Death Valley Rangers

A succession of stagecoach robberies prompts the citizens of a Death Valley outpost to send for the Trail Blazers, a trio of law-enforcing plainsmen in this routine but diverting enough western packed with fast galloping and shooting action. The camaraderie between the three main stars is great and their dialogue is amusing and snappy.

Ken Maynard responds to Hoot's plan to catch the stagecoach robbers, "I don't know gentlemen some of Hoot's ideas have an uncomfortable way of kickin' back." The Death Valley Rangers is one of several popular western movie trends of putting three stars in a series of movies. Hoot Gibson, Bob Steele and Maynard are enlisted by Edwards (Bryant Wasburn) to save the gold shipments. Henchmen Blackie (Charles King) and Red (George Chesebro) are part of Jim Kirk's (Weldon Heyburn) gang and Steele has got to go undercover to expose their plans. The daughter of Ranger Captain Ainsley (Forrest Taylor) the beautiful Lorna Ainsley (Linda Brent) proves to be a pleasant distraction for the rangers. Karl Hackett as Doc Thorne adds a touch of 40's type sci-fi to the mix with his lab in an old mine camouflaging the gold with a chemical process. Also, great to see 'Sam the bartender' from "Gunsmoke" fame, Glenn Strange here as The Marshal of Death Valley.

This early Forties Western has a star-studded cast, including former rodeo and silent film star Hoot Gibson. There are a number of impressive rodeo-style stunts embedded in the action, making for a rewarding watch.

This is a Trail Blazer film from Monogram which stars Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele. Series film like this that featured trios of do-gooders were pretty common in the day--with the Three Mesquiteers and the Rough Riders spurring on the creation of the Trail Blazers (the latest and shortest running of the three). I think the idea was to take several second-tier stars and combine them for greater drawing power. So, an older and less charismatic Gibson could gain renewed box office draw in such an endeavor (Gibson was big in the silents and early talkies). In every one of these films, the trio is like a group of social workers/gunslingers who seldom shoot and mostly reveal who the ACTUAL leader of the evil mob besieging the townsfolk really is. It's all very predictable and after a while there is a definite sameness to the films.

In this case, a town is having problems with gold shipments being stolen. So, they hire the trio to get to the bottom of it. Of course, it will mean some of them going undercover (in this case, Bob) and it's exactly the same plot I've seen in BOTH Three Mesquiteer AND Rough Rider films! It's even been used in Gene Autry and Roy Rogers films, now that I think about it. However, what IS different is why the shipments are stolen--and it's NOT what you expect. This twist helps, but otherwise it's yet another of the same. And, unless you are the type person to want to see EVERY B-western, it's easy to skip this one as it really isn't outstanding in any way.

The best thing about this undistinguished oater are the stunts. The acrobatics center on riveting stagecoach climbs, plus expert saddle mounts that require perfect timing. Otherwise the flick's pretty loose in both storyline and focus as our heroes try to figure out what's behind a string of mysterious stage robberies.

Trouble is the mystery doesn't generate enough suspense or showdown tension that would otherwise cut through the meandering storyline and crowded cast. Steele gets the main action parts while Gibson and Maynard function mainly as secondary backup and sometime participants.

I've always thought Steele was underrated maybe because of his slight stature compared to the John Waynes of his day. Nonetheless, he could generate the kind of feisty intensity and hard-eyed stare of a Jimmy Cagney or Edward G. Robinson that goes beyond physical stature. Here he shows off the action side but minus the dramatic hard-eyed stare.

And oh my, for us guys there's only one female in the whole flick, a real looker (Linda Brent) and she only gets about a minute's screentime. Anyhow, in my little book the oater's a disappointment considering the talent involved. But happily the Trail Blazers will ride better trails ahead.