In Blazing Bullets, which premiered 70 years ago, in May 1951, a U.S. marshal (Johnny Mack Brown) investigating the theft of gold bullion gets involved with star-crossed lovers, a kidnapped rancher, a “haunted” ranch, an oddball prospector, and a crooked sheriff. The young couple are played sympathetically by Lois Hall and House Peters, Jr., with …
Read the full post →“<em>Blazing Bullets</em> (Monogram, 1951)”
This Tom Tyler western suffers from a plenitude of faults: A far-fetched story involving the search for the man who killed his father, a man whose gang is occupying a ghost town, might have been fine, but the poorly choreographed fistfights and an overlong and dull final gun battle empty the story of interest. Tyler …
Read the full post →“<em>Terror of the Plains</em> (Reliable, 1934)”
The final film for Buck Jones has two of the three Rough Riders (Jones and Raymond Hatton as Buck Roberts and Sandy Hopkins) continuing their roles (Tim McCoy had rejoined the Army at this point) and joined by Marshal Jack Carson (Rex Bell). The lawmen are entrusted with ensuring that railroad supplies get through in …
Read the full post →“<em>Dawn on the Great Divide</em> (Monogram, 1942)”
Gene Autry’s first starring role in a feature (after the weird and wonderful serial The Phantom Empire for Mascot Pictures) and first picture for Republic (though originally filmed by Mascot) is this musical western. Gene plays a young man who, disowned by his father for opposing the latter’s contentiousness and now performing with a medicine …
Read the full post →“<em>Tumbling Tumbleweeds</em> (Republic, 1935)”
There’s more undercover work for Rough Riders Buck, Tim, and Sandy (Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, and Raymond Hatton) in the last entry in the series, with Buck pretending to be an outlaw, Tim a preacher, and Sandy an undertaker. This time around, the marshals are out to stop a gang that is hijacking miners’ gold. …
Read the full post →“<em>West of the Law</em> (Monogram, 1942)”
Cheyenne Davis (Lash La Rue) and partner Fuzzy Jones (Al “Fuzzy” St. John) are sent in to investigate after the killings of three U.S. deputy marshals near Buffalo Gap, and they soon learn that Bill Judd (Jack Ingram) and his gang are bent on driving out the area’s settlers. Yet Judd is not the true …
Clever series entry has the villain Decker (Hugh Prosser) tricking Steve Norris (Charles Starrett) into thinking he had gunned down the local sheriff. After Decker forces Steve to take on the lawman’s role as his tool, it’s up to Steve’s alter ego, the Durango Kid, to thwart Decker’s lawless activities. Smiley Burnette is again on …
U. S. Marshals Nevada Jack McKenzie (Johnny Mack Brown) and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton) investigate the hijacking of gold ore in Land of the Outlaws and uncover a plot to trick the mine owner into selling out. Likeable leads give this one some appeal, although the story is slight. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this …
Read the full post →“<em>Land of the Outlaws</em> (Monogram, 1944)”
Government agent Tex Malone (Tom Tyler) goes undercover as a bad guy, aided by crook Stingaree Kelly (George Hayes), to break up a smuggling ring led by violin-playing baddie Livermore (Al Bridge, who also co-wrote the screeenplay). Unbeknownst to Tex, not only has the Mexican government sent an agent (Ted Adams) to infiltrate, too, but …
Read the full post →“<em>God’s Country and the Man</em> (Syndicate, 1931)”
Mark Damon and Rosalba Neri, who also appeared together the following year in the horror movie Il plenilunio delle vergini (The Devil’s Wedding Night), star in this amusing western film, originally titled Monta in sella!! Figlio di…. Damon plays one of two bickering brothers (Stelvio Rosi is the other) who recruits a poker player (Neri) …
Read the full post →“<em>The Great Treasure Hunt</em> (1972)”
