Reviews (9)

The Crimson Ghost Fades To Condensed and Colorized Pink
While not necessarily the greatest of serials, the original and very influential Crimson Ghost has much to offer fans of the genre--particularly in the form of a charming leading lady who actively participates in the action instead of standing helplessly when chaos erupts. But this is a case of Buyer Beware: with chapter credits edited away, cliff-hangers deleted, and moody black and white colorized into garish tones, most of the fun involved is deleted, and the "feature-length" version plays like a "B" picture with wooden performances throughout. I was greatly disappointed by it--and wasted little time in searching out and purchasing the full length, double video, in which the menacing evil of the Crimson Ghost flowers yet again!

memory lane
As a child growing up in New York in the 50"s we were amazingly fortunate to receive a slew of TV channels. One of those channels.. 13.. I believe, had serials on everyday. What a wonderful treat watching after American Bandstand on ABC. Of course 40 years later, it isn't quite the same, but I watched it with my children whoose ages are 10 and 8. We had a grand time watching it together. But watching the episodes, one after the other, the patterns became quite repetitive. Every episode had the same fight albeit different places, and endings where a car either explodes or goes off a cliff. But who was the Crimson Ghost? In a nutshell, if you were into serials as a kid its worth seeing, especially a young Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore), and especially if you could share your memories with your children or someone else special

the crimson ghost a fine serial.
i own this video and it is one of my favorite republic serials especially the cast, linda stirling is one of my favorite republic actresses an d charles quigley is a top performer, stanford jolley is a first rate villian. i wish i could meet these people as corny as it sounds. because if i was a film director, i would indeed make them first rate stars. sincerely, james cassell

Color isn't always an improvement
A colorized serial condensed to feature movie length isn't a bad way for viewers unfamiliar with classic cliffhangers to get a taste of what they were like. This one boasts Charles Quigley (from "Daredevils of the Red Circle") as the hero criminologist, lovely Linda Stirling (from "Tiger Woman," "Zorro's Black Whip" and other first-class serials), and Clayton Moore (TV's Lone Ranger as the BAD guy, chief henchman to the title character). It has a fight between Quigley and Moore (actually, their stunt doubles) in which the hero seems to run up a wall before leaping back into the fray. This isn't exactly what the original serial was like but, until that comes along, this will do nicely. And, while I wouldn't make a habit of it, it is kind of interesting to see one of these in garish color.

If you're too impatient to watch all the chapters....
...this is a nifty version, well-edited, for a condensed serial. The color is very good, tending toward nice pastel rather than gaudy technicolor. Color suits the mood. Made in the genre's waning days, the fight scenes still were chorographed and filmed at slow speed that, when run at the normal rate of the rest of the film, lends the furniture-smashing battlers a gymnastics skill. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Approved by J. Edgar Hoover himself, this idealized telling of the FBI's origins spans the years between Hoover's appointment in the '20s and the Red Scare of the mid-'50s. Beginning with an investigation that showcases the talent and resources available to the FBI, dedicated agent Chip Hardesty (Jimmy Stewart) tells new recruits how the agency was streamlined into a professional crime-fighting organization. Using his personal life story as a backdrop, Hardesty takes the new men (and the viewer) through cases involving gangsters, land grabs, and Communist spies. Vera Miles plays Hardesty's dedicated wife, while Murray Hamilton helps out as gung-ho fellow agent Sam Crandall. Lots of pro-Hoover PR and propaganda, but it never gets in the way of the action or family drama. Interestingly, the history of the Hardesty family is almost as good as the history of the agency.--Mark Savary ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Pure Malarkey
The USA got along fine for 150 years without a national police force before the Congress in its wisdom tapped a mentally unbalanced lawyer and career bureaucrat to run the Federal Bureau of Investigation. To his credit, J. Edgar Hoover did introduce modern scientific method to the practice of criminology, but activities of the FBI's field agents have been a fiasco from the word go. Unintentionally, from the producers standpoint, you get some sense of the FBI's relentless bungling in this film, a dramatized "history" of the agnecy, in which the Bureau is usually a day late and a dollar short, crossing wires with local law enforcement officers at every turn and making big noises about very small accomplishments. Murray Hamiltion delivers a monologue about the necessity of a police state that is truly despicable. It's a shame that James Stewart, a genuine patriot and conservative, lent his reputation to this tripe.

Great movie despite the flaws
This movie is a view of the FBI that was approved by J. Edgar Hoover himself, so it has lots of propaganda and at least two major errors -the famous Kansas City massacre of the FBI agents was erroneously attributed to Pretty Boy Floyd and there was no proof that Ma Barker was in the Barker gang. Nevertheless, it's lots of fun. High drama, a good script and famous criminal names move the story along. It slows a bit when the James Stewart character has family problems, but that's okay. It has a slam-bang beginning and even a great musical score. Everybody in the movie is terrific.

The Early Days Of The FBI
1959 film which chronicles the early days of the Federal Bureau of Investigation through the eyes of one it's g-men, played by Jimmy Stewart. Film starts with the small scale cases that agents were assigned to, such as an investigation of financial thieves in the 1920's. Film continues from the 20's all the way into the 1950's, covering such topics as the famous era of gangsters in the 1930's, exposing German operatives in South America during WWII, and tracking down Russian Spies in America during the first full decade of the Cold War, the 1950's. The FBI Story covers the evolution of the agency and the emotions of a family towards their father's dangerous job in the FBI. Good movie, that does well at explaining the happenings in the film. Film gives good insight into how the FBI operated back then, using occasional narration alongside the story.

Great FBI movie
This is definately the best movie made about the FBI. Stewart is as always, great, in a role made just for him. The movie follows Stewart and his carrer through the Bureau. It starts in the 20's, and goes through until the 50's. He solves famous cases, fights the Ku Klux Klan, fights gangsters, and still manages a family. Vera Miles is great as his wife, with Murray Hamilton as his best friend and fellow agent. This is one of the best depictions of the Bureau, showing its' victories and always giving credit to its' agents. It shows the coruage and bravery of the agents and the men who help out in their labs. The film is definitely the best depictoin of the FBI in film history.

G man James Stewart
Here, the real life Air Force General and decorated war hero plays the part of a true blue FBI Special Agent who rises through the ranks to become an instructor at the FBI Academy. J. Egdar Hoover actually did a thorough background investigation of James Stewart to make sure he was the kind of morally upright straight American who was suitable to play the part of an FBI Special Agent. Needless to say, James Stewart passed with flying colours. An uncritical view of the FBI and their exploits from prohibition to WW2 and beyond. The most touching part is when his wife leaves him because she can't take the stress of being a Special Agent's wife and worries about his safety. Later, she returns when she realises how much her children miss him. James Stewart is superb in this role playing the patriotic, idealistic straight American hero who stands for Truth, Freedom and the American Dream. This movie is based on the book of the same name about the Bureau. As the FBI motto goes, Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The Crimson Ghost Fades To Condensed and Colorized Pink
While not necessarily the greatest of serials, the original and very influential Crimson Ghost has much to offer fans of the genre--particularly in the form of a charming leading lady who actively participates in the action instead of standing helplessly when chaos erupts. But this is a case of Buyer Beware: with chapter credits edited away, cliff-hangers deleted, and moody black and white colorized into garish tones, most of the fun involved is deleted, and the "feature-length" version plays like a "B" picture with wooden performances throughout. I was greatly disappointed by it--and wasted little time in searching out and purchasing the full length, double video, in which the menacing evil of the Crimson Ghost flowers yet again!

memory lane
As a child growing up in New York in the 50"s we were amazingly fortunate to receive a slew of TV channels. One of those channels.. 13.. I believe, had serials on everyday. What a wonderful treat watching after American Bandstand on ABC. Of course 40 years later, it isn't quite the same, but I watched it with my children whoose ages are 10 and 8. We had a grand time watching it together. But watching the episodes, one after the other, the patterns became quite repetitive. Every episode had the same fight albeit different places, and endings where a car either explodes or goes off a cliff. But who was the Crimson Ghost? In a nutshell, if you were into serials as a kid its worth seeing, especially a young Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore), and especially if you could share your memories with your children or someone else special

the crimson ghost a fine serial.
i own this video and it is one of my favorite republic serials especially the cast, linda stirling is one of my favorite republic actresses an d charles quigley is a top performer, stanford jolley is a first rate villian. i wish i could meet these people as corny as it sounds. because if i was a film director, i would indeed make them first rate stars. sincerely, james cassell

Color isn't always an improvement
A colorized serial condensed to feature movie length isn't a bad way for viewers unfamiliar with classic cliffhangers to get a taste of what they were like. This one boasts Charles Quigley (from "Daredevils of the Red Circle") as the hero criminologist, lovely Linda Stirling (from "Tiger Woman," "Zorro's Black Whip" and other first-class serials), and Clayton Moore (TV's Lone Ranger as the BAD guy, chief henchman to the title character). It has a fight between Quigley and Moore (actually, their stunt doubles) in which the hero seems to run up a wall before leaping back into the fray. This isn't exactly what the original serial was like but, until that comes along, this will do nicely. And, while I wouldn't make a habit of it, it is kind of interesting to see one of these in garish color.

If you're too impatient to watch all the chapters....
...this is a nifty version, well-edited, for a condensed serial. The color is very good, tending toward nice pastel rather than gaudy technicolor. Color suits the mood. Made in the genre's waning days, the fight scenes still were chorographed and filmed at slow speed that, when run at the normal rate of the rest of the film, lends the furniture-smashing battlers a gymnastics skill. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

THE FIRST LIVE-ACTION SUPERMAN
THIS 1948 15-CHAPTER SERIAL FEATURES SUPERMAN [PLAYED HERE BY THE LATE KIRK ALYN] GOING UP AGAINST A GANG OF CROOKS. THIS IS A HELL OF A LOT BETTER THAN THE 1950S TV SHOW THAT FEATURED GEORGE REEVES! AT LEAST THIS SERIAL WAS FUN TO WATCH AND AT LEAST YOU CAN GET INTO WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS MOVIE. YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO FIND THIS SERIAL IN STORES TODAY, BUT, IF, BY SOME CHANCE, YOU COME ACROSS THIS VIDEO, GET IT!!!!!

First live-action Superman has good opening, but bogs down
The best parts of SUPERMAN (1948), a 15-chapter serial produced by Columbia Pictures, are found in the first three or so chapters when we see a lot of Superman lore adapted to film, including the destruction of Krypton, young Clark growing up on a farm with the Kents, and Clark coming to Metropolis and joining the staff of the Daily Planet. We also get to see Superman do lots of superheroic deeds such as rescuing people from disasters. Afterwards, however, it settles into a standard cliffhanger formula with Superman battling the Spider Lady (Carol Forman), a conventional serial villainess and criminal gang leader who sends her standard-issue thugs and henchmen (middle-aged guys in suits, ties and fedoras) out to kidnap Lois and knock out Jimmy Olsen with growing monotony in every episode.

On the plus side, the Superman flying effects are carried out through cartoon animation. This enables Superman to be seen flying through a variety of locales. (If Republic Pictures had shot this, they would have repeated the same shot over and over of a stuntman in costume flying on a wire strung from one rock in the San Fernando Valley to another.) Also, Noel Neill's Lois is as spunky here as the character ever got. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, the ever-smiling Lois plunges into the action wholeheartedly time and time again, frequently making Superman look weak and overly cautious in comparison. Neill played the part again in the sequel, ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN, and later in all but the first season of the TV series.

A word about the sequel: ATOM MAN is far superior to this one, with a stronger, more comic book-appropriate villain in Lex Luthor, many more clever and imaginative sci-fi twists, and a more carefully devised script and structure. Superman also gets to do many more heroic feats of strength and the animated effects are more plentiful too.

IN DVD
Please..some body can tell me why WARNER STUDIO dont launch the original serie in DVD???? Why??? thanks any information.

One of the greatest things I have ever seen!
A week ago I bout the 1948 Superman serial here from Amazon and I loved it! It is powerfully charming and fun to watch! There is a total of 15 chapters on the tapes and they are each 20 minutes long and end with a very suspenseful cliff hanger! I have showed it to my friends and there families my family and everyone loves it! I think you should buy it today! No one should have to live and not watch this! It is a must have! Now I'm going to give you a summary of the first three chapters:
Chapter 1 - Superman Comes To Earth: Galaxies far from ours there is the blue planet Krypton. Krypton is a world of advanced science and mystery. One day Jor-EL a member of Krypton's council board and one of the brilliant scientist on Krypton, makes a startling discovering! He learns that the mighty Krypton is coming upon its last hours, Krypton is being drawn into its red sun and will explode! He tells the rest of Krypton's council leaders this and tells them that all of Krypton's population must flee to the planet Earth, in spacecraft! The council leaders laugh at his discovery and vote to stay on Krypton; Jor-EL calls them fools and leaves! At Jor-EL's home he tells his wife what just happened, they both agree to send their baby boy Kal-EL on Jor-EL's experimental rocket and send it to Earth. After Kal-El is put into the rocket and lunched into space, the planet Krypton explodes, killing all of its people except Kal-EL! On Earth in a small town a farmer and his wife witness some sort of spacecraft come out of the sky and land on the ground! The farmer opens the spacecraft and finds a baby boy raped in fireproof blankets, the farmer and his wife adopted the boy that came out of the sky and name him Clark Kent. It's not long after Clark starts to grow, he learns he is no ordinary boy and can perform impossible deeds! When Clark grows up he vow's to his foster parents that he will use his powers for truth justice and the American way! His foster mother give's him a suit that she made from the blankets Clark was raped in when he first came to Earth. He tells them he will wear it only when he is SUPERMAN!
Chapter 2 - Depths Of The Earth: There is a mine disaster and reporters from the Daily Planet in Metropolis are sent on a train to cover the story. But a track is broken and the engineer of the train is not warned in time and is going to crash! Before a train goes over the broken track, a man in a cape and a giant "S" symbol on his shirt, comes out of the bushes and fixes the track with his bare hands. The train is safe but the queer man who help has run off. In Metropolis Clark Kent is in a cab and asks to go to the Daily Planet, on the way Clark sees a building on fire and asks the cabby to pull over! Clark gets out and use's his x-ray vision and sees a women inside the building, Clark say's to himself, "This looks like a job for Superman!" and changes into a suit with a cape and a giant "S" symbol on it. In an instant flies into the building grabs the women flies back out with her in his arms, next he drops her off safely and runs off. At the Daily Planet Clark asks Perry White the chief editor at the Daily Planet, if he can have a job. Perry is about to say no but gets a phone call instead. On the phone are Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen they were sent to do a story on the mine disaster but the police won't let them in. Clark say's to Perry that if he could get in and get the story, if he could have a job, Perry agrees. At the mine disaster Lois finds a way into the mine but gets caved in and now is left to die by dangerous fumes!
Chapter 3 - The Reducer Ray: Superman comes to the rescue and brakes through the mine and saves Lois and the miners and then runs off again! When Lois and Jimmy get back to the Daily Planet they are mocked because someone else got the story and Lois is really mad! Next her and Jimmy meet the newest member at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent! In a secret hideout the Spider Lady ruler of the underworld of crime want's to steal a very powerful weapon called the Reducer Ray, it can blow up any thing with a blast bigger then a the atomic bomb. Her first plot to steal it is unsuccessful for Superman stops her. That night a meteor crashes near Metropolis. At the Metropolis Museum Professor Leeds wants show reporter Clark Kent the meteor. It is in a lead box, Leeds tells Clark that it is very strange and thinks that it comes from the planet Krypton that exploded many years ago! When Leeds takes off the lid the meteor glows green and Clark falls down dead!

THANK YOU FOR THE TRIBUTE TO FLEISHER SUPERMAN CARTOONS
The Superman serials from Columbia had cartoons in tribute to the Fleisher cartoons of a few year before. It was very creative and thinking out of the box. ~*~ Carol Forman is great in her continuing quest to take over the world. This serial is a hoot. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Superb little McCrea Western
Four Faces West is a superb little Western, and it is satisfying to see it released on DVD. McCrea, Frances Dee [his real life wife], Charles Bickford [Dee's father], and Joseph Calleia head a fine cast. McCrea is eminently believable; his trademark taciturn, self-effacing character is captivating--not a single shot is fired in the entire movie! Bickford's Pat Garrett is also a stand out. Now, let us hope that some of McCrea's other oaters get released---maybe RAMROD (with Veronica Lake), or the playful SADDLE TRAMP (with John McIntyre) and CATTLE DRIVE (with Dean Stockwell). And there is STRANGER ON HORSEBACK, another superb little Western....and RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, already on VHS, desperately needs DVD release.

great movies
I liked the movie and have been trying to find it for a long time . black and white but still a good movie. Joel McCrea is good as always in this western made in 1948.I have already bought it as soon as I saw it was listed in your western section.I was surprised to find it. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Tex Rides With The Boy Scouts
The story line was pretty lame. The acting was fairly poor. But the Scout uniforms and activities were awesome to see if you are an avid Scouter.

Boy Scout Movie
I enjoyed this movie, because I am involved in scouts. Anyone into scouts and history will like this movie. The quality of the transfer is low, but I still enjoyed.

Scout Movie
I enjoyed this. I think anyone involved in scouts or into westerns would appreciate this movie. The quality of the video is low, because it seems to have been transferred from old film. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Solid, action-filled Republic B-western!
Although Allan "Rocky" Lane's Red Ryder is usually considered inferior to Bill Elliot's portrayal, I actually prefer him. He not only looks the part better, but his presence perfectly fits the comic book cowpoke.

STAGECOACH is one of the best Ryder films. It has a good, workable plot; it moves remarkably fast; the spunky cowgirl and little kid are great; and Roy Barcroft is an even slimier villian than usual.

Saddle up? You betchum! AL ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Ahead of its time
From his Stealth aircraft, the Lightning, in his Darth Vader garb, declares in Chapter Two that he will dictate his "will to the fools down below with their armies, their battleships and their guns."
Sound familiar? I saw this film when we were two weeks into the Gulf War, and the parallel to George Bush Senior is irresistable.
And the Marines in this serial are opposed to the Lightning.
The movie is a protest against American foreign policy.
Chapter One begins with the words "Armaments", "Munitions" "War" flashing as a building is demolished. I could not help but think of the Persian Gulf as I saw the film during that military campaign.
Remember too that the Marines are portrayed and comport themselves as gentlemen. The civility in the film stands in contrast to the way we abuse each other in present everyday life.
It's fun, campy, and relevant.

Contains one of my favorite chapter endings...
Ah yes, Chapter 11, one of the two "economy" chapters, provided what I consider to be one of the very best chapter endings of all time. Beyond this, there are several memorable scenes...not just the chapter endings, but scenes in the middle of some chapters. For instance, there's the bad guy blithely throwing grenades from the back of the truck. Another aspect making this one of the greatest is that it has great scenes "on the land, on the sea, and in the air." The Lightning, and yes, he could well be the inspiration for Darth Vader, and his hunchbacked deranged acting scientist accompolice make for one of the most memorable pairs of villains in serial history. I consider this a must in any collector's essential serial collection.

Two Marines versus The Lightning
Lee Powell and Herman Brix (later, Bruce Bennett) had been the last of five "suspects" as being the Lone Ranger in Republic's first serial featuring that radio hero. Here they team up again as a pair of Marines fighting a mad scientist called The Lightning, whose overblown manner is fun and whose headpiece may have been the prototype for Darth Vader (but I predict you'll have trouble guessing his identity). The cliffhangers keep both heroes in dire peril throughout.

great cliffhanger great fun and adventure
You might say this is a typical cliffhanger with all the good escapes,adventures,and evil villains, which it is. But it is also interesting because several scenes done in this 1938 serial show up in the Indiana Jones movie "The Last Crusade." Lucas and Spielberg must have been great serial fans. This serial will keep you guessing trying to figure out the identity of the master bad guy the Lightning. This is one of the best Republic Serials. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Turning into Roy Barcroft
Richard Bailey didn't cut the most heroic figure among Republic's serial heroes, and his voice sounds a tad on the sissy side. But he was built like stuntman Tom Steele which is what counts, because Steele made his character look like quite a battler. Even so, heroine Linda Stirling saves the life of Bailey's criminologist character about as many times as vice versa in this exciting chapter-play, about one of a group of suspects on an island who has developed a Frankenstein-like spark-throwing transformation machine which can literally turn him into another person, the physical personification of his pirate ancestor, played by Roy Barcroft. It is said that this was one of Barcroft's favorite roles, because it was something different from western heavies. Indeed it was, and Barcroft revels in it.

Great Serial to enjoy...
This serial is a good one in that it stars the great Roy Barcoft as the villian. Followers of serials know that he was one of the best and gives a first rate performance here. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The East Side Kids search a spooky manor.
It began with DEAD END (1937). the boys came from the Broadway play and landed their first starring role togehter. After DEAD END (1937), Warner Bros. made six films with them in 1938 and 1939. Some of the cast still known as The Dead End Kids joined The Little Tough Guys in nine films for the new Universal and the serials 1938-1943. However in 1940, Leo Gorcey and Bobby Jordan became The East Side Kids from 1940-1945 for Monogram Pictures Corp. Billy Halop and Bernard Punsly did not join them. They continued as The Dead End Kids with The Little Tough Guys. The East Side Kids came about from the film EAST SIDE KIDS (1940) and although the gang we enjoyed are not in that film, they spawned into the next film BOYS OF THE CITY (1940), which is considered the first official film for the beginning of the East Side Kids. Bobby Jordan and Leo Gorcey are top billed. Huntz hall and Gabriel Dell are not in this one, but returned to the Gorcey/Jordan gang later in the film series. David Gorcey plays "Pete". He is the younger brother of Leo. Also part of the new gang is Sunshine Sammy Morrison as "Scruno", Donald Haines as "Pee Wee", Hally Chester as "Buster" and Frankie Burke as "Skinny". Frankie Burke (as of this writing is still alive) played the younger "Rocky", the James Cagney character in ANGELS WITh DIRTY FACES (1938). All the boys are invited to the Judge's manor. However, his manor is a spooky one full of secret passageways. They brought the boys hoping they could prevent a murder. Other scary films with the East Side Kids are: SPOOKS RUN WILD (1941) and GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE (1943). The next film in the series is: THAT GANG OF MINE (1940).

Ghostly Classic Crime Comedy Mystery!!
Muggs and the gang are arrested for opening up a fire hydrant on a blistering summer day.Their friend Knuckles gets them off the hook by promising to take the gang to a summer camp in the upper Adirondacks to keep them out of mischief.On their trip they meet a judge and his entourage who are having car trouble.Knuckles offer the judge and his group a ride and when they arrive to the judges mansion and then their car fails with the judge reluctantly offering the gang to stay there.The judges mansion is dark,creepy with a graveyard out in front and an eerie housekeeper inside.The boys can detect trouble and when the judge is murdered and it's up to boys to solve the mystery.Great East Side Kids Classic!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

SERIAL-MAKING AT ALMOST ITS PRIME
While many serials from those Golden Days of the 1930s and 1940s had western, war, jungle, or outer space backgrounds, this is one set on and around several islands in the South Seas. A few of the interiors and an occasional seascape impart a South Seas flavor, but much of the scenery has such a "sagebrush" look to it that you expect a stagecoach to come over the hill at any moment. Still, the story-line holds interest throughout 15 chapters and the action, often fast and furious with a heavy reliance on fistfights, always builds to exciting, cliffhanger endings. Kane Richmond (at age 37) plays the sea captain out to clear his name of a false murder charge and as he proved in the earlier (and somewhat superior) "Spy Smasher," Richmond is an ideal serial hero -- handsome without being pretty, likeable, a competent actor, and rugged enough to make all his physical heroics seem plausible. Note how good he looks with his shirt off in Chapter One's boat-rescue scenes. Kay Aldridge makes for a passable heroine though she seems a bit too young and diminutive to carry off some of her action scenes. Roy Barcroft is a suitable villain, heavier on style than sneer. The less said about the sea-serpent monster, the better. While "Haunted Harbor" doesn't quite rank with the serials' finest efforts, it's just half-a-notch below that level. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Great Western
Coroner Creek b&w from 1948 is about a man searching town to town for the person who killed his fiance and he finally discovers this person is in the town of coroner creek and in the end sees the error of his ways.Let us see this released on DVD soon.

Underrated Scott western
It's a delight to see several westerns from Randy Scott's "middle period" now showing up on video and becoming accessible to the general viewing public. CORONER CREEK is a solid, action-oriented horse opera--a formular Western, true, but in the best Scott tradition and with enough plot twists to satisfy the eager fan. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

"Let's Do It The Hard Way !"
"The Spoilers" is an excellent western, released in 1942, that just misses being a classic. I suppose with the setting in Nome, Alaska, it should be called a "northern" ! The film boasts a potent starring trio of John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich and Randolph Scott, and has remained famous over the years for its climactic, no-holds-barred fistfight between those two icons of western cinema, Wayne and Scott.

Clocking in at just under an hour and a half, "The Spoilers" does not have a complcated plot. The gold rush is on, but ruthless government agents, led by a swaggering crook named McNamara ( an atypically villainous Randolph Scott ), are trying to chisel miners out of their property. Cherry Malotte, the local casino operator ( smouldering Marlene Dietrich ) may seem like a tough woman on the outside, but she has supported a number of the miners and is pleased when her old flame, Glennister ( formidable John Wayne ), is back in town. Cherry's relationship with Glennister is about as calm and centred as that of two Siamese fighting fish ! At the same time, McNamara's pursuit of Cherry is only slightly less energetic than his efforts to steal gold mines, so when the showdown comes, the "Duke" has a lot at stake.

In addition to the three stars, there are many supporting performances of note, with faces familiar to fans of old "A" and "B" westerns--Harry Carey, George Cleveland, Russell Simpson, William Farnum, Ray Bennett and Forrest Taylor to name a few. The movie is directed with a lot of energy by Ray Enright. The sets are impressive--check those streets--thick mud--I suspect that Nome around 1900 was like this--plenty of booze, mud, fortunes won and lost, and a busy undertaker !

The DVD exhibits a black and white picture with reasonable quality. When a movie is 62 years old, I tend to be less critical about technical matters than some reviewers. There are no extras whatsoever. Surely there are some noted film critics out there who could have provided some interesting background comments ? Hey--Leonard Maltin--hey Roger Ebert--how about a little help here ?

"The Spoilers", even with the legendary fisticuffs, is not--for me, at least--in the top echelon of classic westerns. At the same time, Wayne, Dietrich and Scott are so watchable that this disc still deserves a place in the collection of any serious fan.

Format of DVD
I would like to know whether the DVD format is COLOUR or Black & White . Amazon.conm shows it as Colour but Movies Unlimited
info. is B&W !! I am confused. Please clarify before I decide to purchase

Ashoke P. Mahtani/ Calcutta/ India

SPURS & SADDLES: SUBLIME SPOILERS - YE-HAW!
"The Spoilers" is an unabashed adventure flick brimming with romance, humor and spectacular action. The plot, such as it is, is simple but compelling. When government agents arrive in Alaska and 'steal' a gold miner's claim, the miners decide to retaliate. Both Randolph Scott and John Wayne cut dashing figures of masculinity across the stark but beautiful Alaskan backdrops while Marlene Dietrich - as the lusty, husky madam, is at her most provocatively sensual best. The climactic fistfight, between Wayne and Scott is defiantly brutal to say the least.
TRANSFER: Exemplary. The B&W picture can be nicely balanced. Blacks are sometimes unstable. There's a limited amount of film grain and age related artifacts that enhances the performances. Digital anomalies are generally not an issue, though some edge enhancement is present. The audio is mono but nicely cleaned up.
EXTRAS: Forget it! Universal generally doesn't think much of its classic film library and this disc is no exception.
BOTTOM LINE: "The Spoilers" is recommended as a movie - not as a reference quality DVD.

Wayne and Scott Brawl Highlights Classic!
'The Spoilers' may be the most often-filmed western, ever, yet it has been largely forgotten by today's moviegoers, which is a shame! This is a riproaring adventure yarn with claimjumpers, a sexy romantic triangle, loads of humor, and, to cap things off, the most spectacular fistfight in screen history!

The second of three Marlene Dietrich/John Wayne teamings (and Duke is third-billed, behind Dietrich and Randolph Scott!), the plot is simple; evil government 'agents' arrive in Alaska, steal goldminers' claims, until the miners finally take matters into their own hands!

The climactic fistfight, between Wayne and Randolph Scott, is the stuff of legends! You can hold up 'The Quiet Man', or 'Hard Times', or 'Any Which Way But Loose' as having epic brawls, but this one tops them all! We're talking shirts ripped to shreds, broken furniture and windows, rolling under horses and through the mud mayhem, here! If this were pro football, both Scott and Wayne would make the All-Madden Team, for sure!

This film may never make a 'Classic Westerns' list (other than mine!), but it is a VERY enjoyable tale that shouldn't be forgotten! If you love a good Western, particularly if you're a John Wayne fan, 'The Spoilers' is a MUST! ... Read more