Lafe [Lafayette] McKee Movies

The Man From Utah
After helping prevent a bank robbery, young drifter John Weston (John Wayne) is assigned by Marshal Higgins (George "Gabby" Hayes to look into a series of suspicious deaths among champion rodeo riders. Weston falls for lovely Marjorie Carter (Polly Ann Young) along the way but she gets jealous when he suddenly shifts his attention to fiery Dolores (Anita Campillo, whose name is misspelled "Compillo" in the onscreen credits). The Mexican charmer, however, is in league with Spike Barton (Edward Peil, Sr.), the brain behind the murders, and Weston's interest is purely business. Like most of John Wayne's "Lone Star" Westerns, The Man from Utah was filmed along California's Kern River. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Sagebrush Trail
So unknown was John Wayne in 1934 that the Variety review of the "B"-western Sagebrush Trail fails to list Wayne in the cast! The second of the Duke's films for Lone Star Productions, this one casts him as an accused killer in search of the real culprit. On the lam from the law, Wayne teams up with gunslinger Lane Chandler, never suspecting that Chandler is the man he is looking for. The relationship between Wayne and Chandler, at first friendly and then adversarial, is handled with more depth than was normal in a quickie western. Also in the cast of Sagebrush Trail is stuntman Yakima Canutt, here cast as Wayne's Indian companion "Yak." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hollywood's self-described "Smiling Daredevil," Lester Cuneo starred in this very low-budget silent Western produced by Ward Lascelles. Lester played the title role, a pacifistic ranger who comes to the aid of a young girl (Alma Deer) besieged by a gang of confidence artists. The Cuneo Westerns played only in small towns and the former Selig actor never reached the height of success he had hoped for. Sadly, screen roles completely dried up in early 1925 and Cuneo committed suicide. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Lester F. Scott, Jr.'s Action Pictures released this average silent oater directed by the prolific Richard Thorpe. Buffalo Bill, Jr. (aka Jay Wilsey) starred in the title role, a cowboy who goes up against an especially nasty ranch foreman (J. Gordon Russell), his rival for the love of pretty Hazel Keener. Keener, who also worked under the name Barbara Worth, is best remembered for the six Westerns she did opposite Fred Thomson. Voted a 1924 WAMPAS Baby Star by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, Miss Keener later joined the ranks of Hollywood dress extras. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Parsimonious Hollywood entrepreneur Lester F. Scott, Jr. produced this little western melodrama starring Buffalo Bill, Jr., an actor later known under his real moniker, Jay Wilsey. Bill, Jr. plays Bill Drake, a cowpoke who must prove himself innocent of robbing the general store. The real culprit, as our hero detects, is Tom Evans ("Slim" Whitaker), the weakling son of a local rancher (Louis Fitzroy). Scott's little oaters were usually filmed in sleepy California towns and employed local "talent" in minor roles. On the Go was no exception but did benefit from a veteran cast that also included leading lady Helen Foster (better known as the much put-upon heroine of the anti-drug melodrama The Road to Ruin [1928]), good old Lafe McKee, as the girl's father, and the aforementioned Charles "Slim" Whitaker, a truly hissable specimen of Hollywood villainy. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Romance, betrayal, and forgiveness at a cavalry outpost were the ingredients in this low-budget silent Western directed by and starring Benjamin F. Wilson. Wilson played Captain Teale, who, while stationed at a small garrison in Indian Territory, falls for the commandant's daughter (Neva Gerber). The girl's brother (Bill Patton), thought dead by his family, proves to be a villainous renegade. The young man assumes another identity and returns to the fort to create endless problems for the inhabitants. When the Indians attack the fort in reprisal for the villain's dirty deals, he is mortally wounded. Confessing all, the young renegade is forgiven and, according to a subtitle, dies "in peace with God and himself." B-Western hero Bill Patton earned a rare unsympathetic role as the young renegade in this otherwise standard low-budget Western. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this minor silent Western, a playful "kidnapping" goes horribly wrong when a gang of bank robbers enters the picture. Buddy Roosevelt starred as Buddy Miller, a young cowboy persuaded to "kidnap" prominent banker Henry Morton (Lafe McKee), whom the Morton family feels needs a rest. But when Mrs. Morton (Winifred Landis) and daughter Sylvia receive a ransom note, they assume that Buddy has deceived them. In reality, the young man and his comic sidekick (Robert Homans) are tracking down the real kidnappers, a gang of desperados headed by a disgruntled clerk (Al Taylor). The Bandit Buster was produced on the cheap by Lester F. Scott, Jr. and directed with the usual efficiency by Richard Thorpe. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Silent serial star Ben Wilson was the penny-pinching producer of the 1926 feature Captain's Courage. Set in the North Woods, the well-photographed film involves a violent dispute over possession of an island somewhere in Lake Michigan. The script is allegedly based on a story by James Oliver Curwood, a "magic" name at the box office back in the 1920s (he was to "northerns" what Zane Grey was to westerns). The leading lady is Dorothy Dwan, the wife of comedian Larry Semon. Captain's Courage comes to life during the action sequences, then grinds to a halt whenever anyone is required to act. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in 1917 with Jack Pickford, Gene Stratton Porter's 1904 piece of Americana came back to the screens 11 years later courtesy of low-budget FBO and Porter herself. The latter played the "Swamp Angel," a beautiful Northwoods girl helping Freckles (John Fox Jr.) defeat the villains who are attempting to take over the Limberlost logging camp. Freckles, an orphan, falls in love with Angel along the way, but the difference in their social position prevents him from declaring himself. Nearly insane from unrequited love, Freckles makes no attempt to escape when a huge tree falls, and he is seriously injured. Angel nurses him back to health, and Freckles finally confesses his love; Angel, to his surprise, returns the favor. Freckles was remade in 1935 starring Tom Brown and again in 1960 featuring Martin West. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Western star Ken Maynard earned an opportunity to showcase his superior riding skills in this exciting silent Western about competing horse-breeders. The honest John Graham (Lafe McKee) and the crooked Ross Cheswick (Sidney Jarvis) battle for supremacy. Despite Cheswick's unscrupulous methods, Ken and his handsome bronco Tarzan win the Big Race for Graham. Maynard's prize: Graham's lovely daughter Sally (Marian Douglas, formerly known as Ena Gregory). The Upland Rider was written for the screen by Marion Jackson, who also wrote for Maynard's competitor Fred Thomson. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The son of productive western director Robert North Bradbury, Bob Steele became FBO's final western hero. Here, he is a wealthy scion who toughens up in a rough-and-tumble lumber camp when he is forced to defend Phil Dunning (Lafe McKee) and his daughter (Thelma Daniels) from the brutal George Hobbs (Tom Lingham). Steele actually didn't really come into his own until sound but then enjoyed a long career as one of Hollywood's toughest western stars which lasted well into the television era.. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Set during the Civil War, this rousing silent Western starred Ken Maynard in top form as a federal agent tracking down a gang of outlaws who are holding up vital shipments of gold from California. To get close to gang leader Butch McGraw (hulking Captain C.E. Anderson), Maynard pretends to be an outlaw himself, a ruse that always seems to work in Westerns such as this. After an exciting chase that features no less than three stagecoach lines, Maynard saves the girl (Dorothy Dwan), rounds up the gang, and wins the day for the Union forces. The chase footage from this film found its way into the later Maynard serial Mystery Mountain as well as the 1937 remake starring Dick Foran. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Returning to Gunsight, AZ, from World War II, Buck Healy (Buck Jones) finds that his younger brother Tom (Thomas Carr) has fallen in with an outlaw gang lead by Murdock (Harry Woods). The latter frames Buck in the robbery of Francisco Del Rey (Hector Sarno), a Mexican rancher whose son (Donald Reed) Buck had saved on the battlefield. Don Francisco's daughter, Juanita (Carmelita Geraghty), is kidnapped along the way, but Buck heroically affects her release and earns her love. Men Without Law was the third of eight Buck Jones Westerns produced by Sol Lesser for release by Columbia Pictures, who took over all production chores thereafter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Poverty row company Syndicate released this early sound western starring silent-screen refugee Mahlon Hamilton as a reformed gambler who saves Doris Hill's ranch from a gang of crooks by using a few of his otherwise retired tricks. The principal actors in this film, Hamilton, Hill and Robert Graves (as the leader of the gang) had all seen better days in the silent era but still enjoyed recognition in small towns, the intended market for Syndicate releases. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide