Tom Monroe Movies

A quick-shot rifleman with a tragic past seeks refuge in a God-fearing Arizona town, only to discover that there's no running from the way of the gun in directors Hagen Smith andRichard Robinson's bullet-riddled Western. It was self-defense when Frank Woods killed three drunken hoodlums in a moment of desperation, but he knows as well as anyone else that he'll be heading for the hangman's noose if the law catches on to him. Though the citizens of the small religious town to which Frank has relocated welcome the even-handed newcomer and his commendable quest to clean the town of corruption, the criminal element doesn't take kindly to his presence and soon sets out to bring Frank down once and for all. Once again backed into a corner from which the only escape is to start shooting and pray that luck is still on his side, Frank fights for his life the only way he knows how -- with plenty of gunpowder and a fistful of bullets. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

James Garner is so good as Raymond Chandler's philosophical gumshoe Philip Marlowe that you forget he's totally wrong for the part. Based on Chandler's The Little Sister, Marlowe involves the detective's efforts to locate the missing brother of Orfamay Quest (Sharon Farrell). He follows the clues to two men who deny any knowledge of the brother's existence. Since both men soon find themselves on the wrong end of an ice pick, Marlowe deduces that there's more to this caper than a mere missing-person case. The plot thickens as more "dramatis personae" are added to the intrigues, including TV star Gayle Hunnicutt, Hunnicutt's gangster boyfriend H.M. Wynant and stripper Rita Moreno. A pre-stardom Bruce Lee shows up as a karate-happy thug who lays waste to Marlowe's office shortly before suffering a spectacular demise. It is preferable to view Marlowe in videocassette or theatrical form; the commercial TV print cuts so much out that viewers are left with virtually nothing but protection leader and a few close-ups of James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in Texas during the late 1860s, Rio Bravo is a story of men (and women) and a town under siege. Presidio County Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) is holding Joe Burdette (Claude Akins), a worthless, drunken thug, for the murder of an unarmed man in a fight in a saloon -- the problem is that Joe is the brother of wealthy land baron Nathan Burdette (John Russell), who owns a big chunk of the county and can buy all the hired guns he doesn't already have working for him. Burdette's men cut the town off to prevent Chance from getting Joe into more secure surroundings, and then the hired guns come in, waiting around for their chance to break him out of jail. Chance has to wait for the United States marshal to show up, in six days, his only help from Stumpy (Walter Brennan), a toothless, cantankerous old deputy with a bad leg who guards the jail, and Dude (Dean Martin), his former deputy, who's spent the last two years stumbling around in a drunken stupor over a woman that left him. Chance's friend, trail boss Pat Wheeler (Ward Bond), arrives at the outset of the siege and tries to help, offering the services of himself and his drovers as deputies, which Chance turns down, saying they're not professionals and would be too worried about their families to be good at anything except being targets for Burdette's men; but Chance does try to enlist the services of Wheeler's newest employee, a callow-looking young gunman named Colorado Ryan (Ricky Nelson), who politely turns him down, saying he prefers to mind his own business. In the midst of all of this tension, Feathers (Angie Dickinson), a dance hall entertainer, arrives in town and nearly gets locked up by Chance for cheating at cards, until he finds out that he was wrong and that she's not guilty -- this starts a verbal duel between the two of them that grows more sexually intense as the movie progresses and she finds herself in the middle of Chance's fight. Wheeler is murdered by one of Burgette's hired guns who is, in turn, killed by Dude in an intense confrontation in a saloon. Colorado throws in with Chance after his boss is killed and picks up some of the slack left by Dude, who isn't quite over his need for a drink or the shakes that come with trying to stop. Chance and Burdette keep raising the ante on each other, Chance, Dude, and Colorado killing enough of the rancher's men that he's got to double what he's paying to make it worth the risk, and the undertaker (Joseph Shimada) gets plenty of business from Burdette before the two sides arrive at a stalemate -- Burdette is holding Dude and will release him in exchange for Joe. This leads to the final, bloody confrontation between Chance and Burdette, where the wagons brought to town by the murdered Wheeler play an unexpected and essential role in tipping the balance. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Bret (James Garner) is summoned for jury duty in the trial of young Bill Gregg (William Reynolds), who is accused of murdering a wealthy rancher. Disturbed that the jury has already decided that Gregg is guilty--and certain that the poor fellow is being railroaded--Bret endeavors to win the other jurors over to his side, using a deck of cards as his "persuader." Directed by Richard L. Bare, this episode features supporting appearances by George O'Hanlon, whom Bare had directed in dozens of "Joe McDoakes" theatrical shorts, and Frank Cady, who later played Sam Drucker in the Bare-directed sitcom Green Acres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

War Drums manages to be pro-Indian, pro-Mexican, pro-tolerance and pro-feminist without ever resorting to speechmaking or sacrificing its entertainment value. Former Tarzan Lex Barker stars as an Apache chief who is almost ostracized by his tribe when he marries Mexican girl Joan Taylor. Eventually, Barker is welcomed back, but Joan refuses to behave like a typical dutiful squaw. In deference to his wife's wishes, Barker trains Joan to become an Apache warrior! It is curious that the Political Correctness crowd has never paid homage to War Drums; perhaps it's because of the film's surfeit of decidedly non-PC violence and bloodshed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dale Robertson stars as the Son of Sinbad in this tongue-in-cheek Arabian Nights romp. Hoping to rescue Bagdad from the forces of the dreaded Tamerlaine, Sinbad Jr. enlists the aid of the Khalif (Leon Askin) by promising to deliver the secret of "Greek Fire". To expedite this, he enlists the aid of the lovely Kristina (Mari Blanchard), who has memorized said secret. When the bad guys threaten the safety of hero and heroine, slave girl Ameer (Sally Forrest), who heads the all-female descendants of the original Forty Thieves, come galloping to the rescue. Personally produced by Howard Hughes, Son of Sinbad seems to be a clearing house for all of Hughes' voyeuristic fetishes; at one point, stripteaser Lili St. Cyr performs an exotic (and erotic) dance wearing the equivalent of a postage stamp, earning a Condemned rating from the Catholic Legion of Decency. The overabundance of feminie pulchritude gets a little wearing after a while, and it is up to Vincent Price to steal the show as Omar the Tentmaker, improvising passages of his unpublished "Rubiyat" (with a few anachronistic Shakespearean quotes thrown in) as he tries to keep apace with the hero. Also on hand is an uncredited (and fully clothed) Kim Novak as a handmaiden. More silly than sexy when seen today, Son of Sinbad is acceptable nonthink entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When the corpse of a man in a diving suit shows up miles from the ocean on the top floor of the "Daily Planet" building, editor Perry White (John Hamilton) is inspired to return to reporting to solve the mystery himself. The closer Perry comes to cracking the case, the more his life is endangered, beginning with a very hot time in a locked steam cabinet. Ultimately, the trail of clues leads from the posh Quincy Athletic Club to a railroad car full of counterfeit money--and can it be that Perry's ace reporter Clark Kent (George Reeves) has been crushed to death under the wheels of the train? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

El Paso Stampede was the last of Republic Pictures' 38 Allan "Rocky" Lane westerns. Happily, the
series maintained a fairly high batting average right to the end. This time, the action takes place in 1898, during the Spanish-American war. Someone has been stealing cattle that was intended for the U.S. troops in Cuba. Government agent Lane heads westward to find out who's the brains behind the rustlers. El Paso Stampede delivers the goods in the action department, and then some. After the cessation of his 6-year western series, Allan "Rocky" Lane had some trouble lining up acting work; by 1961, however, he was gainfully employed as the voice of TV's Mr. Ed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Kefauver Committee's ongoing investigation of organized crime spawned several "Torn from Today's Headlines!" films in the early 1950s. Republic's Hoodlum Empire concerns the efforts by gangster Joe Gray (John Russell) to get out of the rackets after WW II. Part of Gray's "reclamation" is to testify at a public hearing, prompting a series of flashbacks. Part of the fun is to guess who all the "fictional" criminals are really supposed to be: Luther Adler's character may be called "Nicky Mancini," for example, but for all intents and purposes Adler is playing Frank "Fifth Amendment" Costello. Other famous underworld personages are impersonated by Claire Trevor, Forrest Tucker and Roy Barcroft, while the steadfast Estes Kefauver counterpart is portrayed by Brian Donlevy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in the years following the Civil War, Horizons West stars Robert Ryan as Dan Hammond, one of three Texans who decide to return home after the cessation of hostilities. While his brother Neal (Rock Hudson) and his friend Tiny (James Arness) decide to become ranchers, Dan opts for a more adventurous life out West. Through means both fair and foul (mostly foul), he builds up a veritable empire, defending his turf with legions of hired gunmen. Eventually, the honest Neal is forced to face down his brother Dan, whose megalomania has reached dictatorial dimensions. Julie Adams, still billed as "Julia," plays a self-reliant widow who sets her cap for Dan, who in an earlier scene had gunned down the woman's husband (Raymond Burr)--a characteristically ironic grace-note from director Budd Boetticher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Lawman Allan “Rocky” Lane is mistaken for a hired killer in this average western from Republic Pictures. Assuming the identity of his captive, Clune (Stuart Randall), when the latter is killed by mistake by fellow outlaw Murray (John Cason), Rocky learns that Murray’s cohort Leo Straykin (Roy Barcroft) has killed a rancher named Reynolds and is planning on robbing Josh Taylor (Forrest Taylor) and then sell him the dead man’s property. But Taylor arrives with his lawyer, Parradine (John Eldredge), and a surveyor, Bob Bennett (George Nader), one of whom is rumored to be Straykins’ boss. Playing along and keeping his cover despite unwanted interference from Nugget Clark (Eddy Waller), an old-timer he has befriended along the way, Rocky learns that not only is Parradine Straykin’s boss but young Bennett is actually Jack Reynolds, the vengeful son of the murdered rancher. The plot thickens with the arrival of Jack’s pretty wife Carol (Claudia Barrett) but Rocky and Nugget eventually bring the villains to justice. Rustler’s on Horeback marked the screen debut of 1950s matinee idol George Nader. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Set in British Columbia but filmed in Colorado, Cariboo Trail stars Randolph Scott as a cattle-drive boss from Montana. Crooked Victor Jory and his minions stampede the cattle, causing Scott's partner Bill Williams to lose an arm. Out of a job, Scott gives gold mining a try, but even here he is tormented by Jory. The villain is hoist on his own petard when he tries to stir up the local Indian tribes. Proving that the good guys don't always win, Scott gives up mining and turns to cattle ranching. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide