Muriel Evans Movies

Buck Jones was his own producer on this average Universal western filmed on attractive locations in California's Kern River Valley. After receiving a threatening note, Lonely Valley rancher Retta Lowry (Muriel Evans) and her kid brother Sunny (Dick Holland) rush to the local church to warn Parson Reeves, only to find him already dead. The next day Retta is visited by town boss Jake Wagner (Walter Miller), who produces a bill of sale for her ranch, apparently signed by her late father. Steve Hanson (Jones) and his friend Jim Lynch (Harvey Clark), a government agent masquerading as a tramp, begin an investigation into the strange and unsettling developments. After Steve discovers a secret tunnel leading from the church straight to Wagner's office, the villain orders him killed. Pretending to have drowned in the river, an incognito Steve discovers that Wagner and an accomplice, Sam Leavitt (Matty Fain), have been forging the signatures of dead ranchers in order to swindle the rightful heirs out of their properties. But with the able assistance of Jim Lynch, the very much alive Steve is able to catch the criminals in the act, and restore peace and tranquility to the valley. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Hopalong Cassidy's young sidekick, Johnny Nelson, is falsely accused of robbing the Bar 20 in this the fourth installment of the long-running Western series. Nelson (James Ellison) had left the ranch in high dudgeon over a perceived slight and fallen in with a gang headed by Shanghai (George Hayes) and Sam Porter (Al Bridge). Since the gang's aim is to rob the Bar 20, Johnny's sudden appearance is seen as a golden opportunity. The youngster is drugged and his easily identifiable neckerchief prominently displayed as the gang unsuccessfully attempts to rob the ranch safe, wounding owner Buck Peters (Howard H.Lang) in the process. When Hoppy (William Boyd) learns of Johnny's assumed culpability, he vows to bring the youngster to justice. Johnny, meanwhile, has managed to escape the gang and is holed up on a spread belonging to innocent Linda McHenry (Muriel Evans), who, unbeknownst to him, is Shanghai's daughter. He is found there by Porter who concocts a devilish plan to kill the boy and establish an alibi for himself at the same time. Luckily, Cassidy arrives to save his young friend in the nick of time and the gang is finally hunted down. Shanghai, who has decided to go straight, is shot in a struggle with Porter, but survives to clear Johnny of any wrongdoing in the attempted robbery. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The career of dance instructor Sally (Jean Parker) comes to an abrupt end when she is crippled in an accident on the eve of her wedding. Sally's far-from-supportive fiancé (Paul Page) walks out on her, but good old Jimmie (James Dunn), who has loved her all along, offers to marry her and help shoulder the burden of her handicap. This in itself would make a good story, but MGM got nervous an added a gangster subplot. Interspersing their usual never-fail comedy relief are Una Merkel and Stu Erwin, who might have starred in this picture had it been made by any other studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An interesting precursor to such films as The Petrified Forest and Bus Stop, Heat Lightning takes place in a remote California-desert gas station-café. Several strange characters pass through the establishment's portals during one fateful 24-hour period, including cad-and-bounder George (Preston S. Foster). Resourceful proprietress Olga (Aline MacMahon) tries to remain detached throughout but is forced to take drastic action when George threatens to seduce and abandon her own sister Myra (Ann Dvorak). Glenda Farrell, one of Warners' most reliable players, is surprisingly wasted in a glorified bit role; even further down the cast list as "Husband and Wife" are 2-reel comedy star Edgar Kennedy and future Oscar winner Jane Darwell (talk about an odd couple!) Heat Lightning was based on a stage play co-scripted by George Abbott. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Buck Jones both produced and directed (with action expert B. Reeves Eason) this somewhat inconsistent Western about a ranger sent to the lawless town of Tombstone to bodyguard the local judge. The town is run by a mystery man known as "Twin Gun," whose henchmen, Clanton (Alexander Cross) and Smith (Chuck Morrison), actually manage to abduct the weak Judge Hart (Carl Stockdale), lest their compatriot Peters (Tom Forman) should go down for yet another stagecoach holdup. Working with Doc (Harvey Clark), an undercover agent pretending to be the town drunk, Alamo Bowie (Jones) is able to reveal the identity of "Twin Gun," who, not too surprisingly, turns out to be a pillar of society. Caving in, apparently, to the burgeoning popularity of singing westerns, Jones actually hums a few bars of a campfire song, while a bleach-blonde saloon floozy, Mary Carney, performs the ever-popular "La Cucaracha". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A couple of naïve girls get themselves unwittingly involved in the gambling racket in this Poverty Row production directed by the redoubtable Phil Rosen. Runaway Ann Jason (Ann Doran) finds shelter in big, bad New York City with the Traveler's Aid Society, one of those organizations run by bored socialites. The socialite in question is Dorothy Benson (Muriel Evans), the daughter of a state senator (Wallis Clark) who is advocating a bill that would legalize gambling and make the profits taxable. But the senator is murdered by gangster Ben Davis (Noel Madison), who is confident that the blame will fall on racketeer Dan Collins (Sidney Blackmer), the senator's foe. Investigating newspaper reporter Jimmie Dugan (Roger Pryor), meanwhile, would rather go to prison than divulge his sources but changes his mind when Davis kidnaps Ann and Dorothy. Disguised as a hobo, Jimmie locates both the girls and the gangsters and after the inevitable showdown reveals that he is an undercover G-Man. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Drafted into the army during World War I, those muddled misfits Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy make a shambles of Training Camp before being shipped to France. When their best pal Eddie (Donald Dillaway) is killed in battle, Stan and Ollie vow to locate the grandparents of Eddie's orphaned little daughter (Jacquie Lyn). Unfortunately, the grandparents are named Smith--and they live in New York City. With only a city directory and phone book as their guide, Stan and Ollie undergo several chucklesome misadventures as they scour the canyons of Manhattan to find Mr. and Mrs. Smith. With the orphanage officials hot on their heels, the boys take drastic action to raise enough money to get out of town with the little girl. All turns out well when Eddie's grandfather makes an appearance under the least likely circumstances. But before Laurel & Hardy can enjoy their own happy ending, they cross the path of an old enemy from their army days: a knife-wielding chef with blood in his eye. The second of Laurel & Hardy's feature-length films, Pack Up Your Troubles is, so far as we're concerned (and here we part company with most Laurel & Hardy buffs), infinitely more amusing than their first feature effort, 1931's Pardon Us. Best bit: An overtired Laurel, attempting to tell a bedtime story to the little girl, ends up snoozing away as the kid finishes the story. The powerhouse supporting cast includes such Laurel & Hardy regulars as James Finlayson, Billy Gilbert, Rychard Cramer, Charles Middleton and Charlie Hall. George Marshall, the film's director, proves a mirthsome menace in the small role of the vengeful chef. For years available only in its 62-minute reissue form, Pack Up Your Troubles was restored to its full 68-minute glory in the mid-1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tex Ritter, Monogram' low-budget answer to Republic's Gene Autry, got himself a new sidekick in rangy Nelson McDowell in the otherwise dull Roll, Wagons, Roll. Executive producer Edward F. Finney only allowed two songs -- Roll Wagon Wheels, by Dorcas Cochran and Charles Rosoff, and Oh, Suzannah, by Stephen Foster -- and the Western included enough stock footage -- some dating back to the silent era -- that it barely qualified as a new feature film. Ritter and McDowell played army scouts attempting to lead a wagon train safely through hostile territory. The Indians, as it turns out, are under the influence of an evil white fur trader, Coleman (Reed Howes). The wagon master, Grimes (Tom London), who is in cahoots with Coleman, has Ritter and McDowell fired on a trumped-up charge of conspiring with the Indians but the two friends manage to alert the cavalry and the wagon train is saved in the nick of time. Muriel Evans. Ritter's blond leading lady, also appeared in his next film, Westbound Stage (1940). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The 1936 Buck Jones western Silver Spurs was helmed by Jones' favorite director Ray Taylor, whose association with the star dated back to the silent years at Fox Studios. Jones plays Jim Fentriss, a wealthy rancher whose spread is besieged by cattle rustlers. The chief heavy is Art Holden (Robert W. Fraser), but Jim has trouble proving it. After playing a waiting game for five reels, Jim swings into action (at long last!) in reel six. Buck Jones' leading lady, here as elsewhere, is Muriel Evans, who first gained popularity as comedian Charley Chase's vis-a-vis at Hal Roach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Western star Buck Jones essays a dual role in Boss Rider of Gun Creek. In time-honored sagebrush tradition, one of the Bucks is a good guy, the other a villain. The bad Buck commits a murder, but it's the good Buck who ends up facing a hangman's noose. Thus, good Buck impersonates bad Buck in order to bring the actual killer to justice. Leslie Selander's clever direction smooths out all the lumpy plot points. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Wayne goes up against a nasty vice lord in this, his second Western under the new Republic Pictures banner. Hired against his father's wishes to lead a wagon train, John Dawson (Wayne) at first battles then befriends the outlaw Kit (Al Bridge) and his gang, whom he supplies with food. The friendship comes in handy back in Frontier, OK, where Ace Holmes (Warner P. Richmond) has been terrorizing the citizenry in general and John's father, Milt (Sam Flint), in particular. When the latter is killed, John takes on the responsibility of sheriff, deputizes Kit and his men, and together they clean up the town. Filmed at Lone Pine, CA, and using plenty of stock footage from Ken Maynard's silent era The Red Raiders (1927), The New Frontier was directed by editor Carl Pierson. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide