John Merton Movies

Just before achieving TV stardom as The Sheriff of Cochise, John Bromfield headed the cast of Frontier Gambler. Coleen Gray co-stars as the ruthless boss lady of a frontier town. When Gray disappears, suspicion immediately falls upon her former lover Bromfield. Others who had reasons to see Gray dead include Jim Dallas Davis, Kent Taylor and Veda Ann Borg. Frontier Gambler was stitched together by the reliable (if parsimonious) producer-director team of Sigmund Neufield and Sam Newfield (they were brothers, despite the spelling differences). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This Shemp Howard-era Three Stooges comedy was a remake of the boys' 1937 film Three Dumb Clucks, made when Curly Howard was part of the lineup. The only real difference (other than the lineup change) is that this time around the Stooges aren't in jail, they're living with their mother. She wakes them up with the lament, "Now that I'm old your father has divorced me!" Pop Stooge (Shemp in gray hair and muttonchop sideburns) is getting ready to marry Daisy (Connie Cezon), a golddigger. But he's unaware that she's part of a gang who plan to murder him for his money. The Stooges don't realize this either, and when Pop goes to the barber's to shave off his sideburns and dye his hair, they have Shemp impersonate him for Daisy. Too late, Shemp discovers the murder scheme and the moment the wedding is over he tries to make an escape. This is complicated -- for the crooks, at least -- by the fact that Pop Stooge has arrived. Just when the crooks get rid of one Shemp, another Shemp appears. All three Stooges try to make an escape by climbing a flagpole, which the crooks break over the side of the high rise apartment building. The boys are headed towards the pavement but their fall is broken first by an awning, and then when they fall on somebody -- it's their Pop, who emerges from a patch of wet cement with his cigar coming out of his nose. "I'm mortified!" he barks in a Jimmy Durante rasp before the boys cart him off to Ma. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Fritz Lang directed this gritty drama of gangland murder and police corruption, which was considered quite violent in its day. Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is a scrupulously honest police detective who learns that one of his fellow officers has committed suicide. Bannion is told by the officer's wife, Bertha (Jeanette Nolan), that he was severely depressed after being told he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. But the cop's mistress, a barmaid named Lucy (Dorothy Green), has another tale to tell. She claims that he left behind a suicide note detailing a complex trail of corruption in the department, leading to mob boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby), and now Bertha plans to use the note to blackmail Lagana. When Lucy is found dead beside an abandoned road, with her body showing obvious signs of torture, Bannion is convinced that her story was true, and he goes after Lagana. When he threatens to expose Lagana's dealings, the gangster orders Bannion killed. But the car bomb meant to finish Bannion off instead kills his wife Katie (Jocelyn Brando). The police take Bannion off the case, but, convinced his peers are trying to cover their tracks, Bannion follows the case alone, determined to get revenge. Lee Marvin and Gloria Grahame shine in key supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this musical western, a rancher sends a man to prevent the marriage of his daughter. When the man arrives he finds a dude ranch and several murders which require solving. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Gene Autry was clearly tiring of the rigors of moviemaking by the time he starred in The Old West. Even so, Autry gives his all to this story of frontier religiosity. Left for dead in an outlaw ambush, Gene is nursed back to health by a travelling parson (House Peters Sr.) Our hero decides to help the parson build a church in the wide-open town of Saddlerock, which does not sit well with local crime kingpin Doc Lockwood (Lyle Talbot). The villain not only tries to drive the parson out of town, but also does his best to ruin Autry's reputation. The good guys emerge triumphant, but it isn't easy. Featured in the cast of The Old West are Autry "regulars" Gail Davis and Pat Buttrum; also appearing is the ubiquitous Louis-Jean Heydt, delivering a superb performance as a stagecoach driver plagued by encroaching blindness, and House Peters Sr's namesake son House Peters Jr. as one of the outlaws. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This 1951 Gene Autry vehicle is based on a supposedly true incident. At the close of the Civil War, a band of Southern guerillas disguised themselves as Union soldiers, the better to perform acts of sabotage in Utah. Autry plays a cavalry scout who goes after guerilla leader McQuarrie (Jim Davis). Though heavily outnumbered, Gene manages to come out on top. Hardly plausible, Silver Canyon is enhanced by an excellent supporting cast, including Pat Buttram as Autry's sidekick, Bob Steele as an all-around louse, and perennial Autry leading lady Gail Davis as the spunky heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

From Lippert Studios, the same company responsible for I Shot Jesse James, comes I Shot Billy the Kid. Those who know their western history will recall that Billy the kid was gunned down by his friendly enemy Pat Garrett. This time around, Garrett is played by Robert Lowery, while the larger part of Billy is essayed by Don Barry (a bit too old for the part, though physically perfect). The film recounts Garrett and Billy's volatile relationship, and the events leading up to their final, fatal confrontation. Brooklynese supporting actor Sid Melton seems a bit out of place as the film's nominal comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Don Barry stars as Texas Ranger Bob Standish, sworn to avenge his brother's death in Border Rangers. To achieve his goal, Standish goes undercover, joining the bandit gang. In this guise, he hopes to trap outlaw Mugo (Robert Lowery), his brother's murderer, unawares. Most Lippert Studio productions include Sid Melton as comedy relief. But Melton must have been out of town, since the comic sequences in Border Rangers are handled by veteran vaudevillian Wally Vernon. As an added fillip, child actor Paul Jordan provides a few heart-tugging moments. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Whip Wilson, Monogram Pictures' clone of PRC's bullwhip champ Jack LaRue, stars in Arizona Territory. Wilson plays the pal of US marshal Andy Clyde, who is kept busy tracking down a counterfeiting ring. Wilson goes undercover to get the goods on the bad guys. When all else fails, he flails-his whip, that is, a total of four times in this 56-minute western. Veteran sagebrush scenarist Adele Buffington pulls a few old chestnuts out of the fire to flesh out the plotline of Arizona Territory. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Lash LaRue essays a dual role in the 1949 western Outlaw Country. LaRue plays himself (or at least his screen self) and an outlaw known only as The Frontier Phantom. The story finds the "good" Lash and his sidekick Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John) searching for counterfeiters. Meanwhile, the "bad" Lash is in cahoots with the crooks. After the two LaRues face each other in a showdown, the "bad" Lash turns good and helps the hero round up the villains. The leading lady this time out is Nancy Saunders, whose previous experience included a handful of Three Stooges 2-reelers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this suspenseful espionage actioner, the US radar defense system is about to be breached by enemy saboteurs and now only agent Chris Calvert and research-scientist Joan Hughs can stop them. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Samson and Delilah is Cecil B. DeMille's characteristically expansive retelling of the events found in the Old Testament passages of Judges 13-16. Victor Mature plays Samson, the superstrong young Danite. Samson aspires to marry Philistine noblewoman Semadar (Angela Lansbury), but she is killed when her people attack Samson as a blood enemy. Seeking revenge, Semadar's younger sister Delilah (Hedy Lamarr) woos Samson in hopes of discovering the secret of his strength, thus enabling her to destroy him. When she learns that his source of his virility is his long hair, Delilah plies Samson with drink, then does gives him the Old Testament equivalent of a buzzcut while he snores away. She delivers the helpless Samson to the Philistines, ordering that he be put to work as a slave. Blinded and humiliated by his enemies, Samson is a sorry shell of his former self. Ultimately, Samson's hair grows back, thus setting the stage for the rousing climax wherein Samson literally brings down the house upon the wayward Philistines. Hedy Lamarr is pretty hopeless as Delilah, but Victor Mature is surprisingly good as Samson, even when mouthing such idiotic lines as "That's all right. It's only a young lion". Even better is George Sanders as The Saran of Gaza, who wisely opts to underplay his florid villainy. The spectacular climax to Samson and Delilah allows us to forget such dubious highlights as Samson's struggle with a distressing phony lion and the tedious cat-and-mouse romantic scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hot on the heels of Columbia's The Fuller Brush Man, MGM released another Red Skelton gagfest, A Southern Yankee. Set during the Civil War, the film casts Skelton as bumbling bellboy Aubrey Filmore. Yearning to help the Northern cause by becoming an undercover spy, Aubrey succeeds beyond his wildest dreams when circumstances force him to pose as notorious Southern secret agent Major Drumman (George Coulouris), aka "The Grey Spider". Infiltrating rebel territory, our hero does his best (which is none too good) to intercept the Grey Spider's messages and smuggle them to the North. Along the way, he falls in love with pert Southern belle Sallyann Weatherby (Arlene Dahl). Many of the side-splitting gag routines were devised by Buster Keaton, notably the now-famous scene in which Aubrey gingerly walks across the battlefield between Northern and Southern lines carrying a two-sided flag -- the Northern Stars and Stripes on one side, the Southern Stars and Bars on the other -- a strategy that works until the wind suddenly changes! Though Edward Sedgwick is credited with the direction, Red Skelton later revealed that A Southern Yankee was actually directed by S. Sylvan Simon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi