frankfob
A semi-decent--well, semi-professional, at least--cast is completely wasted in this truly pathetic excuse for a western. A badly miscast Richard Arlen (he's way too old for the part) plays Buffalo Bill, sent to investigate why settlers are being suddenly subjected to attacks by both Indians and outlaws. He eventually finds out, but it's not worth spending an hour or so of your life to find out with him. About the only good thing that can be said for this picture is that the photography is clear, something that wasn't always the case with many of the bottom-of-the-barrel independent westerns churned out by director Bernard B. Ray in the early and mid-'30s, and the annoying, tinny, out-of-sync and off-key background music reminds you of the worst of PRC's series of rock-bottom westerns from the '40s. On the other hand, the fact that you can see what's going on in this picture isn't necessarily an advantage--it's so poorly directed, badly acted, sloppily written (with annoying lapses in logic) and incompetently edited that you actually feel embarrassed for the actors caught up in this mess. The few "action" scenes are embarrassingly and laughably inept, particularly an Indian attack on the ranch house of Jennifer Holt (just about the only reason to watch this picture, as she's just as beautiful as ever) and her father, and Arlen's stunt double earns his money in a fistfight that takes place in one of the cheesiest sheriff's offices I've ever seen. This has the look and feel of a TV pilot that didn't make it, with the producers figuring they'd try to recoup some of the $87.50 (by the looks of it) they spent to make this picture by releasing it as a feature. The damn thing makes little if any sense; it can't stick to one story and keeps going off on tangents that have nothing to do with the "plot" line, characters show up out of nowhere, hang out for a few minutes and then vanish just as quickly, with no explanation as to who they are or what they're doing there, and its overall shoddiness and ineptness is so frustrating you'll probably turn it off long before it ends, which is what I did. Except for Jennifer Holt, this film is utterly worthless. Skip it.
