|
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs (2000)
Character: (archive footage)
This documentary traces the history of the B-Western from it's silent movie origins to its demise in the early 1950s. The film contains a large number of scenes from early silents and seldom seen films, as well as old photographs of the stars and one-sheet advertisements for lost films.
|
|
|
Western Jamboree (1938)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Knowing that is contains valuable helium gas, a gang of bad guys first tries to purchase the ranch which Gene straw-bosses. When that fails, they lay a hidden pipeline to snag the gas.
|
|
|
Stardust on the Sage (1942)
Character: Frog
A singing cowboy (Gene Autry) and his partner (Bill Henry) thwart a foreman who wants their mine.
|
|
|
|
|
The Fighting Frontiersman (1946)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Cimarron has found a lost treasure and the outlaw gang knows about it. They have made him a prisoner and are trying to get the location from him. However, he has sent for his friend Steve Reynolds and the Durango Kid will soon be on the job.
|
|
|
Fort Savage Raiders (1951)
Character: Smiley
Fort Savage Raiders is another entry in Charles Starrett's "Durango Kid" western series. Starrett once again does double duty as a peacekeeper named Steve (this time his last name is Drake) and as masked avenger Durango. The heavy of the piece is escaped military prisoner Craydon (John Dehner) who, with several other fugitives from justice, forms an army of terrorists.
|
|
|
Trail to Laredo (1948)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Filmed at the Providencia Ranch (today's Forrest Lawn in Burbank, CA), this typical "Durango Kid" Western featured the Cass County Boys performing "Go West Young Lady" by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin, in addition to series regular Smiley Burnette singing his own "It's My Turn" and "The Yodeler. This time, the Durango Kid (Charles Starrett) is chasing down a gang of outlaws shipping stolen gold in crates marked "ring bolts," ably assisted by Smiley, a treasury agent working undercover as a house painter. Virginia Maxey supplies female interest and little Tommy Ivo, in one of his six appearances in the Durango Kid series, also gets in the way of the action.
|
|
|
Heart of the Golden West (1942)
Character: Frog
Lambert owns the trucking line that ships cattle to market. When he raises his rates Roy decides to ship the cattle on the River Boat. When Lambert and his men are unable to stop the boat, they rustle the cattle.
|
|
|
The Phantom Empire (1935)
Character: Oscar (as Lester 'Smiley' Burnett)
When the ancient continent of Mu sank beneath the ocean, some of its inhabitant survived in caverns beneath the sea. Cowboy singer Gene Autry stumbles upon the civilization, now buried beneath his own Radio Ranch. The Muranians have developed technology and weaponry such as television and ray guns. Their rich supply of radium draws unscrupulous speculators from the surface. The peaceful civilization of the Muranians is corrupted by the greed from above, and it becomes Autry's task to prevent all-out war, ideally without disrupting his regular radio show.
|
|
|
It's Showtime (1976)
Character: Self (archive footage)
A collection of film clips profiling animal actors.
|
|
|
Galloping Thunder (1946)
Character: Smiley Burnette
The cattle herds of some Arizona ranchers are being stampeded and stolen, so the Arizona Stockmen's Syndicate sends ace investigator Steve Reynolds in to find out who is responsible. Steve poses as a vicious gunslinger named Buck McCloud to work his way into the gang, and then becomes the Durango Kid to disrupt the activities he learns about. Jud Temple is the loyal fiancée of town banker Grat Hanlon who turns out to be the brain-trust behind the gang.
|
|
|
|
|
Idaho (1943)
Character: Frog Millhouse
A deputy sets out to prove that a respected judge, who had once been a criminal, is being framed for crimes committed by a crooked saloon owner.
|
|
|
The Border Patrolman (1936)
Character: Chuck Owens
When a border patrolman catches their spoiled daughter smoking in a no-smoking area, parents hire him to watch over her. She then runs over to Mexico and gets involved with jewel thieves and he has to go save her.
|
|
|
Down Mexico Way (1941)
Character: Frog
Like 1940's Melody Ranch, the 1941 Gene Autry vehicle Down Mexico Way was designed as a "special", to be promoted separately from Autry's regular B-western series as an A-picture attraction. The story gets under way when a pair of con artists, Gibson (Sidney Blackmer) and Allen (Joe Sawyer), breeze into the town of Sage City claiming to be movie producers. The two scoundrels promise to film a movie in the little burg on the condition that the townsfolk pony up the necessary production fees.
|
|
|
El Dorado Pass (1948)
Character: Smiley
Charles Starrett returns as The Durango Kid in Columbia's El Dorado Pass. It all begins when Durango, in his everyday guise of Steve Clanton, is falsely accused of robbing a stagecoach. The genuine criminal is not only a thief but a coin collector, searching for a valuable specimen by staging holdups.
|
|
|
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (1937)
Character: Frog - Accordian Player
In this musical comedy, a crooked record producer uses his mob connections to force performers to do their stuff. The trouble really begins when the gangster's strong-arm tactics nearly cause a singer to lose his fiancée. A wide variety of entertainers appear including cowboy crooner Gene Autry, baseball hero Joe DiMaggio, and big band stars Cab Calloway, Ted Lewis, and the Kay Thompson Singers. Songs include "Mamma I Wanna Make Rhythm," "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round," "Heaven?," "I Owe You," and "It's Round-up Time in Reno."
|
|
|
Outcasts of Black Mesa (1950)
Character: Smiley
Our Hero is accused of a crime he didn't commit. Once again, he breaks jail to find the real culprits. And once again, he dons his Durango Kid disguise, whereupon stunt-double Jock Mahoney swings into action. Outcasts of Black Mesa is distinguished by the presence of a relative newcomer to the film game, leading lady Martha Hyer.
|
|
|
Raiders of Tomahawk Creek (1950)
Character: Smiley
Charles Starrett, aka "The Durango Kid", is back in Raiders of Tomahawk Creek. Starrett plays Steve Blake, a novice Indian agent, sent out to investigate a series of mysterious murders.
|
|
|
Raiders of Sunset Pass (1943)
Character: Frog Millhouse
World War II is raging and the manpower shortage has hit the range since every able-bodied cowboy of military age is off fighting for Uncle Sam. Dad Mathews, a rancher with a huge government contract order for beef, has trouble with the cattle rustlers, led by Henry Judson and Lefty Lewis, who are taking advantage of the situation to steal his herds. John Paul Revere, Special State Investigator, arrives, and upon meeting Mathews' daughter, Betty, gets the idea of recruiting the hard-riding daughters of the district into the WAPS, an organization which will be to the cattle country what the WACS and WAVES are to the Army and Navy. He trains them in military procedure and provides them with radio sending-and-receiving sets. Johnny's sidekick, Frog Millhouse, finds himself the possessor of a "walkie-talkie" which he considers just a "doo-dad" at first, but which is instrumental in the end, in helping Johnny and the WAPS trap the gang of rustlers in their hideout.
|
|
|
Texas Dynamo (1950)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Charles Starrett plays The Durango Kid in the 1950 Columbia western Texas Dynamo. As a novelty, Starrett not only plays Durango and his "alter ego" Steve Drake, but also takes on a third identity, that of a hired gun in the employ of the film's bad guys. As one critic noted, this may be the only western in which the hero is obliged to chase himself. Jock O'Mahoney -- later known as Jock Mahoney -- plays a secondary role, and also doubles for Starrett during the riskier stunt sequences.
|
|
|
|
|
The Big Show (1936)
Character: Frog
At the Texas Centennial in Dallas Autry confuses two girls by being himself and his own stunt double. When cowboy star Tom Ford disappears, Wilson gets his double Gene Autry to impersonate him. But Ford owes gangster Rico $10,000 and Rico arrives to collect. He fails to get the money but learns that Autry is an impersonator and now blackmails Wilson and his movie studio. Original version runs 71 minutes, edited version runs 59 minutes.
|
|
|
The Hawk of Wild River (1952)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Steve Martin is sent to Wild River to recover stolen gold and finds the town is being terrorized by The Hawk and his outlaw gang. The Hawk attempts to murder Sheriff Jack Mahoney and is captured and jailed. Steve helps the Hawk break jail and thus makes contact with the bandit gang. He sends a bungling photographer, Smiley Burnette, to warn the sheriff that the gang plan to rob the express office.
|
|
|
Heading West (1946)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Dakota Indian Agent Steve Reynolds receives a copy of the Bonanza City Nuggett from Jim Mallory and reads a story blaming the Durango Kid for recent gold mine raids.
|
|
|
Pack Train (1953)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Gene Autry is assigned to safely transport supplies to a band of settlers. The villains, headed by Ross McLain, intend to bushwhack Autry, grab the supplies, and sell them at high prices to a local mining camp.
|
|
|
Sierra Sue (1941)
Character: Frog Millhouse
To fight a poisonous weed, ranchers are burning their land. Gene is the Inspector brought in and he recommends spraying. The spraying goes well until the Larabee ranch is reached. When Larrabee refuses to allow the equipment on his land, Gene has it sprayed by airplane. Cattle must stay off recently sprayed land and when a Larrabee man shoots down the plane, the crash sends the cattle stampeding toward the newly sprayed land.
|
|
|
S.O.S Tidal Wave (1939)
Character: Voice of Felix the Dummy
A news reporter-commentator at a combined radio-television broadcasting station gives up his stand against the election of a corrupt mayoral candidate after a gangster threatens his family. Features tidal wave stock footage from RKO's "Deluge" (1933), q.v.
|
|
|
Renegades of the Sage (1949)
Character: Smiley
The plot finds Steve/Durango attempting to capture ex-Civil War guerilla fighter Miller who may be the man who's been going around knocking down telegraph wires.
|
|
|
Round-Up Time in Texas (1937)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Gene and Frog arrive with a herd of horses for Gene'e brother, a diamond prospector whose work has attracted the interest of a bunch of badguys.
|
|
|
A Man Betrayed (1936)
Character: Hillbilly
A businessman during the Great Depression discovers that his partners are crooked con-men, and he tries to make things right for the stockholders, but gets framed.
|
|
|
South of Death Valley (1949)
Character: Self
When Steve Downey arrives to reopen his brother-in-law's gold mine, he finds a war between the ranchers and the miners. Ashton has had the water poisoned killing cattle. When Ashton's men find Steve's hat, they kill Tom Tavish and frame Steve for the murder. Escaping jail the Durango Kid goes into action.
|
|
|
|
|
Smoky Canyon (1952)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Mahoney is a sheep man who's framed for the murder of a rancher. It's all part of a scheme by a dishonest cattleman who hopes to extenuate a range war for his own profit. The Durango Kid helps clear Mahoney's name.
|
|
|
Pecos River (1951)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Steve is a Government Agent looking for the gang that stole the U.S. Mail. He goes undercover...
|
|
|
Laramie Mountains (1952)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Markham and his men have found gold on the Indian reservation and are trying to get rid of them by starting an Indian war. Dressed as Indians they are attacking the soldiers. Steve Holden is the Indian agent sent to prevent a war. After finding proof that white men posing as Indians were responsible, he is able to locate the gang's hideout but quickly becomes a prisoner slated to be killed. - Written by Maurice VanAuken
|
|
|
Sunset in Wyoming (1941)
Character: Frog Millhouse
By stripping all the timber from the land, a lumber baron threatens everyone with flooding. Gene won't let that happen.
|
|
|
Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1935)
Character: Smiley
Traveling with Doc Parker's medicine show, Gene finds his old friend Harry Brooks wounded and the Sheriff after him for murdering his father. Gene also sees that Craven and his gang are looking for Brooks. Finding clues that Craven was behind the murder, Gene has a plan utilizing the medicine show wagon that will trap the gang.
|
|
|
The Sagebrush Troubadour (1935)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Before he was murdered Grandpa Martin found a gold mine. He failed to record it and now everyone is looking for Martin's old horse that can lead them to it. When under-cover Texas Ranger Autry arrives to investigate, he is accused of the murder and finds the Sheriff after him.
|
|
|
Desert Vigilante (1949)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Silver is being smuggled across the border and the secret passage goes through Betty Long's basement. When Steve arrives he gets tangled up with the rustlers who are now going to have the Durango Kid to contend with.
|
|
|
Gold Mine in the Sky (1938)
Character: Frog
As executor of the owner's will, singing ranch foreman Gene must see that the daughter/heiress doesn't marry without his approval.
|
|
|
On Top of Old Smoky (1953)
Character: Smiley
Poachers are harassing toll road owner Jen Larrabee. They want her land because it holds valuable minerals. Autry and the Cass County Boys, mistaken for Texas Rangers, help out.
|
|
|
Man from Music Mountain (1938)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Scanlon is pulling off a land swindle by selling lots in a ghost town claiming the power company is bringing in a line. As a bonus he throws in shares in a worthless gold mine. Gene is on to Scanlon and tries to get him to buy back the deeds by salting the mine with gold. But when a new vein is really discovered Gene has to stop the sales but is trapped in the mine by Scanlon's men.
|
|
|
The Kids in the Shoe (1935)
Character: Singing little boy
The old lady who lives in a shoe has a bit of trouble with her gaggle of children. They won't eat their porridge, won't brush their teeth or comb their hair. As soon as their mother's in bed, they launch a wild party, playing musical instruments and doing a swinging rendition of Smiley Burnette's classic "Mama Don't Allow No Music Playing Round Here." They then have a massive pillow fight until the old woman wakes up.
|
|
|
The Kid from Broken Gun (1952)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Charles Starrett makes his final appearance as The Durango Kid, this time as Steve Reynolds, a postal inspector who has gone underground to catch the bad guys. His longtime sidekick, Smiley Burnette appears as an itinerant optometrist who is hardly in the plot line of the film. Jock Mahoney plays Jack Mahoney, an eastern educated dude who has come back home. The Durango Kid teaches Jack how to draw and fire a six-gun, and the two ultimately work together to bring the outlaws to justice.
|
|
|
Code of the Prairie (1944)
Character: Frog
Just after the Oklahoma Panhandle was annexed into the united states an ex-lawman turned newspaper man arrives to town to civilize it. He brings along Frog, a photographer and Sunset Carson as muscle. The seedy element in the territory doesn't want law and order and they plot against them and try to stop Sunset Carson being sheriff.
|
|
|
In Old Monterey (1939)
Character: Frog
The U.S. Army takes over a large area of land, over the objection of citizens and corporations who live and work there.
|
|
|
The Lone Hand Texan (1947)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Steve Driscoll arrives to help a friend who is trying to bring in an oil well. He finds that the well has been blown up and the workers have quit. He gets the workers back on the job and orders a new drill bit . When the drill bit is stolen he organizes the townspeople to invest in the well. But when the money is collected, a fake Durango Kid shows up to take it and flee
|
|
|
Cowboy Serenade (1942)
Character: Frog
Gene Autry heads a cattlemen's association and calls on the inexperienced Jim Agnew to negotiate the sale of five hundred heads of cattle. Jim ends up losing the cattle in a crooked poker game, however, and Gene and his sidekick Frog set out to find the cheating gamblers. It soon becomes clear that the leader of the gamblers is none other than Asa Lock, the dastardly father of Gene's romantic interest Stephanie.
|
|
|
Saginaw Trail (1953)
Character: Smiley
Hamilton's Rangers, led by our hero Gene, must keep the Indians in the northern Michigan territory from attacking the settlers.
|
|
|
Bordertown Trail (1944)
Character: Frog Millhouse
The election to determine if Texas will become a state is near and men opposed are running contraband across the border. Sunset and Frog are Border Patrolmen and have an agent that tips them off by carrier pigeon. The Army arrives and the commander is Sunset's brother. When the agent is found out and murdered, his fake replacement then leads the soldiers astray.
|
|
|
The Blazing Trail (1949)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Old Mike Brady built Brady Town and was a leader, but a bullet from an unknown assailant has ended his life. When the will is read, it leaves the bulk of the property to Kirk, the gambling son of Mike. This upsets Sam, the hard working son, but not gambler Full House who always beats Kirk at cards. But even the Sheriff is suspicious of the will, but he needs proof and the Durango Kid will find the proof.
|
|
|
Six-Gun Law (1948)
Character: Smiley
In this western, an entry in the "Durango Kid" series of westerns, a corrupt, prominent citizen owns a small western town. The trouble begins when a cowboy finds himself convinced by the evil town father that he has killed the sheriff. In exchange for his silence, the official forces the man to become the new sheriff and instructs him to turn a blind eye to the villain's evil doings.
|
|
|
Beneath Western Skies (1944)
Character: Sheriff Frog Millhouse
To combat the lawlessness in her town, school teacher Carrie Stokes writes to her former students in search of a lawman. Johnny Revere arrives and starts to clean up the town. But things go bad when he is hit on the head and loses his memory.
|
|
|
Doughnuts and Society (1936)
Character: Mover #2
Kate Flannagan and Belle Dugan operate a downtown coffee shop and, while dispensing their locally-famous doughnuts, engage in their favorite pastime, friendly quarreling between themselves. This changes when Belle suddenly becomes heir to a small fortune which allows her to crash high-society and make her daughter,Joan, a débutante. This creates a rift between the two former partners, with the result that the proud Kate refuses to accept her friend's good fortune nor allow her son, Jerry, who is in love with Joan, to do so.
|
|
|
Meet the Boy Friend (1937)
Character: Band Leader
A heartthrob singer, Tony Paige, also known as "America's Boyfriend" decides to wed a Swedish actress. His manager doesn't want this because he is afraid of Tony losing female fans so he takes up a 300 hundred thousand dollar insurance policy if Tony does in fact wed. Tony soon meets a girl name June Delaney on a bus who doesn't swoon over him like other girls. He falls for her but doesn't know her true identity.
|
|
|
Ridin' the Outlaw Trail (1951)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Charles Starrett plays lawman Steve Forsythe in Ridin' the Outlaw Trail. Somewhere along the line, of course, Steve is obliged to don the mask of The Durango Kid, mysterious righter of wrongs. The "wrongs" in this instance include the theft of $20,000 in gold, and the "kidnapping" of a blacksmith's forge! Jim Bannon, who only a few months earlier had played the heroic Red Ryder, provides the villainy in this fast-paced "Durango Kid" entry
|
|
|
Trail of the Rustlers (1950)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Charles Starrett goes up against an entire family of criminals posing as respectable citizens in this entry in Columbia's long-running Durango Kid Western series.
|
|
|
Lightning Guns (1950)
Character: Smiley Burnette
The Durango Kid rides again in Lightning Guns. As ever, the masked Durango (alias Steve Brandon) is played by Charles Starrett, who this time around is on the trail of a gang of cold-blooded killers. Rancher Dan Saunders (Edgar Dearing) is held responsible for the killings because of his opposition to a politically expedient dam project. Durango believes that Saunders is innocent, and he intends to prove it.
|
|
|
Waterfront Lady (1935)
Character: Musician
When a young man is befriended by a gambling ship operator and made a partner in the business, he becomes involved in a police manhunt after he covers up a murder committed by his new partner.
|
|
|
Larceny on the Air (1937)
Character: Jimmy
A doctor working with the Bureau of Pure Foods and Drugs, uses radio broadcasts to expose fraudulent patent medicines.
|
|
|
Silver Spurs (1943)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Jerry Johnson inherits a 50,000 acre ranch. Lucky Miller wants to take over the ranch. Roy is trying to get a railroad spur right of way. Lucky has a woman come west to marry Jerry to get control of the ranch. After the wedding, Lucky has the owner killed. Roy’s gun is substituted for the murder weapon, so Roy is put in jail.
|
|
|
Prairie Moon (1938)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Gene takes care of three tough kids sent west from Chicago after their father died and left them a cattle ranch. They help him catch a bunch of rustlers.
|
|
|
Git Along Little Dogies (1937)
Character: Frog Millhouse
When war breaks out between oilmen and cattle ranchers, Gene sides with the ranchers until he learns that oil will bring a railraod to town.
|
|
|
Quick on the Trigger (1948)
Character: Smiley
Quick on the Trigger was Charles Starrett's second "Durango Kid" picture for 1949. It all begins when ousted sheriff Steve Warren (Starrett) is put on trial for the murder of heroine Nora Reed's (Helen Parrish) brother. Steve is innocent, of course, but he doesn't stand a chance against prosecuting attorney Garvey Yager (Lyle Talbot) -- especially since Yager is the real killer.
|
|
|
Ridin' on a Rainbow (1941)
Character: Frog
When the showboat hits town, two men use the parade as a distraction to rob the bank. Their accomplice is Pop, the clown from the showboat. He leaves the money on the boat and tells his daughter Patsy to bring it to him at a later stop on the river. Gene's investigation of a bank robbery takes him to the showboat where he becomes a performer. Gene and Frog try to find the money while helping Patsy and her father.
|
|
|
|
|
Terror Trail (1946)
Character: Smiley Burnette
The Durango Kid (Charles Starrett) returns to Ret Butte intending to sell his cattle ranch. Saloon owner, Duke Catlett (Lane Chandler) is the secret owner of a sheep flock which graze on the cattle lands--leaving them useless for cattle. A range war looms between the cattlemen and sheepherders.
|
|
|
South of the Chisholm Trail (1947)
Character: Smiley Burnette
When the ranchers of Bearcat are plagued by rustlers, Big Jim Grady offers to buy their herds from them at low-ball prices. Steve Haley suggests to the ranchers that they band together and drive their herds to Abilene, Kansas and get full price. Steve's friend Smiley "joins" the rustlers to learn who their leader is. Grady henchman Doc Walker asks Steve to help break up the cattle drive, and he agrees in order to keep tabs on the rustlers. The gang makes several attempts to take the trail herd but Steve, in his guise as the Durango Kid, intervenes and saves the cattle.
|
|
|
Billy The Kid Returns (1938)
Character: Frog Millhouse
After Pat Garrett kills Billy the Kid, Billy's look-alike Roy Rogers arrives and is mistaken for him. Although a murderer, Billy was on the side of the homesteaders against the large ranchers. As Billy's death is unknown, Roy gets Garrett to let him pose as Billy to continue the fight, but without the killing.
|
|
|
Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride (1940)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Gene inherits a meat-packing plant, then faces stiff competition from snooty Ann Randolph, rival owner determined to do him in.
|
|
|
Roaring Rangers (1946)
Character: Smiley Burnette
When Sheriff Jeff Connor of Powder River cannot stop the crime wave, his young son, Larry, writes to the Durango Kid for aid. Taggart, the saloon owner, is the secret head of the outlaws, while Connor's brother Bill is in cahoots with him. Steve Randall, the Durango Kid, and his pal, Smiley Butterbean, arrive in time to stop a stagecoach holdup, and Steve is made a deputy sheriff. Taggart has one of his men, Slade, pose as the Durango Kid and while he is speaking to the townspeople, the rest of the outlaw gang pillages the town, and this somewhat damages the Durango Kid in the eyes of Larry and his sister Doris. Steve suggests that Sheriff Connor visit the government about a railroad project, and Taggart instructs Slade and the gang leader to kill Connor on his trip back.
|
|
|
Hearts in Bondage (1936)
Character: Rammer
Best friends Kenneth Reynolds and Raymond Jordan are U.S. Navy officers, and Kenneth is engaged to Raymond's sister. But the eruption of the Civil War divides them, as Raymond stands by his native Virginia while Kenneth remains on duty as a Northern officer. Kenneth's uncle, John Ericsson, designs a new kind of ship, an ironclad he calls the Monitor. Eventually the war pits Kenneth, on board the Monitor, against his friend Raymond, serving aboard the South's own ironclad, the Merrimac (as it is called here). A naval battle ensues, one that will go down in history.
|
|
|
The Desert Horseman (1946)
Character: Smiley Burnette
The Durango Kid sets out to clear his name after being falsely accused of a payroll robbery.
|
|
|
Melody Trail (1935)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Gene goes after the badguys after they kidnap the baby he should have been babysitting.
|
|
|
|
|
The Stranger From Ponca City (1947)
Character: Smiley Burnette
A saddle-weary Steve Larkin, also the Duranko Kid, rides into Red Mound, a town filled with cattle rustlers. Cafe owner Smiley, befriends Steve and fills him in on the activities. Steve angers the rustler's leader, Flip Dugan when he purchases the old Atkins ranch which is supposedly haunted. Flip and his henchmen try to prevent the recording of the deed, but the Durango Kid and Deputy Marshal Tug Carter win the gun battle.
|
|
|
Pride of the Plains (1944)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Dan Hurley wants to sell wild horses and is trying to get the Wild Game Laws that protect them changed. To get his petition signed, his henchman paints his trained horse to look like the wild horse leader and has it kill a man. Johnny Revere finds traces of paint on a horse and tries to arrest Hurley and his men. But he is captured by the gang and is now slated to be the next victim of the trained horse.
|
|
|
Colorado Sunset (1939)
Character: Frog Millhouse
When his well-meaning sidekick (Smiley Burnette) buys a cow farm instead of a cattle ranch, singing cowpoke Gene Autry prepares to embrace the dairy business. But with a corrupt association bent on driving up milk prices, it's up to newly elected Sheriff Gene to clean up the mess. Country music icon Patsy Montana sings "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart," while radio crooners the Texas Rangers perform alongside Autry.
|
|
|
Mountain Rhythm (1939)
Character: Frog Milhouse
Cavanaugh and McCauley are after the ranchers land. When the Government announces the land will be put up for auction, the ranchers pool their money only to have it stolen by Cavanaugh's men. They then plan to sell their cattle but Cavanaugh announces a fake gold strike and the cowhands all leave. But Gene's hobo friend the Judge says he will get the cattle to market and he sends out a signal to his hobo friends.
|
|
|
Boots and Saddles (1937)
Character: Frog
Young Englishman inherits ranch which he wants to sell, but Gene's gonna turn him into a real westerner instead. When new owner Spud arrives from England, Autry convinces him not to sell the ranch but to raise horses for the Army. When both Autry's and Neale's bids are the same, the Colonel calls for a race to decide the winner. But that night Neale has Autry's stable burned.
|
|
|
Buckaroo from Powder River (1947)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Steve arrives looking for the person printing counterfeit bonds. He finds his man in Pop Ryland who has two sons and a stepson. The stepson doesn't want to be an outlaw like the other sons and helps Steve out by posing as the Durango Kid when needed and then leading him to the evidence he is looking for.
|
|
|
The Singing Hill (1941)
Character: Frog
If a young lady gives up her inheritance the local ranchers will lose their free grazing land.
|
|
|
Junction City (1952)
Character: Smiley
Durango, aka Steve Rollins rides into town with saddle pal Smiley Burnette. The boys go to the rescue of pretty Kathleen Case, who is being victimized by greedy relatives.
|
|
|
Under Fiesta Stars (1941)
Character: Frog
Rodeo champ Gene Autry inherits half interest in both a ranch and a mine that provides steady employment for the surrounding rancheros. Unfortunately, the other half goes to Easterner Barbara Erwin (Carol Hughes), who is only interested in monetary remuneration. To convince Gene to buy her share, Barbara enters into an unholy alliance with unscrupulous attorneys Arnold (Ivan Miller) and Fry (Sam Flint), who, without their client's consent, hire a gang of thugs headed by Tommick (John Merton). When a ranchero (Elias Gamboa) is mortally wounded in the ensuing gun battle, Barbara sees the error of her way and switches sides.
|
|
|
Red River Valley (1936)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Gene and Frog set out to find out who has been causing the accidents at a dam construction site.
|
|
|
Oh, Susanna (1936)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Oh, Susanna! is a 1936 American Western musical film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Frances Grant. Written by Oliver Drake, the film is about a cowboy who is robbed and then thrown from a train by an escaped murderer who then takes on the cowboy's identity.
|
|
|
Riders of the Lone Star (1947)
Character: Smiley Burnette
An outlaw gang is trying to stop the reopening of a mine as they look for the money left there by the famous outlaw Dusty Morton. After a ten year absence, Morton has apparently reappeared and Steve arrives looking for him. He finds his son who also wonders if his father is still alive. With the gang soon after him, the Durango Kid goes into action and Steve tries to learn who the real Dusty Morgan is.
|
|
|
Winning of the West (1953)
Character: Smiley
A singing territorial ranger (Gene Autry) spots his younger brother in an outlaw gang.
|
|
|
|
|
Firebrands of Arizona (1944)
Character: Frog / Beefsteak Discoe
The sheriff camps outside of town and tries to arrest Froggy and Sunset, but a gang of outlaws helps them get away.
|
|
|
Horsemen of the Sierras (1949)
Character: Sheriff Smiley Burnette
When Robin Grant inherits a valuable range, certain evil interests try their best to kill off Robin and claim the land for themselves. US Marshall Steve Saunders comes to the boy's rescue.
|
|
|
Ride, Ranger, Ride (1936)
Character: Frog Millhouse
It is the story of Gene's, a Cavalry scout, who manages to quell an Indian uprising.
|
|
|
Landrush (1946)
Character: Smiley Burnette
The Durango Kid rides again in Columbia's Landrush. As ever, the masked do-gooder, alias Steve Harmon, is played by Charles Starrett. Bringing up the rear in every sense of the word is Harmon's comical sidekick Smiley Burnette. In this outing, Harmon dons his Durango garb to rescue a group of homesteaders from scurrilous villains. Musical relief is provided by Ozie Waters and his Colorado Rangers.
|
|
|
|
|
Bells of Capistrano (1942)
Character: Frog
America's favorite singing cowboy Gene Autry stars in this vintage tale as an up-and-coming rodeo singer caught in the middle of two rival companies, both angling to ride the talented crooner to riches. Featuring several memorable musical performances from Autry, including renditions of "Forgive Me" and "In Old Capistrano," this rousing Western co-stars Smiley Burnette, Virginia Grey and Lucien Littlefield.
|
|
|
Laramie (1949)
Character: Smiley Burnette
A major Indian uprising is expected and Wyoming military posts are alerted. Colonel Dennison is meeting with Chief Eagle and his son Running Wolf when Chief Eagle is mysteriously shot. Steve Holden, an agent for the government peace commission, with the aid of a wandering shoemaker, Smiley, discover the troubles and the Chief's murder have been instigated by Cronin, the regimental scout, for personal gain for he and his gang of outlaws.
|
|
|
Whirlwind (1951)
Character: Smiley Burnette
A singing postal inspector (Gene Autry) and his partner (Smiley Burnette) save a woman's (Gail Davis) estate from fraud.
|
|
|
The Singing Cowboy (1936)
Character: Frog Millhouse
A rodeo singer funds a little girl's operation with a show, on television.
|
|
|
West of Sonora (1948)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Western star Charles Starrett was amazing; he kept making the same film over and over, but always made it seem as if it was for the first time. In West of Sonora, Starrett once again plays a frontier good-guy named Steve (Steve Rollins, to be exact), who, when the need arises, disguises himself as The Durango Kid, masked righter of wrongs. This time, Steve/Durango champions the cause of 10-year-old Penelope Clinton (Anita Castle), who has spent her short life as the focus of a feud between her grandfathers, suspected outlaw Black Murphy (Steve Darrell) and Sheriff Jack Clinton (George Cheseboro).
|
|
|
Frontier Outpost (1950)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Federal agent Steve Lawton works undercover with his assistant, Smiley Burnette, to track down an outlaw gang that is raiding government gold shipments bound for Fort Navajo.
|
|
|
The Rough, Tough West (1952)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Charles Starrett returns as the Durango Kid in Columbia's Rough, Tough, West. For most of the film, however, Starrett is known as "Steve Holden," a former Texas Ranger who comes to a wide-open mining town to visit an old friend (Jack -- later Jock -- Mahoney). Alas, said friend has turned bad, and is busy arranging a major land grab when Steve arrives on the scene. With deep regret, our hero dons his Durango disguise to thwart his ex-friend's criminal activities.
|
|
|
The Kid from Amarillo (1951)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Charles "Durango" Starrett and his pal Smiley Burnette go after smugglers. Our heroes travel incognito across the Mexican border to beard the leader of the gang in his den.
|
|
|
Back in the Saddle (1941)
Character: Frog Milhouse
Gene returns from the East with new ranch owner Tom Bennett to find everyone's cattle dying. Blaine has reopened the copper mine and the waste is poisoning the water supply. While Gene is away Tom confronts the miners and a man is killed in the ensuing gunfight. Now Gene not only has the dying cattle problem but his ranch owner is in jail.
|
|
|
Cyclone Fury (1951)
Character: Smiley Burnette
A late entry in Columbia's seemingly endless Durango Kid Western series, Cyclone Fury was augmented with a hefty dose of stock footage from an earlier Durango effort, Galloping Thunder (1946), footage that included sidekick Smiley Burnette warbling "Hear the Wind (Singing a Cowboy Song)" accompanied by Merle Travis and his Bronco Busters.
|
|
|
Last Days of Boot Hill (1947)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Treasury Department Steve Waring, and also, unknown to others, the Durango Kid, comes to Sunset Pass in search of $1000,000 in gold coins, stolen from the government by the late Forrest Brent. He is aided by Smiley Burnette, the local deputy sheriff. Later, Paula Thorpe, Brent's daughter from his first marriage, arrives with her lawyer sweetheart Frank Raeburn, with intentions of proving her father's estate belongs to her and not to Mrs. Brent, his wife of record when he died. The widow Brent has no intentions of giving up one single cent.
|
|
|
Phantom Valley (1948)
Character: Smiley Burnette
The Durango Kid, along with assistance from sidekick Smiley Burnett, investigates a pair of murders that threaten to fuel a range war.
|
|
|
Beyond the Last Frontier (1943)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Beyond the Last Frontier was the first entry in Republic's "John Paul Revere" western series. Journeyman actor Eddie Dew stars as Revere, a Texas Ranger who goes undercover to smash an outlaw gang. Meanwhile, the villains install an informer amongst the Rangers, meaning that Revere will have to take care of this guy before he can complete his assignment. While Eddie Dew was OK in the lead, his thunder was stolen by the young actor cast as "Trigger Dolan"-future superstar Robert Mitchum. The plot was a bit too complicated for a film of this nature, thus future John Paul Revere installments were a bit easier to follow.
|
|
|
Across the Badlands (1950)
Character: Smiley
Charles Starrett once more hits the trail as "The Durango Kid" in Columbia's Across the Badlands. By now, the formula was a well-oiled machine: Starrett becomes a lawman, is challenged by the local criminal element, and ultimately goes beyond the law as the masked Durango.
|
|
|
Springtime in the Rockies (1937)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Ranch owner Sandra, fresh from animal husbandry school, brings a flock of sheep into cattle country. The local ranchers don't like it, and ranch foreman Gene must deal with it.
|
|
|
The Old Corral (1936)
Character: Deputy Frog
As the sheriff of a small western town, Autry sings his way into a relationship with Eleanor, a singer from a Chicago nightclub who earlier witnessed a murder.
|
|
|
Harmony Lane (1935)
Character: Singer (uncredited)
The life and loves of composer Stephen Foster, from his early success through his decline, degradation, and death from alcoholism.
|
|
|
Call of the Rockies (1944)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Cowboy Sunset Carson teams up with Frog Millhouse on a routine supply trip to Placer City. Before long, the duo find themselves ambushed by a team of dastardly highwaymen embroiled in an extortion ring. Sunset and Frog must then go undercover to set things right for a mining town under siege. Galloping hooves, spittin' six shooters, and all manner of disreputable behavior ensue.
|
|
|
Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm (1937)
Character: Frog Milhouse
Gene and Frog, out to stop a bunch of cattle rustlers, assume the identities of what they believe to be dead bandits, which soon gets them in big trouble.
|
|
|
Carolina Moon (1940)
Character: Frog Millhouse
A singing cowboy and his sidekick encounter misunderstandings and rodeo havoc as they try and save a man and daughter from con men.
|
|
|
Dick Tracy (1937)
Character: Mike McGurk
Dick Tracy's foe for this serial is the crime boss and Masked Mystery Villain The Spider/The Lame One and his Spider Ring. In the process of various crimes, including using his Flying wing and sound weapon to destroy the Bay Bridge in San Francisco and stealing an experimental "Speed Plane", the Spider captures Dick Tracy's brother, Gordon. The Spider's minion, Dr. Moloch, performs a brain operation on Gordon Tracy to turn him evil, making him secretly part of the Spider Ring and so turning brother against brother.
|
|
|
Gunning for Vengeance (1946)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Steve Landry arrives as the new Marshal of a town that is having trouble with outlaws. When an outlaw escapes over the State line out of his jurisdiction, the Durango Kid brings him in. The Durango Kid then continues to break up the outlaw raids. But Belle, the saloon owner who is in cahoots with the outlaws, notices the the boot prints of the Durango Kid match those of the new Marshal and a trap is sent to get Durango.
|
|
|
Two-Fisted Stranger (1946)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Arriving to become the new Deputy, Steve Gordon takes over as Sheriff instead when he finds the Sheriff has been killed. He doesn't last long and is fired for incompetence. But he realizes Brady is pulling off a swindle. Having found the proper soil, Brady has salted it with cheap diamonds, gotten Smiley to accidently find them, and is now taking money from eager investors and planning to flee with it.
|
|
|
Gaucho Serenade (1940)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Gene Autry and sidekick Frog Millhouse depart Madison Square Garden and NYC heading west for home in their car and a horse trailer carrying Gene's horse, Champion. They discover that Ronnie Willoughby, a young boy just off the boat from school in England, has hitched a ride, thinking that Gene and Frog were sent by his father to meet him. Ronnie thinks his father is a big rancher in the west and doesn't know that his father, Alfred Willoughby, is serving time in San Quentin prison because of a frame-up by the officials of a packing company. To keep the father from testifying against them, the packing company officials, Carter, Jenkins and Martin, have arranged for the boy to be kidnapped. Along the way a runaway bride, Joyce Halloway, and her young sister Patsy join the troupe.
|
|
|
Heart of the Rio Grande (1942)
Character: Frog Millhouse
As foreman of a dude ranch, Gene has two problems. One is a guest, the spoiled daughter of a millioniare, and the other is the disgruntled ex-foreman that Gene replaced, now just a ranch hand. Gene eventually gets the daughter straightened out but has to fire the ex-foreman and this leads to trouble when he returns intent on revenge.
|
|
|
The Old Barn Dance (1938)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Autry and his buddies have a horse selling business which is threatened by a tractor company which claims horses are out of date.
|
|
|
Mexicali Rose (1939)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Gene Autry and his sidekick Frog look into a phony oil scam being perpetrated on a mission orphanage.
|
|
|
|
|
In Old Santa Fe (1934)
Character: Accordionist-Singer (uncredited)
Gangster Chandler and his accomplice Tracy arrive at a dude ranch. Cowboy Kentucky arrives at the same time. When Tracy double-crosses his boss and has the stage robbed, Kentucky finds the outlaws and brings them in. Tracy frames him for the murder of the driver but his pal Cactus gets him out of jail. He returns just as Chandler shoots Tracy and Kentucky finds himself arrested for another murder.
|
|
|
Mystery Mountain (1934)
Character: Lake Teamster (ch's 6-7) (uncredited)
Ken Williams is determined to discover the identity of the mysterious Rattler, who preys upon railroads and transportation companies like that owned by Jane Corwin. The Rattler is especially difficult to catch because of his skill at disguising himself as other people.
|
|
|
Bandits of El Dorado (1949)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Wanted outlaws have mysteriously disappeared. Ranger Captain Henley and Steve have a plan to find them. Steve becomes a wanted man by faking the killing of Henley. Not only is he now in trouble as both the Rangers and the Mexican Rurales are after him, but Smiley knows him and may expose his masquerade to the bad guys.
|
|
|
Rhythm of the Saddle (1938)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Gene is the foreman at the ranch owned by wealthy rodeo owner Maureen. She will lose her rodeo contract unless sales improve.
|
|
|
Undersea Kingdom (1936)
Character: Briny Deep
Crash Corrigan, a recent graduate of Annapolis, and Diana, a go-getting reporter, join Professor Norton for a search for the source of a string of earthquakes, Atlantis. They ride Prof. Norton's rocket submarine searching the sea and little Billy Norton, the professor's son stows away, of course. When they find Atlantis they are caught in a war between peaceful Atlanteans, note their white capes, and war-monging Atlanteans, note their black capes. After many harrowing moments for Crash, Diana, Prof. Norton and Billy, they barely get away with their lives when they escape a tower of Atlantis raised to the surface for the sole purpose of dominating or destroying the Earth (Which one depends on the compliance of the upper world dwellers.)
|
|
|
Public Cowboy No. 1 (1937)
Character: Helen Morgan
Deputies Gene Autry and Frog go up against modern cattle rustlers. These rustlers use technology such as, airplanes, radios and refrigerated trucks to steal the cows, butcher them in the field and ship them out before getting caught. This causes the town to bring in a modern NYC detective to catch the crooks, but will Autry and Frog be permanently out of a job?
|
|
|
King of the Cowboys (1943)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette and the Sons of the Pioneers go undercover to help Texas Governor Russell Hicks stop World War II Axis sympathizers from blowing up U.S. warehouses.
|
|
|
Bonanza Town (1951)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Using marked bills, Steve is looking for the supposedly dead Henry Hardison. Coming to Bonanza Town he gets a job with the town boss Crag Bozeman and gets paid with marked bills. He suspects Hardison is Boseman's boss and he is right as Hardison and his men are now planning to get rid of both him and the Durango kid.
|
|
|
Call of the Canyon (1942)
Character: Frog Millhouse
A radio saleswoman helps a singing cattleman trap a shady meat buyer with a bogus broadcast.
|
|
|
Home on the Prairie (1939)
Character: Frog Millhouse
When shifty cattlemen Belknap (Walter Miller) and H.R. Shelby (Gordon Hart) are caught shipping infected animals to Mexico, they frame inspector Gene Autry. Now Autry and his sidekick, Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette), must catch the bad guys in the act and set things straight. June Storey co-stars as rancher Martha Wheeler. Autry sings "I'm Gonna Round Up My Blues," "Moonlight on the Ranch House" and "Big Bull Frog."
|
|
|
Law of the Canyon (1947)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Freight wagons are being stolen and ransomed back to their owners. Government agent Steve Langtry (and his alter ego the Durango Kid) is sent break up the Hood Gang that's behind the robberies.
|
|
|
Rovin' Tumbleweeds (1939)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Rancher Autry takes a job singing on the radio to aid farmers and ranchers whose lands were destroyed by raging floods. Blaming crooked politicians, he goes to Washington and tries to put through a food control bill and finds he has a lot to learn. In this classic release, Gene introduces his immortal theme song, "Back in the Saddle Again," which has gone on to become a piece of American History.
|
|
|
Challenge of the Range (1949)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Charles Starrett once more dons the mask of mysterious do-gooder "The Durango Kid" in Columbia's Challenge of the Range. Wandering cowboy Steve Roper (Starrett) is hired by the Farmers Association to stem the activities of a group of gunmen who are driving ranchers off their land. The most likely suspect turns out to be innocent: the real culprits are within the Association itself. With the help of the chief suspect's son, Roper brings the crooks to justice.
|
|
|
Rancho Grande (1940)
Character: Frog Millhouse
A ranch foreman (Gene Autry) helps three youngsters protect their inheritance from foreclosure.
|
|
|
Whirlwind Raiders (1948)
Character: Smiley Burnette
It's 1873 and the disbanded Texas Rangers have been replaced by the corrupt Texas State Police. Steve Lanning arrives posing as a wanted outlaw to get in with them in his attempt to have them replaced. His inside work helps the Durango Kid break up the State Police raids but he is in trouble when his secret identity as Durango becomes known to them.
|
|
|
Prairie Roundup (1951)
Character: Smiley Burnette
In Prairie Roundup, Fred F. Sears' direction brings a welcome jolt of vitality to Columbia's aging "Durango Kid" western series. Once again, Charles Starrett stars as Steve Carson, a lawman who is forced to assume the identity of masked do-gooder Durango. Framed for murder, Carson escapes to locate the real killer. It turns out that he was set up by cattle baron Buck Prescott (Frank Fenton), who eliminates competition by stealing livestock from other ranchers.
|
|
|
The Adventures of Rex and Rinty (1935)
Character: Jensen
A 12 episode serial starring Rex, the King of the Wild Horses and Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr. Rex is brought from the island of Sujan, where he is worshiped as a God-Horse, to the U.S. to be trained as a polo pony. He escapes, meets Rinty and with the help of Frank Bradley is returned to Sujan. The natives have been persuaded to turn against their God-Horse, however he is rescued just in time before he is burned as a sacrifice.
|
|
|
West of Dodge City (1947)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Charles Starrett once again dons the disguise of the "Durango Kid" to restore law and order in this entry in Columbia's Western series. This time, the Kid, aka Steve Ramsey, witnesses a stage robbery, during which local rancher John Avery is brutally murdered.
|
|
|
Snake River Desperadoes (1951)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Starrett tries to prevent a range war between settlers and the Native Americans. Blue and his fellow scoundrels think they can profit from the bloodshed,but the Durango Kid along with a couple of precocious youngsters put an end to Blue's terrorism.
|
|
|
Arizona Bad Man (1935)
Character: Credits Singer
The daughter of a notorious cattle thief falls for a stranger at a dance. The stranger is really a lawman who is after her father.
|
|
|
|
|
Under Western Stars (1938)
Character: Frog
In his starring debut, Roy gets elected to Congress in order to bring water to the ranchers in his district. In Washington, he learns he needs the backing of a key congressman and gets that man to go west for an inspection trip. When the congressman is initially unimpressed, Roy gets the inspection party stranded without water to show the true conditions.
|
|
|
Home in Wyomin' (1942)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Radio star Gene Autry returns to his home town of Gold Ridge at the request of his old friend Pop Harrison, who wants Gene to straighten out his wayward son, Tex Harrison, whose gambling and drinking threaten to bankrupt the rodeo organization which he heads. News photographer Clementine "Clem" Benson and reporter Hack Hackett are ordered to follow Gene. The group finds quarters at the "Bar Nothing" dude ranch, winter quarters for Tex's rodeo group, and Tex soon tangles with Hackett in a quarrel.
|
|
|
Blue Montana Skies (1939)
Character: Frog Millhouse
Gene Autry follows a clue written on a rock by his murdered partner and discovers a fur smuggling operation near the Canadian border.
|
|
|
Men with Steel Faces (1940)
Character: Oscar (archive footage)
Re-edited feature version of serial The Phantom Empire (1935). Singer Gene Autry discovers a race of advanced humans living beneath the earth.
|
|
|
Prairie Raiders (1947)
Character: Smiley Burnette
Government Agent Steve leases land to Masters so he can bring in horses for the Army. Henley has obtained a forged lease for the same land and Steve is unable to prove it's a fake. While Steve checks with Washington, Henley plans to roundup and ship the horses. Masters also intends to roundup the horses and he has the Durango Kid on his side in the battle with Henley.
|
|
|
Guns and Guitars (1936)
Character: Frog Millhouse
A wrongfully-imprisoned man becomes determined to find who was responsible for the death of a local sheriff.
|
|
