Karl Hackett Movies

Fans of William "Wild Bill" Elliot vastly prefer his B westerns to his big-budget Republic "specials", though the latter films have their adherents. In The Fabulous Texan, Elliot emulates his idol William S. Hart in the role of ex-Confederate officer Jim McWade. Returning to Texas to find his home turf under the jurisdiction of corrupt, despotic carpetbaggers, McWade shoots it out with the authorities after his father is slain. Forced to flee to the mountains with his war buddy John Wesley Barker (John Carroll), McWade vows revenge on those bluecoated thugs who've ravaged his beloved Texas. Eventually, McWade realizes that he'd be better off cooperating with the Federal government to rid his state of its plunderers, but Barker comes to enjoy the life of an outlaw, and refuses to surrender his independence. Thus it comes to pass that McWade is obliged to hunt down his old friend, thereby restoring Law and Order to Texas. Catherine McLeod costars as Alice Sharp, the woman who will become McWade's wife-- and, in old age, the torchbearer of his memory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This western follows Billy the Kid on another shoot-em-up adventure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Sidekick Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John) finds himself in deep trouble with the law in this above-average entry in PRC's Billy Carson series starring Larry "Buster" Crabbe. Angered by Fuzzy's refusal to sell him his water rights, nasty Jim McAllister (Steve Terrell) has the grizzled old-timer framed in the killing of one of his henchmen, Slade (George Chesebro). But Slade is still very much alive and Fuzzy's reluctant mail-order bride, Mathilda Boggs (Patricia Knox), grabs a chance to come out ahead by joining McAllister. Fortunately, Fuzzy's friend and partner Billy Carson (Crabbe) is on to the shenanigans and Jones escapes both the hangman and the grasping Miss Boggs. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Stagecoach thieves are stalked by Wells Fargo agent Grant who wants to bring them to justice. ~ All Movie Guide

When a local banker is killed in the West, G-man Kirby Grant and partner Fuzzy Knight investigate and uncover an insurance scam. ~ All Movie Guide

Larry "Buster" Crabbe and Al St. John -- "Our Old Pals," as they were billed -- get in trouble with a murderous Charles King in this typical "Billy Carson" Western from Poverty Row company PRC. Billy and railroad agent Dave Hanley (Karl Hackett) are discussing plans to run the new railroad through Red Rock, but their discussion is overheard by crooked hotel operator Steve Landreau (King), who unbeknownst to Billy kills Hanley for a map of the proposed line. In Red Rock, Billy discovers that Steve opportunistically has bought the local saloon, which he is planning to turn into a gambling den. Jealous of Billy's growing friendship with pretty Babs Darcy (Donna Dax), rancher Clay Kincaid (Edward Hall) becomes beholden to Steve, who wants his valuable land before news of the planned railroad arrives. Billy, who is suspicious of both Steve and Clay, confronts the latter in the saloon. In the ensuing gunfight, Steve and his men are apprehended. Clay repents, and Fuzzy (St. John) later officiates at his wedding to Babs. Busy B-Western heroine Lorraine Miller was cast as the leading lady in this film but was replaced in the last minute by Donna Dax, whom PRC borrowed from Columbia Pictures' large stable of starlets. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

It's Buster Crabbe times two in this low-budget "Billy Carson" Western from PRC, which once again trots out that anatomical impossibility: identical cousins. The bad cousin, Jim, heads a gang of cattle rustlers that has just killed both the local sheriff and his deputies. The only one left standing is amiable diner owner Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John), who is promptly elected new sheriff. Enter Billy Carson, Jim's right-thinking relative, and the bad guys may as well pack it in, outnumbered as they are by an army of one. In a break from the fighting and shooting, Tex Williams and a hillbilly aggregation perform "It's Over and So Goodbye" by Lew Porter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The penultimate entry in the Texas Rangers lineup, PRC's super-low-budget rival to Republic Pictures' Three Mesqueteers series, Frontier Fugitives once again stars Tex Ritter, Dave O'Brien, and Guy Wilkerson. This time, the trio are on to a gang that preys on both traders and Indians. Trailing the main suspect in the killing of Trader Williams (George Morrell), Tex is accused by a fake Indian agent (Jack Ingram) of murdering a brave. The latter, however, proves to be merely another member of the gang in disguise but before he can clear his good name, Tex has to get himself out of jail. When not battling crooked Indian agents and comic opera braves, Ritter performs Al Dexter's "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry" and "I'll Wait for You, Dear." The Western was filmed on location at Chatsworth, CA. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Serial killers are on the loose in this "Lone Rider" entry from PRC reportedly based on the exploits of a real-life 1870s roadhouse operator. A couple of crooks, Ben Gowdey (Ray Bennett) and Grogan (I. Stanford Jolley) have repeatedly sold the Circle C Ranch to unsuspecting buyers, whom they summarily rob and kill before signing the papers. Enter Fuzzy Jones (Al St. John), whose cousin Luke was one of the unlucky would-be ranchers, and Rocky Cameron, alias "The Lone Rider," who goes undercover as a fellow outlaw to catch the murderers. In other words: the usual. Busy B-Western heroine Joan Barclay was for unknown reasons billed Nica Doret for this film only. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

No, the "Pinto Bandit" doesn't go around stealing beans. This is another of PRC's "Texas Rangers" series, starring Dave O'Brien and Jim Newell. This time, the Rangers' principal foe is a masked desperado. Evidently, the villain's main purpose in life is to disrupt the mail service between two frontier communities. With O'Brien and Newell on the job, rest assured that the settlers will get their bills and circulars on time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In their third and final "Trail Blazers" Western together, Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele witness what appears to be a gang of Indians raiding a stagecoach. Investigating, the three lawmen discover that the attackers are actually white bandits dressed as Indians and that their leader is one Polini (Ian Keith), a gangster smuggling diamonds in the axle grease of the stagecoach wheels. Aided by young Donny Davis (Don Stewart) and pert Ruth Hampton (Myrna Dell), the "Trail Blazers" survive several clashes with death -- including being trapped inside a cave -- before Polini and his cohort, Banker Steve Lynch (Karl Hackett), are apprehended. In only her second Western, blonde heroine Myrna Dell was not exactly in awe of her veteran leading men who, as she later recalled were "old enough to be my grandfather!" Maynard, in fact, had come to the end of his long starring career. Unable to get along with his more athletic co-star Bob Steele, the often cantankerous left the series and only returned to films in rare cameo appearances. His place in the final two "Trail Blazers" Westerns was taken by Chief Thundercloud. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Filmed at Corriganville, actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan's movie ranch in Simi Valley, Sonora Stagecoach was the last of Monogram's eight ramshackle "Trail Blazers" Western. The series had already suffered the loss of veteran star Ken Maynard -- who had become too difficult and costly -- and both Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele were nearing the end of their starring careers. This time, the "Trail Blazers," Gibson, Steele and Maynard's odd replacement, Chief Thundercloud), are escorting prisoner Rocky Camron (aka Gene Alsace) to trial in Sonora. Sheriff Hampton (Henry Hall) warns the three marshals that a gang of outlaws may attempt to assassinate Camron, whom the sheriff believes to be innocent. And sure enough, Blackie Reed (Charles King) and his gang do their best to get to the prisoner, who is given a gun in order to defend himself. Rocky, as it appears, was framed for the murder of two deputies, a deed actually committed by Blackie on behalf of stagecoach office manager Paul Kenton (Glenn Strange) and his banker brother, Joe (Karl Hackett). With the help of Betty Miles), Rocky's girlfriend and Weasel (Charles Murray, Jr.), a henchman turned state's evidence, the "Trail Blazers" clear Rocky of all charges and arrest both Blackie and his backers. Gibson and Steele went on to appear together in three additional Monogram Westerns -- Marked Trails, Trigger Law and Utah Kid (all 1944) -- but although they are often designated as "Trail Blazers" Westerns today, they were never produced or advertised as such. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Being in the presence of a gun-slinger is intimidating enough, but when a "thundering" gun-slinger comes riding over the horizon, it's time to make out the will and pick the coffin. Buster Crabbe plays Billy Carson, aka Billy the Kid, while Al St. John is his grizzled sidekick Fuzzy Q. Jones. The nephew of a cattle rancher framed for murder, Billy strives to clear his uncle's name and learn the identity of the genuine culprit. Meanwhile he falls in love with Bab Halliday (Frances Gladwin), daughter of another framed cattleman. Al St. John's extended comedy routines are accompanied by a stock musical score that would still be in use in made-for-TV cartoons well into the 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide