Roy Bucko Movies

The "badmen" of the title in this average western from Monogram are Waller (I. Stanford Jolley), a greedy express agent and Banker Jensen (Bill Kennedy, who conspire to separate Bob Bannon (Kenne Duncan) from the gold found on his property. Bob's brother Jim (Jim Bannon) and his two pals Whip Wilson and Texas (Fuzzy Knight) arrive too late to save Bob from the bad guys. Hoping to flush out the killer, Whip arranges to auction off the property. The ruse works and the hidden mine is handed over to Bob's lovely daughter, and heir, Carol (Phyllis Coates). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this western, a stagecoach driver learns that his little brother is working for a corrupt, rival stage line. The good brother does all he can to save the bad one from a life of crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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

Two newcomers, Robert Mitchum and Richard Crane, take center stage in this lavishly budgeted entry in the long-running Hopalong Cassidy series. The latter plays Tim Mason, a young hothead about to be inducted into the Texas Rangers on the behest of his good friend, Hoppy (William Boyd). Unfortunately, Tim has been persuaded into gambling away funds meant to save his floundering ranch by nasty Gunner Madigan (Anthony Warde). The lender, unscrupulous banker Simon Crandall (William Halligan), is in reality the leader of a gang of gun-runners and blackmails Tim into turning a blind eye to the gang's illegal activities on the border. Tim, however, refuses to play along, and is arrested when a driver implicates him in the crimes. Promising Tim's sister, Sue (Frances Woodward), that her brother will never go on trial, Hoppy is falsely accused of complicity when Tim is shot attempting to escape. In reality, the whole thing is a set-up, Tim having been murdered in cold blood by crooked Deputy Martin (Hugh Prosser), who is on Crandall's payroll. Pretending to leave the rangers in disgrace, Hoppy, to the disgust of sidekicks California Carlson (Andy Clyde) and Jimmy Rogers, instead joins the outlaws. It is all a ruse, of course, and Hoppy manages to get the goods on Gunner, his chief henchman, Drago (Mitchum), and the wiry Crandall, the latter two biting the dust in a climactic shootout in the bank. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A well-acted, well-paced entry in the Don "Red" Barry Western series from Republic Pictures, The Sombrero Kid featured the diminutive Barry as Jerry Holden, the apparent son and heir of veteran lawman Tom Holden (Robert Homans). But when Holden Sr. is killed by one of Banker Martin's (Joel Friedkin) gang of claim jumpers, Jerry learns that his real father was Bart Clanton, a notorious bandit killed by Marshal Holden, who then raised the orphaned boy as his own. After accidentally killing one of Martin's men, Taggart (I. Stanford Jolley), in a barroom fight, Jerry becomes a fugitive wanted for murder. He joins a gang led by Smoke (Stuart Hamblen), one of Martin's henchmen, hoping to obtain enough evidence to convict the crooked banker. Along with Tommy Holden Jr. (John James), who has replaced his late father as town marshal, Jerry sets a trap for Mason's weak-willed son, Phillip (Rand Brooks). In a desperate attempt to escape justice, Mason kills Phillip, but is arrested by Jerry. The latter is cleared of all charges and elected sheriff by a grateful citizenry. Country gospel songwriter Stuart Hamblen makes a fine villain in one of his infrequent screen appearances and blonde Lynn Merrick is, as always, an attractive adornment to any "Red" Barry vehicle. Merrick, whose contract was held jointly by Republic and Columbia Pictures, appeared in no less than 16 Barry Westerns, one of the longest runs of any sagebrush heroine. Her "leading man" this time around, however, is John James, not Barry. The Sombrero Kid was filmed at the Walker Ranch at Placerita Canyon, CA, a busy location for low-budget moviemaking from 1931-1955. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Congress suddenly changes the boundary between Texas and Mexico and the rangers leave the territory to the U.S. cavalry in this fine entry in Republic Pictures long-running Three Mesqueteers western series. Left to fend for himself, the commanding officer, Colonel Langley (Forbes Murray), makes the mistake of trusting LeRoque (Peter George Lynn), a half-breed interpreter who in reality is the feared Commanche renegade Waneeche. Nothing the Three Mesqueteers, "Stony" Brooke (Robert Livingston), "Tucson" Smith (Bob Steele) and "Lullaby" Joslin (Rufe Davis), do or say dissuades Langley from walking straight into a trap and only by taking a typically daring approach are the Mesqueteers able to prevent wholesale slaughter. Gale Storm plays the nominal female lead as the colonel's cheery daughter and comedy relief is provided by spinster-ish Ellen Lowe, as Aunt Amanda, a scalp-hungry Glenn Strange and rube comic Rufe Davis. The latter also performs Smiley Burnette's "Just Imagine That" backed by cowboy swing fiddler Spade Cooley. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The United States Air Force dropping bombs on decent, taxpaying ranchers is perhaps not your standard B-Western theme but that is exactly what happens in In Old Monterey. It's 1939 and war is breaking out in Europe. Fearing a possible invasion, the air force feels the urgent need to test its weaponry but the locals, lead by Gabby Whittaker (George "Gabby" Hayes), refuse to relocate and the government dispatches army attaché Gene Autry to contribute his special blend of musical persuasion. The patriotic populace is one thing, however, but Gene and sidekick Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) must also contend with greedy borax mining magnate Stevenson (Jonathan Hale) and his foreman Gilman (William Hall, who have a vested interest in keeping things exactly as they are. In the end, the villains are willing to commit murder to keep the military from taking over. Gene, Smiley and a hayseed congregation calling itself The Hoosier Hot Shots perform "It Happened in Monterey", "Born to the Saddle", "Little Pardner", "My Buddy", "The Vacant Chair", "It Looks Like Rain" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" in this uneven music Western/propaganda film restored by Gene Autry Entertainment in 2001. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Ken Maynard saves Geneva Mitchell from a runaway coach in the opening of this so-so Columbia western. The victim of a stage hold-up, Geneva is mighty grateful but her banker father (John Ince) is only too willing to believe uncouth Charles "Slim" Whitaker when he fingers Ken as the master-mind behind the latest outrage, a bank heist. Geneva, meanwhile, has recognized nasty Harry Woods) as the real culprit of both stage holdup and bank robbery and promptly gets herself kidnapped. With Ken behind bars, help is a bit slow in coming but the bad guys are corralled in due time and peace is finally restored to the town of Santana. Sidekick Guy Wilkerson takes time out to serenade a winsome Indian maiden -- three times! -- and even Maynard is allowed to warble a campfire tune or two, more's the pity. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this western, a cowboy finds himself a mine owner and a daddy simultaneously when a friend dies and wills him his mine and his baby. The outlaws eying the mine try to frame the hero for the death. In one of the film's highlights Tarzan the horse takes care of the infant and even saves its life during a mine explosion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Though filmed on a tight budget, Universal's Trail Drive has the size and scope of a silent western epic, proof positive of the production acumen of star Ken Maynard. The story concerns (what else) a cattle drive, with Maynard cast as head drover. The villains will stop at nothing to prevent our hero from completing his task, and this includes strapping Maynard to the door of cabin directly in the path of a cattle stampede. He manages to escape this peril in a manner that can conservatively be described as unbelievable. The script for Trail Drive is credited to director Alan James, but one suspects that much of it was improvised by Maynard, whose penchant for bizarre ad-libs was unmatched in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, a band of avaricious men kill a rancher in order to take over his land. The dead man's nephew was slated to inherit the ranch, but he has vanished so the outlaws hire another to impersonate the heir. Trouble ensues when the real heir, a state ranger, appears, gets his revenge, and gets his ranch. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

To say that Smoking Guns is one of Ken Maynard's strangest Westerns is understating the case. The film wastes no time getting started, with Ken Masters (Maynard) in mid-sentence accusing the villain (Harold Goodwin) of murdering Masters' father. Framed for murder himself, our hero is forced to escape to the swamplands of Louisiana, where he is pursued by lawman Dick (Walter Miller). Rescuing Dick from a pack of hungry alligators, Masters is forced to perform an emergency leg amputation, which, combined with a bad case of jungle fever, unfortunately results in the lawman's death. Astonished at the close resemblance between himself and Dick (the two men are actually about as similar as Abbott and Costello!), Masters decides to assume Dick's identity and return to the dead man's hometown. He manages to pull off his masquerade with everyone, even Dick's fiancee Alice (Gloria Shea), thereby giving himself free reign to finally trap the bad guys in a spooky old mansion. Decked out with a serpentine plotline that would do Erich Von Stroheim proud, Smoking Guns doesn't make much sense, but that's part of the fun -- as is the astonishing final shot, wherein the heroine's low-cut blouse threatens to slip from her shoulders as she and the hero ride off together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide