Boots and Saddles 1937 N/R, 60 min. Genre: Western
Director: Joseph Kane Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Judith Allen, Ronald Sinclair, Guy Usher, Bill Elliott, John Ward, Frankie Marvin, Chris-Pin Martin, Stanley Blystone
Gene Autry has his hands full trying to turn an Englishman into a Westerner.
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Borrowed Hero 1941 N/R, 65 min. Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Lewis D. Collins Cast: Alan Baxter, Florence Rice, John Hamilton, Constance Worth, Stanley Andrews, Marlo Dwyer, Richard Terry, Mary Gordon, Jerry Marlowe, George Dobbs, Paul Everton, Guy Usher, John Maxwell, Karl Hackett
Crusading young attorney Roger Anderson (Alan Baxter) gets help from newspaper reporter Ann Thompson (Florence Rice)–who just happens to be Roger's girlfriend. As a result of their combined efforts, Roger cracks a crime syndicate, brings it to justice, and becomes a national hero.
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Boy of the Streets 1937 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William Nigh Cast: Jackie Cooper, Maureen O'Connor, Kathleen Burke, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Marjorie Main, Guy Usher, Matty Fain, George Cleveland, Bill Elliott, Don Latorre, Paul White
Street-kid Chuck Brennan (Jackie Cooper), who leads a neighborhood gang and worships his political operative father, tries to get into business on the corrupt side of city government. It looks like he just may make it–until he is shot by a gangster. Chuck survives but not to fight another day. Instead, he turns his life around with Nora (Maureen O'Connor) by his side.
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Charlie Chan at the Opera 1936 N/R, 68 min. Genre: Mystery / Drama / Thriller
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone Cast: Warner Oland, Boris Karloff, Charlotte Henry, Keye Luke, Thomas Beck, William Demarest, Gregory Gaye, Frank Conroy, Guy Usher, Selmer Jackson, Margaret Irving, Nedda Harrigan, Maurice Cass
This is one of the best in the long line of Charlie Chan films. In this outing, Chan (Warner Oland) solves the disappearance of a mental patient and two murders during an opera performance. Boris Karloff plays a baritone, who has more than a few mental problems in this thirteenth film in the series.
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The Devil Bat 1940 N/R, 68 min. Genre: Horror / Thriller / Drama / Sci-Fi aka: Killer Bats
Director: Jean Yarbrough Cast: Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien, Guy Usher, Yolande Donlan, Donald Kerr, Edmund Mortimer, Gene O'Donnell, Alan Baldwin, John Ellis, Hal Price, Arthur Q. Bryan, John Davidson, Wally Rairden
Deranged scientist Dr. Paul Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) sets out to destroy the cosmetics firm where he is employed. (They don't pay him enough!) His "bats" kill people who wear a certain cologne. There is a sequel: "Devil Bat's Daughter."
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Doomed to Die 1940 N/R, 57 min. Genre: Mystery / Horror / Thriller
Director: William Nigh Cast: Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Marjorie Reynolds, Melvin Lang, Guy Usher, Tristram Coffin, William Stelling, Catherine Craig, Henry Brandon, Richard Loo, Wilbur Mack, Kenneth Harlan, Gibson Gowland, Maxine Leslie
With help from reporter Bobby Logan (Marjorie Reynolds), ace detective Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) investigates the murder of a shipping magnate and finds more than just murder. Fifth in the Mr. Wong series and the last one starring Karloff. One more would follow: "Phantom of Chinatown."
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Good Dame 1934 N/R, 73 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Marion Gering Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Fredric March, Jack La Rue, Noel Francis, Russell Hopton, Walter Brennan, Guy Usher, William Farnum, Edward Gargan, Jill Bennett
Two out-of-luck people, a carnival thief and a chorus girl, join up for a life of crime. In the process, they fall in love. The excellent stars deserve better than this weak story.
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Hold That Woman! 1940 N/R, 61 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Sam Newfield Cast: James Dunn, Frances Gifford, George Douglas, Martin Spellman, Rita La Roy, Eddie Fetherston, Guy Usher, Paul Bryar, Edwin Miller, Jack Roper, Dave O'Brien, William Newell
Repossessor Jimmy Parker's (James Dunn) current task is to repossess a radio for nonpayment. After accomplishing his mission, he is pursued by gangsters who want the stolen jewels hidden in the radio. After the obligatory escapades, he brings about the capture of the bad guys.
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I Take This Oath 1940 N/R, 64 min. Genre: Drama aka: Police Rookie
Director: Sam Newfield Cast: Gordon Jones, Joyce Compton, Craig Reynolds, J. Farrell MacDonald, Mary Gordon, Robert Homans, Sam Flint, Veda Ann Borg, Guy Usher, Brooks Benedict, Edward Peil Sr., Budd Buster
After a veteran police officer (Robert Homans) is killed by racketeers, his son, rookie cop Steve Hanagan (Gordon Jones), investigates the crime syndicate and comes up with more than a few surprises, some of which are close to home.
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It's a Gift 1934 N/R, 73 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Norman Z. McLeod Cast: W.C. Fields, Kathleen Howard, Jean Rouverol, Julian Madison, Tammany Young, Tommy Bupp, Spencer Charters, Guy Usher, Baby LeRoy, Morgan Wallace, Charles Sellon, Josephine Whittell, Diana Lewis, Dell Henderson
In this classic W.C. Fields comedy, Harold Bissonette (Fields), despite objections from his nagging wife (Kathleen Howard), uses a mail-order service to buy a California orange grove that, of course, turns out to be worthless. Comedy reigns as Bissonette finds a way out of his financial mess.
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King of the Zombies 1941 N/R, 67 min. Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Jean Yarbrough Cast: Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland, Henry Victor, John Archer, Patricia Stacey, Guy Usher, Marguerite Whitten, Leigh Whipper, Madame Sul-Te-Wan, James Davis, Laurence Criner
A U.S. agent, his pilot, and his man-servant are sent to the Caribbean to locate an admiral whose plane crashed. They also crash on a tiny island where a German doctor is making zombies out of the inhabitants through hypnosis. He had also caused the admiral's plane to crash, planning to hypnotize the admiral and then extract secrets from him. But our heroes stop that nonsense in this World War II propaganda film–though the U.S. had not yet entered the war.
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The Little Giant 1933 N/R, 74 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Helen Vinson, Mary Astor, Kenneth Thomson, Russell Hopton, Shirley Grey, Don Dillaway, Berton Churchill, Selmer Jackson, Dewey Robinson, Louise Mackintosh, Rolfe Sedan, Joan Barclay, Guy Usher, William Worthington
Prohibition has ended, and Chicago gangster Bugs Ahearn (Edward G. Robinson) and chief lieutenant Al Daniels (Russell Hopton) head west to Santa Barbara where Bugs plans to gain respectability. Bugs rents a mansion from Ruth Wayburn (Mary Astor) and hires her as his personal assistant and social secretary. Meanwhile, Bugs falls in love with socialite Polly Cass (Helen Vinson) and asks her to marry him. But, Polly, without Bugs' knowledge, continues her affair with John Staley (Kenneth Thomson), and her family swindles Bugs out of his ill-gotten fortune. When Ruth, who has fallen in love with Bugs, finally tells Bugs about Polly's family's activities, Bugs calls in the mob to help him out.
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Mr. Wong in Chinatown 1939 N/R, 70 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: William Nigh Cast: Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Marjorie Reynolds, George Lynn, William Royle, Richard Loo, Lotus Long, Huntley Gordon, James Flavin, Lee Tung Foo, Bessie Loo, Ernie Stanton, I. Stanford Jolley, Guy Usher, Wilbur Mack
Detective Wong (Boris Karloff) finds the body of a murder victim in his home and learns from reporter Bobby Logan (Marjorie Reynolds) that the victim is Chinese Princess Lin Hwa (Lotus Long). Police Captain Bill Street (Grant Withers) aids Wong in the investigation, and they discover the murdered body of Lin's traveling companion (Bessie Loo). As Wong closes in on the case, he is kidnapped and held hostage aboard a ship in San Francisco harbor. Will Street and Logan be able to save him? This story was later remade as "The Chinese Ring" starring Roland Winters in his first role as Charlie Chan.
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Mystery Man 1935 N/R, 65 min. Genre: Drama / Comedy / Mystery
Director: Ray McCarey Cast: Robert Armstrong, Maxine Doyle, Henry Kolker, LeRoy Mason, James Burke, Guy Usher, Dell Henderson, Monte Collins, Norman Houston, James P. Burtis, Otto Fries, Sam Lufkin, Sam Flint, Lee Shumway
Chicago reporter Larry Doyle (Robert Armstrong) celebrates receiving a big bonus, goes on an all-night bender, wakes up in St. Louis, and loses his job. It doesn't take long before Larry finds himself the suspect in a murder case and, with help from passing-stranger Anne (Maxine Doyle), sets out to clear his name by solving the case and identifying the real murderer.
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The Old Wyoming Trail 1937 N/R, 56 min. Genre: Western
Director: Folmar Blangsted Cast: Charles Starrett, Dick Curtis, Donald Grayson, George Chesebro, Tom London, Bob Nolan, Roy Rogers, Barbara Weeks, Guy Usher, Edward Peil Sr.
The railroad is coming, so the bad guys try to get the land away from the good guys to make money from the railroad. Starrett doesn't let that happen.
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Postal Inspector 1936 N/R, 58 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Otto Brower Cast: Ricardo Cortez, Patricia Ellis, Michael Loring, Bela Lugosi, Wallis Clark, Arthur Loft, David Oliver, Guy Usher, Spencer Charters, Hattie McDaniel, Harry Beresford
Gambling debts force nightclub owner Gregory Benez (Bela Lugosi) into a life of crime. When he hires a beautiful singer (Patricia Ellis) to perform in his club, she and Benez are put under the watchful eye of U.S. Postal Inspector Bill Davis (Ricardo Cortez).
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The President's Mystery 1936 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Mystery / Romance aka: One for All
Director: Phil Rosen Cast: Henry Wilcoxon, Betty Furness, Sidney Blackmer, Evelyn Brent, Barnett Parker, Mel Ruick, Wade Boteler, John Wray, Guy Usher, Robert Homans, Si Jenks, Arthur Aylesworth
A millionaire lawyer, James Blake (Henry Wilcoxon), fakes his own death and leaves his wife Ilka (Evelyn Brent) and law practice behind in order to start life anew. He then joins the woman he now loves, Charlotte (Betty Furness)–but big problems loom on James' horizon.
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Prison Break 1938 N/R, 72 min. Genre: Mystery / Drama
Director: Arthur Lubin Cast: Barton MacLane, Glenda Farrell, Paul Hurst, Constance Moore, Ward Bond, Edward Pawley, Edmund MacDonald, Guy Usher, Victor Kilian, George Cleveland, Frank Darien, Glenn Strange
Tuna fisherman Joaquin (Barton MacLane) is wrongfully convicted of murder and sent to prison. He is up for early parole after being a model prisoner, but when he finds out that his movements will be limited, and he will not be allowed to marry his fiancee, he breaks out of prison and searches for the real killer.
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Queen of the Yukon 1940 N/R, 73 min. Genre: Adventure / Western
Director: Phil Rosen Cast: Charles Bickford, Irene Rich, Melvin Lang, George Cleveland, June Carlson, Guy Usher, Dave O'Brien, Tristram Coffin, I. Stanford Jolley, Jess Cavin, John Merton
Sadie (Irene Rich) owns an Alaskan riverboat in the Yukon and has been using the money made taking gold-miners to their claims to pay for her daughter Helen's (June Carlson) education at boarding school. Finding that she is strapped for cash, Sadie sells the boat to the shady John Thorne (Melvin Lang) who now uses the boat to jump miners' claims. Unexpectedly, Helen arrives on the scene, and her boyfriend Bob (Dave O'Brien) goes to work for Thorne. But, fear not, Sadie's friend Ace (Charles Bickford) comes to the rescue and saves the day.
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Ridin' on a Rainbow 1941 N/R, 79 min. Genre: Western
Director: Lew Landers Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Mary Lee, Carol Adams, Ferris Taylor, Georgia Caine, Tom London, Byron Foulger, Ralf Harolde, Jimmy Conlin, Guy Usher, Forrest Taylor
Gene Autry is after a bank robber, leading him to a steamboat performer. It turns out that he robbed a bank to provide for his talented daughter.
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Rough Riders' Round-Up 1939 N/R, 55 min. Genre: Western
Director: Joseph Kane Cast: Roy Rogers, Lynne Roberts, Raymond Hatton, Eddie Acuff, George Meeker, Glenn Strange, Duncan Renaldo, William Pawley, Dorothy Sebastian, George Chesebro, Guy Usher, Hank Bell, Jim Corey, I. Stanford Jolley, Chris-Pin Martin
Back from fighting in the Spanish American War, Rough Riders–Roy (Roy Rogers), Rusty (Raymond Hatton), and Tommy (Eddie Acuff)–find jobs as members of the Border Patrol. Arizona Jack (William Pawley) runs an operation in which his outlaws rob stages and prospectors, after which they take their stolen property south of the border into Mexico. Roy, Rusty, and Tommy are assigned to guard a shipment of gold and to detain runaway Dorothy Blair (Lynne Roberts). They fail in both assignments. Tommy is killed by Arizona Jack, and his outlaws take Dorothy captive. Roy and Rusty are also soon captured by the outlaws. But, Dorothy escapes, rescues Roy and Rusty, and they put an end to Arizona Jack's illegal activities.
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Sophie Lang Goes West 1937 N/R, 62 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Charles Reisner Cast: Gertrude Michael, Lee Bowman, Sandra Storme, Buster Crabbe, Barlowe Borland, Jed Prouty, C. Henry Gordon, Rafael Storm, Fred Miller, Guy Usher
There have been one too many in this series, and the writers didn't seem to figure out what they wanted Sophie to do next. So, Sophie goes off to the West Coast, still avoiding the law. There she helps finish a screenplay and then helps the writer find a valuable stolen necklace.
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Under Western Stars 1938 N/R, 65 min. Genre: Western
Director: Joseph Kane Cast: Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Carol Hughes, Guy Usher, Tom Chatterton, Earle Hodgins, Frankie Marvin, Kenneth Harlan, Alden "Stephen" Chase, Earl Dwire
Roy Rogers goes to Washington, D.C. (amidst many songs) to lobby Congress to help solve the drought problem by having water available to the public. Roy's first starring role.
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| 1. Boots and Saddles (1937)
2. Borrowed Hero (1941)
3. Boy of the Streets (1937)
4. Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
5. The Devil Bat (1940) aka: Killer Bats
6. Doomed to Die (1940)
7. Good Dame (1934)
8. Hold That Woman! (1940)
9. I Take This Oath (1940) aka: Police Rookie
10. It's a Gift (1934)
11. King of the Zombies (1941)
12. The Little Giant (1933)
13. Lost Canyon (1942)
14. Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939)
15. Mystery Man (1935)
16. The Old Wyoming Trail (1937)
17. Postal Inspector (1936)
18. The President's Mystery (1936) aka: One for All
19. Prison Break (1938)
20. Queen of the Yukon (1940)
21. Ridin' on a Rainbow (1941)
22. Rough Riders' Round-Up (1939)
23. Sophie Lang Goes West (1937)
24. Under Western Stars (1938)
In The News
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