Frank Ball Movies

Bar Z Bad Men is a slick 1930s oater showcasing Johnny Mack Brown. Per the title, Brown signs on as ranchhand at the Bar Z. The spread is plagued by rustlers, and this plot peg builds to a well-staged cattle- stampede climax. Leading lady Lois January, whose acting ability was several steps above most western ingenues, provides spirited support for Brown. Bar Z Bad Men was produced independently by A. W. Hackel's Spectrum Productions, then released by Republic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by his father, Robert North Bradbury, Bob Steele's third Western for independent producer A.W. Hackel remains one of the most bizarre and evocative B-Westerns of the 1930s. Written by set designer/supporting actor Perry Murdock, The Big Calibre is really a horror movie masquerading as a Western, complete with a mad, disfigured scientist who kills by employing vials of poison gas. Steele's onscreen father (Frank Brownlee) becomes the Mad Doc's first victim and the sheriff's investigation points to town chemist Otto Zenz as the killer. Before he can be arrested, Zenz escapes with Steele in hot pursuit. (Eerily, director Bradbury favored stories about sons hunting down their fathers' killers.) Along the way, the young cowboy stumbles over a mysterious and unsettling pile of dried-up bones, a stage hold-up that isn't quite what it appears to be, and a girl (Peggy Campbell) whose ranch is threatened by a greedy lawyer (Forrest Taylor). The latter's co-conspirator, the hideously deformed assayer Gadski, may or may not be the missing chemist/killer. Despite all that, Steele manages to revenge his father's death in a final, desperate struggle during which the maniacal killer is undone by his own murder weapon. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A murdered entomologist, an inscrutable Asian, and a sinister cowboy with rape on his mind are but a few of the many strange characters inhabiting this unusually well-made, Bob Steele Western. Steele plays Larry O'Day, who, along with sidekick Lucky Smith (Don Barclay), comes to the rescue of Barbara Hartnell (Harley Wood), whose entomologist uncle (Frank Ball) has been found murdered at his laboratory near the border to Mexico. If the murder wasn't enough, poor Barbara is in trouble with a strange neighbor, Obed Young (Karl Hackett), who raves about an ancient curse threatening her hacienda. After a mysterious intruder attempts to strangle Lucky, Larry catches German scientist Dr. von Kurtz (John Peters) stealing specimens from the dead entomologist's lab. Barbara, meanwhile, is arrested for the murder by the sheriff (Horace Murphy) but is freed by Jim Barton (Perry Murdock). The latter, a forbidding-looking cowboy, arranges with Chon Lee (Miki Morita) to have Barbara smuggled across the border as a "picture bride," but she is rescued in the nick of time by Larry, who now has proof of who killed Professor Hartnell. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A B-Western of the old school, Durango Valley Raiders stars diminutive Bob Steele as Keene Cordner, a drifter who obtains the job of foreman for rancher Mac McKay (Karl Hackett). But Keene proves to be the son of Mac's old partner (Steve Clark), with whom he once had a dramatic falling out. A mysterious gang of killers has been targeting the area's ranchers and Mac begins to suspect Keene to be their illusory leader, the Shadow. In order to get to the bottom of the deplorable situation, the youngster plays along for a while and is finally able to unmask the real culprit, whose identity comes as a shock to the community. Produced independently by A.W. Hackel, Durango Valley Raiders was released under the Republic Pictures banner. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The Galloping Romeo is Bob Steele, a wandering cowboy who's had incredibly bad luck with women. After several romantic setbacks, Steele finally falls for a girl who he thinks is as pure as the driven snow. In actuality, the "heroine" and her father are in charge of a lucrative stage-holdup racket. As Steele rounds up the miscreants, the girl promises to go straight, but he's heard that song before. While it's fun to see Bob Steele offer what amounts to a Hoot Gibson imitation in Galloping Romeo, one can be grateful that he didn't attempt comedy too often. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Early Arizona was western star Bill Elliot's first effort for Columbia Pictures. Not yet "Wild Bill" Elliot (as he would later be billed), the actor is cast as Whit Gordon, who rides into Tombstone Arizona to help keep the peace. Elliot is appointed sheriff, making him the particular target of every fast gun in the territory. Though clearly based on the career of Wyatt Earp film is careful not to violate the copyright on Earp's life story, which then was held by 20th Century-Fox. In fact, contrary to previous published reports, the name "Wyatt Earp" is not mentioned at all in In Early Arizona; only the designation of Tombstone itself was in the public domain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A judge investigating two Wall Street brokers accused of stock manipulations learns of a mysterious invention, a "DXL Accumulator" with which its inventor, Prof. Farrington, plans to harness solar power. The judge decides to visit the professor at his mountain hideaway. When he arrives, he finds that the professor's daughter and her boyfriend are there, along with the professor's mysterious housekeeper, her creepy son and a strange couple the daughter and her boyfriend brought along. As the judge is questioning the professor, someone turns off the lights, and when the daughter and her boyfriend rush into the room, the judge is found murdered and the professor has disappeared! Mischa Auer and Martha Mattox, the twin menaces in the "classic" horror cheapie The Monster Walks, play approximately the same roles here. The sputtering laboratory equipment and the electronic special effects were the handiwork of Kenneth Strickfaden, of Frankenstein fame. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Robert Allen isn't particularly "reckless" in this rather pedestrian Western, which had the gall to cast the non-actor in dual roles. When Jim Allen (Allen number one) is lynched, his identical twin brother Bob (Allen number two), a Texas Ranger, takes his place in an attempt to flush out the man responsible. He proves to be one Barlowe (Harry Woods), a cattle baron who has hired a gang of ruffians to intimidate the local sheepherders. But when one of the gang members, Mort (Jack Rockwell), escapes from the law, the game is up and Bob's real identity is revealed. Attempting to warn her beau, pretty Mildred Newton (Louise Small) is abducted along with the late Jim Allen's young son, Jimmy (Buddy Cox). The latter, however, manages to free himself and while Bob hunts down the evil Barlowe. The sheep men, lead by Mildred's brother, Chet (Jack Perrin), bring the rest of the gang to justice. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Produced by low-budget company Supreme Pictures (which weren't), this middling B-western was saved somewhat by its personable star, the strapping former footballer Johnny Mack Brown. Mack plays Dan Doran, the rogue of the title, who rescues a pretty missionary, Tess (Phyllis Hume), from the ubiquitous runaway team. In town, Doran not only leaves the welfare of the girl to Stella, the saloon hostess (Lois January), but admits to having earlier robbed the stage. Sent up the river for 20 years, Dan makes the acquaintance of Jim Mitchell (George Ball), a fellow inmate, and the two make their escape together. Returning to the scene of the crime, Dan joins Jim's gang of stage robbers. The town's natty-looking banker, Lige Branscomb (Alden Chase aka Stephen Chase) is observed courting Tess, who now owns the Golden Nugget coffee shop. Dan, who is in reality an undercover G-man, has Stella rescue Tess from marrying the villainous Branscomb who, of course, is the secret leader of the gang of stage robbers. Leaving Tess to her coffee shop, Dan proposes to Stella, who accepts. Although already beginning to exhibit the middle-age spread that would mar his later appearances, Johnny Mack Brown once again proves that he was a better actor than most of his B- western rivals. The same cannot be said for Phyllis Hume, who plays the missionary girl with only one expression, bewilderment, and whose only film this seems to have been. Max Davidson, an old-fashioned "Dutch-style" comic who had been in films before Charles Chaplin and almost everyone else, appears briefly and for no apparent reason in order to perform a bit of timeworn shtick as a Jewish salesman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Less than a week after the release of the Bob Steele western Paroled-to Die came yet another Steele vehicle, Amateur Crook. Once again, the hero (Steele) is framed for a crime he didn't commit. Once again, he breaks jail to track down the culprit. And once again, he succeeds. Amateur Crook was part of a package of A. W. Hackel-produced westerns distributed by Republic. According to B-western historian Don Miller, it was considered the best of the batch (though it really wasn't), and used by Republic as an "ice breaker" to entice exhibitors to pick up the rest of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Wayne's easy-going charm truly began to manifest itself in this, one of his later "Lone Star" Westerns for Monogram. Falsely accused of killing the paymaster (Henry Hall) of the Rattlesnake Gulch rodeo, John Scott (Wayne) and his girl-chasing partner Kansas Charlie (Eddy Chandler) trail the real killer, Pete (Al Ferguson), and his unwilling underling Jim (Paul Fix) to Poker City. Jim wants to go straight, but Pete blackmails him into robbing the stagecoach. John and Kansas, who are known in town as Jones and the Reverend Smith, are once again accused of the crime, but Jim helps them escape from jail. When the young bandit refuses to commit bank robbery, Pete shoots him in cold blood. The villain is caught by John and Kansas, whom Jim has cleared of all crimes on his deathbed. Besides one of Wayne's better early performances, The Desert Trail -- whose title bears no close scrutiny -- also benefitted from the presence of Frank Capra-regular Eddy Chandler, a rotund comic actor whose sparring here with Wayne is first-rate all the way. Paul Fix is equally good as the outlaw with a conscience and Mary Kornman, of Our Gang fame, is tolerable as the obligatory heroine. The Desert Trail was directed with easy assurance by the veteran Lewis D. Collins, who for some reason billed himself "Cullin Lewis." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A wagon train sequence and a stampede of buffaloes -- both courtesy of stock footage -- remain the most interesting features of this otherwise stagy early talkie Western from low-budget entrepreneur John Freuler's Monarch Productions. Tom Tyler stars as Tennessee Matthews, a renowned buffalo hunter, who, although in love with settler Virginia Hawkins (Betty Mack), chooses the solitude of his mountains over guiding her wagon train safely through Indian country. Tennessee changes his mind when the new trail guide, O'Hara (Al Bridge), seems to be purposefully leading the train right into an Indian ambush. As it turns out, O'Hara, who is courting a reluctant Virginia, has been robbing several wagon trains with the assistance of the Indians in general and Lola (Mildred Rogers), a fiery squaw, in particular. The latter, who mistakenly believes Virginia to be encouraging O'Hara's company, has her rival kidnapped during the Indian raid, but the white girl is saved by Tennessee, who not only heads off a buffalo stampede, but arrives in the nick of time with the cavalry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide