Harry Woods Movies

Based on Zane Grey's 1922 novel To the Last Man, filmed previously by Paramount in 1923 and 1934, this fine RKO Western marked the return to his home lot of Tim Holt after a stint in the Army Air Corps. Returning to his Arizona homestead, Marvin Hayden (Holt) lands in the middle of the age-old feud between the Haydens and the Jorths, both families accusing the other of murder. The feud, however, has been engineered by someone else entirely and when the dust settles, Marvin announces his engagement to Ellen Jorth (Martha Hyer). Although both were ostensibly based on Zane Grey novels, Thunder Mountain bears no resemblance to the 1935 George O'Brien oater of the same title. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Road to Rio was the first of three "Road" pictures jointly produced by stars Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. On the run from the law again, musicians Bob and Bing stow away on an ocean liner. They try to come to the rescue of heiress Dorothy Lamour, who is doomed to an arranged marriage to caddish George Meeker. All gratitude and effusions for their assistance, Dorothy surprises Bob and Bing on their next meeting by slapping them in their faces and declaring "I hate you! I loathe you! I despise you!" The explanation? Dorothy is being hypnotized by her scheming aunt Gale Sondergaard, who has set up the marriage for mysterious mercenary reasons of her own. When Dorothy is "herself" again, Bob and Bing smuggle her off the ship and into their Rio de Janeiro hotel room. The boys plan to save Dorothy from her unwanted marriage by passing her off as a nightclub singer, and themselves as band leaders. Trouble is, they have no band. Enter the Wiere Brothers, three Rio street entertainers. Bob and Bing hire the threesome on the spot, unmindful that they have booked themselves into Nestor Paiva's nightclub on the promise that they're delivering an American band. Since the Wieres speak only Portuguese, Bing teaches each brother an American phrase by rote: "You're in the groove, Jackson", "You're Telling Me," and "This is Murder." Naturally, it isn't long before the boys' ruse is discovered, and this coupled with the newly hypnotized Lamour's threats to have Bob and Bing arrested, leaves our heroes broke and stranded once more. Still, they pose a menace to Sondergaard, thus she contrives a method of disposing of them. Hypnotizing them both, Sondergaard orders Bob and Bing to kill each other. They snap out of the spell just in time, but still there's the problem of rescuing Dorothy. And now there's a new angle: mysterious stranger Frank Puglia informs the boys that the only way to stop the wedding is to retrieve (pause; a furtive glance left; a furtive glance right) "The Papers." Said papers are in the possession of Sondergaard, obliging Bob and Bing to show up at the pre-nuptial festival in disguise (with Bob in drag). Managing to hypnotize Sondergaard's henchmen Frank Faylen and Joseph Vitale, Bob and Bing uncover the precious Papers, and Dorothy is saved. But how can those papers stop a wedding? We won't give away the surprise, nor will we tell you whether Dorothy ends up with Bob or Bing, nor even what the heck Jerry Colonna is doing in the picture leading a cavalry charge. Not the best of the "Road" pictures, Road to Rio is nonetheless one of the most memorable--and quotable (how many of your high school pals used to confound the teacher by declaring "You're in the groove, Jackson"?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Tim Holt still in military service and Robert Mitchum promoted to "A" pictures, RKO Radio attempted to create a new B-western star in the form of James Warren, who starred in three sagebrushers over a three-year period. Warren's second RKO effort was Sunset Pass, a remake of an oft-filmed Zane Grey story. The star is cast as Rocky, a railway express officer assigned to break up a train-robbery gang operating on the Arizona border. John Laurenz plays Rocky's Spanish-Irish sidekick Chito Rafferty, a role later assigned to Richard Martin in the Tim Holt series. One of the film's two heroines is played by Jane Greer, who unlike James Warren was destined for bigger things at RKO. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first of Republic Pictures' Allan Lane Westerns, Silver City Kid was assembled for Don "Red" Barry, whom the studio had decided to groom for "A" pictures. Unfortunately, Lane did not only inherit Barry's plot but also his sidekicks Wally Vernon and Twinkle Watts, the latter Republic's rather belated answer to Shirley Temple. Jack Adams (Lane) and his friend Wildcat Higgins (Vernon) come to the aid of a buddy, whose land is about to be usurped by unscrupulous banker William Stoner (Frank Jaquet) and corrupt attorney Sam Ballard (Harry Woods). Unfortunately, the beleaguered rancher, Steve Clayton (Lane Chandler), is murdered by one of Ballard's henchmen (Glenn Strange), leaving behind a sister, Ruth (Peggy Stewart), and a young daughter, Twinkle (Watts). According to Ruth, Stoner and Ballard are after a rare vein of molypdenum running through the Clayton property and will stop at nothing to get their greedy hands on the land. But they have counted without Jack, whose six-guns settle the matter once and for all. Although saddled with the presence of Vernon, whose Brooklyn accent hardly suggested the wild and woolly West, not to mention the insufferable Miss Watts, Silver City Kid proved Lane to be a handsome and stalwart cowboy hero of the old style. Also of benefit to the film was the presence of Peggy Stewart, perhaps the era's most competent Western heroine. Although Miss Stewart disliked working with the egotistical Lane, she would be forced to appear opposite him in four additional Westerns. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this western, a young cowboy rides out to avenge his father's killer. Eventually, he finds the scoundrel, but by this time opts not to kill him for the cowboy has fallen in love with the outlaw's niece. Later, the killer ends up killed and the hero is blamed for the crime. Mayhem ensues until the hero can prove his innocence. In the end, he and the niece get together and live a long happy life together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Jim Lacy (Robert Mitchum), Chito Rafferty (Richard Martin), and Dusty (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) are three cowpokes working what was then known -- in the 1850's -- as the western Utah Territory. They know cattle, not mining, and they can't help but feel like they're missing out on something amid the influx of prospectors trying to work the Comstock Lode. But then they see most of these claims come to nothing, as the surface gold always seems to run out and leave owners with nothing but useless blue waste -- and the three are prone to count their blessings. But the machinations of a crooked mining company head Cash Burridge (Craig Reynolds) and a shoot-out at a crooked casino leave the trio on the run, and Lacy -- taking the alias "Nevada" -- headed into mining country with both the law and outlaws on his trail. And that's how he crosses paths with the Ides, a prospecting family, and their pretty daughter Hattie (ancy Gates), and also with saloon singer Julie Dexter (Anne Jeffreys), who's close to Burridge but starts to like Nevada's honesty and sincerity. Burridge knows the truth about that "useless" blue slag -- it's some of the richest silver ore ever assayed in the United States -- and plans to swindle his neighbors to get control of the Comstock Lode; and Julie cares enough about Burridge that she's ready to go along, up to the point where it involves murder, especially when Burridge's cover-up of his crime may end up with Nevada at the end of a rope. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Johnny Mack Brown's Universal western series was drawing to a close when Cheyenne Roundup was released in mid-1943. Brown is herein cast in a dual role, as honest Gils Brandon and his less-than-honest brother Buck. Pursued by lawman Steve Rawlins (Tex Ritter), Buck tries to pass himself off as the upright Gils. But in the end, the good brother is forced to make the bad one pay the price for crime. Jennifer Holt, daughter of cowboy favorite Jack Holt, is the leading lady; Fuzzy Knight socks over his usual unsubtle comedy relief; and music is provided by The Jim Wakely Trio, soon to star in their own series of sagebrushers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Old Oklahoma is better known today by its reissue title, War of the Wildcats. John Wayne heads the cast as oil man Dan Somers, who carries on a bitter feud with his crooked rival Hunk Gardner (Albert Dekker). Furthering the animosity between the two men is schoolteacher-turned-novelist Catherine Allen (Martha Scott), with whom both Dan and Hunk fall in love. The main story and the romantic second story both come to a head when Dan is offered a valuable contract if he can deliver an oil shipment within a specific deadline. Naturally, Hunk does everything he can to keep Dan from fulfilling his contract, resulting in a thrill-packed chase sequence that served as stock footage for many a future Republic western and serial. A pre-Roy Rogers Dale Evans costars as sexy dancehall chanteuse "Cuddles" Walker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beyond the Last Frontier was the first entry in Republic's "John Paul Revere" western series. Journeyman actor Eddie Dew stars as Revere, a Texas Ranger who goes undercover to smash an outlaw gang. Meanwhile, the villains install an informer amongst the Rangers, meaning that Revere will have to take care of this guy before he can complete his assignment. While Eddie Dew was OK in the lead, his thunder was stolen by the young actor cast as "Trigger Dolan"-future superstar Robert Mitchum. The plot was a bit too complicated for a film of this nature, thus future John Paul Revere installments were a bit easier to follow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This might be a film about junk mail...but it isn't. Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main are teamed again for this rambunctious western comedy. Beery plays a horse thief who romances saloon owner Main. His goal is to marry the lady and take over her lucrative mail route. He accidentally becomes a hero; she completes the reformation. Jackass Mail made money, but it just wasn't the same as the classic Wallace Beery/Marie Dressler combo of the 1930s. Great title, though. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fourth of five movie versions of the rugged Rex Beach novel of the same name, 1942's The Spoilers stars Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne, and Randolph Scott. The plot, involving the cheating of Alaskan gold rush prospectors by a crooked gold commissioner, requires that Scott play a villain, Alexander McNamara. Prospector Roy Glennister (Wayne) is continually persecuted by McNamara, who has the law on his side, until the two decide to settle their dispute man-to-man in a spectacular reel-long fistfight. La Dietrich plays saloon-hall gal Cherry Mallote, who becomes the romantic bone of contention between Glennister and McNamara. William Farnum, who played John Wayne's role in the original 1914 filmization of The Spoilers, plays a key supporting role in this remake; also on hand in a cameo is poet Robert W. Service, of The Shooting of Dan McGrew fame. Listen for a cute inside joke at the beginning of the picture, invoking the name of co-producer Lee Marcus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Riders of the West is another entry in Monogram's repetitious but profitable "Rough Riders" series. Back in the saddle again are Buck Jones as Buck Roberts, Tim McCoy as Tim McCall, and Raymond Hatton as Sandy Hopkins. The three heroes take on a gang of cattle rustlers, using their standard method of operation: Buck, Tim and Sandy ride into a small town separately, pretending to be strangers to one another until the time is ripe to join forces. Character names like "Ma Turner" and "Duke Mason" should tip the audience off as to who the good and bad guys are. Making her second "Rough Riders" appearance is the lovely Christine McIntyre, still two years away from her tenure with the Three Stooges. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a dedicated forest ranger begins suspecting that a recent series of fires has been caused by arson. He investigates in a neighboring town. There he meets a beautiful rich girl, and they fall in love and get married. Unfortunately, the other rangers do not react well to the female's intrusion into their domain. Meanwhile, the daughter of a lumber baron, who has always secretly loved the ranger, is deeply disturbed by the nuptials. When the fires begin running wild, the two women rally together and help. Unfortunately, they are trapped by a wildfire and the ranger must save them by parachuting into their locale. While en route, he discovers that it is the pilot of the airplane who has been setting the fires. The two get into a fight, the arsonist torches the plane and jumps, and the ranger lies unconscious on the airplane floor as it spirals into a fatal nose dive. Fortunately, he wakes up just in time to jump out. He lands near the women, and together they put out the blaze. Later they learn that the arsonist died when his chute drifted into one of the blazes he himself had set. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide