Wheeler Oakman Movies

When scientific mastermind Jack Armstrong is kidnapped by a devious fiend determined to discover the secrets of atom-powered motors, our hero must escape the island fortress of his nefarious captor in this thrilling cliffhanger starring John Hart and Rosemary La Planche. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Like Captain Midnight before him, Hop Harrigan came to the serial screens courtesy of Columbia Pictures; and, also like the captain, Harrigan had appeared in both radio and the pages of comic strips before becoming a screen star in the guise of fresh-faced William Bakewell. But there the similarity ended; whereas Captain Midnight had been a uniformed super-crusader, Hop was merely an ex-serviceman, just like so many of his fans. Along with pudgy Tank Tinker (Sumner Getchell) and pretty Gail Nolan (Jennifer Holt), Hop attempts to rescue an eccentric inventor, Dr. Tobor (John Merton), from a gang headed by the mysterious Chief Pilot. As it turns out, Dr. Tobor is not quite sane and plans to destroy the world with his newest invention, and only Hop and his friends stand in the way. It might have taken them 14 chapters to get there, but in the 15th and final chapter, grandly entitled "The Fate of the World," Hop and company get rid of the insane professor once and for all. Leading lady Jennifer Holt, one of the prettiest B-film ingénues of the 1940s, was the daughter of action star Jack Holt. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Based on the popular comic strip by Dale Messick, this Sam Katzman-produced Columbia serial starred the beautiful and talented Joan Woodbury, an actress who never really lived up to her early potential. Brenda Starr, Reporter didn't exactly change that sad fact; a rather straightforward tale of a girl reporter who is mistakenly believed to possess the key to the whereabouts of a hidden fortune, the serial was a typically shoddy Katzman effort. A gang of crooks headed by the always watchable Wheeler Oakman spend 13 chapters attempting to force the secret out of poor Brenda, who is always saved in the nick of time by handsome Kane Richmond. In the end, Brenda Starr, Reporter had a couple of attractive leads, and a wonderfully hammy master criminal, but very little else. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

By the time Bowery Champs came out, the East Side Kids had become so domesticated that they actually had jobs. Muggs (Leo Gorcey), for example, works as a newspaper copy boy, and even aspires to be a crime reporter. He gets his chance when a wealthy man is murdered and the regular reporter isn't around to cover the case. Working on their own, Muggs and Glimpy (Huntz Hall) follow the trail of evidence to the victim's ex-wife Gypsy Carmen (Evelyn Brent). Hoping to get an exclusive story, the boys hide Gypsy at their clubhouse and continue their investigation. The whole thing ends up in an outsized nightclub brawl, pitting the East Siders against the actual murderer's minions. One of the most likeable entries in the "East Side Kids" series, Bowery Champs is highlighted by a running gag involving former gang member Bobby Jordan (playing himself), who spends the entire film looking for the rest of the guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic drama, an office clerk's quiet personal life is disrupted when a sick woman appears at his doorstep in desperate need of help. The kindly fellow takes her in and helps her to recover. He then discovers that she isn't sick at all; she was only trying to hide from the cops who pursue her. The fellow decides to let her stay anyway. Later, when the whole mess is straightened out, the two marry. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After faithfully serving in supporting roles in Columbia's Charles Starrett westerns, Russell Hayden was awarded his own series in 1943. Starrett's Saddles and Sagebrush is nothing special plotwise, but it does show off the star to best advantage actionwise. In trying to keep the peace by pummelling every bad guy in sight, Hayden is helped along by resident Columbia comedy relief Dub "Cannonball" Taylor. Bob Wills and his entourage handle the musical chores. Though ignored by contemporary viewers, Columbia's eight Russell Hayden westerns were among the best B-pictures that the studio ever produced; the series came to an end when Hayden accepted a better offer at Universal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, a lonesome cowpoke trots into a town and helps clear his pardner's name. The trouble began when the friend was framed by the leader of the Cattlemen's association who made it seem like he was a rustler. Because the friend was an ex-con, the evidence against him seems airtight. The wandering hero must work extra hard to prove his friend's innocence. With the help of the Cattlemen's president's daughter, who loves the ex-con, the hero proves that her father is the real rustler. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Whatever poor Bela Lugosi may have done in a past life, the man did not deserve The Ape Man, arguably the worst of his Monogram horror clunkers. Viewed today, it seems that screenwriter Barney Sarecky and infamous director William Beaudine (whose nickname "One Shot" was earned helming movies like this) were out to humiliate the proud Hungarian actor at every opportunity. They had the man, who once turned down the Frankenstein monster because he found the role demeaning, walk about the entire film in a manner that was supposed to appear simian but ended up looking merely foolish. They gave him an Anglo-Saxon name, Dr. James Brewster, without bothering to explain that familiar Middle European accent. And they provided him with a spiritualist sister (Minerva Urecal), whose character name, Agatha, Lugosi of course was incapable of pronouncing. To compound matters, they wrote in a mysterious character named Zippo (Ralph Littlefield), who, in a silly porkpie hat, drifted in and out of the narrative being annoyingly mysterious, only to reveal himself in the end as "the author of the story." "Screwy idea, wasn't it?" he says blithely putting the final nail in Lugosi's coffin.

Lugosi's Dr. Brewster had experimented with a spinal serum derived from the fluids of a gorilla. The dedicated medico naturally tested the serum on himself and now appears incapable of walking upright, in dire need of a shave. Needless to say, the only antidote is human spinal fluid (which Lugosi pronounces "fluit"). Accompanied by screaming headlines such as "Ape man killer still on the loose!" Dr. Brewster and his gorilla henchman (Emil VanHorn, whose simian suit paid his rent for years) stalk the dark streets for human prey. A couple of wisecracking reporters (Wallace Ford and Louise Currie, both surprisingly tolerable) briefly wander into harm's way, knocking each other over the head with prop vases. Happily, for unexplained reasons, the gorilla suddenly turns on his master and breaks his neck, ending the nightmare for all concerned, including, one would imagine, Lugosi himself. Typical for cheap Monogram, Lugosi stayed in his ape-like makeup throughout, the expected transformation scene never materializing. The critics were understandably severe -- "Monogram's writer didn't have to wipe the dust from Bela Lugosi's Ape Man, he had to take the mold off," chuckled the Daily News -- but as horror-film historian Tom Weaver so succinctly put it: "Despite their ruinous effects on Lugosi's career, had these Monogram pictures been made without him, they would not merit discussion today." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Monogram's So's Your Aunt Emma owes whatever success it enjoys to its star, the incomparable ZaSu Pitts. The fluttery ZaSu plays a countrified maiden aunt who comes to the big city when her nephew Roger Pryor gets into trouble with the Law. Seems that Pryor is inextricably involved with gangsters, who fear no one-except a certain notorious murderess. Through complications too humorous to mention, the bad guys become convinced that ZaSu is the killer, allowing her free reign in the underworld until she can clear Pryor's name. So's Your Aunt Emma was released to television as Meet the Mob. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Medico of Painted Springs was the first of western hero Charles Starrett's appearances as frontier doctor Steven Monroe. Riding into a small town, Dr. Monroe finds himself smack-dab in the middle of a range war between cattlemen and sheepmen. It doesn't take long for Monroe to figure out that the trouble has been stirred up by a gang of crooks, who hope to play one side against the other so that they can move in and take over. When the time is ripe, the doc lays down his thermometer and stethoscope and comes out fighting-just as he would in all future "Dr. Monroe" epics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, funny Langdon and Rogers end up working at a bean factory and getting into deep trouble when they accidentally lose an irreplaceable bracelet in a can. Now, before it is too late, they must somehow find that can out of a thousand that look just like it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a story by Jack London, this film follows the adventures of young Michael Vance (John Carroll) as he travels with his faithful dog to check out the value of a family mine. As they travel north, John meets a beautiful Indian girl (Movita) and his canine companion joins up with a pack of wolves. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide