Boot Hill Bandits

Ray "Crash" Corrigan was a star who became just better and better as an actor.

He was a good-looking guy who got his start by being good-looking and athletic, but unlike some others who started on their looks, his talent came to the fore and he soon showed, as in "Boot Hill Bandits," acting ability to match his looks.

This Range Busters outing had a script that entertains with wit as well as action, with some good-natured joshing among the three heroes, and some credible fussing among the bad guys.

And all of it was well performed, with leading lady Jean Brooks giving another illustration of how unfortunate we all are that she wasn't given the chance to be a big star. She had the looks and the talent, but not the luck. A frequent Hollywood story.

Besides the action and the story, the best part of this movie is the interplay between and among the characters, with the town sheriff, played so well by the astonishingly prolific Steve Clark, standing out among the many.

Glenn Strange got to shine with a bizarre character, as did Stanford Jolley, an actor who is terribly under-rated.

Budd Osborne and George Chesebro also get big parts, and as usual show they could handle any role.

This Range Busters series is new to me. I don't recall seeing an entire entry before and now I'm spoiled: This one, "Boot Hill Bandits," is so good, I will expect high quality from the others I am now setting out to see.

Again, we thank Westerns on the Web and Bob Terry for bringing this to us.