Melody Ranch is a 1940 Western musical film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Gene Autry, Jimmy Durante, and Ann Miller. Written by Jack Moffitt, F. Hugh Herbert, Bradford Ropes, and Betty Burbridge, the film is about a singing cowboy who returns to his hometown to restore order when his former childhood enemies take over the frontier town. In 2002, the film was added to the National Film Registry by the National Film Preservation Board and selected for preservation as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Stephen McNally was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and other villains.
Clarence William Kolb was an American vaudeville performer and actor known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect.
Barton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC television comedy series I Dream of Jeannie, with Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman.
Ben Welden was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows.
Horace McMahon was an American actor. He was one of Hollywood's favorite heavies.
Aline Laveen MacMahon was an American actress. Her Broadway stage career began under producer Edgar Selwyn in The Mirage during 1920. She made her screen debut in 1931 and worked extensively in film, theater and television until her retirement in 1975. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Dragon Seed (1944).
Gold is Where You Find It is a 1938 American Western Technicolor film that gives a fictionalized account of a true event — an ecological disaster whose effects are still felt in California today. Directed by Michael Curtiz and starring George Brent, Olivia de Havilland, and Claude Rains, with a screenplay by Warren Duff and Robert Buckner based on a story by Clements Ripley, the film is set 30 years after the first California Gold Rush, when hydraulic mining sends floods of muddy sludge into the Sacramento Valley, destroying crops and homes, ruining land and water sources and killing people caught in their path. The film highlights the conflict between the mining companies and the wheat farmers by adding a romance between a mining engineer and the daughter of a prominent farmer. She is herself dedicated to the idea that fruit can be raised in the valley. This Technicolor feature film was released on February 12, 1938, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Laugh It Off is a 1939 American musical film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Johnny Downs, Constance Moore, Marjorie Rambeau and Cecil Cunningham. It was shot at Universal City in Hollywood. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jack Otterson.
Big Town Czar is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Arthur Lubin starring Barton MacLane and Tom Brown.
Torchy Blane in Chinatown is a 1939 American crime mystery film directed by William Beaudine and starring Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. Released on February 4, 1939, it is the seventh film in the Torchy Blane film series by Warner Bros. and is followed by Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939). The rivalry between newspaper reporter Torchy Blane and her boyfriend, Lieutenant Steve McBride, escalates as the two investigate a death threat involving priceless jade tablets.
Draegerman Courage is a 1937 American drama film directed by Louis King and written by Anthony Coldeway. The film stars Jean Muir, Barton MacLane, Henry O'Neill, Robert Barrat, Addison Richards and Helen MacKellar. The film was released by Warner Bros. on May 15, 1937.
Alcatraz Island is a 1937 American drama film directed by William C. McGann and written by Crane Wilbur. The film stars John Litel, Ann Sheridan, Mary Maguire, Gordon Oliver, Dick Purcell and Ben Welden. The film was released by Warner Bros. on November 6, 1937.
It Could Happen to You is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Alfred L. Werker and written by Lou Breslow and Allen Rivkin. The film stars Stuart Erwin, Gloria Stuart, Raymond Walburn, Douglas Fowley, June Gale and Clarence Kolb. The film was released on June 8, 1939, by 20th Century Fox.
Tenth Avenue Kid is a 1938 American crime film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and written by Gordon Kahn and Adele Buffington. The film stars Bruce Cabot, Beverly Roberts, Ben Welden, Horace McMahon, John Wray and Jay Novello. The film was released on August 22, 1938, by Republic Pictures.
Federal Man-Hunt is a 1938 American crime film directed by Nick Grinde and written by Maxwell Shane. The film stars Robert Livingston, June Travis, John Gallaudet, Charles Halton, Ben Welden and Horace McMahon. The film was released on December 26, 1938, by Republic Pictures.
Pride of the Navy is a 1939 American action film directed by Charles Lamont and written by Ben Markson and Saul Elkins. The film stars James Dunn, Rochelle Hudson, Gordon Oliver, Horace McMahon, Gordon Jones and Charlotte Wynters. The film was released on January 23, 1939, by Republic Pictures.
Roi Cooper Megrue was an American playwright, producer, and director active on Broadway from 1914 to 1921.
For Love or Money is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Albert S. Rogell and written by Charles Grayson and Arthur T. Horman. The film stars June Lang, Robert Kent, Edward Brophy, Etienne Girardot, Richard Lane, Addison Richards, Edward Gargan and Horace McMahon. The film was released on April 28, 1939, by Universal Pictures.
