THE TONTO KID

Rex Bell as the Tonto Kid

THE TONTO KID (1934). Director: Harry L. Fraser. 

Old Rance Cartwright (Joseph W. Girard of The Spider Returns), who owns a ranch, feels that his time is nearly up, and wants his lawyer, Creech (Theodore Lorch) to find his granddaughter, Edna May. and make her an heiress. Cartwright originally hoped to send his former employee, Skeets Slawson, aka the Tonto Kid (Rex Bell) -- whom he fired for insubordination --  to find the granddaughter, but Skeets has other plans. Creech discovers that the long-lost granddaughter may be dead, so with millions at stake he enlists a friend of hers, Nancy (Ruth Mix), to pose as her. Creech's plans take an even darker turn when he kidnaps the real Edna May (Barbara Roberts) with the help of confused Wesley (Buzz Barton). After saving Creech and Nancy from highway robbers, Skeets and Nancy form a bond, which may come in handy when Creech frames the Tonto Kid for murder. 

Rex Bell with Theodore Lorch

Rex Bell, the handsome husband of "It" girl Clara Bow, was a likable and charismatic western cowboy star. The Tonto Kid, although a mediocre flick, illustrates his considerable, rakish appeal. Skeets is no Roy Rogers -- he's a bit of a rapscallion and most people seem to think he's an actual criminal -- although he's ultimately on the side of the angels. Ruth Mix is the child of Tom Mix, and while no beauty, she isn't a bad actress. The Tonto Kid initially has an interesting premise, but then it goes in too many directions. There are a couple of exciting moments, however.  The ending, in which Skeets is sort of roped into a very sudden marriage without even a proposal, is funny and a little scary! Harry L. Fraser also directed The White Gorilla.

Verdict: Rex Bell is the only reason to watch this. **. 

SADDLE ACES OF THE CINEMA

SADDLE ACES OF THE CINEMA. Buck Rainey. A. S. Barnes; 1980.

In this very interesting volume, Rainey looks back at the cowboy heroes of yesteryear, from the silent era to the mid-fifties when television took over from the B movie westerns that proliferated before the "boob tube" became ascendant. The book is much more interesting than I first imagined, because Rainey's prose is quite good and he unearths a lot of interesting information on these mostly forgotten movie stars. The names of Tom Mix and Gene Autry [The Phantom Empire]  and a couple of others may be familiar to the casual reader, and we've also got the likes of Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson, Rex Bell, Harry Carey [The Vanishing Legion], Buck Jones, Jack Holt [Holt of the Secret Service] and others. Many of these gentlemen went on to successful careers as character actors in westerns, serials and other genres. The book is packed with black and white illustrations, a complete list of each actor's film credits, as well as lots of biographical information. If nothing else the book makes it clear how fleeting fame can be, but each man had many, many devoted fans in their day.

Verdict: For western fans and film enthusiasts. ***. 

EYES OF TEXAS

EYES OF TEXAS (1948). Director: William Witney. 

Thad Cameron (Francis Ford of Charlie Chan at the Circus), who has started a home for boys who lost their fathers in WW2, is overjoyed to discover that his long-lost nephew, Frank, has survived. Before the two are reunited, however, Thad is killed by a pack of bloodthirsty dogs. Roy Rogers, playing himself -- this time he's a Marshall and not an actor -- investigates with the help of the Sons of the Pioneers as well as Doc Cookie Bullfincher (Andy Devine) and his amorous nurse, Penny (Lynne Roberts of Dick Tracy Returns). This time Roy is up against the ruthless lawyer Hattie Waters (Nana Bryant), a tough and clever middle-aged lady, her chief gunsel Vic (Roy Barcroft) and his evil pals, and the ex-con (Danny Morton of The Royal Mounted Rides Again) who pretends to be Thad's real nephew. Then there's those deadly dogs ...    

Pure evil: Barcroft, Morton, and Bryant

Eyes of Texas is a near-perfect "modern" Roy Rogers vehicle. The performances are all on target -- Bryant and Barcroft make especially nasty and effective villains in this -- the comedy relief isn't too pervasive -- Andy Devine is far more palatable than Gabby Hayes -- serial specialist William Witney keeps things moving at a thrilling pace, and Roy even sings a couple of pleasant tunes, "The Texas Trail" and "The Padre of Old San Antone." Then there's the amazing Trigger, who participates in fist fights by kicking out at the bad guys with his hooves and other amazing equine feats! 

Verdict: A prime example of why Roger Rogers movies were so damned popular! ***. 

BROTHERS OF THE WEST

Tom Tyler

BROTHERS OF THE WEST (1937). Produced and directed by Sam Katzman.

Ed Wade (Bob Terry) is riding shotgun for a man named Chandler who fears a payroll robbery. When Chandler is shot and killed, Ed is taken prisoner by crooked lawyer Jeff Tracey (Roger Williams), who heads the gang. Tracey is engaged to Celia Chandler (Lois Wilde), who is convinced that Ed murdered her father, a charge devoutly denied by Ed's wife, Annie (Dorothy Short of Captain Midnight). Ed's brother, Tom (Tom Tyler of The Talk of the Town), a detective with the Cattleman's Protective Association up north, cuts short his move to New York City to come and save his brother.

Once upon a time Tom Tyler was a big cowboy hero for Republic pictures, but today he is better known for the classic serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel, in which he played the costumed super-hero. Tyler's career was cut short by health issues -- he only lived until fifty -- and hence he never became a big competitor for Roy Rogers, who also had a natural charm and smoothness that Tyler, at least in this film, lacks. Tyler, however, is handsome and does have the requisite toughness to handle the fight scenes, especially a lively one in the exciting climax. This is one of only five films that were directed by the prolific producer, Sam Katzman. He handles the material well enough that you wonder why he didn't direct more pictures.

Verdict: Adequate performances and a fast pace make this modern-day western easy to take  -- or leave. **1/2. 

HAPPY TRAILS: OUR LIFE STORY -- ROY ROGERS AND DALE EVANS

HAPPY TRAILS: OUR LIFE STORY. ROY ROGERS AND DALE EVANS. With Jane and Michael Stern. Simon and Schuster; 1994.

In alternating chapters, and with overviews provided by the co-authors, Roy Rogers [Wall Street Cowboy] and Dale Evans tell their love story and their life as entertainers and parents of several children, some of whom were adopted. Rogers' first wife died in childbirth, and the heart-broken cowboy made several films with Evans before finally falling in love with her and vice versa. Evans, whose first marriage ended in divorce, admits that in her younger days she cared about little else but her career and at first did not especially want to be one half of the Rogers-Evans combo. Despite toiling for low-budget Republic studios, Rogers caught on with the public and became a bonafide movie star, then garnered even more fans with his rodeo appearances with his beloved horse, Trigger (whom he later had mounted after the horse's death). Rogers, who somehow got out of WW2 military service, took advantage of the fact that rival cowboy Gene Autry went into the military and Republic promoted Rogers as "King of the Cowboys" during his absence. (Rogers' undeniable squinty-eyed sex appeal certainly didn't hurt.) When the film career petered out, Roy and Dale had their own successful TV series. Dale eventually found religion, and Rogers followed suit, although they seem unable to grasp that one can have positive values in life without necessarily having a personal relationship with God. On the other hand, they have helped a great many children, and the most affecting sections of the book deal with the tragic deaths of some of their adopted and biological youngsters. Roy and Dale clearly believed in corporal punishment, and despite the fact that their boys could often be naughty and rambunctious, there are passages that may raise eyebrows, particularly one in which Dale confesses she secretly fed a field mice to one of the boys because she'd heard it was a folk remedy for curing bed-wetting! Factoids in the book include the interesting news that sidekick Gaby Hayes [From Broadway to Cheyenne] was actually a well-educated man who could perform Shakespeare (!), and that Roy's favorite TV show was the soap opera, The Guiding Light!

Verdict: If you can get past the tiresome religiosity, this is more interesting than you might imagine, although it is primarily recommended for Roy Rogers addicts. ***. 

HOLLYWOOD COWBOY DETECTIVES

HOLLYWOOD COWBOY DETECTIVES AND MORE.

If you're fans of those great old classic cliffhanger serials as I am, not to mention "B" westerns (okay, I wasn't crazy about this week's Romance on the Range, but I've enjoyed other flicks in the genre), then you might want to check out a whole series of books written by Darryle Purcell, such as Mystery of the Matinee Murders, Mystery at Movie Ranch, Mystery of the Hardboiled Hooter and Trail of the Bat Blasts, which is part of "The Man in the Mist" series.

These are all available on Amazon in inexpensive Kindle editions and in paperback.

The days of Pulp Adventure go on!