Code of the West

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The third of western hero James Warren's trio of RKO Radio vehicles, Code of the West was like its predecessors based on a story by Zane Grey. Warren plays Bob Wade, a settler on the Arizona Strip, circa 1880. Representing his fellow settlers, Wade stands up to gambling boss Carter (Raymond Burr), who knows that the railroad intends to extend through Arizona and plans to drive the homesteaders out of the territory. Likewise defying the crooked Carter is Wade's Mexican-Irish sidekick, Chito Rafferty (John Laurentz). Code of the West was previously filmed in 1925 and 1934 (the latter version, titled Home on the Range, starred Randolph Scott). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Black and White
• Features:
  • Full screen presentation
  • English 2.0 Dolby Digital
  • True stories of Zane Grey
  • Outdoor adventures with an introduction by Loren Grey
  • Fisherman's pluck
  • An american legend
  • Digitally mastered
  • Interactive menus
  • Scene selection

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       James Warren - Bob Wade
       John Laurenz - Chito
       Steve Brodie - Saunders
       Rita Lynn - Pepita
       Robert Clarke - Harry
       Carol Forman - Milly
       Harry Woods - Hatfield
       Raymond Burr - Carter
       Philip Warren - Wescott
       Emmett Lynn - Doc Quinn
       Harry Harvey - Stockton

• Director:

  William A. Berke

• Producer:

  Herman Schlom

• Screenwriter:

  Norman Houston

• Book Author:

  Zane Grey

• Cinematographer:

  Jack MacKenzie

• Songwriter:

  Harry Harris, Lew Pollack

• Composer (Music Score):

  Paul Sawtell

• Editor:

  Ernie Leadlay

REVIEW:

• It is worth noting that James Warren did not earn above-title billing in this, his last of three RKO Westerns. Warren, of course, was a replacement for the studio's resident Western hero, Tim Holt, who had been in the service since 1943 and was now filming John Ford's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). He was actually a more than adequate substitute, but he just he didn't possess Holt's boyish charms. His debut, Wanderer of the Wasteland (1946), had been rather dull. Code of the West, in contrast, proved a fine Zane Grey Western with a great villain in the very young Raymond Burr. Both Burr and Warren were tall men, the latter cast in the Gary Cooper mold, and their confrontations were the kind that kids of all ages looked for. John Laurenz replaced Richard Martin as Chito Rafferty, RKO's resident sidekick, but he did not make anyone forget the handsome Martin, and the film's best comedy lines were instead awarded to the veteran Emmett Lynn as the local doctor. Despite looking more the ideal Zane Grey hero than Tim Holt, James Warren finished his brief Western stint with this film. The embarrassing Gloria Swanson misfire Three for Bedroom C (1953) was still waiting in the wings, however. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi