Arizona Bound

My father (88), was a fan of Buck Jones and other Western Movie Stars back when he was a kid in the 1930's. He grew up with them. He was 10 in 1933 when "Gordon of Ghost City" was released. We are watching these serials and movies, and he will go...OK, now so-and-so person will fall off their horse and it will look like they are trampled...and it will happen. he remembers the pattern. Funny. I don't think he remembers the stories. But they remind him of the times he went to the movies as a kid. A few shorts, a cartoon, and two features for like a DIME!!!!!

These Rough Rider series of movies are pretty standard fair, but interesting, and fairly well made. There is plenty of action, and trouble. They all follow the same formula. 3, seemingly unrelated people come to town, and come at the problem from different angles. But of course they know each other, and are actually working together...they are...."THE ROUGH RIDERS"...US Marshals.

Good entertainment for kids, and grown ups alike, we are well entertained.

Former lawman Buck Jones is called to Mesa City, Arizona in order to get to the bottom of the constant stagecoach and gold-shipment robberies. Framed for the hold-ups, Jones teams up with "preacher" Tim McCoy and good-old-boy Raymond Hatton to uncover the real culprits.

The first in Monogram Pictures' Rough Riders series, this is mostly by-the-numbers, with little action. However, it's redeemed somewhat by an exciting, action-packed climax and an inspired performance by McCoy, who's flamboyant character introduction, where he refuses to "dance" to a blazing six-gun before turning the tables and forcing the whole saloon to sing "Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie", is the film's highlight.

Retired marshal Buck Roberts (Buck Jones) has left law enforcement and is enjoying life on his northern Arizona ranch when he receives a telegram from Marshal Bat Madison (Jay Wilsey) requesting his aid in stopping a rash of stagecoach robberies near villain invested Mesa City, and off he goes as a fast-paced Rough Riders (Jones, Tim McCoy, Raymond Hatton) adventure begins. Representing the forces of good against the forces of evil in this Monogram series, the three stalwarts have arrived separately and apparently unknown to each other into the plagued town, Roberts as a cattle buyer, Hatton as Sandy Hopkins, a cattle dealer, and McCoy as Parson McCall, an itinerant preacher, and quickly come up against Steve Taggart (Tristram Coffin), the ringleader of the bandit gang they seek. Roberts volunteers as a stage driver for the company owned by Ruth Masters (Luana Walters), but is framed with the responsibility for the holdups transferred to him and it falls to the other two Riders to rescue their jailed comrade, giving Jones, aboard his splendid steed Silver, an opportunity to display his riding and stunt ability in one of his final appearances before his untimely death in Boston's Cocoanut Grove fire the following year. Although this film does not receive strong direction, the cast and crew perform their duties very well indeed, with Slim Whitaker in his accustomed role as evil henchman, and the rugged Jones and hard-eyed McCoy as usual seem more than capable of handling any adverse situation which might present itself.

Three heroes Buck Roberts, Tim McCall and Sandy Hopkins are undercover Marshals out to stop villains who seek to destroy a stage line. The owner has been killed and his daughter Ruth Masters has taken over in her dads place running the coaches. Tristram Coffin stars as the dastardly Steve Taggert who will stop at nothing to ruin the Masters Stage company business.

Ok western starring Tim McCoy, Buck Jones and Raymond Hatton, but it's familiar and an ordinary, only the stars and the action keep it afloat. The finale is quite thrilling, though.

"Arizona Bound" is memorable for the teaming of veteran "B" western stars Buck Jones and Tim McCoy. They were joined by veteran sidekick Raymond Hatton. All had begun their careers in the early silent pictures and had continued working regularly into the 1930s in a assorted series for a variety of companies,

With the popularity of Republic's Three Mesquiteer series, other "B" studios began to want to get on the band wagon. Monogram had started with the Range Buster series with Ray "Crash" Corrigan, John "Dusty" King and Max Terhune. Then someone had the idea of teaming Jones and McCoy, both of whom had seen their careers decline by the end of the 30s, in a series. What resulted was "The Rough Riders". Jones, McCoy and Hatton played undercover marshals who were called in to settle a situation at the beginning of each film.

Jones played Buck Roberts who usually posed as an outlaw. McCoy played Tim McCall who usually posed as a parson and Hopkins played Sandy Hopkins a grizzled old timer who often acted as a go between between Roberts and McCall.

In this first of eight Rough Rider films, the boys are called in to help save heroine Ruth Masters (Luana Walters) stage line. Ruth, in true "B" western fashion tries to carry on after her father has been murdered. Trying to gain control of the line is villain Steve Taggert (Tristram Coffin) and his henchman Red (Slim Whitaker). Dennis Moore plays Walters love interest.

Devoid of the usual bar room brawls and with less action than most, the Rough Rider series was nevertheless lifted above the average through the presence of its three stars. All three had been in the business for many years and their collective experience made this a memorable series.

At the end of each film the three would ride off in different directions, Jones to Arizona, McCoy to Wyoming and Hatton to Texas. The producers had planned to continue the series into a second season but fate intervened.

With the US entry into WWII, McCoy, a reserve Colonel, was called back into service. He left the series after the seventh film. Jones made the last one with Hatton and Rex Bell. Following the completion of "Dawn On the Great Divide" in 1942, Jones died tragically in a fire in Boston. The next season, Raymond Hatton took his Sandy Hopkins character to a new series with Johnny Mack Brown. Evidently, scripts intended for the Rough Rider series were utilized in the Brown/Hatton series.

At any rate the Rough Rider series allowed veteran cowpokes Jones and McCoy to ride off into the sunset one last time with their heads held high.

Watch for fellow "B" hero Bob Baker in a cameo as Marshal Bat Madison near the end of the film.