Frank Yaconelli Movies

For his first feature-film appearance in two years, comedian Bert Wheeler (of Wheeler & Woolsey fame) teamed up with bandleader Phil Regan. The story gets under way when a quartet of vaudevillians-Bill Stevens (Regan), Stu Grant (Wheeler) and Norma and Mildred Jennings (Constance Moore, Lillian Cornell) show up in Vegas with nary a cent between them. Norma manages to win big at a gambling joint, whereupon the money is put in Stu's care. Alas, Stu makes a beeline to the gaming tables, where he manages to lose all. The winsome foursome is saved from utter ruin by a real estate operator who happens to be the father of one of the protagonists. Even Bert Wheeler admitted that Las Vegas Nights was a bomb, noting on "a picture like that can come back and haunt you." Still, it holds some historical value as the film that introduced Frank Sinatra, here appearing as the uncredited vocalist for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The last of 22 Monogram Westerns starring Jack Randall, Wild Horse Range was no worse -- nor any better -- than the previous series entries. Randall and his sidekick Manny (Frank Yaconelli) played horse traders battling a greedy and unscrupulous rival (Tom London). When some of his stock disappears, Jack follows the trail to a ranch belonging to Harriet Morgan (Marin Sais) and her young niece, Ann (Phyllis Ruth). A white stallion is accused of luring the Morgan mares astray but the horses are in reality being rustled by the ever-present London and his henchman (Charles King). After a final shootout, London and King are carted off to jail and Jack can begin planning a future with Ann. The brother of B-Western star Robert Livingston, Jack Randall had begun his screen career in the 1930s as Addison Randall. Following his four-year stint with Monogram, he changed his billing to Allan Byron for a while, but was Addison Randall once again when killed in a riding accident on the set of the serial The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The first of six Jack Randall Westerns directed by Monogram studio hack Raymond K. Johnson, The Cheyenne Kid presented the handsome but ineffective Randall as the title character, a gambler turned ranch foreman. Cheyenne quickly earns the enmity of Baker (Reed Howes), a fellow gambler who does his best to prevent the newcomer from buying a herd of cattle from Ruth Adams (Louise Stanley) and her brother, Chet (Kenne Duncan). The latter owes Baker a large gambling debt and Baker has designs on the Adams' Lazy A Ranch. Aided by sidekicks Manuel (Frank Yaconelli) and Farnum (Edward Brady), Cheyenne sets a trap for Baker who is soon arrested by the sheriff (Forrest Taylor). The rotund Yaconelli, perhaps the best of Randall's varying sidekicks, returned to the series after a two-picture absence, as did Louise Stanley, Randall's wife in real life. It didn't much matter; the Randall series as well as Randall himself were headed for oblivion. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This is perhaps the best of the many Zorro films as Tyrone Power gives an outstanding performance as the alternately swishing and swashbuckling son of a 19th century California aristocrat. As a champion of the oppressed, Zorro must face a wicked governor portrayed by J. Edward Bromberg, who, of course, has a beautiful niece whom our hero loves. Basil Rathbone is a delightfully evil assistant to the governor. Based on Johnston McCulley's novel The Curse of Capistrano, The Mark of Zorro was a remake of the 1921 silent film and by far superior to all the Zorro incarnations. Interspersed with humor and one-liners but still keeping up with the highest of swashbuckling traditions, it is an action-packed story of one man standing against a corrupt, oppressive government on behalf of those less able to bear their burdens. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

The best thing about the Jack Randall Western Pioneer Days is its short-and-sweet running time, a brisk 50 minutes. Randall plays Dunham, a wandering cavalier who comes to the aid of frontier heiress Mary (June Wilkins). The girl's legacy is half-ownership of a prosperous saloon, the other half controlled by hissable villain Slater (Ted Adams). With the help of no less than two comic sidekicks (Frank Yaconelli and Nelson McDowell), Dunham cuts the villain down to size. Surprisingly, the film's funniest performance is delivered by frog-faced Western heavy Rychard Cramer, here cast as a bartender who fancies himself a cardsharp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As in his previous two Westerns, Mexicali Kid and Wild Horse Canyon (both 1938), Jack Randall goes in search of his brother's killer in this low-budget series entry from Monogram. All three films were penned by line producer Robert Emmett Tansey, but the economy in both thought and deed was alarming even for a threadbare outfit such as Monogram. Randall played the title role in Trigger Smith, a former lawman whose brother, the Marshal of Piru, is killed during a bank heist. Trigger and his sidekick, Lopez (rotund Frank Yaconelli), obtain jobs as hands at a ranch belonging to Jean (Joyce Bryant) and her brothers, Buck (juvenile trick roper Bobby Clark) and Bud (Dennis Moore). The latter proves to be in cahoots with the bank robbers, but is killed in the climactic melee. Moore must have been able to portray this character in his sleep; it was identical to the one he had played in the previous Randall entry, Wild Horse Canyon, even down to heroically taking a bullet meant for Jack. The last scene of the film was lifted almost intact from Randall's debut Western, Riders of the Dawn (1937). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Having explored the old wheeze about the young man searching for his brother's killer and the one about the cowboy impersonating an outlaw, Robert Emmett Tansey, the producer/writer of Monogram's Jack Randall Westerns, turned to the ever popular "brothers separated during an attack of their wagon train" story. Fortunately, this time around director Spencer Gordon Bennet and his cast traveled to picturesque Lone Pine, CA, and Across the Plains emerged as one of Randall's better vehicles. After a gang of outlaws attack their wagon train, Little Jack (Buddy Cox) is adopted by a roving band of Indians while Little Jimmy (Texi-Ray Cox) is abducted by the outlaws. Years later, the adult Jack (now Jack Randall) and Jimmy (Dennis Moore) meet again but on opposing sides of the law regarding a shipment of gold. Ignorant of the fact that they are brothers, Jack and Jimmy are about to square off when Buckskin (Hal Price), the old wagon master, brings their true relationship to light. Jimmy, now an outlaw known as the Kansas Kid, discovers that a member of his gang, Buff (Robert Card), is the villain who murdered their parents. Mortally wounded in the ensuing battle, Jimmy, alias the Kid, meets his maker with the knowledge that the death of his parents has been avenged at last. Jack, meanwhile, proposes to Mary Masters (Joyce Bryant), the daughter of the stage line owner. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

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

In this adaptation of the operetta by Rudolf Friml, secret agent Nina Maria Azara (Jeannette MacDonald) is working undercover for the King of Spain as a singer known as the "Mosca del Fuego" or "Firefly." Her mission is to uncover Napoleon's plot to invade Spain before it is too late. This film features a variety of songs including "Donkey Serenade," "Love Is Like a Firefly," " and "When a Maid Comes Knocking At Your Heart." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Johnny Mack Brown makes his third movie-serial starring appearance in the 13-chapter Wild West Days. Brown is cast as Kentucky Wade, who with the help of pals Trigger (Bob Kortman) and Mike (Frank Yaconelli) tries to protect Larry and Lucy Monroe (Frank McGlynn Jr., Lynn Gilbert) from harm. Larry owns a hidden gold mine, which villainous newspaper editor Matt Keeler (Russell Simpson) dearly covets. Framed for murder, Larry is thrown in jail, but Kentucky and company help him escape. Keeler dispatches his Indian cohort Red Hatchet (Chief Thunderbird) to knock off all the good guys (including good girl Lucy), and the plot takes off from there. Generous stock footage from the Universal vaults helps to make Wild West Days seem a lot more expensive than it really is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arguably the best of Hoot Gibson's six Westerns for small-scale producer Walter Futter's Diversion Pictures, Lucky Terror once again presents the veteran star as a carefree drifter falsely accused of murder. This time, the victim is Jim Thornton (George Chesebro), a thief whose pockets are filled with gold. Arrested by the rotund sheriff (Robert Mckenzie), Lucky (Gibson) is defended in court by none other than Charles King, the veteran Bad Guy here playing an alcoholic shyster. King judicial advise to Lucky is to simply flee, which is exactly what our hero does. In the end, Thornton's death is declared an accident and Lucky catches the villains who had been terrorizing Lona Andre's Bonanza gold-mine. Comedy relief is this time provided by veteran silent screen actor Charles Hill Mailes (here billed simply "Charles Hill") as a traveling medicine show proprietor, and Frank Yaconelli as an Italian musician. Like most members of the cast, director Alan James also belonged to the silent era, where he had been billed under his real name, Alvin J. Neitz. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The penultimate Bill Cody Western in a series of nine produced by Gower Gulch company Spectrum Pictures, Blazing Justice featured its weatherbeaten star as a lawman mistaken for an outlaw by pretty Gertrude Messinger. Naturally, the real culprit is the very man Cody was trailing in the first place. Whew the girl's father (Budd Buster) is found murdered, Cody becomes an obvious suspect but a $10,000 insurance settlement eventually lures the real killer (Gordon Griffith) into a trap. A holdover from the silent era, Cody cut a rather dismal figure at this point in his career and was beaten not once but twice by villain Griffith in Blazing Justice. Producer Ray Kirkwood announced in late 1935 that Cody would nevertheless star in a second series for Spectrum, but following Outlaws of the Range (1936) the veteran performer found himself replaced with crooner Fred Scott. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide