Rand Brooks Movies

Steel Fist was produced by William F. Broidy and Wesley Barry, the same team responsible for TV's Wild Bill Hickok series. Roddy McDowall stars as Erik, an idealistic young student in an unnamed Iron Curtain country. Pursued by the communist police for speaking his views, Erik is sheltered by the underground. While being smuggled out of the country, he finds time to fall in love with Marina (Kristine Miller), who unfortunately has also developed a close relationship with Red-army officer Giorg (Rand Brooks). Steel Fist is basically a WW II "French Resistance" film with names and nationalities changed to reflect the tinderbox situation in postwar Europe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The West is scared by an infamous gunslinger in this western film. ~ All Movie Guide

In this North Woods adventure, the Mounties investigate a series of payroll robberies and discover that it is an inside job. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Anxious to remain active in the 1950s, director Frank Capra wanted to prove to Paramount Pictures that he could deliver an "A" picture on a modest budget. To that end, Capra bought the rights of his 1934 film Broadway Bill from Columbia, and remade it under the title Riding High. He then hired many of the supporting actors who'd appeared in Broadway Bill -- including Clarence Muse, Douglass Dumbrille, Ward Bond, Charles Lane and Frankie Darro -- so he could match up his newly shot scenes with stock footage from the earlier film. Capra even kept the musical costs down by having star Bing Crosby sing such public-domain favorites as "Camptown Races" (though there is one delightful original song, "We Ought to Bake a Sunshine Camera" performed without dubbing by Crosby, Muse, and leading-lady Colleen Gray). Crosby steps into the old Warner Baxter role as Dan Brooks, scion of a wealthy family who prefers hanging around racetracks to the responsibilities of his family business. Scheduled for a "proper" marriage to Margaret Higgins (Frances Gifford), the snooty daughter of millionaire J. L. Higgins (Charles Bickford), Dan infinitely prefers the company of Margaret's younger sister Alice (Coleen Gray), who loves horses as much as he. Hoping to declare his financial independence, he pins his future on a racehorse named Broadway Bill. Though not in the same league as Capra's earlier classics, Riding High is lots of fun. It is especially enjoyable for film buffs, thanks to Capra's decision to fill the picture with uncredited celebrity cameo appearances -- including Oliver Hardy, minus Stan Laurel, as an apoplectic horse player. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Allan "Rocky" Lane finds himself linked up with an unexpected ally in Wyoming Bandit. That ally is none other than the title character, a hard-bitten outlaw named Wyoming Dan (Trevor Bardette). The bad guy has briefly turned "good" in hopes that Lane will help him find his son's murderer. To do this, Lane must also alter his personality and pose as a deadly gunman. The pivotal scene finds Dan and Lane in the villain's lair, facing a daunting array of firearms. Wyoming Bandit is one of a handful of Republic "B" westerns with no leading lady whatsoever. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Black Midnight was the fourth of six Monogram films co-produced by actor Roddy McDowall. The film stars McDowall as Scott Jordan, whose mission in life is to train a wild stallion named Black Midnight. Subplots include a romance between Jordan and pretty Cindy Baxter (Lynn Thomas), and the apparently crooked activities of Scott's wastrel cousin Daniel (Rand Brooks). Future Sky King star Kirby Grant is most effective in the supporting role of the local sheriff. Black Midnight was directed by Oscar Boetticher, who as "Budd" Boetticher went on to movie-cultist fame as the helmsman of several above-average Randolph Scott westerns of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A group of archeologists is sent to the American Southwest to investigate a tribe's claims that they are descendants of the ancient Aztecs. However, a gang of crooks are trying to discredit the claim by dressing up as Indians to commit crimes. Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) must rescue the archeologist and catch the criminals. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

This western deals with an actual historical event. The story follows the endeavors of a heroic fellow who captures the mastermind behind a plot to assassinate President Lincoln. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Last Chance Inn, the main locality in this latter-day Hopalong Cassidy Western, certainly lives up to its name. A prospector has mysteriously disappeared after spending a night there and now Lucky Jenkins' (Rand Brooks) prospective "uncle-in-law," another guest, has vanished as well. Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) locates the missing man's body in a mine but when he returns with the sheriff, the dead man has performed yet another disappearing act. Just before retiring, in the same room previously occupied by the victims, Sheriff Thompson (Forbes Murray) reveals the name of his prime suspect: Larry Potter (Bob Gabriel), the outlaw brother of the inn's wheelchair-bound proprietor (John Parrish). But will the sheriff survive the night or disappear just like the previous occupants? Like so many of the Hopalong Cassidy Westerns, the oddly titled Dead Men Don't Dream was filmed on location at Lone Pine, CA. Leading lady Mary Tucker had previously acted under the moniker of Mary Ware. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

"This town ain't big enough to hold both of us," saloon owner Dink Davis (Cliff Clark) tells his new rival Steve Mawson (John Phillips) in the opening of this lighthearted Hopalong Cassidy Western. Schoolmarm Lucy Abbott (Anne O'Neal) couldn't agree more; in fact, the spinsterish teacher is outraged that Mawson is establishing his den of inequity more or less in her own backyard and decides to take matters into her own hands. But before she can do much more than hurl a couple of apples through the barroom window, Miss Abbott finds herself the victim of a gang of kidnapping thugs. "I'll box your ears," the aggrieved school mistress promises her abductors, all of whom used to be her pupils. Back in town, Mawson appears the most likely suspect of this newest outrage, but Hoppy (William Boyd) has his doubts. With California Carlson (Andy Clyde) left behind as a substitute teacher, Cassidy and sidekick Lucky Jenkins (Rand Brooks) do a little digging and come up with a most surprising result. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Reading-of-the-will melodramatics substitute for the usual B-Western shootin' and fightin' in this late entry in the long running Hopalong Cassidy series, which has sidekick California Carlson (Andy Clyde) as one of six heirs to the supposedly worthless Baxter property. During the reading of Hiram Baxter's will, one of the heirs, Phineas Phipps (Joel Friedkin), is murdered, presumably by the same mystery figure who had earlier taken pot shots of the arriving Hoppy (William Boyd), Lucky (Rand Brooks), and California. Soon panels are sliding, spectral voices are heard, and shots are fired. Yet another heir, Ralph Baxter (Nedrick Young), is murdered and crooked attorney Potter (John Parrish) points the finger at Lucky. Meanwhile, Hoppy discovers that there is oil in them thar hills, a fact that Potter and co-conspirator Ogden (Robert B. Williams) conveniently forgot to mention to the heirs. After performing a bit of detective work, Hoppy catches the mystery killer in the act, so to speak, and the ranch is eventually returned to the surviving heirs, Ruth Baxter (Patricia Tate), housekeeper Mathilda Hackett (Una O'Connor), ranch hand Joshua Colter (Earle Hodgins), and California. The latter, however, relinquishes his share in favor of returning to the Bar 20 with his friends. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The popular wartime catchphrase "Kilroy Was Here" was affixed to this minor campus comedy. Jackie Cooper plays peripatetic ex-sailor John J. Kilroy, who is assumed to be the Kilroy. Once John finds himself in college on the GI bill, he finds that his fame is also a curse: none of the "right" people want anything to do with him because of his WW2 notoriety. Even worse, John insists upon retaining his friendship with navy buddy Pappy Collins (Jackie Coogan), a "lowly" cabdriver. By film's end, of course, Kilroy and Collins have washed their hands of the campus snobs, but not before several slapsticky complications. At the time of its release, Kilroy Was Here was exploited on the basis of its teaming of former child stars Cooper and Coogan, who work together quite well consider the material they're given. Not unlike 1946's Snafu, Kilroy Was Here ran into some censorship trouble because of the sexual connotations of its inspiration (a line drawing of a face, with a phallic nose resting between two ball-shaped cheeks!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a two-year absence, the "Hopalong Cassidy" western series returned with The Devil's Playground. William Boyd, now executive-producer of the series, returns as Hoppy, with Andy Clyde as California Carson and Rand Brooks as Lucky Jenkins. More plot-oriented than earlier Cassidy efforts, Devil's Playground finds our three heroes coming to the rescue of widowed Mrs. Evans (Elaine Riley). The villain of the piece is Judge Morton (Robert Elliot), who hopes to force the heroine off her property for reasons unknown. Hoppy uncovers Morton's motivations and saves the day, but not without putting up one whale of a good fight. While Devil's Playground upheld the standard set by the previous "Hopalong Cassidy" films, the quality of the series would gradually deteriorate during the next eleven installments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide