Fox Western Classics (Rawhide / The Gunfighter / Garden of Evil)

Fox Western Classics (Rawhide / The Gunfighter / Garden of Evil) | Gregory Peck, Tyrone Power | 2-1/2 Great Westerns

DVDs:

Fox Western Classi...

	Fox Western Classics (Rawhide / The Gunfighter / Garden of Evil) Gregory Peck, Tyrone Power 20th Century Fox, 2008 average customer review:based on 22 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

IncludesDisc 1: Garden of Evil (1954) Feature FilmDisc 2: The Gunfighter (1951) Feature FilmDisc 3: Rawhide (1951) Feature FilmFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: WAR/CLASSICS UPC: 024543512585 Manufacturer No: 2251258

I've waited for the Gunfighter for a long time and I'm well pleased!

As the title stated, I've been waiting for the Gunfighter for a long time (on DVD) and I'm well pleased!

Actually the other two films were "A" class as well, especially "Rawhide". I'm a big western fan and I have many westerns on DVD but I just know there are other gems out there waiting for me to obtain.

Enjoy y'all.

2-1/2 Great Westerns

Cheyenne Warrior: The Original Screenplay with Author Commentary
Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake

Fox has released a terrific 3-disc box set, THE WESTERN CLASSICS, in which we're finally getting a DVD version of one of the most revered westerns ever produced, THE GUNFIGHTER (1950) starring Gregory Peck.

Directed by Henry King in glorious black-and-white, THE GUNFIGHTER is almost a Shakespearean tragedy, and is considered to be the first adult western, predating better known films like HIGH NOON and SHANE.

Peck plays Jimmy Ringo, a notorious gunfighter who would like to bury his reputation, but is forced to keep on the run because young punks keep forcing him to draw.

Currently, he's being pursued by the three brothers of a braggart he killed in self defense, but he stops off in the small town where his estranged wife (Helen Wescott) lives, hoping for a reconciliation. The sheriff of the town happens to be Millard Mitchell, an old friend and former gunslinger.

Mitchell wants Peck to leave town, but he won't go until Westcott agrees to meet him. In the meantime, the three brothers are getting closer and, if that's not bad enough, there's a young hothead in town (Skip Homeier) who thinks he's a faster draw than the legendary Jimmy Ringo.

THE GUNFIGHTER may not contain a lot of shoot-'em-up action, but it's filled with a HIGH NOON-like suspense and colorful, multi-dimensional characters. Karl Malden and Jean Parker co-star.

DVD extras include a featurette on cinematographer Arthur Miller, an artist with black-and-white, and a retrospective "Making of" mini-documentary.

Almost as good as THE GUNFIGHTER is RAWHIDE (1951), another beautifully-photographed black-and-white western, directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward and Hugh Marlowe.

Marlowe and his band of ruthless outlaws (Jack Elam, Dean Jagger, George Tobias), all escaped convicts, take control of a desert stagecoach station, run by Edgar Buchanan and his tenderfoot assistant (Power). They kill Buchanan, then hold Power and stage passenger Hayward (and her baby niece) hostage, waiting for a gold shipment to arrive by coach the next day.

Power knows that, once the outlaws have the gold, they will kill their captives, so he and Hayward desperately devise a plan to thwart their intentions.

RAWHIDE is another suspense-filled western, containing a fair share of surprise plot twists.

DVD extras include featurettes on Ms. Hayward and on Lone Pine, where RAWHIDE, THE GUNFIGHTER and many other classic westerns were shot.

Hathaway, Hayward and Marlowe are also involved in GARDEN OF EVIL (1954), the one disappointing film in this box set.

Shot in CinemaScope and color, the movie features some gorgeous and interesting Mexican scenery and boasts a cast that also includes Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark, Cameron Mitchell and (briefly) Rita Moreno.

The problem with GARDEN OF EVIL is the very talky script, which has its characters doing things that make little or no sense.

Cooper, Widmark and Mitchell play three Americans on their way to the California Gold Rush by ship, who get stranded in a small Mexican coastal town and are hired by Hayward to help free her husband (Marlowe) from a mine cave-in. The problem is that the mine is located deep in the mountains in Apache territory.

DVD extras include a retrospective "Making of" featurette and a mini-documentary on director Hathaway.

- Michael B. Druxman, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (available December 2008)

for more information click here

Fox Western Classics

Anyone who is a fan of the serious/adult western needs to check this set out. They're not your typical chase 'em down, shoot 'em up westerns, they're much more character driven than action driven. This set also has an excellent price which makes it more than a bargain; three quality westerns for much less than $20! The discs are all in the slim-case format.

The Gunfighter was released in 1950 & probably the most critically acclaimed of the three in this set. It's in black & white, directed by Henry King. It's presented in the full screen format (1.33:1). It stars Gregory Peck with a great supporting cast that includes: Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden, Skip Homeier, Richard Jaeckel & Alan Hale, Jr. (Gilligan's Island) in a small role. The Gunfighter is much like a stage play in the way that it's presented.
Jimmy Ringo (Gregory Peck) is a gunfighter in his mid-thirties who's ready to give up the way he lives. Ringo, after killing a young gunny wanting to make a name for himself, is forced to go on the run. His destination is the small town where his wife & son live though no one knows who they are except for Sheriff Mark Strett (Millard Mitchell) who at one time was in Ringo's gang. Ringo wants to settle down, he wants to reunite with his wife & family. She initially refuses to meet with him but is finally convinced to meet with him. They talk & finally agree if Ringo can stay out of trouble for a year then she will reconsider the situation. The problem with this is that the town has its own young gunny, Hunt Bromley (Skip Homeier), looking to make a reputation. The final scene is one of Hollywood's most heart touching ever.
Bonus features include "Arthur Miller: Painter With Light", "The Western Genre Grows Up" among others.

Rawhide was released in 1951. It's in black & white, directed by Henry Hathaway. Rawhide is remake, of sorts, of the 1936 crime drama, Show Them No Mercy. It's also presented in the full screen format (1.33:1). It stars Tyrone Power & Susan Hayward; the supporting cast includes: Hugh Marlowe, Dean Jagger, Edgar Buchanan (Petticoat Junction) & Jack Elam. Elam's role was one of his biggest in the early part of his career.
Rawhide takes place almost entirely at a stagecoach station.
Sam Todd (Edgar Buchanan) is the stationmaster & Tom Owens (Tyrone Power) is his young assistant. Vinnie Holt (Susan Hayward) arrives on the stage with her baby niece. Because there's an outlaw gang on the loose Holt & the baby are forced off the stage remaining at the station. Zimmerman (Hugh Marlowe) arrives posing as a sheriff on the prowl for the gang. In truth, he's the leader of the outlaw gang; they take over the station, killing Todd, to wait for the next stage that has a large gold shipment. Zimmerman thinks that Owens & Holt are married so he spares them & the child. The scenes are tense, in particular the ones where Tevis (Jack Elam) is constantly being out of control & blood thirsty.
Bonus features include "Susan Hayward: Hollywood's Straight Shooter" & "Shoot It in Lone Pine!" among others.

Garden of Evil was released in 1954. It's in color, directed by Henry Hathaway. It's presented in the widescreen format (2.55:1). It stars Gary Cooper & Susan Hayward; the supporting cast includes Richard Widmark, Hugh Marlowe, Cameron Mitchell, Rita Moreno & Victor Manuel Mendoza. Garden of Evil is the most action packed of the three movies & is the widest in scope in the amount of territory it covers. Much of the dialog is ambiguous: It's more in what they don't say or hint at.
Hooker (Gary Cooper), Fiske (Richard Widmark) & Daly (Cameron Mitchell) are three cowboys who get stranded in Mexico because the steamship they were on needs repairs. They get hired by Leah Fuller (Susan Hayward) at $2,000 apiece to rescue her husband who's trapped in a gold mine. Vicente (Victor Manuel Mendoza), a Mexican, also gets hired to accompany them. She leads them to a remote location where her husband, John Fuller (Hugh Marlowe), has been. Along the way the band of men realize that they are going to have to deal with the Apache before they can return to Puerto Miguel. There is much distrust between the characters; Daly, in particular, is troublesome & headstrong. Though Garden of Evil is a good western, it's the weakest of the three.
Bonus features include "Travels of a Gunslinger: The Making of the Garden of Evil", "Henry Hathaway: When the Going Gets Tough..." among others.

for more information click here

A fine western collection

An excellent price/value combination, with three rare titles of good, solid westerns, never before published in America on DVD and with such high video technical quality.
The extras are relatively abundant and very interesting.
A must have for every serious classic westerns collector.

A must see package

Fox has done a good job with this package of Westerns. Too bad they have to be purchased to see as they are not leasing these titiles to Netflix or Blockbuster for rentals. Price was right so I went ahead and bought them thru Amazon. Each movie has much to recomend. GUNFIGHTER is the best with Greg Peck at is best. Short run time, nice and tight, with a neat ending. RAWHIDE is a better than average suspense type of western. Not your usual cowboys and Indians. Small cast with Tyrone Power a little old for his role. Susan Hayward does her usual Susan Hayward. GARDEN OF EVIL is wonderfully filmed and the only color one in the lot. Nice locations with interesting plot. Characters are almost by the numbers. You know from the start who will survive and who gets who. One illogical plot device is that Susan Hayward, again doing her Susan Hayward, rides to a nearby town to get the help of men to help her husband who has been wounded in a gold mine. This is Indian territory. No Indians bothered her when she rode to the town, no attack when the team of men and her ride back to the mine. No attack at the mine itself, but on the way back...there are the Indians attacking like nobody's business. How is it they didn't attack when she went for help or on to the mine, just on the way back. Doesn't make sense. Other than that, good film and music score.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

products you might be interested in