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Archive for the ‘Kino Lorber’ Category

Blu-Ray News #404: The Maverick Queen (1956).

Posted in 1956, Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Jack Marta, Jim Davis, Joe Kane, John Doucette, Kino Lorber, Republic Pictures, Scott Brady, Wallace Ford on May 18, 2026| 20 Comments »

Directed by Joe Kane
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Scott Brady, Mary Murphy, Wallace Ford, Howard Petrie, Jim Davis, John Doucette

The Maverick Queen (1956) paired Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan a year before Sam Fuller’s Forty Guns. For Republic, this was a pretty lavish picture — color, widescreen and location work in Silverton, Colorado.

From the New York Times review on June 4, 1956:”The Maverick Queen introduces Republic’s wide screen process, called Naturama. Republic reportedly spent two years developing this anamorphic system. (Its projection aspect ratio of 2.35 to 1 is somewhat narrower than that of CinemaScope). Thus equipped, the film has plenty of room to show, in color, the wide open spaces of Colorado, where it was made. But The Maverick Queen shows also that Republic, too, has recognized the growth of the screen—sideways. For the film is an old horse opera in still another technological dress.”

It’s ironic that since its original release, Naturama’s maiden voyage has been seen only via terrible pan and scan transfers. Well, that’s about to change. It’s coming to Blu-Ray — from a 4K scan of the original camera negative — in July from Kino Lorber.

Director Joe Kane: “The studio was scraping the bottom of the barrel to get a big moneymaker and they finally let me have color and Naturama and Barbara Stanwyck… It was a real pleasure to work with a grand trouper like Missy. She’d do anything, and you had to darn-near hogtie her to keep her from breaking her neck on a dangerous stunt.” (From Close Up: The Contract Director, 1976)

Can’t wait to see Jack Marta’s camerawork on Blu-Ray. Highly, highly recommended.

Thanks to Paula for the tip. This is a revision of a 15 year old post!

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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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4K News #399: El Dorado (1967).

Posted in Arthur Hunnicutt, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Howard Hawks, John Wayne, Kino Lorber, Paramount, Robert Mitchum on April 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Directed by Howard Hawks
Starring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix, Arthur Hunnicutt, Michele Carey, Christopher George

“The Big One With The Big Two” is coming in the Big 4!

Kino Lorber has announced that they’re working on a 4K disc of El Dorado (1967). Can’t wait to see how this one looks — the Blu-Ray from Paramount a few years back was a disappointment.

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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 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 #384-A: Without Honor (1932).

Posted in DVD/Blu-Ray News, Harry Carey, Kino Lorber, Pre-1950 on April 5, 2025| 4 Comments »

Directed by William Nigh
Starring Harry Carey, Mae Busch, Gibson Gowland, Lafe McKee, Tom London

Kino Lorber announced their Blu-Ray of Law And Order (1932) a while back. Somewhere along the way, they added another Harry Carey picture, Without Honor (1932), to the mix.

Where Law And Order is a pretty big picture, Without Honor is quite the opposite — a quick and cheap Western from the Weiss Brothers. (Maybe the fact that is was so quick and so cheap explains why they mistakenly added an S to the title in some of the ads and posters.)

If you’re anything like me, you can watch Harry Carey in anything. He’s always so natural and real.

Without Honor will be saddled with a commentary by yours truly. It was a blast to research folks like director William Nigh and character actor Tom London.

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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 #384: Law And Order (1932).

Posted in Andy Devine, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Kino Lorber, Universal (International), Walter Brennan on November 9, 2024| 40 Comments »

Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Starring Walter Huston, Harry Carey, Russell Hopton, Raymond Hatton, Andy Devine, Russell Simpson, Walter Brennan

We know Edward L. Cahn for his last 50s programmers, from sci-fi and horror stuff like It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958) and Creature With the Atom Brain (1955) to cheap Westerns like Gunfighters Of Abilene (1960). But earlier in his career, he did bigger pictures like the Pre-Code Western Law And Order (1932) — which is coming to Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber.

Law And Order is the first film to tackle the gunfight and the OK Corral. It’s a rather fictionalized affair, based on the book Saint Johnson by W. R. Burnett (as Lincoln MacVeagh). Walter Huston plays the Wyatt Earp-ish part,

Walter Huston’s son John co-wrote the screenplay with Tom Reed. John Huston would direct the film version of another Burnett novel, The Asphalt Jungle.

Cahn’s brother Philip edited the film, which was re-released with the stupid title Guns A’Blazin.

Law And Order is excellent, coming from a time when most Westerns were B pictures made for next to nothing. Recommended.

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Blu-Ray News #380: The Lonely Man (1957).

Posted in 1957, Claud Akins, Denver Pyle, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Elisha Cook, Jr., Henry Levin, Jack Palance, John Doucette, Kino Lorber, Lee Van Cleef, Lionel Lindon, Neville Brand, Paramount on October 5, 2024| 8 Comments »

Directed by Henry Levin
Starring Jack Palance, Anthony Perkins, Neville Brand, Robert Middleton, Elaine Aiken, Elisha Cook, Jr., Claude Akins, Lee Van Cleef, Denver Pyle, John Doucette

When I reviewed the DVD of Henry Levin’s The Lonely Man (1957) many moons ago, I commented that with Lionel Lindon’s Vistavision photography, it’d make a swell Blu-Ray. Well, thanks to Kino Lorber, we’ll find out just how swell. They have it on the way, with a commentary track by yours truly.

The Lonely Man is a variation on the gunfighter-wants-to-hang-up-his-guns idea, with an estranged son tossed into the mix. Gunman Jacob Wade (Jack Palance) comes home to lead a normal, peaceful life, only to find the wife he abandoned dead (suicide?) and his son (Anthony Perkins) a very bitter young man. Father and son wind up at Wade’s ranch, where they encounter Ada (Elaine Aiken), a herd of mustangs and some guys from Wade’s past — Neville Brand, Claud Aikens, Lee Van Cleef and Elisha Cook. And to top it all off, Wade’s going blind.

The picture’s probably Henry Levin’s best. And it’s got a great cast, almost a Bad Guy Hall Of Fame. But the real “star” of The Lonely Man is cinematographer Lionel Lindon. He did some fine work over the course of his long career — from Road To Utopia (1945) and The Black Scorpion (1957) to The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and The Munsters, but this one is just stunning. The rich shadows of the interiors and the deep focus of the Alabama Hills exteriors are gorgeous in black and white VistaVision. And that’s the primary why this Blu-Ray comes so highly recommended.

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