A DVD set with a title like this one is difficult for this writer to resist. Like many other twenty- and thirty-somethings, I grew up in a house where westerns were in heavy rotation. My dad got his love of the genre from his dad, and I’m definitely carrying on the legacy. There are other film genres that might grab me more intensely (I’m always nervous about the nerdiness that exudes from my body when I admit how much of a sci-fi guy I am), but I rarely turn off a western.

This Warner Home Video Western Classics Collection scratches that itchy remote control trigger finger. But while each of these pictures deliver the kind of exciting thrills that can only come with a good shootout or stampede, for the most part, they are second-string oaters, movies that only marginally succeed in their narratives because of their often noble adherence to the western ethos.

Escape From Fort Bravo (1953) is a sullen start on this set. In the film, William Holden portrays Roper, a tough-ass warden type at a gritty, nasty prison camp in the American southwest. As the title suggests, the concrete walls of Fort Bravo aren’t tough enough to hold one Captain Marsh (John Forsythe), who’s been kept in the slammer far too long; he stages a break-out. The first half of the picture is all about planning and executing the prison break. But the film really gets going in its second half, when Roper catches the fugitives only to be forced to fight alongside them on the way back to the Fort as they are attacked by a manic Indian tribe.

Holden is always a sobering presence; his charisma alone is often enough to carry a picture. And even though his characterization of Roper is pencil-thin, he’s able to bring to it a certain heft that would be invisible in any other actor’s attempts. The film becomes a deeply flawed yet implicitly watchable Saturday western. As a movie, it ain’t great, but between the scenery and a predictably capable turn from Holden, it’s able to maintain a bit of narrative inertia.

Many Rivers to Cross (1955), on the other hand, never really gets going at all. This disappointingly zany western comedy stars Eleanor Parker as Mary Stuart Cherne. It tries to get in some laughs as it tells the story of a pelt trader named Bushrod (Robert Taylor) who is saved from an Indian attack by Miss Cherne (Eleanor Parker). He’s subsequently made part of the family (with the prospect of a Bushrod-Cherne shotgun wedding on the not-so-distant horizon), but the movie doesn’t have any kind of vision or perspective to it. Some of the family goofiness that ensues once Miss Cherne brings her uninterested beau back to the homestead is a little funny bits, but for the most part, this acting-for-the-back-row comic melodrama is too much for its own good.

Things get back on the straight-and-narrow with The Law and Jake Wade (1958), a simple story of a bad-boy-turned-good who has to stare down the demons of his troubled past. Robert Taylor plays Jake, a rabble-rouser-turned-town-marshall who has settled down in a nice town with a nice fiancé and has a nice life. Well, that lasts until his grudge-bearing old partner, Clint (Richard Widmark), comes to town. Jake may have sold Clint out a few years back and hid out in the desert $20,000 in loot the two of them stole together. Clint wants to even the score. He and his gruff cohorts kidnap Jake and his fiancé and force them to get him his money.

Widmark is the number one reason the film works so well. He’s pitch-perfect in the part. His sneering, two-faced villain is miserable enough to detest but just charming enough to adore. You know he’s going to get his at the end of the movie, but you nevertheless find it bittersweet when it comes. Taylor’s performance errs more on the side of aw-shucks good-ol’-boy than it really needs to, but it comes as no surprise that the filmmakers wanted his character to counterbalance the off-kilter (to say the least) Clint. It’s not a severely important film, but there’s still fun to be had with The Law and Jake Wade.

This writer has always felt that Anthony Mann was way too heavy-handed for his own good; I’d argue that the best thing that he did for Hollywood was quit as director of Spartacus so Kubrick could step in. While Cimarron is a capable retelling of the Edna Ferber novel, it’s a little flawed by unmerited dramatic hyperbole. Part of the film’s problem is that its biggest asset disappears during its second half. Glenn Ford plays Yancey Cravat, a larger-than-life land baron who tries to dedicate himself to his new wife Sabra (Maria Schell) and kid, Cimarron, Jr., to put the troubles of his checkered past behind him. But he just can’t let it go, so he heads for the horizon, leaving wife and kid behind to make it on their own during the Oklahoma Land Rush.

There’s a historical bent to Cimarron that’s portrayed nicely in Mann’s film; if anything, the movie’s presentation of Land Rush lifestyles is fascinating. But the innate human drama at film’s center is disappointingly lifeless and unmoving. Ford’s presence is notable, but Maria Schell’s Sabra never really creates the concern and empathy one would hope for; her arc from naïve young mother to tried-and-true Oklahoma matron just doesn’t ring true. There are some majestic sequences of panoramic scenery to applaud, but as a cohesive motion picture, Cimarron falls short.

Far more intriguing is Saddle the Wind (1958), a decidedly above-average Robert Taylor western about brothers, troubles, and a wide plot of land. Taylor plays Steve Sinclair, a guy with a troubled past and a big desire to settle down on a cattle ranch to live the good life. His little brother Tony (John Cassavetes), though, looks at Steve’s dream of normalcy with mocking eyes. He can’t understand why Steve would give up such a thrilling way of life. Things go far beyond sibling rivalry; Tony starts a bit of a land war with a neighboring rancher, and his rabble-rousing causes Steve to take sides. He must choose between his own brother, who he loves, or the neighbor he wants to emulate.

What’s so great about Saddle the Wind, especially compared to the other, more lackluster pictures on this box set, is its decided simplicity. Director Robert Parrish lets the conflicts between the two brothers take the film’s center stage, and his focus on their tumult keeps the film on a wonderfully even keel. It doesn’t hurt that the pairing of Taylor and Cassavetes is downright explosive. With Taylor’s dyed-in-the-wool age and gravitas and Cassavetes’ youthful candor and passion, it doesn’t take long for fireworks to explode. And the ending is a doozy.

The set ends with The Stalking Moon (1968), a capable (but not awe-inspiring) Gregory Peck western. Teaming once again with To Kill a Mockingbird director Robert Mulligan, Peck plays Sam Varner, an army man who is finally ready to leave the regiment behind for a life of retired solitude in the American southwest after years of selfless service. But the day before Varner is scheduled to retire from the military, he discovers a lovely young woman (Eva Marie Saint) who has been living with an Indian tribe for many years. And of course, this isn’t just a pretty woman with a killer smile; this woman’s husband (and her baby’s father) is one of the most feared Indian killers in the land. So what initially begins with Varner nobly offering to escort the woman and her son to the nearest train station turns into far more.

The fusion of Peck’s smart, compassionate performance and a slick storyline that has both endearing character interplay and suspenseful set pieces really gives The Stalking Moon a nice feel. It’s not completely engaging all the way through (it has some rough patches at its start and middle), but for the most part, the movie is a classic one-off western. It has great scenery, a few interesting story lines, and a killer showdown finale.

And if there’s anything that this Warner Home Video Western Classics Collection proves, it’s that sometimes that’s enough.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Escape From Fort Bravo doesn’t look great on its 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. There’s a smear to pretty much the entire picture that keeps it from having any kind of consistent visual punch (small object detail is compromised all the way through). The super-wide Many Rivers to Cross looks a bit better, with its 2.55:1 anamorphic presentation showcasing some lovely attention to detail and only a handful of apparent instances of dirt and grime on the transfer print.

The Law and Jake Wade is probably the best-looking picture here. Its 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is clear and crisp. There’s a bit of mosquito noise in some of the film’s darker sequences, but for the most part, for a film of this age, the film looks fine. This is more than can be said for Cimarron, whose 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is mired by smear and a lack of finely grained textures. There are examples of dirt and grime all over the place, and edge halos are surprisingly prevalent.

Saddle the Wind looks fine, too. Its 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer shows a few examples of age, both in terms of dirt and blemishes, as well as faded colors and textures. But for the most part, its presence on DVD is perfectly legitimate. Ditto for The Stalking Moon. There are inconsistencies in the film’s presentation; color accuracy, for example, is often way on the pink side. But overall, the movie comes across nicely in this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Escape From Fort Bravo’s Dolby Surround 2.0 track is far better than its visual presentation. There are a few hiccups here and there with compromised and very scratched dialogue, but for the most part, this is a suitably boomy and clear track. Cimarron also has a wonderful aural presentation. It’s mostly music that gets an upgrade from the mono trappings of its day. Dialogue still doesn’t sound super-clear, but even with all its warts, the film’s expanded soundtrack packs a nice punch.

It’s definitely a step up from the mono tracks afound on Many Rivers to Cross, The Law and Jake Wade, and Saddle the Wind. Each is saddled with crackle and hiss. The mono presentation on The Stalking Moon is a tad more impressive than the others, possibly just because it’s the newest film on this set. But it still pales in comparison with the two Dolby Surround tracks.

French subtitles are included on all films, as are English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

We get simple trailers for all the films with the exception of The Stalking Moon.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.

Final Thoughts

Western fans should definitely pop Saddle the Wind and The Stalking Moon onto their rental queues. They’re not the best-looking oaters, but they’re totally worth a peek. As a full set, though, the Warner Home Video Western Classics Collection leaves a bit to be desired. Video and audio qualities are capable but not fantastic, and a lack of bonus features is a drag.