The Maverick

There's a wild range war going on, and when some murderous cattlemen are arrested by the military, Lt. Pete Devlin (Elliott) and a few other soldiers are ordered to deliver the men to trial at a fort some distance away.

Along the way the traveling party is joined by a lone covered wagon carrying Della Watson (Phyllis Coates) and her grandmother (Florence Lake) to the fort.

There's plenty of trouble on the journey, as the prisoners' friends (led by Robert J. Wilke) are following with plans to set them free. Meanwhile Sgt. Frick (Myron Healey) makes some idiotic choices -- such as making an unwanted advance on Della -- and he becomes resentful when Lt. Devlin busts his rank back down to trooper and promises a disciplinary hearing.

Bill Elliott plays a Lt. Pete Devlin, an honorable "by the book" cavalry officer, a nice change from being an outlaw or gunfighter sporting those twin guns, though he comes across a bit stiff, and Phyllis Coates bickers with Devin. Her character is fairly interesting in that she's torn between annoyance and respect for Lt. Devlin's upright persona. But soon falls for Devlin especially when Myron Healey predictably turns bad.

The Maverick is a fairly entertaining film, though it can be a bit talky at times, the conflict dialogue between Elliott and Coates over discipline a little repetitive - however, the contrast between Healy's rebellious character and Elliott's duty bound character makes this an interesting watch. Ends with a climactic shootout.

Of course you can not compare a grade Z western from 1952, and directed by a young Thomas Carr starring Wild Bill Elliott, and a big budget 1994 feature starring Mel Gibson at his peak. Thomas carr began his career at Republic Pictures, with this kind of oater stuff; RG Sprigsteen and Harry Keller did exactly the same, and, as Tommy Carr, proceeded with bigger and a bit more ambitious western projects, whilst Bill Elliott remained in the bottom of the industry, as the likes of Roy Rogers or Rex Allen or Allan Rocky Lane, actors specialized in westerns which looked like all the same. Under or a bit above sixty minutes. This one offers nothing in particular. Just destined to western die hard fans.