The Tonto Kid

For the record, 'tonto' is the Spanish word for stupid. So why did Hollywood call the Lone Ranger's sidekick Tonto?! And, why would they put Rex Bell (the husband of Clara Bow) in a film where he plays the Tonto Kid?! Duh!

The Tonto Kid is a bit of a troublemaker. While he's been able to avoid serious legal problems, he's certainly NOT a popular guy. At the same time, old man Cartright s dying and vows to give his ranch to his granddaughter, Edna May--who he's never seen. Well, the same sleazy lawyer who has defended Tonto during some of his legal troubles hatches a really diabolical plan (EVEN FOR A LAWYER!)--to introduce a pretend Edna May to the old man and steal the ranch! But it gets much worse--the lawyer is a REAL cockroach and murder isn't even beyond this dirt-bag. Can the Tonto Kid put a stop to this jerk's schemes?

On the plus side, there is no singing--the bane of many B-westerns! And, the film makes lawyers look horrible--another plus (and, while I'm thinking about it, reason to also watch "Jurassic Park"). But the film also is pretty unremarkable and slight--and one you'll soon forget.

The film was the first of a proposed series of six set to star Rex Bell, Ruth Mix and Buzz Barton for the 1934-35 production season(September through August) and was to be followed by "Gunsmoke", "Rodeo Rustlers" "Roped", "Riders of the Law" and "The Lumber Hawk" as the announced titles. But only three more were actually filmed; "Gun Fire". "Fighting Pioneers" and "Saddle Aces" before Resolute closed shop. Mannon/Resolute also announced, at the same time of the proposed six Bell-Mix-Barton westerns, that "Sky Fighters"---The Greatest Air Serial Ever Filmed" was "in preparation, but those 12 episodes and two of the Bell-Mix-Barton westerns never saw the light of day.

A mostly average B-Western, "The Tonto Kid" stars Rex Bell as a cowboy with a checkered reputation who finds himself in the middle of a complicated situation. Some of it is routine, but it has its good moments.

Bell's character is trying to foil a grasping lawyer who is intent on getting hold of a potentially valuable property, and who uses a pretty good variety of underhanded schemes in his attempt. The plot is not bad for a low-budget movie. While it has some predictable turns, it has a couple of interesting features as well along the way.

Bell lends a little bit of energy to the title role, but as a whole the rest of the cast and characters are routine. It's watchable as long as you are used to Westerns of the era, but don't expect too much more than that.