I can't begin to describe how many things are wrong with this film. The acting is stilted, stagy. The camera is still for the most part. In a gun fight scenes from another oater were edited in. Action is advanced by dialog not, well, action. The actors announce their intentions with the certainty they will come true. All scenes appear to be first takes. I guess they had no budget for retakes. This appears to take place in late 19th century West yet Julie Haydon who plays Doris, the ex-floozy, smokes a cigarette. That fact is never alluded to again although Doris becomes increasingly less provocative, more virginal, as if time were cleansing her of her past sins. Haydon is actually the one bright spot in this disaster and that's saying much because no actor could handle this material with a straight face. Her film career didn't amount to much although she was more successful on stage. Tom Keene, the male lead, was just plain awful but a good horseman. He could take a run at a horse, jump to a stirrup and straddle the horse in one smooth sequence. And I could go on. Yet this film is oddly captivating. I guess it's my attraction to bad movies. They're sort of like train wrecks; you can't take your eyes off them.

The premise of the plot starts out with great potential . Tom Owens ( Tom Keene ) tries to get his friend Jack Breen ( Creighton Chaney ,Jr. ) to leave town as Tom knows he is tied up with the crooks. Their deep friendship allows for Tom to sacrifice his sense of right for his friend to leave and make a new start . But just one last job is the order of the day . In the chase , it is Keene who kills his friend . Breen's brother comes to town looking for answers . Being a teenager with no family and ridden by guilt , Keene takes him in . He wants the best for him . But Doris , Breen's girl friend also has an interest in the boy. He reminds her of Jack and he is Jack's brother . After Keene shot Breen , Doris made a threat , " One day , I will hurt you like you hurt me ". Here is where the tension could have been exploited through the remainder of the film . I realize that time was a limit in these 'B' films but a few scenes could have done the trick . Instead this choice angle just dangles . What a dimension this could have been if properly handled .It is interesting that there is little doubt about Doris' profession . That is not your usual 'B' ploy . Usually the female lead is working at the saloon as an undercover agent or was forced to by an uncle , etc. Then at the end , Keene announces that they will raise the boy together . Wow ! This was an adult theme and not for the little shavers . This is what I like about early 'B' westerns, the Indies of this period and even the silents . They took chances with plots . They never fit the cookie cutter mold with their stories even when they flopped badly . Here is a plot you never saw in 'B' westerns and I have seen a ton . Just the story line alone is worth a look at this film .I like Keene's early work especially his RKO work . His laugh was intolerable , but he had a charisma . The RKO's have the look of the Hoppy Paramounts . There is some real depth to the photography . The exteriors are sublime in their presentation almost like Star Wars or a John Ford . The story lines are above average and not the mundane . So this was an above average series . Creighton Chaney Jr. just never had that spark on screen that marks a star . Without the Wolfman , he would be remembered as a good character actor . Edgar Kennedy had some redeeming features as a sidekick . He didn't seem real comfortable in this role . You get the feeling he woke up with a burr under his saddle . There was no real chemistry between him and Keene . Durand definitely needed some more acting lessons and experience . There is very little action until the end , but it was enough to qualify as a western . If you're only familiar with Keene's Monogram work , this film and other RKOs will give you a whole new perspective of him and his persona. Worth viewing ( at least once ).

I'm rapidly developing a taste for Tom Keene movies. He looks and sounds only a few notches away from being a live-action Dudley Do-Right...but somehow his performances work for me.This movie is intriguing to me because Tom's good pal (well-played by the regretful-looking Lon Chaney Jr.) is working for the outlaws and gets himself killed...then when Lon's little brother shows up, Lon's former girlfriend competes with Tom to raise the boy. The pretty girlfriend, by the way, used to work over at the dance hall, where business has dropped off since she left...one presumes she wasn't just dancing... So it's fun to see squeaky-clean Tom being buddies with a cheap crook and a retired dance hall gal.The final scenes are action-packed fun (made all the more odd and dated because of the speeded-up camera) and I got to cheer whenever Tom hit somebody. I like movies that make me cheer for the heroes. So YAY!

The title is a mystery in this mediocre western. Lovely Julie Haydon is a welcome plus in the film, which doesn't have much action until the end. Laughable scenes include a gang member getting shot at the start as he says "the big boss is..," an oft-used cliché, as well as Haydon overhearing the bandits' plans to rob a stagecoach. Well, I guess they didn't have wire-taps then, so how else could you get information? Keene has charisma, but this is strictly Saturday matinee material.