Robert Livingston Movies
Livingston was born Robert Randall. Raised in California, he began his professionl life as a reporter. In the late '20s he began performing onstage and in film shorts. By 1934 he had become an actor in feature films, and in 1936 he began a long stretch as a cowboy star: alongside costars Crash Corrigan and Max Terhune, he appeared as Stony Brooke in the Three Mesquiteers series of Westerns, going on to play the character 29 times; the Mesquiteers were among the Top Ten Western Box-Office attractions in every year from 1937-43. In 1939 he portrayed the Lone Ranger in a serial, then in the early '40s he remained popular as the costar of the Lone Rider series with sidekick Fuzzy St. John; meanwhile, he also played romantic leads in a number of B-movies. Later he appeared in occasional character roles. He was briefly married to starlet Margaret Roach, daughter of film pioneer Hal Roach. His brother was minor actor and singing cowboy Jack Randall. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1940
The three Mesquiteers ride the long trail home following the Spanish-American war in this western. En route, they have many exciting adventures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1940
With Under Texas Skies, Republic's Three Mesquiteers underwent a slight change of personnel. Robert Livingston remained as Stony Brooke, but now Bob Steele was seen as Tucson Smith and Rufe Davis assumed the role of Lullaby Joslin. The story opens as Stony returns to his home town, only to discover that his sheriff father has been murdered by person or persons unknown. The new sheriff (Henry Brandon) resents the arrival of the Mesquiteers, going so far as to frame Tucson on a murder charge. It doesn't take long for Stony to figure out who was responsible for his dad's killing-and to bring real law 'n' order back to the community. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Bob Steele, (more)
- 1940
An above-average entry in Republic Pictures' long-running "Three Mesqueteers" series, The Trail Blazers is something as unusual as a Christmas western that includes comic sidekick Rufe Davis' rendition of "Jingle Bells". The Mesqueteers -- who in addition to Davis' Lullaby Joslin also numbered Robert Livingston as Stony Brooke and Bob Steele as "Tucson" Smith -- come to the aid of Jim Chapman (Carroll Nye), an engineer assigned to build a telegraph for the army. But a group of powerful local businessmen, headed by crooked newspaper publisher Jeff Bradley (Weldon Heyburn), do their utmost to sabotage the project. Yet despite the inevitable setbacks, the Mesqueteers, aided by Army Major Kelton (Tom Chatterton) and his daughter Marcia (Pauline Moore), make sure that the life-saving telegraph is erected on time. In an effort to duplicate the success of the "Three Mesqueteers" films, small-scale Monogram begun their own trio series in 1943, confusingly entitled "The Trail Blazers," a moniker the studio most likely "stole" from this western. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Bob Steele, (more)
- 1940
This "Three Mesquiteers" western entry stars Robert Livingston as Stony Brooke, Raymond Hatton as Rusty Joslin and Duncan Renaldo as Rico Rinaldo. Livingston also does double duty as the villain of the piece, a desperado known as The Laredo Kid. Working undercover for the Texas Rangers, Stony Brooke poses as the recently deceased Laredo Kid to get the goods on the latter's gang. The film's action highlight is a leap from a runaway stagecoach over a perilous cliff and into a raging stream-a bit of derring-do that popped up as stock footage in many a future Republic western. Handling the leading-lady duties is Rosella Towne, formerly with Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1939
In this episode of the Three Mesquiteers series of westerns the trio must help two rival sides involved in a range war settle their differences. The story is set in 1906, and the rivals are homesteaders trying to take advantage of Roosevelt's Reclamation Act and the landowners who oppose the act and want to see the Act repealed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1939
This second Republic-serial adaptation of the popular radio series The Lone Ranger abandons the "mystery" angle of the first (1938's The Lone Ranger) in favor of a straightforward action tale. Robert Livingston stars as Bill Andrews, alias the "Masked Rider of the Plains," while Chief Thundercloud is his faithful Indian companion Tonto. When cattle baron Craig Dolan (J. Farrell McDonald) is suspected of conducting a campaign of terror to rid the territory of settlers, Andrews investigates. Upon discovering that the real villain of the piece is Dolan's scheming nephew Bart, Andrews adopts his Lone Ranger guise, and together with Tonto and their mutual Mexican friend Juan Vasquez (Duncan Renaldo) they lay the groundwork for Bart's ultimate defeat. Many of Alberto Colombo's musical themes were incorporating into the Lone Ranger radio program, achieving a kind of immortality in the process. The heroine is played by Jinx Falken, later famous as TV personality Jinx Falkenberg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Chief Thundercloud, (more)
- 1939
When both John Wayne and Ray "Crash" Corrigan defected from Republic's "Three Mesquiteers" series, the studio hastily replaced them with Robert Livingston (whom Wayne had originally replaced) and future "Cisco Kid" Duncan Renaldo. In Kansas Terrors, Stoney (Livingston) and his saddle pal Rusty (Raymond Hatton) take a job delivering horses to a flyspeck Caribbean island. Here they join forces with Rico (Renaldo) to topple the regime of a despotic commandante (George Douglas). Despite the fact that Rico was introduced as a horse thief, he becomes fast friends with Stoney and Rusty, and by film's end has agreed to return with them to the US, so that there'll be three Mesquiteers once more. After two years' worth of the Livingston-Renaldo-Hatton team, Republic would come up with yet another winning combination, consisting of Livingston, Bob Steele and Rufe Davis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1939
In this drama, an young, orphaned heir is dismayed to discover that his inheritance will no longer cover the tuition and expenses for military school and ends up sent to a state orphanage. He and his devoted police dog, end up running away from there. He then finds himself entangled in a dog show and a killing. Later the canine is tried for murder and is sentenced to die. Fortunately, the boy is able to find the real killer, save his dog, and win a scholarship to the military academy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Ryan, Robert Livingston, (more)
- 1939
This prison film features an inventive escape from Alcatraz. They do it by planning a phony wedding in a prison chapel. The fugitives are soon captured by a brave hero who stops them by crashing his car into their getaway plane. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, John Gallaudet, (more)
- 1938
This program B western features our three heroes attempting to straighten things out after they accidentally cause the death of another man. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1938
In this entry in the long-running series of westerns, the Three Mesquiteers transform their ranch into a prison farm to provide a model for prison reform. They are opposed by a local contractor who wants to build a standard prison. He and his colleagues endeavor to destroy the ranch, but they are thwarted by the daring trio. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
- 1938
Robberies are undertaken by an outlaw who looks amazingly like one of the Three Mesquiteers. (AKA Outlaws of Sonora) ~ All Movie Guide
- 1938
When Marie Dressler died in 1934, the career of her frequent screen partner Polly Moran went into eclipse. Four years later, Republic Pictures tried to recapture the Dressler-Moran magic by casting Moran opposite the formidable Alison Skipworth in Ladies in Distress. Skipworth plays female mayor Josephine Bonney, at present having trouble dealing with her town's criminal element. Josephine enlists the aid of home town boy Braddock (Robert Livingston), a pretty tough customer himself, to take on the crooks. By using a few underhanded tactics of his own, Braddock accomplishes his mission, winning the hand of pretty Sally (Virginia Grey) in the bargain. Polly Moran is peripherally involved in the action as Josephine's supercilious sister Lydia, but it's really Alison Skipworth's film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alison Skipworth, Polly Moran, (more)
- 1938
In this action-packed crime drama, an ace reporter declares war on the mobsters that killed his best friend, helps a disenchanted hit man steal back his brother's iron lung from gangsters by hiding inside it during transport, busts up two other gangs, discovers a whiskey-smuggling ring, almost gets steamed to death, gets his girlfriend's house shot up by mobsters, and upsets his editor when a rival paper gets the story of his engagement first. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, June Travis, (more)
In this drama, a young man aspires to a life of wealth and power in the newspaper business. Unfortunately, it takes time and money to be successful. The young man's girl is not patient and decides to dump him in favor of a wealthy gangster. This inspires the jilted youth to achieve his dreams. He begins newspaper delivery business that becomes so successful that he can afford a penthouse on Park Avenue. Still he has not forgotten the girl he once loved. This is fortuitous as she has become fed up with the gangster. Eventually, the young man loses his business and his fancy flat, but in exchange, he regains the affections of the woman he always loved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Helen Mack, (more)
The Three Mesquiteers ride again in the economical Republic sagebrusher Purple Vigilantes. The Mesquiteers in question are Stony Brooke, Tucson Smith and Lullaby Joslin, played this time out by Robert Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Max Terhune. The storyline is a timely one, inspired by the terrorist activities of the bigoted "White Legion" of the mid-1930s. When a group of hooded mercenaries begin to wreak terror on the frontier, the Mesquiteers ride to the rescue. Their mission is a personal one: their old friend and mentor has been falsely accused of being the head of the Purple Vigilantes. Worth noting is that the Vigilantes are depicted as having once been an honorable organization, now re-formed for evil instead of good. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max "Alibi" Terhune
- 1938
In this episode of the western series, the Mesquitters try to stop a ring of silk thieves while dealing with a shady medicine show man and his kids. One of his offspring is a beautiful young woman. The Mesquiteers must hurry to find the thieves as they too are suspects. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max "Alibi" Terhune
