Thundering Hoofs

I have seen most of Tim Holt's westerns, and although they used much of the same formula as the other westerns, Tim and crew always made these a little better than most. These were tightly produced Saturday Afternoon fare from RKO Radio Pictures.

In this early entry, he's joined by Smokey, who does the singing (quite well), and Whopper (the comic relief).

One aspect that made this film better was Archie Twitchell's performance as the double dealing lawyer. He was a terrific supporting actor, and at his best as a bad guy. He had a real attitude that made you dislike his character.

There's a couple of fist fights, the bandits only wound the stage driver, and no one, not even a bad guy, gets killed in the shoot out, so the violence level is low for this genre. That makes it pretty safe for the younger crowd to view this show.

Excellent action score by Paul Sawtell, who scored most of Holt's westerns.