Tim McCoy Movies
An authentic cowboy from the age of 15, Timothy McCoy moved to a large Wyoming ranch next to a Sioux Indian reservation after some college studies; he became an authority on Indian languages, customs, and folk history, and mastered Indian sign language. He served in World War I, and was then appointed Indian Agent for his territory. In 1922, he was employed as a technical advisor and co-ordinator of Indian extras for the film The Covered Wagon (1923); McCoy may also have done some trick riding for the film. He later he resigned his government post, having been offered a key supporting role in the western The Thundering Herd (1925). MGM signed him to a film contract in 1925; he was to star in westerns and action movies based on historical anecdotes of the American frontier. By the early '30s he was among the most popular western stars; he always appeared dresed in black, with an oversized white Stetson hat and a pearl-handled gun. McCoy interrupted his screen career in 1935 to travel with the Ringling Brothers circus. In 1938 he started his own Wild West show, but it was unsuccessful. He returned to the screen in 1940, and for two years he co-starred in the low-budget Rough Rider western series; the series ended when Buck Jones, another of its stars, died in a fire. He served in World War II (in which he was awarded the Bronze Star), then retired to his ranch; from 1949, however, he worked on TV and in occasional film cameo roles. He won an Emmy for his TV program The Tim McCoy Show. Until 1976 McCoy continued working 300 days a year as the headliner of Tommy Scott's Country Music Circus. In 1974 he was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. He authored an autobiography (assisted by his son Ronald), Tim McCoy Remembers the West (1977). ~ All Movie Guide- 1991
A collection of action filled trailers from early westerns are included in this video. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this western, a gunfighter finds himself mistaken for a judge when he journeys to a beleaguered town that is under the oppressive influence of an outlaw and his evil gang. One couple knows the gunslinger's true avocation and they talk him into working as a lawman and putting one of the crooks on trial. Things go well until one of the outlaws recognizes him and tells all during the trial. This leads to a classic showdown in which the gunfighter shoots the gun from the villain's hand. He then discards his own weapon and literally rides off into the sunset to pursue a more peaceful life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Several film historians, notably the late William K. Everson, have noted the striking resemblances between Run of the Arrow and the 1990 Oscar-winner Dances with Wolves. Rod Steiger stars as O'Meara, an Irish-brogued Confederate soldier with an intense dislike for Yankees. Unable to accept the South's defeat, O'Meara heads westward after the Civil War, to start life anew amongst the Sioux Indians. Surving a ritual rite of passage called the Run of the Arrow, O'Meara is accepted into the tribe, and shortly afterward marries Sioux woman Yellow Moccasin (played by Spanish actress Sarita Montiel, whose voice was dubbed by Angie Dickinson). The true test of O'Meara's fidelity to the Sioux comes when his adopted people come into conflict with a Cavalry troop, headed by Northerner Captain Clark (Brian Keith). The cast includes such western "regulars" as Charles Bronson, Olive Carey (the widow of Harry Carey) and Colonel Tom McCoy (a recognized Indian-lore expert). Produced by RKO Radio, Run of the Arrow was released by Universal-International. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Steiger, Sarita Montiel, (more)
- 1942
The last of Monogram's eight "Rough Riders" westerns starring oldtimers Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton, West of the Law has the three lawmen coming to the aid of a beleaguered newspaper editor, Rufus Todd (Milburn Morante), who has been exposing a rash of stage robberies near Gold Creek. When Todd's son-in-law Ray (Bud McTaggart) is attacked my members of the gang, Marshals McCall and Hopkins (McCoy and Hatton) go undercover as a minister and a funeral parlor proprietor, respectively, with the third member of the trio, Marshal Roberts (Jones) hiding in one of the coffins. The ruse works and the three are soon able to unmask the real mastermind behind the robberies. Monogram went all out for this one, hiring some of the best supporting actors in the business, including Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft, Bud Osborne, Tom London and ace stunt-man George DeNormand. As always, the western concludes with the three marshals going their separate ways, a rousing "So long, Rough Riders" as their parting salute. Sadly, they would not be back, Buck Jones perishing in the tragic Coconut Grove nightclub fire in Boston soon after. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
The Rough Riders--Buck Jones, Raymond Hatton and Rex Bell--endeavor to provide a wagon train safe passage through Indian country. With Jones heading the caravan and Bell and Hatton working undercover, the threesome discover that the "savages" planning to attack the settlers are actually renegade whites. The criminals' target is the shipment of railroad supplies being carried in one of the wagons. Normally, the third "Rough Rider" would have been played by Colonel Tim McCoy, but when McCoy was called to active duty in World War II, he was hastily replaced by old-time western star Rex Bell. Dawn on the Great Divide was the last film for Buck Jones, who was killed in the infamous Coconut Grove fire shortly before the film was released. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Rex Bell, (more)
- 1942
Riders of the West is another entry in Monogram's repetitious but profitable "Rough Riders" series. Back in the saddle again are Buck Jones as Buck Roberts, Tim McCoy as Tim McCall, and Raymond Hatton as Sandy Hopkins. The three heroes take on a gang of cattle rustlers, using their standard method of operation: Buck, Tim and Sandy ride into a small town separately, pretending to be strangers to one another until the time is ripe to join forces. Character names like "Ma Turner" and "Duke Mason" should tip the audience off as to who the good and bad guys are. Making her second "Rough Riders" appearance is the lovely Christine McIntyre, still two years away from her tenure with the Three Stooges. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, (more)
The Rough Riders-Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, and Raymond Hatton-go through their customary paces in the Monogram western Below the Border. Once again, the three stars play characters who are outwardly strangers to one another, but who are secretly working together to defeat a common enemy. This time around, Buck Roberts (Jones), Tim McCall (McCoy) and Sandy Hopkins (Hatton) are in hot pursuit of the desperado who murdered a US marshal and then skeedaddled South of the Border. To keep the villain off track, Buck poses as an ex-convict, Tim pretends to be a wealthy cattle buyer, and Sandy impersonates a saloon handyman. By film's end, however, the three heroes have united as one, and it's curtains for bad guy Slade (Charles King). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, (more)
The old plot device of a western "ghost town" being used as a hideout for criminals is trotted out again in Monogram's Ghost Town Law. This time around, the heroes are The Rough Riders: namely, Buck Roberts (Buck Jones), Tim McCall (Tim McCoy) and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton). Following their usual modus operandi, the three heroes pretend to be strangers to one another, and also pose as criminals themselves to lull the real villains into a false sense of security. The plot revolves around an old gold mine, jealously guarded by masked, well-armed desperadoes. For the sake of heroine Josie Hall (Virginia Carpenter), the Rough Riders rout the villains and return the mine to its rightful owners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, (more)
- 1942
Monogram's "Rough Riders" rolled along smoothly with the 1942 entry Down Texas Way. Once again, the star trio consists of Buck Jones as Buck Roberts, Tim McCoy as Tim McCall, and Raymond Hatton as Sandy Hopkins. The plot, as always, finds Buck, Tim and Sandy cast as undercover US Marshals who pretend to be strangers to one another for the purpose of confounding the villains. This time, Sandy is framed for murder by a gang of frontier racketeers who hope to take over a small town as their headquarters. Working separately (and ostensibly on the wrong side of the law), Buck and Tim rescue Sandy from a lynch mob and foil the crooks' dastardly schemes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, (more)
- 1941
Veteran action and western director Spencer G. Bennet certainly opens this the second of Monogram's eight "Rough Riders" oaters on a suspenseful and unusual note. On a dark and stormy night, a lone rider enters a secluded and seemingly vacant ranch house to find the slain bodies of the occupants and a hastily scribbled note bearing the legend: "Rustlers did this. I recognized Bill Cook with them. Take care of my baby. Mary Gibbs." Although the remainder of The Gunman from Bodie doesn't quite measure up to this suspenseful and evocative opening sequence, it is still a crackerjack little western, well-played by its trio of heroes, Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton. The three "Rough Riders" are special agents assigned to look into a series of rustlings near the small town of Larabie. Working undercover as the notorious titular criminal, Jones discovers that the head of the rustlers is none other than supposedly-solid citizen Robert Frazer, who employs both the local sheriff (Max Waizmann and most of the hands at valuable Circle "B" Ranch. As the pretty owner of the ranch and her handsome foreman, Christine McIntyre and Dave "Tex" O'Brien(who sings "Little Tenderfoot"to the abandoned babe) supply the romantic interest, while Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton perform their assigned, and well-known, roles in their accustomed ways. But The Gunman from Bodie belongs squarely to Buck Jones, who combines strength with sentiment as the undercover agent discovering an abandoned baby in one of the more haunting opening sequences in B-Western history. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, (more)
- 1941
PRC's Outlaws of the Rio Grande stars Tim McCoy in his traditional role of a US marshal. Operating around the Mexican border, McCoy is galvanized into action when his best pal is killed by a gang of counterfeiters. Going undercover, our hero heads after the gang into Mexico, intending to unmask the mysterious leader. Heroine Rita (played by band vocalist Virginia Carpenter) is forced by the crooks to lure McCoy into a trap, but the audience never doubts for a moment that Colonel Tim will prevail. Among the heavies is the inescapable Charles King, here cast not in his traditional role of "Blackie" but as "Trigger". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Virginia Carpenter, (more)
Monogram Pictures launched its lucrative "Rough Riders" western series with 1941's Arizona Bound. Producer Scott Dunlap hoped to attract new customers by teaming two of the most popular cowboy stars in the movies, Buck Jones and Tim McCoy, throwing in another old favorite, Raymond Hatton, as grizzled comedy relief (ironically, Hatton was actually younger than his two costars!) The first entry set the pattern of all the "Rough Riders" entries to follow: Apparently retired, gunslinger Buck Roberts (Buck Jones) is galvanized into action when an old friend asks him to help rid Mesa City of a scurrilous outlaw gang. Upon his arrival, Buck makes the acquaintance of local parson Tim McCall (McCoy) and itinerant ranchhand Sandy Hopkins (Hatton). It soon becomes obvious that Buck, Tim and Sandy have been working together all along, with Roberts doing most of the shootin' and fightin' while Tim and Sandy operate undercover and undetected. Their job finally done, our three heroes bid farewell to one another and go their separate ways, with the promise that they'll join up again whenever its becomes necessary. Though it seldom deviated from this basic formula, the "Rough Riders" series was a hit, and remained so until Buck Jones' untimely death in 1942. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, (more)
- 1941
Filmed in late 1940, the PRC western Riders of Black Mountain didn't secure a New York City playdate until December of 1941. Tim McCoy heads the cast as a US marshal who poses as a slick gambler. It's all part of his scheme to investigate a series of stagecoach robberies without alerting the criminals. Eventually, McCoy and his partner Tombstone (Ralph Peters) join the outlaws, the better to get the drop on them-assuming, of course, that it isn't the other way around. One of the reviewers of Riders of Black Mountain complained that there was such preponderance of male characters that the nominal female lead (Pauline Hadden) ended up being seen only from the back. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Tim McCoy is the Texas Marshal in this better than usual PRC western. McCoy is forced to take on a hooded vigilante group called the League of Patriots. He suspects in this case that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, and he's right: The League is actually a front for a gang of gold thieves. The leader of the gang is the ineluctable Charles King, who once again ends up seriously dead after coming up against the granite-jawed hero. Music is provided by Art Davis and His Rhythm Riders, while Kay Leslie is the antiseptic heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Kay Leslie, (more)
The "Rough Riders"-Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton-are back in the saddle in Forbidden Trails. As was customary, the stars play three wildly diverse types who are apparently strangers to one another when the film begins. In this instance, Buck Roberts (Jones) is a dude gambler, Tim McCall (McCoy) is head driver for a stagecoach line, and Sandy Hopkins (Hatton) is a desert rat who's apparently in cahoots with a pair of escaped outlaws. By Reel Four, however, it is obvious that Buck, Tim and Sandy are secretly working together to thwart the villains. In the film's most exciting scene, Buck is trapped in a burning shack while a contingent of well-armed bandits block his escape. Future "Three Stooges" heroine Christine McIntyre is the leading lady on this occasion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, (more)
- 1940
Don't be fooled by the opening credits: the "Peter Stewart" listed as director Gun Code was actually PRC workhorse Sam Newfield. This low-budget western stars Tim McCoy as federal agent Tim Hammond, who follows a gang of big-city gangsters to the Wide Open Spaces. The crooks shake down the locals by demanding exorbitant funds for "protection" money, letting it be known that serious consequences will befall those who don't pony up the dough. When the villains kidnap a young boy, they've gone too far, sealing their doom at the hands of the stalwart Tim Hammond. Typical of the PRC product of the times, Gun Code is full of technical boners and logic gaps that tended to elicit laughter from more discriminating audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Lou Fulton, (more)
- 1940
Long before the character was appropriated by Buster Crabbe, "Lightning" Bill Carson was played by Tim McCoy in a series of low-budget westerns produced by Sam Katzman. One of the last of these was Straight Shooter, filmed in the late 1930s but unreleased until 1940. This time, Carson (McCoy) goes after a ruthless outlaw gang which has stolen government bonds. Though the odds are against him, Carson gets his man-er, men. Slowly the pace of Straight Shooter to walk is the questionable comedy relief of Ben "Magpie" Corbett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Ben Corbett, (more)
- 1940
Frontier Crusader was Tim McCoy's first western vehicle for the newly-formed Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). The star plays Trigger Jim Rand, an itinerant peacekeeper who springs into action when a gang of thieves steals the payroll money from a local mining company. The theft was actually a subterfuge, to throw the miners off the trail so that the outlaws can plunder a heretofore unknown vein of gold ore. A subplot concerns a travelling show troupe, headed by high-kicking dancer Jenny Mason (Dorothy Short). Neither Jenny nor "Trigger Jim" benefit from the film's substandard cinematography, a trademark of sorts of the PRC output. Despite the murky camerawork, however, Fronter Crusader delivers the goods action-wise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Dorothy Short, (more)
- 1940
The first of eight Tim McCoy Westerns for ultra low-budget Producers' Distributing Corp./Producers Releasing Corp., Texas Renegades features the veteran star as "Silent" Tim Smith, "the greatest lawman of them all." When the good folks of Rawhide find themselves terrorized by a mysterious gang of outlaws, leading citizen Jim Bates (Lee Prather) suggests the forming of a vigilante committee. Bates, however, is opposed by pretty rancher Ruth Brand (Nora Lane) and her foreman, Bill Willis (Kenne Duncan), who secretly sends for Silent and his sidekick, Noisy (Harry Harvey). Hoping to reveal the identity of the brain behind the terror, Silent arrives in the disguise of Lefty Higgins, a notorious outlaw, but things get complicated when the real Higgins (Earl Gunn) suddenly shows up. His cover blown, Silent has a hard time convincing Ruth of his true intentions, but manages in the end to unmask Bates as the secret leader of the outlaws. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1939
Tim McCoy is back as hard-ridin' Lighting Bill Carson in Victory Pictures' Trigger Fingers. When rustlers invade a peaceful frontier community, troubleshooter Carson is summoned to throw the rascals out. Once more indulging his penchant for disguise, our hero dresses up as a gypsy fortune-teller, complete with earring and gloriously awful mittel-European accent. Also cloaked in gypsy garb is Carson's comic assistant Magpie (Ben Corbett), whose makeup wouldn't convince a nearsighted cow. No matter: all lapses in logic are forgotten during the action-filled climax. Trigger Fingers represents one of the first film appearances by perennial B-flick heroine Joyce Bryant, who managed to survive ten years' worth of this sort of thing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Ben Corbett, (more)
- 1939
Ticket buyers got two Tim McCoys for the price of one with this low-budget Western, one of McCoy's eight Lightning Bill Carson oaters for producer Sam Katzman's Victory Pictures. This time government agent "Lightning Bill" impersonates a look-alike bandit about to be released from jail. But before Carson completely gained the confidence of chief henchman Slim Marsh (Ted Adams) and saloon singer Jessie Treadwell (Joan Barclay), the real outlaw, Trigger Mallory (also McCoy), shows up. With the assistance of his usual sidekick, Magpie McGillicuddy (Ben Corbett), Carson is able to sidestep a well-laid trap and send Mallory straight back to the hoosegow. Rather unusually for a B-Western leading lady, Joan Barclay, who sings "A Rainbow Is Riding the Range" by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter, plays the bandit's girlfriend and remains quite unrepentant until the final reel. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Wayne, Jack C. Smith, (more)
- 1939
Tall-in-the-saddle Tim McCoy essays a dual role in the low-budget western Outlaw's Paradise. As luck would have it, government agent Lightnin' Bill Carson (McCoy) is the exact double of outlaw leader Trigger Mallory (also McCoy). While Trigger languishes in jail, Bill takes his place, infiltrating Mallory's gang in hopes of rounding them all up. He even manages to hoodwink Trigger's girl friend Jessie (Joan Barclay), despite the fact that she seems brighter than the rest of his ilk. Things get hairy when Trigger busts out of jail and joins up with his gang, luring Bill towards an "inescapable" death trap. Inescapable, sure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Ben Corbett, (more)
- 1939
Tim McCoy once again played Department of Justice agent "Lightning Bill" Carson in Code of the Cactus, and once again he infiltrates the outlaws by masquerading as a foreigner, this time a Mexican named Miguel. A gang of very modern rustlers using high-powered trucks and machine guns is terrorizing the local ranchers. Disguised as Miguel, Lightning Bill quickly learns that the rustlers are lead by Blackton (Forrest Taylor), a nasty meatpacking contractor, and with assistance from usual sidekick Magpie (Ben Corbett) and a new acquaintance, range detective Bob Swane (Dave "Tex" O-Brien), he manages to penetrate Blackton's barricade of piled-up trucks. McCoy made eight Westerns for low-budget producer Katzman's Victory Pictures before signing with newcomer PRC. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Ben Corbett, (more)
