Jack Ingram Movies
A WWI veteran who later studied law at the University of Texas, tough-looking Jack Ingram began his long show business career as a minstrel player and later reportedly toured with Mae West. He began turning up playing scruffy henchmen and assorted other B-Western villains in the mid-'30s and was later the featured heavy in Columbia serials. Ingram would go on to appear in a total of 200 Westerns and approximately 50 serials in a career that later included appearances on such television programs as The Cisco Kid and The Lone Ranger. Many of his later films and almost all his television Westerns, including the Roy Rogers and Gene Autry shows, were filmed on Ingram's own 200-acre ranch on Mulholland Drive in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking Woodland Hills, which he had purchased from Charles Chaplin in 1944 and which remains a wilderness today. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1946
With a catchy title song co-written by the film's star and director, this Jimmy Wakely music Western got off to a lilting start. The film, however, quickly turned out to be just another minor entry in the very derivative Monogram/Wakely series. The former radio crooner and his usual sidekick Lee "Lasses" White, get in trouble this time with an unscrupulous cattle king (Stanley Blystone) and his even more unscrupulous foreman (Terry Frost), both of whom are in league with -- you guessed it -- an unscrupulous railroad man (Jack Ingram). Jennifer Holt, daughter of legendary action star Jack Holt and one of the busiest B-Western heroines of the '40s, added feminine appeal, and rustic comedian White contributed with three songs -- I'm Casting My Lasso, If You Knew What It Meant to Be Lonesome, both co-written with Wakely, and the solo effort Out on the Western Range. Although no Gene Autry or Roy Rogers, Jimmy Wakely was popular enough in the hinterlands for his series to last through 1949. He later owned his own recording label. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1946
That dependable sleuth of pulp fiction fame, Nick Carter, apparently had an equally stalwart son. Chick Carter, Boy Detective did his sleuthing on radio before Columbia producer Sam Katzman brought him to the screen in Chick Carter, Detective. The juvenile hero of the radio waves had underwent certain changes in order for grown-up actor Lyle Talbot to portray him. Talbot's Chick Carter, however, remained strangely inactive in his own serial, allowing crusading reporter Rusty Farrell (Douglas V. Fowley) to perform most of the necessary derring-do. As plainly told as the title would suggest, Chick Carter, Detective was more or less a straightforward crime melodrama that eschewed the usual ray guns, invisibility inventions, and other paraphernalia of the genre. Former MGM starlet Pamela Blake did some snooping of her own as a rival detective, and a gangster bearing the unfortunate name of Nick Polio (George Meeker) indulged in a bit of insurance fraud on behalf of Charles King. With only two bona fide cliffhanger endings, Chick Carter, Detective found little favor with the small fry, its target audience. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Flame of the West has always attracted more attention than most of Johnny Mack Brown's Monogram westerns, if for no other reason than the offbeat casting of Douglass Dumbrille. Usually seen in villainous roles, Dumbrille herein offers a sincere, effective performance as a scrupulously honest US marshal named Nightlander. When he takes on a gang of crooked gamblers, Nightlander is shot down in cold blood, compelling frontier doctor John Poore (Johnny Mack Brown) to put his Hippocratic oath on the back burner and strap on the shootin' irons. Raymond Hatton contributes his usual grizzled comedy relief in Flame of the West, while Joan Woodbury is interestingly cast as a saloon-hall girl without a heart of gold. Flame of the West works so well on a dramatic level that the musical interludes of Pee Wee King seem downright intrusive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1945
An above-average entry in the Jimmy Wakely singing cowboy series, this movie features a suspenseful murder mystery set on a dude ranch. Wakely and cohorts John James and Lee "Lasses" White are hired to investigate the mysterious murder of a U.S. marshal. There are plenty of suspects, of course, including a couple of jewel thieves (Claire James and Alan Foster) and the late ranch owner's unscrupulous partner (Jack Ingram). A lovesick ranch guest (Kay Deslys of Laurel & Hardy fame) and sundry Country & Western performers liven things up considerably while Wakely and Co. track down the killer. Filmed at the Circle J. Ranch in the San Fernando Valley, Saddle Serenade included such songs as "My Saddle Serenade", by Johnny Bond, Chiquita, by producer-director Oliver Drake and Sam H. Stept, and Saddle Pals, by Wakely. The western marked the first of three Wakely appearances by John James, a handsome second lead who should not be confused with the later Dynasty star of the same name. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
In this western, the Texas Rangers must stop a range war between sheepherders and cattle ranchers from erupting. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Undoubtedly inspired by Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, filmed the same year by United Artists as And Then There Were None, this 15 chapter serial told the drawn-out story of a family who is about to be decimated, one by one, by a mysterious master criminal. Just like in the classic Christie whodunit, the culprit fakes his own death to be able to continue his rampage undetected. Adhering to serial traditions, the murderer makes himself heard occasionally as "The Mystery Voice." Former Fox leading man Robert Kent played the detective, who in the final chapter unmasks "The Guilty One," with Amelita Ward as the love interest and vaudeville comic Tim Ryan providing comedic relief. The serial was produced for Columbia by penny-pinching entrepreneur Sam Katzman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Burly Johnny Mack Brown once again plays undercover U.S. Marshal Nevada McKenzie in this overly complicated series oater from low-budget Monogram. This time, McKenzie, who goes under the alias of Roy Ferris, is waylaid by would-be stage robber Cy Manning (John Merton) en route to the Bar X Ranch. Manning forces Nevada to partake in a stagecoach robbery arranged by his girlfriend, Dale Grimes (Joann Curtis), who, as our hero soon learns, is in cahoots with her nasty brother, Ned (Jack Ingram). The latter is secretly attempting to force his fiancée, Marsha Earley (Beatrice Gray), off the Bar X and when Dan Murray (Jimmie Martin) shoots and kills Manning in self-defense, Grimes blames Nevada, Marsha's new foreman. Hooking up with fellow undercover marshal Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton), Nevada eventually manages to prove his own innocence in the shooting and arrest of the entire Grimes gang. Stranger From Santa Fe was based on a "Pilgrim Ramrod for Hell's Range", a Charles N. Heckelmann short story that appeared in Big-Book Western magazine. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
A great old Western filled with Tex Ritter's songs, this one revolves around a manhunt by the Texas Rangers who are trying to find the outlaw gang who, years before, broke into a safe and hid the money. Good Western comedy. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1945
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
- 1945
Columbia Pictures, as usual, cast a lesser-known player -- in this case the handsome but rather stolid Robert Lowery -- in the starring role of The Monster and the Ape, a rough-and-tumble serial released in 15 chapters. Lowery played Ken Morgan, an agent for a company manufacturing the newly invented Metalogen, a metal that can render a robot invincible. An evil professor (the wonderfully hammy Ralph Morgan, brother of Frank) attempts to steal the metal, using a trained gorilla as his weapon. Not one of the studio's better chapterplays -- to put it mildly -- The Monster and the Ape stayed mercifully forgotten until reappearing on early-morning television in the late '60s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
One of the screen's favorite tough blondes, the delightful Veda Ann Borg, stole the show in this low-budget serial produced by Sam Katzman for Columbia Pictures. Although star-billed (with leading man Kane Richmond and comic relief Eddie Quillan), Veda was the serial's villainess, making life difficult for placid little Janet Shaw, the nominal heroine. The sarcastic Borg played the alluring accomplice of nasty Jake Regan (Western bad man Charles King), a typical serial rotter who will leave no stone unturned in his search for a priceless African treasure. Having kidnapped Dr. Reed (Budd Buster), the villains have to deal with the man's daughter (Shaw) and her gallant boyfriend, Bob Moore (Richmond). Things get complicated when Zara (Carol Hughes), the beautiful High Priestess, sides with Regan, but, as always, justice prevails in the 15th, and final, chapter, "The Jewels of Arzac." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Also released in a feature version -- retitled FBI 99 -- this 12 chapter Republic Pictures serial benefitted from fine second-unit direction of action scenes by the legendary Yakima Canutt. Adhering to the long-held tradition of casting a relative unknown in the starring role for obvious economy purposes, associate producer Ronald Davidson chose stunt-man Marten Lamont for the title role, a secret service agent in search of the villains who stole Princess Cornelia's crown jewels. Lorna Gray, who played the evil Vultura in The Perils of Nyoka (1942), again appeared in a less than savory role. George J. Lewis, the veteran Hal Taliaferro (aka Wally Wales) and Jack Ingram also contributed to the skullduggery, none of which made the serial rise above the average. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Johnny Hart (Rod Cameron) is on the run from the law after killing one of the men who shot his partner. He passes through a town and stops at a saloon owned by singer Lorena Dumont (Yvonne de Carlo). The two seem a good, albeit tempestuous match, although Johnny has no plans to marry -- Lorena has other ideas and a shotgun wedding ensues. Blackie (Sheldon Leonard), an outlaw who is jealous of the marriage, informs Lorena of Johnny's wanted status, and he ends up getting caught by the law after their wedding night. He serves six years and returns to find that he and Lorena don't get along any better than they did before, and that he's also the father of a five-year-old girl (Beverly Simmons). Also lurking about is Blackie, whom he recognizes as one of the men who killed his partner, and Blackie wants Johnny out of the way so he can marry Lorena. Johnny and Lorena fight over custody of their daughter and Blackie nearly gets them each killed at one point or another. He kidnaps their daughter before Johnny dispatches him. He finally realizes that the only way he can win Lorena is to meet her cup for cup and blow for blow, until she understands that he loves her. The film, a sort of Western Taming of the Shrew, ends on a note of romance and reconciliation. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron, (more)
- 1945
A bit paunchier but no less energetic, Johnny Mack Brown is back as Nevada Jack McKenzie in Frontier Feud. Once again, Nevada and his grizzled sidekick Sandy (Raymond Hatton) are US marshals posing as drifters. Rancher Joe (Dennis Moore) is accused of a series of murders, but Nevada and Sandy manage to prove that another man is the guilty party. Christine McIntyre, leading lady of many of 3 Stooges comedy, is cast as the heroine in Frontier Feud, a departure from the brassy villainesses she usually played in the Johnny Mack Brown westerns. Director Lambert Hillyer wraps it all up in a breathless 54 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1945
Sunset Carson plays a wandering cavalier who rides into the Badlands (hence the title). Heroine Peggy Stewart is bedeviled by bandits who've been raiding the livestock of her ranch. Carson plays his cards close to the vest for 45 minutes, then goes after the baddies in the film's last reel. Also in the cast is Monte Hale, not far removed from his own Republic series. Bandits of the Badlands is kept on the move by director Tommy Carr, who manages to convey the illusion that Sunset Carson has genuine acting ability. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Based on the popular comic strip by Dale Messick, this Sam Katzman-produced Columbia serial starred the beautiful and talented Joan Woodbury, an actress who never really lived up to her early potential. Brenda Starr, Reporter didn't exactly change that sad fact; a rather straightforward tale of a girl reporter who is mistakenly believed to possess the key to the whereabouts of a hidden fortune, the serial was a typically shoddy Katzman effort. A gang of crooks headed by the always watchable Wheeler Oakman spend 13 chapters attempting to force the secret out of poor Brenda, who is always saved in the nick of time by handsome Kane Richmond. In the end, Brenda Starr, Reporter had a couple of attractive leads, and a wonderfully hammy master criminal, but very little else. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Directed by one of the finest stuntmen in American cinema, Yakima Canutt, this western follows legendary hero Sunset Carson as he gallops into Cimarron to find his brother and get revenge against the crooks who had him framed and sent to prison for rustling cows. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
The luscious Linda Stirling starred in this 15-chapter action serial from genre specialist Republic Pictures as Claire Forrest, the daughter of that eminent inventor of the Radiatomic Power Transmitter, Dr. William Forrest (Taylor Forrest). The good doctor has disappeared during an expedition, however, and Claire asks noted criminologist Lance Reardon (Richard Bailey) for help in locating him. As it turns out, an insane scientist (Roy Barcroft), who can transform himself into the fiendish Captain Mephisto, has abducted Dr. Forrest, keeping him for ransom on his inhospitable Mystery Island. Republic threw everything but the kitchen sink into this adventure serial, which benefitted from special effects by the Lydecker brothers, Howard and Theodore; stunt work by Yakima Canutt (who is also credited as co-director), and a cast well-versed in the kind of melodramatic theatrics deemed necessary for this kind of juvenile fare. Manhunt on Mystery Island was also released in a feature version entitled Captain Mephisto and the Transformation Machine. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
One of the last of Universal's "pocket" musicals, Under Western Skies packs a surplus of entertainment value into its brief 57 minutes. Martha O'Driscoll plays Katie, the daughter of travelling showman Willie (Leon Errol). While playing an engagement in a wild-and-wooly Arizona town, Katie runs afoul of a group of bluenoses who harbor a low opinion of show folk. Denied access to the local music hall, the troupe pitches camp at the saloon owned by King Randall (Leo Carrillo). When it turns out the Randall is the head of an outlaw gang, Katie and friends are rescued by shy schoolteacher Tod (Noah Beery Jr.), who happens to be a crack shot! Among the performers in Willie's entourage is the venerable vaudeville team of Al Shaw and Sam Lee, whose routines are older than dirt and just about as funny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martha O'Driscoll, Leo Carrillo, (more)
- 1945
Shortly before Universal Pictures disbanded its "B" unit, the studio inaugurated an energetic western series starring Rod Cameron. In Beyond the Pecos, Cameron plays a rancher at odds with longtime rival Eddie Dew (himself a "B" sagebrush star at other studios). The two brawny men in Stetsons battle over rights of oil land that borders both their properties. When they tire of squabbling over money, Cameron and Dew fight over the attentions of pretty Jennifer Holt (daughter of Jack Holt). Director Lambert Hillyer handles Beyond the Pecos with his customary speed and efficiency. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1944
In this western, a group of avaricious businessman try to coerce settlers from their valuable land until a brave cowboy rides up to protect them and round up the villains. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1944
Supernatural events on the range prompt an investigation by cowboy Brown in this western. ~ All Movie Guide
