Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Autry to the Rescue, January 8, 2005
This movie uses the name of McQuarrie(actor Jim Davis) as the guerilla raider who leads a gang of deserters as they raid and loot army caravans and towns. They marauder and destroy these towns and murder the people who resist. Scouts for the overland stage Gene Autry and side kick Pat Buttram are called into to stop the looting and killing. This movie also stars Bob Steele and Gail Davis who assist in the effort. Steele at first is deceived by McQuarrie but ends up being the hero in the end when he finds out how wrong he was. Good look into the past history, one of Mr. Autry's more informative and historial westerns. 5 stars for the history buffs like myself!!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
"Gene Autry B-Western Series ... Silver Canyon (1951) ... Image Ent. (2004)", September 18, 2007
Columbia Pictures present "SILVER CANYON" (Released: 20 June 1951) (70 mins/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- relive those thrilling days when the "First Singing Cowboy" Gene Autry took us down the dusty trails with hard riding and straight shooting hitting the bull's eye with excitement every time --- the Gene Autry series of B-Westerns were a staple of Saturday matinees in the 1930s and 1940s --- The Following Segments are from the "Melody Ranch Theater", which originally aired on the Nashville Network in 1987 --- Hosted by Gene and longtime sidekick Pat Buttram the program showcased many of Gene's classic motion pictures and featured personal anecdotes about how the films were made --- Information on costars and significant happenings in Gene's personal life and career. --- don't miss any of the Singing Cowboy's features loaded with action and songs that will leave you wanting more of Gene Autry's B-Western Adventures --- The sale of this DVD will further the educational and cultural mission of the renowned "Autry National Center in Los Angeles".
Under Jon English (Director), Armand Schaefer (Producer), Gerald Geraghty (Screenwriter), Alan James (Short Story Author), William Bradford (Cinematographer), Mischa Bakaleinikoff (Musical Direction/Supervision), James Sweeney (Editor), Charles Clague (Production Designer), George Cooper (Sound/Sound Designer) - - - - - our story line and plot, set in the aftermath of the Civil War --- and runs into a passell of trouble as Gene is sent out to corral a Confederate gorillas --- The long standing cowboy star Bob Steele has a great role here as a secret supporter of the out of control grill forces --- Gene to find the gorilla raider McQuarrie (Jim Davis) who is raiding Union supply trains --- When McQuarrie and his men pose as Union soldiers, Gene is quickly on to them and tries to warn the Commanding Officer --- But McQuarrie gets Gene and Pat Buttram thrown into jail, kills the Commander, and loots the town --- Walt secretly supports McQuarries's actions but finally sees the right of things when his sister (Gail Davis) and Gene are captured by McQuarrie --- Together they put an end to the Guerrillas plundering --- Gail Davis was a regular in his films, always turning in a great performance --- Silver Canyon is a pure western which caused many critics to hail Gene's Columbia's of the '50s as one of the best B-Western series ever made --- Gene was singing less songs per film, stressing action instead --- special footnote, great supporting cast with Jim Davis who was in dozens of westerns from the '40s through the '60s including his own series "Stories of the Century" and found his greatest fame late in life as Jock Ewing on the CBS nighttime soap opera "Dallas" in the late '70s --- another footnote, Bob Steele had been one of the top B-Western cowboy heroes since the late '20s turning out series after series of top notch action oaters - - - - some wonderful tunes, RIDIN' DOWN THE CANYON (Studio Singers), RIDIN' DOWN THE CANYON (Gene Autry), FORT WORTH JAIL (Gene Autry), RIDIN' DOWN THE CANYON (Gene Autry and Studio Singers) - - - - some Autry fun facts, Gene always preferred his sponsor's product, Wrigley's Doublemint Gum, to smoking.
the cast includes
Gene Autry ... Gene
Champion ... Champion, the World's Wonder Horse
Gail Davis ... Dell Middler
Jim Davis ... Wade McQuarrie
Bob Steele ... Walt Middler
Edgar Dearing ... Colonel Middler
Richard Alexander ... Henchman Luke
Terry Frost ... Henchman Wyatt
Peter Mamakos ... Laughing Jack
Pat Buttram ... Pat
Stanley Andrews ... Major Weatherly
Stanley Blystone ... Soldier
Eugene Borden ... Gus Poppalardo
Bobby Clack ... Cowhand
Steve Clark ... Dr. Seddon
Kenne Duncan ... Corporal
Paul Frees ... Narrator
Frankie Marvin ... Telegrapher
John Merton ... Blacksmith
Pat O'Malley ... Pony Express Agent Joe
Jack O'Shea ... Soldier
Eddie Parker ... Mitchell
Sandy Sanders ... Pony Express rider
Boyd Stockman ... Stage driver Sam
Martin Wilkins ... Announces lynching
Bob Woodward ... Wagon driver
Duke York ... Recruiting Sergeant
BIOS:
1. Gene Autry
Date of Birth: 29 September 1907 - Near Tioga, Texas
Date of Death: 2 October 1998 - Studio City, Los Angeles, California
Special footnote, Orvon Gene Autry was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television --- Discovered by film producer Nat Levine in 1934, he and Burnette made their film debut for Mascot Pictures Corp. "In Old Santa Fe" as part of a singing cowboy quartet; he was then given the starring role by Levine in 1935 in the 12-part serial "The Phantom Empire" --- Shortly thereafter, Mascot was absorbed by the formation of Republic Pictures Corp. and Autry went along to make a further 44 films up to 1940, all B westerns in which he played under his own name, rode his horse Champion, had Burnette as his regular sidekick and had many opportunities to sing in each film --- Autry became the top Western star at the box-office by 1937, reaching his national peak of popularity from 1940 to 1942. His Gene Autry Flying "A" Ranch Rodeo show debuted in 1940 --- Gene Autry is the only celebrity to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one in each of the five categories maintained by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce --- Radio, Films, Recordings, Television and Live Theater.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Reminiscing with Gene Autry and Pat Buttram at the "Melody Ranch Theater"
2. "Don't Touch That Dial", Gene Autry is on the air - excerpts from the Original "Melody Ranch Radio Show"
3. Production and Publicity Stills
4. Horseplay
5. Poster and lobby Card Art
6. Trivia and Movie Facts
7. Original Press Kit Material
Check out a new book from Empire Publishing - "GENE AUTRY WESTERNS" (Hardcover) - by author Boyd Magers, like no other book on Gene Autry --- all of Gene's Mascot, Republic and Columbia westerns included, as well as his half-hour TV Episodes --- each segment contains the release date on each film ... major production credits ... complete cast (including character played) ... all songs included, songwriter and who performed them in the film ... running time of each film ... dates of the filming ... bios on the cast and major players (Smiley, Pat Buttram, Cass County Boys, Herbert J. Yates, directors, leading ladies, songwriters and various heavies, etc.) ... locations that were used ... budgets and negative cost ... stunt people involved ... analysis and synopsis on each film ... notes and comments (including film and cast background info, salaries paid, working titles, etc) ... comments from Gene and many other cast members on each film ... theater exhibitors comments at the time of the films release ...this tribute was written from the heart and it shows.
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) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for 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 Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with musical songs and adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Image Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns --- all my heroes have been cowboys!
Total Time: 70 min on DVD ~ Image Entertainment ~ (9/14/2004)
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