's a precursor to the operatic, slow-motion oaters of Sergio Leone. Basically a standard Western, it's raised a few notches by a great performance from Brando, who is given all he can handle by a memorably sadistic Malden. The pace of the scenes is undeniably slow, and one's enjoyment of the film probably depends on the extent to which viewers find Brando's myriad expressions of slow-burning rage compelling. Either Brando has an excellent eye or he was lucky in his choice of cinematographer Charles Lang, because the photography of Monterey, the Sierras, and the Mexican coastline is spectacular. Katy Jurado, Slim Pickens, Ben Johnson, and the always disturbed Timothy Carey round out the colorful cast. ~ Michael Costello, Rovi
  • Overly complicated for a low-budget Western running a scant 60 minutes or so, Between Men is saved by several unusually good performances. Veteran silent screen hero William Farnum, for example, is excellent as the wanted John Wellington and Earl Dwire makes his villain not only despicable but downright frightening at times. Although ostensibly produced mainly for children and the young at heart, Between Men contains a rather alarming scene where two henchmen (Francis Walker and Artie Ortego) attempt to rape the leading lady! ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • Roy Rogers positively glows in this rousing action-thriller, which is really a Western only by a nip and a tuck, and in places has much more in common with the very best of the studio's cliffhanging serials. Nazi saboteurs appeared frequently, if rather incongruously, on the Hollywood prairie during World War II, but as played by Gerald Mohr (whose pencil-thin mustache immediately gives him away) and James Bush, they actually fit in nicely this time around. Smiley Burnette was inherited from the disbanded Gene Autry unit at Republic, but although usually strictly a matter of taste, the hayseed comedian does good work in King of the Cowboys. As do Dorothea Kent, a tough-looking, tough-talking blonde rarely seen in such rural surroundings, and heroine Peggy Moran. The latter discovered that she was pregnant during the making of this film and retired for good soon after, a loss for Hollywood in general if not, perhaps, for her husband, Universal director Henry Koster. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • The Naked Hills is a pretty poor little Western, and that's all the more regrettable because in one respect it is a very unusual Hollywood film: the hero is an utter failure. And not just any failure, but one whose obsessions causes him to waste his entire life, and the lives of his family which he has abandoned. This is absolutely terrific fodder for an insightful, introspective character study. Unfortunately, the filmmaker -- writer/producer/director Josef Shaftel - doesn't bother to make much use of this. He doesn'treally delve into what makes a man spend not just years but whole decades doggedly in pursuit of a dream that will never come true. Instead, he focuses on all the typical cliches one associates with a Western, especially one dealing with gold prospecting. One keeps waiting for something fresh or new, but it never comes. If the screenplay represents a missed and botched opportunity, it at least gives that fine actor David Wayne a shot at a rare leading role. He does as well as can be expected under the circumstances, but he's not able to overcome the limitations of the screenplay. Keenan Wynn and Jim backus add a little spark as some claim jumpers, and it's a pleasure to hear James Barton singing the title song, but otherwise there's not a lot to recommend here. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
  • There's not a lot that stands out about New Mexico, a fairly standard cavalry-Indians type of Western. However, it is worth noting that, for a film made in 1951, there's more violence than one usually encounters in such films. New Mexico is at its best during its action sequences, when Irving G. Reis' direction is at its most assured. While these are not among the great fight scenes of all time, they are handled with a definite flair and pack a very decent degree of excitement and thrills. In between these scenes, unfortunately, there's a conventional script with unoriginal dialogue and stereotyped characters to contend with. Fortunately, Reis has at his command a good, if not stellar, line-up of actors. Lew Ayres does extremely well as the lead, especially considering that the part is not as developed as he makes on believe it is. He gets able support from lovely Marilyn Maxwell, as well as the dependable Raymond Burr and Andy Devine, among others. Throw in some nice color photography, and the end result is passable if unexceptional. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
  • The stuffed dummies aren't the only incongruous ingredients in this obscure Western, whose leading lady, Margaret Nearing, performs a wild tap dance in a saloon scene. A former child dancer/singer, Nearing was one of the girls cavorting on an airplane wing in Flying Down to Rio (1933) and had appeared in the "March of the Wooden Soldiers" segment in Babes in Toyland (1934). Fast Bullets seems to have been her only straight acting job, if you could call it that. Tom Tyler, meanwhile, is his stalwart self, but is once again defeated by producer Harry S. Webb's budget restraints. Webb also directed under his usual pseudonym of Henri Samuels. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • "This is a free country," Tex Ritter explains in the morale-boosting Gangsters of the Frontier, "where nobody can set themselves up as absolute ruler and force other people to do their bidding." Ritter, of course, is not so much speaking to his fellow rangers or the resilient pioneers of 1880 as he is addressing a 1944 audience locked in mortal battle at the time with exactly such a ruler. "As our country grows more and more you'll find men and women working and fighting side by side," our hero goes on, not overlooking the important distaff side of the war effort. Presumably, Rosie the Riveter and her many sisters got the message. But the good intentions of films like Gangsters of the Frontier were unfortunately muddled by PRC's usual slapdash production methods and although it certainly is noisy, this entry in the studio's low budget answer to Republic's "Three Mesqueteers" series falls slightly short of what could reasonably be demanded of professional filmmaking. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • Well-written by the veteran William Nolte, and acted by a generally competent cast, Big Boy Rides Again was soundly defeated by Gower Gulch entrepreneur Arthur Alexander's slipshod production methods and Al Herman's typically stoic direction. The film's title to the contrary, star Guinn "Big Boy" Williams is never referred to as "Big Boy" in the film but always as plain "Tom." Incidentally, there never was a "Big Boy Rides." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
  • Winds of the Wasteland is a vast step up from John Wayne's earlier "Lone Star" Westerns in both production values and execution, and though former actor Mack V. Wright may not have been the most visionary of directors, the climactic stagecoach race, as staged by stunt expert Yakima Canutt, remains an exciting harbinger of what Republic Pictures would accomplish in the very near future. John Wayne himself is still a bit wet behind the ears, acting wise, but the supporting cast is uniformly good and the Sacramento Valley locations refreshingly different from the well-traveled Lone Pine vistas. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

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