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."
Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing them.
George Francis "Gabby" Hayes was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-Western film series as the bewhiskered, cantankerous, but ever-loyal and brave comic sidekick of the cowboy stars Roy Rogers and John Wayne.
The Star Packer is a 1934 Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring John Wayne, George "Gabby" Hayes, Yakima Canutt, and Verna Hillie.
Randy Rides Alone is a 1934 American Pre-Code Western film starring John Wayne, Yakima Canutt, and George Hayes. The 53-minute black-and-white film was directed by Harry L. Fraser, produced by Paul Malvern for Lone Star Productions, and released by Monogram Pictures.
Blue Steel is a 1934 American pre-Code Monogram Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring John Wayne. Wayne plays a U.S. Marshal who is trying to capture the Polka Dot Bandit, who has taken off with $4,000. The film also featured Yakima Canutt and George "Gabby" Hayes. It was released as Stolen Goods in the UK, and this version was later released in a colorized version on home video. Since the movie has fallen into the public domain, several versions are in circulation, including a colorized edition with a jarringly re-dubbed soundtrack, including dialogue, music and sound effects.
'Neath the Arizona Skies is a 1934 Western film directed by Harry L. Fraser, produced by Lone Star Productions, released by Monogram Pictures and starring John Wayne. Wayne's character attempts to locate a little girl's father, so that she may claim a $50,000 Indian oil claim. The film co-stars Sheila Terry and Shirley Jean Rickert. George "Gabby" Hayes played a featured character with a speaking role, but his name was omitted from the cast list in the opening credits.
The Man from Utah is a 1934 pre-Code Monogram Western film starring John Wayne, Polly Ann Young and the stuntman/actor Yakima Canutt. It was written by Lindsley Parsons and directed by Robert N. Bradbury. Wayne has a "singing cowboy scene" in the film, wherein his voice is dubbed.
The Lawless Frontier is a 1934 American Monogram Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring John Wayne, Sheila Terry, George "Gabby" Hayes, and Earl Dwire. It was the tenth of the Lone Star westerns. The picture was made on a budget of $11,000, shot in less than a week at Red Rock Canyon north of Los Angeles, and released by Monogram on Nov. 22, 1934. The film remains an unusual showcase for Earl Dwire in the lead villain's role.
Riders of Destiny is a 1933 pre-Code Western musical film starring 26-year-old John Wayne as Singin' Sandy Saunders, the screen's second singing cowboy. It was the first of a series of sixteen Lone Star Westerns made for Monogram Pictures between 1933 and 1935, by Wayne and director Robert N. Bradbury, and the first pairing of Wayne with George "Gabby" Hayes.
Robert North Bradbury was an American film actor, director, and screenwriter. He directed 125 movies between 1918 and 1941, and is best known for directing early "Poverty Row"-produced Westerns starring John Wayne in the 1930s, and being the father of noted "cowboy actor" and film noir tough guy Bob Steele.
In Old Santa Fe is a 1934 American Western film directed by David Howard, starring Ken Maynard, George "Gabby" Hayes and Evalyn Knapp and featuring the first screen appearance of Gene Autry, singing a bluegrass rendition of "Wyoming Waltz" accompanied by his own acoustic guitar with Smiley Burnette on accordion. Autry and Burnette were uncredited, but the scene served as a screen test for the duo for subsequent singing cowboy films, beginning with The Phantom Empire (1935), in which Autry had his first leading role.
West of the Divide is a 1934 American Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury for Monogram, and starring John Wayne, Yakima Canutt and Gabby Hayes. The film had a copyright notice upon release, but it was not renewed.
Overland Stage Raiders is a 1938 "Three Mesquiteers" Western film starring John Wayne and directed by George Sherman. The film is notable for being the final film in which silent film icon Louise Brooks performed. Wayne played the lead in eight of the fifty-one films in the popular series.
Tumbling Tumbleweeds is a 1935 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Lucile Browne. Written by Ford Beebe, the film is about a cowboy who returns home after a five-year absence to find his father murdered and his boyhood pal accused of the dastardly deed. Tumbling Tumbleweeds features the songs "Riding Down the Canyon", "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine", and the Bob Nolan classic "Tumbling Tumbleweeds".
Song of Arizona is a 1946 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and George "Gabby" Hayes. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures.
Oh, Susanna! is a 1936 American Western 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.
Hidden Valley Outlaws is a 1944 American Western film directed by Howard Bretherton and written by John K. Butler and Robert Creighton Williams. The film stars Wild Bill Elliott, George "Gabby" Hayes, Anne Jeffreys, Roy Barcroft, Kenne Duncan and Charles Miller. The film was released on April 2, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Law and Lawless is a 1932 American pre-Code western film directed by Armand Schaefer and starring Jack Hoxie, Julian Rivero, and Yakima Canutt. It was released on November 30, 1932, by Majestic Pictures.
Fighting Texans is a 1933 American Western film directed by Armand Schaefer and written by Wellyn Totman. The film stars Rex Bell, Luana Walters, Betty Mack, Yakima Canutt, Wally Wales and George "Gabby" Hayes. The film was released on June 15, 1933, by Monogram Pictures.
