Landres, Paul

Adam-12 - Season One

Dragnet creator-star Jack Webb's imprimatur is all over this first full season (1968) of Adam-12, a consistently entertaining look at the on-the-job lives of a couple of Los Angeles patrol officers. No surprise there: Webb co-created and produced Adam-12 as well (he also directed the first episode) and his sensibility--square, old-fashioned, low on frills-- imbues the 26 episodes included in this set.

Martin Milner stars as Pete Malloy, a veteran cop whose new partner (following the death of the previous one) is Jim Reed (Kent McCord), a rookie who's more than a little wet behind the ears. The show follows them as they make the rounds in their police black & white, dealing with all manner of circumstances, from the mundane (traffic violations, petty domestic disputes, noise complaints) to the monstrous (murder, drugs, child abuse, suicide). Each about 25 minutes long, the episodes chronicle the quotidian vicissitudes of these men in uniform, as opposed to the detectives, forensic experts, lawyers, and such who populate today's cop shows. Whatever the storyline, the tone is fairly tame, with none of the graphic violence common to later cop shows. And while the '65 Watts riots had already taken place, Rodney King, the Rampart scandal, and numerous other ugly events were far in the future. Thus Adam-12 evinces little or none of the now-vast divide (most of it racially based) that exists between the LAPD and much of the community; on this show, the cops are the good guys, without much nuance (which helps explain its popularity with real police officers). That's certainly not all bad; Adam-12's realism (for its time) and lack of pretension are refreshing, and the show is looser and not nearly as humorless as Dragnet. The packaging is as basic as the show itself--there are no extras whatsoever, with two double-sided discs containing all 26 episodes. --Sam Graham

Daniel Boone - Season One

Wholesome fun for the entire family!Fess Parker stars as Daniel Boone in this timeless classic series. Daniel Boone America's classic frontier hero begins his journey right here with this first Season box set on DVD. Digitially restored and re-mastered from it's original televison presentation in 1964 in classic black and white. Set in and around Kentucky and Virginia during the colonial period preceeding the American Revolution Daniel Boone takes us on suspensful action adventures with his fellow frontiersman and women Yadkin (played by Albert Salmi) Mingo (Ed Ames) Rebecca (Patricia Blair) Jemima (Veronica Cartwright) and Israel (Darby Hinton).Special Features Include:- Exclusive Interviews- Photo Gallery- Visitor's Guide to Fess Parker's Los Olivos Winery & Spa ResortSystem Requirements:Run Time: 1455 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 743452200825 Manufacturer No: GH2008

Cheyenne - The Complete First Season

No collection of classic TV Westerns is complete without Cheyenne, the trailblazing 1955 series that premiered within weeks of Gunsmoke. The strapping Clint Walker stars as Cheyenne Bodie, the iconic role that earned him his place in the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Cheyenne is a classic Western hero in the drifter tradition, accepting jobs ranging from frontier scout to trail boss. In this first season, he is accompanied at times by sidekick Smitty (L.Q. Jones). "It takes about a minute to know a man," one character remarks during the course of Cheyenne's first season. But we size up Cheyenne in an instant. He is a man of honor, straight shooting and plainspoken. In one episode, he declines an offered position of ranch foreman. "I don't like the job," he states, "and when I don't like a job, I turn it down." When a woman refers to Indians as "savages" in the first episode, Cheyenne enlightens her, "The Indians think we're the savages." Several episodes, including "Quicksand" and "The Last Train West," echo the John Ford masterpiece, Stagecoach, as Cheyenne finds himself amongst a diverse and disparate group of people who are thrown together by circumstance.

Cheyenne was part of a new breed of "adult Western." The episode "Johnny Bravo" (was this the inspiration for Greg's rock star nom de plume on The Brady Bunch?) deals with a rancher who disapproves of his daughter's affair with a Mexican. Keep a sharp lookout for actors who would later become Hollywood's most wanted. A pre-Maverick James Garner appears as different characters in three episodes. Dennis Hopper is hot-triggered gunfighter the Utah Kid, in "Quicksand." And that's the future Miss Hathaway, Nancy Kulp, as a sassy waitress in "Johnny Bravo." Cheyenne was originally broadcast as one of three rotating series under the banner, Warner Brothers Presents, but it quickly established itself as the runaway hit. Like the best Westerns, it is anything but quaint nostalgia. With its timeless setting, compelling stories, charismatic hero, and positive values, the sun will never set on Cheyenne. --Donald Liebenson

Cheyenne follows the adventures of Cheyenne Bodie. Cheyenne was a big man, a former army scout who went west after the American Civil War and drifted from job to job, here a cowboy, there a lawman, and always a larger-than-life hero.

The Return of Dracula/The Vampire

The Return of Dracula:Count Dracula (Lederer) assumes a false identity and heads for California on a chilling murder spree that a once quiet town will never forget.The Vampire:A scientist ingests some strange pills made by a recently deceased colleague and turns into a scaly-looking bloodsucker.System Requirements:Running Time: 153 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/VAMPIRES Rating: PG UPC: 027616086433 Manufacturer No: M108643

Cheyenne (Television Favorites)

A former army scout Cheyenne Bodie roamed the west after the Civil War as a drifter. Changing jobs in each town he came across Cheyenne encountered more than his share of brawls women and bad guys.Running Time: 142 min.System Requirements:Running Time 142 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 012569734128

Best of The Cisco Kid (35 Episodes)

This classic western series was the first to be filmed in color even though the majority of television sets in the country were black and white. The show presented the tales of The Cisco Kid (Duncan Renaldo) and his trusty sidekick Pancho (Leo Carrillo) as they traveled about the West coming to the aid of those in need of it. One of the most interesting aspects about this program is the fact the main characters were Hispanic and presented in a positive manner making it unique since most programming on television at the time featured Caucasian performers presenting shows geared toward a Caucasian audience.System Requirements:Running Time: 875 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 683904505781 Manufacturer No: MV50578

The Lone Ranger - The Original Series, Vol. 1

Grab your mask and six-guns, kids, 'cuz the Lone Ranger's back and better than ever! Once again, the retro-wizards at Rhino have expertly packaged this welcome trip down TV memory lane, serving up six complete 22-minute episodes of the popular shoot-'em-up series, starring Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as his faithful sidekick, Tonto. The first two black-and-white episodes (from 1949) are included as bonus features, reminding us of the masked man's origins, and four consecutive color episodes from 1956 show the series at its peak of popularity. The colors have faded a bit (otherwise these shows look great), but the action's still as brisk as ever; this is kid-stuff produced with intelligence and skill, with well-cast villains (including Glenn Strange and General Hospital veteran John Beradino) and punchy stories that will still delight any baby boomers who look back fondly at TV's golden age. --Jeff Shannon

Ramar of the Jungle - Volume One

The Cisco Kid - Collection 1

Here's adventure! Here's romance! O. Henry's "Famous Robin Hood of the Old West" is back! The Cisco Kid stars Duncan Renaldo as Cisco and Leo Carillo as his faithful sidekick and comic foil, Pancho. One of the first television programs to be filmed in color, this classic Western ran from 1950-1956.

Set in 1890's New Mexico, Cisco and Pancho fight corruption and seek justice for the victims of bandits, con men and cattle rustlers. With a combination of humor and compassion for their fellow man, Cisco and Pancho have become legendary to television viewers everywhere.

In 1980, Renaldo received a Special Lifetime Achievement Award from Nosotros, which honored him for "providing a positive Hispanic role model for Americans," and called The Cisco Kid "a perennial television favorite."

The Cisco Kid Set One features 20 half-hour episodes of the popular Western series.

Episodes

Disc A Big Switch Convict Story Oil Land Chain Lightning Haven for Heavies

Disc B Confession for Money Freight Line Feud Phoney Heiress The Puppeteer Monkey Business

Disc C Pancho and The Pachyderm Face of Death Talking Dog Canyon City Kid Laughing Badman

Disc D Dutchman's Flat Freedom of the Press Battle of Red Rock Pass Bandaged Badman Chinese Gold

The Rifleman (Vol. 1)

A widower rancher and single father ain't your typical TV Western hero. But put a Winchester in his hands and he becomes the Rifleman. Chuck Connors may have struck out as a major-league baseball player, but he was a hit as Lucas McCain in this classic 1958-1963 series that was reportedly Leonid Brezhnev's favorite American TV show. When the former Russian leader visited the U.S. in the early 1970s, he requested to meet Connors. This DVD contains the series' first four episodes, in which McCain and his idolizing son Mark make a fresh start in the "new and mighty fine country" of North Folk, New Mexico. The Wild Bunch director Sam Peckinpah wrote the first two episodes. In "Sharpshooter," McCain takes on the corrupt businessman who has rigged a turkey shoot (that's Dennis Hopper as McCain's competition). In "Home Ranch," henchmen of cattleman Oat Jackford drag McCain from a horse and burn his ranch to run him off his property. Peckinpah is at the reins of the episode "The Marshall," which introduced series regular Paul Fixx as redeemed sheriff Micah Torrance. The Peckinpah touch: one character is blown away with wind-tunnel force, and McCain himself is gunned down. "End of a Young Gun" guest-stars a pre-Bonanza Michael Landon as a bank robber who re-evaluates his life while recuperating from an injury at McCain's ranch. A bonus episode features veteran character actor Jack Elam as a local bully who is taught a lesson by a visiting Italian count. These episodes are surprisingly gritty and brutal. When McCain gets fired up, he goes ballistic. "I'll kill your stock and burn your barns," he threatens Jackford in "Home Ranch." But when things really get tough, he still takes time to teach Mark the story of Job. --Donald Liebenson

Grab your boots and saddle and get ready to ride. Lucas McCain (Chuck Conner) is a widower who guides his son Mark (Johnny Crawford) through the hardships of maintaining a ranch in New Mexico in the late 1880's. Courage, justice, fairness and a modified rifle are McCain's weapons. The Rifleman ranked as the #1 half hour program during its time slot on ABC for the duration of its run form 1958 - 1963.

Volume 1:
Sharpshooter - Starring Dennis Hopper, Leif Erickson and Sidney Blackmer
Home Ranch - Starring Harold J. Stone and Lee Farr
End of a Young Gun - Starring Michael Landon
The Marshall - Starring Paul Fix, Warren Oates and Robert Wilke Bonus Episode: Duel of Honor - Starring Cesare Danova and Jack Elam