Tonight's Movie: Under Arizona Skies (1946) and Range Justice (1949) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

I spent my Sunday evening enjoying the Monogram Matinee Volume 3 from the Warner Archive Collection.

This Blu-ray set features two "B" Westerns, UNDER ARIZONA SKIES (1946) and RANGE JUSTICE (1949), both starring Johnny Mack Brown.

The first film, UNDER ARIZONA SKIES, runs 59 minutes and was directed by Lambert Hillyer.

Brown plays Dusty Smith, who as the movie opens breaks up a crooked card game. He saves money being swindled from a rancher (Frank LaRue) who's in ill health and is rewarded with the offer of a job. The rancher also hopes that Dusty can rein in his heir to the ranch, hotheaded Bill (Riley Hill).

Before long Bill reforms, to the relief of his fiancee Cindy (Reno Blair), and helps Dusty solve cattle rustlings.

The story, written by J. Benton Cheney from a story by John McCarthy, was the stronger of the two films in the set, and there was also some outstanding black and white location photography, by Harry Neumann; some of the film appeared to be shot at Iverson Movie Ranch.

The film features music by Smith Ballew and the Sons of the Sage. The supporting cast includes Raymond Hatton, Tristram Coffin, and Reed Howes. The cast all go through their paces in expected fashion, though Blair, in her film debut, seems more comfortable on a horse than delivering dialogue.

I'm a fan of Johnny Mack Brown, and while some of his films are better scripted, UNDER ARIZONA SKIES qualifies as a pleasant "B" Western with pleasing ingredients, including striking locations and pleasant Western music.

RANGE JUSTICE is the shorter of the two films, running 57 minutes. It was directed by Ray Taylor and, like UNDER ARIZONA SKIES, it was filmed by Harry Neumann.

This time around, with a screenplay written by Ronald Davidson, Johnny Mack Brown takes a job working for elderly -- but very feisty -- Ma Curtis (Sarah Padden) and must protect her ranch from the villains.

Johnny Mack's helpful comic relief sidekick in this film is Max Terhune, rather than Raymond Hatton, but there are other familiar faces in the cast; Tristram Coffin is back for this one, and Riley Hill once again plays the younger male lead.

RANGE JUSTICE is fairly run of the mill, but for me any time spent with Johnny Mack Brown is worthwhile.

These are both modest but enjoyable films, shown to their very best advantage here thanks to the Warner Archive Collection.

The prints in this set come from 1080p HD masters from new 4K scans of the "best preservation elements." They look very good, though RANGE JUSTICE's sunlight scenes sometimes seem just a bit overexposed. Sound quality is strong.

Both movies have optional English-language captions; as an aside, Warner Archive fans may be aware that this is an upgrade from the Warner Archive's Monogram Cowboy DVD Collections, which like most Warner Archive DVDs did not have captions. There are no extras.

I previously reviewed Brown's WESTERN RENEGADES (1949) in the Monogram Matinee Collection Volume 1, and I've also reviewed Monogram Matinee Collection Volume 2, which featured films starring Jimmie Davis and Jimmy Wakely. Here's hoping for more Monogram Matinee sets, and soon!

Thanks to the Warner Archive and Allied Vaughn for providing a review copy of this collection. This set may be purchased from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

Post