John Laurenz Movies

Produced at Agoura, CA, and directed by silent film action star Richard Talmadge, this minor Western starred bandleader and early television personality Spade Cooley. Actually, Cooley had very little to do in the film other than offer name recognition to a cumbersome Western tale of a special agent (Bill Edwards) unravelling a series of rustlings on and around Cooley's dude ranch. The rustlers, as it turns out, are in league with a smuggler known only as the Phantom Raider. The contraband in question was originally slated to be dope, but vehement objections from the Breen office, the Hollywood watchdog, caused it to be changed to diamonds. At one point in the film, the Cooley ranch hands are seen practicing acrobatic feats under the leadership of director Richard Talmadge, a veteran stuntman. The act was billed as "The Six Metzetti Boys," an obvious reference to Talmadge's real name, Sylvester Metzetti. Popularly known as "The King of Western Swing," Spade Cooley created less than admirable headlines in 1961 when he was convicted of beating his estranged wife to death. He died of a heart attack in 1969 while on a leave from Vacaville prison to perform in a benefit concert. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The "mermaids" are really tribal pearl divers in this diverting Tarzan adventure. Their livelihood is threatened by an evil white trader (Fernando Wagner), who sets himself up as a "god." With the help of lovely diver Linda Christian (later Mrs. Tyrone Power), Tarzan defeats the wicked despot, but not before several underwater battles, not the least of which involves an octopus. If the jungle settings of Tarzan and the Mermaids don't look particularly African, that's because the film was shot at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico. Mermaids represents the final appearance of Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this big-budget historical adventure, Tyrone Power stars as Pedro De Vargas, a young and impetuous nobleman in 16th Century Spain. Pedro helps to free a slave who belongs to Diego De Silva (John Sutton), but this proves to be a mistake, as Diego is one of the leaders of the Inquisition. Diego soon brands Pedro a heretic, puts his family behind bars, and subjects his 12-year-old sister to torture so horrible it kills her. An outraged Pedro plots his escape, with the help of his friend Juan Garcia (Lee J. Cobb) and hot-blooded peasant girl, Catana Perez (Jean Peters). Pedro and his friends help his parents make their way out of Spain, and he soon joins forces with Hernando Cortez (Cesar Romero), who has an ambitious plan to sail to the new world in search of gold. However, a vengeful Diego uses his powers to foil Cortez, and when Diego is murdered, Pedro becomes the key suspect in the crime. Captain From Castile was shot on location in Morelos, Mexico, where the active volcano Paricutin slowed production, causing delays that expanded the film's budget to a then-extravagant $4.5 million. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The third of western hero James Warren's trio of RKO Radio vehicles, Code of the West was like its predecessors based on a story by Zane Grey. Warren plays Bob Wade, a settler on the Arizona Strip, circa 1880. Representing his fellow settlers, Wade stands up to gambling boss Carter (Raymond Burr), who knows that the railroad intends to extend through Arizona and plans to drive the homesteaders out of the territory. Likewise defying the crooked Carter is Wade's Mexican-Irish sidekick, Chito Rafferty (John Laurentz). Code of the West was previously filmed in 1925 and 1934 (the latter version, titled Home on the Range, starred Randolph Scott). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Tim Holt still in military service and Robert Mitchum promoted to "A" pictures, RKO Radio attempted to create a new B-western star in the form of James Warren, who starred in three sagebrushers over a three-year period. Warren's second RKO effort was Sunset Pass, a remake of an oft-filmed Zane Grey story. The star is cast as Rocky, a railway express officer assigned to break up a train-robbery gang operating on the Arizona border. John Laurenz plays Rocky's Spanish-Irish sidekick Chito Rafferty, a role later assigned to Richard Martin in the Tim Holt series. One of the film's two heroines is played by Jane Greer, who unlike James Warren was destined for bigger things at RKO. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This socially conscious drama examines the causes of juvenile delinquency and centers on one girl who joins a gang of punks and ends up involved in a murder. She is jailed. Later her old friend returns from the Navy and convinces the courts that she wasn't really part of the killing. The chastened young woman is released. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide