Deputy Marshal

Lippert Pictures produced in Deputy Marshal a fine B western that has a nice touch of mystery about it. The film was a joint project for Jon Hall and Frances Langford who were married at the time. Langford got a couple of western type songs to sing and I'm sure that was something she insisted on before doing the film.

Jon Hall is in the title role though he's incognito for the first quarter of the film. He's on the trail of a pair of fugitives who have long eluded capture when he comes across a shot man in the person of Wheaton Chambers. Hall takes Chambers to the town they're both headed for and another shot in ambush finishes the job on Chambers, but not before Chambers gives Hall a written message for his niece Frances Langford.

At that point Hall gets himself into the middle of a range war between two female ranch owners, Langford and Julie Bishop. And he's got a host of other suspects in a town that's right unfriendly to him that include Dick Foran, Joe Sawyer, and Russell Hayden. His only friend in the town seems to be Clem Bevans playing one of his patented old codger roles.

Deputy Marshal has a nice blend of mystery and action in it and should readily please western fans. It certainly pleased this one. Deputy Marshal is one of Lippert Pictures better westerns.

From director William Berke, no one could expect a masterpiece, but maybe at least something unusual, who knows? But finall no, it is only agreeable, full of charm for a story with nothing exceptional, nothing to remember of. I confound all those B westerns, hardly more than one hour, but from to time, you may find something really worth. Not this time though. The only surprise here is Jon Hall in a surprising western character; I guess he lost himself between two Maria Montez adventures. It is rather fast paced, despite the overall low quality, and also helped by a good photography. It is not a garbage stuff but forgettable.

A Deputy Marshal tracks fugitive bank robbers to Wyoming, and then fights to help ranchers save their land from a railroad land scheme in a well-crafted B-western that has some mystery and a good number of suspects. Usually in exotic adventures, Jon Hall does well in a western.

Deputy Marshal Jon Hall rescues a shot man, carries him to town, and he is promptly killed. Hall's in town to track down two bad 'uns, but he decides to solve this murder too. It's one of those "who is trying to get all the ranch land before the railroad comes" plots, and it's a pretty good one, because this time we have only four real suspects.... and they all have reasons not to be going around, shooting evryone just as they're about to tell Hall what exactly is going on.

We also have two pretty women as sisters to two of the bad men: Frances Langford is sister to Dick Foran, who smirks a lot, and Julie Bishop is the sister of Russell Hayden, who doesn't. Clem Bevans is the doctor and the undertaker, and Mary Gordon shows up as a widow.

There's little here much above average. It's Miss Langford's last big screen appearance as an actress instead of a specialty, and DP Carl Berger seems a touch too fond of moving the camera; it's distracting. However, despite the typical minuscule Lippert budget, director William Berke has crafted a nice little B Western. Perhaps it's the chemistry between Hall and Langford, who were married.