Kay Hughes Movies

Two tourists, portrayed by the comic duo Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, are talked into working for the good guys to keep art thieves from stealing the Venus di Milo at the London World Fair. Minor entry in the comic spy category. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Fighting Bill Carson, as any B-western aficionado can readily tell you, is played by Buster Crabbe. And where there's Bill Carson, you'll also find faithful sidekick Fuzzy Q. Jones, portrayed as ever by Al "Fuzzy" St. John. This time around, Bill and Fuzzy rescue the lovely Lorraine Miller from stagecoach bandits. Little do they know that Lorraine is actually a member of the gang. Once they do know, Bill and Fuzzy use Lorraine to lure the other crooks into the calaboose. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Officially a Charles Starrett western, Riders of the Badlands divides its running time fairly evenly between Starrett and second-billed Russell Hayden. The plot concerns a Texas Ranger named Collins (Starrett) and his lookalike, notorious outlaw Langdon (also Starrett). When his wife is killed by Langdon's minions, Barton (Hayden) vows to avenge her death. He mistakenly arrests Collins and sentences the lawman to hang, but our hero manages to escape in time and bring the genuine Langdon to justice. Cliff Edwards costars as a singing dentist (!) who tries but fails to provide an alibi for the hapless Collins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There was some novelty value in the fact that an actor whose initials were E.Q. was cast as intellectual sleuth Ellery Queen in Republic's The Mandarin Mystery. That actor was Eddie Quillan, who though a talented and appealing performer was woefully miscast as Queen. The story, based on the Ellery Queen novel The Chinese Orange Mystery, is set in motion by a crook who steals a $50,000 stamp, which results in two murders -- both committed in impenetrably locked rooms. The primary suspect is Jo Temple (Charlotte Henry), the original possessor of the stamp. Falling in love with Jo, Ellery sets about to retrieve the stolen goods and solve the murders. Perhaps realizing that Eddie Quillan could never be taken seriously in the leading role, Republic opted to play The Mandarin Mystery for laughs -- another big mistake. Originally released at 63 minutes, the film is currently available only in its 54-minute TV-reissue form. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Man Betrayed in this Republic actioner is hero Eddie Nugent, though this doesn't occur until the film is half over. Framed for a murder he didn't commit, Nugent finds support from an unlikely corner: a group of crooks, led by John Wray, set about to prove the boy's innocence. All of this meets with the benign approval of clergyman Lloyd Hughes, whose beatific good influence turns out to be contagious. Evidently intended to be longer than its present 58 minutes, Man Betrayed contains several gaping plot and continuity holes, the result of what seems to have been ruthless wholesale editing. The film makes even less sense on TV, where it was pared down to 53 minutes -- and then, to accommodate extra commercials, was whittled down further to 48 minutes (whew)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a couple of false starts, William Colt MacDonald's "Three Mesquiteers" stories were converted into a western film series by Republic Studios. The Mesquiteers, a trio of wandering do-gooders, are muscular Tucson Smith, played by Ray "Crash" Corrigan; hotheaded Stony Brooke, played by Robert Livingston; and comic sidekick Lullaby Joslin, portrayed in this first series entry by Syd Saylor. The three heroes waste no time getting down to business once they're discharged from WWI military service: Tucson and Stony take on a gang of greedy cattlemen, Stony romances homesteader's daughter Marian (Kay Hughes), and Lullaby rounds up stray cattle while astride a motorcycle. J. P. Gowan plays the villain, as he would in several subsequent Mesquiteers entries. Among the film's many assets is the excellent location photography by William Nobles. The Three Mesquiteers proved to be a moneyspinner, encouraging Republic to stay with the series through six years and 51 entries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a blocked writer decides he needs a little peace and quiet to spark his creativity so that he can write the final act of his play. Unfortunately, he no sooner settles down in his remote cabin when his first wife comes to call. She is followed by his second wife. A real ruckus ensues when his current girl friend also comes to see him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Musical comedy star Eddie Cantor stars in this story, well suited to his talents, as Eddie Pink, a meek gentleman who works as a tailor and has a terrible crush on Joyce (Ethel Merman), a nightclub singer. Eddie buys a book (through the mail, of course) called Man or Mouse: What Are You?. Taking its advice, he tries to become more confident and assertive, and his new, outgoing personality helps him get a job running an amusement park called Dreamland. But when racketeers move in for a piece of the action on the park's slot machines, he wonders if he's gotten himself in deeper waters than he can safely navigate. Cantor sings four songs in Strike Me Pink, three of them with co-star Merman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Texas Rangers vs. the United States Cavalry. That is basically the main thrust of the plot in this tuneful, fairly engrossing Gene Autry music Western. That Autry's singing-style is rather more endemic to 1936 than the late 19th century is merely part of the Autry phenomenon. While supposedly aiding Cavalry Colonel Summerall (Robert E. Homans), Indian sign interpretor Duval (Monte Blue) is instead plotting with the Comanches to attack a supply train. Ranger lieutenant Gene Autry and his sidekicks Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) and Rube (Max Terhune) attempt to warn the colonel but are instead jailed on a trumped up charge. The governor of Texas, however, reinstates Autry and Co. and the rangers save the cavalry from a massacre. The plot is, as always, merely a framework for the Autry magic, which includes serenading leading lady Kay Hughes, as the colonel's daughter, and a running gag that has Burnette pursued by an Indian (Chief Thundercloud) with a scalping complex. The only departure from the routine comes at the end when Autry actually marries the colonel's daughter, a union, so to speak, between the Texas Rangers and the United States Cavalry..Ride, Ranger, Ride was filmed at Newhall, California, by former editor Joseph Kane, who included plenty of stock footage to give the film a more sumptuous look than the stingy Republic Pictures would allow. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Although it was nominated for an Academy Award, the third Three Stooges comedy two-reeler for Columbia has not dated well. A spoof of MGM's Clark Gable vehicle Men in White, Men in Black was a rather shapeless romp in which Moe, Larry, and Curly played dumbbell interns at the Lost Arms Hospital. The team was supported by such veteran comedians as Bud Jamison, Dell Henderson, Hank Mann, and Neal Burns, while Ruth Hiatt, Kay Hughes, and a host of starlets appeared as nurses, but the two-reeler remains one of the team's lesser early efforts. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide