In Old Sacramento

Of all the men that gained fame from the "B" western genre, William Elliott was one of the more talented actors. He broke in playing smaller roles in "A" pictures with the likes of Cagney and Bogart. This was his first venture at a starring role in a higher budget western; he had just finished up starring in about twenty Red Rider serials. Fans of the old western genre will see a marked similarity to the plot line of Roy Rogers' "The Carson City Kid". Indeed, the traitorous "sidekick" in both features is named Laramie, in here portrayed by the ominous Jack LaRue, and Frank McDonald in CC Kid. There was a higher budget on this film however, more renown actors were used, and the plot more involved. While this isn't my favorite of Elliott's "A" features, it is nonetheless entertaining and a worthwhile view.

In the pre-TV age, this kind of inexpensive quickie is what often passed for a western movie -- unless you were John Ford or Howard Hawks and had a star like John Wayne or Randolph Scott to work with. It's what was known as a programmer or oater. I'm sure kids ate them up. Bill Elliott, who was about as much a cowboy as my Aunt Sadie, plays a masked bandit named Spanish Jack (essentially Zorro) who has decided to mend his ways, but finds he can't. The film rarely ventures from its one or two sets, and everybody spends a lot of time standing around talking, Elliott especially. Eugene Palette (not so coincidentally from THE MARK OF ZORRO) is the town sheriff who grows wise to Elliott. Constance Moore, a skinny little thing with limited acting ability but a big voice, is the love interest who sings a lot. It's all very forgettable. The main set is a main street full of mud and horse manure, and this is used over and over again for comic effect. It stopped being funny after the second time.

I have a particular fondness for this movie, which I first saw on Saturday afternoon TV many years ago as a kid. (This was in the paleolithic era when local channels showed movies.) While certainly not inspired film making, it ambles along pleasantly and has a whole slew of old-reliable character actors--Jack LaRue (a little less hot than in "Temple Drake" ten years or so earlier ), Eugene Palette, Lionel Stander, and the ever-delightful Ruth Donnelly, among others. Constance Moore is lovely and brings her rich voice to a number of songs; Jean Lenoir's "Speak to Me of Love," used in so many Hollywood films, is among the most notable, and it's also used in the background score--and as it's a song that I never get tired of, that's fine with me. Bill Elliott has a sweetness that's engaging. I do find the ending somewhat jarring and not in keeping with the rest of the movie.