Last Days of Boot Hill

Outlaw Lucky Thorpe has been caught and hung but his $100,000 stolen from the U. S. Government has not been found. Treasury Agent Steve arrives looking for the money and in flashback tells the story of Lucky Thorpe.

The flashbacks are basically stock footage from other Durango Kid Westerns, but the female villainess make this interesting. Her late husband was Thorpe - she wants the ranch and estate all for herself and isn't willing share with anyone - not even with husband's daughter from another marauder: the usual action fare follows. There's some musical numbers but not too many. Smiley Burnette is up to his usual shenanigans.

This film incorporates footage from two other Columbia westerns in the "Durango Kid" series, "Both Barrels Blazing" and "Blazing the Western Trail" made in 1945. This film consists of about 50% stock footage from those two films, plus the original footage shot for this film. To further complicate matters, actor Alan Bridge appears in stock footage from both of the 1945 films, playing different characters in each of those films, but the narration in this film ties them together as the same character using two names...plus, Bridge appears in some footage shot for "Last Days of Boot Hill." Yes, it is complicated Appearing in this film, via footage from 1945's "Both Barrels Blazing" were: Tex Harding (Tex), Emmett Lynn ("Grubstake" Higginbotham), Robert Barron (Dan Cass), Charles King (Henchman Nevada) and Alan Bridge (Lucky Thorpe.) The latter will make another appearance in this film via stock footage.

Also appearing in this film, also via editing and stock footage, from 1945's "Blazing the Western Trail" were: Carole Mathews (Mary Halliday), Steve Clark (Dan Waring), John Tyrrell (Perkins), Mauritz Hugo (Jim McMasters), Nolan Leary (Bill Halliday)and the ever-present Alan Bridge (Forrest Brent.)I'm not going to attempt to explain how Bridge's "Forrest Brent" from "Last Days of Boot Hill" and "Blazing the Western Trail" morphs into "Lucky Thorpe" from "Both Barrels Blazing", but Charles Starrett "explains" it all in a flash-back narrative in "Last Days of Boot Hill."

Film editor Paul Borofsky should have gotten at least a best-stitching Oscar nomination for this one.