From DVD Times:

I've only seen the John Sturges titles, which are entertaining as hell--like most of his work. I'll probably pick them up separately.

Why pick them up separately when you have a great film by Anthony Mann and two other underrated Robert Taylor vehicles, the likes of which have so far been far underrepresented on DVD... it's probably cheaper to just buy the whole box set anyways. That's what I love about Warner Bros!

I've been waiting years for a R1 release of The Law and Jake Wade and I can't wait for this set; it's possibly among my most anticipated of 2008 next to the Fox Western Classics w/ The Gunfighter and Popeye Vol. 2 Collection!

I agree that Law and Jake Wade is a criminally underrated western, but most of the other titles in this collection are fairly mediocre, in my opinion. Cimmarron is probably my least favorite Anthony Mann film (apart from his early b-musicals) -- a few good moments, like the shooting of Charles McGraw's character, but the material is pretty weak to begin with. (I'm not a fan of Edna Ferber.) I've not seen Saddle the Wind, which is I assume the second of the two Taylor films you were talking about. I hope so, 'cause Many Rivers to Cross is kind of boring.

Warner's made the classy decision to put the late great Richard Widmark on the cover of the box!

Classy and fitting, as his performance in Jake Wade is the best thing about that movie (and therefore, in my opinion, the box set). "You'll never meet anyone better than me - just prettier" - fantastic.

I see that the great Henry Silva is in The Law and Jake Wade - is his character/performace good?

Yes! His interactions with Widmark are particularly good. (My impression was that Widmark had better chemistry with Silva than with Taylor.) Here's a typical exchange:

Silva's character: I said I was sorry, I didn't think.

Widmark's character: We'll chisel that on your tombstone.

Tryavna, you must be a real fan of TLAJW to recall the dialogue so well! My favorite is Widmark's reaction to the failure of the six-shooter Taylor digs up with the loot: "Well it could have gone off like a canon. And think how silly I would have felt!"

I had the great opportunity to see TLAJW on the big screen at about age seven at a friends birthday bash. It was the second feature in support of THE ADVENTURES OF HUCK FINN (have only the vaguest memory of that one) and was probably my second or third Widmark western. I saw THE ALAMO at age five and Widmark made at least as vivid an impression on me as the Duke. At some point around the same time I saw GARDEN OF EVIL at the same theatre AFTER having seen it on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies. Great that both these films are finally being released at last. Now if only Universal would see fit to release Sturges' BACKLASH!

TLAJW is a top drawer "journey western" sub-species "let's find the loot in the ghost town/mining camp" and three of the best feature superlative Widmark performances. The others being GARDEN OF EVIL and Wellman's YELLOW SKY. Not as laconic and stoic as the Boetticher-Scotts or as elegant and physically violent as the Mann-Stewarts these films feature colorful performances, interesting locations and camerawork and (for GOE at least) a great score. Won't dis the rest of the boxset out of hand (I have fond memories of ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO but haven't seen it in decades) but I agree that CIMARRON is the most disappointing of all the Mann westerns. I'd almost buy the box just for the Widmark photo art (actually from TLAJW not just some other western under the corporate umbrella) but will probably opt for just the single title. And where the hell is THE HANGING TREE?

Yeah, it's one of those movies that used to come on all the time on TNT and/or TBS, so on average, I probably saw it twice a year when I was growing up. Even though it's not my favorite Western, it's pretty damn entertaining, and I usually end up sitting through the whole thing if I happen upon it while I'm channel-surfing.

I think my absolute favorite moment in the film is when Widwark throws the knife at Taylor, missing Taylor's head by an inch or so, and Taylor doesn't bat an eye. It's one of those instances where Taylor's dead-pan style is an asset. But a close runner up is this exchange:

Widmark: Well, did you say a few words over the boys?
Robert Middleton: Yeah. "Goodbye."
Widmark: Very touching....

It's an extremely quotable movie.

Just picturing Widmark saying these lines is making my day