Disc 10 from the Cowboys And Bandits 50 Movie Pack yielded up 4 more films today and I hadn't seen any of them before.
Thunder Over Texas 1934 Here's another film directed by Edgar G Ulmer. He directed 56 films between 1930 and 1964. A 1958 TV production called Swiss Family Robinson: Lost In The Jungle wasn't released until it showed up on the DVD of The Masked Pirate in 2000. TMP was the last film for Will Rogers Jr. Guinn "Big Boy" Williams started in the film business in 1919 and his second film was a Will Rogers Jr film. It was Rogers that gave Guinn the nick name Big Boy. Guinn continued acting until he died in 1962 at the age of 63.
Big Boy takes a little girl into his home after her father dies in a car accident fleeing from a bank robbery. She survived the crash in the car's rumble seat. The little girl is played by Helen Westcott and she's pretty cute and chatty. The local banker is the real crook, he directs his gang, including the crooked sheriff, to force the locals out of their homes. Big Boy will soon punch some sense into that guy. There's a pretty gal that has some feelings for the big galoot. It was a fun enough picture.
The Feud Maker 1938 Bob Steele stars in this film directed by Sam Newfield. It has a story by Harry F Olmsted and a screenplay by George H Plympton. Bob had a bit of a shady past. He used to run with a bad guy named Lassiter but he quite when Lassiter's methods got to be too rough. He comes to town to see his Uncle but finds he's been killed because of the feud between the cowmen and the nesters. He finds Lassiter there and behind the feud. You know who's going out toes first don't you. I usually like Bob in his films but this one is a bit less than average.
Westward Bound 1930 Jay Wilsey gets credited as Buffalo Bill Jr in the film. It was his stage name for the first 11 years of his career. He started in pictures in 1924 and made about 100 films. He died in 1961 at age 65. Buffalo plays an young and rich Easterner who gets into a fight at a nightclub. His rich father sends him off to the west to straighten himself up. When Buffalo and his chauffeur get to Montana they are mistaken for rustlers.
There's the usual Western activity including a bit of romance with Alene Ray. It's a bit better than the first two. I'd recommend it over the others on the disc.
The Dude Bandit 1932 This one could hardly keep my attention and I normally like Hoot Gibson. It's a pretty poor looking film with noise issues. That doesn't help. Mill Creek doesn't waste any time or money on restoring films to their former glory. They couldn't, not at the prices they are charging for their films, so I don't expect it. I wish it wasn't the case but sometimes that's the only copy of the film available.
That's 10 done, 11 and 12 to come. Should be too long before I can get to some other Westerns.
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