Best of the West Re-Priced for Father’s Day

Dads and Westerns go together--or so some video companies think.

That’s why they’ve re-priced Westerns to make them attractive as Father’s Day gifts.

Many excellent Westerns have been recently made available for $15, most featuring John Wayne and James Stewart, the dominant stars of the genre in its heyday--the ‘40s through the ‘60s.

The Wayne movies reduced to $15, from FoxVideo: “The Comancheros,” “Big Jake,” “The Undefeated,” “Rio Lobo.” From Turner: “Fort Apache,” “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” and “Tall in the Saddle.” From MCA/Universal: “Rooster Cogburn,” “The War Wagon” and “The Spoilers.”

MCA/Universal has dropped the price on some of Stewart’s best Westerns: “Bend of the River,” “Destry Rides Again,” “The Rare Breed,” “Shenandoah” and “Winchester ’73.”

Other recommended $15 Westerns, on FoxVideo: “My Darling Clementine” (1946), with Henry Fonda, a version of the Wyatt Earp-Doc Holliday friendship; “Jesse James” (1939), a glamorized account of the adventures of the famed outlaw, played by Tyrone Power; “Duel in the Sun” (1946), starring Gregory Peck in an arty but often absorbing big-budget epic about two brothers fighting over a woman. On MCA/Universal: “The Man Without a Star’ (1955), featuring Kirk Douglas, in one of his best Westerns, as a gunslinger battling baddies while romancing two women (Jeanne Crain and Claire Trevor).

If you’ve never purchased a Western for Dad, you might begin a collection with some all-time greats, available for $15-$20.

* “Shane” (Paramount, 1953). Director George Stevens makes an epic out of a simple story--gunfighter (Alan Ladd) helps ranchers fight bad guys, including a memorable villain played by Jack Palance.

* “High Noon” (Republic, 1952). Suspenseful tale of an ex-sheriff (Gary Cooper) who swears off gunfighting and then is stalked, with his new wife (Grace Kelly), by a gang of vengeful killers.

* “The Searchers” (Warner, 1956). Thrilling, often-imitated tale of an embittered man (John Wayne) tracking down his kidnaped niece. Director John Ford’s greatest achievement and, many of his fans contend, Wayne’s best performance.

* “The Wild Bunch” (Warner, 1969). The adventures of an early-1900s gang of roving outlaws (William Holden, Ernest Borgnine) who are becoming relics as the sun sets on the Old West. Directed by Sam Peckinpah, it’s arguably the best Western ever made and a pioneer in the graphic depiction of violence.

* “Rio Bravo” (Warner, 1959). Appealing characters turn a tired old story--the one about lawmen (John Wayne and Dean Martin) defending a town under siege by outlaws--into something special. Howard Hawks directed.

* “The Professionals” (RCA/Columbia, 1966). Director Richard Brooks’ star-studded (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Jack Palance) action/adventure gem about a gang hired to find a rancher’s kidnaped wife.

All the movies previously mentioned have been on the market for a long time. Here are three recently released Westerns, all on MGM/UA at $20:

* “Virginia City” (1940). The story about Civil War spying is secondary; the fun is watching the performances of a stellar cast, including Errol Flynn and Randolph Scott, and relishing Humphrey Bogart overacting while playing a Latino bandit.

* “Man of the West” (1958). Generally underrated, but one of the best Westerns of the ‘50s, with Gary Cooper portraying an ex-outlaw forced back into his old lifestyle.

* “San Antonio” (1945). A tough cattleman (Errol Flynn) romances a dance-hall girl (Alexis Smith) while chasing rustlers. Old story uplifted by strong production values.

The home-video Western action isn’t confined to feature films: There’s been re-pricing and new releases in TV Westerns, too. Cabin Fever has dropped the price of “Lonesome Dove,” the celebrated miniseries starring Robert Duvall, to $20--for a two-cassette package. Warner just released episodes from TV Western series of the ‘50--including “Maverick,” featuring James Garner, “Cheyenne,” starring Clint Walker, and “Bronco,” with Ty Hardin in the leading role. A cassette including two one-hour episodes from each series is available at $15.

In Saturday matinee serials, Republic just put out two-cassette packages, selling for $30, containing all the chapters of the slam-bang Westerns “Desperadoes of the West” and “The James Brothers of Missouri.”

Batman Serials: With “Batman Returns” coming out today, there’ll be interest in the old Batman serials, which are great, campy fun for those who like tacky, ‘40s action movies. There are two serials, “The Original Serial Adventures of Batman” (1943) and “Batman and Robin” (1949). Each 15-chapter serial is divided into two, $10 volumes.

The 1943 serial features Lewis Wilson as Batman. Since it was made during World War II, there’s lots of Japan-bashing. If you can get past that, it includes some marvelous, B-movie style action sequences.

The 1949 serial, with Robert Lowery as Batman, has much higher production values, moves at a faster pace and is truly thrill-a-minute fun with Batman slipping out of one tight scrape after another.

What’s New on Video: Here are some recent releases:

* “The Addams Family” (Paramount, no set price). This box-office blockbuster, a reworking of the ‘60s TV sitcom based on Charles Addams cartoons, is an amusing parade of sick jokes and loosely linked set pieces about the ghoulish family, headed by Morticia (Anjelica Huston) and Gomez (Raul Julia) and including daughter Wednesday, played by scene-stealing Christina Ricci.

* “Kuffs” (MCA/Universal, no set price). A chaotic, uninvolving buddy-cop movie set in San Francisco, featuring Christian Slater and Tony Goldwyn, principally of interest to Slater’s hard-core fans.

* “Naked Lunch” (FoxVideo, $95). Director David Cronenberg refines William Burroughs’ hallucinatory novel for the screen, imaginatively loading it with bizarre imagery, turning it into a strangely appealing account of the creation of this weird book, by a writer (Peter Weller) in a mystical place called Interzone.

Upcoming on Video: MCA/Universal has just announced that “Fried Green Tomatoes” is coming out Aug. 20. “Elvis: The Lost Performances” (MGM/UA, $20), an hour’s worth of previously unreleased live and rehearsal footage, is due out Wednesday.

Also: “Europa Europa” (Wednesday), “Grand Canyon” (Thursday), “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse” (Thursday), “Bugsy” and “Star Trek VI” (July 1), “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” (July 8) and “The Great Mouse Detective” (July 17).