Yellow Dust

One of the most familiar B-western themes is the big bad boss...the rich guy who is greedy and wants everything! So, when you see Hanway (Onslow Stevens)....you instantly recognize him as this character. So why is it that no one in this silly town recognizes this as well?!

When the movie begins, an old guy is involved with a shootout. You really aren't sure who's in the right....and Bob Culpepper (Richard Dix) doesn't question it when one guy shoots the other...he just helps bury the loser! During this burial, however, he strikes gold and the two men have a very rich strike. Not surprisingly, Hanway wants to steal this claim...and he's already involved in several other illegalities, such as having his men try to rob the stage. Can niceness possibly prevail or is Hanway destined to run everything and everyone? And, what does the pretty lady have to do with all this?

As you can assume from what I've already written, "Yellow Dust" is a formulaic film. Fortunately, formula can still be good if you have good actors--and Richard Dix was always terrific in westerns. And, because of this and better than normal production values, this is sort of like a B+ film....better than a typical B but not quite as fancy a production nor as long as an A film.

For what it is, it's quite good and enjoyable. Though predictable, it's well made and well acted.