William Colt MacDonald Movies
A tuneful Roy Rogers Western, Along the Navajo Trail finds Dale Evans' Lazy A Ranch under siege from nasty J. Richard Bentley (Douglas Fowley), who is in cahoots with a greedy oil company aiming to erect a pipeline through the property come what may. Drifter Rogers, who is really a U.S. Marshal in disguise, eventually gets the goods on the villains with the assistance of Nestor Paiva's band of Mexican gypsies, comedy sidekick George "Gabby" Hayes, and vivacious Estelita Rodriguez. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes, (more)
- 1941
The Three Mesquiteers are back in Republic's Gangs of Sonora. The story is set in Wyoming, just before statehood was bestowed upon the territory. Town boss Sam Treadwell (Robert Frazer) doesn't want his little fiefdom to enter the Union, and does everything he can to prevent this eventuality, including the murder of the local newspaper editor. The dead man's cudgel is taken up by his fearless wife Kansas Kate Connor (Helen MacKeller), but her crusading efforts are undercut by her own son (Bud McTaggart), who is in league with Treadwell. This is the dilemma which Mesquiteers Stony Brooke (Robert Livingston), Tucson Smith (Bob Steele) and Lullaby Joslin (Rufe Davis) must solve in 56 minutes flat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Bob Steele, (more)
- 1940
An above-average entry in Republic Pictures' long-running "Three Mesqueteers" series, The Trail Blazers is something as unusual as a Christmas western that includes comic sidekick Rufe Davis' rendition of "Jingle Bells". The Mesqueteers -- who in addition to Davis' Lullaby Joslin also numbered Robert Livingston as Stony Brooke and Bob Steele as "Tucson" Smith -- come to the aid of Jim Chapman (Carroll Nye), an engineer assigned to build a telegraph for the army. But a group of powerful local businessmen, headed by crooked newspaper publisher Jeff Bradley (Weldon Heyburn), do their utmost to sabotage the project. Yet despite the inevitable setbacks, the Mesqueteers, aided by Army Major Kelton (Tom Chatterton) and his daughter Marcia (Pauline Moore), make sure that the life-saving telegraph is erected on time. In an effort to duplicate the success of the "Three Mesqueteers" films, small-scale Monogram begun their own trio series in 1943, confusingly entitled "The Trail Blazers," a moniker the studio most likely "stole" from this western. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Bob Steele, (more)
- 1940
With Under Texas Skies, Republic's Three Mesquiteers underwent a slight change of personnel. Robert Livingston remained as Stony Brooke, but now Bob Steele was seen as Tucson Smith and Rufe Davis assumed the role of Lullaby Joslin. The story opens as Stony returns to his home town, only to discover that his sheriff father has been murdered by person or persons unknown. The new sheriff (Henry Brandon) resents the arrival of the Mesquiteers, going so far as to frame Tucson on a murder charge. It doesn't take long for Stony to figure out who was responsible for his dad's killing-and to bring real law 'n' order back to the community. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Bob Steele, (more)
- 1938
The villains in the "Three Mesquiteers" entry Red River Range are bunch of progressive cattle thieves. This being 1939, the bad guys round up their stolen goods and herd them into streamlined trucks. It's a plot device that had previously used in Republic's Gene Autry series, but it still had plenty of mileage here. Riding to the rescue are the Mesquiteers, who on this occasion consist of John Wayne (Stony Brooke), Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin). Lorna Gray, aka Adrian Booth, is the heroine, while raucuous comedy relief is provided by old-timer Polly Moran. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
With the departure of John Wayne to more prestigious films, Robert Livingston returned to the role of Stony Brooke in Republic's "Three Mesquiteers" series. In Outlaws of Sonora, Stony and his saddle pals Tucson (Ray Corrigan) and Lullaby (Max Terhune) are hired by a cattleman's association. While transporting his employers' money to the bank, Stony is waylaid by an outlaw who is his exact double (Livingston plays both roles, of course). Keeping our hero under wraps, the villain poses as Stony in hopes of further financial gain. While thus disguised, the false Stony kills a banker, leaving Tucson and Lullaby to wonder if their good pal has gone bad. Eventually everything is straightened out, thanks to the intervention of sharp-witted Dr. Martin (Jack Mulhall). Outlaws of Sonora is one of the best-known "Three Mesquiteers" entries thanks to constant TV exposure and videocassette rentals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max "Alibi" Terhune
- 1937
In this western, a lawman tries to help prove that his friend did not commit murder. He rides in and saves his pal from a lynch mob. Soon afterward, the accused takes off and the sheriff loses both his job and his community's respect. He must now prove that he and his friend are innocent. He finds the real killer, a true psycho, and after a tremendous gun battle is able to bring the killer to justice, restore his own honor, and save his friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Barbara Weeks, (more)
- 1937
In this western, a cowboy rides into Mesa and finds that he bears remarkable resemblance to a dead man. Actually he is the dead man, but instead of suffering a death, he suffered a blow to the head that caused amnesia five years before. After staying in the town a while, his memories begin to return. He then enlists the aide of some Texas friends to help him bring law to the wild western town. By the story's end, he has fully regained his memory and is able to reclaim his wife and ranch. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Barbara Weeks, (more)
- 1937
The Three Mesquiteers take on a group of frontier fascists in the zippy series entry Roarin' Lead. This being Season One of the "Mesquiteers" series, the heroic threesome is played by Ray "Crash" Corrigan (as Tucson Smith), Robert Livingston (Stony Brooke), and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin). Appointed trustees of an estate, the Mesquiteers are assigned to turn over part of the legacy to a trustee of an orphanage. Said trustee is a member of a cattlemen's protective association, run along the lines of a brown-shirted private army by corrupt politico Hackett (Hooper Atchley). To save the orphanage from being closed down by Hackett and his minions, the Mesquiteers ride hard, fight harder, and shoot hardest. Best moment: Upon being confronted by Hackett henchman Canary (Yakima Canutt) and a group of cowboy storm troopers, our three heroes burst out laughing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
- 1937
Hit the Saddle has enjoyed more latter-day attention than most of Republic's "Three Mesquiteers" western films thanks to the presence of young Rita Hayworth. Billed under her given name of Cansino, Rita plays a seductive saloon thrush who breaks the heart of Mesquiteer Stony Brook (Robert Livingston). Her role in the proceedings is secondary to the main thrust of the plot: Evil cattle rancher J.P. McGowan has been stealing wild horses from government-owned territory. McGowan murders a local sheriff and pins the blame on a wild stallion. The Mesquiteers (Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Max Terhune) prove the nag's innocence, but not before McGowan is hoist on his own petard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
In perhaps their most unusual Western adventure, the Three Mesqueteers -- Stony (Bob Livingston), Tucson (Ray Corrigan), and Lullaby (Max Terhune) -- go in search of Professor Marsh (John Van Pelt), an archeologist who vanished while searching for the lost city of Lukachukai. Along for the ride are Marsh's daughter, Betty (Mary Russell); Rutledge (Roger Williams); and an Indian guide, Otah (Yakima Canutt). The expedition heads straight for the Whistling Skull, a huge rock formation in the "nostril" of which the Mesqueteers discover the missing scientist, gaunt but alive among several mummies. Both Rutledge and Otah prove to be less than helpful, however, and at one point Betty and Stony go missing and are feared lost. As Tucson learns, the natives are under the influence of a fanatical white man, but who is he? Oliver Drake and John Rathmell's screenplay was later reworked into a latter-day Charlie Chan thriller The Feathered Serpent (1949), which featured Bob Livingston as the villain. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max "Alibi" Terhune
- 1936
Directed by the veteran Robert F. Hill -- who also wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym of Rock Hawkey -- this Rex Bell Western was the first in a series of six produced by Arthur Alexander and his brother Max. Bell played Tucson Smith, a character well-known to Western fans from the writings of William Colt MacDonald. Tucson is an agent from the Cattlemen's Association investigating a case of "too much beef" at the Brown ranch near Saddlerock, AZ. As Tucson discovers, the rancher, Rocky Brown (Forrest Taylor), is framed for rustling cattle because he refuses to sell his land to the railroad. But everything isn't exactly what it appears in this generally well-paced if somewhat complicated Western, which benefitted from no less than two leading ladies -- Constance Bergen (whose name was misprinted as "Coney Bergen" in the opening credits) and Peggy O'Connell. A personable performer, Rex Bell was the husband of silent screen star Clara Bow and a future lieutenant governor of Nevada. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Based on William Colt MacDonald's Law of the Forty-Fives, this ultra low-budget Beacon Western stars Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Al St. John as Tucson Smith and Stony Martin, a couple of drifters coming to the defense of elder rancher Hayden (Lafe McKee). Like their neighbors, the rancher and his pretty daughter, Jean (Molly O'Day), have been terrorized by a gang of land grabbers. Tucson and Stony quickly become suspicious of Hayden's attorney, Gordon Rentell (Ted Adams), who seems to know a great deal about the mysterious disappearance of British businessman Sir Henry Sheffield. When the latter (Broderick O'Farrell) is found imprisoned in Rentell's basement, the truth is revealed. Having learned that there is oil in the area, Rentell and his men have been systematically buying up land from their own victims. When the sheriff (Fred Burns) arrives to take Rentell and his men to jail, Tucson reveals that he has become a vigilante after his own father had been murdered. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Molly O'Day, (more)
- 1935
William Colt MacDonald's 1934 story based on the Three Mesqueteers characters was brought to the screen the following year by RKO, who billed it "the Barnum and Bailey of Westerns" and seems to have rounded up every Western star not under exclusive contract. The Western, in fact, could boast of no less than 13 former silent screen cowboy heroes: Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, Buzz Barton, Wally Wales (aka Hal Taliaferro), Art Mix (aka George Kesterson), Buffalo Bill Jr. (aka Jay Wilsey), Buddy Roosevelt, Franklyn Farnum, William Desmond, and William Farnum. Carey, Gibson, and Williams played Tucson Smith, Stony Brooke, and Lullaby Joslin, respectively -- the Three Mesqueteers -- who happen upon a stage robbery in progress. They catch the bandit (Ethan Laidlaw) red-handed rifling through the mail and discover that one of the letters is meant for them. Without their knowing, a young friend, the Guadalupe Kid (Steele), has bought a ranch in their names and is awaiting their arrival. The ranch, however, is located in an area controlled by greedy saloon proprietor turned political boss Steve Ogden (Sam Hardy), who takes umbrage to their presence to the point of hiring a professional gunslinger, Sundown Saunders (Tyler). Provoking a confrontation, Sundown challenges Tucson to his trademark sundown showdown. The wily Tucson realizes that Sundown prefers an encounter in the dusk because of failing eyesight and only lightly wounds his opponent. Although a recuperating Sundown turns down Tucson's request to join the fight against Ogden, in the ensuing shootout the gunslinger heroically takes a bullet meant for Tucson. After forcing a confession out of the crooked sheriff (Adrian Morris), the Mesqueteers confront Ogden who is killed in a fight with Tucson. Filmed on locations at Kernville and Newhall, CA, Powdersmoke Range was not the first film version of MacDonald's Mesqueteers. That honor goes to Law of the .45's, a cheap, independently made Western that had starred Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Tucson and perennial sidekick Al St. John as Stony. (The film omitted the third mesqueteer, Lullaby Joslin, altogether). Despite the success of Powdersmoke Range, RKO failed to follow up with a regular series. Bob Steele would play the character of Sundown Saunders in an independently produced Western of that name in 1936 but the Three Mesqueteers as a group found a regular berth with Republic Pictures, which went on to produce 51 highly successful and influential B-Westerns between 1935 and mid-1943. Through several cast changes both Bob Steele and Tom Tyler would at one point or another play one of the mesqueteers, as would Robert Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, ventriloquist Max Terhune, John Wayne, Raymond Hatton, Duncan Renaldo, Rufe Davis, Ralph Byrd, and Syd Saylor. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson, (more)
- 1932
Not the best of Tim McCoy's 16 Westerns for Columbia (1931-1932), Cornered, directed by action specialist B. Reeves Eason, was also far from the worst, with plenty of fast riding and shooting to please the small fry. McCoy played Sheriff Tim Laramie whose best friend, Moody Pearson (Niles Welch), is accused of killing the father of his girlfriend, Jane Herrick (Shirley Grey). Tim staunchly proclaims his friend innocent until proven guilty but when Moody escapes, the townsfolk fire him. Tim and Moody join a gang of outlaws headed by Red Slaven (Noah Beery), whom the latter believes killed old man Herrick. When cornered, Slavens freely admits to the murder, but then orders his men to kill Tim. The ranchers, aroused earlier by Tim, arrive in the nick of time and, having cleared his name, Moody begins preparations to marry Jane. As always, this McCoy-Columbia Western was cast with seasoned veterans such as the always hissable Beery and Walter Long. Raymond Hatton played McCoy's comic sidekick and Walter Brennan and silent Western star Edmund Cobb appeared in unbilled bits as a court clerk and ranch hand, respectively. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Penned by prolific pulp writer William Colt MacDonald, this Tim McCoy Columbia Western may have been the forerunner of McDonald's later so popular The Three Mesqueteers. John Wayne, whose character is named, appropriately, Duke, and Wallace MacDonald (no relation to William Colt) play McCoy's loyal ranch hands, and although they remain in the background for part of the action, the germ of the triad hero is there. Tim plays a rancher losing his property to a crooked money-lender turned cattle rustler (Wheeler Oakman). The dastardly villain is in league with a sheriff's deputy (Walter Brennan) and together they rob the Wells Fargo. There is a final shootout and the dying deputy confesses to both the Wells Fargo heist and to the fact that Tim's ranch was illegally obtained. Wayne, who didn't get along with McCoy and had several rows with studio czar Harry Cohn, swore that he would never again work for Columbia, a promise he kept. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
A typical low-budget but competently made Columbia Western, The Riding Tornado featured Tim McCoy as a famous rodeo champ who, incognito, wins a supposed killer stallion, Pal, and a purse of 500 dollars in a small town race. Having amicably lost the money in a poker game, Tim is hired by Pal's prior owner, rancher Hiram Olcott (Lafe McKee), to track down a gang of cattle rustlers headed by Hetch Engle (Wheeler Oakman). In between fighting hothead ranch foreman Dick Stark (Wallace MacDonald) for the attention of lovely Patsy Olcott (Shirley Grey), Tim manages to track down Hetch and his gang before they can do more damage. Stark, meanwhile, is heroically killed attempting to stop a stampede, leaving Tim and Patsy free to plan a future together. Vernon Dent, who later menaced the Three Stooges in countless two-reelers, played Hefty, the bartender, a role he had originated in an earlier McCoy effort, Texas Cyclone. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Grey, Wallace MacDonald, (more)
- 1932
Although based on a story by William Colt McDonald, the creator of The Three Mesqueteers, this Tim McCoy effort from Columbia was a conventional Western at best. McCoy played Tim Madigan, a cowpoke coming to the aid of Jerry Norris (Alberta Vaughn), whose father (Murdock MacQuarrie) is in trouble with a gang of cattle rustlers. The leaders of the rustlers, Hugo Distang (Robert Ellis) and Bull Bagley (Richard Alexander), prove to be the very same villains Madigan was trailing. Aided by a new friend, Jughandle (Wallace MacDonald), Madigan manages to catch the rustlers red-handed. The bandits are carted off to jail and Jughandle proves to be an agent for the Cattlemen's Association. McCoy offered a competent and believable performance but this time the material was not quite up to his usual high standard. Future Three Stooges menace Vernon Dent appeared as an ill-fated bartender. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alberta Vaughn
In this his first Western of 1932, Tim McCoy is supported by a young John Wayne. Learning that he is a dead ringer for rancher Jim Rawlins, drifter Texas Grant (McCoy) agrees to keep up the charade in order to scare off a gang of rustlers that has been terrorizing the area. The missing man's wife, Helena (Shirley Grey in the second of four appearances opposite McCoy), at first believes Texas to be her husband but when learning otherwise agrees to keep his real identity hidden. Helena has been having trouble with Utah Becker (Wheeler Oakman), the owner of the Red Dog Saloon, who is secretly employing a majority of the Rawlins' cow hands. Texas, as Jim Rawlins, has the crooks thrown off the property, keeping only Steve, who has remained loyal to Helena throughout. When Becker learns of the newcomer's real identity, he accuses the cowboy of taking advantage of Helena and challenges him to a gunfight at dawn. The saloon owner hedges his bets, however, by having Nick hide in ambush, but both men are killed and Texas wounded. Nursed back to health by Helena, Texas reveals that he is indeed Jim Rawlins, a victim of amnesia caused by an earlier scuffle with Becker. Rotund Vernon Dent, later a popular villain in Three Stooges two-reelers, appeared in this film as Hefty, the bartender, a role he would re-create in future McCoy Westerns. Young John Wayne would also reappear in a future McCoy Western, Two Fisted Law (1932), in both instances playing characters sympathetic to Tim. Offscreen, Wayne and McCoy were less friendly, the former finding the latter morose and distant. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
