Writing

Norman Houston

Born 1887-08-21 · Dennison, Texas, USA

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Sunset Trail poster
6.3

Disguising himself as a milquetoast Easterner who writes Western novels, Hoppy enrolls in a dude ranch in order to unmask the murderer of the owner's husband.

Sunset Trail

1939

Trail Street poster
6.5

Bat Masterson's old friend Billy Burns convinces him to become marshal of Liberal, Kansas and help the residents fight drought and a destructive range war.

Trail Street

1947

West of the Pecos poster
4.6

Heading west for his health, Colonel Lambeth takes his daughter Rill along. Lost on the desert they are saved by Pecos and Chito. The Colonel hires the two and the Lambeths soon find themselves mixed up in Pecos' trouble. Pecos has killed Sawtelle's brother and Sawtelle as head of the vigilantes is after him.

West of the Pecos

1945

The Arizona Ranger poster
6.7

A disgraced veteran wanders the West alone until he decides to help a battered woman.

The Arizona Ranger

1948

Copy poster
6.5

On a slow news day, the wisecracking staff of a newspaper write articles about the serious safety issues of a local excursion steamboat line.

Copy

1929

Gun Smugglers poster
6.7

A young boy threatens to follow in his outlaw brother's footsteps.

Gun Smugglers

1948

The Frontiersmen poster
5.8

The local school is causing Hoppy problems. First Bar 20 cattle are stolen when Hoppy investigates a problem there. Then the new teacher arrives and disrupts the routine of the Bar 20 hands. Later with the Bar 20 hands at graduation, the rustlers are poised to strike again. But there is dissension among them and this will lead to the break that Hoppy needs.

The Frontiersmen

1938

Sixteen Fathoms Deep poster
4.0

A sponge diver hopes to make enough money to buy his own boat and marry his girlfriend. A rival diver, however, has other plans for him.

Sixteen Fathoms Deep

1934

Wall Street poster
7.0

A very topical early talkie from low-budget company Columbia Pictures, Wall Street starred Ralph Ince, brother of producer Thomas H. Ince, as Roller McCray, a steelworker turned ruthless tycoon whose tough business methods leads a rival (Philip Strange) to commit suicide. The widow (Aileen Pringle), believing she can ruin Ince by using his own methods, conspires with her husband's former partner (Sam De Grasse), but a strong friendship between Ince and Pringle's young son (Freddie Burke Frederick) changes things dramatically. According to future Three Stooges director Edward Bernds, who worked as a sound mixer on Wall Street, Ince's reaction to his rival's suicidal jump from a window ledge was changed from a sneering "I didn't think he had the guts" to the more respectful "I didn't think he'd do it" due to derisive laughter from the film's crew.

Wall Street

1929

Western Heritage poster
7.0

A forger has made a copy of a Spanish land grant and Arnold is after it. Arnold and his men attack, shoot the forger, and take the deed while Russ tries unsuccessfully to stop them. Arnold presents it at the recorders office. It appears authentic and he starts evicting ranchers from their land. But Russ knows something is wrong as one of Arnold's men was a man he fought with during the attack.

Western Heritage

1948

Target poster
6.6

A female marshal and a newspaper editor help heroic Tim Holt fight an evil land agent. Western.

Target

1952

Brothers in the Saddle poster
5.8

When he thinks his brother has let him down, a cowboy goes bad.

Brothers in the Saddle

1949

Thunder Mountain poster
6.0

Marvin Hayden returns to find his ranch is about to be sold at auction and the Hayden Jorth feud still going strong. Carson wants the Hayden ranch and tries to kill Hayden. When he fails he kills Chick Jorth with a rock. As Hayden does not carry a gun and the two had argued earlier, Hayden is arrested for the murder. With Hayden in jail, his friends Chito, Ginger, and his Lawyer Gardner now go to work to find the murderer.

Thunder Mountain

1947

The College Coquette poster
10.0

Betty Forrester, a college flirt who is determined to attract Harvey Porter, the school coach, starts playing around to make him jealous. Her roommate, Doris Marlowe, is a naive girl who falls madly in love with Tom, a sophisticated playboy who leads Doris on until he tires of her. At this point Doris pleads with Tom to love her, but he refuses. Betty, afraid for Doris' welfare, tries to save her from Tom by falsely attracting him to herself. Doris, crestfallen, leaves them and accidentally tumbles into an elevator shaft and dies. Harvey is furiously jealous and determines never to see Betty again until he learns the real reason for her actions with Tom; then he asks her to marry him.

The College Coquette

1929

In Old Caliente poster
6.0

Americans come west to California in the hope of peaceful settlement. Roy and Gabby sing a duet: "We're Not Coming Out Tonight." Other songs include "Sundown on the Rangeland" and "Ride on Vaquero."

In Old Caliente

1939

Nevada poster
6.5

Just as Nevada wins $7000 in yellowback bills, Ben Ide takes his $7000 and heads out to buy mining equipment. Burridge has his man Powell kill Ide and retrieve the money and Nevada finds Ide just as the posse arrives. Found with the money Nevada is arrested and Burridge now gets Powell to incite the local citizens to lynch Nevada.

Nevada

1944

Six Cylinder Love poster
9.0

Troubles begin for the Sterlings when they buy an expensive car and friends start pressing them for rides.

Six Cylinder Love

1931

Heart of Arizona poster
5.5

Belle Starr has returned from time in prison only to face a hail of bullets, along with rescue by Hoppy and the Bar 20 gang.

Heart of Arizona

1938

Buckskin Frontier poster
7.0

A railroad man and the owner of a freight line battle for control of a crucial mountain pass.

Buckskin Frontier

1943

Dynamite Pass poster
6.1

A cowhand becomes involved in a war between a road construction crew and the greedy toll-owner hoping to thwart the new project.

Dynamite Pass

1950

Road Agent poster
7.0

Brand controls the only road to the cattle market and is charging exorbitant rates. Tim and Chito rob Brand to recover only their overcharge, but accidentally end up with all of Brand's money......

Road Agent

1952

Pistol Harvest poster
6.5

Two men are accused of killing their boss. They are saved from the hangman's noose when two other guys are arrested, but Holt feels as though justice is still not being served. On their own, they set about to track down the genuine killer.

Pistol Harvest

1951

Texas Masquerade poster
6.5

A young Eastern lawyer, seriously injured in a stage holdup, secures the help of Hoppy, California and Jimmy in completing his mission to his woman cousin's ranch in Texas. The ranch, as are others in the same area, is being plagued by a gang called the Night Riders, while the friendly local town lawyer is trying to cajole the cousin into selling out to him. Hoppy begins by arriving in the town, separate from his pals, all spiffed up and dandified, posing as the Eastern lawyer...

Texas Masquerade

1944

Cherokee Strip poster
5.5

Richard Dix stars as Dave Morrell, the new marshal of Goliath, Oklahoma. Immediately upon arrival, Morrell finds himself at odds with banker Coy Barrett (Victor Jory), who is actually the leader of all local criminal activities.

Cherokee Strip

1940