5.0 out of 5 stars
"The King of B-Westerns & Serials...VCI Entertainment ~ Code of he Saddle (1947)", January 2, 2006
This review is from: Code of Saddle [VHS] (VHS Tape)
VCI Entertainment and Monogram Pictures present "Code of the Saddle" (1947) (digitally remastered), long running Johnny Mack Brown series turned out in the early '40s...the story line asks the question is there a range war brewing....can Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond Hatton investigate and find the real villains in the twist and turn plot...can Brown and Hatton stay out of jail long enough to solve this cases...are both ranchers killed and the blame laid onto our two duo heroes...is the Sheriff William Bailey the real mastermind behind it all...is the ranchers daughter Kay Morley in danger of losing her ranch and even her life...all this and more will become clear during the last reel of this adventure.
Under director Thomas Carr, producer Barney A. Sarecky, screenplay by Eliot Gibbons...the cast include Johnny Mack Brown (John Macklin), Raymond Hatton ('Winks'), Riley Hill (Bill Stace), Kay Morley (Bess Bentham), William Bailey (Sheriff Wallace), Zon Murray (Deputy Rubio), Ted Adams (Buck Stace), Bud Osborne (Foreman Stubby).........special footnote one of my favorite character actors was Johnny Mack's sidekick Raymond Hatton (1887-1971) as Marshall Sandy Hopkins who appeared from 1943 and made 45 films for Monogram Pictures...Hatton who first appeared on film in "Tragic Love" (1909-Silent/unconfirmed), "Oliver Twist" (1917), "The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), "The Squaw Man" (1931), "Law and Order" (1932)...during the '30s & '40s he played the comical sidekick for Johnny Mack Brown and Bob Livingston...went on to join Buck Jones and Tim McCoy in the "Rough Riders" series...Hatton worked right up to his last film "In Cold Blood" (1967)...........another special footnote, veteran character actor Ted Adams who loved playing the heavies and did a great mexican accent started his career in "Beyond the Law" (1930), "Hopalong Cassidy Enters" (1935), "Heart of the West" (1936), "Desert Phantom" (1936)...his convincing performances were outstanding in the B-Western series of Johnny Mack Brown and Bob Steele for producer A.W. Hackel, his evil and underhanded ways worked so well during the 186 films of his career...moving to television in "The Cisco Kid" (1950), "The Lone Ranger" (1950), "Cowboy G-Men" (1953), "The Texan" (1959), "And Wanted Dead or Alive" (1960)........meanwhile back to another great Johnny Mack B-Western provided by Monogram Pictures during their heyday of the early '40s.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Johnny Mack Brown
Birth Date: 9/01/1904 - Dothan, Alabama
Died: 11/14/1974 - Woodland Hills, California (cardiac condition)
2. Raymond William Hatton
Birth Date: 7/07/1887 - Red Oak, Iowa
Died: 10/21/1971 - Palmdale, California (heart attack)
3. Ted Adams (Richard Theodore Adams)
Birth Date: 3/17/1890 - New York, New York
Died: 9/24/1973 - Los Angeles, California
If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure check out other western double features by Johnny Mack Brown:
JOHNNY MACK BROWN WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURES:
1. Raiders of San Joaquin/Law of the Range (VCI #7226)
2. Pony Post/Ragtime Cowboy Joe (VCI #7238)
3. Brand A Coward/Rogue of the Range (VCI #7244)
4. Guns in the Dark/Partner of the Trail (VCI $7260)
5. Bar Z Bad Men/Between Men (VCI #7282)
Ask Amazon.Com to carry the above five titles as they are not available on Amazon as of yet...you can order and pick up your copy now from VCI Entertainment...if you enjoyed "Code of the Saddle" (1947), why not pick up other copies of Johnny Mack Brown Double Features.
Bobby J. Copeland's book on "Johnny Mack Brown: Up Close & Personal" is chuck full of answers to all the questions his fans had from early on...when you went to see him on the big screen, you got exactly what the marquee said...plenty of thrills, adventure and loaded with action...Johnny Mack was a natural for the western, his riding abilities and fight scenes were of the the same caliber as Buck Jones and Bob Steele...Johnny Mack sets the saddle better than Duke Wayne...seems Johnny got better with the more films he made and the scripts were always top notch...he was one of the best-liked people in films, what you saw on the screen is what he really was, a great human being...pickup your copy from Amazon or Empire Publishing both have this in stock.
Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '30s & '40s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again with a top notch B-Western from VCI...just the way we like 'em!
Total Time: 52 min on VHS ~ VCI Entertainment #1353 ~ (12/03/2002)
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