Search - Hidden Valley on DVD

Excellent film, questionable DVD.

J. Connor | Palm Desert, CA United States | 12/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hidden Valley is a very well acted western starring Bob Steele and directed by Robert N. Bradbury. The plot concerns a young man, (Bob Steele) who joins a geologist on an expedition to a large, unknown valley which is supposed to contain valued resources. When the old geologist is mysteriously killed in the mountains, Steele is wrongly convicted and sets out to clear himself. The Gavin gang is a blockade to his plans, and the sheriff takes serious action when an Indian raid occurs in the desert. He sends a Goodyear blimp to search for Steele, who is still fleeing the posse. A suspenseful climax results. An all around good western that is about an hour long.
One item that I suppose you should know. This film contains several scenes of violence, fighting, and Indian raids. The film probably deserves a PG-13 MPAA Rating for all this. Probably NOT suitable for children under 12.
However, the Alpha Video DVD of "Hidden Valley" is of very questionable quality. The picture quality was suitable for such an old movie, but it still could have been cleaned up slightly. The main quality issue on the DVD is the extremely choppy audio. The sound drones out at times, which can be somewhat annoying. The movie itself fits the price, but I hope that in the future, a newly restored DVD print will be released and people will wait for that. Universal Pictures, who have the copyright, could do this and clean the film up. The film is watchable, yes, but I and others would probably prefer a nicer print. The current DVD will do for now, but if you want the best quality, wait for another release. There is a rumor of a better quality VHS version floating around.
The movie is worth watching definitely, but just be warned about the DVD release. END"