The first movie I write about just has to be The Cimarron Kid from 1952 (or 1951, according to some sources). Here's why: About thirty minutes into the movie, I was stunned to see a scene that was used in ASJ! It's at the start of the opening credits, when the outlaws come riding down a hill to rob the train going by. I had to watch it several times and then check my ASJ DVD to make sure they were identical, and they were. I had noticed that the color looked a bit different in that opening sequence in ASJ but I never knew that the scene was from a completely different movie, and such an earlier one, at that.
Oh, and the plot is great, too: Murphy plays a young man recently released from prison after serving time for a crime he didn't commit; however, through circumstances beyond his control, he falls in with a gang of outlaws and ends up as their leader. Lots of action, a love story, and those familiar scenes make this a real fun movie.
The Cimarron Kid is paired with The Man from the Alamo (1953), which co-stars Neville Brand and Chill Wills, two actors who also guest starred in ASJ. Neville Brand was in Shootout at Diablo Station and Which Way to the OK Corral?, playing a bad guy in both episodes. Chill Wills was in The Biggest Game in the West; he was one of the ranchers and poker players. I'm not sure but it almost looked like some scenes were filmed on the Mexican set at Universal used in some ASJ episodes.
Both movies are Universal films (and were directed by Budd Boetticher, one of my favorite directors) so it makes sense that some sets and, apparently, some scenes, were recycled into other productions later on. The plot is about the only survivor of the Alamo, played by Glenn Ford, and how he deals with the accusation of cowardice by people because he left the fort before the final battle occurred.
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