Arthur Loft Movies

The 13-episode Universal serial The Green Hornet is based on the radio series of the same name. Gordon Jones stars as Britt Reid, crusading young publisher of the Daily Sentinel, who matches wits with the underworld by disguising himself as the Green Hornet. So far as police are concerned, the Hornet is himself a criminal; this misunderstanding enables Reid to operate "outside the law" to battle criminals and racketeers. In the course of the serial, Reid and his faithful valet Kato (Keye Luke), the only living person who knows the true identity of the Hornet, take on a crooked insurance racket, an auto-theft ring and a dishonest flying school. Others in the cast include Anne Nagel as Reid's secretary Lenore "Casey" Case, and Wade Boteler as thick-headed detective Michael Axford. A TV version of The Green Hornet appeared in 1966, with Van Williams as Reid and no less than Bruce Lee as Kato. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Don "Red" Barry, the "Wyoming Outlaw" and "Tulsa Kid" in other Republic westerns, does not play any one of the title characters in Texas Terrors. That honor goes to the film's villains, headed by the murderous mine-jumper who killed the father of hero Bob Millbourne (Barry). Growing up to become a lawyer, Bob tries to use legal methods to catch the bad guys. Should this fail, of course, he can always rely on his fists and his six-shooters, which he does from time to time. Former Ziegfeld Follies headliner Ann Pennington shows up for a brief dance number, indicating sadly that her best years were behind her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Brothers end up on opposite sides of the law in this Western set during the Civil War. Posing as a Union officer, Don Mason, aka Don Burke (Milburn Stone), attempts to divert the Union troops from the struggle with the Confederacy by arming the Colorado Indian tribes. Unbeknownst to Don, however, his younger brother Jerry (Roy Rogers) is assigned by President Lincoln to investigate the uprisings in the territory and the youngster arrives just as Don is preparing to marry Lylah Sanford (Pauline Moore). With the aid of grizzled sidekick Gabby (George "Gabby" Hayes), Roy manages to disarm the crooked Indian commissioner (Arthur Loft) but Don slips away with Lylah as his hostage. Roy is wounded in the ensuing shootout and is nursed back to health by Lylah, with whom he has fallen in love. There is the inevitable showdown between the brothers but rather than face the hangman, Don makes a daring escape and is shot and killed by Sheriff Harkins (Fred Burns). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Worth seeing for its title alone was the Johnny Mack Brown western Riders of Pasco Basin. This time, Brown plays the head of a group of vigilantes (the peace-keeping variety) who take on a gang of clever villains. With the law on their side, the bad guys have been cheating the local farmers while promising to dig an irrigation ditch. Before bringing the crooks to heel, second-billed Bob Baker (who own western series was scotched by Universal the previous year) performs a brace of cowboy tunes, the most enjoyable of which is "I'm Tying Up My Bridle to the Door of Your Heart". Director Ford Beebe brings a serial-like pace to the proceedings, as was his custom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frank Capra's classic comedy-drama established James Stewart as a lead actor in one of his finest (and most archetypal) roles. The film opens as a succession of reporters shout into telephones announcing the death of Senator Samuel Foley. Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), the state's senior senator, puts in a call to Governor Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee) reporting the news. Hopper then calls powerful media magnate Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), who controls the state -- along with the lawmakers. Taylor orders Hopper to appoint an interim senator to fill out Foley's term; Taylor has proposed a pork barrel bill to finance an unneeded dam at Willet Creek, so he warns Hopper he wants a senator who "can't ask any questions or talk out of turn." After having a number of his appointees rejected, at the suggestion of his children Hopper nominates local hero Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), leader of the state's Boy Rangers group. Smith is an innocent, wide-eyed idealist who quotes Jefferson and Lincoln and idolizes Paine, who had known his crusading editor father. In Washington, after a humiliating introduction to the press corps, Smith threatens to resign, but Paine encourages him to stay and work on a bill for a national boy's camp. With the help of his cynical secretary Clarissa Sanders (Jean Arthur), Smith prepares to introduce his boy's camp bill to the Senate. But when he proposes to build the camp on the Willets Creek site, Taylor and Paine force him to drop the measure. Smith discovers Taylor and Paine want the Willets Creek site for graft and he attempts to expose them, but Paine deflects Smith's charges by accusing Smith of stealing money from the boy rangers. Defeated, Smith is ready to depart Washington, but Saunders, whose patriotic zeal has been renewed by Smith, exhorts him to stay and fight. Smith returns to the Senate chamber and, while Taylor musters the media forces in his state to destroy him, Smith engages in a climactic filibuster to speak his piece: "I've got a few things I want to say to this body. I tried to say them once before and I got stopped colder than a mackerel. Well, I'd like to get them said this time, sir. And as a matter of fact, I'm not gonna leave this body until I do get them said." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Roy Rogers got himself a new sidekick in the disheveled, toothless person of George “Gabby” Hayes in this fine Republic western, a partnership that would last until 1946. Roy and Gabby play veterans of the Confederate Army who inherit half-ownership of a Texas ranch. Unfortunately, the other half belongs to Colonel Denbigh (Wade Boteler), a Union officer with whom they had an unpleasant experience during the past war between the states. Denbigh, however, is appointed military governor of the district and when a police squadron under the command of one Captain Jeffries (Arthur Loft) is revealed to consist of outlaws, it is Roy and Gabby who come to Denbigh’s rescue and restore peace to the territory. When not fighting the nasty Arthur Loft and his gang of cutthroats Rogers performs such numbers as ”Headin’ for Texas and Home”, ”Hope I’m Not Dreaming Again” and ”Keep Awalking the Other Way”. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the long-running series, the Dead End Kids are freshly out of reform school when they find themselves victimized by the tough, corrupt head of the Hell's Kitchen Shelter. A reformed racketeer tries to help out, but he winds up violating his parole and getting sent back to prison. As he goes, he gets some satisfaction out of seeing the crooked superintendent sent up the river too. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

British leading man Barry McKay made a respectable if unsuccessful bid at Hollywood stardom in Republic's Stolen Cargo. The plot is motivated by an association of crooked fruit growers who spend most of their time finding ways to cheat their workers out of their rightful pay. McKay is cast as Gerry Clayton, the son of one of the duplicitous growers (Ralph Morgan). Appalled by the plight of the migrant workers, many of whom are illegal aliens (hence the barely relevant title), Gerry champions their cause. The plot thickens when the conscience-stricken elder Clayton decides to pull out of the associations, at which point he is framed for murder (this may be one of the few films in existence in which Ralph Morgan doesn't play the guilty party!) Filmed on location in Southern California, Smuggled Cargo has plenty of energy to make up for its lack of credibility. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title tells all in Columbia's A Woman is the Judge. Frieda Inescourt stars as lady jurist Mary Cabot, who 20 years earlier had lost contact with her infant daughter Justine. Now a grown woman (played by Rochelle Hudson), Justine accidentally shoots a man who'd impugned the reputation of her mother, whom she's never met. As luck would have it, the presiding judge at Justine's trial is none other than Mary Cabot-who up until the film's climax never realizes that she's holding the fate of her own baby in her hands. Judge Cabot's solution to the problem is hardly a salutary comment on the American judicial system, but within the context of the film it's perfectly logical. Billed second, Otto Kruger plays prosecuting attorney Steve Graham, who harbors a secret crush on the good gray judge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Donald Barry plays the legendary outlaw of the title in this Roy Rogers Western which, needless to say, plays fast and loose with history. Returning to Missouri from the gold fields of California, Gabby Whittaker (George "Gabby" Hayes) is persuaded by his granddaughter, Mary (Pauline Moore), to deposit his earnings in the Northfield bank, which is then promptly robbed. Assigned by the Bankers' Association to track down the presumed culprits, Jesse James and his brother Frank (Harry Worth), Roy Rogers soon learns that the Jameses are innocent in this particular crime, which was instead committed by the bank's greedy president, Sam Wyatt (Arthur Loft). Before Rogers can capture the wily banker, he must contend with the interference of Captain Worthington (Harry Woods), a railroad detective more interested in pocketing the 50,000-dollar reward than see justice done. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Start Cheering is Columbia Pictures' idea of a college musical: Practically everyone in the cast is past the age of 30. Charles Starrett plays a movie star who wearies of Hollywood and decides to get a college education. He enrolls incognito in a small university, much to the discomfort of his managers Walter Connolly and Jimmy Durante. Durante heads for college himself, hoping to sabotage Starrett's plans and bring him back before the cameras. While Jimmy Durante is saddled with inferior material, the film gives full head to such guest stars as bandleader Louis Prima, vaudevillian Chaz Chase (who had a cigar-eating act), radio's Professor Quiz (Dr. Craig E. Earle), and Columbia's short-subject headliners The Three Stooges (with Curly!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Jones Family is at it again in Everybody's Baby, their first 1939 release (previewed in 1938). This time, the Joneses' lives are turned inside-out by the arrival in town of Dr. Pilicoff (Reginald Denny), a famous child-rearing expert. In attempting to put Pilicoff's theories into practice, the townsfolk begin to quarrel over the proper way to raise their children. The limit comes when Herbert Thompson (Russell Gleason), husband of the eldest Jones daughter Bonnie (Shirley Deane), tries to rescue his own baby from the well-intentioned but idiotic ministrations of Pilicoff's disciples-whereupon poor Herbert is arrested for kidnapping. Everything is straightened out when Pa Jones (Jed Prouty) and his pals discover that Pilicoff is a phony, leading to a most satisfying retribution. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The cornpone comedy of the Weaver Brothers & Elviry permeates this ramshackle Republic musical. The plot gets under way when the government tries to buy up some of the Weavers' property for a dam project. The hillbilly family wants nothing to do with the "furriners", but eventually they change their minds when construction engineer John (Ralph Byrd) falls in love with the Weavers' pretty daughter Mary (June Storey). Featured as John's sidekick is bespectacled crooner Pinky Tomlin, whose principal vocal contribution is a musical nursery rhyme. Down in Arkansaw wasn't aimed at the New York intelligentsia: its target audience was rural, and by delivering exactly what its fans wanted the film succeeded spectacluarly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide