Description

Rustlers' Valley (61 min.) - One of Hoppy's best friends is the main suspect in a bank robbery and, despite his innocence, is hunted down by a sheriff's posse. Determined to find the true perpetrator of the crime, Hoppy deals with some tough hombres in Rustlers' Valley to clear an innocent man's name and expose the villains. "Texas Trail" (60 min.) - The U.S. Army calls upon Hoppy to collect badly-needed cavalry horses, though a crooked ranch owner and his gang have thwarted previous attempts. In a diabolical set-up, Hoppy is arrested for stealing the rancher's herd, yet manages to devise a plan to stampede the horses onto the Texas Trail and capture the gang! ... Read more

Description

Trail Dust (1936, 77 min.) - Hoppy, mindful of the famine threatening the country, persuades other ranchers to combine their herds and offer them at a fair price to a relief committee sent to buy cattle to feed a starving population. Cassidy leads a collective cattle drive, but greedy profiteers set out to sabotage his efforts, and they'll kill any man brave enough to stand in their way. "Borderland" (1937, 82 min.) - A mysterious bandit, known as The Fox, has been leading raids on both sides of the Mexican border and Hoppy is asked by the United States and Mexican officials to penetrate the criminal's operations by posing as a bandit himself. Hoppy pretends to be evil, and even does bad things to his sidekicks in order to accomplish his objective. Later joining the Fox's gang, Hoppy is able to blow their cover, reveal the Fox's identity and, although badly wounded, capture him at gunpoint. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

"Hoppy is here to stay"
William Lawrence Boyd, known as Hop-A-Long Cassidy never wears any outfit except his charactertistic black shirt, trousers, boots and Stetson...Hoppy rode, grinned and fought his way into our hearts on the silver screen and then right into our living rooms with a new inventions called...Television!

"Trail Dust", Hoppy and the Bar-20 outfit (Johnny Nelson & Windy Halliday) want to combine herds to feed a starving country...but rustlers and greedy cowhands try to steal and give the Bar-20 a run for their money...but who should your money be on to see who comes out on top, never fear Hoppy's here.

"Borderland", this time Cassidy goes undercover to catch a bandit known as "The Fox", plenty of action and hard-riding ahead for Hoppy and his faithful steed Topper!

Outstanding direction by Nate Watt...and as always George "Gabby" Hayes (Windy Halliday), backing Hoppy's play whenever trouble enters the picture...it's plain to see...Hoppy Is Here To Stay!

Total Time: 76 Mins (Trail Dust-1936)
Total Time: 82 Mins (Borderland-1937)

"Hoppy is here to stay"
William Lawrence Boyd, better known as Hop-A-Long Cassidy never wears any outfit except his charactertistic black shirt, trousers, boots and Stetson...Hoppy rode, fought and grinned his way into our hearts on the silver screen, and then into our living rooms on the small tube.

Hoppy and his trail buddies ~ Johnny Nelson (Jimmy Ellison) always hot tempered and ready for action before it gets here...Windy Halliday (George "Gabby" Hayes), with "Those Persnickordy Women"...and "Women are Pure Poyzen"...my favorite saying has to be "You're Dern Tootin'", Hayes was the comedy sidekick who always knew the answer before the question, taught Hoppy everything from gunplay to hardriding, many times stole scenes right from under the entire cast.

Always filmed in the natural setting of Lone Pine, California that was a plus for westerns at that time...Boyd became very skilled as a horsemen, his acting and eye contact was never surpassed when coming across clues or realizing the guilty party...this was due to his days on the silent screen.

This had to be the best western series around during the '30s, strong performances by Boyd, Hayes and Ellison...with producer Harry "Pop" Sherman at the helm, behind the scenes with quality the uppermost in mind for Paramount Pictures...the Bar-20 gang with Windy Halliday (George "Gabby" Hayes) backing Hoppy's play whenever trouble enters the picture...when good guys wore black, rode a white horse and assured all his fans ~ HOPPY IS HERE TO STAY!

Total Time: 76 Mins (Trail Dust-1936)
Total Time: 82 Mins (Borderland-1937) ... Read more

Description

The early years of western film hero Hopalong Cassidy are captured in this rootin', tootin', six-gun shootin' classic double feature! The first film in this series, "Hopalong Cassidy" (60 min.), finds Bill and the cowboys of the Bar 20 up in arms against the cowhands of a neighboring ranch over some missing cattle that could ignite a range war. In "Bar 20 Rides Again" (63 min.), Hopalong and the boys find themselves pitted against a nefarious, land-grubbing outlaw who has set his sights on a girl and will stop at nothing to make her his own, even if it means killing one of the Bar 20 boys. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Refurbished to Perfection
The old Lone Star(Poverty Row)films by the young John Wayne were difficult to watch as they all seem to be staid versions of the other B westerns. But UAV has improved on these films by an almost total overhaul of the features. The films were edited down to 20 or so minutes to make the stories tighter and more taut. Thus the "lagging" portions were eliminated. The applied colorization is top notch as the colors are brilliant and lifelike. The renditions doesn't have the effect of the old colorized versions. The sound has improved especially with the presence of background music and better sound effcts (gunfire doesn't flat). Thus, the revided edition no longer has the feel of a poverty row production but a top notch B western. Now, even the youthful John Wayne's looks as if he can really act! Congratulations to all those involved in the project. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good fun
Videohound, which I usually trust, gives Gene Autry's movies low ratings. I'm sorry if they're not "sophisticated" enough for them. They're missing out. Gene and Smiley transport a British kid to his felon father. Along the way they run into cuties June Storey and Mary Lee. June Storey is beautiful as always and plays one feisty character. This was the first movie I've ever seen Mary in and I was captivated by her. She has such a beautiful voice. The only bad element in this flick was the kid actor. He got on my nerves quick. The song which Smiley and Gene share is so catchy. I played it three times.

Modern Day Western
Gaucho Serenade is one of the sometime typically unusual Autry westerns by the fact that when you see Autry for the first time he is riding in a car pulling a horse trail. This one is comedy at it's best with Smiley Burnette, Mary Lee and June Storey as his sidekicks. From cars running into rivers, to catching a speeding locamotive with his trusty horse Champion. For those who have never seen this movie be aware that Autry did do most of his own stunt work and fight scenes. It really is Autry climbing on board this locamotive with Champion fearlessly running beside him. If you purchase this movie you will see American Favorite Cowboy and Hero help a small boy find his father, clear his father who was framed and take down a crooked cattle buyers conglomerate and then as usual gets the girl in the process. This is a FIVE star movie. Buy It! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Above Average Oater...
Johnny Mack Brown plays Billy Donovan, an ammunition salesman and trick shooter (and he-man hero) who stumbles on the mystery of the "Desert Phantom". The Phantom is intent on driving Jean Halloran and her stepfather off their ranch, and has killed all of the ranch hands, cattle, and relatives who offer Jean support. Among the suspects is the evil Salizar and his gang, and as it turns out, Donovan has an old score to settle with him.

There are many low-budget westerns that were made in the 1930's, and most look pretty dry today. But "Desert Phantom" (1936) has a few things going for it that keep the movie from lacking all interest.

First, the mystery surrounding the "Phantom" is handled pretty well, and although you know he will be revealed as a cast member, his identity remains almost a mystery right up to the end. Only the most passing of cliche hints is offered to the audience early on.

Ted Adams's Salizar is suitably menacing, although the character degenerates into a bit of silliness when he decides to marry Jean (given the nature of Donovan's grudge, this element does not seem all that plausible). Also on hand is Nelson McDowell in a fine comedic turn as "Doc" Simpson, the town horse doctor.

The print used by Alpha Video is clearly from an inferior video source, with some serious kerning and other video errors. But for the price, and to have one of these old films to screen, one can probably not argue too much.

A remake of 1932's "Night Rider". ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An early John Wayne western with Yakima Canutt's stunts
"Sagebrush Trail" is the second Lone Star Western that John Wayne did for the poverty row studio between 1933-35, although this time around he is not a singing cowboy. Directed by Armand Schaefer, this 1933 film has Wayne as John Brant, who is in prison for a murder he did not commit, which was a recurring notion in these westerns. Brant escapes and takes the alias John Smith, which is certain to fool everyone, and joins an outlaw gang. There, of course, he finds Joseph Conlon (Lane Chandler), who is not only the dirty scoundrel who actually committed the murder but who has also taken the alias of Bob Jones. Yes, that means that what we have here are the original "Alias Smith and Jones."

Actually, "Sagebrush Trail" takes an interesting turn here because Jones does not know that anyone was ever sent to prison for the crime he committed, which makes it hard for our hero to gun him down or even beat him up. Instead the two men become friends as our hero lets bygones by bygones. However, Fate is not done with these two because it turns out they both fall for the same shop girl, Sally Blake (Nancy Shubert). Besides, "Jones" is starting to suspect that "Smith" is not a real outlaw.

That should be enough to tell you how "Sagebrush Trail" plays out, but at least Lindsley Parsons's screenplay had the one twist on the obvious story, which makes it a notch above average. As is usually the case with these Lone Star Westerns the chief attraction ends up being the stunt work of the legendary Yakima Canutt, who actually plays the leader of the outlaw gang. Canutt does an excellent horse fall into a river, drives a team of horses like a chariot, and manages to get up on a stagecoach while starting flat on his back.

A funny, action-packed western
This John Wayne show is where John Wayne is going to be arrested because of a murder he didn't commit. So he impersonates a gang of outlaws and makes friends with the gang, and the leader, who is the murderer, is the man that really likes John Wayne. Well, I'm not telling you any more except that this was a totally fun movie. I was really cold when I watched this movie, but the action really warmed me up. I recommend this to any John Wayne fan, wether you're a big fan or not. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The horses are still the stars
Please realize that these b-westerns were made in the 1930's to be weekly entertainment. We didn't have TV's and the movie was king. However, times have changed. Is this movie still worth watching? Yes.

The Star Packer has one plot gimmick-a hollow tree trunk in the middle of a road in a western town. Once you accept the tree trunk, the movie is actually a decent movie. The story doe not bog down and keeps moving. A westrern has to have some good horse riding in it, and there are some good western action scenes which includes a couple of horse chase scenes. If you like this movie, you might like another early Wayne movie titled "Desert Trail."

Just click on the photo.
The 4 John Wayne films listed on this DVD are "riders of destiny,starpacker,sagebrush trail and man fom Utah".It is just his 1930s b-grade films and not really worth buying.

Wondering
Which films are included in this 2-pack?

A typical old western with a formulaic plot.
I found these movies to be extremely formulaic. The plot wasn't all that bad though and seemed to at least move. The most disappointing factor of all is that it's on DVD and the sound is terrible. You can't understand half of what they say. It sounds like they recorded off of a bad speaker that keeps popping. At one point the film even scrolls. Disappointing use of media, okay plot, excellent for camp value. ... Read more