Posts by B5Erik

Yeah, maybe I should have been a little more specific....

I was going for a list of Western STARS - true movie stars who were the leading men in their Westerns.

There were certainly many GREAT supporting actors (Ben Johnson comes to mind right away, as does Bruce Cabot), but I was looking for a list of what you believe to be the best Western leading men - the stars of the movies.

Gregory Peck
Burt Lancaster
Steve McQueen
Gary Cooper
Charlton Heston
Errol Flynn
Tom Selleck

-Those are some great names that I missed when doing my list off the top of my head.

And if Costner can do at least one more great western he will have earned a place on that list (I loved Silverado and Open Range, and I liked Wyatt Earp, even if it was overlong and maybe a little over serious).

I just wish I could get a couple million dollars together so that I could make my own Western! I've got a story, and casting ideas, and even some thoughts on a director - but, of course, no money, no contacts, no chance. Oh, well - at least I can dream!

But as for the list of great Western STARS, it looks as if there were certainly a lot more of them than I originally thought of! (I still like my original top 5 list, though...)

By the way - Joel McCrea was GREAT on the old radio show Tales of the Texas Rangers as Ranger Jayce Pearson! The show aired in the late 40's or early 50's, and the stories took place in the 20's and 30's - but it was a great Western/Detective hybrid!

OK, I think we all agree that John Wayne was the greatest Western movie star of all time, but who else would you put in the top 5?

I'd have to rank it...

1. John Wayne
2. Clint Eastwood
3. James Stewart
4. Randolph Scott
5. Henry Fonda

Other notables...

Richard Widmark
Kirk Douglas
Glenn Ford
Kevin Costner

Who am I missing?

Ahh, I remember 1983 like it was yesterday! (What do you mean it wasn't yesterday?)

And I'm sure some of our "senior" members remember 1968 well, too! It was a great year to be born....

I would think that Audie Murphy deserves some consideration (most decorated soldier in WWII and all).

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Originally posted by The Ringo Kid@May 27 2005, 01:40 PM
I'd like to see a list of all Westerns that have already come out or are coming out on DVD this year before choosing. Is there any such list available?

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Hold on let me check...

Here's what I got from Barrie Maxwell on The Digital Bits website:

Title Year Release Date Company
Way Out West (in Laurel and Hardy: Volume Two) 1937 March 15 Lions Gate
Bells of San Fernando --(Monte Blue)-- 1947-- March 29-- Alpha
Big Boy Rides Again-- (Guinn Williams)-- 1935-- March 29-- Alpha
Custer’s Last Stand [serial]-- (Rex Lease)-- 1936-- March 29-- Alpha
Days of Jesse James-- (Roy Rogers)-- 1939-- March 29-- Alpha
Fighting Mustang-- (Sunset Carson)-- 1948-- March 29-- Alpha
Ghost Town Law-- (Buck Jones)-- 1942-- March 29-- Alpha
God’s Country and the Man-- (Tom Keene)-- 1937-- March 29-- Alpha
High Lonesome-- (John Drew Barrymore)-- 1950-- March 29-- VCI
Kansas Pacific-- (Sterling Hayden)-- 1953-- March 29-- Alpha
Roaring Six-Guns-- (Kermit Maynard)-- 1937-- March 29-- Alpha
Sky Bandits-- (Dave O’Brien)-- 1940-- March 29-- Alpha
Sundowners, The-- (Robert Preston)-- 1950-- March 29-- VCI
Sunset Range-- (Hoot Gibson)-- 1935-- March 29-- Alpha
Terror of the Plains-- (Tom Tyler)-- 1934-- March 29-- Alpha
Whistling Bullets-- (Kermit Maynard)-- 1936-- March 29-- Alpha
Windjammer-- (George O’Brien)-- 1937-- March 29-- Alpha
Winners of the West [serial]-- (Dick Foran)-- 1940-- March 29-- Alpha

Bonanza Town-- (Charles Starrett)-- 1951-- April 5-- Columbia
Desperadoes, The-- (Randolph Scott)-- 1943-- April 5-- Columbia
Good Day for a Hanging, A-- (Fred MacMurray)-- 1958-- April 5-- Columbia
Jubal-- (Glenn Ford)-- 1956-- April 5-- Columbia
Lust for Gold-- (Ida Lupino)-- 1949-- April 5-- Columbia
Professionals, The-- (Lee Marvin) SE-- 1966-- April 5-- Columbia
Silverado-- (Scott Glenn)-- 1985-- April 5-- Columbia
Texas-- (William Holden)-- 1941-- April 5-- Columbia
Texican, The-- (Audie Murphy)-- 1966-- April 5-- Columbia
Violent Men, The-- (Barbara Stanwyck)-- 1955-- April 5-- Columbia

Blue Canadian Rockies-- (Gene Autry)-- 1952-- April 19-- Image
Dodge City-- (Errol Flynn)-- 1939-- April 19-- WB
They Died with Their Boots On-- (Errol Flynn)-- 1941-- April 19-- WB
Three Violent People-- (Charlton Heston)-- 1957-- April 19-- Paramount
Wagon Team-- (Gene Autry)-- 1952-- April 19-- Image

Adventures of Jim Bowie: Volume 2-- April 26-- Alpha
Fury (4 Episodes)-- April 26--- Alpha
Gunsmoke Ranch-- (Robert Livingston)-- 1937-- April 26-- Alpha
Hard Ground-- (Burt Reynolds)-- 2003-- April 26-- Goodtimes
My Name Is Nobody-- (Terence Hill)-- 1973-- April 26-- Image
Mystery Mountain [serial]-- (Ken Maynard)-- 1934-- April 26-- Alpha
Overland Mail [serial]-- (Lon Chaney Jr.)-- 1941-- April 26-- Alpha
Phantom of the West [serial]-- (Tom Tyler)-- 1931-- April 26-- Alpha
Purple Vigilantes, The-- (Robert Livingston)-- 1938-- April 26-- Alpha
Riders of Death Valley [serial]-- (Buck Jones)-- 1941-- April 26-- Alpha

Guns of Honor (Todd Jensen) 1994 May 3 Lions Gate
Lonesome Dove: The Series, Volume 1 May 3 Platinum
Other Side of the Law (Jurgen Prochnow) 1994 May 3 Lions Gate
Silent Tongue (Richard Harris) 1994 May 3 Lions Gate
Tall in the Saddle (John Wayne) 1944 May 3 WB
Train Robbers. The (John Wayne) 1973 May 3 WB

Bad Day at Black Rock (Tracy) 1954 May 10 WB
Have Gun Will Travel: Season Two 1958/1959 May 10 Paramount

Blue (Terence Stamp) 1968 May 17 Paramount
Conagher (Sam Elliott) 1991 May 17 WB
Desperate Trail, The (Sam Elliott) 1995 May 17 WB
Escort West (Victor Mature) 1959 May 17 MGM
Hour of the Gun (James Garner) 1967 May 17 MGM
Invitation to a Gunfighter (Yul Brynner) 1964 May 17 MGM
Johnny Reno (Dana Andrews) 1966 May 17 Paramount
Last Stand at Saber River (Tom Selleck) 1997 May 17 WB
Purgatory (Sam Shepard) 1999 May 17 WB
Sam Whiskey (Burt Reynolds) 1969 May 17 MGM
Scalphunters, The (Burt Lancaster) 1968 May 17 MGM
Waterhole #3 (James Coburn) 1967 May 17 Paramount

Bravados, The (Gregory Peck) 1958 May 24 Fox
Broken Lance (Spencer Tracy) 1954 May 24 Fox
Buffalo Bill (Joel Mc Crea) 1944 May 24 Fox
Drums Along the Mohawk (Henry Fonda) 1939 May 24 Fox
Forty Guns (Barbara Stanwyck) 1957 May 24 Fox
In Old Arizona (Warner Baxter) 1929 May 24 Fox
Trail to Hope Rose, The (Ernest Borgnine) 2004 May 24 Goodtimes
Warlock (Henry Fonda) 1959 May 24 Fox

Annie Oakley Volume 1 May 31 Alpha
Annie Oakley Volume 2 May 31 Alpha
Annie Oakley Volume 3 May 31 Alpha
Annie Oakley Volume 4 May 31 Alpha
Appaloosa, The [contained in the Marlon Brando Collection] 1966 May 31 Universal
Banjo Hackett: Roamin’ Free (Don Meredith) 1976 May 31 Columbia
Buckskin Lady (Patricia Medina) 1957 May 31 Alpha
Buffalo Bill Jr. Volume 1 May 31 Alpha
Buffalo Bill Jr. Volume 2 May 31 Alpha
Fighting with Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown) [serial] 1933 May 31 VCI
Gun Fury (Rock Hudson) 1953 May 31 Columbia
Hit the Saddle/Call the Mesquiteers 1937/1938 May 31 Alpha
Last Frontier, The (Lon Chaney Jr.) [serial] 1932 May 31 VCI
Legend of Booger Red (Ron Capps) 2004 May 31 Pro-Active Entertainment
Loaded Pistols (Gene Autry) 1948 May 31 Alpha
Major Dundee [Extended Cut] (Charlton Heston) 1965 May 31 Columbia
Marked Trails (Bob Steele) 1944 May 31 Alpha
Rifleman, The: Box Set #4 May 31 MPI
Roy Rogers 2 on 1 (Titles unknown) May 31 Unicorn
Rustlers of Red Dog (Johnny Mack Brown) [serial] 1935 May 31 VCI
Sky King Volume 1 May 31 Alpha
Tex Ritter 2 on 1 (Titles unknown) May 31 Unicorn
Texas Cyclone (Tim McCoy) 1932 May 31 Columbia
Tom Horn (Steve McQueen) 1980 May 31 WB
Wild Horse Phantom (Buster Crabbe) 1944 May 31 Alpha

Branded (Alan Ladd) 1950 June 7 Paramount
Chuka (Rod Taylor) 1967 June 7 Paramount
Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox, The (George Segal) 1976 June 7 Fox
Far Horizons, The (Fred MacMurray) 1955 June 7 Paramount
Heller in Pink Tights (Sophia Loren) 1960 June 7 Paramount
Hopalong Cassidy Triple Feature 1 (Titles unknown) June 7 Falcon Picture Group
Lonesome Dove: The Series, Volume 2 June 7 Platinum
Rattler Kid (Brad Harris) 1968 June 7 Jef Films
Wanted Dead or Alive: Season One 1958 June 7 New Line

Reivers, The (Steve McQueen) 1969 June 14 Paramount
Thunder in the Desert (Bob Steele) 1938 July 19 Ventura
Rifleman, The: Box Set #5 July 26 MPI


Titles with Less Precise Timing ***** ***** *****


Ballad of Cable Hogue, The (Jason Robards) 1970 2006 WB
Duck, You Sucker 1972 2005 MGM
Fistful of Dollars, A (Clint Eastwood) 1964 2005 MGM
For a Few Dollars More (Clint Eastwood) 1966 2005 MGM
Hellbenders, The (Joseph Cotten) 1967 Fall 2005 Anchor Bay
Hondo (John Wayne 1953 2005-2006 Paramount
Maverick 2005 WB
McClintock! (John Wayne) 1963 2005-2006 Paramount
Northwest Passage (Spencer Tracy) 1940 TBD WB
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (James Coburn) 1973 2006 WB
Ride the High Country (Randolph Scott) 1962 2006 WB
Sam Peckinpah Collection (The Ballad of Cable Hogue/Ride the High Country/Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid/The Wild Bunch) 1970/1962/1973/1969 2006 WB
Searchers, The: SE (John Wayne) 1956 2006 WB
Seven Men from Now (Randolph Scott) 1956 2005-2006 Paramount
Three Godfathers (John Wayne) 1948 TBD WB
Track of the Cat (Robert Mitchum) 1954 2005-2006 Paramount
Wild Bunch, The (William Holden) SE 1969 2006 WB


Not a whole lot coming out this year.

Seriously, though, this is a good year for Westerns on DVD, and Warlock is my favorite of those titles release/to be released. It's also gotten some rave reviews as well. It seems to be one of those movies that both the critics AND the fans like.

(My new "most wanted" DVD is now The Naked Spur - and that's coming next year!)

That's a shame - he was a fine actor. He did live a very full life, however, and left behind a large body of work.

One more actor from the golden era of Hollywood gone. There aren't too many left, unfortunately.

I picked up my copy of

on Tuesday. I'm definitely going to watch it this weekend.

I know I've pushed this movie a lot (too much?), but it really is that good. It holds up well when compared to just about any Western, and really should be in every Western fan's movie collection.

Just look at the cast - Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, Anthony Quinn, DeForest Kelley, Dorothy Malone, Frank Gorshin (OK, he's got a very small role - but as he just passed away I've got to mention him) - that's an all star cast! Beyond a great cast the script is fantastic and the direction is top notch.

It's in my top 10 Westerns of all time - maybe even my top 5! I can't wait to watch it this weekend (I haven't seen it in a year, and I've never seen the whole thing in widescreen)!

Frank Gorshin was an amazing talent. He could play ruthless gangsters, he could be really silly and hilariously funny, and he could do some of the best impressions that I've ever seen!

And he put all of that together as the Riddler on Batman. He was silly and funny, but underneath all that he came across as ruthless and very willing to kill anyone who posed a threat to him. That's hard to do - be both funny and menacing at the same time, but he did it with ease!

He will definitely be missed.

This is one great board, as there are a ton of great John Wayne fans here! It has been great reading all the informative and entertaining posts written by a great bunch of knowledgeable John Wayn fans such as yourselves - and I plan to stick around for a long time!

Thanks for making me a part of your group! I'm really glad that I found DukeWayne.com - the best John Wayne message board on the net!

I became a Jimmy Stewart fan based on his RADIO show The Six Shooter. What a great show - great scripts, solid supporting casts (a different guest cast each week), and Jimmy Stewart himself may just have given the greatest dramatic radio performances of all time on that series! He was that good.

The show itself was just ripe for the picking as a movie adaptation starring the man himself, but it never happened. I would have to imagine that someone thought about it at some point, but for whatever reason it never got past the consideration stage.

That's a shame - as it would have made for an incredible Western, especially if Anthony Mann had directed it!

If you ever get a chance to listen to the show (and you can purchase 20 episodes from RadioSpirits.com) I would highly recommend it.

As to Jimmy Stewart's movies, well - come on! The man was one of the greats! And the beauty of it was that many of those movies were Westerns!

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Originally posted by Stumpy@Apr 14 2005, 10:20 AM
Here's another area where a "generation gap" shows up. For instance, Erik and Viper, I've never heard of most of those rock and heavy metal artists? you mention. Just as I'm sure you would never have heard of most of my favorites.

I also got a kick out of Erik's statement that Buddy Rich was the "best drummer of all time". It's true Buddy was a helluva drummer but in my day, we thought Gene Krupa was the best drummer of all time.

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Krupa was a very good drummer, no question about that. He even did a couple of those "Battle of the Bands" tours with Buddy Rich, and on one of those tours each band opened up with a song that featured a drum solo. Krupa's band played first, and for a couple of shows when Buddy Rich's band played their opening song he played the exact same drum solo that Krupa had played - except Rich played it with one hand! No joke - I read about it in Musician magazine in one of those issues where his former band members would tell stories about him. This story has been backed up by other people as well. Krupa was all about style - Rich was about style and technique. Of course, Rich played drums from the time he was 3 (he played Vaudeville as "Traps the Wonder Boy," so he literally spent his entire youth developing his technique!

And I'd bet that I've heard of most of your favorite bands/singers. Most. (I used to run a record store....)

I may be the oddball on this board - I'm a Metalhead!

I love the energy of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal - well, "old school" Metal. It was Rock and Roll on steroids - bigger, stronger, faster. I loved the classical and Jazz influences in bands like Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, and a lot of lesser known acts. I also liked the fun aspect to bands like AC/DC, KISS, Ted Nugent, Dokken, Ratt, etc. I love the concept that KISS really pioneered - the idea that a concert wasn't just for your ears, but also for your eyes. They put big time showmanship and production values into live concerts. Bands like Iron Maiden, DIO, and others took that to heart and gave huge spectacular shows to go along with the music. That really is important if you're playing in a Sports Arena because after the first 30 rows or so it gets harder to see the band. I've been into Metal and Hard Rock for almost 30 years!

Then, on the other hand, I grew up listening to Big Band Jazz - and I still have a love for that music today. Buddy Rich had the tightest, most powerful - most "on it" Big Band of them all from the early 70's until he died. His Roar of '74 album was simply brilliant! And a lot of fun, too! He really was the best drummer of all time - and I played drums for 10 years, so I know a little about drumming. I had the good fortune to see Buddy's band live several times before he died. The best I ever saw him was when he was playing at the amphitheater at the San Diego Zoo in the summer of '83. It was unreal. When Buddy was doing his solo it sounded like he was playing a 10 piece double bass drum kit - but he was playing his standard 4 piece with a single bass drum! In the middle of his solo he looked at me wearing my KISS T-Shirt and smirked. It was like he was saying, "You think THAT'S good music? Let me show you something." He then tore into the rest of his solo and really showed me something. My jaw almost literally hit the ground. Amazing.

I also like a lot of Classic Rock, too, and Rock flavored Blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan).

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Originally posted by Hondo Duke Lane@Apr 9 2005, 10:45 PM
I just purchased The Professionals with Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance and Ralph Bellamy. I haven't seen this movie yet, so what do you think? Cheers B)

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The Professionals? Good movie - very good. It's got a great cast, and it is a lot of fun to watch. I'm toying with the idea of upgrading to the special edition, but I'm not sure... (I've already got the original DVD edition on this one.)

Man, so many great Westerns, so little time (and not nearly enough money to buy them all at once.., ).

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Originally posted by Popol Vuh@Apr 6 2005, 09:20 PM
Hi Erik.

Watched it yesterday and I agree that this is one of the best westerns I have seen.

Anyway, thanks for the tip.

Regards
Popol Vuh

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I'm glad you liked it.

I have a feeling that this movie is finally going to find an audience 46 years after it's release. Warlock is one of those movies that just got missed the first time around, but with the impending DVD release and its showing on cable networks it seems to be more popular now than it has been since it first came out in 1959!

And with good reason - it is a great movie.

I'm not Catholic either, but Pope John Paul II seemed like such a genuine guy that it was almost impossible not to like him. He wasn't afraid to visit places that weren't absolutely safe, and he was a huge advocate for world peace. I didn't agree with him on everything, but I had (and will always have) a great deal of respect for him.

He will definitely be missed.

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Originally posted by Hondo Duke Lane@Mar 31 2005, 12:44 AM
B5Erik,

What western titles do you have? Love to see or read about your collection. I have over 400 DVD titles. Various titles, but my priority is to collect Duke movies {all}.

Cheers B)

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My priority at various points has been to collect Duke movies as well.

Feel free to post a list of your Western collection on the other thread.

Personally, I can't wait for Warlock and then The Naked Spur!

Hey, that's not a feeble list - you've got a few titles on there that I don't have that I'm interested in.

If anyone else would like to list his/her Western DVD collection please feel free - the rest of us might get some good ideas on titles to buy in the near future.

Hey, Hondo

I thought I'd start a new thread to keep the other one on topic (about one of my favorite movies, and one of my most wanted movies that I've never seen).

So here's a list of the Western DVD's that I own...

(edit - You know what? I'll give each movie a score from 1-5, 5 being best. Hopefully this will help you if you aren't sure whether or not you want to buy a particular movie on DVD.)

The Alamo (4.5)
Albuquerque (3)
Angel and the Badman (4.5)
Bandolero (4.0)
Bend of the River (4.0)
Big Jake (3.5)
The Big Trees (4.0)
Bite the Bullet (4.0)
Cattle Queen of Montana (3.25)
Chisum (4.0)
The Comancheros (4.0)
The Cowboys (4.0)
Dark Command (4.0)
Django (4.0)
Duel at Silver Creek (3.0)
El Dorado (4.5)
The Far Country (4.0)
A Fistful of Dollars (4.0)
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (4.25)
Five Card Stud (4.0)
Flaming Star (4.0)
Frank & Jesse (4.0)
The Indian Fighter (4.0)
Last Train from Gun Hill (4.5)
Law & Order (3.75)
Lawman (3.5)
The Magnificent Seven (4.5)
Return of the Magnificent Seven (4.0)
The Man from Laramie (4.75)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (5)
Maverick (4.0)
My Darling Clementine (4.75)
Night Passage (3.75)
No Name on the Bullet (4.0)
Once Upon a Texas Train (3.0)
Once Upon A Time in the West (4.0)
Open Range (5)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (4.5)
Pale Rider (4.0)
The Professionals (4.0)
Pursued (4.0)
The Quick and the Dead (Sam Elliot) (3.0)
The Quick and the Dead (Sharon Stone) (3.75)
Red River (4.0)
Rio Bravo (4.5)
Rio Grande (have not watched yet)
Rio Lobo (3.75)
Santa Fe Trail (3.5)
The Searchers (4.5)
Shane (4.5)
The Shootist (5)
Silverado (4.0)
Silver Lode (4.0)
The Sons of Katie Elder (4.0)
The Spoilers (4.0)
Stagecoach (4.75)
Support Your Local Sheriff (4.0)
Tennessee's Partner (3.75)
The Tin Star (4.5)
Tombstone (5)
True Grit (4.5)
Rooster Cogburn (3.75)
The Undefeated (4.0)
Unforgiven (5)
Whispering Smith (3.75)
Winchester '73 (5)
Winds of the Wasteland (2.5)
Wyatt Earp (4.0)
Young Guns (4.0)
Young Guns II (4.0)

I don't generally count the John Wayne Lone Star "C" movies (you couldn't even legitimately call them "B" movies) from the 30's since they weren't even an hour long and were little more than TV shows before TV existed (and Winds of the Wasteland barely makes the cut, but it was a bigger budget production). They are fun to watch, though!

Another 300 Western movies on DVD and I'll be happy....

More great classic Western news!

The Naked Spur is coming to DVD in 2006! Reps from Warner Brothers confirmed that work is underway restoring this classic Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart movie!

I can't wait! First Warlock, and now this news - it just keeps getting better and better.

My Western collection on DVD is now over 70 titles strong (it was only about 30-40 titles a year ago). By the time I pick up The Naked Spur in 2006 it will be well over 100 titles!

Bring 'em on!!!!

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Originally posted by Popol Vuh@Mar 20 2005, 04:34 PM
Okay already. I ordered it. It was released a month ago in the UK. It had a runtime of 116 minutes which is 6 minutes shorter than what IMDb states the movie should be but I guess I can live with that.

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Odd that it's listed as 5 minutes shorter than the original release. When you watch it post another reply to this topic and let me know if it really is 116 minutes.

I looked up the UK version on Amazon.co.uk - I wasn't real impressed with the cover art (not the same cover as I posted above), but I didn't look up their listed run time - wait, I can do that now....

This version...

...is indeed listed at only 116 minutes. It was released by Optimum Home Entertainment in the UK.

I'm sure the version that Fox is putting out in May is the full 121 minute version (since it's their title).

I briefly considered buying the UK version (from Optimum), figuring that I could watch it on my computer - but I decided to wait for the official Fox release, and fortunately I won't have to wait very long. I'd be curious to compare the two releases...

Let me know what you think of it once you get a chance to watch it.

(edit - If I remember correctly to convert to PAL there is something of a time compression on DVDs. I could be wrong, but I vaguely remember reading that somewhere...)