Fuzzy Settles Down (1944) User Reviews

You Call This Settling Down?!

[FightingWesterner · 7/10 · 8 April 2010]

On a whim, Fuzzy Jones uses his reward money from the capture of a fugitive in order to buy a small town newspaper, of which the previous owner was gunned down for going up against a group of cattle rustlers. Picking up where the slain man left off, he uses the pen and Billy Carson uses his gun to clean up the town.

One of many times Fuzzy tried to settle down, this light-hearted, fast-paced, and action-packed entry in Producers Releasing Corporation's Billy Carson series is well-written and one of the best.

There's a heavy emphasis this time on Al "Fuzzy" St. John. However, Buster Crabbe delivers one of his best performances ever, with the usually more stoic hero caught in a particularly silly frame-of-mind and getting almost as many laughs as Fuzzy this time around!

"Now run along before I lose my temper".

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 10 July 2010]

Without knowing a lot about Buster Crabbe, it certainly was big of him to let Fuzzy St. John take center stage in this adventure. While both men capture a pair of bank robbers in the opening scene, Fuzzy uses the reward money to buy a newspaper in Red Rock and try to live like a 'normal' citizen. You know this can only go so far, and pretty soon Fuzzy finds himself in the middle of a local dust up between cattle rustlers and the locals.

Even with the serious subject matter, Billy Carson (Crabbe) spends a lot of time laughing heartily at Fuzzy's expense throughout most of the picture. That seemed a bit out of character for him but Fuzzy took it in stride the way he always does. If you keep an eye on Fuzzy when he leaves the newspaper office the first time, the amount of printer's ink on his face increases by the time he picks up his beer at the saloon.

You know, if you really pay attention to what's going on in these old Westerns, you begin to wonder how they came up with some of this stuff. Like in the Red Rock Saloon - why were there raw eggs in dishes on the bar? Other than provide a prop for the bad guys to throw down with Fuzzy, why would they have been there?

Or how about the scene when Carson knocks out Rusty while he was trying to set fire in the barn. The other four henchmen hung around while Carson brought Rusty in to the rancher meeting for questioning; why didn't one of them go ahead and start the fire?

I guess that's why I get such a kick out of these oaters. Not only Westerns, but mysteries, sci-fi and horror flicks of the era as well. There didn't seem to be much pressure to keep things believable to keep a story line going. I will say this though, the boots behind the boulder gimmick in the opener was something I hadn't seen before. Very clever, but..., wait a minute - how did they do that?

It sure is Fuzzy...

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 4 February 2013]

Al St. John got his start in pictures by appearing in numerous comedy shorts along with his uncle, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. By the 1930s, St. John had reinvented himself and was no longer a comic foil but a cowboy sidekick--and was re-christened Al 'Fuzzy' St. John--and he made a ton of westerns as Fuzzy. The title of this film refers to this character, though it certainly could also be referring to the print available from archive.org--a site linked to IMDb for hundreds of public domain films. So, if you can find a better copy elsewhere, more power to you--this one is badly in need of restoration.

The film begins with a bank robbery. Fuzzy solves this crime and collects a reward. On a whim, he buys a local newspaper--one dedicated to standing up to the evil rustlers. With the help of his friend, Billy (Buster Crabbe), he fights the forces of not-niceness. Naturally, they aren't about to just give up and frame Fuzzy for embezzling the funds for the new telegraph lines. Can these swell heroes prevail? While this film is made by the crappy low-budget PRC Studio, the acting and script are pretty good. Plus, unlike many other series westerns, there's no singing! Enjoyable fluff--with a very strange ending.

Fuzzy Steals the Show!

[stevehaynie · 4 March 2004]

Of all of the B Western sidekicks, Smiley Burnette was the only one to get top billing in a B Western. Fuzzy Settles Down should have had Al St. John with top billing in the credits. As Fuzzy Q. Jones, St. John is the title character and he has the most screen time. Buster Crabbe, as Billy Carson, is a strong hero, but he really is like a "reverse sidekick" for most of the movie. It is strange, but in the way that sidekicks usually said things to build up the image of the hero, Billy Carson's words and actions work to strengthen Fuzzy's character.

Fuzzy earns reward money (with Billy's help) for catching two bank robbers. He is determined to use that money to settle down somewhere. When Fuzzy and Billy happen to ride into a town where the local newspaper is up for auction, Fuzzy decides to buy it. They use the newspaper to help rid the town of local bandits. Billy Carson moves the plot along at all the right times, but it is only at the climax of the movie that he does anything significant.

Al St. John was usually a better actor than the lead actors he supported, and the people at PRC must have been aware of it. He absolutely knew how to entertain and draw attention to himself while on screen. This movie is his showcase. If you are a fan of Fuzzy Q. Jones, this movie spotlights his character more than usual.

Fuzzy buys the town newspaper, with Billy's help

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 1 July 2018]

One of the PRC series of B westerns starring Buster Crabbe as Billy the Kid/Billy Carson, and comical sidekick Al St. John as Fuzzy. In this series, every now and then, Fuzzy gets a hankering to buy and run a small business, at least for a short while, until Billy decides it's time to vacate this town. The owner of the newspaper, John Martin(John Elliot) was shot dead in the street after giving a speech promoting his crusade against the local outlaws, and advocating the local financing of a telegraph line. This left his daughter Edith in charge of the newspaper. However, she couldn't run it alone. Thus, pretty soon , it was in foreclosure, and a sheriff's sale held. Bidding rose to $3000., which was all the money, save 50c,that Fuzzy had from his reward money for bringing in 2 bank robbers. So, he bid $3000.50. Unrecognized outlaw Pete(John Merton) wanted to bid up again, but bad boy Billy pushed through the crowd and punched Pete in the breadbasket, so that he was temporarily unable to speak. This sealed the deal for Fuzzy. Of course, Billy and Pete had a slugfest after Pete recovered. And, of course, Fuzzy was woefully qualified to be a newspaper editor........When Fuzzy and Billy go into the saloon, Fuzzy is reading a newspaper. Pete throws an uncooked egg that goes through the newspaper and hits Fuzzy in the face. Billy returns the favor, and Billy and Pete are in another brawl........Later, rancher and unrecognized leader of the local criminal element, Lafe Barlow(Charles King) warns Fuzzy and Edith that inflammatory editorials will be risky to their well being. Barlow would become the leader of the minority anti-telegraph faction, whereas Fuzzy would become the leader of the majority pro-telegraph faction. Fuzzy was elected to take care of the money from the most recent telegraph drive. After accidentally spilling the ink bottle near the money, he hid it, but, unfortunately, some peeping Toms saw where he hid it. They burst in, knock him out, and take the money. A little later, Billy is trailing a suspicious man, who goes to Barlow's ranch house. Billy bursts through the door, and knocks out the man. Soon, Pete enters and Billy knocks him out(for the 3rd time), as well. He then searches around the desk, and finally finds what appears to be the stolen money. He takes Pete with him to town, and enters a room where Barlow is whipping up the crowd to lynch Fuzzy. He shows the money, and Pete corroborates his finding. I'm very surprised that he doesn't point out the ink-stained bills as proof that this is the stolen money!.......The climactic scene follows. I will let you see the film to find out what happens. It's available at YouTube. In any case, as with his other short-term entrepreneurships, when Fuzzy sees Billy leaving town, he abandons his property and catches up with Billy. Poor Edith: she lost her newspaper owner, and her potential boyfriend(Billy).

"Fuzzy Settles Down" is Well Presented and Fun

[glennstenb · 8/10 · 2 January 2020]

"Fuzzy Settles Down" would at first expectation be a comedy, based on the lightweight and overly simplistic title and because Al "Fuzzy" St. John is so prominently featured. But this is actually a more serious entry in the Buster Crabbe/St. John series, not one played for laughs but, of course, with considerable smile-inducing comic relief dotting the landscape. Viewers follow the increasing intrigue as our two newly-arrived heroes become involved in a little town's struggle against Charles King's perfectly underplayed performance as the bad man intent on taking over the town's future. King becomes exasperated as his staff of cutthroats, who are dispatched to carry out his machinations, are consistently thwarted in carrying out their work by the omnipresent Crabbe, who's sole purpose in life seems to be protecting his good but naive buddy Fuzzy. Interestingly, Crabbe plays his role as Billy Carson kind of like Superman, in that to the outside world he is seen as being aloof to the dastardly goings-on around him, which lead the heroine and others to believe he is a good-for-little hanger-on. Of course, with the passage of time they all find out better. The cast is big and the acting is sharp, and even Buster Crabbe seems confident and comfortable in this one. The premise is strong, the story and dialog are well thought out, none of the fighting nor the use of guns seem gratuitous or drawn out, and the whole program is a pleasure to observe and really get wrapped-up in.

Predictable Story, But Not Bad Overall

[Snow Leopard · 2 January 2003]

While it's a very predictable story, this B-Western is still not bad overall. Buster Crabbe and Fuzzy St. John are a likable pair of heroes, and it has a couple of lighter moments and some decent action. The story starts with Fuzzy deciding that he wants to 'settle down' instead of wandering about with Crabbe. He decides to become a 'respectable' citizen working on a newspaper, but very soon he gets caught in the middle of a dangerous confrontation with a gang of rustlers. Quite a bit happens after that, and while most of it is pretty predictable, the action is not bad. St. John also gets more screen time than he does in a lot of his supporting roles. Overall, it's nothing great, but worth a look if you like older Westerns.