Andy Shuford Movies

Produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan productions for MGM release, Feller Needs a Friend teams child-star Jackie Cooper with rustic comedian Chic Sale. Cooper plays Eddie Randall, a physically challenged boy who is overprotected by his parents. He finds a kindred spirit in his aged uncle Jonas (Sale), who tries to treat Eddie like a regular kid. The boy is forced to suffer the taunts of his snotty cousin Froggie (Andy Shufford) before a happy ending can be considered. Based on the William Johnson novel Limpy, Feller Needs a Friend was co-scripted by Sylvia Thalberg, the sister of MGM-head Irving Thalberg. Watch for silent-film comedian Max Davidson in an amusing bit. The film is also known as When a Feller Needs a Friend. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by the prolific Harry L. Fraser, Texas Pioneers features laconic silent screen cowboy Bill Cody as a cavalry captain who is court martialed and removed from service after a disagreement with his commanding officer (John Elliott). It is all a ruse, of course, concocted so that Cody may infiltrate the gang that is providing the Indians with weapons. Aided by his Native American "blood brother" Little Eagle (Iron Eyes Cody) and Andy Thomas (Andy Shuford), the hero-worshipping son of his commanding officer, Cody successfully tracks down the leader of the gang, Mark Collins (Leroy Mason). In the final confrontation, Little Eagle bravely takes a bullet meant for Bill, thus giving his life for peace. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Cowboy star Bill Cody trades his Stetson and chaps for the red uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Mason of the Mounted. Our hero heads below the border to the U.S. to bring in an elusive murderer. His quarry turns out to be the mastermind behind a busy gang of horse rustlers, all of whom are well armed. Be that as it may, the Mountie manages to decimate the other members of the gang and haul the head villain back to Canada. Andy Shuford, a young "Our Gang" alumnus who'd been successfully teamed with Bill Cody on several previous occasion, is back on hand in Mason of the Mounted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, a man is accused of murder even though there is no body to prove that a killing has occurred. They look and look, but the corpse has disappeared. Only one woman knows the truth, and she's not telling. Fortunately, the accused uncovers her wicked plot and clears his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this western, the Indians are chasing a cowboy whom they blame for a young woman's suicide. They believe the white guy seduced her on her wedding day and chase him all the way to Massachusetts where he ends up helping a woman get the estate that is rightfully hers. His Indian companion the talks to his pursuers and convinces them that the cowboy is innocent of the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Produced by Trem Carr, this enjoyable B-Western featured the strapping Tom Tyler, a cowboy performer who historically worked well with children. The child in this case was freckled Andy Shuford, a tough little boy rider. Little orphaned Sandy is adopted by a reformed outlaw (Tyler, of course), but when the townsfolk discover Tyler's true identity they conspire to take the tyke away from him. The express office is robbed and Tyler is the obvious suspect. He is provided with a seemingly airtight alibi by the kid, who swears to have seen two of Tyler's enemies commit the crime. After the real culprits have been apprehended, young Sandy confesses that he never really saw anything but only "guessed correctly." Although based on an original screenplay by Wellyn Totman, Rider of the Plains bore a certain resemblance to the same year's The Sheriff's Secret, a Robert J. Horner misfire starring Jack Perrin. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The first "epic" western of the talkie era, The Big Trail is motivated by a hero's search for the murderer of his father. Twenty-three-year-old John Wayne, hitherto limited to bit parts, was thrust into the difficult leading role, a young mountaineer put in charge of a huge California-bound wagon train. Over the next several months, Wayne and his fellow pioneers face every imaginable hazard and disaster, from blistering desert heat to blinding snowstorms, negotiating steep cliffs, treacherous rivers, uncharted forests and other such natural obstacles. Meanwhile, Wayne's tentative romance with heroine Ruth Cameron (Marguerite Churchill) is continually thwarted by a charming but duplicitous gambler (Ian Keith), and all-around villain Red Flack (Tyrone Power Sr.) and his henchman Lopez (Charlie Stevens) ceaselessly plot to double-cross the other wagon-trainers for their own financial gain. The Big Trail was a box-office disappointment, a fact which some have attributed its expensive production methods. Each scene was lensed twice, once in 35-millimeter and then in the 65-mm "Fox Grandeur" wide-screen process. And then, each dialogue scene was filmed in French and German, with totally different casts. Even if Big Trail has been a big hit, it would have lost money thanks to the time-consuming shooting and reshooting of virtually every scene. Whatever the case, it was John Wayne who suffered most from the film's failure; instantly demoted to "B"-westerns, it took him nearly a decade to rebuild his stardom. Long believed lost, The Big Trail was made available for exhibition again in the early 1970s -- and in the 1990s the original widescreen version was at last restored for public view. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide