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Kenneth Turan’s DVD pick: Bogart and Cagney in a western? Yup

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Joan Crawford, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart are among the unexpected western movie stars.

Westerns used to be so thick on the land in Hollywood that almost every star you could think of made at least one. Even some of the most unlikely stars appeared in them, as this pair of new releases from the Warner Archive Collection demonstrates.

“Montana Moon,” in theaters in 1930, starred Joan Crawford as a New York flapper who retreats to the family spread in Montana and catches the eye of tall, dark and handsome singing cowboy John Mack Brown.

PHOTOS: Behind-the-scenes Classic Hollywood

Even more unlikely was 1939’s “The Oklahoma Kid.” Ultimate urbanite Jimmy Cagney stars as the hard-riding Kid, who faces off against bad man Whip McCord, played by the equally unexpected Humphrey Bogart.

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Those were the days.

Follow Kenneth Turan on Twitter at @kennethturan. And are you an aficionado of iconic Hollywood? Like our Classic Hollywood Facebook page to get more Times coverage.

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