Lafe [Lafayette] McKee Movies
White-haired Lafe McKee (real name, Lafayette McKee) was seemingly born old, dignified, and kind. Already playing old codgers by the mid-1910s, McKee delivered one of the funniest and most improbable moments in B-Western history, when, disguised as a bedraggled señorita, he sprang Ken Maynard from prison in Range Law (1931). "The Grand Old Man of Westerns," as film historian William K. Everson called him, retired in the early '40s after more than three decades of yeoman work opposite every cowboy hero on the Hollywood range, from Franklyn Farnum to Gary Cooper. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1924
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
- Starring:
- Buffalo Bill, Jr., Hazel Keener, (more)
- 1924
In a case of one for all and all for one, D'Artagnan-ish ranger Buck Adams (Pete Morrison) and his two colleagues, Manuel Lopez (Lew Meehan in a rare sympathetic role) and English Charlie (Milburn Morante), rescue lovely Rose Warner (Peggy Montgomery) from being kidnapped by a vicious gang of cutthroats. Writer-director Forrest Sheldon obviously kept one eye squarely on Alexander Dumas while creating this pleasant silent western, just like pulp writer William Colt McDonald whose Three Mesqueteers became a popular series in the thirties. The Peggy Montgomery appearing in this and other westerns was not child star Baby Peggy, whose family name was also Montgomery. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pete Morrison, Peggy Montgomery, (more)
- 1923
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
- Starring:
- Lester Cuneo, Lafe [Lafayette] McKee, (more)
- 1917
When William Bankinton (Will Machin) is shipwrecked, his loses his memory. He is able to make his way in the wilds with the help of a lion. Sheik Ali-Es Hadji (Al W. Filson) lives nearby, and Bankinton meets and falls in love with his daughter, Nakkla (Vivian Reed). But Nakkla is being pursued by an ardent and imperious bandit chief, Ben Saada (Charles LeMoyne). Saada tries to kidnap Nakkla, but the lion jumps in and kills him, while Bankinton rescues her. In the melee, Bankinton falls and his memory is restored. His gets his sense of civilization back, along with getting the girl. If this story seems to bear some similarities to Tarzan, it's no surprise since it was written by Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs. Apparently, the lion chosen for the film was not as docile as he was supposed to have been, thus it was necessary to use trick photography in the scenes where lions and humans comingled. Unfortunately, no known copies of The Lad and the Lion have survived. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Clark, Al Filson, (more)
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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
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
