LeRoy Mason Movies

Sombra, the Spider Woman is the feature-film abridgement of the 1947 Republic serial The Black Widow (which explains why a number of the listed actors had died by this film's listed year of release). The formidable Carol Forman stars as Sombra, whose fortune-telling establishment serves as a front for a vast criminal empire. Making things trickier for hero Steve Colt (Bruce Edwards) is the fact that Sombra is a master (or mistress) of disguise. Colt and plucky girl reporter Joyce Winters (Virginia Lindley) try to prevent Sombra from stealing the plans for a revolutionary atomic rocket engine. This is one serial in which the male actors are thoroughly overshadowed by the female leads. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The tragic death from a heart attack of veteran supporting player LeRoy Mason marred the filming of this, Monte Hale's first music western of 1948. Returning to the town of Gunnison to investigate the murder of his uncle, Hale is mistaken for a notorious outlaw (Daniel M. Sheridan) and hired as the town's new sheriff by crooked mayor Douglas Evans. Assigned to run the local gold miners off their claims, Hale and sidekick Paul Hurst instead work to trap the real culprits, nasty Tristram Coffin and his gang of cutthroats. Coffin, who also appears disguised as a dimwitted Indian, was in many ways LeRoy Mason's replacement as Republic Pictures' resident Mustachioed Boss Villain. Filmed in the studio's low-budget color system, Trucolor, California Firebrand once again teamed Hale with the singing group Foy Willing & the Riders of the Purple Sage, this time featuring girl singer Alice Tyrrell. According to an unsubstantiated claim, Forrest Tucker dubbed the voice of supporting actor Daniel M. Sheridan. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Saddle Pals hits a new low for Gene Autry's postwar Republic westerns, containing literally no action at all. Autry is drawn into the plot when he's given power of attorney in a property settlement involving his old pal (Sterling Holloway) and a gang of land swindlers. The pal then goes on an extended vacation, leaving Autry to sort things out. Though he doesn't display the business acumen that would eventually transform him into a real-life billionaire, Autry does manage to figure out that the swindlers are up to something dishonest. One of the more curious aspects of the film is the casting of traditional comedy-relief actor Sterling Holloway as the plot catalyst; he looks almost as uncomfortable as Autry. Fortunately, Autry's movie career would take an upswing the following year when he switched his base of operations from Republic to Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The restful hues of the Trucolor process add to the overall entertainment value of Republic's Along the Oregon Trail. Singing cowboy Monte Hale plays a contemporary of Kit Carson (Forrest Taylor) who, at Carson's request, guides a party of frontiersmen through the wilds of Oregon. Danger looms in the form of despotic Gregg Thurston (Clayton Moore, who later switched to law and order as TV's Lone Ranger), who wants to create his own western empire in Oregon and doesn't cotton to strangers. Thurston and his chief henchmen Stoner (Roy Barcroft) smuggle guns to the Indians, hoping to spark an uprising that will wipe out Hale and his confreres. But our hero prevails, with time left over for a couple of songs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in "glorious" Trucolor, a low-budget substitute for Technicolor, Under Colorado Skies remains a standard B-Western, neither better nor worse than the majority of late-1940s sagebrush fare from genre specialist Republic Pictures. Monte Hale stars as a medical student moonlighting as a bank teller. Arriving on the scene in the middle of a robbery, Hale discovers that one of the bandits (John Alvin) is the brother of his girlfriend (Adrian Booth). To shield the wayward youth from prosecution, our hero accepts blame for both the robbery and the death of the bank's owner (Raymond Bond), but manages to escape on the way to jail. Hooking up with entertainers Foy Willing & the Riders of the Purple Sage, he then goes undercover as a performer in a saloon owned by Paul Hurst. Learning the whereabouts of the bandits, Monte fakes his own death and is later able to flush out their leader, the nefarious William Haade. As always, Hale does well in both the fistfights and as a balladeer, accompanied here by Foy Willing and the Riders in such selections as "San Antonio Rose", by Bob Wills, "Holiday for the Blues", by Willing and Sid Robin, and "Wait for the Wagon", by George P. Knauff and Sid Robin. In one of her eight westerns with Hale, Adrian Booth is, as always, a fetching sight and the veteran Paul Hurst makes a welcome addition to the Hale oeuvre. Hurst would go on to appear in all but one of Hale's subsequent vehicles, providing his own brand of homey comic relief. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Most of this Republic B-plus mystery yarn is set in a penthouse, next door to a music hall where a strange song-and-dance extravaganza is being staged. This production incorporates several ice-skating sequences--a good excuse as any for the presence of leading lady Vera Hruba Ralston, Republic's answer to Sonja Henie. Ralston and orchestra leader William Marshall come across the body of producer Edward Norris. Almost everyone in the cast is placed under suspicion, since Norris was a cad and blackmailer. The surprise killer is (as usual) not that much of a surprise, though the scenarists keep us going with some last-minute red herrings. Murder in the Music Hall was reissued in a shortened version titled Midnight Melody in 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Making his starring debut, Republic cowboy Monte Hale strums his guitar and sings Over the Rainbow Trail by Ken Carson, The Sons of the Pioneers and Down at the Old Hoe-Down by Gordon Foster, and Take Your Time by Glenn Spencer; on the last of these, he is accompanied by Bob Nolan. In between all the warbling, Hale finds enough time to prove that little Bobby Blake's pet bear isn't the one causing death and destruction among the area's cattle. For some reason, Republic chose the Hale series to launch their newly developed Magnacolor scheme, thus making the rather wooden Hale the first of the studio's illustrious cowboys to appear in (almost) natural hues. Adrian Booth (formerly Lorna Gray) made the first of seven appearances opposite Hale as little Bobby's sister, antagonistic at first toward the hero but falling properly in love with him before the fade-out. Little Bobby Blake (formerly Mickey Gubitosi of Our Gang fame) later became Robert Blake and the star of television's Baretta. Monte Hale never quite accepted the tag of "singing cowboy," and his series, which lasted until 1950, became increasingly less musical with each new entry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Steve King stars in this serial as a forest ranger who must prevent a mad scientist from discovering a buried treasure. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

A much celebrated bout between legendary prize-fighters Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons becomes a hot issue in the Nevada community of Carson City in this above-average entry in Republic Pictures popular "Red Ryder" series. Leading citizen Molly McVey (Peggy Stewart) considers boxing to be a display of barbarism and does her utmost to have the fight cancelled. Red Ryder (Allan Lane), in contrast, permits Corbett (George Turner) and his manager Bill Delaney (Roscoe Karns) to use the Duchess's ranch as their headquarters. Our hero, however, almost comes to regret that decision when nearly ambushed by villainous Mckean (Roy Barcroft), who conspires to take off with the prize money. No sooner is McKean dispatched when Red finds himself kidnapped by a couple of ruffians hired by Molly, who still attempts to prevent the carnage. Molly, however, discovers her error and Red returns just in time to witness Corbett losing to Fitzsimmons (John Dehner). Supporting actor George Turner, who bears no resemblance to the real life Jim Corbett (1866-1933), later played the title role in the 1947 serial Son of Zorro. Coprbett, who had won the world heavyweight championship in 1892, did indeed lose the title to Fitzsimmons (1863-1917) in Carson City, NV, March 17, 1897. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

There's no "valley" in Valley of the Zombies, and only one "zombie," played with relish by Ian Keith. At large in a great metropolitan city, Ormand Murks (Keith), recently brought back from the dead, goes on the prowl for human blood, meaning that he's less of a zombie than a vampire (a phenomenon which he "explains" halfway through the picture). He spends most of his time murderously settling scores with old enemies, drawing the attention of police lieutenant Blair (Thomas Jackson), who like Murks seems well-past retirement age. Suspected of committing the murders, doctor's assistant Terry Evans (Robert Livingston) takes it upon himself to track down Murks, with the aid of pretty nurse Susan Drake (Adrian Booth). The ultimate fate of the so-called zombie is given away by the artwork in the film's opening credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, a postal inspector becomes determined to discover the truth after a series of robberies involving mysteriously disappearing stagecoaches occur. A female Pinkerton agent assists him, and together, they drain a nearby lake, find a missing stagecoach and solve the mystery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Red Ryder rounds up a crooked sheriff in this western adventure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

According to Hollywood lore, both John Wayne and director Frank Borzage refused to work with Vera Hruba Ralston, the Czech-born inamorata (and future wife) of Republic Pictures owner Herbert I. Yates. Yates somehow managed to convince Wayne to change his mind, but Borzage was replaced by contract director Joseph Kane. The result was Dakota, the company's major release of 1945, a potentially sprawling empire-building Western. Wayne and Ralston play newlyweds heading for Fargo, North Dakota, where they plan to buy land in anticipation of the coming of the railroad. They are opposed by saloon owner Jim Bender (Ward Bond), who also knows about the expansion and is coercing the homesteaders into selling their land to him and his chief lieutenant, Collins (Mike Mazurki). The latter has been elected president of the Wheat Growers Association, and soon the farmers find themselves indebted to Bender. But Wayne, with his wife's help, beats Bender and his henchman at their own game, making certain that the farmers are well compensated for selling their land to the railroad company owned by Ralston's father (Hugo Haas). Contrary to popular belief, Vera Hruba Ralston was not Dakota's chief liability. For some reason, Republic Pictures, normally a leader in action-oriented melodrama, chose to employ an inordinate amount of rear projection footage this time around, making for rather dull viewing. The Western only leaves the confines of the studio back lot for the climactic prairie fire scenes, filmed by a second unit under the direction of stunt expert Yakima Canutt. Apparently a better figure skater than an actress, Ralston actually shows a bit of spirit in some of her scenes but is rather obviously upstaged by the veteran Ona Munson as a kind-hearted saloon entertainer. Munson was borrowed from Warner Bros. and her singing of "Coax Me" by Andrew B. Sterling and Harry Von Tilzer remains one of Dakota's main pleasures despite editor Fred Allen's endless cross-cutting to Ralston's reactions. The latter was reportedly a very pleasant person devoid of a prima donna ego and would be cast opposite John Wayne again in The Fighting Kentuckian (1949). Republic serial heroines Linda Stirling and Adrian Booth can be spotted among Munson's dancing girls. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide