Buckaroo from Powder River

In this 1947 cowboy programmer , Charles Starrett returns in his role as the black-masked Durango Kid. The great Smiley Burnette is along again to help Durango bust up a counterfeiting ring in his usual, commanding way.

Along the way, a villain's step-son joins forces with the Kid, even masquerading as him to fool the no good thieving ruffians ! Burnette is outstanding as the sidekick, and the Cass County Boys are in fine form with their musical numbers.

The Durango Kid films are always enjoyable and I found this one very interesting. It was a good mix of action , humor and music. This one should appeal to all genre fans.

Bandit Pop Ryland and his two sons, Clint and Dave, are planning their biggest job; the printing and distribution of territorial bonds. The elder Ryland contracts a hired gunman, McCall, to dispose of his stepson, Tommy, who knows what his step-family members are up to. The Durango Kid captures McCall, takes the letter and presents himself, Steve Lacey, as the hired killer. He stages a fake killing, and discovers the Ryland's scheme. Cling ambushes Durango and is killed in a gunfight, and Durango also shoots McCall who has made an escape. Cash-Register salesman Smiley Burnette aids Steve/Durango in rounding up the remaining villains.

Pop Ryland and his broods ( his real sons and not his stepson who he wants to bump off) are a mean bunch and they lend an edginess to the breeziness of this Durango Kid entry. There's some nifty subterfuge with Durango faking the stepson's death as well as getting him to play Durango in order to fool the boy's evil stepdad and stepbrothers into thinking that Steve (aka Durango) is doing the job they had hired him to do, plus they know he isn't the Durango kid.