Roger Mobley Movies

Tim Conway and Don Knotts, mere supporting characters in the original Apple Dumpling Gang, are promoted to starring roles in the 1979 sequel The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. Once more cast as clumsy, soft-hearted western outlaws, Conway and Knotts come to the rescue of cavalry private Tim Matheson. The villain, lieutenant Philip Pine, is undermining the authority of Matheson's commander Harry Morgan, and Matheson wants to find out why. Featured performers include Jack Elam as Big Mac and Ruth Buzzi as Tough Kate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This two-part comedy-drama (made for the Wonderful World of Disney TV series in the early '60s) concerns Michael, a boy from the city whose family moves to the country. His friendship with J.D., a boy who lives on the same street, takes a beating when they both develop a crush on the same girl, Willadean, who also lives in the neighborhood. In the first part, J.D. talks Michael into stealing a prize watermelon, and in the second segment, the boys stake out a haunted house. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Erich Kastner's oft-filmed children's story Emil and the Detectives was given the Disney treatment in 1964. Though the plot is still set in Berlin, the younger characters have been extensively Americanized, none more so than the title character (played by Bryan Russell) and aspiring teenaged detective Gustav (Roger Mobley). Travelling by bus to visit his aunt, Emil loses an envelope of money to sneak thief Grundeis (Heinz Schubert). The boy enlists the aid of a gang of young detective-story aficionados, led by Gustav, to locate the thief. This leads to a perilous adventure when it turns out that Grundeis is in league with an erudite master criminal known as The Baron (Walter Slezak), who is planning a major heist. The film waves uncertainly between pure-and-simple kiddie entertainment and a dead-serious "caper" effort; surely some of the worldly, cynical dialogue spoken by Walter Slezak went way over the heads of Disney's 8-to-14-year-old target audience. Still, the performances are lively and the Berlin locations well chosen. Emil and the Detectives wasn't as successful as Disney's previous release Mary Poppins, but it managed to make back its cost overseas. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young delinquent from a Mexican border town sets out to cross the border and search for his long lost father, in the process befriending a loyal greyhound puppy and a sympathetic priest who helps train the dog to become a champion racer. For Felipe (Roger Mobley), every day above ground is cause for celebration; not only does he have to fend for himself in a small border town, but he dreams of one day crossing into California to track down the father he never knew. After befriending a greyhound pup for companionship, Felipe and his four-legged friend hop a truck headed for the border in hopes of gaining entry into the United States. Unfortunately, an eagle-eyed customs agent spots the Felipe while searching the truck. Just as it looks like Felipe will be heading back to Mexico, the owner of the truck - a kindly priest named Father Dugan (Cesar Romero) - convinces the agent to allow them passage. Later, when driving back to Mexico, the greyhound falls from his hiding spot in the truck and gets badly injured. But while the local vet recommends that the dog be put to sleep in light of his injuries, Father Dugan recognizes the bond he shares with the boy and makes the case for an operation. As the surgery gets underway, the doctors are forced to improvise - using the staff from a statue of St. Michael in order to fix the dog's leg. In light of this unusual development, Felipe names the dog "St. Mike" and begins training him to become a professional racer. Thanks to a little help from Father Dugan, Felipe undergoes a kind of moral rehabilitation while "St. Mike" becomes fast enough to take top prize in an important race. Later, when the dog's original owner appears to congratulate Felipe, the young boy's newfound morals are put to the ultimate test. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Michael Curtiz's The Comancheros was a deceptively complex movie -- so enjoyable, that it masked some of the best character development seen in a John Wayne vehicle that was not directed by John Ford or Howard Hawks, and so well made that it got by with some of the most violent action seen in a major studio release of the era. It also bridged the gap between Ford's The Searchers and the upbeat buddy movies of the late '60s and '70s (The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, etc.). It's 1843 in the Republic of Texas, and Jake Cutter (John Wayne) is a two-fisted Texas Ranger who runs across a gang of white renegades, called the Comancheros, who are trading guns and other contraband with marauding Comanches from a secret hideout in Mexico. Substituting for a repentant gun-runner, he goes undercover as a partner with Crow (Lee Marvin), a vicious half-breed who is a contact man with the Comancheros and knows the whereabouts of their hideout in Mexico. But Crow manages to get himself killed, and Cutter is forced to throw in with Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman), a bystander who also happens to be an itinerant gambler wanted for killing a man in a duel in New Orleans, to complete his mission. It turns out that Regret is a more decent man than most, and he and Cutter, despite some different outlooks on right and wrong, take a liking to each other. Their quest eventually takes them south of the border, where they find the Comancheros and their leader, Graile (Nehemiah Persoff), a bitter, brilliant cripple -- think of The Sea Wolf's Wolf Larsen in a wheelchair -- who has established a landlocked pirate society, and his daughter Pilar (Ina Balin). The only thing that keeps Cutter and Regret alive when they enter the camp is that Pilar and Regret have a history, and she still has feelings for him, enough so that she won't tell what she knows about Cutter and who he is. The two men must play on Graile's greed and Pilar's love in the explosive surroundings of the Comancheros' camp, while figuring out a way to stay alive long enough to get word to the rangers about where they are -- and to survive the attack that must inevitably follow.

Director Michael Curtiz was ill for part of the shoot, and Wayne took up the slack, but The Comancheros displays some of the same freewheeling charm and deep passions that informed classic films of his such as Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and The Sea Hawk. Wayne and Whitman between them manage to evoke some of the rambunctiousness of Errol Flynn, and when Balin (one of the sexiest leading ladies ever to grace a John Wayne movie) arrives onscreen, the testosterone level shoots up even higher and the sexual sparks fly. The film's 105 minutes go by very fast, and this is a movie whose ending comes almost too soon. Curtiz's final film is one that leaves audiences with a smile, but also wanting more, which was a pretty good way to go out. John Wayne's daughter, Aissa Wayne (who subsequently went into a law career) appears in a small role. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In this children's movie, an adorable newsboy, his dog, and his friend the hobo accidently stumble across a briefcase containing $100,000. It belongs to a desperate thief who definitely wants it back. The honest child, not knowing the loot is stolen, looks for its owner. Fortunately the police save the day. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi