Return of the Lash

Greedy land baron Kirby wants to drive small ranchers from the valley so he can own land rights to the railroad coming through. So small rancher Tom Grant sends for who else but the Cheyenne Kid to stop the land grab. Okay, the plot is not exactly original, but sidekick Fuzzy Jones, of all people, has a couple of clever tricks up his sleeve. Note that it's Fuzzy who gets the most screen time. I'm estimating that black-clad hero Lash is in only about one in four scenes, and I'm wondering why so few. His acting skills appear good enough. And he can certainly ride and throw punches with the best of the matinée heroes of the day. Plus, there's that trademark lash of the whip. But the odd fact is that Fuzzy alone carries much of the plot. Anyway, nothing exceptional in this 60-minute programmer, except a diverting look into how many of us 10-year olds spent our Saturday afternoons, lo, so many years ago.

Al "Lash" Larue is the star again, but director Ray Taylor doesn't give him that many lines in this typical B western about how George Chesebro is stealing all the land around by mortgages which the the local folks can't pay. That's because he knows the railroad is coming to town and they don't. It's all nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah from him and his henchmen until Al St. John comes to town as Larue's advance guard, and the locals decide they don't want Roy Butler as sheriff any more, but Larue.

After that, Taylor keeps him mostly busy riding a horse or involved in gunplay at a distance. Larue may have looked like Humphrey Bogart for Sarah Padden to ask him if his mother had ever met Bogie, but it's St. John who fills up most of the time for mid and close-up shots for various gags. The result is actually a pretty pleasant hour, or almost that if you're in the mood for a modest B western shot on the Iverson Ranch.