The Western celebrates its 100th anniversary this year; it was in 1903 that "The Great Train Robbery" established the form as a viable movie genre.
And its popularity has never waned . . . though you might not know it from the dearth of Westerns on movie screens these days.
Still, there must be an audience for them, as the oldies keep showing up on home video, as with these eight new DVDs, which have all received sharp widescreen transfers (except the first, made before widescreen lenses), but are sadly lacking any extras.
To be honest, this spate probably has more to do with a Father's Day promotion than with the 100th anniversary. But those of us who love Westerns will take 'em any way we can get 'em.
And though it would seem that modern Hollywood has given up on the Old West (save for the occasional TV feature), there's good news on the horizon. According to last week's show-biz trade paper Variety, there are several new Westerns in production, including reworkings of "The Alamo" and "The Wild Bunch"!
THE FIRST FIVE Westerns reviewed here, listed chronologically, are quite traditional in their approach:
— "Copper Canyon" (Paramount, 1950, not rated, $19.99). Routine post-Civil War yarn gets a boost from the interesting casting of Ray Milland as a stage-show sharpshooter who may or may not be a wanted man, and Hedy Lamarr as a woman at the local saloon who may or may not be aligned with the bad guys. Enjoyable, if not particularly memorable, with good supporting cast.
— "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (Paramount, 1957, not rated, $19.99). Of the seven films Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas made together, this is one of the best, with Lancaster as Wyatt Earp and Douglas as Doc Holliday, dramatizing the events in Tombstone, Ariz., that led to the title confrontation with the Clanton clan.
Lancaster is tough and disciplined as Earp, while Douglas plays Holliday as more of a loose cannon (with a terrible cough, of course), and neither actor is afraid to appear unsympathetic here and there. The duo's relationship is compelling and the many action sequences are well-directed by John Sturges ("The Magnificent Seven" and "The Great Escape").
In support are Rhonda Fleming and a bevy of wonderful character actors, including Lee Van Cleef, young Dennis Hopper and DeForest Kelley ("Bones" on the original "Star Trek").
Trivia Note: Other Lancaster-Douglas pairings worth looking for are "The Devil's Disciple" (1959, VHS), "The List of Adrian Messenger" (1963, VHS) and "Seven Days in May" (1964, VHS and DVD).
— "The Lonely Man" (Paramount, 1957, b/w, not rated, $19.99). Low-budget entry in the genre has Jack Palance as the stereotypical gunslinger trying to go straight, this time with the added angst of dealing with the grown son (Anthony Perkins) he's never known.
Palance is brooding and harsh, and Perkins uses his familiar tics to good effect as he reacts negatively to Palance's attempts to reach out to him. Naturally, they tangle with Palance's old cohorts — and Palance's girl (Elaine Aiken) finds herself attracted to Perkins! Nice, spare effort with better-than-average, less hammy performances by the two stars, and a solid supporing cast.
Extras: Widescreen, etc.
— "Rio Lobo" (Paramount, 1970, G, $19.99). Director Howard Hawks made two great Westerns with John Wayne — "Red River" (1948) and "Rio Bravo" (1959). He also made another pretty good one with Wayne, "El Dorado" (1967) — although it was a virtual remake of "Rio Bravo."
Then, three years later, Hawks made "Rio Lobo," which would be his last film — and in the final 15 minutes, it too becomes a remake of "Rio Bravo"! Again, with John Wayne.
"Rio Lobo" opens with a terrific Civil War train robbery, then becomes a revenge tale, as Wayne tracks a wartime traitor to Rio Lobo, Texas, aided by two bad actors (Jorge Rivero and Jennifer O'Neill) and one OK actor (Christopher Mitchum, Robert's son). Later, the film gets a boost from some wonderful character players, the hilarious Jack Elam who joins Wayne and friends, Victor French as a villain and David Huddleston as the local dentist.
Trivia note: Amelita, whose face is scarred toward the end of the picture, is played by Sherry Lansing, who gave up acting to produce movies and eventually became president of 20th Century Fox, and then Paramount Pictures.
— "Big Jake" (Paramount, 1971, PG-13, $19.99). One of John Wayne's weaker films, this typical kidnap-and-revenge tale is pretty much by the numbers, though Maureen O'Hara lends some class to the film's first quarter (in her fifth and final film with the Duke).
Richard Boone is also impressive as a thoughtful, albeit vicious, villain, and Christopher Mitchum shows up again, here playing one of Wayne's sons. Wayne's other sons are played by his real-life son Patrick Wayne and singer Bobby Vinton. As usual, some fine character actors show up along the way.
THESE THREE MOVIES took the revisionist trail during the late '60s and early '70s:
— "Nevada Smith" (Paramount, 1966, not rated, $19.99). Steve McQueen is at his flinty best in this gritty, well-made revenge tale, taken from a segment of Harold Robbins' "The Carpetbaggers." McQueen plays the title character in his early life as Max Sand, spending most of this episodic movie blinded by hatred as he tracks down three ruthless bad guys who tortured and killed his white father and Indian mother.
The three killers are very well played by Karl Malden, Martin Landau and Arthur Kennedy. Pat Hingle is also good as a chain-gang trusty, and Suzanne Pleshette and Janet Margolin show up briefly as love interests. But this is McQueen's show, and he's perfect in the kind of tough-guy role that defined his persona.
Extras: Widescreen, etc.
— "A Man Called Horse" (Paramount, 1970; R for violence, nudity; $19.99). Richard Harris is excellent in this 1970 hit about an Englishman who is captured by Sioux Indians as a slave for an elderly tribe member (the wonderful Judith Anderson). Eventually, however, he earns their respect and becomes one of them. Sparse on dialogue but long on characterizations and affecting vignettes, "A Man Called Horse" remains compelling and, in places — especially the notorious Sun Vow ceremony — shocking.
It's instructive to note that the film was released in 1970 with an M rating, the equivalent of a PG, but when re-rated for this DVD release, it received an R.
Extras: Widescreen, etc.
— "Little Big Man" (Paramount, 1970, PG-13, $19.99). Dustin Hoffman seems an unlikely choice for any Western, much less as an Indian (albeit adopted), but he's great in this tragic episodic tale that is loaded with wry comedy.
The film is told from the point of view of a 121-year-old man (Hoffman, under heavy but believable makeup), who claims to have been at Custer's Last Stand. As he tells his story, we see him as the young child of pioneers who are massacred by one tribe of Indians, while he is adopted by another. He goes on to become a Cheyenne brave, a gunslinger, a Bible-thumper, a snake-oil salesman, a muleskinner for Custer — and he excels at each.
The film holds up well, and is every bit as thoughtful and hilarious and exciting and depressing as it was 33 years ago. Hoffman's performance is amazing, but he also gets great support from Chief Dan George, Faye Dunaway, Martin Balsam and, as Custer, the very funny Richard Mulligan.
Extras: Widescreen, etc.
E-MAIL: hicks@desnews.com