Desperadoes of the West

This serial, like so many others from Republic contains all of the Saturday afternoon requisites - saloon brawls, gunfights, explosions, wagons over the cliff, split second escapes etc. The stuntwork, as always, is state of the art.

The plot matter little as all of the western serials of the period had basically the same plot - hero/heroine in distress, evil (trying to take over the territory) villains, secret hideouts etc.

This serial benefits from the inclusion in the cast of Richard Powers (aka Tom Keene) as the hero and I. Stanford Jolly and the ever-present Roy Barcroft as the villains.

Like so many serials of this period, Desperadoes of the West employed the use of extensive stock footage from earlier productions. Hence you will see the hero and villains often for no reason, change costumes many times throughout the serial,in order for them to match the earlier footage.

A competent serial from the Republic thrill factory.

Among other praiseworthy points, the heroine, well played by the lovely and sparkling Judy Clark, is feisty and spunky, and quick to jump into a fight to help the good guys, whether a physical battle or a gunfight. No shrinking violet she, and also not a love interest.

In fact, this exciting serial is rather different: The hero, played by Tom Keene in one of his several alternate names, and who was about 54 years old at time of filming, is quick-fisted, very athletic and always willing to tangle with the villains, and a good horseman -- but not a romance figure.

His partner, Rusty Steele (intentionally funny name?), is played by Lee Phelps, credited here at IMDb with 669 roles. Steele is not exactly the model hero either but Rusty has his share of fights, and is right there for the gun battles, too.

The "brains heavy" is played by one of the most under-rated actors in Hollywood, I. Stanford Jolley. Too often he was uncredited and didn't even have lines, but here he is the thinker, the leader of the gang, but also ready and willing to grab a gun to accomplish his ends.

His action heavy is one of the highly recognized, even acclaimed, villains and character actors, the more-than-great Roy Barcroft.

One of the really good things about this serial is that even the bad guys have personalities. Many of them, as well as many of the good guys, get a chance to play center stage. We get to see Dennis Moore., Hank Patterson, and Bud Osborne twice, as well as some of the other greatest Western character players in movies.

John Cason, whom I just while watching this serial discovered to be left-handed, gets to play one of the strong supporters of the good guys, working the oil rig and fighting off the bad guys.

Some of the chapter endings cannot be called "cliff-hangers," but the action, the fights, the horse chases are continuous. The acting and the characterizations are excellent. The directing is right on, as is the camera work.

One definite flaw is that sometimes dead people are forgotten and are left lying on the ground or beside the road, a common-enough error in too many movies.

But I can and must highly recommend "Desperadoes of the West," and you can find a good print on YouTube.

The other review of this 1950 Republic western serial described it as "competent", and I second that. It's solid, features fistfights and gunfights and bar brawls and wagon/horse chases galore, and works well as bread-and-butter western entertainment--kind of like the later Rocky Lane films. The plot involves a collective of rural folk who have some oil leases, which are being sabotaged by evil Easterner I. Stanford Jolley (in an outlandish stovepipe hat, as oily as ever!). The head man for the locals is the great 30s western star Tom Keene, now billed as "Richard Powers" as he was during his 40s/50s supporting actor period. It's great to see the star of OUR DAILY BREAD as the star of a film once again, and he brings a kind of depth and gravitas to the role that the usual late-Republic bland leading men, chosen to match the Republic stunt men, usually lack. The mature Mr. Keene is obviously doubled in the fights A LOT, but that's OK--he's an impressive hero anyway. Roy Barcroft is along for the ride as Jolley's henchman, and such western stalwarts of Dennis Moore (as a workman drinking on the job!) and George Chesebro (as a wagon driver, if I remember correctly) are in small roles and not even billed. As I observed in my review of GOVERNMENT AGENTS VERSUS PHANTOM LEGION, a Republic serial from 1951, there was a kind of generic quality to some of the Republic product in this period (except for those that still had a weirdness quotient, such as JUNGLE DRUMS OF Africa or Canadian MOUNTIES VS ATOMIC INVADERS), but star Keene, the fine supporting cast, and an oilfield setting, make this serial a LITTLE bit different. Fans of "b" westerns or post-World War II Republic serials should find this entertaining and worthwhile, but it may drag a bit for the general audience.

Republic's serial division was running out of steam about the time they made this one. Of interest, as always, is Roy Barcroft as the action heavy...another good, solid performance. Stan Jolley is a suitably oily villain, and heroine Judy Clark actually gets to fire a gun at a critical moment. The poor saloon gets wrecked every other chapter, and the hero is as memorable as last year's breakfast, but there actually is a plot, and most of the cliffhanger endings are good, if reused from other serials. Good deal if at a good sale price...