Smoke

The Saturday matinee crowd got two cowboy stars for the price of one in this lavishly budgeted western serial starring former singing cowboy Dick Foran and Buck Jones. The latter contributed deadpan humor to the proceedings, making Jones perhaps the highest paid B-western comedy relief in history. The two heroes defend the Death Valley borax miners from an outlaw gang headed by Wolf Reade. An extraordinarily strong cast -- for a serial, at least -- supported the stars, headed by Charles Bickford as Reade, Leo Carillo, Lon Chaney, Jr., and silent screen star Monte Blue. Leading lady Jeanne Kelly later changed her name to Jean Brooks and starred in the atmospheric RKO thriller The Seventh Victim (1943). Universal claimed to have spent $1 million on this serial and made sure to get their money's worth by endlessly recycling the action footage in serials and B-westerns for years to come.

Beyond Hell's Gate Pass is territory controlled by a man who calls himself King Carter; he uses a variety of schemes to prevent the railroad from being built, for fear it will finish his control of (what he considers) his land.

A singing lawyer and other homesteaders participate in the Oklahoma land rush and found the town of Big Rock, but the fast-growing frontier settlement quickly becomes embroiled in political and business corruption. Director Noel Smith's 1937 western stars Dick Foran, Jane Bryan, Tommy Bupp, Ed Cobb, Frank Faylen, Tom Brower and Milton Kibbee.

A wild cowboy changes course and becomes a sheriff after his father is murdered.

Tal is in a lot of trouble. Seems that his father has been murdered while he was in Montana and they put the blame on him. Also, he has been framed and sentenced to 10 years hard labor for another murder which he did not do. The crooks need convict labor to build the dam so they convict innocent people for a pool of cheap labor. But Karan believes that Tal, using the name Smith J. Brown, could not be a killer. Unknown to her, her step brother, Hub, is part of the gang.

Government agent Red Barton is sent to a small western town to find both the source of a recent series of gold robberies and the method they use to get the gold out of the county unseen. Complicating matters is the arrival of pretty Barbara Morgan who has come to claim her inheritance - the ranch the outlaw gang is using for their headquarters.

To increase profits for his shipping company, Lynch has goaded the Indians to attack both the telegraph line and the new railroad. When Lynch sells rifles to the Indians, Rod Farrell captures Lynch and his gang. But Lynch's Indian friends free him and this time Farrell finds himself the prisoner.

A singing cowboy (Dick Foran) thwarts a thieving judge and courts a woman (Anne Nagel) in Texas.

Ace owns just about everything around except for the Bank, which is owned by John Ware. Ace also has his eye on Judy, but Judy only has eyes for Clay. Since Ace is a crook, he holds up the stage and has his cronies swear that Clay was the bandit which gets Clay 10 years in jail. After he gets out in 5 for good behavior, Clay sets out to find who framed him and stole the stage strongbox. Since the sheriff does not like Clay, he takes his guns away as part of his probation and it makes Clay a target for the Ace gang.

A singing secret agent tracks down renegades at President Lincoln's request.

The Indians need the Buffalo to survive and the Government has promised to keep the herds free from hunters. But Carter, of Carter and Barton, just signed a big contract for furs and Buffalo meat so they want the herds. The only way they can get them is to rile the Indians up enough to go on the warpath and break the treaty. After the trouble starts, the Indians get the Colonel's daughter and hold her prisoner. Written by Tony Fontana

A 1936 B-western detailing early days of the Pony express. Starring Dick Foran and Linda Perry.

Frank Sr. sells his supplies to Hook, but then Hook has the Bannion Boys bushwhack his wagon to get the money back. Frank is murdered, but Junior gets away. He comes back 10 years later to settle the score as the Singing Cowboy. He finds that Hook is still doing his dirty deeds on the unsuspecting people. Along the way, Frank meets the lovely Jen, who came out in the same wagon train 10 years before.

A singing medicine-show cowboy and his magician partner catch a killer.