Taking Sides

As ever, the masked Durango (alias Steve Brandon) is played by Charles Starrett, who this time around is on the trail of a gang of cold-blooded killers. Rancher Dan Saunders (Edgar Dearing) is held responsible for the killings because of his opposition to a politically expedient dam project. Durango believes that Saunders is innocent, and he intends to prove it.

As far as I can tell, there's no stock footages from previous Durango Kid entries, and it's a typically exciting entry with the usual fast shooting. The plot is fast moving, and what I particularly liked was the fact that the main villain wasn't revealed till midway, and it came as a surprise. There's a good stunt sequence of Steve diving through the window, and a good send off to a murderous thug.

Charles Starret rides into town to discover that William Bailey is trying to build a dam on his property that will give every spread in the valley water. Starrett's old friend Edgar Dearing doesn't want that to happen. His ranch is just downriver from Bailey's, and he likes having all the water Bailey doesn't use. So he stands on his side of the property line and fires near the men working on the dam, but doesn't hit them because that would be wrong. But there are armed men on horseback who are more direct and violent in what they do. Everyone thinks they're working for Dearing, but he denies it, and Starrett believes it. Who's paying them? That's the mystery in this late Durango Kid western besides the one in every episode: where does he keep that white horse when he's not masked and riding it.

Fred Sears directs, and speaks a little prologue, and Gloria Henry and Jock Mahoney are the kids of Bailey and Dearing. There are a couple of plot points that this movie slides past by giving the audience the answer to the puzzle about ten minutes before Starrett figures it out. Plus Smiley Burnette tries to sell a bath tub, and sings two songs. So do the Prairie Ramblers.

Columbia was still turning these out for the kiddie matinees, so we can assume they.