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3.0 out of 5 stars
Fact mixed with Fiction: "Stories of the Century", May 26, 2004
Rugged Jim Davis stars as Matt Clark, Railroad Detective in "Stories of the Century," an early Emmy award winning series that was originally broadcast from January 1954 to March 1955. This second 2-DVD set released by Platinum Disc Corporation includes 21 episodes which, coupled with their previous 2-DVD set of 18 episodes (along with 3 episodes from the series "Judge Roy Bean"), means that all 39 episodes from the "Stories of the Century" series have been released on DVD. Note that Platinum Disc has used the series' UK title "Legends of the Old West" on its packaging.
There's plenty of gunplay and two-fisted action in this Western that was produced by a television subsidiary of Republic Pictures. The show's premise was to place the fictitious Matt Clark and one of his female detective sidekicks, Frankie Adams (portrayed by Mary Castle) and, later, Margaret "Jonesy" Jones (portrayed by Kristine Miller), into scenarios with real characters of the Old West. Usually Clark and his sidekick would have a prominent role in the attempted capture of the various desperados but, at the end of each show, real-life history would take over. The historical angle, and the casting of Jim Davis, possibly the dustiest looking TV cowboy ever, make this one of the better Westerns of the early to mid-1950s. Fans of the TV series "Dallas" will remember Davis in the role of the Ewing family patriarch, Jock Ewing. Look, also, for guest stars like Jack Elam, Fess Parker, Slim Pickens, and Lee Van Cleef.
As was the case with Platinum's first release of episodes from "Stories of the Century," all of the episodes are watchable, but with the usual specks and scratches and, sometimes, audio hiss. Platinum's logo occasionally appears in the bottom right hand corner, but it's not too distracting. There are no extras on this release, but individual episodes can be accessed through a menu option. Here are the episodes included on the two discs:
Disc 1:
Billy the Kid
Wild Bunch of Wyoming
Crazy Horse
Sam Bass
Bill Longley
The Doolin Gang
Back Jack Ketchum
John Wesley Hardin
Nate Champion
Rube Burrows
Sontag and Evans
Disc 2:
Frank & Jesse James
The Dalton Gang
Cherokee Bill
Henry Plumber
Tom Horn
Kate Bender
Jim Courtright
Augustine Chacon
Joaquin Marietta
L.H. Muskgrove
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