Barry Shipman Movies

In this western, a good man becomes an outlaw after his stagecoach mail business falls to the faster railroad mail. To save his livelihood, the fellow literally attempts to derail his competitor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Action specialist William Witney was the director of the leisurely, sensitive western Stranger at My Door. MacDonald Carey plays a frontier minister, who much against the wishes of his wife and child invites a fugitive outlaw (Skip Homeier) into his home. At first the outlaw takes advantage of Carey's largesse, but gradually feels the effect of the minister's kindness and altruism. This film has frequently been excerpted into TV documentaries on the basis of one single sequence: a beautifully staged confrontation with a wild, rampaging horse. The split-second editing and the undetectable combination of fact and artifice results in a superb setpiece which arguably represents William Witney's finest work. Stranger at My Door was scripted by Barry Shipman, the son of pioneering female producer/director Nell Shipman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, a young woman endures the drudgery of working as a charwoman in her aunt's hotel. She is not paid much for her hard work. To make her drab existence a little more exciting, she enrolls in a correspondence charm course, which unbeknownst to her is a scam. Soon the swindlers show up and plan to use her to help them con her aunt and a bank president out of their money. When one of the con men sees the good hearted girl working with the orphans on her family farm, he has a sudden change of heart. Her life takes a sudden turn for the better when oil is discovered under her farm. Suddenly the drab little drudgess finds herself living like a duchess. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Charles Starrett returns as the Durango Kid in Columbia's Rough, Tough, West. For most of the film, however, Starrett is known as "Steve Holden," a former Texas Ranger who comes to a wide-open mining town to visit an old friend (Jack -- later Jock -- Mahoney). Alas, said friend has turned bad, and is busy arranging a major land grab when Steve arrives on the scene. With deep regret, our hero dons his Durango disguise to thwart his ex-friend's criminal activities. Happily, the villain sees the error of his ways before too much damage can be done. The musical portion of the program is handled by Carolina Cotton and Pee Wee King and his band. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Starrett is back as The Durango Kid in Laramie Mountains. The villains this time are a group of white outlaws who disguise themselves as Indians to stage raids on various U.S. army posts. Their plan is to foment an all-out war for their own profit. Government agent Steve Holden (Starrett) intends to put a stop to the criminal's activities; when all else fails, he adopts the disguise of the Durango Kid to operate outside the Law. Jack (later Jock) Mahoney, who'd been playing supporting roles and performing stunts in previous Durango Kid outings, contributes a strong characterization in Laramie Mountains as Swift Eagle, a white man adopted by Indians. One of the heavies is played by Fred Sears, taking time out from his directorial duties on the Starrett series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Columbia's "Durango Kid" series was winding down to a close by the time Junction City went before the cameras in 1952. Durango, aka Steve Rollins (Charles Starrett) rides into town with saddle pal Smiley Burnette. The boys go to the rescue of pretty Kathleen Case, who is being victimized by greedy relatives. Much of the film is related in flashback, giving Columbia an excuse to utilize miles and miles of stock footage from earlier "Durango Kid" efforts. Livening up the proceedings is Jock Mahoney, frequent stunt double for Charles Starrett, who plays "himself". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fort Savage Raiders is another entry in Charles Starrett's "Durango Kid" western series. Starrett once again does double duty as a peacekeeper named Steve (this time his last name is Drake) and as masked avenger Durango. The heavy of the piece is escaped military prisoner Craydon (John Dehner) who, with several other fugitives from justice, forms an army of terrorists. After dozens of attacks on peaceful communities, Craydon is targeted for elimination by the authorities. Steve Drake is assigned to put an end to Craydon's activities. Why he needs to adopt the disguise of the Durango Kid to pull this off is a mystery left unsolved by screenwriter Barry Shipman (who later went on to such prestige westerns as Republic's Stranger at My Door). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Durango Kid--aka Charles Starrett--rides again in Bandits of El Dorado. For the umpteenth time, Starrett plays a lawman on the trail of a mysterious desperado. The villain in this one smuggles American outlaws into Mexico then murders them for their money belts. Somewhere along the line, Starrett is compelled to don his "Durango" mask to bring the heavy to justice. Critics in 1951 praised Charles Starrett for his agility in the stunt sequences, though in fact most of these stunts were performed by Jock Mahoney (who, billed as Jack O'Mahoney, also played a supporting role in the film). Comedy is provided by Smiley Burnette, as well as a bizarre duo known as "Mustard and Gravy." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kid From Amarillo was a late-model "Durango Kid" western from Columbia's B mills. Charles "Durango" Starrett and his pal Smiley Burnette go after smugglers. Our heroes travel incognito across the Mexican border to beard the leader of the gang in his den. The film offers plenty of songs from the Cass County Boys, but surprisingly no love interest. As in many of the later "Durango Kid" entries, corner-cutting and stock footage abounds in The Kid From Amarillo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A late entry in Columbia's seemingly endless Durango Kid Western series, Cyclone Fury was augmented with a hefty dose of stock footage from an earlier Durango effort, Galloping Thunder (1946), footage that included sidekick Smiley Burnette warbling "Hear the Wind (Singing a Cowboy Song)" accompanied by Merle Travis and his Bronco Busters. The story -- Durango's effort to deliver horses to the U.S. Cavalry -- was not much but the film benefited from an unusually villainous turn by Clayton Moore, on salary strike from his Lone Ranger television show. Charles Starrett, as the Robin Hood-like Durango, was doubled in the stock footage by Jock Mahoney and supported in the new scenes by child actor Louis Lettieri. The latter went on to play Allan Lane's young sidekick, Little Beaver, in a failed Red Ryder television pilot. Former Durango series director Fred F. Sears, who directed Galloping Thunder, turned up in a supporting role this time around. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Once more, Charles Starrett hits the trail as the masked do-gooder known as The Durango Kid in Streets of Ghost Town. Also once more, Starrett spends his "unmasked" scenes playing a character named Steve, in this case Steve Woods. The slender plot concerns a treasure hunt in a supposedly deserted town. This premise is used as an excuse to showcase lengthy excerpts from previous "Durango Kid" westerns, offered herein as "flashbacks." Columbia Pictures had a positive genius for recycling old footage into new movies: as proof, one need only peruse all those patchwork Three Stooges comedies of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As an actor, Eddy Arnold was a good country-western singer. In Hoedown, Eddy plays himself, while the acting burden was carried by Miss Jeff Donnell, Jock O'Mahoney (aka Jock Mahoney), and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. O'Mahoney plays Stoney Rhodes, a cowboy star who is fired from his studio because he can't sing. Accompanied by Vera Wright (Donnell), Rhodes heads southward, where he attends a hoedown staged by Arnold and his C&W confreres. When bank robbers invade the party, Rhodes finds that he's not much help without his stuntmen to back him up. Eventually, however, he proves that he's a genuine hero, thereby assuring himself a renewed movie contract, not to mention the undying adoration of Wright. Among the musical guest stars featured in Hoedown are Carolina Cotton, The Pied Pipers and the Oklahoma Rangers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide