Howard P. Bretherton Movies
Not everyone who started out as a silent-movie property man graduated to film director, but enough did to make the prop department an attractive entry-level job. One such graduate was Howard P. Bretherton, who spent ten years in lower-echelon studio positions before his directorial debut with 1926's While London Sleeps (1926). His adroit handling of the 1927 Rin Tin Tin vehicle Hills of... (read more) Kentucky established Bretherton as an "outdoors" director. He spent most of the late-silent/early-talkie era at Warner Bros., a studio that favored fast and efficient directors over slow, self-conscious "auteurs." When not calling the camera shots, Bretherton was reassembling them in the editing room for the benefit of other directors. From 1940 onward, Howard P. Bretherton was one of Hollywood's busiest "B"-western directors, churning out many a Hopalong Cassidy picture; while at least one western historian found his technique "heavy handed," Bretherton delivered what his public craved, remaining active until 1952. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Adventures of Superman: The Gentle Monster
1958
Having invented a "forget gas" in the previous episode, eccentric scientist Professor Pepperwinkle (Phillips Tead) is back with a new creation, a robot named Mr. MacTavish....
Night Raiders
1952
Cowboy star Whip Wilson keeps whipping along in Monogram's Night Raiders. This time, Wilson and saddle pal Tom Farrell are federal marshals, assigned to stop the...
Trail of the Mounties
1949
Trail of the Mounties was the last of four "streamlined" actioners released by Screen Guild in the late 1940s. Each of these films was set in Canada, each starred Russell...
Triggerman
1948
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The Prince of Thieves
1948
Robin Hood (Jon Hall) acosts Sir Allan Claire (Michael Duane) and his sister Lady Marian (Patricia Morison) in Sherwood Forest, only to learn that they are allies of his...
Because of Eve
1948
One of the more notorious "sex hygiene" exploitation melodramas of the 1940s, Because of Eve began its long life in 1948 as The Story of Life. Bob (John Parker) and Sally...
Where the North Begins
1947
Where the North Begins was one of a quartet of 45-minute adventure yarns produced by the Screen Guild in the late 1940s. All four films starred Russell Hayden as Canadian...
The Trap
1947
In this mystery, Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) helps out an actress justly terrified for her own life after her fellow actors slowly begin to die horrible deaths. The...
Ridin' Down the Trail
1947
In this western, a cowboy crooner finds himself entangled with ruthless rustlers posing as Rangers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi...
The Monster and the Ape
1945
Columbia Pictures, as usual, cast a lesser-known player -- in this case the handsome but rather stolid Robert Lowery -- in the starring role of The Monster and the Ape, a...
The Topeka Terror
1945
Republic Pictures' reigning Bad Guy, Roy Barcroft, was at it again in this standard Allan Lane Western, this time playing Ben Jode, a nasty character conspiring...
Who's Guilty?
1945
Undoubtedly inspired by Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, filmed the same year by United Artists as And Then There Were None, this 15 chapter serial told the...
The Big Show-Off
1945
Arthur Lake took time off from his Blondie duties at Columbia to star in Republic's The Big Show-Off. Lake plays an obnoxious pianist who has eyes for beautiful...
Identity Unknown
1945
Predating 20th Century-Fox's Somewhere in the Night by at least a year, Identity Unknown is one of the first (if not the first) 1940s melodramas centering around an...
Gun Smoke
1945
The trail provides great adventure for a cowboy in this western. ~ Rovi...
Renegades of the Rio Grande
1945
In this western, a young man infiltrates a vicious gang of bank robbers in order to capture his father's killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi...
The Navajo Trail
1945
Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond Hatton once again play undercover U.S. marshals Nevada McKenzie and Sandy Hopkins. This time, Sandy's sergeant, Trevor (Jasper L....
The Girl Who Dared
1944
Lorna Gray, shortly before changing her professional name to Adrian Booth, plays the title character in Republic's The Girl Who Dared. Gray is one of several vacationers who...
Outlaws of Santa Fe
1944
Western star Don "Red" Barry essays a dual role in Republic's Outlaws of Santa Fe. Actually, the two "characters" are one: Barry plays a reformed bank robber named Bob...
Hidden Valley Outlaws
1944
"Wild Bill" Elliott heads the all-star (by B-flick standards, at any rate) western Hidden Valley Outlaws. Elliott does battle with a cartel of ruthless landgrabbers, who are...