Will Cowan

A 400 year old disembodied head hypnotizes a female psychic, who recovered it using a dowsing rod, to search for the rest of its body.

This edition of Universal's "Name Band" shorts (production number 2312) features Tony Pastor, his saxophone, his orchestra, the Nilsson Twins, the Clooney Sisters (Rosemary and Betty in possibly their first film appearance)and Mildred Law. The bands opens with "Hawaiian War Chant" (sung by the Clooney Sisters), and other music includes "Spell of the Moon", "My Sister's a Little Bit Crazy" (sung by the Nilsson Twins), "Movie Tonight" (sung by Rosemary Clooney and Tony Pastor), "Girl Singer" and "Paradiddle Joe." (sung by Tony Pastor)

Shipments of silver are going astray after leaving the mine, and Tex and his pals investigate. With 3 songs.

This Universal "Musical Featurette" eatures a slight story line woven around the comedian Pinky Lee and Universal glamour girls Mamie Van Doren and Lisa Gaye. Also included are the 1953 Miss Universe contestants, the Danny Stewart Orchestra and the Tani Marsh Dancers.

A partial remake of and using footage from 1941's "Rawhide Rangers" this Western short is about a ranger who pretends to turn outlaw in order to track down the gang who killed his brother, also a ranger.

Musical western short

A 400 year old disembodied head hypnotizes a female psychic, who recovered it using a dowsing rod, to search for the rest of its body.

A 400 year old disembodied head hypnotizes a female psychic, who recovered it using a dowsing rod, to search for the rest of its body.

This edition of Universal's "Name Band" shorts (production number 2312) features Tony Pastor, his saxophone, his orchestra, the Nilsson Twins, the Clooney Sisters (Rosemary and Betty in possibly their first film appearance)and Mildred Law. The bands opens with "Hawaiian War Chant" (sung by the Clooney Sisters), and other music includes "Spell of the Moon", "My Sister's a Little Bit Crazy" (sung by the Nilsson Twins), "Movie Tonight" (sung by Rosemary Clooney and Tony Pastor), "Girl Singer" and "Paradiddle Joe." (sung by Tony Pastor)

Shipments of silver are going astray after leaving the mine, and Tex and his pals investigate. With 3 songs.

This Universal "Musical Featurette" eatures a slight story line woven around the comedian Pinky Lee and Universal glamour girls Mamie Van Doren and Lisa Gaye. Also included are the 1953 Miss Universe contestants, the Danny Stewart Orchestra and the Tani Marsh Dancers.

A partial remake of and using footage from 1941's "Rawhide Rangers" this Western short is about a ranger who pretends to turn outlaw in order to track down the gang who killed his brother, also a ranger.

Musical western short

This short film shows the musical career of Nat "King" Cole, shows the ups and downs of his career, his conquest of illness, how he switched from being the leader of a trio to a solo vocalist, and his growing popularity with the record-buying public. Numbers include: "Sweet Lorraine," "Route 66," "That's My Girl" and "Pretend."

This short film shows the musical career of Nat "King" Cole, shows the ups and downs of his career, his conquest of illness, how he switched from being the leader of a trio to a solo vocalist, and his growing popularity with the record-buying public. Numbers include: "Sweet Lorraine," "Route 66," "That's My Girl" and "Pretend."

Production number 5302 in Universal-International "Name Band Musical" series of shorts featuring Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra, with a much-larger-than usual number of supporting acts.

Short directed by Will Cowan as tribute to Duke Ellington

Young man just out of college tries to persuade his father, who owns a record company, to start signing up rock 'n' roll acts.

Young man just out of college tries to persuade his father, who owns a record company, to start signing up rock 'n' roll acts.

Bill Haley and the Comets made their motion picture debut in this musical short that featured a D.J. and his female guest introducing the Comets. The band performs three songs in a forerunner of today's music videos.

The busty blonde bombshell of big band and swing music is the charming host and lead performer of this short and entertaining vintage film featuring an all-female cast.

This film and the 1950 short "The Fargo Phantom" were edited together and released as a feature called "Tales of the West #2" in 1950.

Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra with Dottie O'Brien, The Mello-Larks and Bill Lawrence.

This is an entry in Universal's "Name Band Musical" series of shorts. Welk and the band open with a medley including "Josephine", Stumbling", "Honey" and "Running Wild" and vocalist Betty Jane Pettit sings "No Can Do." Kenny Stevens does "Alone" while comedienne-singer Judy Clark offers her versions of "Playmates" and "I'm Nobody's Baby." The dance team of Jon and Inga Bergy is also in the mix.

15 minute musical short featuring Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra

Short film featuring band leader Stan Kenton and vocalist Anita O'Day.

This entry in Universal's series of "Musical Westerns" shorts has Tex Williams, assisted by Deuce Spriggins and Smokey Rogers, bringing his six guns, fists and singing abilities against a gang of stage-robbing bandits. This film was combined with another Tex Williams short, Coyote Canyon, and reissued as the feature-length "Tales of the West No.2.)

Short film featuring performances by Frank "Sugar Chile" Robinson, Billie Holiday and Count Basie and his sextet. From the Cinema Apart Collection.

Short film featuring performances by Frank "Sugar Chile" Robinson, Billie Holiday and Count Basie and his sextet. From the Cinema Apart Collection.

Restored film directed by Will Cowan in 1943

The Universal Name Band Musical short (house-production number 3306) features Red Ingle and His Natural Seven Band, and band vocalist Karen Tedder. The opening number is "Natural Seven Stomp," a Red Ingle original,followed by Karen Tdder singing "The Man with the Big Sombrero." The Albins do a burlesque-ballet to "How Strange," and Tedder returns to sing "Your Red Wagon."

Cheyenne Jones comes to the Blue River Ranch and asks for a job as a cowpuncher. Actually, Jones's real name is Buck McCloud and he's the new owner of the spread, having inherited it when his uncle died a year earlier. He's roaming the range incognito while trying to identify who's behind the cattle rustling that is afflicting his new business.

In this remake of and using stock-footage from 1941's "Arizona Cyclone," Tex is a daredevil freight-line driver who, with the aid of his pals Smokey and Deuce, wipes out the crooked rival line, and has enough time left over, from this shorts' twenty-six minutes , to toss in four songs.

This "Name Band Musical" short from Universal (production number 3302), filmed in November of 1947 and released on December 3, 1947 (which should make it a 1947 and not a 1948 film) features Gene Krupa, his drums and his trio. It opens with Krupa and the trio playing "Lover" and then Carolyn Grey comes on to sing "Boogie Blues." Krupa and the trio band also play "Blanchette", "Stompin' at the Savoy" and end on "Let Us Leap."