The Law of the 45's | |
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Directed by | John P. McCarthy |
Written by | William Colt MacDonald (novel) Robert Emmett Tansey (screenplay) |
Produced by | Arthur Alexander (producer) Max Alexander (associate producer) |
Cinematography | Robert E. Cline |
Edited by | Holbrook N. Todd |
Production company | Normandy Pictures |
Distributed by | First Division Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 57 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Law of the 45's (also known as The Mysterious Mr. Sheffield in the United Kingdom) is a 1935 American Western film directed by John P. McCarthy. The screenplay was based on the 1933 novel of the same name by William Colt MacDonald. [1] It was the first film to be made of MacDonald's characters The Three Mesquiteers , that later became a film series at Republic Pictures. [2] Though only two of the characters, Tucson and Stoney, appeared in this film, Williams would appear as the missing member "Lullaby" Joslyn in Powdersmoke Range shot in the same year for RKO.
Previously the Alexander brothers Arthur Alexander and Max Alexander had released a series of Westerns starring Guinn Williams under their Beacon Pictures company. Law of the 45s was made by Max's Normandy Pictures. [3]
Tucson Smith and Stoney Martin are driving a herd of cattle to sell when they come into saving Charlie Hayden from a gang of killers. Tucson and Stoney sell their cattle to Hayden and agree to work for him, both as range hands and to stop the gang of killers hired from Mexico. Tucson explains that there are two laws; when the regular law is nowhere to be found, the law of the 45's takes over.
The Three Mesquiteers is the umbrella title for a Republic Pictures series of 51 American Western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943. The films, featuring a trio of Old West adventurers, was based on a series of Western novels by William Colt MacDonald. The eponymous trio, with occasional variations, were called Stony Brooke, Tucson Smith and Lullaby Joslin. John Wayne, who played Stony Brooke in eight of the films in 1938 and 1939, was the best-known actor in the series. Other leads included Bob Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, Max Terhune, Bob Steele, Rufe Davis and Tom Tyler.
Cowboy Holiday is a 1934 American Western film directed by Robert F. Hill, produced by Max Alexander and Arthur Alexander for Beacon Productions and starring Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Richard Alexander.
The Phantom is a 1931 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Alan James.
Powdersmoke Range is a 1935 black-and-white Western film directed by Wallace Fox starring Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson, Guinn Williams and Bob Steele. It is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by William Colt MacDonald with characters who would later appear in Republic's The Three Mesquiteers film series.
Thunder Over Texas is a 1934 American populist contemporary Western film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer under the alias Joen Warner and produced by two nephews of Universal Pictures head Carl Laemmle, Arthur and Max Alexander's Poverty Row Beacon Productions. The film's story was written by Shirley Ulmer under the name of Sherle Castle. Shirley was then married to Max Alexander but would soon leave Max to marry Edgar with the result that Lammele blacklisted Ulmer from Hollywood. The film was shot in Kernville, California.
Society Fever is a 1935 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Lois Wilson, Lloyd Hughes and Hedda Hopper. The film entered the public domain in 1964, because its copyright was not renewed.
One in a Million is a 1934 American drama film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Dorothy Wilson, Charles Starrett and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams.
Ex-Flame is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by Victor Halperin and starring Neil Hamilton, Marian Nixon, and Norman Kerry. The film is an adaptation of the 1861 Victorian novel East Lynne, but is set in contemporary England. This was the first production of the Poverty Row company Liberty Pictures. The following year, a more celebrated film version of the novel was released by Fox Film. Some sources state this is a lost film.
Cheaters is a 1934 American crime film directed by Phil Rosen and starring William Boyd, June Collyer and Dorothy Mackaill.
Step on It is a 1936 American crime film directed by Harry S. Webb and starring Richard Talmadge, Lois Wilde, and Roger Williams. After being kicked off the force, a former police officer single-handedly goes after a gang that is staging truck hold-ups.
Pinto Rustlers is a 1936 American western film directed by Harry S. Webb and starring Tom Tyler, George Walsh and Al St. John.
Fast Bullets is a 1936 American Western film directed by Harry S. Webb and starring Tom Tyler, Rex Lease and Margaret Nearing. It was the 14th of Tom Tyler's 18 Westerns for Reliable Pictures.
Drifting Souls is a 1932 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Louis King and starring Lois Wilson, Theodore von Eltz and Raymond Hatton.
The Riding Kid is a 1931 American Western film directed by Jack Irwin and starring Buddy Roosevelt, Jean Kay and Fred Church. The title is sometimes spelled The Ridin' Kid.
The Law of the Tong is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film directed by Lewis D. Collins and starring Phyllis Barrington, John Harron and Jason Robards Sr.
I Demand Payment is a 1938 American drama film directed by Clifford Sanforth and starring Betty Burgess, Jack La Rue and Matty Kemp. It is based on Rob Eden's 1932 novel Second Choice. Sherman L. Lowe wrote the screenplay. It was produced by Poverty Row company Imperial Pictures.
Beyond the Law is a 1930 American western film directed by J. P. McGowan and starring Robert Frazer, Lane Chandler and Louise Lorraine. It was one of the final productions of the independent Rayart Pictures, under the name Raytone Talking Pictures. The company was later revived as Monogram Pictures.
Rustler's Paradise is a 1935 American western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring Harry Carey, Gertrude Messinger and Edmund Cobb. It was produced by the Poverty Row studio Ajax Pictures for release as a second feature. It was later reissued by Astor Pictures in 1947.
Joseph O'Donnell (1891–1963) was an American screenwriter. He worked for a variety of studios on Poverty Row during the 1930s, mainly on westerns.
Ridin' On is a 1936 American western film directed by Ira Webb and starring Tom Tyler, Joan Barclay and Rex Lease. It was produced and distributed as a low-budget second feature by the independent Poverty Row studio Reliable Pictures.