Legendary Saturday matinee western favorites
Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 01/16/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The COWBOY LEGENDS 50 Movie Pack consists primarily of hour-length series-type films by western stars Roy Rogers, Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Gene Autry. There's also some examples of Billy the Kid, The Texas Rangers and a few other franchises. One curio has Lou Gehrig (the "Iron Man" of the NY Yankees) playing himself in his only theatrical film.
Within the MILL CREEK catalog, all but three of these titles are available only here and on the gigantic WESTERN 250 Movie Pack. If you'd prefer smaller sets, their WESTERN LEGENDS 50 Movie Pack is the ideal supplement to this collection. Featured are John Wayne, Bob Steele, Rex Allen, Tom Tyler and so many other great stars of the past.
Although no sign of film restoration is apparent, transfer quality of MCE's public domain movies is uniformly good. Their dual-side recorded discs usually contain two titles per side and are housed in gloss-coated heavy paper sleeves. Easy access storage boxes are sturdy and remarkably compact.
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Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.
(6.4) Arizona Bound (1941) - (Rough Riders)
(5.4) Bad Man of Deadwood (1941) - Roy Rogers
(7.0) Big Boy Rides Again (1935) - Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
(5.8) Billy the Kid's Range War (1941) - Bob Steele/Al St.John
(5.8) Boots and Saddles (1937) - Gene Autry
(6.1) Buffalo Stampede ("The Thundering Herd") (1933) - Randolph Scott
(7.1) Call the Mesquiteers (1938) - (Three Mesquiteers)
(5.9) Come On, Rangers (1938) - Roy Rogers
(???) The Courageous Avenger (1935) - Johnny Mack Brown
(5.6) Crashing Thru (1939) - James Newill
(???) The Devil on Horseback (1936) - Lili Damita
(6.6) The Dude Ranger (1934) - George O'Brien
(5.0) Enemy of the Law (1945) - (Texas Rangers)
(6.0) The Far Frontier (1948) - Roy Rogers
(6.7) Fuzzy Settles Down (1944) - Buster Crabbe
(4.8) Gangsters of the Frontier (1944) - (Range Riders)
(6.0) The Gay Ranchero (1948) - Roy Rogers
(7.0) Ghost Town (1936) - Harry Carey
(5.8) Gunsmoke Ranch (1937) - (Three Mesquiteers)
(5.5) Harlem Rides the Range (1939) - Herb Jeffries
(7.2) Harmony Trail (1944) - Ken Maynard
(6.5) Heart of the Golden West (1942) - Roy Rogers
(6.1) Heritage of the Desert (1932) - Randolph Scott
(6.3) Hit the Saddle (1937) - (Three Mesquiteers)
(6.3) Home in Oklahoma (1946) - Roy Rogers
(6.5) In Old Cheyenne (1941) - Roy Rogers
(???) The Lone Avenger (1933) - Ken Maynard
(5.7) Lucky Terror (1936) - Hoot Gibson
(6.0) Man from Cheyenne (1942) - Roy Rogers
(???) Marked Trails (1944) - Hoot Gibson
(6.3) Night Time in Nevada (1948) - Roy Rogers
(5.6) Oh Susanna! (1936) - Gene Autry
(5.4) The Old Corral (1936) - Gene Autry
(7.1) One-Eyed Jacks (1961) - Marlon Brando/Karl Malden
(7.1) The Ranger and the Lady (1940) - Roy Rogers
(5.9) Rawhide (1938) - Smith Ballew/Lou Gehrig
(5.6) Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937) James Newill
(7.0) Riders of the West (1942) - (Rough Riders)
(5.5) Rock River Renegades (1942) - (Range Busters)
(5.7) Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm (1937) - Gene Autry
(6.2) Shine on Harvest Moon (1938) - Roy Rogers
(6.3) Song of Texas (1943) - Roy Rogers
(4.9) South of Santa Fe (1942) - Roy Rogers
(7.6) Sunset Carson Rides Again (1948) - Sunset Carson
(6.6) Sunset on the Desert (1942) - Roy Rogers
(6.7) Under Nevada Skies (1936) - Roy Rogers
(???) Undercover Men (1934) - Charles Starrett
(7.0) West of the Badlands ("The Border Legion") (1940) - Roy Rogers
(5.3) When a Man's a Man (1935) - George O'Brien
(5.2) Without Honor (1932) - (Texas Rangers)
SERIES CAST MEMBERS:
Three Mesquiteers: Robert Livingston/Ray Corrigan/Max Terhune
Range Busters: Ray Corrigan/John 'Dusty' King/Max Terhune
Rough Riders: Buck Jones/Tim McCoy/Raymond Hatton
Texas Rangers: Dave O'Brien/Jim Newill/Guy Wilkerson/Tex Ritter"
Nostalgia
Roger Long | Port Clinton, OH USA | 02/07/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Anyone who likes western movies from the 1930s and 1940s will want this set. It has a little bit of everything from what was known as the "B" list that theater managers were given. The famous movies of the genre just aren't here. But no matter. Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, et al. are still a rootin' and a shootin'.
Of special note is the movie "Rawhide," released in 1938 and starring Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees in his only movie. He became ill shortly after that with the disease named for him and was gone from this earth before he could make another movie. His performance is a lot better than one might expect--better, certainly, than most other sports figures who made movies, including Babe Ruth and Red Grange. Gehrig plays himself, thinking to retire from baseball and move to the quiet of a western ranch with his sister. But he is confronted by a whole passle of bad guys who are running a protection racket for ranchers. Gehrig's sister is the usual movie blond, and she falls in love with a singing cowboy lawyer--yes indeedy. But I don't want to ruin this for you. It's just fun, even if it is silly.
The transfers are probably as good as one can expect from those old black and white movies. Who thought, in 1938, that anyone would be watching them 70 years later?"
Cowboy Legends
John Applegarth | NSW Australia | 02/02/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The British playwrite and wit, Katherine Whitehorn once said "I wouldn't say when you've seen one western you've seen the lot; but when you've seen the lot you get the feeling you've seen one."
This might be true but to me there is nothing better on a rainy afternoon than to sit down, slip into a world of fantasy, and watch the old classic westerns with such acclaimed heros of the '30s and'40s as Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Buck Jones, Tim Holt, Johnny Mack Brown (and the list goes on and on). And how can one forget to mention the comedy in these movies provided by the likes of Gabby Hayes and Smiley Burnett
These Amazon collections have it all and I would recommend them to all old film buffs.
John Applegarth
NSW Australia"