Customer Reviews

Cowboy Legends 50 Movie Pack

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The COWBOY LEGENDS 50 Movie Pack consists primarily of hour-length series-type films by western stars Roy Rogers, Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Gene Autry. There's also some examples of Billy the Kid, The Texas Rangers and a few other franchises. One curio has Lou Gehrig (the "Iron Man" of the NY Yankees) playing himself in his only theatrical film.

Within the MILL CREEK catalog, all but three of these titles are available only here and on the gigantic WESTERN 250 Movie Pack. If you'd prefer smaller sets, their WESTERN LEGENDS 50 Movie Pack is the ideal supplement to this collection. Featured are John Wayne, Bob Steele, Rex Allen, Tom Tyler and so many other great stars of the past.


Although no sign of film restoration is apparent, transfer quality of MCE's public domain movies is uniformly good. Their dual-side recorded discs usually contain two titles per side and are housed in gloss-coated heavy paper sleeves. Easy access storage boxes are sturdy and remarkably compact.

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Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(6.4) Arizona Bound (1941) - (Rough Riders)
(5.4) Bad Man of Deadwood (1941) - Roy Rogers
(7.0) Big Boy Rides Again (1935) - Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
(5.8) Billy the Kid's Range War (1941) - Bob Steele/Al St.John
(5.8) Boots and Saddles (1937) - Gene Autry
(6.1) Buffalo Stampede ("The Thundering Herd") (1933) - Randolph Scott
(7.1) Call the Mesquiteers (1938) - (Three Mesquiteers)
(5.9) Come On, Rangers (1938) - Roy Rogers
(???) The Courageous Avenger (1935) - Johnny Mack Brown
(5.6) Crashing Thru (1939) - James Newill
(???) The Devil on Horseback (1936) - Lili Damita
(6.6) The Dude Ranger (1934) - George O'Brien
(5.0) Enemy of the Law (1945) - (Texas Rangers)
(6.0) The Far Frontier (1948) - Roy Rogers
(6.7) Fuzzy Settles Down (1944) - Buster Crabbe
(4.8) Gangsters of the Frontier (1944) - (Range Riders)
(6.0) The Gay Ranchero (1948) - Roy Rogers
(7.0) Ghost Town (1936) - Harry Carey
(5.8) Gunsmoke Ranch (1937) - (Three Mesquiteers)
(5.5) Harlem Rides the Range (1939) - Herb Jeffries
(7.2) Harmony Trail (1944) - Ken Maynard
(6.5) Heart of the Golden West (1942) - Roy Rogers
(6.1) Heritage of the Desert (1932) - Randolph Scott
(6.3) Hit the Saddle (1937) - (Three Mesquiteers)
(6.3) Home in Oklahoma (1946) - Roy Rogers
(6.5) In Old Cheyenne (1941) - Roy Rogers
(???) The Lone Avenger (1933) - Ken Maynard
(5.7) Lucky Terror (1936) - Hoot Gibson
(6.0) Man from Cheyenne (1942) - Roy Rogers
(???) Marked Trails (1944) - Hoot Gibson
(6.3) Night Time in Nevada (1948) - Roy Rogers
(5.6) Oh Susanna! (1936) - Gene Autry
(5.4) The Old Corral (1936) - Gene Autry
(7.1) One-Eyed Jacks (1961) - Marlon Brando/Karl Malden
(7.1) The Ranger and the Lady (1940) - Roy Rogers
(5.9) Rawhide (1938) - Smith Ballew/Lou Gehrig
(5.6) Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937) James Newill
(7.0) Riders of the West (1942) - (Rough Riders)
(5.5) Rock River Renegades (1942) - (Range Busters)
(5.7) Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm (1937) - Gene Autry
(6.2) Shine on Harvest Moon (1938) - Roy Rogers
(6.3) Song of Texas (1943) - Roy Rogers
(4.9) South of Santa Fe (1942) - Roy Rogers
(7.6) Sunset Carson Rides Again (1948) - Sunset Carson
(6.6) Sunset on the Desert (1942) - Roy Rogers
(6.7) Under Nevada Skies (1936) - Roy Rogers
(???) Undercover Men (1934) - Charles Starrett
(7.0) West of the Badlands ("The Border Legion") (1940) - Roy Rogers
(5.3) When a Man's a Man (1935) - George O'Brien
(5.2) Without Honor (1932) - (Texas Rangers)

SERIES CAST MEMBERS:
Three Mesquiteers: Robert Livingston/Ray Corrigan/Max Terhune
Range Busters: Ray Corrigan/John 'Dusty' King/Max Terhune
Rough Riders: Buck Jones/Tim McCoy/Raymond Hatton
Texas Rangers: Dave O'Brien/Jim Newill/Guy Wilkerson/Tex Ritter

Anyone who likes western movies from the 1930s and 1940s will want this set. It has a little bit of everything from what was known as the "B" list that theater managers were given. The famous movies of the genre just aren't here. But no matter. Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, et al. are still a rootin' and a shootin'.

Of special note is the movie "Rawhide," released in 1938 and starring Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees in his only movie. He became ill shortly after that with the disease named for him and was gone from this earth before he could make another movie. His performance is a lot better than one might expect--better, certainly, than most other sports figures who made movies, including Babe Ruth and Red Grange. Gehrig plays himself, thinking to retire from baseball and move to the quiet of a western ranch with his sister. But he is confronted by a whole passle of bad guys who are running a protection racket for ranchers. Gehrig's sister is the usual movie blond, and she falls in love with a singing cowboy lawyer--yes indeedy. But I don't want to ruin this for you. It's just fun, even if it is silly.

The transfers are probably as good as one can expect from those old black and white movies. Who thought, in 1938, that anyone would be watching them 70 years later?

The British playwrite and wit, Katherine Whitehorn once said "I wouldn't say when you've seen one western you've seen the lot; but when you've seen the lot you get the feeling you've seen one."
This might be true but to me there is nothing better on a rainy afternoon than to sit down, slip into a world of fantasy, and watch the old classic westerns with such acclaimed heros of the '30s and'40s as Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Buck Jones, Tim Holt, Johnny Mack Brown (and the list goes on and on). And how can one forget to mention the comedy in these movies provided by the likes of Gabby Hayes and Smiley Burnett
These Amazon collections have it all and I would recommend them to all old film buffs.
John Applegarth
NSW Australia

I have been waiting 3 weeks for this movie.. If you don't have the movies don't put it on your site..

I bought this item for my Dad for Father's Day 2011. He loves the old cowboy movies and I believe he has really enjoyed watching these. Having 50 movies will keep him busy for many evenings to come.

Great set. Each disk is in a sleeve that gives a synopsis of the movie. Have not watched all but am well pleased so far.

Cowboy Legends 50 Movie Pack

This product has twelve double-sided DVDs containing fifty movies from the 1930s and 1940s, the prime era for traditional Westerns. There is a wide range of actors in this set, many now long forgotten. About one-third star Roy Rogers, a popular actor who played in a wide range of stories. Four feature Gene Autry, the best singing cowboy in those times. Other films star: Harry Carey Sr., Johnny Mack Brown, Buster Crabbe, Hoot Gibson, Ken Maynard, Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Tex Ritter, Bob Steele, Randolph Scott, etc.

Most stories are concerned with saving a small ranch or business from economic disaster. Big landowners, or robbers, threaten these small businesses. This must echo the fears of the small movie producers who were threatened by the big studios and their control of movie theater chains. These movies from the late 1930s often had music and singing as part of the story ("horse operas"). There was a limited amount of gunfire. The usual story showed the hero saving the ranch or farm, and getting rewarded by a grateful young woman. It was like those older stories where a young man performs a task successfully then winds up marrying his employer's daughter. Other stories has the stars working undercover, as US Marshals or Texas Rangers to neutralize various criminal gangs, like the private detective stories that were also popular. In the 19th century the many Committees of Vigilance and Regulators controlled crime and protected people. This was not shown because of the political implications of a volunteer militia as a police force.

Most of these films are set in modern times where they have automobiles, telephones, radio, etc. This provides more realism to the audience. The right to keep and bear arms was well-recognized when these films were made. These classic westerns began to decline in the 1940s when stories became concerned with personal conflicts rather than economic troubles. Horses became scarcer after the end of WW II when tractors replaced horses. Increasing costs harmed the low-budget movie studios. The decline in movie audiences matched a vast increase in television viewing. "Shane" was one of the last examples where small farmers and ranchers were threatened by a big landowner's greed for their lands. ["The Banditti of the Plains" provides an historical example from the 1890s.] "High Noon" was an example of the new style of personal conflicts driving the story.

Mill Creek is still the best at putting these western pkgs. together, more Tex Ritters in this set would have been nice though!

Great Country LegendsLoved The Cowboy Legends. I remember when I was young, I use to watch these great Westerns with my father. If he was alive today, He would really enjoy these classics. To be wached by all Western fans young and old.

All fans of B-Western of the 30 und 40th must have this DVD.There are a lot of famous actors to see.
This B-western reminds at that time, when this kind of movies had been shown at sunday afternoon for children or in the weekend late performance for older people.This DVD contains a lot of movies never shown in Germany.And so it is a "must" for german B-Western fans to watch this DVD with all the heros of the days when they had been young.
Not only for german fans, for all B-Western fans.
The DVD shows a lot of old movies and so the quality of the picture and the sound is different. There are some movies with not such a good quality and other with a good picture and sound. But as a Randolph Scott fan I am disappointed. On the cover there was listed "Heritage of the desert" with Randy. But on the DVD there is the remake of 1939 with Donald Woods.
It doesn't matter, this DVD is a "must" for all friends of the B-Western and nostalgia black and white movies.