Curley Dresden Movies

Law of the Saddle stars Bob Livingston as Rocky Cameron, aka "The Lone Rider". With his sidekick Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John), Rocky rides into a small town plagued by cattle rustlers. He can expect no help from the Law, since the sheriff is as crooked as the Yellow Brick Road. In fact, the sheriff is the head of the rustlers, meaning that Rocky's really got a dilemma on his hands this time out. The villain in Law of the Saddle is played by Lane Chandler, a former silent-film cowboy star who sustained his career into the 1960s by specializing in stubble-chinned heavies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fifth of Monogram's eight "Trail Blazers" Western, Westward Bound was set during the time of Montana gaining statehood. Property values are about to skyrocket and nasty banker Roger Caldwell (Harry Woods) conspire with tax collector Henry Wagner (Karl Hackett) to drive the local ranchers off their land. Enter the "Trail Blazers," Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele, called in by rancher Jasper Tuttle (Hal Price) to investigate. Maynard infiltrates the gang and is elected marshal of Big Horn. Working from the inside, so to speak, he learns that the brain behind Caldwell and Wagner's scheme is Albert Lane (Weldon Heyburn), secretary to the Territorial Commission of Montana. Although severely outnumbered, the aging "Trail Blazers" manage to defeat the conspirators with a great deal of cunning and a couple of sticks of dynamite. The increasingly cantankerous Maynard reportedly took umbrage to Steele's participation and demanded his ouster. However, it was Maynard himself who was forced to leave -- after the sixth entry, Sonora Stagecoach (1944) -- to be replaced in the final two "Trail Blazers" Westerns by Chief Thundercloud. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this western, Wild Bill and his assistant, try to learn why a young med school graduate is being spurned by the members of his own Native American tribe. The heroes learn that the clan's medicine man is a phony in cahoots with a corrupt Indian agent and that these two are working for a wicked rancher who has been polluting the local drinking water with his illegal irrigation project. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this western, a cowboy and his pals must stop outlaws from stealing a cache of gold ore. Action ensues, and they succeed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Republic's winning combination of western star Wild Bill Elliot, comic sidekick Gabby Hayes and leading lady Anne Jeffreys is shown to good advantage in Death Valley Manhunt. Elliot plays a lawman who is hired by a group independent oilmen to protect them from crooked business interests. One of the bad guys is Richard Quinn (Weldon Heyburn), who tries to stir up a range war against the oilmen and the local landowners. When Elliot figures out what Quinn is up to, pity the poor bad man who gets in Our Hero's way. In the film's best scene, Wild Bill finds himself atop an oil well just as a gusher is about to burst forth from the earth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Fighting Valley is another of PRC's "Texas Rangers" westerns, with Dave O'Brien, Jim Newell and Guy Wilkerson as the aforementioned Rangers. This time, our heroes try to find out who's been stealing ore from a valuable smelting mine. One of the independent mine-owners victimized by the crooks is pretty Joan Manning (Patti McCarthy), making the Rangers' mission a bit more pleasant. The revelation of the villain is a surprise to poor Joan, though not necessarily to the audience. Pretty good of its kind, Fighting Valley is marred only by the questionable comedy relief of cadaverous Guy Wilkerson. ~ Hal Erickson, 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

In this western, a frontier detective disguised as an entertainer performs for the leader of an outlaw gang. At the same time, he learns the whereabouts of the outlaws' hideout. Unfortunately, his true identity is revealed and he must escape if he is to bring the gang to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Republic Pictures' final 1942 release was the "Three Mesquiteers" western Shadows on the Sage. The better-than-average plot (brainstormed by screenwriter J. Benton Cheney) finds our three heroes battling a crooked banker and an elusive bandit -- who happens to be the exact double of Mesquiteer Tucson Smith (Bob Steele). The other members of the courageous triumvirate are Tom Tyler as Stony Brooke and future Mickey Mouse Club host Jimmy Dodd, here replacing Rufe Davis as Lullaby Joslin. The most memorable supporting players include corpulent Frank Capra-"regular" Harry Holman as the ineffectual sheriff and juvenile performer Freddie Mercer as a would-be lawman. The leading lady is Cheryl Walker, one year away from her bid for stardom as the idealized "Eileen" in Stage Door Canteen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this episode of the "Billy the Kid" series of westerns, outlaw Billy (Buster Crabbe) is mistakenly appointed Sage Valley's new sheriff. He likes the job and works hard to maintain order. Unfortunately his crooked twin brother, who runs a casino and is in hiding after a murder, wants to keep the town a haven for crooks. To do this, he masquerades as Billy and starts causing trouble. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When the order of the Western frontier is threatened by bandits, cowboys are the only measure of justice in the area. ~ All Movie Guide

The all-purpose title Westward Ho was applied in 1942 to this "Three Mesquiteers" western. This time, the Mesquiteers are Tucson Smith, Stony Brooke and Lullaby Joslin, here played respectively by Bob Steele, Tom Tyler and Rufe Davis. Our heroes converge on a small town to solve a series of mysterious bank robberies. The "mystery" is solved the moment Evelyn Brent shows up on screen as the seemingly respectable bank president. In virtually every one of her western appearances of the 1940s, the talented Ms. Brent was cast as the "secret" criminal mastermind, and this film is no exception. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1939's Days of Jesse James, the title character was played by Don "Red" Barry, with official star Roy Rogers carrying the brunt of the plotline. Two years later, Rogers was cast as ol' Jesse himself in Republic's Jesse James at Bay. Since Jesse is herein depicted as a "good guy", whose train-robbery rampage is motivated by the chicanery of a crooked railroad executive, someone else would have to handle the film's villainy. That someone was also Roy Rogers, cast as Jesse's lookalike, a local outlaw named Clint Burns. Typical of the anachronisms festooning the script of Jesse James at Bay is the presence of not one but two female newspaper reporters, played by Gale Storm and Sally Payne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide