Western RoundUp: 2025 Western News RoundUp

2025 Western News RoundUp

I was surprised to realize it’s been a couple of years since my last “Western News RoundUp,” and with lots of interesting new developments on the Western movie front, this is a particularly good month to share news!

In this column I’ll be sharing information about recent and
upcoming Western film-related events, Blu-ray releases, and more.

As I wrote this, I realized that a significant amount of
the news related back to past columns in one way or another, so where relevant
I’ve included those links, which might be especially useful to newer readers.

McCrea Ranch has announced its spring 2025 fundraiser barbecue, which will be held at the ranch on May 17th. Advance tickets are required, with information found here.

For a look at past BBQ fundraisers and another event held at the longtime home of actors and Western stars Joel McCrea and Frances Dee, please visit my June 2019, July 2023, and September 2023 columns. The ranch is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a fascinating melding of film and California history.

The ranch will also be hosting an April 26th screening of
the World War I film Lafayette Escadrille (1958) starring Tab
Hunter and directed by William Wellman. The McCreas’ son, Jody McCrea, appears
in the movie in a small role.

The TCM Classic Film Festival will be held in Hollywood this year from April 24th to 27th.

At least one Western, Gunman’s Walk (1958),
will be among the films shown at this year’s festival. It’s a world premiere
restoration of the movie, which was directed by Phil Karlson and stars Van
Heflin, James Darren, Tab Hunter, and Kathryn Grant (Crosby). It was filmed on
locations in Arizona and Northern California.

Roughly 40 films have yet to be announced for this year’s TCM Fest, so those attending will want to keep an eye on the list of films for this year’s festival. Late Update: A 35mm VistaVision screening of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) has now been announced as well. I reviewed it here in 2023.

Please visit my June 2024 column for a look at the Western screenings at last year’s TCM Fest.

Last week the Lone Pine Film Festival confirmed dates for the 2025 festival, which will be held this year from October 9th through 12th. Films, guests, and tours are due to be announced by June 15th.

Last year my husband Doug guided three sold-out horseback
movie location tours in the Alabama Hills, and he plans to guide horseback
tours again this year.

Those interested in attending Lone Pine’s celebration of Westerns filmed in the area can read more about the festival in my October 2024 column, and be sure to scroll down and check out all the extra links on past film fests and Lone Pine movie locations.

There’s lots of great news regarding Westerns on Blu-ray.
First, the great Anthony Mann-James Stewart Western Winchester ’73 (1950)
was released on Blu-ray and 4K by the Criterion Collection at the end of
January.

The disc has plentiful extras including an archival commentary track with James Stewart, a Lux Radio Theater production, and an essay by esteemed film historian Imogen Sara Smith.

You can read more about Winchester ’73 in my 2019 column about seeing the film at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

The Warner Archive Collection has announced an April 2025
Blu-ray release for Springfield Rifle (1952), a Civil War era
Western starring Gary Cooper. Andre DeToth directed.

The Springfield Rifle print will be a
1080p master from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. Extras will
include the trailer, a pair of cartoons, and a Joe McDoakes short.

In May and June of 2025, Kino Lorber Studio Classics will
release two new sets of Audie Murphy Westerns!

Volume IV will contain The Kid From Texas (1950), The
Cimarron Kid (1952), and Drums Across the River (1954),
while the June set will feature Walk the Proud Land (1956), Seven
Ways From Sundown (1960), and Bullet for a Badman (1964).

I wrote about the terrific Seven Ways from Sundown here, which teams Murphy with Barry Sullivan, half a decade ago.

Volume IV will contain commentary tracks by C. Courtney
Joyner and Gary Gerani, with the extras for Volume V still to be announced.

I also wrote a few years ago about The Proud Rebel (1958), a marvelous Western starring Alan Ladd and Olivia de Havilland which was directed by Michael Curtiz.

ClassicFlix has announced that its restoration of the film,
in collaboration with the Library of Congress, will be released on Blu-ray and
DVD in May 2025.

Extras will include a commentary track featuring Curtiz
biographer Alan K. Rode. The disc will also feature Rode interviewing Ladd’s
son David, who costars in the film. I’ve seen David Ladd speak about the movie
in the past and found his memories very interesting.

The disc will also have an isolated music track, a trailer,
and a restoration comparison.

Finally, many Western movie fans will be aware that last summer we sadly lost Jeff Arnold, longtime proprietor of the essential Western movie site Jeff Arnold’s West.

What may not be known is that two great fans of the site,
“Bud” and “RR,” have not only ensured that Jeff’s blog is
still accessible, but they are steadily adding new content.

Their blog posts over the past year include a tour of McCrea Ranch, a review of Robert Nott’s “Reel West” book on Ride the High Country (1962), and looks at films such as The Arizonian (1935) and Ride ‘Em Cowboy (1942). I hope my fellow Western fans, who might have assumed there was nothing new at the site, will check out their work. Bravo!

The McCrea Ranch photographs in this post are from the author’s personal collection.

…

– Laura Grieve for Classic Movie Hub

Laura can be found at her blog, Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings, where she’s been writing about movies since 2005, and on Twitter at @LaurasMiscMovie. A lifelong film fan, Laura loves the classics including Disney, Film Noir, Musicals, and Westerns.  She regularly covers Southern California classic film festivals.  Laura will scribe on all things western at the ‘Western RoundUp’ for CMH.