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Joel McCrea Westerns Collection Coming April 2, 2012

post #1 of 10
1/19/12 at 3:33am
Thread Starter 
I just saw the following listed on the Movies Unlimited Website:

Joel McCrea Westerns Collection

Format: DVD

"The Virginian" (1946) stars Joel McCrea as Owen Wister's wandering man of few words (among them, "When you call me that, smile") who finds himself going up against old friend Sonny Tufts, part of Brian Donlevy's rustler band. With Barbara Britton, William Frawley. Veteran trail boss McCrea takes a businessman's spoiled son (Dean Stockwell) under his wing during a dangerous "Cattle Drive" (1951); with Leon Ames, Chill Wills. In "Border River" (1954), Confederate officer McCrea and his men nab $2 million in gold bullion on a raid and head to Mexico to buy guns and ammo for the South, only to battle a ruthless Mexican general. Yvonne De Carlo, Pedro Armendariz also star. And McCrea's final film, "Mustang Country" (1976), finds him cast as a former rodeo star who helps a Native-American boy round up and tame a wild horse. With Robert Fuller, Nika Mina, Patrick Wayne. 5 1/2 hrs. total on four discs. Standard/Widescreen; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; photo gallery; poster gallery; more.

Price $39.99

The release is via TCM.
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post #2 of 10
1/19/12 at 6:44am
So the "leaked" (at this point I have my doubts) 2012 list of Universal TCM Exclusives is further substantiated.

The only negative is that The Virginian has already been released a while ago through their MOD program, at least for those that bought that disc through Amazon. Even so, this will be a minor upgrade being pressed and having those appreciated if low budget extra features.
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post #3 of 10
1/19/12 at 8:23am
I much rather have Gary Cooper's Paramount westerns, including the Virginian, many of which have been restored. At least, my wallet is grateful.
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post #4 of 10
1/19/12 at 2:52pm
I also would rather see Gary Cooper's Paramount Westerns.
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post #5 of 10
1/19/12 at 7:00pm
I agree, but McCrea was in some quality westerns so I'm interested enough to try this set out.
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post #6 of 10
1/19/12 at 7:59pm
I would love to see some more Cooper westerns too . But i like McCrea also . I do wish they had included Frenchie and Black Horse Canyon instead of The Virginian and Mustang Country .

I already have The Virginian and Mustang Country was at the end of his career . Both Frenchie and Black Horse Canyon were from his prime cowboy years .
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post #7 of 10
1/20/12 at 7:03am
With THE VIRGINIAN already out in the UK and as a MOD and BORDER RIVER out in Spain
and as a super transfer from Koch Germany;there are only two titles for me here.
I will get it anyway as I am a die-hard fan;in any case TCMs packaging on their Audie Murphy
Western Collection was super!

Joel McCreas two best Universal Westerns were SADDLE TRAMP and THE LONE HAND and
its a shame these two were not included.

Universal also own the rights to WELLS FARGO (1937) a Paramount picture.

Hopefully these will surface in Universals 100th Anniversary output;possibly as MODs.

As for Gary Cooper I thought most of his Paramount Westerns had mainly made it to
DVD (mostly DeMille nonsense!)

Also I would like to see released Paramounts very rare spooker THE UNSEEN also
starring Joel McCrea;Universal also own the rights to this one.

I hope TCM continue with these Western Collections I would like to see the following:

THE RORY CALHOUN UNIVERSAL WESTERN COLLECTION

THE JOCK MAHONEY UNIVERSAL WESTERN COLLECTION

THE GEORGE MONTGOMERY COLUMBIA WESTERN COLLECTION

THE SAM KATZMAN COLUMBIA WESTERN COLLECTION

Oh well a guy can dream........
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post #8 of 10
1/21/12 at 1:15am
The 1946 version of The Virginian is the weakest version and a poor choice for the Joel McCrea set.
Even TNT's made-for-TV version in 2000 tells the story better and more convincingly than the 1946.
Plus, it has Diane Lane.

Paramount / Universal needs to get the 1914, 1924, and 1929 versions out.
They all survive in excellent quality.
The 1924 version is a superior western by any standard.
But the 1929 is definitive.

I do wish TCM / Universal / ClassicFlix would upgrade the Douglas Sirk box-set.
They did a lousy job on that one, especially The Tarnished Angels.

I would like see a second volume of Audie Murphy westerns.
He made consistently good solid B westerns, which can be enjoyed on the basis of vivid color and outdoor scenery alone.
The Kid From Texas (1950), Gunsmoke (1953), Tumbleweed (1953), Walk the Proud Land (1956), Seven Ways From Sundown (1960) and Hell Bent for Leather (1960) could be included in the next set.

I want a William S. Hart collection from somebody.
Most of his films last only an hour, give or take a few minutes, they could fit two per disc.
Hell's Hinges (1916) and The Narrow Trail (1917) are an absolute must-see.
Many of his best films are available, they just need to be cleaned up a little.
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post #9 of 10
4/10/12 at 9:22am
Received my shipping notice today!
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post #10 of 10
4/10/12 at 9:50am
As a 70s movie fan, its nice to see Universal releasing Macraes late in life curio Mustang Country-which is more akin to a Wilderness Family/ nature film then a Western-but still very enjoyable with an energetic performance from Joel MaCrae.

A great companion piece to 1976's other aging cowboy film -The Shootist. Hopefully this will be out on Blu ray soon -its one of my favorites . John Wayne won his Oscar for the wrong Paramont western!

1976 was a good year for westerns: Breakhart Pass, The Missouri Breaks, The Last Hard Men , Buffalo Bill and he Indians, Return of a Man Called Horse, From Noon til Three, The Shootist -I think MUSTANG was the last of that years to be released.

Paramount has a coupla other 70s westerns needing better transfers - A Gunfight and The Deserter have been in pd Hell, while their tv movie sequel (should add this o another thread I started about tv movie sequels to flms) to True Grit with Warren Oats as Rooster Cogburn would be fun to see also.

Othwise-virtually all of the v 70 few westerns are on DVD.
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