Al Ferguson Movies
Enjoying one of the longest screen careers on record, Irish-born, English-reared Al Ferguson became one of the silent era's busiest Western villains, his wolf-like features instantly recognizable to action fans everywhere. According to the actor himself, Ferguson had entered films with the American company as early as 1910, and by 1912, he was appearing in Selig Westerns under the name of "Smoke" Ferguson, often opposite action heroine Myrtle Steadman. In 1920, Ferguson played Hector Dion's henchman in the partially extant The Lost City, the first of more than 40 serials, silent and sound, in which he would appear. Still reasonably good-looking by the early '20s, Ferguson even attempted to become an action star in his own right, producing, directing, and starring in a handful of low-budget Westerns filmed in Oregon and released to the States' Rights market by Poverty Row mogul J. Charles Davis. None of these potboilers, which included The Fighting Romeo (1925), with Ferguson as a ranch foreman rescuing his employer's kidnapped daughter, made him a star, however, and he returned to ply his nefarious trade in low-budget oaters featuring the likes of Bob Steele and Tom Tyler. Today, Ferguson is perhaps best remembered as the main heavy in two Tarzan serials, Tarzan the Mighty (1928) and Tarzan the Tiger (1929), both starring Frank Merrill. The later survives intact and Ferguson emerges as a melodramatic screen villain at the top of his game.Like most of his contemporaries, including Bud Osborne and the silent era James Mason, Al Ferguson saw his roles decrease in stature after the advent of sound. Not because of his Irish accent, which had become all but undetectable, but mainly due to changing acting styles. Ferguson, however, hung in there and appeared in scores of sound Westerns and serials, not exclusively portraying villains but also playing lawmen, peaceful ranchers, townsmen, and even a Native American or two. By the 1950s, he had included television shows such as Sky King to his long resumé, but B-Westerns and serials remained Ferguson's bread and butter, the now veteran actor appearing in the cast of both Perils of the Wilderness (1956) and Blazing the Overland Trail (1956), the final chapter plays to be released in America. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1937
Supporting actor Scott Kolk was elevated to playing the title role in this Graustarkian spy thriller, serialized in 12 chapters by Universal. Reportedly based on characters created by Dashiell Hammett, the serial featured an American secret agent assigned to recover the crown jewels of Belgravia. Agent X-9 is assisted in his quest by Shara Graustark (Jean Rogers) and opposed by a master criminal known as Blackstone (Henry Brandon). A Universal contract player, Scott Kolk had played Leer, one of the young German soldiers-turned-cannon fodder in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), but stardom had eluded him. A name change to Scott Colton didn't do the trick either, and he left films in 1938. Leading lady Jean Rogers, on the other hand, had played Dale Arden in Flash Gordon (1936) and has become a serial icon. Universal used the title Secret Agent X-9 again in 1945, but with a different setting and plot. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Kolk, Jean Rogers, (more)
- 1937
Superior locations, above-average direction, better than usual lighting and competent acting were the ingredients that made producer Harry Sherman's Hopalong Cassidy vehicles perhaps the finest series of B-Westerns of its time. The fifth in the series, North of the Rio Grande introduced former grip Russell Hayden in the continuing role as young Lucky Jenkins and remains one of the best of the early entries. When Hopalong's brother Buddy is murdered during a train holdup, and it is pronounced an accidental death by the town's kangaroo court, Cassidy (William Boyd) and sidekick Windy (George Hayes) hasten back to Cottonwood Gulch. The former arrives disguised as Wild Bill Dynamite McGrew, a "notorious" train robber, while Windy obtains a job tickling the ivories at the local saloon. Hayes' stint as an Irish-accented bar pianist leads to one of the film's many delights, as veteran silent screen villain Walter Long leads the assembly in a sing-along of Wearing of the Green. Hopalong, meanwhile, robs a train to get the attention of the mysterious Lone Wolf, the master criminal responsible for his brother Buddy's death. Lone Wolf is soon revealed to be leading citizen Henry Stoneham (Stephen Morris alias Morris Ankrum), who in desperation kidnaps Windy and the train. With Hopalong, Lucky, and the posse in hot pursuit, the chase ends with Windy making the unwanted acquaintance of a painful-looking cactus. Saloon Belle Bernadene Hayes, the film's otherwise rather superfluous leading lady, is awarded the closing line: "Funny, all my life, men like Cassidy have been saying goodbye to me." Lee J. Cobb (billed simply as "Lee Cobb") made his screen debut as a railroad president, and Bernadene Hayes' sister Lorraine played Hopalong's grieving sister-in-law. With one "Hayden" and two "Hayes" already in the cast, producer Sherman renamed the actress Lorraine Randall for the occasion. North of the Rio Grande was filmed on locations at Sonora, California, with interiors done at the Grand National studios in Hollywood. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1936
This second film version of the Edna Ferber/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Show Boat is considered by many film buffs to be the best of the three. Covering nearly four decades (was there ever an Edna Ferber novel that didn't?), the film stars Irene Dunne as Magnolia Hawks, a role she'd previously played on stage, though not in the Broadway version. The daughter of showboat impresario Captain Andy (Charles Winninger, who was in the Broadway original), Magnolia is swept off her feet by dashing gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Allan Jones). Yearning to appear on the showboat stage, Magnolia gets her chance when Captain Andy's leading lady, the tragic Julie (Helen Morgan, likewise a holdover from Broadway), is ordered not to perform by a small-town sheriff because she is Mulatto. Julie's husband Steve (Donald Cook) loyally walks out with his wife, thereby leaving the leading-man position open--but not for long, since Gaylord Ravenal agrees to take over for Steve, the better to stay close to Magnolia. Despite the disapproval of Magnolia's mother Parthy Hawks (Helen Westley), Magnolia and Ravenal are married. Later on, the couple has a baby girl named Kim. At first, the young family is blissfully happy, but as Ravenal's gambling debts begin to mount, things turn sour. Unable to support Magnolia and Kim, Ravenal walks out on them both. Desperately, Magnolia tries to get a job as a singer in Chicago. She auditions at a night spot where, fortuitously, Julie is the featured attraction. Hoping to give Magnolia a break, Julie gets drunk, forcing the manager to hire Magnolia as a replacement. During her New Years' Eve debut, Magnolia "chokes up" in front of the raucous audience--and then, who should emerge from the crowd but lovable Captain Andy, who gives Magnolia the encouragement she needs. Magnolia goes on to become a famous musical comedy star, as does her grown-up daughter Kim (played as an adult by Sunnie O'Dea). On the eve of Magnolia's retirement from the theater, she is reunited with her now-contrite husband Gaylord Ravenal. While the second half of Show Boat departs radically from both the novel (in which Ravenal never returns ) and the Broadway show, the film manages to capture the spirit of its literary and theatrical ancestors. Of the original score, "Cotton Blossom," "Ol' Man River," "Where's the Mate for Me?" "Make Believe," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," You are Love" and "Bill" are retained, while most of the other songs are heard as background accompaniment. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II penned three new tunes for the film version: "Ah Still Suits Me," "Gallavantin' Around" and "I Have the Room Above." As in all stage and screen versions of Show Boat, the Charles K. Harris standard "After the Ball" is heard in the New Year sequence. In addition to the aforementioned Dunne, Jones, Winninger, Westley, Morgan, and O'Dea, the Show Boat cast includes the magnificent Paul Robeson as Joe (his rendition of "Ol' Man River" can still induce goosebumps), Hattie McDaniel as Queenie and Sammy White and Queenie Smith as the engagingly second-rate vaudeville team of Frank and Ellie Schultz. Though James Whale of Frankenstein fame seems an odd choice for director, he brings a vibrant theatricality to the proceedings that is lacking in other versions. Show Boat literally saved the financially strapped Universal Pictures from receivership--but not soon enough to prevent the ousters of Carl Laemmle Sr. and Jr. in favor of a new administration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, (more)
In 1936, Universal Pictures created a sensation with Flash Gordon, a 13-part adventure serial based on the popular comic strip of the day about a dare-devil do-gooder in outer space. Flash Gordon: Rocketship is a condensed version of that original serial, compressing the original twelve episodes into an efficient 97 minute feature. Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe) heads into space with brilliant scientist Dr. Zarkoff (Frank Shannon) and his sweetheart Dale Arden (Jean Rogers) in an effort to throw the planet Mongo off course; it is expected to crash into the Earth within a matter of days. However, once Flash and his crew arrive on Mongo, they have to deal with the supremely evil Ming the Merciless (Charles B. Middleton) and his wicked minions; Ming also appears to have a "fate worse than death" in mind for Dale, while Ming's daughter Princess Aura (Priscilla Lawson) has similar designs on Flash. Sharp-eyed film buffs will notice that many of this film's sets, costumes, and musical cues were borrowed from other Universal productions of the period, most notably The Bride of Frankenstein. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Jean Rogers, (more)
- 1936
Between 1934 and 1936, Producer/director Bernard B. Ray ground out 19 westerns starring flinty-eyed Tom Tyler. 1936's Roamin' Wild was neither the best nor worst; if you liked Tyler, you'd like the picture. The title is an apt description of the plot, which roams from one wild fistfight or gun duel to the next, with little rhyme or reason. Tyler upholds his dignity throughout, even when the other actors muff lines and the sound quality wavers between adequate and tin-can-and-a-string. The photography is gorgeous, especially when seen in a good print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Making his debut as Columbia Pictures' new cowboy hero -- replacing, incidentally, the aging Tim McCoy -- handsome Charles Starrett played Johnny Flagg, a roving cowboy who arrives in Oro Grande in the midst of a feud between ranchers and homesteader. Lead by the disreputable Bar Munro (Harry Woods), the ranchers are attempting to scare the settlers off valuable land leased from the government. Lovely Barbara McGrail, meanwhile, suspects Munro of murdering her father and enlists Johnny's help. When Cattlemen's Association foreman Harvey Campbell (Edward le saint) switches sides to support the settlers, Munro has him killed, framing Johnny for the crime.The latter, however, carries proof of his innocence and instead challenges Munro to a shootout. Munro draws but is too slow for Johnny who, victorious, asks for Barbara's hand in marriage. At 6"2' and sporting a white Steson, black shirt and flowing scarf -- a piece of silk reportedly "borrowed" from a nightgown Rita Hayworth had used in a film -- Starrett was an instant hit as a cowboy star and would go on to make an unprecedented 131 Westerns for Columbia, ending his long run with the studio with The Kid from Broken Gun in 1952. Starrett's first leading lady, Joan Perry, later married studio mogul Harry Cohn. Ostensibly based on a story by Peter B. Kyne, The Gallant Defender including two musical numbers -- Blue Skies Above and Covered Wagons -- written and performed by the Western music group The Sons of the Pioneers who, like Starrett, had recently signed with Columbia. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Joan Perry, (more)
- 1935
From small-scale Reliable Pictures, The Laramie Kid starred the strapping Tom Tyler as a cowboy returning home to help his girlfriend (Alberta Vaughn) save her ranch from a ruthless usurper. Promising the girl to blast the town wide open in order to get the necessary funds, Tyler soon finds himself unjustly accused of robbing the local bank. While Tyler is away in prison, Vaughn discovers evidence of his innocence, and rather than have the girl face the real culprit alone, our hero makes a daring escape. Produced and directed by Harry S. Webb, The Laramie Kid is typical of the era's better independently-made horse operas: technically crude but consisting of nary a dull moment. Tyler makes a strapping hero and an august cast that also includes Al Ferguson, Murdock MacQuarrie, George Chesebro and, for comedy purposes, Snub Pollard keep interest alive throughout. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
When he's shipped off to prison on a tax-evasion charge, millionaire Van Dyke (Walter Connolly) breathes a sigh of relief: at least he'll be free of his dizzy, spendthrift wife (Billie Burke) and spoiled-rotten daughter Carol (Joan Bennett). Once behind bars, Van Dyke strikes up a friendship with amiable reformed bootlegger Ricardi (George Raft). Since Ricardi is to be sprung first, Van Dyke suggests that the ex-crook take on the task of "taming" the incorrigible Carol. Unwilling to be stifled by a former jailbird (even a good-looking one), Carol decides to get even by persuading one of Ricardi's former cohorts, a shady character named Tex (Lloyd Nolan) to stage a fake kidnapping. Trouble is, Tex kidnaps the girl for real, obliging Ricardi to race to her rescue -- but only after deliberately breaking every traffic law known to man, so that he'll be pursued by a veritable battalion of motorcycle cops (this hilarious finale was later re-used in the 1941 Buster Keaton two-reeler So You Won't Squawk). A heady blend of screwball comedy and crime melodrama, She Couldn't Take It is one of the fastest and funniest films of 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1935
- NR
John Wayne's easy-going charm truly began to manifest itself in this, one of his later "Lone Star" Westerns for Monogram. Falsely accused of killing the paymaster (Henry Hall) of the Rattlesnake Gulch rodeo, John Scott (Wayne) and his girl-chasing partner Kansas Charlie (Eddy Chandler) trail the real killer, Pete (Al Ferguson), and his unwilling underling Jim (Paul Fix) to Poker City. Jim wants to go straight, but Pete blackmails him into robbing the stagecoach. John and Kansas, who are known in town as Jones and the Reverend Smith, are once again accused of the crime, but Jim helps them escape from jail. When the young bandit refuses to commit bank robbery, Pete shoots him in cold blood. The villain is caught by John and Kansas, whom Jim has cleared of all crimes on his deathbed. Besides one of Wayne's better early performances, The Desert Trail -- whose title bears no close scrutiny -- also benefitted from the presence of Frank Capra-regular Eddy Chandler, a rotund comic actor whose sparring here with Wayne is first-rate all the way. Paul Fix is equally good as the outlaw with a conscience and Mary Kornman, of Our Gang fame, is tolerable as the obligatory heroine. The Desert Trail was directed with easy assurance by the veteran Lewis D. Collins, who for some reason billed himself "Cullin Lewis." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Mary Kornman, (more)
- 1934
His dramatic fall broken by sacks of flour, Dick (Richard Talmadge) once again emerges unharmed and the voyage to the Caribbean island can begin. En route, Dorothy (Lucille Lund) accidentally discovers the group of gang members hiding in the hold of the Lottie Carson. Unaware that he is the secret leader of the gang, she appeals to Stanley Brasset (Walter Miller) for help and he secretly orders his men to take over the ship. A carelessly tossed cigarette starts a fire in the hold and Dick fearlessly enters the ship's cargo room. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Talmadge, Lucille Lund, (more)
- 1934
A potentially good idea -- mixing Western hi-jinks with horror film elements -- was wasted on this impoverished 20 minute "Bud'n Ben" series entry. Bud (Jack Perrin) and Ben (Ben Corbett) are border patrol officers investigating the disappearance of one of their colleagues, Trent (Robert Walker). As it turns out, Trent had stumbled over a scheme by Professor Valeski (Al Ferguson) to smuggle Egyptian mummies across the border from Mexico. Inside the mummy cases, however, are stashed illegal aliens. Trent's wounded horse (Starlight) leads the two investigators to Valeski's hacienda, where Ann Cavanaugh (Marie Quillan) is held prisoner. Bud saves lovely Ann from being wrapped as a mummy and buried alive. His evil schemes now out in the open, Valeski attempts to flee but is caught by Starlight, who kicks him to death. Written by Bennett Cohen, Arizona Nights was the fourth of seven short Westerns starring Corbett and various former silent cowboys. Two-reel Westerns, a stable of the '20s, went out with a whisper with this poverty-stricken series. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Adapted from Alexander Dumas's novel, this adventure is about a trio of Foreign Legion friends who confront the Devil of the Desert. Three Musketeers is the last of actor John Wayne's three serials for Mascot Studios. It was later edited down to just below feature length and released as the 1946 Desert Command. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1932
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
- Starring:
- Rex Lease, Edmund Cobb, (more)
- 1932
Released by Syndicate, a forerunner of sorts to Monogram Pictures, this Western serial stars veteran silent actor Robert Frazer as Jack Logan, the heir to half of a map to a hidden Indian mine. Evil French-accented trader Jean Gregg (Al Ferguson) sends his chief henchman Mack (Charles King) to make life difficult for Logan, who is aided in his quest by the heirs to the other half of the map, Helen (Blanche Mehaffey) and her kid brother Billy (Buzz Barton), and, most importantly, a uniformed mystery man known only as The Mystery Trooper. Produced by Harry S. Webb and one of Hollywood's few women executives, Flora E. Douglas, The Mystery Trooper has, somewhat unfairly, gone down in history as one of the worst serials made in the sound era. The surviving print is a 1938 reissue, retitled Trail of the Royal Mounted and complete with new, and more colorful, chapter titles. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanche Mehaffey, Buzz Barton, (more)
The second of two projected John Wayne serials produced by genre expert Mascot Pictures, this film used the budget-saving device of having its master criminal wearing variously fiendish rubber masks, offering him the opportunity to resemble every red herring in the large cast. Known only as "The Wrecker" ("That's him, The Wrecker!" people continuously scream throughout the serial), the villain is attempting to sabotage the L. & R. Railroad in order to bolster a competing airline service. Wayne plays a commercial pilot whose father, the railroad's chief engineer (J. Farrell MacDonald), is murdered early on. Shirley Grey, as the daughter of a railroad man falsely accused of sabotage, is the damsel-in-distress (although, despite some poster art, she is never actually tied to the tracks), and Tully Marshall plays the president of the railroad. As Wayne had no drawing power whatsoever in 1932, Marshall, a veteran from the early silent era, was actually given star billing along with Conway Tearle, who portrayed the little seen company lawyer. The Hurricane Express survives in a truncated 70-minute feature version, a screening of which actually feels like watching an entire serial in one sitting. The serial was co-directed by J.P. McGowan, a veteran actor-director who had begun his long love affair with railroad themes directing his then-wife Helen Holmes in The Hazards of Helen (1915). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Red Fork Range stars Wally Wales, who enjoyed a lengthy starring career in "B"-westerns before entering the character-actor ranks under the moniker of Hal Taliaferro. The star plays Wally Hamilton, virtually the only "good guy" in the aptly named community of Hangtown. After winning a stagecoach race, Wally makes short work of a band of marauding Indians, then rescues heroine Ruth Farrel (played by Tom Mix's daughter Ruth) from the clutches of the evil Black Bard (Al Ferguson). Saving the film from wallowing in a morass of cliches is the winning performance by Wally Wales, who invests his stock character with a refreshing sense of humor. Featured in the cast is ace stuntman Cliff Lyons, who undoubtedly had a hand in staging the film's Grade-A action sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wally Wales, Ruth Mix, (more)
- 1931
In his first Western for Columbia, Tim McCoy played one of his favorite characters, the reformed professional gambler. Returning home to visit with brother Terry (Carroll Nye), Tim Allen (McCoy) finds Terry mortally wounded by a man he identifies as the supposedly honest gambler George Beck (Charles "Slim" Whitaker). At the Lone Star Saloon, owner Coldeye Carnell (Al Ferguson) offers him a dealer position, which he declines. He does, however, accept a job from George Beck, his brother's presumed killer, whose daughter, Helen (Doris Hill), he earlier rescued from a gang of potential muggers. As it turns out, Terry's killer is not Beck, but Coldeye who had assumed his rival's identity in order to ruin him. Beck forgives Tim for his suspicions and the reformed gambler in turn asks for Helen's hand in marriage. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Doris Hill, (more)
- 1931
King, the clever pooch publicized as "Emperor of All Dogs" (played by Muro), starred in this very low-budget serial produced by Harry S. Webb's Metropolitan Pictures. Muro had earlier appeared in Webb's Untamed Justice and Phantoms of the North, both cheap action features, but in The Sign of the Wolf you could at least hear him bark. The serial, whose human stars were Rex Lease and Virginia Brown Faire, silent actors who had seen better days, concerned an invention that could turn sand into precious jewels. The device is stolen in the Himalayas by an explorer (Harry Todd) who, during his escape through the jungle, picks up a little dog sacred to the Native population. Years later, in the American Southwest, the explorer, his daughter (Faire), and King find themselves besieged by villains (including the always despicable Al Ferguson) out to get their hands on the wondrous device. Ranchers Tom (Lease) and Bud (Joe Bonomo) come to the assistance of the embattled explorer, whose enemies are finally disarmed in the tenth and final chapter, "The Lost Secret." In an attempt to squeeze every dollar possible out of The Sign of the Wold, Webb and co-producer Flora E. Douglas re-edited and released the serial as a 61 minute feature entitled The Lone Trail. Much of the footage was used a second time in 1936, for the serial Skull and Crown, this time starring Rin Tin Tin, Jr. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1930
Bob Steele's talkie debut was the usual story of cattlemen versus sheepmen. Steele, the son of a cattle rancher, naturally belongs to the former group and is soon falsely accused of murdering an old sheepherder. The dead man, alas, is the father of Steele's girlfriend (Louise Lorraine) and the young cowboy is desperate to prove his innocence. While Bob Steele's career continued to rise in talkies, Louise Lorraine, the widow of silent Western star Art Acord, retired following this film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1929
Popular western star Ken Maynard crooned a couple of prairie tunes in this his first (part-)talkie, making Ken the screen's first singing cowboy. He plays a guide hired to escort a group of miners to a presumably prosperous site. Along the way, the group is accosted by a whip-toting villain (veteran bad man Tom Santschi), but Maynard is ready with both vocal chords (although his off-key warbling is no help) and walloping fists. Like most major studios, First National soon curtailed their western division in favor of stage-bound society melodramas, and Maynard had to fend for himself on poverty row. He prevailed and enjoyed a career that lasted through the mid-1940s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Edith Roberts, (more)
- 1929
Stunt-man Cliff Lyons (billed as "Tex Lyons") starred in a series of ultra low-budget silent westerns produced and directed by Benjamin F. Wilson. In The Saddle King, perhaps the best known entry in the series, Lyons played a deputy sheriff searching for the villain (Al Ferguson) who murdered his brother (Glen Cook). Produced by Gower Gulch entrepreneur Morris R. Schlank, this minor western effort also featured Neva Gerber as the villain's innocent sister and Jack Casey as the sheriff. Cheyenne Bill (real name: William McKechnie), who starred in another Schlank series, played a henchman this time around. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Ferguson, Neva Gerber, (more)
- 1929
The era's greatest western star Tom Mix had left his safe berth with the Fox company by 1929 and was struggling on poverty row. In this his third film for FBO (Film Booking Office), Mix plays Tom Manning, a cowboy framed for murder and bank robbery by bandit leader Ethan Laidlaw. As always, justice prevails, but Mix has to make a daring escape from jail to right the wrongs done to him. The leading lady, Sally Blane, was the sister of Loretta Young. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Blane, Albert J. Smith, (more)
- 1929
Having made his directorial debut with 1928's The Price of Fear, former screenwriter Leigh Jason turned director full-time with 1929's Wolves of the City. A priceless artifact is stolen, and the thieves demand $150,000 ransom. Heroine Sally Blane tries to retrieve the valuable curio on her own, only to get kidnapped for her troubles. It is up to hero Bill Cody (making one of his few non-western appearances) to sneak into the villain's lair and save the girl. The scenes in which Cody takes on 20 bad guys single-handedly were good for a few laughs in the more sophisticated movie houses, but audiences in the hinterlands loved this sort of outsized derring-do. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Cody, Sally Blane, (more)
- 1929
In one of his final silent Westerns for Universal, also-ran cowboy star Ted Wells played Ted Wayne, a smiling daredevil cowboy rescuing lovely Mabel Johnson (Derelys Perdue) and her prospector father (Clark Comstock) from a raging bull. Despite Ted's warnings, old man Johnson buys a supposedly worthless mine from unscrupulous Hank Sims (Al Ferguson). Naturally, the mine proves to contain a hidden ore and suddenly Ted is forced to protect the new owner from the old. Assembly-line filmmaking typical of Universal in the 1920s, The Smiling Terror was directed by one of studio owner Carl Laemmle's many relatives, Joseph Levigard. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Wells
- 1929
The third western released by poverty row company Syndicate Film Exchange, this film starred the strapping Tom Tyler in the title role. Tyler's Jack Carter arrives at the Watkins ranch just in time to save Dad Watkins and his large brood from a gang of swindlers. Watkins, Jr. (Kip Cooper), meanwhile, is attracted to the outlaws' lifestyle, but Tyler sets a fine example for the youngster who eventually helps the hero defeat the gang and save sister Natalie Joyce from a fate worse than death in the hands of nefarious Al Ferguson. Syndicate westerns were made on location in dusty California hamlets, eschewing expensive exteriors while relying on a stock company of veteran performers who might not have earned any acting awards but at least looked authentic. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Joyce
