Albert E. DeMond Movies

In Roy Rogers' final big-screen effort, the cowboy hero plays a U.S. Border Patrolman assigned to prevent a herd of diseased cattle from crossing over from Mexico. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Penny Edwards and Ross Elliot are top-billed in the Republic programmer Woman in the Dark. Though Edwards plays the title character, most of the film is carried by Elliot as an Italian-American priest named Father Tony Morello. The good father is saddled with a no-good brother named Gino (Richard Benedict), who gets mixed up in a jewel heist. With the help of Father Tony and his other brother, a lawyer named Phil (Rick Vallin), Gino is cleared of all charges. But the jewel thieves exact a violent revenge upon Gino, prompting Phil to retaliate and Father Tony to try to maintain peace in the family. Throughout it all, Phil's Park Avenue girlfriend Anna Reichardt (Penny Edwards) stands on the sidelines, with wide eyes and trembling lips. Woman in the Dark was based on Moon Over Mulberrry Street, a play by Nicholas Cosentino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the time of its release, Republic's Desperadoes Outpost was regarded as one of the studio's better Allan "Rocky" Lane westerns. As was customary, Lane is cast as a federal operative, sent westward to offer aid and comfort to his old pal Nugget Clark (Eddy Waller). This time, Clark runs a stagecoach service that has been targetted for destruction by a pair of clever crooks (Lyle Talbot, Roy Barcroft). The villains hope to force Nugget off his land so they can lay claim to his valuable water supply. But they haven't got a chance with Rocky and his faithful steed Black Jack around and about. Myron Healey, normally cast as a sneering heavy, plays a relatively benign role as an Army lieutenant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Raymond Burr stars as Roger Lewis, the ruthless publisher of a Confidential-style scandal magazine. For a fee, Lewis will keep certain names out of his rag. From blackmail it is one short step to murder: after killing his mistress, Lewis uses his magazine to frame the woman's husband for the crime. The husband commits suicide, thereby bringing his daughter Linda (Barbara Jackson) into the picture. Linda enlists the aid of sympathetic policeman James Webster (Robert Rockwell) to stop Lewis once and for all. For reasons unknown, the producers of Unmasked felt compelled to add a gratuitous gangster subplot to their already labyrinthine storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The federal agent "at large" in this Republic programmer is played by Kent Taylor. On the trail of gold smugglers in Mexico, Matt Reedy (Taylor) crosses the path of hard-boiled lady criminal Solitare (Dorothy Patrick). Her criminal tendencies softened by romance, Solitare decides to work with Reedy instead of against him. The gang's modus operandi is an ingenious one; equally clever are the means by which they are brought to justice. Second-billed Robert Rockwell delivers one of his better performances as a dedicated archaeologist, while veteran character actor Frank Puglia enjoys one of his largest screen roles as a reluctant outlaw. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the most famous of the anti-communist tracts of the late 1940s, Republic's The Red Menace plays like a merciless lampoon of the genre when seen today. After a portentous introduction by one Lloyd G. Davies, described as a member of the Los Angeles City Council, the film concentrates on disgruntled ex-GI Bill Jones (Robert Rockwell). Having been victimized by crooked real estate agents, Jones turns to the government for help, only to come away empty-handed and mad as a wet hen. Obviously, the susceptible Jones is ripe for plucking by the American Communist Party. Using slogans, bribes and even sex to recruit disenfranchised souls like Jones, the dirty Reds hope to spread their poison to the entire U.S. of A. Fortunately, Jones and another commie dupe, schoolteacher Nina Petrovka (Hanne Axman), smarten up just in time. The HUAC and Joe McCarthy needn't have searched so diligently for subversives: according to The Red Menace, all they would have had to do was arrest anyone wearing a baggy suit or sporting a bad haircut. Some modern-day viewers begin laughing the moment the opening title of Red Menace, wherein an animated octopus wraps its tentacles around the Free World, fades into view. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert Rockwell, Republic Pictures' resident all-purpose hero, stars in Alias the Champ. This time, Rockwell plays Lt. Ron Peterson, who doubles as a homicide detective and local administrator of the professional wrestling code. When real-life rassler Gorgeous George (that's how he billed himself) is framed for murder by a gang of crooks, Lt. Peterson tries to prove George's innocence. It isn't just the job that motivates Peterson: he's sweet on the wrestler's pretty manager Lorraine (Audrey Long). Fans of the current WWF and WCW TV wrestling extravaganzas might get a kick out of the scenes wherein Gorgeous George, Bomber Kulkavitch, Billy Varga, Jack "Sockeye" MacDonald, the Super-Swedish Angel (aka Tor Johnson) and their confreres hunker down to business in the ring. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Its poetic title aside, Republic's Madonna of the Desert is a formula murder mystery with an occasional surprise or two. The titular madonna is a priceless statue owned by wealthy rancher Joe Salinas (Don Castle). Crooked Nick Julian (Sheldon Leonard) intends to steal the statue, enlisting the aid of the lovely Monica Dale (Lynne Roberts). Meanwhile, another team of crooks headed by Tony French (Don Barry) plans to beat Julian to the punch. Ah, but it said that the madonna has miraculous powers which will melt even the most larcenous of hearts. Under the influence of the "little lady," Monica and Tony mend their ways and fall in love. Unfortunately, Nick and the other crooks manage to resist the madonna's peculiar charms, leading to a typically violent Republic Pictures climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a young couple gets married while the groom is on a weekend furlough with the Navy. The newlyweds have only thirty-six hours to honeymoon and they have no place to stay. A mysterious stranger on her way to elope, offers them her apartment. Unfortunately, the suite had been let by three show girls who had sent a gang of mobsters to jail. The gangsters are now out and are looking to exact their revenge. They head straight for the apartment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cowboy star Allan "Rocky" Lane teams with a sagebrush favorite of yore, Jack Holt, in Republic's The Wild Frontier. In an unusual move, Holt is cast as the villain, the man responsible for the murder of Lane's sheriff father. Taking over from his day, Lane vows to locate the killer-who, unbeknownst to him of course, is above-suspicion solid citizen Holt. Having recently completed his duties in Republic's Red Ryder series, Allan Lane used Wild Frontier as a springboard for a series in which he appeared under his own name. Though popular with the public, the egotistical star did nothing to ingratiate himself to his coworkers, thus the "Rocky Lane" series was relatively short-lived. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the most entertaining serials to be released by Republic Pictures, this mystery employed yet another inscrutable invention, a counter atomic device known as Cyclotrode X, sought after by yet another cloaked villain, The Crimson Ghost of the title. But just like the well-known criminologist Duncan Richards (Charles Quigley) and his lovely assistant Diana Farnsworth (Linda Stirling), the Saturday Matinee kids had a tough job spotting the person hiding behind the hideous disguise. The studio took no chances this time and ingeniously cast stunt-man Bud Geary to embody the villain while several actors supplied the voice, including I. Stanford Jolley, whose role was minor but who received fourth-billing and was therefore highly suspect. When The Crimson Ghost was unmasked in the 12th and final chapter, he proved to be yet another actor, Joseph Forte, who had enacted a character seemingly above suspicion. Instead of feeling cheated, however, the young target audience subconsciously enjoyed the above-average writing and fine direction by the talented William Witney and Fred C. Brannon, and no one complained. Quigley and Stirling were at the top of their serial game, and to the bemused surprise of more recent viewers, television's Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore, played one of the master villain's henchmen, a cold-hearted gangster. The Crimson Ghost was also released in an edited feature version, retitled Cyclotrode. In 1966, yet another edited version was given the title Cyclotrode X. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Kit Carson appears in Trail of Kit Carson in the form of Allan "Rocky" Lane. The tall, dark and taciturn western hero spends most of his time searching for the murderer of the trailblazer partner. According to the official reports, Lane's pal died in an accident, but neither he nor we believe that. Director Leslie Selander proves anew that he was no mere hack; his handling of the familiar material goes beyond masterful. Trail of Kit Carson was intended as Allan Lane's final series western before his promotion to "civilian" pictures, but by 1946 he was back in the saddle again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide