The Fargo Kid (1940) Poster

(1940)

User Reviews

Review this title
5 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
6/10
Will the real Deuce Mallory stand up
bkoganbing31 December 2013
The title role of The Fargo Kid was played by Tim Holt who after catching Paul Fix cheating in a game of cards on the trail takes his horse and rides into town. But Paul Fix in addition to being a gambler does contract killings on the side and he's taken a contract from assayer Cy Kendall and henchman Ernie Adams to kill Paul Scardon and steal the claim Scardon has.

Scardon doesn't know he's feet away from a rich vein of gold and that's why he has a target on his back. But when Kendall and Adams mistake Holt for the infamous Deuce Mallory that's when the fun starts.

This B western from RKO is laced with some nice comedy and a few forgettable western tunes sung by Ray Whitely and is trio. Holt though he showed he was capable of more always settled back into the comfortable niche of cowboy hero.

That's because he was so good at it as he is in The Fargo Kid.
3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
"You just leave it to me. I can spot a killer a mile away."
classicsoncall7 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of the more illogical Westerns you can find coming out of the 1940's. For one thing, cowboy hero Tim Holt smiles virtually all the time, even when he finds himself in a tough fix, like when Micaville assayer Nick Kane (Cy Kendall) has him tied up trying to get the five thousand dollars back that he gave The Fargo Kid (Holt) to kill a local rancher. Which leads to another dubious situation when the real Deuce Mallory (Paul Fix) shows up, the outlaw that Fargo Kid was mistaken for when he rode into town on Mallory's horse after he won it in a high card draw that Mallory wasn't going to honor. Kane offered Mallory a thousand dollars to do the same job after admitting that he stupidly gave Fargo five grand! Mallory didn't bat an eye and demand the same amount, actually making him even dumber than Kane. The most dubious moment occurred when Kid shot Kane near the end of the movie, and shortly after, pulled out the roll of money he stuck in the barrel of his gun in order to hide it. If it hadn't blown out in a flurry of confetti when he shot Kane, it should at least have been all tattered when it came out of the gun. But you know, kids going to see these flicks at the matinee showing of their local theater wouldn't have given this nonsense a second thought, as long as they were going to see their favorite cowboy defeat the bad guys. For us grown-ups however, even the comic antics of Nick Kane sidekick Bush Cleveland (Ernie Adams), and the Fargo Kid's pal Whopper Hatch (Emmett Lynn) couldn't save this one. But as I often say in these reviews, I never ran across a Western I didn't like.
2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
a cowboy trying to prove his innocence... again
ksf-216 May 2024
Tim holt, in .... a western! With ray whitley. And his band, of course. Fargo is on his way to micaville, and meets a shady character along the road. When he gets to town, they mistake him for someone else. And for some reason, fargo goes along with it. Which gets him into big trouble later. The usual neatly pressed outfits, and misunderstandings. Not the tightest storyline. Co-stars jane drummond, cy kendall. It's a B shortie film from RKO... only 63 minutes. A couple songs by ray whitley's band. I'll give this one an "okay". Nothing fancy. Directed by ed killy. Story by w. Tuttle. Sadly, tim holt, jane drummond and cy kendall all died young.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Cowboy Hi-Jinks with a Light Touch
dougdoepke9 September 2015
It's an agreeably boyish Tim Holt as the Kid, reminding me somewhat of a young Roy Rogers. The plot's fairly standard, bad guys wanting to get gold-bearing land from farmer and his family. But there're some nice touches, such as the sheriff discombobulated by the annoying singing, or the rug pull during the crooked card draw. However, unlike some guys, I wouldn't want the towering Glen Strange (the sheriff) mad at me. Anyway, there's some hard riding amid familiar LA area locale, along with a pretty good brawl, but not much gunplay,. Too bad we don't see more of the pretty girl (Drummond) instead of all the ugly guys. This may be the only oater I've seen with two comics instead of one. Actually, the programmer's a pretty good blend of typical humor plus cowboy roughhouse. I may be wrong, but it looks like Holt's having a good time making the movie. All in all, it's agreeable matinée fare for front-row kids of all ages.
4 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
"Dumb" is a better word than "Comedy" for this dud!
kdavidson-7266016 December 2018
I cannot recommend this movie. Tim Holt smiles or grins almost continuously in every scene. Like he is in a grade school play. His youth is very apparent. The two lead bad guys (Ernie Adams and Cy Kendall) are just doofus. Emmett Lynn and Ray Whitley are doofus. Nothing funny here in my opinion. And the plot was a mess. I love B-westerns and have at least a thousand of them, but this one ranks low on my list to watch again. The "Made on Demand" disc from Warner Brothers Archives has many little pixelations in the picture. Once the disc froze to the point I had to turn the player off and then on again in order to finish watching the movie.
0 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed