Crabbe Brand

 (imdb)

GUN BROTHERS-1956-A just discharged Calvary Sgt. Pat Santee (Buster Crabbe) meets singer Rose Fargo (Ann Robinson from WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)) on a stagecoach to Laramie. Pat is going to meet his cattle rancher brother Jubal (Neville Brand), who also turns out is the leader of a band of robbers who hold up the stage. In town, Pat has a big problem with Blackjack Silk (James Seay), a gambler who likes Rose. He starts trouble and the sheriff arrests Pat who escapes but is wounded in the process. An Indian woman (Lita Milan) and Rose bring him to Jubal, whose flunky Shawnee Joe (Michael Ansara) agrees to remove the bullet but it's Rose who actually saves him. The Indian woman betrays the gang to the sheriff as long as Pat isn't arrested. Pat and Rose watch from afar as the posse wipes out the gang, but Jubal escapes and confronts the Indian woman and kills her. He meets up with Joe (who also survived) who convinces Jubal that Pat was responsible for the double cross. 

Meanwhile, Pat and Rose get married in Jackson Hole (Slim Pickens is there) and they do well in the fur trading business. Jubal and Joe go for revenge but Pat convinces his brother he's wrong (using Cain & Abel scriptures). Joe doesn't like it and gets some hired guns. Pat and Jubal make a stand and get the bad guys but Jubal is killed. Also with Ray Bancroft, Walter Sande, William Fawcett, Lane Bradford and Harry Lauter. 

This is an ok standard western directed by Sidney Salkow (TWICE TOLD TALES (1963)) who later was the US director on LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964).

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Swimmer vs. Swimmer

 

 (imdb)

SWAMP FIRE-1946-Johnny Duval (Johnny Weissmuller) returns from the war to his home on the Louisiana delta. Everyone is very happy to see him, especially his girl Toni (Carol Thurston). One guy who doesn't like him is Mike (Buster Crabbe with a Cajun accent). Johnny can't return to his old job as a bat pilot though because during the war he commanded a ship that was lost. He blames himself (though nobody else does) and has lost his confidence as a pilot. He also meets Janet Hilton (Virginia Grey; see my "Dino-Men" entry), the spoiled rich daughter whose father (Pierre Watkin) Duval helps out. Later Janet and Toni have a fight at a dance. 

Then one foggy night Duval's ship is involved in a crash with another ship and Toni's father (Pedro de Cordoba) is killed. Duval hits the bottle. After he's hit by a truck, Janet takes him in, distancing him from Toni by forbidding her phone calls and tearing up her letters. Later, when Duval learns of Janet's treachery (she claims to be in love with him), he leaves her. When Mike sets the swamp on fire, he accidentally shoots Toni. Duval rescues her but there's a final watery fight between the two former Olympic swimmers. Guess who wins? 

Fairly standard love triangle drama with Buster Crabbe in a good villain role and Weissmuller unfortunately proving why this was his only lead movie role outside of Tarzan & Jungle Jim. David Janssen and I. Standford Jolley have uncredited roles. This was one of seven movies Crabbe made in 1946. All the rest were westerns. Director William Pine was better known as a producer (ONE BODY TOO MANY (1944) with Lugosi).

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Sheriff Billy The Kid

 

 (wikipedia)

SHERIFF OF SAGE VALLEY-1942-Billy the Kid (Buster Crabbe) and his two cohorts Fuzzy (Al St. John) and Jeff (Dave O'Brien; REEFER MADNESS; CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT) become the law in Sage Valley when they save a stagecoach from being robbed and the sheriff is murdered. They take on Sloane (Charles King), who runs the local crooked casino and his gang but the real boss is Kansas Ed, Billy's twin brother (also Crabbe) who kidnaps Billy and impersonates him for a while. Billy's buddies save him and they stop Kansas but are almost hanged anyway. 

This PRC western quickie was directed by...who else but the speed demon himself Sam Newfield using his frequent alias, Sherman Scott. His brother Sigmund Neufeld produced. According to my (not so reliable) calculations Buster Crabbe played a character called Billy the Kid in 36 westerns!

Read about the real outlaw: Billy the Kid | Biography, Death, & Facts | Britannica

Thnaks for reading,partner!

Anna May Wong (New Named Blog)

 

 (wikipedia)

DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI-1937-Lan Ying Lin (Anna May Wong) wants revenge on the smugglers who killed her dad when he threatened to expose their gang leader Frank Barton (J Carroll Nash; known for playing phony Asians) and his thugs (including Buster Crabbe and Anthony Quinn) who deal in illegal aliens. She tries to find out the identity of the mysterious Hartman (Charles Bickford) and his dealings in human traffic. Federal agent Kim Lee (Philip Ahn) goes undercover to discover the big boss, who turns out to be a seemingly kind and caring rich woman, Mary Hunt (Cecil Cunningham) whose chauffeur turns against her and helps stop her. 

This Paramount production is one of those unique features that has 2 actual Asian actors in the leads! Anna May Wong also made WHEN WERE YOU BORN? the same year and later would find decent roles hard to come by. Director Robert Florey manages to rise above the mundane story line to make this a great but forgotten vehicle for Wong.

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 (wikipedia)

Nabonga!

NABONGA-1944-A crook named Stockton (Herbert Rawlinston) is fleeing the police with his young daughter Doreen (Jackie Newfield). During a storm they crash land in the jungle. Stockwell kills the pilot and Doreen finds a wounded gorilla (it was shot by the search party). Later in a jungle village, a mysterious guy named Ray Gorman (Buster Crabbe) is looking for a “white witch” said to live in some forbidden mountains. He and a local named Tobo (Prince Modupe) go off to find her. 

Meanwhile bad guy Karl (Barton McLane) and his moll Maria (Fifi D'Orsay) lead their own safari to find her. Of course the witch is the now grown up Doreen (Julie London) who has a gorilla (named Samson played by Crash Corrigan) for her protector and Gorman is looking for the money Stockton stole from his father's company causing his old man to commit suicide. Unfortunately when the duo find the plane, the gorilla kills Tobo and later traps Gorman in a cave but Doreen saves him. Despite the presence of the killer 'rilla the dialogue between Doreen and Gorman is intentionally humorous. Maria arrives on the scene making Doreen jealous and helping Gorman build a trap to cage Samson. When it works Gorman combs Doreen’s cave looking for the loot and Maria gets Karl. Later Karl gets his paws on the loot and leaves Gorman for dead (after they have a sped up fist fight). He dumps Maria when he meets Doreen. Dumb cluck Maria releases Samson from the trap and it kills her. It's then shot and killed by Karl but not before Samson kills him. This PRC production is very slow going and not much happens. 

Director Sam Newfield also made THE MONSTER MAKER and I ACCUSE MY PARENTS the same year (along with with 9 other features!). It's his young daughter who plays Doreen as a child. As was usual his brother Sigmund Neufeld was the producer.

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Three Again Rambling

I've always liked the ZATOICHI series featuring Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman- gambler-masseur who always finds trouble while helping the down trodden in Feudal Jaoan. Many of the storylines are essentially the same: Z comes to town and runs afoul of the local crime boss and his gang, he meets someone (usually a woman) in need and helps them, exposes crooked gambling, slaughters all the bad guys, leaves alone and disillusioned. It's Katsu's performance in the lead that makes the series however. He is gentle, soft spoken, humble and extremely deadly.






I'm not a fan of Robert Rodriguez. It's hard to like ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (2003) with it's meandering story, over the top violence and self indulgent "Tarantino inspired" direction. It completes the trilogy started with the far superior EL MARIACHI and is partially saved by Johnny Depp as the weird "3 armed" CIA agent but Antonio Banderas is laughable as the legendary hitman who whispers a lot and rarely shows any emotion. The interesting, wasted cast includes Reuben Blades, Wilhem Defoe, Mickey Rourke, Ceech Marin, Salma Hayek and Danny Trejo. Pedro Armendariz Jr. plays the corrupt "El Presidente".



BUFFALO STAMPEDE from 1933 is an early western effort from Henry Hathaway (his third movie) about the troubles brewing over the hunting of buffalo and the trading of their pelts. Randolph Scott, Buster Crabbe (who was the lead in TARZAN THE FEARLESS the same year) and Harry Carey are the bickering leads. Also with Raymond Hatton, Noah Berry, Judith Allen, Barton McLane and Monte Blue. It's based on a story by Zane Grey and also known as THE THUNDERING HERD.

Scott was in ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, MURDERS IN THE ZOO and SUPERNATURAL the same year. Hathaway would make THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE (the first Technicolor film shot outside of a studio) in 1936 (the same year Buster Crabbe debuted as Flash Gordon ) and then better bigger budgeted Hollywood films.

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