Directing
Sam Nelson
Born — Died
1896-05-11 — 1963-05-01
Place of birth
Whttier, California, USA
Known for
Directing
Credits
38 titles
Sam Nelson was a director and assistant director who worked from the end of the silent era right up through the early 1960s. While most of his film work was in the assistant director role, he did direct over 20 films during the 1930s and 1940s, all of which were westerns. As an assistant director he worked on such notable films as Pennies from Heaven, And Then There Were None, All the King's Men, the original 3:10 to Yuma, Some Like It Hot, A Raisin in the Sun, and Spartacus. In addition he appeared in over a dozen films in small roles. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Known for
7.3A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
The Lady from Shanghai
1947
9.0A group of "Phantom Raiders" interfere with a cattle drive from Texas to Abilene; fortunately, U.S. Marshal Wild Bill Hickok is appointed to ensure the success of the mission.
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1938
4.0Charles Starrett plays two-fisted frontiersman Dart Collins in this slick Columbia "B" western. Collins wants to find out who's behind a series of gold-shipment robberies. So does heroine Judy Garfield (Iris Meredith), whose stage transport business faces foreclosure if the holdups continue. It comes as no surprise that the crimes are being orchestrated by the very people who want to force Judy out of business.
Outlaws of the Prairie
1937
5.9Mandrake and his team attempt to prevent "The Wasp" from stealing and using a new Radium invention.
Mandrake the Magician
1939
5.2When Pegleg and his Black Raiders threaten the westward expansion of the United States, the government sends Kit Carson and David Brent to straighten things out.
Overland with Kit Carson
1939
10.0The hero, Texas Ranger Larry Whalen, is on the trail of a mysterious outlaw leader.
The Man from Sundown
1939
Film credits
1940s · 1 titles
1920s · 8 titles
10.0A police officer is kicked off the force when his superior wrongly believes that he is complicit in a robbery committed by a gang his brother is involved with. With the assistance of a crime reporter, he sets out to round up the gang of thieves and clear his name.
Crooks Can't Win
1928
The One Man Dog is a 1929 silent film featuring Ranger the Dog, directed by Sam Nelson and written by Leon D'Usseau and Frank Howard Clark.
The One Man Dog
1929
During a feud between remote families, a dog saves the day.
Breed of Courage
1927
No synopsis available yet.
The Boy Rider
1927
9.0In 'The Circus Kid', Buddy, an orphan who runs away from a a harsh orphanage, joins Cadwallader's Circus.
The Circus Kid
1928
10.0No synopsis available yet.
The Swift Shadow
1927
Red saves his prospector sidekick Hank Robbins from the hangman.
The Vagabond Cub
1929
Once again, diminutive hero Red tries to help the adult characters in their fight against the villains.
The Little Savage
1929
Behind the camera
9.0A group of "Phantom Raiders" interfere with a cattle drive from Texas to Abilene; fortunately, U.S. Marshal Wild Bill Hickok is appointed to ensure the success of the mission.
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1938
4.0Charles Starrett plays two-fisted frontiersman Dart Collins in this slick Columbia "B" western. Collins wants to find out who's behind a series of gold-shipment robberies. So does heroine Judy Garfield (Iris Meredith), whose stage transport business faces foreclosure if the holdups continue. It comes as no surprise that the crimes are being orchestrated by the very people who want to force Judy out of business.
Outlaws of the Prairie
1937
5.9Mandrake and his team attempt to prevent "The Wasp" from stealing and using a new Radium invention.
Mandrake the Magician
1939
5.2When Pegleg and his Black Raiders threaten the westward expansion of the United States, the government sends Kit Carson and David Brent to straighten things out.
Overland with Kit Carson
1939
10.0The hero, Texas Ranger Larry Whalen, is on the trail of a mysterious outlaw leader.
The Man from Sundown
1939
5.6A man framed for murder escapes from prison in order to prove his innocence.
The Menace
1932
8.0In this western a traveling gun ends up in a small town and rescues an important rancher. Out of gratitude the rancher hires him to protect his land and cattle from his violent rival. It is revealed that the gunman is the son of the ruthless rival; he therefore, loses his job and finds himself entangled in the midst of a range war. He must eventually face his father when the bad guy takes over the only trail to the market.
Colorado Trail
1938
8.0Rancher William Norton refuses to sell his cattle for half price, so saloon owner and gang leader Jim Fletcher, contrary to the orders from his secret boss Willard McGowan, the town banker, has his men rob and beat up Norton. Unknown to anyone, Marion, McGowan's adopted daughter is really the daughter of Norton, who disappeared as a young baby when she and her mother were passengers on a stagecoach held up by McGowan. Chuck Saunders, Norton's foreman, goes after the gang for robbing his boss and eventually uncovers the truth regarding Marion's heritage.
Law of the Plains
1938
8.0Things get under way when US marshal Tom (Starrett) finds himself in the midst of a range war. The villains are a band of rustlers who play both sides of the confrontation against one another, the better to move in and claim all the livestock.
The Stranger from Texas
1939
7.5Outlaws of the Pandhandle was the last of Charles Starrett's "formula" westerns for Columbia: hereafter, Starrett would be seen only in the guise of frontier medico Steven Monroe or masked do-gooder The Durango Kid. For the moment, however, the star is cast as Jim Endicott, bound and determined to put an end to the underhanded activities of gin-mill operator Faro Jack Vaughn (Norman Willis). The villain's strategy is to get the local cowpunchers tanked up on rotgut that they'll prove to be easy pickings for a gang of rustlers-and will be unable to complete work on a railroad spur which will bypass the outlaws' hideaway.
Outlaws of the Panhandle
1941
7.0Brad Buckner has just bought a ranch. Murdock keeps his rustled cattle on the ranch and sends his men to kill Buckner just as they did the previous owners. But Buckner and his men foil their attempts and decide to search the ranch. To throw Buckner off he kidnaps Buckner's girlfriend and the Sheriff and makes plans to drive the cattle across the border.
West of Cheyenne
1938
7.0Sheep raisers, resentful of old injuries from the cattlemen, bar the way to water when dry ranges force the cattle ranchers to drive their herds into the lowlands.
Texas Stampede
1939
9.0Wild Bill Saunders discovers that his uncle Mort has been murdered by an unscrupulous ranch foreman, Matt Brawley. But before he can right Brawley's wrongs, Wild Bill is arrested for a murder he didn't commit. Sidekick Cannonball Sims and disgruntled girl rancher Joan Darcy plot to break Wild Bill out of jail but Brawley is wise to their plan.
Pioneers of the Frontier
1940
7.0A caravan of settlers is arriving and the ranchers intend to keep them out. It looks like a range war but Sheriff Jim gets the ranchers to accept the settlers. Kohler re-ignites the feud by making settler Winters appear to be a rustler and then by killing Winter's son. Once more the two sides appear headed for a war and Jim is caught in the middle.
Western Caravans
1939
8.0Wild Bill Hickok (Bill Elliott) leads a wagon train of settlers from Kansas to Colorado. Along the way, they cross a group of Indians who don't want any more settlers on their land.
Prairie Schooners
1940
7.0In this North western, a brave Canadian Mountie pursuing a gang of fur thieves finds himself drummed out of the RCMP and forced to run a gauntlet of Mountie whips. When the gang learns of this, they convince him to join them.
North of the Yukon
1939
7.0US marshal Lawlor (Starrett) takes on a gang of cattle rustlers headed by Taylor (Dick Curtis). His reasons are partly personal: Conway (Edward LeSaint), the cattle-baron father of Lawlor's sweetheart Madge (Meredith), has been murdered by Taylor's minions.
West of the Santa Fe
1938
5.3Tom Reynolds returns to find he is wanted for murder, his gun having been found at the scene. Tom suspects Munro and stages a fight to get a bullet from Monro's gun which he then sees matches the murder bullet. He gets his brother Steve to confess that he Monro forced him to rob the bank with his gun. But at Tom's trial, the bullets are ignored and when Steve fails to appear, Tom is found guilty.
Cattle Raiders
1938
7.0Kenyon has the newly arriving Ranger shot and his man Martin assume the Ranger's identity. Clay finds the Ranger before he dies and learns the truth. But when Clay confronts Martin, Martin convinces the townspeople he is a real Ranger and Clay is the murderer. Clay escapes and must now find a way to expose Martin as a fake.
South of Arizona
1938
10.0Wrongfully arrested, Tim must escape and find the men who murdered his partner and stole the gold.
The Avenging Rider
1943
10.0A long-standing feud between a rancher and a neighboring wheat farmer only intensifies after the rancher's wild stallion causes damage to the farmer's property. Western drama.
Konga, the Wild Stallion
1939
6.7Tom Weston arriving in town just as the Doctor announces his father's death a suicide, sees the gun is in the wrong hand. When the Bank Examiner announces the bank has no money and Tom's identity becomes known, the townsmen attempt to hang him. Escaping he finds the phony examiner and gets a a confession. Then he plans a trap for the murderer.
Sagebrush Law
1943
9.0The villainous Marsden plans to sink a ship owned by Mr. Wingate to collect the insurance money, while also hoping to win over Wingate's daughter, Marian. Suez Canal Company detective Bannister tracks the criminals through the dangerous streets of Port Said and eventually lures the culprit out by arranging a shipment of $1,000,000 in gold. Marsden accompanies Marian and Wingate on the voyage to seize the gold and the girl. Bannister sneaks aboard at the last minute to protect them.
The Last Man
1932
8.0According to Hollywood, the parents were generally at fault when good kids went bad. This theory is elucidated in Columbia's Parents on Trial, wherein strict disciplinarian James Westley (Henry Kolker) fails to understand or appreciate the real needs and feelings of his teenaged daughter Susan (Jean Parker).
Parents on Trial
1939
4.7No relation to the 1950 John Ford classic of the same name, Rio Grande is yet another rubber-stamp Charles Starrett western from the Columbia assembly line.
Rio Grande
1938
5.0Feature version of the American serial film, produced for export only, never exhibited in the USA, and believed to be a lost film.
Mandrake the Magician
1940
8.0Outlaws Dale and Tucson quit Wolf's gang. Just as the two are about to rob the stage, Wolf and his gang beat them to it. Dale breaks it up saving the money and this gets him appointed Sheriff. But Wolf shows up and threatening to expose Dale, forces him to let his gang rob the express office.
The Thundering West
1939
7.0Steve Beaumont, an operative for the Cattleman's Protective Association, is assigned the difficult task of breaking up a murderous gang of rustlers led by Ed Brock and Strang. He takes Sheriff Webb, Judge Baxter, and rancher Ann Houston into his confidence, and works his way into the rustler stronghold and confidence by "turning rustler" himself.
Bullets for Rustlers
1940

