The Desert Horseman

More musical than action cowboy feature, "The Desert Horseman" just never really came together.

Some of the music was listenable, and the great Tex Williams was in there somewhere, uncredited and not identified.

Smiley Burnette was too much the focus, and his antics were more silly than funny. It's a shame that his talent was hidden by such foolishness.

It's not a bad movie, just too slow, too many musical interruptions, and never exciting or mystifying or thrilling, and not enough action, except for some pretty good riding inserts.

When I watched on YouTube, I was grateful there were none of those rotten commercial breaks, and the print was very good. Watch it, of course. Lots of great cowboy movie actors, including John Merton. But don't expect too much.

Mary Ann Jarvis' father and uncle and an army paymaster are murdered by mysterious conspirators in order to gain control of her ranch but good guy Steve Gordon is falsely accused of the crimes. A crooked lawyer Treadway is behind the crimes and attempts to get Mary Ann to sign her ranch away, but the Durango Kid (with a little help from Smiley Burnette) is going to stop him.

A fun Durango Kid entry, like most of them, however there are too many swing numbers. Probably they are there to stretch out the time. Not too annoying but can get in the way. At least Smiley helps the Durango kid by throwing pepper in the gunmen's eyes - he plays a cook! - and fires some shots at the bad guys and at the Durango Kid, too! The latter is a mistake.

Charles Starrett has been accused of stealing an army payroll, and the man he hoped to help clear him has died, so he has to also help pretty Adele Roberts hold onto the ranch in this middling Durango Kid B Western.

By the standards of most B-Westerns, the Durango Kid movies of this period were fully written affairs with some interesting plot twists. This one seems a bit lighter than most, with the musical interludes by Walt Shrum and his band and Smiley Burnette filling in a lot of time.

For me, the highlight is the camera-work of William O'Connell. In the 1920s, he was the director of photography on top projects for Mary Pickford and F.W. Murnau, but during the sound era he retreated to B features and shorts. Even so, the compositions in this one are very pleasing; he moves the camera smoothly and his outdoor shots shimmer beguilingly.