The Man from Tumbleweeds

There's lots of six-gun action and hard riding with more intrigue than usual for a matinée entry. Crime boss Kilgore is pillaging the state until Wild Bill arrives to head up a ranger force recruited from the state prison. Everybody's got a sneaky plan to nail the opposition. Add a tricky informant who goes back and forth between the sides, and you may need a scorecard.

Elliot is really good at being tough and even downright mean when the occasion calls for it. In my book, he's one of the few matinée heroes who could also play a bad guy as well as a good. Here, however, he stays pretty nice, but is still convincing as the head ranger. Pretty girl Meredith gets more plot than usual for pretty girls and even gets to sling a gun at the bad guys.

Of course, no one expects high drama from these matinée specials. Still, this one's notable for its cult director, Joseph H. Lewis, who was clearly perfecting his technique with crashing windows and complex plots. Too bad the action itself never gets out of the scrubby LA area, but Lewis makes good use of what he's got. Okay, this former Front Row kid still looks at these oaters with 12-year old eyes, so I'm probably not the best critic. But I still think it delivers the goods for old time fans.