This collection features three classic 1960s westerns starring screen legend Audie Murphy. HELL BENT FOR LEATHER (1960) – The Only Man Who Could Save His Life…Was the Man Who Wanted Him Dead! Clay Santell (Audie Murphy, Sierra) stops into the town of Sutterville after having his horse stolen, only to be mistaken by the townsfolk for a murderous outlaw named Travers. Sutterville’s residents capture Santell and turn him over to crooked lawman Harry Deckett (Stephen McNally, The Duel at Silver Creek), who, tired of chasing the real Travers, decides to execute the innocent man instead. But Santell pulls off a cunning escape and takes the lovely Janet Gifford (Felicia Farr, 3:10 to Yuma) hostage until he can prove his innocence. Audie Murphy is Hell Bent for Leather in this galloping CinemaScope western directed by the great George Sherman (Tomahawk, Border River, Big Jake).

POSSE FROM HELL (1961) – Together They Team Up as an Avenging Posse from Hell! Audie Murphy (Kansas Raiders) and John Saxon (The Appaloosa) are two steel-nerved, two-fisted men who take apart a gang of gun-mad killers in Posse from Hell. Four escapees from death row, Crip, Leo, Chunk and Hash, ride into the town of Paradise, enter the Rosebud Saloon and unleash Hell. Banner Cole (Murphy) is a tough sheriff’s deputy tasked with forming a posse to take down the quartet of killers, who fled Paradise with a hostage. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock’s frequent producer and assistant director, Herbert Coleman (Vertigo), the film features a fiery cast of co-stars including Zohra Lampert (Pay or Die!), Vic Morrow (Target: Harry), Robert Keith (They Came to Cordura), Rodolfo Acosta (Wings of the Hawk), Royal Dano (Man in the Shadow), Ward Ramsey (Dinosaurus!) and Lee Van Cleef (For a Few Dollars More).

SHOWDOWN (1963) – Enemies Chained Together Like Mad Dogs! Audie Murphy (Destry) stars with Kathleen Crowley (Curse of the Undead) and Charles Drake (No Name on the Bullet) in a western about two cowboys who find themselves in deep trouble…chained up in iron collars! Chris Foster (Murphy) and Bert Pickett (Drake) manage to escape their iron shackles with a gang of villains headed by Lavalle (Harold J. Stone, Man Afraid). But when they tumble into a scheme involving $12,000 in stolen bonds and an ex-girlfriend (Crowley) of Bert’s, a final showdown explodes between Lavalle and the two men. Western favorites Skip Homeier (The Tall T), L.Q. Jones (The Wild Bunch) and Strother Martin (The Horse Soldiers) also star in this rousing chain-gang adventure directed by R.G. Springsteen (Bullet for a Badman).

For thoughts on Audie Murphy Collection III [Hell Bent For Leather/Posse From Hell/Showdown], please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

Hell Bent For Leather, Posse From Hell, and Showdow come to Blu-Ray with the three films each given their own disc. These films share a lot of the same qualities, so I will mostly be judging them as a group while pointing out noticeable differences when necessary. None of the three films are noted as being newly remastered, but these older masters provide a fair viewing experience for each film. The quality amongst these three mostly stays in the “pretty decent” range with the occasional ebb and flow in quality. Every film retains a noticeable amount of underlying print damage and other source anomalies to one degree or another, but nothing that ruins any singular viewing experience. Specks and scratches are pretty consistent, but these are not films that have been mishandled over the years.

The Eastmancolor photography is well saturated throughout the first two films as they shine in their high definition debut with natural grain intact. Showdown is the sole feature in black-and-white in this set, and the picture handles the contrast and gradients extremely well with grain likewise represented. The grain spikes in a few moments, yet it is better than the alternative of it being managed and scrubbed of its texture. There is an agreeable amount of detail present throughout with textures in the environments, clothing and production design. Black levels could be stronger, but crush and compression artifacts do not mire the picture. Kino Classics has delivered a nice set in spite of being unable to provide fresh masters.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray set comes with fair DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio tracks for each of these three films which show some source limitations but manage to deliver a nice enough listening experience. The most forefront deficit comes in the form of some faint hissing, humming and crackles that more than likely date back to the source elements. Dialogue emanates clearly without sounding muffled or lacking. It is balanced well with the environmental elements such as gunshots or galloping so information stays prominent in the mix. The three scores that accompany these films never overwhelm the dialogue or other important information, but they can sound a little fragile or shrill at the highest peaks. Kino Classics has provided an acceptable audio experience for these. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for all feature films.

Special Features

Audio Commentary for Hell Bent For Leather: Film Historian Toby Roan delivers a somewhat stilted yet informative commentary track in which he discusses the careers and lives of the talent involved, the cinematography, the thematic beats of the story, the film’s reception upon its release and more.

Audio Commentary for Posse From Hell: Author/Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner and Film Historian Henry Parke provide a nifty commentary track in which they discuss the themes of the feature, how this fits into the era in which it was released, the backgrounds of those in front of and behind the camera, the shooting locations, using music from horror films, the legacy of the film and more.

Trailers: There are trailers provided for Hell Bent For Leather (2:01), Posse From Hell (2:01) and Showdown (2:02). There are also trailers provided for Sierra, The Duel at Silver Creek, Ride A Crooked Trail, Kansas Raiders, Night Passage, No Name On The Bullet, Destry, World In My Corner and To Hell and Back.

Final Thoughts

The Audie Murphy Collection III delivers another trio of westerns that showcase the amiable star power of Audie Murphy. These three tales are quite a bit of fun, even if some of them like Posse From Hell can get a bit heavy thematically. These are all perfect for weekend watching with your favorite enthusiast of the genre. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray set featuring a good A/V presentation and a couple of informative commentary tracks. If you have collected the previous sets, this one will not let you down. Recommended

Audie Murphy Collection III [Hell Bent For Leather/Posse From Hell/Showdown] is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.