George Montgomery Movies
Strappingly handsome Geo Montgomery was the son of a Russian immigrant who settled in the American Northwest. Montgomery attended University of Washington, intending to make a career of interior decorating, but his athletic prowess sidetracked him into a film career. Billed as George Letz, he starred in the 1939 serial The Lone Ranger as one of the five men suspected of being the Masked Man. When 20th Century Fox decided to inaugurate a B-Western series in the 1940s, they hired George Montgomery (as he was then known) for that purpose. The Western series fell by the wayside, but Montgomery was retained by Fox for romantic leading roles, including a courageous but unsuccessful try at Raymond Chandler's urban p.i. Philip Marlowe in 1947's The Brasher Doubloon. Montgomery returned to Westerns at Columbia in the 1950s, and was equipped with Stetson, six-gun, and steed on the 1958 TV series Cimarron City. In the early '60s, Montgomery enjoyed fair success as producer/director of several inexpensive Philippine-based actioners. He was married for 19 years to singer Dinah Shore; they remained friendly long after the divorce, with Montgomery frequently showing up as a guest star on Dinah's TV talkfest of the 1970s. By that time, however, George Montgomery was an actor no more, but a highly successful furniture designer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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)
- 1938
Most everyone knows that The Lone Ranger, "masked rider of the plains", was in fact a former Texas Ranger named Reid, who vowed to fight for justice after his older brother was killed. The 1938 Republic serial version of The Lone Ranger muddies the "true identity" waters by offering us five heroes, any one of whom might be the Ranger. The five leading men are picked off one by one by outlaw leader Stanley Andrews, until only the genuine Ranger is left. There's nothing like process of elimination to solve a mystery; this process takes 15 full episodes. The Lone Ranger candidates are played by Lee Powell, Lane Chandler, Herman Brix (aka Bruce Bennett), Hal Taliaferro (aka Wally Wales) and George Letz (aka George Montgomery). Tonto, the masked man's faithful Indian companion, is played by Chief Thundercloud. Unavailable for many years due to copyright tangles, The Lone Ranger finally resurfaced in the 1970s in a duped, foreign-language version; some episodes carried Spanish subtitles, while others were dubbed in Spanish with English captions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynne Roberts
- 1937
Gene Autry and veteran Western director Jospeh Kane team up for this lightweight effort. Gene (Gene Autry) is the foreman of a ranch which has just been put under new ownership, though he soon has his doubts about his new boss -- Sandra Knight (Polly Rowles), a pretty young woman with a college degree in animal husbandry but little practical experience of life on the range. When Sandra decides to raise sheep instead of cattle, it doesn't settle with the neighboring ranchers, and Gene is forced to make peace with both factions. As usual, Springtime In The Rockies features a handful of songs from Autry, with Jimmy LeFuer and his Saddle Pals providing accompaniment. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1935
Ann Rutherford, who would later rise to fame in the Andy Hardy series at M-G-M and in a number of musical roles, made one of her first screen appearances in this Gene Autry musical western. Teenage runaway Lettie Morgan (Rutherford) stows away with a group of showgirls en route to California after an argument with her aunt. When the stagecoach is attacked near the California border, Capt. Tex Autry (Gene Autry) and his men save the day, but the petulant Lettie complains to his superior officers after Autry scolds the women for traveling through a dangerous area without a proper escort. This, coupled with the actions of rangers-gone-bad Buck LaCrosse (Warner Richmond) and Utah Joe (Alan Sears), leads many to suspect Autry has become a traitor, but when LaCrosse and Utah kidnap Lettie, Autry and his sidekick Frog (Smiley Burnette) are chosen to come to the rescue. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1922
Lily Becker (Hope Hampton) is the musically talented daughter whose mother forces her into a marriage to the son of a wealthy man. Mistreated by the callous husband, she flees to New York to make it in the music business. She gives birth to a child and attempts suicide when she nearly starves to death for lack of work. A sympathetic young songwriter who has been down the same road takes her in and offers her the benefit of his musical experience. Lily becomes a successful opera singer the very night her husband perishes in a train wreck. She also must overcome the tragic death of her beloved baby. Lily overcomes her misfortunes to become a successful singer. After her husband dies, she is free to pursue romance with the young maestro in this routine melodrama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
