Carleton Young Movies
There was always something slightly sinister about American actor Carleton G. Young that prevented him from traditional leading man roles. Young always seemed to be hiding something, to be looking over his shoulder, or to be poised to head for the border; as such, he was perfectly cast in such roles as the youthful dope peddler in the 1936 camp classic Reefer Madness. Even when playing a relatively sympathetic role, Young appeared capable of going off the deep end at any minute, vide his performance in the 1937 serial Dick Tracy as Tracy's brainwashed younger brother. During the 1940s and 1950s, Young was quite active in radio, where he was allowed to play such heroic leading roles as Ellery Queen and the Count of Monte Cristo without his furtive facial expressions working against him. As he matured into a greying character actor, Young became a special favorite of director John Ford, appearing in several of Ford's films of the 1950s and 1960s. In 1962's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, it is Young, in the small role of a reporter, who utters the unforgettable valediction "This is the west, sir. When the legend becomes fact...print the legend." Carleton G. Young was the father of actor Tony Young, who starred in the short-lived 1961 TV Western Gunslinger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This unabashed propaganda film (also known by the title Tell Your Children, a dead giveaway) has become a cult classic of comically bad cinema due to its dated, alarmist views on the dangers of "marijuana addiction" and the exaggerated symptoms thereof. After the onscreen prologue that declares "Something must be done to wipe out this ghastly menace," Reefer Madness launches into a case study of clean-cut WASP couple Bill (Kenneth Craig) and Mary (Dorothy Short), high schoolers who play tennis and drink tea on the back porch. Their friend Jimmy (Warren McCollum) introduces them to a pot dealer named Jack (Carleton Young), who invites Bill up to his den of inequity, where stoned ne'er-do-wells laugh fiendishly, dance, and play the piano. After one joint, Bill is hooked, and his life begins to plummet down the tubes -- he starts flunking school and becomes a promiscuous regular in Jack's apartment. When a worried Mary tracks Bill down, she too is given a joint and begins giggling uncontrollably while being aggressively fondled by the bizarre addict Ralph (Dave "Tex" O'Brien). When Bill bursts out of the bedroom to tangle with Ralph, hallucinating and blacking out, Mary is accidentally shot. This prompts a string of guilt and calamitous occurrences, including several more deaths and courtroom sentences to mental institutions, all because of the devil weed. The film ends with the ominous warning, "The dread marijuana may be reaching forth next for your son or daughter...or yours...or YOURS!" ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Gene Autry leaves the West behind (at least temporarily) in Roundup Time in Texas. Hired to deliver a herd of horses to his diamond-mining brother, Autry and his sidekick Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) journey all the way to Africa. Hoping to get rid of the Autry boys and move in on the diamonds themselves, the villains frame Autry on a smuggling and murder charge. It's up to heroine Gwen (Maxine Doyle), the daughter of the murder victim, to clear Gene and place the blame where it belongs. Musical support is provided by the Five Cabin Kids, a quintet of talented black youngsters who previously appeared with Our Gang and W.C. Fields. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1937
Chester Gould's jut-jawed plainclothesman Dick Tracy first came to the screen in this 15-chapter Republic serial. Ralph Byrd stars as Tracy, a role which both brought him fame and typecast him for life. For the purposes of cliffhanging suspense, the Republic writing staff altered the Tracy "mythos" as set forth in Gould's daily comic strip. As the serial begins, Dick's brother Gordon (Richard Beach) is being controlled by a criminal genius known as "The Spider." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Byrd
In his third of four action serials, horror star Bela Lugosi played Boroff, an internationally notorious fiend who's attempting to pawn off his deadly invention, a disintegrating gas, to the highest bidder. Before the gas can be manufactured, however, Boroff must go in search of certain hard to come by ingredients and the villain is thwarted at every step by US coastguard agent Terry Kent (Ralph Byrd and crusading newspaper woman Jean Norman (Maxine Doyle. In the serial's 12th and final chapter, "The Deadly Circle," Boroff is finally destroyed by his own invention, civilization thus saved for Democracy. Down on his luck by 1937, Lugosi could only watch as Republic Pictures' screenwriters Barry Shipman and Franklyn Adreon wickedly named his character "Boroff," an obvious reference to Lugosi-rival Boris Karloff. S. O. S. Coastguard nevertheless emerged as one of the Hungarian star's better vehicles, in no small measure due to its vigorous hero, Ralph Byrd, a handsome actor perhaps better remembered from Republic's Dick Tracy serials. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Byrd, Bela Lugosi, (more)
- 1937
This service comedy from the Republic Studio mills was perhaps the most aggressively titled of the "Marine Corps" film cycle of the mid-1930s (Come on Leathernecks, Pride of the Marines et. al.) Paul Kelly plays Phil Donlan, a pugnacious ex-cop and ex-Olympic athlete who is run out of New York in disgrace after falsely being accused of drunkenness. The innocent cause of Donlan's woes is pretty Paula Denbrough (June Travis), daughter of a Marine colonel (Purnell Pratt). To ingratiate himself with Paula -- and incidentally, to restore his reputation -- Donlan joins the Corps, where after a grueling training period he earns a commission. Offered a chance to return to the New York police force, Donlan gives it up to re-enlist, and Paula couldn't be happier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, June Travis, (more)
- 1937
Hoping to ape the success of Sol Lesser's Bobby Breen musicals, Republic Pictures fashioned Dangerous Holiday as a movie vehicle for pint-sized violin prodigy Ra Hould. The star is appropriately cast as preteen violin virtuoso Ronnie Campbell who is so coddled and protected by his family and handlers that he never has a chance to be a "real boy." When he can stand no more, Ronnie runs away from home, whereupon everyone -- including the cops -- assume that the boy has been kidnapped. Meanwhile, Ronnie, together with his new street-urchin friends, stumbles upon a gangster hideaway. In time-honored "Our Gang" fashion, the kids outwit the crooks, whereupon Ronnie's mom and dad promise to give him more freedom of movement in the future. Billed second after Ra Hould is matronly actress Hedda Hopper, who within a year would become one of Hollywood's most powerful (and feared) gossip columnists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ra Hould, Hedda Hopper, (more)
- 1937
In this tuneful programmer a singer, believing that her husband, a Marine pilot accused of treason, has died in the Pacific, takes a job singing in Shanghai. There she see spies a certain handsome dancer in the club show who looks exactly like her late spouse. The resemblance is too uncanny for him to be anyone else. Surmising that he has amnesia, the singer decides she must somehow get him back and prove his innocence. But this is easier said than done as she soon discovers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phil Regan, Evelyn Venable, (more)
The Man Betrayed in this Republic actioner is hero Eddie Nugent, though this doesn't occur until the film is half over. Framed for a murder he didn't commit, Nugent finds support from an unlikely corner: a group of crooks, led by John Wray, set about to prove the boy's innocence. All of this meets with the benign approval of clergyman Lloyd Hughes, whose beatific good influence turns out to be contagious. Evidently intended to be longer than its present 58 minutes, Man Betrayed contains several gaping plot and continuity holes, the result of what seems to have been ruthless wholesale editing. The film makes even less sense on TV, where it was pared down to 53 minutes -- and then, to accommodate extra commercials, was whittled down further to 48 minutes (whew)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Nugent, Kay Hughes, (more)
- 1937
In this crime drama, a newly deputized state trooper gets killed on his very first day. His younger brother, desiring to follow in his brother's footsteps swears vengeance. His sister's fiance helps him find the gangsters who did the killing. They find them and then trick the crooks into entering a boarding house where they claim gold is hidden. There the heroes discover that the crime boss is a crippled boarder who lives there. Just when it looks like curtains for the heroes, the cops arrive and bring the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, (more)
- 1937
Gene Autry gets into a heated fight with an oil company in this very tuneful early entry in the Autry oeuvre, restored in 2001 under the auspices of Gene Autry Entertainment. Gene, who believes the oil wells will pollute the grazing land, is feuding with broadcaster Doris Maxwell (Judith Allen), whose banker father (William Farnum) has embezzled $25,000 to fund a local drilling project. Our hero, however, changes his mind when news arrives of a railroad to be built if and when the well comes in. He also discovers that George Wilkins (Weldon Heyburn), the oil-drilling superintendent, has framed old man Maxwell and is now claiming the well to be dry in order to take over the operation himself. In addition to Harris Heyman and Snyde Miller's title tune and Jean Schwartz and William Jerome's "Chinatown My Chinatown, Git Along Little Dogie includes a sing-along of such standard melodies as "Red River Valley" and She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain", complete with on-screen lyrics for audience participation. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1937
A travelling circus provides the background for this "Three Mesquiteers" western. One of the circus owners is a counterfeiter, who when he's caught with the goods shifts the blame to his partner. Our three heroes Stoney (Robert Livingston), Tucson (Ray "Crash" Corrigan) and Lullaby (Max Terhune), an old friend of the falsely accused partner, combine their skills to spring their pal out of the calaboose. Meanwhile, Stoney pitches woo at heroine Mary (Maxine Doyle) -- who almost manages to march the hapless fellow down the aisle. An average "Mesquiteers" entry, Come On, Cowboy is still superior to practically any other "B" western of the period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
- 1937
A tough sailor bets his pals that he can win the love of a prissy librarian and so masquerades as a candidate for the Naval Academy to catch her eye. Unfortunately for him, she is not so easily fooled. He immediately changes his story and "admits" that he is actually a Navy spy. Enemy spies, who have come to assassinate a visiting ambassador, over hear this and kidnap both the sailor and the librarian. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Purcell, Mary Brian, (more)
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)
- 1938
The United States Marine Corps. became the focus of this typical Republic Pictures serial directed by two of the best in the business, William Witney and John English. The villain was yet another cloaked figure -- this time an inventor whose contribution to mankind was a weapon capable of discharging huge amounts of electricity from an airplane -- known only as "The Lightning." A group of alarmed scientists attempt to develop a countermeasure to the diabolical machine, and the government assigns a couple of marine lieutenants (Lee Powell and Herman Brix) to track down the master criminal. Both relative newcomers, Powell and Brix also co-starred in the year's most popular serial, The Lone Ranger. The former, sadly, lost his life in World War II, while Brix later signed with Warner Bros. and became a well-known second-lead under the name Bruce Bennett. To keep the audience guessing, Witney and English cast Lester Dorr as "The Lightning" when in costume and had Edwin Stanley furnishing his voice. Hugh Sothern played the villain's alter ego, the seemingly upstanding Ben Warfield. Fighting Devil Dogs was also released in an edited feature version, The Torpedo of Doom. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Powell, Herman Brix, (more)
- 1938
Hopalong Cassidy gallops to the rescue once again in this seventh entry in the long-running series. This time the trouble begins when bad-guys begin harassing the townsfolk. In desperation, Hoppy's former gal sends him a plea for help. With guns a-blazing, he gets there just in time to round 'em up and throw 'em in the hoosegow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Russell Hayden, (more)
- 1938
In this entry in the long-running series of westerns, the Three Mesquiteers transform their ranch into a prison farm to provide a model for prison reform. They are opposed by a local contractor who wants to build a standard prison. He and his colleagues endeavor to destroy the ranch, but they are thwarted by the daring trio. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
- 1938
Singing cowboy Bob Baker dispenses plenty of Prairie Justice in this 58-minute western. When his father is bushwacked and murdered, Baker vows to bring the mysterious assailants to justice. Posing as an irresponsible drifter, our hero slowly and methodically gathers clues as to the identity of the killers. After five reels of comparative inactivity, he goes after the baddies with both barrels in Reel Six. Dorothy Fay, later the wife of Baker's fellow cowboy troubadour Tex Ritter, is the heroine. The script for Prairie Justice was written by Joseph West, a pseudonym for director George Waggner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Baker, Dorothy Fay, (more)
Gang Bullets was one of a myriad of late-1930s Monogram crime pictures, bearing such interchangable titles as I Am a Criminal, Convict's Code and Federal Bullets. Morgan Wallace plays a Capone-like racketeer named Anderson, who after being chased out of one town by the authorities immediately sets up shop in another. Unable to get any tangible evidence against Anderson, DA Wayne (Charles Trowbridge) orders his assistant Carter (Robert Kent) to dig up some dirt on the gangster boss. To do this, Carter pretends to turned crooked, joining Anderson's gang in order to accumulate evidence. Alas, Carter's girl friend Patricia (Anne Nagel) knows nothing of her boyfriend's subterfuge, and she suspects the worst. With such formidable henchmen as John Merton and Carleton Young at his beck and call, it's something of a surprise when Anderson comes a-cropper in the last reel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Nagel, Robert Kent, (more)
- 1938
Singing cowboy Bob Baker starred in this average music western as a cavalry officer assigned to investigate the murders of several Pony Express riders. Going undercover as Pony Express riders themselves, Captain Bob Bradley and his sidekick Andy Sharpe (Don Barclay) arrive at the Ricardo Ranchero to purchase horses for the Express. Don Ricardo's neighbor Don Diego (Julian Rivero) is killed after filing a grant with the United States Land Office in Placita, and Bob begins to suspect a connection between the Pony Express killings and the Spanish land grants. Don Ricardo (Martin Garralaga) is the next obvious victim and, sure enough, shortly after the dignified rancher files his claim, the rider assigned to deliver it to Placerita is found murdered. Realizing that Don Ricardo is in danger from a gang of outlaws plotting to take over all the valley's ranches, Bob forms a posse with the surviving riders and arrives at the Ricardo ranchero just in time to save the don and his pretty daughter, Loreta (Cecilia Callejo) from the marauding thieves. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Baker, Cecilia Callejo, (more)
- 1938
Directed by Universal hack George WaGGner (yes, he insisted on being billed this strange way), Guilty Trails was the fifth of 12 Bob Baker singing Westerns produced by Universal from 1937 to 1939. Baker played Bob Higgins, a lawman who hangs up his badge after shooting Dan Lawson (Forrest Taylor), the suspect in a bank robbery. He later takes a job on the Lazy D Ranch, where he falls in love with the new owner, Jackie (Marjorie Reynolds). The girl proves to be Dan Lawson's daughter and leaves him after learning of his true identity. Bob, meanwhile, has discovered that the real culprit of both the bank heist and old man Lawson's murder is none other than banker Brad Eason (Jack Rockwell) himself. Eason attempts to flee with his loot but is caught by Bob, who is reunited with Jackie. Although general purpose Western player Hal Taliaferro (formerly Wally Wales) made a surprisingly effective comic sidekick and Marjorie Reynolds a fetching heroine, Guilty Trails suffered from Baker's complete lack of charisma. Such songs as "The Song of the Trail," "There's a Ring Around the Moon," and "Give Me a Home on the Prairie" (all by regular Baker contributor Fleming Allan) did nothing to endear the star to his target audience, the small fry, and by 1939 he was reduced to playing second fiddle to Johnny Mack Brown. Guilty Trails was written by director WaGGner under the pseudonym of "Joseph West." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Baker, Marjorie Reynolds, (more)
- 1938
An enjoyably silly Gene Autry romp, this music Western had an early ecological message: Horse-power instead of tractors. Or at least tractors manufactured by greedy Thornton Farming Equipment. Having lost his horse-trading business to Thornton (Ivan Miller), Autry signs with Helen Valkis' local Grainville radio station. But unbeknownst to the singer, the program is sponsored by none other than Thornton, and when the farmers cannot live up to the greedy manufacturer's finance plan, they blame Autry. In typical Autry style, Autry not only bests Thornton on the business front, but also receives more attention at the local fair than the Thornton-sponsored Big City entertainment. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1939
Tim McCoy is back as hard-ridin' Lighting Bill Carson in Victory Pictures' Trigger Fingers. When rustlers invade a peaceful frontier community, troubleshooter Carson is summoned to throw the rascals out. Once more indulging his penchant for disguise, our hero dresses up as a gypsy fortune-teller, complete with earring and gloriously awful mittel-European accent. Also cloaked in gypsy garb is Carson's comic assistant Magpie (Ben Corbett), whose makeup wouldn't convince a nearsighted cow. No matter: all lapses in logic are forgotten during the action-filled climax. Trigger Fingers represents one of the first film appearances by perennial B-flick heroine Joyce Bryant, who managed to survive ten years' worth of this sort of thing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Ben Corbett, (more)
- 1939
Metropolitan Pictures' Port of Hate was directed by one of the studio's two chief executives, Harry S. Webb (the other, Albert Ray, was presumably busy on the company's Bob Steele western series). The story takes place on a faraway island (probably nearby Catalina), where soldiers of fortune Bob (Kenneth Harlan) and Don (Carleton Young) have located a valuable bed of pearls. A secondary plotline involves heroine Jerry Gale (Polly Ann Young, sister of Loretta), who is innocently involved in a murder. One of the more important roles is essayed by oriental actor Shia Jung, who earned the film's best reviews. Also featured are such silent-film veterans as Monte Blue, Jimmy Aubrey and Reed Howes, all of them hampered by shoddy cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Polly Ann Young, Kenneth Harlan, (more)
- 1939
Thanks to a practical joker, hotshot radio newscaster Steve (Kent Taylor) announces that prominent financier Pomeroy (Morgan Conway) has been convicted of murder. When it turns out that Pomeroy has been acquitted, Steve, his radio station and the newspaper that owns it are slapped with libel suits. It's up to Steve and his reporter friends Maggie (Linda Hayes) and Smiley (Richard Lane) to figure a way out of the mess. Putting their heads together, the threesome tries to solve the murder case themselves, leading to the usual surprise denoument. Fans of the Charlie Chan films will get a kick out of watching "Number One Son" Keye Luke doing a series of celebrity impersonations! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kent Taylor, Linda Hayes, (more)
