GHOST OF ZORRO

Clayton Moore as grandson of Zorro

GHOST OF ZORRO (12-chapter Republic serial/1949). Director: Fred C. Brannon. Colorized version. 

Ken Mason (Clayton Moore), grandson of Don Diego Vega, the original Zorro, is in New Mexico after the Civil War where Rita White (Pamela Blake) hopes to build a telegraph line beginning in Twin Bluffs. Bad guys George Crane (Gene Roth) and Hank Kilgore (Roy Barcroft), along with a host of other desperadoes, fear that the telegraph will help bring law and order to the territory. Ken is importuned by his buddy, Moccasin (George J. Lewis), to ride as Zorro to combat the various schemes of Crane and the others, and this he does. Explosions, attacks by Indians working with Crane, wagons flying over cliffsides, and more will not keep Zorro and Rita from completing that telegraph line. 

George J. Lewis and Pamela Blake

A sort of sequel to Son of Zorro, this is a cut below that serial but still entertaining and frequently exciting. Marshall Reed and Tom Steele are two of the nasty gunsels, and the latter gets a bit more to do than usual. George J. Lewis proves his versatility, as he often played bad guys as he did in Federal Operator 99 and many others. Pamela Blake was in a number of serials as well as Daltons' Women with Lash LaRue, but in this production she is competent but lacks enough oomph. Cliffhanger serials aren't always logical, but I'm still scratching my head over a scene in chapter two in which Mason/Zorro, riding behind Rita in a wagon, jumps off his horse, climbs a cliff, and somehow manages to jump into said wagon which is now, impossibly, behind him. (If the wagon went around some kind of curve, the logistics of this aren't shown.) Still, Ghost of Zorro is fun.

Verdict: Probably not the last gasp for Zorro. **3/4. 

OLD OVERLAND TRAIL

One spiffy cowboy: Rex Allen 

OLD OVERLAND TRAIL (1953). Director: William Witney. 

Cowboy Rex Allen (Rex Allen) finds himself caught in a war between Indians, led by Black Hawk (Leonard Nimoy), and a pack of immigrants who travelled a long distance to settle in the area, Pouring fuel on the fire is slimy John Anchor (Roy Barcroft), who does his best to take advantage of everyone that he can, Indians and settlers alike. Rex' brother, Jim (Gil Herman), is Anchor's partner, and Rex and Jim come to blows when the former realizes that the latter is going along with Anchor's schemes. Then Jim is found dead, and Anchor sends Black Mask and his scouts out to bring back Rex -- as his brother's murderer!

Rex battles a pre-Star Trek Leonard Nimoy

Rex Allen was another handsome Republic Studios cowboy star -- along with Roy Rogers, Allan Lane, Monte Hale and others -- and he was at the time quite popular, and also had his own comic book series for several years. Attractive, competent and personable, Allen didn't quite have the charisma of Rogers, at least in this flick, but he could punch out the bad guys with the best of them. Slim Pickens, also playing himself, was Allen's comical partner in this and many other movies, and Allen had his own "not-so-wondrous" wonder horse in Koko. Gil Herman was another handsome dude who distinguished himself during WW2 service, while Virginia Hall (as Jim's gal pal, Mary) appeared only in this one western and had a few other minor credits.

Gil Herman, Rex Allen, Roy Barcroft

Rex Allen started out as a singer and had a rich baritone voice that reminds one a bit of Bing Crosby. In Old Overland Trail he gives splendid renditions of "Just a Wandrin' Buckeroo," "Cowboy's Dream of Heaven," and others. Rex is backed up by the Republic Rhythm Riders singing group. Directed by serial specialist William Witney, Old Overland Trail has plenty of exciting fisticuffs along with a sequence when Indians circle and attack a wagon train. The two brothers also have a rousing battle. Serial star Marshall Reed appears briefly as a sergeant. Reed and Barcroft both appeared in The James Brothers of Missouri. 

Verdict: With plenty of songs and punches, this is a good example of why Rex Allen became so popular. **3/4. 

THE JAMES BROTHERS OF MISSOURI

Robert Bice and Keith Richards as Frank and Jesse James

THE JAMES BROTHERS OF MISSOURI (12 chapter Republic serial/1949. Director: Fred C. Brannon. 

Frank and Jesse James (Robert Bice of Captive Women and Keith Richards) only want to forget their past, go straight, and live their lives in peace. They are befriended by Lon Royer (John Hamitlon), a former member of the James Gang, and his daughter, Peg (Noel Neill), who are running a freight business in the town of Rimrock. Unfortunately, Ace Marlin (Roy Barcroft of Manhunt of Mystery Island), who is running a rival business, wants to obliterate the competition and murders Lon. Marlin's silent partner, who pretends to befriend the grieving Peg, is Belle Calhoun (Patricia Knox), who owns the general store. Frank and Jesse, masquerading as Peg's cousins, John Howard and Carroll, do everything they can to help Peg and her business, and counteract the increasingly violent and sinister actions of Marlin. 

Roy Barcroft and Patricia Knox

The James Brothers of Missouri is the third and last of the three Jesse James serials produced by Republic Pictures. Clayton Moore was Jesse in the first two serials, and while Richards is fine as Jesse James, Moore is still missed. Neill appeared in the previous serial, The Adventures of Frank and Jesse James, but she plays a different character this time. This is also true of Roy Barcroft, who is very adept in his villainy. Patricia Knox is also quite credible as a woman who seems to have a heart of gold but is really as nasty and manipulative as any hooker-hard gun moll. Lane Bradford [The Invisible Monster], Tom Steele, and Marshall Reed are familiar serial stalwarts who play various thugs in Marlin's employ. 

Keith Richards

The acting in this is fine, but Fred C. Brannon, who often co-directed these serials, proves that he has as assured a sole directorial hand as any other Republic fixture. The serial moves at a brisk pace and features some thrilling chase sequences, as well as cliffhangers in which Jesse is unconscious in the back of a runaway wagon, which blows up, and Peg is nearly scalded by acid. In this serial, Frank and Jesse are not anything like the real desperadoes, who were thugs, unrepentant criminals, and who even attacked and murdered civilian abolitionists. The story that they robbed the rich and gave to the poor like Robin Hood is also a load of crap. Keith Richards amassed nearly 200 credits, most of them on television or in bit parts in the movies. He played a drunken saloon patron in Jesse James Rides Again, then played Jesse himself -- a rare starring part -- two serials later. 

Verdict: The "heroes" in this weren't really heroes, but the serial is good and exciting western fun. ***.