Silver City Kid (1944)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

John English

Writers:

Bennett Cohen (story)
Taylor Caven (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 July 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Western

Tagline:

Whirlwind Action! He rides with the speed of light...mopping up on an outlaw mob...braving bullets...a modern Robin Hood of the Range!

Plot:

Molybdenum deposits can make a man rich, but Stoner finds that the deposits run under the Clayton Ranch...

Plot Keywords:

Ranch | Mineral | Partner | Banker | Mine

Cast

Allan Lane	...	Jack Adams
Peggy Stewart	...	Ruth Clayton
Wally Vernon	...	'Wildcat' Higgens
Twinkle Watts	...	Twinkle Clayton
Harry Woods	...	Judge Sam H. Ballard
Frank Jaquet	...	William Stoner
Lane Chandler	...	Steve Clayton
Glenn Strange	...	Henchman Garvey
Bud Geary	...	Henchman Yeager
Tom Steele	...	Henchman
Tom London	...	Sheriff
Jack Kirk	...	Tom (Clayton Ranch Foreman)
Sam Flint	...	Business man

Runtime:

55 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Average B western

Slick, well made B Western. Each studio had a distinguishing look and feel to their B westerns (of course the same holds true of for horror, science fiction, and other genre films). Without seeing Republic Pictures on screen at the end the viewer know that this is film was their product. The score sounds vaguely familiar. The movie has something of the feel of a serial, and the director John English had directed a number of serials, including Captain America, before this. The incidents in the plot resemble so many serial episodes seen before. Even the film stock and the lighting tip off the viewer.

The most interesting thing about this oater is the emphasis on the villain, Ballard. He takes up the foreground in this film and most of the scenes involve his scheming and deception while Lane rides to the rescue on schedule and foils Ballard's plans. It is as though the obligatory upright hero of every B western had little new to offer and the focus of the film had fallen completely on the villain. He was the only real character in the film, all of the others being one dimensional (as is appropriate).

Of course, this is just a little programmer that rolled off the assembly line preceded by hundreds, if not thousands, that were so similar and usually interchangable (it is an industrial product) and followed by many more after. However, it delivers what it promises: four fist fights, two or three wild horse rides, a gunfight or two, a hero and a sidekick. If you like B westerns this one should satisfy.