Customer Reviews

Bar Z Bad Men [VHS]

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VCI Entertainment present "Johnny Mack Brown Double Feature Vol. 6" (Bar Z Bad Men (1937)/Between Men (1935) (Dolby digitally remastered)...relive those thrilling days from the early '30s and '40s when Johnny Mack Brown 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 Johnny Mack Brown features loaded with action that will leave you wanting more of his B-Western adventures.

First up of this double feature VCI Entertainment, Spectrum Productions and released by Republic Pictures.present "BAR Z BAD MEN" (1937) (57 mins/B&W) ... Under director Sam Newfield, producer A.W. Hackel, original story by James P. Olsen, adaptation and screenplay by George H. Plympton and cinematographer Bert Longenecker ... the cast includes Johnny Mack Brown (Jim Waters), Lois January ( Beth Harvey), Tom London (Sig Barstell), Frank LaRue (Hamp Harvey), Ernie Adams (Pete/henchman), Dick Curtis (Brent, ranch foreman), Jack Rockwell (Ed Parks), Milburn Morate (Deputy), Budd Buster (The Sheriff ), Frank Ball (The Judge) . . . . . the story line has Johnny Mack Brown buying into the Bar Z ranch with Jack Rockwell (is shot and killed) whose herds have been increasing in size, looks like a frame up of cattle rustling...Frank LaRue and his daughter Lois January are the ones losing the cattle...Dick Curtis and Ernie Adams are taking orders from the big boss, who is none other than our favorite character actor Tom London...but trouble is just about to catch up with him and the final showdown is pure excitement...stayed tuned as hard riding and fast guns are still the name of the game. . . . . . .special footnote, veteran character actor Tom London whose career spans almost a half century of film and TV work and appeared in 550 films and 100 TV episodes as ranchers, fathers, lawmen and villains...always remembered as the cowpoke in a big death scene with Gene Autry in "Riders in he Sky" (1949)...Jock Mahoney once said "Ol Tom was the most underrated actor in town, the most patient, most professional as well as a kind and giving man, he's one I feel lucky to be able to call a close friend" --- check out this and more in a new book "Best of the Badmen" by Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing. . . pick up your copy today. . . . . . . . . .another special footnote actor Johnny Mack Brown had a long film association with producer A.W. Hackel in a series of sixteen B-Westerns for the independent Poverty Row's Supreme Pictures, many directed by Sam Newfield and A. William Hackel also produced a series of Bob Steele B-Westerns --- meanwhile back to another great Johnny Mack B-Western provided by Republic Pictures during their heyday of the '30s.

The second film is from Supreme Features "BETWEEN MEN" (1935) (59 min/B&W) ... Under director Robert N. Bradbury, producer A.W. Hackel, screenplay by Charles Francis Royal, A.W. Hackel (Cinematographer), Bert Longenecker (Cinematographer), S. Roy Luby (Editor), Corson Jowett (Sound/Sound Designer), Harry S. Knight (First Assistant Director) ... the cast includes Johnny Mack Brown (Johnny Wellington Jr), Beth Marion (Gail Winters), William Farnum (John Wellington/Rand), Earl Dwire (Trent), Lloyd Ingraham (Sir George), Frank Ball (Gentry, aka Winters), Forrest Taylor (Lawyer Wyndham), Bud Osborne (bartender), Wally Wales (Blacksmith Luke), Artie Ortego (henchman), Jack Kirk (Ranch hand Joe) . . . . . long running Johnny Mack Brown series turned out in the early '40s ... the story line is excellent with outstanding productions as William Farnum shoots the men responsible for wounding his young son and rides away thinking his son is dead...enters Johnny Mack Brown who is now a grown man and is raised by Lloyd Ingraham ... Johnny Mack leaves to find Ingraham's missing granddaughter Beth Marion ... in his quest to find Beth, he meets Farnum as neither know that they are father and son ... now enters Earl Dwire and his gang of cutthroats as they are out for blood against Johnny Mack, Farnum and Beth Marion who are now in realizing that they are connected from the past...big gun battle at the end and Farnum takes Johnny Macks place only to be killed before he can tell Johnny he's really his father...well it's not over yet until Johnny Mack Brown gives the heavy Earl Dwire his walking papers or worse a showdown gunfight --- special footnote, veteran character actor William Farnum started out in silent films with "The Crisis" (1912), "Riders of the Purple Sage" (1918), "Fighting with Kit Carson" (1933), "Cleopatra" (1934), "Brand of Hate" (1934/VCI), "Cowboy and the Bandit" (1935/VCI), "Frontier Justice" (1935/VCI), "Custer's Last Stand" (1936-Serial/VCI), "The Amazing Adventures of the Clutching Hand" (1936-Serial), "Kid Ranger" (1936/VCI), "Undersea Kingdom" (1936-Serial/VCI), "Public Cowboy #1 (1937/VCI),"Git Along Little Doggie" (1937/VCI), "The Lone Ranger" (1938), "Shine On Harvest Moon" (1938/VCI), "South of the Border" (1939), "American Empire" (1942/VCI), "Silver Bullet" (1942/VCI),"Groom Wore Spurs" (1951/VCI)...my favorite film is "Painted Desert" (1931), featuring Farnum, J. Farrell MacDonald, William Boyd and Clark Gable, all give an outstanding performance, but it's Farnum and MacDonald who steal the scenes with their much expected best during both their careers........meanwhile back to another great Johnny Mack B-Western provided by Supreme Pictures.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Johnny Mack Brown
Birth Date: 9/01/1904 - Dothan, Alabama
Died: 11/14/1974 - Woodland Hills, California (cardiac condition)
2. Lois January
Birth Date: 10/05/1913 - Fort Worth, Texas
Died: still living or not available
3. Tom London
Birth Date: 8/24/1889
Died: 12/05/1963 - North Hollywood, CA
4. Dick Curtis
Birth Date: 5/11/1902 - Newport, Kentucky
Died: 1/03/1952 - Hollywood, California (pneumonia)
5. William Farnum
Birth Date: 7/04/1876 - Boston, MA
Died: 6/06/1952 - Hollywood, CA
6. Earl Dwire
Birth Date: 11/03/1883 - Missouri
Died: 1/16/1940 - Carmichael, California
7. Beth Marion
Birth Date: 7/11/1912 - Clinton, Iowa
Died: 2/18/2003 - Jacksonville, Oregon
8. A.W. Hackel (Producer)
Birth Date: 12/18.1882 - Austria
Died: 10/22/1959 - Los Angeles, California
9. Sam Newfield (Director)
Birth Date: 12/06/1899 - New York, New York
Died: 11/10/1964 - Los Angeles, California
10.Robert N. Bradbury (Director)
Birth Date: 3/23/1886 - Walla Walla, Washington
Died: 11/24/1949 - Glendale, California

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

JOHNNY MACK BROWN WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURES:
Vol. 1 Bad Man from Red Butte/Rawhide Ramgers (VCI#8348
Vol. 2 Raiders of San Joaquin/Law of the Range (VCI #7226)
Vol. 3 Pony Post/Ragtime Cowboy Joe (VCI #7238)
Vol. 4 Branded A Coward/Rogue of the Range (VCI #7244)
Vol. 5 Guns in the Dark/Partner of the Trail (VCI #7260)
Vol. 6 Bar Z Bad Men/Between Men (VCI #7282)
Vol. 7 Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie/Lone Star Trail (VCI#7308)
Vol. 8 Crooked Trail/Boot Hill Brigade (VCI#7309)

Ask Amazon.Com to carry the above 8 volumes as they are not available on Amazon as of yet...you can order and pick up your copy now from VCI Entertainment.

Bobby J. Copeland's book on "Johnny Mack Brown: Up Close & Personal" is chuck full of answers to all the questions his fans had from early on...when you went to see him on the big screen, you got exactly what the marquee said...plenty of thrills, adventure and loaded with action...Johnny Mack was a natural for the western, his riding abilities and fight scenes were of the the same caliber as Buck Jones and Bob Steele...Johnny Mack sets the saddle better than Duke Wayne...seems Johnny got better with the more films he made and the scripts were always top notch...he was one of the best-liked people in films, what you saw on the screen is what he really was, a great human being...pickup your copy from Amazon or Empire Publishing both have this in stock.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Johnny Mack Brown Double Feature Vol. 6" (Bar Z Bad Men (1937)/Between Men (1935), 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: 112 on DVD ~ VCI Home Video #7282 ~ (9/12/2004)