Barton was an occasional regular (??) on the "I Dream of Genie" series, playing
General Martin Peterson, one of the Air Force officers usually in the background. He
played Marshall Frank Caine in the series "The Outlaws."
Last update 6/14/01
Barton Maclane was born in 1902, died in 1969. Between 1929 and 1969, he acted in at least 153 films and had the title or was listed first or second in at least 30 films, among them - "Captain Scarface," "The Kid Comes Back," "Prison Break," "Wine Women and Horses, and "Man of Iron." He was co-star in several of the Torchy Blane movies of the mid-thirties and was listed second to Buster Crabbe in the reviews of at least two other films.
The Torchy Blane movies were shot by Warner Brothers in 1935 to 1937 with a heroine, Torchy Blane; a reporter on a major newspaper and MacLane playing Lt. Steve McBride. Several of these are on tapes 11 and 13.
Barton appeared in at least two top-rated films - Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Maltese Falcon and several good films like "The Glenn Miller story" and "Let's Dance." See the movie list for an alphabetical index - The list is here.
Barton was an occasional regular (??) on the "I Dream of Genie" series, playing General Martin Peterson, one of the Air Force officers usually in the background. He played Marshall Frank Caine in the series "The Outlaws." We still have not been able to obtain any of the "Outlaws" episodes.
With the help of two books in the Wichita Library and by searching the Internet, we originally compiled a list of 72 movies in which MacLane acted. The list expanded by June of 2001 to 154 of which we have 87 recorded on video tape. (The list contains 165 names - eleven are re-releases with another name.) Comparing this list to the 1400 movies listed in the Satellite guide each week used to provide us with one or two new films a week, but as there are fewer to find, fewer are found. Still a fun project!
Most of the films in the Treasury were on when the series producer was asleep or at work, (this is not, for the most part, prime time stuff,) so we had to use the VCR timer and there are sometimes several minutes of garbage in between. Some are loaded with commercials, but remember this is one of a kind; (someone may have said, "Thank goodness!") Some of the channels on the satellite are less than perfect, so quality of some of the movies suffers.
Barton was a big draw in the late thirties, as can be seen by his high listings in the credits of some films in which he only had a small part. Two examples, "I Found Stella Parish" (1935) where his face wasn't even seen and he was listed seventh and "All About Eve," (1937) on tape five, where he had little more than a cameo part, but was listed seventh. Most of the films Barton worked in were grade B movies. A few of his movies, like "Nabonga" shot in 1944, were definitely not great, but they were usually fun to watch. Of those in which he starred, probably the best were the Torchy Blane movies.
Barton was an occasional regular (??) on the "I Dream of Genie" series, playing
General Martin Peterson, one of the Air Force officers usually in the background. He
played Marshall Frank Caine in the series "The Outlaws."
With the help of two books in the Wichita Library and by searching the Internet, we have compiled a list of 160 movies in which MacLane acted. Comparing this list to the 1400 movies listed in the Satellite guide each week usually provided us with one or two new films a week for a long time. Now that we have recorded most of them, they appear much less frequently. It has been a fun project!
Most of the films in the Treasury were on when the series producer was asleep or
at work, (this is not, for the most part, prime time stuff,) so we had to use the VCR timer
and there are sometimes several minutes of garbage in between films. Some are
loaded with commercials, but remember this is one of a kind; (someone may have said,
"Thank goodness!") Some of the channels on the satellite are less than perfect, so
quality of some of the movies suffers.
On tape 1, the first movie, "Gunfighters of Abilene," filmed in 1959, MacLane co-stars with Buster Crabbe. MacLane plays Seth Hainline, a big land owner who will do anything to keep his land - even though some of what he considers his has been homesteaded by others. He winds up accidentally killing his own son and getting shot trying to cover it up. Telling you how it ends won't spoil it. Taped in September of 1996.
Movie two is probably the best movie MacLane ever played in - "Treasure of the Sierra Madre," although he had only a small part in it (listed fifth in the credits). The 1948 movie stars Humphrey Bogart as a down-and-out drifter in Mexico, hired early in the movie by MacLane for some construction work. When the work is done, MacLane welches on their pay, eventually gets caught up with, and takes a good beating. The story really starts after all this and MacLane isn't seen any more.
Getting a beating seems to be common in many of Barton's movies. He gets beat up often and he does it so well. If he doesn't get beat up, he gets shot.
Movie three, "Drums in the Deep South," is a civil war film (1951, in color) with a highly improbable theme. MacLane plays a confederate Sergeant, part of a group assigned to stop union trains supplying Sherman on his march through Georgia by commandeering an impregnable hill and bombarding the trains. MacLane is listed fourth on this one. Bad copy with lots of commercials.
Movie one on tape two is a 1956 western called "Backlash," starring Richard Widmark and Donna Reed. MacLane is listed fifth, right in front of Harry Morgan. He plays Sergeant Blake a "good guy," for a change. He takes an Indian bullet and leaves us 36 minutes into the film. Harry Morgan has a smaller part, but lasts through most of the film. Fair movie with good color if you like westerns.
The second movie on tape two is "Nabonga," filmed in 1944. It's a truly terrible movie starting with a jewel thief and his young daughter who crash-land in Africa somewhere. The daughter helps an injured gorilla and survives. MacLane plays a local baddie, one of several people years later who are after the jewels and money. Buster Crabbe stars and Julie London is the daughter grown up and living with the gorilla. Like I said, it's a terrible movie. B&W and lots of commercials.
Movie number three on this tape is "The Maltese Falcon," in which Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade plays opposite Mary Astor, searching for the fabulous jeweled bird. MacLane plays Detective Lieutenant Dundy, investigating the many murders that seem to crop up in the search. A really top-notch black-and-white movie, although the wind was whipping the dish around making occasional noise in the audio.
We did manage to squeeze on a fourth movie onto tape two - which claims to be the first movie in which FBI agents were called "G-Men." That's the best part of the movie (meaning the claims made before the movie starts were at least as good as the movie) in which James Cagney plays a G-Man out to get a big-time bad guy named Collins, played by our boy Barton. Collins gets killed in the end, of course. MacLane was listed about fifth in the credits.
"Foxfire," 1955, (1:35) with Jeff Chandler and Jane Russell is the first movie on tape 3. MacLane got number five billing both at the front and back of the film, although his part was so small they must have had to do some negotiating to get that. He seemed to be the foreman of a mining crew and I guess he was the only bad guy in the film, although the worst he did was say, "Aw, it'll never work."
"Kansas Pacific" (1:28) was on again, on a better station so it is track 2 on tape 3. MacLane was one of the three listed as "Starring" and he had a significant part. And he was a 'good guy' for a change. He was in charge of building a railroad through Kansas just before the Civil War to supply Union soldiers in case war broke out. It was a military project and very important to the Union, but not important enough for them to send soldiers to protect it. Keep the fast-forward handy; there are lots of commercials.
Movie 3 on tape 3 is "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye," 1950, (1:31) starring James Cagney and Ward Bond. I never was a big fan of James Cagney and this movie didn't do much to change my opinion. Barton MacLane played Tonto to Ward Bond; both were crooked cops who got coerced into assisting bad guy Cagney in a big heist and all but Cagney got caught (Cagney got shot dead). MacLane was listed sixth in the credits, although he was seen quite a bit in the movie.
The first three minutes of tape 4 have the last three minutes of "The Wyoming Kid" with Dennis Morgan and Jane Wyman. I was waiting for "Silver River" and saw Good old Barton MacLane appear so I taped what was left. He had eighth billing. We're still watching for a rerun of "Wyoming Kid."
"Silver River," 1948, (1:50) follows on tape 4, starring Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan. Barton only managed sixth listing in this pretty fair movie (if you can overcome Errol Flynn's excessive arrogance and believe someone could be so lucky). Barton had a big part in this for only sixth billing.
Tape 4, movie 2 is "Let's Dance," 1950, with Fred Astaire and Betty Hutton. Not my kind of movie, but I had to watch it to catch our hero, Barton and I'm glad I did. Fred Astaire's solo dance at 26 minutes into the movie shows off the exceptional gifts of this multi-talented man. MacLane does a really good job of the small part he had in this and the show is probably worth watching, especially for real Barton MacLane fans. Barton was listed seventh in the credits
Watch for Barton MacLane knocking down an enemy moth with a wad of chew about 18 minutes into the third film on tape 4. It's "Bombardier," 1943, starring Randolph Scott and Pat O'Brien, two stars that I usually avoid. MacLane plays a master sergeant and dies a hero at the end. There were no credits on the front; MacLane was listed seventh at the end, behind the stars and Eddie Albert and Robert Ryan. One of the corniest stories I ever saw, but lots of action. The downing of the moth, mentioned earlier, was the real highlight.
Tape 5 begins with a very good (but of course, predictable), film with Barton supporting Jimmy Stewart and June Allison. The film is The Glenn Miller Story, and Barton is number 6 in the credits. He plays a General Arnold and doesn't show up until about an hour and a half into the movie. Barton does a creditable job and his part is small, but the movie would be worth watching, even without him.
Number two on tape five is Ever Since Eve, 1937, starring Marion Davies and Robert Montgomery. It was a real disappointment in several ways: The plot was improbable; some of the acting was gross over-acting: and worst of all, Barton MacLane had a very small part in spite of being number seven in the credits. (He was listed ahead of Marcia Ralston, who had a large and significant part in the show.) Barton played Al McCoy and only appeared very briefly near the first of the film. Then his truck was used a bit later (had his name on the side), but he wasn't seen again. Due to the brief appearance, we almost left it out of the Treasury, but in the interests of purity, we kept it in.
Tape five, number three is Hell's Crossroads (1957), in which MacLane plays a Pinkerton detective named Clyde O'Connell. It's another re-make of the Jesse James story (there are 29 listed in the Internet Movie Database) in which one or two of the gang try to turn sort-of good. Lots of weak points make it a weak story. Barton does a fair job for his part and was listed fourth in the credits. No Academy Awards here.
We got a fourth film on this tape - Bullets or Ballots, 1936 or 1938, starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane, and Humphrey Bogart, in that order. Barton plays Al Kruger, a top manager in a big city crime syndicate and gets killed near the end. Barton makes a good showing in this and probably should have been listed second and Blondell fourth as her part was obviously just thrown in to have a woman in the movie. Pretty good movie with Robinson making a rather good death-bed speech at the end.
Turner Classic Movies shows good old movies with no commercials in the middle, but they often cut off the credits at the end. Maybe I should have a talk with them about this.
For tape six, we pulled out the tape with Captain Scarface and added to it. Captain Scarface stars Barton MacLane, Virginia Grey, and Leif Ericson, in that order. Barton does an average job in this 1953 movie. Why does dark' always come to mind when I try to describe it. The Internet Movie Data Base didn't have any cast listed for this so we forwarded seven names to them to update the data base.
The second movie on this tape is High Sierra, a 1941 gangster movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino. Bogart, as "Mad dog Earl," has a big standoff with the police at the end (the grand finale) and is killed. Barton Plays Jake Kranmer, one of the organizers of the heist Bogey is involved in. Barton is listed tenth. Pretty good movie; small part for our hero.
Number three on tape six is another pretty good movie - Town Tamer, with Dana Andrews and Terry Moore leading and Barton MacLane listed eighth in the credits. He plays James Fell, a businessman building a railroad into Great Plains, Montana, a town that has been taken over by a greedy saloon owner and his cronies. Fell (Barton) hires Dana Andrews' character to clean up the town and he eventually does. Fell gets shot near the end, but lives to see his town become law-abiding. I'd give this movie three stars; it has some faults, but is worth watching.
Tape seven starts with All through the Night, (1942) another Humphrey Bogart film, (sometimes almost a spoof) with Bogey playing a wartime, patriotic, small time grifter. He gets involved with a gang of Nazi spies and spends the movie chasing and being chased by the Nazis and the police. Barton plays Marty Callahan, another small-time crook and night club owner with small scenes here and there throughout the movie. He is listed 12th, about as far down as we've seen him. He plays his part well, as usual. Several familiar faces: Phil Silvers, Peter Lorre, William Demarest.
The second movie on tape seven, I Found Stella Parish, (1935) was disappointing. Not because it wasn't a good film; good story, very good acting; but because Barton had such a small part. He was listed sixth in the credits, but we didn't even see his face. His part was important to the plot - it was the whole plot - but his appearance lasted about two minutes at 15 minutes into the film and we only saw the back of his head - with a hat on. As usual, TCM cut off the credits at the end so I had to do some sleuthing to find out who played Gloria, the little girl, who did a marvelous job. It was Sybil Jason, born 23 Nov. 1929. Her last movie was in 1940.
The Rounders (1965) is the third movie on tape seven. A good movie starring Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda with Barton MacLane (listed tenth in the credits) not showing up until an hour and 17 minutes into it. Barton plays Tanner, who seems to be running a rodeo and has only a small part. The plot mostly involves the two leads trying to break an old roan horse. Very good acting and good story. Wind was gusting fiercely and I wasn't at home so the dish moved around making lots of interference. Sorry about that.
Friday, Jan. 17, 1997 was a black day. We were out of town and I had the VCR set to record three Barton MacLane movies in which he was listed first, second, and about sixth, but I left a switch in the wrong position and got nothing. Bitter disappointment.
Tape 8 starts with Barton playing Bullhead, the real heavy in God's Country and the woman (1937) a rather corny film about a logging feud in the north-west. Stars George Brent and Beverly Roberts with Barton listed third. The Internet movie data base lists 14 films for Miss Roberts between 1936 and 1939 then one in 1979 - long time between jobs. Some interesting shots of the logging business, but otherwise not worth watching. It is in Technicolor, a rarity for 1937.
An excellent movie, the 1941 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is second on tape 8, and stars Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, and Lana Turner. Barton MacLane is listed sixth and plays well the part of a man losing his mind, which creates the theme for the movie. His part is small and is finished five minutes into the film. Spencer Tracy is great as Jekyll and Hyde and the scene at the end after he falls down the stairs and changes from Hyde to Jekyll needs to be replayed (at least once at fast forward) to appreciate the special effects done 55 years ago. Ingrid Bergman is great, as always.
Another good movie is next: Gentle Annie (1944) with Barton (listed sixth) having a big part as a crooked sheriff. Stars James Craig, Marjorie Main, and Donna Reed. Barton's listing in this movie seems to be about right, which makes me wonder how he got similar listings in some of his other movies in which he had very minor parts. The ending is, of course, predictable with the crooked sheriff and two of the train robbers getting shot and the hero getting the girl. Strangely, though, the third train robber gets on the train to go turn himself in. Good attention to detail in this one.
We squeezed a fourth movie on tape 8: Dr. Socrates, 1935, starring Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, and Barton MacLane, in that order. Barton had a big part in this, playing Red Bastian, a big-time gangster in the late 1920s. Bastian's gang robbed banks and eventually holed up near a small town where Dr. Caldwell (dubbed Dr. Socrates by some of the locals) was trying to establish a practice. The Doctor outwits Bastian and almost singlehandedly captures the gang. Bastian goes down in a hail of police bullets at the end. Pretty fair movie.
Rails Into Laramie (1954) is first on tape 9. It stars John Payne and Mari Blanchard in a fairly well-done "Why did they do that?" The rails are already through Laramie and the bad guys (played by Dan Duryea and Lee Van Cleef) are trying to stop further progress to keep the railroad worker's money in town. Barton plays Lee Graham, the totally incapable "chief engineer" for the railroad, trying to get the railroad built. He is listed number five in the credits and has small, but important parts throughout the film. An interesting twist is the first all-female jury in the United States. Technicolor; good copy.
I accidently recorded over Sierra Stranger here and was afraid to record anything else here as there is only about one hour and 14 minutes available. When Sierra Stranger finally came on, I couldn't be there to stop it at the exact time so I put it at the end of tape 13.
The second movie on tape 9 stars Silvia Sydney, Henry Fonda, and Barton MacLane in You Only Live Once (1937). Barton plays Steve Whitney, a public defender who goes all out to defend an ex-convict, played by Fonda. All the cards are stacked against fonda's character and the ending is somewhat predictable and a little corny. Not a bad movie and Barton plays his part pretty well. Black and white and a good copy.
We wrote to Turner Classic Movies and suggested they have a Barton MacLane day, showing his movies. They fell for it and on February 20, 1997, they had nine movies with Barton MacLane in a row! I took the day off and recorded from 5:00 AM until about 2:45. After each they announced that "TCM is celebrating the movies of Barton MacLane" today, although I cut off the announcement between the first two.
Tape 10 starts with Man of Iron (1935), starring Barton MacLane and Mary Astor. Barton plays Chris Bennett, the big, dumb shop foreman in the Balding Steel Works, loved by all the workers until the owner decides to promote him to General Manager. He doesn't fit into the office and his secretary and the owner's cousin do all they can to sabotage him, which only gets Bennett promoted to Vice-president. Things don't go well - Bennett borrows too much money, neglects his work, takes a pay cut, the men strike, and the film ends suddenly with Bennett back In the shop and everyone happy. Highlights of the show are Barton singing My Wild Irish Rose and his phoney sounding "Ha, ha, ha." Pretty bad film; B and W.
The second film on Barton MacLane day had already been recorded (first on tape eight) with Barton playing Bullhead, the heavy in God's Country and the woman (1937), the corny logging feud story with Barton listed third in the credits. We went ahead and re-recorded it for practice. I wonder how many times Barton has been knocked down or beaten up in a movie.
The Walking Dead (1937) is third on tape 10, Boris Karloff stars as an ex-con, framed for murder by a gang headed by Mr. Loder (played by MacLane) and executed for murder. He is miraculously brought back to life possessing supernatural powers. Each time he confronts one of the men who framed him, the framer dies. After three of the gang members mysteriously die in about one day, one of the survivors says, "I'm beginning to think those three deaths weren't coincidence," for the highlight of the picture. MacLane is listed number six in the credits. B&W.
The fourth film on tape 10 is Draegerman Courage with Jean Muir and Barton MacLane. Barton plays Andre (Beau) Beaupre, the greatest and most admired of the Draegermen, a group of miners in charge of mine safety and rescue. Beau is fired after accusing the mine owner and the foreman of unsafe practices, then comes back to rescue the owner, the foreman and his good friend, Dr. Tom, from another cave-in. The water is rising, the foreman dies of pneumonia, and tension is great, but Beau gets there just in time. The mine owner decides to finance a much-needed hospital, his wife has a baby and everyone lives happily ever after. Not too bad; B&W.
These flicks are short so we got five of them on tape 10. The fifth is Wine, Women and Horses (I couldn't wait for this one) starring Barton MacLane and Ann Sheridan. Barton plays Jim Turner, a small-time professional gambler. He swears off gambling for his girl. He gets a job, marries the girl, starts gambling again, she leaves, he gets a job and she takes him back, he starts gambling again --- and they lived happily ever after. B&W.
Tape 11 starts with one of the seven or eight "Torchy Blane" movies made from 1937 to
1939. This one, Blondes at work (1938), stars Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane as
Torchy and Lt. Steve McBride and is probably MacLane's acting pinnacle. Torchy -
engaged to Lt. McBride, - repeatedly publishes inside police information while she and
the police try to solve a murder. It's a good story, well acted and worth at least two
stars. B&W. Too bad he peaked 30 years before his last film.
The Kid Comes Back (1937) is second on tape 11. Aging boxer MacLane wins a fight that makes him a heavyweight champion contender and begins managing a promising young street-fighter. They fall out and eventually meet in a grudge match for the championship. Not much of a story and the acting is fair except for the boxing sequences which show that Barton is no boxer. B&W.
Film 3 is another Torchy Blane movie - Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939), with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane, again playing Torchy Blane and Lt. Steve McBride. After Torchy exposes massive corruption in city government, she is hood-winked into running for mayor and is kidnaped by the opposition. Steve rescues her, naturally, and she is elected. Fair story and acting. B&W.
The Half Breed (1952), starring Robert Young and Janis Carter, is fourth on tape
11. Barton (listed fourth in the credits) plays the sheriff of San Remo where the good
guys (Robert Young's character and the half breed) try to keep the bad guys from
starting the Indians on the warpath so they can get the Indian's land. MacLane looks
good in this one. He shows up here and there throughout the movie, usually calling for
the army or wishing they would arrive. Good copy, in color.
On tape 12, we finally got The Big Street (1942), with Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, and Barton MacLane, in that order. Barton plays Case Ables, the owner of a nightclub in which Lucille Ball plays the self-centered singer and Fonda is a busboy in love with her. MacLane plays his part well and probably goes to jail at the end. The singer suddenly turns into a good person and then dies at the end. Improbable and corny. B&W.
Five minutes of junk between shows then another Torchy Blane movie: Fly away Baby (1937), with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. Barton is playing Lt Steve McBride again, trying to solve a murder. Torchy enters an around-the-world race to catch the murderer (another contestant). All three racers ride together and finish up riding the last leg from Frankfurt to new York in a zeppelin. (This was the same year as the Hindenburg went down; coincidence, I guess.) The solution to the crimes was too convoluted for me to follow and I must have missed the explanation of how this was a race with all contestants always riding together. Barton does well in this. B&W.
Cocoanuts, 1929, probably Barton MacLane's second movie, is third on tape 12. Barton (who should have been about 27 at the time) is not mentioned in the credits and I couldn't find him until almost an hour into the film where he shows up bidding $500 and then $100 in a Florida land auction. He is standing on Groucho Marx's left and is mostly hidden behind another man. Near the end of the movie the man sitting well behind Groucho looks like him, but who knows? One source listed Barton as being the lifeguard in this film, but the swimming pool scene must have been cut from the version we recorded. A Marx brothers show with bad singing, good choreography, and some funny patter. Good copy (for 1929) in black and white.
Maureen O'Hara and Paul Henreid star in The Spanish Main (1945), tape 12, number four, with Barton MacLane listed sixth. It's a well-done pirate-versus-vicious-viceroy movie with a minimum of pirating. The pirates are the "good guys," but Barton plays a really bad pirate named Benjamin. He doesn't appear until 38 minutes into the film and is dispatched at about 1:04 in an attempt to kill the leading man. He has a short, but significant part and plays it well. Good movie, good copy, color.
The Geisha Boy is first on tape 13, starring Jerry Lewis, with Barton MacLane listed fourth in the credits. It was tough, but I watched the whole thing. Barton plays Major Ridgley, who seems to be in charge of a USO troupe on a trip to Japan. He gets into the slapstick on the trip over, tangling with Jerry and a life-raft on the edge of the actress-star's bed. He does so well at this I wonder if he shouldn't have gone in more for comedy. Good copy; terrible movie; in color.
A much better movie next. Jubilee Trail, 1954 with Vera Ralston, John Russell, Forrest Tucker, and Barton MacLane listed number nine. Barton plays Deacon Bartlett, a drunken mule-trader and part-time preacher. He appears at 18 minutes into the film and disappears after the big fist-fight. Plays his part well. I wonder if they don't use him in so many films because he is so good at getting beat up. The film starts off almost like a musical, with some fair music, and has more music now and then. Doesn't seem to be any plot. Fair copy, in color, but lots of white sparklies.
Third on tape 13 is Prison Break (1938) Starring Barton MacLane and Glenda Farrell, fresh from their Torchy Blane series. The A1TV channel is terrible and they interrupt for short commercials frequently, but since our hero was starring in the movie we recorded it anyway. Barton plays Joaquin Shannon, a tuna fisherman and boat owner, who takes the blame for a manslaughter he thought his brother-in -law committed. He gets paroled for foiling a prison break, but gets in trouble outside. The movie has a happy but improbable ending. Barely watchable video, but fair acting. Black and white.
Tape 13 ends with Sierra Stranger (1957), starring Howard Duff and Gloria McGhee With Barton MacLane playing Lem Gotch, the leader of a two man gang of claim jumpers. Everyone in town sides with the bad guys through most of the movie which consists mostly of fist-fights, gun-battles and an occasional bit of romance. Our boy Barton (listed fifth in the credits) gets the worst of most of the fights and really takes a walloping at the end. Notice when he goes down for the last time at the end off the movie he is careful to grab his hat on the way down. Black and white; good copy.
On the first 13 tapes, Barton is listed first or second in the credits ten times.
Looking through the list, I noticed the following list of some of Barton's films:
The Big House, Mutiny in the Big House, Murder in the Big House, Jail Break, Jail Busters, Prison Break, San Quentin (1937), and San Quentin (1946),
Tape 14 starts with Stranded, 1935, starring Kay Francis and George Brent. Contemporary tale around the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, with Barton MacLane (tied for fifth in the credits) playing Sharkey, a brazen extortionist demanding $5000 a month for protection. When he doesn't get the money, he stirs up the crew and almost stops the construction. As usual, our hero gets the worst of it in several fist fights and ends up beaten up and beaten. Black and white, fair copy, fair movie.
Number two on tape 14 is The Prince and the Pauper, 1937, starring Errol Flynn and Claud Raines, with Barton MacLane listed number four in the credits. It's a good movie made from a good story by Mark Twain. The Prince befriends a beggar-boy and they exchange clothes in play, then become separated and wind up with their roles exchanged for most of the movie. Barton plays the father of the beggar-boy and is a real rogue - as is the king, who dies shortly after the exchange. Errol Flynn comes to the rescue and kills the evil father (Barton) and straightens out the whole mess. Good movie and good acting by Barton.
Conflict between farmers and hydraulic miners in California's second gold rush (1877) was the story in Gold is Where You Find it, 1938, third on tape 14. It stars George Brent and Olivia de Haviland with Barton MacLane listed seventh. Barton plays Slag Martin, the foreman of a crew of hydraulic miners using water pressure to flush out gold, the unlikely result of which is that all the farms downstream were flooded out. The farmers rise up and eventually war is prevented by blowing up the dam and drowning our hero. Color; fair story. Later review of the movie showed the last few minutes were recorded over.
I recorded 12 episodes of I Dream of Jeannie from Nick at Nght and edited them for Barton MacLane appearances. Found several and put three on the end of tape 16, then two on the end of tape 14. They are somewhat chronological so it's Captain Nelson on tape 16 and he becomes a major on tape 14 Barton plays General Peterson and is usually listed fifth in the credits. The last episode on tape 14 has Major Nelson playing a round of golf with General Peterson and Barton has a large part in it. His parts in most of the rest of these are fairly minor. [Most of the episodes of Jeannie with Bart were directed by Hal Cooper or Claudio Guzman.]
Tape 15 starts with about 45 or 50 minutes of the appeal of Tarzan movies, followed by two Tarzan movies with Barton MacLane. The first is Tarzan and the Amazons with Johnny Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce, and Barton (listed sixth). Barton plays Bannister, the greedy and disagreeable overseer of a backwater port near tarzan's home. He cons Boy into leading a group of geologists and archeologists to the home of the rich Amazons and Tarzan has to save Boy. Barton dies with Tarzan watching as he gets pulled down by quicksand. Chita is great. B&W.
Movie two on tape 15 is Tarzan and the Huntress, 1947 with Johnny and Brenda and Barton MacLane listed fifth. Barton plays "Weir," the worst of the bad men' trying to capture wild animals for American zoos. The African king of the land across the river from Tarzan won't cooperate with them so they kill him and replace him with one who is more cooperative. When Tarzan sees they are taking too many animals he calls the animals to his side of the river. In the showdown, Tarzan uses the elephants to route the baddies and Barton gets his just deserts. These really are pretty good movies with great animal antics and wild animal shots. B&W.
Film three on tape 15 is the Barton MacLane Mystery movie. It's In This Our Life - 1942, Starring Olivia Dehaviland and Bette Davis in a pretty good movie about a spoiled young lady in a once-rich, now-not-so-rich family. Barton isn't listed in the credits and in the Internet movie database he is shown as "Roadhouse customer - Cameo." The mystery is - can you find Barton? The only roadhouse scene I can find is at about 1:05 into the movie and I believe he is wearing a hat and glasses, but he doesn't speak and there is no close-up, so I can't be sure. Bette Davis acts her part well in this and it's worth watching. B&W and good copy.
Tape 16 starts with Best of the Badmen, 1951, starring Robert Ryan and Claire Trevor post Civil War James gang western. Barton MacLane is listed ninth in the credits and plays Joad, the number two bad man, on the side of the law for most of the movie. He is seen on-and -off throughout the movie and plays his part well, but clumsily shooting the head bad guy at the end. The director apparently thought one hour and twenty minutes was long enough, so at that point the hero decided to "give myself up to the law and clear myself," and they ended the show. good copy in color.
We adjusted the satelite dish and got a viewable picture on A1TV for Treasure of Fear, 1945; number two on tape 16. It stars Jack Haley and Ann Savage with Barton MacLane third. Barton plays the heavy, Deacon Markham, an excaped killer in a very poorly done comedy-mystery with everyone looking for a valuable chess-set in a winery/tavern/hotel. Someone mistook ineptitude for comedy. Highlight may be at the end with Barton and the other two heavies arrested, drunk and singing "How Dry I Am." Very poor movie, black and white.
Next on tape 16 are some 1935 promos for the third movie, Go Into Your Dance, starring Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler, with Glenda Farrell (who a few years later starred in seven Torchy Blaine movies) and Barton MacLane listed third and fourth, respectively. Al Joslon is a marvelous singer and entertainer with what seems to me to be a terrible voice. Barton plays a gangster chief named Duke Wells, who finances a Broadway musical starring and produced by Al Howard, played by Jolson. When Duke thinks Howard has double-crossed him he sends two of his hoods to kill him. Thanks to Mrs. Wells, they botch the job, get caught and everything ends up Disney. Barton's part is minor, considering the fourth listing, but he plays it well. Worth watching, B&W; some noise and satelite re-adjustments near the 30 minute point.
First on tape 17 is Three Violent People (1956) starring Charleton Heston and Anne Baxter. Barton Maclane is listed eighth. Barton plays a bad-guy carpetbagger in a small post-Civil War Texas town and helps set the stage for the conflict with the local people in the first minutes of the tape, then doesn't re-appear in the rest of the movie. The real villains represent the provisional government and are trying to take over all the ranches by levying exhorbitant taxes; they get their come-uppance in a quick shootout at the end. Pretty fair movie, good copy, in color.
Tape 18 starts with a number of episodes of I Dream of Jeannie with a small part played by Barton MacLane as General peterson. The first is black and white, followed by a number of later episodes in color. In most or all of these, Barton plays the straight man, General Peterson, to Ralph Bellamy as doctor Bellows, who thinks he has finally trapped Major Nelson into admitting he is doing something really crazy. Bart plays his parts to perfection.
After "Jeannie," tape 18 continues with a repeat of Drums in the Deep South, a good copy with commercials editted out; took two hours for 1:33 of movie and Sander Vanocur's review. Barton, of course, gave a very good performance (see tape 1, movie 3). Noticed some goofs: The rebels walked right around the Yankee gunpowder to escape the explosion - no thought of pulling the fuses. Yankee major acknowledged it would take a week to build the railroad around Snake Gap, which destroyed the entire premise of the film. And you can't cut piano wire with pliers.
Last on tape 18 is a repeat of Hell's Crossroads, which was first recorded on tape 5. I didn't realize we already had the film until I was recording it, so I just let it run on. Wasn't much better this time.
What I recorded at the beginning of tape 19 is an excellent movie named Black Fury, (1935) starring Paul Muni. Barton MacLane is fourth in the credits and plays McGee, the head field agent for an underworld-connected strike-breaking organization. The Coaltown coalminers are tricked into abrogating their union contract with the mine-owner so the owner will hire the organization to get the miners back to work. McGee brings in a bunch of thugs and tries to make the conflict go on as long as possible. He winds up in handcuffs on his way to jail. Bart plays his part well in an excellent story, well done. A little hard to understand the dialogue, due to several of the leading actors' heavy accents. B&W, worth watching.
There is about one hour of I Dream of Jeannie, starting at about 2:00 into the tape.
Next on tape 19 is Manpower, (1942) starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Detrich, and George Raft, with Barton MacLane listed seventh in the credits. Robinson and Raft are part of a group of electric line repairmen. Detrich works in a clip-joint, run by unfeeling, selfish Smiley Quinn, played by Barton. Barton always makes a good bad-guy. Watch (or listen) for Eve Arden, working with Detrich in the club. Not a great movie, good copy, B&W.
Tape 20 starts with Buffalo Stampede, a poor quality 1933 horse opera, starring Randolph Scott and Buster Crabbe. Barton MacLane, playing Pruitt, is one of a gang engaged in stealing buffalo hides from the hunters and listed third in the credits. He has a fairly small part in the movie and gets knifed by the gang leader's wife in the end. The plot makes sense, but is very poorly carried out. Bad movie in black and white.
Second on tape 20 is The Frisco Kid starring James Cagney, with Barton MacLane listed number six. Barton plays Spider Burke, a saloon owner in the Barbary Coast area of San Francisco. For a side job, his men shanghai sailors for ships leaving the harbor. Cagney's character, Bat Morgan, gets shanghaied, escapes, and returns. He organizes the Barbary businesses with protection from the police and falls in opposition to Burke, who kills Morgan's best friend in an attempt on Morgan. Bat retaliates by killing Burke. Not a bad show, B&W, good copy.
Completing tape 20 is Jack Slade, 1953, Starring Mark Stevens and Dorothy Malone, with Barton MacLane listed third. He plays Jules Ridder, the bad guy (as usual), and has a signifigant part, shooting Slade in the back (didn't kill him) near the first of the movie and skirmishes with him throughout the movie, Near the end Jules gets the drop on Slade, taunts him for a bit, then when the tables are turned, begs for a fair chance. Slade kills him. Fair western; good copy; B&W.
Tape 21 starts with Smart Blond, 1936 or 1937, Starring Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane in the first of the nine Torchy Blane comedy-dramas. As in six of the other Torchy blane movies, Barton plays police Lt. Steve McBride, competing with reporter Torchy in solving criminal cases, in this case, two murders. As in all of these movies, Torchy is one step ahead of McBride in finding the essential clues. Barton is at his best in this one, but the film is still pretty weak. Marsha Friel, who appears 27 minutes into the film, is played by Charlotte Winters, who has the same name as Barton's second wife. Black and white; good copy.
Movie two on tape 21 is an excellent film, A Pocketful of Miracles, starring Glen Ford and Bette Davis. Barton plays the police Commissioner and isn't listed in the credits. He doesn't show up until 1:42 into the film. His part is small, but he performs well. Peter Falk was nominated for an Academy Award, as were the music and lyrics writers. Glenn Ford won the Golden Globe award for best actor in musical/drama. There wasn't much music in the show(?), but it was a very good story, well carried out.
The third movie on tape 21 is not so good. Stand Up and Fight (1939), is a good guys-vs-bad guys and you don't know who the good guys are until you see who is smiling at the end. Barton plays Crowder who, of course, is a bad guy. He is listed sixth in the credits and had a rather small part - about right for sixth, I guess. The story, set in 1844, is about conflict between a stage line and a railroad, with the stage line smuggling slaves north to free territory. Stars Wallace Beery and Robert Taylor. B&W, good copy.
The first movie on tape 22 is The Storm Rider, 1957, Starring Scott Brady and Barton is apparently not in it.
Western Union, a 1941 western, Starring Randolph Scott and Robert Young, with Barton macLane listed eighth is second on tape 22. Bart plays Jack Slade, the leader of a group of confederate guerillas extorting money from Western Union on the building of the first telegraph line across the United States by raiding the construction camps dressed as indians. Randolph Scott, playing a semi-good brother to Slade, tries to push the line through without having a full-scale confrontation with Slade. In the final showdown, the brothers kill each other (even though Scott gets nine shots out of his second six-gun) and Robert Young's character becomes the unexpected hero. Nice Technicolor copy.
Number three on tape 22 is The Big House, 1930, starring Wallace Beery and Chester Morris. Most of the action is within a prison. Wallace Beery, as Butch, plans a break-out and is betrayed by Kent, played by Robert Montgomery. During the subsequent shoot-out Butch and Kent are killed and Morgan, played by Morris, saves a group of hostages and is pardoned. Morgan apparently gets the girl, who happens to be Kent's sister. Barton MaClane was not listed in the credits and I couldn't find him in the picture, although there were several hundred convicts in many of the scenes so he is probably there. Mostly pretty good acting. Especially by Wallace Beery. Fair copy, black and white.
Rounding out tape 22 is Jail Break, 1936, Starring Barton MacLane as Detective Captain Rourke. Barton, for the most part, plays the blustering foil to Craig Reynolds, playing reporter Ken Williams, who does the real detective work in solving a couple of murders in the state prison. Williams gets the girl (June Travis playing Jane Rogers) at the end. Some of the decisions by the principals were illogical, such as the decision of Mike Eagan, an apparently successful night-club owner, to get himself into prison to avoid a former criminal accomplice. The plot was weak and got somewhat comvoluted at the end, but it was an interesting film. Good copy of a black and white film.
Tape 23 starts with San Quentin, 1946, starring Lawrence Tierney and Barton MacLane. Bart plays convict and ex-bank robber Nick Taylor, who is supposedly reformed and the best example of what can be accomplished by the League, a loose confederation of the prisoners governing themselves in prison. Nick escapes, goes back to his former evil ways, and is finally tracked down and brought back to justice by another former inmate (played by Tierney) who only wants to vindicate the league. As usual, Bart plays his part well and takes a beating at the end.
The film credits list Marion Karr second, but she plays only a small part in the film. Good copy, B&W.
The Dude goes West, second on tape 23, is a western-romance-comedy, starring Eddie Albert and Gale Storm, with Barton MacLane listed sixth in the credits. Bart plays Texas Jack Barton, the evil villain and leader of one of two large gangs of outlaws terrorizing Arsenic City. Texas Jack is helped and later saved by Eddie Albert's character, Dan Bone, a gunsmith and extraordinary shooter, but gets shot in the end and dies in Bone's arms. Inexplicability runs rampant, but it's an interesting picture, with Barton doing some of his best acting. Good copy, B&W.
Third on tape 23 is Naked in the Sun, 1957, starring James Craig and Lita Milan with Barton MacLane listed third. Action is in Florida in 1835 with Craig playing Osceola, the great Seminole war chief. Osceola unites the Seminole tribes to defend themselves from the white slavers and grabbers, headed by (who else?) Bad Boy Bart playing a Mr. Wilson. Wilson is usually drunk and always mean and heartless. The general in charge of the troops in the area is not much better and the Indian agent sells out to the highest bidder. The Indians wage war fairly successfully until overwhelmed by superior numbers and treachery. Wilson does the old snivel and grovel before being done in by Osceola. Not a great picture, fair copy, good color.
Tape 23 winds up with Come Live With Me, 1941, a romantic comedy starring Jimmy Stewart and Hedy Lamar. Lamar's character is a well-to-do Austrian (Vienna) refugee facing deportation and possible death if she isn't married within a week. Her boy-friend cannot marry her until he gets a divorce, so when she runs into Stewart's out-of-luck character, she proposes a business deal - she will finance his writing and he will marry her. He accepts and with some complications they eventually fall in love. Barton MacLane is listed sixth and plays Barney Grogan, the immigration officer - his appearances are limited to three and one-half minutes in the first 15 minutes of the film. For a change, Bart is kindly and understanding, allowing the girl an extra week to get married. Pretty good story, well acted; good B&W copy.
Tape 24 starts with 1:46 of "I Dream of Jeannie," with Barton MacLane playing General Arnold Peterson. Bart's parts in these are small, usually finding normalcy after being summoned by Dr. Bellows to witness an unbelievable situation which was created by Jeannie's magic. These were retaped to edit out the episodes not utilizing the skills of Barton. I did not record all of one (the second, I believe) since Bart's part was so small.
Barton MacLane is listed fourth in the credits of the first movie on tape 24, "San Quentin," 1937. The movie stars Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, and Ann Sheridan. Bart plays Lt. Druggin (pronounced with a long U), ruthless acting captain of the yard at San Quentin. He is demoted and replaced by Captain Jamison, played by O'Brien who has more humane ideas of how to treat prisoners. Bogart plays Red Kennedy, a prisoner, and Sheridan his sister, May. Druggin learns of an escape plan and helps it along in hopes of discrediting Jamison and getting his job back, then is thrown from the escape car and killed. Jamison escapes, but is shot later and dies on his way back to prison to turn himself in. Bart learned this part well - the blustering bully who turns into a sniveling coward when the chips are down - then plays it in dozens of later films. Good copy, B&W.
Movie two on tape 24 is The Mummy's Ghost (1944), starring John Carradine and Robert Lowery, with Barton MacLane listed fourth. We missed catching this one twice before for one reason or another and were glad to finally see what it was about. It was about one hour plus 30 minutes of commercials. The mummy is brought back to life with the mission of bringing the ancient princess of Egypt back to her home. She is somehow living in the U.S. as the girlfriend of one of the main characters in the film. Barton, as Inspector Walgreen, leads the search for him as he kills three or four locals and carries off the princess. The 'posse' of 30 or 40 men trail the very crippled mummy to some sort of abandoned commercial enterprise, from which he escapes unseen by climbing down a ladder (carrying the girl) in more or less full view of all. He escapes to the swamp for a very surprising end to the movie. Bart looked very good in this, although there wasn't much of a story to work with. Good copy, B&W.
A note on mummy movies: We looked on the IMDB for movies with 'Mummy' in the title and found 37. Only 18 of these were listed as horror or thriller (I don't know the difference). Seven were animated, six were comedies, three had no genre listed and two were adult with the notation "hardcore sex."
Lon Chaney, Jr is listed in three of the horror movies, John Carradine and Christopher Lee are listed in two, Barton MacLane, Boris Karloff, Tony Curtis, Lou Gossett, Jr, and Shelley duvall are each listed once. The Mummy is played by a girl, Joan Davitt, in one. One movie had an Aztec mummy and one had an Irish Druid mummy; most of the rest were Egyptian.
Barton MacLane is shown sixth in the introductory photos for The Case of the Lucky Legs, 1935, the last movie on tape 24. Lucky Legs stars Warren William as Perry Mason and Genevieve Tobin as Della Street. Bart plays Chief of Police Bisonette, often called "Bissy," in the movie. Mason's office door says "Attorney at Law," but he spends the entire movie being a private detective, solving the murder of the crooked promoter of prettiest legs contests. Mason stays one guess ahead of the law throughout the story, hiding fugitives and concealing evidence, then unveils the murderer at the end. Della Street and Mason combine for a good deal of comedy throughout to make the thing watchable. Barton has a very small part, one short scene in the middle complaining in his normal loud angry voice to the district attorney that Mason is foiling the police in catching the murderer and then a longer stretch, mostly standing quietly by at the end while Mason unveils the guilty person. Good copy; B&W.
The second movie on tape 25 is Buckskin, 1968, with Barton, listed seventh, playing Doc Raymond, the only doctor in a town controlled by the evil Rep Marlowe, played by Wendell Corey. Barry Sullivan plays Chaddock, the new marshall sent to tame the town. Lots of gun-play at the end as Doc Raymond, Chaddock, and John Russell's character, Patch, finish off the bad guys. Pretty good movie.
Man of Iron was on and I couldn't help myself; I recorded it - number 3 on tape 25. See tape 10, movie number 1.
To finish out tape 25, we were finally able to catch Times Square Playboy, 1936. Warren William, who starred in the mid-thirties Perry Mason movies, stars in this one along with June Travis, with Barton MacLane holding down third. It must be a comedy. I can't think of anything else to call it. William plays Vic Arnold, owner of a large New York stock firm, who is going to marry June Travis' character, Beth Calhoun, a nightclub singer. Barton plays Casey, Arnold's butler, valet, and physical trainer and shows up sporadically throughout the film, but having little to do with the story. Arnold's old friend comes to town for the wedding and tries to convince Arnold the bride is after his money precipitating a breakup of the friendship then upsetting the marriage plans. Beth returns a valuable bracelet to Arnold, but the bracelet's disappearance and re-appearance mysteriously gets everyone back together again.
Barton MacLane's last movie, Arizona Buahwhackers, 1968, is first on tape 26. Barton is listed ninth, behind Howard Keel and Yvonne De Carlo. Keel (as Lee Travis, a confederate prisoner) is sent to a small Arizona town to replace Sheriff Grover, played by Barton, who is being payed off by the local saloon owner. Grover leaves rather ungracefully and Travis turns out to be a confederate spy in league with De Carlo's character, Jill Wyler. Travis starts cleaning up the town by killing most of the bad guys, then is uncovered and almost jailed as a spy when Grover returns with the news that the war is over and the Indians and the rest of the bad guys are about to attack the town. Together they defend the town and enjoy the happy ending. Barton played his part well, although it was small. 3/6/99.
Number 2 on tape 26 is Cheyenne, 1947, also released as The Wyoming Kid. Bart plays Yancey, a company detective tasked with apprehending "The Poet," who has been robbing the Wells Fargo stages of valuable shipments. He uses coercion on James Wylie, a wrongly accused gambler played by Dennis Morgan, to get his help in finding The Poet. Wylie falls in love with The Poet's wife, played by Jane Wyman, The Poet turns out to be a cad and eventually gets caught, but not without plenty of gunfire and chasing stagecoaches. One disturbing thing in the picture was the extremely repiticious music played whenever the stagecoach was moving and it was moving lots in the movie. Bart was at his best in this one, although his part was small. 4/7/99.
Law of the Lawless, 1964, is third on tape 26, starring Dale Robertson, Yvonne De Carlo and Barton MacLane. Robertson plays Clem Rogers, exgunfighter and now circuit judge, presiding over the murder trial of the son of Big Tom Stone, played by MacLane. The Well-to-do Stone pretty much runs the town and has lots of dirty tricks in his bag to free his son, but justice and the judge prevail. Lots of stars in this one (William Bendix, John Agar, Bruce Cabot, and Lon Chaney, Jr.) and the acting is very good. A good movie in spite of some "Why did they do thats?".
To kick off tape 27, we have Page Miss glory, 1935, starring Marion Davies, Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, and Mary Astor. Barton MacLane, playing Blackie, is listed eighth. This was quite a fun movie, although my first reaction was "Corny!" Exaggeration was epidemic. The girl from the country was the biggest hick imaginable. The hero was not just great - he was acknowledged by all as the greatest flier (1935) alive and was the only one who could possibly fly the medicine to the ailing quadruplets. And the bad guys (Barton and his buddy) were really bad.
O'Brien and his buddy, after winning a beauty contest with a dummied photo, try to hide the winner's non-existence. When the media become rabid to interview her, they enlist a chambermaid (Marion Davies) to play the part. She does so well she winds up marrying the flying hero.
Barnacle Bill, starring Wallace Beery (as "Barnacle" Bill Johansen) and Marjorie Main (as Marge Cavendish) is second on tape 27. Barton is listed sixth. Johansen is the ne'er-do-well captain of a ragged fishing boat in port for repairs at Marge's seaside shop, when his long-unseen daughter appears.
Barton, as John Kelly, is the ruthless owner of the refrigerator boat and controls the price of fish paid to the fishermen until Johansen lucks into a large boat, converts it to refrigeration, and begins paying the fishermen a fair price. Kelly tries to scuttle Johansen's boat, gets caught and beat up, and heads for jail, while johansen marries Marge and regains his daughter's love. Bart's parts were small and most were in the dark and not close. Good Copy, B&W. (5/13/99)
Jail Busters, 1955, is third on tape 27. The Bowery Boys deliberately get themselves convicted to uncover graft in a prison where Barton (listed fourth in the credits) plays the corrupt captain of the guard. Typical Bowery Boys with total slapstick and mispronounced words. Terrible movie, good copy, B&W. (About July, 99)
Tape 28 is a production copy of "To the Last Man," 1933, starring Randolph Scott, with Buster Crabbe, Noah Berry Sr., Shirley Temple, and Barton MacLane (listed fifth). Also in the movie are Fuzzy Knight and Jack LaRue. It's a pretty good movie about a feud between the Haydens (the good guys) and the Colbys (mostly evil). Bart plays Neil Stanley, aligned with the Haydens and presumably dies at the end with most of the Haydens and all of the Colbys except Ellen. Randolph Scott as Lynn Hayden gets the girl, Ellen Colby, in the end. (6/13/01)
"Melody Ranch," 1940, is on tape 29. It stars Gene Autry, Jimmy Durante, Ann Miller, and Barton MacLane. Bart plays the heavy, Mark Wildhack, who, with his two brothers, runs the local saloon and pretty much the town, including the sheriff. Autry is persuaded to run for sheriff in the next election, drives the streetcar through the saloon, and arrests all the Wildhacks. Not a great movie.
Tape 30 starts with "The Challenge of the Frontier," AKA "Man of the Forest," 1933, starring Randolph Scott (as Bret Dale), Barton MacLane (as Mulvey) and Buster Crabbe (as Yegg), in that order. Also in the caste are Harry Carey (as Jim Gayner), Verna Hillie (as Alice Gayner), Noah Beery (as Clinton Beasley) and a mountain lion named Mike. Dale overhears Beasley's plan to kidnap Gayner's niece, Alice, in an attempt to take over Gayner's land and kidnaps her himself to prevent the take-over. Mulvey and Yegg are working for Gayner, but are secretly in league with Beasley who kills Gayner and gets Dale arrested for it. Gayner's ranch hands decide to break Dale out of jail, but Mike (the mountain lion) beats them to it. Dale rescues Alice from Beasley and the ranch hands arrive just in time to end the gunfight and have a big fist-fight. Dale hugs Alice.
"Ceiling Zero," 1935, is number 2 on tape 30. Barton MacLane, listed fifth in the credits, plays Al Stone, the CEO or owner of Banner Airlines. The primary service of the airline is mail delivery and bad weather is the thing they are all fighting. James Cagney as Dizzy Davis and Pat o'brien as Jake Lee star, the latter mostly trying to keep the former out of trouble. Dizzy, sporting a mustache, is as cocky as ever and is mostly interested in chasing girls and having a good time. Bart shows up now and then, but is not closely involved in the plot. Dizzy dies near the end in an unselfish attempt to test the new de-icers on one of the planes. As a pilot, I was impressed with the accuracy of the flying scenes - unusual for a flying movie.