Roy Rogers in TruColor and Uncut (2 Viewers)

[John Sparks]

A big thank you to all that contributed to this wonderful thread. Happy New Year to you all!

 

[ponset]

 

[Bert Greene]

Referencing that "Wild Bill Hickok" lobby-card above, has anyone ever seen any of those ersatz movies that Monogram/Allied Artists released, each culled from two tv-episodes of the series? There were 16 in all, released to theaters. It probably made some financial sense to put these things together and market them as movies, as there were still a lot of rural and small-town areas at that time which still lacked television reception, populated by kids who had yet to see "Wild Bill Hickok" or any other of the popular kid-oriented tv properties. According to Len D. Martin's "Allied Artists Checklist" book from McFarland, the resulting 'features' were:

1. BEHIND SOUTHERN LINES (1952-Mon)
2. THE GHOST OF CROSSBONES CANYON (1952-Mon)
3. TRAIL OF THE ARROW (1952-Mon)
4. THE YELLOW-HAIRED KID (1952-Mon)
5. BORDER CITY RUSTLERS (1953-AA)
6. SECRET OF OUTLAW FLATS (1953-AA)
7. SIX-GUN DECISION (1953-AA)
8. TWO-GUN MARSHAL (1953-AA)
9. MARSHALS IN DISGUISE (1954-AA)
10. OUTLAW'S SON (1954-AA)
11. TROUBLE ON THE TRAIL (1954-AA)
12. THE TWO GUN TEACHER (1954-AA)
13. THE MATCH-MAKING MARSHAL (1955-AA)
14. PHANTOM TRAILS (1955-AA)
15. TIMBER COUNTRY TROUBLE (1955-AA)
16. THE TITLED TENDERFOOT (1955-AA)

Anyway, I don't know of these ever being syndicated for television broadcast. They'd obviously be redundant with "Hickok" reruns widely available and commonly-shown, but you'd still think these films might have circulated somewhere in all these intervening years. I've never run across any of them, though.

 

[Bob Gu]

I posted a bunch of the Hickok feature posters in Post #659 back on page 33.

At that time I found a stat that said that in 1952 there were 16 million TV sets in U.S. households. That was about 10% of the population.

Europe was still rebuilding after WWII and probably had even less TVs in households. So, Hickok would be new to the European audience.

There were Superman TV show features made too. I think the Superman and Hickok features were all from B&W episodes.

Hickok and Superman were both sponsored by Kellogg's. I always thought that Kellogg's came up with the money to film the later color episodes of Superman and Hickok. The color seasons of both shows had thirteen episodes per season in the same time frame.

 

[Bob Gu]

Here are some Superman feature posters. They even name the TV episodes. Wonder if they had new transition scenes or just the episodes one after another?

 

[Bob Gu]

"Northwest Passage"-1958-59, 26 episodes in Metrocolor, was another series that edited three episodes together for three theatrical releases worldwide, 1959-61.

"Frontier Rangers"

"Mission of Danger"

"Fury River".

"Northwest Passage" was based on the 1940 MGM movie. The series used some of the battle footage from the movie. (One of the Rangers on the poster for "Frontier Rangers" looks like Robert Young.)

The series should be with Warners now. Bootleggers claim it's PD but the fact that a book is involved, I don't think so. There have been PD releases from Alpha, MillCreek and others.

The series starred Keith Larsen, Buddy Ebsen, and Don Burnett.

Lisa Gaye was in two episodes of "Northwest Passage" and 90% of the publicity photos.

The three "Northwest Passage" features were released on DVD in Germany in single editions and a three pack. Amazon.de lists them as having German and English soundtracks.

 

[SuperClark]

I was playing a game of chess with a very good friend of mine who is also a big fan of westerns particularly 'Bonanza'.The question came up who would win between Adam Cartwright (who is both our fav Cartwright son) and Paladin.Both are very smart sophisticated guys.Now just because Paladin had a knight on his holster and on his business card doesnt mean he is great at chess.I told her I think Adam would have a good chance at winning it just depends on who has the most experience and has the most advanced skill level. The more common question I have read on western forums is which tv/movie actor was the fastest draw.Maybe The Waco kid/Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles. 'Call me Jim'.Here is Adam about to check mate Hoss.Dadburnit!
This is a fav photo of Paladin charming a lovely sexy lady.His outfit looks pretty slick so credit to the wardrobe dept.

 

[Bob Gu]

Say, where's Roy? I think he's in Australia.

Found some nice pen and ink covers for Australian Roy Rogers comics. I think they reprinted stories from the Roy Rogers Dell comics.

They really had some nice detail on Roy's shirts and Trigger's gear.

The Australian comic site also had an interesting article about Australian Hopalong Cassidy comics. After reprinting all the U.S. Fawcett and DC Hoppy stories they wanted more and resorted to redrawing Hoppy into other DC western comics stories.
https://ausreprints.net/article/61/p1

DC's Wyoming Kid becomes Hopalong Cassidy.

Notice with how they removed the Fearless Fosdick hair tonic ad from the Australian version.

 

[ponset]

 

[Bob Gu]

Adding to Scott's Lone Ranger at the 25th Silver ABC Anniversary Special 1978. Hugh O'Brian, Chuck Conners, Clint Walker, John Wayne, David Carradine, Clayton Moore, Michael Ansara, and Jack Kelly.

Clip of the western segment, hosted by John Wayne, in the 1978 special.

GRIT is showing another B&W Republic feature. THE LAST STAGECOACH WEST-1957. The first showing is early Saturday, Feb. 10, 12:30 AM to 2:00 AM.

Stars Jim Davis reunited with his "Stories of the Century" partner, Mary Castle.

Jim Davis with John Alderson, Lee Van Cleef, Glenn Strange, and Victor Jory. Do you suppose Jory is the bad guy?

UK Promo.

GRIT will show THE LAST STAGECOACH WEST again on Sunday Feb. 11, 12:00 Noon to 1:30 PM, followed by another Republic western, CALIFORNIA PASSAGE-1950, 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM, EST. I wonder if THE LAST STAGECOACH WEST will actually be shown in widescreen, and if both Republics are newer Paramount restorations?

CALIFORNIA PASSAGE stars Forrest Tucker. Adele Mara, Estelita Rodriguez, and Jim Davis.

Iron Eyes Cody, Clayton Moore, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Pat Buttram.

 

[Bert Greene]

Speaking of "California Passage" (1950-Rep) brings us to Estelita Rodriguez, doesn't it? She was in a heck of a lot of Roy Rogers westerns, but at Republic she also had her own little series of starring comedy-musical vehicles:

1. BELLE OF OLD MEXICO (1950) w. Robert Rockwell
2. CUBAN FIREBALL (1951) w. Warren Douglas
3. HAVANA ROSE (1951) w. Bill Williams
4. THE FABULOUS SENORITA (1952) w. Robert Clarke
5. TROPICAL HEAT WAVE (1952) w. Robert Hutton

"Belle of Old Mexico" (1950-Rep) was apparently shot in TruColor, but I think the old tv-prints are all in b&w. That's the case with my copy. The plot is the old familiar story of a G.I. who has promised to adopt and care for the daughter of a deceased (Mexican) war buddy, but the daughter turns out to be grown up. You get the usual farcical situations when he takes her home. It's a good premise, but the humor is delivered with too heavy a hand here. We have Fritz Feld as an eccentric psychiatrist, Gordon Jones as a gregarious Texan named Tex, and Dave Willock in drag for a while, pretending to be Estelita's aunt. Gets pretty lowbrow. Familiar Republic blonde Dorothy Patrick plays the heavy. Biggest surprise is seeing jazz violinist great Joe Venuti backing one of Estelita's songs. Despite the film's weaknesses, I'd still like to see it restored and in color, akin to how we now have the studio's "Singing Guns" (1950) and "Trigger, Jr." (1950) from the same year. Would look nice.

"Havana Rose" (1951-Rep) also takes a pretty broad comedic direction, with Estelita playing the daughter to the ambassador of the Kingdom of Lower Salamia, who is in Washington DC, where they are trying to get a big loan from millionaire doofus Hugh Herbert. Ain't exactly Lubitsch stuff going on here. With the addition of impersonations, chases, and a duo of foreign assassins on the loose, it's more like Bowery Boys territory. However, I found Estelita to be pretty fetching here, and despite the overall dumbness, I rather liked the film. But just don't tell anybody.

"The Fabulous Senorita" (1952-Rep) is the one I used to see pop up on tv most often. It's a bit less broad of a comedy, and rather well-mounted by director R.G. Springsteen. Estelita goes up to an American college and poses as twin sisters to keep up her own sister's (a young Rita Moreno) elopement a secret. It's a pleasant, amusing fluff. Standard comedy hi-jinx with Estelita carrying the film nicely, all bright-eyed and girlish. Some funny moments with future tv-fixtures Marvin Kaplin and Vito Scotti. As for Estelita's other starring films, I saw "Tropical Heat Wave" (1952-Rep) on television over four decades ago, but remember very little about it. I've never run across "Cuban Fireball" (1951-Rep) at all, but I'd like to see it. The plot sounds fun. It would be neat if all these could be thrown together into a blu-ray collection, but that would probably be the unlikeliest of unlikely things to happen.

 

[Bob Gu]

The GRIT print of THE LAST STAGECOACH WEST was pillar-boxed and cropped, but still had the NATURAMA designation onscreen under the title.

That poster above for "Frontier Rangers" did use artwork and photo reference from the 1940 "Northwest Passage". The three figures represent Robert Young, Spencer Tracy, and Walter Brennan,

Lisa Gaye actually was in three episodes of the "Northwest Passage" TV series, playing a captive who becomes Major Rogers' ward by her third episode. (Lisa fan, Jeff Flugel can rest easy now.)

Adding to Bert's Estelita Rodriguez, post.

With Roy and Dale in SUSANNA PASS.

With Rex Allen and Slim Pickens. (Buddy Ebsen was also a sidekick to Rex Allen.)

Click to enlarge.

Estelita with Robert Hutton and Kristine Miller, Jim Davis's second partner in Republic's "Stories of the Century".

 

[SuperClark]

I am sure many of you have seen these clips but they are very rewatchable.If not you are in for a real treat .Buster Scruggs is a modern take on the fancily dressed singing cowboy by the Coen Brothers.So well written performed and staged,I have heard him described as a cowboy version of Bugs Bunny.Brilliant.






This is a very clever imaginative clip whose idea I was not expecting.,perfect in every way.

 

[ponset]

 

[Bert Greene]

Continuing to gallivant around Republic Pictures' odds-and-ends, I came to "G.I. War Brides" (1946-Rep), starring Anna Lee, Jimmy Ellison, and William Henry. It was a pretty decent little confection from the studio. The plot involved Brit gal Anna Lee illegally taking the guise of a war bride in order to travel to America and check up on her wounded sweetheart. A reporter (Robert Armstrong) gets suspicious and starts investigating, dogging her every move. The film is initially something of a gentle suspense piece, but gradually becomes more of a lighthearted romance. Always liked Jimmy Ellison, going back to his regular role as Johnny in the early batches of Hopalong Cassidy westerns. Took him a little while to shake off that 'overgrown kid' demeaner that clung to him for several years afterward, but he's certainly okay here. Not that his career had much steam left by this time. Such genial, good-natured actors were increasingly out-of-vogue in the more cynical, more angsty post-war years. Ellison could never seem to help being anything but a happy feller. William Henry is fine here also, being blissfully unaware his future at the studio would include the hero role in the "Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders" (1953-Rep) serial.

As for Anna Lee, I do have a sentimental affection for her, as I met her several times, and even visited her at her home once. I recall she had an original movie poster of "Hangmen Also Die" (1943-UA) framed on a wall. She seemed particularly proud of that film. She told me most folks usually asked her about either working with John Wayne or Boris Karloff, when talking about her career. I didn't, but I still probably squandered my opportunity in other ways. My frustration (in retrospect) was that I was so woefully ignorant of her earlier film work in her native Britain in the 1930s. Because I would have loved to have delved into some of that with her. After all, she was the heroine in the original "King Solomon's Mines" (1937), she had a big supporting role in a 1935 Jessie Matthews musical, she starred in the zippy "Non-Stop New York" (1937) with its futuristic airplane. Even a 1934 comedy she was in which starred big-jawed Jack Hulbert was rather interesting for a bit of location shooting in Egypt. She also had a good role in that slow but fascinating allegorical drama "The Passing of the Third Floor Back" (1935), which starred Conrad Veidt as a curious boarder who moves into a rooming-house and brings about a sense of peace and well-being amongst the varied residents.

But my favorite might be "The Secret Four" (1939), based on the well-known Edgar Wallace story "The Four Just Men," which I believe was the title it was released under in Britain. The film has a rather similar flavor to Hitchcock's 1930s movies. The plot involves four gentlemen who band together to work outside the law to thwart England's enemies, in some espionage-type capers. Anna Lee plays the girl reporter who finds herself on their trail. It's a fun, exciting film. It was actually distributed in America by Monogram in 1940. The little studio did pick up a few British films for release around that time, buttressing its output.

 

[Bob Gu]

I just watched Anna Lee in an episode of the "Northwest Passage" TV series. She stayed acting in movies and TV episodes and soaps forever.

Anna Lee.

I think G.I. WAR BRIDES and FLYING TIGERS were her only Republic pictures.

FLYING TIGERS.

Anna Lee with her daughter, 50s-60s starlet, Venetia Stevenson.

 

[bujaki]

I was a young teen when I fell in love with Anna Lee the moment she entered the frame as Bronwen in How Green Was My Valley. I was as taken with her as was young Huw Morgan.

 

[Bob Gu]

A new OTA Western Channel started in January. It's called OUTLAW. I don't like the name. I know many westerns feature good-bad men and bad-good men, characters that have been around the prairie a few times. But calling the channel OUTLAW is the wrong message to send. The traditional western hero character is a defender of the weak and the oppressed, not an outlaw. (For the record I think GRIT is a pretty lame name for a western channel,also.)

OUTLAW is a Warner/Discovery channel, and showing mostly WB movies and TV series. They should just call it the Warner Brothers Western Channel.

Home | Outlaw TV

www.tvoutlaw.com

 

[Jeff Flugel]

A new OTA Western Channel started in January. It's called OUTLAW. I don't like the name. I know many westerns feature good-bad men and bad-good men, characters that have been around the prairie a few times. But calling the channel OUTLAW is the wrong message to send. The traditional western hero character is a defender of the weak and the oppressed, not an outlaw. (For the record I think GRIT is a pretty lame name for a western channel,also.)

OUTLAW is a Warner/Discovery channel, and showing mostly WB movies and TV series. They should just call it the Warner Brothers Western Channel.

Home | Outlaw TV

www.tvoutlaw.com

Agreed that the name of the channel isn't the best choice, Bob...but Outlaw's schedule of movies and TV series looks quite good, and includes some episodes of the TV version of The Cowboys, plus The Adventures of Brisco County, F-Troop, Bonanza, and Kung Fu...and, as it turns out, an episode of Colt .45 (8am on Feb. 27th). As this is affiliated with WB, I'm guessing this particular episode will probably be the newly-remastered version of the show, coming to Blu-Ray next month.

Once again, I'm envious of you North American folks who can pick up these digital sub-channels. No such luck over here in Japan - though chambara (samurai flicks), their version of westerns, are of course prevalent.

 

[Bob Gu]

Jeff, that "Colt .45' listed is the Randolph Scott movie. But I expect the classic WB TV series B&W's will all eventually be shown on OUTLAW. , and some are on the other OTAs.

In articles about OUTLAW, it's mentioned that the station will be available online at some point. GritXtra is online thru many of the free online streamers.

In the movie "Colt.45" Randolph Scott plays a Colt firearms salesman and former Army officer, but is not the TV show's character 'Chris Colt'. And Scott's character is not a government agent.

Warner liked to use their movie titles for WB TV series.

"Sugarfoot" was another Randolph Scott movie. But the TV "Sugarfoot" series and character were based on a WB color movie called "The Boy From Oklahoma", It's a WAC release. The Scott "Sugarfoot" has never had a WB/WAC release.

"Cheyenne" was the title used for a Dennis Morgan WB western. It referred to the city in Wyoming. Dennis Morgan played a sneaky gambler named 'Wiley'. (Think about that name.) So a claim can be made that this "Cheyenne" movie was the inspiration for the "Maverick" TV series. "Cheyenne"-1947 was released by WAC.

I just got around to watching the Dennis Morgan "Cheyenne" last night. I like it a lot.