Two Johnny Mack Brown Monogram Westerns on Blu-Ray? Better check my blood pressure before I fall out. The third installment in Warner Archive’s Monogram Matinee series is right up my alley.
Under Arizona Skies (1946) Directed by Lambert Hillyer Starring Johnny Mack Brown, Reno Browne, Raymond Hatton, Riley Hill, Tris Coffin, Reed Howes
Johnny Mack Brown shoots a rustler and is soon on the hook for murder. His pal Raymond Hatton comes to the rescue. Reno Browne only made a handful of movies — this might be her first.
Range Justice (1949) Directed by Ray Taylor Starring Johnny Mack Brown, Max Terhune, Tris Coffin, Riley Hill, Sarah Padden, Eddie Parker
This time, Johnny helps an old lady who’s being cheated out of her ranch. Director Ray Taylor was great with action — he did Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe (1940).
These Poverty Row marvels will look terrific in high definition. Highly recommended.
Just what we’ve been waiting for — another Monogram Matinee! This time we get a bigger-than-usual Monogram picture, along with one of the Westerns they excelled at.
Louisiana (1947) Directed by Phil Karlson Starring Governor Jimmie Davis, Margaret Lindsay, John Gallaudet
Jimmie Davis was the governor of Louisiana. He was also a pretty fair songwriter and country singer — he wrote “You Are My Sunshine.” Monogram made a movie about, with Davis playing himself, covering his rise from redneck to sheriff to mayor to governor, with country singer spread over the top of it all. The great Phil Karlson directed, and he swore his picture helped Davis get re-elected. We’re all familiar with the celebrity-turned-politician thing, but starring in a movie while still in office?
Song Of The Range (1944) Directed by Wallace Fox Starring Jimmy Wakely, Dennis Moore, Lee ‘Lasses’ White
Song Of The Range is the first of Monogram’s Jimmy Wakely pictures. Wakely had appeared in a number of B Westerns before getting a series of his own. He made 28 pictures for Monogram. Here, director Wallace Fox stirs up guitars and gunplay for a brisk, tuneful 55 minutes. Fox worked a lot with Sam Katzman at Monogram, then directed some serials for him when Katzman split for Columbia.
With these features coming from 4k scans of the best surviving nitrate materials, I cannot wait to get my hands on this thing. Highly recommended.
Directed by Raoul Walsh Produced by Owen Crump Written by Harriet Frank, Jr. Based on a story by Stephen Longstreet Director Of Photography: Sid Hickox Film Editor: Alan Crosland, Jr. Music by Max Steiner
Cast: Errol Flynn (Capt. Mike McComb), Ann Sheridan (Georgia Moore), Thomas Mitchell (John Plato Beck), Bruce Bennett (Stanley Moore), Tom D’Andrea (Pistol Porter), Barton MacLane (Banjo Sweeney), Monte Blue (Buck Chevigee), Jonathan Hale (Maj. Spencer), Alan Bridge (Slade), Arthur Space (Major Ross), Joseph Crehan (President Grant)
If there was ever a Blu-Ray that needed a commentary track, it was Silver River (1948). Its production history includes the debauchery you expect from an Errol Flynn picture, with additional drama coming from Ann Sheridan, leading to countless memos and a threat of legal action from Jack Warner.
Both Flynn and Sheridan wanted out of their contracts, which certainly contributed to the train wreck. But the main problem is that alcohol, not water, flowed through Silver River.
Union officer Mike McComb (Errol Flynn) is court-martialed after burning a million dollars in Yankee payroll to keep it out of the Confederacy’s hands in the days leading up to the battle of Gettysburg.
Vowing to look out for Number One from now on, Flynn uses gambling to amass a fortune in Silver City, becoming one of the richest men in town. Things get a lot more complicated when he meets Georgia Moore (Ann Sheridan), the wife of one of Silver City’s most powerful mine owners (Bruce Bennett).
There’s a terrific action sequence to kick things off, plenty of great characters (from great character actors) and a fair amount of drama. Raoul Walsh’s mastery of pacing saves the day. The picture moves, to be sure, but it doesn’t seem to know where it wants to move to. You get the feeling that it’s headed to a big final act, but it doesn’t. The ending is rushed and the picture just kinda stops. This makes sense being that many say Jack Warner pretty much shut production down, stopping the train before it fell off the tracks.
Overall, the picture lacks the snap of most of Flynn’s Westerns — and of almost anything Walsh ever touched. By the way, Flynn and Walsh never worked together again.
There’s a great supporting cast: Thomas Mitchell, Barton MacLane, Monte Blue, etc. The production design is lush and the cinematography from Sid Hickox is beautiful. Max Steiner’s score is one of the picture’s strong points.
All of this makes Silver River a film I’ve been dying to revisit. And what a way to revisit it! Warner Archive has come through with another world-class transfer of one of their classic films — demonstrating how much B&W benefits with the jump to Blu-Ray or 4K. The sound is clean and clear, giving Steiner’s score plenty of punch. An absolutely flawless presentation.
The extras are two WB cartoons — Rabbit Punch and Two Gophers From Texas — and the original trailer. The basics, but you can’t go wrong with stuff like that.
Errol Flynn’s films for Warner Bros. are some of the most watchable things Hollywood ever cooked up, and this one’s no different (even with its problems). For Flynn fans, Western nuts, lovers of the WB look and those fascinated by troubled movies, Silver River comes through. I fall into a few of those groups, so this one’s easy to recommend.
Here’s a red/green 3-D image from The Command (1954) which was shot in two separate versions (with completely different takes and compositions) — 3-D non-anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen and CinemaScope anamorphic 2.55:1 (2-D) widescreen.
The Command was only released to theaters flat, usually in CineamScope. The left side of the 3-D negative was edited and used for the flat release and 16mm prints. If the right side is still around, a 3-D release is possible! (Let’s hope!)
The Warner Archive DVD of The Command presents the CinemaScope version. It’d be great to see this make it to Blu-Ray, especially if the 3-D could be worked out. And while you’re at it Warner Archive, how about The Bounty Hunter (1954)?
Here’s a 3-D image from The Command, courtest of The 3-D Archive. More info here.
Directed by Raoul Walsh Starring Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Thomas Mitchell, Bruce Bennett, Tom D’Andrea, Barton MacLane
According to most sources, this Silver River (1948) flowed with booze, which bogged down production and put an end to the incredible collaboration between Raoul Walsh and Errol Flynn. It’s a testament to the talents of all concerned that it’s still a pretty cool picture, even though it kinda just stops rather than actually come to an end.
Filmed by Sidney Hickox, who spent the bulk of his career at Warner Bros. shooting thing like The Big Sleep and Colorado Territory before heading to TV, this should be exquisite on Blu-Ray. Can’t wait.
Directed by Anthony Mann Screenplay by Guy Trosper Produced by Nicholas Nayfack Cinematography: John Alton Edited by Conrad A. Nervig Music by Daniele Amfitheatrof
Cast: Robert Taylor (Lance Poole), Louis Calhern (Verne Coolan), Paula Raymond (Orrie Masters), Marshall Thompson (Rod MacDougall), James Mitchell (Red Rock), Edgar Buchanan (Zeke Carmody), Rhys Williams (Scotty MacDougall), Spring Byington (Mrs. Masters), James Millican (Ike Stapleton)
It’s hard to believe Devil’s Doorway comes from the same MGM that released Father Of The Bride — and in the same year, 1950. It’s a typically tough picture from Anthony Mann, part of his initial shift to Westerns, brining a lot of his noir baggage with him!
20th Century-Fox’s Broken Arrow, a Western with a focus on the Indian perspective, had hit theaters a few months earlier. Devil’s Doorway comes at that same perspective but from a far, far darker place. And it’s all the better for it. (MGM sat on Devil’s Doorway for a while, scared of its subject matter, until they saw the response to the inferior Broken Arrow.)
A Shoshone Indian, Lance Poole (Robert Taylor), comes home after the Civil War a decorated war hero, eager to get back to his family’s ranch. But new laws have declared that Indians cannot own land (or buy a drink in the saloon) — and there are plenty around Medicine Bow eager to get their slick mitts on Poole’s grazing land. As Woody Guthrie sang, “Some will rob you with a six-gun, And some with a fountain pen.”
To make matters worse, the local doctor refuses to treat Poole’s father, who dies. Naturally, the proud Shoshone war hero isn’t one to take things lying down, with tragic results.
So many Westerns blame the plight of the Native Americans on crooks selling them liquor and guns. Here, it’s all the result of greed and prejudice. And when those are the causes — and when there are dirtbags like Verne Coolan (Louis Calhern) and weak lawmen like Zeke Carmody (Edgar Buchanan) calling the shots, we can’t blame Poole for lashing out at the system so clearly stacked against him.
Of course, his relationship with Orrie Masters (Paula Raymond) doesn’t stand a chance.
On paper, Robert Taylor seems like a really odd choice for Poole, but he handles it with ease. From playing an Indian here to an unhinged racist in The Last Hunt (1956), Taylor was terrific whenever he mounted up for a Western. The Law And Jack Wade (1958) is another great one.
Guy Trosper’s screenplay doesn’t pull any punches, and Anthony Mann makes sure everything is delivered with a sledgehammer. You don’t often see a major star of Hollywood’s Golden Era participate in such violence.
John Alton’s camerawork is never short of incredible, from beautiful closeups to breathtaking Colorado exteriors, and it’s a prime reason for snatching up Devil’s Doorway on Blu-Ray. (If I ran things, everything Alton ever touched would only be available in high definition.) Warner Archive has done their typically impeccable work here — the contrast is just right and the audio is loud and punchy.
Devil’s Doorway is the film that made me a Robert Taylor fan, and it deserves just as much attention as Mann’s work with James Stewart has received over the years. It’s a terrific film that helped kick off what we think of as Fifties Westerns. Highly, highly recommended.
Directed by Howard Bretherton Produced by Vincent M. Fennelly Written by Maurice Tombragel Cinematography: Ernest Miller Film Editor: Sam Fields Music by Raoul Kraushaar
Cast: Whip Wilson (Marshal Whip Wilson), Fuzzy Knight (Tex), Lois Hall (Laura Davis), Tommy Farrell (Marshal Jim Dugan), Terry Frost (Mike Lorch), Lane Bradford (Talbot), Marshall Reed (Sheriff Ernie Hodkins), Steve Clark (Charley Davis), Iron Eyes Cody (Cherokee)
Felt like taking the trail to Poverty Row, and since I haven’t stuck a Whip Wilson picture on here yet, I settled on Night Raiders (1952), one of Wilson’s later films — from Monogram’s last year before the switch to Allied Artists. Night Raiders is one of the pictures making up Warner Archive’s DVD set Monogram Cowboy Collection, Volume 2.
After a series of night raids on local ranches (without anything being taken), Fuzzy Knight sends for marshals Whip Wilson and Tommy Farrell to aide Fuzzy’s boss (Steve Clark) and his daughter (Lois Hall). Turns out it’s part of a plot to locate $15,000 that was hidden after a train robbery.
Whip Wilson (born Roland Charles Meyers) had been a singer before getting into the movies. After Buck Jones was killed in the 1942 fire at the Coconut Grove, Monogram went looking for someone to replace him. They felt Meyers resembled Jones a bit (personally, I don’t see it) and they gave him the name Whip Wilson. He’s not a great actor by any means, but he’s good with action and comes off as likable.
Before Night Raiders, Lois Hall made three Johnny Mack Brown pictures, including Colorado Ambush (1951). Along with appearing alongside Brown and Whip Wilson, she was in some Jimmy Wakely and Durango Kid movies. She also did some serials and plenty of TV Westerns like Wild Bill Hickok, Kit Carson, The Lone Ranger and The Range Rider. She continued working into the 2000s.
This was the last feature for director Howard Bretherton, who got his start doing props back in 1914. In the early 20s, he started working as an editor and wound up at Warner Bros. He got the chance to direct While London Sleeps (1927), a Rin Tin Tin movie.
Bretherton left Warner Bros. in 1935 and was tapped by Harry Sherman to do the first six Hopalong Cassidy films before eventually making his way to Monogram. There, his abilities often overcame the studio’s paltry budgets and punishing schedules.
Like so many directors from this period, Howard Bretherton tried his hand at television before retiring. He directed episodes of Racket Squad and Adventures Of Superman.
Night Raiders is included in Volume 2 of Warner Archive’s terrific Monogram Cowboy Collection, a nine-picture set dedicated to Wilson and Rod Cameron. The films all look great. Though they don’t get what you’d consider an actual restoration, the transfers are very nicely done.
I wish Warner Archive would spend more time digging around in the Monogram vaults. The stuff they’ve put out thus far are some of the real joys of my collection. All 10 volumes of the Monogram Cowboy Collection come highly, highly recommended.
Directed by Andre de Toth Written by Frank Davis Sloan Nibley (story) Produced by Louis F. Edelman Cinematography Edwin B. DuPar Film Editor: Robert L. Swanson Music by Max Steiner
Cast: Gary Cooper (Major Alex ‘Lex’ Kearney), Phyllis Thaxter (Erin Kearney), David Brian (Austin McCool), Paul Kelly (Lt. Col. John Hudson), Philip Carey (Capt. Tennick), Lon Chaney Jr. (Pete Elm), James Millican (Matthew Quint), Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams (Sgt. Snow), Alan Hale Jr. (Mizzell), Martin Milner (Pvt. Olie Larsen), Fess Parker (Sgt. Randolph)
Carson City (1952), a cool Randolph Scott Western directed by Andre de Toth for Warner Bros., was the first picture filmed in WarnerColor — which was actually Eastmancolor. Kodak’s tri-pack negative film was just what Hollywood was looking for in the early Fifties — a cheaper, more convenient way to shoot color. And color was one thing TV didn’t have.
De Toth was great at putting new technology through its paces, and he’d soon direct WB’s first 3D film, House Of Wax (1953). But first, he was handed WarnerColor again for Springfield Rifle (1952) — along with Gary Cooper and a terrific supporting cast. And he delivered another winner.
It’s 1864, and the Union Army needs horses. But every time the Northerners try to get fresh mounts for Fort Hedley, they’re stolen by rustlers and sold to the Confederates. A spy has to be telling them when and where the horses are being delivered.
Major “Lex” Kearney (Gary Cooper) infiltrates the rustlers, thanks to a fake court martial for cowardice, to find out how the operation works and how they get their information. At the same time, there’s a shipment of the new Springfield Model 1865 rifles on the way, something else the rustlers (led by David Brian) really want to get their hands on.
Springfield Rifle is quite a picture. From its screenplay by Frank Davis, based on a story from B Western master Sloan Nibley, to Robert L. Swanson’s editing and Andre de Toth’s typically-tight direction, this is one of those movies where everything seems to click. It moves like a rocket, so fast you don’t have time to think about how much of it doesn’t make sense. And there are a number of jaw-dropping stunts along the way.
The cast is top notch. Gary Cooper is, well, Gary Cooper. (This was released a few months after High Noon.) David Brian is great as the bad guy McCool (he’d play a somewhat similar crook in Fury At Gunsight Ridge in 1956). Alan Hale, Jr., Lon Chaney, Jr., James Millican and Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams are as wonderful as you’d expect them to be. Phyllis Thaxter is fine as Cooper’s harried wife. And future TV stars Martin Milner and Fess Parker have really early roles in this one.
De Toth and cinematographer Edwin DuPar went higher up into the Alabama Hills and Mount Witney than most movie crews had gone before. The weather did not cooperate, with DuPar shooting under protest — and everyone wondering if de Toth would be fired. But what they came back with is fabulous. Mother Nature can sure add plenty of production values.
Warner Bros. Westerns of the 50s often play like B Westerns with more money and 20 extra minutes added to the mix. This one has a deliciously complicated plot with spies, traitors and double-crosses at every turn — and it’s a perfect package like so many of the studio’s films from this period. Not a true classic, perhaps, but who cares when it’s this entertaining?
Now let’s get to the Blu-Ray from Warner Archive. WarnerColor is not usually much to look at, but a lot of care has gone into this one and it’s a big improvement over what’s been around before. The color is nice and natural-looking, with just a bit of those purple shadows that you see in a lot of Eastmancolor pictures from the early 50s. The sound is nice, letting Max Steiner’s score ring out like it’s supposed to.
Warner Archive was generous with the extras, adding in two WB cartoons from 1952, Feed The Kitty and Rabbit’s Kin, a Joe McDoakes short, So You Want To Enjoy Life, and the picture’s original trailer.
A presentation like this makes a good movie even better. Springfield Rifle was quite good to begin with, and it’s now highly, highly recommended.
Cheyenne (1955-62) was more than just an excellent 50s Western TV show. It was the first hour-long Western, the first hour-long dramatic TV show to run more than a single season. It was also the first TV series produced by a major studio (Warner Bros.) that wasn’t derived from an established film property.
Now on Blu-Ray from Warner Archive — 107 episodes on 30 discs, Cheyenne is one of the best examples of classic TV in high definition I’ve seen so far. Scanned in 4K from the original camera negatives, these things are just stunning.
In its first season, Cheyenne shared its time slot with King’s Row and Casablanca, two WB shows based on their films. After the first season, those two vanished and Cheyenne had other slot-mates (Sugarfoot in the third season).
Clint Walker plays Cheyenne Bodie, a cowboy/scout riding across the post-Civil War West. Each week, he rides into a new spot and happens upon a new batch of folks. The plots are very much in line with what the laters B Westerns had been — and what we think of today as a 50s Western.
Cheyenne was raised by the Cheyenne after his parents were killed by another tribe. He later lived with a white family (the particulars vary a bit from show to show). He’s fair, kind, strong and always ready to help out those in need. And as if to prove the idea that “no good deed goes unpunished,” Cheyenne’s servant nature often lands him in a real mess.
Warner Bros. put their major-studio muscle behind their TV product, and it shows. Cheyenne fits right in with what Warners was doing with Western features in the late 50s. From the sets to the casts to the music, these episodes play like 50-minute versions of what WB was sending to theaters. For example, James Garner and Angie Dickinson appear in a second-season episode (“War Party”) about the same time they were in Warner’s Randolph Scott picture Shootout At Medicine Bend (1957).
The directors who did episodes of Cheyenne is a bit of a Western Who’s Who, with pros like George Waggner, Paul Landres, Thomas Carr, Joe Kane, Howard W. Koch, Paul Henreid, Lew Landers and Arthur Lubin.
Same with cinematographers. Shooting Cheyenne were folks like Harold E. Stine, Carl E. Guthrie, Bert Glennon, Ted McCord, William H. Clothier, Harold Rosson, William P. Whitley and Ellis W. Carter.
From week to week, the cast was incredible. Here’s just a sample of the folks who turn up over the course of the show: James Garner, Jack Elam, Ray Teal, Myron Healy, Bob Steele, Kathleen Crowley, Leo Gordon, Ann Robinson, Rod Taylor, Marie Windsor (above), Adele Mara, Gerald Mohr, Peggie Castle, Robert J. Wilke, Penny Edwards, Dennis Hopper, James Griffith, Angie Dickinson, John Qualen, Lee Van Cleef, Denver Pyle, Phil Carey, James Coburn, Nestor Paiva, Slim Pickens, John Carradine, Frank Ferguson, Joan Weldon, Tom Conway, Guinn “Big Boy” Williams, Edd Byrnes, Evelyn Ankers, John Russell, Claude Akins, Don “Red” Barry, Don Megowan, Dan Blocker, Adam West, Connie Stevens, Faith Domergue, James Drury, Lorne Greene, Mala Powers, Merry Anders, Alan Hale Jr., R. G. Armstrong, Ahna Capri, Ellen Burstyn, Sally Kellerman, Michael Landon, Harry Lauter and Ruta Lee. In three of the early episodes, LQ Jones (below) is his sidekick Smitty. (I left out dozens because it would’ve made for a pretty ridiculous paragraph.)
Cheyenne was a hit and it made Clint Walker a star. With a hit show, the exacting schedule that came with it, no features on the horizon, and an exclusive contract that paid him just $150 a week, after the third season, Walker was unhappy.
Clint Walker: “… I found out they [Warner Bros.] turned down some pretty nice features that I could’ve done… I heard that when people inquired, they were told, ‘When Clint Walker does features, he’ll do ‘em for Warner Bros.’ So that’s where we had the difference of opinion.” *
So, Clint Walker, well, walked. The show zigzagged to a “fake Cheyenne,” Bronco Layne (Ty Hardin) and kept going until Walker was coaxed back into the saddle. Warners put him in the excellentFort Dobbs (1958), which I’d love to see make the leap to Blu-Ray. Bronco Layne got his own series for a while, called simply Bronco.
This is an excellent TV series, a consistent favorite of fans of 50s Westerns — and for good reason. And Warner Archive has given us all good reason to pick up this set. They look wonderful. The audio has plenty of punch. They’re uncut and have the original WB openings and closings in place. A nice slipcover thing holds the seasons nice and neat.
Cheyenne was a home run back in 1955 — and it’s a home run on Blu-Ray 70 years later. Highly, highly recommended.
*From a phone conversation with this author back in 2010.
Directed by Wallace Fox Supervisor: Eddie Davis Original Screenplay by Adele Buffington Director Of Photography: Harry Neumann Film Editor: John C. Fuller
Cast: Johnny Mack Brown (Himself), Max Terhune (Alibi), Poni Adams (Judy Gordon), Hugh Prosser (Jim Laren), Riley Hill (Joe Gordon), Marshall Reed (Frank), Constance Worth (Ann Gordon), Steve Clark (Dusty Dekker), Terry Frost (Carl), William Ruhl (Curly), John Merton (Blacksmith), Myron Healey (Gus)
Warner Archive’s announcement of the Monogram Matinee #1 Blu-Ray was a reason for much rejoicing around here. And if you ask me, now that it’s here, the rejoicing can continue. This thing’s great.
It puts three Monogram Westerns from 1949 on a single disc: Mississippi Rhythm starring Jimmie Davis, Western Renegades with Johnny Mack Brown, and Whip Wilson in Crashing Thru. No frills other than terrific transfers.
The picture I went to first was Western Renegades (1949).
Marshall Johnny Mack Brown rides into Gordonville to visit his old friend Dusty Dekker (Steve Clark), and before we’re four minutes into the picture, Johnny’s plugged two guys and a well-to-do rancher is murdered. Not long after that, we learn of a plot cooked up by some of the locals to snatch the dead man’s ranch from his two adult children, with an actress passed off as the rancher’s long-lost wife — and with Dusty framed for it.
Monogram’s Johnny Mack Brown Westerns are a lot of fun. He’s likable, he rides well and he has a cool hat. (Hats are very important in these things.) His Southern accent is real, another plus. And there’s usually plenty of action.
Max Terhune isn’t given a lot to do as Alibi this time around, but it’s always nice to see him (and Elmer). Myron Healey doesn’t have a lot of screen time in one of those parts often listed as “henchman,” though he’s called Gus here.
While it’s easy to see that these things were made with an eye on the clock, the pros putting them together always seem to come through. Harry Neumann’s camerawork in Western Renegades is nice, especially if you consider the time, or lack of it, he had to get things set up.
Neumann’s work is presented quite nicely here. It’s always a treat to see B Westerns look this good, where we can appreciate the craft required to make movies this quickly and cheaply.
The Monogram John Mack Brown films are well represented in Warner Archive’s older DVD series, Monogram Cowboy Collection. (If you’re reading this far into this, trust me, you need those.)
If sets like this Monogram Matinee are how things are going to move forward, bring ’em on! Highly recommended.
50 Westerns From The 50s.