New Dvd Info

Here is some info I found over on Digital Bits, enjoy:

Rough Riders Triple Feature #1 (1941)
Rough Riders Triple Feature #2 (1942)
Rough Riders Triple Feature #3 (1942)
(released on DVD by Falcon Picture Group for Critics Choice Video on November 9th, 2004)

Cowboy trios were a popular component of the B westerns of the 1930s and 1940s. Republic's The Three Mesquiteers (initially Bob Livingston, Ray Corrigan, and Max Terhune) are probably the most well-known because of Republic's high B-western production values and the series longevity (51 films from 1936 to 1943). One of Republic's competitors - Monogram Pictures - thought so much of the idea that it had three such trios - The Range Busters, The Trail Blazers, and The Rough Riders. Of these, The Range Busters were the most long-lived (24 films from 1940 to 1943), but the best in my opinion were The Rough Riders. Three veteran B western stars - Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, and Raymond Hatton - played the leads and gave some real class to the films they made. All were 50 years of age or older, and appeared to really enjoy working with each other in the eight films they made together in 1941 and 1942. Jones, McCoy, and Hatton each played retired U.S. marshals who are summoned out of retirement at the beginning of each film to look after some injustice. At the end, each returns to his place of retirement (Jones to Arizona, McCoy to Wyoming, and Hatton to Texas) to the cry of "Goodbye Rough Riders". Due to the stars' ages, the action was sometimes rather perfunctorily handled, but the scripts were generally good and Monogram did its best to provide decent production values. After the U.S. entered World War II, Tim McCoy joined the service and without him, Buck Jones and Raymond Hatton did one more film playing their Rough Riders characters, but it (Dawn on the Great Divide) was not advertised as a Rough Riders film. It was Buck Jones' final screen appearance as he lost his life as a result of the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston in November 1942.

All eight Rough Rider films (Arizona Bound [1941], Gunman from Bodie [1941], Forbidden Trails [1941], Below the Border [1942], Ghost Town Law [1942], Riders of the West [1942], Down Texas Way [1942] and West of the Law [1942]), plus Dawn on the Great Divide, have been gathered together on three discs by Falcon Picture Group for release by Critics Choice as part of its Classic Movie Collection. Of the nine titles, all are quite watchable if fairly formulaic of the B western genre. The most interesting are Gunman from Bodie and Ghost Town Law due to somewhat more contrived plots than usual. Present in virtually all of them are the extremely harmonious Rough Riders theme song ("The Rough Riders ride, take care. The Rough Riders ride, beware …"), the novel ways in which each of the three principals gets introduced into each plot, and a fine cast of B western character players featuring the likes of Charles King, Glenn Strange, Roy Barcroft, Tris Coffin, Harry Woods, Bud Osborne, etc. If you're already familiar with The Rough Riders films, you know the pleasure you're in for as far as the films go. If you haven't seen the Rough Riders before, look forward to films that are for the most part entertaining timepassers indeed.

Unfortunately, Falcon's presentation of the films on DVD leaves much to be desired. All are presented correctly full frame, but image quality is fair to poor. The transfers are a riot of scratches, speckles, dirt, and debris and look quite soft with poor contrast and poor shadow detail. Disc #1 is the least bad of the three with all three films looking better than the VHS copies with which I was able to compare them. Disc #2 is the worst. Unfortunately Ghost Town Law is on that disc and it's barely watchable. Riders of the West is out of focus and watchable only if you're prepared to put up with a headache afterwards. Disc #3 is modestly better than #2 so that at least Buck Jones's last film is watchable. The mono sound on all discs is in very rough shape with continuous hiss and crackle plus occasional motorboating. Most of the films seem complete although all their running times vary from those listed on the containers by at least a minute or two. The exceptions are Arizona Bound which is a shortened version of 49 minutes instead of the proper 58-minute length, and Dawn on the Great Divide which is its proper 70-minute length instead of the 62 minutes listed on the box. There are no supplements other than an unlisted trailer that precedes Forbidden Trails on disc #1. The trailer is for Silent Valley, a 1935 Reliable Pictures B western starring Tom Tyler.

Here are some more films being released that some of you might be interested in:

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Warner's just announced the 6-disc Errol Flynn: The Signature Collection box set for release on 4/19 (SRP $52.98). The set will include Captain Blood, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Sea Hawk, They Died with their Boots On and Dodge City, all available for the first time on DVD, plus a bonus disc containing the all-new, feature length documentary, The Adventures of Errol Flynn. The films will be available separately (SRP $19.97 each), but the documentary will only be available in the box set.

And a couple more:

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Purgatory, The Desperate Trail, Conagher, Last Stand at Saber River. all for 5/17.

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BTW, where'd you see this info? I check a couple of places at least twice a week for new releases and haven't seen this.

If I told you, I'd have to......... Opps sorry!! HEHE!! :lol: :lol:

I got it of Digital Bits website. Damn now you guys will know my secrets, not really.

Yet another announcement some of you may be looking forward too. This was all taken from Digital Bits:

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Look for MGM's 4-disc Steve McQueen Collection gift set on 5/17 (SRP $49.96), featuring The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven: Special Edition, Junior Bonner and The Thomas Crown Affair. MGM has number of classic westerns due on 5/17 as well, including Hour of the Gun, Escort West, The Hunting Party, Invitation to a Gunfighter, More Dead Than Alive, Sam Whisky and Scalphunters (SRP $14.95 each). Also announced for 5/17 by MGM are a pair of Bob Hope films, The Princess and the Pirate and I'll Take Sweden, and a pair of Abbot and Costello films, The Noose Hangs High and Dance with Me, Henry (SRP $14.95 each).

Here is some info about the movies I just posted above.

Hour of the Gun

Starring: James Garner, Jason Robards
Director: John Sturges
Synopsis: The story of Wyatt Earp and the bloody aftermath of the famed shootout at the OK corral.

Escort West

Starring: Victor Mature, Elaine Stewart
Director: Francis D. Lyon
Synopsis: An ex-Confederate officer and his young daughter, traveling West, rescue two women survivors of an Indian attack.

The Hunting Party

Starring: Oliver Reed, Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen
Director: Don Medford
Synopsis: The rich and ruthless rancher Brandt Ruger keeps his beautiful young wife Melissa like a part of his property, subdued to his will. But one day she's kidnapped by the famous outlaw Frank Calder - just to teach him reading, so he tells her. Calder doesn't know or care who's wife she is. He takes care of her well, and eventually Melissa falls in love with him. But Ruger feels humiliated. Full of hate, he sets out to kill him - and Melissa too, if necessary. Together with his friends and the newest technology in guns, which carry 800 yards, he initiates a battue on Calder and his gang.

Invitation to a Gunfighter

Starring: Yul Brynner, George Segal
Director: Richard Wilson
Synopsis: A paid assassin creates a stir among the people of an Old West town.

More Dead Than Alive

Starring: Clint Walker, Vincent Price
Director: Robert Sparr
Synopsis: When the multiple murderer Cain is released from prison after 18 years, he wants to settle down as a rancher and never touch a gun again. But his former life haunts him; not only that nobody wants to give him a job, some villains also want to pay him back.

Sam Whiskey

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Clint Walker
Director: Arnold Laven
Synopsis: Sam Whiskey is an all-round talent, but when the attractive widow Laura offers him a job, he hesitates: he shall salvage gold bars, which Laura's dead husband stole recently, from a sunken ship and secretly bring them back to the mint before they are missed.

Scalphunters

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Shelley Winters
Director: Sydney Pollack
Synopsis: Two-fisted Western comedy about a rough-and-tumble trapper who purchases a highly educated slave. Excellent performances and terrific action sequences highlight this fun film.

Here is yet another movie some maybe interested in. I have not personally seen it before. Here it is:

Bad Day at Black Rock

Starring: Spencer Tracy & Robert Ryan
Director: John Sturges
Synopsis: Mysterious one-armed stranger probes small town's guilty conscience in this deliberately paced showdown-themed Western. Though it's somewhat dated, many drama fans still enjoy its crackling tension, powerful characters.

Release date is 5/10.

Thanks guys. I remember awhile back somebody talking about it. And how good it was. I will have to check it out. The library just sent me a notice and Arrowhead and Last Train From Gun Hill are ready for me to pickup. Oh and Patton is as well.

Well I am not done yet. I have found another bit of DVD release info. And this one is of interest to me. Here it is:

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In DVD release news today, Warner's announced a whole mess of new catalog titles. First up, the studio will deliver a slate of World War II films on 5/3, including Blood Alley, Battle of the Bulge, Battleground and The Big Red One: Special Edition. And coming on 5/24 is Burt Lancaster in the Vietnam War story Go Tell the Spartans. The Big Red One will be a 2-disc set ($26.99), including the film in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Extras will include deleted scenes, audio commentary, a number of behind-the-scenes featurettes, a photo gallery and an original TV spot. We should point out that this will also be the 163-minute "reconstructed" version that premiered at Cannes last year (created by filmmaker Richard Schickel using Sam Fuller's shooting script). It's some 40 minutes longer than the original theatrical (and previous DVD) release.

Warner will also release the TV western Purgatory on DVD on 5/17.

Of particular interest is The Big Red One: SE, Battleground and Battle of the Bulge. I have the first 2 movies and especially look forward to the SE edition of The Big Red One. And it will be interesting to see what is added to Battleground as I thought the version that I have is quite good. And finally, I have been looking forward to the Battle of the Bulge for sometime now due the the historical accuracy that was used when filming this movie, and it don't hurt that Henry Fonda is in it.

And of course you cannot overlook Blood Alley with J.W. and Lauren Bacall.

Here is some more info about movies coming on DVD some of you might be interested in.

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On March 29th, the Roan Group will offer The Vagabond Lover (1929, with Rudy Vallee) and His Private Secretary (1933, with John Wayne).

May 17th will be a busy day for MGM. A new edition of The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) will be released as well as a Steve McQueen Giftset (includes the Thomas Crown Affair disc as well as three previously released McQueen titles - The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Junior Bonner). There will also be several comedy titles released as well as a lengthy list of spring western releases. Comedies Dance with Me Henry, The Noose Hangs High (both Abbott and Costello), and The Princess and the Pirate (Bob Hope) will feature full-frame transfers while I'll Take Sweden (Bob Hope) will arrive with a non-anamorphic 1.66:1 transfer. The westerns will be: Escort West (2.35:1 anamorphic and pan and scan), Invitation to a Gunfighter (1.66:1 non-anamorphic), Sam Whiskey (1.85:1 non-anamorphic and pan and scan), The Scalphunters (2.35:1 anamorphic), Hour of the Gun (2.35:1 anamorphic), More Dead Than Alive (1.85:1 anamorphic and pan and scan), and The Hunting Party (1.85:1 anamorphic and pan and scan).

Fox's second wave of Studio Classics for 2005, due May 24th. Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Buffalo Bill (1944), Broken Lance (1954), Forty Guns (1957), The Bravados (1958), Warlock (1959), and In Old Arizona (1929). The war films are: The Frogmen (1951) and A Farewell to Arms (1957).

On April 5th and kicking off the traditional spring release time for westerns, Columbia will offer eight new titles: Bonanza Town (1951), The Desperados (1943), A Good Day For A Hanging (1958), Jubal (1956), Lust for Gold (1949), Texas (1941), The Texican (1966), and The Violent Men (1955) - all apparently in the OAR and anamorphically enhanced as appropriate. Also being released then is a new special edition of The Professionals (1966) to include an anamorphic transfer (not known if it's a new one, although the old one was quite good) and three featurettes.

Other Warner news of interest includes the release of Battle of the Bulge (1965, Henry Fonda) on May 3rd and though not classic titles, for Samuel Fuller and Burt Lancaster fans, the appearance respectively of The Big Red One: Special Edition (1980) on May 3rd and Go Tell the Spartans (1978) on the 24th. There are now suggestions that Ben Hur (1959) will see a four-disc Collector's Edition appear this coming September. It will apparently also include the 1925 version of the film. Other expectations are the anticipated new Ultra Resolution restoration of The Wizard of Oz (1939) in October (two-discs) and the long-anticipated King Kong (1933) special edition (two discs) in November.

The 19th will bring us a six-disc set - Errol Flynn: The Signature Collection. Included will be Captain Blood, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Sea Hawk, They Died with their Boots On, and Dodge City. These titles will be available separately as well. Each disc includes a Warner Night at the Movies program of shorts hosted by Leonard Maltin and a new making-of featurette. In addition, exclusive to the set will be a new documentary The Adventures of Errol Flynn.

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