Guns in the Dark

This film begins with two cowboys named "Johnny Darrel" (Johnny Mack Brown) and "Dick Martin" (Julian Madison) having some supper at a small cantina on the other side of the Mexican border. While there they meet a cowboy by the name of "Oscar Roscoe" (Syd Saylor) who is down on his luck and needs money right away. So, eyeing a poker table not too far from where they are sitting, both Johnny and Dick decide to enter the game to see if they can perhaps win enough money to help him out. It's at this time that another man named "Manuel Mendez" (Ted Adams) also joins the game and--just when it's discovered that Mendez might be cheating--the lights go out and gunshots are heard in the room. Once the smoke is cleared and the lights go on again, Johnny notices his friend lying dead on the floor. Convinced by Mendez that Johnny is the one who shot and killed him, he immediately gets on his horse and rides back onto the American side of the border. It's also during this time that he swears never to use his guns again. The next day, as Johnny rides into a small town, he gets into a fight with a couple of men from a local ranch which almost ends with one of the cowboys named "Brace Stevens" (Dick Curtis) pulling a gun on him. Fortunately, a young woman by the name of "Joan Williams" (Claire Rochelle) steps in and, while brandishing her own gun, puts a stop to the fight. Not long afterward, Johnny finds himself in the middle of a range war between two ranches with one being owned by Brace Stevens and the other by Joan Williams. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an okay Western which benefited from a solid performance by Johnny Mack Brown and an interesting plot. Admittedly, it's rather dated and only has a running time of about 56 minutes. But that was pretty much standard for films during this period. One criticism I had for this film concerned the comedic performance of Syd Saylor--which I didn't find to be particularly humorous. But that's just me. In any case, this was one of those films that passed the time well enough, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Johnny Mack Brown is relaxed and charming as usual, but there is little that is compelling in this picture. It is a fair B-western. But... if you like horse and rider action, you will enjoy this one quite a bit, as this film may have among the highest percent of running time devoted to on-horseback activity as any western I have seen.

When Johnny and Mendez argue over a card table, the lights go out, and in the ensuing gunfight Johnny thinks he killed his friend Dick. Now refusing to wear a gun he crosses the border. But it is not long before he runs into Mendez and more trouble when he is caught between a war between two cattle ranches, one owned by Joan Williams, the other by Brace Stevens.

Johnny Mack Brown is gunless for the most part of this lively and entertaining western after accidentally killing his pardner - or maybe he didn't ... you have to watch to find out. There's a few twist and turns, especially regarding Mendez who is a slippery cassonova. There's plenty of horse chases and the unique feature is that Mack Brown doesn't fire a shot even at the end - instead he uses his fists, throws plates at the bad guys ( which oddly knocks out the thugs!!!) and lassos a rope around the varmints. The stuttering sidekick isn't too annoying.

Miss Jones versus Brace Stevens.

Back in the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood apparently thought having stuttering guys in films (most often westerns) was a funny gimmick...sort of like having Porky Pig come to life. However, I have always hated this...not just because it's offensive but because it seemed like a cheap and unfunny way to elicit laughs. Often Roscoe Ates had this schtick but here in "Guns in the Dark", Syd Saylor played Oscar the stuttering idiot. It alone is a big reason I wasn't impressed by this film...which is a shame as I often love Johnny Mack Brown's films.

When the story begins, Johnny (Brown) and his partner are in northern Mexico and are planning to return to the States in the morning. They stop in a cantina and meet Oscar, a down and out knucklehead who has lost at poker. Feeling sorry for him, Brown joins the game and starts winning big...and hopes to give at least some of the winnings to Oscar. But soon, Mendez joins the game and it's obvious he's a ringer intending on cheating to get the money back. Soon, when it appears as if Brown's won another hand, the lights go out and shots ring out...and Johnny's partner is apparently dead. Johnny beats it back over the border. Not surprisingly, soon Mendez arrives and Johnny has trouble all over again...and sadly his only support is the annoying Oscar.

So despite the stuttering, is the film any good? Yes, it is. Brown is his usual agreeable sort of cowboy and the big fight at the end is pretty funny. Nice...I just hated the stuttering even if there supposedly was a good reason for it (as you learn at the end).

By the way, it is funny that when the film begins, Johnny's partner suggests they pick up a third friend and dub themselves 'the Three Mesquiteers'. The Three Mesquiteers was a B-western series begun by Republic the year before!