Audie Murphy Collection IV - The Kid from Texas / The Cimarron Kid / Drums Across the River

There are many icons and legends within Hollywood. Some are made icons immediately, some take time - even decades - to earn that status as we look back on these individuals’ careers. In the case of Audie Murphy, he was already a legend before he took up the call to join the ranks of Hollywood’s leading men. Long before he strapped on a pair of six-shooters or took up residence with Cagney as his protege, Audie Murphy came out of World War II as the highest-decorated combat soldier. 

Now, his films are of varying quality. I admit, as a fan, not all of his films are incredible pieces of work. But even when they’re not the best films, and Murphy was looking a bit green under the stage lights, you have to admit he had that spark. There was something in the eyes that gave even his weakest films a reason to stay. Fighting through severe PTSD, the man made some damned entertaining films. This fourth volume in the growing box sets celebrating Murphy’s career offers fans a look at The Kid from Texas, The Cimarron Kid, and Drums Across the River. 

At the top of the pack, The Kid from Texas - 1950. The film sees Murphy as one of the most notorious outlaws to ever ride the west, Billy the Kid. Directed by Kurt Newman, the film takes on a sort of “procedural” tone to the legend of Henry McCarty. The “according to fact” stance gives the film a more lumbering “and this happened, and then this happened…” pace. While there are shootouts aplenty, the film also can feel a bit lurching without much thrust to carry the plot points through to the end. But as his fourth feature, you can see Murphy’s comfort in front of the camera starting to blossom a little. 2.5/5

Two years later, Murphy is back in the saddle alongside Yvette Dugay in The Cimarron Kid - 1952. A new take on the legendary Dalton gang, Murphy is stuck in the situation of guilt by association. As Bill Doolan, he’s a good man accused by the law of helping in a deadly train robbery. With his back against the wall, he has no choice but to lead the gang for one last heist. The Cimarron Kid was Murphy’s eighth appearance, and with Budd Boetticher at the helm, it’s a marked improvement for Murphy as an actor for an all-around better film. There’s more care for the dramatics. There’s more weight for the character arcs. Murphy deftly handles the switch from innocent man to complicit outlaw with a grace we hadn’t seen from him before. True to Boetticher’s best instincts, nothing feels forced, nothing feels wasted, and at 84 minutes, it accomplishes a lot without ever feeling shortchanged. 4.5/5

Lining up the final entry in this set is Drums Across the River -1954 with Murphy starring alongside Walter Brennan, Lyle Bettger, and Lisa Gaye. Murphy and Brennan are father and son freighters. Gary and Sam Brannon are caught in a war between the Utes and a band of no-good miners who want to dig into Indian lands. As they try to keep the peace and stop an all-out war, Gary will have to set aside his old prejudices and anger over the death of his mother to keep everyone alive. Directed by Nathan Juran, the film may feel a bit paint-by-numbers at times, but the efficient storytelling, smart action, and great performances elevate the material. Murphy’s fifteenth feature is a showcase of his growing talent as he deftly handles the action while lifting some hefty dramatic weight. It’s a B-movie Western through and through, but it’s a good one. 4/5 

It’s something to consider - would we know of Audie Murphy, the actor and star of numerous Westerns and War films, if he weren’t a decorated hero? There’s a cynical side of me that wouldn’t think so, but having watched through many of his films now, I can see he was a man of talent. He wasn’t just the son of a poor sharecropper in Texas. He wasn’t just the highest-decorated combat vet during WWII. He was also a pretty damn good actor who could carry a film - he just had to learn the ropes. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Studio Classics continues its tribute to the star with Audie Murphy Collection IV. A three-disc set, each film is pressed on a Region A BD25 disc, housed in its own case with original poster artwork. The three cases are bundled together with a thin paper slipcase. Each disc loads to a static image main menu with standard navigation options along the bottom of the screen.

Film preservation isn’t always a uniform process for every film. As we’ve seen over the years, some films get the best of the best treatment, while others, well, we’re lucky to have them at all. We get a little bit of both extremes in this set. 

The Kid From Texas, unfortunately, draws the very short stick of the lot. In its prime, the film was another Technicolor marvel, and we only get glimmers of that potential in this transfer. Simply, it’s a disaster. Color timing looks off from the start, and from shot to shot can shift dramatically from being too light and washed out to downright drab and dark. In between, we have some serious color bleaching, especially around optical effects, where the image looks as if it went full vinegar purple for those moments. I don’t have any info if this is simply a case of using the best elements available or if this was a foul-up from Universal. Quite simply, it’s the pits. It’s probably one of the weakest transfers for a deep catalog title from KLSC I’ve seen since their earliest days, when they were given what they got and that’s all they could use. You can at least watch the movie, that’s the best I can say. 1.5/5 

On the flipside, the remaining two-thirds of this set are in excellent shape. Both The Cimarron Kid and Drums Across the River look fantastic. I’ll give Cimarron Kid the overall edge there as it doesn’t endure some of the age-related wear-and-tear of Drums Across the River. Details are sharp and clear brought to vivid live with a wonderfully colorful presentation. Primaries are rich and vibrant with strong black levels and deep blacks. 4.25/5

Drums Across the River fares similarly to Cimarron Kid, it’s impressively detailed and sharp, naturally cinematic-looking, and can display some exquisite color saturation. I initially was tempted to punch this at the top of the pack for this set, but it does suffer around transitions. The lingering color and quality shift felt more noticeable and distracting, and I felt there was quite a bit more speckling around those moments. So it sits in second place, but still a strong-looking very satisfying transfer. 4/5

The good news for all three films is that their audio packages are spit-polished and clean. Even The Kid From Texas sounds excellent without issue, a stark contrast to how the video transfer turned out. All three films have clean dialog encounters where the only issue with how well you can understand what’s being said is some of the hammy-as-a-sandwich thick accents. Those are performance choices and not faults of the transfer. Occasionally, it could seem like a little hiss would creep in here and there, but it's so slight I barely noticed it, and then once I did, it never got worse or distracting enough for me to get pulled out of the moment. All together, three very good audio mixes for these discs.

The Kid from Texas

• Audio Commentary featuring Gary Gerani
• Trailer
• KLSC Trailer Gallery
• The Duel at Silver Creek
• Sierra
• Hell Bent for Leather
• Night Passage
• Walk the Proud Land

The Cimarron Kid

• Audio Commentary featuring C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke
• Trailer
• KLSC Trailer Gallery
• Ride a Crooked Trail
• Kansas Raiders
• Posse from Hell
• Seven Ways from Sundown

Drums Across the River 

• Audio Commentary featuring C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke
• Trailer
• KLSC Trailer Gallery
• No Name on the Bullet
• Destry
• Showdown
• Bullet for a Badman

Many stars rode through the dusty trails of Hollywood westerns, but few were like Audie Murphy. The man may not have started out life hoping to be a screen legend, but he became a real-life hero and grew into a star. I’d argue that when Murphy was at his best, it was because he was surrounded by the best in the business. With a good writer and a great director, Murphy could deliver a performance to match. For Audie Murphy Collection IV, we get three more westerns, and it’s something of a sliding scale. Pulled from different eras of his career, the films got better as he became a more confident actor. All are enjoyable excursions, nonetheless. For two of the three, The Cimarron Kid and Drums Across the River, the video transfers are excellent and hold up well. Unfortunately, The Kid from Texas is in pretty bad shape; it’s watchable, you can enjoy the film, but that’s the best I can say. Thankfully audio for all three films are excellent and each film pics up an interesting commentary track. Ultimately, this set is catered to genre and Murphy aficionados. For Fans Only