Initial offering of a 40 disc western collection
Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 11/27/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"ECHO BRIDGE and its predecessor, PLATINUM DISC flash an on-screen watermark every so often. With PLATINUM's previous "Great American Western" series (circa 2004) this logo appeared on some films for only a fraction of a second at a time.
Discs are single-side recorded. Biggest downside to this reasonably priced set is over-compression. Occasional artifacts may be noticeable, especially with rapid side-to-side movement. None of these pictures have undergone restoration, so dub quality depends solely on film stock condition. I find Echo Bridge's product a good bargain. Defective discs have been rare, audio is uniformly strong and visually (compared to other PD brands) they're a bit above average.
This initial offering includes 10 pre-STAGECOACH John Wayne programmers.
Related item:
AMERICA'S GREATEST WESTERNS COLLECTORS SET V.2 has another 40+ movies.
PROGRAM--
Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll ratings.
DISC ONE:
(5.9) Rage At Dawn (1955) - Randolph Scott/Forrest Tucker/J. Carroll Naish/Edgar Buchanan/Denver Pyle
(6.2) The Fighting Westerner ("Rocky Mountain Mystery") (1935) - Randolph Scott/'Chic' Sale/Ann Sheriden
(6.5) Abilene Town (1946) - Randolph Scott/Edgar Buchanan/Ann Dvorak/Rhonda Fleming/Lloyd Bridges
(6.5) To the Last Man (1933) - Randolph Scott/Jack La Rue/Buster Crabbe/Noah Beery/Barton MacLane/Gail Patrick/Fuzzy Knight (uncredited: Shirley Temple/John Carradine)
DISC TWO:
(4.4) God's Gun (Italy/Israel-1976) - Lee Van Cleef/Jack Palance/Richard Boone/Sybil Danning/Leif Garrett
(6.0) Beyond The Law (Italy/W Ger/Monaco-1968) - Lee Van Cleef/Antonio Sabato/Lionel Stander/Gordon Mitchell/Bud Spencer
(7.1) Death Rides A Horse (Italy-1967) - Lee Van Cleef/John Phillip Law
(6.2) Grand Duel (Italy/France/W Ger/Monaco-1972) - Lee Van Cleef/Jess Hahn/Horst Frank
DISC THREE:
(5.5) Blue Steel (1934) - John Wayne/Eleanor Hunt/George 'Gabby' Hayes/Yakima Canutt/Lafe McKee
(5.2) The Dawn Rider (1935) - John Wayne/Marion Burns/Dennis Moore/Yakima Canutt
(5.1) The Lawless Frontier (1934) - John Wayne/Sheila Terry/George 'Gabby' Hayes/Yakima Canutt
(5.8) The Lucky Texan (1934) - John Wayne/Barbara Sheldon/George 'Gabby' Hayes/Yakima Canutt
(5.2) 'Neath The Arizona Skies (1934) - John Wayne/Sheila Terry/Yakima Canutt (uncredited: George 'Gabby' Hayes)
(5.7) Randy Rides Alone (1934) - John Wayne/Alberta Vaughn/George 'Gabby' Hayes/Yakima Canutt
(5.4) The Star Packer (1934) - John Wayne/Verna Hillie/George 'Gabby' Hayes/Yakima Canutt
DISC FOUR:
(6.8) Angel And The Badman (1947) - John Wayne/Gail Russell/Harry Carey/Bruce Cabot/Tom Powers
(5.9) Hell Town ("Born To The West") (1937) - John Wayne/Marsha Hunt/Johnny Mack Brown/Monte Blue/Lucien Littlefield
(5.3) The Desert Trail (1935) - John Wayne/Mary Kornman/Paul Fix/Lafe McKee
(5.1) The Man From Utah (1934) - John Wayne/Polly Ann Young/George 'Gabby' Hayes/Yakima Canutt
DISC FIVE:
(6.4) Riders Of The Whistling Pines (1949) - Gene Autry/Patricia Barry/Douglass Dumbrille/Clayton Moore
(5.7) Big Show (1936) - Gene Autry/Smiley Burnette/Kay Hughes/Sally Payne/Max Terhune
(5.9) Springtime In The Rockies (1937) - Gene Autry/Smiley Burnette/Polly Rowles (uncredited: George Montgomery)
(5.8) Boots and Saddles (1937) - Gene Autry/Smiley Burnette/Judith Allen/Gary Usher
DISC SIX:
(6.4) King Of The Cowboys (1943) - Roy Rogers/Smiley Burnette/Peggy Moran/Gerald Mohr/Lloyd Corrigan
(6.5) My Pal Trigger (1946) - Roy Rogers/George 'Gabby' Hayes/Dale Evans/Jack Holt
(6.1) Song of Texas (1943) - Roy Rogers/Sheila Ryan/Barton MacLane (uncredited: Yakima Canutt)
(5.2) Under California Stars (1948) - Roy Rogers/Jane Frazee/Andy Devine
(5.3) Utah (1945) - Roy Rogers/George 'Gabby' Hayes/Dale Evans/Peggy Stewart/Vivien Oakland/Grant Withers
DISC SEVEN:
(6.0) Any Gun Can Play (Italy-1967) - Edd Byrnes/George Hilton/Gilbert Roland
(4.8) She Came To The Valley (1979) - Ronee Blakeley/Dean Stockwell/Scott Glenn/Freddy Fender/Jennifer Jones
(5.6) Northwest Trail (1945) - Bob Steele/Joan Woodbury/John Litel/Raymond Hatton/Madge Bellamy/Charles Middleton/John Hamilton
(5.3) The Naked Hills (1956) - David Wayne/Keenan Wynn/James Barton/Jim Backus/Denver Pyle/Fuzzy Knight
DISC EIGHT:
(5.4) Mohawk (1956) - Scott Brady/Rita Garn/Neville Brand/Lori Nelson/Mae Clarke/Ted de Corsia
(6.2) Tulsa (1949) - Susan Hayward/Robert Preston/Chill Wills/Ed Begley/Lola Albright/Jimmy Conlin
(2.1) Fair Play (TV-1972) - Paul Ford/Robert Middleton/Terry Wilson
(5.0) The Young Land (1959) - Patrick Wayne/Yvonne Craig/Dennis Hopper/Dan O'Herlihy/Ken Curtis/Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez
DISC NINE:
(5.9) Kansas Pacific (1953) - Sterling Hayden/Eva Miller/Barton MacLane/Reed Hadley/Clayton Moore
(6.2) Santa Fe Trail (1940) - Errol Flynn/Olivia de Havilland/Raymond Massey/Ronald Reagan/Alan Hale/Van Heflin/Gene Reynolds/Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams/John Litel
(5.6) The Outlaw (1943) - Jane Russell/Jack Buetel/Thomas Mitchell/Walter Huston (uncredited: Ben Johnson/Martin Garralaga)
(5.8) Vengeance Valley (1951) - Burt Lancaster/Robert Walker/Joanne Dru/John Ireland/Ray Collins/Hugh O'Brian
DISC TEN:
(7.2) One-Eyed Jacks (1961) - Marlon Brando/Karl Malden/Katy Jurado/Ben Johnson/Slim Pickens/Elisha Cook Jr.
(5.9) The Over-the-Hill Gang (TV-1969) - Walter Brennan/Edgar Buchanan/Andy Devine/Jack Elam/Gypsy Rose Lee/Ricky Nelson/Pay O'Brien/Chill Wills
(5.2) The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again (TV-1970) - Walter Brennan/Fred Astaire/Edgar Buchanan/Andy Devine/Chill Wills/Paul Richards/Pepper Martin/Eddie Quillan
(6.3) The Deadly Companions (1961) - Maureen O'Hara/Brian Keith/Steve Cochran/Chill Wills/Strother Martin"