Charles "Slim" Whitaker Movies
Someone once called American supporting actor Charles "Slim" Whitaker a "no good yellow-bellied polecat," and that is as good a description as any for this paunchy, mustachioed gent, a former stage manager and stock company actor from Kansas City, MO. Whitaker's screen career was spent almost entirely in B-Westerns, where he would skulk around as lazy ranch hands, tobacco-chewing henchmen, Mexican "half-breeds," and even the occasional corrupt lawman. More versatile than most Western supporting players, Whitaker was adept at comedy as well, and was humorously billed "Slender" Whitaker in 1925's Border Intrigue, in which he played a comedic Mexican bandito. Whitaker, who made his screen bow around 1925, was busiest in the 1930s, appearing in over 25 films in 1935 alone! He continued in pictures through the late '40s, but spent his final years working as a short-order cook in a Hollywood coffee shop. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
A cowboy turned G-Man looks into a series of mysterious plane crashes in this low-budget but fairly engrossing B-Western starring Tim McCoy. Masquerading as an outlaw, Tim Caverly manages to infiltrate a gang of mail thieves holed up in a ghost town. As Tim discovers, the gang leaders, Dawson (Walter Miller) and Kincaid (Wheeler Oakman), have kidnapped Professor Brent (Lloyd Ingraham), whose electrical ray gun is used to shoot down the planes. Also arriving at the hideout is Natalie (Claudia Dell), the professor's pretty daughter, who warns her father that women and children were among the victims of the latest crash. Although Dawson is suspecting Tim to be a G-Man, the villain orders Brent to shoot down an incoming government plane. There is an exchange of gunfire between Dawson and Tim, and Brent is shot attempting to shut off the ray gun. The professor survives, however, and the villains are apprehended. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Claudia Dell, (more)
- 1936
In his fourth and final Western for Poverty Row company Beaumont Pictures, veteran leading man Conway Tearle played Kirk Allenby, a lawman hired by the Cattlemen's Association to bring in his look-alike, Bob Enright (also Tearle), a renegade rancher. Badly injuring Enright in a gunfight, Allenby promises the wounded man that he will save his sister Roberta (Margaret Morris) from marrying villainous Jeff Bagley (William Gould). Impersonating Enright, Allenby arrives in time to stop the ceremony, and, with the recovered Enright's help, manages to bring Bagley and his gang to justice. In one of the kinkier denouements in B-Western history, Roberta then agrees to marry her brother's savior and look-alike. A Western star at the age of 58, Conway Tearle was a holdover from the early silent era. Despite his advancing years, Tearle did his own stunts and his four Westerns for Beaumont Pictures proved better than expected. The august star retired with the demise of Beaumont Pictures and suffered a fatal heart attack a little over a year later. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conway Tearle, Margaret Morris, (more)
- 1936
Stuffed dummies on horseback manage to fool a gang of munitions smugglers in this farfetched low-budget Western from the Reliable company. Tom Tyler stars as a Texas ranger going undercover to infiltrate the aforementioned gang, which is lead by nasty Travis (Al Bridge). The outlaw, however, learns of the ranger's subterfuge and orders him killed. Luckily, Tom's associate, Jimmy (Rex Lease), manages to get help from the ranger captain (William Gould) and the stuffed dummies are send in ahead of the rescue team. Using subterfuge, Travis escapes with Jimmy's blond sister, Joan (Margaret Nearing), but is eventually tracked down by Tom. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Written by John P. McCarthy (who also directed), Robert Emmett Tansey, and, rather incongruously, former real-life outlaw Al Jennings, this musical Western marked the screen debut of Tex Ritter, a former Broadway and radio crooner. Ritter played Tex (of course), a lawman going undercover as a bandit in order to infiltrate a gang of claim jumpers. As it turns out, the leader of the gang, Evans (Ted Adams), is using the ranch of Don Esteban del Valle (Martin Garralaga) and his daughter, Dolores (Joan Woodbury), as his headquarters, dragging the innocent rancher into a scheme to take over the local mines by any means possible, including murder. In between his detective work, Ritter finds time to sing such song as "Out on the Lone Prairie," "My Sweet Chiquita," and "You Are Reality," the latter composed by leading lady Joan Woodbury, the wife of actor Henry Wilcoxon. Ritter was discovered for films by Edward F. Finney, the former promotional director for Republic Pictures, who released the Ritter series through newcomer Grand National. Despite the crowd-pleasing presence of comic sidekick Fuzzy Knight and Ritter's horse, White Flash, Song of the Gringo proved an inauspicious opener. According to Ritter himself, Finney had his star outfitted with a hideous-looking toupee; and director John P. McCarthy, a holdover from the silent era, proved an unwise choice as well. Both hairpiece and McCarthy were gone by the second instalment, Headin' for the Rio Grande (1936), replaced by Ritter's natural receeding hairline and Robert North Bradbury, yet another veteran but at least one with an eye for pacing. Ritter, who achieved perhaps his lasting fame singing "Do Not Forsake Me" over the main titles to Fred Zinneman's High Noon (1952), was the father of 1970s television star John Ritter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
This above-average Johnny Mack Brown Western from A.W. Hackel's low-budget Supreme Pictures features the bizarre spectacle of an infant contentedly sucking on the barrel of Mack Brown's gun. The scene is played for warm-hearted comedy with Mack Brown and two wizened gunslingers (Frank Campeau and John Beck) all beaming at the clever toddler. The three gunfighters are hired by Sheriff Horace Murphy and cattle rancher Lloyd Ingraham to drive off the local homesteaders, but when they miss a rendezvous due to their baby-sitting endeavors, Roger Gray and his gang are deputized instead. Gray and company, however, robs both the sheriff and Ingraham before turning their attention toward pretty Beth Marion, the baby's presumed mother. Mack Brown, who reveals himself to be a Texas Ranger in disguise, manages to clear up the mess, arrest the guilty and make the valley safe for the homesteaders. Miss Marion on her part reveals herself to be the baby's aunt and a relieved Mack Brown promises to become a steady caller. Despite a rather complicated plot, Everyman's Law is engrossing most of the way and Mack Brown works well with the dour-looking Campeau and Beck. A scene where the three engage in a bit of target practicing on Miss Marion's laundry is played to the hilt and the entire baby-sitting sequence is an eye-opener, to say the least. The scruffy-looking Gray makes a particularly fiendish villain in his B-Western debut and his climactic fight with Mack Brown is well-staged by director Albert Ray. Johnny Mack Brown was to make 16 low-budget but slightly off-beat Westerns for Supreme Pictures 1935-1937 before moving on to Universal. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Beth Marion, (more)
Stodgily directed by actor Russell Hopton, this low-budget oil-drilling melodrama was one of three action-adventures teaming boy actor Frankie Darro with B-Western villain LeRoy Mason, the latter changing his billing to "Roy Mason" for the occasion. Young master Darro plays Clifford Riley, nicknamed "Fishtail," whose father Dan (Frank Shannon) is killed when a rival, J.G. Anderson (Berton Churchill), sabotages his oil well. Enter geologist Hank Langford (Mason), who persuades "Fishtail" to hold on to the potentially valuable well. In retaliation, Anderson has Hank abducted, but the young geologist manages to escape. Learning that Anderson is planning to blow up the Riley well with nitroglycerin, the hero arrives just in time to rescue "Fishtail," but Anderson is killed in the ensuing explosion. The blast also causes the well to come in and both Hank and "Fishtail" emerge from the wreckage as millionaires. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, LeRoy Mason, (more)
- 1936
The Bold Caballero, Republic Pictures' first color film, was also the first talkie version of the "Zorro" legend (as originally set down by Johnston McCulley in The Curse of Capistrano). Robert Livingston essays the dual role of foppish Spanish-Californian aristocrat Don Diego, who when the necessity arises dons the mask and black cape of righter-of-wrongs Zorro. As usual, the Z-man spends his time defending the California peasantry from the wicked machinations of the corrupt, quasi-fascistic commandante (Sig Rumann), who has murdered the provincial governor and shifted the blame to Zorro. The film contains such marvelous set-pieces as Diego's advice to the leering commandante as to how to romance the fair Isabella (Heather Angel), and a bizarre "drag" scene in which the hero disguises himself as the heroine's duenna. Alas, current prints of The Bold Caballero are available only in black and white. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Heather Angel, (more)
- 1936
The first of nine Bill Carson Westerns produced by Sigmund Neufeld and starring the stalwart Tim McCoy, Lightnin' Bill Carson was the only entry released by Puritan Pictures. Lightnin' Bill is the marshal of Blue Gap, TX, who resigns to chase down "Breed" Hawkins (John Merton) and the "Pecos" Kid (Rex Lease), a couple of outlaws he earlier ran out of town. During a stagecoach robbery, Pecos witnesses Hawkins murder a deputy (Edmund Cobb) and flees to the house of his brother, "Silent" Tom Rand (Harry Worth). Bill discovers the body of Bates the deputy, and follows the trail to the Rand house where he arrests Pecos. Learning that the killer is really Hawkins, Bill fails to save Pecos from being hanged by the sheriff (Jack Rockwell). Avenging his brother's death, Rand kills both the sheriff and his posse, leaving a playing card on each corpse. Tom has saved the highest card for Bill, but confronted with the lawman, he realizes that vengeance is the sole responsibility of God and secretly empties his own gun before meeting Bill in a final shootout. McCoy made four additional non-Carson Westerns for Puritan before bringing his act to Neufeld's Victory Pictures and resuming the Bill Carson series. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Lois January, (more)
- 1936
Produced by low-budget company Supreme Pictures (which weren't), this middling B-western was saved somewhat by its personable star, the strapping former footballer Johnny Mack Brown. Mack plays Dan Doran, the rogue of the title, who rescues a pretty missionary, Tess (Phyllis Hume), from the ubiquitous runaway team. In town, Doran not only leaves the welfare of the girl to Stella, the saloon hostess (Lois January), but admits to having earlier robbed the stage. Sent up the river for 20 years, Dan makes the acquaintance of Jim Mitchell (George Ball), a fellow inmate, and the two make their escape together. Returning to the scene of the crime, Dan joins Jim's gang of stage robbers. The town's natty-looking banker, Lige Branscomb (Alden Chase aka Stephen Chase) is observed courting Tess, who now owns the Golden Nugget coffee shop. Dan, who is in reality an undercover G-man, has Stella rescue Tess from marrying the villainous Branscomb who, of course, is the secret leader of the gang of stage robbers. Leaving Tess to her coffee shop, Dan proposes to Stella, who accepts. Although already beginning to exhibit the middle-age spread that would mar his later appearances, Johnny Mack Brown once again proves that he was a better actor than most of his B- western rivals. The same cannot be said for Phyllis Hume, who plays the missionary girl with only one expression, bewilderment, and whose only film this seems to have been. Max Davidson, an old-fashioned "Dutch-style" comic who had been in films before Charles Chaplin and almost everyone else, appears briefly and for no apparent reason in order to perform a bit of timeworn shtick as a Jewish salesman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Lois January, (more)
Directed by producer Bernard B. Ray under his usual nom de cinema of Franklin Shamray, this mild B-Western features Tom Tyler and sidekick Eddie Gribbon befriending a ranger (Tom London), whose murder by a mysterious villain known as "The Rattler" they then seek to avenge. As Tyler and Gribbon learn, "The Rattler" is in the employ of nasty William Gould, who tries to frame Tom in the attack of prospector Jimmy Aubrey. But Tom manages to persuade the dead ranger's sister (Marion Shilling) of his innocence and the real culprit (Charles "Slim" Whitaker) is apprehended. According to some reports, this obscure Western was released without the all-important seal of approval by the Motion Picture Association of America and only played the hinterlands. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
In the fourth of 18 inexpensive Tom Tyler Westerns produced by Reliable Pictures and filmed on location in Newhall, California, Tom and his sidekick, Windy (Ben Corbett), are hired by John Baker's Bar X Ranch. Baker (Lafe McKee) offers a $1,000 reward to anyone who can capture "The Phantom," a wild stallion suspected of chasing a herd of mares through a hole in the Bar X fence. The real horse thief, however, is Bar X's unscrupulous neighbor, Mack Larkin (Dick Alexander), who is in cahoots with Baker's crooked foreman, Bert (Charles "Slim" Whitaker). Tom befriends "The Phantom" and is determined to prove the horse innocent. Despite the skepticism of Baker's pretty daughter, Helen (Alice Dahl), Tom and Windy set out to prove Larkin's guilt. Although sharing the same character name, "Windy," the rustic Corbett had little else in common with George Hayes (later nicknamed "Gabby"), the quintessential comic sidekick of "Hopalong Cassidy" series fame. A holdover from the silent era, Corbett was woefully unfunny and an amateurish actor to boot. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
In his first starring role, Gene Autry must perform daily on Radio Ranch or forfeit his contract. Meanwhile, local kids Frankie (Frankie Darro) and Betsy Baxter (Betsy Ross King) establish a group of Junior Thunder Riders to emulate a mysterious band of horsemen that seems to vanish into thin air. In reality, the real Thunder Riders disappear 25,000 ft. below the earth's surface to the "Scientific City of Murania," an underground empire lorded over by Queen Tika (Dorothy Christy), a blonde Amazonian who constantly compares her superior society with that of the pitiful world above. But Gene's broadcasts draw too many curious onlookers, among them Professor Beetson (J. Frank Glendon) and a group of crooked scientists who will stop at nothing, including murder, to get their hands on Murania's wealth of radium. While Queen Tika is busy preventing an insurrection lead by the evil Lord High Chancellor (Wheeler Oakman), the scientists do their level best to keep Gene from performing his daily broadcast, which includes such favorite Autry tunes as "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine" and "I'm Getting a Moon's Eye View of the World". Comic sidekicks Smiley Burnette and William Moore add to the overall fun with their rendition of I'm Oscar, I'm Pete" and other comical selections. The Phantom Empire has been credited with inspiring not only Republic Pictures' similar Undersea Kingdom (1936) but also Universal's superior Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials and was remade as part of the short-lived 1979 television series Cliffhangers. No less than two reedited feature versions of The Phantom Empire were released in 1940, Men With Steel Faces, distributed by Times Pictures, and Radio Ranch, distributed by Nat Levine and carrying the now defunct Mascot label. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1935
Harry Carey's western series for bottom-of-the-barrel Ajax Pictures were definitely a mixed bag, but some were pretty good, and Last of the Clintons was even better. Carey is cast in the William S. Hart mold as frontier detective Trigger Carson. With stoic determination, Carson takes on a gang of cattle rustlers headed by the monstrous Luke Todd (Earl Dwire). An interesting subplot involves the kidnapping of heroine Edith Elkins (Betty Mack), who manages to reform her abductor (Del Carson) before any harm can be done. Only in its haphazard story construction and occasionally fuzzy photography does Last of the Clintons betray its poverty-row origins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Carey, Betty Mack, (more)
- 1935
Silent Western star Harry Carey returned to his roots in this low-budget Western from Ajax Pictures. The strong silent type, Carey plays Cheyenne Kinkaid, a stranger claiming to be an outlaw on the run in order to infiltrate a gang lead by the notorious El Diablo (Theodore Lorch). At the villain's lair, Rustler's Paradise, Kinkaid discovers that a girl living there, Connie (Gertrude Messinger), is his long-lost daughter, who, years earlier, had been taken from him by his wife and her lover, Rance Kimball. Kimball, of course, is none other than El Diablo, and with the assistance of Larry Martin (Edmund Cobb) and his vaqueros, Kinkaid manages to catch the entire gang. El Diablo is brought back to Rustler's Paradise, where, tied up and threatened with being skinned alive, he confesses to having killed Kinkaid's wife. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Carey, Gertrude Messinger, (more)
- 1935
Former footballer Reb Russell stars in this very low-budget oater as Muley Benson, a young cowpoke unfairly accused of cattle rustling. After splitting the ear of his accuser, Flash Purdue (Kenneth MacDonald), Muley leaves the area only to be summoned five years later by lovely Sally Griswold (Mary Jane Carey). The Griswolds are being terrorized by a mystery man who, it turns out, is none other than Purdue seeking vengeance for the loss of his auricle. Filmed in 1934, Border Vengeance was produced by Willis Kent, an independent operator better known as a purveyor of cheap exploitation melodramas. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
In his second of 18 B-Westerns for poverty row company Reliable Pictures, strapping Tom Tyler comes to the aid of a Mexican rancher who is terrorized by a powerful neighbor (William Gould). Tyler's love for the evil neighbor's innocent niece (Lillian Gilmore) is sorely tested when the young cowboy's father is found murdered. The blonde Miss Gilmore also appeared that year opposite Reliable's other cowboy star, Jack Perrin, in Wolf Riders. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
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
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Cecilia Parker, (more)
- 1935
In this western, a wagon train is destroyed and all but two children, a brother and sister, are slaughtered. The sister is abducted by the Indians while the boy is raised by an Anglo family. He grows up with no memory of his sister. Now a young cowboy, he is called upon to attack an outlaw gang. When he learns that the gang leader is his renegade sister, he is most surprised. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Lucille Browne, (more)
Gene Autry's first starring Western, Tumbling Tumbleweeds sets the pace for the 98 or so Autry oaters to come. As he would for the remainder of his screen career with only one exception, Gene plays Gene Autry, cowboy troubadour, who, upon his return west with musical friends Smiley (Smiley Burnette) and Eightball (Eugene Jackson), not only learns that his father has been murdered but that his childhood friend, Harry Brooks (Cornelius Keefe), is the most likely suspect. Naturally, Harry proves innocent while the real culprit is once again to be found among the town's more notable citizens. Gene, Burnette, and the Sons of the Pioneers (one of whom is the screen debuting Leonard Slye, soon to become Roy Rogers) perform Bob Nolan's title tune, along with "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," by Gene Autry and Jimmy Long; "Ridin' Down the Canyon," by Autry and Smiley Burnette; and "Corn Fed and Rusty," by Burnette. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1935
Having allowed his name to be listed as "producer" of Gun Smoke, a low-budget Western actually produced by Willis Kent, rodeo star Montie Montana starred in this inexpensive oater, but without the phony producer credit. Originally intended for football star Reb Russell, Circle of Death featured Montana as Little Buffalo, an Indian whose sister, White Fawn (Princess Ah-Tee-Ha), is persecuted by the white settlers, in general, and crooked saloon keeper J.F. Henry (Henry Hall), in particular. Henry is out after Chief Standing Bear's secret gold, but the Indians find shelter at the ranch belonging to Bill Carr (John Ince). When Jerry Carr (Gaylord "Steve" Pendleton, here billed as "Jack Carson") sells the family's cattle to Henry, it is Little Buffalo and the Indians who bring the herd back. In gratitude, the Carrs help the tribe bring the villains to justice. Little Buffalo, meanwhile, has fallen in love with Mary Carr (Tove Lindan) and she with him. After Little Fawn reveals that Little Buffalo is really a white boy named Jim Little, the lone survivor of an Indian raid, the lovers are free to marry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Montie Montana, Tove Lindan, (more)
- 1935
Making his debut as Columbia Pictures' new cowboy hero -- replacing, incidentally, the aging Tim McCoy -- handsome Charles Starrett played Johnny Flagg, a roving cowboy who arrives in Oro Grande in the midst of a feud between ranchers and homesteader. Lead by the disreputable Bar Munro (Harry Woods), the ranchers are attempting to scare the settlers off valuable land leased from the government. Lovely Barbara McGrail, meanwhile, suspects Munro of murdering her father and enlists Johnny's help. When Cattlemen's Association foreman Harvey Campbell (Edward le saint) switches sides to support the settlers, Munro has him killed, framing Johnny for the crime.The latter, however, carries proof of his innocence and instead challenges Munro to a shootout. Munro draws but is too slow for Johnny who, victorious, asks for Barbara's hand in marriage. At 6"2' and sporting a white Steson, black shirt and flowing scarf -- a piece of silk reportedly "borrowed" from a nightgown Rita Hayworth had used in a film -- Starrett was an instant hit as a cowboy star and would go on to make an unprecedented 131 Westerns for Columbia, ending his long run with the studio with The Kid from Broken Gun in 1952. Starrett's first leading lady, Joan Perry, later married studio mogul Harry Cohn. Ostensibly based on a story by Peter B. Kyne, The Gallant Defender including two musical numbers -- Blue Skies Above and Covered Wagons -- written and performed by the Western music group The Sons of the Pioneers who, like Starrett, had recently signed with Columbia. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Joan Perry, (more)
- 1935
In this, his fourth Western for Republic Pictures, John Wayne plays John Middleton, a would-be rodeo rider forsaking his chance of winning the championship in favor of searching for an old family friend who is missing under mysterious circumstances. After carrying out a bit of undercover work with the help of the missing man's pretty niece, Ann Mason (Sheila Mannors), John is ready to join the local ranchers in their fight against unscrupulous banker Frank Carter, aka Butch Martin (Frank McGlynn, Jr.), who is trying to steal their gold rich land. As he had in his earlier Riders of Destiny (1933), John Wayne "sings" a couple of ditties, including "On the Banks of the Sunny San Juan", his unlikely baritone this time supplied by bit player Jack Kirk. Adding to the unusually high musical quotient is the harmony group The Wranglers performing "The Old Dusty Road", none of which makes anyone forget Gene Autry! ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Sheila Manners, (more)
- 1934
Produced by Bernard B. Ray and Harry S. Webb's small-scale Reliable Pictures, this low-budget Western starred former silent cowboy Jack Perrin as a cowboy searching for his missing partner. Jack, the Cactus Kid (Perrin), and Jimmie Kane (Fred Humes) have sold a catch of wild horses to a rancher. Returning with their earnings, Jimmie is killed by vicious Plug Perkins, an outlaw known as "Killer" (Charles "Slim" Whitaker), and his "half-breed" cohort, Cheyenne (Joe De La Cruz). Jack comes across Jimmie's belt-buckle and a piece of a harmonica known to belong to Cheyenne. Determined to find out what happened to his partner, the Cactus Kid tracks Plug and Cheyenne to their mountain hideout, where Cheyenne's broken harmonica proves that he is the killer. Prompted by his faithful horse, Starlight, Jack's fiancée Beth (Jayne Regan) arrives at the hideout. Dressed as the dead Jimmie, Beth manages to scare Cheyenne into a confession. Perrin also appeared in Reliable's "Bud'n Ben" series of Western short subjects. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
