Highest-Rated Movies about 'Poverty Row Film'

Come On Tarzan (1932), Forbidden Trails (1941), Pioneer Justice (1947), Arizona Bound (1941), Breed of the Border (1933), The Jade Mask (1945), Romance of the West (1946), Suspense (1946) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Poverty Row Film movies.

#1. Come On Tarzan (1932)

Storyline: After her father dies Pat Riley (Merna Kennedy), returns home from an eastern board school and takes charge of the family horse ranch. She immediately has a spat with the ranch foreman Ken Benson (Ken Maynard). He is trying to convince her that the smooth-talking Steve Frazier (Niles Welch) has an hidden agenda for wanting to buy the ranch's ramada of broken wild horses. Turns out he does...he represents a company that makes dog food.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: character name in title, horse billed above the title, actor billed above the title, bushwhacker, grindhouse film, pre code film, treachery ...

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#2. Forbidden Trails (1941)

Storyline: Trapped in a burning cabin by ex-cons Fulton and Howard, Roberts has his horse Silver drag him to safety. He then joins McCall and Hopkins as they go after Fulton, Howard, and their boss Cramer.—Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>

Plot Keywords: actor shares first name with character, shootout, fistfight, extortion, revenge seeker, dire straits, confrontation ...

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#3. Pioneer Justice (1947)

Storyline: When three deputy marshals meet mysterious deaths near Buffalo Gap, the U.S. Marshal sends his top two trouble-shooters, Cheyenne Davis and Fuzzy Jones, to investigate. Cheyenne discovers that all the honest people in the vicinity are being driven from their lands by a gang led by Bill Judd. Further investigating disclose that a mysterious man is giving orders to Judd. Cheyenne rounds up the gang and its mysterious leader and restores law-and-order to Buffalo Gap.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: independent film, two gun man, gunfire, greed, grief, stress, tension ...

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#4. Arizona Bound (1941)

Storyline: The Rough Riders are called in to help save Master's stage line. Taggart has his gang robbing the stages and shooting the drivers. When Buck drives the next stage, Taggart's men rob it and then make it look like Roberts is part of the gang.—Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>

Plot Keywords: actor shares first name with character, reprisal, retribution, schemer, ruse, henchman, cattle drive ...

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#6. The Jade Mask (1945)

Storyline: Eccentric scientist Harper lives in a spooky mansion with all the trimmings: hidden lab, secret panels, inscrutable butler, and greedy relatives with unusual talents. When Harper seems to be murdered, Charlie Chan (with the uninvited help of No. 4 son) tries to answer such questions as Where's the body? How can a dead man walk? And how can a secret murder be done in full view of detectives and witnesses?—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: independent film, secret formula, small town sheriff, ventriloquist dummy, whodunit, dictaphone, intercom ...

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#7. Romance of the West (1946)

Storyline: The happy Indians live in Antelope Valley and Eddie is the new Indian Agent. Everything seems fine until the town selectmen want the valley occupied by the Indians because it contains silver. So they hire outlaw Indians and Chico to start trouble hoping that the army will forcibly remove them from the valley and they will claim it. But Father Sullivan and Eddie believe the Indians are being wronged even though they cannot convince anyone else.—Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>

Plot Keywords: actor shares first name with character, reprisal, bushwhacker, ambush, greed, grief, despair ...

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#8. Suspense (1946)

Storyline: The proprietor of an ice-skating revue promotes a peanut-vendor at the show to a management position based on suggestions he made to improve the act of the show's star, who also happens to be the owner's wife. However, he soon begins to notice that his new manager is paying more attention to his wife than he believes is appropriate, and begins to suspect that his new manager has designs not only on his wife but on his business. Meanwhile, someone from the new manager's past shows up with information that could wreck his plans.—frankfob2@yahoo.com

Plot Keywords: independent film, dancing, newspaper photographer, treachery, orchestra leader, slang, bartender ...

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#9. The Chinese Cat (1944)

Storyline: The Cisco Kid and Pancho hold up a stagecoach and kidnap Ellen Roth. They take the girl, who is wanted on a murder charge, to the mission where Padre Angelo will look after her. She tells Cisco of a mysterious Doctor Willis who called on an aged woman she had been nursing and gave her an overdose of sleeping pills. Convinced that Ellen is innocent, Cisco sets out to prove it. He goes to Bill Hastings where he makes a deal to turn Ellen in if Cisco gets part of the money Hastings will inherit when she is convicted. With Ellen safely in jail, Cisco and Pancho force the local newspaper to run a story saying that Doc Willis has been apprehended. Hastings makes another deal with Cisco to kill Ellen before she testifies against Doc.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: independent film, vindication, violence, reprisal, retribution, gang member, gang leader ...

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#10. Mr. Wong, Detective (1938)

Storyline: When a chemical manufacturer is killed after asking detective James Wong to help him, Wong investigates this and two subsequent murders. He uncovers an international spy ring hoping to steal the formula for a poison gas being developed by the first victim's company.

Plot Keywords: murder, poison gas, chinatown san francisco, investigation, held at gunpoint, golden gate bridge, secret formula ...

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#11. Hidden Valley (1932)

Storyline: Bob Harding and Professor Woolridge have a map that will lead them to the riches of Hidden Valley. When the Professor is murdered, Bob is convicted. The real killer Gavin gives the map to Jimmy Landers who heads for the valley. Everyone follows him. Gavin and his men, Bob who has escaped, and Jimmy's sister in a blimp. They find the valley but also find a fierce band of Indians.—Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>

Plot Keywords: actor shares first name with character, brother sister relationship, grindhouse film, hostage, hostility, deception, wrongly accused ...

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#12. Sundown Saunders (1936)

Storyline: Jim "Sundown" Saunders (Bob Steele) wins $250 in a horse race with Lewis (Hal Price) and, instead of money, Lewis gives him a deed to a 640-acre ranch in the Panamint.Sundown and his pal Smokey (Milburn Morante) head for the ranch and encounter Dad Preston (Jack Rockwell) and his daughter Bess (Catherine Cotter), and discover that the Prestons have plans to buy the ranch from Taggart (Ed Cassidy), posing as a government land agent. Taggart hires Jack Mace (Charles King) to pick a saloon fight with Sundown and, when the fight is stopped, the two decide to finish it out on the trail.Taggart follows and after Sundown whups up on Mace and rides off, Taggart shoots Mace in the back. Mace is found by a passer-by and taken to town, where Sheriff Baker (Earl Dwire) concludes the unconsious man was shot by Sundown, and calls for his arrest. Taggart meets Preston and Bess at the ranch and Preston hands over the purchase money. Later, Taggart ambushes Preston and steals his wallet to get the fake deed back. Taggart,whose busy day has only begun, meets with bandit leader Burke (Edmund Cobb) and they go to his hotel room and plan a bank raid for the next day. Meanwhile, Mace, before dying, tells the Sheriff that Sundown wasn't the man who shot him, so Sundown and the Sheriff are outside the window and overhear the robbery plans. Preston, found by Smokey and Sundown, voices his suspicions of Taggart as being his assailant. After Sundown, the Sheriff and a town-raised posse stop Burke and his bandits from robbing the bank, the ever-busy and never-say-die Taggart kidnaps Bess and takes of with her in a wagon. Sundown is in pursuit.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: character name in title, horse race, cowboy, horse, grindhouse film, hostage, remake ...

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#13. The Headline Woman (1935)

Storyline: When the daughter of a newspaper publisher is falsely charged with murder, a reporter on her father's paper goes into hiding with her. At first hoping to get an exclusive story, the reporter eventually finds himself falling in love and trying to find the real killer.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Plot Keywords: independent film, gunfire, new york city, cigarette smoking, violence, trapped, reprisal ...

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#14. The Westward Trail (1948)

Storyline: Ann and Tom Howard arrive from the east to take up ranching. But Tom wants to return and forges his sister's name to the deed and sells it to Larson. Eddie knows there is silver ore in the area and that Lawson, who killed the Sheriff, is out to get all the ranches. When Lawson appoints himself the new Sheriff, Eddie organizes the ranchers to fight Lawson and his men.—Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>

Plot Keywords: actor shares first name with character, stagecoach driver, swindle, song, silver, cowboy horse relationship, cowboy in tight pants ...

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#15. West to Glory (1947)

Storyline: At a border town, Eddie Dean and his partner, Soapy Jones, attend a fiesta at the home of Don Lopez who, in accordance with his custom, displays a valuable diamond necklace to his guests and has one of them, Maria, wear it. Jim Barrett, another guest, offers to buy the necklace but Don Lopez declines to sell. Barrett, with his henchmen Corey and Avery, plan to steal the necklace and the rest of the Lopez diamonds. Maria, to Eddie's surprise, appears to be working with the outlaws. But, as Eddie's investigation proceeds, it develops that Barrett's gang has also robbed Don Lopez of his gold, and that Maria is a representative of the Mexican government, sent to protect the gems.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: actor shares first name with character, police officer, girl, guitarist, fiddler, necklace, confidence artist ...

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