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Obviously it wasn’t by design, but the early-1950s renewal of the western genre, aided in large part by the success of Winchester ’73, which heralded a career second act for both its director, Anthony Mann, and its star, James Stewart, was answered in other quarters of the industry by multiple endeavors to take the once disreputable genre, previously dismissed as Roy Rogers/Saturday-matinee bunkum, all the way into the hallowed halls of state-sanctioned, capital-a art. And, as it happened, the two westerns that made a big runner-up showing at the 1952 and 1953 Oscars, High Noon and Shane, respectively, also served, by virtue of holding what wide swaths of the future cinephile demographic would come to view as Vichy letters of transit, as high-value targets for skeptics of the official cultural narrative.

These auteurist critics and film buffs, whose philosophy acquired definite contours some 10-odd years later, observed a different watershed moment: Rio Bravo.

Throughout his acting career, Elvis Presley starred in 31 feature films. However, only one role didn’t require him to sing on-screen. To some fans, it was his best-acted of all. During which one of Presley’s films was the king of rock and roll at his most convincing?

Elvis Presley starred in the 1969 feature film ‘Charro!’ | Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images Elvis Presley broke free from musicals with a serious role in a 1969 Western

In 1969, sandwiched between Stay Away Joe and The Trouble With Joe, was Charro! In an attempt to demonstrate that Elvis Presley could be a serious actor, he played the title role in this Western film.

It departed from Presley’s typical musical films, as it was a serious feature with no singing performances by Presley’s character. In Charro!, Elvis Presley portrays Jess Wade, a former outlaw trying to leave his criminal past behind.

The...

Each Gunsmoke episode aimed to transport its audience into Dodge City along with its vibrant, likable cast of adult Western characters. However, it wasn’t always the same set that viewers became familiar with that established the territory that U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon sought to maintain justice in. Gunsmoke Season 1 Episode 26 looked quite different due to a history that placed it ahead of the pilot.

‘Gunsmoke’ Season 1 Episode 26 was the real pilot James Arness as Matt Dillon | CBS via Getty Images

According to IMDb, Gunsmoke Season 1 Episode 26 was actually the first episode ever shot, intended to be the pilot. It was shown as the 26th segment of the first season, but “Matt Gets It” aired as the pilot on Sept. 10, 1955.

The Charles Marquis Warren-directed Gunsmoke pilot followed James Arness’ Matt after taking a nearly-fatal wound in pursuit of a skillful gunman named Dan Grat (Paul Richards). Doc Adams...

James Douglass West, who worked as a child actor alongside Roddy McDowall and Natalie Wood and spent a decade as a writer on Lassie, has died. He was 93.

West died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Studio City, his son, Daniel West, told The Hollywood Reporter.

For the big screen, West penned the original screenplay for the musical Hey Boy! Hey Girl! (1959), starring married couple Keely Smith and Louis Prima, and wrote California (1963), a Western starring Jock Mahoney.

West served for about a year as a story editor for writer-producer Charles Marquis Warren on NBC’s The Virginian, then joined the writing staff of CBS’ Lassie in 1963.

He was on the job during the 1964-65 season when the collie’s family (played by June Lockhart, Hugh Reilly and Jon Provost) move to Australia and Lassie gets paired with a Forest Service Ranger portrayed by Robert Bray.

Campbell Soup,...

Gunsmoke actor James Arness had quite the journey playing U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon over the course of the Western television series. It embraced adult themes, but it didn’t necessarily alienate younger audiences, either. The Western show developed a loyal fan base that continue to watch it long after it left the air. In the early days, Matt slapped another character in the face for the first time in a truly memorable scene involving an intense confrontation.

‘Gunsmoke’ lead Matt Dillon turned to violence when necessary James Arness as U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon | CBS via Getty Images

Unlike some later additions to Gunsmoke, Matt originated from the classic 1952 radio show. Arness was brought on board to play the iconic character from the first episode. Other original characters included Amanda Blake as Miss Kitty Russell, Milburn Stone as Doc Adams, and Dennis Weaver as Chester Goode. However, the television...

Gunsmoke pulled inspiration from the original radio show on which it’s based. However, the writers also pulled from outside influences to push the Western television genre forward for audiences across the country. Gunsmoke Season 1 Episode 13 has the title “Reed Survives,” which comes from a Bible verse, providing additional meaning to the story and its characters in its early years.

‘Gunsmoke’ gave meaning to the adult Western genre James Arness as Matt Dillon | CBS via Getty Images

Gunsmoke originally had its premiere on the radio in 1952 before Charles Marquis Warren adapted it into a television show in 1955. However, the creatives wanted to ensure that they avoided the Western tropes that plagued many television storytellings at the time. As a result, Gunsmoke became the successful adult Western that it dreamed to become.

James Arness’ lead character, U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon, offered a twist to the Western hero. He only turned...

Gunsmoke was one of the most popular television shows ever to hit the air. The network, CBS, knew what it had on its hands after its 1955 premiere and milked it for 20 seasons before suddenly canceling it in 1975. The Western genre later died off, as its wave of popularity never quite returned to form. Here’s a list of five other vintage television shows to dig into if Gunsmoke was your jam.

L-r: Milburn Stone as Doc Adams, James Arness as Matt Dillon, Amanda Blake as Kitty Russell, and Ken Curtis as Festus Haggen | CBS via Getty Images ‘Bonanza’ (1959-1973) L-r: Dan Blocker as Eric ‘Hoss’ Cartwright, Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright, Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright, and Michael Landon as Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Bonanza first hit the air in 1959, a few years after Gunsmoke first established its legs among Western shows. The story follows...

Gunsmoke became one of the most popular television shows of all time. The adult Western captured the hearts of people around the world thanks to its endearing cast of vibrant characters, as well as the world it built with Dodge City. However, the production didn’t forget its roots. The Gunsmoke series premiere had an Easter egg seen in the background that tipped its hat back at the original radio show.

‘Gunsmoke’ Season 1 Episode 1 pits Matt Dillon against Dan Grat L-r: James Arness as Matt Dillon and Ben Cooper as Breck Taylor | CBS via Getty Images

Gunsmoke Season 1 Episode 1, titled “Matt Gets It,” first aired on CBS on Sept. 10, 1955. Charles Marquis Warren developed the show for television, but his involvement didn’t end there. He also directed and wrote the screenplay for the pilot.

U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) gets badly wounded when he’s trying to arrest...

It’s a collection of 6 — count ’em Six — horror and sci-fi curiosities from the ’40s and ’50s, aimed straight at covetous fantasy film addicts. Wacky scripts, strange characterizations and poverty row production values are on view, but the fine transfers reveal professional cinematography and occasional impressive direction. The films are definitely of their time — the censor-inhibited 1940s pictures rely on spooky situations because they can’t show blood or too much violence. And a pair of low-end B&w ‘scope thrillers from the ‘fifties drive-in era do more with less, cutting corners in interesting ways. Viavision anoints the shows with expert commentaries and a couple of real surprises: an entire extra feature and a rare 1950s TV show.

Silver Screams Cinema

Region-Free Blu-ray

Return of the Ape Man, The Phantom Speaks, The Vampire’s Ghost, Valley of the Zombies, She Devil, The Unknown Terror

Viavision [Imprint] 54, 55, 56

1944-1957 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen...

Raymond Massey ca. 1940. Raymond Massey movies: From Lincoln to Boris Karloff Though hardly remembered today, the Toronto-born Raymond Massey was a top supporting player – and sometime lead – in both British and American movies from the early '30s all the way to the early '60s. During that period, Massey was featured in nearly 50 films. Turner Classic Movies generally selects the same old MGM / Rko / Warner Bros. stars for its annual “Summer Under the Stars” series. For that reason, it's great to see someone like Raymond Massey – who was with Warners in the '40s – be the focus of a whole day: Sat., Aug. 8, '15. (See TCM's Raymond Massey movie schedule further below.) Admittedly, despite his prestige – his stage credits included the title role in the short-lived 1931 Broadway production of Hamlet – the quality of Massey's performances varied wildly. Sometimes he could be quite effective; most of the time, however, he was an unabashed scenery chewer,...

By Darren Allison, Cinema Retro Soundtrack Editor

When considering the scores for movie Westerns, film music collectors often refer to classics such as Max Steiner's The Searchers, Dimitri Tiomkin's Rio Bravo or Victor Young's Shane, all of which are, of course, fabulous scores. Monstrous Movie Music have again, (and in keeping with their refreshing style), ventured into new territories with the release of Paul Dunlap’s Western score to Hellgate (1952) (Mmm-1972). Rather surprisingly, this CD marks the first full release to feature Dunlap’s film music. The composer was incredibly prolific throughout his career scoring diverse projects which spanned from many of The Three Stooges movies to the cult classic Aip horrors including the Teenage Frankenstein/Werewolf series of films. For a B movie western, there was something a little different about Hellgate – it was really rather good! Hellgate was directed by Charles Marquis Warren, a tough...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Vci Entertainment have released the 1952 B Western Hellgate as a burn-to-order DVD. Viewing it is a worthy experience, as this film is representative of so many fine features that have largely been lost to time. Sterling Hayden plays Gil Hanley, a quiet veterinarian living in post-Civil War Kansas. The place had been terrorized during the war by marauding parties of renegades fighting on both sides. These raiders often killed and tortured indiscriminately (see The Outlaw Josey Wales). With the war over for two years, the U.S. Army is trying to track down these criminals and bring them to justice. Hanley's life changes for the worse when he treats an escaped criminal for injuries without knowing his identity. Circumstantial evidence leads the army to arrest him and, in a kangaroo court held by a military tribunal, he is sentenced to hard labor at Hellgate Prison. The place is appropriately named,...

Stop the presses and/or the tweets! Dorothy Malone is on tonight on Turner Classic Movies. TCM is showing six movies featuring Dorothy Malone, an actress who should have become a major movie star but inexplicably didn't. Malone had the right amount of talent, lips, ass, bosom, eyelashes, and Oscar (supporting, for Written on the Wind) — even so, she remained a (however popular) "leading lady." Check her out tonight. The TCM movies are former Hollywood Ten blacklistee-turned-informer Edward Dmytryk's Western Warlock (1959), Andrew L. Stone's disaster movie The Last Voyage (1960), actor-turned-director John Ireland's crime thriller The Fast and the Furious (1954), Henry Levin's crime drama Convicted (1950), Charles Marquis Warren's Western Tension at Table Rock (1956), and Richard Quine's crime drama Pushover (1954), which also features Kim Novak. Schedule (Pt) and synopses from the TCM website: 5:00pm [Western] Warlock (1959) A Western town hires a famous gunman to rid it...