There are scores of collectors and video suppliers that cater to fans of the old B western and serial.
The following is a listing of the ones which I'm familiar, and I've gotten tapes and DVDs from some of them in the recent or distant past.
If you click on a link below, be aware that the Old Corral is NOT part of any money-making 'associates' or 'referral' programs with click-thru icons that take you to websites to purchase videos or whatever. And none of these companies or individuals are sponsors or pay to have a link included below.
There are lots more video suppliers which you can find via Internet Search Engines and the like. And don't forget that you may be able to purchase/order some videos through your local video rental store. Lastly, don't forget to check your local library which may have some westerns and serials for you to view.
The sources below are of two types:
1. 'mass market' vendors that sell major video releases ... and they also have some westerns and serials.
2. vendors that specialize in westerns and cliffhangers, and cater to the 'secondary market' and 'collector-to-collector'.
I don't have any way to identify and keep track of the quality, price and such on the thousands of videotapes, DVDs, and DVD-Rs that are available from the sources listed below. Nor can I keep track of their service, response and prices. There's one general rule - do not expect a 60 year old western or serial to be in the same shape as a new movie. Remember also that some of these old westerns and cliffhangers are in poor shape due to the age and condition of the source prints used in creating the master (and a good example of poor quality source prints are the two Lone Ranger serials of the late 1930s).
Additionally, I'm not trying to create a massive list of every video supplier that has a website address or e-mail. Nor am I trying to keep track of every western and serial DVD that gets released. There's a fairly large group of Old Corral regulars and contributors and we regularly communicate with each other. I will gladly add additional video links if the recommendations come from those folks. The reverse is also true - if I hear from some of the regulars/contributors about problems with one of the video suppliers below, I will probably remove them from the list.
These are not listed in any order or priority ranking. And nothing should be implied by the absence of a website in this listing.
Latest additions and updates will be at the top of the listing.
| Streaming and downloading old films |
| YouTube and the Internet Archive have many public domain films and serials which you view online or download to your PC. Quality varies from poor to good:
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| Videotape and DVD Companies/Suppliers/Mail Order vendors (not in any particular order) |
| Looking for DVDs and want to check for the best prices: try the DVD Price Search website: http://dvdpricesearch.com/ try amazon.com (in the search box at the top of the webpage, click on 'Movies and TV' category): http://www.amazon.com |
| One of the first places to check for a videotape, Laserdisc, DVD or film is the eBay auction website (especially useful in locating movies which are no longer offered/discontinued by the commercial vendors). This link will take you to the eBay DVDs and Movies page: https://www.ebay.com/b/DVDs-Movies/11232/bn_1857671 |
| Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has lots of westerns on DVD and Blu-Ray: https://www.uphe.com/movies |
| Kit Parker Films licenses their film titles (from Robert L. Lippert, Supreme, Weiss Brothers-Artclass) to companies that produce DVDs for the commercial/home market including VCI Entertainment and Criterion Collection: http://www.kitparker.com/ They are now marketing their DVDs through Amazon and have set up their Sprocket Vault website with info. Among their offerings are many westerns: http://thesprocketvault.com |
| Kino Lorber has some westerns and serials: https://www.kinolorber.com |
| The Warner Bros. archives has been doing some quality westerns on made on demand (MOD) DVDs such as their collections on Tim Holt, Johnny Mack Brown, Jimmy Wakely, Whip Wilson and Kirby Grant: http://www.wbshop.com/ In April, 2021, they moved their DVD and Blu-Ray ordering exclusively to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/B4C09CA5-2315-4DD6-9632-1C7371C63D2B |
| The Roan Group / Troma has some westerns and serials: https://www.tromadirect.com/shop/category/roan-group-classics/ |
| FlickerAlley has some silent era stuff on DVD and Blu-Ray, but not many westerns or serials: https://www.flickeralley.com/ |
| The Screen Archives website has DVDs: http://www.screenarchives.com/ |
| Carl Bennett operates the Silent Era site which caters to those early films. Included is info on recent silent film releases: http://www.silentera.com |
| VCI Entertainment offers a variety of westerns and serials on DVD: http://www.vcientertainment.com/ and http://vcient.com |
| Tommy & Kathy Hildreth at Comet Video have lots of serials and westerns on DVD-R: http://www.cometwesterns.com/ |
| Timeless / Shout Factory has DVDs of many TV westerns as well as some John Wayne and Roy Rogers films: https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/film-western |
| Mill Creek Entertainment in Minneapolis, Minnesota has a variety of multi-DVD packages of westerns: https://www.millcreekent.com/collections/western |
| Several years ago, Lions Gate Entertainment released DVDs of Tim Holt and James Warren Zane Grey westerns as well as THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL serial, more. When I checked their website in April, 2017, it appears these are no longer available directly from them: http://www.lionsgateshop.com/. However, those DVDs were still available at Amazon. |
| Ron McKnight ordered the 18 DVD Kirby Grant SKY KING TV series collection and was satisfied with the quality. The box set includes all 72 episodes which were digitally mastered from the original film reels in the correct order as they were broadcast on TV. There is also a 132 page book about the Sky King series and performers. The box set runs about $175.00 plus shipping and you can find more info and ordering details at: https://www.skyking.com/ |
| The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans official website at royrogers.com: https://royrogers.com/ |
| The official Gene Autry website lists DVDs of Gene's films, many of which have been restored to nice quality: https://www.geneautry.com/musicmovies/ |
| Video Kart/Films Around The World is releasing various PRC westerns and other features through amazon's made on demand (MOD) service: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-keywords=%22Mr.FAT-W+Video%22&rh=n%3A2625373011%2Ck%3A%22Mr.FAT-W+Video%22 |
| oldies.com/Alpha Video has a lot of westerns, serials and various B-grade films, many of which appear to be public domain. And they also sell DVDs from other companies at discount. Go to: https://www.oldies.com |
| The Serial Squadron continues to bring out cliffhangers on a collector-to-collector basis: http://www.serialsquadron.com/ |
| Life Is A Movie: https://www.lifeisamovie.com |
| Boyd Magers, Western Clippings/VideoWest, 1312 Stagecoach Road SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. Boyd's e-mail address is: vidwest@comcast.net and his website is at: http://www.westernclippings.com/ |
| Greg Luce at Sinister Cinema has a variety of serials and westerns on DVD-R: https://www.sinistercinema.com/ |
| Movies Unlimited has some westerns and serials): https://www.moviesunlimited.com/ |
| Grapevine Video has an extensive catalog of silent westerns and serials as well as other films and vintage TV shows: http://www.grapevinevideo.com/ |
| Shokus Video (TV Shows): http://www.shokus.com/ |
| Critics' Choice Video: https://www.ccvideo.com/ |
| amazon.com (at the top of their webpage, select 'Movies and TV' category): http://www.amazon.com |
| You may also want to check various mass marketing, book and electronics stores such as: Best Buy: http://www.bestbuy.com/ Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ WalMart: http://www.walmart.com/ Target: http://www.target.com/ |
| Below - websites which were on our original video list, but are no longer working: |
| Olive Films had some of the Republic film library. But when I checked their website in late 2023, they were no longer in business: https://olivefilms.com/shop/ |
| Earl Blair, Captain Bijou - website was no longer working when I checked in January, 2021 : http://www.captainbijou.com |
| Image Entertainment was at: http://www.image-entertainment.com/, but when I checked in August, 2018, the domain name was for sale. |
| Echo Bridge Home Entertainment had many western movies and TV series, but their website was not working when I checked in January, 2018: https://www.echobridgeentertainment.com |
| Unsure of the status of Richard Orsak, Western Trails Video, who did serials and westerns on VHS and DVD-R. Couple of years ago, he was planning to do a website at: http://www.westerntrailsvideo.com/ but it is was not in operation when I checked in April, 2013 and August, 2014. |
| Finders Keepers Video had a lot of TV shows as well as B-movies and serials. When I checked in September, 2016, their domain name had expired, and website was no longer working: http://www.otrdvd.com/ |
| Nostalgia Family Video (formerly Discount Video/Hollywood's Attic) - as of August, 2011, the website was no longer working: http://www.hollywoodsattic.com/ |
| The Hal Roach organization had been releasing Laurel & Hardy material on DVDs. The website was no longer working as of January, 2008: http://www.halroachstudios.com/ |
| Suppliers - Film, Silents, Blackhawk Films library, et al (few if any westerns or cliffhangers) |
| One of the first places to check for 8mm/16mm/35mm films is the eBay auction website. This link will take you to their movie film stock / films webpage: https://www.ebay.com/b/Movie-Film-Stock/63821/bn_223829 |
| Milestone Film & Video, P.O. Box 128, Harrington Park, New Jersey 07640-0128: https://milestonefilms.com/ |
| Festival Films, 6115 Chestnut Terrace, Shorewood, MN 55331: https://www.fesfilms.com/ |
| Golden Era Films, P.O. Box 223, Wanaque, NJ 07465. The website was no longer working as of January, 2008: http://www.goldenerafilms.com/index.php |
| Can't Remember A Film Title? Check These Movie Databases/Listings. |
There are several movie databases available on the Internet. The main issue is that they are generally updated by folks like you or I, thus some of the data may be inaccurate or incomplete. But if you have a question about a movie title or a person associated with films, you should check these websites:
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The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has a searchable database on actors, actresses, films, directors, studios, etc.: