Reviews (2)

Worthwhile just to enjoy seeing the legendary Tom Mix
Tom Mix is probably the best known of the early western heroes. Besides his roles, he's also credited for being an early mentor for a hopeful young actor by the name of John Wayne.

This Mascot serial was made at the end of Tom Mix's career. He was one who suffered from the advent of sound.

One interesting facet of the serial is its foreshadowing of events in Europe. The bad guy is mining a powerful explosive for an unnamed European country which is preparing for war. I don't think I'm spoiling the ending by letting you know that Tom Mix, aided by his horse Tony, successfully thwarts the scheme by the final chapter.

Quite recommended for those who enjoy vintage western action.

TOM MIX'S ONLY SERIAL AND HIS LAST MOVIE
One reviewer must've gotten the wrong video, because this is definitely Tom Mix, and Rin Tin Tin is nowhere to be seen in it! Besides Tom Mix, you get Charles Middleton as the villian. He's not nearly as menacing as he is in the Flash Gordon serials, but he's still a notable villian.

This is truly a contemporary western, taking place in 1935 when the movie was made. The bad guy is bent on chasing the indian tribe off their reservation so he can mine it for a secret explosive that he plans to sell to an unnamed European country. In one scene, he mentions the added power this powerful explosive would give a dictator, so if you know enough history to know what was happening in Europe in 1935, you can guess what country was being suggested here.

Tom Mix and Middleton together make this one of the better western serials, and I quite recommend it. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Duke in Cliffhanger Action!
Although this particular serial, one of only three the Duke starred
in, is not up to Republic standards, it is a real actionfest
nevertheless. And the cliffhangers are pretty exciting, too!

Roan's
restoration is as good as any version you'll find, and probably better
considering this is a 1933 effort.

Shot in only 21 days, the serial
boasts not only John Wayne (as hero Tom Wayne), but Francis X. Bushman
Jr., Noah Beery Jr., a brief appearance by Lon Chaney Jr., (billed as
Creighton Chaney), and stunt work by Duke regular Yakima Canutt (who
also plays the villian El Shaitan when masked).

The story is billed
as "a modern retelling" of the classic Dumas story, with
Wayne as D'Artagnan. However, the only thing that remains from the
novel is the three comrades plus one, and the title.

Duke is en
route to visit his sweetheart Elaine in the Sahara (why she's living
there is anyone's guess). On the way, he rescues some French Foreign
Legionnaires from being wiped out by hostile Arabs. From then on, the
three are Tom's pals, and call themselves the Three Musketeers since
they are the only survivors of their outfit left.

El Shaitan is the
leader of a mysterious Arab cult called The Devil's Circle, who are
trying to accquire and take up arms against the Legion (again, no real
reasoning why, other then they are there).

Elaine's brother (Lon
Chaney), is murdered by El Shaitan, and Wayne is incriminated. From
there, Wayne becomes a fugitive from justice as he attempts to track
down and unmask the mysterious El Shaitan.

Ruth Hall, who plays
Tom's sweetheart Elaine Corday is great, although her career amounted
to mostly uncredited bit parts. She appeared in such famous films as
"Easter Parade", "How to Marry a Millionaire", and
"The Farmer Takes a Wife".

Like most thirties action films
and serials, this one features the still-new and ever fascinating
invention of the day, the airplane. Here, Tom is a pilot, as is Elaine
and the evil El Shaitan.

Always interesting to see the young Duke in
action, and this is no dried out piece of toast like some of the
bland, nondescript westerns he was trapped in between "The Big
Trail" (1930)and "Stagecoach" (1939).

John Wayne and the Forign Legion best the Tauregs.
The Three Musketeers is a multi chapter SERIAL, of chapters that are about 15 minutes in length. If you are a SERIAL collector as I am, you will like to see this one. John Wayne is a Legion pilot, and he has three buddies also in the legion including: Ray "Crash" Corrigan as one of the legionnaires! Together they go through and happen upon a group of thieves and murderers. Time and time again, Wayne and his pals get in and out of trouble, in the end, they get their bad guys. This Serial is a must, if you are a fan of serials. Also if you are a fan of very early John Wayne pictures, you will get a kick out of him in a serial.

The first serial on DVD is Great!
This probably is not the serial I would have picked to be the first on DVD (Captain Marvel would be an obvious choice) but it is a good one either way. Roan's restoration is excellent as always. John Wayne makes one of his last attempts to act before making it big and just playing "John Wayne" all the time, and pulls it off in this one, though not nearly as well as in Hurricane Express. Serial veteran Jack Mulhall is a joy to watch, as is Raymond Hatton in this great updating of the Dumas' classic (though it really only takes the name of that fine literary work). Lots of digitally preserved action and cliffhangers make this one a keeper! ... 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 (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

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