Tough, gritty Barbara Stanwyck is at home on the range
Diverting western about cattle stampeding and land-grabbing in Montana where a local land owner is in cahoots with renegade Blackfeet Indians to kill and drive off white settlers who want to build homes and raise cattle and who pays off the hostiles with rifles and whiskey. Barbara Stanwyck is a tough-as-nails Texas woman who aims to take her rightful place where she and her father filed a legal land claim but are thwarted at every turn by greedy rancher McCord. Colorados, a college-educated Indian who wants peace and prosperity for the Blackfeet, gives aid and comfort to Sierra Nevada Jones after her cattle have been run off, incurring the wrath of a warlike sub-chief of a band of hostile Blackfeet. A lovely Indian maiden, jealous of the attentions paid to the red-haired white woman by Colorados, leads Sierra and Colorados into an ambush which backfires and ends with loyal Blackfeet battling against their hostile tribesmen and McCord's bunch of malcontents. Ronald Reagan appears as a government troubleshooter sent to find out how the Blackfeet are getting repeating rifles. Lance Fuller is smooth as the eloquent, learned Colorados, and Anthony Caruso is very good as a fierce warrior intent on driving all whites out of Blackfeet country.
Classic, well done RKO Western
Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan give fine performances in this colorful little western. Directed by Allan Dwan and produced by Benedict Bogeaus, Cattle Queen of Montana, is well produced, colorful, and entertaining throughout. Lots of action, great photographer, and a great story make for the kind of thrills that Western fans appreciate. Louis Forbes, who also did the musical score for the Dwan/Borgeaus collaboration Silver Lode, also composed the fine score for this one. The VCI DVD issue is clean and sharp, colorful, and well-done, with extras that add to our enjoyment. We owe VCI a debt of thanks for rescuing this film, and others suchs as TENNESSEE'S PARTNER, SILVER LODE, THE YOUNG LAND, and PASSION (all from the 1950s), which they have made available [see listing for them]. Highly recommended to fans of Westerns and those who enjoy 1950s cinema.
'Tennessee's Partner' is a terrific saga based on the novel by the famous Western author Bret Harte. Beautifully produced by RKO studios in 1955, and filmed in gorgeous Technicolor, this film stars the underated actor John Payne, as the shrewd, but honest card expert Tennessee. He has no friends in the entire town except for his dance hall girlfriend played by Rhonda Fleming, whose flaming red hair is spectacular in color! Tennessee walks into an ambush and is nearly murdered by a loser player,when his life is saved by a cowpoke who wanders into town. He even calls himself Cowpoke and he is a complete straight-shooting arrow, played wonderfully by Ronald Reagan! Reagan becomes Tennesee's pal and partner, and Tennessee returns the favor by preventing Cowpoke from marrying an... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Allan Dwan DVD Release Date: Released the 12 February 2002 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Law and Order is a solid, entertaining western that showcases Ronald Reagan as a leading man. Reagan gives an almost John Wayne-esque performance (you could almost call him John Wayne Light in this one). Reagan is tough, but very likeable in the role and shows the charisma that would help him in his political life just a decade later.
The story itself is something of a re-working of the Earps VS the Clantons, and it even starts in Tombstone. Reagan is Frame Johnson, tough, no-nonsense Marshall of Tombstone. He decides to retire to a nearby town to start a ranch and marry his girl, but he finds the town run by another rancher and soon Frame and his brothers are in conflict with that rancher and his family. There is plenty of good western action, and a solid story in Law and Order.
As the sole movie co-starring Hollywood's only First Couple, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis, Hellcats of the Navy is either a privileged artifact or a hootworthy campfest, depending on your politics. Reagan plays a submarine ("hellcat") commander in the Pacific during World War II; Davis is the game little nurse back on shore who's decided he's (this is a quote) "Mr. Right." They share maybe eight minutes among the film's 82. Reagan's commander is a pretty glum guy, making unpopular life-or-death decisions into which his executive officer (Arthur Franz) reads nasty personal motives. This is a B movie all the way: drab supporting cast, script and direction that can't even get the cliches right, and bland studio footage of the actors intercut with speckly stock action shots and... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Nathan Juran DVD Release Date: Released the 13 May 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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I've always liked Sante Fe Trail even though it may not be the most accurate and is definately not PC. Whenever I see this movie I can't help rooting for John Brown to succeed. The quality of the movie is very good. There are only a frames that are not crisp. I didn't notice any hiss.
The quality is Abilene Town is not great, but it is very watchable. The image is mostly dull and blurry, but there wasn't any hiss. This movie suprised me because of the plot and acting. Both are good. The love intrest does not follow the normal formula.
This DVD is worth purchasing. Another reviewer stated that he hadn't ever seen Abilene Town on DVD. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Errol Flynn - Olivia de Havilland Director(s): Michael Curtiz DVD Release Date: Released the 27 February 2001 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Those old Civil War films are always the same. They're filmed in the California desert with inaccurate uniforms and weapons. Reagan gives a so-so performance as a Confederate Cavalry officer who finds himself fighting against his brother who is an officer in the Union Cavalry. And of course...there's a woman invoved too. It's a somewhat enjoyable movie, but certainly not a five star film. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Lewis R. Foster DVD Release Date: Released the 06 November 2001 Usually ships within 7 to 8 days
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