Product Description

Four western classics: Mohawk, Tulsa, Fair Play, and The Young Land.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107114 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-02
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 335 minutes

Customer Reviews

Hayward, Hopper and Gam ...Make It A Worthwhile View
Platinum has so many of these oaters and off beat Westerns available for the true western lover to choose from. There are somewhere around 3 dozen volumes out now. You can buy them singly or in packaged deals, from 2 to 10 discs in a set(each in their own keep case). The problem is that the titles of the films are usually not listed on the buying info. The earlier volumes(1,2,3, etc) are often 4 films of a specific actor, the later ones most often have some kind of theme running through them. It gets confusing as the multi packs as well as the singles are called Vol 1 or 2 etc, You can usually tell by the price how many discs, are in each volume, or sometimes the buying list the number of discs. Sometimes the multi packs are listed as plural; e.g. Great American Westerns instead of Western.

So this is the single volume 8, which I bought as part of a 2 disc pack with The Great American Western, Vol. 7 (see my review for specifics). The 2-pack is Great American Western, Vol. 5 of the multi packs(still with me?). I have listed all the titles of both discs with a brief description in my review there.

Okay, that was the tough part(it is every time I review one of these), now onto the films.
Vol 8 has 4 films from 1949 through 1972. Although they don't feature one particular actor, like some of the earlier ones, there are some great stars and faces to look for, which is probably the highlight of this Volume. The films themselves are not what may be considered the best of the bunch, but these great stars make the view worthwhile.

"Tulsa" from 1949 was enjoyable and probably the best of the four. It stars Susan Hayward as the daughter of a cattleman who wants revenge on the wildcatters, but when greed gets the best of her, she becomes an oil mogul herself. The rest of the cast are no slouches either. Robert Preston, Pedro Armendariz and Chill Wills round out the players.

Next up is "Fair Play" from 1972. This was some sort of comedy, that was just tooooo corny(sometimes I go for corny, but this one had me rolling me eyes). Two feuding families are vieing for ownership of a Gatling Gun, and they have no idea it is a fake. Paul Ford leads the cast, other then that I really can't find much else redeeming about this one.

From 1956, "Mohawk" was an enjoyable view. An artist from Boston has been living in the Mohawk Valley commissioned to paint landscapes and portraits of Native Americans. He also has a favorite model that loves posing for him as well. But when a land baron starts trouble between the the Indians and the Settlers, he finds himself in the middle. Oh and what's more his "fiance" shows up and raises some feathers with the model as well. Scott Brady, Rita Gam, and Neville Brand, manage to keep it interesting.

"The Young Land" from 1959 was not a great film, but was a good look at the early American Justice system and how new Mexican/American citizens were treated. Tensions run high, when a Californian shoots down a Mexican American. The justice system is put on trial as citizens watch to see if it will work for all Americans. very interesting. And this one is for Dennis Hopper completists. He is young, but a great bad guy.

The films far from pristine.All in color and in some cases, Fair Play especially, are somewhat washed out. They show their age, and sometimes some dirt and scratches, but for the price, there is nothing to distract from the view. So if you are fan of any of the above actors, this may be worth it for a rainy afternoon Old West marathon, but for the most part, this one was nothing to write home about.

Happy Trails....Laurie