Clarence Upson Young Movies

Never once does Bobby Darin sing "Mack the Knife" or "Splish Splash" in Gunfight in Abilene. Instead, he plays a peaceable western sheriff, determined to stave off an outlaw invasion. The head outlaw is Leslie Nielsen, which makes this film very hard to watch with a straight face these days. The Universal City backlot gets a good workout in the blood-spattered finale of Gunfight in Abilene, which barely made the theatrical rounds before entrenching itself on late night television. The film should not be confused with Gunfighters of Abilene, a 1960 oater starring Buster Crabbe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Randolph Scott puts in time with Paramount's Pine-Thomas unit in the big-budget western Albuquerque. Scott is cast as Cole Armin, the nephew of tyrannical town boss John Armin (George Cleveland). Defying his grasping uncle, Cole sides with a small wagon-train line which the elder Armin hopes to drive out business. In his spare time, he is wooed by local lovelies Letty Tyler (Barbara Britton) and Celia Wallace (Catherine Craig). Taking a break from his B-western duties, Russell Hayden plays Cole Armin's best buddy, while Lon Chaney Jr. does his usual as John Armin's chief henchman. Albuquerque was based on a novel by the prolific Luke Short. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A radio sound-effects man finds his honeymoon plans interrupted by the pesky presence of a corpse in his honeymoon suite. This comedy follows the way in which he and his bride deal with the puzzling mystery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It was an open secret in Hollywood that bosom buddies (and fellow Universal contractees) Broderick Crawford and Lon Chaney Jr. usually spent their weekend drunkenly punching one another out. Evidently Universal hoped to harness this pugnacity for box-offices purposes, which may be why North to the Klondike was born. Marginally based on the Jack London yarn Gold Hunters of the North, the film casts Crawford as Alaskan mining engineer John Thorn and Chaney as land-grabbing scoundrel Nate Carson. Originally close friends, Thorn and Carson ultimately have a falling out over Carson's strongarm tactics-resulting in an outsized brawl which looks disturbingly like the real thing. Evelyn Ankers, whose latter-day anecdotes about the redoubtable Crawford and Chaney could fill a book in themselves, valiantly plays the heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

More than one aficionado of Universal's horror films has cited Night Monster as the weakest of the batch. Part of the complaint lies in the fact that, despite their first and second billing, Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill are utterly wasted, with Atwill getting bumped off in the first reel! The nonsensical farrago of a plotline concerns a mysterious night stalker who has been killing off the doctors attending wealthy, crippled Kurt Ingstom (Ralph Morgan). With both of his legs amputated, Ingstom couldn't possibly be the murderer himself-or could he? The explanation to the mystery is as silly as the rest of the picture, but at least Night Monster boasts a rousing climax, one which suggests that no one lives happily ever after. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This remake of the 1934 WW I melodrama Madame Spy has been updated to the WW II era. Once again accepting a role unworthy of her talents, Constance Bennett stars as Joan Bannister, the wife of globe-trotting war correspondent David Bannister (Don Porter). Returning to the US, Bannister becomes suspicious when Joan begins keeping company with known Nazi functionaries, notably the sinister Mr. Peter (John Litel). Suspecting that his own wife may be the elusive "Madame Spy" wanted by American authorities, Bannister is in for quite a few surprises before the film's six reels expend themselves. The film's climax, in a deserted farm house, evokes memories of Hitchcock's better-known espionager Foreign Correspondent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy-adventure two petroleum engineers must investigate strange reports from a Company outpost in the South Seas. The minute they arrive they are arrested, framed and sentenced to hard labor. They find themselves working for the local oil magnate. It seems that the crook is using the "convicts" as a source of cheap labor; he keeps all their salaries. The two investigators successfully incite an uprising against the malicious magnate and gain their freedom. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this exciting western, Roaring Dan is the meanest old cuss around. He and his "son" are constantly bickering. But things are not as they seem as the young man is only pretending to be Dan's son so they can find the killers of the young man's real father. Among the guilty are two women. In the end, the young hero and the killer engage in a thrilling fist fight. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this western, a dashing caballero makes a wager with his gang that he can court a beautiful dancer and lure her back to their lair. Unfortunately the woman loves another so the outlaw kidnaps them both. At the Mexican border, he has a change of heart and sets the lovers free. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Despite its title and its potent lineup of cowboy talent, RKO Radio's The Law West of Tombstone is more comedy than western. The characters are all based on famous frontier characters, with names changed to protect the producers. Harry Carey is cast against type as a blowhard Judge Roy Bean clone, whose bravado masks the heart of a coward. With the help of Billy the Kid rip-off Tim Holt, Carey fends off a gang that closely resembles the Clantons. Holt ends up in the arms of Jean Rouverol, a busy ingenue of the 1930s who later became a prolific children's story writer. Law West of Tombstone was directed by onetime movie leading man Glenn Tryon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide