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[Ken Barnes]

It occurred to me that, since we hads requests for a Swashbucklers forum, we might as well have a Westerns forum too. Certainly, the 20th Century Fox forum indicated there is a lot of support for this popular genre. So here it is. Please use it to air your views and requests.

[R,D,]

Thanks to Ken for putting up a forum on Westerns. It's good to see some of Fox's classic Westerns coming on to DVD - Fritz Lang's "Western Union" is one I've always liked. Also Henry Hathaway's "Garden of Evil" - which isn't really a Western, but with Gary Cooper in the saddle,the spirit's the same.

As a way of kicking off this forum and to find if anyone out there cares, how about a list of ten great Westerns that don't star John Wayne ? ( no offence to the Duke but there have been some good Westerns that he didn't star in and it might be nice to remember them ). Here's mine.

1. Shane
2. High Noon
3. Winchester '73
4. The Big Country
5. The Naked Spur
6. The Westerner
7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
8. The Ox Bow Incident
9. Union Pacific
10. My Darling Clementine.

How's that for starters ?

[Ryan]

RD, I would pick many of your list as my ten favorite non-Duke Westerns, but I'll go for a continuation since there are so many to choose from:

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Man from Laramie
The Magnificent Seven
The Wild Bunch
Ride Lonesome
Destry Rides Again
Gunfight at the Ok Corral
Ride the High Country
Rancho Notorious
The Gunfighter

[Ken Barnes]

Thanks Ryan. You certainly know your Westerns.

Anyone lese got a favourite list ? How about a list of the Duke's best ?

[mgcroadster]

A few (honest!) of my favourite westerns:

The Searchers
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Rio Grande
My Darling Clementine
The Wild Bunch
Bend of The River
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Heaven's Gate
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Far Country
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Unforgiven
Winchester '73
Destry Rides Again
The Professionals
Geronimo: An American Legend
The Man From Laramie
Vera Cruz
The Shootist
The Ox Bow Incident
High Noon
Wild Bill
Rio Bravo
Shane
Bad Company
The Mark of Zorro
The Long Riders
El Dorado
The Sons of Katie Elder
The Hired Hand
Once Upon a Time in The West
The Last of the Mohicans
Tombstone
A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Plainsman
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
Northwest Passage
Union Pacific
Drums Along The Mohawk
The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid
Young Mr Lincoln
Junior Bonner
The Virginian
The Naked Spur
The Return of Frank James
Tin Star
Hombre
Run of The Arrow
Fort Apache
Ride the High Country
Lonely Are The Brave
Major Dundee
Jesse James
The Cowboys
One Eyed Jacks
Viva Zapata!
Custer of the West
The Spoilers
They Died With Their Boots On
Wagon Master
Stagecoach
High Plains Drifter
The Red Badge of Courage
3 Godfathers
McCabe & Mrs Miller
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
The Tall T
The Westerner
Little Big Man
Nevada Smith
Wyatt Earp
Johnny Guitar
Red River
A Fistful of Dynamite
Open Range
Gunfight at The O.K. Corral
True Grit
The Kentuckian
The Alamo
Gettysburg
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
Duel in The Sun
Lonesome Dove
How The West Was Won
The Magnificent Seven

John Wayne's 10 finest (not in order):

The Searchers
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
Red River
Rio Bravo
3 Godfathers
The Shootist
The Cowboys
Fort Apache
Rio Grande
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

[Ken Barnes]

WOW ! That IS a list. Can't say I agree with Heaven's Gate. Visually grabbing but ultimately boring and longwinded.

Odd to see The Mark of Zorro in there - but you're right, geographically speaking. It's set in California and you can't get any further West than that.

Elsewhere, I can't find much that I don't agree with. I'm glad you put in those old De Mille epics - The Plainsman and Union Pacific are great fun to watch and,of course, I love the Stewart-Anthony Mann pics.

Thanks. I'm sure there'll be visits to this forum.

[John Felton]

Can anyone comment on the Optimum label's Western Classics series ?
As far as I can tell, these seem to be from the 20th Century Fox catalogue ? I'm certainly interested in "Western Union" (1941) and "Broken Arrow" (1950). Not having seen any reviews of these DVDs, I am wondering about (a) the quality and (b) if the discs have any extras or special features. As classics of the Western genre, they certainly ought to carry some kind of extra bonus features.

Can anyone throw any light on this interesting series ? Are they worth buying ?

[r.d.]

In response to John Felton's query re the Optimum label, I can certainly recommend Fritz Lang's "Western Union" (1941). It's been nicely mastered from a very good print with only minimal age-related damage. It's a most enjoyable film and one that should score with all lovers of good Westerns. A good tight script that knows what it wants to say and pacy,atmospheric direction from Fritz Lang drawing fine performances from an excellent cast make this one to collect.

I have been meaning to buy "Garden of Evil" but haven't yet got around to it. I think I was put off slightly by the cover shot of Richard Widmark in
what looks like a shot from one of his gangster films. Very strange choice of photo. Widmark is in the film but very much in support of Gary Cooper and Susan Hayward. But this is a good adventure film and if it's reproduced as good as "Western Union" it should be worth owning.

Alas, there are no extras on any of these Optimum releases. Let's hope that they improve on future releases. By now, all DVD companies should be aware that extras are expected by serious collectors.

All I can say, at this point, is that "Western Union" is well worth adding to your collection.

[R. Wood]

I heartily agree with RD about Optimum's "Western Uinion." This is a really rousing Western directed with a sure hand by ace film noir director, Fritz Lang. Even though it carries no extras ( which is a pity ), it's still a "must" for lovers of the Western. I would say that John Felton could buy this without any regrets. If Optimum continue to issue films as good as this, they should really get their act together and present some decent extras. Then they would really start to do business.

[Ken Barnes]

I agree with R. Wood that "Western Union" is one hell of a Western and Optimum's DVD is nicely presented. But how much better it would be if it was supported by some interesting extras. The notes on the box are quite well written but considering the importance of the director - Fritz Lang - it would have been even more enjoyable if there had been an audio commentary by someone like Ken Barnes.

[Ron Patmore]

Dear Ken,

Are you really serious when you say that Optimum needs audio commentaries from "someone like Ken Barnes" ? We all know how good you are, but I never imagined you were that egotisical. Or were you kidding ?

R.P.

[JamesLM]

Optimum have so far released all their classics with no extras but will be re-releasing "Whiskey Galore!" with a commentary, no with any surviving crew members however. Not that there are many left. When they released "The Snake Pit" there was already a region 1 version that had a commentary by fil historian Aubrey Solomon. They had not even considered approaching star Olivia De Havilland (I know the risk would exist that she would turn them down) let alone realized she only lives a eurostar train away. They were also ignorant of the fact that Betsy Blair, who had a small role in the film but was present on set for some time, lives in England making it considerably easy to obtain an interview from her.

[JamesLM]

Optimum have so far released all their classics with no extras but will be re-releasing "Whiskey Galore!" with a commentary, no with any surviving crew members however. Not that there are many left. When they released "The Snake Pit" there was already a region 1 version that had a commentary by fil historian Aubrey Solomon. They had not even considered approaching star Olivia De Havilland (I know the risk would exist that she would turn them down) let alone realized she only lives a eurostar train away. They were also ignorant of the fact that Betsy Blair, who had a small role in the film but was present on set for some time, lives in England making it considerably easy to obtain an interview from her.

[Ken Barnes]

[Ken Barnes]