Tim Holt plays.... Tim Holt! In yet another western. ex-con Collins (Ross Elliott) gets caught up with his old cronies who want to take advantage of his telegraph skills for an upcoming robbery. the usual fare... lots of galloping, shootouts, good cowboys versus bad cowboys. seems to have been filmed up in Newhall California, before it was turned into condos. Holt is the good guy, who sets a trap to catch the bad guys. The girl is played by Joan Dixon, who only made ten films in the 1950s. that was pretty much her career, with some television work thrown in. Richard Martin is "Chito" (again), and worked with Holt in many a film. It's all okay. Nothing too special. Directed by Stuart Gilmore, who actually WAS born in Tombstone Arizoney. and oddly, all THREE of his oscar nominations were for film editing. imdb says he only actually directed five films, and this was his second. Shows occasionally on Turner Classics. not bad.
6 Reviews
"Once a jailbird, always a jailbird."
classicsoncall22 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This fairly standard Western features cowboy star Tim Holt and perennial sidekick Chito Rafferty (Richard Martin) as a pair of ranch hands who spend a lot of time trying to prove a recently released ex-con is trying to go straight. They manage to get him a job on the Bar Circle Ranch owned by Gail Martin (Joan Dixon), who eventually becomes the love interest for Dave Collins (Ross Elliott).
The main heavy is Turk Thorne, portrayed by John Dehner, trying to make one big score of a gold shipment on the train that runs through Trail Head, Arizona. Collins used to be mixed up with Thorne's gang, and that's what wound him up in the State Penitentiary. Thorne's plan is to spring him legitimately, and set him up in the telegraph office to intercept the time that a big payday will come through town. Holt's counter plan is to play along with Thorne's scheme, but be there with Sheriff Lacy (Kenneth MacDonald) to nail the bad guys and prove Collins is one regular fella.
There are a few hitches along the way, but rest assured the good guys prevail, and the romantic duo of Dave and Gail hook up in the end. Richard Martin provides his usual comedic malapropisms as Chito, he has something to say about "tenderhorns" and "greenfoots" in this one. And as usual, he has a never ending eye for the ladies, but doesn't get to see many this time around.
Tim Holt had a nominally successful career with a string of "B" Westerns with the coolest sounding titles, like "Storm Over Wyoming", "Thunder Mountain", and "Under the Tonto Rim". However the most memorable film he ever appeared in was a neat little title from 1948, starring Humphrey Bogart. You may have heard of it - "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre".
The main heavy is Turk Thorne, portrayed by John Dehner, trying to make one big score of a gold shipment on the train that runs through Trail Head, Arizona. Collins used to be mixed up with Thorne's gang, and that's what wound him up in the State Penitentiary. Thorne's plan is to spring him legitimately, and set him up in the telegraph office to intercept the time that a big payday will come through town. Holt's counter plan is to play along with Thorne's scheme, but be there with Sheriff Lacy (Kenneth MacDonald) to nail the bad guys and prove Collins is one regular fella.
There are a few hitches along the way, but rest assured the good guys prevail, and the romantic duo of Dave and Gail hook up in the end. Richard Martin provides his usual comedic malapropisms as Chito, he has something to say about "tenderhorns" and "greenfoots" in this one. And as usual, he has a never ending eye for the ladies, but doesn't get to see many this time around.
Tim Holt had a nominally successful career with a string of "B" Westerns with the coolest sounding titles, like "Storm Over Wyoming", "Thunder Mountain", and "Under the Tonto Rim". However the most memorable film he ever appeared in was a neat little title from 1948, starring Humphrey Bogart. You may have heard of it - "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre".
Far fetched scheme
bkoganbing22 June 2019
Tim Holt and Richard Martin are riding the range again as cowpunchers for Joan
Dixon's ranch when they rescue Ross Elliott who was kidnapped off a stagecoach
by his old outlaw running buddies.
The outlaw boss John Dehner has a scheme where they need the skills of a telegrapher which Elliott was before doing a stretch in prison for helping Dehner's gang. They want him back.
I always enjoy Tim and Chito in their films, but this one had such a wild far fetched scheme behind it that I just found the whole thing ridiculous.
Tim Holt and Richard Martin came up short here.
The outlaw boss John Dehner has a scheme where they need the skills of a telegrapher which Elliott was before doing a stretch in prison for helping Dehner's gang. They want him back.
I always enjoy Tim and Chito in their films, but this one had such a wild far fetched scheme behind it that I just found the whole thing ridiculous.
Tim Holt and Richard Martin came up short here.
A Likable Teaming
dougdoepke26 March 2015
What a likable cowboy teaming Holt and Martin made. Their chemistry is easy and amusing. I've got to hand it to Holt that, as the lead, he accepted a taller and handsomer sidekick, a definite departure from the matinée formula. The 60-minutes is pretty standard. The plot's more complicated than usual. Tim and Chito are trying to help rehabilitate ex-con Dave (Elliott), at the same time the baddies are trying to shanghai Dave's telegraphy skills in order to rob a gold shipment. Meanwhile leading lady Dixon holds down the farm, hoping Dave can stay out of jail. Filmed in the familiar San Fernando Valley, there's not much scenery to look at. Still, there's some good hard riding and a couple minor plot twists. Watch for two great TV stalwarts—Dehner and Wilke—as the bad guys. I hope there's a place in Hollywood heaven for their unsung like. Anyway, it's an undemanding hour, with some snappy exchanges between our two heroes.
A "6" on the Matinée Scale
A "6" on the Matinée Scale
Entertaining in a laughable kind of way
gary_sites18 November 2021
Enjoyable Holt western
coltras3522 January 2021
Tim Holt and Chico are cowpokes working for a lady rancher played by the lovely Joan Dixon, and end up helping an ex-con who is being used by his former acquaintances to help them rob a gold train.
Plenty of galloping chases, shoots-out within a pacy and complicated plot. The bad guy's scheme is a bit far fetched, but this is fiction after all and fine entertainment. Love the interplay between Holt and sidekick, which is one of the appeal of the series. There's also a touch of romance between the Ex-con and the lady rancher.
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