Last night, we were back with Tom Tyler in "Terror of the Plains"(1934). Tom's Dad (Ralph Lewis) is being framed for murder, so he quits his job as a ranch hand to help Dad out. His sidekick "Banty" (Frank Rice) quits too, because wherever Tom goes, Banty goes (and Banty owes him; Tom has helped get him out of several unwanted marriages). Tom visits Dad in jail and learns who framed him, a cutthroat named "Butcher Wells" (William Gould), who is now the leader of a gang hiding out in Beale's Cut. Tom and Banty ride out there with a plan for Tom to infiltrate the gang by pretending to be an outlaw. Identifying himself as Tom Smith, he tells Butcher that he's just killed a lawman. This establishes his undercover credentials, until a henchman named "Nevada" (Slim Whittaker) decides he doesn't trust Tom, and an overlong punchout ensues. I'll say right off the bat that the two fight scenes in this film went on for longer than any I've seen in a 60 minute Western, and while I wasn't tempted to turn it off, because it's a Tom Tyler movie ('nuff said), the length of them (one was over three minutes) really detracted from the plot up to that point. I'm guessing that the director needed to fill time for lack of story, but I mean, c'mon already. These were over the top. Anyhow, after Tom wins the fight, Butcher - now going by the alias of Kirk Cramer - makes him his #1 henchman, much to the chagrin of Nevada. But Cramer tells Tom : "we share everything in this outfit, except our women. That means keep your hands off Bess, she's mine." "Bess" (Roberta Gale) is a young gal who got caught in the middle of a stage holdup and has been held hostage by Cramer ever since. We've already seen Cramer's attempt to force Bess to marry him, with the help of a pastor who is also being held by the gang. Bess tries to escape wearing boy's clothing, and when Tom is caught helping her, Cramer accuses him of trying to steal his woman. This leads to the three minute fist fight previously mentioned. Most of Tom Tyler's movies are very inventive, mixing in comedy and criminal subplots that add dimension, so again, the script must've been wanting, because while punchouts are part and parcel of 60 minute Westerns, when they go on too long it can have the effect of wearing the viewer out.
Luckily, once the second one ends, we still have 30 minutes to go, with no more fights but plenty of action. Cramer tries setting up another stage robbery, but Tom and Banty foil it by knocking out Nevada and switching hats with him, so it looks like Nevada is shooting at the stage from the weeds. This frightens the team of horses before the robbery can be completed. They run off, pulling the stagecoach with them, and because Cramer thinks Nevada screwed up the robbery, this leads him to hold a kangaroo court at the gang's hideout in a nearby ghost town. The honchos have to vote on who they think is responsible for the screw-up, but before the court is over, a lookout brings in Banty, who's been hiding in the brush since the robbery. Banty is forced to name his accomplice, but Tom pulls a gun hidden in his boot and makes Cramer ride back to town to face justice for framing his father. It's the final half of the movie that leads me to give it Two Big Thumbs Up, and there are some great scenes of a riderless horse, running full tilt, leading the chase as Tom brings Cramer back while fending off his pursuers.
At the end, the parson marries Tom and Bess, his Dad is there to witness, and all's well that ends well. Two Bigs, as noted, but they'd have done better with a full script and some better bad guys. Charles King was definitely needed in this picture, and a saloon owner or land office crook would've helped as well. Still, any time you've got Tom Tyler, you automatically have Two Big Thumbs. That's how good he was. The picture this time is pretty soft, but still watchable. ////
The previous night, you couldn't ask for more as The Rough Riders rode again, in "Forbidden Trails"(1941, released on Christmas Day, less than three weeks after Pearl Harbor). The movie opens in a prison, where Charles King and his buddy are about to be paroled. Charles King in prison pajamas is a hoot! He vows to head back to Arizona to kill "Buck Roberts" (Buck Jones), the Marshal who put them in jail. His cellmate agrees: "If we don't get him, he's just gonna put us back here again." When they get to Buck's hometown, they find him visiting young "Jim Cramer" (Dave O'Brien), who he helped get a reduced sentence for a misguided holdup attempt. Jim has a wife and young children and is trying to go straight. He has a job as a stage driver for a mining company, delivering gold ore. Marshal Buck likes him, and watched over his wife and kids while he was in jail. Charles King and his pal decide to use Jim to get close to Marshal Buck so they can kill him, but by this time, another Rough Rider has arrived in town. Tim McCoy is posing as a cardsharp again, dressed in a black duster and tall black hat. He signs on with the saloon owner to "deal in favor of the house". The owner is heading up a scheme to rob the mining company, which McCoy plans to prevent by infiltration. Charles King comes into the saloon, sits down for a game of Faro, and McCoy takes him for all his money. King wants to shoot him, but learns the hard way that you never challenge McCoy to a draw. So, after King slinks away, the saloon owner takes pity on him and shoots him a ten spot. This placates King, and when the owner finds out he and his buddy are ex-cons, he hires them to help with the upcoming gold heist.
Meanwhile, the third Rough Rider, "Sandy Hopkins" aka Killer (Raymond Hatton), is running a hotel down in Texas. He's about to be married to a woman twice his size, and he's thinking it's a big mistake. At the altar, he gets a note saying that he's needed by Buck and McCoy, and that's all the excuse he needs to get out of the marriage. He runs from the church, rides away as fast as he can, and the next time we see him, he's in disguise as a stage driver with the mining company, taking over for Jim Cramer. In his new persona, Sandy is now an "ex-con" who also hates Marshal Buck, which establishes his undercover criminal credentials. All three Riders are now set to infiltrate the gold robbery scheme, but their plan gets screwed up when Charles King finds out that Tim McCoy is a U.S. Marshal. As previously noted, we absolutely love the Rough Riders series, you can't do better in all of 60 minute Western-dom, so Two Big Thumbs Up for "Forbidden Trails". The picture is slightly damaged but sharp. ////
I'm listening to "Die Meistersinger" by Richard Wagner (over a four night period because it's four hours long), and I want to know where you can buy classical composer T-shirts. Anyone know? I'm talking about rock band style t-shirts but with classical composers on them. I also want a Charles King t-shirt. That's all I know for tonight. I hope you're enjoying your weekend and I send you Tons of Love as always.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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