Search - Classic Western Heroes on DVD

Over-Priced Set of Movies in Public Domain

David Bassler | Richmond, VA USA | 08/04/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Films in the set are:

Abilene Town (1946) (6.4/10 rating by an on-line movie website) starring Randolph Scott, Lloyd Bridges, Helen Boyce, Ann Dvorak and Edgar Buchanan
The Big Trees (1952) (5.7) starring Kirk Douglas, Eve Miller and Patrice Wymore
Blue Steel (1934) (5.6) starring John Wayne, Gabby Hayes and Eleanor Hunt
Daniel Boone (1935) (5.6) starring George O'Brien, Heather Angel and John Carradine
My Pal Trigger (1946) (6.5) starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and Gabby Hayes
The Outlaw (1943) (5.5) starring Jack Beutel, Jane Russell and Thomas Mitchell
The Painted Desert (1931) (5.5) starring William Boyd, Helen Twelvetrees and Clark Gable
Santa Fe Trail (1940) (6.1) starring Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Olivia de Haviland and Raymond Massey

On the plus side, these films have been re-mastered and have excellent sound and picture quality. The exception is My Pal Trigger, which has a lot of hiss on its soundtrack and better quality prints can be found elsewhere and for lower cost. The films themselves range from fair ("The Outlaw") to quite good ("Abilene Town") and all feature prominent stars. The packaging is quite good, too - each disk in the set has its own box.

The box set's negatives are pretty significant, though - all of the films in this set are now in public domain and can be found in much cheaper packages. As a buyer, you have to decide if St. Clair Vision's fine job of re-mastering and packaging is worth the hefty price tag they put on this 8-movie box set."