THE FIGHTING VIGILANTES

(director: Ray Taylor; screenwriter: Robert B. Churchill; cinematographer: Ernest Miller; editor: Hugh Winn; music: Walter Greene; cast: Lee Morgan (Sheriff), Lash LaRue (The Cheyenne Kid), Al “Fuzzy” St. John (Fuzzy Q. Jones), George Chesebro (Price Taylor), Russell Arms (Trippler), Steve Clark (Frank Jackson), Carl Mathews (Shanks), Marshal Reed (Check), Jennifer Holt (Abby Jackson); Runtime: 61; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Jerry Thomas; Eagle-Lion (PRC); 1947)

“A mediocre B film western.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A mediocre B film western directed by Ray Taylor (“The Tioga Kid”/”Tornado Range“/”Black Hills”) and scripted by Robert B. Churchill.

The Cheyenne Kid (Lash LaRue) is a marshal, incognito on this mission, with comic relief sidekick Fuzzy (Al “Fuzzy” St. John). They ride into a dusty western town where chuck wagons are being robbed of their supplies. Abby Jackson (Jennifer Holt) and her dad (Steve Clark) have formed a Vigilante gang to get the elderly supplies for free through robberies, because the crooked trading post operator in town, Price Taylor (George Chesebro), has his gang robbing the supply wagons of his competition and charging high prices with no competition. The judge and the sheriff (Lee Morgan) are bribed by Price. So it’s up to Cheyenne to figure things out and lay a trap for the villain.

The acting was wooden, the comic relief by Fuzzy as an aspiring poet was corny, and the action scenes were uninspiring. Lash’s gimmick of using a whip in gunfights adds little to the dreary film. Its production values were low, and its black and white photography was cheap looking.

REVIEWED ON 1/12/2016 GRADE: C    https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/