Jock Mahoney Movies

A Day Of Fury stars Jock Mahoney as town marshal Alan Burnett, whose life is saved by a stranger he meets on the trail. His rescuer turns out to be Jagade (Dale Robertson), a gunslinger just returned after years away, who finds when he gets into town that he can't abide the peace that has been settled between "his" people (i.e. the saloon-keepers, gamblers, etc.) and the righteous, "respectable" folk. Jagade stirs up trouble by persuading the saloon owners to open on Sunday, which they'd voluntarily stopped doing years ago. Suddenly, the peace that had settled over the town is broken, and gambling and other vices that had been in check rise anew, drawing in many of the respectable townsmen and women in the process -- some of the men can't resist the lure of a good high-stakes poker game or a pretty woman, and even the spinster schoolteacher finds herself drawn to Jagade's dark charisma. An escalating cycle of vice and violence unfolds in barely 24 hours; Burnett won't back Jagade down, partly because the man has broken no laws and also partly due to his gratitude to the gunman for saving his life. None of the townspeople can comprehend his inaction, however, and this soon jeopardizes not only his job as marshal and his safety, but also the well-being of his fiancée, Sharmon Fulton (Mara Corday), who was a saloon girl before she was brought out of that life and given a home with a respectable family. Soon Jagade loses control of what he's started, and the town begins to destroy itself in a cycle of guilt, anger, betrayal, murder, suicide, and lynch law.
~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by Kenneth M. Dodson, Away All Boats stars Jeff Chandler as a tough Navy captain who takes charge of a group of raw, undisciplined sailors during World War 2. To keep his men from getting on each other's nerves, Chandler makes himself the target of their excess hatred by assuming the pose of a rigid martinet who cares nothing about his crew's wellbeing. He finds an ally in lieutenant George Nader, who catches on to Chandler's "act" and helps him maintain discipline. The crew survives numerous Japanese air and sea attacks with flying colors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Durango Kid--aka Charles Starrett--rides again in Bandits of El Dorado. For the umpteenth time, Starrett plays a lawman on the trail of a mysterious desperado. The villain in this one smuggles American outlaws into Mexico then murders them for their money belts. Somewhere along the line, Starrett is compelled to don his "Durango" mask to bring the heavy to justice. Critics in 1951 praised Charles Starrett for his agility in the stunt sequences, though in fact most of these stunts were performed by Jock Mahoney (who, billed as Jack O'Mahoney, also played a supporting role in the film). Comedy is provided by Smiley Burnette, as well as a bizarre duo known as "Mustard and Gravy." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Battle Hymn was inspired by the true story of American minister Dean Hess, played here with rare sensitivity by Rock Hudson. A bomber pilot during World War II, Hess inadvertently releases a bomb which destroys a German orphanage. Tortured by guilt, Hess relocates in Korea after the war to offer his services as a missionary. Combining the best elements of Christianity and Eastern spiritualism, Hess establishes a large home for orphans. The preacher's efforts are threatened when the Korean "police action" breaks out in 1950. Battle Hymn was one of several collaborations between Rock Hudson and director Douglas Sirk--though Sirk felt that Robert Stack would have been better suited to the role of Rev. Hess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Juvenile actor Dickie Moore starred in the title role of this 15 chapter serial as a teen-aged Buffalo Bill Cody, who with an adult friend (played by the husky Jock Mahoney, still billed as Jock O'Mahoney), battles a gang of outlaws secretly headed by an unscrupulous lawyer (George J. Lewis). Since the serial was produced by Sam Katzman (known to his legion of detractors as "Jungle Sam"), it was heavily augmented by sometimes rather ill-advised stock footage. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

No sooner had Columbia called it quits with the "Blondie" series than the studio launched a new group of "B"-pictures, based on the popular radio series David Harding, Counterspy. Third-billed Howard St. John plays Harding, with actor/director Fred Sears co-starring as Harding's assistant Peters. Most of the film is carried by Willard Parker as Jerry Baldwin, a navy commander assigned to root out saboteurs in a torpedo factory. Falling in love with Betty Iverson (Audrey Long), the widow of his murdered predecessor, Baldwin is aghast to learn that Betty may be an enemy agent. There's action aplenty as the film rushes to its pyrotechnic conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally telecast the week following the premiere of its two-hour "TV movie" pilot, the opening episode of Emergency wastes no time getting down to business. Squad 51 of the LA County Fire Department's Paramedical Rescue Service is kept busy with a heart-attack victim (Jock Mahoney) whose friends think he's only kidding, an apparent drunkard (Jeff Davis) who has actually gone into insulin shock, and a hunter trapped high on a treacherous precipice. On a lighter note, paramedic John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) is forced to play nursemaid to Bonnie, a troublesome dog belonging to auto-accident victim Paula Slayton (Pat McAnery). Real-life fireman Dick Hamner) appears as the Squad's captain (named, coincidentally, Dick Hamner), in this and all subsequent first-season episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shemp fans rejoice! This home video release collects three classic Three Stooges comedies with Shemp Howard starring alongside Moe Howard and Larry Fine. Hot Scots finds the boys traveling to Scotland, where they hope to become crime fighters with Scotland Yard. They have to settle for work as gardeners, but that doesn't stop them from guarding the castle of the esteemed Earl of Glenheather. In Fuelin' Around, the Stooges are laying carpet at the home of Professor Sneed, a rocket scientist working on a secret government project, when Armenian spies break in and take Larry hostage, convinced that he's Sneed (and making a liar of everyone who ever said, "That Larry -- you can tell he's no rocket scientist!"). And Larry, Moe, and Shemp travel to the South Seas in Hula-La-La, in which a movie studio needs to hire three dance instructors for an upcoming musical set in the tropics -- the studio ends up with the Stooges instead. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As an actor, Eddy Arnold was a good country-western singer. In Hoedown, Eddy plays himself, while the acting burden was carried by Miss Jeff Donnell, Jock O'Mahoney (aka Jock Mahoney), and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. O'Mahoney plays Stoney Rhodes, a cowboy star who is fired from his studio because he can't sing. Accompanied by Vera Wright (Donnell), Rhodes heads southward, where he attends a hoedown staged by Arnold and his C&W confreres. When bank robbers invade the party, Rhodes finds that he's not much help without his stuntmen to back him up. Eventually, however, he proves that he's a genuine hero, thereby assuring himself a renewed movie contract, not to mention the undying adoration of Wright. Among the musical guest stars featured in Hoedown are Carolina Cotton, The Pied Pipers and the Oklahoma Rangers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Starrett once more rights wrongs as "The Durango Kid" in Horsemen of the Sierras. The story revolves around Robin Grant (Tommy Ivo), a young boy who's inherited a valuable range. Certain evil interests do their best to kill off Robin and claim the land for themselves. U.S. marshall Steve Saunders (Starrett) comes to the boy's rescue--and when Steve can't rely on the Law to back him up, he dons the guise of the masked Durango Kid. An uncredited Jock Mahoney performs some of Starrett's more dangerous stunts. Comedy relief Smiley Burnette is more obstreperous than usual, especially when he lets the bad guys slip right through his fingers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A tall horseman (Jock Mahoney) rides into the small town of Arborville, deserted except for redheaded Jody (Luana Patten), who's uncomfortable about it. Outside town, the rider finds all the townspeople working on an oil rig on a small ranch. They're led by Cal Moore (Charles McGraw), and include brothers Aaron (Claude Akins) and Adam Grant (Lee Van Cleef). The stranger asks a few questions, rousing the ire of the hot-tempered brothers, who toss him into a pool of oil. Glossy black but unconcerned, the stranger ambles out and rides back to town. Jody helps him clean up, so he tells her he has come to meet an old Indian who lived on the property where the oil well now is; he's clearly surprised when she refers to the old man, now missing, as Joe Dakota. Meanwhile, the townspeople gather, and we learn that Cal is a newcomer to town, an oil expert who decided to cast his lot with Arborville. We also learn that something happened to the old Indian, and that the townspeople were involved. The townspeople later are horrified when the stranger announces that he owns the land where the oil well is, and that his name is Joe Dakota.

Later, Jody comes to see Joe at the ranch, and reveals that the old man was her friend; she often came out to visit him. Joe tells her that the old man, whom he'd known well some years before, had simply borrowed his name. Jody says that the last time she'd visited the old Indian, he'd been drunk and had attacked (but not raped) her. Egged on by Cal, the townspeople had lynched him. The next day, Joe hangs a noose on the Arborville town sign, and puts a cross on the old man's grave. He explains that he was a captain in the infantry, and the old man was the finest scout he'd ever known. Everyone gathers at the oil well, where Joe explains that it was Cal who had attacked Jody, framing the old man for the crime to get the town to lynch him. He and Cal have a fight, but the townspeople, ashamed of what they've done, side with Joe.

Universal-International turned out quite a number of well-down, medium-budget westerns in the late 1950s, often starring Audie Murphy. This time, however, the lead is former stuntman Jock Mahoney, whom the studio was trying to groom as a star; his easy-going but very masculine personality made him ideal for roles such as this. The movie, co-written by Perry Mason's "Hamilton Burger," (William Talman), seems to owe something to Bad Day at Black Rock, but the plot works well in this context, too. There are good small details, like a wine store instead of a saloon, the town's beloved water trough, and the stranger's midnight shave. Richard H. Bartlett's direction is as low-key as the movie -- scarcely a shot is fired, and few wear guns -- and as likable. Joe Dakota is "just another movie," but it's a very good example of its long-gone kind. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide

Columbia's "Durango Kid" series was winding down to a close by the time Junction City went before the cameras in 1952. Durango, aka Steve Rollins (Charles Starrett) rides into town with saddle pal Smiley Burnette. The boys go to the rescue of pretty Kathleen Case, who is being victimized by greedy relatives. Much of the film is related in flashback, giving Columbia an excuse to utilize miles and miles of stock footage from earlier "Durango Kid" efforts. Livening up the proceedings is Jock Mahoney, frequent stunt double for Charles Starrett, who plays "himself". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Starrett is back as The Durango Kid in Laramie Mountains. The villains this time are a group of white outlaws who disguise themselves as Indians to stage raids on various U.S. army posts. Their plan is to foment an all-out war for their own profit. Government agent Steve Holden (Starrett) intends to put a stop to the criminal's activities; when all else fails, he adopts the disguise of the Durango Kid to operate outside the Law. Jack (later Jock) Mahoney, who'd been playing supporting roles and performing stunts in previous Durango Kid outings, contributes a strong characterization in Laramie Mountains as Swift Eagle, a white man adopted by Indians. One of the heavies is played by Fred Sears, taking time out from his directorial duties on the Starrett series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide