Everett Carter Movies

It's always a pleasure to see ace western director Leslie Selander in action, and Riders of Vengeance is no exception. Originally released as The Raiders, this Universal programmer stars Richard Conte as a miner who leads an expedition of his compatriots to the California Gold Rush. Crooked Morris Ankrum sets about to cheat Conte and his friends out of their claims. The good guys stage a counteroffensive with the help of Mexican miner Richard Martin. Viveca Lindfors once more brings intelligence and charm to a two-dimensional role. Watch for future Gunsmoke star Dennis Weaver as "Logan". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In another of her series of romantic desert adventures, popular actress Maria Montez is this time Naila, the newly crowned queen of an ancient Egyptian land. Her father the king has just been assassinated and she intends to make those responsible pay for their crime. She sets out into the desert to find the killer herself -- little does Naila know that her "loyal" assistant Horadef (George Zucco) may be working against her, for he has designs on the throne for himself. John Hall plays a secondary role as Merab, an adventurer who shows up in the titular region with his comic-relief pal Nebka (Andy Devine), and the two help Naila, totally unaware that she is the queen. The romantic lead this time out is Herua (Turhan Bey), a rebel leader opposed to the despotic Horadef. The villain has Naila under his evil influence, but this state of affairs comes to an end when she falls in love with the charismatic rebel. The climax, wherein Horadef and his invading hordes are caught in a cleverly rigged death trap, is the film's highlight. As usual, Maria Montez plays her rather ridiculous role in Sudan with the determined seriousness of a Lady Macbeth, which only adds to the giddy fun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, a young woman from a small town heads for New York where she hopes to become a famous singer. She has no idea that she is going to inherit millions; her relatives keep this a secret so that she will not be taken advantage of by a gigolo. They are wise, for soon she falls in love with an amiable but goofy singer who makes his living dubbing the singing voice of an aging singer. When the almost has-been singer learns of the girl's financial worth, he tries to break in on the happy couple. Fortunately he fails and their romance is only strengthened. Songs include: "Lonely Love" (Everett Carter, Ray Sinatra), "Lou Lou Louisiana" (Carter, Milton Rosen), "What a Change in the Weather" (Kim Gannon, Walter Kent), "These Hazy, Lazy Old Hills" and "All the Things I Wanna Say." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Robert Paige plays a struggling songwriter who poses as a millionaire cowboy. It's all part of a zany, wacky and nutty scheme to win the hand and heart of Broadway star Frances Langford. Apparently Paige is a fast worker, since the film runs only 54 minutes. If one looks closely, one might deduce that Cowboy in Manhattan has traces of an earlier Universal musical. That it does; the film is a remake of 1937's You're A Sweetheart, which starred Alice Faye and George Murphy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Get Going is typical of the 60-minute musical comdies being churned out by Universal in the 1940s. A topical twist is added by predicating many of the laughs on the wartime housing shortage in Washington DC, with heroine Judy King (Grace McDonald) and her pal Doris (Lois Collier) sharing a cramped apartment with eccentrics Matilda Jones (Vera Vague) and Horace Doblem (Walter Catlett). The plot proper concerns the efforts by Judy, a typist in a government agency, to attract the attention of her handsome boss Bob Carlton (Robert Paige). To do this, she pretends to be in the employ of an enemy spy ring. It's hardly surprising that, before the end of the 5th reel, both Judy and Bob get mixed up with a genuine nest of spies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stagecoach Buckaroo was Johnny Mack Brown's final Universal western of the 1941-42 season. A gang of holdup men has been plaguing the stagecoach line run by Denton (Henry Hall), the father of heroine Molly (Nell O'Day). Hoping to flush out the crooks, hero Steve (Johnny Mack Brown) rides shotgun on the next stage run, with his sidekick Clem (Fuzzy Knight) sitting inside the coach disguised as a female passenger! Clem's "drag" routine is played for as many laughs as it can get, then the film hunkers down to the business at hand-namely, gunfire and fisticuffs. Despite a short 58-minute running time, Stagecoach Buckaroo is able to accommodate four song numbers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johnny Mack Brown essays the title role in Universal's Fighting Bill Forgo. Returning to his home town, Bill Fargo takes over the operation of his late father's newspaper. He quickly gets swept up in political intrigue fomented by political boss Hackett (Kenneth Harlan), who has a cute habit of rubbing out any and all honest candidates for the sheriff's office. When one of Hackett's victims manages to snap a photograph of his assassins, Bill intends to publish the picture and expose the crooks-provided he lives that long. The musical interludes are provided by Eddie Dean, who'd be promoted to cowboy-star status himself in the late1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cowboy star Johnny Mack Brown launched his third season at Universal with the above-average entry The Masked Rider. Moseying into a sleepy South American town in search of jobs, Larry (Brown) and his pal Patches (Fuzzy Knight) are hired by a local mining concern. Our heroes soon discover that the mine's silver shipments are being plundered by a mysterious Masked Rider, who has recently added murder to his itinerary. Larry and Patches vow to expose the Rider's true identity and to stem his crime spree once and for all. Plot and action in The Masked Rider come to an abrupt half at the film's halway point, the better to spotlight the musical contributions of the Guadalajara Trio and the Jose Cansino Dancers; fortunately, this scene is entertaining enough to keep the fans happy while awaiting the next burst of action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johnny Mack Brown saves the day in the Universal western programmer Law of the Range. Finding himself in the middle of a family feud, Brown endeavors to unruffle the combatants' feathers for the sake of leading lady Nell O'Day. He proves that there's nothing for the families to fight over when he corrals the instigator of the feud, "outsider" Alan Bridge. Brown wields his six-shooters, Ms. O'Day displays some fancy riding and roping skills, Riley Hill (billed as Roy Harris) makes an impressively nasty screen debut, and comic relief Raymond Hatton provides...comic relief. Law of the Range is a remake of the 1935 Buck Jones vehicle The Ivory-Handled Gun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Worth seeing for its title alone was the Johnny Mack Brown western Riders of Pasco Basin. This time, Brown plays the head of a group of vigilantes (the peace-keeping variety) who take on a gang of clever villains. With the law on their side, the bad guys have been cheating the local farmers while promising to dig an irrigation ditch. Before bringing the crooks to heel, second-billed Bob Baker (who own western series was scotched by Universal the previous year) performs a brace of cowboy tunes, the most enjoyable of which is "I'm Tying Up My Bridle to the Door of Your Heart". Director Ford Beebe brings a serial-like pace to the proceedings, as was his custom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Universal's Ragtime Cowboy Joe is a modern western with a dash of music, not unlike the standard fare at Republic Pictures. The title character is a confused cowhand played by Fuzzy Knight, while the hero is Steve (Johnny Mack Brown), an undercover detective on the prowl for cattle rustlers. Villain Dick Curtis, fresh from getting his lumps in Columbia's Charles Starrett films, is chief henchman for the land grabber who is behind the rustling. In traditional fashion, the plot is wrapped up by a chase and a quick exchange of blows. Ragtime Cowboy Joe boasts no fewer than two heroines: pert stenographer Mary (Marilyn-later Lynn Merrick) and cowgirl Helen (played by Nell O'Day, one of the best horsewomen in the movies). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide