What's the common link between directors Jack Arnold, Kurt Neuman and Byron Haskin? Three film makers whom the budgets allowed to them were not enough to give great A movies, but good movies though, certainly not Z junks...The common point is that those three were above all, science fiction specialists, at least it was sci-fi stuff that made them famous. Kurt neuman for THE FLY, KRONOS, ROCKETSHIP XM; Jack Arnold:TARANTULA, INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE; and Byron Haskin: WAR OF THE WORLDS, CONQUEST OF SPACE, ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, FROM EARTH TO THE MOON..And all those three also made good solid westerns too. Arnold: NO NAME ON THE BULLET, MAN FROM BITTER RIDGE...Kurt Neuman, KID FROM TEXAS, MOHAWK and Haskin: this very one, WARPATH, SILVER CITY, FIRST TEXAN...That said, this one is my favourite from Haskin, with also SILVER CITY, plenty of action, plus the splendid locations, and an awesome photography. I don't even speak of this cast, with Sterling Hayden and a surprising villain role. A villain far more charismatic than the good lead but bland Edmond O'Brien.... I forgot Nathan Juran, also provider of westerns with Audie Murphy - and not only - but also great science fiction films: DEADLY MANTIS, TWENTY MILLIONS MILES TO EARTH. Edward Bernds, also good B director in westerns and science fiction, but at a lesser scale than Arnold, Haskin and Neuman.
Review of Denver & Rio Grande
