John Waynes Classic Monogram Westerns Get a Makeover at Movies Unlimited

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Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) October 30, 2012
The films starring Wayne were made by Lone Star Productions and released in theaters by Monogram Pictures from 1933 through 1935. Although all of the films have been available on DVD from many different sources because they have fallen into the public domain (aka PD), these westerns are now available in newly copyrighted, digitally mastered and restored fine quality DVDs transferred from the original 35MM nitrate negative material.

Each movie in the series is presented with original music themes added by noted musician Billy Barber, who also wrote The Oak Ridge Boys hit Little Things and Ray Charles Love is Worth the Pain. Billy supervised the weaving of the new themes throughout the upgraded soundtracks.
This group of Monogram westerns are notable because they present The Duke in his formative years when he was perfecting his famous walk, heroic persona, trademark speech pattern and acting style. The films also showcase frequent sidekick George Gabby Hayes and famous stunt expert Yakima Cannutt, who usually plays one of the bad guys. Wayne and Canutt developed a number of stunts which eventually became part of every western movie.

The movie plots are interesting and sometimes complicated, but always end up with the same basic messages: The good guy wins out in the end, gets the girl, and vanquishes the bad guys. From time to time, Wayne seems to be the bad guy, but turns out to be an undercover agent, or a look-alike. At the time these films were made, there were no formal ratings — all films that could be theatrically distributed to the general public, and these were no exceptions, were the equivalent of what would today be “G” movies. Each title runs about 60 minutes and sells for $14.99. The list of restored titles includes:

Sagebrush Trail (1933): The Duke skips prison after being wrongly imprisoned for murder, then joins a gang of outlaws in hopes to finding the real guilty man.

The Lucky Texan (1934): Easterner Wayne heads west to join forces with Gabby Hayes in a mining operation that is terrorized by claim jumpers.

The Man from Utah (1934): Deputy Wayne has to enter the rodeo in order to expose a gang using dirty tricks at the meet.

Neath the Arizona Skies (1934): John attempts to save a Native-American girl who has been kidnapped by meanies out to nab the oil-rich land of which shes an heir.

Randy Rides Alone (1934): The Duke is tops as a lawman who goes undercover to target the rats robbing an express service.

The Trail Beyond (1934): Wayne goes out on a dangerous mission in the Northwest to find a missing girl and a gold mine that seems impossible to locate.

West of the Divide (1934): Our Man John goes back to his boyhood abode to track down his fathers murderer and his own missing brother.

The Lawless Frontier (1935): Wayne is in hot pursuit of his parents murderers and, after rescuing a prospector and his granddaughter, believes the killer is a Mexican bandit. But is it?

Paradise Canyon (1935): G-man John Wayne tries to halt counterfeiters working out of a cave headquarters near the Mexican border.

Texas Terror (1935): Sheriff Wayne puts his lawman responsibilities on hold in favor of panning for gold after he believes he killed a companion. Eventually he learns a secret from the late mans sister.

For complete movie descriptions including cast members and more, head over to our remastered John Wayne Lone Star westerns. The quality of this John Wayne collection is so superior to the PD versions, that the recorded owner of the distribution rights, used them as the basis for new masters, with materially improved sound and picture quality, and are now being offered by Movies Unlimited. You can also read more about this classic Western collection at our blog: John Wayne’s Back in the Saddle.

Movies Unlimited is one of the worlds oldest and most reliable video retailers of DVD and Blu-ray titles, specializing in hard-to-find movie classics. The John Wayne features can be ordered through their web¬site or by calling 1-800-4-MOVIES. The Philadelphia-based company also publishes their annual encyclopedic 800-page Movies Unlimited DVD Catalog.


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