William "Wild Bill" Elliott Movies
Western star "Wild Bill" Elliott was plain Gordon Elliott when he launched his stage career at the Pasadena Playhouse in 1928. Under his given name, he began appearing in dress-extra film roles around the same time. While he had learned to ride horses as a youth and had won several rodeo trophies, movie producers were more interested in utilizing Elliot's athletic skills in dancing sequences, in which the still-unbilled actor showed up in tux and tails. Beginning in 1934, Elliot's film roles increased in size; he also started getting work in westerns, albeit in secondary villain roles.In 1938, Elliot was selected to play the lead in the Columbia serial The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, in which he made so positive an impression that he would be billed as "Wild Bill" Elliott for the remainder of his cowboy career, even when his character name wasn't Bill. Elliott's western series for Columbia, which ran from 1938 through 1942, was among the studio's most profitable enterprises. Fans were primed to expect an all-out orgy of fisticuffs and gunplay whenever Elliott would face down the bad guy by muttering, "I'm a peaceable man, but..." Elliott moved to Republic in 1943, where he continued turning out first-rate westerns, including several in which he portrayed famed fictional do-gooder Red Ryder.
In 1945, Elliott began producing his own films, developing a tougher, more jaded characterization than before. A longtime admirer of silent star William S. Hart, Elliott successfully emulated his idol in a string of "good badman" roles. The actor's final western series was a group of 11 above-average actioners for Monogram in the early 1950s, in which Elliott did his best to destroy the standard cowboy cliches and unrealistic Boy Scout behavior symptomatic of the Roy Rogers/Gene Autry school. During his last days at Monogram (which by the mid-1950s had metamorphosed into United Artists), Elliott appeared in modern dress, often cast as hard-bitten private eyes. In 1957, Bill Elliott retired to his huge ranch near Las Vegas, Nevada, where he spent his time collecting western souvenirs and indulging his ongoing hobby of geology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1939
In this actioner, a hardened cowboy decides to stop studying law and become a Texas state trooper instead. At the governor's request he then impersonates an outlaw to trick a band of bandits. Once he gains their trust, he and his assistant organize a trooper raid to stop the outlaws. The good guys literally duke it out in the end. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Veda Ann Borg
- 1938
In Early Arizona was western star Bill Elliot's first effort for Columbia Pictures. Not yet "Wild Bill" Elliot (as he would later be billed), the actor is cast as Whit Gordon, who rides into Tombstone Arizona to help keep the peace. Elliot is appointed sheriff, making him the particular target of every fast gun in the territory. Though clearly based on the career of Wyatt Earp film is careful not to violate the copyright on Earp's life story, which then was held by 20th Century-Fox. In fact, contrary to previous published reports, the name "Wyatt Earp" is not mentioned at all in In Early Arizona; only the designation of Tombstone itself was in the public domain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Gulliver, Harry Woods, (more)
- 1938
Preston S. Foster and Frank Jenks play Bill Crane and Doc Williams, the pulp-novel detectives created by mystery writer Jonathan Latimer. Crane and Williams tackle the case of a morgue robbery; the missing body is that of a young woman who died mysteriously. As the detectives follow the clues, they uncover a deeper mystery, seemingly unconnected with the stolen corpse. Ultimately they discover that the person or persons unknown who swiped the lady in the morgue has a great deal to hide, and won't stop at thievery to hide it. Lady in the Morgue was the third film in Universal's Crime Club series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Patricia Ellis, (more)
This melodrama chronicles the enduring friendship between four boys in New York's Hell's Kitchen. As boys, the made a pact that they would meet annually to renew their friendship. Trouble ensues when one of the boys accidently sets fire to a building. Another boy took the blame. He went to reform school. Years pass before he is reunited with his pals. Now the man is a professional gambler and nightclub owner. He sees two of his friends, who have become cops, when they come into his club to investigate a murder. As they look into the death, one of the cops is killed. The fourth friend, now a priest, makes sure that justice prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, William Gargan, (more)
A master blend of high comedy and tense emotional drama, A Letter of Introduction reteams Adolphe Menjou, Andrea Leeds, and Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, who'd previously costarred in the negligible Goldwyn Follies. Menjou plays John Mannering, a Barrymoresque actor who years earlier had divorced his wife and severed his relationship with his daughter Kay (Andrea Leeds). Now a grown woman, Kay aspires to an acting career, fully determined to make it on her own without her father's help. She goes so far as to change her last name to Martin, and to keep her actual relationship to Mannering a secret from the public. This set-up leads to a dizzying series of complications, including the breakup of Mannering's romance with a tootsie named Lydia Hoyt (Anne Sheridan), who falsely assumes that Kay is Mannering's mistress, and Kay's own romantic travails with vaudeville hoofer Barry Paige (George Murphy). Meanwhile, Kay's ventriloquist friend Bergen and his dummy McCarthy rise to superstardom on radio. It is, in fact, Bergen and Charlie who are instrumental in reuniting the estranged Mannering and Kay, paving the way for the film's tear-stained conclusion. Unavailable for many years, A Letter of Introduction re-emerged on the Public Domain circuit in 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Andrea Leeds, (more)
While the "Tarzan" series was going full blast at MGM, several independent producers managed to secure the screen rights to Edgar Rice Burrough's Lord of the Jungle for their own low-budget adventure films. Taking into consideration the fact that MGM's Tarzan was Olympic swimming star Johnny Weissmuller, Sol Lesser managed to cast two Olympic athletes in 1938's Tarzan's Revenge: 1936 decathlon champion Glenn Morris as Tarzan and aquatic medal-winner Eleanor Holm as "Eleanor". The audience doesn't see much of old Tarz' during the first few reels, as Eleanor, her uncle (George Barbier), her sweetheart (George Meeker) and her aunt (Hedda Hopper) safari through the jungle in search of big game. But when Eleanor is kidnapped by lascivious jungle sultan Ben Alieu Bey (C. Henry Gordon), Tarzan comes swinging to the rescue. Though an irredeemably awful actor (his "jungle yell" is so ludicrous as to be laughable), Glenn Morris cuts quite a figure in his Tarzan loincloth, while the curvaceous Eleanor Holm demonstrates just what it was that attracted so many celebrity suitors on both sides of the Atlantic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Morris, Eleanor Holm, (more)
- 1937
Fugitive in the Sky closely resembles such earlier aviation programmers as 13 Hours by Air and Absolute Quiet. Once again, a plane-load of diverse passengers is hijacked by a fugitive criminal, who this time forces the plane to land during a dust storm. This incident opens a whole new can of worms concerning a still-unsolved murder case, which seemingly involves everyone on the plane. The carefully disguised killer is revealed in a devilishly clever (and cinematically inventive) manner, though the identity of this worthy is inadvertently tipped off in the opening credits. This is the sort of "good, little picture" which, once seen in childhood, is never forgotten. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Muir, Warren Hull, (more)
- 1937
Loretta Young is the wife, Warner Baxter the doctor and Virginia Bruce the nurse in this 20th Century-Fox trifle. Society gal Young marries Park Avenue medico Baxter, little guessing that humble nursie Bruce also loves the doc. Young raises vociferous objections, compelling Bruce to leave. Baxter's practice suffers due to Bruce's absence. Young realizes that the doctor needs his nurse, while Bruce comes to accept that Young needs her doctor. You may need one too after 85 minutes of this. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1937
If Charles Quigley never became Columbia's answer to Clark Gable (which seemed to be the studio's intention), it wasn't for lack of trying. In Speed to Spare, Quigley plays champion racecar driver Tommy Morton, eternal rival to less-ethical speed king Skids Brannigan (Eddie Nugent). What no one knows is that Tommy and Skids are actually brothers, separated at birth. Driven by a filial devotion that he can't explain, Tommy tries to dissuade Skids from recklessness, only to be "repaid" when Skids tries to steal away Tommy's sweetheart Eileen (Dorothy Wilson). It takes a near-fatal crack-up for Skids to straighten up and drive right -- and to patch things up with Tommy, whom he now recognizes as his own brother. Much of the racecar action in Speed to Spare is filmed against a process screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Quigley, Dorothy Wilson, (more)
In this urban drama, a teenage street punk learns a valuable lesson about the dangers of crime. Jackie Cooper is the tough gangleader with political aspirations. He tries to get himself involved in the graft and corruption of local city government. He almost dies after he is plugged by a gangster. That is the turning point in his life. He decides to forego the crooked path for the straight and narrow. He takes his sweetheart along for the ride. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Cooper, Maureen O'Connor, (more)
- 1937
Warner Bros.' resident singing cowboy, the amiable Dick Foran, warbles "The Prairie Is My Home" and "When the Cowboy Takes a Wife" (by M.K. Jerome and Jack Scholl) in between battling a corrupt judge in this pleasant B-Western produced by the studio's busy Bryan Foy unit. Foran is Steve Ainslee, a Texas Ranger who goes undercover as a cowboy in order to solve the killing of rancher Major Burton (Gordon Hart). Watching a gang of rustlers re-brand Burton's horses, Ainslee discovers that their leader, Hank (Henry Otho), is working for Judge Blake (Robert Middlemass), a corrupt jurist whose courtroom is the local saloon. Attempting to arrest the judge, Ainslee is accused of being a rustler himself and Burton's daughter, Alice (Anne Nagel) believes that he killed her father. But Ainslee and his bucolic sidekick, Jeff Carter (Eddie Acuff), obtain proof of the judge's guilt and are able to make an arrest following a climactic and quite exciting shootout. Although nothing out of the ordinary, Guns of the Pecos is never dull and contains several pleasant performances, including those of Acuff, the brother of country singer Roy Acuff, and Fay Holden, as the heroine's lovesick aunt. The latter was billed under her stage-name, "Gaby Fay," in this film. The director of this Western, Noel Smith, had begun his career helming Jimmy Aubrey comedies in the late 1910s. Not one of filmdom's most exciting personalities, Dick Foran, a baritone, looked good enough on a horse and was actually more convincing than some of his colleagues in clinches with the heroine. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Foran, Anne Nagel, (more)
- 1937
A superior Gene Autry Western in every way, Boots and Saddles features child prodigy Ra Hould (aka Ronald Sinclair) as Edward, Earl of Granville, a young Briton arriving in the West to claim his inheritance: a sprawling ranch. Foreman Gene Autry and sidekick, Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette), who had promised Master Edward's late father that they would turn the boy into a true Westerner, are shocked by the young nobleman's haughty demeanor and his plan to sell the indebted property to the highest bidder. Gene, however, manages to change the boy's mind in the last minute, much to the dismay of the potential buyer, Jim Neale (William Elliott), a wealthy neighbor to whom Edward's father was indebted. Planning to sell ponies to the army, Gene, Frog, and young Edward quickly alienate the local commander, Colonel Allen (Guy Usher) , whose daughter, Bernice (Judith Allen), Gene mistakes for a servant wench. Allen, however, changes his mind about purchasing Gene's horses after observing the wonder horse Champion in action, proposing instead a race between Gene, Neale, and their crews for the profitable contract. Not about to lose out to Gene, his rival for Bernice's attentions, Neale decides to play dirty but Gene still manages to win the race. At the finishing line, Frog reveals Neale's treachery, and Bernice and Gene make up. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merrill McCormack, Gene Autry, (more)
- 1937
Alice Faye stars as aspiring playwright Judith Poe Wells. She falls in love with producer George Macrae (Don Ameche), which makes George's girlfriend Louise Hovick (Gypsy Rose Lee) see red. Judith drops from view while George loses his troublesome girlfriend and prepares to put together a Broadway musical. He chooses Judith's play for his next production, which of course reunites the pair at fadeout time. And how do The Ritz Brothers fit into You Can't Have Everything? Not very well, but the Ritzes do have one funny elongated number set in a Greenwich Village nightclub (where the extras are obviously breaking up at the boys' adlibs). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Faye, The Ritz Brothers [Al, Jimmy, Harry], (more)
- 1937
Roll Along, Cowboy was the second starring vehicle for Smith Ballew, producer Sol Lesser's answer to Gene Autry. Our hero reports for work at the ranch of middle-aged Ruth Robinson, only to find that she's being threatened by outlaws. With a song in his heart and a gun in his holster, Ballew routs the villains and wins the hand of Robinson's pretty daughter Cecilia Parker. The supporting cast includes former "Our Gang" regular Wally Albright and future cowboy star Gordon "Wild Bill" Elliot. According to the credits, Roll Along, Cowboy was based on a Zane Grey story, but doesn't say which one (Grey's novel were noticeably bereft of singing cowboys). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Smith Ballew, Cecilia Parker, (more)
- 1937
Though he would later dismiss it as "just a ten-day job," actor Conrad Nagel made a remarkably smooth directorial debut with Grand National's Love Takes Flight. Bruce Cabot stars as Neil Bradshaw, an egotistical commercial pilot in love with stewardess Joan Lawson (Beatrice Roberts). Somewhat incredibly, Neil becomes a movie star, jilting Joan in the process to taking up with vampish actress Diane Audre (Astrid Allwyn). Joan takes small comfort in the fact that she is also offered a Hollywood contract; to show up the swell-headed Neil, she matriculates into a champion aviatrix, breaking airborne records left and right. Before the inevitable reunion between Neil and Joan, the audience is treated to dozens of "product placement" plugs for American Airlines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Cabot, Beatrice Roberts, (more)
- 1937
District attorney Victor Shanley (John Litel) is forced out of his job through the machinations of gang boss Al Kruger (William B. Davidson). Thirsting for revenge against the legal system that apparently failed to back him up, Shanley goes to the "other side," becoming a defense lawyer on Kruger's payroll. This distresses his ex-wife Carol (Ann Dvorak), but Shanley cares only for the money he's raking in. At long last, however, Shanley's conscience is reawakened by Bob Terrell (Carlyle Moore Jr.), a mob functionary who elects to "go straight" and suffers mightily as a consequence. Midnight Court was co-scripted by Don Ryan, a Los Angeles reporter specializing in the night-court beat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Dvorak, John Litel, (more)
- 1937
Swing It, Professor stars Pinky Tomlin, the bespectacled crooner who parlayed the song "The Object of My Affections" into a sizeable career. Tomlin plays a professor of music who is dead-set against the jazz and big-band craze of the late 1930s. After several career reverses, Pinky comes to terms with the "new sound" thanks to nightclub singer Paula Stone, to whom he sings the deathless "I'm Sorta Kinda Glad I Met You." Featured in the cast are former "Our Gang" star Mary Kornman and a Three Stooges spin-off group, the Gentle Maniacs. Swing It, Professor was the last film directed by Marshall Neilan, a once-prominent silent filmmaker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pinky Tomlin, Paula Stone, (more)
- 1937
Operatic tenor James Melton stars as on-the-skids bandleader Tod Weaver, who finds himself in charge of an all-girl orchestra. Though he tries to remain oblivious to his musicians' charms, he can't help but fall in love with assistant conductor Gale Starr (Patricia Ellis). Things look bad for hero and heroine when seductive Lorna Wray (Winifred Shaw) comes between them, but Tod is brought back to earth with a well-aimed slap. The cast of Melody for Two contains some potent comedy talent, including Marie Wilson and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, but the spotlight is on the golden-throated James Melton. The film's one memorable song is "September in the Rain," later hilariously re-created in the "Looney Tunes" installment Porky's Preview (1938). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Melton, Patricia Ellis, (more)
- 1936
Bette Davis plays a facial cream heiress in this middling comedy, which Warner Bros. filmed partially in Florida. Mistaking George Brent for a fellow socialite, Bette quickly marries him only to discover that he is a penniless reporter searching for peace and quiet to finish the great American novel. As it turns out, Bette is not who she claims to be, either, but a waitress hired by the perfume company as a sort of advertising gimmick. Fearing she may lose George if he learns the truth, she goes out of her way to hide her true identity, to the point where the exasperated young man finds solace with Carol Hughes, a true blue blood. Everything works out in the end, of course, and the couple is reunited. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, George Brent, (more)
- 1936
In this drama, a teen is adopted from a reform school by a wealthy couple. They own horses and the boy becomes a jockey. His father was also a rider, but he got involved with crime. The young rider soon finds himself being framed by gamblers who are using his father's reputation against him. Finally the young man clears his name and wins the English Derby. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Patricia Ellis, (more)
- 1936
In one of his most successful portrayals of a "living dead" man, Boris Karloff plays John Ellman, an ex-convict who is framed by the mob for the murder of the judge who first put him away. Evidence proving Ellman's innocence arrives seconds after he is electrocuted. Officials allow Dr. Evan Beaumont (Edmund Gwenn) to experiment with putting a mechanical heart into Ellman. The device revives the dead man, but he has become a white-haired, monster-faced zombie who hangs out in graveyards and seeks revenge on the conspirators who framed him. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1936
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan is based on a "Nurse Sarah Keats" mystery novel by Mignon Eberhardt. The middle-aged protagonist of the novel has been transformed into pretty, young nurse Sally Keating (Kay Linaker), in love with handsome doctor George Lambert (Ricardo Cortez). The founder of the hospital where Sally works disappears while en route to the operating room. Not long afterward, chief surgeon Dr Harrigan (John Eldredge) is mysteriously murdered by?whom? The key to the mystery is the formula for a revolutionary new anesthetic -- and there's plenty of suspects (including the perennial Mary Astor), motive and opportunity. Nurse Keating does a little mental "bypass surgery" on the police and figures out the mystery herself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Linaker, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1936
Warner Bros.' "Perry Mason" series quietly slipped from the "A" to the "B" category with this adaptation of Erle Stanley Gardner's The Case of the Caretaker's Cat. Ricardo Cortez and June Travis take over from Warren William and Claire Dodd as criminal attorney Perry Mason and his faithful secretary Della Street. Though the characters had been married in Case of the Velvet Claws, they're unattached again here, though Della is still hoping. This time there are three murders, all connected with a hectic treasure hunt and a screeching feline (grey, not black!) Throwing an added spanner into the works is the fact that one of the murders is a phony, designed to permit a millionaire from escaping his responsibilities. Case of the Black Cat was later redone as an hour-long episode of the Perry Mason TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Cortez, June Travis, (more)
- 1936
Perry Mason (Warren William) actually marries his secretary, the redoubtable Della Street (Claire Dodd) in this, the fourth installment of Warner Bros.' popular series based on the novels by Erle Stanley Garner. The honeymoon, alas, is rudely interrupted when Perry is kidnapped by Eve Belter (Winifred Shaw), who demands that he help her fight a scandal sheet, Spicy Bits, which has threatened to expose an affair involving the lady herself and politician Peter Milnor (Kenneth Harlan). Visiting the newspaper office, the intrepid defense attorney learns that the publisher is none other than Mrs. Belter's millionaire husband (Joseph King), who wished to punish his wife for her infidelity. But when Belter is found murdered, Eve becomes the natural suspect and Mason agrees to defend her much to Della's irritation. Eve's innocence is of course a given -- what with being Mason's client and all -- but Perry must not only catch the real culprit, but also Della before she has their marriage annulled. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren William, Claire Dodd, (more)
- 1936
Dusting off a couple of old Ken Maynard Western plots -- already recycled once with John Wayne in the early 1930s -- Warner Bros. jumped on the singing cowboy band wagon with a series starring baritone Dick Foran (formerly Nick Foran. The opener, Moonlight on the Prairie was filmed on glorious locations at California's June Lake and featured a good supporting cast that included future Western hero William "Wild Bill" Elliott (here billed Gordon Elliott) as an agent for the ubiquitous Cattlemen's Association. Foran himself played Ace Andrews, a Wild West Show performer falsely accused of murdering rancher Butch Roberts. Butch's estranged wife, now his widow, Barbara (Sheila Mannors), and young son have until midnight to take over the ranch or lose it to nasty Luke Thomas (Joe Sawyer and crooked lawyer Buck Cantwell (Robert Barrat). After a scheme to delay Barbara and little Dickie (Dickie Jones) is foiled by Ace and his escape artist sidekick "Small Change" (George E. Stone), Luke and his motley crew engage in a bit of cattle rustling. Ace, who has already proven Cantwell to be Butch's real killer, successfully leads the sheriff's posse to victory and soon both Thomas and Cantwell are apprehended. Foran, whose inclination to shout every line was tempered in subsequent entries, found time between fightin' and shootin' to warble Covered Wagon Days and Moonlight on the Prairie, both composed and written by M.K. Jerome, Joan Jasmyn, Vernon Spencer and Bob Nolan. Foran's horse, Smokey, earned second billing ahead of leading lady Sheila Mannors, a brunette beauty who also spelled her last name "Manners" on occasion. Miss Mannors/Manners would attempt to escape an increasing list of B-Westerns by changing her moniker to Sheila Bromley in the 1940s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Foran, George E. Stone, (more)
