Jock Mahoney Movies

When a millionaire discovers that he is going to lose half of his business if his missing brother isn't found to keep it out of the ruthless hands that want it, he sends the "last of the fast guns" out in search of him. Finding him won't be the hard thing for our gunfighter, however. Keeping him alive long enough to get back to the claim his share of the family business is going to be the tough part. ~ Tana Hobart, 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

The "Bridey Murphy" craze of the 1950s was the catalyst for I've Lived Before. Jock Mahoney plays a contemporary pilot who survives a plane crash. Upon awakening, he is under the delusion that he is another airman, who died during the first World War. The authorities pass this insistence off as delirium, until Mahoney starts recounting events and intimacies that only the long-dead pilot would know. Ann Harding portrays the ageing former lover of the soul trapped within Mahoney's body. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, the ex-sheriff of Abilene returns from the Civil War a changed man. Traumatized by the horrors of war, the man wants little to do with guns and killing. The veteran sheriff is further disturbed by the fact that during a great battle, he accidentally killed the brother of an old friend. He finally gets back into town to discover that his friend has become a landgrabber, and has also stolen the sheriff's girl friend. Now to stop his greedy pal, the sheriff is forced to forget about his own troubles. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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

A remake of the Three Stooges' earlier Squareheads of the Round Table, this two-reel comedy features the boys as troubadours attempting to save Princess Elaine (Christine McIntyre) from a fate worse than death. Miss McIntyre, who had retired by 1954, and Jock Mahoney as the romantic leads appeared courtesy of stock footage. New footage featured Ruth Godfrey. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

By virtue of the popularity of his TV series The Range Rider, Jack (later Jock) Mahoney is afforded almost as much screen time in Hawk of the Wild River as the film's official star Charles Starrett. In fact, since Mahoney doubles for Starrett in certain sequences, it could be argued that his part is larger. This 53-minute "Durango Kid" western finds Starrett adopting his "Durango" disguise to find out who's behind a series of stagecoach holdups. The miscreant turns out to be "The Hawk" (Clayton Moore, the "Lone Ranger" himself!) Mahoney plays a deputy sheriff who helps the Durango Kid bring The Hawk to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although Smoky Canyon is officially an entry in Charles Starrett's "Durango Kid" western series, the film is essentially a showcase for the talents of Jack (later Jock) Mahoney, who'd been a supporting player and stunt double in the Starrett films for several years. Mahoney plays a sheepman who's framed for the murder of a rancher. It's all part of a scheme by a dishonest cattleman (Tristam Coffin) who hopes to extenuate a range war for his own profit. Starrett assumes his "Durango" disguise to help clear Mahoney's name. A few comic breaks in the action are provided by habitual Starrett sidekick Smiley Burnette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In his final Durango Kid Western (and final film appearance), Charles Starrett once again played an avenger named Steve, Reynolds this time. Donning his mask once again, Steve comes to the aid of Jock Mahoney, who has been wrongfully accused of murder. The real murderer, as it turns out, is Jock's own lawyer, Gail Kingston (Angela Stevens). As usual, Smiley Burnette is along for the ride to provide comedy relief and a hayseed ditty or two. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Charles Starrett once more plays the masked, do-gooding Durango Kid in Pecos River. While in mufti, however, Starrett is a government agent, posing as a bandit to expose a gang of mail thieves. He also takes time to teach Jack (later Jock) Mahoney, the hotheaded son of a murdered stagecoach driver, how to use his six-gun with accuracy and discretion. Mahoney also serves as Charles Starrett's stunt double in the climactic action sequence. Also on hand is Starrett's perennial sidekick Smiley Burnette, this time cast as an itinerant peddler. The feminine interest is provided by Delores Sidener, a Columbia starlet whose career apparently began and ended with Pecos River. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The creative team of producer Harry Joe Brown and star Randolph Scott turned out some of the best westerns of the 1950s, and Santa Fe is no exception. Set in the years following the Civil War, the film casts Scott as Britt Canfield, one of four ex-Confederate brothers who head West to carve out a new life. While his three siblings (Jerome Courtland, Peter Thompson and John Archer) cast their lot on the wrong side of the law, Britt accepts a job with the Santa Fe Railroad. Inevitably, Britt is obliged to bring his wayward brothers to justice, though he knows full well that the person responsible for their downfall is "untouchable" gambling boss Cole Sanders (Roy Roberts). In a well-staged climax, Britt squares accounts with the evil Sanders and his hulking henchman Crake (Jock O'Mahoney). Curiously, many TV prints of Santa Fe were processed with the soundtrack slightly out of sync with the action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not a remake of the 1936 film of the same name, The Texas Rangers is an enjoyable second-echelon western from the Columbia Pictures mill. George Montgomery stars as Johnny Carver, a former outlaw serving a life sentence in prison. Carver is given a second chance by the Texas government. Here's the deal: if Carver will deliver his old gang to justice, he'll be set free for good. But Carver is more interested in exacting vengeance against The Sundance Kid (Ian McDonald), the gunslinger responsible for his arrest. When this personal vendetta results in the death of his own brother, Carver vows to "play straight" and complete his original mission. Future TV-favorite Gale Storm co-stars as a feisty female newspaper editor. In addition to the Sundance Kid, other real-life outlaws depicted in The Texas Rangers include Butch Cassidy (John Doucette), Sam Bass (William Bishop) and John Wesley Hardin (John Dehner). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

American actor/stuntman Jock O'Mahoney (aka Jock Mahoney) stars in the Australian The Kangaroo Kid. The star plays a 19th-century San Francisco detective named Tex Kinnane, who is sent "Down Under" to nab shyster lawyer Vincent Moller (Douglass Dumbrille). Several comparisons are made between the American Wild West and the equally treacherous Australian outback. Kinnane proves adept at adjusting to his new environment--much more so than the fugitive Moller. In addition to Jock O'Mahoney and Douglass Dumbrille, several other Hollywoodites contribute to the overall success of The Kangaroo Kid, including director Lesley Selander and actresses Martha Hyer and Veda Ann Borg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide