Western releases include real gems
And Warner Home Video has decided to accommodate us by releasing 10 on DVD for the first time, including two that have never been on home video in any format.
"Errol Flynn: The Warner Bros. Western Collection" (Warner, 1940-50, b/w and color, four discs, $49.92). Flynn — despite being born in Australia and raised in England — made a fine Western hero, and the eight open-range epics he starred in proved to be box-office gold. His best is undisputedly "Dodge City," but these four are also pretty good.
• "Virginia City" (1940, b/w). Flynn's second Western reteams him with "Dodge City" director Michael Curtiz for a large-scale look at Civil War rivals attempting to get gold out of the title town. Not quite up there with their first film together, but it holds interest and boasts a first-rate supporting cast led by Randolph Scott, Miriam Hopkins and Humphrey Bogart.
• "San Antonio" (1945, color) has Flynn battling rustlers in a by-the-numbers script, but there's plenty of action — and romance, as bad girl Alexis Smith changes her ways to rope him in.
• "Rocky Mountain" (1950, b/w) is another Civil War epic, this time with Flynn heading West and battling Indians. Look for Slim Pickens in his first picture. (Filmed entirely in Gallup, N.M.; home-video debut)
Extras: full frame, audio commentaries (on "Rocky Mountain" and "Virginia City"), featurette ("Virginia City"), short films, cartoons, trailers (these four titles are available only in this box set)
"Western Classics Collection" (Warner, 1953-69, six discs, $59.92). When Westerns were in vogue, it wasn't unusual to see big stars riding the range. This set features William Holden, Richard Widmark, Robert Taylor and John Cassevetes, among others.
And among these colorful films are two titles that have long been requested, "Cimarron," starring Glenn Ford, and "The Stalking Moon," with Gregory Peck.
• "Escape From Fort Bravo" (1953) was filmed in Death Valley, and the unforgiving desert plays a significant role in this tale of the Civil War being disrupted by Indian raids. William Holden dominates as a tough captain at a Union prison, with Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, William Demarest and Polly Bergen.
• "Many Rivers to Cross" (1955) is a romantic comedy on the frontier as Eleanor Parker sets her sites on rough-hewn trapper Robert Taylor. Great supporting cast includes Victor McLaglen, Russ Tamblyn and James Arness, (Home-video debut)
Recent comments
I have been one who has enjoyed westerns since the 1950's. To read…
Jerry Billings | Sept. 5, 2008 at 10:29 p.m.
