DVD Collectors Online

Arizona Bound, a review by Rogmeister

Arizona Bound (First movie in The Rough Riders series)
Cast: Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Raymond Hatton, Luana Walters, Tris Coffin
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet

This movie is what they used to call a "B" western...a low-budget movie shot quickly (often in as little as a week) and which usually only ran about an hour in length though some (such as the Hopalong Cassidy movies) would be afforded a slightly longer running time. As movies entered the late 30's, studios tried to give kids more for their pennies and one idea that came up was to give them 3 stars in each picture...the first "buddy" movies in a sense. The most popular such series was probably The Three Mesquiteers (John Wayne was a member of that group for about 2 years just before he became a true star). This series was The Rough Riders and it co-starred two cowboy actors who had enjoyed many successful years as solo stars, Buck Jones and Tim McCoy. Raymond Hatton, who had a humorous bent as a cowboy sidekick, joined them as the third member of the group.

This was the first film of the series (there would be 8 official films of the group...a 9th film is not considered an official Rough Riders film since McCoy was unable to appear in it and Jones died shortly after filming was completed). They took advantage in the plot that this was the first as it appears the three leads don't really know each other but in time we find they do and are acting to throw off the criminal element, led by a popular bad guy actor Tris Coffin. There's lots of action in it's 1-hour running time before the conclusion though. In the end, they ride off in separate directions but there is the promise of future adventures. I like both Buck and Tim but Buck is probably my favorite of the trio...he's a hard-nosed kind of guy who could've been another John Wayne if he'd gotten the right breaks. I remember Bill Cosby doing a comedy routine about Buck and he mentiioned that you knew Buck was getting mad because he'd then pull out and start chewing gum...that's actually alluded to in this film. When he actually goes for his gum, the bad guy (who knows about the gum) is actually unnerved.

These old short films are in the public domain and you'll often find a couple of versions put out by different companies. I bought three DVD titles from Critics Choice and each is a triple play so I have all 9 films. Despite the fact the front is labelled "Digitally Restored", don't believe it. Like most PD releases, quality is fair at best. It's watchable, though. Just don't expect to confuse it with a Criterion Collection disc...

(From Roger's Ongoing Westerns Marathon on June 27th, 2009)

The Day the Earth Stood Still, a review by dfmorgan

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Year: 1951
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe
Overview: A spaceship lands in Washington, D.C., capturing the attention of the world. But the peaceful alien emissary (Michael Rennie) it brings fails to earn the public's trust. When a young woman and her son befriend him, they soon realise they may be all that stands between the human race and total destruction.

Watched: 5th Mar 2010
My Thoughts: Time for a classic. Still wonderful to watch and to see the way that simple actions generated fear in the people and how hysteria spreads. This was mainly due to the way the film was made and due to the immediate post-war and beginnings of the cold-war era when the film was made. Klaatu, Barada, Nikto.

My Rating: Magnificent 5

Dave

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on March 5th, 2010)

Fear Itself Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

7. Something with Bite
When a veterinarian is bitten by a large, strange animal brought into his clinic, he begins to see the world and his stale life differently.
Director: Ernest Dickerson (NBC's "Heroes")

Stars:
Wendell Pierce
Paula Jai Parker-Martin
Kailin See
Gillian Barber
Fulvio Cecere

My Thoughts:
This is one of the unaired episodes in the set. This one I enjoyed quite a bit. A werewolf story with a twist. I got a bit of a kick on how vet got bitten by a werewolf. It also had a bit of a dark comedy aspect to it as well as some cool effects. Maybe if they actually aired more episodes like this one the series wouldn't have gotten canceled as early as it did.

My Rating:

(From Fear Itself Marathon on April 7th, 2010)