Western releases include real gems

• "Escape From Fort Bravo" (1953) was filmed in Death Valley, and the unforgiving desert plays a significant role in this tale of the Civil War being disrupted by Indian raids. William Holden dominates as a tough captain at a Union prison, with Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, William Demarest and Polly Bergen.

• "Many Rivers to Cross" (1955) is a romantic comedy on the frontier as Eleanor Parker sets her sites on rough-hewn trapper Robert Taylor. Great supporting cast includes Victor McLaglen, Russ Tamblyn and James Arness, (Home-video debut)

• "The Law and Jake Wade" (1958) Robert Taylor and Richard Widmark shine in this macho standoff as former partners in crime. Taylor now wears a badge, but Widmark is sure he's hidden away some of their loot and he aims to find it. Excellent performances and nice use of outdoor locations give this one a real boost.

• "Saddle the Wind" (1958) has Taylor playing a former gunslinger who has retired to ranching, but trouble is stirred up by his hotheaded younger brother (John Cassavetes, doing a cowboy "Rebel Without a Cause"). Familiar but very well-played, with Julie London as an observer and Donald Crisp as the voice of wisdom. Written by Rod Serling! (Home-video debut)

• "Cimarron" (1960) is the second movie of Edna Ferber's tale (first filmed in 1931) and it features a stunning land-rush sequence. From there it's a familiar soap opera about the building of the West — but the cast is good and the film offers some eye-popping spectacle. Glenn Ford, Maria Schell, Anne Baxter, Arthur O'Connell, Russ Tamblyn, Mercedes McCambridge.

• "The Stalking Moon" (1969, G). Believe it or not, this plays like an antecedent of "Halloween," with Gregory Peck reluctantly taking into his care a woman (Eva Marie Saint) and her young Indian son. She has spent 10 years as an Indian captive, and the boy's father is a ruthless killer who leaves a trail of bodies as he tracks them down. Low-key with sparse dialogue but it builds to a highly suspenseful crescendo.

Extras: widescreen, trailers (each title also available separately, $12.98)

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