Bob Kortman Movies
In films after 1915, hatchet-faced Robert Kortman claimed to have served in the U.S. Cavalry prior to going on-stage. With producer Thomas H. Ince in the mid-1910s, the menacing actor often supported the era's great Western icon William S. Hart (he was one of the rowdy townsmen in 1916's Hell's Hinges) and was equally busy in the '20s. Kortman, however, came into his own in sound serials, especially at Mascot and its successor Republic Pictures, where his menacing visage turned up everywhere, from playing Magua in Last of the Mohicans (1932) to portraying One-Eye Chapin in Adventures of Red Ryder (1940). His roles grew increasingly smaller, and Kortman continued to play mostly villains until at least 1951. He died of cancer. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1934
The second entry in Buck Jones' Universal western series, When a Man Sees Red casts Jones as the foreman of a ranch owned by a haughty Easterner (Peggy Campbell). Our hero tries to dissuade the pretty owner from taking up with an unsavory character (Leroy Mason), to no avail. Eventually, the lout proves himself to be a thief and a liar, out to wrest the ranch owner's property away from her. The self-sacrificial sending is straight out of Under Two Flags, albeit with happier results. Like the first Universal Jones vehicle, Rocky Rhodes, When a Man Sees Red appears at times to be a leftover Ken Maynard script, hastily retooled for the ol' Buckaroo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Revier, Peggy Campbell, (more)
Brooklyn tugboat worker Eddie (Eddie Cantor), bullied and cowed by his tough-guy stepfather and stepbrothers (a la Harold Lloyd's The Kid Brother), inherits $77 million from his uncle, an Egyptologist. Con artist Dot (Ethel Merman) wants to get her lunchhooks on the money, and to this end offers herself as Eddie's adopted mother (never mind that she's nearly 20 years younger), intending to have her thuggish brother Louie (Warren Hymer) bump off our hero at the first opportunity. The nonsensical plotline ends up with Eddie, Dot, Louie, pompous Southern colonel Larrabee (Berton Churchill), and nominal romantic leads Jerry (George Murphy in his film debut) and Jane (Ann Sothern) trapped in the palace of Arab potentate Mulhulla (Paul Harvey). The better-than-average comic banter includes some funny bits between Cantor and Eve Sully, of the comedy team of "Block and Sully" (her husband-partner Jesse Block is also in the picture, but just barely). Spotted among the featured players in Kid Millions are such "Our Gang" members as Stymie Beard, Scotty Beckett and Tommy Bond, and there's a specialty by the Nicholas Brothers during Cantor's obligatory "blackface" number; and yes, that's Lucille Ball as a blonde Goldwyn Girl in the harem sequence. PS: According to Ethel Merman, the film's elaborate Technicolor ice-cream factory finale, in which Eddie allows dozens of tenement kids to gorge themselves on his tasty confections, posed censorship problems: while producer Sam Goldwyn was allowed to show the little boys with comically extended stomachs, he was not permitted to do so with the little girls, for fear that the audience might think the female moppets were pregnant! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Fields, Eddie Cantor, (more)
- 1933
In this western, a hero is arrested and tossed in the pokey. He and a renowned mail thief escape together. It is soon revealed that the hero is only masquerading as a crook; in reality, he is a Secret Service agent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Bell, Cecilia Parker, (more)
- 1933
In this western, a US marshal goes undercover to bust up a bunch of rustlers. The history behind the film is as interesting as the story. Paramount made this during the Depression when the studio was teetering towards bankruptcy. To save money, much of this film was comprised of footage from the earlier films of former western star Jack Holt. The long shots were old silent footage, while the close-shots were of different actors wearing exactly the same costumes. Paramount made 9 other westerns in this way. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this musical western, everybody sings, even the outlaws. The story follows a government agent who goes undercover as a musical ventriloquist named Fiddlin' to find an ruthless outlaw and his gang. The gang comes to Fiddlin's town, commits a robbery and leaves the ventriloquist to shoulder the blame. He is jailed, escapes, catches the gang, and saves the kidnapped heroine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Gloria Shea, (more)
Rivalry between two towns for the honor of becoming county seat turns violent in this interesting Ken Maynard Western from low-budget Sono Art-World Wide. Although a notorious troublemaker, the Thunderbolt Kid (alias Ken Peters (Maynard)), is convinced to work on behalf of Coyote Gulch, a small community hoping to land the railroad franchise that will make it the county seat. Rival town Spotted Horse hires the notorious Matthews gang and soon it is all-out war between the communities. Ken, meanwhile, is conned by Matthews henchman One Shot Mallory (Bob Kortman) into attacking a stage supposedly carrying reinforcement. Unfortunately, the passenger, whom Ken publicly humiliates, is railroad president Charles Eaton (Wilfred Lucas). Much to the disgust of Red Matthews (William Gould) and his gang, Eaton awards the franchise to Coyote Gulch. After a climactic encounter between Red and Ken, Eaton persuades the latter to remain and witness the town prosper. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Frances Lee, (more)
- 1933
With customary lack of restraint, Bela Lugosi tore into his role of Professor Strang, a foreign agent masquerading as a wax museum proprietor, in this the first of Mascot Pictures' five serials of 1933. Bela is smuggling jewels into the country as security for a loan. The "jools," however, are stolen by an escaped convict and sought by the omnipresent Whispering Shadow, a mysterious megalomaniac out to gain control of the entire world. A science wizard, the Shadow uses radio waves to kill his enemies, but no one knows who he is. In typical Mascot fashion, suspicion falls at various times on most of the cast members -- Lugosi, needless to say, most of all. As it turns out, despite a plethora of menacing close-ups, Bela is indeed only a red herring, the real culprit, in typical Mascot style, revealed instead to be a heretofore minor comic relief. Considering the fate of the actor in question, we shall break with tradition and name him. A major comic star of the late '20s, Karl Dane could only watch as his career collapsed at the changeover to sound due to an impenetrable Danish accent. All but unemployable, Dane was given this last chance to shine by producer Nat Levine, but audiences felt cheated by the serial's somewhat unfair denouement and The Whispering Shadow proved less a comeback than a debacle. Reduced to selling hot dogs from a stand outside his former studio, MGM, Dane ended his own life on April 14, 1934, one of the best remembered victims of the sound revolution. The Whispering Shadow marked the directorial debut of Colbert Clark, formerly of the script department, who was helped along the way by the veteran Albert Herman. The serial was also released in a truncated feature version. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this western, the locals are being plagued by "Black Death" an evil outlaw who shoots victims with chemical bullets that turn them black. He is pursued by a brave Texas Ranger. When the ranger learns that the killer is following a wild West show --the one the ranger used to work in--the hero rejoins. He soon catches up to the crook and ends up following him to Mexico. A deadly gunfight ensues and the Black Death finally dies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Lucille Browne, (more)
- 1933
Heroes and villains alike use airplanes instead of horses in this generally well-made Mascot serial featuring diminutive cowboy star Bob Steele. Steele and sidekick Guinn "Big Boy" Williams (whose supposedly comical craving for jellybeans quickly becomes tiring) are hired by an aviator friend (Jack Mulhall) to aid Lafe McKee and his daughter Lucille Browne in safeguarding the building of a dam. A mystery villain known only as "The Black Ace" is using a gang of air pirates in a (largely unexplained) war against the construction firm. The mystery villain proves, of course, to be the one character seemingly above suspicion. In fairness to the serial, we shall refrain from divulging his identity, however. Mystery Squadron contains many well-made aerial fights and stunts but is also filled with all kinds of silly and seemingly unnecessary gaffes. When a dart carrying a warning note is thrown through a window, for example, that same window is shown in the following shot as not only securely closed but covered by an undamaged lace curtain. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, (more)
- 1933
Tall-in-the-saddle Rex Bell stars in this Monogram western. Bell, a Navy boxing champ, returns to his family's ranch, only to find out that his wealthy uncle has been murdered. The villain has done the dirty deed to grab up the local water rights -- and incidentally, to get his mitts on Bell's girlfriend Cecilia Parker. Our hero is framed on a trumped-up charge and squirreled away in jail, while the bad guy prepares to march Parker to the altar. Will vice triumph over virtue this time around? Not on your life! The principle heavy is played by Bob Kortman, possessor of one of the meanest mugs in moviedom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Bell, Cecilia Parker, (more)
- 1933
Tom Mix goes up against a ruthless gang of rustlers headed by a crooked army colonel in this, his penultimate Western for Universal. When a vigilante group assembled by Colonel Charles Ormsby (John St. Polis) fails to make a dent in the rustlings -- primarily because Ormsby and the local sheriff (Frank Brownlee) are the secret leaders of the gang -- rancher Tom Munroe (Mix) is assigned by the governor of Arizona to look into things. With the help of local cowboy Lucky Dawson (Raymond Hatton), Tom discovers that young rancher Bernie "Little Casino" Laird (Arthur Rankin), the weakling brother of Norma Laird (Naomi Judge), is secretly a member of the gang. When the rustlers turn to robbing the stage, Mix manages to arrest Bernie and two henchmen (Francis McDonald and Robert Kortman), but all three are freed from jail by Ormsby. During a climactic shootout at the Laird ranch, young Bernie reveals that Ormsby and the sheriff are crooked and the entire gang is rounded up and arrested. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, Naomi Judge, (more)
- 1933
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are policemen on night duty. As they sit in their car having a snack, they get a call from headquarters to inform them that their spare tire is being stolen. But that's only a taste of their sheer incompetence -- when they are told to investigate a burglary, they get distracted and forget the address. While trying to call headquarters to get the address again, the duo encounter a crook in a jewelry store (Frank Terry) and send him on his way after fitting a court appearance into his busy schedule. When they find the crook trying to steal their police car, Ollie scolds him for his misbehavior, and says he now must be in court tomorrow. With that they head over to the house in question and sure enough, a man (Frank Brownlee) is wandering around, trying to get in. He goes into the basement and they follow, but are faced with a locked door. Ollie decides the best bet is to go in the front door, using a marble bench as a battering ram. After several attempts, which land Ollie in the fish pond, they crash in -and crash through the staircase into the basement. The man who broke in -- and who, it turns out, is the owner -- goes to investigate and also falls through the hole to the basement. Stan and Ollie knock the man unconscious and drag him triumphantly into the station. The other policemen recognize him as the Chief of Police. The boys make a dash for the exit, and the Chief, now conscious, goes after them, brandishing his gun. Two gunshots later, he returns with a grim order: "Send for the coroner!" The other officers remove their caps. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1932
This first film version of H.G. Wells' Island of Dr. Moreau stars Charles Laughton as Dr.Moreau, a dedicated but sadly misguided scientist who rules the roost on a remote island. Shipwrecked sailor Edward Parker Richard Arlen finds himself on Moreau's island, agreeing to stick around until another boat can come along and take him home. But that's not quite what Moreau has in mind: he'd rather Parker stay on the island and marry the exotic Lota (Kathleen Burke), who curiously possesses the characteristics of the panther. In fact, all the island's natives seem more animal than human, especially the hirsute Bela Lugosi. And why not? They are animals who've been transformed by Moreau into humanlike creatures via surgery. Moreau's plans to mate Parker and Lota are complicated by the arrival of Parker's fiancee Leila Hyams, who has been brought to the island by ship's captain Stanley Fields, one of Moreau's flunkies. When Moreau kills Fields for this insubordination, he makes the mistake of breaking one of the rules he himself has imposed on the island: That no creature shall kill another. Island of Lost Souls does its job of inducing goosebumps so well that one can forgive the cherubic excesses of Charles Laughton in his portrayal of Dr. Moreau. The film would be remade under Wells' original title in 1978, with Burt Lancaster in the Laughton role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, (more)
- 1932
Leathery western hero Harry Carey is once more suspected of being an outlaw in The Night Rider. The title character is a mysterious figure who has been conducting raids on the local ranchers. Naturally, the townsfolk assume that strong, silent stranger Carey is the elusive Night Rider. Instead, Carey turns out to be an undercover law officer, dedicated to bringing the Rider to justice. A pre-"Gabby" George Hayes turns up as the ostensible comedy relief, who, like Carey, isn't all that he seems. Ironically, leading lady Elinor Fair was at one time the wife of William Boyd, who as Hopalong Cassidy teamed up with Gabby Hayes for a series of popular "B"-westerns in the 1930s and 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Carey, George "Gabby" Hayes, (more)
- 1932
The Russian Revolution provides the backdrop for Paramount's The World and the Flesh. Marked for death by the Bolsheviks, a group of incognito aristocrats try to escape Russia by boxcar. The story focuses on one of these refuges, Maria Yasaka (Miriam Hopkins), the mistress of Grand Duke Dmitri (Alan Mowbray). Arriving in a French seacoast village, the little party is about to sail to England when the town is taken over by Russian sea captain Kylenko (George Bancroft). To save her travelling companions from arrest and execution, Maria pulls a Boule de Suif and sleeps with Kylenko -- only to fall in love with him. There's suspense aplenty in the final scenes of World and the Flesh, when it appears that everyone, heroine included, is doomed to face a firing squad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Bancroft, Miriam Hopkins, (more)
- 1932
In this western, a Pony Express rider believes himself to be a Native American. The trouble begins when an Anglo outlaw begins stealing the fastest horses from the organization. The outlaw then blames the local Indians for the thefts. The gallant young rider learns of the scheme and rounds up the real culprits. Along the way he learns that he is really a white man who had been abducted and raised by the Indians. He is pretty happy because now he is free to marry the white woman he loves. The racist attitudes in this film are a reflection of its time, 1932, and of the whims of the powerful Hays Office, which censored all Hollywood films. As Hays considered miscegenation (the so-called mixing of races) immoral, the hero had to become a white man to marry a white woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Barbara Weeks, (more)
- 1932
In his fourth Western for Columbia Pictures, Tim McCoy played a lawman chasing a masked villain known only as "the Shadow." The would-be express office robber proves to be Grip Mason (Robert Ellis), who mistakenly blames Tim for his brother's death. There is a treacherous saloon femme fatale (Dorothy Granger of two-reel comedy fame), a comic sidekick (Harry Todd), and the inevitable ingénue. The latter was played by Marceline Day, a 1926 WAMPAS Baby Star best remembered today as Buster Keaton's girl in The Cameraman (1928). Typical of McCoy's Columbia Westerns, The Fighting Fool was well made in spite of budget constrictions. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Marceline Day, (more)
- 1932
Having basically bankrolled the struggling Warner Bros., the era's most popular canine, Rin Tin Tin, signed a 5,000-dollars-a-picture contract with Poverty Row operator Nat Levine. The result, a 15-chapter serial (Levine demanded hard labor for his shekels), featured Rinty opposite veteran genre star Walter Miller. When Rinty's owner is murdered for his secret gold mine, the dog joins forces with Department of Justice agent Ramon (Miller) to catch the killer. Rinty, inevitably, is soon suspected of having killed a valuable colt and sentenced to death (shades of a previous Rin Tin Tin vehicle, The Night Cry, 1926). He is saved in the nick of time by Ramon and his juvenile sidekick, Buzz (former Western star Buzz Barton). The villain (Robert Kortman) then kidnaps the dog and forces him to reveal the location of the gold mine. Ramon, Buzz, and the dead prospector's lovely daughter, Dolores (June Marlowe of Our Gang fame) manage not only to save the dog once again but also bring the killer to justice. Sold on the states rights market as a "talkie" (or should it be a "barkie"?), The Silent Defender had long, drawn-out silent sequences interspersed with stilted dialogue. But it was packaged solely for children -- who didn't care about sound one way or another -- and made a mint for Levine's burgeoning Mascot Pictures. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rin Tin Tin, Walter Miller, (more)
Ken Maynard's magnificent horse Tarzan took center-stage in this, perhaps the star's most flamboyant entry in the otherwise super low-budget KBS series. A wild stallion, Tarzan releases a group of horses corralled for slaughter by nasty Steve Frazer (Niles Welch), who is selling horseflesh to pet food manufacturers. When Frazer demands that the sheriff (Jack Rockwell) intervene, foreman Ken Benson (Maynard) convinces rancher Patricia Riley (Merna Kennedy) to help him prove Tarzan innocent. Dubious at first, Patricia finally comes around and together they get the goods on Frazer, who is eventually killed by a vengeful Tarzan. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Merna Kennedy, (more)
- 1932
Not the best of Tim McCoy's 16 Westerns for Columbia (1931-1932), Cornered, directed by action specialist B. Reeves Eason, was also far from the worst, with plenty of fast riding and shooting to please the small fry. McCoy played Sheriff Tim Laramie whose best friend, Moody Pearson (Niles Welch), is accused of killing the father of his girlfriend, Jane Herrick (Shirley Grey). Tim staunchly proclaims his friend innocent until proven guilty but when Moody escapes, the townsfolk fire him. Tim and Moody join a gang of outlaws headed by Red Slaven (Noah Beery), whom the latter believes killed old man Herrick. When cornered, Slavens freely admits to the murder, but then orders his men to kill Tim. The ranchers, aroused earlier by Tim, arrive in the nick of time and, having cleared his name, Moody begins preparations to marry Jane. As always, this McCoy-Columbia Western was cast with seasoned veterans such as the always hissable Beery and Walter Long. Raymond Hatton played McCoy's comic sidekick and Walter Brennan and silent Western star Edmund Cobb appeared in unbilled bits as a court clerk and ranch hand, respectively. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
The second of six sound Westerns starring Jack Hoxie and produced by poverty row company Majestic, this film, like most B-Westerns at the time, features long stretches of what for all intents and purposes is silent action briefly interrupted by somewhat awkward dialogue sequences. Jack (Hoxie) and Jeff Sellers (Lafe Mckee) are partners in search of gold who are joined by the latter's lovely daughter, Marion (Alice Day). Jeff sells his part of the claim to Boss Kramer (Hooper Atchley) and is soon after found murdered. Marion accuses Jack of killing her father and he is arrested by the sheriff (Tom London). Together with sidekick Elmer (Matthew Betz), Jack devises a plan in which Kramer, riding Elmer's wagon, is mistakenly shot by his own henchman (Robert Kortman). With their leader dead, the gang members give themselves up to the authorities, and Jack is cleared of any wrongdoing. This Western marked the last screen appearance for silent screen ingenue Alice Day. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hoxie, Alice Day, (more)
- 1931
This western serial features the famous trained German Shepherd Rin-Tin-Tin. Rinty gets involved in an Indian uprising caused by a mysterious criminal known as the "Wolf Man" and a father and son who are under attack by outlaws trying to steal their gold mine. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Never one to hide his talent under a bushel basket, director Rouben Mamoulien proudly proclaimed that, while there were ten killings in his 1931 gangster drama City Streets, the audience never sees any of them. This was not the only innovation in this fascinating early talkie, in which straight-arrow movie hero Gary Cooper is cast as a racketeer known only as The Kid. He has chosen a life of crime out of love for Nan (Sylvia Sidney), the daughter of mob henchman Pop Cooley (Guy Kibbee). Eventually railroaded into prison by her crooked cohorts, Nan implores The Kid to give up the rackets, but he refuses. Things go downhill very rapidly after that, culminating with The Kid and Nan being taken "for a ride" by rival thugs. Cast in a role originally intended for Clara Bow, Sylvia Sidney does a magnificent job and was soon typecast as a downtrodden Depression victim, born with two strikes against her. Conversely, Gary Cooper never again played anything quite like "The Kid." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, (more)
- 1931
The Conquering Horde is a remake of the 1924 western epic North of 36, using generous amounts of stock footage from the original. The story takes place in post-Civil War Texas, where the local cattlemen are suffering from their inability to get their livestock to market. Dan McMasters (Richard Arlen), a Yankee war hero, is sent from Washington to help set up a safe and efficient passageway for the cattle drovers -- thereby earning himself the enmity of the local land barons who've been charging the cattlemen exorbitant fees to trek across their land. A romantic subplot involves McMasters and Yank-hating rancher Taizie Lockhart (Fay Wray). The Conquering Horde was remade in 1938 as The Texans, which like its predecessor was heavily reliant upon action highlights from North of 36 (including the spectacular panoramas of the last major cattle drive in the United States). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Fay Wray, (more)
- 1931
- NR
Two-reel comedy favorites Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made their feature-film debut (excluding their guest appearances in Hollywood Revue of 1929 and Rogue Song) in the prison comedy Pardon Us. A spoof of MGM's The Big House, the story begins when erstwhile bootleggers Laurel and Hardy sell a bottle of beer to a Prohibition agent. Shipped off to the pen, our heroes are escorted to the cell occupied by "The Tiger" (Walter Long), the toughest con in the joint. The Tiger immediately becomes the boys' best friend when he mistakes Laurel's loose-tooth "buzz" as an act of defiance! Swept up in one of The Tiger's escape attempts, Laurel and Hardy disguise themselves in blackface and lose themselves among the cotton-pickers in the Deep South, but Stan's buzzing tooth gives the game away when the warden's (Wilfred Lucas) car breaks down near the cotton fields. Carted back to jail, Stan and Ollie become heroes when they inadvertently foul up The Tiger's next prison break. Pardon Us was previewed in late 1930 in a 70-minute version titled The Rap, which included several sequences (including an elaborate prison fire) which never made it to the final, 56-minute release version. More recently, the film has been reissued to TV in the 65-minute print prepared for Great Britain; the "new" footage includes a handful of previously discarded gag punchlines and several outtakes. In its 56-minute state, Pardon Us is not bad for a first feature-length attempt, even though the best Laurel & Hardy features were still to come. Highlights include an "Our Gang"-style schoolroom routine with perennial Laurel & Hardy foil James Finlayson as the teacher (incidentally, June Marlowe, who played Miss Crabtree in the real Our Gang comedies, shows up as the warden's daughter), a pleasant song-and-dance number in blackface, and a hilarious dentist-office routine "borrowed" from the team's 1928 silent comedy Leave 'Em Laughing. Pardon Us was simultaneously filmed in several foreign languages -- one of which, the Spanish-language De Bote en Bote, has popped up from time to time on American cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, (more)
