Shadows of Death (1945) DVD [Remastered Edition]

Director: A2ZCDS.com
Studio: A2ZCDS.com
Product Type: DVD

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On a foggy highway, a lonely soldier hitches a ride and ends up in a lonely bar on the outskirts of town, where lost souls gather for a melancholy repast. The soldier is Jean (Jean Gabin), a deserter on the run whose flight is interrupted when he meets sad runaway Nelly (Michele Morgan) and falls in love. He becomes entwined in the troubles of her life, notably the lascivious guardian (Michel Simon) who lusts after Nelly and attempts to blackmail Jean, and a cocky, hot-headed gangster (Pierre Brasseur) who tries to scare Jean off, only to be humiliated in front his men and the town. It's not hard to see where this spiral of threats and confrontations is leading (the title, after all, translates to "Port of Shadows," as ominous a title as any American film noir, especially in a small town where everyone's lives become tightly wound together. Director Marcel Carné and writer Jacques Prévert (who went on to collaborate on the French masterpiece Children of Paradise) infuse the film with a sense of dignity and quiet poetry. At night the port town is like a world in the clouds, cut off from the rest of the world, where all the sordid yearnings and desperate plans of the ambitious players take on a mythic resonance. It's only by light of day that everything returns to its shabby place. A classic of French poetic realism. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Down a foggy, desolate road to the port city of Le Havre travels Jean (Jean Gabin), an army deserter looking for another chance to make good on life. Fate, however, has a different plan for him, when acts of both revenge and kindness turn him into front-page news. Also starring the blue-eyed phenomenon Michèle Morgan in her first major role, and the menacing Michel Simon, Port of Shadows (Le Quai des brumes) starkly portrays an underworld of lonely souls wrestling with their own destinies. Based on the novel by Pierre Mac Orlan, the inimitable team of director Marcel Carné and writer Jacques Prévert deliver a quintessential example of poetic realism, one of the classics of the golden age of French cinema.

Customer Reviews:

T'AS DE BEAUX YEUX, TU SAIS !.......2007-03-12

Marcel Carné's PORT OF SHADOWS (Le Quai des Brumes) belongs to the list of movies we had to see in school in the seventies. This film is part of the French cultural heritage and was regularly showed by the film clubs of our schools. Some of the greatest actors of that period appear in PORT OF SHADOWS : Jean Gabin, THE unquestionable star of French cinema from the beginning of the 30's until the beginning of the 70's, Michèle Morgan who attained a cult status with this film she shot while she was 17 years old, the Swiss actor Michel Simon (Zabel) who portrayed numerous unforgettable characters during his long career on the screen (1924-1975), Pierre Brasseur who's excellent as Lucien the hoodlum.

Great actors and also great dialogues written by Jacques Prévert, a poet-artist often associated with the Poetic Realism genre of that period. Lines as "Tu as de beaux yeux, tu sais" (You do have beautiful eyes, you know) or "Vite, on est pressé" (Hurry, we don't have much time left) said by Gabin to Morgan are sentences you don't easily forget if you happen to like PORT OF SHADOWS.

A DVD zone your library.

Improvisational train wreck.......2006-12-09

What happens when the director shoots a movie without a plot or a point or even a script and lets his famous actors improvise amok? The Port of Shadows. Yes, a few frames of the moody cinematography are worth watching, but you can see one of them for free on the box art. If you like watching high speed artistic train wrecks in super slow motion, then this is the movie for you. It's a 1 star movie plus 1 star for it's historical significance plus 1 star for Criterion's excellent transfer.

Shadows & Fog.......2006-03-27

I first became aware of director Marcel Carne when I saw "Children of Paradise". In a review I wrote on here for that movie I said to call it a masterpiece is to understate it's case. The same can be said for "Port of Shadows", easily one of the greatest films I have ever seen.

The movie stars Jean Gabin as a soldier running away from the past. What exactly did he do? I don't know, we get the hint he must be a deserter, but maybe that's just the beginning of his problems. Whatever the case may be it doesn't matter. All that matters is the fact he wants to get away. Jean (that's his character's name) finds himself in a hideout run by a man called Panama (Edouard Delmont) which is near what is known as "the port of shadows". Here is where Jean will get all the help he needs to leave the country. But things are never that easy. For instance he meets a girl, Nelly (Michele Morgan) and gets mixed up with criminals; Zabel (Michel Simon) and Lucien (Pierre Brasseur). And soon Jean fears he may be a suspect in a murder.

Jean Gabin is an absolute natural for a role like this. He practically invented the character in "Pepe le Moko". A character that American actors such as Humphrey Bogart would play in films like "Casablanca". Gabin has those rough edges around his face and a dour look on his face that leads us to believe the guy has been through a lot. This is a complete contrast to the look Michele Morgan has. She is to put bluntly a beauty!

The film was based on a novel written by Pierre Mac Orlan and was adapted by Jacques Prevert (a poet as well as songwriter. If you are familiar with the song "Autumn Leaves" he wrote the lyrics). I've never read the book so I cannot comment on how faithfully this film is adapted, but I can say Carne does a masterful job directing this movie. The film takes us down paths I wasn't expecting to travel. Carne doesn't throw too much in our face. He lets the story flow at it's own pace. And things move along quite quickly. The film is only 90 minutes. But at the same time, nothing feels rushed. We understand these characters, their situations and the fate that awaits them. Having only seen two films from this director I'm ready to call him a master. His films manage to touch me on a deep personal level. He creates characters that seems to live off the page. And just think, this was Carne's third film! He clearly had a natural gift. And luckily people took notice during his lifetime. "Port of Shadows" won the National Board of Review award for "Best Foreign Film".

As for the film's title, at first I wondered how they arrived at it. We don't find out the name of the port until the end of the film but couldn't it have a double meaning? Couldn't the "port of shadows" refer to a place where people go looking to escape the shadows of their past? Or maybe it's just that you can't see a darn thing with all that fog hanging around!

Bottom-line: Marcel Carne's film is one of the greatest I have ever see. Carne handles the story and the characters with a sure touch. The movie takes some unexpected turns and takes what could have been a simple story and transcends it into something much more.

A very nice french film.......2005-02-21

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

"Port of Shadows" known in France as "Le quai des brumes" is an excellent film.

The film stars Jean Gabin as a deserting soldier who is trying to start fresh. He hitchhikes into a port town and finds a stray dog who he takes for his own. He later becomes romantically involved with a woman who has some problems of her own. That's all I can say without spoiling the film.

Jean Gabin is probably best known for his role in "Grand Illusion" and does a fine job in this film also. He is perfect for the part, but the only drawback is that I now see him as typecast in military roles.

The other actors in the film do great also and the dog in the film was well trained.

The DVD only has two special features but the liner notes contain much more material than usual. The features are a theatrical trailer and a gallery of production stills and film posters. This is a great film and has a nice story.

Jean Gabin steps out of the shadows.......2005-02-06

Jean Gabin is a great French actor - rugged and rude with the swagger and confidence of a male achetype he nonetheless posseses a style and charm that makes him appear as if he could sweep any woman off her feet of the most posh Paris night spot. Here Gabin's performance is no exception as he portrays a solider weary of colonial French outposts who has abandoned his duties. Arriving in the port of Le Harve he soon encounters the murky band of hangers-on, losers, and unseemly characters one might suspect would lurk in such a place. Some of the most dangerous are a small band of wanna-be gangsters whose penchant for violence and desire for respect outweighs their low intellingence.

The one bright spot in this sordid locale is Michele Morgan as Nelly. Morgan nearly stops the heart of the viewer at first moment on the screen as the ultimate femme fatal wrapped in translucent raincoat with a beret covering her blonde locks.

The combination of these two, some nice supporting performances - including the proprietor of a portside dive bar who recounts every great moment in his life to a trip to Panama 30 years previous, and a few tense, even terrifying, screen moments make this film stand the test of time, while similar others of the era might be dismissed and forgotten as pulp pot boilers.

Average customer rating:

Great CD, but DVD is mix of bootleg & MTV Jackass
Does little justice to the band's music
The Art of Boring
Terrible
Terrible

The Art of Touring
Starring: Shadows Fall
Manufacturer: Century Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000B8TIRM
Release Date: 2005-11-15

Customer Reviews:

Great CD, but DVD is mix of bootleg & MTV Jackass.......2007-03-06

REALLY enjoyed their music, but godalmighty, the DVD stinks on ice. 2 disks - a DVD & a CD. The DVD: A mix of MTV Jackass stunts by your favorite band members (vomit onna window, bottle rocket out of the mouth, etc.) mixed with Handicam footage shot from the back of the room. CD is excellent, including the videos, but for what you get, WAY overpriced!

Does little justice to the band's music.......2006-05-23

I purchased this DVD at a Hot Topic store many months ago as my interest in Shadows Fall was beginning to peak. After being pulled in by the band's latest and heavily promoted "War Within" CD, I decided to pick up this DVD in hopes of gaining a further look into the fairly unique sound of Shadows Fall. Amidst my excitement at purchasing this DVD, I had one major misconception that would be harshly clarified later.

I assumed the DVD's subtitle "drunk and sh--ty in every city" was nothing more than an increasingly popular band's attempt at being modest amongst all the hype surrounding their music, but I stood corrected as soon as I played this DVD later on that day. Shadows Fall weren't being humble with their collective opinion regarding this DVD; they were being realistic.

Between drunken vomitting and the band reflecting upon the apparent theft of a tire from their tour bus, I realized I'd bought this DVD for the wrong reasons. I was hoping to be provided with some insight regarding the driving force behind this band and to find out more about their music as a whole. Well, I found out more about something, but it wasn't so much their music as it was their affinity for weed, alcohol, and nonstop partying.

Now, Shadows Fall are a rock band, so of course they'll have their share of madness like all the rest. In fact, I'd say that they party rather lightly in comparison to their 70's and 80's counterparts, but I honestly couldn't find a single moment of serious thought or effort in the entire contents of this DVD save the great collection of music videos. Was I expecting to see Brian Fair and company standing in front of the camera giving an exhaustive speech about their sources of inspiration? Hardly, but if I had seen a little less of that nightvision camera capturing everything the band probably regretted doing upon sobriety and a little more intelligent discussion about who they generally are as a group, I wouldn't have felt so ripped off by this DVD. The concert footage is as muddy as it gets (even by the notoriously low standards of most bootlegs), the behind-the-scenes "shenanigans" should've stayed locked away in the vault, and the Dimebag Darrell tribute would've had the man rolling in his grave.

In this reviewer's humble opinion, Shadows Fall should've simply released a collection of their music videos along with some professionally recorded concert footage and called it a day instead of alienating their growing fanbase with all of this pointless nonsense. Probably the only real good I got out of this whole package was the sampler disc included which introduced me to none other than Eyes of Fire.

The Art of Boring.......2006-04-11

Shadows Fall are a great band w/ great musicians. I figured a band who prided themselves on the quality of their musicianship would put the same amount of pride in the quality of their DVD release. Like most, I was expecting something on par to L.O.G.'s "Killadelphia" DVD: Quality video and quality sound showcasing the bands ability to deliver the goods live. This fell flat all across the board. It actually put me to sleep! I'm not kidding! For starters, some of this footage was rehashed from the "Limited Edition" War Within bonus DVD. I'm not really into bootleg footage unless that's all that's available, then it'll have to do. I really don't have anything new to say that hasn't been said by anyone else but, I paid about the same price for both "Killadelphia" and this disappointment. In fact I think Killadelphia was a little cheaper. If you're tight on cash and want more bang for your buck get Killadelphia. Sorry Shads. It was cool to see Dime one last time though.
Now that they're on a major hopefully their future releases will be better.

Terrible.......2006-04-10

I was expecting this to be a professional DVD like any normal band would put out, not a collection of bootlegs. Like everyone else, I agree, the DVD is terrible. The sound quality is horrible. The guys act like they're 12 years old. Its not worth buying unless you want a collection of miserable sounding bootlegs.

Terrible.......2006-02-27

I echo all the other reviews. Sure, it's a bootleg "filmed" by the band and roadies but that doesn't mean it has to be so bad. The Dimebag tribute should have been left off this disc and a proper tribute put on a professionally produced dvd. The sound on this particular track is horrendous and made my speakers sound like they were blown. Listening to that muddled mess would definitely end up blowing my speakers. Don't waste your money.

Average customer rating:

"Buster Crabbe B-Western Series ... Shadows of Death (1945) ... VCI Home Video"
Double feature fun for B-Western fans
Serviceable film transfers of two very average B-Westerns

Shadows of Death/His Brothers Ghost:D
Starring: Buster Crabbe , Al St. John , Dona Dax , Charles King (II) , and Karl Hackett
Director: Sam Newfield
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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Similar Items:

The Kid Rides Again
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Buster Crabbe Double Feature: Panhandle Trail/Frontier Outlaws
Gangster's Den
Wild Horse Phantom

ASIN: B0007TKG62
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Customer Reviews:

"Buster Crabbe B-Western Series ... Shadows of Death (1945) ... VCI Home Video".......2006-10-24

VCI Entertainment and Producers Releasing Corporation present "SHADOWS OF DEATH" (1945) (60 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- relive those thrilling days when Buster Crabbe took us down the dusty trails with hard riding and straight shooting hitting the bull's eye with excitement every time... the Buster Crabbe series of B-Westerns were a staple of Saturday matinees in the 1930s and 1940s ... don't miss any of the Buster Crabbe features loaded with action that will leave you wanting more of his B-Western adventures.

Under Sam Newfield (Director), Sigmund Neufeld (Producer), Fred K. Myton (Screenwriter), John H. Greenhalgh, Jr.(Cinematographer), Holbrook Todd (Editor) ------ the cast includes Buster Crabbe (Billy Carson), Al St. John (Fuzzy Q. Jones), Dona Dax (Babs Darcy), Charles King (Steve Landreau (gang boss),
Karl Hackett (Dave Hanlely (murder fictim), Eddie Hall (Clay Kincaid), Frank Ellis (Henchman Frisco), John L. Cason (Henchman Butch), Budd Buster (Man getting beard trimmed), Emmett Lynn (Old-timer in bathtub), Bud Osborne (Man getting shave), Wally West (Deputy) . . . . . . our story asks, why is Buster Crabbe being sent to Red Rock and what part does Charles King play in this Poverty Row oater ... Fuzzy St. John holds down three jobs Barber, Justice of the Peace and the town's Marshal ... is Buster horning in on Eddie Hall's romance with Dona Dax, could be ... Fuzzy is a big part of this film's success and holds well under his terrific physical comedy ... Crabbe better watch his step as King is on to him and the missing map ...will our "Our Old Pals" (Buster and Fuzzy) give their fans all the action and excitement they're expecting, well sit back and enjoy this rip roaring B-Western ----- B-Western footnote, actor Al St. John, silent film comic who appeared in dozens of Mack Sennett's early Keystone comedies and would eventually create and star in his own vehicles for other studios. With the advent of sound, he became a character actor in westerns and later the bewhiskered sidekick, also known as Fuzzy Q. Jones in some popular series Fred Scott (Spectrum Pictures/1937-38), Bob Steele/Billy the Kid (PRC Pictures/1940-41), Don "Red" Barry (Republic Pictures/1940-42), Lone Rider wth George Houston (PRC Pictures/1941-42), Lone Rider with Robert Livingston (PRC Pictures/1942-43), Buster Crabbe/Billy the Kid (PRC Pictures/1941-43), Buster Crabbe/Billy Carson (PRC Pictures/1943-46), Lash LaRue (PRC Pictures/1947-52) --- St. John retired from film making in the early '50s, passed away in 1963 from a heart attack while working with the Tommy Scott Wild West show --- check out this and more in a new book "Those Great Cowboy Sidekicks" by David Rothel, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing --- pick up your copy today ----- second B-Western footnote, actor Charles King was among the top five "Best of the Badmen" (according to a new book by Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland) --- King was a big man, but as agile as a cat during his fight scenes with Johnny Mack Brown, Buster Crabbe, Tex Ritter, The Rough Riders and Bob Steele...King appeared in 400 films and 350 were in sound including many cliffhangers --- King was the heavy we loved to hate --- check out this and more in a new book "Best of the Badmen" by Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing --- pick up your copy today --- another great B-Western for Buster Crabbe under the PRC Picture banner, proves to be one of his most exciting performances.

Special footnote, actor Buster Crabbe graduated from the University of Southern California and won the 400 meter freestyle in which he medaled in the 1932 Olympics, went to work for Paramount in "King of the Jungle" (1933), next role was "Tarzan the Fearless (1933), Crabbe returned to Paramount Pictures was featured in Zane Grey Westerns which were well received, then came the roles that made him a household word "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers" at Universal Picture Serials (1936-1940), meanwhile PRC Studios was looking for a leading hero "Billy the Kid" and "Billy Carson" in the 1940's B-Western series and ran its course for six years, later made several televison appearances and appeared in a series "Captain Gallant and the Foreign Legion" (1955-1957).....

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Buster Crabbe (aka: Clarence Linden Crabbe II)
Birth Date: 2/17/1907 - Oakland California
Died: 4/23/1983 - Scottsdale, Arizona
2. Al "Fuzzy" St. John (aka: Alfred St. John)
Birth Date: 9/10/1893 - Santa Ana, CA
Died: 1/21/1963 - Lyons, Georgia
3. Charles King
Birth Date: 2/21/1895 - Hillsboro, Texas
Died: 5/07/1957 - Hollywood, California (cirrhosis of liver)
4. Sam Newfield (Director)
Date of birth: 6 December 1899 - New York, New York
Date of death: 10 November 1964 - Los Angeles, California

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure check out other western double features with Buster Crabbe:

BUSTER CRABBE WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURES:
1. Vol. 1 - Western Cyclone/Sheriff of Sage Valley (1942-43) (VCI #7213) (DVD)
2. Vol. 2 - Fugitive of the Plains/Fuzzy Settles Down (1943-44) (VCI #7299) (DVD)

Ask Amazon.Com to carry the above Buster Crabbe titles
if they are not available as of yet...you can order
and pick up your copy now from VCI Entertainment.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Shadows of Death (1945) - Buster Crabbe, the
digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more
high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and
B-Westerns...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there
are plenty of copies available on DVD and VHS, stay tuned once again for top
notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just
the way we like 'em

Total Time: 60 min on DVD/VHS ~ VCI Home Video ~ (6/25/2002)

Double feature fun for B-Western fans.......2005-12-08

From 1941 to 1946, Buster Crabbe (FLASH GORDON, BUCK ROGERS) starred in a series of ultra-low budget Westerns for that infamous Poverty Row outfit, PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation). During the first three years, Crabbe's character was called "Billy the Kid"; afterwards he was known as "Billy Carson." Regardless of the name, it was always the same tried-and-true formula: Crabbe played a stalwart sagebrush hero who never failed to help anyone in distress. And he was always aided and abetted by his trusty sidekick, Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John).

While the scripts, settings, and supporting casts repeated themselves with alarming regularity, this series was given a considerable boost by the appealing performances of Crabbe and St. John. Though he was never hailed for his acting ability, Buster Crabbe had such a winning screen presence that it didn't matter if he posed no threat to Spencer Tracy or Paul Muni. He was the sort of easygoing, likable Western hero that audiences could easily root for. Al St. John was one of the funniest Western sidekicks in the business; a talented visual comedian (he had appeared in numerous silent comedies with his uncle, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle), Fuzzy could always "pepper up" a routine script with his lively physical clowning. Together, Crabbe and St. John made a solid team, and their combined talents helped them overcome PRC's severe budgetary limitations.

This Buster Crabbe double feature is a bargain for fans of this series. HIS BROTHER'S GHOST is one of the better entries, with St. John playing his usual role of Fuzzy as well as Fuzzy's brother, Andy. When Andy is killed, Fuzzy steps in as the title character to thwart a bandit gang. SHADOWS OF DEATH is an okay entry that, like so many others, is just an excuse to see the duo in action.

Print quality on both titles is only passable. One of these days I'd love to see a good (if not great) copy of one of the Crabbe/St. John Westerns. As it is, fans will appreciate this two-for-one deal. (Non-fans won't rate this disc as highly as I did...then again, non-fans won't be interested in this disc at all.)

Serviceable film transfers of two very average B-Westerns.......2005-09-08

This review is for the Alpha Video issued DVD double feature, "My Brother's Ghost" (47:30 minutes) and "Shadow of Death (59:00 minutes)"

The quality of both film transfers here are just serviceable, but not much more than that. Both suffer from the typical loss of highlights in these old films and have the appearance of an old very worn out VHS - you can watch it o.k., just don't expect great quality from this DVD. The sound is often slightly distorted and muffled sounding at times - But, not so bad that it distracts from the movies - you can still hear everything o.k. and it's not a huge problem. Overall, "My Brother's Ghost" is of somewhat better quality than "Shadows of Death" in terms of both picture quality and sound.

Both movies are just average in terms of B-Westerns, not bad, but not anything great either. "My Brother's Ghost" is definitely the better of the two movies. However, Buster Crabbe is a much better actor than the roles he plays in these particular westerns. Still these movies are fun to watch for what they are - not a bad way to spend a rainy day. They certainly don't make 'em like this anymore!

Death in the Shadows (My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

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Death in the Shadows (My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Peter Levin
Manufacturer: Rainbow
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FVE8MU

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), SYNOPSIS: The protagonist of Death in the Shadows is a young woman seeking to discover the motive behind her mother's murder after finding out that she was not the woman's natural daughter. In pursuit of that goal, she must avoid assasination herself. Death in the Shadows was filmed in Holland, its attractive backgrounds jarring dramatically with its bursts of violence. SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access,

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Death in the Shadows
Starring: Johan Leysen , Maayke Bouten , and Marlous Fluitsma
Director: Vivian Pieters
Manufacturer: Direct Source Label
ProductGroup: DVD
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Lon Chaney's silent film about Yen Sin, "The Heathen"

Shadows
Starring: Priscilla Bonner , Lon Chaney , Marguerite de la Motte , Walter Long , and Frances Raymond
Director: Tom Forman
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Shock
The Penalty

ASIN: B000087F1I
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Customer Reviews:

Lon Chaney's silent film about Yen Sin, "The Heathen".......2003-11-04

Lon Chaney's performance in "Shadows" is really the only thing that makes this 1922 silent film worth preserving. Chaney plays Yen Sin, known as "The Heathen." Set in in the sea side fishing town of Urkey, the story focuses on Sympathy Gibbs (Marguerite De La Motte), who marries Daniel Gibbs (Walter Long), a violent seaman who supposedly dies at sea. She then marries the new parson, the Reverend John Malden (Harrison Ford). However, Sympathy has also caught the eye of the rich man in town, Nate Snow (John St. Polis). After the Maldens celebrate the birth of a daughter, the Reverend is told that his wife's first husband is still alive, and is blackmailed with the information, which leads him to reject his wife's bed.

Directed by Tom Forman (who would commit suicide in 1926 when suffering from an illness), "Shadows" was scripted by Hope Loring and Eve Unsell from the Wilbur Daniel Steele story, "Ching, Ching, Chinaman." Yen Sin is a Chinese laundryman, who came to town after he was washed ashore in the wake of the same shipwreck that killed Daniel Gibbs. Having put up with the prejudice of this community that prides itself on its Christian piety, he learns of the blackmail plot. The idea of the title is that he can no longer hide in the shadows, which puts him on a collision course with the ironically named Mr. Snow. The irony, of course, is that Yen Sin is the most Christian soul in Urkey. There is even a deathbed conversion just to set everything to rights in the end.

Description

starring Buster Crabbe and Al 'Fuzzy' St. John (1945) The railroad's coming to Red Rock and Billy (Buster Crabbe) has been sent in to help his friend Fuzzy, who's the town's sheriff, judge, and barber. Things heat up when the man who sent Billy is murdered and the railroad location map stolen. Tex Ralph's Westerns #15 B-Westerns strongly evoked traditional American values - honesty, courage, hard work, fair play, and that a good little man can always kick the butt of a bad big man. In the darkness of the theater and afterwards, out in the Saturday afternoon sunlight playing cowboys and Indians, long before political correctness changed the name of our favorite boyhood game, we knew we were right and lived in the greatest land of all... because Gene and Roy and Hoppy and all our other heroes said so and showed us how to live a good moral life by riding hard, drawing fast, and never, EVER stealing a horse or rustling a cow. "Tex Ralph's Westerns" is a weekly TV show on cable channel 20, URTV, in Asheville, North Carolina. Author Ralph Roberts chooses exciting B-Westerns and hosts each episode. Currently there are 53 movies in this series, all available on DVD.

Shadows of Death (1945) DVD [Remastered Edition]

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"Buster Crabbe B-Western Series ... Shadows of Death (1945) ... VCI Home Video"
really a very hard and dedicated work .... cheerrssss

Shadows of Death (1945) DVD [Remastered Edition]
Director: A2ZCDS.com
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The famed trio of Sam Newfield (director), Buster Crabbe (Billy Carson) and Al St. John (sidekick) come together again in this classic western, which has Fuzzy shuffling comically between the barbers saloon, the sheriffs office and the courtroom in Red Rock! A2ZCDS have brought this old Hollywood Classic feature films on DVD."This thrilling western has the versatile Buster Crabbe cast in the familiar role of Billy Carson a cowboy turned investigator who is after a stolen railroad map and a murderer. Director Sam Newfield is once again at his directional best, producing a thriller out of a plot that is really quite predictable. Although you dont see much of action in terms of gunfights, Fuzzys portrayal of a one-man industry barber, sheriff and judge all at once has you in splits for most part of the narrative. Charles King carries the role of a greedy gang lord pretty to new heights, while Billy is at his gang-busting best. All in all, this is a thrilling western that has you engrossed with intrigue and humor. Witness how the deductive powers of Carson are pitted against the guiles of the villainous Landreau."

Customer Reviews:

"Buster Crabbe B-Western Series ... Shadows of Death (1945) ... VCI Home Video".......2006-10-24

VCI Entertainment and Producers Releasing Corporation present "SHADOWS OF DEATH" (1945) (60 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- relive those thrilling days when Buster Crabbe took us down the dusty trails with hard riding and straight shooting hitting the bull's eye with excitement every time... the Buster Crabbe series of B-Westerns were a staple of Saturday matinees in the 1930s and 1940s ... don't miss any of the Buster Crabbe features loaded with action that will leave you wanting more of his B-Western adventures.

Under Sam Newfield (Director), Sigmund Neufeld (Producer), Fred K. Myton (Screenwriter), John H. Greenhalgh, Jr.(Cinematographer), Holbrook Todd (Editor) ------ the cast includes Buster Crabbe (Billy Carson), Al St. John (Fuzzy Q. Jones), Dona Dax (Babs Darcy), Charles King (Steve Landreau (gang boss), Karl Hackett (Dave Hanlely (murder fictim), Eddie Hall (Clay Kincaid), Frank Ellis (Henchman Frisco), John L. Cason (Henchman Butch), Budd Buster (Man getting beard trimmed), Emmett Lynn (Old-timer in bathtub), Bud Osborne (Man getting shave), Wally West (Deputy) . . . . . . our story asks, why is Buster Crabbe being sent to Red Rock and what part does Charles King play in this Poverty Row oater ... Fuzzy St. John holds down three jobs Barber, Justice of the Peace and the town's Marshal ... is Buster horning in on Eddie Hall's romance with Dona Dax, could be ... Fuzzy is a big part of this film's success and holds well under his terrific physical comedy ... Crabbe better watch his step as King is on to him and the missing map ...will our "Our Old Pals" (Buster and Fuzzy) give their fans all the action and excitement they're expecting, well sit back and enjoy this rip roaring B-Western ----- B-Western footnote, actor Al St. John, silent film comic who appeared in dozens of Mack Sennett's early Keystone comedies and would eventually create and star in his own vehicles for other studios. With the advent of sound, he became a character actor in westerns and later the bewhiskered sidekick, also known as Fuzzy Q. Jones in some popular series Fred Scott (Spectrum Pictures/1937-38), Bob Steele/Billy the Kid (PRC Pictures/1940-41), Don "Red" Barry (Republic Pictures/1940-42), Lone Rider wth George Houston (PRC Pictures/1941-42), Lone Rider with Robert Livingston (PRC Pictures/1942-43), Buster Crabbe/Billy the Kid (PRC Pictures/1941-43), Buster Crabbe/Billy Carson (PRC Pictures/1943-46), Lash LaRue (PRC Pictures/1947-52) --- St. John retired from film making in the early '50s, passed away in 1963 from a heart attack while working with the Tommy Scott Wild West show --- check out this and more in a new book "Those Great Cowboy Sidekicks" by David Rothel, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing --- pick up your copy today ----- second B-Western footnote, actor Charles King was among the top five "Best of the Badmen" (according to a new book by Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland) --- King was a big man, but as agile as a cat during his fight scenes with Johnny Mack Brown, Buster Crabbe, Tex Ritter, The Rough Riders and Bob Steele...King appeared in 400 films and 350 were in sound including many cliffhangers --- King was the heavy we loved to hate --- check out this and more in a new book "Best of the Badmen" by Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing --- pick up your copy today --- another great B-Western for Buster Crabbe under the PRC Picture banner, proves to be one of his most exciting performances.

Special footnote, actor Buster Crabbe graduated from the University of Southern California and won the 400 meter freestyle in which he medaled in the 1932 Olympics, went to work for Paramount in "King of the Jungle" (1933), next role was "Tarzan the Fearless (1933), Crabbe returned to Paramount Pictures was featured in Zane Grey Westerns which were well received, then came the roles that made him a household word "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers" at Universal Picture Serials (1936-1940), meanwhile PRC Studios was looking for a leading hero "Billy the Kid" and "Billy Carson" in the 1940's B-Western series and ran its course for six years, later made several televison appearances and appeared in a series "Captain Gallant and the Foreign Legion" (1955-1957).....

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Buster Crabbe (aka: Clarence Linden Crabbe II)
Birth Date: 2/17/1907 - Oakland California
Died: 4/23/1983 - Scottsdale, Arizona
2. Al "Fuzzy" St. John (aka: Alfred St. John)
Birth Date: 9/10/1893 - Santa Ana, CA
Died: 1/21/1963 - Lyons, Georgia
3. Charles King
Birth Date: 2/21/1895 - Hillsboro, Texas
Died: 5/07/1957 - Hollywood, California (cirrhosis of liver)
4. Sam Newfield (Director)
Date of birth: 6 December 1899 - New York, New York
Date of death: 10 November 1964 - Los Angeles, California

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure check out other western double features with Buster Crabbe:

BUSTER CRABBE WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURES:
1. Vol. 1 - Western Cyclone/Sheriff of Sage Valley (1942-43) (VCI #7213) (DVD)
2. Vol. 2 - Fugitive of the Plains/Fuzzy Settles Down (1943-44) (VCI #7299) (DVD)

Ask Amazon.Com to carry the above Buster Crabbe titles
if they are not available as of yet...you can order
and pick up your copy now from VCI Entertainment.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Shadows of Death (1945) - Buster Crabbe, the
digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more
high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and
B-Westerns...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there
are plenty of copies available on DVD and VHS, stay tuned once again for top
notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just
the way we like 'em

Total Time: 60 min on DVD/VHS ~ VCI Home Video ~ (6/25/2002)

really a very hard and dedicated work .... cheerrssss.......2006-05-02

"This surely is one of the funniest westerns I have witnessed from the 30s. I think the producer decided to do away with the use of bullets and use humor instead, and his gamble seems to have paid off. I can imagine how Fuzzy's antics may have enthralled audiences back then, and found this to be refreshing change from the run of the mill westerns."

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