Charles King Movies
Though never officially billed as Charles "Blackie" King, American actor Charlie King played so many "Blackies" in B-westerns that one is astounded to discover that it wasn't his middle name. Drifting into films in the '20s, the squat, stubble-chinned, mustachioed King picked up minor roles as chauffeurs, interns and bridegrooms in the two-reel comedies of such performers as Our Gang, the Three Stooges and Leon Errol. It was during the B-western boom of the early talkie era that King really came into his own, showing up in virtually every other poverty-row oater as a gang boss, lynch-mob leader or sinister henchman. Evidently King felt the day was wasted if he wasn't dynamiting a dam, setting fire to homesteaders' shacks, or engaging the hero in a fistic battle. Outtakes of these westerns have revealed that this "human monster" was actually shy and soft-spoken, never reverting to profanity when blowing his lines (more than can be said for some of the "clean-living" western heroes of the era). In fact, King's private life was governed by his formidable wife, who had spies posted at the studio to make certain that King came home right away with his paycheck without any side trips to bars or gaming tables. Gaining a beard and excess weight in the late '40s, King began appearing less frequently as villains and more often as roly-poly comedy relief. King literally died with his boots on, suffering a heart attack after shooting a 1957 episode of Gunsmoke -- in which he played a corpse! William K. Everson's 1964 coffee-table book The Bad Guys was affectionately dedicated to the scurrilously prolific Charles "Blackie" King. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1940
West of Carson City remains one of the best of Johnny Mack Brown's Universal westerns. The story takes place in a gold-rush community where the locals are taken to the cleaners by duplicitious Eastern gamblers. When it becomes obvious that the local constabulary has been "bought off" by the crooks, two-fisted cattleman Jim Bannister (Brown) swings into action. The film's highlight is an outsized fistic brawl between the hero and secondary villain Breed, played by loose-limbed comic stuntman Frank Mitchell. Peggy Moran, one of Universal's most overworked ingenues, provides the nominal romantic relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Bob Baker, (more)
- 1940
Don Douglas, a rather bland supporting actor from Scotland, was elevated to the starring role in this low-budget Western serial produced by Columbia Pictures. Yet another reworking on the old Zorro theme, Deadwood Dick took 15 instalments to tell the simple story of Dick Stanley, a newspaperman tracking down the Skull, a notorious villain terrorizing the Dakota Territory. Dick dons a masked disguise to battle an impressive array of villains that included such B-Western favorites as Marin Sais, Yakima Canutt, Franklyn Farnum, Charles King, Edmund Cobb, Bud Osborne, Tom London, and Al Ferguson. Leading lady Lorna Gray later signed with Republic Pictures and changed her name to Adrian Booth. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1940
In this his penultimate Western for low-budget company Monogram, Jack Randall assumed the identity of a murdered ranger in order to track down the killer. In the lawless town of Brimstone, the citizens are being terrorized by a gang of outlaws headed by Mason (Tom London), who, to no one's great surprise, proves to be the very man Jack has been trailing. The relieved citizens of Brimstone then elect Jack as their new sheriff. The murdered ranger's sister was played by Margaret Roach, the 19-year-old daughter of comedy producer Hal Roach. Ernie Adams replaced Glenn Strange (who himself had replaced Frank Yaconelli) as Randall's sidekick, Manny, and Nelson McDowell provided additional comic relief as Brimstone's busy undertaker. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Randall, Ernie S. Adams, (more)
- 1940
In this western, a retired marshal must once again put on his badge to protect his town from the vicious desperadoes that killed his girl friend's father. The girl uses her shooting prowess to assist them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight, (more)
South of the Border, a western directered by George Sherman, features two United States government agents (Gene Autry) and (Smiley Burnette) and their trip to Mexico, where they hope to stop German agents from forming a revolution. This propagandist musical feature was released approximately two years before World War II, and marked the beginning of a successful career for Autry. Also included in South of the Border are actors Michael Carr, Sheila Darcy, William Farnum, and Reed Howes. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1939
In this western, a U.S. marshal impersonates an outlaw and rides to Texas to find the looters who have been raiding supply shipments. He finds them and infiltrates their gang. He soon finds out that the desperadoes have commandeered a ranch and are holding the rancher and his family prisoner while they await the next shipment. Trouble erupts, but justice prevails as the marshal captures the badguys and frees the frightened family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Gulliver
- 1939
A typical Tex Ritter "Boots and Saddle" singing Western from low-budget company Monogram, Sundown on the Prairie featured Ritter and sidekick Horace Murphy as rangers assigned to apprehend a gang of rustlers. After capturing one member, Hendricks (Karl Hackett), Tex introduces himself to gang leader Dorgan (Charles King) as Hendricks' emissary. Hendricks, however, escapes from Ananias (Murphy) and Tex is forced to make a fast getaway. Assisted by rancher Graham (Frank LaRue) and his daughter Ruth (Dorothy Fay), Tex and Ananias manage to stop Dorgan and his henchmen from dynamiting the valley. While not rustling rustlers, Ritter sang Al Von Tilzer and Harry MacPherson's title-tune, his own and Dwight Butcher's Dust on My Saddle and Cactus Pete by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter. Leading lady Dorothy Fay later became Mrs. Ritter and the mother of television actor John Ritter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Horace Murphy, (more)
- 1939
The third of eight Bob Steele Westerns produced by bargain-basement company Metropolitan, Mesquite Buckaroo was a slight improvement over its predecessor, due mainly to a couple of campfire songs penned by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter and warbled by the now forgotten Bruce Dane. The diminutive Steele plays Bob Allen of the Bar A Ranch, whose Aunt Sarah (Juanita Fletcher) bets her neighbor (Frank LaRue) that Bob will win the rodeo against the Circle B's Luke Williams (Ted Adams). Realizing they can make a fortune if the reigning champion, Bob, loses, a couple of crooks indulge in a bit of kidnapping. About to be disqualified for tardiness, Bob, who has overpowered his captors, arrives just in time to beat the competition. This lightweight, potentially amusing bit of Western frivolity was thoroughly defeated by Metropolitan Pictures' slipshod production methods and the casting of amateurs (leading lady Carolyn Curtis, especially) in key roles. As he had in Steele's previous effort, Smoky Trails (1939), Carleton Young once again ably took care of the skullduggery, this time for some reason billing himself as Gordon Roberts. Veteran slapstick comic Snub Pollard added little to the overall enjoyment of Mesquite Buckaroo. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Carolyn Curtis, (more)
- 1939
In 1824, Benito Juarez (Carlton Young), the president of the new Mexican Republic, worries that vitally important gold shipments from the San Mendolito Mines shall never reach Mexico City. The president's understandable fears are quelled, however, by local nobleman Don Francisco (Guy D'Ennery), who is organizing a "fighting legion" to protect the shipments and thus the safety of the six months old republic. Secretly opposing Juarez' endeavors are a group of influential capitalists, one of whom masquerades as Don del Oro, an ancient god of the local Yaqui Indian tribe. But when Don Francisco is killed by persons unknown, a visiting relative from California, handsome and affable Don Diego (Reed Hadley), assumes the disguise of Zorro to lead the legion in search of the identity behind the homicidal Don del Oro. To keep his own identity a secret, Don Diego acts the foppish dude, much to the dismay of his pretty cousin Volita (Sheila Darcy), who denounces him as a coward that could learn a thing or two from Zorro. Meanwhile, the Yaquis, acting on a command from Don del Oro, do indeed attack the gold shipment but are foiled by Zorro and the Legion. Just then an explosion set off by white henchmen Moreno (James Pierce) and Valdez (Charles King) causes an avalanche right in Zorro's path, making his sad demise almost a certainty. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reed Hadley, Carleton Young, (more)
- 1939
In this mildly entertaining Tex Ritter music Western, a crooked attorney, Watkins (Harry Harvey), attempts to drive the ranchers off their land by depriving them of water. Rancher Lawson (Herbert Corthell) takes matters into his own hands and aligns himself with Tex. In retaliation, Watkins' patsies Haines (Charles King) and Sheriff Slim (Hank Worden) accuse Tex of murder but he manages to get away with the assistance of Betty Lawson (Dorothy Fay). The villains quickly seize Lawson, who is also accused of a non-existent crime. About to be lynched, Lawson is rescued in the nick of time by Tex and his sidekick, Missouri (Horace Murphy), who force Watkins to confess his misdeeds. Rollin' Westward was the third of four Westerns teaming Ritter with his future wife, Dorothy Fay. A former radio crooner, Ritter sang Westward, by Ted Choate and Bert Pellis; Back in '67, by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter, and Out in the Golden West, by Rudy Sooter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Horace Murphy, (more)
- 1939
Frontier Pony Express is a fast-paced Roy Rogers program western which could stand up on its own with any big-budgeted "A" picture. Per the title, Rogers plays an express rider, working the California-to-Kansas City route. While the Civil War rages in the East, our hero must contend with Yankee and Rebel forces who've encroached upon his home turf, both trying to win California over to their side. Meanwhile, businessman Lassiter (Edward Keane), ostensibly on the Confederate side, is actually a mercenary who hopes to play one army against the other so that he can move in and take over the territory himself. There's an awful lot of plot in this 58-minute oater, but Roy Rogers still finds time to serenade leading lady Mary Hart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Mary Hart, (more)
- 1939
In this episode of the Three Mesquiteers series of westerns the trio must help two rival sides involved in a range war settle their differences. The story is set in 1906, and the rivals are homesteaders trying to take advantage of Roosevelt's Reclamation Act and the landowners who oppose the act and want to see the Act repealed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1939
The first of eight Bob Steele Westerns from Gower Gulch producer Harry S. Webb's Metropolitan Pictures Corp., Feud of the Range had been filmed as The Kanab Kid in Kanab, UT, in the fall of 1938. An ignominious beginning of an justly infamous series, the Western starred the diminutive Steele as a cowboy returning to the old homestead along with his pal, Happy (Budd Buster). They arrive in the middle of a range war that ultimately separates father and son. But as Bob quickly learns, the troubles are caused by greedy Clyde Barton (Jack Ingram), who is hoping to drive the local ranchers off their valuable land. A rough hewn affair that depended too much on stock footage, Feud of the Range was further handicapped by the amateurish performance of its nominal leading lady, former child actress Gertrude Messinger, who, for most of the duration, had eyes only for villain Jack Ingram. The series proved the nadir for the veteran Steele, who next starred for yet another Poverty Row company, the much derided PRC. Coming from Metropolitan, however, even PRC was actually a step up. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
A frequent visitor to contemporary TV cable services, Monogram's Mutiny in the Big House affords stalwart supporting player Charles Bickford top billing as a prison chaplain, with jailhouse-flick veteran Barton MacLane billed second as a hardened con. The nominal hero, however, is fourth-billed Dennis Moore, sent "up the river" for forging a check. Bickford tries to save Moore's soul, while MacLane attempts to toughen up the "new fish" and involve him in a breakout scheme. Though this is the prison picture that is parodied in the like-titled Lenny Bruce comedy routine, Mr. Bruce took considerable liberties with the source material (including recasting the leads!) The film was produced by actor Grant Withers, who at one time was married to Loretta Young, and based on a story by Martin Mooney, a journalist who'd spent a few months "in stir" himself; credited for the script was Robert D. Andrews, best known for dreaming up the premise for the 1932 all-star anthology If I Had a Million. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bickford, Barton MacLane, (more)
- 1939
One of the more unusual B-Westerns of the 1930s, Down the Wyoming Trail featured the spectacle of stampeding elk.Tex Ritter is assigned by Sheriff Missouri (Horace Murphy) of Elk Valley to track down Ted Becker (Charles King), a rustler who is stampeding elk across the valley to clear a path in the snow for his stolen cattle. Along the way, Tex obtains a job as ranch hand for Candy Parker (Mary Brodel) but is soon falsely accused of stealing the payroll by Blackie (Bob Terry), a disgruntled former employee. The latter kidnaps Jerry (Bobby Lawson), Candy's kid brother, leaving him to freeze to death in the snowy wilderness. Tex, meanwhile, torments Becker by convincing him that a man he once killed is still alive. Crazed with fear, Becker runs into the snow and falls to his death from a cliff. With Becker's demise, Blackie takes over, capturing Tex. Tied up next to Bobby, Tex manages to get himself free and arrives at the Parker ranch just in time to prevent Blackie from molesting Candy. Accompanied by a hillbilly group known as The Northwesterners of Radio Fame, Ritter performs In Elk Valley, by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter, Goin' Back to Texas, by Carson Robison, and It Makes No Difference Now, by Floyd Tillman and Jimmie Davis. A pert brunette, leading lady Mary Brodel was the sister of 1940s ingenue Joan Leslie. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Horace Murphy, (more)
- 1939
Following up his movie portrayal of Wild Bill Hickok, Bill Elliot stars as famed trailblazer John "Frontier" Freeman in Columbia's Frontiers of '49. The film takes place in 19th century California, where a crooked real estate firm is merrily selling off Spanish land grants in exchange for exorbitant tax levies. The US government sends Freeman to investigate this activity, accompanied by grizzled frontier scout Kit Carson (Hal Taliaferro). When not tangling with chief heavy Howard Brunon (the inescapable Charles King), Freeman romances aristocratic Spanish senorita Dolores de Cervantes (Luana de Alcaniz). Rather ambitious for a B picture, Frontiers of '49 could use a little less talk and a lot more action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Oklahoma Frontier was Johnny Mack Brown's second starring western for Universal. On the eve of his honeymoon with new bride Janet Rankin (Anne Gwynne), homesteader Jeff McLeod (Brown) is thrown into jail at the behest of villain George Frazier (James Blaine). It takes some doing, but McLeod finally manages to elude his captors, reclaim his land and find lasting happiness with his missus. Universal's resident singing cowboy Bob Baker is cast as Janet's brother, who is killed off halfway through the picture-warning enough to Baker that his days as a film star were numbered. Writer/director Ford Beebe keeps Oklahoma Frontier constantly on the move, seldom letting the actors-or the audience-catch their breath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Bob Baker, (more)
- 1939
Tex Ritter, Monogram' low-budget answer to Republic's Gene Autry, got himself a new sidekick in rangy Nelson McDowell in the otherwise dull Roll, Wagons, Roll. Executive producer Edward F. Finney only allowed two songs -- Roll Wagon Wheels, by Dorcas Cochran and Charles Rosoff, and Oh, Suzannah, by Stephen Foster -- and the Western included enough stock footage -- some dating back to the silent era -- that it barely qualified as a new feature film. Ritter and McDowell played army scouts attempting to lead a wagon train safely through hostile territory. The Indians, as it turns out, are under the influence of an evil white fur trader, Coleman (Reed Howes). The wagon master, Grimes (Tom London), who is in cahoots with Coleman, has Ritter and McDowell fired on a trumped-up charge of conspiring with the Indians but the two friends manage to alert the cavalry and the wagon train is saved in the nick of time. Muriel Evans. Ritter's blond leading lady, also appeared in his next film, Westbound Stage (1940). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Nelson McDowell, (more)
After having terrorized singing cowboy Tex Ritter in 19 consecutive Westerns, veteran Bad Guy Charles King found himself relegated to that of a minor henchman in The Man from Texas. The chief villain this time was the now forgotten Vic Demourelle, Jr., who played Jeff Hall, a nasty rancher plotting to take over his neighbor's spread. Said neighbor, Speed Dennison (Kenne Duncan), hires Ritter to help protect the property from Hall's hired gunslingers. One of them, the Shooting Kid (Charles B. Wood), is a friend of Ritter's and is being blackmailed by Hall. Unless he can get his cattle to the railroad station in time, Speed will forfeit his ranch, but Hall refuses him passage through his land. Aided by Sheriff Happy Martin (Hal Price), Tex and Speed nevertheless manage to get the cattle through Hall's illegal barbed wire fencing but in the ensuing shootout, the Kid is mortally wounded after taking a bullet meant for Tex. After the villainous Hall has been apprehended, Ritter reveals himself to be an agent for the railroad and that Hall was trying to steal the Dennison spread hoping to sell it to the company for a profit. Filmed on the Monogram ranch in Newhall, California, The Man from texas was even cheaper than Ritter's previous efforts and the former radio crooner only got to sing two songs: Prairie Lights and Men Who Wear the Stars, both composed by Frank Harford. On a more positive note, this was the first Ritter Western sans the so-called comedy relief by Snub Pollard and/or Horace Murphy ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Hal Price, (more)
- 1939
Amazingly, this Jack Randall series Western from Monogram was almost a remake of Randall's previous effort, Mexicali Kid. Both films were written by the series' line producer, Robert Emmett Tansey, and both starred Randall as a cowboy searching for his brother's killer. As in Mexicali Kid, Randall seeks refuge at a Western ranch where he reveals the foreman (Warner Richmond in this instance) to be the head of a gang of rustlers. Richmond, who is in cahoots with the rancher's son (Dennis Moore), naturally proves to be the same villain who killed Jack's brother. Jack sets a trap for the gang and Moore turns heroic just in time to be mortally wounded by his boss. Rotund Frank Yaconelli played Randall's sidekick and pert ingénue Dorothy Short (of Reefer Madness fame) provided feminine appeal as Moore's innocent sister. Launched by Monogram as a singing cowboy in 1937, Randall's vocal abilities were soundly trashed by the critics and his later films were devoid of musical interludes. By 1939, the series was running on empty and Randall's follow-up to Mexicali Kid and Wild Horse Canyon, Trigger Smith (1939), trotted out the revenge story for an astonishing third time in a row, a record even for Monogram and Robert Emmett Tansey. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Short, Frank Yaconelli, (more)
- 1939
Cowboy star Bill Elliot makes his first appearance in his familiar guise of "Wild Bill" in Columbia's Taming of the West. When a gang of cattle rustlers knocks off several sheriffs in quick succession, it's up to Wild Bill to get to the bottom of things. The moment he pins on his marshal's badge, our hero is marked for extermination by head villain Rawhide (Dick Curtis). Fortunately, the usually eagle-eyed villains are lousy shots when
t comes to bumping off Wild Bill, and justice prevails. Iris Meredith takes a break from Columbia's Charles Starrett series to play Elliot's leading lady, while Dub "Cannonball" Taylor provides dubious comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Iris Meredith, Dick Curtis, (more)
- 1939
The Tex Ritter Monogram Westerns had a change of directors with Riders of the Frontier, Spencer Gordon Bennet having replaced Al Herman. But that was really the only difference between this entry and the previous seven. Ritter impersonated a notorious outlaw in order to infiltrate the gang that is slowly poisoning Sarah, the owner of the Rancho Grande (Marin Sais). The situation becomes a bit tricky when the real outlaw (Roy Barcroft) suddenly appears, but Tex and the the marshal manage to bring the guilty parties to justice and rescue poor Sarah within the allotted six reels. The music interludes were kept to a minimum this time, Ritter warbling only Rose of My Dreams and Ridin' Down to Town, both by house composer Frank Harford. Jean Joyce added a bit of romantic interest as Sarah's nurse, with Hal Taliaferro (formerly Wally Wales joining Jack Rutherford and the always watchable Roy Barcroft on the opposing side. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Jack Rutherford, (more)
- 1939
An above-average entry in the Monogram Tex Ritter series of music Westerns, Song of the Buckaroo proved to be a memorable event for the star in more ways than one. Appearing in a small role of a pioneer woman, pretty Dorothy Fay was killed off early on, leaving the remainder of the film to glamorous former Powers model Jinx Falkenburg. Miss Fay, however, became Ritter's leading lady off-screen, a partnership that lasted a lifetime and would produce future television star John Ritter. Song of the Buckaroo featured Ritter as Texas Dan, a Robin Hood-like outlaw hunted by the law. Determined to go straight, Tex is framed in the murder of Alden (Dave O'Brien and his wife Anna (Miss Fay) by a former cohort, Max Groat (Charles King). Tex assumes Alden's identity and determines to raise the Aldens' little daughter Mary (Mary Ruth) as his own. Having become the respected banker and mayor of a small town, Tex's engagement to lovely Evelyn (Miss Falkenburg) is rudely interrupted by Groat, who forces him to assist in robbing his own bank. In the ensuing melee, Groat and his men are killed, leaving Tex free to pursue happiness with Evelyn and little Mary. The latter performed the title tune while Ritter himself took care of Texas, by Carson Robison, Tenderfoot, by Johnny Lange and Fred Stryker, and his own and Frank Harford's I Promise You. Discovered too late to replace Jinx Falkenburg, Dorothy Fay was instead cast as Ritter's leading lady in his next entry, Sundown on the Prairie). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Mary Ruth, (more)
- 1939
In this actioner, a hardened cowboy decides to stop studying law and become a Texas state trooper instead. At the governor's request he then impersonates an outlaw to trick a band of bandits. Once he gains their trust, he and his assistant organize a trooper raid to stop the outlaws. The good guys literally duke it out in the end. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Veda Ann Borg
In this musical western, ranch owner "Lucky" Langham (Robert Homans) dies unexpectedly, and in his will he leaves his spread to his daughter Cody (Carol Hughes). However, "Lucky" added the proviso that ranch foreman Gene (Gene Autry) is to be the executor of his will, and must give his OK before Cody can marry. Larry Cummings (Craig Reynolds) is a man from the city with eyes for Cody and her ranch; Gene has a feeling that Larry isn't to be trusted, and refuses to allow them to wed. Gene turns out to be a shrewd judge of character when Larry involves Cody in a kidnapping, and Gene (who is also drawn to Cody's charms) must come to the rescue. As usual, Smiley Burnette co-stars as Gene's sidekick Frog, and Gene warbles five songs of the sagebrush. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
