Cuore di bandito

Oliver Drake, as was his custom, supplied an imaginative screenplay for this Ray Kirkwood production, although reservations articulated by reviewers at the time of its release were understandable: that Bill Cody and others in the cast were not ideally suited for the comparatively heavy emoting called for by the story content. Bill has been a rustler, simply seeking to right wrongs done to him by unsavory loan sharks. His young friend is a Mexican cowboy who long ago left his mother's ranch in search of adventure, and was soon joined by the mother's faithful top hand, commissioned to bring the young man home to Mexico. The three companions break with the rest of the outlaw band and head for the border, but the Mexican cowboy is shot and dies on the Arizona desert. Cody and the ranch hand go to their late pal's mother's ranch - where the old woman, now blind, incredibly believes Cody to be her long absent son.

The very complex plot is worked out with more dialog than one expects to find in a series western, yet director Bob Hill tosses in some fights and chases before the final fadeout. Nina Quartero has little to do as the leading lady, while Donald Reed - supporting player in several films in the Cody series - is supposed to be the Mexican son of Soledad Jiménez, the latter not being too convincing as the blind mother. Producer Ray Kirkwood's wife, Jean (billed as Zara Tazil), plays a rather animated servant at the hacienda. Former screen comic Eddie Gribbon's New York accent makes him an unlikely Arizona badman, but versatile Earle Hodgins does well as Cody's sidekick, Pancho González.

The film begins with an ensemble performance of Drake´s song, "Ride On, Vaquero," which he revised a few months later for a script he wrote for the Gene Autry series ("Oh, Susanna!"). This screenplay is rather ambitious for a series western, but there is some nice photography, and the essential happy ending carries a pleasing message - although the film's title, which looked appealing on the marquee, has absolutely no connection to the story.