Plot

Filmed in less than glorious two-strip Cinecolor, this average Eddie Dean western benefited from Dean performing "Ride on the Tide of a Song", "Journey's End"and "I Can Tell by the Stars". The story surrounding all this warbling, however, was the standard one of a gang of thugs interfering with the building of the telegraph. Headed by Drake Dawson (Terry Frost) and a crooked lay judge (Warner P. Richmond), the gang stirs up trouble among the local Indians, who are persuaded that the telegraph may mean the end of the buffalo. Enter retired rangers Eddie Dean, Soapy Jones (Roscoe Ates) and Stormy Day (Al "Lash" La Rue), who are persuaded back in harness to secure the prompt continuation of the building project. Carrie Bannister (Sarah Padden), the widow of a slain ranger captain, persuades her friend Chief Black Fox (Chief Yowlachie) to help secure the telegraph rather than oppose its construction. On their way to gather more information on the outlaws, Soapy and Skinny (Robert "Buzzy" Henry, Mrs. Bannister's young son, are ambushed by Dawson's men. Discovering an abandoned gun near a wounded Skinny, Soapy recognizes the weapon as belonging to the murdered Captain Bannister. When Eddie learns that Dawson himself is carrying a matching gun, Bannister's murderer has finally been found. The rangers arrive just in time to round up the gang and, peace finally restored, a recovered Skinny is made an honorary ranger. A truncated black and white version of this film was released in 1948 under the title of Prairie Outlaws, presumably in order to cash in on the appearance of Al "Lash" La Rue, who by then had his own starring series. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Review

Opening with quite a bit of stock footage, some of which dates back to the silent era, PRC's color western Wild West is a moderately entertaining music oater and the third and last to team the sometimes awkward Eddie Dean with the more kinetic Al "Lash" la Rue. Dean sings his songs in the prescribed matter and doesn't lose his hat in the clinches with Terry Frost and his gang. La Rue, whose resemblance to a young Humphrey Bogart is more startling than ever, cracks his trademark whip a couple of times, at one point catching a severely overweight Bud Osborne, and Roscoe Ates keeps his stammer to a minimum. Louise Currie and Jean Carlin add a bit of feminine appeal to the proceedings but have very little to do with the general plot. The girls are offered even less screen time in the truncated 1948 black and white version of the film, re-titled Prairie Outlaws. All but one of the songs are also gone and the plot seems hurried at times. The recycled version, however, added a prologue in which Dean and Ates are seen driving their cattle to market, the third hero, La Rue, suddenly appearing on the scene with no explanation. Presumably, Prairie Outlaws was quickly assembled to cash in on La Rue's newfound popularity. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Cast

• Eddie Dean - Himself
• Lee Bennett - Butler
• Roscoe Ates - Soapy
• John Bridges - Constable
• Jean Carlin - Mollie
• Louise Currie - Florabelle

Bob Duncan - Rockey; Terry Frost - Drake Dawson; Robert "Buzzy" Henry - Skinny; Sarah Padden - Carrio; Frank Pharr - Doctor; Warner P. Richmond - Judge Templeton; Lee Roberts - Capt. Rogers; Matty Roubert - Halfbreed Charlie; Al Ferguson - Kansas; Buzz Henry - Skinny; Lash LaRue - Stormy; Bud Osborne - Cactus; Chief Yowlachie - Chief Black Fox; Flash the Horse

Credit

Edward C. Jewell - Art Director, Karlice - Costume Designer, Robert Emmett Tansey - Director, Hugh Wynn - Editor, Karl Hajos - Musical Direction/Supervision, Eddie Dean - Songwriter, Louis Herscher - Songwriter, Dorcas Cochran - Songwriter, Charles Rosoff - Songwriter, Fred Jackman, Jr. - Cinematographer, Fred Jackson, Jr. - Cinematographer, Robert Emmett Tansey - Producer, Frances Kavanaugh - Screenwriter

Previous:	Wild Weed (1949 Film), Wild Times (1979 Film)
Next:	Wild West (1992 Film), Wild West Days (1937 Film)