Maria Hart Movies

The titular Lusty Men are rodeo riders in this modern-day western, assembled with a touch of the offbeat by director Nicholas Ray. Former rodeo star Robert Mitchum, disabled by a series of accidents, hobbles back to his Oklahoma hometown in hopes of replenishing his bank account. Aspiring bronco-buster Arthur Kennedy hires Mitchum to train him for an upcoming rodeo, promising that they'll split the winnings. It doesn't take a crystal ball to predict that Mitchum will soon fall hard for Kennedy's wife Susan Hayward; she can take Mitchum or leave him, but decides to take him so that he'll continue to train Kennedy. After a falling out, Mitchum quits his job and enters the rodeo himself, hoping to win the prize from the arrogant Kennedy. He proves he still has what it takes, but does so at the price of his life. The Lusty Men was co-adapted by one-time cowboy David Dotort from a Life magazine story by Claude Stannish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With a female protagonist as its only selling point, Cattle Queen trots out a farfetched Western story of Queenie Hart (Maria Hart), a rather glamorous bleached blonde cattle driver in 1866 Wyoming. After conning a potential buyer (Robert Robinson) into believing that Queenie's herd is diseased, nasty would-be empire builder Duke Drake (Robert Gardett) is confronted by the girl's new tough foreman, Bill Foster (Drake Smith). In retaliation, Drake frames Bill for a stage robbery, actually committed by his own henchmen, and arranges a phony trial presided over by the saloon's bartender, Judge Whipple (Douglas Wood). Queenie, however, interrupts the "trial" with the news that the townswomen have all elected Jim marshal. To uphold the decision, Bill has secured the release of three convicted outlaws: Blackie Malone (Joe Bailey), Bad Bill Smith (James Pierce), and Shotgun Thompson (Emile Meyer), two of whom join in the fight against Drake and his gang. With all this muscle -- and the power of prayer! -- Queenie finally bests Drake in a climactic shootout. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Produced at Agoura, CA, and directed by silent film action star Richard Talmadge, this minor Western starred bandleader and early television personality Spade Cooley. Actually, Cooley had very little to do in the film other than offer name recognition to a cumbersome Western tale of a special agent (Bill Edwards) unravelling a series of rustlings on and around Cooley's dude ranch. The rustlers, as it turns out, are in league with a smuggler known only as the Phantom Raider. The contraband in question was originally slated to be dope, but vehement objections from the Breen office, the Hollywood watchdog, caused it to be changed to diamonds. At one point in the film, the Cooley ranch hands are seen practicing acrobatic feats under the leadership of director Richard Talmadge, a veteran stuntman. The act was billed as "The Six Metzetti Boys," an obvious reference to Talmadge's real name, Sylvester Metzetti. Popularly known as "The King of Western Swing," Spade Cooley created less than admirable headlines in 1961 when he was convicted of beating his estranged wife to death. He died of a heart attack in 1969 while on a leave from Vacaville prison to perform in a benefit concert. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide