User reviews

John Sands is a famed ex lawman ,most celebrated for having faced down Billy the Kid .He is now living in Mexico ,having fallen foul of the law in the States,and is working as a storekeeper when news reaches him that his brother has been murdered .He vows to return to America to avenge his brother despite knowing full well this places him at risk of arrest . He is drawn into enmity with the ruthless Matt Garson who is also his rival for he hand of Garson's secretary (Joan O'Carroll)and to complicate matters he law is on his tail.

Blake Edwards -a man mostly known for his acerbic comedic scripts-co wrote this movie and the screenplay is above average for the genre, and the era .Add some lively action ,including the old genre staple of a bar -room brawl ,and some capable performances and the result is a good and watchable B movie that devotees of the Western will especially enjoy

"Panhandle" is a B-western from Allied Artists...the same company formerly known as Monogram Pictures. I am not sure of the name change and assume it was simply because Monogram had a pretty poor reputation and the name change would possibly evoke more positive imagery to the consumer. However, despite this, "Panhandle" was actually a pretty good film...better than I expected.

John Sands (Rod Cameron) was a feared gunman long ago. However, he tired of the life and retired to a small border town. But this quiet life is interrupted when he learns that his brother was murdered in another town. And, when he arrives in the town, he realizes NOTHING is done without the local boss' permission. In other words, Matt Garson (Reed Hadley) is clearly behind his brother's murder. But since he's the boss, he has lots of men to go through and John will sure have a difficult time getting to him.

Apart from one woman who is inexplicably nasty towards a poor Mexican guy, the acting was very good and the villain easy to hate. I also thought Cameron and the fight scenes were done very well. I have no major complaints about the story and it held my interest throughout.

Panhandle is directed by Leslie Selander and written by John C. Champion and Blake Edwards. It stars Rod Cameron, Cathy Downs, Reed Hadley, Anne Gwynne, Blake Edwards, Dick Crockett and Rory Mallinson. Music is by Rex Dunn and cinematography by Harry Neumann.

John Sands (Cameron) has to return to his gunfighter ways when news reaches him that his brother has been murdered...

Filmed in Sepiatone and a little more serious than many other 1940's Westerns, Panhandle is a satisfying experience for genre enthusiasts. Formula is rife as we would come to know it in Oaters, though, as picture ticks off the check list: badman turned good who is forced to turn bad again for revenge, romance tingling in the air, quick draw shoot-outs, punch-up, weasel villain and his hired cronies, poker games with the inevitable cheat called out and the "hooray" finale. All of which is nicely directed and performed by the cast. The location scenery doesn't get much chance to shine through, and in truth the Sepiatone does little to improve the picture, but this is easily recommended to the Western faithful. 7/10

So, can ex-marshal, now outlaw, John Sands avenge his brother's killing by ruthless town bigwig Garson and his band of toughies. Still and all, Sands is played by a rugged 6'5" Rod Cameron who looks every inch of it and handles it, as well. But, he'll need to because Garson's played by 6'4" Reed Hadley in what amounts to a potentially towering face-off. Plus, there's Garson's over-eager gunsel Floyd (Edwards) who just can't seem to wait for any kind of gunplay. At the same time, hovering in the background are unbending arms of the law. All in all, things look bleak for the compromised ex-marshal.

It's a B-Western with a number of unusually good touches not often found in the genre. For example, take that nifty showdown in the rain, a real oddity; then there're the great Amarillo area scenic shots, dry as a bone; plus, which of the two lovely town gals will Sands end up with, blonde Dusty or brunette June; and lastly catch those unforced humorous touches that fit right in. Still, it's Cameron's impressive presence and understated performance that rivets the show, along with an unexpectedly memorable ending. At same time, I can't help thinking the producers of the Gary Cooper classic High Noon (1952) were influenced by this sneaky little 1948 gem. So catch up with it if you can.

( In Passing - that's the same Blake Edwards of later fame who produced and-or directed many of the Pink Panther flicks along with the classic Peter Gunn TV series, among others. Meanwhile, thanks to this flick, I won't be visiting a barber anytime soon, especially if I have to open the door. Just don't tell the wife.)

Panhandle, B western for Allied Artists stars Rod Cameron as a fugitive in Mexico who when he finds out that his brother has been killed in the Panhandle area of Texas right on the Oklahoma line comes north to settle accounts. The bad guy here is Reed Hadley who is the town boss where the brother was a crusading newspaperman.

Cameron has two women vying for him as well, Cathy Downs and Anne Gwynne. Both aid him at crucial times in his quest.

Hadley is one slick article however and he's got a lot of gunslingers on his payroll. One of them is future producer/director Blake Edwards who plays a punk gunfighter working for Hadley. Edwards also co-wrote Panhandle

Another reviewer compared Cameron's character to some of Clint Eastwood's heroes. I certainly haven't seen that kind of speed with a gun outside of such Eastwood classics like High Plains Drifter. Edwards and Cameron seem to be decades ahead of their time.

This is a B western, but it's pretty grim stuff, not at all like a Gene Autry or Roy Rogers Republic western. No real production values and Rod's speed is a bit unreal, but the film is nicely acted and not for the Saturday matinée crowd.

I know nothing about Director Leslie Selander, but in PANHANDLE he gets a catchy film going on a constantly calm note, until the final deluge and shootout.

He is most calmly helped by the rather laid back and softly singing Rod Cameron, one of the tallest male actors to appear in B Westerns and this time out to avenge his brother's murder. Two beautiful females in Cathy Downs and Anne Gwynne do not hurt one bit.

Reed Hadley plays the master villain Garson rather convincingly, down to thinking that he is the sharpest knife in town and claiming that he makes no mistakes. Of course, such overconfidence seldom bodes well for one's safety, as Garson finds to his cost.

Cinematography in PANHANDLE is rather curious: it features some gorgeous sights as John Sands escapes a trio of killers early on, then it gets rather dark inside the villain's saloon, and finally it is shot in near complete blackness and under a deluge of rain. Sadly the quality of photography decreases as the screen gets darker and darker.

All right script by Blake Edwards (of later Pink Panther fame) and Champion.

A sombre Rod Cameron western remembered today because the 25 year-old Blake Edwards, after five years languishing in bit parts, collaborated with John C. Champion behind the camera as writer & producer. He is also billed fifth as the youngest, most sharply dressed and slightly built of chief baddie Reed Hadley's trio of henchmen (which Edwards acknowledges in the script by having Cameron condescendingly address him as 'sonny' and 'Little Boy Blue').

I was proved right near the end (SLIGHT SPOILER COMING) when I thought it unwise of Cameron to take a chair with the window behind it to join a card game; and someone seems to have tossed a coin to decide which of the two female leads Cameron eventually ends up with.

Randolph Scott lookalike Rod Cameron is "Sands", a former lawman who travels to a Texas town to investigate the shooting of his newspaper-man brother. Upon arrival, he quickly discovers the town, indeed the territory, under the heel of "Matt Garson" (Reed Hadley). With the help of his secretary "Dusty" (Cathy Downs) he vows to avenge his brother's death. It's quite eerily shot - much of the action takes place at night, in torrential rain, but the story is all just a bit too well travelled, and neither the actors nor the script offer much by way of innovation. This is still a perfectly watchable B-feature that dawdles for the first half hour before finally picking up just enough speed to hold the attention. It's too long - but then films were frequently elongated to accommodate the paying public's appetite for cinema, rather than because the story justified it.

(1948) Panhandle WESTERN

Co-produced and co-written by Blake Edwards- yes, that "Blake Edwards" of the Pink Panther movies. A non exciting Western which nothing actually happens until after the 1 hour mark for a movie that is an hour and 25 minutes, it's quite lackluster. It opens with customer Jean "Dusty" Stewart (Cathy Downs) throwing a hissy fit because she felt she is being ripped off as a result of a missing saddle.. With her rifle pointing at the worker, Juan, the store owner, Jim (Rod Cameron) manages to grab the rifle from her and calm her down, before checking her wagon. And when the missing saddle was found, which was on her wagon all along, she tells Jim of the misfortune she was experiencing from another nearby town called the Sentinel. Telling him about three respectful people who was killed there from each day, and by the time she mentions the third person, Billy Sands, he suddenly ignores her to go and grab Billy's gun belt. At this point viewers are not quite clear how Jim is connected to Billy Sands until after the half hour mark we find out that they are both brothers. And then on another revelation roughly after the 50 minute mark is that the feisty girl, Jean "Dusty" Stewart we saw at the opening who thought she was missing a saddle bag was engaged to Billy Sands, and that he may have been murdered by shady saloon owner, Matt Garson (Reed Hadley) who has a secretary, June O'Carroll (Anne Gwynne) working for him who eventually becomes Jim Sands love interest. And just when you think that alone would turn up the heat- it doesn't, for Jim Sands does not do anything until he knows for sure who murdered his brother as well as the people who are involved. Jim Sands kills like, three or four people, and in the most unexciting fashion, and it is not until way after the hour mark. I must admit though, the first time I saw the star Rod Cameron playing Jim Sands, I initially thought, it's really the actor Robert Ryan I am staring at and that he must have changed his name, but as it turned out according to the movie database, Rod Cameron is his own person.

Blake Edwards is best known for writing and/or producing and/or directing Pink Panther movies and "Victor/Victoria" but he also has 32 acting credits, most in uncredited parts.

But in "Panhandle," he plays a slimy, neurotic gunsel who simply itches for a chance at the hero, played by Rod Cameron.

Edwards is just one of the superior actors who play the bad guys, led by that marvelous and well-rounded Reed Hadley, possessor of one of the greatest voices in show biz history. And who also played heroes, from Zorros to Public Defender.

There is an astonishing cast in "Panhandle." I mean, when Trevor Bardette, Lee "Lasses" White, Neal Hart, and Herman Hack are all uncredited atmosphere, you know there is a great bunch who are credited.

There are two leading ladies: Cathy Downs, lovely and well cast, and Anne Gwynne, adorable and feisty.

Blake Edwards and John C. Champion are credited as co-writers and they have produced a top-quality script, with one flaw: Veteran gun-slingers would immediately re-load after firing, even if they had a second, or third, pistol. Our hero didn't.

It's a common error, and probably most people wouldn't notice since it is so common. Otherwise, the writers and director Lesley Selander did a good job of paying attention to details.

For one thing, when someone asked directions, he said "thank you," and there were other, similar touches making this look and feel realistic.

Finally, Rod Cameron: He was another varied and talented actor. He doesn't get the credit he deserves. He played this part, though, beautifully, always showing just the right emotion or attitude appropriate to the situation.

He had a long career and even late in life got called on for TV parts, so he did get some credit within the industry, and he certainly has many fans among us Western aficionados.

I highly recommend "Panhandle," and there is an excellent copy at YouTube, with, interestingly, the credits in Spanish.

John Sands (Rod Cameron), a reformed gunman, now a storekeeper in a Mexican border town, again straps on gun belt and six-shooters to find the killer of his brother. Fists and bullets fly when he finds that he must contend not only with badmen, but with lawmen who remember his outlaw past.

Shot amidst rugged Lone Pine, California scenery in glowing Sepiatone, Panhandle is a top drawer western with a strong plot, tense moments that stars Rod Cameron as a reformed gunman who straps his six shooters back on to avenge the murder of his brother, and he's as tight-lipped as ever while courting Anne Gwynne - a saloon gal the villain has set his lustful sights - as well taking on Myron Reedly's villainous town boss. Blake Edwards does some scene stealing as Floyd Schofield who is the chief villain's hired thug and a Billy the Kid wannabe with an unhinged side. Loved the scene where the thug asks Cameron about his showdown with Billy the Kid, Cameron obliges, building up to the story, which really excites the thug and he's waiting for the climax where Billy the Kid declines the showdown. "What happened?" asks the thug, and Cameron replied "then Billy the Kid killed me." That really got up the thug's nose! Actually there's some nifty dialogue, as sharp as the action - chases, showdowns and one in a rain and a rather energetic fistfights, all down with gusto. It's a solid western that is a little underrated. It was remade as the Texican starring that other fast-gun actor Audie Murphy.

It is very rare western which is strangely aired on a French classic movies channel. What a surprise. I would have never expected such a film, a grade B western, but not a Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Johnny McBrown lousy craps produced by Poverty Row in Hollywood. Well, here you have Rod Cameron, the poor man's Randolph Scott for me and I guess many other folks. A western only destined to western hard boiled fans or Lesley Selander's filmography goers, but still entertaining enough to keep you awake for eighty minutes. A chain made western, very rare on French TV channel. But for me who have access to thousands of rare stuff from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, this is not a priceless gem.