The Exhibitor, 1951.

Exhibitor magazine’s top cowboy stars for 1951. Not a bad batch.

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Thundering Caravans (1952).

Directed by Harry Keller
Produced by Rudy Ralston
Written by M. Coates Webster
Music by Stanley Wilson
Cinematography: John MacBurnie
Film Editor: Harold Minter

Cast: Allan “Rocky” Lane (Marshal Rocky Lane), Eddy Waller (Sheriff Nugget Clark), Mona Knox (Alice Scott), Roy Barcroft (Ed Brill), Isabel Randolph (Deborah Cranston), Richard Crane (Deputy Dan Reed), William Henry (Bert Cranston), Edward Clark (Printer Tom), Pierre Watkin (Head Marshal), Stanley Andrews (Henry Scott), Boyd ‘Red’ Morgan, Fred Aldrich, Art Dillard, Roy Engel, Marshall Reed, Tex Terry, Dale Van Sickel, Black Jack

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I’m embarrassed to admit that this is the first Allan “Rocky” Lane picture to be featured on this blog. I’ve got to get around to Monte Hale, too!

Thundering Caravans (1952) was one of Lane’s later pictures for Republic. His last, El Paso Stampede (1953), was released a little over a year later. Republic would be done with the series Western entirely after 1954’s Phantom Stallion with Rex Allen.

Allan Lane grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and dropped out of Notre Dame to give acting a go. He was spotted and signed by Fox, but moved over to Warner Bros. That didn’t work out so well, and Lane gave up the movies for a while. He was back in supporting parts at Fox in the mid-30s, and after a few thing like RKO’s The Law West Of Tombstone (1938), he made his way over to Republic.

After serials like King Of The Royal Mounted (1940) and The Tiger Woman (1944) with Linda Stirling, Lane was launched as a Republic cowboy star. Next, in 1946, he took over the Red Ryder role after Wild Bill Elliott left the series. When that ran its course, he was back to playing Allan “Rocky” Lane through 1953. From there, he did mostly TV guest roles until providing the voice of Mr. Ed (1961-1966). 

Thundering Caravans has Lane a marshal coming to the aid of the sheriff of Edgewater, who’s trying to get to the bottom of a series of robberies. Wagons of ore are disappearing, and the local newspaper is badmouthing the sheriff as election days comes near. 

Eddy Waller is a hoot as Nugget, the sheriff. Waller was a constant in these Lane pictures, but he wasn’t a sidekick in the regular sense. While he’s always named Nugget Clark, he’s a different character from film to film. In Thundering Caravans, he and Lane don’t know each other at all.

Roy Barcroft doesn’t have a lot of screen time as Ed Brill, an escaped convict, but he gets to be plenty despicable before he’s through. Barcroft was a given in Republic pictures at this time, since he had an exclusive 10-year contract with the studio. They put him in everything they could.

The girl this time around is Mona Knox, an actress and pinup girl who appeared in a handful of films and some TV in the 50s and 60s. She appeared in Flying Leathernecks (1951), The Las Vegas Story (1952) and a couple of Bowery Boys pictures. She doesn’t have a whole lot to do in Thundering Caravans.

Harry Keller was an editor turned director, and he did a number of these later Lane Westerns, including the last one, El Paso Stampede. (He did the Rex Allen’s last, too.) Keller made the move to TV, with some Universal-International Westerns here and there — Quantez (1957), Day Of The Badman (1958) and Seven Ways From Sundown (1960). As with a lot of editors who climb into the director’s chair, you can count on Keller’s pictures to be well-paced, with some solid actions scenes.

Solid action was the order of the day at Republic as their series Westerns wound down. They’re short (usually under an hour), with plenty of riding and shooting (some of it stock footage), and the casts and sets are kept to a minimum. Thundering Caravans looks like it was shot at Iverson Ranch — some rear-projection footage is definitely Iverson.

It’s a shame Republics like Thundering Caravans aren’t around on DVD or Blu-Ray. They’re a lot of fun. 

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Ev’ry Day Is Christmas In The West.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is Trail Of Robin Hood (1950), one of the Trucolor Roy Rogers pictures directed by William Witney. It’s a wonderful thing. It features the song “Ev’ry Day Is Christmas In The West,” which seems worth sharing tonight.

“Ev’ry Day Is Christmas In The West”
Written by Jack Elliott
Performed by Roy Rogers and The Riders of the Purple Sage

They say that Christmas comes but once a year
But don’t you believe it’s so.
That’s only a story you may hear
From those who just don’t know that…
Ev’ry day is Christmas in the West!
Ev’ry day is Christmas in the West!

There’s always an evergreen tree nearby
And always stars like ornaments in the sky.
Nature makes a present of each day.
Skylarks softly carol on their way.
There you’ll find the true kind of love
The Lord above expressed
For ev’ry day is Christmas in the West!

A big thanks to Bob Madison.

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Happy Birthday, Slim Pickens.

Slim Pickens (Louis Burton Lindley Jr.)
(June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983)

When we think of Slim Pickens, what comes to mind are his performances from the 60s and 70s — One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Dr. Strangelove (1964), The Getaway (1972), Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid (1973) and more.

But before Brando and Peckinpah ever called, he’d already in a slew of stuff like William Witney’s Colorado Sundown (1952) with Rex Allen. Of course, he was a rodeo clown before that. And he was never less than terrific.

He was born 99 years ago today.

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Black Friday In TruColor.

They say today marks the beginning of the Christmas season. Here’s Roy Rogers and Trigger in Trail Of Robin Hood (1950), making sure every kid gets a tree.

Around my house, this wonderful, charming 67 minutes is a holiday tradition. It goes well with egg nog, cookies and, of course, popcorn and Raisinets (not to mention one of Sir Galahad’s relatives).

There’s absolutely no way I can recommend this movie enough. And I’d like to say hello to Sis McGonigle herself, Carol Nugent.

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The Christmas Movie Blogathon: Trail Of Robin Hood (1950).

This is my contribution to The Christmas Movie Blogathon. The post is an expansion of a previous piece I’ve been wanting to revisit. This blogathon gave me the chance. The old post has been largely removed, but I left something there to preserve the comments.

Be sure to check out the other bloggers’ work. Some are folks who pass through here every so often. I’m particularly looking forward to the post on The Bishop’s Wife (1947), a personal favorite, and Ivan’s thoughts on The Lemon Drop Kid (1951), a very funny Bob Hope picture.

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Directed by William Witney
Associate Producer: Edward J. White
Written by Gerald Geraghty
Music: Nathan Scott
Director of Photography: John MacBurnie
Film Editor: Tony Martinelli
Special Effects: Howard and Theodore Lydecker

CAST: Roy Rogers, Trigger, Penny Edwards (Toby Aldridge), Gordon Jones (Splinters McGonigle), Rex Allen, Allan “Rocky”Lane, Monte Hale, William Farnum, Tom Tyler, Ray Corrigan, Kermit Maynard, Tom Keene, Jack Holt, Emory Parnell (J. Corwin Aldridge), Clifton Young (Mitch McCall), James Magill (Murtagh), Carol Nugent (Sis McGonigle), George Chesebro, Edward Cassidy (Sheriff Duffy).

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By the late 40s, the Roy Rogers pictures had become relatively elaborate musicals, reducing the action to make room for production numbers — complete with pretty girls and orchestras — and with Roy’s outfits looking more chorus than corral. The story goes that the head of Republic, Herbert J. Yates, had been wowed and inspired by seeing Oklahoma on Broadway. John Wayne said of Yates, “He was a nice enough guy but he had no taste.”

Of course, glitz, glamour and music rights come with a pretty hefty price tag, especially compared to two guys in western wear punching each other in the face. So with the smaller budgets came fewer songs — and more action. Good thing Roy’s director at the time was William Witney.

Witney fan Quentin Tarantino describes it like this: “After their first few movies together, Witney had gotten Roy out of his fringe-and-sparkle attire and was dressing him in normal attire, blue jeans and stuff. They stopped being these crazy musicals. He turned them into rough, tough violent adventures.”

Such was the state of the Roy Rogers Movie when Trail Of Robin Hood (1950) went into production. It’s in Trucolor, Roy’s traded his Nudie suits for plaid shirts, and the action comes fast and furious. Oh, and in spite of its title, it’s a Christmas movie.

Here, Roy works for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service and comes to the aid of cowboy star Jack Holt, who’s retired and growing Christmas trees — which he intends to sell at cost, so every kid can have one. A large Christmas tree conglomerate doesn’t like Holt’s business model and takes to stealing Holt’s trees, sabotaging his operation and threatening his workers. Naturally, Roy, Trigger and Bullet will have none of this.

I don’t want to give too much away. Just know that the whole thing is actually goofier than it sounds — and that it’s full of fights, chases, fires and other mayhem. Along the way, Roy and the Riders Of The Purple Sage sing a couple Christmas songs (“Ev’ry Day Is Christmas Day In the West” is very good), there’s a young girl (Carol Nugent) with a pet turkey named Sir Galahad, and a number of Republic cowboy stars turn up to help save Holt’s farm. On hand are Allan ‘Rocky’ Lane, Monte Hale, William Farnum, Tom Tyler, Ray Corrigan, Kermit Maynard, Tom Keene, Rex Allen and George Chesebro.

Roy’s daughter Cheryl Rogers-Barnett, who has a small part in Trail Of Robin Hood, points out, “They used that formula of putting all their cowboys into one as sort of a promo for the other cowboys. Rex Allen was not a big name yet, and it was a way of promoting him.”

With Trail Of Robin Hood and the other late-period Rogers films (his last Republic picture came out in 1951), William Witney did more than just cut the music and stir in more violence — he turned up the pacing. He creates excitement, builds suspense and sets the pace through skillful editing. And the story is told visually whenever possible. The comedy (from Gordon Jones this time) and songs don’t get in the way or slow things down.

But maybe most important, Witney keeps things simple. There’s not an ounce of fat in the picture’s 67 minutes, and camera movement is always purposeful, never flashy. As Tarantino explains, “These guys were storytellers. They knew how to move the camera to convey information so they didn’t have to shoot another dialogue scene to explain something.”

Cheryl Rogers-Barnett says of Witney: “He was a great action director, and loved Trigger. He was always trying to come up with extra things for the Old Man to do.”

Dale Evans, of course, was Mrs. Roy Rogers and his steady co-star. But she was on maternity leave. So Penny Edwards appears in Trail Of Robin Hood — in a part obviously written with Dale in mind. Penny transitioned from singer to actress, was under contract at Warner Brothers, made six films with Rogers in 1950-51, and left the picture business in 1954 to serve the Lord. She returned a few years later, appearing in lots of TV shows and commercials.

Gordon Jones plays Splinters McGonagle, the usual broad sidekick part you expect in a B Western. He was in six Rogers pictures, made a few other Republic films (including Woman They Almost Lynched) and would soon appear as Mike The Cop onThe Abbott & Costello Show. Carol Nugent is quite good. And of course, Jack Holt and all the guest stars are terrific.

Cheryl Rogers-Barnett: “The main thing I remember is being absolutely in awe of Jack Holt and just about everybody else was, too. There were a lot of cowboy stars in there that made a lot of movies, but Jack Holt was a Movie Star, and Republic didn’t have many Movie Stars working on that lot. They did, but it was so different. He had worked for all of the big studios and he’d been a star in Silents and Talkies, and everybody was sort of in awe of him. And he was so sweet to me. The one and only line I get is with him [she asks Holt for his autograph], and I think it took me like three tries. Dad was getting really upset because Republic liked one and done. I stammered a little.”

Another standout is the villain. Tall and thin, with a cleft chin and a voice deeper than you’d expect, Clifton Young makes a particularly nasty bad-guy, especially considering he works for a Christmas tree company. Young had been one of Our Gang, “Bonedust,” making the transition from silent to sound. Not long after Trail Of Robin Hood, he was killed in a hotel fire.

Trail Of Robin Hood is wonderful, and it’s a shame it’s not better known as a Christmas movie (note the holiday engagement in Statesville, NC advertised up top). We can thank the title for that, probably selected more or less at random from Republic’s list, or file, of candidates. It was available uncut on VHS from Republic back in the day. But what you’ll find on DVD is cut by at least 10 minutes. Roy, and this great little movie, deserve a lot better than that.

Sources: Quentin Tarantino from a 2000 NY Times piece; Cheryl Rogers-Barnett from a phone conversation with the author.

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Gallery: Making Westerns In The 50s.

Rex Allen and Roy Rogers, somewhere on the Republic lot.

Mara Corday studies the Raw Edge (1956) screenplay.

Donna Reed and Richard Widmark at work on Backlash (1956). That’s John Sturges obscured in the ball cap.

Howard Hawks shows Kirk Douglas how to do a fight scene for The Big Sky (1952).

Ronald Reagan and Barbara Stanwyck discuss the arms situation on the set of Cattle Queen Of Montana (1954).

Satchel Paige and Robert Mitchum shoot the breeze between takes on The Wonderful Country (1959).

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Phantom Stallion (1954).

With Phantom Stallion (1954), Republic Pictures got out of the series Western business, an industry they’d come to dominate with a stable of cowboy stars second to none. Lucky for us, they go out on a positive note.

This time around, Rex Allen and Slim Pickens uncover a group of horse thieves who use a wild stallion and his herd to cover their crimes. Before the Republic eagle pops up at the end, there’s a pretty good fistfight, a young Mexican boy with a philly, a murder and a lot of riding. (Rex and Slim on horseback are a great thing to see.) This picture seems a bit heavier than your typical series Western, with the violence turned up a notch, no love interest (it’s established right up front that Carla Balenda is one of the bad guys) and no songs.

Writer Gerald Geraghty’s long Hollywood career took him from writing titles for silent pictures to scripts for Rex Allen’s Frontier Doctor TV show. He received a story credit for the delirious Gene Autry serial The Phantom Empire (1936) and wrote Trail Of Robin Hood (1950). Phantom Stallion was directed by Harry Keller, who started out as an editor with dozens of Republic cowboy pictures on his resumé. By 1950, he was directing for Republic, and continued at the studio till this picture closed out their Western series in 1954. Keller was soon under contract at Universal-International, which put him in place to direct one of their best 50s Westerns, Quantez (1957).

The signs of cost-cutting, a common complaint with later series Westerns, aren’t too obvious in Phantom Stallion — though some of the wild horse scenes look like they’re lifted from other pictures, and there are a lot of riding scenes in this 54 minutes. The fight scenes don’t quite have the snap of the Republics William Witney directed, such as Colorado Sundown (1952), another Rex Allen picture (and a very good one). And it seems like it’s missing an extra fight in there somewhere — the ending feels a bit too abrupt.

You can’t help but think that if Rex Allen had signed on at Republic a few years earlier, the Arizona Cowboy would’ve been an even bigger star. By the time he and Koko rode onscreen, the sun was setting on the series Western. But his Republics are certainly worthwhile, a respectable way for Republic to bring an era to its end.

Below: Rex and crew on location for Phantom Stallion.

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