Budd Buster Movies

Mark Stevens doubles as star and director of the compact western Gun Fever. Lucas (Stevens) and his partner Simon (John Lupton) set about to capture the renegade white man who caused the deaths of Lucas' parents in an Indian raid. The villain turns out to be Simon's own father Trench (Aaron Saxon), setting the stage for reams of quasi-Freudian dialogue. Larry Storch does a nice semicomic turn as a laconic Mexican, while Jana Davi supplies the love interest. The European prints of Gun Fever were augmented with several steamy sex scenes, with Jana Davi displaying far more than her acting skills. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Trouble brews when a widowed, small town librarian takes a stand against censorship. The trouble begins when the town fathers ask that she remove a book from the shelf because they deem it a pro-communist tract and fear it will taint susceptible young minds. She sees the idiocy of their request and defies them. They in turn fire her and replace her with her old friend and assistant. The town judge considers the whole mess a gross miscarriage of justice and demands a trial. This gives an ambitious young lawyer, the boyfriend of the new librarian the opportunity to do a little grandstanding by publicly proclaiming the highly-principled widow a communist. The poor woman suddenly finds herself the town pariah; her only remaining friend is a small boy she used to talk to in the library. He plays a key role in restoring her good name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Susan Hayward pulls out all the stops, and then some, in this cinemadaptation of singer Lillian Roth's autobiography I'll Cry Tomorrow. In as harshly realistic a manner as possible in the still censor-dominated Hollywood of 1955, the film recounts Roth's rise to fame, her precipitous fall and her tearful comeback. The fact that Roth loves not wisely but too well is only part of the problem (only two of her eight husbands are portrayed in the film); contributing factors to her self-destruction also included her witchlike "stage mother" (Jo Van Fleet) and the pressures of fame and fortune. The principal reason for Roth's fall from the height of fame to the depths of squalor and despair is booze -- at least until she begins to pull herself together with the help of Alcoholics-Anonymous representative Burt McGuire (Eddie Albert). The story concludes with a testimonial staged in Roth's honor on the TV series This is Your Life (the original of which still exists in kinescope form). Having been personally coached by the real Lillian Roth, Susan Hayward does an excellent job of copying the singer's unique style. Though Hayward did not win an Oscar for her performance, she did cop the "Best Actress" prize at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A feature version of a twelve chapter Republic Pictures, this drama starred Harry Lauter as Tom Rogers, an enterprising South Seas island trader who gets involved with Nazi thugs, a native revolution and smugglers, ably assisted by a lovely emissary from the United Nations, Aline Towne. One of the studio's final chapterplays, the original Trader Tom of the China Seas had adhered to the venerable serial tradition of promoting a supporting actor to hero status. A somewhat nondescript presence, Harry Lauter also starred in the studio's final serial King of the Carnival. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

It Came From Outer Space is one of a handful of science fiction films from the 1950s that plays as well today as it did on its original release, this despite the fact that its original 3-D elements seem to be lost. It was also the first science fiction effort of director Jack Arnold, and one of three excellent 3-D features that he made (the others were Creature From the Black Lagoon and Revenge of the Creature) during that format's short-lived history. It was also, along with The Incredible Shrinking Man, one of the two most sophisticated films he ever made in that genre. Additionally, it was Arnold's first opportunity to use the desert setting that seemed to inspire him in some of his best subsequent movies. Based on a story by Ray Bradbury, the movie starts off in a gentle, lyrical mode, almost reminiscent of Our Town, as the narrator introduces the tiny Arizona town where the action will take place. Writer John Putnam (Richard Carlson), a new arrival to the town and an amateur astronomer, is looking at the skies with his fiancée, schoolteacher Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush), when they see what looks like a huge meteor crash into the desert. Putnam and Ellen go to the site of the crash and find a huge crater. When he goes down inside, Putnam sees what is very obviously some kind of vehicle or device embedded in the ground, but before he can show it to anyone, a rock slide buries what he saw. He reports that a spacecraft of some kind is buried there and is duly ridiculed by the local press and some of his own colleagues in the astronomical community, and even Ellen has her doubts. The local sheriff, Matt Warren (Charles Drake), is downright hostile because he believes that Putnam is not only an interloper, but has also taken Ellen away from him. Putnam is at a loss as to what to do, and doing something -- or, perhaps, not doing anything -- becomes a critical matter when various townspeople start to disappear, including Ellen, to be replaced by alien "duplicates." A small but significant part of this action is told from the standpoint of the aliens, who are only glimpsed in brief flashes as they move through the desert and the underground caves where they are hiding. Putnam ultimately comes to understand that the aliens are actually benign and only need time to repair their ship and leave; but by then, the sheriff and the rest of the town have started taking his original warning seriously and their intervention threatens the lives of everyone. Reason and a peaceful approach prevail, but only just barely, and the space travelers are allowed to go on their way -- in return, they restore the real townspeople. The movie ends on a hopeful note as Putnam predicts that someday, when we're ready here on Earth, the visitors will be back to make formal, peaceful introductions. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Quick on the Trigger was Charles Starrett's second "Durango Kid" picture for 1949. It all begins when ousted sheriff Steve Warren (Starrett) is put on trial for the murder of heroine Nora Reed's (Helen Parrish) brother. Steve is innocent, of course, but he doesn't stand a chance against prosecuting attorney Garvey Yager (Lyle Talbot) -- especially since Yager is the real killer. Escaping from jail, Steve dons a mask and assumes the identity of the Durango Kid to see to it that justice is done. The film's requisite comedy and music are handled, respectively, by Smiley Burnette and the Sunshine Boys (not George Burns and Walter Matthau!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Singing cowboy Eddie Dean and sidekick Soapy (Roscoe Ates) come to the aid of novice cattle rancher Ann Howard (Phyllis Planchard) and her juvenile delinquent brother Tom (Steve Drake). Unhappy about the move West from Chicago, the latter forges Ann's signature on the deed to their ranch, which he then plans to sell to Larson (Bob Duncan), the local saloon proprietor turned crooked sheriff. But unbeknownst to Ann and Tom, the ranch is located right on a silver deposit that will make its owner rich. An undercover government agent, Eddie not only makes sure that Larson is punished but also teaches young Tom the honest Western way of life. When not fighting and shooting, Dean, accompanied by Andy Parker & the Plainsmen, performs "Cathy," "It's Courtin' Time," and "When Shorty Plays the Schottische," the latter a rather festive polka. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Gene Autry goes in search of the man who killed his friend during a blackout in this action-packed western from Columbia. Someone cuts the lights and kills Ed Norton (Stanley Blystone) during a heated poker game and that someone, according to Sheriff Cramer (Chill Wills), may just be young hothead Larry Evans (Russell Arms). Gene, however, thinks otherwise and arranges for Larry to hide out in a cabin belonging to elderly prospector Jim Hedge (Clem Bevans). But the real killer is doing his best to incriminate Larry and Gene must not only fight the sheriff but also the accused man's pretty sister, Mary (Barbara Britton), in order to uncover the truth behind the killing. Despite a preponderance of action, Autry, backed by the Cass County Boys, manages to perform five songs in Loaded Pistols: "Pretty Mary", "Jimmy Crack Corn", "When the Bloom is on the Sage", "A Boy from Texas, A Girl from Tennessee" and the title tune. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Whip-wielding westerner Lash LaRue closes out his 1947 schedule with Cheyenne Takes Over. Once again teamed with comical sidekick Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John), the Cheyenne Kid (LaRue) investigates the murder of a prosperous rancher. The audience knows that PRC's all-purpose villain George Cheseboro is the culprit, and so does saloon owner Fay (Nancy Gates). Intimidated into silence by the bad guys, Fay turns to Cheyenne and Fuzzy for help. Surprisingly, Lash LaRue lays his legendary bullwhip aside in the last reel, preferring to use his fists to bring the criminals to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, 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 four western films made for PRC by bantam-weight Bob Steele, Ambush Trail stars Steele as cowpoke Curley Thompson. The villain of the piece intends to bankrupt all the local ranchers and grab up the surrounding property for himself. But with Curley involved, the bad guy and his minions don't have a chance. The screenplay, by D. W. Griffith alumnus Elmer Clifton, is a medley of western cliches, pausing every so often for a first-rate action sequence. Perennial sagebrush sidekick Sid Saylor provides negligible comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Diminutive western hero Bob Steele stars in Six Gun Man. Steele plays federal marshal Bob Storm, who has been assigned to halt the activities of cattle rustlers. Given his previous movie track record, we'll wager that Bob also wants to avenge the death of his father. Jean Carlin is the ingenue, I. Stanford Jolley the heavy, and Sid Saylor (he of the bobbing adam's apple) is comedy relief. Even at 59 minutes, Six Gun Man could use some judicious editing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide