Charles King Movies

The legendary Knights of the Round Table came to the screen in 1949 courtesy of penny-pinching serial producer Sam Katzman. A pre-Superman George Reeves starred in the title role, a knight who, in order to join King Arthur (Nelson Leigh) and his famous table, must obtain the missing sword Excalibur whose powers can render a person invisible. Sir Galahad is hindered in his quest by the occupying Saxons in general and by Merlin the magician (William Fawcett) and a mysterious Black Knight (Leonard Penn) in particular. All the legendary characters appear in this serial, including Morgan Le Fay (Pat Barton); Sir Lancelot (Hugh Prosser); Queen Guinevere (Marjorie Stapp); and Sir Gawain (Rick Vallin). Katzman and screenwriters George H. Plympton, Lewis Clay and David Mathews added a rotund sidekick, Bors, played, surprisingly, by veteran B-Western menace Charles King. Unfortunately, producer Katzman's pernicious methods rendered the serial less than first class. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Arguably Eddie Dean's best Western -- and certainly the balladeer's most unusual -- The Hawk of Powder River features busy B-Western heroine Jennifer Holt as Vivian, the "Hawk" of the title and the murderous leader of a gang of outlaws. When a local newspaper editor begins a crusade against the Hawk's reign of terror, Vivian has her henchmen murder him. Her uncle (Budd Buster), the owner of the Chambers Ranch, accidentally discovers the gang's hideout, and he, too, is killed. Next in line is Vivian's pretty cousin, Carole (June Carlson), but she is saved in the nick of time by cowboys Eddie Dean and Soapy (Roscoe Ates), who decide to get to the bottom of the fearful goings-on. Eddie sets a trap for Vivian's fiancé, Cochrane (Eddie Parker), and The Hawk of Powder River ends in a shootout during which Vivian is killed. In between the carnage, Dean sings four ballads accompanied by Andy Parker and the Plainsmen. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Two communities fight to become county seat in this Jimmy Wakely music western from Monogram Pictures. When Rainbow's End, one of the two towns in question, experiences a stage holdup, State Commissioner Walton (J.C. Lytton) looks to Yuba Junction where, unbeknownst to him, the local undertaker, Beasley (I. Stanford Jolley), is buying up all the surrounding land by means of terror. At first confused with a notorious, but highly fictitious, outlaw named "The Melody Kid," Jimmy obtains the job of deputy sheriff in Rainbow's End with a mandate to go after both the stage robbers and their secret boss, Beasley. Accompanied by "Fiddlin'" Arthur Smith, Dick Reinhart and Don Weston, Wakely performs his own and Smiley Burnette's "On the Strings of My Lonesome Guitar" and "Oklahoma Blues", Tiny Stokes' "Judy" and the traditional "The Old Chisholm Trail". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Based on a popular comic strip, this 15 episode Columbia chapterplay produced by legendary cheapskate Sam Katzman (aka "Jungle Sam") heralded the beginning of the end of the American movie serial. Starring the otherwise watchable Kane Richmond in the title role, Brick Bradford had pretensions of becoming the next Flash Gordon, but Katzman's notorious reluctance to part with a dollar bill sealed its fate. Perhaps the cheapest producer releasing through a major company (Columbia) in the '40s, Katzman employed a generous dose of carelessly inserted stock footage in his serials, thus earning the epitaph as the typical cigar-chomping hack producer who is in the movie business merely to make a fast buck (actor Mike Starr eminently portrayed the prototype in Ed Wood, 1995). A Secret Service agent employed by the United States government to protect the Interceptor Ray, a newly invented missile, Brick Bradford gets involved with a mysterious scientist, whose "crystal door" transports him to the moon and back, to 18th century Central America, etc. All of this demanded inspiring sets and special effects and not Jungle Sam's tired potted plants and moth-eaten stock footage fauna. Comic strip hero Brick Bradford deserved better and so did his portrayer, Kane Richmond. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Three on a Ticket was the fourth entry in PRC's "Michael Shayne" series, and arguably the best of the batch. Hugh Beaumont, still ten years away from Leave It to Beaver, stars as Brett Halliday's red-headed private eye Michael Shayne, who this time out is assigned to locate a fortune in stolen bank funds. Mike's only clue is a baggage claim check, which has been torn in three pieces. Tracing these missing fragments, Shayne methodically tracks down the thieves. Though officially based on a story by Brett Halliday, the plot of Three on a Ticket is remarkably similar to the storyline of PRC's Lash LaRue western Law of the Lash. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Abbott & Costello western spoof The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap is predicated on an actual Montana law of the 19th century, which dictated that if a man killed another in a gun duel, that man was responsible for the care and support of the victim's family. The film gets under way with an introductory title: "MONTANA: Where Men Are Men? With Two Exceptions." Those exceptions are travelling salesmen Duke (Bud Abbott) and Chester (Lou Costello), freshly arrived in the wide-open western town of Wagon Gap. No sooner has Chester reached Main Street than he is falsely arrested for the murder of Hawkins, the town layabout. He and Duke are spared the hangman's noose when the genially corrupt Judge Benbow (George Cleveland) reminds the jury that Chester is now responsible for Hawkins' debts and family. In short order, Chester is moved bag and baggage into the ramshackle home of the rowdy Widow Hawkins (Marjorie Main) and her brood of seven noisy children. Forced to do all the chores around the Widow's home, poor Chester must also put in overtime at Jake Frame's (Gordon Jones) saloon to pay off Hawkins' debts. While the crafty Duke tries to figure out various methods of extricating Chester from his dilemma, the Widow uses all of her wiles to get Chester to propose marriage to her. The plot goes off on a new tangent when it is discovered that none of the town desperadoes are willing to shoot down Chester, lest they inherit the Widow and her brats. Emboldened by his "untouchable" status, Chester swaggers around town striking fear in the hearts of the local menfolk, bosses Duke around for a change, and is even appointed sheriff! Alas, his invulnerability comes to an abrupt end when it turns out that the Hawkins spread is the most valuable property in town, thereby making Widow Hawkins the territory's most eligible bachelorette. The story comes to an uproarious conclusion when Chester and Jake Frame confront each other in a "high noon" gun duel. Incredibly, screenwriters D.D. Beauchamp and William Bowers originally intended The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap as a vehicle for James Stewart! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this western, a cowboy crooner finds himself entangled with ruthless rustlers posing as Rangers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Its title notwithstanding, there's precious little female epidermis on display in PRC's Queen of Burlesque. Real life stripteaser Rose la Rose is cast in the title role, a burleycue "peeler" named Blossom Terraine, but the storyline is carried by Evelyn Ankers and Carleton Young, as exotic dancer Crystal McCoy and her journalist boyfriend Steve Hurley. When Blossom is murdered backstage, Crystal is suspected of the killing, prompting Hurley to try to prove her innocence. David Lang is credited with the original screenplay, which bears more than a passing resemblance to the 1943 Barbara Stanwyck starrer Lady of Burlesque. The working title for Queen of Burlesque was Ladies of the Chorus, which would be recycled as the title of the 1949 musical which served as the starring debut of Marilyn Monroe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Looking for all the world like Robin Hood, Robert Shaw starred in this typically threadbare Sam Katzman serial as David Trent, a nobleman who forms an outlaw group to combat his evil uncle Sir Edgar Bullard (Charles King). The outlaws of Sherwood Forest (yes, Sherwood Forest!) are championing young Roger Mowbray, really Prince Richard (Robert "Buzz" Henry), whose right to the throne is being usurped by an evil regent (John Merton). With a supporting cast that included Charles King, Leonard Penn, and good old Al Ferguson, the serial bore a strong resemblance to a B-Western despite its mock medieval settings. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Prairie Badmen is a typically threadbare entry in PRC's "Billy the Kid" series. This time around, Billy Carson (Buster Crabbe) and Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John) link up with medicine show proprietor Doc Latimer (Edward Cassidy). Having discover a cache of hidden gold, Latimer intends to keep it all for himself, but Billy and Fuzzy elect to return the ore to its rightful owner. Unfortunately, the bad guys learn of Latimer's good fortune and try to cut themselves in for a slice. Leading lady Patricia Knox adds little to the proceedings except a lot of heavy breathing and inexpert line deliveries. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In his final starring Western for PRC, Bob Steele plays Jim Brandon who is imprisoned for a bank robbery and murder he didn't commit. Returning home on parole, Jim is ostracized by all and sundry, except Sheriff Warner (Steve Clark) and Betty Morgan (Ellen Hall), both of whom believe in his innocence. Aided by ranch cook Utah McGirk (Syd Saylor), Jim begins an investigation into the killing of his ranch partner and manages to find the murderer by using a new French discovery, ballistics. In between the fightin' and shootin', Don Weston performs his own "Trying to Forget" and "End of Rainbow Trail." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

That dependable sleuth of pulp fiction fame, Nick Carter, apparently had an equally stalwart son. Chick Carter, Boy Detective did his sleuthing on radio before Columbia producer Sam Katzman brought him to the screen in Chick Carter, Detective. The juvenile hero of the radio waves had underwent certain changes in order for grown-up actor Lyle Talbot to portray him. Talbot's Chick Carter, however, remained strangely inactive in his own serial, allowing crusading reporter Rusty Farrell (Douglas V. Fowley) to perform most of the necessary derring-do. As plainly told as the title would suggest, Chick Carter, Detective was more or less a straightforward crime melodrama that eschewed the usual ray guns, invisibility inventions, and other paraphernalia of the genre. Former MGM starlet Pamela Blake did some snooping of her own as a rival detective, and a gangster bearing the unfortunate name of Nick Polio (George Meeker) indulged in a bit of insurance fraud on behalf of Charles King. With only two bona fide cliffhanger endings, Chick Carter, Detective found little favor with the small fry, its target audience. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi