Robert Walker Movies

Proof positive that Reliable Pictures' Skull and Crown was filmed several years before its 1938 New York premiere is the presence in the cast of former silent-screen leading man James Murray, who died in 1936. The star of the show is Rin-Tin-Tin Jr., who among other things helps to break up a gang of smugglers. Another silent veteran, Jack Mower, plays the chief crook, but despite his bulk and muscle he's no match for our "Rinty". Nominal human hero Regis Toomey benefits greatly from the dog's deductive skills, winning the hand of heroine Molly Day as a result. Allegedly based on a story by James Oliver Curwood, Skull and Crown is cheap and tacky even by Reliable's unexacting standards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In his penultimate Western for poverty row company Reliable Pictures, Jack Perrin starred as Texas Jack Carroll, a newcomer to the rough town of Escondido. Texas Jack saves the town's new schoolteacher, Ann (Jayne Regan) from her drunken escort and discovers that the girl has been lured to Escondido under false pretenses by unscrupulous saloon-owner Dan Corey (Robert Walker). Corey intends to turn her into a saloon hostess, just as he once did with Jack's sister Helen, who then committed suicide. Realizing the game is up, Corey kidnaps Ann but is caught by Jack. Rather than spend the rest of his life behind bars, the evil saloon owner kills himself. Just as he had in the silent era, Nelson McDowell costarred as Perrin's comic sidekick. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A pretty Mexican dancer, Tina Menard, is actually the lead character in this low-budget Western ostensibly starring Jack Perrin. Jack Fenrod (Perrin) and his grizzled sidekick Amos (Frank Rice) are on the trail of a gang of smugglers when they save Lolita Carlos (Menard) from a runaway carriage. Lolita dances in the Casa de Oro Saloon owned by Meeker (William Gould), the leader of the smugglers. Jack is accused of horse-thievery by local rancher Don Carlos (Elias Lazaroff), Lolita's father, but that is only a ruse to lure Meeker into a false sense of security. With the help of a lovesick flower girl (Rosemary Joy) and an equally amorous cook (Fern Emmett) -- both pursuing Amos -- the Meeker gang is finally brought to justice. Amazingly, Menard, a Mexican-born actress, continued working in films until at least 1981, usually playing maids. She died in 1993 at the age of 88. Loser's End was the second of six Jack Perrin Westerns produced by small-scale Reliable Pictures from 1934-1935. ~ 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

Ken Maynard goes undercover to prove that his father (Horace B. Carpenter), a bank president, did not commit suicide but was murdered in this routine Western from low-budget KBS Productions. Returning to his hometown of Mesa to find his father's death pronounced a suicide, Cal Weston (Maynard) is reunited with old friend Joel Winters (James Marcus) and his daughter, Ruth (Muriel Gordon), both of whom believe in Ken's theory of murder. Investigating, Ken learns that the bank's vice-president, Martin Carter (Niles Welch), has been cooking the books with the help of town bully Burl Adams (Al Bridge). But when his true identity is discovered by one of the gang members (William Norton Bailey), Carter and Adams turn the tables on Ken, who is in grave danger of being lynched by an irate citizenry. Happily, a vigilante committee that includes town rowdies Nip (Edward Brady) and Tuck (Charles King) believes in his innocence and the true culprits are made to confess. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, 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

A Texas Ranger (Rex Lease) searches for the killer of his sister in this cheap and often incomprehensible Western produced by Harry S. Webb and Flora E. Douglas, the latter being one of Hollywood's few women executives at the time. In tracking down the mysterious killer -- a villain known only as The Tiger (Jack Mower) -- the ranger is ably assisted by his faithful dog, King (Muro, a low-budget Rin Tin Tin "wannabe"). The Lone Trail was a re-edited feature version of a 1931 serial, The Sign of the Wolf. Webb and Douglas, in an attempt to squeeze every dime possible of out the footage, recycled it once again for the 1936 serial, Crown and Skull. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In the last of four low-budget Westerns for the ill-named Big 4 Film Corp., Bob Custer plays Bud Bryson, a young cowboy mistaken for a cattle thief and branded. He escapes the law with the help of Slim Grant (Nelson McDowell), and both obtain jobs on a ranch belonging to John Walker (Frank Ball) and his daughter Ellen (Betty Mack). After Ellen is courted by legitimate rustler Bill Morse (Robert Walker), Walker objects to the assignation and Morris has him arrested on a trumped-up charge. Bud determines to clear both himself and Walker, but when Ellen learns that he is wanted for rustling, she rejects him. Happily, Slim proves to be an undercover agent for the cattlemen's association and together with Bud manages to trap the real rustler. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this western, an enraged cowboy seeks to avenge the murder of his father. He eventually confronts the guilty outlaw gang in Ghost City, an abandoned town west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Fists fly, guns blaze, and mayhem ensues until the crooks are brought to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this western, a cowboy finds himself entangled in a saloon incident. He then saves a woman from outlaws, who later turn out to be fake. The hero's father, a senator, then sends him to accompany Roosevelt out West. There the two encounter the hapless girl. This time they save her from real villains. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A wild stallion is blamed for "kidnapping" local mares to build a harem! Cowboy Jack Perrin, however, believes the real culprit is smooth-talking Robert Walker (whose pencil-thin mustache was a dead giveaway of his evil intentions), and manages to rescue the stallion from the glue factory in the nick of time. Produced by that graveyard of silent screen western stars, Syndicate Film Exchange, this early sound oater died at the box-office because of inept sound recording and a silly script (by the veteran Carl Krusada who should have known better). It did feature one unusual scene, however; when the rogue stallion sees a wanted poster bearing his likeness, he simply eats it! ~ Hans J. Wollstein, 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

Silent-screen hero Jack Perrin and his handsome mount Starlight headlined this low-budget oater from shoestring company Big 4 Film Corp., one of the many Gower Gulch entrepreneurs catching former luminaries whose careers were on a downslide due to talkies. Perrin's father is murdered by villain Yakima Canutt, who flees to Mexico with the hero in hot pursuit. Reviewers were quick to pronounce the film a failure, not so much due to Perrin's performance, which was fine, but to leading lady Renee Borden's trouble with a below-the-border accent. Former western star Canutt also suffered vocal problems and saw his career turning increasingly toward villainy. The future Academy Award-winning stunt-man was still years away from his most enduring work at Republic Pictures. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide