Frank Rice Movies

Though released by Republic, The Oregon Trail was actually filmed by the Lone Star unit at Monogram. John Wayne stars in a bargain-basement rehash of his earlier The Big Trail. Battling his way through reams of stock footage, the Duke leads a wagon train through the rugged frontier. He also keeps both eyes peeled for the man who murdered his father. 18-year-old Ann Rutherford is the feminine interest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though filmed on a tight budget, Universal's Trail Drive has the size and scope of a silent western epic, proof positive of the production acumen of star Ken Maynard. The story concerns (what else) a cattle drive, with Maynard cast as head drover. The villains will stop at nothing to prevent our hero from completing his task, and this includes strapping Maynard to the door of cabin directly in the path of a cattle stampede. He manages to escape this peril in a manner that can conservatively be described as unbelievable. The script for Trail Drive is credited to director Alan James, but one suspects that much of it was improvised by Maynard, whose penchant for bizarre ad-libs was unmatched in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ostensibly based on James Oliver Curwood's Caryl of the Mountain, but bearing little or no resemblance to the 1935 Rin-Tin-Tin Jr. vehicle bearing that title, this Northwest melodrama stars Kermit Maynard as McKenna, a mounted police officer trailing the gang that kidnapped mining engineer Mason (John Elliott). The search leads to Ghost Mountain, where McKenna and his partner, Windy (Fuzzy Knight), encounter the missing man's daughter, Jane (Billie Seward). They also confront the gang of outlaws, who are eventually defeated after a chase through a labyrinth of caves and tunnels leading into mountain itself. Trails of the Wild was filmed at Hollywood's Talisman Studios and Bronson Canyon. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed in 1918 and 1923, Harry Leon Wilson's novel achieved movie classic status when it was remade by Leo McCarey in 1935. The story opens in Paris, circa 1908. Ruggles, beautifully underplayed by Charles Laughton, is the ultra-obedient manservant to the bibulous Earl of Burnstead (Roland Young). During one of the Earl's nocturnal forays, nouveau riche American cattle baron Egbert Floud (Charles Ruggles) wins Ruggles in a poker game. Terrified at the prospect of being bundled off to the Wild West, Ruggles' resolve is weakened somewhat when he and the raucous but ingratiating Egbert spend a wild night on the town. (The besotted butler's periodic exclamations of "Whoopee!" are priceless.) Back in the frontier "boom town" of Red Gap, a misunderstanding obliges Egbert's social-climbing wife Effie (Mary Boland) to pass off Ruggles as an aristocratic British army officer, immediately arousing the suspicions of priggish social arbiter Charles Belknap-Jackson (Lucien Littlefield). The longer he spends in America, the more Ruggles grows to like the concept of democracy and self-determination. Of the film's many highlights, two are standouts: the scene in which Ruggles silences a rowdy saloon crowd with his recitation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and the droll, semi-improvised vignette in which dancehall girl Nell Kenner (Leila Hyams) teaches the Earl of Burnstead how to play the drums. Ruggles of Red Gap was filmed for a fourth time in 1950 as the Bob Hope-Lucille Ball musical Fancy Pants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Colt MacDonald's 1934 story based on the Three Mesqueteers characters was brought to the screen the following year by RKO, who billed it "the Barnum and Bailey of Westerns" and seems to have rounded up every Western star not under exclusive contract. The Western, in fact, could boast of no less than 13 former silent screen cowboy heroes: Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, Buzz Barton, Wally Wales (aka Hal Taliaferro), Art Mix (aka George Kesterson), Buffalo Bill Jr. (aka Jay Wilsey), Buddy Roosevelt, Franklyn Farnum, William Desmond, and William Farnum. Carey, Gibson, and Williams played Tucson Smith, Stony Brooke, and Lullaby Joslin, respectively -- the Three Mesqueteers -- who happen upon a stage robbery in progress. They catch the bandit (Ethan Laidlaw) red-handed rifling through the mail and discover that one of the letters is meant for them. Without their knowing, a young friend, the Guadalupe Kid (Steele), has bought a ranch in their names and is awaiting their arrival. The ranch, however, is located in an area controlled by greedy saloon proprietor turned political boss Steve Ogden (Sam Hardy), who takes umbrage to their presence to the point of hiring a professional gunslinger, Sundown Saunders (Tyler). Provoking a confrontation, Sundown challenges Tucson to his trademark sundown showdown. The wily Tucson realizes that Sundown prefers an encounter in the dusk because of failing eyesight and only lightly wounds his opponent. Although a recuperating Sundown turns down Tucson's request to join the fight against Ogden, in the ensuing shootout the gunslinger heroically takes a bullet meant for Tucson. After forcing a confession out of the crooked sheriff (Adrian Morris), the Mesqueteers confront Ogden who is killed in a fight with Tucson. Filmed on locations at Kernville and Newhall, CA, Powdersmoke Range was not the first film version of MacDonald's Mesqueteers. That honor goes to Law of the .45's, a cheap, independently made Western that had starred Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Tucson and perennial sidekick Al St. John as Stony. (The film omitted the third mesqueteer, Lullaby Joslin, altogether). Despite the success of Powdersmoke Range, RKO failed to follow up with a regular series. Bob Steele would play the character of Sundown Saunders in an independently produced Western of that name in 1936 but the Three Mesqueteers as a group found a regular berth with Republic Pictures, which went on to produce 51 highly successful and influential B-Westerns between 1935 and mid-1943. Through several cast changes both Bob Steele and Tom Tyler would at one point or another play one of the mesqueteers, as would Robert Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, ventriloquist Max Terhune, John Wayne, Raymond Hatton, Duncan Renaldo, Rufe Davis, Ralph Byrd, and Syd Saylor. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Westerner Buck Jones heads to the Great White North in Border Brigands. Jones plays Canadian Mountie Tim Barry, who always gets his man. This time, however, he's forced to cross the border into the United States -- apparently without permission -- to "get" villain Conyda (Fred Kohler Sr.). The reason for Barry's trek Southward is personal: Conyda is responsible for the death of the Mountie's brother. Lona Andre, one of the sexiest of the "B"-western leading ladies, co-stars with Jones in Border Brigands, while eyeball-rolling Frank Rice offers comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Radio baritone Joe Morrison was being groomed for stardom by Paramount when he was top-billed in One Hour Late. Morrison is cast as shipping clerk Eddie Blake, whose girlfriend Betty Dunn (Helen Twelvetrees) is secretary to big boss Stephen Barclay (Conrad Nagel). A trusting soul, Betty sees nothing wrong in accepting Barclay's invitation to visit his home for the weekend. But Eddie suspects the worst and tags along to make sure that Betty's virtue remains intact. As it happens, Eddie's fears are groundless -- as are those of Barclay's wife Ellen (Gail Patrick), who was poised to walk out on her husband at the first sign of extramarital hanky-panky. The script contrives to have a radio station located in the building where Eddie works, permitting Joe Morrison to croon a medley of his hit "The Last Roundup." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Buck Jones western The Fighting Ranger utilizes its familiar plotline with excellent results. When Jones' kid brother is killed by the villains, our hero quits the Texas Rangers and sets off to seek vengeance on his own. He ends up just below the Mexican border, where bandit leader Cougar (Bradley Page) lives high off the hog, knowing he can't be extradited. But Jones is able to round up the baddies just in time for the "End" title. Columbia's all-purpose leading lady Dorothy Revier is the heroine, while comedy relief is provided by eyeball-rolling Frank Rice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Zane Grey's frequently-filmed story Border Legion was produced in 1934 under the title The Last Round-Up. Randolph Scott plays Jim Cleve, one of several volunteers keeping the US-Mexican border safe on behalf of American settlers. Ostensibly the hero, Cleve is actually out-heroed by the film's nominal villain, outlaw leader Jack Kells (Monte Blue). It is Kells who brings about the story's happy ending, sacrificing his own life to ensure the blissful future of young lovers Cleve and Joan Randall (Barbara Fritchie). The Last Round-Up was one of ten Paramount-produced Zane Grey adaptations starring Randolph Scott, whose association with westerns would endure until his retirement from the screen in 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from an earlier European film, Wharf Angel stars Dorothy Dell as Toy, a golden-hearted prostitute stranded in San Francisco. Toy finds hope for redemption when she falls in love with Como (Preston S. Foster), a sailor on the lam from a murder charge. In Madame Butterfly fashion, the heroine promises to wait for Como until he is able to clear himself. The fly in the ointment is Como's buddy Turk (Victor McLaglen), who has known Toy (in the Biblical sense) for several years. An inexpensive but fairly credible reconstruction of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (courtesy of legendary art director William Cameron Menzies) caps this intriguing little romantic melodrama. Alas, leading lady Dorothy Dell was killed in a car crash after appearing in only three films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, John Wayne plays a bronc buster who flees to Mexico after he is falsely accused of rigging a stagecoach race. Living as an outlaw, he joins a gang and finds that the son of his old rodeo boss has been roped into joining them. While trying to save the youth from a life of crime, The heroic Wayne also manages to save a silver mine and find true love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Rivalry between two towns for the honor of becoming county seat turns violent in this interesting Ken Maynard Western from low-budget Sono Art-World Wide. Although a notorious troublemaker, the Thunderbolt Kid (alias Ken Peters (Maynard)), is convinced to work on behalf of Coyote Gulch, a small community hoping to land the railroad franchise that will make it the county seat. Rival town Spotted Horse hires the notorious Matthews gang and soon it is all-out war between the communities. Ken, meanwhile, is conned by Matthews henchman One Shot Mallory (Bob Kortman) into attacking a stage supposedly carrying reinforcement. Unfortunately, the passenger, whom Ken publicly humiliates, is railroad president Charles Eaton (Wilfred Lucas). Much to the disgust of Red Matthews (William Gould) and his gang, Eaton awards the franchise to Coyote Gulch. After a climactic encounter between Red and Ken, Eaton persuades the latter to remain and witness the town prosper. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide