Harry Joe Brown Movies

This sequel to the classic adventure, stars Sean Flynn, the son of the swashbuckling actor who played Captain Blood in the original. In this version, the son of the notorious pirate is raised by his mother. She wants him to be a doctor, but unfortunately, the lad has salt-water in his veins and adventure in his heart; he longs to sail the high seas of his father. Eventually the mother gives in, and young Blood joins a crew. There he finds himself falling in love with a pretty passenger. Trouble ensues when a wicked pirate attempts to forcibly board the ship. He soon discovers that the old villain was one of his father's worst enemies. Adventurous mayhem ensues. After the ocean-going outlaws are defeated, the good sailors race homeward to warn the people of an impending tidal wave. They succeed and end up hailed as heroes. The young Blood then decides that he has had enough of the sea-faring life and decides to become a humble doctor after all. The lovely female passenger remains by his side. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This is one of several solid B-grade Westerns produced at the height of the genre's popularity in the '50s by the partnership of director Budd Boetticher, star Randolph Scott, and writer Burt Kennedy. Scott stars as Ben Brigade, a taciturn bounty hunter who captures wanted murderer Billy John (James Best) and heads for Santa Cruz, where a reward awaits Brigade and a rope most likely awaits the killer. There's more to Brigade than meets the eye, however; his actual quarry is Frank (Lee Van Cleef), his prisoner's brother and the man who killed Brigade's wife. At a trading post where Brigade and his prisoner have stopped, Indians attack. The bounty hunter saves the life of Mrs. Lane (Karen Steele), wife of the post's deceased manager. Lane decides to accompany her rescuer to Santa Cruz, so Brigade, counting on a showdown with Frank, hires outlaws Sam and Whit (Pernell Roberts and James Coburn) for protection on the duration of the journey. During the trip, Sam and Whit discuss betraying Brigade and turning in Billy John themselves for a reward and pardon. Coburn made his screen debut with the film. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Two years before Hitchcock terrified audiences with the shower scene from Psycho, audiences recoiled at the shower scene in this dark and decidedly twisted psychological thriller. The tale of terror centers on an exotic dancer (Anita Ekberg) who is terrorized by a knife-wielding homicidal maniac. She is cut up but not seriously hurt as her step brother bursts into the bathroom and shoots the killer before he finishes. Unfortunately, the slasher escapes. Time passes, and while the physical wounds, heal, the psychic wounds continue to haunt the poor dancer, who must go to a psychiatrist for help. When a reporter hears about the case, he suspects the work of a serial killer and starts investigating. He finds that each of the killer's victims are given a horrifying sculpture of a woman screaming. Meanwhile, the girl's doctor finds himself falling in love with her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Decision at Sundown was one of several felicitous collaborations between star Randolph Scott and director Budd Boetticher. Scott plays a flint-eyed gunman who rides into a sleepy town to drive out local tough guy John Carroll by sundown. Scott is motivated not by justice but by revenge; years earlier, Carroll had stolen Scott's wife. The woman subsequently killed herself, and the fact that she had left Scott willingly is torturing both men, each of whom feels partially responsible for her death. As sundown approaches, the "angst" suffered by both hero and villain spreads to the rest of the townspeople, who do a lot of soul-searching while waiting for the final confrontation. Decision at Sundown truly lives up to the label "psychological western". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though the film's title may suggest otherwise, Seventh Cavalry takes place after Custer's Last Stand. Randolph Scott stars as Cavalry officer Tom Benson, who is branded a coward after supposedly deserting at the Little Big Horn. Benson hopes to redeem himself by personally leading a burial detail to the battlefield, despite the fact that the Indians haven't exactly left the premises. The excitement level in the closing reels more than justifies the slow, steady buildup to the finale. Innovative direction by the reliable Joseph H. Lewis enlivens this verbose western. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Three Hours to Kill is a "message" Western that manages to entertain without preaching. Jim Guthrie (Dana Andrews), unjustly accused of murder, is forced out of town by an angry mob. After several tough years living off the land, Guthrie returns to clear his name. Fearing that Guthrie is out for blood, the townsfolk arrange a "necktie party." The one person who might show some compassion is ex-fiancée Laurie Mastin (Donna Reed), who'd been left pregnant by Guthrie and had married another man on the rebound. But Laurie's brother was the murder victim, so she's just as determined to rid the world of Guthrie as everyone else. With the help of sympathetic Chris Plumber (Dianne Foster), Guthrie traps the real murderer. The mentality of mob rule is exposed for all its ugliness in Three Hours to Kill, ironic in that real-life Hollywood had been governed by mob pressure to enforce the Blacklist during the same period. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Randolph Scott makes his 3-D debut in the stereoscopic western Stranger Wore a Gun. This time, Scott plays Jeff Travis, a former spy for Quantrill's Raiders. When he heads to Arizona to start life anew, Travis finds that his reputation has preceded him: crooked Jules Mourret (George Macready) hires him to monitor a series of gold shipments, in preparation for a major robbery. Eventually, Travis falls in love with Shelby Conroy (Joan Weldon), daughter of freight-line operator Jason Conroy (Pierre Watkin), and decides to turn honest. That won't be easy: in addition to the surly Mourret, Travis must deal with such formidable movie heavies as Alfonso Bedoya, Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. Also on hand is Claire Trevor, in a soft-pedalled variation of her role in John Ford's Stagecoach. Stranger Wore a Gun was directed by Andre DeToth, whose previous foray into 3D had been the box-office smash House of Wax. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This above-average Louis Hayward swashbuckler was sumptuously produced by Columbia's resident western specialist Harry Joe Brown. Adapted from Rafael Sabatini's Captain Blood Returns, the film stars Hayward as physician-turned-buccaneer Peter Blood. Now respectably retired in the West Indies, Blood is shaken out of his complacency when he is accused of returning to piracy. Given a chance to clear his name, Blood reassembles his old crew to track down the villain who's pilfered his good name. The excellent cast includes John Sutton, George Givot, Ted de Corsia, and, in larger roles than usual, Charles Irwin and Rex Evans. And what would a Columbia pirate picture be without leading lady Patricia Medina? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rancher Randolph Scott rides right into a romantic triangle in this moody western. He is forced to stand by as his mercenary girl friend (Joan Leslie) is lured away by a wealthy neighboring rancher (Alexander Knox). When the neighbor is killed, Scott is accused of the murder, and spends the balance of the film clearing himself. After a blood-spattered fistfight with a gunslinger (John Russell) and several gun battles, Scott consoles himself with schoolteacher Ellen Drew. Based on a novel by Ernest Haycox, Man in the Saddle was the first of the lucrative collaborations between star Randolph Scott and producer Harry Joe Brown. The film's title song is sung over the credits by Tennessee Ernie Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The creative team of producer Harry Joe Brown and star Randolph Scott turned out some of the best westerns of the 1950s, and Santa Fe is no exception. Set in the years following the Civil War, the film casts Scott as Britt Canfield, one of four ex-Confederate brothers who head West to carve out a new life. While his three siblings (Jerome Courtland, Peter Thompson and John Archer) cast their lot on the wrong side of the law, Britt accepts a job with the Santa Fe Railroad. Inevitably, Britt is obliged to bring his wayward brothers to justice, though he knows full well that the person responsible for their downfall is "untouchable" gambling boss Cole Sanders (Roy Roberts). In a well-staged climax, Britt squares accounts with the evil Sanders and his hulking henchman Crake (Jock O'Mahoney). Curiously, many TV prints of Santa Fe were processed with the soundtrack slightly out of sync with the action. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rod Cameron and Wayne Morris star as Civil War officers who become federal agents. The duo is sent west to investigate a series of stage hijackings. The criminals tend to bypass gold and valuables, and are seemingly interested only in the weapons carried on these coaches. It turns out that the hijackers are secret secessionists, hoping to achieve victory for the Southern cause. Stage to Tucson manages to pack a passel of thrills into its 82 minutes, compensating for the film's paucity of plot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Randolph Scott both co-produced and starred in this above average Western chronicling the career of one of the last of the legendary Western outlaws. When the Dalton gang is ambushed by U.S. Marshals, Bill Doolin (Scott), the last surviving member, forms his own group of bank robbers that includes Red Buck (Frank Fenton), Arkansas Tom Jones (Charles Kemper), and Bitter Creek (John Ireland). Although the gang is widely successful, things quickly heat up to a point where Doolin advises his men to lay low before reuniting after three months. Hiding out in a church in Claymore, Doolin is befriended by Deacon Burton (Griff Barnett), whose daughter, Elaine (Virginia Huston), he begins to court and eventually marries under the alias of Daley. But the past catches up with the former outlaw soon enough and he is forced to skip town. Resuming their illegal occupation, the Doolin gang is finally cornered in Ingalls, where Tulsa (Jock Mahoney) is killed and Arkansas captured. Doolin and surviving gang member Little Billy (Noah Beery Jr.) hide out at the former Daley homestead, where, to their surprise, Elaine has been patiently waiting for the return of her husband. Determined to leave his old life for good, Doolin plans to flee with Elaine to an unclaimed area between Kansas and Texas, but an old foe, Marshal Sam Hughes (George Macready), is waiting in the wings. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi