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Archive for the ‘Fred MacMurray’ Category

Blu-Ray News #400: The Texas Rangers (1936).

Posted in DVD/Blu-Ray News, Fred MacMurray, George "Gabby" Hayes, Kino Lorber, Paramount on April 16, 2026| 4 Comments »

Directed by King Vidor
Starring Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie, Jean Parker, Lloyd Nolan, Edward Ellis

Kino Lorber’s bring The Texas Rangers (1936) to Blu-Ray in June. It had been ages since I’d seen it, and I was really impressed with it — the scope of it and some of the stunt work. There’s a horse fall at the end that’s really something.

This was Fred MacMurray’s first Western, in a part originally meant for Gary Cooper. Of course, in the 50s, MacMurray made a couple of my favorites. I’m not a big Jack Oakie fan, but he’s really good here. Jean Parker is cute as a bug. And George “Gabby”Hayes has a great part as a judge (this was around the same time he was doing the first Hopalong Cassidy pictures).

The transfer is stunning. And it’ll have two commentaries: one by Max Allan Collins and Heath Holland, and a second from some clod named Toby.

It’s easy to recommend the King Vidor The Texas Rangers. Would love to see the 1951 Phil Karlson one, too.

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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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RIP, Joan Weldon.

Posted in 1953, 3-D, Andre de Toth, Columbia, Fred MacMurray, Gordon Douglas, Guy Madison, Harry Keller, Joan Weldon, Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Warner Bros. on March 5, 2021| 8 Comments »

Joan Weldon
(August 5, 1930 – February 11, 2021)

Joan Weldon, a lovely actress who appeared in some terrific pictures in the 50s, has passed away at 90.

She appeared with Randolph Scott in two Westerns, The Stranger Wore A Gun (1953) and Riding Shotgun (1954), both directed by Andre de Toth, along with The Command (1954) with Guy Madison, Gunsight Ridge (1957) with Joel McCrea and Day Of The Badman (1958) with Fred MacMurray. But the big one, the one she’s known for, is Gordon Douglas’s great giant ant picture Them! (1954).

She was quote a singer and did a lot of musical theater, including appearing with Forrest Tucker in The Music Man.

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Blu-Ray News #319: Horizons West (1952) And Quantez (1957).

Posted in 1952, 1957, Budd Boetticher, Dorothy Malone, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Fred MacMurray, Harry Keller, James Arness, John McIntire, Julie Adams, Kino Lorber, Robert Ryan, Rock Hudson, Universal (International) on January 21, 2021| 24 Comments »

Quantez (1957)
Directed by Harry Keller
Starring Fred MacMurray, Dorothy Malone, James Barton, Sydney Chaplin, John Gavin, John Larch, Michael Ansara

Just finished recording a commentary for Harry Keller’s Quantez (1957), a film I appreciate more every time I see it. It feels awkward to plug these things when I work on ’em, but this one is something special. The movie is ripe for rediscovery — and I think it’s the best commentary I’ve done.

It’s also a picture with superb art direction and cinematography, so high-definition will be a big plus.

Horizons West (1952)
Directed by Budd Boetticher
Starring Robert Ryan, Julia Adams, Rock Hudson, John McIntire, Raymond Burr, James Arness, Dennis Weaver

Horizons West (1952) has the great cast of contract players — Adams, Hudson, McIntire, Dennis Weaver — and gorgeous Technicolor we expect from Universal International Westerns of the early 50s. It’s a post-Civi War story of Ryan’s ambitions getting the best of him. Budd Boetticher keeps it short on running time and long on action. 

The color will make this one really pop on Blu-Ray. I’ll be recording a commentary for it next week. Both pictures are expected in May from Kino Lorber. 

There haven’t been many 50s Westerns riding up on DVD or Blu-Ray lately. These will help make up for it.

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Blu-Ray News #317: Western Classics II.

Posted in 1953, 1956, 1957, Bob Steele, Dorothy Malone, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Fred MacMurray, George Marshall, Jeff Chandler, Jeffrey Hunter, Kino Lorber, Lee Marvin, Maureen O'Hara, Universal (International), Ward Bond, Willis Bouchey on December 17, 2020| 1 Comment »

Kino Lorber’s second set of 50s Westerns on Blu-Ray serves up some good ones: The Redhead From Wyoming (1953), Pillars Of The Sky (1956) and Gun For A Corward (1957). It’s due April 6.

The Redhead From Wyoming (1953)
Directed by Lee Sholem
Starring Maureen O’Hara, Alex Nicol, William Bishop, Alexander Scourby, Robert Strauss, Gregg Palmer, Jack Kelly, Dennis Weaver, Stacy Harris

Maureen O’Hara runs a saloon and ends up in the middle of the usual cattlemen vs. settlers thing. It’s short, fast and beautifully shot by Winton C. Hoch.

Pillars Of The Sky (1956)
Directed by George Marshall
Starring Jeff Chandler, Dorothy Malone, Ward Bond, Keith Andes, Lee Marvin

Jeff Chandler is a calvary officer trying to keep his troops and Dorothy Malone from being scalped. Harold Lipstein shot it in CinemaScope on location in Oregon. Filmed right after The Searchers wrapped, it features a number of the same players (Ward Bond, Walter Coy, Olive Carey, Beulah Archuletta).

Gun For A Coward (1957)
Directed by Abner Biberman
Starring Fred MacMurray, Jeffrey Hunter, Janice Rule, Dean Stockwell, Bob Steele

This one weaves a family struggle into a cattle drive and rustlers story. It looks great in CinemaScope and MacMurray is terrific.

All three come with a trailer and commentary (I’m doing Pillars Of The Sky). And given Kino Lorber’s track record with their Universal movies, they’ll look terrific.

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RIP, John Ericson.

Posted in 1955, 1957, 1958, 20th Century-Fox, Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, John Sturges, Paul Landres, Sam Fuller on May 5, 2020| 8 Comments »

John Ericson
(September 25, 1926 – May 3, 2020)

John Ericson didn’t make a lot of movies (there’s tons of TV), but he’s in some really good ones, especially when it comes to 50s Westerns — John Sturges’ Bad Day At Black Rock (1955), The Return Of Jack Slade (1955), Sam Fuller’s Forty Guns (1957, above), Day Of The Badman (1958) and Paul Landres’ Oregon Passage (1958). He has passed away at 93.

Ericson’s probably best known by folks today for TV’s Honey West (1965) with Ann Francis. Worth looking for is Pretty Boy Floyd (1960), a cheap entry in the late-50s, early-60s run of gangster bios. It’s no Baby Face Nelson (1957), but it’s well worth your time.

Thanks to Walter for the tip.

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50s Westerns DVD/Blu-Ray News #294: A Bunch Of Universal Westerns Coming From Kino Lorber.

Posted in Alan Ladd, Audie Murphy, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Fred MacMurray, Jeff Chandler, Kino Lorber, Randolph Scott, Rock Hudson, Universal (International) on January 24, 2020| 18 Comments »

No specifics yet, but Kino Lorber is preparing quite a few Universal Westerns for DVD and/or Blu-Ray.

They come from the 1940s through the 70s, and they feature folks like Audie Murphy, Jeff Chandler, Rock Hudson, Randolph Scott, Fred MacMurray, Alan Ladd and Clint Eastwood. More news as it turns up.

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RIP, John Gavin.

Posted in 1957, Dorothy Malone, Fred MacMurray, Harry Keller, Universal (International) on February 10, 2018| 10 Comments »

John Gavin
(April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018)

John Gavin, who played Jack Loomis in Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) and Julius Caesar in Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960) has passed away at 86. He also appeared in the sublimely wonderful Quantez (1957, above),  a sadly under-appreciated 50s Western from Universal-International, starring Fred McMurray and Dorothy Malone (who just passed away herself) and directed by Harry Keller.

Gavin was almost cast as James Bond for Diamonds Are Forever (1971). He served as ambassador to Mexico during the Reagan administration. He was married to Constance Towers.

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RIP, Dorothy Malone.

Posted in 1957, Dorothy Malone, Fred MacMurray, Harry Keller on January 20, 2018| 13 Comments »

Between takes on Quantez (1957).

Dorothy Malone (Dorothy Eloise Maloney)
January 30, 1924 – January 19, 2018

One of my favorites actresses (especially in Westerns), the great Dorothy Malone, has passed away.

I first remember seeing her in The Big Sleep (1946), as the sexy girl in the Acme bookstore. And she made a huge impression on me in Harry Keller’s Quantez (1957), a sadly under-appreciated Fred MacMurray Western from Universal. She won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Douglas Sirk’s Written On The Wind (1956). But for me, it’s Quantez.

Her other Westerns include South Of St. Louis (1949), The Nevadan (1950), Saddle Legion (1951), Tall Man Riding (1955), Pillars Of The Sky (1956) and Warlock (1959). Oh, and The Last Voyage (1960) is terrific.

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DVR Alert: Face Of A Fugitive (1959).

Posted in 1959, Columbia, Daniel B. Ullman, DVD reviews, releases, TV, etc., Fred MacMurray, James Coburn on February 28, 2014| 35 Comments »

Face Of Fugitive OS sized

You’ve probably heard of getTV, the newest TV sub-channel from Sony Pictures Television. (It’s one of the digital broadcast channels we get here in Raleigh.) Tomorrow, March 1, they’re offering up the excellent Fred MacMurray Western Face Of A Fugitive (1959) at 7:00 and 10:40 PM. It gave James Coburn a really good early role. A great way to spend a Saturday night.

This is one I highly recommend, both to whoever out there has a chance to watch it — and to Columbia for a nice widescreen DVD release.

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