Prairie Pals

Stan Jolley and Charles King were both good actors, but too often given shallow characters to play. Not this time.

They interact well, and give their characters some depth.

Which is more, I'm sorry to write, than can be said about Art Davis and Bill "Cowboy Rambler" Boyd (making at least three Bill Boyd actors, including two cowboy Bill Boyds).

Davis and Boyd were together in about six movies, and were always likable enough, just never outstanding, never thrilling. They were better singers than actors, though they were usually at least adequate. And in fact their singing was often very good to listen to, especially when harmonizing.

Lee Powell made only two more movies after this before entering the Marine Corps and dying in World War II. A very sad end for anyone, of course, and very sad for his fans, but perhaps even more sad for a man who could have become a big, or at least bigger, star.

Esther Estrella, the only female, didn't have much to do but look pretty, and she did that extremely well. But she didn't make many pictures.

For some reason, director Sam Newfield used the name of Peter Stewart but "Prairie Pals" showed some very nice touches and he should have gotten credit.

There is a print at YouTube that is very hard to see and is chopped up badly so it's often hard to hear, but I found it worthwhile, a pleasant enough way to while away an hour or so. I hope you like it too.

Before writing this review I took a look at Vanadium in Wikipedia and found that it is rarely found as a stand alone element. That it has many industrial uses, but did not find that it is used to manufacture gold which is also an element in our periodic table. So this entire film was so much fertilizer.

But the plot here is that some outlaws have captured a chemist and they have him working on trying to turn Vanadium into gold. A plot straight out of the Middle Ages for an American western where the villains are trying a hand at alchemy.

That's the mission the Frontier Marshals have to rescue the chemist from the outlaw's alchemy. Bill Boyd and Art Davis go undercover where these two break into song at some of the craziest moments. Lee Powell who didn't sing works from the outside.

Be assured justice was done, but not to the viewing movie going public who had to endure this claptrap.