Phantom Valley (1948) User Reviews

Fair entry with a surprising denouement

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 24 February 2022]

The Durango Kid--with "unable" assistance from Smiley "Sherlock Holmes" Burnette--investigates a pair of murders that threaten to fuel a range war.

Eh, Smiley Burnette surely isn't going to give Sherlock the run for his money, but apart from singing and acting the buffoon, he lends good assistance to Steve/the Durango kid, who, of course, figures out who is trying to ignite a range war. And boy was I surprised. The culprit surprised me; matter of fact it boosted the film from its average meter.

too much out-of-placeness

[KDWms · 2/10 · 23 April 2003]

The IMDb says that Charles Starette portrayed the Durango Kid and teamed up with Smiley Burnette nearly five dozen times, one of which is here, where a third of the tunes features Smiley. The other two - done by Ozie Waters and The Colorado Rangers - REALLY don't flow with the plot, which has Starrette trying to determine responsibility for a couple of killings, while considering discord between cattlemen and homesteaders. I generally try to excuse limited out-of-placeness in this genre, but, in this case, it's distracting and juvenile. I seem to remember better Durango Kid episodes.