4/5 "Johnny Mack Brown Series ... Trail of Vengeance (1937) ... Republic"
  by J. Lovins (Missouri-USA)
Republic Pictures presents "TRAIL OF VENGEANCE" (29 March 1937) (60 mins/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Johnny Mack Brown was an All-American college football player and film actor --- Born and raised in Dothan, Alabama, Brown was a star of the high school football team, earning a football scholarship to the University of Alabama --- Playing the halfback position on his university's Crimson Tide football team, Brown helped his team to become the 1926 NCAA Division I-A national football champions --- In that year's Rose Bowl Game, he earned Most Valuable Player honors after scoring two of his team's three touchdowns in an upset win over the heavily favored Washington Huskies.

His good looks and powerful physique saw him portrayed on Wheaties cereal boxes and in 1927, brought an offer for motion picture screen tests that resulted in a long and successful career in Hollywood --- He appeared in minor roles until 1930 when he was cast as the star in a western movie entitled "Billy the Kid" and directed by King Vidor, the film also features Wallace Beery as Pat Garrett.

Brown went on to make several top-flight movies under the name John Mack Brown, including The Secret Six (1931) with Wallace Beery, as well as the legendary Lost Generation celebration of alcohol, "The Last Flight" (1931), and was being groomed by MGM as a leading man until being replaced on a film in 1931, with all his scenes reshot with Clark Gable in his place --- Rechristened Johnny Mack Brown, "Fighting Kit Carson" (1933) he returned to making exclusively westerns and eventually became one of the screen's top B-movie cowboy stars, making 127 western films during his career, including "Ride 'Em Cowboy" (1942) with Abbott and Costello --- Brown also starred in four serials for Universal Studios (Rustlers of Red Dog (1935), Wild West Days (1937), Flaming Frontiers (1938) and The Oregon Trail (1939) and was a hero to millions of young children at movie theaters and on their television screens --- Altogether, Brown appeared in over 160 movies between 1927 and 1966, as well as a smattering of television shows, in a career spanning almost forty years --- In recognition of his contribution to the motion picture industry, Brown was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd --- In 1969, Brown was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Under the production staff of:
Sam Newfield - Director
A.W. Hackel - Producer
Fred K. Myton - Screenwriter
George Plympton - Screenwriter
Bert Longenecker - Cinematographer
Roy S. Luby - Editor
Thomas Neff - Editor
Edward Beverly Mann - Short Story Author

Our story line and plot, Opens as a tough hombre begins stalking his brother's killer --- There is a range war between the ranchers led by Tilden (Frank LaRue) and the outlaw gang of Link Carson (Warner Richmond) --- Wanted outlaw Dude Ramsey (Johnny Mack Brown) arrives and joins up with Tilden --- First he saves the ranchers from Carson's trap and then exposes Bert Pearson (Karl Hackett) as Carson's informant and killer of Steve Warner (Frank Ball).--- He shows up during a range war and because he is a notorious gun-slinger, finds both sides seeking his services --- Watch the final showdown between our hero and the outlaw gang leader, something to behold --- One of my favorite character actors appears in this oater Earle Hodgins as Buck Andrews.

the cast includes:
Johnny Mack Brown ... Kenneth 'Dude' Ramsey
Iris Meredith ... Jean Warner
Warner Richmond ... Link Carson
Karl Hackett ... Bert Pearson (as Karl Hacket)
Earle Hodgins ... Buck Andrews (as Earl Hodgins)
Frank LaRue ... Tilden
Frank Ellis ... Henchman Red
Lew Meehan ... Henchman Billy O'Donnell
Frank Ball ... Steve Warner
Dick Curtis ... Henchman

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIO:
1. Johnny Mack Brown
Date of Birth: 1 September 1904 - Dothan, Alabama
Date of Death: 14 November 1974 - Woodland Hills, 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)
6. Bad Man from Red Butte/Rawhide Rangers (VCI #8348)
7. Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie & Lone Star Trail (VCI #7308)
8. Crooked Trail & Boot Hill Brigade (VCI #7309)
9. Arizona Cyclone & Man From Montana (VCI #7325)
10.A Lawman Is Born & The Gambling Terror (VCI #7327)
11.Chip Of The Flying U & Oklahoma Frontier (VCI #7329)
12.Silver Bullet & Law and Order (VCI #7331)
13.Raiders of the Border & Texas Kid (VCI #7333)
14.Under Cover Man & Stagecoach Buckaroo (VCI #7335)

JOHNNY MACK BROWN FOUR FEATURE:
CLASSIC WESTERNS: Crooked Trail; Boot Hill Brigade;
Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie; Lone Star Trail (VCI #5520)

JOHNNY MACK BROWN - UNIVERSAL CLIFFHANGER/SERIALS:
1. FIGHTING WITH KIT CARSON (VCI #8419)
2. FLAMING FRONTIERS (VCI #8442)
3. OREGON TRAIL, THE (VCI #8439)
4. RUSTLERS OF RED DOG (VCI #8397)

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 this collection, why not pick up other copies of Johnny Mack Brown Double Features.

Bobby J. Copeland's book published by Empire Publising 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.

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- If you're into the memories of B-Westerns with high drama, this is the one you've been anxiously waiting for --- please stand up and take a bow Western Classics --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 60 min on VHS/DVD ~ Republic Pictures ~ (11/27/2007)