Fuzzy Knight Movies

The Lone Star Trail was the last of Johnny Mack Brown's series westerns for Universal; thereafter, he pitched camp at Monogram. In this one, Brown plays Blaze Barker, who spends two years in jail on a trumped-up train robbery charge. Upon being paroled, Barker makes it his mission to track down the men responsible for the holdup-and for his unjust incarceration. The film's highlight is a no-holds-barred saloon brawl, with the star in fine fighting fettle opposite some of Hollywood's most formidable stunt men. Robert Mitchum appears briefly in an uncredited bit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Like many of Johnny Mack Brown's western vehicles of the 1942-43 season, Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground draws its title from a popular song. Brown plays Wade Benson, head of a road-building project in the wild frontier. In their efforts to sabotage Benson's efforts, the villains lure his workers into the raucous saloon owned by dance-hall girl Kay Randolph (Jennifer Holt). But when the baddies resort to murder, Kay aligns herself with Benson, saving the day for both the road project and an ancillary government mail contract. Since Johnny Mack Brown could hardly qualify as a singer (as his later attempts at carrying a tune in his Monogram films would prove), the film's title song is warbled by Jimmy Wakely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johnny Mack Brown stars as Dusty Gardner, spokesmen for a group of hard-working cattlemen. As Gardner and his compatriots guide their livestock down the titular trail, the villains try to make certain that the cattle will never reach the market. Heading the bad guys is a bad girl, one Belle Turner (Mady Correll). She intends to cut off the cattle's water supply, then move in and hijack the thirsty bovines. But Dusty and his saddle pal Montana Smith (Tex Ritter) ain't a-gonna let that happen. The Old Chisholm Trail was one of the last Johnny Mack Brown vehicles for Universal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Newlywed bliss surround O'Driscoll and Beery until they get on board the ship for their honeymoon in South America. Then she starts sneezing, and hay fever's uncontrollable grip does not seem to want to let up. They try everything, then finally seek out a doctor on the ship. The trouble is compounded when the physician they find, Bruce, falls for the new bride. His diagnosis: Beery is the cause of the sneezing. She is allergic to him. ~ All Movie Guide

Randolph Scott was the star of Corvette K-225, a tribute to the World War II corvette escorts which guided Allied convoys through treacherous Atlantic waters. Scott plays the officer in charge of a Royal Canadian corvette cruiser, dedicated to keeping the troops safe from enemy submarine attack. The focus of the film is a danger-ridden journey from Halifax to Britain, the tension quotient heightened by the use of actual combat footage. Only the romantic triangle involving Scott, James Brown and Ella Raines bogs down this thrill-a-minute war picture. Corvette K-225 was produced by Howard Hawks, though the direction was credited to Richard Rosson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Damon Runyon's short story Butch Minds the Baby is about a certain Broadway citizen by the name of Butch, who is known far and wide to be involved more than somewhat in business of a dishonest nature. Butch is the lookout for a gang of safecrackers, one of whom is forced to bring his squalling baby son along with him on the job; Butch is obliged to mind the baby while the safe is being knocked over. In the film version of Butch Minds the Baby, Aloysius "Butch" Grogan (Broderick Crawford) is motivated to pursue a life of crime in order to provide the lovely widow O'Neill (Virginia Bruce) with the funds to support herself and little son. The end result is the same: Butch acts as baby-sitter while the rest of the crooks appropriate vast quantities of other people's money. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stagecoach Buckaroo was Johnny Mack Brown's final Universal western of the 1941-42 season. A gang of holdup men has been plaguing the stagecoach line run by Denton (Henry Hall), the father of heroine Molly (Nell O'Day). Hoping to flush out the crooks, hero Steve (Johnny Mack Brown) rides shotgun on the next stage run, with his sidekick Clem (Fuzzy Knight) sitting inside the coach disguised as a female passenger! Clem's "drag" routine is played for as many laughs as it can get, then the film hunkers down to the business at hand-namely, gunfire and fisticuffs. Despite a short 58-minute running time, Stagecoach Buckaroo is able to accommodate four song numbers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johnny Mack Brown essays the title role in Universal's Fighting Bill Forgo. Returning to his home town, Bill Fargo takes over the operation of his late father's newspaper. He quickly gets swept up in political intrigue fomented by political boss Hackett (Kenneth Harlan), who has a cute habit of rubbing out any and all honest candidates for the sheriff's office. When one of Hackett's victims manages to snap a photograph of his assassins, Bill intends to publish the picture and expose the crooks-provided he lives that long. The musical interludes are provided by Eddie Dean, who'd be promoted to cowboy-star status himself in the late1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite its title and the fact that it was made by Universal Studios, 1942's The Silver Bullet has nothing to do with werewolves. This is a western, starring Johnny Mack Brown as the hero and Fuzzy Knight as his comical sidekick. Brown seeks to avenge the death of his father, who was shot in the back by an unknown assailant. The only clue Brown has to go by is that his dad was killed by a silver bullet. And, no, the Lone Ranger didn't do it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Curtis Bernhardt hadn't wanted to make Juke Girl, but he was under contract to Warner Bros. and had to tow the line lest he find himself drawing Unemployment. One of Bernhardt's gripes against the film is that it starred Ronald Reagan, whom he considered an "unimportant" screen personality. In all fairness, Reagan is pretty good in his role as itinerant fruit-picker Steve Talbot, who gets involved in the middle of a labor dispute between the farmers and the packers. Talbot casts his lot with the farmers, while his longtime pal Danny Frazier (Richard Whorf) goes with the packers. Juke-joint hostess Lola Meers (Anne Sheridan) falls for Steve and supports his cause, only to be fired for her troubles at the behest of powerful packing-plant operator Henry Madden (Gene Lockhart). She and Steve try to escape Madden's influence, but when their farmer friend Nick Garcos (George Tobias) is murdered, the couple is framed for the crime. There follows "orgies of fights" (director Bernhardt's description) and a lynching attempt before Steve's old buddy Danny comes to the rescue. Anne Sheridan is at her most gorgeous in Juke Girl, making it difficult for the viewer to remain concentrated on the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arizona Cyclone is usually cited as the best of Johnny Mack Brown's Universal western series, if only because of the inventive direction of Joseph H. Lewis. Brown is cast as Tom, owner of a wagon-freight line who business is coveted by crooked banker Quirt (Dick Curtis). The villain will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and this includes ordering the murder of lovable old freight-liner Randolph (Herbert Rawlinson). Lacking enough evidence to prove Quirt's guilt, Tom bides his time until the inevitable showdown. Director Lewis' penchant from innovative camera angles is especially evident during the climactic gunfight sequence, a model of its kind and one from which Lewis himself borrowed in his much-later western classic Terror in a Texas Town. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, a town finds itself under the tyrannical control of a shady sheriff. He is usurped by an honest outside lawman and his bumbling side-kick. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this western, a mining engineer vengefully seeks out the claim jumpers that murdered his brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide