Dead Man's Gulch

"Dead Man's Gulch" is an excellent entry in Republic's long running series starring Don "Red" Barry.

The story involves two best friends Tennessee Colby (Barry) and Tommy Logan (Bud McTaggart) who are Pony Express riders. When the Pony Express disbands the two friends along with comic relief Fiddlefoot (Emmett "Pappy" Lynn) decide to return to Tommy's home town.

Once there Tennessee lands a Deputy Marshal's job while Tommy hooks up with bad guy Bledsoe (Clancy Cooper). Bledsoe is in cahoots with Patterson (John Vosper) who has a monopoly on the town's freight business. It seems that Tommy also has a sister Mary (Lynn Merrick) who fills the chaste heroine role. Pierce Lydon, Rex Lease and Al Taylor round out Bledsoe's gang.

As you would expect, the two friends clash when Tommy is found to have been involved in a couple of murders. Tennessee is then forced into a showdown, in a well staged finale, with his old friend.

This movie benefits from the direction of serial veteran John English who keeps the action coming. Republic's staff of ace stunt people provide some exciting stunt work as well.

Barry was a better actor than most of his contemporaries and it shows. The nickname "Red" came from his 1940 serial "The Adventures of Red Ryder". Although he only played the part that once, the nickname stuck with him the rest of his life.

Story of two Pony Express Rider friends who take different career paths after the famed service is terminated. Tennessee (Barry) becomes a deputy sheriff to Bat Masterson, while Tommy (McTaggart), who was setting up the riders to be ambushed an robbed of their mail, joins up with a gang of riders headed by a freight line controller opposed to the territory becoming a state and therefore no longer having the monopoly of his service. Obviously the two are bound to have a showdown when Tennessee learns that Tommy is a murderer. Okay B-western, with decent action and good lead from Barry. English's direction looks shaky in the first half of the film, but paces it nicely at the finish. The movie's main drawback is that it does become too cliche. Rating, based on B westerns, 5.