Michael Chapin Movies

Springfield Rifle was Gary Cooper's third western in a row, released not long after the classic High Noon. Cooper plays Union army officer Lex Kearney, who undertakes a covert investigation to find out why the North's supply of horses has suddenly diminished. Because of the top-secret nature of his mission, Kearney is forced to distance himself from everyone he knows, including his wife Erin (Phyllis Thaxter) and son Jamie (Michael Chapin). Heading to a remote cavalry post, he discovers that renegade soldiers have been stealing horses and selling them to the South. Someone at the post has been operating as the thieves' "inside man," and Lex, posing as a dishonorably discharged soldier, aims to ferret out the traitor. Had it not followed directly on the heels of the critical and financial success of High Noon, Springfield Rifle might have fared better with audiences and reviewers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rod Cameron's western vehicles for Monogram were always worth watching, even when Cameron was better than the scripts. In Wagons West, the star plays wagonmaster Jeff Curtis, who guides a group of Easterners to California in the 1870s. Trouble looms in the form of a Cheyenne tribe who is being supplied with weapons by a treacherous white man. Even more trouble comes Curtis' way when he discovers that the gun-runner is a member of his own wagon train. Well-photographed in two-color Cinecolor, Wagons West boasts an above-average supporting cast, ranging from bucolic Noah Beery Jr. to steely-eyed Henry Brandon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Dakota Kid was the first of four Republic westerns built around the talents of preteen performers Michael Chapin and Eilene Jansen. In each of these films, Chapin played Red, the grandson of sheriff Tom White (James Bell), while Jansen co-starred as Judy, the boy's best friend and severest critic. Inevitably, the two kids would become involved in Big Trouble involving outlaws and such. In this film, Red and Judy reform the titular Dakota Kid (Dann Morton), who joins forces with them to rout the real villain, crooked saloonkeeper Ace Crandall (Robert Shayne). Featured in the cast as a schoolteacher is Margaret Field, the mother of Oscar-winning actress Sally Field. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ever in pursuit of novelty, Republic Pictures assembled a series of westerns in the early 1950s starring youngsters Michael Chapin and Eileen Janssen. In Buckaroo Sheriff of Texas, the kids are left virtually alone when their elders ride off to war. Bad guy Tristram Coffin tries to take advantage of the situation by going on a land-grabbing spree. With the help of old codger James Bell, the kids manage to foil the villains. Watch for future Wyatt Earp star Hugh O'Brian in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jeffrey Lynn plays a bookkeeper who fails in his attempt to get a raise from his employer (Richard Gaines). The boss explains that the company is on the verge of bankruptcy, and that he is planning to kill himself. He offers Lynn $10,000 if Lynn will make the suicide look like murder so that the boss' family will collect on his insurance policy. Lynn agrees--and finds himself the fall guy in a complicated fraud scheme. Much of the footage of Strange Bargain showed up as flashbacks in a 1989 episode of TV's Murder, She Wrote. By removing the original happy ending, the TV installment allowed Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) solve the mystery of the boss' murder--and to exonerate the long-imprisoned bookkeeper, played again by Jeffrey Lynn! Also appearing on this remarkable Murder She Wrote were Lynn's surviving Strange Bargain costars Martha Scott and Harry Morgan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this documentary-inspired thriller, P.J. McNeal (James Stewart) is a reporter who is asked by his editor to look into a potential story: their newspaper has been carrying an ad offering a substantial reward for information regarding the murder of a policeman that occurred eleven years ago. It turns out the ad was placed by a cleaning woman named Tillie Wiecek (Kasia Orzazewski); her son Frank (Richard Conte) was convicted of the crime, but she is thoroughly convinced her son had nothing to do with the killing. McNeal doesn't believe for a moment that Frank could be innocent, but he sees a good human interest story in Tillie and writes a piece that receives a great deal of favorable attention. Brian Kelly (Lee J. Cobb), McNeal's editor, thinks there might be more to this story and asks P.J. to look into the original murder case. To McNeal's surprise, Frank passes a lie detector test in which he proclaims his innocence, and the more he digs into records on the case, the more he finds wrong with the original investigation; some evidence is missing, much is inconclusive, and the reporter begins to wonder if Frank might have been railroaded after all, or if the police might be trying to keep something quiet. Call Northside 777 was based on a true story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the radio program of the same name, Night Editor features Charles D. Brown as the editor of the New York Star. In flashback, the editor tells the tale of police lieutenant William Gargan, who forsakes his happy home life for the love of no-good society dame Janis Carter. Both Gargan and Carter begin cheating on their respective spouses, and while on a romantic rendezvous the couple witnesses a murder. They can't report the crime without revealing their own infidelities, a dilemma which leads to blackmail, double-crossing and a second murder attempt. A twist ending caps this snappy little 65-minute morality play. The script of Night Editor was based on the story "Inside Story" by Scott Littleton, previously dramatized on the Night Editor radio series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide