Milburn Morante Movies
Comedian Milburn Morante began his career in vaudeville, teamed with brother Al and father Joe in a knockabout act called "the Three Morantes." In 1913, Morante launched his film career with Universal's Joker comedy unit, playing a vast array of character roles, usually in support of comedienne Gale Henry. Five years later, he formed his own company, Mercury Pictures, with his family on the payroll. A talented trouper, Morante was never able to latch onto a comic characterization that truly "clicked" with audiences, and by 1922 Mercury Pictures was no more. He spent the rest of the 1920s freelancing, starring in low-budget comedy shorts and essaying supporting parts in more expensive pictures. He also produced and directed several mid-'20s Westerns. In harness well into the 1950s, Milburn Morante made his last appearances in "old geezer" roles on TV's The Cisco Kid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1951
Whip Wilson rides again in the Monogram western Abilene Trail. Wilson and his grizzled sidekick Andy Clyde are accused of horse stealing, a hangin' offense around these here parts. Eluding the authorities, the boys take jobs at a ranch where the real crook is hiding out. Between whip-cracking sessions, Wilson finds time to romance the ranch owner's pretty daughter Noel Neill ("Lois Lane" on the 1950s TVer Superman). Director Lewis D. Collins keeps things moving fast enough to make up for any plot or budgetary shortcomings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whip Wilson, Andy Clyde, (more)
- 1950
Johnny Mack Brown stars in the Monogram oater Outlaw Gold. The plot is motivated by revenge: sentenced to five years in prison, vicious gunman Sonny Lang (Myron Healey) vows to "get" Dave Willis (Brown) the moment he's released. Our Hero, however, can't be bothered by such trivialities. He's too busy trying to prevent the hijacking of a gold shipment on the Mexican border. Inevitably, Willis and Lang's paths cross, but not before Willis exposes the mastermind behind the robbery. The film's romantic element is handled by Marshall Reed (cast as a crusading newspaperman) and Jane Adams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Jane Adams, (more)
- 1950
Johnny Mack Brown follows his tried-and-true western formula in Law of the Panhandle. This time, U.S. Marshal Brown backs up Sheriff Tom Stocker (Riley Hill) in an ongoing battle against a marauding outlaw gang. The thieves, led by snarling Henry Faulkner (Myron Healey), hope to scare all the local ranchers off the land that will soon be purchased by the railroad that's coming through the territory. The film's parade of cliches is stemmed by a truly innovative finale. Once more, Johnny Mack Brown leaves the film's romantic angle to the younger Riley Hill, whose vis-a-vis is played by Jane Adams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Jane Adams, (more)
- 1950
The Johnny Mack Brown West of Wyoming concerns the efforts by cattle baron Simon (Stanley Andrews) to prevent the opening up of the rang to homesteaders. Government agent Brown comes calling when Simon begins resorting to cold-blooded murder. The leading lady is Gail Davis, a few years shy of her Annie Oakley TV stardom. Surprisingly, West of Wyoming contains none of the comedy relief that had characterized earlier Johnny Mack Brown oaters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Gail Davis, (more)
- 1950
Johnny Mack Brown stars in the rubber-stamp western Over the Border. Bringing Bart Calhoun (Marshall Reed) to justice for his complicity in a robbery/murder, Johnny assumes that his job is over. Not by a long shot! Calhoun's arrest leads to the uncovering of a wide-ranging conspiracy to smuggle silver from Mexico to the United States. With Calhoun's cooperation, Johnny exposes the "Mister Big" behind the whole operation. There isn't much action in Over the Border; the screenwriters seem more concerned with mystery and intrigue. Johnny Mack Brown is obviously getting too old for this sort of thing, but he carries his years -- and excess poundage -- quite well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Myron Healey, (more)
- 1949
The differences between West of El Dorado and Johnny Mack Brown's previous 1949 vehicles are minimal. Once again, Brown is teamed with Max "Alibi" Terhune, comic ventriloquist extraordinaire. In this outing, Johnny and Alibi try to straighten out a hostile young boy (Teddy Infuhr) whose older brother was a notorious stagecoach bandit. When a gang of thieves try to strong-arm the kid into revealing the whereabouts of the stolen loot, Johnny and Alibi come to the rescue. There's a cursory romantic subplot involving heroine Mary (Reno Browne) and Barstow (Marshall Reed). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
- 1949
Monogram's Johnny Mack Brown western series galloped ever onward in Hidden Danger. This time, Johnny and his saddle pal Banty (Raymond Hatton) come in contact with a cattlemen's protective organization. Ostensibly an honest venture, the association is the front for an extortion racket, headed by a gent named Carson (Myron Healey). The action highlights are complemented by the comic antics of Max Terhune and his dummy Elmer. Aging star Brown relinquishes the romantic responsibilities to Marshall Reed, who spends his screen time wooing heroine Christine Larson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1949
Johnny Mack Brown's first starring western for 1950 is cut from the same cloth as his 1949 releases. Brown's principal antagonist this time is the town boss (Hugh Prosser), an outlaw who has killed the community's leading citizen. The dead man's grown children (Jane Adams and Riley Hill) want to investigate the killing, but the outlaw puts a stop to this by hiring a dance-hall dame (Constance Worth) to pose as the kids' long-lost mother. Johnny isn't fooled by this subterfuge, nor is his comic sidekick (Max Terhune). Once the plot has been established, Western Renegades adheres strictly to formula -- right down to Johnny Mack Brown's relinquishing the film's romantic-lead responsibilities to the younger, thinner Steve Clark. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
- 1948
In this western a singing cowboy and his side-kick rescue a pretty gal who runs a stagecoach and finds herself in trouble. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1948
In this western, a Texas Ranger and his pardner gallop after a band of desperadoes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1948
A Texas Ranger is once again falsely accused of murder in this above-average singing-cowboy oater from Monogram. This time, the unfortunate gent is Jimmy Wakely, who, along with his band of ex-Rangers, battle the new corrupt police force that briefly replaced the Texas Rangers corps. Unbeknownst to Commissioner Jed Brant (Steve Clark), the new State Police is actually strong-arming the local ranchers and Jimmy and his former colleagues have become a threat to this lucrative side business. The brain behind the crimes is Brant's second-in-command, Captain Barton (Marshall Reed), who plots with his henchman Hamen (Pierce Lyden) to frame Jimmy in the killing of a couple of ex-Rangers. Even Jimmy's best friends, Vic Sanders (Riley Hill), Brant's nephew, and his fiancée Sheila (Virginia Belmont) begin to suspect their friend of wrong-doings, especially after the commissioner himself is found murdered. Aided by his friend Cannonball (Dub Taylor), however, Jimmy manages to extract a confession from the slimy Hamen and the game is up. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1948
In this western a cowboy and his gang must take on a band of bad-to-the-bone female outlaws. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1948
"Some were good, some were bad, and all looked pretty much alike." This was "B"-western historian Don Miller's assessment of Johnny Mack Brown's Monogram westerns of the 1940s. One of the better look-alikes was Crossed Trails, in which Brown champions the cause of pretty ranch owner Maggie (Lynne Carver). The villains (Douglas Evans and Steve Clark) hope to control the local water rights by laying claim to Maggie's property. They further this cause by framing Maggie's guardian Bodie (Raymond Hatton) for murder. But our hero manages to rescue the damsel, clear the falsely accused Bodie, and round up the crooks seemingly in one fell swoop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Hatton, Johnny Mack Brown, (more)
- 1948
Two communities fight to become county seat in this Jimmy Wakely music western from Monogram Pictures. When Rainbow's End, one of the two towns in question, experiences a stage holdup, State Commissioner Walton (J.C. Lytton) looks to Yuba Junction where, unbeknownst to him, the local undertaker, Beasley (I. Stanford Jolley), is buying up all the surrounding land by means of terror. At first confused with a notorious, but highly fictitious, outlaw named "The Melody Kid," Jimmy obtains the job of deputy sheriff in Rainbow's End with a mandate to go after both the stage robbers and their secret boss, Beasley. Accompanied by "Fiddlin'" Arthur Smith, Dick Reinhart and Don Weston, Wakely performs his own and Smiley Burnette's "On the Strings of My Lonesome Guitar" and "Oklahoma Blues", Tiny Stokes' "Judy" and the traditional "The Old Chisholm Trail". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1947
In this western, a cowboy crooner finds himself entangled with ruthless rustlers posing as Rangers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1947
C&W singer Jimmy Wakely would never be Gene Autry or Roy Rogers, but he strove to please. In Song of the Wasteland, Jimmy tries to uphold law and order in a tough frontier town. The villainy was in the grimy hands of Holly Bane, Pierce Lyden, Ted Adams and George Cheseboro, so Wakely had his work cut out for him. On hand for laughs was Lee "Lasses" White, whom one western historian characterized as the unfunniest comic relief in screen history. Director Thomas Carr keeps the action flowing, even during the musical sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1946
Russell Hayden, formerly of the Hopalong Cassidy Westerns, stars in this mini-Western as "Utah" Nyes, a young rancher searching for his partner, Bill Lawton, in the Canadian Northwest. When Bill's body turns up, nasty "Nails" Nelson (Douglas Fowley), whom the murder victim had accused of stealing valuable pelts, frames Utah for the deed. When another victim of Nails' reign of terror (Guy Beach) bites the dust, Utah is again the most obvious suspect but he eventually manages to clear his name with the help of newfound ally Ivy Jenkins (I. Stanford Jolley). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Hayden, Inez Cooper, (more)
- 1946
Monogram added several songs and a barn dance to this otherwise standard Johnny Mack Brown hay burner, in which the veteran cowboy star comes to the aid of a beleaguered female rancher. Just "drifting along," Steve Garner (Mack Brown) obtains the job of foreman on a spread belonging to pretty Pat McBride (Lynne Carver). Unbeknownst to Pat, local banker Jack Dailey (Douglas Fowley) not only holds the mortgage on the ranch but is also the man responsible for the death of Pat's father. Aided by old-timer Pawnee Jones (Raymond Hatton), Steve begins an investigation into Dailey's dirty dealings and barely escapes an accusation of rustling. In order to elude the law, Dailey plans to have Steve arrested for murdering one of his henchmen, Lou Woods (Steve Clark), but the scheme backfires and the sheriff (Jack Rockwell) instead apprehends Dailey and his gang. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Lynne Carver, (more)
- 1945
Though it wasn't the first of the batch, The Stranger from Pecos would have been an excellent starting point for Johnny Mack Brown's Monogram western series. Containing a great deal more excitement than the official first entry (The Ghost Rider), the film casts Brown as Nevada, a US marshal assigned to squelch a crooked land-grab. Unfortunately, the head villain as the corrupt local sheriff in his pocket, which stymies Nevada's efforts during the first 4 reels. But justice prevails during the final 2 reels, as Johnny Mack Brown fans knew it would. The romantic subplot is handled by a pair of pop-culture icons: Kirby Grant, star of TV's Sky King, and Christine McIntyre, leading lady of many a 3 Stooges short. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1945
Having briefly abandoned his standard "Nevada Jack McKenzie" characterization in Flame of the West, cowboy star Johnny Mack Brown was back as Nevada Jack in Monogram's The Lost Trail. Vowing to bring in a gang of stagecoach outlaws, Nevada redoubles his efforts when he learns that the owner of the stagecoach line is pretty Jane Burns (Jennifer Holt). Meanwhile, comic-relief Sandy (Raymond Hatton) is appointed sheriff of the town by local bigwig John Corbett (Kenneth McDonald), who hopes to deflect suspicion by turning public opinion against the new lawman. Imagine Corbett's dismay when he discovers that Sandy is actually a federal marshal, and that he's been working undercover with Nevada all along. Reviewers of The Lost Trail noted that, by 1945, former football star Johnny Mack Brown was not so much tall in the saddle as he was wide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1943
Johnny Mack Brown heads the cast of Monogram's Outlaws of Stampede Pass. Per the title, the film concerns a western community held in the grip of a gang of desperadoes. Brown and his dusty sidekick Raymond Hatton set about to round up the bad guys. We know what's going to happen, but as always, Johnny brings a sense of freshness and spontaneity to the proceedings. Outlaws of Stampede Pass was adapted from a story by Johnston McCulley, of "Zorro" fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1943
U.S. Marshal Johnny Mack Brown once again goes undercover in this Nevada Mckenzie series entry from Great Westerns Prod./Monogram. Masquerading as a parson and a drifter, Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton) and Nevada Jack McKenzie (Mack Brown) come to the aid of the beleaguered residents of Goldville, a small ranching community being terrorized by greedy saloon keeper Ace Benton (Kenneth MacDonald) and his gang of cutthroats. Unbeknownst to the citizenry, the railroad is planning to build tracks through town and Benton is attempting to secure the land by scaring off the settlers. Caught by the gang, Nevada manages to talk his way out by pretending to be an outlaw himself. Benton quickly becomes suspicious, but is eventually felled by his own greed. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1943
In his first of 20 "Nevada McKenzie" Westerns for Monogram Pictures, brawny Johnny Mack Brown plays the title role, a drifter happening upon the dying owner of a local abattoir (Jack Daley). The latter, with his dying breath, warns our hero about Lash Edwards (Harry Woods, a cattle rustler turned empire builder who is terrorizing the local businessmen. Using the assumed name of Jack Mckenzie, Nevada, aka The Ghost Rider, befriends the dead man's son (Tom Seidel), hoping through him to get the goods on Edwards, whom he suspects of having murdered his own parents. Working alternately with and against Nevada is Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton), an undercover U.S. marshal. Although Nevada refuses Sandy's offer to join the marshals in the last scene of The Ghost Rider, insisting on "carrying out his crusade alone," the two are both lawmen when reunited for the second film in the series, The Stranger from Pecos (1943). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1942
The last of Monogram's eight "Rough Riders" westerns starring oldtimers Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton, West of the Law has the three lawmen coming to the aid of a beleaguered newspaper editor, Rufus Todd (Milburn Morante), who has been exposing a rash of stage robberies near Gold Creek. When Todd's son-in-law Ray (Bud McTaggart) is attacked my members of the gang, Marshals McCall and Hopkins (McCoy and Hatton) go undercover as a minister and a funeral parlor proprietor, respectively, with the third member of the trio, Marshal Roberts (Jones) hiding in one of the coffins. The ruse works and the three are soon able to unmask the real mastermind behind the robberies. Monogram went all out for this one, hiring some of the best supporting actors in the business, including Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft, Bud Osborne, Tom London and ace stunt-man George DeNormand. As always, the western concludes with the three marshals going their separate ways, a rousing "So long, Rough Riders" as their parting salute. Sadly, they would not be back, Buck Jones perishing in the tragic Coconut Grove nightclub fire in Boston soon after. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
