The Gunfight at Dodge City DVD

A cornucopia of Western riches (and some more routine fare) in a generous batch from Optimum, several of which are valuable DVD premières. Barquero is a Sergio Leone-s... Read on

A cornucopia of Western riches (and some more routine fare) in a generous batch from Optimum, several of which are valuable DVD premières. Barquero is a Sergio Leone-style western from Sinatra's house director Gordon Douglas, with the iconic Lee Van Cleef (so memorable in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly) as Travis Barquero - a mysterious, shotgun-wielding boat owner who is the only thing standing between a ruthless gang of outlaws and their freedom. Billy Two Hats is only peripherally a western, but became a cult movie with accomplished elements rubbing shoulders with the maladroit. Directed by Ted Kotcheff (First Blood) and written by the talented Alan Sharp, Billy Two Hats stars the colourless Desi Arnaz Jr as the eponymous hero who, along with the Deans (Gregory Peck, playing Scottish), stages a robbery and then goes on the run, falling in love with the wife of an old rancher for good measure on the way. A particular find in this batch is The Glory Guys, noted in its day for its gritty depiction of frontier life. The Glory Guys follows the lives of a group of young cavalry men, from their initial recruitment and training to eventually being lead to a tragic fate by a sadistic General. Directed by TV veteran Arnold Laven and based on a screenplay by Hollywood maverick Sam Peckinpah, it's a fascinating semi-failure with much to commend it.
Another UK DVD premiere is Gunfight at Dodge City, featuring Joel McCrea (whose best performance may have been in Peckinpah's Ride The High Country) as gunman-turned-lawman (and frontier legend) Bat Masterson. One of the most elusive titles in the series is The King and Four Queens, a slightly camp western ripe with frustrated sexuality. With Hollywood superstar Clark Gable and Eleanor Parker, it's lively fun, and somewhat of a dry run for the Clint Eastwood/Don Siegel film The Beguiled (the director is the celebrated Raoul Walsh, and there's a rousing score by Alex North). Hide