Darn Good Westerns, Vol. 1 [2 Discs] [DVD]

HELLGATE: This post-Civil War yarn was adapted from the story of Dr. Mudd, the physician who attended John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln. In 1867 Kansas, veterinarian Sterling Hayden treats an injured stranger who turns out to have been a guerrilla raider-and Hayden soon finds himself serving a term in one of the world's most terrifying prisons under sadistic commandant Ward Bond. FANGS OF THE WILD: A boy who has frequently cried quot;Wolf!quot; now cries quot;Murder!quot;-and this time he's telling the truth. But because of his fib-filled history, when he claims to have seen hunter Charles Chaplin Jr. shoot and kill a fellow hunter, no one will believe the lad. No one, that is... except Chaplin. Beautiful Big Bear scenery co-stars in this suspenseful drama. TRAIN TO TOMBSTONE: There are roaring wheels and roaring thrills as the Tombstone train crosses quot;unfriendly Indianquot; territory with the usual offbeat assortment of passengers (a la Stagecoach), among them a quot;law officerquot; (Robert Lowery) who is actually a crook with his eye on the train's government gold shipment. Can passenger Donald Barry be trusted, or is he yet another outlaw? PANHANDLE: John Sands (Rod Cameron), a reformed gunman, now a storekeeper in a Mexican border town, again straps on gun belt and six-shooters to find the killer of his brother. Fists and bullets fly when he finds that he must contend not only with badmen, but with lawmen who remember his outlaw past. Shot amidst rugged Lone Pine, California scenery, and co-written and co-produced by future Hollywood legend Blake Edwards-who also plays the role of a baby-faced killer! OPERATION HAYLIFT: The infamous 1949 real-life blizzards that threatened Nevada cattle herds are recreated in this drama with Bill Williams and Ann Rutherford as ranchers imperiled by the snows until the U.S. Air Force organizes quot;Operation Haylift.quot; Co-written by Joe Sawyer, one of the leading players, and made with USAF cooperation (and film footage of the actual operation). Extra Features: Rare photos of the actual quot;Operation Hayliftquot; WILDFIRE: A gang of crooks is attempting to drive out the local ranchers by rustling their horses and laying the blame on quot;Wildfirequot;, the leader of a wild horse herd. Happy Hay (Bob Steele) and Alkali (Sterling Holloway), a pair of wandering horse traders, are also framed by the gang on murder and rustling charges, but they, with the help of Judge Polson (William Farnum) and sheriff Johnny Deal (Eddie Dean) manage to apprehend the real culprits.

This collection of twenty westerns, culled from the '30s through the '70s, includes The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West, Bells of San Angelo, Cry Blood, Apache, The Pinto Bandit, and The Gun and the Pulpit.