Sherry Tansey Movies

Bantam-weight cowboy star Bob Steele stars in Thunder in the Desert. If you're familiar with Steele, you'll know that he was a star with but a single plot: A young man searches for the murderer of his father. This time, however, a few changes have been made. Now Bob is on the prowl for the murderer of his uncle. With the help of Louise Stanley, he corrals the killer and claims his inheritance. Produced independently by A. W. Hackel, Thunder in the Desert was released by Republic Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite its obscure, poverty-stricken origins, or perhaps because of them, this music Western remains a bizarre, one-of-a-kind delight. Not the least of the film's oddball pleasures is Grandma Mary Barton (Dot Karroll), a "rip snortin,' two-gun kind of a gal" and the owner, with grandson Stanley (Matty Kemp), of the Miracle Gold Mining Company. Company foreman Murdock (George Douglas) is engaged in the lucrative side business of smelting stolen gold and selling it back to the government. After confronting his foreman, young Stan is forced to flee for his life but is saved by a mysterious stranger, Alamo (Monte Rawlins). Inspired by grandma's tall tales, Alamo dons the garb of a masked avenger and manages to put the fear of God into Murdock and his gang. Sidekick Larry Mason (aka Art Davis) performs Lew Porter and Johnny Lange's "Masked Phantom", A Rip-Rip Snortin' Two-Gun Gal" and "Prairie Rose". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The seventh of thirteen singing Westerns to star former opera baritone Fred Scott, The Ranger's Roundup was also the first of three Scott vehicles to be executive produced by comedian Stan Laurel. No hands off producer, Laurel apparently suggested several bits of business for comic relief Al St. John, whose popular "Fuzzy Q. Jones" character originated with the Scott series. Ranger Tex Duncan (Scott) joins a travelling medicine show disguised as a singer, a plot development that allowed the hero to warble such ditties as The Terror of Termite Valley and Just a Spanish Shawl, both by Lew Porter who also appeared in the film as a piano player. Going undercover, Tex is able to get close to a gang of express office robbers, discovering the hard way that Burton, the office manager (Richard Cramer), is the leader of the gang. Blonde Christine McIntyre made her screen debut in this film as Mary, a singing waitress and Scott's love interest. In later years, Miss McIntyre was only too happy to share her memories of the 20 B-Westerns she would end up making but refused to answer questions regarding her better known work with The Three Stooges. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Though A.W. Hackel's Supreme Pictures went belly-up in 1936, he continued grinding out his popular Bob Steele westerns, shifting distribution to up-and-coming Republic. Steele plays Dan, the headstrong young son of a notorious outlaw. Dan is forced not only to live down his dad's reputation, but also his own, since it's been rumored that he has strayed to the wrong side of the law from time to time. He manages to prove that he's a good guy after all, but in a surprise development he doesn't win the film's official heroine Molly (Lois January), who has jilted him for another. Fortunately, second lead Betty (Joan Barclay) is there to pick up the pieces. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

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

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

The first of 22 inexpensive Westerns starring Jack Randall (aka Addison Randall and Allan Byron), Riders of the Dawn is yet another in a long series of oaters featuring a lawman masquerading as an outlaw. This time around, the lawman is Jack Preston (Randall), a singing marshal searching for the gang that has been terrorizing the good folks of Green Valley. Posing as Two-Gun Gardner, Preston tracks down the villainous Danti (Warner Richmond) and his gang of stage robbers. The brother (some say half-brother) of B-Western star Robert Livingston, Jack Randall was Poverty Row company Monogram's first entry in the singing cowboy sweepstakes. When the studio acquired Tex Ritter in 1940, the Randall vehicles became straight Westerns playing the lower half of double bills. Better known for his offscreen escapades (which included marrying the same woman, actress Louise Stanley, twice), Randall changed his name to Allan Byron in 1943. He was Addison Randall once again when killed performing a riding stunt for the 1945 serial The Royal Mounted Rides Again. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

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

The third of six Rex Bell Westerns produced by the Alexander brothers, Arthur and Max, The Idaho Kid was the first to be distributed by newcomer Grand National. Bell appeared in the title role, a drifter who returns to the old homestead only to find his adopted family engaged in a range war with his natural -- but estranged -- father, Clint Hollister (Earl Dwire). The latter's foreman, Bib Slagel (Charles King), and his men attempt to force Endicott (Lafe Mckee) out of business by depriving his cattle of water from a shared stream. There is a final confrontation during which Hollister shoots the Idaho Kid, learning only afterwards that he is his long-lost son. Happily, Idaho survives his wounds and the feud comes to an end. Popular B-Western heroine Marion Shilling played Bell's foster sister-turned-love interest and former Paramount star Lane Chandler appeared in a small supporting role as Lafe McKee's foreman. Bell was the husband of silent screen star Clara Bow and later ran successfully for the office of lieutenant governor of Nevada. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Bottom-of-the-barrel Western filmmaking on all fronts -- save perhaps hero Tom Tyler's usual competent performance and a restrained sidekick turn by Al St. John -- Pinto Rustlers was directed by Reliable producer Harry S. Webb under the pseudonym of Henri Samuels. Tyler plays Tom Evans, a young cowboy seeking to avenge the murder of his father by a notorious gang of rustlers. Badgering police inspector William Gould into deputizing him, Evans goes undercover as Tom Dawson, a wanted outlaw, and is quickly invited to join the rustlers. The gang is headed by Nick Furnicky (George Walsh), a bandit sporting an indeterminate accent, but the film's real villain is Bud Walton (Earl Dwire), the crooked head of the local cattlemen's association, who has his brother (Murdock MacQuarrie) kidnapped in an attempt to prevent the disclosure of his own dirty deeds. Badly directed, atrociously acted by a cast of veterans that should have known better, and featuring some of the weakest fight scenes in B-Western history, Pinto Rustlers only comes to life at the very end when the gang leader quite literally has the rug pulled from under him. Sadly, this meandering Western marked a rather less than glorious ending to the career of George Walsh, the brother of director Raoul Walsh and a major Fox star in the 1920s. Walsh, who had always traded on physique rather than acting capabilities, had become quite heavy by 1936 and could only find employment in Gower Gulch. Following Pinto Rustlers and Rio Grande Romance (which, despite the title, was a crook melodrama), even those offers dried up. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

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

Whistling Bullets was one of better Kermit Maynard westerns from the Ambassador Pictures "B"-mill. Based on a story by James Oliver Curwood, the story finds Texas Ranger Larry Graham (Maynard) hot on the trail of an outlaw and his gang. To gain the villains' confidence, Larry poses as an escaped criminal, deliberately gets sent to prison, and befriends the outlaw, hoping that the fellow will lead him to a cache of stolen money. John English, later a mainstay of the Republic "B"-western product., directs, while Harlene Wood co-stars as the heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide