Death Valley Rangers

This is a Trail Blazer film from Monogram which stars Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele. Series film like this that featured trios of do-gooders were pretty common in the day--with the Three Mesquiteers and the Rough Riders spurring on the creation of the Trail Blazers (the latest and shortest running of the three). I think the idea was to take several second-tier stars and combine them for greater drawing power. So, an older and less charismatic Gibson could gain renewed box office draw in such an endeavor (Gibson was big in the silents and early talkies). In every one of these films, the trio is like a group of social workers/gunslingers who seldom shoot and mostly reveal who the ACTUAL leader of the evil mob besieging the townsfolk really is. It's all very predictable and after a while there is a definite sameness to the films.

In this case, a town is having problems with gold shipments being stolen. So, they hire the trio to get to the bottom of it. Of course, it will mean some of them going undercover (in this case, Bob) and it's exactly the same plot I've seen in BOTH Three Mesquiteer AND Rough Rider films! It's even been used in Gene Autry and Roy Rogers films, now that I think about it. However, what IS different is why the shipments are stolen--and it's NOT what you expect. This twist helps, but otherwise it's yet another of the same. And, unless you are the type person to want to see EVERY B-western, it's easy to skip this one as it really isn't outstanding in any way.

Ken Maynard responds to Hoot's plan to catch the stagecoach robbers, "I don't know gentlemen some of Hoot's ideas have an uncomfortable way of kickin' back." The Death Valley Rangers is one of several popular western movie trends of putting three stars in a series of movies. Hoot Gibson, Bob Steele and Maynard are enlisted by Edwards (Bryant Wasburn) to save the gold shipments. Henchmen Blackie (Charles King) and Red (George Chesebro) are part of Jim Kirk's (Weldon Heyburn) gang and Steele has got to go undercover to expose their plans. The daughter of Ranger Captain Ainsley (Forrest Taylor) the beautiful Lorna Ainsley (Linda Brent) proves to be a pleasant distraction for the rangers. Karl Hackett as Doc Thorne adds a touch of 40's type sci-fi to the mix with his lab in an old mine camouflaging the gold with a chemical process. Also, great to see 'Sam the bartender' from "Gunsmoke" fame, Glenn Strange here as The Marshal of Death Valley.

This is a fun hour of B-western action, made fun by the presence of the three "Trail Blazers!" Although the plot and execution are fairly routine, the show is made fun because of the three men handling the chores of bringing the bad guys to justice. The three men comprising this trio were all among the most significant and popular stars of 1930s westerns. The other trios of the early 1940s "three-man cowboy teams" craze (Three Mesquiteers, Range Busters, and Rough Riders come to mind) were represented by only one or two big stars from the 1930s, but here they are all the real deal. There is a relaxed and comfortable aura permeating the entire movie, and a lot of the dialog is spoken relatively softly. I got the feeling that the Trail Blazers were having a good time on the set and were enjoying one another and relishing their status as veteran western heroes. The early 1940s was a time when music scores could often be irritatingly intrusive in movies of all kinds, including westerns. But here the music was used only occasionally, was subdued for the most part, and was always respectfully reduced in volume when dialog was uttered. I found it endearing when one of the badmen referred to Bob Steele as "a little guy" during the run up to the climax; I assume Bob had to agree to this description being used in the script. Plenty of good chases and horseback riding are in view in this one, including several run-and-catapult horse mounts. There are also some fights and good punches thrown, but through it all there somehow is a kind of gentle aura surrounding this film. And finally it can be mentioned that the horses get some face-time, too. Of course we all know that Tarzan (Ken's horse) is among the most astute of all western movie horses, but we are reminded of it once again in this adventure; just as they are about to be separated for a few minutes while in their effort to apprehend the bad guys, Ken tells Tarzan to "stay on your toes" and thereby pay attention to the situation. Tarzan charmingly and dutifully nods his head in apparent understanding of this American idiom. So although nothing really major happens here in this program, it is definitely fun and worthy of a B-western fan's attention.

A succession of stagecoach robberies prompts the citizens of a Death Valley outpost to send for the Trail Blazers, a trio of law-enforcing plainsmen in this routine but diverting enough western packed with fast galloping and shooting action. The camaraderie between the three main stars is great and their dialogue is amusing and snappy.

The best thing about this undistinguished oater are the stunts. The acrobatics center on riveting stagecoach climbs, plus expert saddle mounts that require perfect timing. Otherwise the flick's pretty loose in both storyline and focus as our heroes try to figure out what's behind a string of mysterious stage robberies.

Trouble is the mystery doesn't generate enough suspense or showdown tension that would otherwise cut through the meandering storyline and crowded cast. Steele gets the main action parts while Gibson and Maynard function mainly as secondary backup and sometime participants.

I've always thought Steele was underrated maybe because of his slight stature compared to the John Waynes of his day. Nonetheless, he could generate the kind of feisty intensity and hard-eyed stare of a Jimmy Cagney or Edward G. Robinson that goes beyond physical stature. Here he shows off the action side but minus the dramatic hard-eyed stare.

And oh my, for us guys there's only one female in the whole flick, a real looker (Linda Brent) and she only gets about a minute's screentime. Anyhow, in my little book the oater's a disappointment considering the talent involved. But happily the Trail Blazers will ride better trails ahead.