Eason, B Reeves

They Died with Their Boots On

Bert Glennon, who shot Stagecoach and seven other John Ford classics, has given this Raoul Walsh biopic of George Armstrong Custer a burnished glow--an evocative interplay of raw sunlight and elegiac shadow like no other vintage Warner Bros. Western. Glennon's artistry and Walsh's trademark gusto sustain enthusiasm even as the screenplay beggars belief. The flamboyant Custer (Errol Flynn), rushed into Civil War service straight from West Point, did get promoted overnight to general and establish a spectacular record for "ride to the guns" leadership. However, Custer as defender of Indians' rights--to the point of willing his own Last Stand so he could accuse corrupt Indian Commissioners from the grave--is historical rewrite of such sweeping chutzpah as to shame DeMille. Flynn and Olivia de Havilland make an even more appealing couple than usual, and the big supporting cast is unflaggingly energetic above and beyond the call of duty. --Richard T. Jameson

Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland star in this rip-roaring account of General George Custer directed by Raoul Walsh and highlighted by a strong supporting cast that includes Arthur Kennedy and Anthony Quinn. Year: 1942Running Time: 140 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569518025

The Phantom - Serial

Professor Davidson and his lovely daughter Diana search Africa for the Lost City of Zoloz. Legend pegs it to be the source of a vast hidden treasure. Their search is hindered by a local crook, Singapore Smith, who wants the treasure for himself. It is further complicated by Dr. Bremmer, an international criminal, who plans to destroy the peace with the local native tribes and build a secret air base at Zoloz. Fortunately, the Phantom, who is also Diana's fiancé, is more than a match for the two villains. The Phantom, with his superhuman strength, manages to outwit each enemy move, escaping from one death trap after an other: avalanches, poison gas, flaming pyres, and explosions fail to shake his fearless spirit. With the help of his four-footed pal Devil, he finally overpowers all the enemy factions, and brings peace to the jungle once again. Another exciting serial adventure produced by Columbia Pictures and based on one of King Features' funny-paper heroes. Bonus Features: Photo Gallery| Comic Book Art Gallery| Commentary by Author Max Allan Collins| Actor Bios| Chapter Menu. Specs: 1-DVD9 + 1-DVD5; Dolby Digital Mono; 254 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1943; SRP - $19.99.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Why is The Charge of the Light Brigade so rarely even mentioned among Errol Flynn's swashbucklers? It's a terrific movie, something like the peak of spectacular Hollywood action filmmaking and the bravura style of Michael Curtiz. The setting--till the Crimean War climax--is the Indian frontier (impersonated, as so often, by rocky Lone Pine, California), where the 27th Bengal Lancers run afoul of an Oxford-educated slime named Surat Khan (C. Henry Gordon). Flynn and Olivia de Havilland bring real tenderness to two-thirds of a romantic triangle (the other corner is the hero's brother, Patric Knowles). There's the fearsome siege of Chukoti, an unspeakable atrocity, and finally the foolhardy, inspired Charge at Balaklava. The camerawork and editing of that grand sequence never cease to astonish. History (and political correctness) is better served by the 1968 Tony Richardson movie, but for unabashed epic sweep and matchless thrills, this is the one you want. --Richard T. Jameson

The reckless lancers sweep on and on - so that a woman's heart might not be broken! You're not fighting a single legion - you're fighting the entire British army Surat Khan! Major Vickers is an officer at the 27th Lancers in India 1856. When the regiment is on maneuver the barracks are attacked by Surat Khan and his soldiers who massacre British women and children. This leaves an inextinguishable memory and Vickers promises to revenge the dead.System Requirements:Run Time: 115 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSIC Rating: NR UPC: 012569796263 Manufacturer No: 79626

Forgotten Noir Collector's Set 3

DAVID HARDING COUNTERSPY: Based on the popular 1942-1957 network radio series created by Phillips H. Lord. Howard St. John is the Washington DC-based David Harding head of a covert counter-espionage organization charged with preventing top-secret scientific information from reaching the hands of America's enemies around the world and trying to convince a hell-raising radio correspondent to join the fight.DANGER ZONE: When you deal with dames you are in the Danger Zone as the character of crime detector Dennis O'Brien (Hugh Beaumont) learns in his inaugural mystery-drama. The private eye first cracks a case involving smuggling ring then tackles an assignment that involves blackmail murder and film noir's top bad guy Tom Neal.THE BIG CHASE: As his expectant wife (Adele Jergens) enters the hospital in anticipation of the blessed event cop Glenn Langan is off to the races trailing payroll robbers (including Jim Davis and Lon Chaney Jr.) on a mad chase that goes from cars to rowboat to motorboat to helicopter. The chase sequence captured in all its bullet-to-bullet glory comprises a third of the movie.MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY:From Phillips H. Lord's popular NBC radio series comes an intriguing "legal film noir" filled with double-crosses and unusual twists--starting in the opening reel when a woman is slain in her apartment to an escaped killer and the paper prints that the alive-and-well girlfriend (Marguerite Chapman) of a local crime boss was the victim.RINGSIDE: Middleweight boxer works his way up to a title fight and loses it and his eyesight when the champion seeing that his opponent is blind in one eye goes to work on the other one! His brother decides to avenge him by taking up boxing himself and and eye for an eye? HI-JACKED: Parolee/ truck driver Jim Davis now wants to stick to the straight-and-narrow but finds himself riding a highway of terror when his truck is hijacked and police suspect him because of his past record. The hijackers

Phantom Empire

Mascot's Phantom Empire billed as the first "Musical Western" was singer Gene Autry's initial starring role. Autry and his young friends find themselves up against evil scientist and super-scientific underground world Murania complete with robots death rays and other sci-fi creations. Science fiction country music and the elements of a pure Western are combined into a classic picture that was fully twenty-five years ahead of its time. 12 Chapters Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS UPC: 089859850226 Manufacturer No: 8502

Western Film Noir, Vol. 1 (Little Big Horn / Rimfire)

Little Big Horn is the story of a Cavalry patrol that discovers a horde of Indians ready to ambush Custer's 7th Cavalry. They set out to warn Gen. Custer that he is about to embark on a mission of virtual suicide. Gritty and extremely well-acted character studies set this version apart from the familiar telling of a tragedy from U.S. history. The second feature, Rimfire: the western setting is incidental in this unglamorous, well-written, tale of mystery and suspense. The story involves the death by hanging of The Abilene Kid, who is innocent of all charges. After death "the Kid" returns to kill off all of those who sentenced him to be hanged. Bonus Features: Scene Selection| Original theatrical trailer - Little Big Horn| Bios| Robert L Lippert Sr biography & Filmography| Trailers| Rimfire liner notes by Sam Sherman| Trivia| Advertising Gallery| "Little Big Horn" Extensive Still Gallery. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital; 150 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1951, 1949; SRP - $14.99.

City for Conquest

Ex-Golden Gloves fighter Danny Kenny has it all worked out. He'll turn pro to bankroll his brother's dream of writing a symphonic paean to the teeming city where they both live: New York. But life pulls the sidewalk out from under Danny when he's blinded during a brutal 15-round welterweight title bout. James Cagney plays Danny in this heart-tugging melodrama co-starring Ann Sheridan Anthony Quinn film-debuting Arthur Kennedy and in a rare acting turn before becoming a director Elia Kazan. Among familiar studio players there's an unbilled one: a vivid backlot and rear-screen Manhattan. "Sometimes we wonder" The New York Times' Bosley Crowther wrote "whether it wasn't really the Warner brothers who got New York from the Indians so diligent and devoted have they been in feeling the great city's pulse."Running Time: 104 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569791770 Manufacturer No: 79177

The Adventures Of Rex And Rinty - 12 Chapter Movie Serial

12 thrilling episodes starring Rex, the King of the Wild Horses and Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr.

Sci-Fi Serial Classics

FORGOTTEN NOIR: Vol 8: Mr. District Attorney (1947); Ringside; Hi-Jacked

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY:From Phillips H. Lord's popular NBC radio series comes an intriguing "legal film noir" filled with double-crosses and unusual twists--starting in the opening reel when a woman is slain in her apartment to an escaped killer and the paper prints that the alive-and-well girlfriend (Marguerite Chapman) of a local crime boss was the victim.RINGSIDE: Middleweight boxer works his way up to a title fight and loses it and his eyesight when the champion seeing that his opponent is blind in one eye goes to work on the other one! His brother decides to avenge him by taking up boxing himself and and eye for an eye?HI-JACKED: Parolee/ truck driver Jim Davis now wants to stick to the straight-and-narrow but finds himself riding a highway of terror when his truck is hijacked and police suspect him because of his past record. The hijackers will stop at nothing to frame him--and even frame his wife! -- unless fugitive Davis can deliver them to justice himself. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE/FILM NOIR UPC: 089859058820 Manufacturer No: KPF-588