Screen great Joel McCrea (Union Pacific, Ride the High Country) and the dazzling Yvonne De Carlo (Tomahawk, TV’s The Munsters) have a date with destiny in the powder-keg of the West, beyond the Border River. Desperately hoping to turn the tide of the Civil War, Confederate soldier Clete Mattson (McCrea) steals $2 million in gold bars from the Union and heads for the Mexican border town of Zona Libre, where he hopes to buy munitions and supplies. With Yankee troops in hot pursuit, Clete soon discovers he might be in a worse situation with a greedy despot (Pedro Armendáriz, 3 Godfathers), crooked businessmen and other shady characters intent on double-crossing him. Directed by action-adventure ace George Sherman (Larceny, The Comancheros) in glorious Technicolor.

For thoughts on Border River, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/ryBLRvEkLeE?t=169]

Video Quality

Border River debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of Kino Classics with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer which is not noted as coming from a new master, but makes an impression with its mostly clear and consistent appearance. This transfer maintains the lovely natural film grain of the presentation that never looks overly clumpy or swarming, only a bit on the thick side. The presentation looks pretty enjoyable throughout most of the runtime with image stability and delineation being solid despite this not being a new master.

Instances of print damage such as nicks and scratches are consistently present but not to the point of being distracting. Skin tones are the slightest bit warm, but they are consistent with facial features such as mustaches easily distinguished in closeup. Black levels hold up reasonably well with no major instances of crush apparent. The Technicolor colors are finely saturated with the warm, earthy hues of the landscapes coming through. This presentation is a good effort from Kino Classics even in lieu of a fresh master.

Audio Quality

This new Blu-Ray comes with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that gets the job done. The environmental elements are delineated admirably from the sounds of horses splashing in water to the firing of guns. The score emanates without overtaking the on-screen action, and it is presented with clarity and a strong fidelity as it permeates the room. The track avoids the expected instances of age related wear and tear, hissing or distortion. Dialogue comes through clearly without being overpowered by the score or sound effects. This track is mostly what you want from a film of this vintage. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided on this disc.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historian Toby Roan delivers a very informative commentary track in which he discusses how this film fits into the western landscape, details about the shooting locations, real-life history as it relates to the narrative, the background of various creative figures attached to the film, the history and reception of the picture and more.

Trailers: The nearly two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided for Border River. There are also trailers provided for Tomahawk, Union Pacific, The Virginian and Buccaneer’s Girl.

Final Thoughts

Border River is a pretty decent western that never really does anything to stand out in a crowded landscape of Golden Age classics. The plot is one you have seen in different configurations dozens of times, and there is not much to the direction that is going to make you reconsider the state of the genre. Joel McCrea is not the most captivating leading man, but Yvonne De Carlo makes up for his shortcomings whenever she is on screen. If you are a western fanatic, there are elements you will enjoy about this one, but this is not the best introduction for newcomers. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray with a good A/V presentation and a swell commentary track. Recommended

Border River 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.