Product Description

Studio: Gotham (dba Alpha) Release Date: 06/28/2005

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127517 in DVD
• Brand: Alpha Video
• Released on: 2005-05-31
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Platform: DOS
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 130 minutes

Customer Reviews

"Hit the Saddle" is the Quintessential B-Western - very enjoyable!
This review is for the Alpha Video DVD release of "Hit the Saddle" and "Call of the Mesquiteers". First of all let's talk about the quality of the film transfers to DVD. Alpha Video has a mixed track record in quality. Some of the DVDs that Alpha Video has produced are pretty good, while others are boardline garbage. For "Hit the Saddle" the transfer is very good with a fairly sharp image and good sound. It appears to be sourced from film as opposed to VHS and the scratches and splices are very minimal - you can watch this and enjoy the film without being distracted by the blemishes which are few and far between. Overall, this is an above average transfer for an early B-Western, not quite up to the high standard of the Hopalong Cassidy series put out by Platinium, but pretty close. For the second film, "Call of the Mesquiteers", the quality of the transfer is not nearly as good - basically it looks like a copy from a bad VHS transfer. It is certainly watchable, but the highlights are washed out and the image is a bit fuzzy, not sharp at all. Also, the soundtrack has a high pitched whining sound in the background throughout the entire film - not bad enough to create a huge problem, but it can be a bit distracting during the more quiet portions of the film. Overall, the quality is much lower than the first film.

For the movies themselves; "Hit the Saddle" is the Quintessential B-Western - all the elements are here: the singing cowboy, the comedy side-kick, a cowboy who chooses his buddies over the girl and sides with the horse over his buddies (watch the film and it will become clearer!), lots of bad guys (including the legendary Yakima Canutt) and loads of action. What more could you want? Did I forget to mention that a very young Rita Hayworth stars in this film! She soon moved on to bigger and better roles in "A" films, but here is one of the early films where she got her start.

"Call of the Mesquiteers", however, was not nearly as good a film as "Hit the Saddle". Perhaps the lower quality of the film transfer overly affected my opinion, but even so this one was just not as enjoyable in my opinion with a weaker plot and execution.

"The King of B-Westerns & Serials...VCI Entertainment ... Call The Mesquiteers & Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937)"
VCI Entertainment present "The Three Mesquiteers Double Feature Vol. 6" (Call The Mesquiteers (1938)/Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937) (Dolby digitally remastered)...based on characters by William Colt MacDonald from 1936 to 1943 there were 51 films all from Republic Pictures --- out of the film series there were 14 films featuring Bob Livingston (as Stony Brooke), Ray Corrigan (as Tucson Smith), Max Terhune (as Lullaby Joslin), they are as follows "GHOST TOWN GOLD" (1936) .. "ROARIN' LEAD" (1936) .. "RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING SKULL" (1937) .. "HIT THE SADDLE" (1937) .. "GUNSMOKE RANCH" (1937) .. "COME ON, COWBOYS" (1937) .. "RANGE DEFENDERS" (1937) .. "HEART OF THE ROCKIES" (1937) .. "WILD HORSE RODEO" (1937) .. "THE PURPLE VIGILANTES" (1938) .. "CALL THE MESQUITEERS" (1938) .. "OUTLAWS OF SONORA" (1938) .. "RIDERS OF THE BLACK HILLS" (1938) .. "HEROES OF THE HILLS" (1938) --- relive those thrilling days from the early '30s and '40s when "The Three Mesquiteers" took us down the dusty trails with some of the best B-Westerns ever to grace the Saturday Matinee Screen...just remember double the thrills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye with excitement...don't miss any of "The Three Mesquiteers" features loaded with action that will leave you wanting more of this B-Western adventure series.

First up of this double feature VCI Entertainment and released by Republic Pictures.present "CALL THE MESQUITEERS" (1938) (55 mins/B&W) ... Under Jon English (Director), Bernard McConville (Screenwriter), based on characters created by William Colt MacDonald, William Nobles (Cinematographer), Les Orlebeck (Editor), William A. Berke (Associate Producer) ----- the cast includes Robert Livingston ('Stony' Brooke), Ray Corrigan ('Tucson' Smith), Max Terhune ('Lullaby' Joslin), Lynne Roberts (Madge Irving (as Lynn Roberts), Earle Hodgins (Doctor Algemon Irving), Sammy McKim (Tim Irving), Eddy Waller (Hardy), Maston Williams (Phillips), Eddie Hart (Henchman 'Lefty'), Pat Gleason (Henchman Joe), Roger Williams (Henchman Frank), Warren Jackson (Henchman 'Mac'), Hal Price (Sheriff Benton), Flash the Dog (The Dog) . . . . . our story involves smugglers of silk and The Three Mesquiteers are in the thick of things ... having their truck stolen by the thieves, Livingston, Corrigan and Terhune must prove their innocence along with meeting the beautiful Lynne Roberts ... Eddy Waller is the boss villain with Earle Hodgins playing the Father role this time to Sammy McKim and Roberts ... lots of hard riding, fisticuffs and actions, another winner in this great ongoing B-Western series --- meanwhile back to another great Three Mesquiteers provided by Republic Pictures during their heyday of the '30s.

The second film is from Republic Pictures "RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING SKULL" (1937) (58 min/B&W) ... Under Mack Wright (Director), Nat Levine (Producer), Oliver Drake (Screenwriter), William Colt MacDonald (Book Author), Bernard McConville (Short Story Author), John Rathmell (Screenwriter), Jack A. Marta (Cinematographer), Jacques Aubran (Songwriter / Composer (Music Score) Sidney B. Cutner (Songwriter / Composer (Music Score) HarryGrey (Musical Direction/Supervision Karl Hajos (Composer (Music Score) Arthur Kay (Songwriter / Composer (Music Score) Hugo Riesenfeld (Composer (Music Score), Leon Rosebrook (Songwriter / Composer (Music Score) J.S. Zamecnik (Songwriter / Composer (Music Score) Tony Martinelli (Editor), Murray Seldeen (Editor), Sol C. Siegel (Associate Producer), Harry Jones (Sound/Sound Designer) ----- the cast includes Robert Livingston (Stony Brooke), Ray Corrigan( Tucson Smith), Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin), Mary Russell (Betty Marsh), Roger Williams (Rutledge),Fern Emmett (Henrietta McCoy),C. Montague Shaw (Professor Flaxon), Yakima Canutt (Otah), John Ward (Profesor Brewster), George Godfrey (Professor Frome), Earle Ross (Professor Cleary), Frank Ellis (Coggins (the cook), Chief Thundercloud (Cult chieftain), John Van Pelt (Professor Marsh), Iron Eyes Cody (Indian) . . . . . story line has an archeological expedition searching for the father of Mary Russell and a hidden treasure in a lost city ... murders are being committed and this is right up The Three Mesquiteers alley, watch Livingston, Corrigan and Terhune in action, with a little help from the great writers Drake, Rathmell and William Colt MacDonald the creator of our heroes ... wonderful to see Chief Thundercloud and Iron Eyes Cody in some scenes, even though they were small, but effective ... outstanding stunt work by Yakima Canutt, always giving 120 per cent in every film . . . . . another great B-Western for The Three Mesquiteers under the Republic Pictures banner, proves to be one of his most exciting performances.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS: i
1. Robert Livingston (aka: Robert Edgar Randall)
Date of birth: 9 December 1904 - Quincy, Illinois
Date of death: 7 March 1988 - Tarzana, California
2. Ray Corrigan (aka: Raymond Benard)
Date of birth: 14 February 1902 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
Date of death: 10 August 1976 - Brookings Harbor, Oregon
3. Max Terhune
Date of birth: 12 February 1891 - Anderson, Indiana,
Date of death: 5 June 1973 - Los Angeles, California
4. John English (Director)
Date of birth: 25 June 1903 - Cumberland, England, UK
Date of death: 11 October 1969 - Los Angeles, California
5. Mack V. Wright (Director)
Date of birth: 9 March 1894 - Princeton, Indiana
Date of death: 14 August 1965 - Boulder City, Nevada

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure check out other western double features:

THREE MESQUITEERS WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURES:
VOL 1 ... GHOST TOWN GOLD & COME ON COWBOYS (VCI #7215)
VOL 2 ... HIT THE SADDLE & HEART OF THE ROCKIES (VCI #7218)
VOL 3 ... THE THREE MESQUITEERS & ROARIN' LEAD (VCI #7254)
VOL 4 ... PURPLE VIGILANTES & PRAIRIE PIONEERS (VCI #7277)
VOL 5 ... OUTLAWS OF SONORA & WEST OF CIMARRON (VCI #7290)
VOL.6 ... CALL THE MESQUITEERS & RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING SKULL (VCI #7310)

Ask Amazon.Com to carry the above 6 volumes as they are not available on Amazon as of yet...you can order and pick up your copy now from VCI Entertainment.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "The Three Mesquiteers Double Feature Vol. 6" Call The Mesquiteers (1938)/Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937) , the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD and VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just the way we like 'em

Total Time: 104 on DVD ~ VCI Home Video #7310 ~ (9/12/2006)