Sherry Tansey Movies
The youngest of the three acting Tansey brothers, Sherry Tansey began his long screen career in 1916, billed in the style of the day as Master Tansey. He was Sheridan Tansey in the classic tearjerker Over the Hill to the Poorhouse (1920), and as an adult, played weakling brothers, henchmen, and members of the posse in countless low-budget oaters under the names James Sheridan and Sherry Tansey. Often working for older brother Robert Emmett Tansey, Sherry's credits lasted well into the sound era, his last known screen appearance coming in 1941. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1937
No, we don't get to see Johnny Mack Brown's mother in labor in A Lawman is Born. Brown is "born" as a star packer when he's fully grown. He is moved to slap on his guns by a gang of usurping cattle rustlers. Iris Meredith is the leading lady and Warner Richmond the principal baddie in this reasonably realistic oater. A Lawman is Born was produced independently by A.W. Hackel, and released by Republic Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Iris Meredith, (more)
- 1940
After several dismal Westerns, Tex Ritter found a winner in Arizona Frontier, which was filmed in glorious locations near Prescott, Arizona. Ritter played Tex Whitedeer, a white boy reared by the Indian Grey Cloud (real-life native American sports legend Jim Thorpe). Tex's ancestry becomes an issue when as an agent for the government he is charged with deciding where the East and West branches of the railroad shall meet. Joe Lane's (Hal Price) freight company is being raided by what appears to be Indians, but Tex suspects the criminals to be white men in disguise. He is soon falsely accused by a rival army lieutenant (John Merton) of leading the marauders himself. Further investigation, however, discloses that the raiders are indeed a gang of white villains headed by Graham (Tristram Coffin), who is ultimately caught by Ritter and Grey Cloud's Indian braves. Despite his fame as an athlete, Jim Thorpe was sadly misused by Hollywood who usually saw him only in stereotypical terms. Thorpe's personal friendship with Ritter landed him the role of Grey Cloud in Arizona Frontier and he gave what was perhaps his best performance. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
In his second Western for Poverty Row producer A.W. Hackel, former football star Johnny Mack Brown goes in search of both his long-lost father and foster-sister. Mistakenly believing that they murdered his young son Johnny, John Wellington (William Farnum) kills three ruffians and becomes a wanted man. Young Johnny (Barry Downing), who had survived the attack, is instead raised by rich Sir George Thorne (Lloyd Ingraham). The latter's old-fashioned ideas causes him to lose both his son-in-law, Gentry Winters (Frank Ball), and young granddaughter, Gale. In his search for the missing girl, Johnny ( now Mack Brown) learns that Winters has been killed by Trent (Earl Dwire), an outlaw whose advances Gale (Beth Marion) had spurned. Aiding Johnny in his quest to capture Trent is one Rand who, it turns out, is none other than the missing John Wellington. Although initially opposed to Johnny's courting of Gale, Wellington/Rand changes his mind in due time and heroically takes a bullet meant for his son. After finishing off the murderous Trent in a final confrontation, Johnny can begin to plan a more peaceful future with Gale. According to contemporary reports, Between Men was filmed in six days at Lone Pine, CA. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Beth Marion, (more)
- 1927
Produced by Gower Gulch company Action Pictures, this minor silent Western starred Buddy Roosevelt as a ranch foreman who rescues lovely Helen Calhoun (Elsa Benham) from a runaway carriage and her wastrel brother Ted (Sherry Tansey aka James Sheridan) from both the devil hop and a crooked gambler (Richard R. Neill). Usually a supporting character, mustachioed Hank Bell was awarded co-star billing this time around as a tough deputy sheriff helping Roosevelt catch the villain. Nothing out of the ordinary, Code of the Cow Country was directed with economy in mind by Oscar Apfel. A veteran stock company actor from Cleveland, Apfel earlier co-wrote and co-directed (with Cecil B. DeMille) The Squaw Man (1914), the first feature film to be produced entirely in Hollywood. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buddy Roosevelt, Hank Bell, (more)
- 1937
Bob Steele once again goes in search for the outlaw who murdered his father in this average Western released by Republic Pictures. The killer, Jim Hatfield (Warner Richmond), is holed up in a South-of-the-Border cantina from whence he runs a series of cattle rustlings and assorted other crimes. The Hatfield gang kidnaps Don (David Sharpe), the young brother of waitress Jean Williams (Lorraine Hayes), and forces him to sign over some traveler's checks to Hatfield. Allowing himself to be captured by the gang, newly deputized Dave Austin (Steele) is sentenced to die at sundown, but by using trickery, the youngster manages to turn the outlaws against each other. Doomed at Sundown was filmed at Newhall and Chatsworth, CA. Leading lady Lorraine Hayes, aka Lorraine Randall, was the sister of popular screen actress Bernadene Hayes. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Lorraine Hayes, (more)
- 1939
Not exactly famous for its innovative story lines, Monogram's Jack Randall Westerns were mostly written by genre hack Robert Emmett Tansey. After employing the old wheeze about a cowboy searching for his brother's killer in no less than three consecutive entries (Mexicali Kid, Wild Horse Canyon, and Trigger Smith), Tansey blithely trotted out the one about the cowboy impersonating an outlaw in order to infiltrate a gang of crooks. Randall, as Jack Clark, and his sidekick, Lopez (Frank Yaconelli), come to the aid of Don Careta (Julian Rivero) and his daughter, Wanda (Edna Duran), whose hidden silver mine has become the object of desire for a gang lead by Careta's evil brother, Manuel (Octavio Giraud), the even more unscrupulous Carga (Stanley Blystone), and Manuel's mistress, Nicki (Carmen Bailey). Impersonating a notorious gunman, Jack gains the trust of Carga but his real identity is always in danger of being revealed by Piute (James Sheridan, aka Sherry Tansey), Carga's henchman. Everyone is soon searching for a secret map to the mine but in the end Jack and Lopez emerge victorious. The villains carted off to jail, Jack proposes to Wanda. The brother of supervising producer/screenwriter Robert Emmett Tansey, Sherry Tansey played bit parts in most of the Randall oaters but obtained a featured role this time around. A general purpose supporting actor, Tansey enjoyed a long, 125-Western screen career that lasted from the silent era through the early '40s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Yaconelli
- 1938
Filmed on location at Kernville, CA, this B-Western from Poverty Row company Monogram starred Jack Randall as Jack Dinton, the son of a murdered marshal. Jack is given his father's guns to wear by Ranger Chief Holmes (Lloyd Ingraham) and sallies forth to catch a gang of stage robbers. Discovering the bandit's lair, Jack gains entrance by pretending to be an outlaw himself. Once on the inside, he makes the acquaintance of Professor Angel (Barlowe Borland), an ex-convict assigned by the gang to melt down the stolen gold for easier transportation. The professor is convinced to join forces with law and order and accompanied by Jack's African-American sidekick, Pinky (Raymond Turner), they set a trap for the leader of the gang, Chance Moore (Charles King). Randall's leading lady in this and four other Monogram oaters, Louise Stanley, became his partner in real life as well. Although the Randall series had been conceived as an entry in the singing cowboy sweepstakes, the star's operatic voice did not find favor with the audience and Gun Packer was released sans the usual warbling. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Stanley
Guns and Guitars could have served as the title of any Gene Autry picture released in 1937. In this one, medicine-show entertainer Gene runs afoul of a crooked town boss who moonlights as an outlaw. The villain murders the local sheriff and pins the blame on poor Gene. With the help of comical sidekick Smiley Burnette, our hero breaks out of jail to clear his name. Though Guns and Guitars contains more action than usual for an Gene Autry picture, it pales in comparison to such superior 1937 Autry vehicles as Rootin' Tootin Rhythm and Boots and Saddles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Dorothy Dix, (more)
Acting upon the belief that he accidentally murdered his best pal, a gunman swears never to draw his weapon again. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Featuring the husband-and-wife team of Jack Randall and Louise Stanley, this lukewarm Monogram Western eschewed the musical interludes that had been a Randall trademark thus far. Randall (the lesser known brother of B-Western star Robert Livingston) plays Jack Lane, a drifter who comes to the aid of an Eastern girl, Nola Day (Stanley). The girl travels West to meet her new guardian, Uncle Moose Walters (Henry Rocquemore), but Uncle Moose has been murdered by saloon owner Bill Larsen (John Merton) and it is Larsen posing as Moose who greets the young lady upon arrival. Jack senses that "Uncle Moose" may not be all he claims but Nola is blissfully unaware of Larsen's deception and becomes furious over the newcomer's interference. The evil Larsen is caught red-handed, of course, and Lola discovers that she has fallen in love with Jack. Al St. John, in between his Westerns with Fred Scott and Bob Steele, did his usual shtick as Randall's sidekick. Gunsmoke Trail was directed by Sam Newfield, one of the busiest -- and most careless -- B-Western directors of all time. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Randall, Louise Stanley, (more)
In his second "Range Rider" music Western for poverty row newcomer Grand National, Tex Ritter played Tex Saunders, the troubadour brother of the sheriff (Forrest Taylor) of Rio Grande, Texas. When Tex and sidekick Chilo (Syd Saylor) on behalf of Laurie Hart (Eleanor Stewart) begin to look into what appears to be a gangster-style protection racket, saloon-owner Ike Travis (Warner Richmond) has the troubadour framed for killing bandit Red Dugan (James Mason). An angry populace demand an arrest and Tex is saved in the nick of time from being lynched. Outriding the posse, Tex manages the round up the racketeers, including the real killer.Headin' for the Rio Grande was filmed for around $8000 at Hollywood's Talisman studios and at the Monogram ranch near Placerita,, California. Ritter, who was under a personal contract to producer Edward Finney and not Grand National, earned a flat fee of $2000 for each of his Westerns. Reportedly, Ritter convinced Grand National to hire silent clown Snub Pollard for a small supporting role, having admired Pollard's silent slapstick comedies as a child in East Texas. Pollard would return in later films as Ritter's comic sidekick. In his first of 25 appearances opposite Ritter, veteran Bad Guy Charles King played one of the villain's henchmen. "I must have killed old Charlie King at least twenty times," Ritter would later reminisce. "Usually behind the same rock." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Eleanor Stewart, (more)
Produced by Greek-born Gower Gulch "tycoon" Anthony J. Xydias, this film was a remake, with plenty of stock footage, of Xydias' silent With Davy Crockett at the Fall of the Alamo (1926). In the new version, however, Crockett (played by a far-too-young Lane Chandler) is almost a bit part, the film concentrating instead on newlyweds Almerian and Anne Dickinson (Bruce Warren and Ruth Findley), heroic Texans based on real-life Alamo victims Almeron and Suzanna Dickinson. The siege of the Alamo by General Santa Anna (Julian Rivero) is mainly depicted via poorly-inserted stock footage from Xydias' silent version, but all the famous elements are there: Travis' (Rex Lease) line in the sand, Bowie (Roger Williams) crossing that line despite his illness and the death of all three mythical American heroes. The sole survivor is Anne Dickinson (a true flight of fancy), who is present when Sam Houston (Edward Peil, Sr.) utters the famous line, "Remember the Alamo!" Consisting of numerous gaffes (the defenders of the Alamo perform a rendition of The Yellow Rose of Texas, written years later, to mention but one example) and enacted on laughably cheap sets, Heroes of the Alamo was dismissed by an overwhelmingly hostile press. Xydias, who had come out of retirement for this, and a proposed series of historical Westerns, never produced another film. Heroes of the Alamo was later shortened to about half of its 80 minutes running time and sold as an educational short subject under the title Remember the Alamo. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Earl Hodgins, Ruth Findlay, (more)
- 1938
In Early Arizona was western star Bill Elliot's first effort for Columbia Pictures. Not yet "Wild Bill" Elliot (as he would later be billed), the actor is cast as Whit Gordon, who rides into Tombstone Arizona to help keep the peace. Elliot is appointed sheriff, making him the particular target of every fast gun in the territory. Though clearly based on the career of Wyatt Earp film is careful not to violate the copyright on Earp's life story, which then was held by 20th Century-Fox. In fact, contrary to previous published reports, the name "Wyatt Earp" is not mentioned at all in In Early Arizona; only the designation of Tombstone itself was in the public domain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Gulliver, Harry Woods, (more)
- 1939
At the end of his long association with Hal Roach, comedian Stan Laurel produced three singing Westerns featuring operatic baritone Fred Scott. The second of the three, Knight of the Plains featured such songs as Paradise Valley (the film's working title), by Lew Porter and Harry Tobias, and When We Heard the Music Play Home Sweet Home, by Porter and L. Wolfe Gilbert, as well as the expected comedy routines of the redoubtable Al St. John. In between the songs and comedy, Scott portrayed rancher Fred "Melody" Brent, whose neighbors, the Rands, are in trouble with a gang of land grabbers out to acquire an old Spanish grant. After the usual sagebrush derring-do and a bit of romance with lovely Gale Rand (Marion Weldon, Scott and his sidekick Fuzzy (St. John) can deliver the bad Guys to Sheriff Steve Clark, happy with the knowledge that they have prevented a range war. Scott was to make thirteen singing Westerns for various low-budget producers, all of them released by Spectrum Pictures. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Scott, Marion Weldon, (more)
- 1935
Based on William Colt MacDonald's Law of the Forty-Fives, this ultra low-budget Beacon Western stars Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Al St. John as Tucson Smith and Stony Martin, a couple of drifters coming to the defense of elder rancher Hayden (Lafe McKee). Like their neighbors, the rancher and his pretty daughter, Jean (Molly O'Day), have been terrorized by a gang of land grabbers. Tucson and Stony quickly become suspicious of Hayden's attorney, Gordon Rentell (Ted Adams), who seems to know a great deal about the mysterious disappearance of British businessman Sir Henry Sheffield. When the latter (Broderick O'Farrell) is found imprisoned in Rentell's basement, the truth is revealed. Having learned that there is oil in the area, Rentell and his men have been systematically buying up land from their own victims. When the sheriff (Fred Burns) arrives to take Rentell and his men to jail, Tucson reveals that he has become a vigilante after his own father had been murdered. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Molly O'Day, (more)
- 1937
In this western, brand new rancher Bob Steele, a former gunslinger in search of a more peaceful life, finds his quiet shattered when he finds himself caught between two feuding neighbors. Matters become more complex when he falls in love with one of their daughters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Lois January, (more)
- 1942
After several years of mediocre westerns, cowboy star Tom Keene finally managed to find a winning formula in his 1941-42 vehicles for Monogram. Lone Star Law Men stars Keene as a deputy US marshal, sworn to help his boss rout a gang of border outlaws. Our hero elects to go undercover by joining the crooks himself-an old ploy, but one that works beautifully here. For the rest of the film, Keene has quite a time staying on camera with such formidable scene-stealers as comic sidekick Frank Yaconelli and all-around heavy Charles King as competition. Like many Tom Keene oaters of the period, Lone Star Law Men gives over a goodly amount of screen time to moppet Sugar Dawn, whom Monogram was obviously grooming for bigger things (which never materialized). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Keene, Frank Yaconelli, (more)
- 1939
A "special" by Monogram standards, Lure of the Wasteland was lensed in a not inexpensive process called Telco-color. Grant Withers takes a break from his duties in the "Mister Wong" series to play Smitty, a US marshal assigned to track down $250,000 in stolen bonds. To gain the confidence of the outlaws, Smitty pulls the old ploy of posing as a crook and joining the gang. Despite his mental agility in plotting and planning large-scale robberies, outlaw leader Butch (LeRoy Mason) is unable to see through Smitty's guise until it's too late for him. Former silent comedy star Snub Pollard, fresh from a comic-sidekick stint in Grand National's Tex Ritter series, plays a relatively straight role as a reformed crook who acts as Smitty's go-between. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Withers, Karl Hackett, (more)
- 1938
Although Monogram claimed that Jack Randall received an average of over 1,000 fan letters a week, the studio was quietly losing interest in the star's Westerns. Despite fine location filming at Lone Pine, CA, Man's Country was saddled with indifferent direction by veteran hack Robert F. Hill and a less than inspiring story by Poverty Row regular Robert Emmett Tansey. Silent screen villain Walter Long played twin brothers, one a rancher and the other a bandit. The good Long is unaware that there is oil on his land, a fact the bad Long uses to his own advantage. Enter ranger Jack Hale (Randall) who saves the good Long from being kidnapped by his evil brother and foils the plans to take over the property. Marjorie Reynolds, destined to star opposite Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in Paramount's Holiday Inn (1942), appeared as good Long's lovely daughter, and moon-faced Ralph Peters supplied a bit of stale comedy relief. Man's Country was the first Randall Western under the aegis of Scott R. Dunlap, whose budgets were even leaner than those of the series' previous producer, Maurice Conn. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Peters, Marjorie Reynolds, (more)
- 1937
The Fred Scott musical westerns were high in audience appeal, but invariably handicapped with syrupy titles like Moonlight on the Range. On this occasion, our hero is suspected of being an outlaw, but the real culprit is his look-alike half-brother (Scott plays both roles). At first hoping to wreak vengeance on his crooked sibling. Scott relents at the end, bringing brother dear in unharmed in hopes of reforming the boy. The film's highlight is a fierce gun battle between hero and villain, with director Sam Newfield doing an excellent job differentiating the two brothers. In the course of events, Fred Scott sings four songs, several of them for the benefit of leading lady Lois January. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lois January
- 1934
If you can accept blonde, blue-eyed Marion Davies disguising herself in blackface, chances are you'll swallow the rest of Operator 13. Davies plays a Belle Boyd-like actress who agrees to become a Northern spy during the Civil War. She assumes the identity of an octoroon servant and heads into Southern territory. Marion meets dashing Confederate captain Gary Cooper, and instantly falls in love with him. Later, she assumes the disguise of a Southern belle to prevent Cooper from recruiting Southern sympathizers in the north. This time Cooper falls for Davies, which makes it hard for her to carry out her mission. After several more reels of espionage and romantic interludes, including a gently kinky sequence in which Cooper and Davies are handcuffed together, the lovers part company, promising to meet again when the war is over. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Marion Davies, (more)
- 1941
PRC's Outlaws of the Rio Grande stars Tim McCoy in his traditional role of a US marshal. Operating around the Mexican border, McCoy is galvanized into action when his best pal is killed by a gang of counterfeiters. Going undercover, our hero heads after the gang into Mexico, intending to unmask the mysterious leader. Heroine Rita (played by band vocalist Virginia Carpenter) is forced by the crooks to lure McCoy into a trap, but the audience never doubts for a moment that Colonel Tim will prevail. Among the heavies is the inescapable Charles King, here cast not in his traditional role of "Blackie" but as "Trigger". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Virginia Carpenter, (more)
- 1939
Robert Emmett Tansey, production supervisor and head writer on Monogram's Jack Randall Westerns, had the gall this time around to outright plagiarize John Ford's newly released Stagecoach (1939). Like John Wayne in Ford's masterpiece, Jack Randall found himself boarding a stagecoach after having his horse shot out from under him. The coach is already occupied by Mary, a saloon belle (Jean Joyce, aka Claire Rochelle), a whiskey salesman (George Cleveland), and Duke (Dennis Moore), an outlaw. By the time Jack and the passengers arrive in town, Tansey mercifully stops imitating Ford long enough to craft a none too spectacular story of Randall attempting to persuade Miss Joyce from working for Polini (Tristram Coffin, sporting the worst "foreign" accent this side of Buck Jones), whom he suspects of heading a counterfeiting ring. As it turns out, both Mary and the whiskey salesman are undercover agents and the greedy Polini is turned over to a gang of Indians, one of whom he once murdered. No one apparently complained about Tansey plagiarizing John Ford (not to mention screenwriter Dudley Nichols) and Overland Mail was dismissed as just another low-budget Western released on the lower half of double bills. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vince Barnett, Jean Joyce, (more)
Paroled-to Die was one of Bob Steele's best starring westerns for producer A. W. Hackel. Wasting precious little time with plot or dialogue, the film gets down to business with a two-fisted opening action sequence. Thereafter, the thrills never let up, as hero Doug Redfern (Steele) tries to clear himself of a murder rap, orchestrated by crooked politico Harvey Meline (Karl Hackett). Offering aid and comfort to our hero are government agent Lucky Gosden (Horace Murphy) and heroine Joan Blackman (Kathleen Elliot). Originally slated for released through Hackel's own Spectrum pictures, Paroled-to Die was eventually distributed by Republic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Karl Hackett, (more)
Phantom Ranger was the last of a quartet of Tim McCoy westerns produced by Maurice Conn for Monogram release. The star is cast as federal agent Tim Hayes, assigned to round up a counterfeiting gang. The audience knows way ahead of time that McCoy will pose as an outlaw to gain the villain's confidence; funny that the villains never seemed to figure this out until the last reel. This time around, our hero must face down an unusually formidable line-up of thugs and pluguglies, including Charles King, John Merton and frog-faced Rychard Cramer. Happily, he also gets to romance the lovely Suzanne Kaaren. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Suzanne Kaaren, (more)
