Pastor Jay reviews three Dean Martin Westerns: Texas Across the River, Rough Night in Jericho, and Showdown.
Texas Across the River is a comedy western with Dean Martin as a gun runner and Joey Bishop as his Indian companion.
Rough Night in Jericho is a serious western with Dean Martin, George Pappard, and Gene Simmons.
Showdown is a beautiful release with Dean Martin and Rock Hudson as childhood friends on opposite sides of the law.
Greetings, classic cinema and TV fans. Pastor Jay here with you once again on a silver screen spotlight. And today we're going back to the Old West. You know, it's interesting because I've been a huge fan of science fiction and comedy and drama and stuff like that. Not so much westerns until here recently. Since I've been reviewing movies for the last few years, I've been getting more westerns and stuff that we get to review. and I'm starting to find a little bit of a love for the Westerns. They're kind of interesting. It takes you back to a different time, the time when our world was a little more rural, a little more rough, a little more, what I mean by rough, we didn't have all the technology, we didn't have all the comforts of life. It was a little more rough and rugged world. And it's kind of interesting to see that. Well, Kino Lorber Studio Classics, over the last couple of months, have released a bunch of westerns. But we're going to focus just on one of my favorite singers, who also was an actor and a comedian. But he did a lot of westerns. And that is Dean Martin. Love Dean Martin. And just an iconic actor and a lot of fun, just a fun guy. He had so much fun with his celebrity roasts and his TV variety show and all. But he was an amazing actor. And so we have three amazing Blu-rays of Dean Martin. And let's jump right into this. Starting out with number one, this is 1966, Texas Across the River. Now Texas Across the River is a comedy film It a comedy western if you will And it about a Louisiana belle who is courted by a wanted Spanish nobleman and a Texas gun runner and they fighting to see who's going to win the girl and whatever. And with all this happening, well, the Calvary and the Comanche have a war and they're caught in the middle. It's just off the wall crazy. Just so much going on and it's a lot of fun. Dean Martin is the gun runner and of course he's joined with Joey Bishop as his Indian companion. Joey Bishop as an Indian. come on I think that it was meant to be funny and I think that's why they did it it was supposed to be funny Joey Bishop is hilarious as the as the Indian it's just crazy but it's a lot of fun it is a really really fun little film and wow Kino Lorber did a great job it is restored it looks amazing it's beautiful it's a great release audio commentary and theatrical trailer all on this release. It is just really, really cool. Love that Texas Across the River. If you're a fan of comedy westerns, definitely check out Texas Across the River. Dean Martin didn't do all comedy westerns. Even though he was a great comedian, he knew all comedy westerns. He was really a serious westerns actor. And this one is really interesting. Dean Martin, joined by George Pappard and Gene Simmons in Rough Night in Jericho. This is more of a serious western. And, yeah, it's really cool. Former deputy and a strong-willed widow are determined to stop a ruthless town boss. And that's where the Rough Night in Jericho comes in. And, boy, is it a rough night in Jericho. It really is. Just a lot of fun. really, really, not a what I mean by fun, it's exciting, that's what I'm saying. It not a fun film it not a funny film it exciting It got a lot of action a lot of adventure It a lot of good stuff And it really is an amazing amazing film This release from Keaton Lorber has audio commentary and theatrical trailer Very, very cool release. It's awesome. Love it. And yeah, it's just one of those films you just sit back and you just sit there and marvel at it. It's just really, really cool. And then finally, on the three that we're talking about today on this short spotlight, we're talking about two icons in entertainment. We're talking about, yes, Dean Martin, but he is joined by an iconic actor, Rock Hudson. Wow. And this film is an amazing release from 1973. It's an interesting film, and it is Showdown. I love this. This is really a beautiful release, too. We'll get into that in just a second. But it follows two childhood friends, Billy and Chuck, who end up on the opposite sides of the law. Chuck ends up marrying Billy's former sweetheart, which doesn't bode well for their friendship, of course. And Billy becomes a bank robber, while Chuck becomes a lawman. And so they're on opposite sides of the law. But what ends up happening is they join forces against a common enemy in the final shootout. Really an interesting film. It is a beautiful release. Wow. This is a beautiful transfer. Wow. The picture quality of this is amazing. as with all of these, all three of these the picture quality are amazing but showdown really is beautiful wow, amazing the locations are beautiful you got the greens, the trees and the, I mean wow it's just gorgeous and Rock Hudson and Dean Martin do a very very good job together I surprised nobody decided to put them together before this They really have an interesting chemistry They're really good together, and sadly, they didn't get to do anything together. It was just, they're really good together. I don't know why they didn't get to do more. They should have. This is an interesting film, though. This is a very, very special film for the simple reason that this is Dean Martin's final western that he would ever play in. And that's why this is a must-own for any Dean Martin fan, in my opinion, because this is Dean Martin's final western. How do you not have this? I mean, you need this. If you're a fan of Dean Martin or a fan of films in general, you've got to have this. This is just amazing. We wanted to spotlight some Dean Martin westerns because just good films. Good, good films definitely need to be checked out. You can get the full written reviews for all three of these at retroac.blogspot.com. We want to remind you to go to kinalorber.com. Check all the amazing catalog of amazing Blu-rays that they have up there. I think you'll be there for days looking at all the good stuff and saying, huh, well, I want that and that and that. I've got to have that and I need that. No, I should have that. You're just going to be there for days. So definitely do that. Go check that out. And be sure to go to retroac.blogspot.com and check out all the amazing articles and reviews and videos and podcasts and all kinds of good stuff we've got up there, we would appreciate it. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. And until we see you next time, this is Pastor Jay, wishing you a blessed day, and we will see you next time here on the Silver Screen Spotlight. Bye. you
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