Don Kay Reynolds Movies
The son of famed horse trainer Fez Reynolds and a champion trick and fancy rider from early childhood, Don Kay Reynolds replaced Bobby Blake (later Robert Blake as the hero's Native American sidekick in the last four films of the long-running Red Ryder series. Blake, the former Mickey Gubitosi of Our Gang fame, played Little Beaver at Republic Pictures opposite both William Elliott and his replacement Allan Lane, but when the series was sold to low-budget Eagle Lion in 1948, that studio cast Reynolds, along with Jim Bannon -- the new Red Ryder -- and veteran silent-screen actress Marin Sais, who replaced Martha Wentworth as the Duchess. Nicknamed "Little Brown Jug," Reynolds became a great favorite with the series' mostly juvenile audience. Alas, only four films were actually produced -- albeit in garish Cinecolor -- and Reynolds left Hollywood soon after to tour with various circuses. He later owned a restaurant in Northern California, but retained the nickname of "Jug." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1951
Snake River Desperadoes affords Charles Starrett another opportunity to don the mask of the do-gooding Durango Kid. In this one, Steve Reynolds (Starrett) runs up against criminal mastermind Jim Haverly (Monte Blue), who for financial reasons hopes to foment a war between the Apaches and the settlers. Haverly's white henchmen disguise themselves as Indians and commit all sorts of brutalities -- at least until Reynolds, aka Durango, enters the scene. Don Kay Reynolds, who as "Little Brown Jug" previously played Little Beaver in the Red Ryder series, is well cast as an Apache youth who forms a strong friendship with white counterpart Tommy Ivo. One of the baddies is played by Duke York, whom Three Stooges fans will remember for his many portrayals of werewolves, vampires and "Frankensteins" in the Stooges' 2-reelers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, (more)
Alexander Hull's novel Shep of the Painted Hills was refashioned into a traditional Lassie vehicle by screenwriter True Boardman. The noble collie turns avenger this time out, hoping to bring the murderer of her master to justice. The perpetrator, played by Bruce Cowling, is hounded (no pun intended) into meeting a fate similar to the one he meted out to the victim. Filmed on a somewhat lower budget than previous Lassie endeavors, The Painted Hills benefits greatly from its all-character-actor cast, headed by Paul Kelly and Ann Doran. The film was lensed in Technicolor, making it a valuable commodity in the formative days of locally-produced color TV in the late 1950s-early 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lassie the Dog, Paul Kelly, (more)
Gene Autry and his horse Champion play "themselves" in Columbia's Beyond the Purple Hills. This one finds Autry serving as a cattle-town sheriff. When his best friend is accused of murder, Gene does his duty and arrests the man--then conducts his own investigation to prove that his pal is innocent. Pat Buttram goes through his usual sidekick paces, while young Autry protégé Don Reynolds does some impressive horse-riding stunts. Of interest to TV-western fans is the actor playing Autry's wrongly accused buddy: it's none other than Hugh O'Brian, later to gain fame as television's Wyatt Earp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, (more)
- 1950
Though Eagle Lion's "Red Ryder" westerns were not as well received as the earlier entries from Republic, they still managed to turn a profit. In Fighting Redhead, the heroic Ryder is played by Jim Bannon, with Don Kay Reynolds -- aka Little Brown Jug -- as Ryder's youthful Indian chum Little Beaver. In his first Cinecolor adventure, Red Ryder tries to bring a murderous cattle rustler to justice. The villain is played by John Hart, who'd later switch to the right side of the law as Clayton Moore's temporary replacement on TV's Lone Ranger series. Heroine Peggy Stewart is refreshingly feisty and fearless as she tries to exact vengeance for the murder of her rancher father. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Bannon, Don Kay Reynolds, (more)
- 1950
Jim Bannon's final "Red Ryder" western was the Cinecolor effort Cowboy and the Prizefighter. Aiding and abetting the red-headed Ryder is his youthful Indian sidekick Little Beaver (Don Kay Reynolds, aka Little Brown Jug) and a tough galoot named Steve (Don Haggerty), whose life the hero saves in the opening reel. This time, Ryder takes on a crooked boxing promoter who's been fleecing the locals. The villain is played by John Hart, who later went straight as TV's Lone Ranger (replacing Clayton Moore in 26 episodes). Hart's cohort is real-life pugilist Lou Nova, with whom Ryder squares off in the boxing ring. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Bannon, Emmett Lynn, (more)
- 1950
Once more, Charles Starrett hits the trail as the masked do-gooder known as The Durango Kid in Streets of Ghost Town. Also once more, Starrett spends his "unmasked" scenes playing a character named Steve, in this case Steve Woods. The slender plot concerns a treasure hunt in a supposedly deserted town. This premise is used as an excuse to showcase lengthy excerpts from previous "Durango Kid" westerns, offered herein as "flashbacks." Columbia Pictures had a positive genius for recycling old footage into new movies: as proof, one need only peruse all those patchwork Three Stooges comedies of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, (more)
One of themost acclaimed films to emerge from Republic studios, The Red Pony is an adaptation of the John Steinbeck story of the same name. Top billing goes to Myrna Loy and Robert Mitchum, but the film's true star is young Peter Miles as Tom. A lonely farm boy, Tom seeks refuge from his troublesome home life and his eternally squabbling parents (Loy and Shepperd Strudwick) through his devotion to a newborn colt. The red pony is the issue of a prize mare owned by ranchhand Billy Buck (Mitchum), whom Tom idolizes. The film's coming-of-age theme cluminates in a poignant denouement. Louis Calhern plays Tom's lovably prevaricating grandfather, while 10-year-old Beau Bridges essays one of his first featured roles. Aaron Copland's score and the rich Technicolor photography of Tony Gaudio contribute to the film's overall mood. The Red Pony was remade for television in 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum, (more)
- 1949
Jim Bannon is back as enduring cowboy hero Red Ryder in Eagle-Lion's Roll, Thunder, Roll. As ever, Ryder's cohorts are Little Beaver and the Duchess, here played by "Little Brown Jug" (aka Don Kay Reynolds) and Marin Sais. This time, Ryder tries to prove that a series of cattle raids and ranch fires were not the handiwork of masked Mexican do-gooder El Conejo (I. Stanford Jolley). One of the genuine villains is played by Glenn Strange, a year or so after his impersonation of The Monster in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. While Jim Bannon's "Red Ryder" films made money, there were many "B"- western aficionados who felt that Bannon was an inadequate sub for previous screen "Ryders" Don Barry and Allan Lane; the late film-historian Don Miller suggested that Roll, Thunder Roll should have been renamed Stop, Bannon, Stop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Bannon, Don Kay Reynolds, (more)
- 1949
Filmed in "glorious" Cinecolor by Eagle-Lion, this was the first of four "Red Ryder" westerns starring Jim Bannon in the title-role, Don Kay Reynolds (billed, a bit condescendingly, as "Little Brown Jug") as juvenile sidekick Little Beaver, Emmett Lynn as Buckskin, and Marin Sais as Red Ryder's aunt, The Duchess. After rescuing crusading newspaper editor Libby Brooks (Peggy Stewart) from a gang of bandits, Red Ryder and his friends help the girl bring down Frenchy Beaumont (Edwin Max), the evil owner of the Parisian Hotel and the villain who has been terrorizing the town of Devil's Hole. Libby's brother Gerry (Steve Pendleton) loses his life in the fight, but Beaumont cheats the hangman with the help of his arrogant lawyer, Iverson (Fred Coby). There is a shootout on main street between Beaumont and Red Ryder before the villain is finally carted off to jail. Based on the long-running (1938-1964) comic strip by Fred Harman, the "Red Ryder" westerns had been very successful for Republic stars Don "Red" Barry, William Elliot, and Allan Lane before moving over to Eagle-Lion. Comedian Lynn was the only series regular to appear for both companies. Sais, the former wife of silent cowboy star Jack Hoxie, replaced Alice Fleming and Martha Wentworth as the Duchess. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Bannon, Emmett Lynn, (more)
- 1948
Whirlwind Raiders differs from the usual run of Charles Starrett westerns only in the fact that it wasn't directed by the series' principal helmsman Ray Nazarro. Starrett is cast as ace rodeo rider Steve Lanning, who, when the need presents itself, assumes the guise of that masked justice-defender, The Durango Kid. The villains this time are s ia band of Texas law officers who use their authority to rob and plunder. When Steve figures out who's the "head man" behind the crooks, he dons his Durango mask and metes out justice. Featured in the cast is 10-year-old Don Kay Reynolds, aka Little Brown Jug, who was concurrently playing "Little Beaver" in the Red Ryder western series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, (more)
Dissatisfied with his postwar Republic westerns (not to mention his comparatively low salary), Gene Autry switched his base of operations to Columbia in 1947, where he wore two hats as both star and producer. Autry's first Columbia effort, The Last Round-Up, is a vast improvement over the Republics that preceded it. The story finds Autry arranging for an impoverished Indian tribe to move from their desolate reservation to a more fertile and attractive location. Understandably, the Indians doubt Autry's motives, having been previously burned by such usurping crooks as Mr. Mason (Ralph Morgan) and his son Matt (Mark Daniels). Once Autry has convinced the Indians that he's on their side, he must contend with the Masons' murderous minions. In the course of events, Gene Autry sings five songs, several of them directed to pert leading lady Jean Heather. Featured among the Indian characters is little Bobby Blake, a recent graduate of Republic's "Red Ryder" series. Some of the action highlights in The Last Round-Up were lifted from the 1940 Columbia "A" western Arizona. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Jean Heather, (more)
- 1946
Filmed in two-toned Cinecolor, Romance of the West was the second of PRC's western vehicles for singing cowboy Eddie Dean. Our hero is cast as a government agent, bound and determined to prevent an Indian war. The villains are a gang of outlaws who are fomenting discord between the Indians and the white settlers for their own gain. The plan is to have both sides wipe each other out, so that the crooks can move in and claim the silver-rich land. Emmet Lynn, Dean's comedy relief, would be replaced in later entries by Roscoe Ates, all for the better. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Dean, Joan Barton, (more)
- 1944
The Yellow Rose of Texas is, at least in the case of this Roy Rogers vehicle, both the title of a song and the name of a fancy showboat. Rogers plays a frontier insurance investigator who is assigned to locate a company payroll stolen several years earlier. Working undercover, Roy poses as a singer on the aforementioned "Yellow Rose of Texas." The showboat's owner, Betty Weston (Dale Evans), is the daughter of the man who was arrested for the robbery. She's convinced that her dad is innocent, and Roy proves that she's right by capturing the genuine culprit. Running seven reels as opposed to the usual six, The Yellow Rose of Texas was marketed as a "special" by canny Republic Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, (more)
