Ride into the Badlands with Allan Rocky Lane

Oklahoma Badlands (1948)

One of the few movies that the legendary Yakima Canutt actually directed, not surprisingly, it is very action oriented, and features plenty of stunts. Yakima is one of the un-sung heroes of the western genre, he started out as a stuntman in the silent era, but eventually did everything from writing, producing, and directing. His film career lasted into the late 1970s and he worked on everything b-westerns to Hollywood epics.

The Rocky Lane westerns were a popular series for Republic Pictures they started in the late 1940s and continued running into the 1950s. Allan Lane was the star and his trusty companion was his horse Black Jack. Eddy Waller also provided the comic sidekick for many of these movies in the form of the character known as Nugget.

When one of Rocky’s oldest friends is murdered, Lane assumes the identity of the heir to the family’s ranch, and tries to unravel the mystery. Along the way there is plenty of action, some romance in the form of Mildred Coles, and some comedic high jinks are supplied by Eddy Waller too.

Yakima Canutt’s direction is top-notch, Allan Lane is a pleasure, and Eddy Waller is always a welcome presence. A very enjoyable b-oater, I highly recommend it.

-William J. White

Wildly Different from the Norm

Hands Across the Rockies (1941)

Columbia Pictures produced a series of Wild Bill Hickok movies in the 1940s, since this is the only entry I’ve had a chance to view, I can’t really judge the overall series. But, Hands Across the Rockies is a very different kind of b-western. It is light on the action front and most of movie is a courtroom drama.

Lambert Hillyer was a director that specialized in b-westerns, he’d directed many of Johnny Mack Brown’s movies, and he even directed the first Durango Kid film. He had over one hundred and sixty directorial credits that he amassed over a career that lasted for nearly forty years.

Bill Elliot plays Hickok and he joins his sidekick Cannonball Taylor (played by Dub Taylor) on a trip to the town of Independence in the hopes of getting to the bottom of Cannonball’s father’s murder. There’s no mystery for the audience as to who the killer is, as the film opens with the guilty party (Kenneth MacDonald) attempting to marry the only witness to the crime (Mary Daily), and paying off her family to secure the deal. The bulk of the movie takes place in the courtroom where Eddy Waller is running the show as Judge Plunkett.

Bill Elliot is probably best known for his Red Ryder movies that he later made for Republic Pictures, but he’s pretty good in this role too. Dub Taylor was a familiar face for b-oater fans; he’d played the comedic sidekick in many of them, and often used the character name of Cannonball in many of them too. Eddy Waller is a real pleasure here, he’s probably best remembered for the movies he made with Allan Rocky Lane, where he played the recurring character of Nugget Clark.

The movie is pretty good, but I still don’t get the point behind the odd title.

-William J. White

Saddle Up for Action…

Santa Fe Saddlemates (1945)

Santa Fe Saddlemates marked the directorial debut of Thomas Carr and the birth of Carr’s partnership with Sunset Carson. The Carson and Carr partnership produced a handful of excellent b-westerns for Republic Pictures, but it was cut short when Republic dropped Sunset in the midst of a scandal. Carson’s career never quite recovered from the Republic debacle. He made a few movies for Yucca Pictures, but after those films, he didn’t get any screen work for more than twenty years.

Santa Fe Saddlemates features Sunset Carson as a special agent who is sent by the Governor to a border town where a gang of smugglers are outwitting the Border Patrol. Along the way Sunset join forces with a new partner named Dead Eye (Olin Howland handles the trusty comedic sidekick chores) and Linda Stirling is on hand for some romantic interest.

This particular Sunset Carson vehicle is very heavy on the action front and loaded with excitement. It also has one of the best opening sequences from any of Republic’s westerns. It’s a scene that involves a fight between Sunset and several lawmen that have been hired by the Governor to test Carson and see if he has what it takes to succeed in his mission. A thoroughly enjoyable b-oater and well worth seeking out.

-William J. White