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Archive for the ‘Universal (International)’ Category

U-I Westerns At MoMA.

Posted in 1951, 1955, 1956, Albert Zugsmith, Arthur Kennedy, Audie Murphy, Charles Haas, Clint Eastwood, Coleen Gray, Dale Robertson, Festivals, screenings, Harmon Jones, Harry Morgan, Hugo Fregonese, James H. Griffith, Janes Gleason, Jock Mahoney, John Agar, Mara Corday, Paul Fix, Richard Boone, Stephen McNally, Universal (International) on May 9, 2026| 28 Comments »

It’s rare for me to want to head north of the Mason-Dixon line — if I’m gonna travel, I wanna head West, but this is really tempting. From June 5 through July 3, the Museum Of Modern Art in New York is running a series of Universal Westerns, going from the silents into the 70s. It’s a great batch of movies, for sure — I’ve done commentaries for four of them on Blu-Ray.

A few folks have already asked which ones to see if you can’t see them all. That’s easy, since a few of my favorite U-I Westerns are here that aren’t available on Blu-Ray.

Apache Drums (1951)
Directed by Hugo Fregonese
Starring Stephen McNally, Coleen Gray, Willard Parker, Arthur Shields, James Griffith, Clarence Muse

Val Lewton’s last film, only Western and only picture in color. And guess what? It plays like a Val Lewton movie with cowboys — tight, efficient and suspenseful. In his fairly small part, Clarence Muse is incredible.

The Naked Dawn (1955)
Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
Starring Arthur Kennedy, Betta St. John, Eugene Iglesias

Edgar Ulmer pulls off another minor miracle, making a Universal International Western in 10 days. Kennedy is a drifter who turns up to corrupt St. John and Iglesias. Ulmer could always make something out of nothing.

Day Of Fury newspaper ad

A Day Of Fury (1956)
Directed by Harmon Jones
Starring Dale Robertson, Mara Corday, Jock Mahoney

This is a terrific movie. A mysterious stranger (Dale Robertson) comes to town, and his very presence turns that town inside out. Robertson said he played his part as if he was the Devil. It works.

A Star In The Dust (1956)
Directed by Charles F. Haas
Starring John Agar, Mamie Van Doren, Richard Boone, Coleen Gray, Leif Erickson, James Gleason, Paul Fix, Harry Morgan, Clint Eastwood

Look at that cast! This has an interesting take on the cattlemen vs. farmers thing — both groups have their own reasons to be worked up about the hanging of a gunslinger (Richard Boone), with sheriff John Agar caught in the middle.

All four of these pictures get chapters in my someday book, 50 Westerns From The 50s. All are difficult to track down and highly, highly recommended. Wonder why they didn’t include an Audie Murphy picture? Hell Bent For Leather (1960) would’ve been my choice.

Thanks to Charles Miles.

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Blu-Ray News #397: Bend Of The River (1952).

Posted in 1952, Anthony Mann, Arthur Kennedy, Chubby Johnson, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Harry Morgan, Jay C. Flippen, Jimmy Stewart, Julie Adams, Kino Lorber, Rock Hudson, Royal Dano, Universal (International) on March 24, 2026| 7 Comments »

Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson, Lori Nelson, Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Royal Dano, Stepin Fetchit, Chubby Johnson

Kino Lorber is bringing an updated Bend Of The River (1952) to Blu-Ray in May.

This is the second of the Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart Westerns, and one of the finest Westerns ever made.

KL’s old Blu-Ray of Bend Of The River is wonderful, but there was some registration trouble with the Technicolor in a few scenes. That’s now been corrected, and if you ask me, a new disc is certainly warranted. (I’m so glad that my commentary from the old disc is making its way to this one.) Absolutely essential.

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Blu-Ray News #395: Death Of A Gunfighter (1969).

Posted in Don Siegel, Dub Taylor, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Harry Carey Jr., Kino Lorber, Richard Widmark, Royal Dano, Universal (International) on March 2, 2026| 4 Comments »

Directed by Allan Smithee (Don Siegel & Robert Totten)
Starring Richard Widmark, Lena Horne, Carroll O’Connor, David Opatoshu, Kent Smith, Dub Taylor, John Saxon, Royal Dano, Harry Carey, Jr., John Sande, Victor French

So what the hell happened with Death Of A Gunfighter (1969)? Luckily, whatever it was, it still ended up a pretty good movie — and it’s coming to Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber.

Some say Don Siegel turned it down and it went to TV director Robert Totten, who did most of the picture. Widmark wasn’t happy and used his pull with Universal to have Totten replaced — by Don Siegel, who’d recently directed Widmark in Universal’s terrific Madigan (1968). When it was finished, Widmark didn’t want Totten to get credit, even though he did most of it, and Siegel didn’t want his name on it since it wasn’t his movie.

As a compromise, the guild OK’d a pseudonym, Allen Smithee. The name’s still used for troubled pictures, and Smithee has build a rather varied filmography.

This is one of those “the Old West is over” pictures that were prominent in the late 60s. Widmark plays Frank Patch, a marshal known for his skill with this gun. His working methods don’t go over well with the town council of Cottonwood Springs, a bunch of crooked cowards who want Patch gone.

Death Of A Gunfighter weaves in everything from interracial marriage and bigotry to venereal disease and crooked politicians, with a healthy dose of gossip and slander. There’s a car putting around to make sure we know this is the end of the West.

For a film known for its production difficulties, Death Of A Gunfighter plays fairly seamlessly. It certainly has that Universal backlot look — but more like a TV show than the studio’s theatrical Westerns of the 50s. Robert Totten had directed lots of TV like Bonanza, The Virginian and Gunsmoke — and much of the picture’s shot with TV’s preference for closeups. And since Siegel didn’t direct a huge amount of it, we don’t really notice a shift in style.

Universal’s transfers of their films almost always look perfect, and I’m sure this one will be stunning. Recommended.

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Blu-Ray Review: Six Black Horses (1962).

Posted in Audie Murphy, Bob Steele, Burt Kennedy, Dan Duryea, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Gordon Kay, Harry Keller, Roy Barcroft, Universal (International), Via Vision on January 3, 2026| 19 Comments »

Directed by Harry Keller
Produced by Gordon Kay
Written by Burt Kennedy
Director Of Photography: Maury Gertsman, ASC
Film Editor: Aaron Stell, ACE
Music Supervision by Joseph Gershenson

Cast: Audie Murphy (Ben Lane), Dan Duryea (Frank Jesse), Joan O’Brien (Kelly), George Wallace (Will Boone), Roy Barcroft (Mustanger), Bob Steele (Puncher), Henry Wills (Indian leader), Phil Chambers (Undertaker) Charlita Regis (Mexican dancer), Dale Van Sickel

Let’s kick off 2026 with a look at a solid contender for my favorite video release of 2025 — Via Vision’s Blu-Ray of the Audie Murphy picture Six Black Horses (1962), paired with The Wild And The Innocent (1959).

I’ve spent plenty of time on this blog (and in commentaries) championing Murphy’s last pictures for Universal International — a run of seven low-budget Westerns produced by Gordon Kay. They’ve been done dirty over the years, often dismissed as “serviceable” and “routine.” A couple of them, Hell Bent For Leather and Seven Ways From Sundown (both 1960), have been singled out, but they all have something to recommend them.

You can tell that the budgets have shriveled up a bit — they only cost around $500,000 to $600,000 each. But the films themselves are quite good, thanks to solid direction, tight scripts, fabulous casts and gorgeous location photography. Plus, Murphy was clearly getting more confident as an actor.

This time around, Ben Lane (Murphy) and Frank Jesse (Dan Duryea) are hired by Kelly (Joan O’Brien) to escort her through Apache territory to meet up with her husband.

Well, that’s what she says she’s hiring them for.

Written by Burt Kennedy just a couple years after the last of the Budd Boetticher/Randolph Scott Ranown pictures, Six Black Horses has that lean, mean, efficiency that Kennedy was knocking out so effortlessly back then. (I may be way off base here, but I think there are echoes of Six Black Horses in Monte Hellman’s 1966 The Shooting.)

The small cast is excellent, the dialogue is good and most of the picture takes place outdoors, which is a great way to expand a tight budget. It was shot in Utah and just outside of Las Vegas — and in the same section of the U-I backlot used for Curse Of The Undead (1959).

Audie’s supported in this one by Dan Duryea, Roy Barcroft and Bob Steele. George Wallace, Commando Cody in Radar Men From The Moon (1952), is despicable as a scalp hunter who’s got the Apaches all stirred up.

Joan O’Brien — who worked with the likes of John Wayne, Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Elvis and Jerry Lewis — has a good role here, given more to do than just look pretty. (Ms. O’Brien passed away in 2025.)

Audie befriends a dog early in the film and he tags along for the rest of the 80 minutes. He’s such a pretty dog; I’m assuming he’s a mixed breed. Dogs can be annoying in movies, but not here.

For decades, it was hard to see Six Black Horses. I saw a faded 16mm print of it over 30 years ago (Six Pink Horses?) and used to have a sorry-looking bootleg VHS of it. The fine folks at Via Vision have thankfully rectified this situation.

Via Vision has done a tremendous job with Six Black Horses. It’s an excellent transfer, sharp as a tack with the Eastman Color dialed in just right and perfect 1.85 framing. They didn’t go overboard with the cleanup — there’s a speck of dust here and there, a line or two, even some changeover cues. To me, that’s a good thing. Such “artifacts” are part of the movie-watching experience, or at least they used to be, and I miss ’em.

There are no extras for this film, or for the accompanying The Wild And The Innocent (that looks just as good). The single-disc set, called Audie Murphy: Double Feature Collection One, is Region Free and the price is excellent. Collection Two consists of Joe Butterfly (1957) and The Texican (1966).

It’s so easy to recommend Six Black Horses. I’ve been evangelizing about these movies for years now. It’s just as easy to recommend this Blu-Ray, which presents a couple of terrific movies in tip-top condition — at a collector-friendly price. As I mentioned up top, this is one of my favorite releases of 2025. Go get it!

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Blu-Ray News #395: Six Black Horses (1962).

Posted in Audie Murphy, Bob Steele, Burt Kennedy, Dan Duryea, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Gordon Kay, Harry Keller, Roy Barcroft, Universal (International), Via Vision on November 14, 2025| 9 Comments »

Directed by Harry Keller
Written by Burt Kennedy
Starring Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Joan O’Brien, Roy Barcroft, Phil Chambers, Charlita, Bob Steele, George Wallace

One of those last pictures Audie Murphy did for Universal International and producer Gordon Kay, Six Black Horses (1962) gets a bad rap. For starters, the Kay films have been badmouthed for years — and I kinda wonder if any of these people have actually seen the movies.

While you can tell that the budgets have shriveled up a bit, the films themselves are solid. Next, for decades, it’s been hard to see Six Black Horses, which is a real shame. Written by Burt Kennedy just a couple years after the last of the Ranown pictures, it’s got that lean, mean, efficiency that Kennedy was knocking out so effortlessly back then.

Plus, Audie’s supported by Dan Duryea, Roy Barcroft and Bob Steele. Joan O’Brien, who passed away a few months ago, worked with the likes of John Wayne, Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Elvis, Jerry Lewis and Sam Katzman. Hard to top that.

Thanks to the new Blu-Ray from the fine folks at Via Vision, Audie Murphy Double Feature Collection, Volume One, Six Black Horses is out there in high definition. Its co-feature is The Wild And The Innocent (1959). Via Vision always does nice work and this is a terrific Murphy movie. Highly recommended.

Thanks to John Knight for the tip.

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Time Machine Film Festival: Halloween 1962, Auburn, AL.

Posted in 1959, Kathleen Crowley, Michael Pate, Universal (International) on October 31, 2025| 6 Comments »

Been having a great time with old Halloween movie ads over at my other place, The Hannibal 8. When I came across this one, featuring one of the only Westerns you might find running on Halloween, it made sense to share it here.

Edward Dein’s Curse Of The Undead (1959) is a vampire Western from Universal International that’s a far better movie than you’d expect. That’s largely due to the performances of Michael Pate and Kathleen Crowley, who don’t look down at the material but do their best to put it over.

Padding out the program in Auburn, Alabama that night are two terrific Hammer films, Brides Of Dracula (1961) and The Mummy (1959). This is about the only way I’d ever be able to get the great Peter Cushing in this blog. It’s also the first time we’ve featured anything about a pie-eating contest.

Happy Halloween, y’all. And save me some Raisinets!

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Winston-Salem, NC — March 1964.

Posted in 1957, 1958, Audie Murphy, Columbia, Dorothy Malone, Fred MacMurray, Glenn Ford, Jimmy Stewart, Universal (International) on June 14, 2025| 3 Comments »

Came across this while doing a little book research. So close to our old house. But I missed it by 61 years.

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Blu-Ray News # 389: The Saga Of Hemp Brown (1958).

Posted in 1958, Beverly Garland, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Explosive Media, Gordon Kay, Morris Ankrum, Rory Calhoun, Russell Johnson, Tom London, Universal (International) on April 14, 2025| 8 Comments »

Directed by Richard Carlson
Starring Rory Calhoun, Beverly Garland, John Larch, Russell Johnson, Morris Ankrum, Tom London

Actor Richard Carlson took time away from appearing in pictures like It Came From Outer Space (1953) and Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) to direct something every now and then. He was pretty good at it, too — as you’ll be able to plainly see thanks to Explosive Media’s upcoming Blu-Ray of The Saga Of Hemp Brown (1958).

Carlson’s got a great cast — Rory Calhoun and the wonderful Beverly Garland in the leads, and John Larch as an over-the-top bad guy. Morris Ankrum and Tom London are in there, too. And Russel Johnson, who Carlson grappled with in It Came From Outer Space has a nice part. (That’s Carlson in the sunglasses and Philip H. Lathrop with the light meter. Around this same time, Lathrop shot Orson Welles’ Touch Of Evil.) Producer Gordon Kay would soon start producing Audie Murphy’s last Westerns for Universal International.

It’s been ages since I’ve seen this — always pan and scan on TV instead of its glorious CinemaScope. This comes highly recommended, so start looking for a source for Emplosive titles. It’s coming out in a couple weeks. Can’t wait!

Thanks for the tip, John!

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Blu-Ray News #388: Audie Murphy Collection V (1956-1964).

Posted in Alan Hale, Audie Murphy, Barry Sullivan, DVD/Blu-Ray News, George Sherman, Gordon Kay, Harry Keller, Jay Silverheels, Jesse Hibbs, John McIntire, Kino Lorber, R.G. Springsteen, Skip Homeier, Universal (International) on April 9, 2025| 1 Comment »

Kino Lorber’s Audie Murphy Blu-Rays keep on coming, with set Number 5 arriving in June. We get three more of Murphy’s pictures for Universal International, including two under-appreciated pictures from producer Gordon Kay.

Walk The Proud Land (1956)
Directed by Jesse Hibbs
​Starring Audie Murphy​, Anne Bancroft​, Jay Silverheels, Morris Ankrum

This was a nice change of pace for Murphy, playing an Indian agent. It’s got a great cast and gorgeouos CinemaScope photography from Harold Lipstein.

Seven Ways From Sundown (1960)
​Directed by Harry Keller (& George Sherman)
​Starring Audie Murphy​, Barry Sullivan​, Venetia Stevenson​, John McIntire​, Kenneth Tobey

The second, and some say the best, of Murphy’s last run of Westerns for Universal, produced by Gordon Kay. These films have always gotten a bad rap, but seen today, they hold up really well. Barry Sullivan is terrific. George Sherman directed maybe half the picture (the location stuff) before he and Murphy had a disagreement and Harry Keller was brought in.

Y’all have been wanting this one since I started up this blog all those years ago.

Bullet For A Badman (1964)
​Directed by R. G. Springsteen
Starring Audie Murphy​, Darren McGavin​, Ruta Lee​, Beverley Owen​, Skip Homeier, George Tobias

Darren McGavin is excellent, as always, in this one, and Ruta Lee knocks a good part out of the park. Murphy has to get outlaw McGavin and the money he stole past a crooked posse and plenty of Indians. All this is complicated by the fact that Murphy is married to McGavin’s ex-wife and raising his son. This one bears a Universal logo — U-I was no more.

These movies come highly, highly recommended — they’ll look great, and I’m so stoked to have done commentaries for Seven Ways From Sundown and Bullet For A Badman. Coming June 24th.

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Blu-Ray News #386: Audie Murphy Collection IV (1950-1954).

Posted in 1950, 1952, 1954, Audie Murphy, Bob Steele, Budd Boetticher, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Gale Storm, Hugh O'Brien, Jay Silverheels, Kino Lorber, Lyle Bettger, Mara Corday, Nathan Juran, Noah Beery Jr., Ray Teal, Universal (International), Walter Brennan on February 24, 2025| 8 Comments »

Kino Lorber has announced their fourth Audie Murphy Blu-Ray set, and it’s something to be really stoked about — gathering three more of Murphy’s 50s Westerns for Universal International. Coming this summer, they say.

The Kid From Texas (1950)
Directed by Kurt Neumann
Starring Audie Murphy, Gale Storm, Albert Dekker, Shepperd Strudwick, Will Geer, William Talman, Frank Wilcox, Ray Teal

Audie Murphy plays Billy The Kid in his first Western for Universal International. Universal always surrounded Murphy with a top cast. Frank Wilcox is an interesting Pat Garrett — and Gal Storm in a Western is always worth a look.

The Cimarron Kid (1952)
Directed by Budd Boetticher
Starring Audie Murphy, Yvette Dugay, Beverly Tyler, John Hudson, James Best, Leif Erickson, Noah Beery, Hugh O’Brian

This was Budd Boetticher’s first Western and first film in color. He already knew Audie Murphy from Terry Hunt’s Athletic Club. Audie plays Bill Doolen, who gets out of jail and almost immediately gets wrapped up with the Dalton gang. He was supposed to die at the end, but the studio changed their mind.

Drums Across The River (1954)
Directed by Nathan Juran
Starring Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan, Lyle Bettger, Lisa Gaye, Hugh O’Brian, Mara Corday, Jay Silverheels, Regis Toomey, Morris Ankrum, Bob Steele

Nathan Juran was a good director for Audie Murphy. Some of the best of his earlier pictures were done by Juran — Tumbleweed (1953) is a real good one.  Here, Audie is a homesteader who gets all wrapped up in a squabble between Lyle Bettger and the Ute Indians.

The first three Murphy sets have been terrific and this one should be, too. Highly recommended — and looking forward to Number 5!

WordPress has kinda retired their “Classic Editor” that I’ve used since the very beginning of this blog. Please excuse any lumps and bumps as I wrestle with what they’ve left me with.

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