Search - Rough Riders Triple Feature, Vol. 2 on DVD

"The King of B-Westerns & Serials...VCI Entertainment ~ Belo

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 02/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"VCI Entertainment and Monogram Pictures present "Below the Border" (1942) (digitally remastered), although The Rough Riders had a short run, they turned out some of the best B-Westerns ever to grace the Saturday Matinee screen...our story is the fourth of eight in the Rough Riders series is a better than average oater...three U.S. Marshals are working undercover Buck, Tim and Sandy looking for the culprits who killed U.S. Marshal Gordon, a comrade in arms...Roy Barcroft has forced Dennis Moore who works on the Linda Brent ranch to give him information so his men can steal the family jewels...always pretending not to know one another the Rough Riders are on the job...Buck poses as a wanted outlaw to get into the gang, Tim as a cattle buyer, and Sandy is collecting information as the saloon janitor...can they also outwit our favorite villain Charles King (Steve Slade), who is always known as Blackie...don't miss a single scene as Buck and King have their final showdown....just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye with excitement...don't miss any of the Rough Riders features loaded with action that will leave you wanting more of his B-Western adventures

Under director Howard P. Bretherton, producer Scott R. Dunlap, original story by Jess Bowers ...the cast include Buck Jones (Marshal Buck Roberts), Tim McCoy (Marshal Tim McCall), Raymond Hatton (Sandy Hopkins), Linda Brent (Rosita Garcia), Charles King (Steve Slade, aka Blackie Johnson), Roy Barcroft (Ed Scully), Bud Osborne (Bill/henchman), Eva Puig (Aunt Maria), Dennis Moore (Joe Collins), Reed Howes (Max/henchman), Kermit Maynard (Jeff/henchman), Jack Rockwell (Sheriff J.B. Lawler), Silver (Buck Jones, wonder horse). . . . . . . . .special footnote, actor /producer Buck Jones made over 164 feature films beginning with "Western Blood" (1918/Silent) with a bit part...Jones final film was "Dawn on the Great Divide" (1942)...with his famed horse "Silver:, Jones was one of the most successful and popular B-Western actors of the '20s, '30s and '40s, at one time receiving more fan mail than any actor in the world...was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1973. . . . . . . . . .second special footnote actor Tim McCoy in real life was a sharpshooter and famed for his fast draw...was an expert on the Old West also an authority on Indian folklore could converse in Indian sign language...McCoy was inducted into the "Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum" in 1973, also inducted into "The Cowboy Hall of Fame" in 1974.. . . . . . . . final special footnote, one of my favorite character actors was Johnny Mack's sidekick Raymond Hatton (1887-1971) as Marshall Sandy Hopkins who appeared from 1943 and made 45 films for Monogram Pictures...Hatton who first appeared on film in "Tragic Love" (1909-Silent/unconfirmed), "Oliver Twist" (1917), "The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), "The Squaw Man" (1931), "Law and Order" (1932)...during the '30s & '40s he played the comical sidekick for Johnny Mack Brown and Bob Livingston...went on to join Buck Jones and Tim McCoy in the "Rough Riders" series...Hatton worked right up to his last film "In Cold Blood" (1967). . . . . .meanwhile this is an exciting Rough Riders western provided by Monogram Pictures during their heyday of the early '40s.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Buck Jones (aka: Charles Frederick Gebhart)
Birth Date: 12/04/1889 - Vincennes, Indiana
Died: 11/30/1942 - Boston, MA (fire)
2. Tim McCoy (aka: Timothy John Fitzgerald McCoy)
Birth Date: 4/10/1891 - Saginaw, Michigan
Died: 1/29/1978 - Nogales, Arizona
3. Raymond Hatton (aka: Raymond William Hatton)
Birth Date: 7/07/1887 - Red Oak, Iowa
Died: 10/21/1971 - Palmdale, California

Check out other Buck Jones titles available on VHS from VCI:
1. Black Aces (1937)
2. Dawn on the Great Divide (1942)
3. Down Texas Way (1942)
4. Gunman from Bodie (1941)
5. Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937)
6. Riders of Death Valley (1941)
7. Silver Spurs (1936)
8. Six Gun Man (1946)
9. South of the Rio Grande (1932)

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure check out other western double features with Buck Jones:

ROUGH RIDERS WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURES:
1. Vol. 1 - Arizona Bound/Gunman from Bodie (VCI #7241) (DVD)
2. Vol. 2 - Ghost Town Law/Below the Border (VCI #7264) (DVD)
3. Vol. 3 - Forbidden Trails/Down Texas Way (VCI #7274) (DVD)
4. Dawn on the Great Divide (VCI #7219) (DVD)

Ask Amazon.Com to carry the above titles if they are not available as of yet...you can order and pick up your copy now from VCI Entertainment...if you enjoyed "Below the Border" (1942), why not pick up other copies of Buck Jones features.

In 1941 the "Rough Riders" series began with Buck as Marshal Buck Roberts, Tim McCoy was Marshal Tim McCall and Raymond Hatton was Marshal Sandy Hopkins for Monogram Pictures:

1. ARIZONA BOUND (Monogram, 1941)
2. THE GUNMAN FROM BODIE (Monogram, 1941)
3. FORBIDDEN TRAILS (Monogram, 1941)
4. BELOW THE BORDER (Monogram, 1942)
5. GHOST TOWN LAW (Monogram, 1942)
6. DOWN TEXAS WAY (Monogram, 1942)
7. RIDERS OF THE WEST (Monogram, 1942)
8. WEST OF THE LAW (Monogram, 1942)

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Below the Border" (1942),
the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward
to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s
& '40s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there
are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch
action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just
the way we like 'em

Total Time: 57 min on DVD/VHS ~ VCI Entertainment #7264 ~ (11/20/1997)"

Great films, lousy DVD

Richard Kukan | Toronto, ON Canada | 02/27/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Source material & transfers for this Critics' Choice edition ranges from fair to poor, with RIDERS OF THE WEST virtually unwatchable. Don't waste your money: try the VCI releases of these films, which are said to be quite good."