Rayford Barnes Movies
A staple of Western-themed films and television series, veteran character actor Rayford Barnes began his onscreen career with John Wayne in Hondo, and in recent years appeared on television in (#Walker, Texas Ranger and ER. After beginning his career in New York training with Stella Adler and the Neighborhood Playhouse, Barnes moved to San Francisco to open his own theater, and later relocated to San Francisco, where he landed his role in Hondo. A veteran of WWII, Barnes made regular appearances on such TV series as Gunsmoke, The Virginian, and Little House on the Prairie while concurrently appearing in Westerns like The Wild Bunch and The Hunting Party. Rayford Barnes died on November 11, 2000, at St. Andrews Medical Center in Santa Monica, CA. He was 80. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide- 1960
This action film set just after the Civil War tends to stay on the surface of the story instead of diving deeper into character motivation. A group of Union Army soldiers is charged with protecting a box of gold and getting it to its rightful place within the government coffers. As might be expected, their biggest enemies are former Confederate soldiers who have their own ideas about what to do with the gold. Battles and skirmishes succeed each other as the fight for the gold begins, and even some of the Union men start to wonder if the gold would not be better off in their own hands. Dissension splits the ranks as the drama heads towards its conclusion. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Williams, Brad Dexter, (more)
- 1962
On behalf of his father Ben Cartwright, Hoss delivers a large sum of money to the town of Dutchman Flats. Upon his arrival, however, Hoss is arrested by Sheriff Stedman (Denver Pyle) on a charge of bank robbery. Stedman knows that Hoss is innocent, but he's anxious to prove his worth to the townspeople. Stedman's plan goes horribly awry when the angry citizens form a lynch mob. Also in the cast are Olive Sturgess as Mary Ann, Roy Roberts as Fillmore, Terry Becker as Shukie, Kelly Thordsen as Larson, John Harmon as McCray, Rayford Barnes as Austin, and Lane Bradford as Tibbs. Written by Preston Wood and Elliot Arnold, "A Hot Day for a Hanging" first aired on October 14, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1973
Ponderosa ranchhaned Griff King agrees to pose as the husband of one Theodora Duffy (Karen Carlson). There is nothing personal in this arrangement: Theodora wants to solve a crime, and pretending to be Mrs. King is merely a means to an end. Also in the cast are Ramon Bieri as Jonas Holt, Robert Yuro as Dody Henderickson, Richard Eastham as Stanton and Rayford Barnes as Shaw. Written by Ward Hawkins, "The Marriage of Theodora Duffy" was the last-ever Bonanza episode to be filmed-but was shown next to last, on January 9, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1955
It's the Bowery Boys again, in their 35th feature film. Sach (Huntz Hall) buys a battered oil lamp, which turns out to have belonged to Aladdin some 2000 years earlier. Out pops a genial genie (Eric Blore), who grants every wish of Sach and his pal Slip (Leo Gorcey). Gangsters steal the lamp, but discover that the genie won't grant any wishes unless Slip and Sach tell him to, so the baddies snatch Our Heroes as well. The boys escape by insisting that the genie take them home. He does--to his home, ancient Baghdad. Slip and Sach barely escape the scimitar of the angry Caliph; they return to the Bowery minus the genie but with their heads intact. In typical Bowery Boys fare, this entry is pepped up by the appearance of veteran comic actor Eric Blore in his final screen appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Posing as a fugitive from justice, frontier undercover agent John Deakin (Charles Bronson) boards a train to go after a ruthless gang of outlaws. Ingredients essential to the action include an anti-military conspiracy involving gunrunners and Indians, a phony epidemic, and a down-and-dirty traintop fight between Deakin and Carlos (boxer-turned-actor Archie Moore). Breakheart Pass was adapted for the screen by Alistair MacLean from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, (more)
John Wayne plays a lawman who has to deal with the problems of fatherhood in a big way in Cahill: United States Marshall. Wayne is J.D. Cahill, whose singular desire to track down law breakers strains his relationship with his two teenage sons --17-year-old Danny (Gary Grimes) and 12-year-old Billy Joe (Clay O'Brien). The film begins as Cahill is hot on the trail of a gang of outlaws. After the big showdown, he returns to town to discover that the local bank has been robbed. The sheriff and the deputy have been killed, and four bank robbers are imprisoned in the jail. He is stunned when he finds out that one of the robbers in jail is Cahill's son Danny. It seems that during Cahill's absence from home, his two sons have been enticed into a criminal life by nefarious outlaw Abe Fraser (George Kennedy). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Gary Grimes, (more)
Set in the '30s, Mountie Millen (Lee Marvin) is assigned to track down accused murderer Johnson (Charles Bronson), who has escaped in the high passes of the Canadian Rockies. Johnson, a trapper, has extensive knowledge of wilderness living, but Millen has the resources of the Canadian police at his beck and call. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, (more)
- 1956
A juvenile delinquent in the "holding tank" lets slip that his older brother is planning to rob a loan office. Though Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) do their best to head off the holdup man, the robbery goes off exactly as scheduled. All the detectives can hope for is that the outlaw's limp will slow him down long enough to be arrested. Iconic 1940s "pin-up girl" Mary Beth Hughes has a flashy role as the perpetrator's fed-up wife. This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of June 7, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
In the opening episode of ER's third season, Benton (Eriq La Salle) and Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) get the results of their HIV tests, forcing Jeanie to make a difficult decision. Carter's inaugural assignment as a first-year intern is to temporarily replace Benton as ER surgical consultant; Carter (Noah Wyle) also finds time to befriend another first-year man, Dr. Dennis Gant (Omar Epps). Having been promoted to full-time attending physician (and, incidentally, full-time ER regular), Weaver (Laura Innes) is more insufferable than ever. And in two separate Fourth of July festivities, a couple of the other main characters experience uncomfortable reunions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In this western, an embittered cavalry sergeant must take over his regiment after their commanding officer is killed during an ambush. To save them, he leads the troop through Apache territory because it is the quickest way to reach the fort. The members of the regiment do not trust their new leader's reasoning. They suspect he is taking them through the restricted territory so that he can get revenge upon the Apaches who killed his wife and kids several years ago. The troop find themselves suffering a series of increasingly deadly attacks. Many die, until the soldiers, believing that the sergeant has lost his mind, rebel and kill him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel McCrea, Forrest Tucker, (more)
- 1957
Originally titled Man of the West (the name of the Philip Yordan novel on which it was based), Gun Glory was rechristened to avoid confusion with a like-vintage Gary Cooper vehicle of the same title. Stewart Granger plays gunslinger/gambler Tom Early, who tries a bit too late to make amends for past misdeeds. Hoping to regain the respect of his community in general and his teenaged son Young Tom (Steve Rowland) in particular, Early vows to hang up his guns and live a respectable life. This proves well nigh impossible when the community is threatened by the incursions of evil cattle baron Grimsell (James Gregory). Rhonda Fleming costars as Jo, the only person in town who truly cares whether Early lives or dies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Rhonda Fleming, (more)
- 1964
Guns of Diablo was cobbled together from two episodes of the TV series The Travels of Jamie McPheeters. 14-year-old Kurt Russell plays Jamie, an orphaned boy heading westward with a wagon train. Charles Bronson tops the cast as wagon scout Linc Murdock, who runs into difficulties when he meets old flame Maria (Susan Oliver), who is now married to corrupt lawman Rance Macklin (Jan Merlin). The jealous Macklin has Murdock arrested, but Maria frees him, permitting Murdock and Jamie to embark on a new adventure involving a "lost" gold mine. Curiously, Dan O'Herlihy, Kurt Russell's costar on Travels of Jamie McPheeters, does not appear in this ersatz feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Susan Oliver, (more)
- 1963
Hired by a bank to collect $10,000 from rancher Dan Tibner (Nestor Paiva), Paladin (Richard Boone) finds that Tibner has been murdered and the money stolen. Suspicion immediately falls upon a band of gypsies that has been roaming around the ranch, but Paladin is convinced that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Famed flamenco guitarist Laurindo Almeida is prominently featured in this, the 225th and final episode of Have Gun, Will Travel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Ivan Dixon delivers a towering performance as Isham Spruce, a former slave turned outlaw. With a $5000 dead-or-alive reward on his head, Isham must elude a bloodthirsty posse. Meanwhile, Paladin (Richard Boone) also searches for the fugitive outlaw--fully intending to bring him back alive. Featured in the cast as the town sheriff is William Talman, then pulling double duty as the luckless DA Hamilton Burger on Perry Mason. Reportedly, several CBS affiliates in the South refused to telecast this program due to its essentially sympathetic portrayal of the African American outlaw. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
En route to the Evans ranch, where he hopes to help Hugh Evans (Malcolm Atterbury) and his daughter Elaine (Nancy Hadley) resolve a bitter land dispute, Paladin (Richard Boone) comes across wealthy young Harleigh Preston (Rayford Barnes), a dissolute alcoholic who has been robbed and abandoned by his previous guide. Intending to help Harleigh pull himself together and find some purpose in life, Paladin suggests that the young man offer a helping hand to the Evans family as well. Not surprisingly, Harleigh and Elaine fall in love--but is he worthy of that love? Much of this episode was filmed only location in the San Bernardino National Forest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Paladin (Richard Boone) is intrigued when his morning mail yields one-half of a $500 bill and a stagecoach ticket to Yuma, Arizona. En route to Yuma, Paladin finds that he has been snared in a death-trap, courtesy of Mexican bandit Solomon (Anthony Caruso). The other stagecoach passengers are held at gunpoint by Solomon's cohorts--and it is up to Paladin to determine who will live and who will die. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Beaten, robbed and left unconscious, Paladin (Richard Boone) wanders dazedly into the town of Blue Bell. It soon becomes clear that Paladin will not leave the town alive if the Goodfellow family, whose siblings run the place with an iron hand, have anything to say about it. All that stands between Paladin and certain doom are a seemingly sympathetic saloon girl named Susan (Christine White)--and, if he has a chance to use it, his hidden two-shot derringer. This is the episode in which Paladin explains the true meaning of the chess knight embossed upon his calling card. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Seeking revenge against those who lynched his Rebel father during the Civil War, young gun Jesse May Turnbow (Robert Blake) has cut a violent swath throughout the frontier, killing ten men in cold blood. Hired to bring Turnbow to justice, Paladin (Richard Boone) conducts a search which ends up in an isolated shack occupied by Southerner George Jundell (William Talman) and ex-slave Ansel James (Hari Rhodes). Though he befriends the two men, Paladin cannot shake the feeling that they know more about Turnbow's whereabouts than they're letting on--and in fact the outlaw may be hiding on their property this very moment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Hondo is so "perfect" a John Ford western that many people assume it was directed by John Ford--or at the very least, Andrew McLaglen. Actually the director was suspense expert John Farrow, who worked with the "Duke" only twice in his career (the second film was an oddball war drama, The Sea Chase [55]). In Hondo, John Wayne plays a hard-bitten cavalry scout who is humanized by frontierswoman Geraldine Page and her young son (Lee Aaker, star of TV's Rin Tin Tin). Try as he might, Wayne can't convince Page to move off her land in anticipation of an Apache attack. He leaves her ranch, only to be ambushed by desperado Leo Gordon--who happens to be Page's long-absent husband. Having killed Gordon, Hondo returns to the ranch to protect Page from the Indians, and to rekindle the woman's hesitant love for him. The climactic attack sequence is enhanced by Hondo's 3-D photography, one of the few truly effective utilizations of this much-maligned process. Long unavailable thanks to the labyrinthine legal tangles of the John Wayne estate, Hondo was finally released to videotape in the early 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Geraldine Page, (more)
- 1976
Walnut Grove is held in the grip of terror when the three Galender brothers move into town. Before long, the bullying brothers have run up enormous bills that they refuse to pay, spread malicious and injurious lies, and beaten up anyone who gets in their way. The limit comes when the brothers try to sexually assault Caroline Ingalls -- and when the girl's father, Charles (Michael Landon), confronts the boys, he is pummeled for his troubles. It ultimately falls to the schoolchildren of Walnut Grove to end the Galenders' violent rampage once and for all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1961
En route to Denver, Bart (Jack Kelly) finds himself sharing a stagecoach with a curious assortment of passengers, including a woman (Suzanne Lloyd) searching for her fiancee, a taciturn gunman (Hampton Fancher) and an overly friendly undertaker (Maurice Manson). Stopping at a way station, the passengers unwittingly fall into the clutches of homicidal outlaw Nero Lyme (Buddy Ebsen) and his equally murderous family. Realizing that everyone is in danger, Bart tries to tip off one of the passengers that the Lymes intend to kill them all; unfortunately, that passenger promptly betrays Bart to Nero Lyme. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Arlene Howell makes her last series appearance as Southern-fried sharpster Cindy Lou Brown in this episode, in which Bret Maverick (James Garner) hires on as guide for a stagecoach line. En route to the far-flung outpost of Fort Doom, Bret discovers that among his passengers is the redoubtable Cindy Lou, who happens to be harboring a secret. Likewise keeping certain vital facts to herself--such as her plan to kill her husband--is another attractive passenger, Mrs. Chapman (Nancy Gates). The plot intrigues begin to breed like rabbits when the stagecoach is attacked by marauders. (Trivia alert: Diane McBain, appearing in this episode as Charlotte, later starred on the Warner Bros. TV cop show Surfside Six, which had been designed as a replacement for the same studio's Bourbon Street Beat...which, in turn, costarred Arlene Howell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Season Four of Maverick concludes with the series' only two-part episode. In Part One, Bart (Jack Kelly) purchases a wagonload of merchandise sight unseen from silver-tongued peddler Luther Cannonbaugh (John Dehner). Bart's plan to sell the merchandise at a nearby Army post hits a snag when he peeks into the wagon and finds a large supply of illegal liquor--as well as a bound and gagged Indian girl named Tawney (Sharon Hugueny). In his efforts to keep himself out of prison and avoid an all-out Indian war, Bart ends up captured by Tawney's tribe. Also held captive is the redoubtable Mr. Cannonbaugh, who thinks he has devised a foolproof scheme to save himself and Bart from being killed...and he's just the fool to prove it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Bart (Jack Kelly) and crooked peddler Cannonbaugh (John Dehner) have been captured by the same hostile tribe from whom Cannonbaugh had kidnapped the Indian girl Tawney (Sharon Hugueny). In order to secure his release, the peddler convinces the Indian chief to accept a "magic" necklace, which will render him impervious to gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, the chief now feels emboldened to attack a nearby Army fort--and unless Bart and Tawny act quickly, every man, woman and child in the fort will be massacred before the day is done. A young Chad Everett plays a minor role in this final episode of Maverick's fourth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- R
A tough-guy cop (Joe Don Baker) pursues two drug runners (Martin Balsam, John Saxon) across the city to bust a large syndicate. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Don Baker, Martin Balsam, (more)
