Making westerns may go in and out of fashion, but there always seems to be an audience for the existing titles, and as with horror and science fiction even the less well known one have their own following. Now Optimum have announced six titles of varying fame and vintage for DVD release in August.

100 Rifles (1969)
1912, Mexico. Lyedecker (Burt Reynolds), an Arizona-law enforcer visits a remote village in search of Yaqui Joe, a fearless bank robber who has stolen thousands of pounds from an Arizona bank in order to help his tribe obtain rifles to protect themselves against the ruthless actions of the local government. Concerned at first only with his mission, Lyedecker has not reckoned on the locals, who include the beautiful and reckless Sarita (Raquel Welch), and soon finds himself being pulled into the complex and dangerous tensions of the town. Directed by Tom Gries, previously a television director whose break into western films occured in 1968 with Will Penny starring Charlton Heston.

Butch and Sundance: The Early Years (1979)
Meet the infamous outlaws Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid in their early adventures! With life and the law yet to catch up with them, Butch and Sundance begin their career together, embarking on a journey scattered with shoot outs, heists, and train robberies as they skillfully evade the law, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Starring William Katt as Sundance and a young Tom Berenger as Butch Cassidy, the film was directed by Richard Lester and boasts a supporting cast that includes Peter Weller, Brian Dennehy, Christopher Lloyd and Frank Doubleday, the imposing white warlord from John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13.

The Last Wagon (1956)
An eastward-bound wagon is attacked by Indians, and the only survivors are a group of orphaned children and a half-breed convict known as Comanche Todd (Richard Widmark). Todd is guilty of shooting the three white men who killed his wife, but his seemingly ferocious mien is disproved as he leads the innocents to safety. Felicia Farr, Susan Kohner, Tommy Rettig, Nick Adams and James Drury star as the orphans. The director was Delmer Daves just before his most celebrated work, 3:10 to Yuma.

Titles for release on 9th August:

Rawhide (1951)
Vinnie Holt (Susan Hayward), a single parent with a toddler, becomes stranded at Rawhide, a desert stagecoach stop managed by stationmaster Sam Todd (Edgar Buchanan) and his assistant Tom Owens (Tyrone Power). Owens is quickly impressed by her independent self-confidence. Jim Zimmerman (Hugh Marlowe), a fugitive murderer from Huntsville Prison disguised as a deputy, and three other ruthless escapees take over the station, intent on robbing the next day's gold shipment. After murdering Sam, Zimmerman knows they must keep Tom alive in order to complete their plans. Owens does not correct Zimmmerman's assumption that Vin is his wife, sensing that the misconception might be the key to her survival also. An early western in the career of Henry Hathaway, who went on to direct genre favourites The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), Nevada Smith (1966) and, of course, True Grit (1969).

The Return of Frank James (1940)
Fritz Lang's first western and his first film in color, The Return of Frank James, offered the director a new lease on life in Hollywood and allowed him contribute his directorial experience and personal sensibilities into the popular format of the Western. A sequel to 1939's Jesse James, The Return of Frank James focuses on Jesse's elder sibling, Frank (played in both films by Henry Fonda) and uses revenge – a motif that Lang turned to often in his Hollywood years – as its primary theme. After his brother's murder, Frank attempts to live a normal life in seclusion, under an assumed name. But as he is still an outlaw at heart, and a revenge-seeking one at that, Frank saddles up again, and hunts down the his brother's acquitted killers, the Ford Brothers. Tagging along is his sidekick, Clem, played by child star Jackie Cooper. Gene Tierney makes her Hollywood debut as a meddlesome, lovestruck reporter on Frank James' trail. As James' headlong quest for vengeance drags all of the other characters down with him, The return of Frank James becomes a moving tale of loyalty, revenge, and dignity. These themes, which are common to the Western genre, are given Fritz Lang's unique and expressionistic signature in this film.

White Feather
Based on true events, White Feather is the story of the US cavalry send on a peace mission to the Cheyenne Indians in Wyoming during the 1870s. Land surveyor Josh Tanner (Robert Wagner) is responsible for the resettlement. Sympathetic to the cause of the Indian's, he inadvertently places the whole mission under threat when he falls in love with the chief's daughter, (Debra Paget), who is already engaged to one of the tribesmen. Directed by Robert D. Webb from a screenplay by Delmer Daves and Leo Townsend.

All six films will be released individually on UK DVD on the above specified dates by Optimum Home Entertainment at the RRP of £15.99 apiece. No extras have been listed.