If the story seems confusing, well there might be a reason. There are no less than five, count 'em, five flashback scenes in a film that comes in under an hour. Not only that, but the flick is peppered with numerous instances of politically incorrect dialog alluding to a woman's proper place, and it's not in the courtroom as prosecuting attorney Kiefer (Myron Healey) is fond of pointing out. His counterpart is lawyer Gail Kingston (Angela Stevens), defending Jack Mahoney in a murder trial, but as we come to find out later, Miss Kingston is also one of the bad guys!! Oops - that might be politically incorrect too!
Common sense never seemed to be a strong point of old time B Westerns, as a recent viewing of a whole host of Durango Kid and Hopalong Cassidy films appears to be bearing out. By the time this flick gets to the pivotal courtroom scene, the Durango Kid takes over the trial and Jack holds a gun on the judge!!! What!?!? And man oh man! - what's with the Smiley Burnette dream sequence and that goofy 'It's the Law' song?
You know, the film makers could have saved themselves some payroll expense by having actress Stevens portray both her own character and that of sister Dixie King in one of the flashback scenes. Then again, maybe they did, as the Dixie footage is listed as archival footage in the credits. Never let it be said that studios couldn't economize in every which way when they had to - I got a kick out of that scene when Durango escapes from the baddies by hustling up a long staircase on the side of a building and jumping on the neighboring rooftop. The same scene appeared in "The Rough, Tough West" made earlier the same year.
Well Charles Starrett probably deserved better for his Durango Kid swan song, but when all is said and done, he had a pretty nice run as the masked hero. He never wanted to be typecast during his early career, but this turned out to be his bread and butter for seven years, and for millions of matinée fans, The Durango Kid was one of the best.
Common sense never seemed to be a strong point of old time B Westerns, as a recent viewing of a whole host of Durango Kid and Hopalong Cassidy films appears to be bearing out. By the time this flick gets to the pivotal courtroom scene, the Durango Kid takes over the trial and Jack holds a gun on the judge!!! What!?!? And man oh man! - what's with the Smiley Burnette dream sequence and that goofy 'It's the Law' song?
You know, the film makers could have saved themselves some payroll expense by having actress Stevens portray both her own character and that of sister Dixie King in one of the flashback scenes. Then again, maybe they did, as the Dixie footage is listed as archival footage in the credits. Never let it be said that studios couldn't economize in every which way when they had to - I got a kick out of that scene when Durango escapes from the baddies by hustling up a long staircase on the side of a building and jumping on the neighboring rooftop. The same scene appeared in "The Rough, Tough West" made earlier the same year.
Well Charles Starrett probably deserved better for his Durango Kid swan song, but when all is said and done, he had a pretty nice run as the masked hero. He never wanted to be typecast during his early career, but this turned out to be his bread and butter for seven years, and for millions of matinée fans, The Durango Kid was one of the best.