Directed by Andre de Toth Starring Randolph Scott, Dolores Dorn, Marie Windsor, Howard Petrie, Ernest Borgnine, Dubb Taylor, Paul Picerni
This has been near the top of my Want List for a very long time. Heard through the grapevine (Twitter, actually) today that The Bounty Hunter (1954) — the last of the Randolph Scott pictures Andre de Toth directed — is coming to Blu-Ray “soon.” (Warner Archive?)
So stoked about this, hope it actually happens!
I wrote about a bootleg of it years ago (thanks again to the guy who sent that). Seeing it again about six months ago, I realized I’d been way too harsh on it. It’s quite good. With Scott and Marie Windsor in the cast, how could it not be?
Directed by Howard Hawks Starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond
One of my favorite places to see a movie is the Graham Cinema in Graham, North Carolina. And my all-time favorite Western is Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959).
Well, these two favorites are coming together — The Graham Cinema is running Rio Bravo Tuesday through Thursday, February 24-26, at 7PM.
If you can get there, go! And have a box of Raisinets for me. I’m tempted to cook up some kinda reason to head back to North Carolina for a few days.
Lastly, take a look at the ad up top. How could anybody ever beat a double feature of Rio Bravo and House On Haunted Hill (1959)? And for just 70 cents!
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.
In the last month, the soundtracks to two of my favorite films have shown up in the mailbox. The first one, John Barry’s complete score for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), was one I’d pre-ordered a while back and was eagerly awaiting. The second one, Max Steiner’s original music for The Searchers (1956) — I had no idea this thing existed until a few days before it arrived.
Of course, The Searchers is often held up as the greatest Western ever made. (If you ask me, it’s the greatest movie ever made. Period. Sorry, Orson and Alfred.) And Steiner’s score is a key piece of the film’s success. It elevates the tragedy, suspense, excitement or humor of every scene, never in a manipulative way. That, the way I understand it, is what a film score is supposed to do. Steiner also works in the title song (written by Stan Jones and performed by The Sons Of The Pioneers) and a traditional melody or two.
This new CD presents Steiner’s complete score to The Searchers “preserved on acetate discs in the Steiner Collection at Brigham Young University.” It even has Ken Curtis singing “Skip To My Lou!” The audio cleanup and mastering by Ray Faiola are exquisite. And the 32-page book has some terrific essays and a few photos I don’t think I’d seen before.
So click on the CD cover up top to order yourself a copy. You’ll love it, “just as sure as the turnin’ of the earth.”
The Time Machine Film Festival over at The Hannibal 8 gathers up newspaper ads for interesting double-features (or more). It’s led to some great back-and-forth stuff as folks share what was playing in their neck of the woods.
Over at The Hannibal 8, we have what was playing at the just-opened Center Drive-In on May 18, 1955. Here, we see what was playing north of town that same night — the Forest Drive-In offered up a “grand night of family entertainment.”
Seven Men From Now (1956) Directed by Budd Boetticher Starring Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin
Girls In Prison (1956) Directed by Edward L. Cahn Starring Richard Denning, Joan Taylor, Adele Jergens, Phyllis Coates
Return To Treasure Island (1954) Directed by E.A. Dupont Starring Tab Hunter, Dawn Addams, Harry Lauter
There were several drive-ins around Raleigh in the 50s. Some hung around into the 80s (saw The Road Warrior at the Forest in 1982).
No offense, but I would’ve headed home after Girls In Prison.
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 Andre de Toth Starring Gary Cooper, Phyllis Thaxter, David Brian, Paul Kelly, Philip Carey, Lon Chaney Jr., James Millican, Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Alan Hale Jr., Fess Parker
A Civil War picture starring Gary Cooper — directed by Andre de Toth. Count me in! Springfield Rifle (1952) is coming to Blu-Ray from Warner Archive.
Gary Cooper plays a Union soldier, exposed as a Confederate spy. Or is there something else going on? Cooper’s as great as ever, and here he’s got a great 50s Western cast along for the ride (even a pre-Them Fess Parker). And nobody could make something out of a mediocre script quite the way Andre de Toth could. It’s a picture more than deserving a second look.
Andre de Toth, Gary Cooper and a Springfield Rifle
In the late 1920s, cinematographer Edwin B. Dupar was one of the key DPs figuring out how to shoot sound movies. He also experimented with WarnerColor (Eastmancolor) in the early 50s on films like this — “Mr. Dupar, can you make this not look terrible?” Andre de Toth wrestled with the process on Carson City (1952).
It’ll be interesting to see what a nice Warner Archive Blu-Ray of this will look like (and the announced extras sound like a lot of fun). Recommended. (OK, so how about Carson City on Blu-Ray?)
50 Westerns From The 50s.