Stagecoach Kid

This entry in the Tim Holt B western series for RKO takes some inspiration from another gender bending film classic the studio did back in the Thirties, Sylvia Scarlett. Though Jeff Donnell isn't Katharine Hepburn, this film has a few more laughs in it than the normal Holt western where usually the laughs are provided by Richard Martin's amorous intentions.

Thurston Hall and daughter Jeff Donnell are traveling to Arizona for him to check on one of his holdings, a ranch there and for Donnell to get away from some fortune hunter who's been romancing her. That's bad news for Joe Sawyer and a couple of hands there who've been stealing the absentee owner blind. Sawyer should have listened to his two henchmen who said it was time to flee the territory. Instead they set up an ambush to murder Hall.

Bad luck to do it though within hearing range of the stagecoach station that Holt and Martin operate on their ranch. But does a thwarted stage holdup deter Donnell? Not a bad, she's determined to get back to San Francisco and marry her guy. While in town she sneaks away and dons the disguise of a boy and gets on the coach.

No need to tell the rest of the story, it's set up nicely for quite a few laughs as well as the usual gunfights that are required. Stagecoach Kid is definitely one of the better Tim Holt westerns that RKO did and Donnell is quite a good comedienne.

When the owner of the ranch runs into trouble with the bunch of crooks in the ol west, Collins (Tim Holt) tries to help. "Jessie", the ranch owner's daughter (Jeff Donnell), can ID the crooks, but decides to masquerade as a man for some unknown reason. It's all so more complicated than it needs to be. Some great scenes of the Alabama Hills, where SO MANY old westerns were made. The constant, silly "mis-understandings" and complaining by Jessie got annoying after a while. It's a very, typical western, bad guys on the run from the good guys. Tim Holt died quite young at 54 from the cancer. Directed by Lew Landers, who directed TONS of films in the 1930s and 1940s. It's pretty good. Plain, simple wester, with some great outdoor chase scenes. Oatburners...

Yes, it is your typical Tim Holt western which makes it well worth watching at least twice. There are thieves, shoot-em-ups, horse chases, and women looking for love. It's just another one of many great Tim Holt westerns. I enjoyed it.

After building his fortune in San Francisco, millionaire Peter Arnold (Thurston Hall) is heading to his ranch to retire, taking with him his daughter Jessie (Jeff Donnell) who wants to go back to San Francisco. But it seems that Arnold's ranch foreman, Thatcher (Joe Sawyer) has been lining his own pockets whilst running the ranch and knows that when Arnold discovers the truth the good times will be over. It is why Thatcher has a couple of men attack the stagecoach which Arnold and Jessie are travelling on but are thwarted by Dave (Tim Holt) and Chito (Richard Martin). When the same two henchmen rob another stagecoach Dave and Chito find themselves going after the stolen gold whilst Dave has to deal with Jessie who after masquerading as a cowboy finds herself falling for Dave.

It's a Tim Holt western but cutie Jeff Donnell steals the scene with her comic timing. She plays the daughter of a rich man who wants to return to San Francisco- there's some humorous lines, an air of lightness amidst the usual sagebrush action. It has shades of "It happened one night" and it's quite surprising that Chico didn't get the gal in the end. It's strange that Chico is meant to be girl crazy but he didn't figure out that "Jesse James" is Jeff Donnell! But Tim Holt knew all along. It's a thoroughly fun western with a grand location. One of Tom Holt's best.

Donnell may not be as pretty as the standard girl lead, but she's a very good comedienne. In fact, her amusing impersonation of a boy (Jessie) just about overshadows the rest of this oater. The plot itself is fairly typical—crooked ranch hands try to bump off the boss, and in the process also steal Dave's (Holt) stage line gold shipment. Naturally Dave doesn't take kindly to this, and so the conflict takes off from there. Complicating things is Jessie who falls big time for Dave who, amusingly, thinks she's a boy, leading to some interesting situations.

Aside from Donnell's expert turn, director Landers makes scenic use of the neolithic Alabama Hills familiar to generations of Western fans. In fact, for a journeyman director some of the outdoor staging is downright inspired (Jessie running across the flats in a long shot). Good to see veteran actors like Sawyer, Hall, and the mustachioed MacDonald (as a sheriff, no less!), picking up a payday. My only question is what Birdie (Carol Hughes) is doing in the movie since her role seems unnecessary—the romantic stuff being handled by Donnell. Probably, they wanted a foil for Chito (Martin); after all, this may be the only matinée series where the sidekick is handsomer than the lead!

Anyway, it's a solid series entry with a standout performance and a bunch of fine outdoor scenery.