Gunsmoke Ranch (1937)

I'm sure this particular Three Mesquiteer film resonated well with people in the dust bowl. Though it's not The Grapes Of Wrath, Gunsmoke Ranch is about people dispossessed from their land and at the mercy of one ruthless conman.People have been flooded out of their homes in the Mississippi Valley and have headed west for a new start as they've taken an option on land in the far west. Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, and Max Terhune however know the man behind the scheme and its Kenneth Harlan who they know to be a conman. Harlan runs true to form and when the new arrivals have made sufficient improvements he plans to sell the land to the state for a new dam and he can get a lot more back on improved land.I'm sure that every farmer who was dispossessed of his land due to flood or drought or whatever wanted to kill Harlan who watched this film in 1937. Very rarely do B westerns deal with modern relevant topics and this one is not only good but a rarity.

Well you've heard it said before, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. In this case, flooded out landowners are offered the opportunity for 'Free Ranches - No Money Down - Twenty Years to Pay' by the unscrupulous Phineas T. Flagg (Kenneth Harlan) if they pack up and head for Gunsmoke Valley, Arizona. Right off the bat, the terms 'free' and 'twenty years to pay' seem mutually exclusive, but what the heck, you've got to have a story in here somewhere.For Three Mesquiteers fans, this one also offers a bit of a head scratcher when Lullaby Joslin (Max Terhune) walks into a general store and buys his dummy Elmer, seemingly for the first time. Actually, Elmer was around since their first picture, even if Terhune wasn't. Syd Saylor portrayed Lullaby in the very first Mesquiteers film, and was then replaced by Terhune for a very long stretch of twenty one pictures. "Gunsmoke Ranch" was the sixth film in the fifty one movie franchise.Besides Lullaby and Elmer, there was some additional comic relief provided here by a couple of characters named Oscar and Elmer Twiddlebaum, though one might question their effectiveness. Oscar (Ed Platt) was just plain hokey, and Elmer (Lou Fulton) did a stuttering gimmick that appears rather demeaning today. I couldn't help thinking that Elmer might have been the inspiration for Warner Brothers' Porky Pig; if you close your eyes and listen you'd swear you were hearing the cartoon.For all their trouble in trying to warn the newly arrived citizens of Gunsmoke Valley, you would think the Mesquiteers would have been given a warm reception, but instead, the town folk stand by their benefactor Flagg. It'll take at least another half hour for the boys to whip things into gear to save the new town of Three Score and Ten from their own intransigence. It all comes to a head in a fairly wild finale with your traditional shoot 'em up and some well staged action sequences. B Western fans will recognize the guiding hand of Yakima Canutt behind the exciting stunt work, who also doubles as Flagg henchman Spider.

I've seen a lot of the Three Mesquiteers films--especially the ones starring Livingston, Corrigan and Terhune. So, I know that their films can certainly be better than this one. However, two big problems made this tough viewing. One is Elmer. No, I am not talking about Terhune's ventriloquist dummy by the same name (though he was always an unwelcome addition to their films), but a guy whose act is to do the most annoying and unfunny stuttering acts you could possibly see and hear. The guy stuttered MUCH worse than Porky Pig and it seemed cruel and unfunny--and completely unnecessary to the film. Second, the towns people were just too dumb--way too dumb.The film begins with lots of stock footage of flooding. The film concerns a group of folks who lost everything in these storms. A benefactor comes forward and offers to take them all out West to a new community he's building--and all at very, very low prices. But the guy is really a land swindler--and he's done it before and it's obvious he's about to do it again. When the perennial do-gooders, the Mesquiteers, find out, they go to warn the folks--who immediately mistreat them and treat them like lepers. Why, then, did the trio stay and help them out when they realized they were being swindled?! I felt that this was handled VERY poorly. The townsfolk reaction was bizarre and the Mesquiteers reaction to this was also quite odd. Still, if you love these films, this one is worth seeing and rather typical--but certainly more flawed than usual. If you aren't a fan...steer clear!

Ray Corrigan, Robert Livingston, and Max Terhune try to prevent a crooked real estate tycoon from swindling a group of displaced flood victims by selling them worthless farm land for twenty-five times the original price as part of a bigger scheme.Another light-weight, but watchable entry in Republic Pictures' Three Mesquiteers series, this one has the usual good photography, humor, and decent action scenes, including a good climax. Particularly enjoyable is the excellent rocky desert scenery.It's not the best or most memorable Mesquiteers adventure. However, it's fun while it lasts, with scene-stealing Terhune and his dummy getting the best moments this time around.