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
- 1929
Trapped in a noose rigged by the unscrupulous Werper (Al Ferguson), Tarzan (Frank Merrill) is awarded another blow to his head. After literally throwing Werper and his henchman out the door of his childhood home, our hero, who still suffers from partial amnesia, tries to remember where he had first encountered Werper. Jane (Natalie Kingston) does her best to refresh his memory, but Tarzan remains rather vague. "Your words bring faint memories -- but they are gone in a flash," he admits. Returning to Opar, where Tarzan hopes to remember past glories, the couple is about to be attacked by a ferocious lion. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1929
Ted Wells was nearing the end of his days as a Universal cowboy star when he made Grit Wins, in which he prevents the villainous Al Ferguson from swindling kindly old Buck Connors out of home and hearth. The handsome Wells was a mediocre actor at best and never able to overcome a certain air of also-ran status. He briefly found a new berth with poverty-row producer Robert J. Horner, who changed Wells' name to first Pawnee Bill, Jr. then Johno Wells. The Horner westerns were made with almost no budgets at all and ended Wells' starring aspirations for good. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Ferguson, Ted Wells, (more)
- 1929
The surly but magnificent Rex the Wonder Horse was top-billed in Universal's Hoofbeats of Vengeance. As had been the case in several previous actioners, Rex is "teamed" with human star Jack Perrin, here cast as Canadian Mountie Jack Gordon. Together, horse and man prove that an "honest" politician named Tom O'Rourke (Edwards Davis) is Graft Personified. They also rescue winsome heroine Sally Drennan (Mildred June) from a raging tenement fire. Combining several popular movie genres, Hoofbeats of Vengeance isn't always credible, but it sure is a lot of fun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Perrin, Helen Foster, (more)
In the opener of Universal's 15-chapter serial Tarzan the Tiger, Tarzan, aka Lord Greystoke (Frank Merrill), returns to Africa with his bride, Lady Jane (Natalie Kingston), hoping to locate the famous Jewels of Opar and thus save the Greystoke estate in England. At their plantation, the noble couple is entertaining seemingly friendly scientist Albert Werper (Al Ferguson) who, unbeknownst to the Greystokes, is in reality a greedy soldier of fortune. To Werper, Tarzan explains how he, years ago, rescued Lady Jane from La (Mme. Kithnou), the jealous Queen of Opar. "Have you no pity for me -- a woman like yourself," a tied-up Jane had pleaded, but to no avail. Happily, Tarzan had arrived with not a second to spare to rescue Jane from certain death. Now, and despite Jane's misgivings, the Englishman is planning to return to Opar. Werper, meanwhile, conspires with Tarzan's enemy, slave trader Achmet Zek (Sheldon Lewis), to sell Lady Jane to the highest bidder. The following night, while Tarzan is fighting the ferocious lion Numa, Zek and his band of Nomads kidnap a prostrate Jane. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1928
The prolific Adele Buffington supplied the story for this above-average Tom Tyler silent western. Buffington didn't open any new doors with her story of two disparate people inheriting a ranch, but the strapping Tyler was one of the better actors in westerns at the time, and little Frankie Darro made a pleasant sidekick. Tyler and Florence Allen, an Eastern snob, are the protagonists who inherit the ranch. They don't get along at first -- she invites her retinue of Eastern society friends, none of whom he can tolerate -- but they nevertheless join forces when it appears that the previous owner was murdered. Among the suspects in the murder case are crooked ranch foreman Al Ferguson, the sheriff (Bob Fleming), and wealthy playboy Arthur Thalasso. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Florence Allen, Frankie Darro, (more)
- 1928
For some reason, this potentially very interesting silent Western from FBO remains the most obscure of the poverty row studios' Tom Tyler series. Living alone on their mountain, Lucille (Jane Reid) and her kid brother Buddy (Frankie Darro) suddenly receive threatening letters and are even visited by a ghostly apparition or two. With no one to turn to, little Buddy writes his favorite cowboy star, Tom Tyler, who immediately leaves the safe confines of FBO to come and investigate. Once on the mountain, Tom quickly discovers that a gang of thieves are attempting to drive Lucille and Buddy off their property in order to get their grubby hands on a hidden treasure. Tom heroically catches the outlaws and promises to bring the two kids with him to Hollywood. Also released as Terror, this Tyler Western should not be confused with the Warner Bros mystery melodrama The Terror, released that same year. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tyler, Frankie Darro, (more)
- 1928
Rex the Wonder Horse gets some screen competition in the form of Jack Perrin's magnificent white steed Starlight in Guardians of the West. Most of the film's heroics are handled by Perrin, who rescues heroine Ethyline Clair from the mortgage-holding villains. He also saves the girl from a raging forest fire (which looks like the real thing). On several occasions, however, it is Rex who precipitates Perrin's derring-do by tipping off the human hero about the perils facing the helpless Clair. Legend has it that Rex was one of the meanest horses ever to draw breath, but no one could deny that he was a magnificent screen presence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Perrin, Starlight the Horse, (more)
- 1927
Cowboy Arthur Weston (Dick Hatton) sulkily observes his girlfriend Mary Osbourn (Elsa Benham) doing the Charleston with smooth city-slicker Stephen Stanton (Robert Walker). The latter is in reality the leader of a gang of cattle rustlers, a fact the stubborn Mary refuses to believe. It takes the combined efforts of Weston and marshal Harry Beal (George Kesterson) to bring the villain and his gang to justice. Kesterson, who later acted under the name Art Mix, tracks down Stanton's henchmen (Al Ferguson and Cliff Lyons from an airplane, a rather spectacular climax to an otherwise extremely low-budget silent western. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1927
Producer-director Ben Wilson starred opposite his frequent screen partner, Neva Gerber, in this cheaply made silent western. Wilson's Sonora Shannon, the Range Rider of the title, serves justice on the outlaws who killed a young boy. Interestingly, film editor Earl C. Turner not only also contributed the titles to this film, but also played the role of the ranger captain. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
A James Oliver Curwood story was the source for this rugged Canadian Mountie melodrama. Alan Roscoe plays Sgt. Steve Drew, the "lone rider" of the Mounties, at present on the prowl for illegal wolf trappers. Before he's able to get his man, Sgt. Steve spends a lot of time in the company of two women: Helen Ainsworth (Mildred Harris), the wife of the chief suspect, and Minnetaki (Virginia Brown Faire), an Indian maiden. Eventually, the villain is rounded up, and the hero is matched with the "proper" heroine. Wolf Hunters was produced by former serial star Ben Wilson and released through Rayart, one of the precursors of Monogram Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Roscoe, Virginia Brown Faire, (more)
- 1926
The familiar silent-screen serial team of Ben Wilson and Neva Gerber starred in this inexpensive western potboiler which Wilson also directed. After saving Gerber from certain death, Wilson not only pays her weakling brother's (Ashton Dearholt) gambling debts but stands nobly by when she takes off with a handsome stranger from New York (Hal Walters). In a welcome change of pace, handsome stunt performer and veteran villain Cliff Lyons played the sheriff this time. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Silent serial star Ben Wilson was the penny-pinching producer of the 1926 feature Captain's Courage. Set in the North Woods, the well-photographed film involves a violent dispute over possession of an island somewhere in Lake Michigan. The script is allegedly based on a story by James Oliver Curwood, a "magic" name at the box office back in the 1920s (he was to "northerns" what Zane Grey was to westerns). The leading lady is Dorothy Dwan, the wife of comedian Larry Semon. Captain's Courage comes to life during the action sequences, then grinds to a halt whenever anyone is required to act. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Henderson, Richard Holt, (more)
- 1926
Produced and directed by poverty row maven Benjamin F. Wilson (the "F" stood for Franklin!), this minor silent Western featured stunt-rider Yakima Canutt as a cowpoke hired by an obsessed rancher (Leonard Trainor) to catch and tame a wild mustang. Canutt's equine co-star was Boy the Wonder Horse while Wilson associate Neva Gerber supplied the obligatory romantic interest as the rancher's daughter. There were a couple of villains as well, of course, and both Al Ferguson and Bud Osborne, fine stunt-riders in their own right, made the most of their stereotypical assignments. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yakima Canutt, Neva Gerber, (more)
- 1925
This minor silent western was one in a series of inexpensive oaters produced by J.J. Fleming on location in Oregon. Al Ferguson, who also directed, starred opposite Lucille Du Bois, Frank Granville, and Yvonne Pavis. The Fleming series was distributed by Gower Gulch entrepreneur J. Charles Davis. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1925
Although Al Ferguson had a face that was a natural for villains, he plays the hero in this routine Western, which he also directed. Rustlers are stealing cattle from Paradise Ranch, which is owned by Helen McMasters (Elaine Eastman). Dave Matthews, her foreman (Ferguson), believes that Buck Connors (Paul Emery) is the leader of the gang, but is having trouble finding evidence. When he goes East with a cattle shipment, he becomes involved in the troublesome affairs of Jim Warner. As a favor to Jim's father (George Routh), he brings the young man West. Jim, a complete tenderfoot, attempts to impress Helen with his machismo, but runs in the opposite direction when faced with Connors. Helen discovers a thief branding one of her steer, and she is captured. Both Jim and Matthews go to her rescue. Jim has to drum up the courage to save the day when Matthews is ambushed by Connors and his men. He rescues both Matthews and Helen and forces the bad guys to surrender, all with an unloaded gun. Because of his bravery, Jim becomes foreman of Paradise Ranch -- the position is vacated when Matthews weds Helen. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1917
William Russell, one of the best of the Douglas Fairbanks wannabes of the silent era, stars in Frame-Up. Russell plays a wealthy young sprout who falls in love with the daughter (Francella Billington) of a taxicab company owner. Travelling under an alias, Russell becomes a cabbie so he can become acquainted with the girl. Our hero ends up rescuing his beloved's dad when he is framed for a crime by a rival cab concern. An outsized brawl between Russell and the crooks tops off this breezy 5-reeler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
