Colt .45 - The Complete Series - Coming to Blu-Ray on March 12th '24 (Warner Archive) (3 Viewers)

[SuperClark]

Another review which I find informative due to the listing of all 67 episodes disc by disc including the exact time of each.This release is the gold standard for classic tv westerns which I am sure Warner Archive will follow in future releases.

Colt .45: The Complete Series (Blu-ray Review)

Developed into a TV series by celebrated producer Roy Huggins—known for creating the TV shows Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, The Rockford Files, and Hunter—the 1950 film version of Colt .45 (aka Thundercloud) starred Randolph Scott as a traveling salesman who is initially accused of murder in a...

thedigitalbits.com

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

There is a spiritual connection between Colt .45 a western starting Wayde Preston, and M Squad, a crime drama starring Lee Marvin. Both used Colt guns, especially Marvin's character using a pair of Colt Cobra snub nosed revolvers. Now I'd like to see a 4K scan remastering of M Squad for a Blu-ray complete series set!

 

[Dan McW]

In one season two episode, I saw a dreaded papier-mache rock. Saw at least one in S1 too. Those turned up on Bonanza occasionally, but not--as I recall--on Gunsmoke.

 

[Doug Wallen]

Received this set yesterday for Father's Day and I just had to sample the pilot. After reading all the comments about the quality, I just had to see what everyone was talking about.

Count me in as a true believer. The picture was simply amazing. I could not believe I was viewing a 66 year old TV series. If all the episodes look this way, WOW!!!

This is a totally new series to me. I was very intrigued by the story. I found the tension palpable with the final meeting between Rexford and Colt. Great pilot.

Excellent episode.

I am looking forward to the rest of the set once I "receive" my gift.

 

[ponset]

I have started watching the DONALD MAY episodes.

So far, there has been one episode with both the cousins appear together, "The Phantom Trail".

 

[Dan McW]

I've just started season three but am not up to the Donald May episodes yet. Episode 3-1: "Queen of Dixie," offered a good turn for John Alderson, the great Andy Clyde, and Tol Avery. It featured some well-done scenes of a riverboat running aground on mud.

The second episode was a pretty mean one with some point-blank murders by Joe Di Reda and his gunmen, who included one of my favorite supporting players, Kelly Thordsen.

Episode three featured Adam West as Doc Holliday, and he acquitted himself well. West, which the series had not done since the first two episodes of season one, received an "also starring" billing up front. A young Don Grady played the title role in the Doc Holiday episode, "The Devil's Godson." Lane Bradford played his usual villain role quite well--while it lasted.

I noticed some odd dubbing of Wayde Preston in episodes two and three of season three. In "The Reckoning," episode two, it is especially prominent from scene to scene and sometimes changing within a scene. It sounds like it's either Preston speaking in a much deeper voice or possibly somebody else altogether. It happed in the Doc Holliday episode but wasn't quite as distracting.

The new opening credits for season three show the crewman or other person who is reflected in the window as Colt rides up. One of the two Warner announcements at the beginning has been dropped for season three and the narration changed for the one remaining, which I think coincides with similar changes made across WB shows in fall 1959. Also, the announcer, after the cold open, says, "And now, Colt .45" instead of just the title.

 

[Bob Gu]

Sometimes they dub in another actor's voice for outdoor scenes so they don't have to bring back a guest actor to redo some lost dialog. As you said, Dan, sometimes it seems to be a mixture. Some of the original recorded dialog was still usable.

I heard on an extra commentary that Universal would re-record the dialog on everything. So some of the guest actors would not be around or maybe even not want to do it. Small part actors would not even be asked back. So they'd use whoever was handy.

June Forey, the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, dubbed the whole performances of Olive Sturgess, a fairly well known guest actress in S1E12 and, lesser known actress, Mandy Ayer in S1E17 on RAWHIDE.

BRONCO used Mike Road's voice, in part, for John Dehner, or vice versa, in an episode.


I think the episode of COLT .45 Wayde Preston walked out on was "Calamity" S3E10. The Warner Brother TV Book said he walked out over a stagecoach stunt. The book said the episode was not completed, but I think it was completed with a double.

If you look the some of the scenes where Colt is inside the stage coach you can't see his face. There's the scene where Calamity and Colt are on top of the coach driver's box and you only see the back of Colt's head. When Colt jumps off the stage to tackle the bad guy you don't see his head.

That Wayde Preston article was a great find, Scott! It was a bit of a hit job on Preston.

It was a TV Guide article from June 28, 1958. The article mentions that COLT .45 was actually cancelled after Season One, by the sponsor. But they wanted to keep it going and renewed Preston's option. Did they get a late start on filming Season Two?

So Season Two started with Season One reruns in the fall of 1958. IMDB says the 13 new Season Two episodes ran between April 5, 1959 and June 29, 1959.

Preston had a mustache in all 13 Season Two episodes.

Preston's four "Canary Kid" episodes on SUGARFOOT. The first two were shown while COLT.45 was showing S1 reruns at the beginning of S2. SUGARFOOT- S2E5, Nov. 11, 1958 and S2E11, Feb. 3, 1959. Preston had his mustache in SUGARFOOT S2E11. And Preston still had a mustache in his two SUGARFOOT S3 episodes, S3E1, Sept. 15, 1959 and S3E5, Nov. 10, 1959.

When S3 of COLT .45 premiered on Oct. 4, 1959, Wayde Preston no longer had a mustache.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Episode 3-1: "Queen of Dixie,"

I think that might have been my favorite episode of the series.

 

[SuperClark]

Another good reviews of this release.I completed watching all 3 seasons at the end of March and plan to see them again this summer.After Viewing 'The Alaskans' of course I think my fav episode is 'A legend of Buffalo Bill'.Brit Lomond is great and he and Christopher Colt have excellent camaraderie.

Blu-ray News and Reviews | High Def Digest

 

[RBailey]

I've just started season three but am not up to the Donald May episodes yet. Episode 3-1: "Queen of Dixie," offered a good turn for John Alderson, the great Andy Clyde, and Tol Avery. It featured some well-done scenes of a riverboat running aground on mud.

Those shots of the riverboat came from Warner's 1944 Frederic March movie THE ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN. Excellent use of stock footage.