Charles A. Post Movies
- 1940
This is the first of two filmed adaptations of Al Capp's classic comic strip, in which the title hillbilly (Granville Owen) does his best to avoid the marital advances of girlfriend Daisy Mae (Martha O'Driscoll). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Granville Owen
- 1932
Tom Tyler is Singlehanded Sanders in this economical Monogram oater. Tyler plays a small-town blacksmith, whose reckless younger brother casts his lot with a crooked politician. When brother dear steals $5000 from heroine Margaret Morris, Tyler gallantly confesses to the deed. He eventually clears himself by rallying his fellow frontiersmen to form a united front against the villains (guess he's not so "single-handed" after all). Singlehanded Sanders was directed by Charles A. Post, previously the production manager for the Tom Tyler unit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tyler, Robert Manning, (more)
- 1931
Although dismissed in its day as just another cheap Western, God's Country and the Man proves to be a surprisingly well-made sagebrush thriller, whose fiddling master villain, Al Bridge, is a revelation. Bridge, who co-wrote the scenario with director J.P. McCarthy and Wellyn Totman, plays Livermore, the gun-running boss of De Vina, a border town inhabited by cutthroats. Strapping Tom Tyler, as Texas lawman Tex Malone, arrives in Da Vina with his latest bounty, Irish-brogued Stingaree Kelly (George Hayes, long before he earned the nickname "Gabby"), there to infiltrate Livermore's gang of smugglers. Malone, using the alias of Steve Rollins, falls for the villain's French mistress, Rose (Betty Mack), and together they set a trap for the bandits. Rose proves to be yet another investigator in disguise -- and not French at all -- and in the final shootout, Stingaree Kelly sacrifices himself so that she and Malone can plan a future together. The surprising demise of the comic relief, and a boss villain who initiates every one of his crimes by playing a sad dirge on his fiddle, are just a few of this strange Western's many breaks with tradition. Produced by Trem Carr for the low-rent Syndicate Pictures Corp., God's Country and the Man remains a startling, well-acted example of a near-Gothic B-Western. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tyler, Betty Mack, (more)
An early Bob Steele sound oater from low-budget company Tiffany, Nevada Buckaroo featured the bantam-weight star as the Nevada Kid, a stage robber arrested when he attempts to steal a kiss from Joan (Dorothy Dix), one of his victims. Nevada's sidekick, Cherokee (George "Gabby" Hayes), steals a petition to have Rattlesnake Gulch elected county seat and alters the document into a request for Nevada's pardon. Believing the document to be real, Nevada decides to go straight, offering to prove himself by guarding the stagecoach. Naturally, the stage is then robbed by Nevada's old gang and the driver killed. Only Joan believes in Nevada's innocence and helps him escape. Tracking down the gang, Nevada returns the stolen money to the express company and is proclaimed a hero. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Dorothy Dix, (more)
- 1931
Bob Steele rides the Sunrise Trail in this dusty "B"-western. Ostensibly an outlaw, Steele is actually an undercover operative for the local constabulary. He joins up with a gang of rustlers for the purpose of bringing the crooks to justice. Along the way, he falls for golden-hearted saloon gal Blanche Mehaffey. Both hero and heroine are exposed to deadly dangers before "our Bob" (as he was designated by the trade papers) is able to deliver the villains to the sheriff. Befitting the hero's pugnacious nature, there's a fight in every other reel of Sunrise Trail. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Blanche Mehaffey, (more)
- 1930
Bob Steele's talkie debut was the usual story of cattlemen versus sheepmen. Steele, the son of a cattle rancher, naturally belongs to the former group and is soon falsely accused of murdering an old sheepherder. The dead man, alas, is the father of Steele's girlfriend (Louise Lorraine) and the young cowboy is desperate to prove his innocence. While Bob Steele's career continued to rise in talkies, Louise Lorraine, the widow of silent Western star Art Acord, retired following this film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1928
Small-towner David Warren (Gaston Glass) is forced to leave his community after accidentally causing the death of a local cop. He makes a beeline to the big city, where he gets mixed up with criminal gang. David falls in love with female crook Mae Andrews (Gladys Brockwell), who feels the same way towards him. To prevent Warren from pursuing an unlawful career, Mae pretends to throw him over in favor of the gang leader. After returning, disillusioned, to his home town, David finds out through the grapevine that Mae still loves him, and a happy ending -- one which must have sorely taxed the ingenuity of the film's screenwriter Arthur Hoerl -- finally transpires. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gladys Brockwell, Gaston Glass, (more)
- 1928
Georgia Hale, who scored a hit as Charlie Chaplin's vis-a-vis in The Gold Rush, heads the cast of Gypsy of the North. As in the Chaplin film, Hale is cast as a brassy Klondike dance-hall girl with a heart of gold. This time, she is pursued by such ardent swains as Steve Farrell (Huntley Gordon) and Chappie Evans (Jack Dougherty). Production values in Gypsy of the North are pretty shoddy, save for the well-photographed exteriors, evidently filmed in the snowier regions of Northern California. The film was put together by Rayart Productions, the precursor to Monogram Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Georgia Hale, Huntly Gordon, (more)
- 1927
The Broken Gate was based on a novel by Emerson Hough, of Covered Wagon fame. Dorothy Phillips stars as Aurora Lane, who has never acknowledged the existence of her illegitimate son. Aurora's past catches up with her when her now-grown son (William Collier Jr.) is arrested and falsely charged with murder. The boy is saved from hanging at the last minute, but the local bluenoses and bigots insist upon driving Aurora out of town. Happily, the heroine is able to start life anew in a less-judgmental community with her now-forgiving son. Up-and-coming starlet Jean Arthur plays the nominal romantic lead opposite William Collier Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Phillips, William Collier, Jr., (more)
- 1927
Billie Dove stars as Marcia Kane, whose head is turned by the charming but sinister Grand Duke Sergei (Montague Love). Handsome and virtuous Wally McKenzie (Ben Lyon) is in love with Marcia, but how can he possibly compete with a "title"? Tricked into a marriage with the Grand Duke, Marcia soon finds that life with a nobleman is not all it's cracked up to be, especially since her husband is a cad and a bounder. Eventually, Wally comes to the rescue, cinching a happy ending for our muddle-headed heroine. Lavishly produced, The Tender Hour could have spent a little of its budget on a believable script. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billie Dove, Ben Lyon, (more)
- 1926
Fabled Broadway musical comedy star Raymond Hitchcock heads the cast of this amiable programmer. Though Hitchcock is top-billed as Henry Carter, the plotline proper is set in motion by Theodore von Eltz, cast as conservative businessman John Morgan. In order to land an important client (Hitchcock), Morgan is obliged to escort a beautiful redhead to a costume ball. Finding out about this, and suspecting that some hanky-panky is involved, Morgan's wife Angela (Marjorie Daw) dons a mask and a red wig and offers herself as the companion of her unwitting hubby. Angela's jealousy-motivated subterfuge works to everyone's advantage when she manages to cinch the deal for Morgan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Hitchcock, Marjorie Daw, (more)
- 1926
Pola Negri is her usual overstated self in the outlandish comedy-melodrama Crown of Lies. Negri plays Olga, an immigrant girl who finds work as a domestic in a New York theatrical boarding house. Aspiring to become an actress herself, Olga studies the various boarders and mimics their behavior. This amuses car salesman John Knight (Robert Ames), who falls in love with Olga and invites her to accompany him to the mittel-European kingdom of Sylvania, where he is to open a dealership. But before they can start their journey, Olga is accosted by a servant of Sylvanian Count Mirko (Noah Beery Sr.), who is convinced that our heroine is the long-lost daughter of the Queen (shades of "Anastasia"!) She is spirited off to Sylvania with her boyfriend John in tow and is promptly installed in the royal palace, where she uses her "theatrical training" to pose as a noblewoman. So convincing is her performance that the peasants overthrow the present Sylvanian regime and install Olga on the throne. In the end, however, Olga gives up her regal splendor for a less glamorous but more fulfilling life as the wife of ever-patient John Knight. No, no one believed this one in 1926, either. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pola Negri, Noah Beery, Sr., (more)
- 1925
Artistic backgrounds and trick photography were the draws in this romantic drama, based on The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. As Ben Ali, Ramon Novarro practically disappears in the midst of all the camera work and set design, as does his co-star Kathleen Key (who, incidentally, was a descendent of Francis Scott Key). The film's titles are, more often than not, direct quotes of the Rubaiyat's verses. As a result, the plot sticks pretty much to the original Edward Fitzgerald translation -- Ben Ali, the son of Omar (Frederick Warde), is engaged to Sherin (Key), but lusty old sheik Hassan Ben Sabbath (Edwin Stevens) wants Sherin for himself. Although Ben Ali gets the girl, Edwin Stevens walks off with the acting honors, and occasionally another actor's presence emerges memorably in the midst of all the fancy backgrounds and harems, most notably funny-faced character actor Snitz Edwards as Omar's servant. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ramon Novarro, Kathleen Key, (more)
- 1925
This romantic drama was based on the novel by Ethel M. Dell, a very popular author of the day. Her work doesn't seem to translate to a modern-day mentality, however, especially here where the hero seems decidedly unsympathetic. At least he's played effectively by James Kirkwood, who actually has a dual role. Because of her domineering stepmother (Mary Mersch), Sylvia Ingleton (Anna Q. Nilsson) leaves her home in England and heads for South Africa, where she plans to marry her childhood sweetheart, Guy Ranger (Kirkwood). But Guy's cousin, Burke (also Kirkwood), tells her that he has become a hopeless drug addict. Sylvia and Burke grow close and she promises to marry him if it's in "name only." But over time Burke grows to love Sylvia and is tortured by the thought that she still loves Guy. He imagines that they are involved, and he sends them out in a flood to die. But Sylvia returns to tell Burke that she loves him, not Guy. Guy, meanwhile, perishes in the flood. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Q. Nilsson, James Kirkwood, (more)
- 1924
Beverly Bayne, June Marlowe, and John Roche co-star with Raymond McKee, Alec B. Francis, and Charles A. Post in this light romantic comedy. A heartbroken young woman is saved from making a suicidal jump off a bridge by a handsome young hero. She soon falls in love with the man and forgets about the ranch foreman who jilted her. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beverly Bayne, June Marlowe, (more)
- 1924
It's a pity that there are apparently no longer any public copies available of this suspense drama by King Vidor because at the time of its release, its sophisticated approach to filmmaking impressed critics and fans alike. It takes place at a bay near the Georgia swamps, where John Woolfolk (Frank Mayo) lands in his yacht. After the death of his wife in an accident he had taken a cruise with just one friend, Paul Halvard (Ford Sterling). When Woolfolk goes ashore for water, he discovers old Lichfield Stope (Nigel de Brulier) and his granddaughter, Nellie (Virginia Valli), who are virtually being held prisoner by Iscah Nicholas, a half-crazed, half-childlike homicidal maniac (Charles A. Post). Woolfolk tries to help the girl, but when he comes back to shore, he finds that Nicholas has killed Stope and tied Nellie to a bed. Woolfolk fights the brute and takes Nellie to his yacht, but Nicholas follows after them. He shoots at the boat, injuring Halvard, and is finally killed by a mad dog that breaks its leash and attacks him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Mayo, Virginia Valli, (more)
