Clayton Moore, the desperado known as the Hawk, has been terrorizing the town of Wild River. Probably that's why this episode of the Charles Starrett/Durango Kid B westerns is called The Hawk Of Wild River (1952). Smiley Burnnette shows up doing tintypes, soon followed by Starrett, who plays his two-toned character with his usual aplomb.

The series was a top moneymaker among B westerns, and given the excellence of the print I saw, it's hardly surprising. Director Fred Sears blends comedy and thrills very well, and DP Fayte M. Browne shows that just because you were stuck in the B westerns didn't mean you couldn't shoot the Iverson Ranch well, whipping the camera around as the horses take a corner during the final chase. Sometimes you forget the essential competence of the staff, given the murky prints fans usually have to put up with.

Unfortunately, the B western was on its last legs. The series would last only another four movies and six months before Columbia closed the series down, and the would-be cowboy stars followed Gene Autry and Roy Rogers into TV.

Well I've seen Jock Mahoney and Clayton Moore in several Durango Kid flicks, but never at the same time so this was somewhat of a treat today. Usually they're portraying bandits, but in this one Mahoney's on the side of the law when he becomes sheriff after his father is gunned down by outlaw Hawk's (Moore) henchmen. I thought it kind of curious that Mahoney's character in the story went by his real name Jack. Standing next to Charles Starrett, it was pretty obvious that Durango was reaching the end of the movie trail as his co-star was quite a bit younger and much better looking.

If you're a Western movie fan, it might be easy to get this title mixed up with "The Hawk of Powder River". I almost did and had to do a quick check of my other reviews to be sure I hadn't seen this one yet. The Powder River story was an Eddie Dean flick and the Hawk in that one was a woman outlaw and leader of her own gang!

I got a kick out of Syd Saylor in this picture, portraying a traveling dentist by the name of Yank Em Out Kennedy. He manages to hypnotize Smiley Burnette into thinking he's an Indian, Big Chief Granite Jaw. The gimmick is good for a few laughs, including a scenario where Smiley stumbles into the outlaw camp and Durango has to set him straight.

Keep attentive in that scene when Durango as Steve Martin goes into the general store and picks out a bone handled 44-40 from the showcase. He loads two bullets into the chamber and proceeds to fire three shots! How did he do that? And say, when Martin plans his jail break with the Hawk, didn't it strike you as odd that there would be a window in their jail cell? They could just as easily have waited till night time and gotten out the window with no problem.

But you know, the ending of the story was a baffler to me in as much as Durango managed to shoot The Hawk way too easy. It didn't even seem like a challenge once they finally faced each other. With the picture clocking in at fifty three minutes, you would think they could have come up with something a bit more dramatic.

Anyway I had this thought. You know how Steve Martin rode a dark horse and Durango Kid rode a white one, presumably to further keep their identities more secret. Going to all that trouble, It seems to me that Durango could have had it a lot easier if he just put a mask on his horse.

One of the best loved & most prolific of western movie series were the Durango Kid films. Charles Starrett starred as the black -masked cowboy hero, righting wrongs and fighting injustice in the old west. His regular sidekick was the great Smiley Burnette, finest of the western comedians !

In this fun, action-filled movie, our two heroes are in all sorts of jams, eventually coralling the bad guy & saving the day. Two beloved western series stars are on hand in the great supporting cast. Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger) and Jock Mahoney (Range Rider) are featured in this star-studded B-western !

Enjoy this very entertaining tale of the Durango Kid !!!