Outlaws of the Plains

Al St. John is fooling around with a crystal ball. An Indian voice advises him to go look for gold in a specific spot. The gold turns up, and he forms a company to buy the location, taking in money for the purpose without telling anyone where it is.

All of which reminds me of Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations, which have had a renewal of interest in the past ten years. There are various names for it, but what it comes down to is some entrepreneurs raise a pool of money, and then select a company to buy, frequently a privately held one. It's a way to take a company public, but my examination of several near the beginning of the current cycle indicates a very poor deal for the outside investors, since almost half of the money goes to pay the organizers, and they wind up with a lot of shares; outside investors get about a 45% haircut at the start.

That's assuming no outright fraud. Of course Fuzzy, it quickly being hoodwinked. Fortunately, Buster Crabbe, King of the Cowboys -- it says so right in the credits -- is on hand to look around and, the audience hopes, save the day. Sam Newfield directs competently but with no particular flair. St. John isn't particularly funny, and the usual crowd of western habituees show up.