Customer Reviews

Zane Grey Theatre Complete Season One

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember seeing this show in syndication years ago as a child and teenager, and I had no idea Mr. Powell had had such a diverse career. Starting out as a crooner in Busby Berkeley musicals in the 1930's, evolving into a star in film noir, and then transitioning to television in a number of shows including this one from the golden age of TV westerns in the 1950's. He was in good company with other stars such as Robert Montgomery, who hosted his own first-rate TV show in the 1950's.

This show is not really a series. Instead it was in the mold of the weekly playhouse kind of show that was so popular in the 1950's. Each episode stood alone and featured different stars each week, some being quite popular figures from the silver screen. The show first used material from Zane Grey, but as time passed material had to come from elsewhere as well. The following is a listing of the episodes of that first season as well as the stars that were featured.

1.01 - You Only Run Once - Robert Ryan, Cloris Leachman
1.02 - Fearful Courage - James Whitmore, Ida Lupino
1.03 - The Long Road Home - Mr. Powell, Ray Collins
1.04 - The Unrelenting Sky - Lew Ayres, Phyllis Avery
1.05 - The Lariat - Jack Palance, Constance Ford
1.06 - Death Watch - Lee J. Cobb, Bobby Driscoll
1.07 - Stage for Tucson - Eddie Albert, Mona Freeman
1.08 - Quiet Sunday in San Ardo - Wendell Corey, Gerald Mohr
1.09 - Vengeance Canyon - Walter Brennan, Ben Cooper
1.10 - Return to Nowhere - John Ireland, Steven McNally
1.11 - Courage is a Gun - Mr. Powell, Beverly Garland
1.12 - Muletown Gold Strike - Rory Calhoun, Barbara Eiler
1.13 - Stars over Texas - Ralph Bellamy, Gloria Talbott, James Garner
1.14 - Three Graves - Jack Lemmon, Nan Leslie
1.15 - No Man Living - Frank Lovejoy, Margaret Hayes
1.16 - Time of Decision - Lloyd Bridges, Diane Brewster
1.17 - Until the Man Dies - Stuart Whitman, John Payne
1.18 - Backtrail - Mr. Powell, Catherine McLeod
1.19 - Dangerous Orders - Jack Elam, Mark Stevens
1.20 - The Necessary Breed - Sterling Hayden, Jean Willes
1.21 - The Hanging Tree - Robert Ryan, Cloris Leachman
1.22 - Village of Fear - David Niven, George D. Wallace
1.23 - Black Creek Encounter- Ernest Borgnine, Jan Merlin
1.24 - There Were Four - John Derek, Dean Jagger
1.25 - Fugitive - Eddie Albert, Celeste Holm
1.26 - A Time To Live - Ralph Meeker, Julie London
1.27 - Black is for Grief - Mary Astor, Beulah Bondi, Chester Morris
1.28 - Badge of Honor - Gary Merrill, Tom Tully, Robert Culp
1.29 - Decision at Wilson's Creek - John Forsythe, John Dehner
1.30 - Man on the Run - Scott Brady, Nancy Hale

Each episode is 30 minutes in length and features such diverse talent as James Garner at the beginning of his career and Chester Morris near the end of his career. Mr. Powell stars in three of the thirty episodes. VCI, though not widely known, has taken part in some quality restorations before, so I am hoping these great western dramas will be carefully restored.

Just completed watching this new release of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre! And happy to say that all the shows where very enjoyable! The other two reviewers pretty much cover this set so I can't add much to what they've already stated! Expect to say, that I liked the fact that every episode has a new star or stars so "every week" the show was completly new. And I like the introduction by Dick Powell at the beginning of every episode; it added a nice touch and gives some back ground info on western history beofre the show starts!

Lastly, the DVD's transfers and restoration process is very good for film from the fifties! Bring on season two!!

PS> Its the whole season one! Not season 1, vol. #1 followed by vol 2 and 3 as some businessmen have packaged other products trying to squeeze every buck out of the buying public!

In the early days of television way back when in the 1950's
and 1960's the most successful shows, were not cop or sci-fi shows,
it was the almighty western. Of course by today's viewers standards
they are all but gone, no where to be found.

So is it any wonder that our friendly VCI Entertainment has looked into
their crystal ball and come up with another gem releasing "Dick Powell's
Zane Grey Theater: Season One". Master storyteller and author Zane Grey
was one of the famous writers of western novels for the longest time.
That being the case, the books of Zane Grey were an obvious choice for a
great satire of wonderful stories from the early days in America.

Powell served as a sort of western Rod Serling hosting the show
which featured a new western adventure each week. At times would also
star in the episodes. The show at first only did Zane Grey stories but
eventually did other stories as well.

Zane Grey Theater was created by Luke Short and Charles A. Wallace. The
series was originally based on the short stories and novels of Western
author Zane Grey, but as the episodes continued, new material was
included. Aaron Spelling, who later became a legend in Hollywood, wrote
twenty Zane Grey episodes. The program opened with a prelude of the
episode followed by the introduction, the firing of a gun, with the
proclamation: "From out of the West, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater".

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Episode Selection
2. Video Interview with Norman Powell (Dick Powell's son) by Joel Blumberg
3. Audio Interview on the history of Four Star Productions with author Christine Becker by Joel Blumberg
4. Classic TV Commercials

Hats off and thanks to Robert Blair and his staff at VCI Entertainment --- VCI was named in Variety and Hollywood Reporter as the first company to produce and release motion pictures directly to the home marketplace --- order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- VCI are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector -- looking forward to more Nostalgic Collections --- please stand up and take a bow for film and TV Western Classics --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 870 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video 8525 ~ (06/09/2009)

Length:: 1:31 Mins

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater actually uses some of Zane Grey's great western short novels as a basis for some of it's teleplays. But most of the episodes are freshly written and directed by great creative hollywood minds of the 1950's. My video is meant to give you a taste for how the series looks and feels and show the titles of the various episodes. The suave humorous Dick Powell introduces each episode in person with a backdrop that allows him to demonstrate a key point about the upcoming drama. For example, in the opener called "You Only Run Once" ( I love that title..) Powell holds an old wooden ballot box and talks about some of the methods by which votes were taken in the pioneering days of the west. The story itself is about a man accused of being an accomplice to murder and his life literally "hangs" in the balance based on a vote from a gathered lynch mob. It is remarkable how the stories in this series hold up excellently by today's standards. For example, in "Fearful Courage" a woman's husband is murdered by his boss over a dispute about payment for work, and a hired killer is sent out to make sure his wife is dead too. Nasty stuff. The show is not timid at all about the adult nature of the subject matter it presents. The woman gets advance notice from a neighbor that the killer is coming and she makes a desperate run for it. The killer spots her trying to flee and chases her down, but she manages to take cover in a small cabin in the woods where she intrudes upon a young James Whitmore ( won an emmy for his appearnce in "The Practice" ), who ultimately decides to try to help her as the killer holds them pinned down. The episodes are serious, tense, drama that does an excellent job of telling a complete story in under 30 minutes. Each story is different, each one unique. The only thread that links all the stories in the series is Dick Powell's opening introduction to each one. The episodes could each stand alone as great pieces of entertainment. Some of Hollywood's most famous stars of the past show up in the series. People you are probably familiar with. Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, DeForest Kelly ( yes..., the actor who played Dr. McCoy from Star Trek...), James Garner, Jack Lemmon, Ernest Borgnine, Lloyd Bridges, and a lot of others. It's amazing how many rising stars performed in this series. The disks themselves worked perfectly and came in a compact, easy to store case with four DVD's. I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves great acting and great drama and would like to see the early work of some of the hollywood's legendary actors.

- Mike S.

Matt Dillon, Doc, Chester, Kitty, 30 minute western TV doesn't get much better than early episodes of Gunsmoke. Except Zane Grey theater actually does. A different star is in the lead role every show, and the list for western fans is mind boggling; Jack Palance, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Robert Vaughn, Lloyd Bridges, Sterling Hayden, Claude Akins, the list goes on and on. Many of these stars also appeared in Gunsmoke episodes (and numerous other TV westerns), but in Zane Grey theater they act in an unmistakable lead role. These 31 episodes are gritty TV adult westerns. Gunfighters, gamblers, femme fatales, men with a conscience, men without a conscience, it's all here with great writing and direction. Cool introductions to each episode by Dick Powell, fantastic packaging, liner notes, picture and sound. Buy it, support it, and lets hope they release seasons 2 thru 5 soon. Yep, better than Gunsmoke.

Dick Powell made quite a career for himself in television after a long and remarkable career in motion pictures. His business mind and friendly personality made him an excellent producer-director, and he worked with some of the best talents of the era. This is the first complete season of his Zane Grey theatre, a series he felt strongly about. It incorporates his love for anthologies and his appreciation for author Zane Grey.

There are many stories presented, too many to get into, but the series does an excellent job of capturing the old west and the values of an era gone by. Guests included Powell himself, Cloris Leachman, Ida Lupino, Jack Lemmon, Wendell Corey, Carolyn Jones, David Niven, Ernest Borgnine, Beulah Bondi, and many others.

Thankfully, VCI has gone through pains not only to restore the image quality of the series, but also to find the most complete openers to each episode. Powell introduced each episode with short stories or lessons about the old west, and many were cut during re-runs to omit mention of previous sponsors. In some cases, the originals were unable to be found, but in many, the complete introduction is presented. On top of that, we get to feast on vintage commercials and an excellent interview with Dick's son Norman Powell. The interviewer cuts Norman off a few times and occasionally abruptly changes the subject, but Norman seems a willing and knowledgable interviewee.

If you are a fan of Zane Grey, classic television, or Dick Powell, you will love this set.

This is not so much a review as it is a request . DICK POWELL'S ZANE GREY THEATRE was not just a great series...it also produced several pilot episodes for subsequent T.V. series produced by his production company,FOUR STAR PRODUCTIONS.One such pilot was included in this first season, "BADGE OF HONOR".
This episode served as the pilot for the powerful CBS western series, TRACKDOWN...which starred the late great ROBERT CULP.
This series lasted 70 episodes in the late 50's, and actually served as the pilot for the successful STEVE McQUEEN series, "WANTED:DEAD OR ALIVE".
But, unlike that,and many other FOUR STAR series,that have been released on DVD,including THE RIFLEMAN, BURKES LAW, HONEY WEST, and others, Robert Culp's TRACKDOWN has not,although several episodes were shown on TV LAND in the early 2000's

In the light of Mr Culp's recent passing , please consider this a request to put TRACKDOWN on DVD, as well as another successful FOUR STAR T.V. series, THE DETECTIVES Starring ROBERT TAYLOR.
BOTH series are long overdue for DVD release.

I was born in 1952 and have a slight memory of Dick Powell hosting a TV show but cannot remember any of these programs. Watching the Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre series is all new to me. I received my set on Friday and have watched 2 of the 4 DVD's of Zane Grey Theatre Complete Season One. I have really enjoyed viewing this series and will hate when I have seen the last episode. I WANT MORE! The writing and acting is outstanding. I have a new respect for character actors. The series is QUALITY and the acting is EXCELLENT. I do not watch any new drama or comedy series that are currently on televison. The programs just do not compare to the old ones (50's and 60's). I want the other seasons made available for purchase soon!

There are many western movies and former TV series on the market (and I have purchased many of them), but I was almost estatic when I was able to located and purchase an entire season of Zane Grey Theatre, one of my most cherished childhood ('50s) TV series. Wow, what memories!!! I was very surprised by the quality of the audio/video. The sound and picture quality were just as clear and crisp today as it was over 50 yrs. ago. I have proudly shared my find with my brother and several childhood buddies. The audio intro, "From out of the West"!!! brings back pleasant memories of those innocent teenage years. Thanks, Amozon.com.

I am an avid fan of almost all western movies, especially to older ones. This selection of tv westerns certainly fits in this category. Similar fans should love these shows.