American Frontier [3 Discs]

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: All
• Number of Discs: 3
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Black and White, Color
• Features:
  • • The Gettysburg Address - Charles Laughton (Feat. Abbott & Costello)
    • Andrews' Raiders
    • Old West movie trailers

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Song - 1959 (Ned Washington, Dimitri Tiomkin)

• New York Times

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1930

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Sidney Salkow, D.W. Griffith, William A. Graham, William Cameron Menzies, Lew Ayres, R. John Hugh, Francis D. Lyon, Buzz Kulik, Richard Thorpe, Ted Tetzlaff

• Producer:

  W.R. Frank, Alfred Strauss, D.W. Griffith, Frank King, Maurice King, Nat Levine, Lawrence Edward Watkin, Nicholas Nayfack, Patrick Ford

• Screenwriter:

  Jack de Witt, Sidney Salkow, Stephen Vincent Benét, Gerrit J. Lloyd, Sidney Harmon, Philip Yordan, Karl Brown, Olive Cooper, Wallace MacDonald, Bernard Schubert, R. John Hugh, John Hugh, Lawrence Edward Watkin, Irving Ravetch

• Book Author:

  Luke Short

• Screenwriter:

  Norman Hall

• Cinematographer:

  Victor Manuel Herrera, Charles Van Enger, Karl Struss, Lionel Lindon, Jack A. Marta, Ernest W. Miller, Charles T. O'Rork, Charles P. Boyle, George Folsey, Winton Hoch, Henry Sharp

• Composer (Music Score):

  Raoul Kraushaar, Hugo Riesenfeld, Dimitri Tiomkin

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Harry Grey

• Composer (Music Score):

  Laurence Rosenthal

• Songwriter:

  Lawrence Edward Watkin

• Composer (Music Score):

  Paul J. Smith

• Songwriter:

  Stan Jones

• Composer (Music Score):

  Al Delory, Rudolph G. Kopp

• Songwriter:

  Jack Sparks

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Dimitri Tiomkin

• Songwriter:

  Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington

• Editor:

  Richard Van Enger, John W. Considine, Jr., James Smith, Hal Kern, Victor Heerman, Ralph Dixon, William A. Slade, Ellsworth Hoagland, Conrad A. Nervig, Tom McAdoo

• Production Designer:

  William Cameron Menzies

• Art Director:

  William Cameron Menzies, F. Paul Sylos, Carroll Clark, Malcolm Brown, Cedric Gibbons, Jack Okey

• Associate Producer:

  Alfred Strauss

• Set Designer:

  William Cameron Menzies, Pat Delaney, Emile Kuri

• Costume Designer:

  Chuck Keehne, Joseph Dimmitt, Walter Plunkett, C. Frank Beetson, Jr., Ann Peck

• Makeup:

  David Newell, Louis Haszillo

• Short Story Author:

  Hollister Noble, John Reese

REVIEW:

• Burt Lancaster's debut Western, Vengeance Valley is a so-so picture that has some good individual elements in it. One of these is Lancaster himself. Although he doesn't seem totally at ease in the role, he has the commanding presence that is required of this kind of film. Lancaster seems to be trying to find a way to add more depth to his part and coming up a little short, but his noble efforts in no way are damaging. Even better is Robert Walker, assaying one of his best rotten-to-the-core but able to project an amiable façade roles. The combination of friction and chemistry between the two actors is also notable. Sally Forrest and Joanne Dru also turn in good performances, if hemmed in by the lack of development in their characters. And there's some magnificent scenery, beautifully captured by cinematographer George Folsey. On the down side, Irving Ravetch's screenplay never succeeds in being as thoughtful as it seems to think it is, and much of the film gets mired down in talky scenes that don't have the desired impact. Director Richard Thorpe handles the action sequences well, but is much less successful with the dramatics of the storyline. As a result, the pacing lags and there's a noticeable lack o tension which eventually drags the film down. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi