Horace Murphy Movies

Art critic and forgery expert George Steele (Pat O'Brien) is apprehended by the police as he desperately tries to break into the Manhattan Museum in the opening scene of Crack-Up, a noir mystery directed by Irving Reis. Steele does not understand his own bizarre actions, but explains that he was in a train wreck and had to get back to the museum. Questioned by Lt. Cochrane (Wallace Ford), who tells him there have been no train wrecks in months, Steele relates, in flashback, the events leading up to the incident. Earlier in the day the head of the museum had suspended him for alienating wealthy patrons by criticizing "art snobs" in a lecture. He then received a phone call informing him that his mother was sick, and caught the train to the hospital, but never got there. Though suspicious of Steele, Cochrane is persuaded by the shadowy Mr. Traybin (Herbert Marshall) to release him so he can follow Steele. The next day Steele retraces his steps and discovers that someone had set him up to be discredited, though he knows neither who nor why. Following the murder of a friend who was trying to help him, he discovers that forgeries of some very famous paintings are at the heart of the matter, but getting to the culprit is a more difficult task. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide

Otto Preminger directed this stylish film noir exercise, intended as a follow-up to his surprise hit Laura. Kicked off a bus traveling cross-country for not being able to come up with the fare, down-and-out press agent Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) ends up in Walton, a small coastal town in California. Stanton fast-talks Joe Ellis (Olin Howland) into giving him a place to stay for the night in exchange for promoting Professor Madley (John Carradine), a "mentalist" whose show Ellis manages. While in Walton, Stanton makes the acquaintance of June Mills (Alice Faye), a wealthy but reclusive young woman, and has his eye on Stella (Linda Darnell), a good-looking waitress working at the local diner. Thanks to Madley, Stanton learns a few things about June, and when Ellis and the professor pull up stakes after a successful engagement, Stanton opts to stay behind, hoping to win Stella's heart. Gold digger Stella makes it known that she has no interest in Stanton unless he comes into a lot of money, but June has made her interest in Stanton quite clear. Stanton hatches a plan: he'll marry June, take her money, divorce her, and then take up with Stella. Stanton and June do in fact marry, but just as he's about to give her the brush-off, Stella turns up dead. Mark Judd (Charles Bickford), a retired cop-turned-detective, is investigating the murder, and while the initial suspect is Dave Atkins (Bruce Cabot), Stella's ne'er-do-well ex-boyfriend, Judd's focus eventually falls on Stanton. Stanton flees Walton for San Francisco, with ever-loyal June at his side; he quickly abandons her after taking her money, but he returns to her side when word reaches him that June has been charged with Stella's murder. Fallen Angel marked a dramatic change of pace for Alice Faye; however, she was very unhappy with how Preminger edited her performance, convinced that much of her best work ended up on the cutting-room floor. Faye was so angry that she quit the movie business altogether and didn't appear in another film until State Fair in 1962. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As was often the case, singing-cowboy star Jimmy Wakely wrote the title song to The Lonesome Trail, in which he also warbled On the Strings of My Lonesome Guitar (co-written with Smiley Burnette), Goodbye, Good Luck, My Darlin' (co-written with producer-director Oliver Drake), and his take on the traditional Buffalo Gals (Won't You Come Out Tonight?). If that wasn't enough, comic sidekick Lee "Lasses" White performed his own Mine, All Mine and gospel singer Arthur Smith and The Sunshine Girls joined in a chorus of When You See a Minstrel Show. With all that warbling going on, it's a wonder that screenwriter Louise Rousseau found enough time to squeeze in a standard Western plot about a couple of ranchers (Wakely and John James) attempting to stop a crooked businessman (Zon Murray) from selling worthless stock in Cherokee, a ghost town inhabited only by "Lasses" White. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A mystery man works behind the scenes in this tuneful Roy Rogers western in which the local theatre owner attempts to ruin the honest businessmen of Deadwood. Even the sheriff, Jordan (Monte Blue), answers to nasty Jake Marvel (Ralf Harolde), whose reign of terror forces the decent people to become outlaws themselves. Enter Bill Brady, aka Brett Starr (Rogers), a sharpshooter with Professor Mortimer "Gabby" Blackstone's (George "Gabby" Hayes) traveling medicine show. Although a fugitive from justice, Bill comes to the aid of the beleaguered citizens, discovering along the way that a trusted friend isn't quite who he claims to be. Roy sings his own and Fred Rose's "Sundown on the Rangeland", Rose and Ray Whitley's "The call of the Dusty Trail" and Jule Styne and Sol Meyer's "Joe O'Grady". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In emulation of Republic's "Three Mesquiteers" western series, Monogram launched its own three-star sagebrush property, "The Range Busters"-which was also the name of the first film in the series. Former Mesquiteers Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Max Terhune comprised two-thirds of the Range Busters, with John "Dusty" King completing the trio. The initial entry was as much a whodunit as a western, with the heroic triumvirate trying to ascertain the identity of The Phantom, a mysterious murderer. The revelation of the culprit will be a surprise to anyone who hasn't caught on to the clues planted in Reel One. Boasting good performances and well-chosen, unfamiliar outdoor locations, The Range Busters was an auspicious start to one of Monogram's most lucrative series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Clark Gable is "Big John" and Spencer Tracy is "Square John"; both "Johns" seek their fortunes in the Texas oil fields. They simultaneously fall in love with Claudette Colbert, but it's "Big John" who wins out. When both Johns grow rich on oil, "Big John" lets money go to his head, and he begins neglecting wife Colbert for Hedy Lamarr, the "been around" companion of businessman Lionel Atwill. "Square John", who still carries a torch for Colbert but doesn't want to see her heart broken, tries to buy off Lamarr; when this fails, he decides to ruin "Big John" financially. But when "Big John" is charged with violating anti-trust rules by the crooked Atwill, "Square John" rushes to the side of his old pal. Both men end up where they started--broke but happy. "Big John" returns to faithful Colbert, while "Square John" stands by with an ear-to-ear grin. Boom Town was the last film to co-star Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy; though Tracy was fond of Gable, he resented playing "eunuch" in their on-screen romantic triangles. Claudette Colbert's scenes with Clark Gable are pleasant enough, but the sparks that had ignited their scenes in It Happened One Night are largely absent here. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this episode of the Three Mesquiteers series of westerns the trio must help two rival sides involved in a range war settle their differences. The story is set in 1906, and the rivals are homesteaders trying to take advantage of Roosevelt's Reclamation Act and the landowners who oppose the act and want to see the Act repealed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this mildly entertaining Tex Ritter music Western, a crooked attorney, Watkins (Harry Harvey), attempts to drive the ranchers off their land by depriving them of water. Rancher Lawson (Herbert Corthell) takes matters into his own hands and aligns himself with Tex. In retaliation, Watkins' patsies Haines (Charles King) and Sheriff Slim (Hank Worden) accuse Tex of murder but he manages to get away with the assistance of Betty Lawson (Dorothy Fay). The villains quickly seize Lawson, who is also accused of a non-existent crime. About to be lynched, Lawson is rescued in the nick of time by Tex and his sidekick, Missouri (Horace Murphy), who force Watkins to confess his misdeeds. Rollin' Westward was the third of four Westerns teaming Ritter with his future wife, Dorothy Fay. A former radio crooner, Ritter sang Westward, by Ted Choate and Bert Pellis; Back in '67, by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter, and Out in the Golden West, by Rudy Sooter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

One of the more unusual B-Westerns of the 1930s, Down the Wyoming Trail featured the spectacle of stampeding elk.Tex Ritter is assigned by Sheriff Missouri (Horace Murphy) of Elk Valley to track down Ted Becker (Charles King), a rustler who is stampeding elk across the valley to clear a path in the snow for his stolen cattle. Along the way, Tex obtains a job as ranch hand for Candy Parker (Mary Brodel) but is soon falsely accused of stealing the payroll by Blackie (Bob Terry), a disgruntled former employee. The latter kidnaps Jerry (Bobby Lawson), Candy's kid brother, leaving him to freeze to death in the snowy wilderness. Tex, meanwhile, torments Becker by convincing him that a man he once killed is still alive. Crazed with fear, Becker runs into the snow and falls to his death from a cliff. With Becker's demise, Blackie takes over, capturing Tex. Tied up next to Bobby, Tex manages to get himself free and arrives at the Parker ranch just in time to prevent Blackie from molesting Candy. Accompanied by a hillbilly group known as The Northwesterners of Radio Fame, Ritter performs In Elk Valley, by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter, Goin' Back to Texas, by Carson Robison, and It Makes No Difference Now, by Floyd Tillman and Jimmie Davis. A pert brunette, leading lady Mary Brodel was the sister of 1940s ingenue Joan Leslie. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

An above-average entry in the Monogram Tex Ritter series of music Westerns, Song of the Buckaroo proved to be a memorable event for the star in more ways than one. Appearing in a small role of a pioneer woman, pretty Dorothy Fay was killed off early on, leaving the remainder of the film to glamorous former Powers model Jinx Falkenburg. Miss Fay, however, became Ritter's leading lady off-screen, a partnership that lasted a lifetime and would produce future television star John Ritter. Song of the Buckaroo featured Ritter as Texas Dan, a Robin Hood-like outlaw hunted by the law. Determined to go straight, Tex is framed in the murder of Alden (Dave O'Brien and his wife Anna (Miss Fay) by a former cohort, Max Groat (Charles King). Tex assumes Alden's identity and determines to raise the Aldens' little daughter Mary (Mary Ruth) as his own. Having become the respected banker and mayor of a small town, Tex's engagement to lovely Evelyn (Miss Falkenburg) is rudely interrupted by Groat, who forces him to assist in robbing his own bank. In the ensuing melee, Groat and his men are killed, leaving Tex free to pursue happiness with Evelyn and little Mary. The latter performed the title tune while Ritter himself took care of Texas, by Carson Robison, Tenderfoot, by Johnny Lange and Fred Stryker, and his own and Frank Harford's I Promise You. Discovered too late to replace Jinx Falkenburg, Dorothy Fay was instead cast as Ritter's leading lady in his next entry, Sundown on the Prairie). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Roy Rogers is forced to chase down his own kid brother in this exemplary Republic Pictures oater produced and directed by Joseph Kane. Roy Rogers Sr. (Lane Chandler) is brutally murdered by nasty Ed Tasker (Frank M. Thomas), who takes off with the only witness to the killing, Rogers' youngest son, Tim (Buz Buckley). Years later, Roy Rogers Jr. returns to the family's Circle R ranch under the name of Roy Reynolds and quickly resumes a lost romance with the neighbor's now-grown granddaughter, Ann Meredith (Doris Day). Tasker is still around as well, alas, nastier than ever and extracting protection fees from the local farmers and ranchers. Although seemingly willing to pay his way out of trouble, Roy secretly organizes a vigilante committee to "protect the valley from protection" and ends up hunting down not only Tasker but his own brother, a now grown-up Tim (Don "Red" Barry). The Saga of Death Valley was filmed at Lone Pine, CA, rather than the arid location indicated by the title. Leading lady Doris Day is not the later singer-star but a brunette Republic starlet under contract to the studio from September 9, 1939 to January 28, 1940. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Fighting Mad was the second of producer Phil Krasne's "Renfrew of the Royal Mounted" films to be released by Monogram (taking over from the defunct Grand National Pictures). In this endeavor, Renfrew (James Newill) and his young pal Kelly (Dave O'Brien) take on American gangster Cardigan (Milburn Stone), who muscles his way into the Great White North. Cardigan has enlisted the reluctant aid of heroine Ann (Sally Blane), who out of fear of being arrested on a trumped-up charge is helping the villain smuggle stolen loot across the border. Comedy relief is provided by Benny Rubin as a Lower East Side type who aspires to become a mountie. In the next "Renfrew" outing, Murder on the Yukon, the heroine was played by Polly Ann Young, sister of Fighting Mad's Sally Blane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide