The Cowboy and the Bandit

Rex Lease was probably supposed to be on his way to stardom, but for whatever reason didn't make it. He stayed busy, but in smaller and smaller parts -- often really shining, though.

In "The Cowboy and the Bandit" he gave possibly his finest starring performance, handling both the more intimate moments as well as the action beautifully.

His young co-star, native Californian Bobby Nelson, pretty much stole the film, throwing himself into the role and showing himself a good cowboy, riding like a pro and handling his action too.

Leading lady Blanche Mehaffey played no shrinking violet and watching her in her biggest action scene was a real treat.

Bad guys were superbly played by -- and this is surprising -- mostly unbilled but excellent performers such as the great Lafe McKee, George Chesebro, Victor Potel, and Ben Corbett. Most of them steal their scenes, too.

Billed were Franklyn Farnum and William Desmond, among others, and however small the budget was, there was no stinting of top-notch performing talent.

They had a great script to work from, written by Jack Jevne, who had 88 credits lasting into the mid-1950s, and I want to see every one of his films. This script had humor and drama, and great attention to detail.

Paying attention to that detail was director Albert Herman, whose 194 credits extended into movies and TV of the early 1950s. The little touches he brought were not always present in this kind of low-budget Western, and he deserves a lot a praise for being part of a superlative company producing and presenting a superlative motion picture.

Westerns on the Web allows us to see this mostly unknown and seldom-seen Western, and Bob Terry and his associates really deserve our biggest Thank You. "The Cowboy and the Bandit" is one I highly recommend. You can see it at YouTube. And should.