Blazing Justice

I always like to be polite, even when panning something. With that in mind, let's say that this isn't awful, although it's just a notch above. The characters are extremely stiff and unnatural - an example of a 30s western at it's least believable. So the acting and writing each deserve blame for this effort. Ray begins the movie by getting some reward money, with which he heads on vacation. His path crosses with a bandit, fleeing from having robbed old Bob, packed with money enroute to paying off his mortgage. The thief is able to switch horses with - thereby incriminating - Ray, although he eventually convinces the sheriff of his innocence. The greedy criminal's interest is renewed by the prospect of payment of cash life insurance proceeds as part of Bob's fake funeral. And - oh yeah - Bob's daughter, Virginia, provides a romantic target for Ray. The premise is interesting enough. But the execution is terribly contrived.

Producer Ray Kirkwood's wife, Jean (billed as Zara Tazil), added a timely touch to her screenplay for this entry in the Bill Cody series by having a group of cowboys sing a chorus of "Red River Valley" in a saloon to open the picture, immediately after which Bill Cody enters and is also prompted to sing. He and Frank Yaconelli perform "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain," and quite pleasingly. Cody had some musical ability and proved to be a good whistler in a later scene, but one may only speculate as to whether there was a thought of bringing him into the circle of singing cowboys, soon to occupy the spotlight in the world of series westerns. The rest of the script goes quite overboard in feeble attempts at humor and inconsequential dialogue, impeding the movement of the narrative.

Peterson (the versatile Budd Buster) is attacked and robbed of his savings by the nefarious Max (former child actor Gordon Griffith). Peterson's daughter, Virginia (Gertrude Messinger), rides after the fleeing criminal - who switches horses with Cody while the latter cleans up beside a stream. The rancher's daughter believes Cody to be the guilty party, and he must prove his innocence.

Bill Cody, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, had begun his screen career in silent features. Not always up on his lines when doing talkies, Bill nevertheless projected a likeable personality. Overlooking the imperfections brought about by a very modest budget, little rehearsal and few re-takes, this is a pleasant western - made near the end of the Cody series.