I don't imagine very many progressive liberals watch B Westerns from back in the day, but if they did, they'd be appalled by Carolina Cotton's opening number here - "You got to get a gun to go after your guy if you want a wedding ring"! That would be deemed politically incorrect on so many levels they'd probably try to shut down the oldies cable channels that show them. Please don't say anything.
Well once again, Jack Mahoney shows up in a Durango Kid flick going by his own name. A couple of Sundays ago on the Antenna TV cable station he appeared in the 1952 oater "Smoky Canyon" doing the same as a good guy framed for murder. I always liked Mahoney as an actor and cowboy, he was very cool as TV's Yancy Derringer for one season in the late Fifties.
This story opens with Mahoney hiring former Ranger buddy Steve Holden (Charles Starrett) as city marshal of Hard Rock, but as Steve soon learns, Mahoney's not the honorable guy he'd known in the past. Owning a large chunk of town and several local mines, Mahoney's not above charging the competition a toll fee to carry their ore freight to market. His henchmen even set fire to the town's newspaper for trying to expose his underhanded activities, but when a young boy Mahoney loves is badly injured in the fire, his change of heart helps Holden and his alter ego The Durango Kid save the day.
Speaking of that fire, Smiley Burnette's on hand here as the town fire chief and I got a kick out of him trying to sound that large circular iron gong alarm to call out the fire truck. I say that because when I was a kid over a half century ago, my little town still had one of those on display, even though it had long since been replaced by a more modern system. Ah yes, the good old days.
Say this was kind of interesting, but you had to pay attention to catch it. During Durango's first appearance in the story, he gets into a scrap with some outlaws and as one of them chases him up a long staircase, Durango shoots him. As the guy tumbles down the stairs, he holds onto his hat with both hands! I guess he didn't want it to get damaged!
Helping Smiley out with the musical numbers this time out are Pee Wee King and His Golden West Cowboys, and Carolina Cotton, yodeler extraordinaire who's also Jack/Jock Mahoney's love interest. Carolina did tease a yodel in her song here, but to really get a flavor of her incredible range, you'll have to catch her in the Gene Autry flick "Apache Country". When I say her voice control is incredible, that's an understatement, you just have to hear it for yourself.
Well once again, Jack Mahoney shows up in a Durango Kid flick going by his own name. A couple of Sundays ago on the Antenna TV cable station he appeared in the 1952 oater "Smoky Canyon" doing the same as a good guy framed for murder. I always liked Mahoney as an actor and cowboy, he was very cool as TV's Yancy Derringer for one season in the late Fifties.
This story opens with Mahoney hiring former Ranger buddy Steve Holden (Charles Starrett) as city marshal of Hard Rock, but as Steve soon learns, Mahoney's not the honorable guy he'd known in the past. Owning a large chunk of town and several local mines, Mahoney's not above charging the competition a toll fee to carry their ore freight to market. His henchmen even set fire to the town's newspaper for trying to expose his underhanded activities, but when a young boy Mahoney loves is badly injured in the fire, his change of heart helps Holden and his alter ego The Durango Kid save the day.
Speaking of that fire, Smiley Burnette's on hand here as the town fire chief and I got a kick out of him trying to sound that large circular iron gong alarm to call out the fire truck. I say that because when I was a kid over a half century ago, my little town still had one of those on display, even though it had long since been replaced by a more modern system. Ah yes, the good old days.
Say this was kind of interesting, but you had to pay attention to catch it. During Durango's first appearance in the story, he gets into a scrap with some outlaws and as one of them chases him up a long staircase, Durango shoots him. As the guy tumbles down the stairs, he holds onto his hat with both hands! I guess he didn't want it to get damaged!
Helping Smiley out with the musical numbers this time out are Pee Wee King and His Golden West Cowboys, and Carolina Cotton, yodeler extraordinaire who's also Jack/Jock Mahoney's love interest. Carolina did tease a yodel in her song here, but to really get a flavor of her incredible range, you'll have to catch her in the Gene Autry flick "Apache Country". When I say her voice control is incredible, that's an understatement, you just have to hear it for yourself.