Paularoc Review of Code of the Prairie

Code of the Prairie (1944)

A pleasant diversion with an unusual ending

[6/10 · 10 May 2012]

The Oklahoma Panhandle has just been annexed and there are those who want to keep the government with its law and order out. Bat Matson, a famous but now retired Sheriff, and his daughter move to the panhandle and set up a newspaper. On their way to the recently annexed town, they are attacked by a gang but are fortunately saved by Sunset Carson and his sidekick, Smiley Burnett who is an amateur photographer with the nickname of Frog. The leader of the gang is Professor Graham, the local barber, played by Roy Barcroft (giving his usual good performance). Matson is sent a stack of wanted posters by a former colleague and recognizes Graham, under the name of Larson as a fugitive wanted for murder. When Matson confronts Graham with this information, Graham kills him. Smiley Burnett provides the humor (and the vital clue) and Sunset Carson the action in tracking down the killer. Sunset Carson was certainly no actor but he did have an appealing personality. This movie was a nice diversion that did have one gimmick that I don't recall seeing in a Western before (but have seen in mysteries) and that is one of the movie characters talking directly to the audience. Smiley asks the audience if they knew how he knew that the current Sheriff did not kill Matson even there was photograph seeming to prove that he had. Smiley explains how he knew and then says: "You kids go home now, you've been in here all day." This "kid" still likes the old B Westerns.