This time we have a Johnny Mack Brown Double Feature, starting with "The Texas Kid"(1943). JMB actually has the co-starring role in this one, as the focus is on "The Kid" (Marshall Reed), who's joined The Scully Gang, but quits when they kill a bank guard in a robbery. "I didn't sign up for no killin' ", he tells them. Leader "Scully" (Edmund Cobb) doesn't take kindly to The Kid's departure. He has his henchmen follow him into town, to make sure he doesn't rat out the gang for the bank murder. When he arrives, The Kid stops at the general store to buy new clothes. There, he meets "Nancy Drew" the proprietress (Shirley Patterson). They get to talking, and it turns out they have something in common - both of their dads were killed by gunmen. Nancy took over her Dad's store and sold half to "Mr. Naylor" (Robert Fiske), a local businessman. The Texas Kid, when his dad was killed, went west to California and ended up with The Scully Gang. After buying his clothes, he runs into the man who shot his pa. The Kid kills him. Scully happens to be there and talks The Kid into rejoining his outfit. All is forgiven for awhile, and Scully promises there will be no more killing, just robberies.
Meanwhile, "Ranger Jack Mackenzie" (Johnny Mack) is trailing a gang of stage robbers. They've been hard to catch. He's hiding out on near Rocky Peak in an attempt to surprise them. The stagecoach gang is ruthless; they've killed every driver on the route. They steal the ranch payroll every time it goes through. Nancy Drew and Mr. Naylor, who run the stage line out of their store, are at their wits' end. They don't know what to do.
The Texas Kid, who's become right friendly with the beautiful Nancy (Shirley Patterson was Miss California), is outraged about the murderous stage robbers. Remember, he don't like no killin'. He volunteers to drive the next stage through with the ranch payroll. He meets Ranger Jack through an introduction to Mr. Naylor. Naylor hears through Nancy that The Kid has money to invest, and sells him half his interest in the store. What nobody knows is that Naylor is behind all the robberies, he controls The Scully Gang who are also pulling off the stage jobs! Naylor plans to use The Kid to his advantage, then kill him. Ranger Jack teams up with a grizzled old snake oil salesman named "Sandy Hopkins" (Raymond Hatton), who's really an undercover U.S. Marshall just like he is. They arrange a meeting of the ranchers, to lure Naylor, who still thinks no one is on to him. He's double dealing as an honest businessman who supposedly wants the stage robbers stopped. He pretends to be a father figure to Nancy. But Sandy Hopkins has the lowdown on Naylor. He brings in Ranger Jack, who tells The Kid, and the three of them set up a sting operation to nail Naylor and The Scully Gang, by going through with The Kid's plan to drive the stagecoach.
"The Texas Kid" is one of the best Johnny Mack Brown movies we've seen so far, though actually Marshall Reed as The Texas Kid carries most of the weight. The finely layered script has his story at the core, along with Nancy's, where - as victims of gun violence - they're drawn together to stop the killing. Oddly enough, no romance develops. You wish for a happy ending for Nancy and The Kid, but it doesn't happen (and I can't tell you what does). There's also no comic relief this time around, maybe because of the serious nature of the story. JMB is great as usual, and you'll recognize the location immediately as Iverson Ranch. Two Big Thumbs Up, don't miss it, the picture is razor sharp. ////
The previous night, we watched Johnny Mack in "Lawless Land"(1937), this time as "Ranger Jeff Hayden". He's working undercover again, on the case of a murdered Sheriff. It seems someone's got it in for lawmen in this border town, down by ol' San Antone. In the opening scene, the Sheriff is watching a Mexican dancer (Anita Camargo) excite a cantina full of rowdy cowboys. She's hot stuff; the local big shot wants her; so does a macho Bandito (Julian Rivero). The sheriff has a laugh at all the competition for her hand, then he goes home and is shot dead through his windum by a mysterious figure.
Well, the town big shot "Clay Wheeler" (Ted Adams) calls a meeting. He's incensed about the disregard for law and order in the town. "This isn't the first sheriff we've lost!", he cries. Maybe they should call in Cleavon Little. Wheeler appoints himself as temporary Sheriff until the state can send a new one. The townsfolk say "ravvid!", then Johnny Mack steps up and introduces himself. But he doesn't let on that he's a Ranger. A young lady named "Letty" (Louise Stanley) admires him. She owns a ranch. But Clay Wheeler decides he wants Letty too. This pits him against JMB. When Letty's wagon goes out of control in Placerita Canyon, Johnny rides like the wind to save her. One hell of a stunt is filmed, in which he (or a stuntman) jumps from a sprinting horse, onto the wagon, which he then reins in just in time before they go over a cliff. Actually the wagon does go over, which means the horses pulling it must have gone over, also. They filmed it from a distance, though, and I don't remember seeing horses. I don't think they would (or could) have done that, but it's edited to great effect.
Back to the story, Clay Wheeler keeps sending the Bandito out to kill Johnny Mack, but he screws it up every time. He's played as a self-important amigo who's actually a nitwit, and as such, he's great comic relief. Letty is sweet and forthright. At first she sees Clay Wheeler as a protective big brother type. She doesn't love him, but he presses her into marriage. Letty's heart really belongs to Johnny Mack, but she thinks he's is in love with the Mexican dancer also, so she shuns him for a while.
Johnny has to enlist Horace Murphy once again (playing a storekeeper this time) to help him stop Clay Wheeler from marrying Letty. Murphy, who played ranch cook "Calico" in our last JMB flick ("Boothill Brigade), does his "old Betsy" routine with his rifle again, only this time there's no nickname for the gun, and his target is the pompous Bandito. Ted Adams is great as Clay Wheeler. A reviewer on IMDB called him Snidely Whiplash, which I got a huge kick out of, because that I used the same comparison to describe another villain in one of our recent 60 minute westerns (can't recall which one at the moment, check old blogs). You absolutely can't go wrong with any of these Johnny Mack Browns. They really knew how to make movies in those days. Give the fans what they want, the formula works every time, and as my Dad said, "you put the White hats on and ride in one direction, and then you have the same guys put on the Black hats and have 'em ride in the other direction", and that's how you make a classic Western movie!
The old time Westerns are the best. They're audience-friendly, and have Good Guys, Bad Guys, love, and a little comedy. The early filmmakers knew how to do it; this one was made again by Sam Newfield, one of the greats in my book. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Lawless Land". Shot at Walker Ranch, the picture is good but could be better. In that regard, all the JMBs call for a razor sharp restoration. Criterion, are you listening? ////
That's all I know for tonight. Tomorrow night, I'm going to see Rick Wakeman at the Ace Hotel. It's my first concert in two years. Also of note is that Rick holds the record - for me - for the longest period by a performer between the first and most recent time I've seen them. For Rick Wakeman it'll be 47 and a half years. I first saw him at the Hollywood Bowl on September 27, 1974. It was the third concert I ever went to. To think that he's still doing it, almost half a century later, is amazing. I'll report on the concert in the next blog. Stay tuned..........and pray for world peace.
I send you Tons of Love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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