MAN WITH THE GUN (Formosa/UA, 1955)

DIRECTOR: Richard Wilson; PRODUCER: Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.; WRITERS: story and screenplay by N.B. Stone, Jr. and Richard Wilson; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lee Garmes

CAST: Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling, Karen Sharpe, Henry Hull, Emile Meyer, John Lupton, Barbara Lawrence, Ted de Corsia, Leo Gordon, James Westerfield, Florenz Ames, Joe Barry, Claude Akins, Angie Dickinson

The film opens with Ed Pinchot (Leo Gordon) riding into the town of Sheridan.  

A boy's dog breaks away from him and begins to bark at the feet of Pinchot's horse.  Irritated, Pinchot pulls a pistol from his shoulder holster and shoots the dog.

While the boy kneels in the street, distraught over his dog, the gunman receives a warm welcome from Frenchy Lescoe (Ted de Corsia), the manager of the Palace saloon, who, like Pinchot, is employed by a land baron named Dade Holman (Joe Barry).  




Although there were a number of eyewitnesses, including the town marshal, nobody raises a hand, not even the marshal. This is a town that has a lot of problems.  What it needs is a town tamer.

And as luck would have it, one is about to ride into town.








THE PLOT.
Clint Tollinger (Robert Mitchum) has come to Sheridan because he has learned that his estranged wife, Nelly Bain (Jan Sterling), lives there.  Since leaving Tollinger she has made her living by managing a group of "dance hall girls" who are currently employed at the Palace saloon.

Sally refuses to talk to Tollinger or to tell him where their daughter is -- or anything else about her.  Despite her love for him, she had left with their daughter because she could no longer tolerate his dangerous occupation.

Town Tamer's estranged wife

Word gets around that Tollinger is a notorious town tamer who hires out his gun in order to establish law and order. After discussing the issue in a meeting, the town council persuaded by its president, blacksmith Saul Atkins (Emile Meyer), reluctantly hires Tollinger.

Lee Sims (Henry Hull), a man who lacks any semblance of courage or initiative is the town marshal.  One has to wonder how it is that a frontier town ever hired him in the first place. Furthermore, why did he take a job that was clearly beyond his means to execute? And why didn't he resign when the going got tough?  And why didn't the town council fire him after it hired Tollinger? I don't know why, but he remained in the office to the very end. 

At any rate, Sims deputizes Tollinger and tells him that he is on his own. Tollinger makes it clear that he wouldn't have it any other way.

There is a subplot involving young Jeff Castle (John Lupton) who attempts to homestead on a plot of land that the greedy rancher Holman claims but does not have title to, but nevertheless attempts to control through intimidation and other illegal means.  Jeff is engaged to Saul Atkins daughter Stella (Karen Sharpe; not to be confused with Karen Steele).  Although Stella is opposed to the whole notion of violence, even for a good cause, she eventually finds herself drawn against her will to the gunfighter, even though she dislikes his methods.

Tollinger holds a slice of green tomato pie as he talks with (L-R) Jeff Castle, Stella Atkins, and Saul Atkins

And of course as in all of the town tamer westerns the business element begins to complain that Tollinger's methods are too harsh and are having the effect of driving business away. We knew that was going to happen -- and so did Tollinger.

Dade Holman, whose ominous shadow hovers over the town, is not seen until the closing scenes.  He is described to Tollinger as being a reclusive fat man who stays close to his ranch home, and has not been seen in town for several years.  He nevertheless controls the town and the surrounding area by employing gunfighters such as Pinchot to carry out his wishes.  He also owns the Palace saloon, which is managed by Lescoe.

Well, push comes to shove, as one would imagine -- especially after Tollinger nails up notices forbidding guns within the city limits, including the extremely harsh warning that violators will be shot.

It isn't long before he makes his point by shooting the Harkness brothers, two henchmen in the employ of Dade Holman, who refused to obey the rule. 

In response to the killing of the brothers and the weapons ban, four more of Holman's men ride into town looking for a showdown with Tollinger.

They are led by Jim Reedy, the hombre in the big hat, portrayed by a young Claude Akins in an uncredited role. Uncredited, because he isn't going to be in this picture for very long.

Tollinger gets the drop on the four and kills the gent on the left who draws his gun on him.

Reedy has a trick up his sleeve -- er in his big hat.  But he doesn't fool Tollinger and when the smoke clears Holman has lost another man.

That's four.


There are several gimmicks involving guns in the film: Pinchot carries his gun in a shoulder holster; Reedy has one hidden in his hat; and Tollinger carries an extra gun in his belt.

Tollinger, a two-gun man with one holster.  Why?  Beats me.

Along the way Tollinger learns a terrible secret and we learn why he became a town tamer, a man who always uses his gun on the side of law and order -- at least as he saw it.  And, of course, there must be a final shootout involving Tollinger and Pinchot and Holman.  

Dade Holman comes to town

When the smoke clears and the dust settles Tollinger has killed six men. That's pretty good work for just a few days when one considers that Wild Bill Hickok killed a grand total of six during his lifetime and Wyatt Earp accounted for three. Of course the cinematic Hickok and Earp killed many, many more than that. 

As you can tell, there isn't much originality in the plot.  It was done before and would be done again.  In fact, in many ways it combines elements of THE GUNFIGHTER (Fox, 1950) and WARLOCK (Fox, 1959) as well as a number of other films.  And it is true, that given everything that had transpired, the conclusion does fall a tad flat. However, a strong cast and excellent black-and-white-photography make it well worth watching.

Practically the entire film takes place in the town. But I like the town.  It has an authentic look and feel -- at least much more so than the typical western movie town.  According to sources, the film was shot on the Samuel Goldwyn lot, but I don't recall ever seeing the location in any other film. 


THE STARS.

BLOOD ON THE MOON (RKO, 1948)

Robert Mitchum (1917-1997) began his movie career in 1942-43 by playing bit parts in the Hopalong Cassidy B-western series.  A gang henchman at the beginning he eventually landed a few sympathetic roles in the series.  At the same time he was cast in extra and bit parts in other films.

As luck would have it, RKO had lost its two reigning B-western stars -- first George O'Brien and then Tim Holt -- to military service during World War II.In 1944, the studio signed Mitchum to a seven year contract to take their place and planned to star him in a series of B-Westerns loosely based on Zane Grey stories.

He starred in two -- NEVADA (1944) and WEST OF THE PECOS (1945) -- and was very good in them.  The two earlier series with O'Brien and Holt had been superior and it appeared that the studio had another winner.  But it was not to be.  These two films were the actor's only starring roles in B-westerns.  

Fate intervened again when, on loan-out, Mitchum was cast in an important role in William Wellman's WWII film, STORY OF G.I. JOE (UA, 1945).  It was a success, garnering four Academy Award nominations, including Mitchum as Best Supporting Actor. Ironically, it was his only nomination, but it meant that he would not become a famous B-western star.  No, instead he would become a famous movie star. And by the way, at the time of his nomination Mitchum was also in the military, having been drafted near the end of the war.

After the war, Tim Holt would return and resume his role as RKO's B-western star and Mitchum would go on to bigger and better things.  His deep voice, physical appearance, and sleepy-eyed demeanor made him perfect in the noir dramas that became his specialty. During that period he also starred in one classic western, BLOOD ON THE MOON  (RKO, 1948), which possessed many of the noirish qualities that characterized his other films. 

In 1954, Mitchum and the studio parted ways.  MAN WITH THE GUN was his first post-RKO film.

Jan Sterling and Paul Kelly in a scene from THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY

Prior to her role in MAN WITH THE GUN, Jan Sterling had appeared in two westerns. The first was an uncredited role as Flo, a saloon girl, in GUNFIRE (Lippert, 1950), a B-western starring Don "Red" Barry. In 1953, she was cast as a tomboy in love with Buffalo Bill (Charlton Heston) in PONY EXPRESS (Paramount, 1953). The first film did nothing to advance her career and the second, a weak film about the beginning of -- you guessed it -- the pony express -- didn't do much for her cause either.

However, the next year after PONY EXPRESS she received great critical notices for her performance in the John Wayne airplane disaster film, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (Warner Brothers). It was for that film that she was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress. It would be her only nomination.


THE SUPPORTING CAST.

Henry Hull (1890-1977), as Sheridan's incompetent marshal, gives a surprisingly restrained performance in MAN WITH THE GUN. Surprising, because he could chew scenery with the best of them.

His long and successful acting career began on the stage in 1911 and in the movies in 1917.

Although he did not appear in a lot of western films, he did have an important role in one classic. In JESSE JAMES (Fox, 1939) he portrayed Major Rufus Cobb, a frontier newspaperman and friend of the James brothers, a role he repeated the following year in the film's sequel, THE RETURN OF FRANK JAMES (Fox).

Two years before MAN WITH THE GUN, Emile Meyer (1910-1987) gave his most memorable performance.  It was as cattleman Rufus Ryker in SHANE  (Paramount), a man not unlike Dade Holman, that most western movie fans remember him.  Perhaps not as evil as Holman, Ryker nevertheless also opposed homesteaders settling on land that he claimed but had no legal title to. And he hired a gunfighter, too, one even more lowdown and mean than the character portrayed by Leo Gordon in this film.  Jack Palance was terrific in the role of the gunfighter.

John Lupton (1928-1993) is best remembered for co-starring with Michael Ansara in the TV series Broken Arrow.  The series was based on the movie of the same name which in turn was based on Gilbert Arnold's novel, Blood Brothers.

However, Lupton would not want to remembered, I am sure, for his starring role in the western-horror film, JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (Embassy, 1966).  And neither would the late Jim Davis, who was also in the film.  Those must have been lean times for the two actors. 

Karen Sharpe (B. 1934) appeared in three films with her mentor and friend Jan Sterling. One of them was THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY, for which Sterling received her only Academy Award nomination and Sharpe received a Golden Globe Award for "New Star of the Year."

As a result, Sharpe was signed to a contract by Batjac, John Wayne's new production company.  It was on loan-out that she appeared in MAN WITH THE GUN, her only western feature.  During the decade she gravitated to TV where she appeared in many western episodes and in 1959-60 she co-starred with Don Durant in the western series Johnny Ringo, which was cancelled after one season.

In 1966, she married producer Stanley Kramer and subsequently retired from acting and moved into the production end of the business.

It is a well-documented fact that part of Robert Mitchum's appeal was his bad-boy reputation, partly based on the fact that early in his career he spent a few months behind bars due to a marijuana possession charge.

However, his reputation pales in comparison to that of Leo Gordon (1922-2000).

After receiving an undesirable discharge from the military, Gordon was shot by the police during an attempted hold-up of a bar and its patrons.  His conviction earned him five years in San Quentin.

Nevertheless, he eventually broke into acting and in a forty-year career appeared in more than 170 movie and TV productions. Despite dropping out of school in the eighth grade, Gordon became a screenwriter and provided scripts for a few movies and many TV shows and even wrote a novel.  He attributed his ability to write to the years he spent behind bars reading every book in the prison's library.

Don Siegel, who directed him in RIOT IN CELLBLOCK 11 (ironically, partly filmed in San Quentin), once said that Gordon "was the scariest man I have ever met."  Gordon used that impression and an imposing physical presence to become one of the best brutal heavies to appear on film.  After all, he did shoot a boy's dog in the opening scene of MAN WITH THE GUN.  No villain could top that -- not even Jack Palance.

But neither Gordon nor Mitchum could have been all bad.  Both actors were married only once.  Mitchum's marriage lasted fifty-seven years until his death in 1987 and Gordon and his wife had been married fifty years when he died in 2000.  

Claude Akins (1926-1994) made his screen debut in an uncredited role as Sgt. Baldy Dhom in the WWII classic, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (Columbia, 1953). In 1959 he had an important part in RIO BRAVO (WB, 1959) and a year later he gave what was perhaps his finest performance when he portrayed Ben Lane, Randolph Scott's nemesis in COMANCHE STATION (Columbia). 

And finally, you might recognize the actress who had a small part as Kitty, one of the "dance hall girls, a role for which she received no billing. Angie Dickinson (B. 1931) would have to wait until the end of the decade for her breakthrough role in RIO BRAVO, in which she portrayed a female gambler named "Feathers."  



THE CREW.
MAN WITH THE GUN was Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.'s (1926-2015) first film as a producer.  Like his father, he preferred to independently produce his films.  In fact, this project was filmed by his Formosa Productions company and distributed by United Artists.  Although he never ascended to the status of his legendary father, he did enjoy a long, successful career as a producer who specialized in offbeat films.  

He is especially remembered for giving Julia Roberts her big break in MYSTIC PIZZA (Samuel Goldwyn Co./1988).  It was also in that film that Mark Damon made his debut.  

Goldwyn wasn't the only rookie involved in MAN WITH THE GUN.  It also marked the directorial debut of Richard Wilson (1915-1991).  In addition to directing, Wilson, who was also a screenwriter (and actor and later producer), co-wrote the story and screenplay for the film.

His co-writer was N.B. Stone Jr. (1911-1967).  Stone wrote mostly for television and in fact provided only one other movie story and screenplay, but it was a beauty.  The film was RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (MGM, 1962). There is much speculation, however, that director Sam Peckinpah, a former screenwriter himself, was responsible for some major script rewrites.

Lee Garmes (1898-1978) was one of Hollywood's legendary cinematographers, one who was particularly adept at shooting films in black-and-white.  It is that and some interesting camera angles that make up two of the strongest features of MAN WITH THE GUN.   

BORDER PATROL (Sherman/UA, 1943)

What are the odds that the cast of a B-Western movie would include a future superstar, a future Cisco Kid, a future Superman, and a boss villain (the galoot wearing the suit and tie) portrayed by the former Pa Joad?  Well, as it turns out, the odds are great.  The film is BORDER PATROL. 

(L-R): William Boyd, Claudia Drake, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby

DIRECTOR: Lesley Selander; PRODUCER: Harry Sherman; WRITERS: screenplay by Michael Wilson based on characters created by Clarence E. Muhlford; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Russell Harlan

CAST: William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, Russell Simpson, Claudia Drake, George Reeves, Duncan Renaldo, Pierce Lyden, Bob Mitchum

Hoppy and Topper



HOPPY.
Producer Harry Sherman possessed the good luck, or great skill, that allowed him to receive financial backing from major studios for his independently produced Hopalong Cassidy B-Western series.  That backing was provided first by Paramount and later by United Artists.  The result was production values not usually found associated with B-Westerns.  The only series that came close were those produced and distributed by RKO, also one of the major studios.

Sherman's series also benefited from stellar casts headed by William Boyd as Hoppy; excellent photography (especially that provided by Russell Harlan, who at one point photographed forty-four in a row); and competent directors at the helm (Lesley Selander, for example, who directed twenty-eight of the sixty-six films in the series).

The Hoppy series, inaugurated in 1935, was the first so-called trio series.  It featured a strong down-to-earth figure (Hoppy), a younger sidekick to handle the romance angle and some of the more strenuous physical action, and an older sidekick to provide the humor. The partnership could be described as a stable big-brother; impetuous younger brother; and older, irascible uncle, who, unlike the other two with their fancy pistols, horses, and tack  was always armed with a plain old pistol and rode a plain old nag with a plain old saddle and bridle.  Such was the lot of the B-Western comedic sidekick. 

The success of the trio alignment would lead other producers and studios to attempt to repeat Sherman's success.  Some of the other series differed in that their trios had names: The Three Mesquiteers (Republic), The Range Busters (Monogram), The Rough Riders (Monogram), The Texas Rangers (PRC), The Frontier Marshals (PRC), and The Trail Blazers (Monogram).  In addition, there were numerous untitled trio series down through the years.

Only Republic's Mesquiteers and Monogram's Rough Riders came close to achieving Sherman's success in terms of quality or popularity.

The Three Mesquiteers underwent a number of cast changes over the years.  This combination starred Raymond Hatton on the left and Ray "Crash" Corrigan on the right along with the tall hombre in the middle who probably needs no introduction.

The Rough Riders (L-R): Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Raymond Hatton

Like the other long-running trio series, The Three Mesquiteers (1936-43; fifty-one films), the Hoppy series (1935-48; sixty-six films) underwent many cast changes down through the years.  However, the Hoppy series differed from the other series in an important aspect.  While the other two trio members would change hands several times, William Boyd was always Hopalong Cassidy.

The original Hoppy trio (This is a poster for a re-release of an earlier film as indicated by the "presenter," that it is a "Goodwill Picture," and that George Hayes is billed as "Gabby."  He only became "Gabby"  after moving to Republic.

The early Hoppy films found Boyd supported by Jimmy Ellison, who, as Johnny Nelson, was perfect as the younger member of the trio.  Then after a couple of false starts, George Hayes settled in as a cantankerous old-timer named Windy Halliday.  It was in this role that Hayes perfected his "Gabby" persona that would serve him so well when he left the Hoppy films and rode over to Republic where he became the most popular sidekick in the business.

Another re-release

Over the years, others would follow Ellison in the sidekick role, beginning with Russell Hayden, which was okay.  Then things began to go downhill when Hayden was followed by Brad King, Jay Kirby, Jimmy Rogers (Will's son), and finally Rand Brooks.   

There was much less turnover in the casting of the old-timer.  When Hayes left for Republic, Andy Clyde took on the role after a few films and, as California Carlson, remained with the series until its conclusion.  He wasn't Gabby Hayes (who was?), but he was much better than many of the unfunny, buffoonish sidekicks that were foisted onto many a movie cowboy hero.

The three gents in the middle (L-R) are Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, William Boyd.  The gentleman in the suit is Russell Simpson.  The fellow standing on the far right pointing a pistol is Bob Mitchum. 

   
THE MOVIE.
BORDER PATROL is a typical Hoppy film, meaning that it is an entertaining B-Western that could be enjoyed by the juvenile crowd and yet have some qualities that could be enjoyed by an adult audience.  As always, the black-and-white location photography was easy on the eye and as was also typical there wasn't a lot of action until the last reel and then all hell broke loose in a flurry of gunfire and fisticuffs.

Boyd, Kirby, and Clyde are three Texas Rangers who are disarmed and taken hostage by a young Mexican senorita named Inez, (Claudia Drake) who accuses them of murder. (I know, I know.  How could that happen?  These are three Texas Rangers; she is one woman.)  She then takes them across the border into Mexico and brings them before the local commandant, LaBarca (Duncan Renaldo).  It is there that the Rangers learn that Mexican laborers are being recruited to cross the Rio Grande in order to work in the Silver Bullet Mine.  But there's a big problem; they are never heard from again.

One of the missing is Don Enrique Perez (George Reeves), the young woman's sweetheart.  He went to investigate the situation, but had never returned.  Neither Cassidy nor the commandant is able to convince her that the Rangers are innocent.  Nevertheless, they are released and make their way back across the border to see if they can discover the mysterious disappearance of the laborers.  She trails them to Silver Bullet City.

When the Rangers arrive, they are once again disarmed and taken hostage.  This time it is by the henchmen of one Orestes Krebs (Russell Simpson).  He is a Judge Roy Beanish fellow who is the mayor, sheriff, and judge of Silver Bullet City as well as the owner of the Silver Bullet Mine.  With the aid of a gang of cutthroats, he rules with an iron hand over his little kingdom.

One of the orneriest of the cutthroats is a fellow named Quinn, who is portrayed by a young actor billed as Bob Mitchum.  Mitchum was in a number of the Hoppy films, always a bad guy at the beginning, but by his fourth appearance appearing in more sympathetic roles.

Bad Bob

Of course, the Rangers eventually prevail.  In the climactic scenes, Hoppy plugs Quinn and rides down Krebs who is attempting to escape and, in a scene that no self-respecting B-Western would fail to include, jumps off the galloping Topper onto the back of Krebs' horse and then the two tumble down a slight, sandy, slope .  At the bottom of the slope, Hoppy knocks Krebs cold with a roundhouse haymaker.  It is amazing how many times such a soft landing is available for our heroes when they need it.

Everything is well that ends well and it always does when the Hoppy trio takes charge. The miners are liberated and Inez is reunited with Don Enrique

Russell Simpson was cast against type and he seemed to have a good time in this film.  Viewers were accustomed to seeing him in films such as THE GRAPES OF WRATH, in which he portrayed Pa Joad, a broken, brooding man who did not have much to say, or as a disapproving Mormon elder in WAGON MASTER.  In BORDER PATROL, he had a lot to say and in some ways his character was the best thing the film had going.

Duncan Renaldo, the future Cisco Kid, had a fairly long scene early in the film, but was not seen again.  George Reeves, like Mitchum, appeared in a number of the Hoppy films during this period.  Unlike Mitchum, he always played a sympathetic role.  In fact, when Kirby left the series, Reeves substituted as the young sidekick in a couple of films, before being replaced by Jimmy Rogers.  In BORDER PATROL, however, he doesn't show up on the screen until the final reel and only has a couple of lines, which he speaks with a bad Mexican accent. It would be almost another decade before his casting as Superman would make him a TV star.



Good George, Hoppy sidekick





Another Three Mesquiteers combo (L-R): Raymond Hatton, Robert Livingston, Duncan Renaldo. Sometimes the old timer didn't even get to ride a horse.

B-WESTERNS: RKO-Radio Pictures

RKO-Radio Pictures was created in 1928 with the merger of the KAO (Keith-Albee-Orpheum) theater chain and Joseph P. Kennedy's production company, Film Booking Offices (FBO).  The merger had been brought about by RCA which wished to get involved in the film business by providing sound for films.  RKO stood for Radio-Keith-Orpheum and Radio was added to the title as an acknowledgement of RCA's position as a major stockholder.

During the silent era, FBO had been responsible for several outstanding B-Western series starring Fred Thomson, Tom Tyler, and Bob Steele.  After leaving Fox, the most popular Western star of all, Tom Mix, joined FBO for his final series of silent Westerns.

Fred Thomson and Silver King

Fred Thomson was a great all-round athlete and an ordained Presbyterian minister who became a superstar cowboy at FBO during the '20's.  In 1928, he stepped on a nail in his stables while tending his horses and he contracted tetanus.  His illness was wrongly diagnosed and he died on Christmas day that year.  He was 38-years-old.

Tom Tyler

Bob Steele

Tom Mix, the "King of the Silent Cowboys," and Tony

After the creation of RKO, Tom Tyler and Bob Steele hit the independent trail at Poverty Row and Tom Mix signed with Universal to star in his first and only sound series.  After a pause in the action to allow the dust to settle, RKO embarked on a number of superior B-Western series.  The studio never produced as many Western series as B-Western factories such as Republic or Monogram, for example, or as many as the two second tier major studios, Columbia and Universal.  However, the RKO series that were produced were consistently better than any produced by any other studio.

Their first B-Western cowboy star was born George Duryea.  That moniker wasn't going to cut it and consequently he became Tom Keene.  Keene's tenure at RKO began in 1931 and ended in 1933 when the studio decided to discontinue its B-Western series.   Like Tyler and Steele before him, he hit the independent trail before eventually settling in at Monogram.

Tom Keene, RKO's first cowboy star

For two years after the Keene series ended, RKO produced no B-Western series.  Then in 1936, the studio re-entered the field with a series starring George O'Brien.

How good was this series?  When Don Miller wrote Hollywood Corral, his seminal study of the B-Western, he titled one chapter "How to Make Good Westerns: Fox, RKO and O'Brien."

During the silent era, O'Brien had been a popular leading man in prestigious  films produced by Fox, a few directed by John Ford.  In 1930, with the advent of sound he began starring in a quality B-Western series for the same studio.  When that series was terminated in 1935, he moved over to RKO and began another topnotch series. Because of the influential popularity of the Autry Westerns over at Republic, RKO felt obliged to add music and provide O'Brien with a comic sidekick.  Therefore, in some of the entries, Ray Whitley provided the music and the sidekick was often Chill Wills, who portrayed a character known as "Whopper."

George O'Brien

O'Brien's tenure at RKO ended in 1940.  A member of the naval reserve, he was activated when the U.S. entered WWII.  Looking around for a new cowboy the RKO executives found one on their lot.  He was Tim Holt, the son of former silent film star, Jack Holt.  As a teenager, he had begun acting in films in 1937.  He even had a small role as a cavalry officer in John Ford's STAGECOACH (1939).  By that time, he had attracted RKO's attention and he had been cast in a number of that studio's films, including a couple of Westerns.

His series was inaugurated in 1940.  He would eventually star in more B-Westerns at RKO than any other actor and in the process he would become the cowboy most identified with that studio.

(L-R): Ray Whitley, Tim Holt, Lee " Lasses" White

Holt possessed many of the necessary attributes needed by a cowboy star.  He was boyishly handsome, was an excellent horseman (in fact, a champion polo player), and a good athlete who could more than hold his own when it came to the action.  The problem was, however, that only 21-years-old when the series began, he looked even younger, more like a teenager than an adult.

That said, the series was supported by all the good production values that the studio provided for its B-Westerns and it proved to be popular with the juvenile audiences who were the primary fans of the genre. Don Miller even titled one of the other chapters in his book on B-Westerns, "...Or Anyway, Better Westerns Than Most: Keene, Holt & other guys at RKO."

As mentioned, the producers of the O'Brien series had added music and a comedy sidekick to some of the features.  The trend was continued with the Holts.  Ray Whitley would continue to provide the music, while the role of Whopper was given to Emmett Lynn, who always was more irritating than funny.  The role was later given to Lee "Lasses" White, which was only marginally an improvement.  Finally, Cliff Edwards, a much better actor than Lynn or White, was cast as a character known as Ike.  It was a marked improvement.

Holt's first series ended in 1943 when he entered the Air Force and flew missions as a bombardier in the Pacific theater.  The decorated veteran would be off the screen for four years.

With both O'Brien and Holt in the military serving their country, RKO produced no B-Westerns in 1944.  However, wishing to begin another series, the search was on for another cowboy.  Once again, their man was found right in their own backyard.

Robert Mitchum began his career as a heavy in the Hopalong Cassidy films, before eventually working his way up to good guy roles.  RKO took notice and cast him in several non-Westerns.  In 1945, the studio starred him in two Westerns, both based on Zane Grey stories.  In the first, NEVADA, he was given not one, but two sidekicks.  Neither was a singer and both were assets.

Hoppy and Bad Man Mitchum

Guinn "Big Boy" Williams was always a welcome presence in a Western and maybe he wasn't able to provide brains but he was able to provide brawn as well as comedy.  Richard Martin portrayed the character of Chito Jose Gonzalez Bustamente Rafferty, the character that he would be closely identified with for the rest of his acting career.  Martin, without Williams, would fill the same role with the same characterization in WEST OF THE PECOS.  As it turned out, it would be Mitchum's final B-Western.

Good Man Mitchum

  

The same year that the two Westerns were released, RKO gave Mitchum an important role in William Wellman's WWII drama, THE STORY OF GI JOE, and a star was born.  There would be Westerns, but no more B-Westerns in the actor's future.

Enter James Warren.  He was no O'Brien, or Holt, or Mitchum, but he was as good as Tom Keene.  However, the studio seemed to be marking time by starring Warren in only three films, also based on Zane Grey stories, released over the course of three years.  Richard Martin was there for the first, but was replaced by John Laurenz in the Chito role in the other two.  It was a step back.

James Warren and friend

Perhaps what RKO was waiting on was the return of its young hero.  But the first role for Tim Holt after the war was an important supporting role as Virgil Earp in John Ford's MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (Fox, 1946).  Two years later, he would receive his best notices for his role as one of three gold seekers in Mexico in John Huston's THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (WB).  In between these two classic films, however, he had already begun a new series of B-Westerns at RKO.

Still only in his twenties, the war years had matured Holt and he looked more like what a sagebrush hero should look like.  Holt had the good fortune of inheriting Richard Martin (as Chito) as his sidekick.  Both were good actors who enjoyed an easy rapport on the screen with the happy result being one of the best hero-sidekick pairings that the B-Western genre ever produced.

The music was absent from these postwar films.  Furthermore, Holt's range wear tended toward plain boots and denim without any fringe or frill.  The stories contained enough action to satisfy the juvenile faithful while at the same time containing enough plot that even adults could enjoy them.  In addition, the black-and-white photography, often in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California, was excellent.

 

Holt did adopt one affectation at the beginning of the series.  He wore two guns, but the left hand gun was turned butt forward.  Eventually, thank goodness, the gimmick was discarded.

The young males in the audience were probably thankful that Holt did not engage in much mushy romance.  That part of the plot was usually left to Chito, who was a cowboy Casanova.  That seemed to be more acceptable to the young male crowd, who would just as soon have had no romance in their Westerns.

Tim, Chito, Friend (Myrna Dell)

Oddly enough, while the Holt character usually had a different name in each film, Martin was always Chito Rafferty.  It was only toward the end of the series that Holt's character became Tim Holt.  This is also one of the few series in which the sidekick was taller than the hero.

RKO's B-Western series, like those of other studios, could not overcome TV's competition in the early '50's.  Hoppy, Gene, and Roy had already ridden onto the small screen when, in 1952, Tim and Chito rode into the sunset for the last time.  And so ended what was one of the best B-Western series ever filmed and what many believe was the best of all the post-war series.

I need to add a final note.  In UNDER THE TONTO RIM (1947), a gent by the name of Richard Powers portrayed the leader of an outlaw gang.  Powers had been born George Duryea, but later changed his name to Tom Keene.  After his starring days ended, he changed it again and was often cast in supporting roles in RKO films.  In the final shoot-out, Tim was forced to shoot and kill the outlaw.  I wonder if anyone appreciated the irony that RKO's last cowboy hero had just killed the studio's first cowboy hero?

THE END