Roaring Six Guns

Great action in this 30's western fare. With names like Mile-a-way Roberts and Wildcat Roper, Six Guns had the flavor of a great early western. I wish Kermit Maynard would've had more leading roles as he delivered nicely in this one. The same holds true for Mary Hayes who had a more limited role but showed she had star power. Of course Earle Hodgins, Sam Flint, and John Merton gave the usual great performances. But I thought the Wildcat Roper part played by Bud Buster stole the show with his wit and high energy performance. Roaring Six Guns is a roaring high energy film worth seeing.

Roaring Six Guns is an absolutely wonderful example of what a B western should be, even with its typical plot. A greedy cattle rancher, George Ringold (Sam Flint), seeks to take the land from all the other ranchers. The hero, Buck Sinclair (Kermit Maynard), refuses to give up his land. To top it off, Buck wants to marry Ringold's niece, Beth (Mary Hayes).

Something that stood out was the way that Mary Hayes delivered her lines in her first scene in the movie. Her acting had a more modern day feel, very natural, as if she were not playing a part. In fact, everyone looks good in this movie. John Merton played the heavy, "Mileaway" Roberts, perfectly. He is called "Mileaway" because he is always a "mile away" when there is trouble, meaning that he always has an alibi for the dirty deeds he commits. In general, any movie with Earle Hodgins is good. In this movie he played the fair-minded hired gunslinger, Sundown.

Seeing Kermit Maynard as a leading man is always good. I find it sad that he ended up playing smaller and smaller parts. His horseman skills are well displayed in Roaring Six Guns with at least two fancy mounts and some good riding scenes. He had all the on screen charm of his brother, Ken Maynard, but perhaps not the striking appearance.

What I like about Roaring Six Guns is that it never gets slow or bogged down. There are no glitches in continuity, and no mysterious appearances or disappearances of characters. Sometimes the old B westerns were choppy, but not this film. Everything runs smoothly. For that I would use this movie to introduce someone to the magic of B westerns.