Avante, Boiadeiro

An offbeat oater that shows some imaginative aspects but fails to produce much tension. The 3 Mesquiteers are trying to stop a conspiracy of counterfeiters from bilking good townsfolk and a wacky circus. Trouble for the 3Ms is it's sometimes hard to tell the good guys from the bad as they plow their way along.

Anyway, there's lots of hard-riding, but little fast-shooting, and no flying-fists. Still the general absence of cowboy cliches, along with a humorously versatile Lullaby (Terhune) hold interest. Besides, where else can you catch a cowboy ventriloqist and his goofy dummies, plus a guy who deals cards by spitting them out, and that's along with little girl Nancy (Bennett) who could pass for Shirley Temple's twin. Anyway, if you can manage the murky storyline and flat showdown, there's a number of novel touches to keep viewers like me riding along.

This film essentially begins with the Three Mesquiteers helping out a friend named "Jefferson Harris" (Edward Cassidy) by performing in an act for a traveling circus that he half owns. It is then revealed that Jefferson's partner, "Thomas Rigby" (Edward Piel Jr.) is using this circus to launder counterfeit money and, in order to increase his profit margins, wants to possess the other half of the circus as well. To that effect, unable to get Jefferson's half of the circus legally, Rigby plants some counterfeit money on him and then secretly turns him in to some federal agents. What he doesn't count on, however, is just prior to being sent to prison, rather than selling his half of the circus over to him, Jefferson leaves it to his young daughter "Nancy Harris" (Anne Bennett) who is coming out West with her governess "Ellen Reed" (Maxine Doyle) to see him one last time. Not only that, but the Three Mesquiteers have pledged to protect her interests while also getting to the bottom of the counterfeiting ring in the process. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film was a definite improvement over its immediate predecessor "Gunsmoke Ranch" due in large part to the fact that "Lullaby Joslin" (Max Terhune) wasn't featured quite as much. Be that as it may, while this was certainly not a great Western by any means, I supposed it managed to pass the time well enough, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

The Three Mesquiteers, in this film played by Ray Corrigan, Bob Livingston and Max Terhune are not shown to the best advantage in this particular film. In fact they're almost downright idiots as they just can't bring the villain to just because he's too smart for them most of the way.

The guys are ignoring their own spread to travel with a carnival owned and operated 50% by a friend of their's. When someone substitutes counterfeit for some payroll cash and the carnival employees start spreading it around, Ed Cassidy the owner is in one big jackpot.

There's no suspense involved since we know almost right away that the real villain is the guy who owns the other 50% of the show. But the Mesquiteers have an additional problem in that Cassidy's juvenile daughter Anne Bennett has to provided for. Instead of getting the goods on the bad guy, the Mesquiteers spend more time in a custodial battle which our villain carefully exploits to best advantage.

In the end of course he's brought down and it's comic relief Terhune who actually does it, using a carnival trick we saw him do in the beginning of the film.

Far from the best of the Mesquiteer series.

Daft plot has Mesquiteers agreeing to adopt little Nancy, the requirements being that they must stay out of trouble for one week and that either Stony or Tucson must marry Nancy's plank-like governess. They also perform in a circus and round up a gang of not very sinister counterfeiters.

The boys bicker in the usual manner, Crash fights the bad guys in his ape suit, Lullaby leaves a trail of playing cards which appear, magically, from his mouth and Elmer insults the punters at the circus.

I suspect the Saturday matinée crowd would have loved this one despite a paucity of action.

Rigby, one half of the Rigby-Harris Circus, is running a counterfeiting ring and is trying to buy out his partner so that he can have a front where he has total control of. Harris refuses to sell, so Rigby frames Harris for his crimes and now thinks he has control over the circus. Rigby doesn't realize that Harris' stake in the show is through his visiting daughter Nancy, who Harris has adopted by Stony, Tucson, and Lullaby, who suspect Rigby of being the ringleader. Our three heroes try to get the evidence that will convict Rigby, but have to work against time since Nancy can only be adopted if Stony makes the ultimate sacrifice of (shudder) marrying Nancy's governess Ellen. This entry in the 3 Mesquiteers series is not exactly a winner, but if you like the comedic aspects of the series, you'll enjoy the film nevertheless. The plot really is not fleshed out, Rigby is not the vilest of villains, and action is almost non existent. One of the film's highlights is Corrigan (as Tucson) get into his ape suit to intimidate a henchman. Rating, 5.