Karl Hackett Movies
With his penetrating eyes, trademark pencil-thin mustache, and stocky build, Missouri-born Karl Hackett appeared in scores of low-budget Westerns from 1935 to 1948, usually playing characters with untrustworthy names like Wolf Hines (Colorado Kid [1937]), Slaughter (Utah Trail [1938]), or Three-Fingers Rogel (Where the Buffalo Roam [1938]). Once in a while he wore a badge (The Lion's Den [1936], Wild Horse Rustler [1943]), but was still highly suspicious. On his few excursions away from the range, Hackett played thugs in the 1939 serials The Green Hornet and its sequel The Green Hornet Strikes Again (1940) and was Councillor Krenko in Buck Rogers (1940). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi- 1944
In this western, a crusty old sourdough finally finds the silver mine of his dreams only to find his mine threatened by vicious outlaws. Fortunately, a cowboy hero rides up to save him, but not until considerable rootin' tootin' action. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1940
In the sixth of eight Renfrew of the Royal Mounted "Northwesterns," mounties Renfrew (James Newill) and Kelly (Dave O'Brien) come across the body of a murdered prospector, Jim Smithers (Budd Buster). The dead man's cabin has been tossed, it turns out, and when his alcoholic brother (Al St. John) is found dead as well -- a none too convincing suicide -- Renfrew begins to suspect that the deaths may be connected to a counterfeit ring operating from a general store on the Yukon. In addition to Betty Laidlaw and Robert Lively's signature tune "Mounted Men," James Newill performs Vick Knight, Johnny Lange, and Lew Porter's "Ah, Here's Romance" and "Down the Yukon Trail." Murder on the Yukon was based on characters created in 1931 by Laurie York Erskine. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Newill, Polly Ann Young, (more)
- 1946
In this western, Billy Carson must help out his bumbling side kick after he involves himself in a land scam. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1941
In this western, the Three Mesquisteers face down angry Indians and outlaws while fighting to save the life of am abducted young woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1941
PRC's Outlaws of the Rio Grande stars Tim McCoy in his traditional role of a US marshal. Operating around the Mexican border, McCoy is galvanized into action when his best pal is killed by a gang of counterfeiters. Going undercover, our hero heads after the gang into Mexico, intending to unmask the mysterious leader. Heroine Rita (played by band vocalist Virginia Carpenter) is forced by the crooks to lure McCoy into a trap, but the audience never doubts for a moment that Colonel Tim will prevail. Among the heavies is the inescapable Charles King, here cast not in his traditional role of "Blackie" but as "Trigger". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Virginia Carpenter, (more)
Paroled-to Die was one of Bob Steele's best starring westerns for producer A. W. Hackel. Wasting precious little time with plot or dialogue, the film gets down to business with a two-fisted opening action sequence. Thereafter, the thrills never let up, as hero Doug Redfern (Steele) tries to clear himself of a murder rap, orchestrated by crooked politico Harvey Meline (Karl Hackett). Offering aid and comfort to our hero are government agent Lucky Gosden (Horace Murphy) and heroine Joan Blackman (Kathleen Elliot). Originally slated for released through Hackel's own Spectrum pictures, Paroled-to Die was eventually distributed by Republic. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Karl Hackett, (more)
- 1942
In this murder mystery, a re-working of The Sphinx, a distract attorney is determined to prove that the community's most respected member, a deaf-mute philanthropist, is a cold-blooded killer. When the prominent fellow is acquitted, the disgusted DA quits his job and begins investigating the murder himself. His investigation takes an unexpected turn when he learns the truth about the killing--the suspect is both guilty and not guilty. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, (more)
Phantom Ranger was the last of a quartet of Tim McCoy westerns produced by Maurice Conn for Monogram release. The star is cast as federal agent Tim Hayes, assigned to round up a counterfeiting gang. The audience knows way ahead of time that McCoy will pose as an outlaw to gain the villain's confidence; funny that the villains never seemed to figure this out until the last reel. This time around, our hero must face down an unusually formidable line-up of thugs and pluguglies, including Charles King, John Merton and frog-faced Rychard Cramer. Happily, he also gets to romance the lovely Suzanne Kaaren. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Suzanne Kaaren, (more)
- 1942
In one of his better early Westerns, Tim Holt, as Deputy Marshal Larry Durant, is sent to Spencerville where a gang of vigilantes has been terrorizing the citizenry. Going undercover as a gunsmith, Larry quickly learns that the leader of the vigilantes, John Spencer (John Elliott), is an honest man who only seeks to establish law and order. The real brains behind the crimes, meanwhile, are revealed to be Spencer's brother-in-law, Lou Harmon (Roy Barcroft), and his chief henchman, Leighton (Charles King), who speculate in the coming of the railroad by forcing the townspeople to relinquish their land. When Harmon learns from innocent tattle-tale Ike (Cliff Edwards) that the railroad will be bypassing Spencerville in favor of neighboring East Spencerville, the vigilantes shift their operations to that community. Spencer is killed by Leighton in the ensuing melee but with the assistance of the East Spencerville townspeople, Larry manages to trap Harmon and his gang in the local saloon. When not making life difficult for Tim Holt, comedy relief Cliff Edwards performs "Grandpap" and "Where the Mountain Meets the Sunset," both by Fred Rose and Ray Whitley. Pirates of the Prairie was a remake of Legion of the Lawless, a '40s Western starring Tim Holt's predecessor at RKO, George O'Brien. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1942
In this western, two deputies go undercover to save a scientist from his evil kidnappers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1945
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Evelyn Finley, (more)
- 1941
An average Tim Holt oater from RKO, Riding the Wind is set in the New Mexico desert where the ranchers are at the mercy of nasty Henry Dodge (Eddie Dew), the owner of the Dodge Land and Water Company. Ranchers Clay Stewart (Holt) and Burt Macleod (Earle Hodgins) at first hire lawyer Jackson (Larry Steers) to take care of things legally but the case is stalled in court. In the meantime, the hot-tempered MacLeod suggests dynamiting Dodge's dam, whereas Stewart proposes that the ranchers dig wells and install windmills designed by Ezra Westfall (Charles Phipps). Dodge and his men seek to sabotage these endeavors but Clay and his sidekicks Smokey (Ray Whitley) and Whopper (Lee "Lasses" White) get the last laugh. With Dodge in jail for bribing a judge, Clay, Eza and Ezra's pretty daughter Joan (Mary Douglas) ride on to build more windmills. Heroine Mary Douglas was in reality veteran B-Western leading lady Joan Barclay, a pretty redhead who had begun her career with yet another moniker, Geraine Grear). Miss Barclay was only "Mary Douglas" in this one film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim Holt, Ray Whitley, (more)
Filmed after the star and his producer already had signed a new deal with rival company Monogram, this Grand National Tex Ritter Western slashed the usual parsimonious budget even further by recycling the entire final reel of Ritter's previous Sing, Cowboy, Sing. Filmed back-to-back with Utah Trail, Ritter's final Grand National Western, Rollin' Plains once again burdened the star with perhaps the worst comic sidekicks available at the time, Horace Murphy and Snub Pollard, the latter still sporting the paint-on mustache he had used since the silent days at Keystone. The three played rangers coming to the assistance of Gospel Moody (silent screen star Hobart Bosworth), a cattle rancher in trouble with an ornery sheepman, Trigger Gargan (Charles King). Soon, Gospel is accused of killing old Hank Tomlin (Horace B. Carpenter), an act actually committed by his half-brother Cain (Ernie S. Adams). With Tex's help, Moody stages his own "death," only to come back as a "ghost." Accompanied by a group calling themselves The Beverly Hill Billies, Ritter performed Rollin' Plains by Whitcup, Samuels and Powell, Me, My Pal and My Pony by Frank Harford, and Rock of Ages by Augustus Montague Toplady and Thomas Hastings. Hank Worden, a friend of Ritter's from his days on Broadway, appeared in a bit part, still billed under his real name, Heber Snow. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Horace Murphy, (more)
- 1942
In this contemporary western, clever cattle rustlers use shortwave radios to harvest lost doggies. Two brave heroes get government assistance to solve the case and soon discover the location of the troublesome transmitter. The heroes then sing a song over the shortwave to inform the government of the transmitter's location. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1937
Gene Autry and his sidekick, Smiley Burnette, are suspected of cattle rustling in this action-packed Republic Pictures Western directed by former actor Mack V. Wright. Actually, Gene and Frog (Burnette) had been chasing a couple of real cattle rustlers, Apache Kid (Max Hoffman Jr.) and Black Jim (Charles King), when they discovered the bodies of two lawmen. Realizing that the rustlers killed their pursuers, our heroes get the bright idea of masquerading in the apparel left by the outlaws. Heading for the border, things get even more complicated, but Gene and his pal manage to stay alive and catch the secret leader of the gang, Joe Stafford (Monte Blue), the supposed upstanding head of the cattlemen's association. When they're not chasing down rustlers, Autry, Burnette, and Al Clauser and his Oklahoma Outlaws perform "The Old Home Place," "Mexicali Rose," and the title tune, all by Sol Meyer, Jule Styne, and Raoul Kraushaar. Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm was partially filmed on-location in Lone Pine, CA, where the production took advantage of a terrific real-life storm. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1943
A young buckaroo gallops off after the conniving crooks who framed his bank president daddy for embezzlement. Plenty of western action ensues until justice prevails and the ornery varmints are jailed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1945
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, Rovi
Singing cowboy Tex Ritter once again battled the ornery Charles King in this average music Western from poverty row company Grand National. The usually so jovial Robert McKenzie joined King this time, playing mean Judge Roy Dean and conspiring to take over the Summer's Freight Line. Passing cowboys Tex Archer (Ritter, who warbles the title-tune and his own Goodbye Old Paint) and Duke Evans (Al St. John) happen upon the dead body of George Summers (Jack C. Smith) and decide to take up the fight against the crooked judge. They are briefly jailed but escape in time to save Madge Summers (Louise Stanley) and bring the villains to justice. A big fan of silent slapstick comics, Ritter constantly badgered his producer, Edward F. Finney, to hire former Keystone Kops and in addition to St. John, Sing Cowboy, Sing also featured Snub Pollard and Chester Conklin. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Louise Stanley, (more)
- 1938
In this western, a government agent poses as an Asian so he can investigate a gang of jewel smugglers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1938
The second of the Stan Laurel-financed Fred Scott-singing Westerns, Songs and Bullets features the riding baritone as Melody Smith, a roaming cowboy falsely accused of cattle rustling by the sheriff (Charles King). Melody, who quickly establishes his innocence, is in Dry Gulch searching for the killer of his uncle, the former sheriff. The new lawman, meanwhile, is in cahoots with Harry Skelton (Karl Hackett), the town czar, who uses the commotion caused by the arrival of a new schoolmarm, Mademoiselle Dumont (Alice Ardell), to engage in a bit of larceny. Like Melody himself, Mademoiselle is not quite who she claims to be, however, and Skelton's days of ruthless rule are soon over. In between detective work, Scott sings "Lonesome Cowboy," "Prairie Moon," "Pay Day," "Arkansas," and "My Ten-Gallon Hat," all by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter. The latter also appears in the film as Lew, the piano player. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fred Scott, Alice Ardell, (more)
- 1944
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hoot Gibson, Bob Steele, (more)
Sons of the Pioneers is a showcase for?the Sons of the Pioneers, who are reteamed with ex-"Son" Roy Rogers in this budget western. The plot is contingent upon a deposit of rare minerals, vital to the American war effort. The villains want to get their hands on these minerals, and to do so organize themselves into a gang of masked terrorists, bent on chasing everyone else out of the territory. Unable to handle the villains alone, sheriff Gabby Whittaker (Gabby Hayes) sends for Roy Rogers, whose father was a legendary guns-slingin' peacekeeper. Alas, Roy is a shy entymologist who's never handled a gun in his life-but he soon learns how, thereby routing the heavies and striking a blow for Democracy. Pat Brady, a member in good standing of the Sons of the Pioneers, makes the first of many screen appearances as Roy Rogers' comical sidekick. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes, (more)
- 1938
The first Tex Ritter Western from Monogram Pictures, Starlight Over Texas contained the singing cowboy's trademark mix of furious fist-fight, ornery Charles King, and a slew of musical numbers. Unfortunately, Monogram also inherited Ritter's main weaknesses: idiotic sidekicks (Horace Murphy and Snub Pollard), slipshod direction (by Al Herman), meandering plots, and the aforementioned slew of musical numbers. At least Starlight Over Texas featured an eye-catching fiesta in addition to Ritter's warbling of such tunes as Pickens by A.J. Brier and Starlight Over Texas by Harry Tobias and Al Von Tilzer. Ritter played Tex Newman, a United States Marshal assigned to look into a series of Indian raids on the border to Mexico. As it turns out, the raids are committed by a gang of outlaws only masquerading as Indians. The leader of the gang, Kildare (Karl Hackett), murders a marshal and assumes his identity. Tex. of course, does not fall for the masquerade for long and the inevitable chase across the border ends with the capture of Kildare. Executive producer Edward F. Findley moved his entire "Boots and Saddles" operation from the floundering Grand National to Monogram without missing a beat. Along for the ride, in addition to sidekicks Murphy and Pollard and director Herman, were music director Frank Sanucci, assistant director Bobby Ray, cinematographer Francis Corby and film editor Frederick Bain. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Carmen La Roux, (more)
- 1936
The second-to-last Rex Bell Western for Poverty Row producers Max and Arthur Alexander, Stormy Trails was the only entry not directed by Robert F. Hill. Sam Newfield, however, was even more of a hack than Hill and Stormy Trails bore Newfield's trademark of carelessly inserted stock footage (a stampede of cattle in this instance) whose ancient origins failed to match the rest of the film. Based on E.B. Mann's 1934 novel Stampede, Phil Dunham's screenplay featured siblings Tom (Bell) and Billy Storm (Bob Hodges) whose ranch is heavily mortgaged despite the existence of gold on their property. As it turns out, Billy is in league with a gang of outlaws headed by Dunn (Lane Chandler). Attempting to break free of the gang, Billy is killed by Dunn's henchman, Max Durante (Karl Hackett). Dunn then proposes to stampede the cattle so Tom will be unable to pay off his bank in time. Captured by the gang, Tom manages to break free in the nick of time and is able to bring Dunn and his gang to justice. The husband of silent screen star Clara Bow, Rex Bell left films after his sixth and final film for the Alexander brothers to successfully run for the office of lieutenant governor of Nevada. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rex Bell, Bob Hodges, (more)
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