Bob McKenzie Movies
Irish-born Robert McKenzie was already a theatrical showman of some renown by the time he made his first film appearance in 1921. The barrel-chested, snaggle-toothed McKenzie appeared in dozens of westerns and comedies, usually as a bombastic lawman or backwoods con artist. Even when he played bits (which was often), his raspy voice and hyena-like laugh always identified him. His more memorable feature-film roles included W. C. Fields' drinking buddy Charlie Bogle in You're Telling Me (1934), larcenous Judge Roy Dean in Gene Autry's Sing, Cowboy, Sing (1937), and the jolly captain who rents Laurel & Hardy a broken-down boat in Saps at Sea (1940). In addition, he appeared in hundreds of short subjects, playing opposite the likes of Our Gang, Andy Clyde, Charley Chase and the Three Stooges. In 1927, McKenzie tried his hand at screenwriting with the low-budget western The White Outlaw. Robert McKenzie and his actress-wife Eva had three daughters, all of whom acted in films at one time or another; their daughter Ella was the wife of comedian Billy Gilbert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1940
A wedding ceremony is rudely interrupted by a bank robbery next door, the bridegroom is shot and the best man is accused of being the culprit. All this takes place during the first five minutes of Triple Justice, George O'Brien's final western for RKO. Brad Henderson (O'Brien) is innocent, of course, but is forced to clear his good name and reputation by tracking down not only the three real bank robbers but also their secret boss, Deputy Sheriff Harry Woods). Along the way, Brad falls in love with lovely (Virginia Vale), the sister of neophyte outlaw Bud McTaggart), and finds himself the center of attention of three equally charming senoritas, (The Lindemann Sisters, who perform a couple of standard Mexican ballads. Miss Vale) also takes time out for a song, Fred Ross and Ray Whitley's "Lonely Rio. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Virginia Vale, (more)
This Technicolor sequel to 1939's Jesse James does without the services of the earlier film's star Tyrone Power, who after all was shot dead by that "dirty little coward" Bob Ford (John Carradine). Repeating his portrayal of western outlaw Frank James, Henry Fonda is promoted to top billing here. As depicted by scenarist Sam Hellman, Frank has retired from his life of crime to become a peaceful farmer, though he has never given up his search for the treacherous Ford. The killer and his cohorts are eventually rounded up, but are pardoned due to political intervention. That's when Frank slaps on six-guns once more to seek his own form of justice. Featured in the cast is Henry Hull as a top-of-his-lungs crusading newspaperman and Jackie Cooper as a headstrong young sprout who pays the ultimate price for his bullheadedness. Making her screen debut is Gene Tierney, in the role of an Eastern reporter who wants to tell Frank's true story to the world. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1940
The once-in-a-lifetime teaming of Mae West and W.C. Fields in My Little Chickadee had the potential for comic greatness: what emerged, though generally entertaining, was, in the words of critic Andrew Sarris, "more funny strange than funny ha-ha." Mae West dominates the film's first reel as Flowerbelle Lee, a self-reliant woman who is abducted by a mysterious masked bandit during a stagecoach holdup. Because she refuses to tell anyone what happened during her nocturnal rendezvous with the bandit, Flowerbelle is invited to leave her prudish hometown and move to Greasewood City. En route by train, Flowerbelle makes the acquaintance of con-artist Cuthbert J. Twillie (W.C. Fields), who carries a suitcase full of what seems to be large-denomination monetary notes. After a lively clash with marauding Indians, Flowerbelle tricks Twillie into a phony marriage; she does this so that she can arrive in Greasewood City with a modicum of respectability, and incidentally to get her hands on Twillie's bankroll. Once she discovers that Twillie's "fortune" consists of nothing but phony oil-well coupons, Flowerbelle refuses to allow Twillie into the bridal chamber (he unwittingly crawls into the marriage bed with a goat, muttering "Darling, have you changed your perfume?") Through a fluke, the cowardly Twillie is appointed sheriff of Greasewood City by town boss Joseph Calleila. The plot is put on hold for two reels while La West does a "schoolroom" routine with a class full of markedly overage students, and while Fields performs a bartender bit wherein he explains how he once knocked down the notorious Chicago Mollie. Jealous over the attentions paid to his "wife" by Calleila and honest newspaper-editor Dick Foran, Twillie decides to gain entry into his wife's boudoir by posing as the still-at-large masked bandit. His ruse is soon discovered by Flowerbelle, but the townsfolk capture Twillie as he makes his escape. They are about to lynch the hapless Twillie when Flowerbelle discovers that Calleia is the genuine masked bandit. She urges Calleia to save Twillie's life by making a surprise appearance at the lynching and by returning the money he's stolen. When all plot lines are ironed out, Flowerbelle and Twillie bid goodbye to one another. Borrowing a device utilized by ZaSu Pitts and Hugh Herbert in 1939's The Lady's From Kentucky, W.C. Fields invites Mae West to "come up and see me sometime," whereupon West appropriates Fields' tagline and calls him "My Little Chickadee." The script for this uneven comedy western was credited to Mae West and W.C. Fields, though in fact West was responsible for most of it. Fields willingly conceded this, noting that West had captured his character better than any other writer he'd ever met. Despite this seeming gallantry, it was no secret that West and Fields disliked each other intensely, a fact that had an injurious effect on their scenes together. My Little Chickadee has assumed legendary status thanks to its stars, and it certainly does deliver the laughs when necessary: still, it is hardly the best-ever vehicle for either Fields or West, two uniquely individual performers who should never have been required to duke it out for the same spotlight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mae West, W.C. Fields, (more)
Featuring even more musical numbers than usual, this Tex Ritter Western from Monogram marked the feature film debut of the "King of Western Swing," Bob Wills, and his Texas Playboys, a group that also included Wills' brother Johnnie Lee Wills. The group performed no less than four numbers in a row -- including Wills' own Good Old Oklahoma, Lone Star Rag and {&The Bob Wills Special. Surrounding all this harmonizing, screenwriter Robert Emmett Tansey crafted a rather commonplace Western fable of Ritter and sidekick Slim Andrews rescuing a stage line owned by leading lady Terry Walker. The line is being sabotaged by rival operator (Karl Hackett). To get rid of the pesky Ritter, Hackett hires a notorious outlaw, Olin Francis. But Ritter has befriended Francis' young son and the scheme fails miserably. Ritter, whose pugilistic fervor always seemed more authentic than that of most singing cowboys, injured his knee in a fight with Hackett and production had to be suspended for two weeks, a rather expensive development for low-budget Monogram. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1940
In this drama, a despondent fellow contemplates suicide after he is abandoned by his last girlfriend. To ensure that his poor sister will receive maximum benefits from his life insurance policy, he hires a hitman to assassinate him. Unfortunately, he meets a new girl and changes his mind. Unfortunately, the killer, whom the hero has never met, doesn't know this. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
When the Daltons Rode is the much-embellished tale of that celebrated outlaw family, the Daltons. Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Stu Erwin and Frank Albertson play the gunslinging brothers, with Mary Gordon on hand as Ma Dalton. In the tradition of the 1939 western Jesse James, the film whitewashes the Daltons, showing them being forced into committing their crimes by duplicitous railroad interests. There's plenty of comic banter and byplay until about twenty minutes from the end; then the film becomes a nonstop marathon of action, halted only by the Daltons' fateful (and for the most part fatal) bank robbery in Coffeyville, Kansas. Randolph Scott is the nominal hero, a lawyer who befriends the boys and tries to dissuade them from their life of crime. When the Daltons Rode ends with all four brothers dead as doornails--even though the script was based on the autobiography of the surviving Dalton! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Kay Francis, (more)
Dreaming Out Loud represented the film debut of radio favorites Lum 'N' Abner, aka Chester Lauck and Norris Goff. Proprietors of the Jot-Em-Down Store in Pine Ridge, AR, our heroes are currently preoccupied by their efforts to construct a mobile hospital unit in their community. In time-honored movie-comedy tradition, Lum 'N' Abner also set aside a moment or two to help out young lovers Dr. Kenneth Barnes (Robert Wilcox) and Alice (Frances Langford). More serious in nature than subsequent Lum 'N' Abner movie vehicles, the storyline is partially devoted to the search for the hit-and-run driver who struck down and killed lovable little Emmy Lou (Bobs Watson). Bandleader Phil Harris is allotted a surprisingly tiny amount of screen time, and isn't even afforded the chance to sing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Lauck, Frances Langford, (more)
- 1940
- G
In their last film for Hal Roach, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy play employees at the Sharp and Pierce Horn Factory, where the workers tend to go beserk at a rate of one per hour. Driven crazy by the cacophonous G-minor horn, poor Ollie begins to tear the factory apart, screaming "Horns to the left of me! Horns to the right of me! Horns, horns, HORNS!" Sent home to recuperate from his nervous breakdown, Ollie is told by his doctor (James Finlayson) that he is suffering from Hornophobia: "In fact, you're on the verge of Hornomania." Advised to take a restful ocean voyage, Ollie nixes the idea, noting that he hates the high sea. Stan suggests that the two of them rent a small boat and keep it tied up on the dock, so that Ollie can get all the fresh sea air he wants without ever leaving port. Alas, the boys' tiny boat is accidentally set adrift, with Stan, Ollie and escaped killer Nick Grainger (Rychard Cramer) on board. Ordered to prepare breakfast for the ill-tempered Nick, the boys hope to subdue their captor by making him a "synthetic meal": String for spaghetti, soap for cheese, sponge for meatball, lampwick for bacon, and so on. Unfortunately, Nick catches on to their scheme and forces Stan and Ollie to eat the ersatz meal themselves. The boys are finally saved from Nick's wrath when Stan remembers that the sound of trombone will transform Ollie into a fighting demon, but don't count on a completely happy ending when Laurel & Hardy are involved. Cowritten by former comedy great Harry Langdon, Saps at Sea looks more like two or three 2-reelers strung together than a coherent feature film; still, it contains some great gags, most of them taking place in Ollie's apartment, where the plumbing and electrical appliances have been bollixed up by cross-eyed janitor Ben Turpin. Though hardly a classic, Saps at Sea earned Laurel & Hardy some of their best-ever reviews, and would turn out to be their last totally worthwhile feature film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, (more)
Based on a story by Vicki Baum (of Grand Hotel) fame, Dance, Girl Dance finds innocent young Judy (Maureen O'Hara) journeying to the Big Apple in hopes of gaining fame as a classical dancer. Instead she ends up as the "stooge" for raucous strip-tease artist Bubbles (Lucille Ball), who attempts to perform ballet before leering, catcalling, unappreciative burlesque audiences. Eventually, Judy and Bubbles both fall for playboy Jimmy Harris (Louis Hayward), a rivalry that culminates in a hair-pulling, eye-scratching cat fight. Eventually, Harris's ex-wife (Virginia Field) reels him back in, and Judy is hired by ballet producer and entrepreneur Steve Adams (Ralph Bellamy). In recent years, Dance, Girl, Dance has been canonized as a feminist manifesto, due to the fact that Dorothy Arzner was the director and because of Maureen O'Hara's climactic burlesque-house speech, in which she lambastes the male spectators for their puerile chauvinism. It should be noted, however, that Arzner became director only after Roy Del Ruth pulled out of the project. Uncertain how to promote the film, RKO Radio elected to sneak it into its first-run houses without fanfare, and the result was a $400,000 loss for the studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, (more)
- 1939
A champion Great Dane is the murder victim in this mystery. Investigating the case is the youthful assistant of a travelling salesman and telepathist. Unfortunately, the young man's attempts to find the show dog's killer fail. He winds up getting both himself and his boss in trouble. Now it is up to the young man's mentor to solve the case. The prime suspect is a friend of the dog owner's daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynne Overman, Virginia Dale, (more)
Tom Destry (James Stewart), son of a legendary frontier peacekeeper, doesn't believe in gunplay. Thus he becomes the object of widespread ridicule when he rides into the wide-open town of Bottleneck, the personal fiefdom of the crooked Kent (Brian Donlevy). His detractors laugh even louder when Destry signs on as deputy to drunken sheriff Wash Dimsdale (Charles Winninger). But the laughter subsides when Destry casually proves himself a crack shot, despite his abhorrence of firearms. Later, when saloon chanteuse Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich), Kent's gal, takes umbrage at Destry's indifferent reaction to her charms, she vows to make a fool of the new deputy. A huge moneymaker, Destry Rides Again served as a spectacular comeback for Marlene Dietrich, who two years earlier had been written off as "box office poison." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, (more)
A man is wrongfully convicted of a crime and sent to prison. Realizing that he is the victim of political shenanigans, he dutifully does his time. Eventually he comes up for parole, but the crooked official behind his incarceration, fearing that the prisoner will expose him, makes sure that parole is denied. The innocent inmate has only one consolation-- the prison nurse believes him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beverly Roberts, Robert Wilcox, (more)
- 1939
Frontier Pony Express is a fast-paced Roy Rogers program western which could stand up on its own with any big-budgeted "A" picture. Per the title, Rogers plays an express rider, working the California-to-Kansas City route. While the Civil War rages in the East, our hero must contend with Yankee and Rebel forces who've encroached upon his home turf, both trying to win California over to their side. Meanwhile, businessman Lassiter (Edward Keane), ostensibly on the Confederate side, is actually a mercenary who hopes to play one army against the other so that he can move in and take over the territory himself. There's an awful lot of plot in this 58-minute oater, but Roy Rogers still finds time to serenade leading lady Mary Hart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Mary Hart, (more)
- 1938
One thing was always certain in Columbia's Jack Luden westerns: the supporting cast would include Hal Taliaferro, or Harry Woods, or both. In Pioneer Trail, Taliaferro is fifth-billed as "Smokey", a non-villainous role for a change. The film's chief heavy is Slim Whittaker, playing the leader of an outlaw gang which has been preying on cattle drives. Captured by Whittaker, hero Luden is offered his freedom in exchange for leading a particularly valuable herd of cattle into the rustlers' hands. Luden turns down the offer, and with the help of "wonder dog" Tuffy he escapes to warn the cattlemen of Whittaker's impending attack. The film ends with a spectacular cattle stampede which looks as though it was lifted from an earlier film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Luden, Joan Barclay, (more)
- 1938
Lawless Valley is one of the best of George O'Brien's series westerns for RKO Radio. Falsely accused of orchestrating a stage robbery with his conveniently deceased father, O'Brien spends the rest of the film trying to clear his name. Along the way, he uncovers the perfidy of land baron Fred Kohler Sr. (in his last film role), who's been committing murders all over the place to grab up every piece of the surrounding territory. Kohler even tries to inveigle heiress Kay Sutton into a forced marriage with his son to strengthen his land holdings. Forcing a confession from corrupt sheriff Earle Hodgins, O'Brien is able to tighten the noose around Kohler's neck, but not before a fistic set-to reminiscent of the similar O'Brien-Kohler donnybrook in 1924's The Iron Horse. Adding to the enjoyment of Lawless Valley is the presence in of Fred Kohler Jr., appropriately cast as Fred Kohler Sr.'s offspring. At one point, Kohler Jr. stands up to his father, whereupon Kohler Sr. growls "Careful, son--you're talkin' to your dad, you know!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Kay Sutton, (more)
- 1938
The villains in the "Three Mesquiteers" entry Red River Range are bunch of progressive cattle thieves. This being 1939, the bad guys round up their stolen goods and herd them into streamlined trucks. It's a plot device that had previously used in Republic's Gene Autry series, but it still had plenty of mileage here. Riding to the rescue are the Mesquiteers, who on this occasion consist of John Wayne (Stony Brooke), Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin). Lorna Gray, aka Adrian Booth, is the heroine, while raucuous comedy relief is provided by old-timer Polly Moran. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
- 1938
In this drama, a Mexican woman attempts to live a peaceful life in California. Unfortunately, land-grabbers kill her father and begin harassing her. Desperate, she sends an impassioned plea for help to Washington, and a special aide is sent to mediate. He and the woman fall in love, and the aide does such a good job that he is elected to be the state's first governor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Keene, Duncan Renaldo, (more)
- 1938
Cheap-looking even by the standards of Grand National Pictures, Held for Ransom appears to have been completed several years before its official 1938 release date. The charmingly untalented Blanche Mehaffey heads the cast as FBI agent Betty Mason. At the risk of her own neck, Betty pursues the kidnappers of a wealthy businessman. She also juggles the affection of her partner Morrison (Jack Mulhall) and the victim's son Scott (Grant Withers). After five yarn-provoking reels, the film finally roars into life with a truly exciting climactic shootout. Though Blanche Mehaffey had been in films since the silent days, she never quite attained stardom, and was still being referred to as an "unknown" by the 1938 trade papers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanche Mehaffey, Grant Withers, (more)
Despite the title, the plot of Young Fugitives is carried by an oldster. Civil war veterans Harry Davenport and Clem Bevans save a nest egg of $50,000. When Bevans dies, Davenport sets out to find Bevans' son and heir Robert Wilcox. The younger man proves to be a wastrel and cheat, but Davenport decides to reform him. Dorothea Kent, in a brief respite from dumb-blonde roles, plays Wilcox's girl friend. Young Fugitives is based on a short story by Edward James. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Wilcox, Dorothea Kent, (more)
- 1937
The third entry in a series of 22 Jack Randall Westerns, Stars Over Arizona was the last to be directed by the veteran Robert North Bradbury. Apparently losing confidence in the Randall vehicles early on, Monogram producer Maurice Conn would henceforth assign Randall lesser talents such as J.P. McGowan, Robert Hill, and Raymond K. Johnson. Randall played Jack Dawson, a government agent assigned to return the kidnapped son of Arizona's governor. The kidnapper proves to be Ace Carter (Warner Richmond), a nasty cattle rustler operating out of Tuba City, AZ, and the governor sends enforcement consisting of four former convicts who all owe Jack their lives. Although one of the convicts betrays him, Jack manages to rescue the kidnapped youngster (Sherry Tansey) and bring Carter and his gang to justice. Randall's sidekick, Grizzley, played earlier by George Cooper, was here portrayed by weatherbeaten Horace Murphy, an appealing comic character actor. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Horace Murphy
- 1937
Bret Harte's short story The Luck of Roaring Camp had previously been woven into the plot of RKO's Outcasts of Poker Flat when this Monogram "special" made its appearance late in 1937. The basic story remains intact, with an orphaned baby magically bringing good fortune to a rough-and-tumble mining camp. Among those to benefit from the kid's presence are earnest young miner Davey (Owen Davis Jr.), rough-edged but likeable camp singer Elsie (Joan Woodbury) and shifty-eyed gambler Oakhurst (Charles Brokaw). At base a good yarn, Luck of Roaring Camp suffers from an excess of corn, especially in the closing scenes. It was the final directorial effort of Irvin Willat, a once-prominent figure in the world of silent films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Davis, Jr., Joan Woodbury, (more)
- 1937
In this western, a singing outlaw and a US marshal kill each other in a fight. Their demise is witnessed by an opportunistic fellow who assumes the dead lawman's identity. He soon finds himself in over his head when he tries to stop cattle rustlers and gain the love of a rancher's daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Baker, Joan Barclay, (more)
Singing cowboy Tex Ritter once again battled the ornery Charles King in this average music Western from poverty row company Grand National. The usually so jovial Robert McKenzie joined King this time, playing mean Judge Roy Dean and conspiring to take over the Summer's Freight Line. Passing cowboys Tex Archer (Ritter, who warbles the title-tune and his own Goodbye Old Paint) and Duke Evans (Al St. John) happen upon the dead body of George Summers (Jack C. Smith) and decide to take up the fight against the crooked judge. They are briefly jailed but escape in time to save Madge Summers (Louise Stanley) and bring the villains to justice. A big fan of silent slapstick comics, Ritter constantly badgered his producer, Edward F. Finney, to hire former Keystone Kops and in addition to St. John, Sing Cowboy, Sing also featured Snub Pollard and Chester Conklin. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Louise Stanley, (more)
- 1937
In this crime comedy, a lazy feller and his family take-up residence in an abandoned house. The squatters have no idea that the owners, a gang of crooks, are just about to return and use it as their hide out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Stone, Emma Dunn, (more)
- 1937
Filmed in rapid succession over an 18-month period, the 19 Tom Tyler westerns for Reliable Productions tend to look alike at times. Riding On is typical Tyler, with our hero returning home to find his father embroiled in a deadly frontier feud over water rights. A "Romeo and Juliet" angle is established when Tom Roarke (Tyler) falls in love with Gloria O'Neill (Geraine Greer), the daughter of his father's bitter enemy. Not surprisingly, the range war is being fomented by a third party who hopes to move in and pick up the pieces when the Roarkes and the O'Neills kill each other off. The haste with which Riding On was slapped together is indicated in the gunfight scenes, with poorly aimed bullets picking off their targets with astonishing accuracy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tyler, Geraine Greer, (more)
