Thundering Hoofs

Tim Holt was a topnotch actor. He had gritty parts in such movie classics as "The Magnificent Ambersons" and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre." He came from a family of actors. His father, Jack Holt, was one of the best. His sister, Jennifer Holt, added depth of character to the roles she played in B westerns. Some of the finest B westerns of the 40's and 50's were made by Tim Holt. "Thundering Hoofs" is a typical early-Tim Holt oater. Fans were never disappointed with a Tim Holt film. Later in the 1940's Tim started working with Richard Martin who played the womanizing Mexican-Irish-American Chito Jose Gonzalez Bustamente Rafferty. Chito came to be one of the best of the cowboy sidekicks, right up there with such greats as Gabby Hayes, Pancho, and Fuzzy St. John. So Tim Holt fans who enjoy seeing Chito may be somewhat disappointed with "Thudering Hoofs." Lee 'Lasses' White, aka Whopper, is weak in the comedy department. He has one-dimensional humor. He is always hungry. So joke is piled on top of joke ad nauseam about his eating habits. He comes across as a poor man's Gabby Hayes. This is one of the few weaknesses of the film. The rest is action with a strong plot.

Tim was not a singing cowboy. Eventually when he teams with Chito music is left out of his movies altogether, except for background accompaniment to enhance the action. In "Thundering Hoofs" the talented singer, musician, songwriter, Ray Whitley (who plays Smokey Ryan) provides the singing. He was also adept at riding, roping, and shooting. In many ways he was a co-star. Today Whitley is most famous for writing Gene Autry's theme "Back In The Saddle Again." If you look closely at Whitley's band in the movie, you'll see the somewhat infamous western swing icon Spade Cooley playing the fiddle.

Unlike most B westerns, "Thundering Hoofs" has a fairly complex plot. Tim's father owns one stage line and is attempting to take over another being run by pretty Nancy Kellogg (Luana Walters). Tim wants nothing to do with his father's stage business. He wants instead to be a rancher and punch cattle. Enter sinister Steve Farley (Archie Twitchell) who naturally wants it all for himself and his henchmen. To complicate the situation, Tim seeks to help Nancy against his own father's efforts to take over her line. He takes on an assumed name and the action begins. If you're a fan this one is not to be missed. Others should enjoy it also.

Bill Underwood falls out with his father, Dave Underwood, and chooses the life of a cowhand rather than take charge of his father's stage line. En route to the town of Durango, Bill and his pals, Smokey Ryan and Whopper Hatch, prevent a holdup of the Kellogg Stage Line, which Dave has been trying to purchase. Dave's lawyer, Steve Farley, has been double crossing Dave in the negotiations for the stage line by misrepresenting the offer. Bill discovers Farley has been corrupting the stage drivers working for Mr. Kellogg and his daughter, Nancy.

Bill assumes the surname "Dawson" and, much to Farley's dismay, hires out as a driver for the Kelloggs. Farley attempts to plant stolen mail with Bill, but Bill and his pals thwart the plan. Farley discovers Bill's true identity and tells Nancy that Bill is an Underwood spy. Nancy fires Bill and intends to drive the stage herself to save the mail contract. Knowing that Farley and his men intend to holdup the stage, Bill and his pals intervene and deliver the mail to its proper destination. Dave arrives in Durango and implicates Farley.

Another snappy Tim Holt western featuring stagecoaches, robbers and a crooked lawyer - Archie Twitchell plays the lawyer and his schemes drives the plot, thus there's plenty of hard ridin', and shootin' and some singing too. Quite enjoyed this one, nary a boring moment, and Luana Walters as Nancy, who runs her father's line - the one Farley wants to hoodwink - is quite charming. Holt is quite youthful and energetic. Lee 'Lasses' White provides the comedy and is quite a good comic, as good as Richard Martin who played Chito in the later Holt westerns.

I have seen most of Tim Holt's westerns, and although they used much of the same formula as the other westerns, Tim and crew always made these a little better than most. These were tightly produced Saturday Afternoon fare from RKO Radio Pictures.

In this early entry, he's joined by Smokey, who does the singing (quite well), and Whopper (the comic relief).

One aspect that made this film better was Archie Twitchell's performance as the double dealing lawyer. He was a terrific supporting actor, and at his best as a bad guy. He had a real attitude that made you dislike his character.

There's a couple of fist fights, the bandits only wound the stage driver, and no one, not even a bad guy, gets killed in the shoot out, so the violence level is low for this genre. That makes it pretty safe for the younger crowd to view this show.

Excellent action score by Paul Sawtell, who scored most of Holt's westerns.