Customer Reviews

Buckskin Frontier [VHS]

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Buckskin Frontier, 1943 film

The story begins with covered wagons on open country. [They are drawn by horses, not by oxen.] They show the Freighting Company store. Stephen Bent represents the Missouri Central Railroad. Marr wants to stop the railroad. The railroad will carry sheep and cattle to market instead of a long drive. The railroad surveyors are chased off Marr's lands. Can Bent engineer a change in Marr's attitude? The freight wagons reach Pawnee. Some object to their presence in town, but the men are offered $1 pay to unload the wagons. We learn who is behind this opposition. Vinnie Marr arrives at Pawnee by train. The workers want their pay. There is a fight, the odds even up. Having fun? Rita is in town. Clanton meets Gideon to turn him against Best, but fail.

The freight wagon train moves on. A wheel needs changing. The railroad travels at a high speed of 25 MPH; who needs to go that fast? Marr talks against the railroad: it will bring homesteaders to settle on the open range! Marr will get Clanton to destroy Steve Bent. Bent asks Marr to join the Missouri Central [instead of competing], but is roughly refused. Later the railroad wins the right to build in the Santa Fe cutoff. This provides work for hundreds of men. Clanton's bankers will stop at nothing to halt the new construction. Tiny brings a warning. Rita brings news of her investor friends. Clanton brings wagon loads of gunmen to attack the railroad work. Vinnie warns Bent to they can defend themselves. Rifles are passed out. Tiny reaches town, Marr asks the townsmen to ride and help. "Somebody must have tipped them off." Shooting begins. The townsmen ride to the gun fight. There is an explosion. The arrival of the townsmen ends the battle. Bent catches Clanton for a knock-down fight on land and water. The good guy wins.

There is a happy ending when the opposing forces agree to work together. Wagons can reach areas where railroads will never go. This is a story about business competition that neglects the effects on the ranchers who are their customers. It represents a shift from past stories. Having a character like "Rita" to represent the investing class was a new change.

VCI Entertainment present "RICHARD DIX WESTERN COLLECTION" (236 mins/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- now in Glorious Black and White --- VCI presents three outstanding films in the genre of the Western --- Excellent cast of fine actors with Richard Dix, Robert Barrat, Leo Carrillo, Cliff Edwards, William Farnum, Preston Foster, Frances Gifford, Jack La Rue, Chris-Pin Martin, Etta McDaniel, Merrill Rodin, Wally Wales and Richard Webb --- outstanding directors George Archainbaud, Lesley Selander and William C. McGann take the helm of each oater.

The first of three Richard Dix westerns - "AMERICAN EMPIRE" (Released: 11 December 1942) (82 mins/B&W), Dan Taylor (Richard Dix) and Paxton Bryce (Preston S. Foster) are two longtime friends out to make a fortune in post Civil War Texas --- Dan's sister and Paxton's wife Abby (Frances Gifford) assist them in their search, when they set up a thriving cattle business --- Paxton seeks to gain power over them all, and alienates himself from Dan and Abby. Only through personal tragedy does Paxton re-gain his senses.

Second feature - "THE KANSAN" (Released: 10 September 1943) (79 mins/B&W), has Richard Dix and Jane Wyatt reunited as western lawman John Bonniwell and rancher's daughter Eleanor Sager --- Bonniwell chases the James Gang out of town and is appointed marshal by the local bigwig Steve Barat (Albert Dekker) --- As things unfold, Barat is known to be a crook with delusions of grandeur, hoping to use Bonniwell as a glorified henchman in his rise to power --- Meanwhile, an unorthodox romantic triangle develops between Bonniwell, Eleanor, and Barat's brother Jeff (Victor Jory) --- Jory is a scene stealer whenever he's on camera and this is when he's at his best.

In the final feature - "BUCKSKIN FRONTIER" (Released: 14 May 1943) (65 mins/B&W), an action packed western adventure has good guy, railroad man Richard Dix trying to ramrod a trail right through Lee J. Cobb's land. Cobb, also owner of the local freight service, opposes the railroad. Matters are complicated when Cobb's daughter, Jane Wyatt, falls in love with the railroad man.

BIOS

1. Richard Dix (aka: Ernest Carlton Brimmer)

Date of Birth: 18 July 1893 - St. Paul, Minnesota

Date of Death: 20 September 1949 - Los Angeles, California

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- 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 VCI or Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 236 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video. ~ (10/23/2005)