Rex Bell Double Feature: Fighting Pioneers (1935) / Crashing Broadway (1932) – DVD

Genial, good-looking cowboy star Rex Bell, was a fan favorite in the 1930s and 1940s, starring in scores of B-Westerns. He met silent screen star and famous "It Girl," Clara Bow, when they appeared together in 1930's True to the Navy. They wed the next year and stayed married for over thirty years. He later entered politics, serving as Lt. Governor of Nevada from 1954 to 1962. After a bit role in The Misfits (1961), he began a run for Governor. After campaigning at a July 4th rally with his wife, he died of a heart attack.

Fighting Pioneers (1935, B&W): Indian warriors attack a wagon train full of white settlers, but are repulsed by a U.S. cavalry brigade. In the melee, Chief Black Hawk is shot, and the tribes retreat with their fallen leader. Cavalry Lieutenant Bentley learns that the rifles that the Indians used in the attack were from his own fort. Determined to discover who was responsible for selling the arms, Bentley begins a one-man investigation.

Starring Rex Bell, Ruth Mix, Buzz Barton, Earl Dwire; Directed by Harry L. Fraser

Crashing Broadway (1932, B&W): Cowboy-turned-actor Tad Wallace hopes to make it big on Broadway. He falls in with a plucky group of "troupers," fellow performers who all live in the same boarding house, and are all looking for their big break. When Ted flops in his first show, he and the other boarders decide to try their luck in Chicago. But bad reviews in the windy city send them further and further west. Ultimately the troupe are reduced to traveling by stagecoach to a dusty town in Texas, where more bad news awaits them - the local theater was destroyed by fire. Arson is suspected and the actors suddenly find themselves in the middle of a deadly feud.

Starring Rex Bell, Doris Hill, George "Gabby" Hayes; Directed by John P. McCarthy.

• western