Texas Panhandle (1945, directed by Ray Nazarro)


Secret Service agent Steve Buckner (Charles Starrett) is told by his boss that his activities as the Durango Kid have led some in the Agency to suspect that Steve is himself an outlaw.  Even after Steve explains that he only takes on the Durango Kid identity when he needs to step outside of the law to protect innocent people, Steve is still suspended pending an investigation.

With nothing better to do, Steve rides off to the Texas panhandle, where he learns that outlaws have been robbing settlers and stealing government gold.  Working as the Durango Kid, Steve discovers that it’s not just outlaws that are targeting the new arrivals but it’s also the corrupt head of the local land office, Ace Gatlin (Forest Taylor).  Helping out Steve are settler Tex Harding and Cannonball (Dub Taylor), who works at the saloon and sings a few songs.

This is a standard Durango Kid film.  It has all the usual gunfights and horse chases but it doesn’t have Smiley Burnette.  Dub Taylor takes Smiley’s place as the comedic sidekick and, while Taylor isn’t bad, he’s still no Smiley Burnette.  Dub Taylor’s characters were usually more buffoonish than the clever helpers played by Smiley Burnette and, as a result, the Durango Kid movies with Taylor feel more juvenile than the ones with Smiley.  That’s the case here.

This installment is interesting because it reveals that Steve’s superiors knew about his Durango Kid side hustle and were as a confused about why he needed it as everyone else was.  Steve reveals he would rather lose his job than give up being Durango.  Luckily, at the end of the movie, he gets a telegram telling him that the investigation is over and he’s been reinstated with the Secret Service.  All’s well that ends well.

The Desert Horseman (1946, directed by Ray Nazarro)


Steve Godfrey (Charles Starrett) is in trouble again.  He has been accused of stealing another payroll and the only man who can clear his name has just been murdered.  Steve thinks that he is being set up by outlaws who want to take control of the dead man’s ranch, which is now owned by Mary Ann Jarvis (Adele Roberts).

Luckily, Steve’s old friend, Smiley Burnette, is working as a cook at the Jarvis Ranch.  When Smiley isn’t singing songs with the Colorado Hillbillies, he tries to help Steve clear his name.  He explains that Mary Ann Jarvis won’t listen to Steve but maybe she’ll listen to Steve’s alter ego, The Durango Kid!

Durango rides again in this movie, though, the majority of the hour runtime is made up of Smiley Burnette singing songs and making jokes.  Smiley Burnette is not for everyone.  I enjoy the broad humor he brought to these films but I can understand why others might not.  Whenever Smiley sings a song, it does bring the action to a halt but that’s true of every Durango Kid film.  If you’re a fan of the series, you either like Smiley or you can at least tolerate him.  Smiley does do more than just sing in this movie.  He also throws black pepper in the eyes of one of the bad guys.

Even with all of the attention paid to Smiley, The Desert Horseman delivers all of the expected horse chases and gunfights.  The story is a little more interesting than usual.  Steve has been framed for not one but two crimes that he didn’t commit and that adds some urgency to the proceedings.  Charles Starrett, as always, is a believable western hero and he takes the role seriously.