The Carson City Kid

The Carson City Kid is a "B" western to be sure, however, this one is a cut above the average.

Rogers had not yet evolved into the the yodeling/singing hero of the range. At this stage of his career, the studio was not casting him as himself but as "good" bad guys. In fact in this picture he sings only one song and that is a duet with the heroine.

What sets this picture apart is the excellent supporting cast. First, we have Gabby Hayes playing the Marshal and Noah Beery Jr. as Arizona who is befriended by Roy along the way. Heading up the villains are Bob Steele and the venerable Hal Taliaferro. Even Yakima Canutt turns up in an unbilled bit as the bartender. Steele always made a better villain than hero and in my humble opinion, takes the picture away from Rogers.

To be fair, Roy was just getting started and didn't do that bad of a job. The Carson City Kid remains one of Roy's better early westerns.

Roy Rogers' title role as The Carson City Kid is another one of those misnomers that makes you think of a bad guy. Of course, Roy is a good guy who has been unfortunately labeled an outlaw. For some reason he rides along with a real outlaw named Laramie (Francis McDonald). Roy looks out for the well-being of the all too trusting Arizona (Noah Beery, Jr.) while he is tracking down the villain, Lee Jessup (Bob Steele).

Bob Steele was a leading cowboy hero during the 30's and continued to be a hero afterward, but it is nice to see him in a different role. The bad-guy/saloon owner was a generic part in B westerns, with only the talents of the individual actors making the part memorable. It was the same year that The Carson City Kid was made (1940) that Bob Steele began making a series of Billy The Kid movies for PRC and also joining The Three Mesquiteers at Republic, so The Carson City Kid may have been made while he was searching for a new movie deal. His talents were put to good use in this movie.

Gabby Hayes was good, but not at his best in The Carson City Kid. His part as the town marshal provides comedy, but not the special appeal of being a sidekick. Seeing Gabby as Roy's pal makes a difference. In The Carson City Kid we get to see Gabby on Roy's side, but there is no real relationship between them.

Overall, The Carson City Kid is an excellent choice for a Roy Rogers movie. The movie is set in the west without automobiles and big band productions. It shows a kind of western that Roy would abandon within a few years in favor of the modern setting movies for which he was known.

Old Roy Rogers western. Only entertaining when you have nothing better to do. The story is simple and the situations are standard. Done a hundred times before. A few good action scenes and a good supporting cast are the only things that make this movie at least a bit watchable. George "Gabby" Hayes and Noah Beery are the only highlights in this B-Movie.

Only for Roy Rogers fans I think.

The masked Carson City Kid and henchman Laramie keep holding up stages, but take nothing except the mail. So what the heck is going on.

Good to see so many matinée stalwarts in the same movie—Rogers, Steele, Hayes, and Beery Jr. It's a pretty good screenplay too. At first, I didn't know whether Jessup (Steele) and the Kid (Rogers) were good guys or bad. But eventually it sorts out. And was there ever a better jovial character than the underrated Beery Jr. Then too, Hayes gets to do his usual toothless grouch. And now I see why Rogers soon went to Technicolor—how much better to show off that magnificent blond palomino Trigger. Even in lowly b&w, he cuts a striking figure. No Dale Evans here, instead it's the comely Pauline Moore as the eye candy. No, the movie never gets out of familiar San Fernando Valley locations, but is still a better-than-average little programmer with a few mild twists.

Rodgers holds up mail-lines looking for bad guy Bob Steele, in order to settle an old score. Along the way, he tangles with lawman George "Gabby" Hayes and tries to protect young, naive miner Noah Beery Jr., whom Roy's partner (!) and Steele set their thieving sights on.

A great role for Roy, this has a great, above average cast and an irresistible chance to see Rodgers going up against fellow Saturday matinée star Steele (who always looked more like a heavy than a hero) in a rare villainous turn.

A better than average script, that knows what buttons to push and a quick pace also go a long way in helping make this Republic Pictures production worth watching.

The only things that disappoint is the abrupt conclusion and the half-hearted nature of songs.