Bob Gilbert Movies
- 1957
Parson and the Outlaw is a cheapjack rally of washed-up movie actors, leftover sets and cobwebbed cliches. Anthony Dexter, who failed to scale the heights after starring in the 1951 biopic Valentino, plays Billy the Kid, once more as a victim of society. The parson of the title is Sonny Tufts, who by 1957 was already a national joke ("Sonny TUFTS?") Billy the Kid tries to mend his ways thanks to the intervention of the parson, but he winds up plugged and planted trying to avenge the preacher's murder. Even such able supporting actors as Marie Windsor, Jean Parker and Bob Steele look embarrassed by their tawdry surroundings. One of the last and least of Columbia's programmer westerns, Parson and the Outlaw is best buried on Boot Hill and forgotten. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Dexter, Sonny Tufts, (more)
- 1950
Produced, written, and directed by the veteran Elmer Clifton (here for obscure reasons billed Elmer S. Pond), Red Rock Outlaw had the audacity to feature its novice star, Bob Gilbert (who also wrote the original story), as identical cousins -- one good, the other bad. The good Gilbert, a rancher, enjoys a campfire singalong with the members of s stranded girls' band, falling in love with Carolina (Ione Nixon), a bleach-blonde looker, along the way. The bad cousin, meanwhile, is scheming with neighboring rancher Jim Martin (Forrest Mathews) to have nice Bob killed so they can combine their properties. Produced in 16 mm back in 1946 or 1947 and released on States' Rights by Screen Features, Inc., Red Rock Outlaw was merely an excuse to showcase a series of country & western specialty acts, including Wanda Cantlon, who, according to an onscreen credit, introduced the song "Alimony" and supplied choreography. Lee "Lasses" White, formerly of Jimmy Wakely musical Westerns, did his usual rustic schtick and the girl band, under the direction of Reno Browne, performed "Boogie Woogie Cowboy, Boogie Joe." It is very likely than leading man Bob Gilbert was a replacement for Spade Cooley, with whom he and most of the cast had been long associated. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Produced 16 mm color stock by television personality Spade Cooley in 1947, The Silver Bandit was not released until April of 1950 when distributor Raymond Friedgen had it blown up to 35 mm. Cooley starred as a mild-mannered bookkeeper shipped West by his boss, Vanfleet Stoglehammer (Dick Elliott), to investigate problems at the Green Valley Mine. From pretty Molly Doren (Virginia Jackson), Cooley learns that a masked bandit has been terrorizing the area's silver mines. Falling into an abandoned mine shaft, the intrepid Easterner discovers the bandit's lair and discarded spare costume. Trying on the suit, Spade is mistaken for the real bandit, but escapes the sheriff's posse. After sundry ill-conceived B-Western clichés, Cooley is able to unmask the real bandit, who proves to be none other than Molly's erstwhile boyfriend (Bob Gilbert). A classically trained musician turned country & western bandleader, Spade Cooley became a household name starring on The Hoffman Hayride, one of television's earliest successes. Still performing by 1961, Cooley created headlines once again when he was convicted of beating his estranged wife to death. He died while on a furlough from Vacaville Prison in 1969. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spade Cooley, Bob Gilbert, (more)
- 1949
Produced and directed by the veteran Oliver Drake and filmed at his ranch near Pearblossom, CA, this minor musical Western starred Spade Cooley, a bandleader known as the "King of Western Swing." In between performing such numbers as "Cowboy Serenade" and "Gower Gulch Is Home Sweet Home to Me," Cooley wins the rodeo on the feared T.N.T (he was doubled by the later so notable Richard Farnsworth), beats up a few bad guys, including stuntmen Bob Woodward and Boyd Stockman, and romances pretty girl singer Wanda Cantlon. The Kid From Gower Gulch was apparently produced in 1947 (in 16 mm, according to Drake himself) but was not released until 1949. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1947
George Raft once again plays the outcast of society who comes through in the end in Intrigue. Dishonorably discharged from the Army Air Corps, Brad Dunham (Raft) disconsolately decides to try his luck with Shanghai's postwar black market. Teaming with the treacherous Tamara Baranoff (June Havoc), Dunham prospers in his newly-found illicit profession, much to the dismay of his best friend, reporter Mark Andrews (Tom Tully). When Tamara has the troublesome Andrews murdered, Dunham realizes the folly of his behavior and works overtime to squash the black market for good and all. Meanwhile, social worker Linda Parker (Helena Carter), who realizes that Dunham's a good guy underneath and hopes against hope that he'll eventually realize it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, June Havoc, (more)
- 1947
Produced in Kernville, California, this typical Jimmy Wakely singing Western from Monogram had the former radio troubadour settling a range feud between his uncle and boss (Budd Buster) and a homesteader (songwriter Jack Baxley) by proving that both were the victims of their crooked foremen (Zon Murray and Bob Duncan). Patricia Starling, who also appeared opposite Roy Rogers and Sunset Carson, added a bit of romance to the proceedings, which also benefitted from Wakely's warbling of the old standard Whoppi Ti Yi Yo and his own The Lonesome Trail. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1946
As with his previous music Western vehicle, Moon over Montana (1946), former radio crooner Jimmy Wakely composed the title song for this film. With Wesley Tuttle and His Texas Stars as his backup group, Wakely also warbled Paul Westmoreland's Detour, De Camptown Ladies, by Stephen Foster, and I Miss You Since You've Been Gone by Arthur Smith. The girl Wakely "missed" was Jean Carlin, whose prospector grandfather (Budd Buster) is being harrassed by an unknown force. Wakely and his usual sidekick Lee "Lasses" White investigate and soon determine that the mystery villain is actually a villainess, Flora Carter (Iris Clive), a ruthless lady rancher who holds the mortgage to grandpa Buster's property. In between crooning the aforementioned tunes and winning the big race on his wild mustang, Wakely manages to discover enough evidence to convict the unscrupulous Ms. Carter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1943
This French Underground melodrama stars George Sanders as a seemingly apolitical Parisian doctor who is actually a resistance leader. Sanders' nurse (Brenda Marshall) is likewise a French patriot--less so the nurse's husband (Philip Dorn), who has become disillusioned after two years in a POW camp. The husband changes his mind and joins the Resistance, though he and several other freedom fighters lose their lives to German bullets. Worth noting in Paris After Dark is the fact that several of the personnel involved were actual French refugees, including director Leonide Moguy and husband-and-wife supporting actors Marcel Dalio and Madeleine LeBeau. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Sanders, Philip Dorn, (more)
- 1936
La Fosse's new lover, a boxer, rescues her from a deadly plot by her former lover during an amateur production of Carmen. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1935
This story is based both on a long-standing legend and a play by E. Temple Thurston. Veteran British director Maurice Elvey brought years of experience with theatrical adaptations to the difficult task of filming a movie that spans centuries and strains credulity. Conrad Veidt stars as the Jew who urges Roman authorities to crucify Jesus and release Barabbas. As a punishment, he is condemned by God to wander the Earth for many centuries, enduring innumerable trials and tribulations on several continents. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Matheson Lang, (more)
- 1931
In this romantic comedy-drama, a wealthy San Francisco businessman becomes the guardian of a sexy young Polynesian woman. At first, he sees her as in the way, but he falls in love with her and moves back to her home island with her, adopting the ways of the natives. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Howard, Conchita Montenegro, (more)
