Philo McCullough Movies
Actor Philo McCullough began his movie career at the Selig Company in 1912. At first, McCullough specialized in light comedy roles, often playing cads and bounders. After a brief stab at directing with 1921's Maid of the West, he found his true niche as a mustachioed, oily-haired, jack-booted heavy. During the 1920s he appeared in support of everyone from Fatty Arbuckle to Rin Tin Tin. Talkies reduced him to such bit parts as the "Assistant Exhausted Ruler" in Laurel & Hardy's Sons of the Desert (1933) and Senator Albert in Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). One of his few roles of consequence in the 1930s was the principal villain in the 1933 serial Tarzan the Fearless. Philo McCullough remained active until 1969, when he appeared with several other silent-screen veterans in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1934
Produced by Bernard B. Ray and Harry S. Webb's small-scale Reliable Pictures, this low-budget Western starred former silent cowboy Jack Perrin as a cowboy searching for his missing partner. Jack, the Cactus Kid (Perrin), and Jimmie Kane (Fred Humes) have sold a catch of wild horses to a rancher. Returning with their earnings, Jimmie is killed by vicious Plug Perkins, an outlaw known as "Killer" (Charles "Slim" Whitaker), and his "half-breed" cohort, Cheyenne (Joe De La Cruz). Jack comes across Jimmie's belt-buckle and a piece of a harmonica known to belong to Cheyenne. Determined to find out what happened to his partner, the Cactus Kid tracks Plug and Cheyenne to their mountain hideout, where Cheyenne's broken harmonica proves that he is the killer. Prompted by his faithful horse, Starlight, Jack's fiancée Beth (Jayne Regan) arrives at the hideout. Dressed as the dead Jimmie, Beth manages to scare Cheyenne into a confession. Perrin also appeared in Reliable's "Bud'n Ben" series of Western short subjects. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
In the first of two proposed serials for Mascot Pictures, Western hero Ken Maynard goes up against a murderous fiend known as "the Rattler." Wearing a strange disguise consisting of eye glasses, a fake nose, and crepe-hair mustache, the Rattler, aka "the Menace of the Mountain," attempts to control the mountain -- and its hidden gold -- from a secret cave filled with strange electronic gadgets. Maynard is Ken Williams, a young cowboy coming to the aid of Jane Corwin (Verna Hillie), whose railroad worker father (Lafe McKee) was the Rattler's first victim. Just as in a previous Mascot serial, The Hurricane Express (1932), the masked villain of Mystery Mountain uses a seemingly endless supply of rubber masks that enables him to perform his skullduggery disguised as almost every member of the cast. He is finally brought to ground in chapter 12, "The Judgment of Tarzan" ("Tarzan" being Maynard's faithful steed), and is revealed to be supposedly solid citizen Edward Earle. The denouement, of course, was a typical Mascot "cheat," the masked villain having up to that point been played by Edmund Cobb. Maynard, whom Mascot producer Nat Levine had gotten on the cheap at 10,000 dollars a week, proved almost not worth the trouble he created. The difficult star demanded that the serial be filmed at his old stomping grounds, Universal City, and kept changing the script and direction to suit himself. Although Mystery Mountain proved the most successful Mascot serial up to that time, Levine had had enough of the obstinate Maynard and replaced him with newcomer Gene Autry in The Phantom Empire (1935). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Tarzan the Horse, (more)
- 1934
Rin Tin Tin clone Tarzan the Wonder Dog is top-billed in the independently produced Inside Information. Tarzan nuzzles up to hero Rex Lease, a detective assigned to locate some missing bonds. The crooks prove no match for Tarzan, who bares his fangs and tears their clothes asunder. A happy ending is had by all, include Lease's lady friend Marion Shilling. Inside Information was co-scripted by Victor Potel, a silent comedy star of the pre-World War I era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Lease
- 1934
The first of five Guinn "Big Boy" Williams Westerns produced by low-budget Beacon Pictures, Thunder Over Texas remains one of the decade's more obscure sagebrush melodramas. Written by Sherle Castle, the film was directed by her soon-to-be husband, legendary cult figure Edgar G. Ulmer, who moonlighted as "John Warner" in order to fool his employers at Universal. Big Boy plays Ted Wright, a cowboy who adopts a little girl, Tiny (Helen Westcott), after her father is killed in a struggle over valuable railroad maps. When several attempts to get hold of the maps fail, crooked banker Bruce Laird (Claude Payton) and his cohort, the even more crooked sheriff (Philo McCullough), kidnap the little girl who is, of course, saved in the nick of time by Ted and pretty schoolmarm Helen Mason (Marion Shilling). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Shilling, Helen Westcott, (more)
- 1934
In the final of seven "Bud'n Ben" Western short subjects, Jack Perrin was replaced by Denny Meadows as Bud while Ben Corbett once again played Ben. The two friends this time come to the aid of Jayne Regan, who is in trouble with cattle rustler Franklyn Farnum. Producer Bernard B. Ray also directed Bennett Cohen's commonplace script and the 30 minute short featured Fern Emmett, Jimmy Aubrey, Philo McCullough, and Merrill McCormack. Leading man Denny Meadows later changed his name to Dennis Moore. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1934
In this western, a miner heads back East and ends up traveling with a wagon train. He carries with him a map of his recently discovered claim. Among his comrades is a group of outlaws planning to ambush the train so they can get hold of the map. To do this, they start the local Indians on the warpath. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Dorothy Dix, (more)
At first concentrating exclusively on westerns and serials, up-and-coming Mascot Pictures began branching out in the early 1930s with such lavish star vehicles as Laughing at Life. Victor McLaglen is in his element as a devil-may-care globetrotting adventurer named McHale. After risking his neck in WWI, the restless McHale heads to Mexico for more action. Before the film is half over, our hero is overseeing a South American revolution, and in this capacity comes face-to-face with his long-estranged son -- who, like his dad, is a thrillseeker travelling under an assumed name. The star-studded cast includes William "Stage" Boyd, Regis Toomey, Frankie Darro, Henry B. Walthall, Noah Beery Jr., J. Farrell McDonald and Lois Wilson -- many appearing in one scene each, indicating that the ever-economical Mascot studios hired these talented thespians by the day rather than the week. Also showing up uncredited is ace stuntman Yakima Canutt, doubling for Victor McLaglen in the more strenuous action scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Conchita Montenegro, (more)
- 1933
This remarkable early-talkie "disaster" flick was the first directorial effort of Felix E. Feist. An enormous tidal wave destroys New York City and most of the Eastern seaboard -- and that's only the beginning of the picture! The rest of the film deals with the aftermath of the deluge. Hero Martin (Sidney Blackmer), certain that his wife Helen (Lois Wilson) and his children have died in the disaster, begins a romance with bathing beauty Claire (Peggy Shannon). They must fight for their lives against Jephson (Fred Kohler Sr.) and his band of outlaws, who are using the apocalyptic crisis as an excuse to rape and pillage. Surviving one peril after another, the couple is forced to face their biggest crisis when it turns out that Martin's family has not perished after all. Claire nobly solves everyone's problem by swimming out to sea, never to be heard from again. Ned Mann's special effects and miniature work are first-rate, resurfacing as stock footage for years afterward (incidentally, some of the earthquake footage was filmed during an actual California quake in early 1933). Also praiseworthy is the superb, wall-to-wall musical score. For years considered a "lost" film, Deluge was found again in 1987 and has since been restored to an approximation of its original form -- though a full-scale videotape release is long overdue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Shannon, Sidney Blackmer, (more)
- 1933
Lodge members Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy take a solemn oath to attend the 80th-annual Sons of the Desert Convention (read: annual binge) in Chicago. That is, Ollie takes the oath, but Stanley balks. When asked why, Stanley answers that he's afraid his wife won't let him go. Ollie is appalled: "Every man must be king in his own castle." But when Ollie meekly brings up the subject of the convention with his wife Lollie (Mae Busch), she soon dethrones the "king." Lollie wants to take a vacation in the mountains, and is dead-set against her husband going around "with a pack of hooligans." But Ollie is determined to attend the convention, and to that end cooks up a scheme with Stanley. Ollie will pretend to be deathly ill; Stan will fix it so the doctor will prescribe a trip to Honolulu. Knowing that his wife can't stand going on sea voyages, Ollie will request that Stan accompany him to Hawaii--then, both men will sneak off to Chicago. A few hitches notwithstanding (Stan hires a veterinarian instead of a doctor, explaining that he didn't think the man's religion would make any difference), the boys go to the convention, where they cut up royally with practical joker Charley Chase. Alas, the Honolulu-bound boat on which Stan and Ollie are supposed to be travelling is sunk in a typhoon. While the grief-stricken wives are at the steamship company attempting to find out if their husbands survived the sea disaster, Stan and Ollie arrive home, wearing leis and carrying pineapples as "evidence" of their Honolulu vacation. When the boys find out about the shipwreck, they desperately try to escape to a hotel, but the wives arrive home prematurely, forcing Stan and Ollie to camp out in the attic. It looks as though the boys might just get away with their new plan of coming home at the same time that the rescue boats arrive....until Lollie Hardy and Betty Laurel (Dorothy Christie), attending a picture show, are treated to the spectacle of their husbands cavorting merrily before the newsreel cameras covering the Sons of the Desert conclave in Chicago. The film's final ten minutes are priceless--especially that bit about "ship-hiking." Considered the best of Laurel and Hardy's feature films, One of the top ten moneymaking pictures of 1934, it was released in Europe as Fraternally Yours and Sons of the Legion, and is also available in a crudely edited 20-minute TV version, Fun on the Run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, (more)
- 1933
The exploits of 18th-century British highwayman Dick Turpin have been immortalized in scores of poems, ballads, novels, plays and films. This particular version was adapted from Rockwood, a novel by Harrison Ainsworth. Victor McLaglen stars as Turpin, and while he might be a bit thick of beam for the role, there's no denying that he delivers the goods in terms of action and virility. Naturally, the film's highlight is Dick Turpin's legendary ride to York, which is filmed with reasonable excitement and accuracy (save for a few quick glimpses of contemporary telephone poles). Featured in the cast of Dick Turpin is Scotch comedian James Finlayson, the perennial foil of Laurel and Hardy, who appeared in several British productions between 1933 and 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Jane Carr, (more)
- 1933
If MGM could cast an Olympic champion it its Tarzan series, so could Sol Lesser's Principal Pictures. Thus it was that Larry "Buster" Crabbe, gold-medal winner for the 400 meter free-style swimming event in the 1932 L.A. Olympics, played the title role in Principal's 15-chapter serial Tarzan the Fearless. One of the few Tarzan epics actually based on a story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this one finds the Lord of the Jungle protecting pulchritudinous heroine Mary Brooks (Jacqueline Wells) from the villainous machinations of the High Priest (Mischa Auer) of Zar, God of the Jeweled Fingers. Tarzan must also avoid Jeff (Philo McCullough), a bounty hunter who has been offered a huge reward to bring the ape man to Civilization -- dead or alive! This 60-minute feature-length version of Tarzan the Fearless is mostly comprised of the first four chapters, with a rather abrupt wrap-up of several plotlines in the final two reels; another feature version, running 86 minutes, was prepared for television in 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Jacqueline Wells, (more)
- 1932
In this western, a cowboy and his sidekick save a woman and her ranch from greedy badguys. The trouble really begins when the varmints kill the sidekick. Gunplay ensues until the villains are vanquished. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Ruth Hiatt, (more)
- 1932
A highly unusual Buck Jones Western, South of the Rio Grande featured the spectacle of Jones playing a Mexican Rurales officer named Carlos. Returning to the family hacienda, Carlos discovers that his weak-willed brother, Juan (Paul Fix), has lost everything to a scheming vixen, Consuella (Mona Maris). Deeply ashamed, Juan kills Consuella's partner, Andres (Charles Requa), before taking his own life. When one of his fellow officers, Ramon (George J. Lewis), becomes involved in a similar situation, Carlos remembers his own tragedy and decides to help the youngster. Ramon, it turns out, is also under the spell of Consuella, who now works for the evil Stark (Philo McCullough). Disguised as a peon, Carlos infiltrates Stark's lair, learning that the villain has found oil deposits on Ramon's family land. Unmasked by Consuella, Carlos is rescued in the nick of time by his fellow Rurales. Paul Fix, a busy supporting player in Westerns for six decades, had played a similar role in Jones' earlier The Avenger (1931) and a party scene was lifted from another prior Jones Western, Men Without Law (1930). Both Jones and fellow Columbia cowboy Tim McCoy enjoyed playing Mexican characters -- or gringos masquerading as such -- but as opposed to McCoy, Jones' phony accent left a lot to be desired. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mona Maris, Philo McCullough, (more)
- 1931
Several silent-film favorites briefly extended their film careers in the Poverty Row epic Sheer Luck. Nick Stuart plays a milkman who's "that way" about winsome Jobyna Ralston. The wealthy and powerful villain, Philo McCullough, steals Ralston's heart, then tries to take a few other things. But our hero manages to rescue the girl in the nick of time -- and, presumably, to collect a few 2-cent deposits on his bottles. Two-reel comedian Bobby Vernon plays Stuart's wisecracking pal. It would be easy to say that Sheer Luck is sheer waste: it was certainly easy for critics back in 1931. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jobyna Ralston, Nick Stuart, (more)
- 1931
Filmed at Newhall, CA, with exteriors shot at Universal City, Mascot Pictures' The Vanishing Legion became the little company's signature serial. Producer Nat Levine had managed to sign veteran cowboy star Harry Carey, blonde starlet Edwina Booth, and Olive Fuller Golden, Carey's wife, all of whom had recently just barely survived the travails of filming MGM's Trader Horn (1930) under extremely difficult conditions in what was then termed Darkest Africa. Now they were employed in a typical serial story of young Jimmy Williams (Frankie Darro) and his wild stallion (the famously intemperate Rex, King of the Wild Horses), both searching for the mysterious gang that framed Jimmy's father (Edward Hearn) in a murder scheme. The two get assistance from leathery old Happy Hardigan (Carey), who has discovered a plot by the lawless Vanishing Legion to sabotage Caroline Hall's (Booth) ancestral oil company. Behind the shenanigans is a master criminal, heard but never seen and known only as "The Voice." The identity of the villain is revealed only in the 12th and final chapter, "The Hoofs of Horror." Said identity, which of course shall not be revealed here either, was that of a venerable, old character actor who usually played kindly fathers. Of course, Mascot engaged in a bit of skullduggery themselves by having Boris Karloff as a "voice double." Also released in a re-edited feature version, The Vanishing Legion has become synonymous with Mascot Pictures and is the title of a groundbreaking biography of the little studio by Jon Tuska. Sadly, the serial proved the final film for silent screen cowboy Dick Hatton, who was killed in a car accident later in the year. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Carey, Frankie Darro, (more)
- 1931
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Mascot Pictures' second all-talkie sound serial, Phantom of the West starred Tom Tyler as Jim Lester, a young man attempting to prove the innocence of the father of Mona Cortez (Dorothy Gulliver) in the murder of his own paterfamilias. Cortez (Frank Lanning) escapes from prison but leaves a note for Jim proclaiming his innocence and pointing to seven men in town who can reveal the identity of the real culprit, a villain known only as the Phantom. Every time Jim gets close to the truth, the mystery killer's notorious League of the Lawless swoops in to silence whomever is about to spill the beans. The true identity of the killer is revealed in the tenth and final chapter, his identity being a surprise only to new viewers of Mascot serials. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tyler, Dorothy Gulliver, (more)
- 1931
A decidedly minor entry in the then-popular aviation melodrama cycle, The Sky Spider was the first film produced by sound engineer Ralph M. Like's low-budget Action Pictures. Former silent screen juvenile Glenn Tryon and Pat O'Malley are sibling air mail pilots vying for the same girl, Blanche Mehaffey. Tryon befriends Philo McCullough, whose mustache instantly reveals that he is up to no good. Sure enough, he and henchman George Cheseboro shoot down O'Malley's plane and steal the mail. O'Malley survives and finds shelter with prospector Jay Hunt. The villains, in an effort to silence the only witness to the theft, dynamite Hunt's mine. O'Malley survives this and manages to sabotage McCullough's getaway plane. The mail delivery back on track, Tryon asks O'Malley to be the best man at his upcoming nuptials with the blond Miss Mehaffey. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Tryon, Beryl Mercer, (more)
- 1931
Assigned by the police commissioner to catch a notorious gangster, a young police captain discovers that his adversary is a former friend in this low-budget crime drama from Syndicate Film Exchanges. The gangster, Joe Velet (Robert Gleckler), is arrested for possession of a firearm and is revealed to be Phil Terry, a former sergeant with the Riffs in North Africa and the best friend of Police Captain Bill Houston (John Holland). Velet/Terry admits to having become a hoodlum because crime, as he puts it, "pays more than cigarette money." About to be extradited back east to stand trial for several killings, Velet is rescued by a couple of his henchmen masquerading as law officers. At liberty, he challenges Bill to a final confrontation at the Silver Slipper Club, which the gangsters are about to raid. Rival hoodlum Taroni (Paul Panzer), whose girlfriend (Mae Busch) is a police informer, is killed in the melee, but Velet manages to escape once again. In order to get even with Bill, the gang boss kidnaps his adversary's girlfriend, the police commissioner's daughter, Alice (Catherine Dale Owen), and the distraught commissioner (Edmund Breese) orders Bill off the case. Happily, our hero discovers Velet's hideout and Alice is rescued during the ensuing shootout. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Breese, Catherine Dale Owen, (more)
- 1931
Independent producer Jack Irwin went to town with this early sound western, which came complete with two (badly dubbed) songs -- "Just a Song at Twilight" and "My Mother's Prayer," as well as a motley group of former silent screen personalities that included veteran villain Tom Santschi, former Universal cowboy Ted Wells, Reed Howes (the erstwhile "Arrow Collar Man"), comedians Billy Franey and Tom Murray, and, presumably to keep the costs down even further, Mrs. Ted Wells. All this "talent" amounted to very little in a trite triangle melodrama about a carnival pitchman who loses his wife to an even slicker operator. The story is set on a wagon train west, but this was no epic -- to put it mildly -- but merely a way for the producer to squeeze the last drop of box-office potential from actors who still enjoyed some support in rural theaters. The film was eventually dumped on an unsuspecting public by the dubious Weiss Bros. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1931
On his way to claim an inheritance, Tom, aka Cuthbert Chauncey Dale (Buck Jones), and his pal "Swede" (John Oscar) witness a stagecoach hold-up. The lone gunman escapes but leaves the loot behind and Chauncey and "Swede" soon find themselves arrested for the crime. They manage to escape, however, and later befriends the gunman, Starrett (Wallace MacDonald), whom Tom invites to work on his inherited ranch. Along with a dilapidated ranch house, the property also contains a strip of land separating the wealthy Preston spread from an especially rich pasture. After quarreling with supercilious Lou Preston (Ethel Kenyon), Tom chases her off his property, but Joe Moore (Albert J. Smith), the Preston foreman who is in love with Lou, mistakes the scene for a lovers' tiff. When Tom mortgages his ranch in order to buy cattle, Moore has his buddy Bill Saunders (Robert Kortman) "sell" him cattle stolen from the Preston herd. Believing the newcomer to be a common rustler, an angry Lou gives Tom 24 hours to leave or else! Just then, Sheriff Mac (Philo McCullough arrives to arrest Tom for the stagecoach robbery. Everything is ironed out, however, when a witness to the robbery identifies Starrett, who is killed in a gunfight with Moore. A recalcitrant Lou apologizes to Tom and they embrace. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Ethel Kenyon, (more)
- 1930
Having already made a successful transition to talkies, canine star Rin-Tin-Tin remained on the Warner Bros. payroll throughout 1930. In On the Border, Rinty plays a police dog living at a lavish California hacienda near the Mexican border. The villainous Farrell (Philo McCullough) decides to use the house as a rendezvous point for his thriving alien-smuggling operation. But Farrell is foiled by Dave (Dave B. Litel), a border cop posing as a bum, and (of course) by Rin-Tin-Tin. The femme lead is played by Mexican song-and-dancer Armida, some ten years before she was "officially" discovered by Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rin Tin Tin, Armida, (more)
- 1930
Filmed in the majestic high desert country near Lone Pine, California, this early sound Western starred Hoot Gibson as a rodeo cowboy hunting down the villain who killed the brother of young Buddy Hunter. Along with sidekick Pee Wee Holmes, Gibson infiltrates the notorious Pecos gang to get close to the killer, Indian Joe (Pete Morrison). As it turns out, Indian Joe is in the employ of nasty Philo McCullough, who kidnaps both Holmes and young Hunter. There's a rodeo to lighten up the dour proceedings (which Gibson of course wins) and a final ride to the rescue. According to reviewers, both leading lady Helen Wright and McCullough had a hard time emoting in front of the dreaded microphone. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hoot Gibson, Helen Wright, (more)
- 1929
A horse and a dog play the lead roles in this inexpensive silent Western produced and directed by Harry S. Webb. Virginia Browne Faire is falsely accused of bond theft and is cleared by a handsome air mail pilot (Gaston Glass) and the aforementioned four-legged thespians. The premiere production of Webb's Biltmore organization, Untamed Justice's main claim to fame were indeed Arab the Horse and Muro the Dog, who were reunited in the company's best remembered vehicle, Phantoms of the North (1929). Browne Faire had played Tinker Bell in Peter Pan but her subsequent career never went far above B-level. Widowed by action director Duke Worne, she retired in 1934. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Brown Faire, Gaston Glass, (more)
- 1929
In one of his few film leading roles, dependable British character actor Holmes Herbert plays Peter Dwight, whose wife Florence (Margaret Livingston), a circus aerialist, walks out on him with their baby in tow. Adopting the guise of an Eastern mystic named Count Merlin, Dwight embarks upon a 15-year search for his wife and child. When he finally catches up with Florence, he discovers that she is planning to desert her present lover. Inevitably, Florence is murdered, and Dwight is accused of the crime. Anyone with half a brain could figure out that one of her cast-off lovers had as much motive as Dwight, yet it takes forever for the truth to be revealed and the killer to be exposed. The Charlatan was based on a play by Ernest Pascal and Leonard Praskins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rockliffe Fellowes, Margaret Livingston, (more)
- 1929
That intrepid German Shepherd Rin Tin Tin is his usual ruff-n-ready self in this adventure that has him trying to deal with jewel thieves who have hidden a priceless diamond necklace in his collar. They lose the dog, after a terrible car crash. Fortunately, Rin is saved by fellow who takes him home. The dog's new master has no idea what the collar contains until the desperate thieves kidnap him. The hapless fellow is assisted by the dog, and a soft-hearted moll who wants to go straight. Action ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Dugan, Matty Kemp, (more)
