George Meeker Movies

Prepared for television in 1966, Slaves of the Invisible Monster is the feature-length abridgement of the 1950 Republic serial The Invisible Monster (which explains the presence of several individuals in the cast who died in the 16-year interim). The story is set in motion by the Phantom Ruler (Stanley Price), who uses his power to make himself invisible for nefarious purposes. An insurance company investigator (played by Richard Webb, later TV's Captain Midnight) vows to put an end to the Phantom Ruler's crime spree. Originally, this took up 12 chapters; the feature version has only 100 minutes at its disposal, but still manages to incorporate most of the serial's best action highlights. Aline Towne co-stars as Webb's eminently kidnappable fiancée. Watch for John Hamilton, Perry White on the old Superman series, in an unbilled cameo as one of the Phantom Ruler's minions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Allan "Rocky" Lane plays the title role in the Republic oater Wells Fargo Gunmaster. Lane is sent westward by his employers to stem a series of stagecoach holdups. To bring the crooks out into the open, Lane pretends to turn bandit himself. One by one, the minor crooks are bumped off as they try to fence their ill-gotten gains. By process of elimination, Lane is able to expose the mysterious mastermind behind the robberies. Featured in the cast of Wells Fargo Gunmaster are moppet performers Mary Ellen Kay and Michael Chapin, who'd soon be spun off into their own western series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The King of the Cowboys and the Queen of the West perform their noublesse oblige in Twilight in the Sierras. Roy Rogers plays a US marshal, pursuing a vicious gang of counterfeiters. Dale Evans (not yet Mrs. Rogers) hasn't got much to do but provide love interest, warble a few tunes, and display jealousy when co-star Estelitta Rodriguez sashays into view. The story is motivated by the kidnapping of an ex-counterfeiter who's gone straight. Filmed in the restful Trucolor process, Twilight in the Sierras was designed and marketed as a "special," aiming beyond its usual small-town and regional audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ranger of Cherokee Strip stars Republic horse-opera hero Monte Hale. This time, Steve Howard (Hale) comes to the aid of Joe Bearclaws (Douglas Kennedy), a patriotic Cherokee tribesman who tries to halt the exploitation of his people by unscrupulous cattlemen. The villains manage to frame Joe for murder, but the Indian escapes from jail. Assigned to track down Joe and return him to prison, Howard instead champions the Cherokee's cause and endeavors to bring the true culprits to justice. Roy Barcroft does his usual scowling-badman bit, while George Meeker turns in an interesting portrayal as a ham actor who figures prominently in the murder plot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set virtually in its entirety in an airborne TWA Constellation (evidently the company agreed to the use of its name in exchange for free advertising), Sky Liner stars Richard Travis as FBI agent Steve Blair. At the beginning of the film, a government courier is murdered by a foreign spy during a transcontinental flight. Blair manages to collar the spy, who is then promptly murdered himself. Now Blair is forced to play detective, sifting out the guilty party (or parties) from the passenger list. Pamela Blake and Rochelle Hudson play the standard "good" and "bad" girls, while the rest of the cast is a film-buff's dream: Steven Geray, Bess Flowers, Jack Mulhall, George Meeker et. al. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Singing cowboy Jimmy Wakely stars in Monogram's Silver Trails. It all begins when Jimmy and his comical sidekick Dub "Cannonball" Taylor ride into a small California engineering community. Villain Jackson (George Meeker) is busy orchestrating a land-grab scheme, using the members of an outlaw gang as his flunkies. Jackson hopes to split the miners down the middle by sparking a feud. Jimmy does his best to keep the peace, resorting to gunplay only when all else fails. Future Monogram star Whip Wilson essays a secondary role. In fact, Silver Trails was partially designed as a "pilot" for a potential Whip Wilson series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This adventure is the first live-action Superman serial and was one of the most successful multi-chapter films ever made. Superman is played by B-movie hero Kirk Alyn. The story centers upon the hero and the nefarious Spider Lady, who is trying to rule the Earth. If she cannot have complete control, she plans on shrinking it with her powerful reducer ray. Much of the episodes center upon Superman's relationship with Lois Lane and upon his ability to fly. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

One of the better Roy Rogers films of its period, The Gay Ranchero also happens to be one of the more violent Rogers efforts. The villains want to gain control of a private airport, and aren't above sabotage and murder to get what they want. Riding to the rescue is sheriff Rogers, who is aided by Latino-flyboy Nicci Lopez (Tito Guizar). Roy gets to warble several tunes both by himself and with heroine Jane Frazee, while Tito Guizar solos on "You Belong to My Heart" and "Granada." One of the writers of the title song was Abe Tuvim, the father of actress Judy Holliday. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The spirit of love is back, and she's working in retail in this bubbly romantic musical comedy. Eddie Hatch (Robert Walker) is a window dresser at a large department store; he's become especially fond of one of his mannequins who looks like the sort of girl he'd like to meet, and one night he impulsively gives the dummy a kiss. To his tremendous surprise, the mannequin comes to life, and it turns out to be inhabited by the spirit of Venus, the Goddess of Love (Ava Gardner). Suddenly, romance is in the air as Eddie's fellow employees throw caution to the wind and finally express their infatuations with their co-workers; however, Eddie is too intimidated to follow through on his feelings for Venus, even though she'll only be in human form for 24 hours. Adapted from a popular Broadway musical, One Touch of Venus features a number of memorable songs by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash, including "Speak Low" and "The Trouble with Women," though a number of other songs they wrote for the stage production were replaced for the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

One of the better Roy Rogers vehicles of its period, Home in Oklahoma casts Rogers as a crusading frontier newspaper editor. Forsworn to find the murderers of a prominent cattle rancher, Roy teams up with big-city journalist Connie Edwards (Dale Evans) and grizzled ranch foreman Gabby Whittaker (Gabby Hayes). Following the trail of clues like a Sagebrush Sherlock, Rogers exposes a rival rancher (never mind which one-his identity is obvious to seasoned mystery fans) as the culprit. Musical highlights include Roy and Dale's rendition of the novelty tune "Miguelito." Chalk up another winner for the star-director team of Roy Rogers and William Witney. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Road to Rio was the first of three "Road" pictures jointly produced by stars Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. On the run from the law again, musicians Bob and Bing stow away on an ocean liner. They try to come to the rescue of heiress Dorothy Lamour, who is doomed to an arranged marriage to caddish George Meeker. All gratitude and effusions for their assistance, Dorothy surprises Bob and Bing on their next meeting by slapping them in their faces and declaring "I hate you! I loathe you! I despise you!" The explanation? Dorothy is being hypnotized by her scheming aunt Gale Sondergaard, who has set up the marriage for mysterious mercenary reasons of her own. When Dorothy is "herself" again, Bob and Bing smuggle her off the ship and into their Rio de Janeiro hotel room. The boys plan to save Dorothy from her unwanted marriage by passing her off as a nightclub singer, and themselves as band leaders. Trouble is, they have no band. Enter the Wiere Brothers, three Rio street entertainers. Bob and Bing hire the threesome on the spot, unmindful that they have booked themselves into Nestor Paiva's nightclub on the promise that they're delivering an American band. Since the Wieres speak only Portuguese, Bing teaches each brother an American phrase by rote: "You're in the groove, Jackson", "You're Telling Me," and "This is Murder." Naturally, it isn't long before the boys' ruse is discovered, and this coupled with the newly hypnotized Lamour's threats to have Bob and Bing arrested, leaves our heroes broke and stranded once more. Still, they pose a menace to Sondergaard, thus she contrives a method of disposing of them. Hypnotizing them both, Sondergaard orders Bob and Bing to kill each other. They snap out of the spell just in time, but still there's the problem of rescuing Dorothy. And now there's a new angle: mysterious stranger Frank Puglia informs the boys that the only way to stop the wedding is to retrieve (pause; a furtive glance left; a furtive glance right) "The Papers." Said papers are in the possession of Sondergaard, obliging Bob and Bing to show up at the pre-nuptial festival in disguise (with Bob in drag). Managing to hypnotize Sondergaard's henchmen Frank Faylen and Joseph Vitale, Bob and Bing uncover the precious Papers, and Dorothy is saved. But how can those papers stop a wedding? We won't give away the surprise, nor will we tell you whether Dorothy ends up with Bob or Bing, nor even what the heck Jerry Colonna is doing in the picture leading a cavalry charge. Not the best of the "Road" pictures, Road to Rio is nonetheless one of the most memorable--and quotable (how many of your high school pals used to confound the teacher by declaring "You're in the groove, Jackson"?) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Several years after the "Michael Shayne" B-movie series ran its course at 20th Century-Fox, PRC Pictures revived the property with Murder is My Business. Hugh Beaumont-yes, Ward Cleaver!--replaces Fox's Lloyd Nolan as Brett Halliday's red-headed gumshoe Michael Shayne. This time around, Shayne is hired by a wealthy woman to protect her from blackmailers. When his client is murdered, Shayne takes it upon himself to track down the killer. Murder is My Business was adapted from the Brett Halliday novel The Uncomplaining Corpse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An unusually elaborate film from the bargain-basement PRC studios, Her Sister's Secret is set in New Orleans at Mardi Gras time. The "secret" involves an illegitimate child. Nancy Coleman is impregnated by a soldier on leave, and when she fears that he'll never return, she persuades her married sister (Margaret Lindsay) to raise the child. The better-than-usual cast includes Phillip Reed as the soldier, along with Regis Toomey, Felix Bressart and Henry Stephenson. Her Sister's Secret was the sort of B-plus fare that PRC would specialize in when it reorganized in 1947 and changed its name to Eagle-Lion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi