Pioneer Days: A Movie Review

Pioneer Days is a surprisingly charming b western picture from 1940 starring Jack Randall and directed by Harry S. Webb. The film has just the right mix of action, humor, and heroics to satisfy most fans of low budget western movies from that era.

The story opens with a trio of would be stagecoach robbers saving a beautiful young lady from a gang of other stagecoach robbers who beat them to their holdup. From that point on, the less than honest trio go out of their way to help the lovely girl after she is swindled out of her inheritance by an even more dishonest man than them.

If that summary seems a bit vague to you, I do apologize, but I think this works better the less you know about it. Also, the bare bones nature of the story is very similar to many other movies, but it plays out in some surprising ways here.

Jack Randall is suitably heroic in the lead, he carries himself with the right amount of swagger, and has enough charm to cover for his slightly wooden performance. Sadly, he was killed in a stunt accident five years after this movie, he was only 39 years old. That's a real shame, because I see enough potential in his performance here to show the makings of someone who could have been a genuine b-western legend along the lines of many less talented, but better known stars.

Director Harry S. Webb worked a lot in the western genre. His direction is generally quite efficient here, he keeps things moving at a fairly decent pace, handles the comedy well enough, and delivers the goods at the end of the day. This might serve as an interesting piece of trivia for some people; this film was his final directorial effort.

Pioneer Days is not the kind of picture that will stick with you, but I still found it mildly entertaining. Do I recommend it? Sure, for the right viewer. I trust my readers well enough to think that you should know whether or not you fit into that crowd. If it sounds like something you might enjoy, give it a try, it's short enough to not be considered much of a time investment.

-W. Jay Pinto

Six-Gun Song by Orlando Rigoni: A Book Review

 

Orlando Rigoni was an author that I was not familiar with, this book was another one of those blind fifty cent purchases from a local thrift store, based entirely on the strength of the cover. Now that I have finished this novel, I will be very actively looking for more material from this brilliant writer.

On the surface this is a very simple revenge tale, but Rigoni's unconventional approach to the storytelling makes this a rewarding read, and a genuine page-turner. I wish I could say more about the unconventional nature of the novel, but covering much of that nature would also enter into spoiler territory that I would prefer to avoid. Suffice to say that despite the derivative elements of the book's plot, the author took a path with the story that is likely to pleasantly surprise the average reader. Even readers like myself who read western tales all the time and have seen every cliche that one could think of at least a million times.

The story opens with a sixteen year old boy witnessing the murder of both his mother and his father. One of the three killers goes as far as to scalp the woman so as to make the crime scene look like the work of Apaches. The boy, Scott Gentry, had been away for several years before the killings, getting an education from his aunt, and was on his way back home when he witnessed the ghastly scene.

Gentry goes into hiding for three years, training himself in gun skills, hand-to-hand combat, and carefully plotting his revenge. After three years of hard work, Scott emerges as a strong, and dangerous man, ready for action, and hungry for revenge.

Now, I do realize just how cliched, and simplistic that plot sounds, but the approach to this story that Orlando Rigoni takes is so unique, and so original, that this tome is going to rank among my favorites. There are a surprising number of completely unexpected plot-twists in the narrative. The story benefits from incredibly engaging characters, religious imagery, and surprisingly philosophical thoughts on the nature of revenge.

Six-Gun Song is a brilliant novel. It was such an amazing pleasure to read that I can easily say that this is one of my highest possible recommendations. Seek this book out, you will not be sorry.

-W. Jay Pinto  

Apache Canyon by Brian Garfield: A Book Review

Brian Garfield is probably best known for his novel Death Wish, an action story about a modern day vigilante, which was later turned into an immensely popular motion picture featuring Charles Bronson, and also recently remade into another less popular movie starring Bruce Willis. Or perhaps you are familiar with his Edgar Award winning book Hopscotch which served as the basis for another popular film with Walter Matthau in the lead. Well, Brian Garfield also wrote a fair number of westerns too, and if Apache Canyon is a good example of his work in this genre, than I am very much looking forward to reading some more from this fine author.

Apache Canyon is a tightly written tale with a good deal of tension and very interesting characters. The story deals less in black and white absolutes, favoring a certain leaning towards moral ambiguity, and various shades of gray.

The story centers around the character of Will Brady, a professional scout doing contract work for the cavalry, and his contract is about to end. Will has no interest renewing his contract or continuing with his current lifestyle. The job was violent and bloody and the man no longer has the stomach for it. Brady dreams of retiring and building a horse ranch where he can live out the rest of his years in peace. But, with mere days left on the job, Will is presented with the problem of renegade Coyotero Apaches on the warpath, and it's his job to help round the renegades up, and return them to the reservation where they belong. Add into the mix a romantic subplot that features Will and another man's wife and you have a thoroughly engaging and exciting read.

The strengths of this novel are many, the writing is top notch, the characters are immensely interesting, and the story never wears out its welcome. Like I mentioned earlier, if this is a good example of what to expect from Brian Garfield, than I am hooked, and I plan on looking for more from this amazing author.

Honestly speaking, the only reason that I bought this book was because of the blurb on the cover that read; 'the author of Death Wish.' When you're looking at fifty cent novels at your local thrift store, you find yourself being a little more willing to take chances, and that tiny blurb seemed like a decent enough reason to take a chance. I'm glad I did.

-W. Jay Pinto

The Dude Ranger by Zane Grey: A Book Review

After the disappointing negative review that I gave to Arizona Ames earlier this month, I am pleased to give a positive recommendation to the Dude Ranger. This book a real gem and bound to entertain fans of the western genre.

Ernest Selby is a young man that has just inherited his late uncle's ranch in Arizona. Before setting out from Iowa to visit his ranch, Selby learns that much of the cattle have gone missing over the years, and he decides it's time to investigate the matter himself. He poses as a cowhand and gets a job on his own ranch. Eventually Ernest is able to put the pieces of the puzzle together, including the fact the foreman is a crook. Making matters worse is the fact that he has fallen in love with the foreman's daughter too.

Conceptually simple, but told in semi-epic proportions, the Dude Ranger is one of Zane Grey's better novels. If you're looking for a good entry point to introduce yourself to the works of this legendary author, you cannot go wrong with this book at all. 

I also noticed that a movie was made of this novel too. Oddly enough, for a book that runs more than 240 pages, it is a bit funny to see that the movie less than an hour long. I have not watched it yet, but perhaps it's time for a double feature consisting of the Dude Ranger, and Thunder Trail (the cinematic adaptation of Arizona Ames) which is also under an hour long.

-W. Jay Pinto

Murder At Goose Rapids by Frank Fields: A Book Review

Frank Fields is not an author that I am familiar with, but after reading this thoroughly enjoyable western adventure, I hope to come across more of this talented writer's work. I'm also hoping that I am able to eventually find out a bit more information on Mr. Fields too. 

I can say that the copy of Murder At Goose Rapids that I found at a local thrift store was a British edition, so that may mean that Frank Fields is an author from the United Kingdom. This might sound a bit surprising to some of my fellow Americans, but the British western fiction scene was a very real thing, particularly back in the seventies, and it did feature some very talented writers too. 

Essentially Murder At Goose Rapids starts out as a murder mystery, but then it turns into an exciting chase yarn in the final third of the book. It's a tightly told tale, with a number of interesting characters, and a plot that moves along at a more than decent pace.

When Sheriff Dan Robbins is murdered in the quiet cattle town of Goose Rapids, U.S. Marshal Ellis Stack is brought in to get to the bottom of the mystery, and bring Robbins' killer to justice. This leads to the introduction of a number of shifty suspects, all of which possessed a motive, and all of which had the chance to do the deadly deed.

Honestly, I found this novel to be a pleasant surprise. I was expecting a quick and possibly fun read, but what I got was a whole lot more than I could ever have expected. Check it out if you can find a copy, it's well worth a read.

-W. Jay Pinto

Arizona Ames by Zane Grey: A Book Review

Up until reading Arizona Ames I could easily and genuinely say that I thoroughly enjoy the writing of Zane Grey. But, this book was such a pointless slog of a novel that I can't possibly recommend it. It was slow moving and lacking any real narrative thread that joined the exploits of the main character to a story worth reading that the book literally shoots itself in the foot. And, the closest thing to an actual narrative thread that runs through-out the story is a bit bizarre, and kind of off-putting to modern readers at least.

I don't know if the idea of a man looking for a woman to settle down with that is exactly like his twin sister was a particularly strange concept when this novel was published in 1932, but today that seems a bit strange, at least it does to me. Plus, Arizona Ames is an incredibly boring novel, and that is an observation I rarely make about anything written by Zane Grey.

For the record, I have a personal rule that I tend to stick by, and it goes a bit like this; if I've made it fifty pages into a book and I have yet to lose interest, I stick it out, and finish the tome. Well, in the case of this particular piece of literature, I figured out that it was doing nothing for me at about page number seventy-five. So, sticking to my own personal rules of reading, I finished it, but boy was it a chore to do so.

The closest thing I can offer to a plot summary of this book is to say that the title character travels the wild west, getting into the occasional interesting adventure, but mostly looking for a girl just like his sister for the sake of romance. Is there any action? Yeah, there is, but mostly it falls short of the memorable variety.

Zane Grey is usually a recommendable author in my book, but this book is not one of the ones that I can recommend. It is dull, strange, and generally a waste of time.

Oddly enough, there is a movie adapted from this book, and I am tempted to give a shot as a viewer. That sounds a bit weird considering my opinion of the source material. But, perhaps a future review is brewing in my mind? Let me see how easy it is to find the movie.

-W. Jay Pinto

Quick-Trigger Country by Clem Colt: A Book Review

With a name that seems to pay tribute to both comedian Red Skelton's famous country bumpkin character (known as Clem Kadiddlehopper) and perhaps the most famous brand of gun (the Colt) in the wild west, Clem Colt is a name that screams alias, and a quick Google search proved my suspicions correct. Clem Colt was in fact a pen name used by the famous western genre novelist Nelson C. Nye. 

Nye was a popular and very prolific author and although this is the first book I've read by the man, I can guarantee you it will not be the last. His writing is both fun and engaging, it delivers the goods on almost every level that a genre fan could desire.

Quick-Trigger Country follows the misadventures of a young outlaw named Turkey Red. Turkey's exploits take place in the legendary town of Tombstone, AZ and the book is loaded with the famous historical characters that one would expect serving as notable supporting players.

Turkey joins an outlaw gang that is headed up by Curly Bill (a legendary criminal that Red wishes to be more like) and he is surrounded by gang members with names like Ringo, Stilwell, and Clanton, all of which are names that should be familiar to anyone that is familiar with the story of the O.K. Corral. The narrative is also peppered with appearances by the likes of the Earp brothers as well. Oddly enough though, Curly Bill is given the last name of Graham in the novel when it is very clear that the character is actually William Brocius, but a minute's worth of research on Wikipedia informed me that another outlaw named Curly Bill Graham was operating in the same area at the same time, and some historians have mixed up the actions of one criminal with the other.

Over the course of the narrative Turkey Red begins to question his loyalty to Curly Bill and this leads to tensions that build as the story progresses. As Red begins to realize just how ruthless Bill really is he starts to emerge as an actual hero. Along the way a romantic triangle is worked into the plot that helps to drive the story forward and leads to a somewhat satisfying ending, although it is unfortunately a somewhat anti-climatic ending too.

Quick-Trigger Country is definitely not a classic of the genre, but it is a fun read that is worth seeking out. It's the kind of book that does not wear out its welcome for the bulk of its content, it's just stuck with a less than fully satisfying ending.

-W. Jay Pinto