Bar-Z Bad Men

"Bar Z Bad Men" is a formula "B" oater from producer A. W. Hackel starring Johnny Mack Brown. It contains plenty of hard ridin' and blazing action and was directed by "B" western veteran Sam Newfield.

The story has rabble rousing cowpoke Jim Waters (Brown) buying a half interest in a ranch owned by his friend Ed Parks (Jack Rockwell). When he arrives at the ranch he finds Parks engaged in a gunfight with some baddies. Waters learns that a cattle rustling scam has been going on where cattle from other ranches are being re branded and placed in his herd. The idea is to have Parks blamed for the rustling so that the bad guys can take over his land. You see, the railroad is coming through and well, you know.

One of the ranchers who blames Parks for the rustling is Hemp Harvey (Frank LaRue) who just happens to have a comely young daughter Ruth (Lois January). Ed Parks is murdered and its up to Waters to avenge his partner.

Heading up the rest of the cast are Tom London as "leading citizen" Bostall, Ernie Adams as Pete one of the bad guys, Dick Curtis as Brent the foreman of Harvey's ranch and Milburn Morante as the Deputy sheriff.

Johnny Mack Brown's career started much like that of William "Hopalong" Boyd, as a leading man in silent pictures. Brown for his part, had played opposite some of the leading actresses at MGM including, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Jean Harlow. When MGM let him go in 1931, Brown drifted between various studios and eventually into "B" westerns where he flourished for over 20 years. He was generally a better actor than most of his contemporaries and this made his westerns more believable than most.

Producer Hacket's films were now being released through that new studio, Republic Pictures although to my knowledge, Brown never did actually sign with Republic.

Formuls "B" western raised a level by the presence of Johnny Mack Brown.