In the old west, the Apache Kid (Jack Perrin) has decided to go straight because his own mother refuses to accept the stolen money that he sends home.  Unfortunately, other outlaws, like Buck Harris (Bud Osborne), continue to break the law while wearing the Apache Kid’s trademark checkered scarf so the Apache Kid still has a posse after him.

Using the alias Jim, the Kid gets a job working at a local ranch.  Ranch hand Ted Conway (Fred Church) is looking forward to marrying Jane Wilson (Josephine Hill), the daughter of the ranch’s owner.  Ted’s father, Frank (Henry Roquemore), wants Jane for himself so he reveals that Ted is actually adopted and no one knows who his real parents are.  Jane’s father (Horace B. Carpenter) announces that the wedding is canceled.  So, Ted decides to take on the identity of the Apache Kid and rob a stagecoach.  After Ted is arrested, Jim has to return to his old ways to help Ted get out of jail.

The Apache Kid’s Escape is a 47-minute poverty row western that is remembered for being one of the first westerns to feature recorded sound.  Unfortunately, the movie sounds terrible, with a steady hum in the background and all of the actors speaking slowly, loudly, and very precisely while awkwardly trying not to look straight at the camera.  Everyone noticeably hesitates before speaking, as if waiting for the director to give them the signal to go.  With all of the humans struggling to speak, the film’s best performance comes from Starlight the Horse, who is a natural star.  Jack Perrin went on to have an active career in B-westerns so maybe he learned how to handle acting with sound.

This was the only film to feature Perrin as the Apache Kid and it’s easy to see why.  The plot doesn’t even try to make sense.  If Jim wants to escape being the Apache Kid, he should be happy that so many other people are willing to take over the role for him.  Perrin is also stuck wearing a really big hat, which makes him look more like a Blazing Saddles extra than a cowboy star.

There were a lot of bad westerns made during the early days of the sound era.  The Apache Kid’s Escape might be the worst.