Roy Stewart Movies
At six foot-two and hitting the scale at 190 pounds, dark-haired Roy Stewart was perhaps the largest of the silent screen cowboy stars. Having toured with the famous Floradora Girls, Stewart entered films in the very early 1910s, playing mainly supporting roles until signing with Triangle in 1916. The studio hoped he might become a new William S. Hart and if that didn't quite happen, Stewart certainly starred in his fair share of rough-and-tumble Westerns, often portraying a character named Red Saunders. Like Art Acord, Stewart would be one of the first stars of what later would be considered series B-Westerns, cranking out a seemingly endless stream of two-reelers under umbrella titles such as Timber Tales and Tales of the Old West. In between the sagebrush heroics, Stewart would occasionally play a supporting role in a non-Western -- Mary Pickford's Sparrows (1927) being perhaps the most prominent -- but he remained an action performer to the end. He weathered the transition to sound quite well, as the commandant in the first all-talkie big-budget Western, In Old Arizona (1929), and was settling into a new career as a character actor when he died of a heart attack in his Westwood, CA, home. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi- 1933
Rustler's Roundup was western star Tom Mix's final feature film; only the 1935 serial Mystery Rider remained before Mix bid adios to the movies. Our Tom comes to the aid of heroine Diane Sinclair, who is being victimized by swarthy Noah Beery Jr. Sinclair's dad has been murdered, and Beery Jr., perpetrator of the deed, now wants to get his dirty mitts on her ranch. You can bet that ranch that Mix won't let that happen! Walter Brennan, three years away from stardom, has a bit role. While filming Rustlers' Roundup, Tom Mix suffered an injury which kept the 53-year-old star off-camera for nearly two years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1933
A beautiful orphan girl, faced with the prospect of being forced to work as an indentured servant (more like a slave) until she grows up, runs away to the zoo. There she encounters a kindly zookeeper who has been chastised by his boss for being too nice to the animals. He becomes a fugitive after stealing a wealthy woman's fur coat. He and the girl meet while hiding out in the zoo. Later he saves her from an attack by a vicious co-worker. More scuffles ensue and they result in many dangerous animals being freed from their cages. The errant zookeep later redeems himself by saving a young child from a hungry tiger. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Gene Raymond, (more)
- 1932
In this western, a Texas Ranger is assigned to bring in a woman who is causing trouble in a nearby town. He soon comes to suspect, however, that she is being set up to deflect attention away from a gang of cattle thieves and bandits led by a man whom the Ranger believes killed his brother. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
Ken Maynard searches for a wayward youngster in this average Western from his days with low-budget KBS Productions. A rancher turned miner, Ken promises lovely Helen Clark (Helen Mack) to be on the lookout for her rebellious brother Morton (Paul Fix), who has gone missing since heading west from Kansas City. Catching up with the youngster, Ken hires him to work on his mine and later assigns him to trade in their gold for cash. But after losing the earnings in a crooked poker game, Morton is blackmailed by nasty Sam Goss (Roy Stewart) into robbing the Fargo Express stagecoach. Ken attempts to cover for him but Morton is apprehended by the sheriff (William Desmond) and thrown in jail. Fearing that Morton will name him as an accomplice, Goss springs the young man from jail, intending to silence him after recovering the stolen money. Ken, meanwhile, convinces the sheriff that Morton was forced into a life of crime, and after a climactic fight, Goss is handed over to the posse. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Helen Mack, Roy Stewart, (more)
Ken Maynard's magnificent horse Tarzan took center-stage in this, perhaps the star's most flamboyant entry in the otherwise super low-budget KBS series. A wild stallion, Tarzan releases a group of horses corralled for slaughter by nasty Steve Frazer (Niles Welch), who is selling horseflesh to pet food manufacturers. When Frazer demands that the sheriff (Jack Rockwell) intervene, foreman Ken Benson (Maynard) convinces rancher Patricia Riley (Merna Kennedy) to help him prove Tarzan innocent. Dubious at first, Patricia finally comes around and together they get the goods on Frazer, who is eventually killed by a vengeful Tarzan. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Merna Kennedy, (more)
The comedic sidekick is shockingly done away with in this unusual and highly atmospheric Western from Fox. George O'Brien, of Sunrise (1927) fame, stars as Bob Sanborn, an Arizona ranger assigned to quell a reign of terror instigated by Paradise Valley rancher Henry Steele (Charles Middleton), who employs a band of Apaches to prey on his neighbors. Obviously insane, Steele has a penchant for killing not only his enemies but also defenseless animals. Masquerading as a cowboy, Bob manages to gain access to Steele's ranch where he encounters lovely Jane Emory (Cecilia Parker), the daughter of Steele's late partner whom the clearly mad rancher has lured into his lair. When Bob learns that Steele is planning to force Jane into marriage, the ranger telegraphs for assistance in the form of cockney jockey Artie Brower (Forrester Harvey), whose riding skills and quick wit save Bob from being mauled by Steele's giant servant Muto (Noble Johnson). Although down, Steele is not quite out and the insane rancher manages to kill Artie before committing a spectacular suicide. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Cecilia Parker, (more)
- 1932
William Collier Jr. stars as an ambulance surgeon, forced by circumstances to work for a gang of criminals. What the villains don't know is that Collier is in league with the police, informing the authorities of the crooks' every move. To rescue nurse Barbara Kent from harm, our hero is forced to admit his duplicity, very nearly buying himself and the heroine a one-way ticket to the river. Evidently the film's entire budget was expended on the climax, an exciting car chase between the criminals and the "radio patrol." Little Bobby Hutchins, best known as Wheezer in the "Our Gang" comedies, has a good supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Collier, Jr., Barbara Kent, (more)
Directly after his successful screen teaming with Marlene Dietrich in Morocco, Gary Cooper returned to Paramount's "Zane Grey" western series with Fighting Caravans. Cooper is cast as Clint Belmet, a hell-raisin' frontiersman facing a misdemeanor jail term. To avoid arrest, Clint talks French-born Felice (Lily Damita) into posing as his wife. Having successfully eluded the Law, Clint joins a wagon train heading to California, with Felice in tow. He callously tells her that he expects to exercise his "husbandly" prerogative in bed, but changes his tune when he genuinely falls in love with the girl. Eventually, Clint assumes some responsibility for the first time in his life by becoming the wagon train's sole trail guide, rescuing the other passengers from the villainous machinations of gun-runner Lee Murdock (Fred Kohler). Several stock shots and outtakes from Fighting Caravans (retitled Blazing Arrows for television) later showed up in another Zane Grey series entry, Wagon Wheels (1934). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Lili Damita, (more)
- 1930
Burgeoning western star George O'Brien starred in this lavishly mounted but otherwise quite commonplace Northwest melodrama about a crime-fighting lumberjack. A very young John Wayne (still known as Marian Morrison) can be glimpsed in a saloon scene. Wayne's fortunes would escalate later that year with the release of Raoul Walsh's spectacular but ultimately disappointing The Big Trail. The son of San Francisco's police chief, O'Brien assured himself a place in film history starring in John Ford's The Iron Horse (1924) and opposite Janet Gaynor in Murnau's Sunrise (1927). He was a natural for "B" westerns, however, and later headlined what many considered one of the finest series ever made, at RKO in the late 1930s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Helen Chandler, (more)
- 1930
Lone Star Ranger was a superior entry in western star George O'Brien's Zane Grey series for Fox Studios. Lensed on location in Utah's Monument Valley (long before it was "adopted" by John Ford), the film was adapted for the screen by Zane Grey from a novel by Max Brand, which had previously done service as a Tom Mix vehicle (and would later be remade by Fox with John Kimbrough in the lead). At the outset of the film, Buck Duane (O'Brien) is an outlaw, but upon rescuing Mary Aldridge (Sue Carol) from a runaway stagecoach, he vows to turn over a new leaf. He takes to ranching, whereupon the governor offers him a pardon -- if he will agree to lasso a gang of cattle rustlers. What no one knows is that the leader of the outlaws is Mary's father Colonel Aldridge (Russell Simpson). There are plenty of well-rehearsed thrills in Lone Star Ranger, but the film's most charming moment is purely spontaneous: upon meeting Sue Carol for the first time, a shirtless George O'Brien instinctively sucks in his stomach! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Sue Carol, (more)
- 1930
John Ford directed this undersea adventure from the early days of the sound era; it features talking sequences along silent passages with intertitles. After a brief shore leave in Singapore, where sailors have the opportunity to slake their thirsts for both liquor and women, the crew of a U.S. Navy S-13 submarine is ordered back to duty (with many still drunk) in hopes of getting into safer waters before rough weather hits. In the midst of a storm, the sub collides with a ship and starts to sink; the S-13 begins taking on water, which knocks out their radio equipment not long after they begin sending out distress signals. The sub has a limited amount of oxygen on board, and tempers begin to flare as the men begin to wonder who (if anyone) can survive if they are not rescued soon. Adding to this tension is the presence of torpedo launcher Burke (Kenneth MacKenna). The ship's commander, Weymouth (Charles Gerrard), thinks that Burke may actually be Quartermain, a British officer who was the enemy of Weymouth's best friend and was widely presumed to be dead after going missing in action. A young Frank Albertson plays the sub's ensign, and John Wayne has a small part as a radio operator. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kenneth MacKenna, Frank Albertson, (more)
- 1930
In this early musical western, Stephen Ghent (Ian Keith) is a businessman who, after the death of his partner, has been helping to support Ruth Jordan (Dorothy Mackaill), the late man's college-age daughter. While visiting a town near the Mexican border on business, Ghent is shocked to discover Ruth has become a jaded and hard-drinking sophisticate. Convinced she needs a healthy dose of the great outdoors and the simple life, Ghent kidnaps her disguised as a Mexican bandit and carries her away to an isolated cabin in the hills. As the masked cowboy attempts to teach Ruth about the virtues of the simple life, she finds herself falling in love with her captor, though she has a rival for his affections in hot-blooded servant girl Manuella (Myrna Loy). Fancy Baggage was released both as a talking picture and in a silent version, designed to play in small-town theaters (where westerns were perennially popular) which had yet to be wired for sound. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dorothy Mackaill, Ian Keith, (more)
- 1930
This drama is set during the mid Twenties when gangsters were a bit more genteel than their 1930s counterparts. Based on a true story, it profiles the experiences of a young gangster who, after getting caught during a robbery is given a choice: he can either go to prison or join the military and fight. He chooses the military. There he becomes a hero. But when he returns home, he immediately returns to gangster life. Trouble ensues when he falls for an aristocratic woman with a daughter. Their happiness is interrupted by an old enemy who kidnaps the girl. The protagonist successfully saves the girl and kills his enemy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Catherine Dale Owen, (more)
- 1929
In this newspaper drama, a star reporter learns that prominent city officials are covering for a bootlegging crime lord. Naturally the corrupt politicos attempt to prevent him from publishing; this leads the disillusioned reporter to join a small, independent paper. There he is finally able to expose the wicked group and bring them to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dorothy Burgess, Robert Elliott, (more)
- 1929
The Technicolor "spectacular" The Viking was loosely based on the exploits of Norwegian explorer Leif Ericsson. Using O. A. Liljencrantz' highly fanciful novel Leif the Lucky as its guide, the film weaves a delightfully inaccurate account of Ericsson's bold journey from Scandinavia to the coast of America. Sporting a Snub Pollard mustache, Donald Crisp stars as Ericsson, while the love interest was left in the hands of Pauline Starke. The villainy was handled by Anders Randolf, cast as Ericsson's treacherous first mate. Highlights include the Vikings' attack on England, with raping and pillaging aplenty; a mutiny fomented by the villain, which is thwarted through sheer force of will by Ericsson; and the Viking captain's sudden conversion to Christianity. Although the improved Technicolor process was stunning and the production values first-rate, The Viking was an expensive flop -- precisely the sort of picture MGM didn't need during the chaotic switchover to talkies. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Donald Crisp, Pauline Starke, (more)
Warner Baxter, sporting a black mustache and a musical-comedy Mexican accent, stars as the Cisco Kid, the "Robin Hood of the Old West" created by O. Henry. Edmund Lowe co-stars as Cisco's "friendly enemy" Sgt. Mickey Dunne, the role that was originally to have gone to Raoul Walsh. Both men are madly in love with dusky beauty Tonia Maria (Dorothy Burgess), and in fact Cisco is so "far gone" that he composes a song in the girl's honor (actually, "My Tonia", first heard during the opening credits, was written by Fox studio tunesmiths Lew Brown, B.G. DeSylva and Ray Henderson). Alas, Tonia ends up betraying Cisco to Sgt. Burke. But the crafty, cold-blooded Cisco arranges for Tonia to be killed in the trap set for him (this plot resolution is faithful to O. Henry's original conception of the Cisco Kid, who wasn't really meant to be a "good guy"). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Edmund Lowe, (more)
- 1928
Educational Films, a curiously-named firm specializing in 2-reel comedies, branched out into features with the aviation actioner Sky Ranger. Based on the popular "Russ Farrell" magazine stories, the film stars Reed Howes as the dashing, devil-may-care flyboy hero. For the sake of heroine Marjorie Daw, Howes undertakes a flight to a tough border town, where Daw's daddy is being held captive by Chinese smugglers. An expert stuntman, Howes was not essentially an aviator, thus most of the more dangerous flying stunts were performed by doubles. Diminutive short-subject funster Bobby Dunn provides marginal comic relief. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Reed Howes, Marjorie Daw, (more)
- 1927
Little Big Horn was a cheapjack attempt to recount the events leading up to Custer's Last Stand on June 25, 1876. John Beck was cast as Custer, evidently for no other reason than he looked the part. Most of the heroics and dramatics were handled by Roy Stewart, a popular action star on the downgrade, here playing Indian scout Lem Hawks. The script contrives to have Hawks miss the climactic battle so that he can enjoy a final romantic clinch with heroine Betty Rossman (Helen Lynch). In fact, only a few brief glimpses of that much-anticipated battle actually show up on screen. This 5-reel "epic," produced by the parsimonious Anthony J. Xydias, was originally released in 6 reels as With General Custer at the Little Big Horn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Beck, Roy Stewart, (more)
- 1927
The "U.P." in the title refers to the Union Pacific railroad, the trail of which is followed by famed frontier scout Buffalo Bill Cody (here played by Roy Stewart). Hired to provide food for the railroad workers during the Union Pacific's Westward expansion, Buffalo Bill also prevents the employees from falling into the hands of hostile Indians. The plot is for the most part a fabrication, as witness the scene in which Buffalo Bill grows wealthy by building a prosperous "whistle stop" along the Union Pacific path. As pointed out by the trade magazine Variety, had Bill become a frontier burgomeister, he would never have had any reason to go on tour with his fabled Wild West Show. Oh, well...if the moviegoer wanted accuracy, he could always go to the library. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cullen Landis, Roy Stewart, (more)
- 1927
Though cheaply produced and boasting a second-string cast, The Midnight Watch packed a lot of entertainment value in its brisk six reels. Roy Stewart stars as Bob Breemer, a college graduate who aspires to be a detective. Fed up with the boy's youthful arrogance, the police chief (David Torrence) assigns Bob to the midnight shift, "when nothing ever happens." Inevitably, plenty does happen during Bob's shift, including a jewel robbery which is blamed upon our hero's girlfriend Rose Denton (Mary McAllister). Proving that he isn't all brag, Bob clears his girl and catches the crooks in record time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roy Stewart, David Torrence, (more)
- 1927
Rita Farrell (Florence Vidor) and John Bruce (Theodore von Eltz) want nothing more out of life than to get married. Unfortunately, the road to the altar is festooned with unexpected obstacles, both natural and man-made. The limit comes when Rita, left in charge with a group of children, is quarantined with the kids during a smallpox epidemic. Forbidden to visit Rita, John seeks solace elsewhere, briefly finding it in the arms of a flirtatious flapper. Upon being released from quarantine, Rita has to draw upon every feminine wile in the book to win her boyfriend back. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Florence Vidor, Theodore Von Eltz, (more)
- 1927
Miles and miles of stock "tenement fire" footage are expended in this inexpensive actioner. Alice Lake stars as a wealthy socialite who turns reformer, aiming her attacks at the city's slum landlords. The more egregious of these crooks turns out to be Lake's own father (Lionel Belmore), who steadfastly refuses to fireproof the tenements within his jurisdiction. Against this backdrop, a romantic subplot is played out involving the heroine and courageous fireman Roy Stewart. Sure enough, Stewart is called upon to rescue both Lake and her larcenous father when they're trapped in an outsized blaze (again courtesy of stock shots from earlier films). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alice Lake, Roy Stewart, (more)
- 1926
Greek-born producer Anthony Xydias was behind this inexpensive silent Western, the title of which is somewhat misleading. The legendary Buffalo Bill Cody (played here by Roy Stewart) was merely a supporting character to young Cullen Landis playing Gordon Kent, a young trail guide escorting a wagon train through hostile territory. The film was inevitably compared to The Covered Wagon (1923), which was extremely successful, but Xydias obviously did not have the money to create such an epic -- most films were shot only in the hinterlands. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1926
One of D.W. Griffith's most luminous stars, Blanche Sweet's career was in the doldrums when she appeared opposite lower-echelon cowboy star Roy Stewart in The Lady from Hell (the title referred to the kilt-wearing Scottish troops fighting in World War I, not Sweet). She played a Scottish noblewoman whose fiancee (Stewart) takes a job as foreman on a western ranch. He is soon falsely accused of killing his boss but manages to escape back to the Scottish highlands. Stewart and Sweet marry, but he is extradited to the U.S. on the trumped-up murder charge. Found guilty and about to be hanged, the Scotsman is saved in the nick of time by the real culprit, the ranch owner's stepson, who confesses. Blanche Sweet had reached the zenith of her career as Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie (1923), giving a performance that many critics prefer to Greta Garbo's talkie version. Three years on, her career had again lost its momentum and would never quite recover. She later left Hollywood in favor of vaudeville and stock. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Blanche Sweet, Roy Stewart, (more)
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.