John Bridges Movies

Having drunk his way out of most of the major studios and not a few of the minor ones, cowboy star Ken Maynard had trouble finding work in the 1940s. Independent producer Walt Mattox came to the rescue in 1944 when he cast Maynard opposite young singing cowboy Eddie Dean, veteran comedy relief Max Terhune, and general-purpose actor Rocky Cameron in the cheaply assembled Harmony Trail. The plot concerns the efforts by marshal Cameron to locate a gang of bank robbers. He is given plenty of help in the form of Maynard, Dean and Terhune -- indeed, one observer noted that this was one film in which the good guys outnumbered the bad guys. Peddled on the States' Rights market for several years, Harmony Trail resurfaced in 1947, when Astor Pictures shipped out the film as The White Stallion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Having briefly abandoned his standard "Nevada Jack McKenzie" characterization in Flame of the West, cowboy star Johnny Mack Brown was back as Nevada Jack in Monogram's The Lost Trail. Vowing to bring in a gang of stagecoach outlaws, Nevada redoubles his efforts when he learns that the owner of the stagecoach line is pretty Jane Burns (Jennifer Holt). Meanwhile, comic-relief Sandy (Raymond Hatton) is appointed sheriff of the town by local bigwig John Corbett (Kenneth McDonald), who hopes to deflect suspicion by turning public opinion against the new lawman. Imagine Corbett's dismay when he discovers that Sandy is actually a federal marshal, and that he's been working undercover with Nevada all along. Reviewers of The Lost Trail noted that, by 1945, former football star Johnny Mack Brown was not so much tall in the saddle as he was wide. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In their third and final "Trail Blazers" Western together, Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele witness what appears to be a gang of Indians raiding a stagecoach. Investigating, the three lawmen discover that the attackers are actually white bandits dressed as Indians and that their leader is one Polini (Ian Keith), a gangster smuggling diamonds in the axle grease of the stagecoach wheels. Aided by young Donny Davis (Don Stewart) and pert Ruth Hampton (Myrna Dell), the "Trail Blazers" survive several clashes with death -- including being trapped inside a cave -- before Polini and his cohort, Banker Steve Lynch (Karl Hackett), are apprehended. In only her second Western, blonde heroine Myrna Dell was not exactly in awe of her veteran leading men who, as she later recalled were "old enough to be my grandfather!" Maynard, in fact, had come to the end of his long starring career. Unable to get along with his more athletic co-star Bob Steele, the often cantankerous left the series and only returned to films in rare cameo appearances. His place in the final two "Trail Blazers" Westerns was taken by Chief Thundercloud. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Filmed at Corriganville, actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan's movie ranch in Simi Valley, Sonora Stagecoach was the last of Monogram's eight ramshackle "Trail Blazers" Western. The series had already suffered the loss of veteran star Ken Maynard -- who had become too difficult and costly -- and both Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele were nearing the end of their starring careers. This time, the "Trail Blazers," Gibson, Steele and Maynard's odd replacement, Chief Thundercloud), are escorting prisoner Rocky Camron (aka Gene Alsace) to trial in Sonora. Sheriff Hampton (Henry Hall) warns the three marshals that a gang of outlaws may attempt to assassinate Camron, whom the sheriff believes to be innocent. And sure enough, Blackie Reed (Charles King) and his gang do their best to get to the prisoner, who is given a gun in order to defend himself. Rocky, as it appears, was framed for the murder of two deputies, a deed actually committed by Blackie on behalf of stagecoach office manager Paul Kenton (Glenn Strange) and his banker brother, Joe (Karl Hackett). With the help of Betty Miles), Rocky's girlfriend and Weasel (Charles Murray, Jr.), a henchman turned state's evidence, the "Trail Blazers" clear Rocky of all charges and arrest both Blackie and his backers. Gibson and Steele went on to appear together in three additional Monogram Westerns -- Marked Trails, Trigger Law and Utah Kid (all 1944) -- but although they are often designated as "Trail Blazers" Westerns today, they were never produced or advertised as such. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

The second entry in Monogram's low-budget "Trail Blazers" B-Western series, The Law Rides Again marked the final directorial effort of Alan J. Neitz (alias Alan James), a veteran genre specialist whose career dated back to 1916. Aging lawmen Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson are this time assigned to determine why an Indian tribe is breaking their treaty with the United States government. Aligning themselves with a notorious criminal (Jack LaRue), Ken and Hoot discover that the tribe is being cheated out of their government sanctioned cattle by a crooked Indian agent (Kenneth Harlan) and his Indian co-cohort (Chief Many Treatise. Filmed on the cheap at Corriganville, actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan's movie ranch in Simi Valley, California, The Law Rides Again's only novelty was stunt-rider Betty Miles) playing a female stage driver. Chief Thundercloud, here playing the Indian chief, would later replace the increasingly difficult Ken Maynard in the final two "Trail Blazers" entries, Outlaw Trail and Sonora Stagecoach (both 1944). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

In a rather desperate attempt to duplicate the success of Republic Pictures' Three Mesqueteers B-Western series, Monogram producer Robert Emmett Tansey hired tired veterans Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson to constitute the "Trail Blazers." Maynard and Gibson (playing themselves) are former lawmen hired to look into the disappearance of horses purchased by Commissioner Brent (I. Stanford Jolley) of the Southwestern Railroad Company. The seller of the herd, Betty Wallace (stunt rider Betty Miles), is unaware that her foreman, Tip (Glenn Strange), is also in the employ of Mel Carson (Ian Keith), a crooked saloon owner with interests in a stagecoach line whose existence is threatened by the railroad. Despite their expanding waistlines, Maynard and Gibson manage to catch the crooks and return the stolen horses, well assisted by young, law-spouting Sheriff Bob Tyler (Bob Baker). The latter, a former Universal star, was added to the cast to provide the necessary romantic sub-plot but the cantankerous Maynard disliked him so much that he was gone by the second instalment of the "Trail Blazers," The Law Rides Again. Maynard himself ended his long starring career after the sixth entry, Arizona Whirlwind (1944), replaced in the final two films by Chief Thundercloud. The initial two "Trail Blazers" films were helmed by Alvin J. Neitz (under the pseudonym of Alan James), and proved the final directorial work of this genre-specialist whose career dated back to the silent era. After the demise of the series, Hoot Gibson and new sidekick Bob Steele filmed another three Westerns for Monogram, often mistakenly referred to as "Trail Blazers" entries. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi