Edmund Cobb Movies
The grandson of a governor of New Mexico, pioneering screen cowboy Edmund Cobb began his long career toiling in Colorado-produced potboilers such as Hands Across the Border (1914), the filming of which turned tragic when Cobb's leading lady, Grace McHugh, drowned in the Arkansas River. Despite this harrowing experience, Cobb continued to star in scores of cheap Westerns and was making two-reelers at Universal in Hollywood by the 1920s. But unlike other studio cowboys, Cobb didn't do his own stunts -- despite the fact that he later claimed to have invented the infamous "running w" horse stunt -- and that may actually have shortened his starring career. By the late '20s, he was mainly playing villains. The Edmund Cobb remembered today, always a welcome sign whether playing the main henchman or merely a member of the posse, would pop up in about every other B-Western made during the 1930s and 1940s, invariably unsmiling and with a characteristic monotone delivery. When series Westerns bit the dust in the mid-'50s, Cobb simply continued on television. In every sense of the word a true screen pioneer and reportedly one of the kindest members of the Hollywood chuck-wagon fraternity, Edmund Cobb died at the age of 82 at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, CA. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
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Based on the '30s comic-strip character, Secret Agent X-9 was a black-and-white adventure serial from Universal. This 1945 version stars a young Lloyd Bridges as the American hero Phil Corrigan, also known as Secret Agent X-9. He joins up with Chinese agent Ah Fong (Keye Luke) and Australian agent Lynn Moore (Jan Wiley) to defeat the bad guy, Japanese agent Nabura (Victoria Horne). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1945
The first of actor Sunset Carson and director Thomas Carr's collaborations, Santa Fe Saddlemates is about a U.S. marshal (Carson) attempting to break a diamond smuggling ring at the U.S./Mexican border. Accompanied by a female reporter (Linda Stirling), Carson has to pose as a bandit in order to infiltrate the criminals' inner-circle. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1945
In this western, a young man infiltrates a vicious gang of bank robbers in order to capture his father's killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond Hatton once again play undercover U.S. marshals Nevada McKenzie and Sandy Hopkins. This time, Sandy's sergeant, Trevor (Jasper L. Palmer), is shot in the back by Slim Ramsey (Raphael Bennett), an outlaw he had been tracking. Masquerading as a desperado himself, Nevada manages to infiltrate Ramsey's gang and learn the identity of its leader, a villain named Farr (Edmund Cobb). Sandy, meanwhile, pretends to be an Indian trader and the undercover agents are helped in their investigation by Tober (Tom Quinn), a defecting gang member. The latter is being questioned by Paul (Riley Hill) and the murdered sergeant's pretty daughter, Mary (Jennifer Holt), when their cabin comes under attack from Farr and his henchmen. Happily, Nevada and Sandy arrive just in time to prevent a massacre. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
That veteran reprobate Roy Barcroft plays yet another outlaw in The Cherokee Flash, a perfectly acceptable B-Western from Republic Pictures, but Barcroft's title character reforms this time and even adopts a young orphan. Years later, the Cherokee Flash, now known as Jeff Carson, is visited by former gang members who promptly blackmail him into doing their bidding. Carson refuses, of course, but lands in jail anyway, much to the consternation of now-grown foster son Sunset (Sunset Carson) and grizzled sidekick Utah (Tom London). The sheriff (Bud Geary), however, is working for Mr. Big who, unbeknownst to the Carsons, is Jeff's lawyer, Mark Butler (John Merton). Happily, the new doctor in town (Frank Jaquet) and his pretty daughter (Linda Stirling) discover evidence that will clear Jeff once and for all. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
A bit paunchier but no less energetic, Johnny Mack Brown is back as Nevada Jack McKenzie in Frontier Feud. Once again, Nevada and his grizzled sidekick Sandy (Raymond Hatton) are US marshals posing as drifters. Rancher Joe (Dennis Moore) is accused of a series of murders, but Nevada and Sandy manage to prove that another man is the guilty party. Christine McIntyre, leading lady of many of 3 Stooges comedy, is cast as the heroine in Frontier Feud, a departure from the brassy villainesses she usually played in the Johnny Mack Brown westerns. Director Lambert Hillyer wraps it all up in a breathless 54 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1945
Set on the Mexican border in 1850, Bad Men of the Border was the first of seven Universal Westerns starring handsome Kirby Grant, a former singer from Montana who had earlier acted under the name Robert Stanton. The series, Universal's last attempt at competing with Republic Pictures' many streamlined B-Westerns, also featured the bucolic Fuzzy Knight as Grant's sidekick. Grant and Knight are undercover U.S. marshals tracking down a gang of counterfeiters. To their surprise, they are soon assisted by a beautiful Mexican dancehall performer, Dolores Mendoza (Armida), who proves to be an undercover agent as well, in her case for the Mexican rurales headed by Captain Garcia (Francis McDonald). After much riding and shooting, the leaders of the ring -- ex-convict turned cantina owner Bart Breslow (John Eldredge) on the Mexican side and saloon owner Ace Morgan (Edward M. Howard) in Texas -- are captured in their underground hideout. In between the action, Armida found time to perform "And Then I Got Married," by Everett Carter and Milton Rosen, and "I Would Love You," by Jack Brooks and Rosen. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
In this western, the hero fights the bad guys by impersonating the son of a rancher. The outlaws have been making the good landowners pay fake taxes. Not only does the good guy succeed in catching the bad guys, he also catches himself the postmistress. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
This campy little drama launched the career of B-girl Yvonne De Carlo. It is set during the Franco-Prussian war and chronicles the exploits of Salome, a beautiful Viennese dancer who falls for an American reporter and for him gets involved in cloak-and-dagger activities involving the Bismarck, before returning to Arizona with him. There, she uses her talent and abundant charms to inspire the lawless residents of his hometown to reform. They in turn, name the town after her. She then goes to San Francisco where she seduces and marries a wealthy Russian who builds her an opera house and gives her the happy life she had always craved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron, (more)
- 1944
Western star Don "Red" Barry essays a dual role in Republic's Outlaws of Santa Fe. Actually, the two "characters" are one: Barry plays a reformed bank robber named Bob Hackett, who starts life anew as Bob Conroy. This he does to track down the no-good, dirty skunk who murdered his father. Meanwhile, a rash of bank holdups occur, leading the Law to assume that Hackett/Conroy is up to his old tricks. Wally Vernon supplies the usual comedy relief, while precocious child actress Twinkle Watts is as annoying as she'd been in earlier Barry westerns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don "Red" Barry, Helen Talbot, (more)
- 1944
Two wild western towns battle it out for the position of county seat. Fortunately, Red Ryder and his little side-kick are around to restore the peace. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1944
Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond Hatton return to the screen as saddle pals Nevada and Sandy in Monogram's Pals of the Border. In this one, our heroes are US marshals, hot on the trail of cattle rustlers. To rout out the thieves, Nevada poses as a crook, while Sandy pretends to be hard of hearing. The criminals, it seems, have more than cattle on their minds: they've been trading their stolen goods for priceless jewels. As was customary, Johnny Mack Brown avoided any and all romantic entanglements in Raiders of the Border, allowing supporting actors Craig Woods and Ellen Hall to handle the smooching and hand-holding. The film was adapted from a short story by Johnston McCulley, of "Zorro" fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1944
In this western, the good-guy and his trusty side-kick rescue a pretty gal whose father's cows are threatened by villainous rustlers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Law Men is a typically austere entry in Johnny Mack Brown's Monogram western series. This one finds saddle pals Nevada (Brown) and Sandy (Raymond Hatton) working as undercover US marshals. Hoping to thwart a gang of stage robbers, Nevada joins the gang, while Sandy poses as a shoemaker in order to keep tabs on local gossip and heresay. Somewhere around reel five, Nevada is exposed as a lawman; and somewhere around reel six, he and Sandy round up the bad guys. Billed fourth in Law Men is orchestra leader Kirby Grant, later famous as TV's Sky King. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
Directed by Billy Wilder and adapted from a James M. Cain novel by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, Double Indemnity represents the high-water mark of 1940s film noir urban crime dramas in which a greedy, weak man is seduced and trapped by a cold, evil woman amidst the dark shadows and Expressionist lighting of modern cities. Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) seduces insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) into murdering her husband to collect his accident policy. The murder goes as planned, but after the couple's passion cools, each becomes suspicious of the other's motives. The plan is further complicated when Neff's boss Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), a brilliant insurance investigator, takes over the investigation. Told in flashbacks from Neff's perspective, the film moves with ruthless determinism as each character meets what seems to be a preordained fate. Movie veterans Stanwyck, MacMurray, and Robinson give some of their best performances, and Wilder's cynical sensibility finds a perfect match in the story's unsentimental perspective, heightened by John Seitz's hard-edged cinematography. Double Indemnity ranks with the classics of mainstream Hollywood movie-making. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, (more)
- 1944
Jim Bannon, fresh from his radio success on I Love a Mystery, stars in this taut suspenser. The jurors of a celebrated murder case are being bumped off one by one. Now only six jurors are left, and one of them has disappeared, whereabouts unknown. Bannon must find the missing juror before the killer does. The cast includes Janis Carter (menaced) and George MacReady (menacing). The Missing Juror was an excellent post-grad course for future "cult" director Bud Boetticher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Bannon, Janis Carter, (more)
- 1944
Saddle pals Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond Hatton give as good as they get in the action-packed Monogram oater Law of the Valley. In trying to rescue a small western town from the grip of the villains, Brown and Hatton are pummeled and shot at from all directions. But, as every Brown fan can tell you, the tables will be turned by the last reel. Pretty Lynne Carver is the romantic interest, while unpretty Charles King is among the nastier of the villains. Director Howard Bretherton knows his way around westerns, all right; there's nary a dull moment in Law of the Valley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1944
Perennial second lead Una Merkel and radio dialect comedian Parkyakarkus team up in the Monogram musical fantasy Sweethearts of the USA. While working in a defense plant, Patsy (Merkel) is rendered unconscious-or at least, more unconscious than usual. While knocked out, she dreams that she's a fearless detective, teamed with tangle-tongued Parkyakarkus on the trail of bank robbers. If things could get any sillier, they probably would, but unfortunately the film lasts only 63 minutes. Incidentally, Parkyakarkus' real name was Harry Einstein, and he was the father of comic actors Bob Einstein and Albert Brooks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Una Merkel, Parkyakarkus [Harry Einstein], (more)
- 1944
In this western, set in Texas, the brave heroes Rod, Fuzzy, and their good-guy gang attempt to keep a band of ruthless outlaws who are trying to take over the reins of a stage coach line. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1943
Johnny Mack Brown heads the cast of Monogram's Outlaws of Stampede Pass. Per the title, the film concerns a western community held in the grip of a gang of desperadoes. Brown and his dusty sidekick Raymond Hatton set about to round up the bad guys. We know what's going to happen, but as always, Johnny brings a sense of freshness and spontaneity to the proceedings. Outlaws of Stampede Pass was adapted from a story by Johnston McCulley, of "Zorro" fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1943
In this western, fake settlers make themselves at home on an ex-ranger's ranch and drive him away. A shady newspaper publisher and a gambler then conspire to take over the land. Fortunately, another ranger endeavors to help his pal. Enlisting the aide of his fellow rangers, they get oust the homesteaders. The publisher and the gambler shoot each other and the retired ranger gets his ranch back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Arthur Hunnicutt, (more)
- 1943
A young buckaroo gallops off after the conniving crooks who framed his bank president daddy for embezzlement. Plenty of western action ensues until justice prevails and the ornery varmints are jailed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1943
Though the film's title is The Texas Kid, the film's star Johnny Mack Brown plays a cowboy named Nevada. The titular "kid", played by Marshall Reed, is a former bandit leader who decides to go straight-and gets a bullet in his back for his trouble. Nevada and his sidekick Sandy (Raymond Hatton) take over from the Texas Kid, seeing to it that the stagecoach carrying the payrolls for local ranches aren't molested by the Kid's old gang members. As Monogram pictures go, this one goes rather well, with some well-lensed location shots. The Texas Kid was scripted by Lynton Brent, a general-purpose actor who also plays a small role in the film; Brent is perhaps best known today for his work in Columbia's "Three Stooges" comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1943
With Silver City Raiders, perennial western sidekick Russell Hayden launched his own starring series. Hayden plays "Lucky", the same character he'd previously essayed in the Hopalong Cassidy films. This time around, Lucky tries to prove that crooked land baron Dawson (Paul Sutton) doesn't have prior claim on the entire territory. When legal methods prove only moderately effective, Lucky and his chums use more direct methods to drive Dawson and his ilk out of town. The film is highlighted by what must be the more unrealistically bloodless gun duel in screen history. Supporting Russell Hayden are two carryovers from Columbia's Charles Starrett series, Dub "Cannonball" Taylor and Bob Wills. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Hayden, Bob Wills, (more)
- 1943
Edward G. Robinson portrays a hard-driving, hard-nosed perfectionist who causes dissension aboard the WWII destroyer he helped build before re-enlisting in the Navy. Coming aboard as a senior crewman and trying to emulate the perfection of his hero John Paul Jones, he drives himself as hard as he drives the younger generation of sailors he commands, even going so far as recounting the last battle of the Bon Homme Richard to the increasingly disgruntled crew. But it is not his words that earn him their respect. During a major battle Robinson proves himself a true hero. The harsh training also pays off and the young sailors successfully defeat the enemy. Afterward they realize that Robinson was right to be tough on them and never question him again. Meanwhile, the captain who stood by Robinson through the thick of it even winds up involved with the old salt's daughter. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Glenn Ford, (more)
