Based on the novel by W.R. Burnett, Wild West Days is a 13-chapter serial from Universal Studios. This 1937 serial was directed by Ford Beebe (The Phantom Creeps) and Clifford Smith (Secret Agent X-9).
In this serial, Kentucky Wade (screen legend Johnny Mack Brown, The Oregon Trail, Female, A Woman of Affairs), Dude Hanford, Mike Morales (Frank Yaconelli, Dr. Cyclops, East Side Kids) and Trigger Benton(Bob Kortman, The Long Ranger Rides On, Beau Hunks) come to the aid of Larry (Frank McGlynn) and Lucy Munro (Lucy Gilbert) who are the owners of a hidden gold mine. Newspaper editor Matt Keeler (Russell Simpson,Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise), Cabin in the Cotton) wants the mine for himself and has Larry framed to get to the gold mine. Matt gets help from his gang of outlaws. Plus, there are Indians led by Red Hatchet that make their presence felt in this wild and woolly shootout in the Old West!
I love serials mainly because each chapter has a lot of action and a cool cliffhanger to whet your appetite for the next chapter. Wild West Days has a lot of “Shoot ‘em up” Western action to go with some fistfights along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed this serial. The cast hands in good performances and Richard Fryer’s cinematography captures some great outdoor scenery! The story is decent enough with fluid direction to keep you tuned in for all 13 chapters. This makes for a great weekend matinee!
VCI Entertainment has given Wild West Days a Blu-ray release. Given a fresh new 4K scan, the image quality for this serial is fantastic, with rich blacks, bold, crisp whites, and a balanced greyscale. It is an impressive, cleaned-up image with the only real issue is age-old issues like an occasional jump cut or a blip that happens every now and then due to film elements, but otherwise this is a splendid viewing experience. Film grain is present throughout the video presentation, and no print damages were detected outside of a few speckles here and there. No DNR appears to have been applied.
VCI uses English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack for the audio and overall, dialogue, gunshots and music by Charles Previn is clear. Background noises offer a nice amount of clarity and are perfectly balanced with the other sounds in the foreground. I don’t recall much in the way of any audio issues such as hissing during the audio presentation. If there were any drop-offs it would have been minimal as I think the audio was clear for all 13 chapters. Optional English subtitles are available for this release.
There are no extras on this Blu-ray. Despite that, Wild West Days is a blast with a lot of great action, superb audio and video quality to make this a recommended release! Serial collectors should pick this one up!
Wild West Days
Director- Ford Beebe and Clifford Smith
Cast- Johnny Mack Brown, George Shelley, Lynn Gilbert
Country of Origin- USA
Distributor – VCI Entertainment
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date –12/2/2022