Forget the story here pardners, you'll be doing a double take when you see who shows up in this one. He's listed as Bob in the credits, but if you're a movie fan, there's no denying that villain Ben Slocum is played by Robert Mitchum! You just never know who's going to show up in these old B Westerns from the Thirties and Forties, and catching a name like Mitchum is an unexpected treat.
From 1939 to 1943, Johnny Mack Brown did twenty eight films for Universal, teaming with Bob Baker for a half dozen, going it alone for another fifteen pictures, and then joined by Tex Ritter for seven more. Along with Fuzzy Knight, they formed an unofficial trio of sorts, portraying different characters in their films together. It also wasn't unusual to see the Jimmy Wakely Trio adding some musical accompaniment to the story, along with veterans Earl Hodgins and Jennifer Holt, all of whom appeared in "The Lone Star Trail".
In the story, Brown is fresh out of jail after being framed by Slocum and his cronies, which include the Mayor of Dead Falls, Cyrus Jenkins. Jenkins is portrayed by Earle Hodgins, who usually turns up in Westerns as a comic relief character, but he plays it straight here. I prefer him in his comic bits, he just has the right looks and temperament for those kinds of roles, like he did in "The Old Chisholm Trail", another Brown/Ritter/Knight story. There he played the part of Indian Hopping Crow.
Tex Ritter shows up in an opening scene when he backs up JMB during a stagecoach attack by the outlaws. Their characters are unknown to each other at the start of the show, which is why I mentioned earlier that they were an unofficial trio with Fuzzy. Though they often share the same goals in their pictures, they don't necessarily work together, but criss-cross each other as the story plays out. In this one Fargo Steele (Ritter) has to pull Blaze Barker's (Brown) fat out of the fire more than once before it's all over.
With a lively saloon brawl and some well placed tunes by Wakely's group, this is a fairly entertaining and quick paced Western. One interesting bit of trivia - in the picture I mentioned earlier, "The Old Chisholm Trail" - Tex joins the Jimmy Wakely Trio around the campfire to sing a song called 'The Lone Star Trail' - what were the odds?!!
From 1939 to 1943, Johnny Mack Brown did twenty eight films for Universal, teaming with Bob Baker for a half dozen, going it alone for another fifteen pictures, and then joined by Tex Ritter for seven more. Along with Fuzzy Knight, they formed an unofficial trio of sorts, portraying different characters in their films together. It also wasn't unusual to see the Jimmy Wakely Trio adding some musical accompaniment to the story, along with veterans Earl Hodgins and Jennifer Holt, all of whom appeared in "The Lone Star Trail".
In the story, Brown is fresh out of jail after being framed by Slocum and his cronies, which include the Mayor of Dead Falls, Cyrus Jenkins. Jenkins is portrayed by Earle Hodgins, who usually turns up in Westerns as a comic relief character, but he plays it straight here. I prefer him in his comic bits, he just has the right looks and temperament for those kinds of roles, like he did in "The Old Chisholm Trail", another Brown/Ritter/Knight story. There he played the part of Indian Hopping Crow.
Tex Ritter shows up in an opening scene when he backs up JMB during a stagecoach attack by the outlaws. Their characters are unknown to each other at the start of the show, which is why I mentioned earlier that they were an unofficial trio with Fuzzy. Though they often share the same goals in their pictures, they don't necessarily work together, but criss-cross each other as the story plays out. In this one Fargo Steele (Ritter) has to pull Blaze Barker's (Brown) fat out of the fire more than once before it's all over.
With a lively saloon brawl and some well placed tunes by Wakely's group, this is a fairly entertaining and quick paced Western. One interesting bit of trivia - in the picture I mentioned earlier, "The Old Chisholm Trail" - Tex joins the Jimmy Wakely Trio around the campfire to sing a song called 'The Lone Star Trail' - what were the odds?!!