Buck Jones

This is a tribute to the movie-making industry, with many film clips of, and much commentary about, several decades of fabulous films. ~ All Movie Guide

The old plot device of a western "ghost town" being used as a hideout for criminals is trotted out again in Monogram's Ghost Town Law. This time around, the heroes are The Rough Riders: namely, Buck Roberts (Buck Jones), Tim McCall (Tim McCoy) and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton). Following their usual modus operandi, the three heroes pretend to be strangers to one another, and also pose as criminals themselves to lull the real villains into a false sense of security. The plot revolves around an old gold mine, jealously guarded by masked, well-armed desperadoes. For the sake of heroine Josie Hall (Virginia Carpenter), the Rough Riders rout the villains and return the mine to its rightful owners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Monogram's "Rough Riders" rolled along smoothly with the 1942 entry Down Texas Way. Once again, the star trio consists of Buck Jones as Buck Roberts, Tim McCoy as Tim McCall, and Raymond Hatton as Sandy Hopkins. The plot, as always, finds Buck, Tim and Sandy cast as undercover US Marshals who pretend to be strangers to one another for the purpose of confounding the villains. This time, Sandy is framed for murder by a gang of frontier racketeers who hope to take over a small town as their headquarters. Working separately (and ostensibly on the wrong side of the law), Buck and Tim rescue Sandy from a lynch mob and foil the crooks' dastardly schemes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The last of Monogram's eight "Rough Riders" westerns starring oldtimers Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton, West of the Law has the three lawmen coming to the aid of a beleaguered newspaper editor, Rufus Todd (Milburn Morante), who has been exposing a rash of stage robberies near Gold Creek. When Todd's son-in-law Ray (Bud McTaggart) is attacked my members of the gang, Marshals McCall and Hopkins (McCoy and Hatton) go undercover as a minister and a funeral parlor proprietor, respectively, with the third member of the trio, Marshal Roberts (Jones) hiding in one of the coffins. The ruse works and the three are soon able to unmask the real mastermind behind the robberies. Monogram went all out for this one, hiring some of the best supporting actors in the business, including Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft, Bud Osborne, Tom London and ace stunt-man George DeNormand. As always, the western concludes with the three marshals going their separate ways, a rousing "So long, Rough Riders" as their parting salute. Sadly, they would not be back, Buck Jones perishing in the tragic Coconut Grove nightclub fire in Boston soon after. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The "Rough Riders"-Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton-are back in the saddle in Forbidden Trails. As was customary, the stars play three wildly diverse types who are apparently strangers to one another when the film begins. In this instance, Buck Roberts (Jones) is a dude gambler, Tim McCall (McCoy) is head driver for a stagecoach line, and Sandy Hopkins (Hatton) is a desert rat who's apparently in cahoots with a pair of escaped outlaws. By Reel Four, however, it is obvious that Buck, Tim and Sandy are secretly working together to thwart the villains. In the film's most exciting scene, Buck is trapped in a burning shack while a contingent of well-armed bandits block his escape. Future "Three Stooges" heroine Christine McIntyre is the leading lady on this occasion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Serials usually spawned feature film versions, but with this film, it was the other way around. A 1932 Buck Jones Western, White Eagle was made into a serial nine years later, again starring Jones in the title role, a (supposedly) Native American Pony Express Rider defending his people against a gang of evil Whites. Oldtimer Raymond Hatton appeared as Jones' grizzled sidekick, and Dorothy Fay provided feminine interest. The bad guys were headed by James Craven and the mean-looking Jack Ingram. Unfortunately, the seemingly progressive serial caved into studio pressure by having its Native American protagonist turn out to be White after all and only adopted by the Indians. Fay later married Singing Cowboy Tex Ritter and was the mother of television star John Ritter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Veteran action and western director Spencer G. Bennet certainly opens this the second of Monogram's eight "Rough Riders" oaters on a suspenseful and unusual note. On a dark and stormy night, a lone rider enters a secluded and seemingly vacant ranch house to find the slain bodies of the occupants and a hastily scribbled note bearing the legend: "Rustlers did this. I recognized Bill Cook with them. Take care of my baby. Mary Gibbs." Although the remainder of The Gunman from Bodie doesn't quite measure up to this suspenseful and evocative opening sequence, it is still a crackerjack little western, well-played by its trio of heroes, Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton. The three "Rough Riders" are special agents assigned to look into a series of rustlings near the small town of Larabie. Working undercover as the notorious titular criminal, Jones discovers that the head of the rustlers is none other than supposedly-solid citizen Robert Frazer, who employs both the local sheriff (Max Waizmann and most of the hands at valuable Circle "B" Ranch. As the pretty owner of the ranch and her handsome foreman, Christine McIntyre and Dave "Tex" O'Brien(who sings "Little Tenderfoot"to the abandoned babe) supply the romantic interest, while Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton perform their assigned, and well-known, roles in their accustomed ways. But The Gunman from Bodie belongs squarely to Buck Jones, who combines strength with sentiment as the undercover agent discovering an abandoned baby in one of the more haunting opening sequences in B-Western history. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this sentimental drama, a washed-up boxer falls for a nightclub owner whose business has nearly been ruined by Prohibition. Both of them are fairly depressed by their lives and end up living together in the home of the fighter's recently murdered manager. The deceased's young son comes home from school and the couple offers to care for him. They put him through high school and then college, all the while preparing him to become a prizefighter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Produced by Coronet Productions and released by Columbia, The Stranger from Arizona represented a change of pace for cowboy star Buck Jones. The plotline is ordinary enough, with hero Buck Weylan (Jones) taking on a gang of rustlers who've been depleting the stock of female rancher Ann (Dorothy Fay). What sets this one apart is its endless stream of witty, sophisticated dialogue, more suited to The Thin Man than the Wide Open Spaces. Star Jones handles this verbiage with aplomb, and even slapstick comedian Hank Mann, a man not known for his skill with snappy patter, enters into the spirit of things. Billed fourth in the cast is cadaverous Hank Worden, future stalwart of the John Ford stock company. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Law of the Texan is another of the above-average Buck Jones westerns produced by Coronet Films for Columbia release. Jones pulls the old ploy of posing as an outlaw to insinuate himself into Spencer's (Kenneth Harlan) criminal gang. This strategy leads Jones to the crooks' south-of-the-border hideout, where he mixes it up with the local desperadoes. The film's fight scenes are among Jones' best, with a maximum of fisticuffs and a minimum of bloodshed. Cast as the heroine is bright-eyed Dorothy Fay, later the wife of cowboy star Tex Ritter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama offers a fascinating backstage look at the making of westerns. The story centers around a stunt double working for an egotistical, emotionally fragile cowboy star. When the stunt man sets his romantic sights on the leading lady, the leading man gets huffy and unsuccessfully attempts to frame him. Real trouble ensues when the fall guy finds himself in the midst of a real bank robbery and finds himself accused of being the thief. He is arrested and put in jail. Fortunately, another movie cowpoke helps him escape. The stunt man then goes out and catches the real villains. Included in this video are demonstrations of how the dangerous stunts of the film were performed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Buck Jones was his own producer on this average Universal western filmed on attractive locations in California's Kern River Valley. After receiving a threatening note, Lonely Valley rancher Retta Lowry (Muriel Evans) and her kid brother Sunny (Dick Holland) rush to the local church to warn Parson Reeves, only to find him already dead. The next day Retta is visited by town boss Jake Wagner (Walter Miller), who produces a bill of sale for her ranch, apparently signed by her late father. Steve Hanson (Jones) and his friend Jim Lynch (Harvey Clark), a government agent masquerading as a tramp, begin an investigation into the strange and unsettling developments. After Steve discovers a secret tunnel leading from the church straight to Wagner's office, the villain orders him killed. Pretending to have drowned in the river, an incognito Steve discovers that Wagner and an accomplice, Sam Leavitt (Matty Fain), have been forging the signatures of dead ranchers in order to swindle the rightful heirs out of their properties. But with the able assistance of Jim Lynch, the very much alive Steve is able to catch the criminals in the act, and restore peace and tranquility to the valley. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide