Death Valley Rangers

This is a Trail Blazer film from Monogram which stars Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele. Series film like this that featured trios of do-gooders were pretty common in the day--with the Three Mesquiteers and the Rough Riders spurring on the creation of the Trail Blazers (the latest and shortest running of the three). I think the idea was to take several second-tier stars and combine them for greater drawing power. So, an older and less charismatic Gibson could gain renewed box office draw in such an endeavor (Gibson was big in the silents and early talkies). In every one of these films, the trio is like a group of social workers/gunslingers who seldom shoot and mostly reveal who the ACTUAL leader of the evil mob besieging the townsfolk really is. It's all very predictable and after a while there is a definite sameness to the films.

In this case, a town is having problems with gold shipments being stolen. So, they hire the trio to get to the bottom of it. Of course, it will mean some of them going undercover (in this case, Bob) and it's exactly the same plot I've seen in BOTH Three Mesquiteer AND Rough Rider films! It's even been used in Gene Autry and Roy Rogers films, now that I think about it. However, what IS different is why the shipments are stolen--and it's NOT what you expect. This twist helps, but otherwise it's yet another of the same. And, unless you are the type person to want to see EVERY B-western, it's easy to skip this one as it really isn't outstanding in any way.

A succession of stagecoach robberies prompts the citizens of a Death Valley outpost to send for the Trail Blazers, a trio of law-enforcing plainsmen in this routine but diverting enough western packed with fast galloping and shooting action. The camaraderie between the three main stars is great and their dialogue is amusing and snappy.

This early Forties Western has a star-studded cast, including former rodeo and silent film star Hoot Gibson. There are a number of impressive rodeo-style stunts embedded in the action, making for a rewarding watch.

When Charles King and Wally West are just two of the "withs," you know you have a great cast. And usually that means a great movie.

Yes, it's not "Ben-Hur" or "Gone With the Wind." Yes, it's a B Western, but in my not-very-humble opinion, that's the top of the line of movie entertainment.

Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson, and Bob Steele were simply among the best of the celluloid cowboys. With even one of them, a movie had to be good. With all three, you know there will be action and fun.

"Death Valley Rangers" -- somewhat of a generic title, but not detracting -- is a well-directed story, with some twists and turns, some shtick from the three main characters ("Say, I've got an idea!"), and lots of great riding, some really good stunts, and one GREAT stunt, with some beautiful non-Death Valley scenery, well photographed.

In addition, one of the prettiest of the thrown-in-for-good-measure girls to appear in a series B Western, Linda Brent, was along to ... well, mostly to look pretty and to give Bob Steele his usual chance at thwarted romance, which was his character's fate in this series.

"Death Valley Rangers" is really fun, and it is well-done fun. Low budget? Sure. Quickly made? Yes. But it is still a cut above and is, as I said, well-done fun. I recommend it, and you can see it where I did, at YouTube.

This is a fun hour of B-western action, made fun by the presence of the three "Trail Blazers!" Although the plot and execution are fairly routine, the show is made fun because of the three men handling the chores of bringing the bad guys to justice. The three men comprising this trio were all among the most significant and popular stars of 1930s westerns. The other trios of the early 1940s "three-man cowboy teams" craze (Three Mesquiteers, Range Busters, and Rough Riders come to mind) were represented by only one or two big stars from the 1930s, but here they are all the real deal. There is a relaxed and comfortable aura permeating the entire movie, and a lot of the dialog is spoken relatively softly. I got the feeling that the Trail Blazers were having a good time on the set and were enjoying one another and relishing their status as veteran western heroes. The early 1940s was a time when music scores could often be irritatingly intrusive in movies of all kinds, including westerns. But here the music was used only occasionally, was subdued for the most part, and was always respectfully reduced in volume when dialog was uttered. I found it endearing when one of the badmen referred to Bob Steele as "a little guy" during the run up to the climax; I assume Bob had to agree to this description being used in the script. Plenty of good chases and horseback riding are in view in this one, including several run-and-catapult horse mounts. There are also some fights and good punches thrown, but through it all there somehow is a kind of gentle aura surrounding this film. And finally it can be mentioned that the horses get some face-time, too. Of course we all know that Tarzan (Ken's horse) is among the most astute of all western movie horses, but we are reminded of it once again in this adventure; just as they are about to be separated for a few minutes while in their effort to apprehend the bad guys, Ken tells Tarzan to "stay on your toes" and thereby pay attention to the situation. Tarzan charmingly and dutifully nods his head in apparent understanding of this American idiom. So although nothing really major happens here in this program, it is definitely fun and worthy of a B-western fan's attention.