"Bonanza Town" is another cost conscious entry in Columbia's Durango Kid series starring Charles Starrett and Smiley Burnette. The "B" western series were all coming to a close and the various studios were incorporating stock footage from previous films into their product. Columbia was no exception. Approximately half of "Bonanza Town" uses footage from 1947's "West of Dodge City".
The story opens with Durango chasing down a wagon containing Smiley Burnette for no apparent reason (it was probably stock footage). They tacked on new footage with Steve Ramsay (Starrett) directing Smiley to go to town and be on the lookout for Henry Hardison (Fred F. Sears who also directed) who is passing marked bills around town. Smiley next turns up as a barber instead of the wares salesman he was in the runaway wagon.
Steve, who is a Treasury Agent, believes Judge Anthony Dillon (Luther Crockett) is an honest contact that he can trust. In reality the Judge is controlled by town boss Krag Boseman (Myron Healey) who in turn takes his orders from Hardison.. We are then taken by flashback to the earlier film where Hardison and his gang are wreaking havoc among the citizens. Hardison blows up a dam and is believed to have perished. But the marked bills have revealed that he survived. Back in the present, Hardison makes his move and...............................................
The stock footage from "West of Dodge City" is the best part of this film. I suppose that if you hadn't seen the earlier film, you would have liked this one. There's a virtual who's who of western players in "West of Dodge City", such as George Chesebro, Steve Clark, I. Stanford Jolley, Zon, Murray, Marshall Reed, Bud Osborne and Bob Wilke in the cast.
In "Bonanza Town", the small budget really shows. Healey's office is a good example. For a town boss he had simple furnishings and space. His gang which includes Charles Horvath look at times like The Three Stooges falling through doors and the like. Speaking of the Stooges, look for veteran comic and Stooges foil Vernon Dent as Smiley's bearded customer.
Fred F. Sears who played the same character in both films, was the only repeat villain in the Durango Kid series and he apparently gained some weight between the two films. At "Bonanza Town's" climax, you can plainly see Jock Mahoney's face as he doubled Sears falling off of a roof.
The story opens with Durango chasing down a wagon containing Smiley Burnette for no apparent reason (it was probably stock footage). They tacked on new footage with Steve Ramsay (Starrett) directing Smiley to go to town and be on the lookout for Henry Hardison (Fred F. Sears who also directed) who is passing marked bills around town. Smiley next turns up as a barber instead of the wares salesman he was in the runaway wagon.
Steve, who is a Treasury Agent, believes Judge Anthony Dillon (Luther Crockett) is an honest contact that he can trust. In reality the Judge is controlled by town boss Krag Boseman (Myron Healey) who in turn takes his orders from Hardison.. We are then taken by flashback to the earlier film where Hardison and his gang are wreaking havoc among the citizens. Hardison blows up a dam and is believed to have perished. But the marked bills have revealed that he survived. Back in the present, Hardison makes his move and...............................................
The stock footage from "West of Dodge City" is the best part of this film. I suppose that if you hadn't seen the earlier film, you would have liked this one. There's a virtual who's who of western players in "West of Dodge City", such as George Chesebro, Steve Clark, I. Stanford Jolley, Zon, Murray, Marshall Reed, Bud Osborne and Bob Wilke in the cast.
In "Bonanza Town", the small budget really shows. Healey's office is a good example. For a town boss he had simple furnishings and space. His gang which includes Charles Horvath look at times like The Three Stooges falling through doors and the like. Speaking of the Stooges, look for veteran comic and Stooges foil Vernon Dent as Smiley's bearded customer.
Fred F. Sears who played the same character in both films, was the only repeat villain in the Durango Kid series and he apparently gained some weight between the two films. At "Bonanza Town's" climax, you can plainly see Jock Mahoney's face as he doubled Sears falling off of a roof.