Edward Cassidy Movies
Steely-eyed, mustachioed Edward Cassidy (or plain Ed Cassidy) bore a striking resemblance to Theodore Roosevelt, whom he played three times onscreen, including a brief appearance in the MGM musical Take Me out to the Ball Game (1949). But the McGill University graduate was more at home in B-Westerns and serials, of which he did an impressive total of 218. Cassidy could occasionally be found on the wrong side of the law, but more often than not, he would portray the heroine's (or hero's) beleaguered father, the stern sheriff, or a troubled rancher. Retiring after his 1957 appearance in the television series Circus Boy, the veteran supporting player died from undisclosed causes at the Motion Picture House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, CA. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
A homicidal hunchback known as The Fiend is stalking a theater company in this ultra low-budget whodunit ostensibly based on a short story The Great Mono Miracle by Peter B. Kyne. Looking into the mysterious goings-on, Reporter Frank Gordon (Lloyd Hughes) joins drama editor Jean Monroe (June Collyer) and intrepid, but bumbling, photographer Elmer (Al St. John) in an attempt to flush out the murderer. One of the actors, Reardon (Jack Mulhall), makes himself the prime suspect by behaving highly suspicious, but he, too, is murdered. The Fiend, as Elmer learns the hard way, is someone else entirely, someone who holds a deep-rooted grudge against the company. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1937
Weather-beaten western star Harry Carey is consistently better than his material in the cheapie shoot-em-up Aces Wild. Astride his wonder horse Sonny, Cheyenne Harey (Carey) comes to the rescue of heroine Martha (Gertrude Messenger), the owner of a valuable gold mine. The villains try to buy Cheyenne off, but he's not about to be dissuaded from his purpose. Two veterans of Columbia's 2-reel comedy mills show up in important roles: Theodore Lorch as the mustachioed heavy, and second-echelon comic Phil Dunham as a crusading newspaper editor. Also on hand is black comedian Fred Toones, who spent most of his career saddled with the demeaning cognomen "Snowflake." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Carey, Gertrude Messinger, (more)
- 1946
As usual, the title of this Sunset Carson western from Republic Pictures means absolutely nothing. William Bonney is nowhere to be found, nor is he mentioned. Instead, Carson plays "Sunset Carson," aka "The Kid," a ranger only pretending to be an outlaw in order to infiltrate the notorious Marshall gang. But after investigating the murder of a fellow ranger, Sunset sides with pretty "gang leader" Ann Marshall (Peggy Stewart) against the real culprit, Matt Conroy (Roy Barcroft), a nasty banker attempting to take over Ann's spread by railroading employer Peewee (Russ Whiteman). Although no actor, handsome Sunset Carson looked great on a horse, had a way with a fist and didn't bump into anything along the way. Like all the Republic cowboys, Carson was of course helped immeasurably by the studio's roster of stalwart supporting players, especially Barcroft, Tom London (here playing a friend instead of a foe for a change) and Peggy Stewart. The latter, who was to appear as Carson's leading lady no less than eight times, helped the former rodeo rider become a better thespian "by having him count the dots between his lines." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
A tuneful Roy Rogers Western, Along the Navajo Trail finds Dale Evans' Lazy A Ranch under siege from nasty J. Richard Bentley (Douglas Fowley), who is in cahoots with a greedy oil company aiming to erect a pipeline through the property come what may. Drifter Rogers, who is really a U.S. Marshal in disguise, eventually gets the goods on the villains with the assistance of Nestor Paiva's band of Mexican gypsies, comedy sidekick George "Gabby" Hayes, and vivacious Estelita Rodriguez. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes, (more)
- 1946
One of four western films made for PRC by bantam-weight Bob Steele, Ambush Trail stars Steele as cowpoke Curley Thompson. The villain of the piece intends to bankrupt all the local ranchers and grab up the surrounding property for himself. But with Curley involved, the bad guy and his minions don't have a chance. The screenplay, by D. W. Griffith alumnus Elmer Clifton, is a medley of western cliches, pausing every so often for a first-rate action sequence. Perennial sagebrush sidekick Sid Saylor provides negligible comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Budd Buster, Edward Cassidy, (more)
Directed under the pseudonym "Raymond Samuels" by Harry S. Webb, this cheap Western starred former silent screen cowboy Bob Custer. Custer plays Marshal Bruce Manning, whose fiancee, Ann Morgan (Victoria Vinton), begs him to interfere when her brother Clay (Eddie Phillips), a cattle rancher, is accused of killing a homesteader (Wally Wales). But Manning, who wants to prevent a war between the cattle ranchers and the "nesters," takes Clay into protective custody. Ann's father (Edward Cassidy) shoots Bruce in the shoulder, and Ann herself is abducted by the dead homesteader's mother, Ma Potter (Vane Calvert). Morgan rallies his men to free Ann but mistakenly shoots his own son. Dying, Clay admits to having killed an unarmed man. Mourning their respective sons, Ma Potter and Morgan agree to share the land. Ambush Valley was the first of three very low-budget Custer westerns produced by small-time Reliable Pictures. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1942
A Federal agent masquerades as a horse trader in order to bring outlaw terrorists to justice in this western. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
PRC's Arson Squad stars Frank Albertson as an insurance investigator and Robert Armstrong as chief of the police department's arson troubleshooters. Albertson and Armstrong team up to solve a particularly vicious series of deliberate fires. A man has been killed in one conflagration, so the villains have a murder rap hanging over them. The "usual suspects" include such murder-mystery reliables as Byron Foulger and Charles Arnt. The leading lady of Arson Squad is Grace Gillern, who emerged as something less than a household name after this programmer was distributed in September of 1945. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Albertson, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1952
Allan "Rocky" Lane and his trusty stallion Black Jack star in Republic's Black Hills Ambush. Lane plays a U.S. marshal who answers a call for help from his old pal Nugget Clark (Eddy Waller). It seems that someone is staging ruinous raids on Nugget's newly established freight line. Realizing that gang leader Bart (Roy Barcroft) is a lost cause, Lane tries to reform gang member Larry Stewart (Michael Hall), thereby forcing the crooks' evil scheme to collapse under its own weight. The highly forgettable leading lady is played by Leslye Banning. Allan "Rocky" Lane continued turning out low-budget westerns for a full decade after Black Hills Ambush was released in 1952 but is probably best-known as the voice of TV-equine Mr. Ed ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Lane, Leslye Banning, (more)
- 1937
Boothill Brigade stars Johnny Mack Brown as frontier do-gooder Lon Cardigan. Villainous land-grabber John Porter (Edward Cassidy) spends most of the early reels divesting homesteaders of the hard-earned property. All of this comes to an end when Cardigan looms into view, fists at the ready. Seldom resorting to gunplay, our hero manages to send Porter's minions scurrying, then concentrates on cleaning the main bad guy's clock. Produced by A.W. Hackel for Republic release, Boothill Brigade boasts considerably better cinematography than the usual Hackel product. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Claire Rochelle, (more)
- 1937
The first entry in a proposed series of six Westerns starring Ken Maynard and produced for Grand National by M.H. Hoffman, Boots of Destiny featured a script written for Hoffman's previous star, Hoot Gibson. Maynard, whose personality was far removed from the lackadaisical Gibson, played Ken Crawford, a cowboy getting himself involved in a range feud between the Mexican Vascos and the Yankee Wilsons. Hired by Alice Wilson (Claudia Dell), Ken and sidekick Acey Ducey (Vince Barnett) discover that the Wilson foreman, Harmon (Edward Cassidy), is the brains behind a series of cattle rustlings. Harmon attempts to get rid of Ken by framing him in a killing, but the cowboy escapes and saves Alice from both the raiding Vascos and Harmon. A rather downbeat Western featuring a tired-looking Claudia Dell, Boots of Destiny came to life only when Maynard and his horse, Tarzan, performed part of their circus act. Maynard broke his foot prior to filming and was forced to wear a special boot enlarged to accommodate his plaster cast. This less than pleasant situation made the often difficult star even more so and after Trailin' Trouble (1937), Hoffman gave up and sold Maynard's contract to the Alexander brothers, Max and Arthur. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Claudia Dell, (more)
- 1947
Despite the producer claiming Border Feud to be a "New PRC Picture," this Western is essentially the same old wheeze that the studio had been trotting out for years. The one where Marshal Cheyenne Davis (Lash LaRue) assumes the identity of a hired gun, The Tiger, whom nobody in town has actually met. The crooked saloon owner, Barton (Bob Duncan), is fanning the flames of a feud between warring mining families in the hopes of grabbing the Blue Girl gold mine for his mystery boss. With the help of the local sheriff -- none other than old friend Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John), whom everybody insists is "quite capable" despite appearances to the contrary -- Cheyenne not only quells the feud but also manages to unmask the brain behind the troubles, the local doctor (Ian Keith). For the record: LaRue cracks his trademark whip twice in Border Feud. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lash LaRue, Al St. John, (more)
- 1937
An above-average "Hopalong Cassidy" series entry, Borderland has Hoppy (William Boyd) going undercover as a bandit in a tough Mexican border town in order to trap a notorious bandit known only as The Fox. Not even sidekicks Johnny Nelson (James Ellison) and Windy (George "Gabby" Hayes) are in on the scheme, concocted jointly by Mexican Army Colonel Gonzales (Trevor Bardette) and Texas Ranger Major Stafford (Earle Hodgins). Lodging with widowed Grace Rand (Nora Lane) and her small daughter, Molly (Charlene Wyatt), both of whom he abuses in order to protect his cover, Hoppy learns that The Fox (Stephen Morris aka Morris Ankrum) is himself performing a bit of masquerade, in this case as a halfwit known as Loco. Windy, however, innocently spills the beans and is promptly kidnapped along with Molly. Chased by Hoppy, who is himself tailed by the villain's henchmen, Gonzales' troops, and a wounded Johnny Nelson, The Fox (alias Loco) escapes to his secret hideaway, a cabin stocked with dynamite. There, Hoppy catches up with him and in an exciting finale keeps the master villain at bay until help arrives. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, James Ellison, (more)
- 1944
Also known as Boss of Rawhide, this "Texas Rangers" western top-bills Dave O'Brien, James Newill, and Guy Wilkerson. This time, the three Rangers are called upon to solve a series of rangeland murders. The victims were all ranchers, and it looks as though the same gang was responsible for all the killings. Our heroes suspect that the gang leader is a "respectable" citizen-but who is it? Pepping up the proceedings (or slowing them down, depending upon one's point of view) are a couple of songs, adequately warbled by the stars. The leading lady is Nell O'Day, an accomplished horsewoman who should have had a western series of her own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dave "Tex" O'Brien, Guy Wilkerson, (more)
- 1944
In this western, a gang of evil cattle rustlers wreaks havoc upon a community of ranchers. Three Texas Rangers come to the rescue and find out the ring leader works as a local ranch foreman. The bad guys do not escape the trusty Rangers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1936
Bob Steele was directed by his father Robert N. Bradbury in Brand of the Outlaws. Can it be that Our Hero has turned outlaw himself? It sure seems that way, given the fact that Bob comes to the aid of a gang of rustlers. But fear not: Steele is merely working undercover, in search of (you guessed it) the murderer of his father. Quality-wise Brand of the Outlaws is a big step up from his earlier efforts for A. W. Hackel's Supreme Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1951
Ever in pursuit of novelty, Republic Pictures assembled a series of westerns in the early 1950s starring youngsters Michael Chapin and Eileen Janssen. In Buckaroo Sheriff of Texas, the kids are left virtually alone when their elders ride off to war. Bad guy Tristram Coffin tries to take advantage of the situation by going on a land-grabbing spree. With the help of old codger James Bell, the kids manage to foil the villains. Watch for future Wyatt Earp star Hugh O'Brian in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Chapin, Eilene Janssen, (more)
- 1947
Produced by Jack Schwartz for low-budget company Screen Guild, this mild Western starring the veteran Richard Arlen was apparently the first entry in a proposed series. Arlen played the title role, here assigned by the army to quell an Indian attack on the powerless settlers. The Indians are accusing Tom Russell (John Dexter) of murdering a member of the tribe, an act, as Buffalo Bill discovers, actually committed by a gang of outlaws hired by investment company owner J.B. Jordon (Frank O'Connor). Buffalo Bill Rides Again was soundly defeated by a low budget and slipshod direction by the veteran Bernard B. Ray. Popular B-Western villain Ted Adams disappeared mysteriously halfway through the film, only to be replaced by Edmund Cobb. Jennifer Holt, the daughter of Arlen contemporary Jack Holt and by far the busiest B-Western heroine of the 1940s, had little to do other than letting herself be kidnapped by evil Gil Patric. Arlen, whose career dated back to the silent era, was perhaps a mite too old and stout by 1946 when this film was produced to become an acceptable B-Western hero. No further Buffalo Bill Westerns were produced by Schwartz. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Adams, Richard Arlen, (more)
- 1941
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In this western, a mining engineer vengefully seeks out the claim jumpers that murdered his brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1938
Hopalong Cassidy gallops to the rescue once again in this seventh entry in the long-running series. This time the trouble begins when bad-guys begin harassing the townsfolk. In desperation, Hoppy's former gal sends him a plea for help. With guns a-blazing, he gets there just in time to round 'em up and throw 'em in the hoosegow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Russell Hayden, (more)
Cattle Stampede was the 200th production of that legendary B-picture mill, PRC Studios. Buster Crabbe plays Billy the Kid (not the real one), while Al St. John, as ever, is Fuzzy Q. Jones. This time Billy and Fuzzy ("our old pals," as they were always billed) come the aid of a group of Oklahoma ranchers. The villains belong to a gang of cattle rustlers, headed by the swarthy Charlie King (whose character name, surprisingly, isn't "Blackie" ). The titular stampede isn't such a much, but Buster Crabbe's gunplay and Al St. John's buffoonery is well up to par. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Frances Gladwin, (more)
- 1948
PRC's singing cowboy Eddie Dean once again brings law and order to a corrupt town in this average Western co-starring Roscoe Ates and Nancy Gates. When Red Gap's old sheriff (Edward Cassidy) is shot in cold blood by Ace (Mikel Conrad), a member of Brad Taggert's gang, the new lawman, Eddie, orders all firearms in Red Gap to be deposited in the sheriff's office. Taggert (I. Stanford Jolley) takes umbrage, of course, and hires a couple of gunmen (Russell Asrms and Marshall Reed) to rid the town of such nuisance. When that ploy fails, the villain falls back on crooked Judge Hammond (William Fawcett), but Eddie gets rid of him as well in favor of law-abiding Judge Walsh (Steve Clark) -- then the real Boss Villain reveals himself. Ates, Andy Parker, and the Plainsmen perform "A Miserable Ornery Coyote" and Dean sings "God's Little Lanterns" and "Moseyin' Along," the latter in a duet with leading lady Nancy Gates. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Dean, Roscoe Ates, (more)
- 1938
Former silent screen cowboy Tom Tyler and newcomer Lon Chaney, Jr. (still billed, modestly, as Creighton Chaney) square off in this inexpensive oater produced by infamous poverty row regular Sam Katzman. Believed by the sheriff (Charles "Slim" Whitaker) to be the notorious bandit Cheyenne Tommy, Tom Wade (Tyler) is in reality an investigator for the Cattlemen's Protective Association looking into a series of cattle rustlings. Along with his dopey sidekick, Dopey (Jimmy Fox), Wade robs the rustlers of their ill-gotten gains until he is recognized by one of the gang, Girard (Chaney). After a great deal of ridin' and shootin', Tom is assisted in bringing down the gang by lovely Sally Lane (Lucile Browne), another operative working undercover as secretary to the leader of the rustlers (Theodore Lorch). The Katzman stamp of poverty is all over this Victory Pictures production, but it is fun to watch Tyler and Chaney, both of whom would later star as the mummy, Kharis, for Universal in the '40s. Director Robert F. Hill makes his usual Hitchcock-like appearance, this time as a townsman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tyler, Lucille Browne, (more)
- 1945
An interesting entry in Republic Pictures' long-running "Red Ryder" B-Western series, this film is not about hardy settlers braving the Colorado winters, as the title would suggest. Instead it's a sort of Reform School Western about a couple of wayward Chicago boys (Billy Cummings and Freddie Chapman) taken in by Ryder's indomitable aunt, "The Duchess" (Alice Fleming. The boys escaped their very own "Fagin," Bull Reagan (Roy Barcroft), and were given a second chance on the lady's Western ranch. Unfortunately, Reagan returns to do a bit of cattle rustling, once again luring the boys into becoming his accomplices. The stalwart Ryder (William Elliot and his young Indian sidekick, Little Beaver (Robert Blake), come to their rescue, and the real villain is soon put away. Interestingly, at one point in the film, Ryder and his aunt are (unjustly) accused by the townspeople of exploiting their youthful ranch hands. Buckwheat Thomas of Our Gang fame, plays a character named Smoky. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
