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Archive for the ‘Bob Steele’ Category

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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Big Calibre (1934).

Posted in Bob Steele, Republic Pictures, Sam Katzman on November 16, 2025| 5 Comments »

Directed by Robert N. Bradbury
Produced by A. W. Hackel
Supervised by Sam Katzman
Screen Play by Perry Murdock
Photography: William Hyer
Film Editor: S. Roy Luby
Production Manager: Glenn Cook

Cast​: Bob Steele (Bob O’Neill), Peggy Campbell (June Bowers), Forrest Taylor (Banker Bentley), John Elliott (Rusty Hicks), Georgia O’Dell (Arabella), Perry Murdock (Otto Zenz), Earl Dwire (Sheriff), Frank Ball (Jim Bowers), Cy Jenks (Square Dance Caller), Chris Allen, Silver Tip Baker, Barney Beasley

This post has been adapted from a bit of my book-in-progress Jungle Sam: The Cinema Of Sam Katzman.

One of the things that makes B Westerns so much fun is how they refuse to stay in their own lane when it comes to the trappings of their genre, tossing everything from Nazi spies and mad scientists to secret tunnels and haunted houses into their plots. At the same time, many of these pictures take place in a weird version of modern day (the 30s and 40s) — with cowboys riding horses and carrying six guns, while much of the cast wear contemporary suits and ride around in cars. Big Calibre (1934) does both. It’s a weird concoction that oozes as much pulp as it does cowpoke.

But let’s back up a little.

Sam Katzman joined A.W. Hackel to form Supreme Pictures. Hackel was the money man and Katzman made the movies. In May of 1934, it was announced that Katzman and Hackel had signed cowboy star Bob Steele, who’d just wrapped up a run of pictures at Monogram. The first Supreme Steele film, A Demon For Trouble, opened in August. Big Calibre came along in January of 1935, a few pictures into the series.

Not long after Bob O’Neill (Steele) tells his dad he has the $60,000 needed to save the family ranch, a dark figure tosses a vial of lethal gas through the window, killing Steele’s dad and making off with the dough. Thanks to some footprints found at the scene, Steele suspects a local chemist, Otto Zenz (Perry Murdoch). Zenz uses his poison gas again to escape.

From here, things get complicated. Steele’s friend Jim Bowers (Frank Ball) is shot and robbed while headed to the visit an assayer named Gadski to pay off his mortgage. Bowers’ daughter June (Peggy Campbell) visits Gadski’s partner (Jack Bently), who’s more interested in June marrying him than in finding out what’s happened to her father.

There’s a uranium mine, Steele’s sidekick Rusty (John Elliott), a stage robbery, a masquerade square dance interrupted by an obnoxious drunk, some friendly Indians, more poison and a climactic car chase that ends with Steele dangling off the edge of a cliff on the fender of a bus.

It’s all great fun. And it all plays out in under and hour.

Big Calibre was directed by Bob Steele’s father, Robert North Bradbury — who’d been making pictures with Bob (and his twin brother) since they were teenagers. The picture was written by Steele’s real-life friend Perry Murdock, who also plays the sinister chemist Ottot Zenz (below left). Murdock would eventually focus on work as a set decorator, working on hundreds of television shows, mostly Westerns.

After the first batch of Bob Steele Westerns, Sam Katzman left Supreme Pictures to launch his own Victory Pictures. When Republic absorbed Supreme about a year later, the company had contracts with Steele and Johnny Mack Brown, who were quickly absorbed into the Republic roster. A bit more money went into the Steele films from then on. In 1938, the Supreme name was dropped altogether.

Big Calibre fell into the public domain and can be found all over the place — with varying degrees of quality (or lack of it). It’s certainly worth an hour of your time.

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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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Blu-Ray Review: Cheyenne – The Complete Series (1955-62).

Posted in 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, Adele Mara, Alan Hale, Angie Dickinson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Audrey Totter, Bob Steele, Claud Akins, Clint Walker, Denver Pyle, Don "Red" Barry, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Faith Domergue, Frank Ferguson, George Waggner, Harry Lauter, Jack Elam, James Coburn, James Garner, James H. Griffith, Janes Gleason, Joe Kane, Lew Landers, LQ Jones, Marie Windsor, Michael Pate, Myron Healey, Nestor Paiva, Paul Landres, Peggie Castle, Penny Edwards, Phil Carey, R.G. Springsteen, Ray Teal, Robert J. Wilke, Slim Pickens, Television, Thomas Carr, Warner Archive, Warner Bros. on June 23, 2025| 10 Comments »

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 excellent Fort 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.

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Blu-Ray News #392: Hang ‘Em High (1968).

Posted in Alan Hale, Ben Johnson, Bob Steele, Clint Eastwood, DVD/Blu-Ray News, United Artists on May 27, 2025| 25 Comments »

Directed by Ted Post
Starring Clint Eastwood, Inger Stevens, Ed Begley, Pat Hingle, Ben Johnson, Charles McGraw, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper, James McArthur, Bob Steele

I’m really excited about this one. In July, ViaVision is releasing a new Blu-Ray of Hang ‘Em High (1968), Clint Eastwood’s first film after his three Italian Westerns with Sergio Leone. It’s a fascinating blend of elements from good old American Westerns, Spaghetti Westerns and the rising Revisionist Western. It has terrific performances from Ben Johnson and Bob Steele.

Got to do a commentary for this one and in my research, I was struck by the fact that while Hang ‘Em High was being shot, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) was still awaiting its American release. 

The Blu-Ray comes in a 3D Lenticular Hardcase with a set of art cards. Each set is individually numbered, limited to 2,000 units.

Thanks to Paula and Jennifer for help with researching this one!

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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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Blu-Ray News #379: Cattle Drive (1951).

Posted in 1951, Bob Steele, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Joel McCrea, Kino Lorber, Universal (International) on September 25, 2024| 5 Comments »

Directed by Kurt Neumann
Starring Joel McCrea, Dean Stockwell, Chill Wills, Bob Steele

Kino Lorber is bringing another of the Joel McCrea U-I Westerns to Blu-Ray, and that’s good news indeed. Kurt Neumann’s Cattle Drive (1951) will be available in November.

Dean Stockwell is a rich kid who ends up in a cattle drive with cowboy Joel McCrea. Along the way, Stockwell gets a real educaiton in life. This is a terrific Western with gorgeous Technicolor photography from Maury Gertsman. Highly, highly recommended.

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RIP, Barbra Fuller.

Posted in Bob Steele, Joe Kane, Lash La Rue, Republic Pictures, William Elliott on May 21, 2024| 1 Comment »


Barbra Fuller
(July 31, 1921 – May 15, 2024)

Actress Barbra Fuller has passed away 102.

Republic put her under contract in 1949 and put her in pictures like The Savage Horde (above, with Bob Steele), Rock Island Trail (1950) and Lonely Heart Bandits (all 1950). The Savage Horde, starring William Elliott, is excellent.

She was on the radio soap opera One Man’s Family from 1945 till 1959 and spent the late 50s working in TV quite a bit (Perry Mason, My Three Sons, etc.). She was in a 1953 episode of Adventures Of Superman.

Ms. Fuller was married to Lash La Rue for a while.

Thanks to Ralph Bradley for the news.

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Blu-Ray Review: Colt .45, The Complete Series (1957-1960).

Posted in Alan Hale, Bob Steele, Charles Bronson, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Frank Ferguson, George Waggner, Glenn Strange, John Doucette, Leo Gordon, Lew Landers, Lyle Talbot, Oliver Drake, Paul Fix, Paul Landres, Ray Teal, Robert J. Wilke, Roy Barcroft, Television, Warner Archive, Warner Bros., Wayne Morris on April 22, 2024| 8 Comments »

Well, here’s one I never thought we’d see, especially on Blu-Ray. Colt .45 (1957-1960) was one of Warner Bros’ Western shows of the late 50s — based (rather loosely) on their 1950 film starring Randolph Scott. It didn’t become a rerun favorite like Maverick or Cheyenne, and they haven’t been seen anywhere in years. (I saw a couple of episodes in 16mm at a Western film show ages ago.) Now all three seasons are available, and looking just heavenly, in a new Blu-Ray set from Warner Archive.

Wayde Preston plays Christopher Colt, a government agent posing as a Colt gun salesman. As he roams the West, he gets involved in all sorts of stuff, usually leading to some fancy shooting on his part. In the first season’s titles, Preston shoots toward the camera, then does some nice pistol-spinning as he puts his twin Colts back in their holsters. (Reminds me a little of the titles to The Rifleman.)

Wayde Preston and James Garner hanging around the Warner lot.

Though they run just half an hour and the budgets were obviously pretty slim, it’s a good show. All the WB Western series looked good, benefitting from excellent stock footage, using some nice WB sets and boasting terrific guest stars. Colt .45 featured Charles Bronson, Wayne Morris, Angie Dickinson, Robert Conrad, John Doucette, Ray Teal, Frank Ferguson, I. Stanford Jolley, Kathleen Crowley, Lee Van Cleef, Jack Lambert, Glenn Strange, Leonard Nimoy, Virginia Gregg, Paul Fix, Robert J. Wilke, Dorothy Provine, Lyle Talbot, Roy Barcroft, Adam West and Sandy Koufax(!).

Some solid directors worked on it, too — guys like Lee Sholum, Paul Landres, George Waggner, Lew Landers, Edward Bernds and Oliver Drake. 

The first season is excellent, but then things kinda went awry. Wayde Preston left the show (the usual pay dispute, they say), making for a short second season. For the third season, Donald May took over as Sam Colt, Jr., Christopher Colt’s cousin.

Warners evidently badmouthed Preston and he had a hard time landing parts around town. He was brought back toward the end of the third season, now supporting his cousin Sam. Colt .45 didn’t last beyond that third season and Preston eventually headed to Italy to make spaghetti Westerns and Anzio (1968).

With just two-and-a-half seasons (only 67 episodes), and a star who disappears midstream, it sorta makes sense that Colt .45 wouldn’t enjoy the perpetual syndication of other Western shows of the period. When it’s good, it’s really good, usually because of a solid story or an exemplary performance — Wayne Morris and John Doucette, for example, are excellent in their episodes.

Then there are the Blu-Rays. I’ve never seen a black & white TV show look this good — ever. There’s not a lot of old TV on Blu-Ray. I Love Lucy! and The Andy Griffith Show are, and they can’t hold a digital candle to this set. It’s stunning. From the logo in the grips of Preston’s Colts to the sewn-up holes in John Doucette’s shirt, the detail here is really incredible. (Of course, this highlights stuff like the stock footage stage driver looking nothing like the guy who speaks to Preston seconds later, but who cares?) The contrast is perfectly dialed in and the grain is just right. Whoever twiddled the knobs on this thing, I’d like to buy you lunch! Same goes for the folks in the vaults watching over this old material.

In short, the fact that Colt .45 made its way to video at all is a real surprise. That it would come out of left field looking like this, well, that seems like a miracle. Colt .45 – The Complete Series comes highly recommended. I think you’ll like the show, and I know you’ll be blown away by the care Warner Archive has given it.

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Blu-Ray News #356: Audie Murphy Collection III (1960 – 1963).

Posted in Allan "Rocky" Lane, Audie Murphy, Bob Steele, Dabbs Greer, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Felicia Farr, George Sherman, Gordon Kay, Kathleen Crowley, Kino Lorber, Lee Van Cleef, LQ Jones, Post-1959, R.G. Springsteen, Ray Teal, Royal Dano, Skip Homeier, Stephen McNally, Universal (International) on April 10, 2023| 7 Comments »

This third volume in Kino Lorber’s Audie Murphy series gives us three of the seven pictures he did with producer Gordon Kay for Universal International — each shot in less than three weeks for about half a million bucks. They’ve been given a bad rap over the years. Some of them are really good. And they always have a great cast.

Hell Bent For Leather (1960)
Directed by George Sherman
Starring Audie Murphy, Felicia Farr, Stephen McNally, Robert Middleton, Jan Merlin, John Qualen, Bob Steele, Allan Lane

Audie’s mistaken for a murderer. A marshal (Stephen McNally) knows Audie’s innocent, but wants the reward and the glory.

Shot in Lone Pine in CinemaScope. Directed by George Sherman. A cast that includes John Qualen and Bob Steele — what’s not to like? I’m really excited to be doing a commentary for this one.

Posse From Hell (1961)
Directed by Herbert Coleman
Starring Audie Murphy, John Saxon, Zohra Lampert, Vic Morrow, Robert Keith, Rodolfo Acosta, Royal Dano

Audie rides into town right after four escaped convicts have shot the marshal and taken a woman hostage. He assembles a rather worthless posse and goes after them. Herbert Coleman was an assistant director for Hitchcock and others. Here he makes his debut in the top slot.

Showdown (1963)
Directed by R. G. Springsteen
Starring Audie Murphy, Kathleen Crowley, Charles Drake, Harold J. Stone, Skip Homeier, L. Q. Jones, Strother Martin, Dabbs Greer

Audie is shackled to killer Harold J. Stone (around the neck!) when they make their escape. Stir in some bonds and Kathleen Crowley and things get pretty tense. Directed by the great R.G. Springsteen and shot in black and white by Ellis W. Carter. By the way, Murphy was furious when he learned this would be shot in B&W, but it works well.

The chance to see these pictures again, certain to look terrific, is a real treat. Highly, highly recommended!

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