Robert Walker Movies

The popular star/director combination of Viola Dana and John H. Collins had another winner on their hands with Aladdin's Other Lamp. Dana plays a young Arabian Nights slave girl in search of her mother. Mom and daughter are reunited through the facilities of a magic lamp, allowing the talented Collins free reign in the special-effects department. Since Dana's character name was Patsy rather than Fatima or Yasmin, one suspects that Aladdin's Other Lamp was intended to be an extended dream sequence. Director John H. Collins' career, and his happy marriage to Viola Dana, flourished until he tragically fell victim to the 1919 influenza epidemic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Penny-pinching producer John R. Freuler's thoroughly misnamed Big Four Corp. released this early sound western about a ranch hand (Buffalo Bill, Jr. AKA Jay Wilsey) who loses his job when he refuses to hand over some cattle to an obvious crook (Wally Wales). Freuler had both Bill Jr. and Wales under contract at the time, and they alternated playing hero and villain in Big Four's rather threadbare westerns. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

An above-average "Hopalong Cassidy" series entry, Borderland has Hoppy (William Boyd) going undercover as a bandit in a tough Mexican border town in order to trap a notorious bandit known only as The Fox. Not even sidekicks Johnny Nelson (James Ellison) and Windy (George "Gabby" Hayes) are in on the scheme, concocted jointly by Mexican Army Colonel Gonzales (Trevor Bardette) and Texas Ranger Major Stafford (Earle Hodgins). Lodging with widowed Grace Rand (Nora Lane) and her small daughter, Molly (Charlene Wyatt), both of whom he abuses in order to protect his cover, Hoppy learns that The Fox (Stephen Morris aka Morris Ankrum) is himself performing a bit of masquerade, in this case as a halfwit known as Loco. Windy, however, innocently spills the beans and is promptly kidnapped along with Molly. Chased by Hoppy, who is himself tailed by the villain's henchmen, Gonzales' troops, and a wounded Johnny Nelson, The Fox (alias Loco) escapes to his secret hideaway, a cabin stocked with dynamite. There, Hoppy catches up with him and in an exciting finale keeps the master villain at bay until help arrives. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Tarzan, "The Police Dog," stars in this ultra low-budget thriller from independent producer Bert Sternbach. The human leads, Marion Shilling and Charles Delaney, play reporters assigned to cover the wedding between members of warring Tong families. Expected to end generations of feud between the Lings and the Wongs, the nuptials turn into tragedy when a mystery intruder clad in Ling family attire valuable snatches the necklace from the bride. As the groom (Wing Foo) attempts to stop the fleeing thief, he is brutally shot and killed and his father calls for the feud to continue. Meanwhile, cub reporter Ann Parker (Shilling) is kidnapped by the murderer (Paul Ellis), who thinks she may be able to identify him. But Tarzan, the police dog, races to the rescue with Bob Martin (Delaney) in tow and the killer is unmasked in the nick of time. The Lings are cleared of suspicion and peace between the families is restored. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Of the many films inspired by the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, Edison's Children of Eve was inarguably the best. Realistically (and very grimly) directed by the unjustly forgotten John H. Collins, the film stars Collins' actress wife Viola Dana as the spunky daughter of a New York sweatshop owner. She remains fully aware of the dangers facing the young female workers -- the shop has no fire escape and only one stairway. Thus, she obtains a job at the shop under an assumed name, intending to collect evidence for the Labor Commission. Alas, a fire breaks out just as management has blocked off the stairway to make sure that the girls won't try to sneak off the job. Dana courageously helps her co-workers escape, only to be trapped in the conflagration herself. It is the heroine's death (a still-startling moment) that awakens her father, and other fat-cat businessmen like him, of the importance of treating workers like human beings rather than caged animals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the fourth of 18 inexpensive Tom Tyler Westerns produced by Reliable Pictures and filmed on location in Newhall, California, Tom and his sidekick, Windy (Ben Corbett), are hired by John Baker's Bar X Ranch. Baker (Lafe McKee) offers a $1,000 reward to anyone who can capture "The Phantom," a wild stallion suspected of chasing a herd of mares through a hole in the Bar X fence. The real horse thief, however, is Bar X's unscrupulous neighbor, Mack Larkin (Dick Alexander), who is in cahoots with Baker's crooked foreman, Bert (Charles "Slim" Whitaker). Tom befriends "The Phantom" and is determined to prove the horse innocent. Despite the skepticism of Baker's pretty daughter, Helen (Alice Dahl), Tom and Windy set out to prove Larkin's guilt. Although sharing the same character name, "Windy," the rustic Corbett had little else in common with George Hayes (later nicknamed "Gabby"), the quintessential comic sidekick of "Hopalong Cassidy" series fame. A holdover from the silent era, Corbett was woefully unfunny and an amateurish actor to boot. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Lana Turner (a mere 19 years old at the time) stars in this lighthearted musical comedy as Patty Marlow, a dancer fighting her way up the show business ladder. Famous hoofer Freddie Tobin (Lee Bowman) is about to start work on a new movie when his dance partner becomes pregnant and drops out of the project. Press agent Joe Drews (Roscoe Karns) dreams up a publicity stunt to find Freddie's new co-star: he'll stage a contest on college campuses to find a dancer among the student body. However, the contest is merely a ruse, and, when Joe and his cronies spot Patty, they realize she is the perfect girl for the job. Now, they have to pass Patty off as a studious co-ed for the sake of the "contest," which has begun to attract the suspicious attention of student journalist Pug Braddock (Richard Carlson). Artie Shaw and his band perform several numbers (Shaw and Turner would marry two years later), and keep an eye peeled for Veronica Lake in a bit part (she was still known as Constance Keane at the time). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Stuffed dummies on horseback manage to fool a gang of munitions smugglers in this farfetched low-budget Western from the Reliable company. Tom Tyler stars as a Texas ranger going undercover to infiltrate the aforementioned gang, which is lead by nasty Travis (Al Bridge). The outlaw, however, learns of the ranger's subterfuge and orders him killed. Luckily, Tom's associate, Jimmy (Rex Lease), manages to get help from the ranger captain (William Gould) and the stuffed dummies are send in ahead of the rescue team. Using subterfuge, Travis escapes with Jimmy's blond sister, Joan (Margaret Nearing), but is eventually tracked down by Tom. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Cited by film historian William K. Everson as one of the fastest-moving crime melodramas of the 1930s (if not the fastest) Fog Over Frisco still manages to leave viewers breathless. Top-billed Bette Davis plays giddy heiress Arlene Bradford, whose perverse fascination with gangsters gets her mixed up in a stolen-securities scheme. Arlene's more sensible sister Val (Margaret Lindsay) tries to keep her out of trouble, but this proves impossible. Entering into the fray are hotshot society reporter Tony (Donald Woods) and goofy photojournalist Izzy (Hugh Herbert), who like Val get in over their heads when they stumble upon the body of the murdered Arlene. The identity of the killer remains a well-concealed secret until Izzy, of all people, stumbles across a vital clue. Things really begin to accelerate when Val is kidnapped by Arlene's gangster cohorts (who, interestingly enough, are very reluctant to take her prisoner and do so only when there's no other option!), leading to a mile-a-minute rescue and hasty plot wrap-up. Among the many good guys, bad guys and red herrings are Alan Hale as an Irish cop, Robert H. Barrat as a butler who isn't a butler, and Henry O'Neill as a gosh-knows-what who may be the murderer. Though physical action is at a minimum, Fog Over Frisco is kept constantly on the move by director William Dieterle, using every cinematic trick and optical effect (wipe dissolves, iris-outs, swish-pans etc.) at his disposal. The film was less effectively remade as Spy Ship in 1942. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two thieves fight over a packet of stolen money. One (Herschall Mayall) hides the money near a haunted house before being killed by the other (Robert Walker). The surviving crook goes by the name of Doctor Peak. The dead crook's old mother (Gertrude Claire) knows about the hidden money and goes in search of it, but she's thwarted by Peak at every turn. Meanwhile, the old lady's grandson Jerry (Tom Gallery) shows up in town with a medicine show. Jerry and Peak wind up in a furious battle and discover the cash is in a well. The haunted house catches fire and is destroyed. The money turns out to be counterfeit and the village deaf mute (Victor Potel) turns out to be a member of the secret service in disguise. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

In this western, the locals are being plagued by "Black Death" an evil outlaw who shoots victims with chemical bullets that turn them black. He is pursued by a brave Texas Ranger. When the ranger learns that the killer is following a wild West show --the one the ranger used to work in--the hero rejoins. He soon catches up to the crook and ends up following him to Mexico. A deadly gunfight ensues and the Black Death finally dies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide