Western Horizons: Universal Westerns of the 1950s
Embittered Confederate veteran Robert Ryan builds a Texas land empire through force and graft, but his ambition brings him into conflict with the law and marshal brother Rock Hudson, in “Horizons West” (1952). Julia Adams, Raymond Burr, James Arness co-star; Budd Boetticher directs. Cree-raised Mountie Alan Ladd must tread lightly when the warlike Sioux cross the border in search of a tribal alliance in “Saskatchewan” (1954). Shelley Winters, Hugh O’Brian, Jay Silverheels co-star; Raoul Walsh directs. Tubercular gunman Rory Calhoun makes a new life in New Mexico, but conflict manages to find him still, in “Dawn At Socorro” (1954). Piper Laurie, Lee Van Cleef, Alex Nicol co-star. Cowpoke Richard Widmark rides after the survivor who left his father to die in an Apache ambush in “Backlash” (1956). Donna Reed, John McIntire, Barton MacLane co-star; John Sturges directs. Sergeant Jeff Chandler’s orders to keep peace on an Oregon reservation are challenged by encroaching army engineers in “Pillars Of The Sky” (1956). Dorothy Malone, Ward Bond, Lee Marvin co-star.
Key to the City (1950)
Lively romantic farce with Clark Gable and Loretta Young as small-town mayors who meet at a convention in San Francisco and, through a series of comical misunderstandings, face scandal and jail time. The two beat the rap, fall in love, and team to take on an unscrupulous politician trying to unseat Gable. With Frank Morgan, James Gleason, and Raymond Burr.
Never Let Me Go (1953)
Stirring adventure story starring Clark Gable as a U.S. newsman who marries beautiful Russian ballerina Gene Tierney in Moscow. They plan to head back to the States, but authorities force her to stay behind. Gable then takes action by joining forces with a British man whose wife is also being held in the USSR. Richard Haydn, Kenneth More, Theodore Bikel, Bernard Miles also star.
Polly of the Circus (1932)
Based on the 1907 play by Margaret Mayo, this romantic comedy/drama follows Polly Fisher (Marion Davies), a circus aerialist who is taken to the home of minister John Hartley (Clark Gable) to recuperate after she’s injured while performing. The two fall in love and marry in secret, but when John’s congregation finds out, it threatens to ruin his career. C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Hatton, David Landau also star.
Now Available:
Philo Vance Murder Case Collection (1930-1936)
S.S. Van Dine’s urbane sleuth, and the many actors who inhabited the role, are spotlighted in these memorable whodunits. Basil Rathbone must stop a serial killer with a “Mother Goose” motif in “The Bishop Murder Case” (1930). Leila Hyams, Roland Young co-star. A drowning death, and some unearthly footprints, challenge Warren William in “The Dragon Murder Case” (1934). Margaret Lindsay, Eugene Pallette co-star. Paul Lukas must uncover the poisoner stalking a wealthy family in “The Casino Murder Case” (1935). Rosalind Russell, Alison Skipworth co-star. Edmund Lowe has to break the spell of a hypnotist driving his victims to suicide in “The Garden Murder Case” (1936). Virginia Bruce, Gene Lockhart co-star. James Stephenson sheds light on the untimely demise of a suspected trafficker in war plans in “Calling Philo Vance” (1940). Two-disc set also includes “The Kennel Murder Case” (1933), with William Powell as Vance.
What classics are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments!