James Van Horn Movies

In this unusual Western directed by Douglas Sirk, Rock Hudson stars as Taza, whose legendary father Cochise (Jeff Chandler) is on his deathbed. Taza promises his father that he will keep the tribe -- which Cochise united and ruled -- at peace. But Taza's brother wants the tribe to join with another bloodthirsty tribe, headed by Geronimo (Ian MacDonald), which is tangling with white settlers and other Indian tribes. Taza must battle his brother and try to keep his promise to his father. This film was originally shown in 3-D, and many of the battle scenes feature shots of warriors rushing headlong toward the screen. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

A sequel to Bob Hope's 1948 box-office success The Paleface, 1952's Son of Paleface is a superior product in every way, thanks largely to the spirited, creative direction of Frank Tashlin. Hope is cast as Junior Potter, a Harvard-educated dude who heads West to claim the inheritance left him by his gunslinger father. Much to his chagrin, Junior discovers that his dad has left him nothing but debts. To stave off Potter Sr.'s angry creditors, Junior pretends that his father has salted away a fortune somewhere in the hills. This arouses the attention of curvaceous saloon owner Mike (Jane Russell), who doubles as a mysterious masked bandit known as The Torch. Meanwhile, Roy Rogers (playing a federal agent named Roy Rogers) keeps tabs on Junior, hoping that he'll lead him to The Torch and her gang. True to form, ex-cartoonist Tashlin fills the screen with a wealth of inventive sight gags and inside jokes: Cecil B. DeMille shows up as a photographer in one scene, while in another, Hope, about to embark on the film's wild climactic chase sequence, shoos away a couple of vultures wearing bibs, warning them that "You'll make the whole thing look impossible." Our favorite scenes: Hope's Wile E. Coyote-like reaction to a particularly potent drink, and his bedroom scene with Roy Rogers' wonder horse Trigger. And don't forget the film's slightly risque punch line "Let's see them top that on television," (you have to be there). Songs in Son of Paleface include "You Are My Valley of Sunshine," "Four-Legged Friend," "Wing Ding Tonight," "What A Dirty Shame," and a reprise of The Paleface's Oscar-winning "Buttons and Bows," performed by Hope, Russell and Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An excellent cast brings distinction to the pedestrian goings-on in Silver City. Per its title, the film is set in silver-mining country, with hopeful prospectors and greedy claim-jumpers abounding. The villain of the piece is miserly R. R. Jarboe (Barry Fitzgerald), who holds the lease on the silver lode worked by heroine Candace Surrency (Yvonne DeCarlo) and her father Dutch (Edgar Buchanan). Meanwhile, mining expert Larkin Moffatt (Edmond O'Brien) is prevented from finding work by the vengeful Charles Storrs (Richard Arlen), who happens to be Candace's boyfriend. Murder rears its ugly head, resulting in all sorts of skullduggery, culminating in true melodramatic fashion in an old sawmill. The "bad girl" in Silver City is played by Laura Elliot, who later changed her name to Kasey Rogers and essayed the benign role of Mrs. Larry Tate on TV's Bewitched. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fast on the Draw was one of six Lippert Studios "Four Star" westerns, all of which were filmed simultaneously in the space of a single month. Jimmy Ellison plays Shamrock, a Colorado Ranger who suffers from a fear of firearms. Despite this handicap, Shamrock is assigned to pose as a gunman, the better to get the goods on a crooked land baron. As in the early "Four Star" outings, Ellison's co-stars are Russ Hayden, Raymond Hatton, Fuzzy Knight and Betty (later Julie) Adams. Cast as the outlaw leader is Tom Tyler, whose performance is hampered somewhat by encroaching arthritis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide