Last night we were back with the King of the Cowboy Stars, Johnny Mack Brown, in "Oklahoma Frontier"(1939), a story of the land rush of 1889. As the movie opens, Johnny Mack - as "Jeff McLeod" - quits his job as a U.S Marshal. He just doesn't like having to shoot people, especially old friends who've gone bad. When he quits, so does his sidekick "Frosty" (Fuzzy Knight). Where Jeff goes, Frosty goes too, and they head out to Oklahoma City on the recommendation of their Captain: "They're givin' away free land". Jeff thinks he'll try his luck as a farmer. Meanwhile, young "Tom Rankin" (Bob Baker) and his sister "Janet" (the legendary Anne Gwynne) are departing their ranch, which has gone bust from the drought. They're gonna join the land rush too, though their Dad has to stay behind due to rheumatism. He tells Tom to take care of his sister, and to make sure and grab some land in a sector he's reserved for them, with a stream crossing. This will give Tom water rights that will lead to a prosperous farm.
But a crook named "Frazier" (James Blaine) is also vying for that land. Frazier is a big shot, with enough money to hire a claim jumper - "Saunders" (Bob Kortman) - to secure the land in his name, even though he'll be stealing it from the Rankins, who have that plot reserved as mentioned. Frazier promises Saunders five grand if he can jump their claim. Frazier says "no problem", but then Jeff McLeod and Frosty meet Tom Rankin in town. Jeff and Tom go way back. He asks Tom about Janet, who he remembers as a "little squirt". Janet is all grown up now, and what Jeff didn't know is that she had a crush on him back then, and still does. When Tom reintroduces them, she says to Jeff: "I've been proposing to you in my dreams every night since you moved away". He doesn't take her seriously at first, because he still thinks of her as a kid. Besides, he and Frosty are too busy to settle down. "We're gonna get some of that free land that's comin up", Jeff tells Tom. "Yeah, so are we", Tom replies. "Maybe we'll be neighbors". But then, in the saloon, Saunders the claim jumper overhears Tom and Johnny talking about the sector with the stream, and he interrupts to tell Tom, "you better not try for that land, a bunch of gunmen want it, and are gonna kill anyone who tries to stake a claim". Jeff, being a former Marshal, understands the insinuation and decks Saunders. A punchout ensues. Saunders later kills Tom Rankin, and - you guessed it - frames Jeff for the job in retaliation, by planting a map of the sector in Jeff's pocket, which makes it look like he killed Tom for the map, even though he drew it for the Rankins to begin with. Army soldiers guarding the land rush starting line arrest Jeff, and now that it's "proven" that he killed Tom Rankin, he's sentenced to hang in the morning.
Janet wants to marry him the night before, so she can rightfully claim the plot, because at that time, in Oklahoma, a woman could not own land unless she was 21, or married. Janet hates Jeff, because the frame job has worked. She believes Jeff killed her brother for the map. But she can't get the land unless he agrees to marry her, and he won't do it unless she'll hear him out. "I didn't kill Tom", he says. "Just marry me and make it right so I can get the land", she responds. "It's the least you can do before you die." But all may not be lost. Frosty has a plan to break Jeff out of the slammer before he swings. He sets himself up to blow the bugle call that will start the land rush in the morning. He does this ahead of schedule, with the help of "Mushy" (Horace Murphy), a drunk who hangs out at the saloon. Mushy is constantly badgering Frosty to play him some songs on the piano. I won't give away the gag, but it confuses the soldiers at the jailhouse. Frosty blows the bugle, the rush begins five minutes early, the soldiers run out to investigate and get caught in the massive covered wagon stampede. Frosty runs in and breaks Jeff out of jail. He's saved from the gallows, and they ride out to the indicated sector of land to shoot it out with Saunders and Frazier. Jeff clears himself with the soldiers, then of course he marries Janet, who now can claim the land in her name. As always, you get a complex plot in a Johnny Mack Brown Western, and some great music in addition, from a band called The Texas Rangers. Fuzzy Knight, when playing for Mushy the Barfly, sings a song about Cincinnati that made me think of my parents. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Oklahoma Frontier". It's highly recommended though the picture is a little bit soft. ////
The previous night, we had Tim McCoy in "Code of the Rangers"(1938), in which he plays Texas Ranger "Tim Strong". Subtle name, eh? If Johnny Mack is the overall King of the Western Cowboys, McCoy might just be the toughest. He certainly comes across as the most authoritarian, the dude you'd least want to have chasing you down the dusty trail if you were a bad guy. In this movie his brother "Jack" (Rex Lease), who he's looked out for since childhood, has become involved with a gold robbery and money laundering gang. In the opening scene, gang leader "Blackie Miller" (Wheeler Oakman) is wanted all over the territory. He's accused, among other crimes, of robbing the "Chatsville" bank, haha. At their hideout, Blackie pays his henchmen, but one of them has been caught during the robbery. "Don't worry", he tells the men, "he'll be out of jail before sundown". How is that possible when the guy's been caught red handed? It's because the gang has a plant in the jailhouse. Yep, it's Jack, who's also a Ranger but only because he's Tim's brother. Everyone knows Jack's a ne'er do well. The Sheriff thinks he let Blackie's henchman out of jail in the middle of the night. Tim asks Jack if this is true. Jack swears it isn't, but his response is so disingenuous that it gives his deceit away. Jack is then fired and threatened with jail himself. Only because he's Tim Strong's brother is he allowed to remain free. In fact, Tim covers for him once again. He pretends to be part of the robbery gang and takes the blame in Jack's place. When he goes to jail, then gets let out because the Sheriff knows he's fronting for Jack, Tim makes Jack promise to go straight.
But he doesn't. Instead he goes right back to Blackie's gang, which we find out is being assisted by "Mr. Price" (Edward Earle) the owner of the bank. That's how they are able to trade their loot for gubment bonds, which the banker then launders in Mexico. Finally, Jack screws up one too many times for Tim to continue bailing him out. He gets shot, and that's when McCoy turns up the revenge meter and lowers the boom on Blackie Miller. You don't want Tim McCoy on your bad side, as noted, which Blackie finds out at the end. Let's rank our gunslingers just for fun : If Johnny Mack Brown is the King, and Tim McCoy the Toughest, then Tom Tyler is the most Athletic. Buster Crabbe is the most Serious, or Dashing (whichever the role calls for). Ken Maynard is the most Earnest, and gets the Saturday Matinee Award as probably the most popular cowboy among kids (and, he's got Tarzan, the best horse). Harry Carey is the most Taciturn, the Loner of the bunch. Tex Ritter is certainly the Smoothest, and William S. Hart is the Grand Old Man of the whole bunch, the Artiste, and probably the best actor among the lot. He made A-level Westerns in the Silent era and invested them with genuine emotion, and he was one badass gunslinger to boot.
So there you have it. Two Big Thumbs Up for Tim McCoy and "Code of the Rangers". The picture is good and it's very highly recommended. I'm listening to "Fish Rising" by Steve Hillage. Tomorrow, I wish you a Happy Ritchie Blackmore's Birthday, and I send you Tons of Love, as always.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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