Renaldo's Smile, Savage's Dress
Cisco and Pancho -- Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carillo -- are headed to Silver City when they run into preacher Byron Foulger. He's just been run out of town. After the founder and mine owner had died, Ann Savage had shown up with a marriage license. She opened a gambling hall and left the running of the other assets to crooked lawyer Douglas Fowley. The license was forged. Miss Savage is more than content with her profits, but Fowley arranges accidents for anyone who gets in his way.
Renaldo had been played the Cisco Kid occasionally since 1945, with Carillo on board since 1948. Within a year, they would be on board for the early, long-running TV series, released in syndication through Ziv -- the TV equivalent of state's right.
Ford Beebe directs this standard, randomly-named B Western, and there's a lot of charm in evidence, from Renaldo's easy smile to Miss Savage's tight-fitting dresses. Jack Greenhaigh's camerawork also adds a lot to the movie, from his short-panning shots of riders in motion to his beautifully composed shots. For once, his skilled camerawork was easily visible, thanks to a clean print. Greenhaigh was another of the many skilled cameramen who worked in the Bs. He is largely forgotten because of that; the best-remembered films he worked on were stinkers like ROBOT MONSTER, but his credits are undeniable: more than 200 features and short, and for years the youngest member of the American Society of Cinematographers. His skills helped make this a pleasurable example of the now-vanished genre.
Renaldo had been played the Cisco Kid occasionally since 1945, with Carillo on board since 1948. Within a year, they would be on board for the early, long-running TV series, released in syndication through Ziv -- the TV equivalent of state's right.
Ford Beebe directs this standard, randomly-named B Western, and there's a lot of charm in evidence, from Renaldo's easy smile to Miss Savage's tight-fitting dresses. Jack Greenhaigh's camerawork also adds a lot to the movie, from his short-panning shots of riders in motion to his beautifully composed shots. For once, his skilled camerawork was easily visible, thanks to a clean print. Greenhaigh was another of the many skilled cameramen who worked in the Bs. He is largely forgotten because of that; the best-remembered films he worked on were stinkers like ROBOT MONSTER, but his credits are undeniable: more than 200 features and short, and for years the youngest member of the American Society of Cinematographers. His skills helped make this a pleasurable example of the now-vanished genre.
- boblipton
- 9 feb 2019