Heart of the Rockies (1937)
Cattle are being routinely stolen from a local ranch, and suspicion centers on a local mountain family. But the Three Mesquiteers are wise to the criminals' deeds. But when a ranger is shot and Stony is framed for the crime, it's up to Lullaby and Tucson to prove his innocence.
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Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Such a frustrating disappointment
A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Robert Livingston (Stony Brooke), Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith), Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin), Lynne Roberts (Lorna Dawson), Sammy McKim (Davey Dawson), J.P. McGowan (Ed Dawson), Yakima Canutt (Charlie Coe), Wally Wales (Captain Brady), Maston Williams (Enoch), Guy Wilkerson, Frankie Marvin, Nelson McDowell, Charles Slim Whitaker, Blackie Whiteford (Dawson clan men), Ranny Weeks (Ranger Clayton), Georgia Simmons (Ma Dawson), George C. Pearce (old-timer), and Herman's Mountaineers.Director: Joseph KANE. Additional direction: J.P. McGowan. Screenplay: Jack Natteford, Oliver Drake. Story: Bernard McConville. Based on characters created by William Colt MacDonald. Photography: Jack Marta. Film editor: Lester Orlebeck. Music director: Raoul Kraushaar. Producer: Sol C. Siegel.Copyright 6 September 1937 by Republic Pictures Corp. U.S. release: 6 September 1937. No recorded New York opening. 6 reels. 56 minutes.SYNOPSIS: The Mesquiteers invade a wildlife sanctuary.NOTES: Number ten of the fifty-two Three Mesquiteers pictures. COMMENT: One of the best of the series, cleverly scripted and directed in a remarkably lively fashion, this entry offers thrill- packed action almost all the way, thanks in great measure to Yakima Canutt, who is fighting mad in this one and is given plenty of leeway. I also enjoyed the performance of J.P. McGowan (who offered suggestions to Joe Kane, including the wonderful shot in which the Dawson clan turn their collective backs on the camera and burst out laughing). Our star trio register okay, but it's the support players (including Lynne Roberts and even Sammy McKim) and the convincing stunt-work that make this film so unexpectedly exciting.
The Three Mesquiteers have a real problem on their hands. Bears from the neighboring National Park are running off the cattle from their ranch. These bears are not the Yogi and Boo-Boo kind of bears, they don't confine themselves to running off the with picnic baskets.The Mesquiteers go into the park to kill the predators and they run afoul of the Forest Rangers. In the meantime a family of Deliverance type folks from the hill country have a dastardly scheme going and it involves the use of a tame bear who is a pet of young Sammy McKim.It's really dumb when you think about it. Bears rustling cattle, plenty of bear tracks around, but no dead cattle carcasses. I mean you don't have to be a Daniel Boone like woodsman to figure out it ain't the bears. Of course the Rangers ain't exactly Rhodes Scholars.This has to be one of the worst of the Three Mesquiteer series.