Hawk of Powder River / Stage to Mesa City

Starring:Jennifer Holt
Studio: Video Kart
Product Type: DVD

Stage to Mesa City/The Hawk of Powder River

Average customer rating:

Good and bad
Very good film transfers of two B-Westerns
Historic Old Film
A Waste of Money

Stage to Mesa City/The Hawk of Powder River
Starring: Jennifer Holt
Manufacturer: Video Kart
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Tumbleweed Trail/The Tioga Kid
Thunder Town/Driftin' River

ASIN: B0000694ZO
Release Date: 2003-06-03

Customer Reviews:

Good and bad.......2007-04-03

Specifically regarding the release by Video Kart. Stage to Mesa City is from a good print which does have some segments that are very dark and with little contrast. Overall, it is a good viewing experience.

Meanwhile, Hawk of Powder River ranges from fair to poor. Some segments are black without any image. Many segments are soft and fuzzy. A few segments are excellent. The audio is substandard. Overall, a bad viewing experience.

So, essentially you are buying one film. Don't expect more and you will not be disappointed. While some reviewers make excuses for the DVD releases, the bottom line is that good source prints produce good picture quality. I think this double feature was assembled just to release product.

Very good film transfers of two B-Westerns.......2005-08-16

This review is for "Stage to Mesa City" and "The Hawk of Powder River" issued by The Video Kart.

These are B-Westerns. And as such, one of the earlier reviewers of this DVD seems to have totally missed the point here in regards to quality. And here's the point, most of these old films are now in the public domain which means if you can find these films in anywhere near decent quality it's a small miracle.

For this particular DVD, the film transfers are very good to excellent for both films - a rarity for most of these early B-Westerns. Consider that the original fine grain master for "Citizen Kane" is gone forever now (apparently lost in a fire), so if you can find a decent copy of an old largely forgotten B-Western from the same era you should rejoice!!!

In any case, I can't figure out what the earlier reviewer is talking about. I have viewed both movies and both of these film transfers are very good and in no way will significantly detract from the enjoyment of these films.

For sixty year old B-Westerns in particular these are pretty good film transfers!!! There are much worse DVDs out there of this type of material! Yes, there is some loss of details in a few night scenes and at times the contrast is overstated, but these are minor flaws and only occur sporadically. No, they are not pristine transfers. But, on the other hand they are certainly "good enough." I was not overly concerned by the sound dubbing or whatever it is on "Stage to Mesa City". I'm just glad that I can see and hear this old forgotton film on DVD.

Actually the biggest problem I noted, which I find curious that the other reviewer totally missed, is that the second movie, "The Hawk of Powder River", has some slightly jerky motions in the faster action scenes - such as if the film frames are missing every third one or so or something like that. I can't quite understand what is going on - perhaps it just happens on my DVD player? I might try playing it on my computer to see if it shows up there also. I would guess that it has something to do with how they mastered this film digitally. In any case, it doesn't show up very often and I think most people would not even be aware of it. The first film, "Stage to Mesa City" does not have this problem - the actions scenes in that film look fine to me.

The movies themselves (acting and action scenes) are about average or maybe slightly above average for a B-Western. There are better ones out there and there are worse ones. These are very entertaining in my opinion and well worth having. What really sets "The Hawk of Powder River" apart from most other singing cowboy westerns is Eddie Dean. This guy can actually sing! Step aside Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, I think this guy has a much better singing voice!

If you appreciate good B-Westerns, I suggest you check out the Hopalong Cassidy issued by Platinum or or Red Ryder films issued by VCI. These are great stories and are very good to excellent film transfers - some of the Hopalong Cassidy films in particular are pristine transfers that are just about perfect.

Historic Old Film.......2002-11-22

I saw both of these films on television a while back and enjoyed them. I agree with the other person who reviewed this DVD that the sound is flat and the contrast is off in a few areas. One thing Mr. something-ham doesn't realize or forgot to mention is that the film is of the B-western genre from the 1940's. These films were made that poorly from the day they were written. They were more like television episodes than movies. The entire genre was a very historical moment in motion picture history. I can't remember the last time I watched the Honeymooners and experienced a sense of "depth" in the acoustics. I am grateful that there is someone who cares enough to distribute this historical content on a new medium for people who understand and appreciate motion pictures. Thank you, I will be looking for more titles to be released from this studio.

A Waste of Money.......2002-11-09

I have this last day received a DVD copy of these two films and my message to anyone considering buying is, 'keep your money in your pocket'. Not only are the films themselves poor entertainment value but the transfer onto DVD is dismal... BR>For one thing the contrast is poor especially in the darkened scenes and the sound tranfer although high enough in volume is badly badly dubbed in. This has slightly alterd the tone of the actors voices and also makes the sound seem totally flat, with no appearance of distance or the actors position on the screen.

I've certanly learned my lesson about buying cheap DVDs, if they are cheap in price they are cheap in quality and not worth buying.

Although I do have to admit that I do have some budget DVDs which are acceptable, I suppose it's all to do with which company produces the goods.... I have given this DVD one star, only because I have no choice if I want to air my views

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