Clem Peterson (Richard Cramer) has a plot to force all of the ranchers in the valley to give up their land. He gives a phony land claim to Carson (John Merton), who presents himself as being a Mexican nobleman. In a situation like this, you need a singing cowboy and luckily, there’s one nearby. Fred (Fred Scott) and Fuzzy (Al St. John) get involved after their cattle are stolen by Clem and his men. Fred not only fights to save the ranchers but he also sings a song or two.
Singing cowboy films are always strange. Cowboys who ride horses and pull guns and get into fistfights should not also be tenors. Fred Scott looks convincing on a horse and he has one heck of a fistfight towards the end of the movie but he’ll also start singing at the drop of a hat and it just doesn’t feel right. John Wayne did a few singing cowboy films early in his career and he could usually pull it off. Fred Scott wasn’t much of an actor and had a forgettable screen presence. He had a good voice, though.
This film was produced by Stan Laurel, of Laurel and Hardy fame. Always read those credits. You never know who you might find.
Billy the Kid (Bob Steele) escapes from a Mexican prison (where he was being held on a trumped-up charge) and ends up in Corral City, Texas with his old friend, Fuzzy Jones (Al St. John). This version of Billy the Kid may be an outlaw but he’s a really nice outlaw. He holds up two men who had previously held up a express wagon but he turns over the loot after he and Fuzzy are appointed the new law in Corral City. The bad outlaws don’t want Billy the Kid or anyone else as their new sheriff so they bring in a notorious gunslinger (Carleton Young) to help them keep the town under their control but it turns out that Billy and the gunslinger have a past that no one knew about.
Bob Steele played Billy the Kid in a series of films, until Buster Crabbe took over the role in 1942. Steele was a convincing cowboy and a convincing gunman but he wasn’t a convincing kid. Of course, this version of Billy the Kid didn’t have much in common with the real Billy the Kid. The movie version of Billy the Kid got into a lot of trouble but it was usually due to a misunderstanding.
Billy the Kid In Texas is definitely a Poverty Row western. It looks cheap and it was cheap but it did feature a good fight scene between Bob Steele and Charles King and the relationship between Billy the Kid and Carleton Young’s gunslinger also added some extra dimension to the otherwise predictable story. This film is okay for western fans who aren’t sticklers for historical accuracy.
This past week saw another great musician pass away.
Ed King was an integral part of the three-guitar sound that made the Lynyrd Skynyrd sound so unique among the other blues-inspired American rock bands of the 70’s. Some have called Ed King the backbone of the band.
He was great either on bass guitar or as the third guitarist. The latter becoming the signature sound of the band’s most popular song and one of their most requested: “Free Bird.”
While it’d be simple enough to commemorate Ed King’s passing with another listen to that hit song, it’s on another much simpler song of the band’s that best typifies the member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. He who helped give them their signature sound and whose laid-back attitude finally convinced him that it was time to leave the band when the atmosphere around it began to turn mean and violent.
Some fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd don’t have good things to say about Ed King. They think he bailed on the group just when they were reaching the pinnacle of their success and popularity. But as the song “Simple Man” says, “Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast.”
That was Ed King. It’s time you joined the rest of your band mates waiting for you up above.
Simple Man
Mama told me when I was young “Come sit beside me, my only son And listen closely to what I say And if you do this it’ll help you some sunny day”
“Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast Troubles will come and they will pass You’ll find a woman and you’ll find love And don’t forget, son, there is someone up above”
“And be a simple kind of man Oh, be something you love and understand Baby be a simple kind of man Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can”
“Forget your lust for the rich man’s gold All that you need is in your soul And you can do this, oh baby, if you try All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied”
“And be a simple kind of man Oh, be something you love and understand Baby be a simple kind of man Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can”
Oh yes, I will
“Boy, don’t you worry, you’ll find yourself Follow your heart and nothing else And you can do this, oh baby, if you try All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied”
“And be a simple kind of man Oh, be something you love and understand Baby be a simple kind of man Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can”
Baby, be a simple, be a simple man Oh, be something you love and understand Baby, be a simple kind of man
Clem Peterson (Richard Cramer) has a plot to force all of the ranchers in the valley to give up their land. He gives a phony land claim to Carson (John Merton), who presents himself as being a Mexican nobleman. In a situation like this, you need a singing cowboy and luckily, there’s one nearby. Fred (Fred Scott) and Fuzzy (Al St. John) get involved after their cattle are stolen by Clem and his men. Fred not only fights to save the ranchers but he also sings a song or two.
Through the Shattered Lens 