Maybe not on the A level of Westerns the same year starring John Wayne, Robert Montgomery, Randolph Scott or George Montgomery, but pretty big nonetheless, at least for Columbia. It's also a western that puts more character development than normal, given its literary connection with the presence of Robert Louis Stevenson (Edgar Barrier) who is searching for story ideas in the old west. William Bishop is traveling through the area as well, hoping to stop somewhere so he can start his own stagecoach company. When he arrives in a small town, he discovers that there is already a stagecoach company, run by a woman, Lori Henry, and she is more than prepared to deal with his attempts at creating a new one. Romance grows once they reach a truce, and before long, he's aiding her in investigating stagecoach robberies and discovering who the bandit is.
Later the head of F-Troop and the husband of Auntie Mame (and the star of the touring production of "The Music Man"), Forrest Tucker is Bishop's rival, and he makes a believable villain. But the question remains, is he the mastermind behind the stagecoach robberies? He's present for one, with the actual bandit wearing a monk's robe with their face hidden. Edgar Buchanan, the future Uncle Joe of "Petticoat Junction" isn't moving kind of slow here, and in fact, he's quite different as the local doctor, the most slender I've ever seen him, and beloved by everyone in town. Patti Brady is the pre-teen girl who manages to steal a few scenes without effort, and without being annoying. There's also Irving Bacon of the early Blondie movies. The mixture of action, comedy and romance makes this Columbia Western one of the most enjoyable, up there with the same year's "Lust for Gold" which was obviously filmed on the same location sets.
Later the head of F-Troop and the husband of Auntie Mame (and the star of the touring production of "The Music Man"), Forrest Tucker is Bishop's rival, and he makes a believable villain. But the question remains, is he the mastermind behind the stagecoach robberies? He's present for one, with the actual bandit wearing a monk's robe with their face hidden. Edgar Buchanan, the future Uncle Joe of "Petticoat Junction" isn't moving kind of slow here, and in fact, he's quite different as the local doctor, the most slender I've ever seen him, and beloved by everyone in town. Patti Brady is the pre-teen girl who manages to steal a few scenes without effort, and without being annoying. There's also Irving Bacon of the early Blondie movies. The mixture of action, comedy and romance makes this Columbia Western one of the most enjoyable, up there with the same year's "Lust for Gold" which was obviously filmed on the same location sets.