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John Henry "Doc" Holliday (1851–1887) was a sharp-witted dentist-turned-gunslinger and gambler with a hot temper who ultimately became famous for his role in the Wild West and his close friendship with lawman Wyatt Earp. Diagnosed with tuberculosis, Holliday turned to gambling and occasionally worked as a dentist. He developed a reputation as a skilled card player and a quick-draw gunfighter. Holliday's partnership with Earp led him to become involved in law enforcement conflicts, including the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881. This deadly confrontation, pitting Earp and Holliday against the Clanton-McLaury gang, became legendary.

Doc Holliday died in Colorado in 1887 at the age of 36. His colorful life story has been the subject of many books and movies, most notable in the 1993 movie Tombstone with Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. However, Doc’s life inspired many other movies, including some that rival the legendary Tombstone itself.

The...

Louise Brooks once said that the movies were invented to enable rich men to own desirable women. The Outlaw is the stuff of legend less for itself than for Howard Hughes’ creation of the sex star Jane Russell, and his battle with the censors and Hollywood itself. We’ve always gotten the impression that nobody has told the full story behind Hughes, Russell and this ultra-hyped notorious western.

The Outlaw

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1943 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 116 min. / Street Date February 27, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Walter Huston, Thomas Mitchell, Mimi Aguglia, Joe Sawyer, Ben Johnson, Emory Parnell.

Cinematography: Gregg Toland

Film Editor: Wallace Grissell

Original Music: Victor Young

Written by Jules Furthman

Produced by Howard Hughes

Directed by Howard Hughes, Howard Hawks

“How’d you like to tussle with Russell?”

The most notorious film title in the censor debate of the 1940s is Howard Hughes’ The Outlaw,...

Robert Siodmak’s superb noir classic pits two graduates of Little Italy against one other: a crook who can deceive relatives and seduce strangers into helping him, and the cop who wants to put him out of business. Starring the great Richard Conte, with Victor Mature in what might be his best role.

Cry of the City

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark, Shelley Winters, Betty Garde, Berry Kroeger, Tommy Cook, Debra Paget, Hope Emerson, Roland Winters, Walter Baldwin, Mimi Aguglia, Kathleen Howard, Konstantin Shayne, Tito Vuolo.

Cinematography Lloyd Ahern

Original Music Alfred Newman

Written by Richard Murphy from the novel The Chair for Martin Rome by Henry Edward Helseth

Produced by Sol C. Siegel

Directed by Robert Siodmak

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Perhaps because of a legal or rights issue, Robert Siodmak...