The Prescott Kid

The previous review pretty much tells it well, but I just want to add a couple of observations. The director is David Selman and his page indicates a rather modest career, mostly in the B-movie world. But he tried nicely in this film to make this picture just a tad tighter in direction than one expects in B pictures and he extracted a goodly amount of footage of faces looking at one another in well thought-out camera angles, some up close and others from a distance. Additionally, Selman made good use of McCoy's sharp and evaluative eyes. The brief and subdued musical interlude that lasted about a minute during a poignant scene in the barn between McCoy and Sheila Manners (Bromley) was notable and welcome for its inclusion. That scene was well-played by all concerned; even the lighting was effective.

Turning to the more trivial, I wish they could have included a scene about how and where Tim replaced his hat! I couldn't help but also think of how the saloon piano player sounded like he had been influenced by the stride playing of Fats Waller, who in 1934 was a strong presence in America's developing and changing musical tastes. Lastly, look out for appearances by the venerable players Tom London and Charles King. This is a good and almost sophisticated cowboy film, as many were when they included Tim McCoy.