Customer Reviews

Western Film Noir, Vol. 1 (Little Big Horn / Rimfire)

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

 

 

VCI Video and Kit Parker Films have released LITTLE BIG HORN (1951) and RIMFIRE (1949) under the Western Film Noir banner.

These two almost forgotten Lippert westerns deserve the new life they have been granted on DVD in an impressive double feature format; and, above all, they should carry their noir stamp proudly.

LITTLE BIG HORN and RIMFIRE as well achieve their undeniably striking visual effectiveness through Ernest Miller's masterful camera work. Cinematographer Miller (who, by the way, was behind the camera for most of the moody Lippert westerns) imparts to both films a foreboding, fatalistic ambiance, which he renders in low-keyed black-and-white cinematography. And in addition, by frequently utilizing stark camera angles, Miller creates an undercurrent of uneasiness, which is a major noir ingredient in these somber westerns.

LITTLE BIG HORN tells the story of a small U.S. Cavalry unit that challenges destiny when it is ordered to deliver an urgent message to Custer warning him of impending mortal danger at Little Big Horn. The suspense mounts as members of the patrol commence to be eliminated by hostile Indians in a and-then-there-were-none manner.

John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, and Marie Windsor in standout performances elevate the human drama to a nearly Shakespearean level, as patrol commander Bridges is confronted by his inner demons of jealousy and suspicion involving his wife Windsor and lower-ranked officer Ireland.

The supporting cast also shines; with Reed Hadley, Hugh O'Brian, King Donovan, and Wally Cassell tensely reacting to the dangers surrounding them.

Charles Marquis Warren guides LITTLE BIG HORN with strong, sure-handed direction. Warren exhibits a special liking for visual narrative rather than extended verbal communication. Consequently, close-ups of facial features expressing apprehensiveness, and concentration on natural objects that are present in the often shadowy western landscape abound while nature itself remains a calmly objective and impartial observer of human behavior. What a magnificent film noir this is- without an asphalt jungle but with a rocky western terrain!

Here it might be of interest to note that Charles Marquis Warren also made HELLGATE (1952), perhaps the darkest film this side of Murnau's NOSFERATU to appear in the lineup of Lippert westerns. HELLGATE (again phtographed by Ernest Miller) is not yet available on DVD; but let's hope it will show up soon, and give us a noir fix lasting at least a month.

RIMFIRE relates the story of an undercover agent in post-Civil War Texas who has problems staying alive while snooping around, looking for a stolen gold shipment in a town run by corrupt gamblers.

Well directed by B. Reeves Eason, this very obscure film benefits immensely from Ernest Miller's eerily atmospheric cinematography. But it is also the unusual script written by Frank Wisbar (together with Arthur St. Claire and producer Ron Ormond) that gives RIMFIRE much added strength and substance.

Wisbar had earlier directed STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP (1945), for which he wrote the screenplay based on his own original story. This intentionally out-of-focus, mist-drenched, and otherworldly B-horror film with a pronounced German Expressionist flavor, did actually enjoy a minor cult following and is still quite interesting today (available from Amazon). The reappearance of a man wrongly executed was the center of attention in Wisbar's STRANGLER. Interestingly, a variation on that theme found its way into RIMFIRE, helping to make it such a beautifully realized little western noir with a nice ghostly touch.

Also, James Millican; Mary Beth Hughes; Reed Hadley; and Henry Hull lend good acting talent to this film.

After almost 6 decades, both LITTLE BIG HORN and RIMFIRE hold up amazingly well today. VCI Video and Kit Parker Films deserve a standing ovation for letting us now own and enjoy these darkly stylized and engrossingly suspenseful horse opera noirs.

5 stars, unhesitatingly (10 even, had Amazon granted additional star space for this great double feature)!

Without a doubt, had LITTLE BIG HORN been released by a major studio, it would have achieved the genre-breaking status that HIGH NOON did a year later. Fine acting, crisp dialogue and a great script lift this one high above what must have been (knowing Lippert!) a miniscule budget.

This is one of those movies that the local channels showed twice a week, every week during the fifties and early sixties. It was cut, spliced, stepped on and mistreated by most all that handled it. I am SURPRISED that VCI and Kit Parker are able to provide such a clean, complete copy of this western treasure.

Among the extras provided on the DVD is a nice selection of posters, lobby cards, and stills, accompanied by the nifty LITTLE BIG HORN theme music.

Nice job!

VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films presents "Western Film Noir, Vol. 1" (Little Big Horn (1951) & Rimfire (1949) --- (Dolby digitally remastered)....relive those thrilling days from the early '30s, '40s and '50s when western action took us down the dusty trails and the plains to exciting adventures --- some of the best B-Westerns ever to grace the Saturday Matinee Screen --- just remember double thrills, mystery and suspense hitting the bull's eye with excitement ... don't miss any of the features loaded with top notch directors and actors that will leave you wanting more of their B-Western adventures ... so pop some popcorn, sit back and enjoy your favorite film noir westerns.

First up we have Lippert Pictures - "LITTLE BIG HORN" (1951) (86 mins/B&W) --- Under Charles Marquis Warren (Director / Screenwriter), Carl Hittleman (Producer), Harold Shumate (Short Story Author), Ernest W. Miller (Cinematographer), Paul Dunlap (Composer (Music Score), Carl Pierson (Editor), Paul F. Sylos (Art Director) . . . . . the cast includes Lloyd Bridges (Capt. Phillip Donlin), John Ireland (Lt. John Haywood), Marie Windsor (Celia Donlin), Reed Hadley (Sgt. Maj. Peter Grierson), Jim Davis (Cpl. Doan Moylan), Wally Cassell (Pvt. Danny Zecca), Hugh O'Brian (Pvt. Al DeWalt), King Donovan (Pvt. James Corbo), Richard Emory (Pvt. Mitch Shovels), John Pickard (Sgt. "Vet" McCloud), Robert Sherwood (Pvt. David Mason), Sheb Wooley (Quince), Larry Stewart (Bugler, Stevie Williams), Rodd Redwing (Cpl. Arika), Gordon Wynne (Pvt. Arndst Hofstetter), Margo Woode (Mrs. Owens), Dick Paxton (Pvt. Ralph Hall) ----- our story with top notch acting is about warning General Custer who is riding into a Sious ambush with massacre written all over it at the Little Big Horn ... our two heroes Lloyd Bridges and John Ireland love the same woman Marie Windsor, which now make them bitter enemies ,,, can they make it with their hair still in place as Indian scouts are killing each soldier one by one with sniper fire ... this is one of the better Robert L. Lippert Productions with a great supporting cast of veteran actors Jim Davis, Hugh O'Brien, King Donovan, Reed Hadley and Sheb Wooley bring in a winning film.

BONUS FEATURES:

1. Little Big Horn (trailer)

2. The Cowboy (trailer)

3. Photo Gallery

4. Trivia

BIOS:

1. Lloyd Bridges (aka: Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr.)

Date of birth: 15 January 1913 - San Leandro, California

Date of death: 10 March 1998 - Los Angeles, California

2. John Ireland (aka: John Benjamin Ireland)

Date of birth: 30 January 1914 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Date of death: 21 March 1992 - Santa Barbara, California

3. Charles Marquis Warren (Director)

Date of birth: 16 December 1912 - Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Date of death: 11 August 1990 - West Hills, California,

4. Robert L. Lippert (Producer)

Date of birth: 31 March 1909 - Alameda, California, USA

Date of death: 16 November 1976 - Unknown City & State

Second on the double bill is a Lippert Pictures - "RIMFIRE" (1949) (63 min. B/W) --- Under B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason (Director), Ron Ormond (Producer / Screenwriter), Ormand (Screenwriter), Arthur St. Claire (Screenwriter), Frank Wisbar (Screenwriter), Ernest W. Miller (Cinematographer), Walter Greene (Composer (Music Score), Hugh Wynn (Editor), Fred A. Ritter (Art Director) ----- the cast includes James Millican (Capt. Tom Harvey), Mary Beth Hughes (Polly), Reed Hadley (The Abilene Kid), Henry Hull (Editor Greeley), Fuzzy Knight (Porky), Victor Kilian (Sheriff Jordan), Chris-Pin Martin (Chico), Margia Dean (Lolita), Jason Robards, Sr. (Banker Elkins), John Cason (Blazer), George Cleveland (Judge Gardner), Ray Bennett (Barney), Glenn Strange (Stagecoach Driver), I. Stanford Jolley (Toad), Ben Erway (Deputy Sheriff Wilson), Stanley Price (Lamson), Lee Roberts (Norton), Don C. Harvey (Rainbow Raymond), Cliff Taylor (Bartender), Marjorie Stapp (Dancehall Girl), Richard Alexander (Weber) ----- our story has blends of superstition in a town who has executed Reed Hadley, who was hung for being a cardshark ... Hadley was innocent and now each member of the town is being killed by the ghost of Hadley ... the mystery of it all is Hadley really doing all of this and if not who is ... our hero James Millican must find the answer before another killing, his love interest Mary Beth Hughes is also in danger ... not until the final reel do we discover who is who in the film noir oater . . . . . . .there's a great deal of entertainment here for all the film noir fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features like this one.

BONUS FEATURES:

1. Rimfire (liner notes)

2. The Great Jesse James Raid (trailer)

3. I Shot Bill the Kid (trailer)

4. The Stranger on Horseback (trailer)

BIOS:

1. James Millican

Date of birth: 17 February 1910 - Palisades, New Jersey

Date of death: 24 November 1955 - Los Angeles, California

2. Reed Hadley (aka: Reed Herring)

Date of birth: 25 June 1911 - Petrolia, Texas

Date of death: 11 December 1974 - Los Angeles, California

3. B. Reeves Eason (aka: William Reaves Eason) (Director)

Date of birth: 2 October 1886 - New York, New York

Date of death: 9 June 1956 - Sherman Oaks, California

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Western Film Noir, Vol. 1" (Little Big Horn (1951) & Rimfire (1949), digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '40s and '50s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again with riding the range with B-Westerns that only VCI Entertainment (King of the Serials) can deliver...just the way we like 'em!

Total Time: 150 mins on DVD ~ VCIV560DVD ~ (9/26/2006)

As a big Marie Windsor fan I was pleased to see VCI release this along with "THE LONESOME TRAIL / THE SILVER STAR" AND "THE TALL TEXAN".Windsor has a very small part in "Little Big Horn" playing a cheating wife.This love triangle situation fits in with the rest of the picture when her Cavalry Captain husband orders her boyfriend to ride on the mission to warn General Custer.There is lots of fighting action and great tension and drama as the Cavalry scouts are picked off one by one in what is basically a suicide mission."Rimfire" is what I would describe as a good B western.Nothing more nothing less.The picture and sound are quite good on all of these new VCI releases.I was very interested in the "WESTERN FILM NOIR" catagorization of the films.After watching them I would have to reccomend "THE LONESOME TRAIL / THE SILVER STAR" as being more "Noir".While not reviewing these films here,I must say that "The Silver Star" with Marie Windsor is not to be missed ! To sum it up I highly reccomend all of the films mentioned in this review.I don't just automatically give five stars to everything that I am pleased to see released but I can honestly give "LITTLE BIG HORN / RIMFIRE" a respectable four star rating.

Never having seen either of these movies, but being a fan of the "film noir" genre, I ordered them here after being made aware of them in my amazon recommendations. Glowing reviews and a cheap price made my decision easy.

Well, I won't say I wasted my money, but I was hoping for better. Of the two films, Little Big Horn is by far the superior one. Both Lloyd Bridges and John Ireland are excellent in their respective roles. Though the introduction to the movie is hokey, there is plenty of action and plenty of interpersonal tension between Bridges and Ireland that keeps the viewer on edge. This is true noir as there are no real heroes and no happy ending. My biggest complaint would be that it is too short. I give it four stars.

Then there is Rimfire. This could have been a much better film, but the injection of some buffoonish dolts coupled with some atrociously lame dialogue nearly spoil it. Anyhow, it seems that nearly every prominent person in the frontier hamlet of Stringtown NM is involved in the disappearance of a shipment of government gold. Even the town sheriff is in on the theft. Cardsharps, superstition, and a kangaroo court all have a role in how the story ends. The film does have its moments: a great bar fight and the suspense built by way the gold thieves are eliminated one by one. But the corny comic effect created by the presence of the buffoons spoils any noirish ambience. Two stars.

No recommendation either way. I am delighted to have seen Little Big Horn, but I could have done without Rimfire. If you want to take a chance on it for yourself, the price is right.

LITTLE BIG HORN (1951, directed by Charles Marquis Warren)

As you might guess, this is about the Battle at the Little Big Horn, Custer's Last Stand in 1876...well, almost. It's actually about a small patrol that rides to try to warn Custer of the danger, and their desperate 3 day, 250 mile ride to a rescue which as we know never happened. Lloyd Bridges is Captain Philip Donlin; in the beginning of the film, Donlin's wife Celie (Marie Windsor, looking more like Joan Crawford than ever) has had it with him always being away, and is about to take off with Lieutenant John Haywood (John Ireland) who is leaving the army. But fate intervenes and Donlin catches them...though he does nothing. Weeks later, his patrol and Haywood's meet up, and he commands the junior officer to ride with him to Custer's rescue. Thus the tension between the two men, which plays out over the course of the film, is set in motion.

The funny thing is that though this rivalry is pretty well played, and never really overdone, it isn't really necessary; it acts mostly as a plot device to show the contrasting approaches to leadership between Donlin - willing to sacrifice his whole squad if it will give Custer's 300 any chance - and Haywood, who feels it's a fool's errand. The affair seems a little forced and not really needed; but it also doesn't really get in the way of the real juice of the story, which is the interrelationships between the two officers and their 15 men, most of whom are developed quite well over the course of the tight 85 minutes. Grierson (Reed Hadley) is probably the most interesting, a bitter career officer demoted and serving under younger men, but unwilling to ever completely give up. There's an Indian scout, Arika, played by Native American actor Rodd Redwing, suspected by many of the soldiers but proving his worth before it's all over. Every character is quickly and broadly, yet fairly realistically drawn, and though there are the expected plot developments - attempted mutinies and desertions, the slow whittling of the force - it all plays out naturally at a steadily increasing tension.

This is labelled as "western noir", but though it is more "noirish" than usual in a western I suppose - the lighting in particular is very high-contrast and there are a lot of night scenes, and an aura of fatalism hangs over the whole endeavor - on the whole this is closer to a grim war film than anything else, played out in a western setting. The Sioux could easily be the Germans; their savagery isn't really played up, race doesn't come into it all that much - they are merely the enemy to be won through. In fact the film at times bears a passing resemblance to some of Sam Fuller's tough, cheap, hard war films, and I can't say I was too surprised to find that the expert photography here was accomplished by Ernest Miller, the cinematographer on Fuller's THE STEEL HELMET from the same year.

A few weak fight sequences - clearly the budget didn't allow for a lot of time spent on perfect choreography - and a bit too much repetition of the whole "few for the many" speech in its various guises - but on the whole this is really solid stuff and among the better westerns of this type I've seen lately.

RIMFIRE (1949, directed by B. Reeves Eason)

Like the previous film, this is a nice transfer that looks and sounds great; it's "noir" interest is fairly minimal; but it's somewhat interesting to b-western aficionados, particularly those into the more oddball stuff. Alas this one isn't really that good when it comes down to it.

A stagecoach is held up a few miles outside of Stringtown. Among the passengers is the Abilene Kid (Reed Hadley), who loses his watch and a wallet to the bandits before the coach is rescued by stranger Tom Harvey (James Millican). Accompanying the coach into town, Harvey makes the acquaintance of Polly (Mary Beth Hughes), the niece of Sheriff Jordan (Victor Kilian), who offers Harvey a job and soon finds out that the young man is no ordinary stranger, and is on a special mission.

Meanwhile the Kid finds town rich guy/saloon owner Barney Bernard (Ray Bennett) who he knows is actually behind the holdup. Threatening to expose Bernard, the Kid gets his money back and decides to play some poker and increase his bankroll. But Bernard has other ideas, and soon the Kid is fighting for his life in a courtroom, accused of using marked cards to cheat at the game. Nearly the whole town is against him, with a newspaperman making cynical pronouncements as he's sentenced to death. But the Kid won't go quiteley to his grave...or will he?

The second half of the film becomes something of a murder mystery as one by one those who voted to hang the Kid or were complicit in his arrest are killed and playing cards left with them. But deputy Harvey doesn't believe in the supernatural, ghostly explanation that is scaring the townspeople and pushing some to leave, and sets out to find the real perp - which he does in a terribly anticlimactic and stupid final reel that takes this fairly solid programmer into laughable territory. During the whole trial and hanging sequence, it seemed like the film was going into an interesting territory in examing the railroading of a man, the guilty-until-innocent nature of frontier justice, perhaps something on the nature of the gambler in the west. But no, we get an out-of-nowhere climax and a stupid conclusion marked by a couple of dumb humorous bits from a pair of comics (Fuzzy Knight and Chris-Pin Martin) who appear a couple of other times in the film for no good reason other than to bring down the seriousness.

Hadley is good, doing something of a John Carradine role, and Millican has a bit of charisma; the rest of the actors are mostly broad character types, a bit too broad for the fast-paced action story that most of the film is supposed to be. I've got no problems with the direction, by old pro "Breezy" Eason, mostly remembered for his work on Republic serials. It's the script, in the second half, that's the real problem. All in all it's cheap, forgettable and fairly dumb, but it's also only an hour of your time to waste.

This VCI release includes their typical extras of trailers for the two films and a few other westerns they've released, and short bios. As I said above, the transfers are good, and I think most western buffs will feel this is worth it for LITTLE BIG HORN; some might like the corny RIMFIRE more than I did, too.

Two previous reviewers say it all, and I would be only repeating what they say if I attempted to provide more detail...needless to say, VCI's release of these two "Western Film Noirs" is very welcomed indeed. And I second the suggestion that the film HELLGATE be considered for release...it is an engrossing film. As to the present two, they are some of the finer work released by Lippert. The quality of the prints is very good. This is a highly desirable release. Our thanks again to VCI....let us hope there is a "Western Film Noirs" volume II!!

this is a excellent dvd little big horn i looked this dvd for a long time thanks amazon. i will buy from this again. thank you.

LITTLE BIG HORN was the nice find here among these two obscure B Westerns. About a calvary patrol racing to Little Big Horn to warn Custer and the 7th cavalry that they'll be walking into an unbeatable number of Sioux. Soapy subplot of patrol leader, played by Lloyd Bridges [in the iconic HIGH NOON the following year], about to lose unfaithful spouse, played by always-turbulent noir femme fatale Marie Windsor [terrific in Kubrick's THE KILLING, 1956] to a fellow officer played by vet John Ireland [RED RIVER, 1948; SPARTACUS, 1960]. The film gets off to an inauspicious start as Bridges looks in need of a cathartic after walking in on his wife and colleague. It seems Army life is not to her liking and Ireland is awaiting approval of his resignation from the Army so that they could return back East together. Commanding officer Bridges, though, has the advantage as he orders his rival to become part of his tired and depleted patrol in their arduous trek 250 miles through Sioux country to warn Custer on time. Ireland, however, believes the journey is foolish and likely to get most, if not all, of Bridge's men killed, including Ireland himself---pretty convenient. Bridges insists he needs a second-in-command to complete the mission should he go down at enemy hands.

This now becomes an interesting film though its low-budget B-origins are evident throughout in cursory, choppy shots and editing, much studio filming [often felt like I was watching a Western TV series than a movie] and some occasionally stoic Indians. Very engaging array of respected veteran actors comprising part of the patrol including Jim Davis [Jock Ewing in the long-running and classic DALLAS TV Series], Reed Hadley [RACKET SQUAD TV Series], Hugh O'brian [THE SHOOTIST, 1976], King Donovan [INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, 1956] and country singer/actor Sheb Wooley [HIGH NOON, 1952]. Davis is a petulant, trail-beaten vet who sides with Bridges. Hadley, with that been-through-this-before face, plays the grizzled no-family/nowhere-to-go lifer who's the third in command. O'brian and Wooley play courageous scouts---O'brian younger and self-assured and Wooley older and wiser. Donovan is the ugly-duckling soldier who's been waiting for his lonely-hearts 'mail-order' bride to arrive at the local Fort. Nice interaction between the vets and the first-timers, including an 18-year old sick to his stomach at the prospect of the dangers ahead.

Dissension ensues as soldiers are killed and Bridges' motives are questioned. He follows the Army's credo to sacrifice a few to save many. Thus, the translocation is based on the use of the pointman [the lead rider who goes ahead and gives the OK for the rest to follow], a role best avoided as every 'point' has been killed or injured. Nice scenario as the boys draw cards to see who gets to be the next pointman. A neophyte draws the decisive card but seasoned scout O'brian decides to take his place. Unfortunately, O'brian, like the other scout [Wooley], is injured and killed. The group subsequently encounters a wagon train that has been attacked and plundered---heartrending scene as Donovan's lonely-hearts bride-to-be is found sitting in her wagon, expired. The patrol is quickly ambushed and Bridges mortally wounded. Ireland now has to decide whether to take the depleted unit and consummate Bridges' mission---now most certainly a suicidal endeavor---or return home. See what they decide yourself. Brooding study of American military commitment, conviction, courage, comraderie and duty, and the fears, doubts and prejudices they must also battle. Rating: 4.2/5

RIMFIRE is a contrived, clumsy little B-Western and a lesser effort than the overachieving LITTLE BIG HORN. About a cowpoke falsely accused of cheating in a poker game. He is put on trial and sentenced to hang by the worst Judge ever. After the hanging his accusers get murdered one after the other, presumably by the victim's vindictive ghost. Novel plot and who-dun-it guesswork a plus but some buffoonery by a couple of cowboy comics unnecessary and annoying. Most interesting is a few veteran pro's they procured for this obscure film. Fun seeing Glenn Strange, who played Frankenstein [HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, 1944; HOUSE OF DRACULA, 1945; ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, 1948] and who was the bartender in the classic TV series GUNSMOKE, 1955-1975 [always thought he was a trifle creepier than Karloff as the monster], playing a stagecoach driver. James Millican [who can forget his irritatingly cogent performance as the Sheriff who wants James Stewart to leave town in, THE MAN FROM LARAMIE, 1955, and his gutless exit as Gary Cooper's deputy in HIGH NOON] plays the good guy here but appears uncomfortable in a rare lead role. Also a pleasure seeing the great Henry Hull [Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT, 1944] stirring things up a bit, as usual. Reed Hadley returns here too. Rating: 3/5.

A movie which captures the essence of what went on behing the scenes leading up too the devasting defeat of Custer at The Battle of The Little Bighorn. The movie contains several young actors who went on too have great careers in television & movies. It is a very suspensfull movie for its time