Tim McCoy was a real Westerner, a great horseman, and a better actor than most people might think, those considering him "just" a B Western star.This Western is flawed by several Gringos trying, not very successfully, to play Mexicans, but there are many intriguing characters and a complex plot in a story set in Spanish-heritage California and Nevada to more than make up for the flaws.The major locale is Rawhide, Nevada, a real town, now a ghost town, but it once looked like this: http://www.westernmininghistory.com/towns/nevada/rawhidePerhaps the biggest flaw is Rex Lease, who gives good performances in other movies, but here he fails with a Mexican accent, and has trouble mounting his horse.More than compensating for Lease is Earle Hodgins, here called Earl. Often cast as a fast-talking carnival or medicine-show barker, his role here as a marshal is different, perhaps (and reminding in some ways of John Cleese's playing a sheriff in "Silverado"), but he is a capable enough actor to pull it off beautifully.Possibly the most intriguing note, though, is from the great Karl Hackett, who not only narrates at the beginning of "Aces and Eights," but plays that most famous holder of a poker hand of aces and eights, Wild Bill Hickok. And he doesn't even get screen credit.Wheeler Oakman plays the slimy Ace Morgan, and as usual he makes us believe he really is despicable, in a great performance."Aces and Eights" is a flawed movie, with some obviously dubbed-in sound effects and an identical shot of a poker-hand close-up used at least three times.But it stars Tim McCoy. All I ever need to know is It Stars Tim McCoy.I'll watch it, and I'll recommend it. It Stars Tim McCoy, and it's available at YouTube.

The movie starts out with interesting stock footage of a wagon train and a very brief over narration telling about settling the west and the saga of Wild Bill Hickok and the significance of "aces and eights" as the hand Wild Bill was holding when he was shot and killed. Gentleman Tim Madigan (played by "he with the steely stare" McCoy) is a famous card sharp that travels the west with his sidekick Lucky (Aubrey). There are posters out warning other gamblers to be aware and avoid playing with Madigan - this even though he's an honest gambler and doesn't even carry a gun. Soon after riding into town, Madigan sees a crooked card sharp cheat a young Spanish man, nicknamed appropriately enough, "Spanish". Later the crooked gambler is shot and killed, "Spanish" thinks he did it and Madigan is accused of doing it. Madigan and Lucky are befriended by – and befriend – the Hernandez family. As it happens, "Spanish" is the Hernandez son. The family has been scammed out of their ranch. Madigan comes to the Hernandez family's assistance and plays poker in order to try and win back the deed. With the exception of Luana Walters (how did she keep getting roles?), the supporting cast is uniformly good as was McCoy. The running gag with Lucky that if he throws a seven with the dice, it will be a good day and if not, it won't be was a nice touch. Of special note is Earl Hodgins as Marshall Tom Barstow – his performance was very entertaining.

While no sane person would go so far as to say "Aces and Eights" is a great film, it is a bit better than average for a B-series western. That's because unlike most westerns (and Hollywood made 130234482734 of them), the plot is pretty unusual. What's most unusual is that the hero (Tim McCoy) plays a professional gambler--a first that I can recall. With B-series westerns, usually the hero (Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and the like) plays a government agent or rancher or ranch hand...never a gambler. But, like other heroes, he's a honest professional gambler and what he often does is expose the crooked ones and dispense justice without even using a gun. Apparently, Tim had hands of steel and could just about crush the hands of anyone attempting to shoot him.The film begins with just such a situation--Tim sees that the man gambling with him is cheating by dealing himself aces. When he confronts the guy and they are about to come to blows, the Sheriff suggests they go outside and settle it (I presume to kill each other). But Tim does NOT kill him--just threatens him and leaves. But an unseen hand from behind a tree is waiting. And, when one of the gambler's victims then confronts him, a shot rings out--and the evil gambler is killed. Who did it? Well, at first blame rests on Tim--who is forced to run.Once on the run, Tim meets the family of the man who THINKS he shot the gambler (his gun DID go off but the guy behind the tree really killed him). Then, thanks to Tim, he saves the family fortune and reunites the young man with his grieving father and sister. And, in the end, all is well and the perpetrator of the foul deed is exposed.I liked Tim McCoy's acting--it was simple and direct. The story was good as well--and quite entertaining. For a B-series film, it's among the better ones I've seen. Oh, and by the way, the title refers to a pair of aces and a pair of eights--the same hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot in the back while gambling.

As the film's title suggests, the famed aces and eights poker hand plays a role in the outcome of the story, but this time it's not a murder. Cowboy star Tim McCoy portrays Gentleman Tim Madigan, a card sharp who's not above a little bottom dealing himself. His reputation is so renowned that posters warn other gamblers to keep their distance from the well dressed poker player.Madigan's sidekick is a fellow named Lucky (Jimmy Aubrey), who keeps a pair of dice handy to consider what the day will bring. They ride across the border to Roaring Gulch, California following the murder of a fellow gambler that's pinned on Madigan. Madigan doesn't wear a gun, relying on his wits and power; he can tear a deck of cards into quarters. In Roaring Gulch he's befriended by Don Julio Hernandez (Joseph Girard) and his daughter Juanita (Luana Walters), while her brother Jose mistakenly believes he's the one responsible for the murder back in Nevada.In an effort to save the Hernandez ranch from crooked saloon owner Amos Harden (Frank Glendon), Madigan challenges him to a poker hand using a clean deck. Seems to me that was quite a gamble, even IF Lucky rolled a seven that day. Perhaps in the end it was Tim McCoy's steely gaze that saved the day, I've never seen it better.The Marshal (Earl Hodgins) tailing Madigan becomes convinced that he's innocent of the Nevada murder when Madigan pulls a slug out of a wall fired from Ace Morgan's (Wheeler Oakman) derringer. It matches up with the slug found near the dead body, in a logic defying exercise in ballistics, since the bullet had to go entirely through the dead man's body and then fall to his side. Not only that, but the Marshal had to find it! I'd like to see the Warren Commission explain that one.At least one interesting custom is explained in the course of the story, though I don't know if there's any basis in fact for it. At the Hernandez ranch, a chalice of gold coins, 'La Copa D'Oro', is on display in one of the rooms. The custom says that the coins are for any guest who finds himself truly in need, and even a thief would not dishonor that generosity. Given the story line and the opportunities made available to tempt fate, the cup made it to the end of the tale untouched. That at least seemed a lot more credible than the exact same 'aces and eights' poker hand showing up at different times in the story, to the point of matching the fifth card in the hand each time.