News

The Spaghetti Western genre arose in Italy during the 1960s, exploring moral complexities and featuring European directors. The term "Spaghetti Western" stemmed from the fact that most of these low-budget, gritty, and violent Westerns were produced in Italy. Spaghetti Westerns, marked by antiheroes and graphic violence, became a dominant film style in Italy and around the globe, influencing modern filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino.

Regarding film, genres don't come much more versatile than the Western. Sure, it's not quite as popular as it once was in its heyday, but the genre has captivated millions of fans with stories of cowboys, outlaws, and all-around renegades trying to survive the American frontier. So much so that most filmgoers and movie fans have heard the phrase "Spaghetti Western" before, even if they don't exactly know what it means.

The 1960s saw the rise of what became known as the Spaghetti Western. Carrying on the...

Clark Gable is still sufficiently frisky in this late career western to attract four well-chosen frontier women -- who in this case happen to be a quartet of robbers' wives, sitting on a rumored mountain of ill-gotten gains. Raoul Walsh abets the comedy-drama, as Gable's fox-in-a-henhouse tries to determine which hen can lead him to the promised golden eggs. The King and Four Queens Blu-ray Olive Films 1956 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date May 24, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Clark Gable, Eleanor Parker, Jo Van Fleet, Jean Willes, Barbara Nichols, Sara Shane, Roy Roberts, Arthur Shields, Jay C. Flippen. Cinematography Lucien Ballard Production Design Wiard Ihnen Film Editor Howard Bretherton Original Music Alex North Written by Richard Alan Simmons, Margaret Fitts from her story Produced by David Hempstead Directed by Raoul Walsh

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Olive's latest dip into MGM's United Artists holdings brings up the cheerful, not particularly...