Sinatra's ''Johnny Concho'' movie, why is it nowhere to be found.

There seems to be no middle ground when it comes to opinions on this movie, people either love it or hate it, at least from what little i cloud find on the net, Sinatra reportedly hated it. I just watched an Italian dub of this movie on YouTube and thought it was fantastic, apparently it's the only video copy of this available.

I won't give away the plot, i'll just say it's a western and Frank turns in a great performance as a cowardly type. The rest of the cast which includes William Conrad, Phyllis Kirk, Claude Aikens and Keenan Wynn are outstanding as well, would love to add it to my collection, hopefully there's a Blu-Ray release, even a plain old DVD would do.

 

JOHNNY CONCHO was made by Sinatra's own production company. If his estate still owns the rights, its absence on home video is almost certainly due to the family not wanting it released. Or it could just be caught up in rights limbo, like so many other films, and it's not viewed as potentially profitable enough for anyone to be tempted to spend any money in an attempt to clear the rights.

The AFI Catalog entry for the film (Detail view of Movies Page ») has some interesting comments on litigation related to a 1960 rerelease of the film:

 

I doubt that's the reason. In 2004, on the Sinatra Family Forum, in response to someone who wished the film would be released on DVD, Nancy posted, "Don't we all....".

Later in the same thread: JOHNNY CONCHO - 1956 »

This is the entry for the movie in Nancy's timeline biography of her father: JANUARY 24, 1956 »

 

That is nice to hear and gives me a bit of hope that there will be an eventual release, if there's a film out there deserving of reevaluation and a legit release this is it. In my opinion it is an underrated gem and possibly one of the best, most unusual American westerns ever made.

 

It was at best a "B" picture that they marketed as an "A" picture because Sinatra was the star.

 

Like the poster - though the hat seems to have been raised off his head to show more of his face.

 

I wish all ''B'' pictures were this good, hell i wish all so called ''A'' pictures were this good.

 

As a Western could you compare it to "The Searchers", "High Noon" or "Shane"? This was a genre at that time dominated by John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Audie Murphy.
There were better westerns on TV than "Johnny Concho".

 

I personally have always felt that "High Noon" and "The Searchers" are good films, but are overrated. I think"Shane" is better than both and the only one of the three deserving of it's reputation. For the record i have all three on Blu-Ray and have watched them multiple times. So the answer to your question is yes, i got as much enjoyment out of watching it "in Italian no less" as I do the others, critics be damned.

 

Great read -thanks for sharing. Mr. S and those of his generation had a lot of class which shows through in gnus letters. We've lost all that now with texting and emails where spelling and grammar have gone by the wayside.

 

Buy It Now (only) price: US $1,725.00!

 

You can spend the same for a just-released Wings box set with the download cards already used. So many options for one's thousands.

 

Article by Jeffrey Wells:

Where'd You Go, Johnny Concho? - Hollywood Elsewhere