The draw for this picture would presumably be the character of Wild Bill Hickok, but when all is said and done, the story plays out pretty much like any of hundreds of 'B' programmers from the Thirties and Forties. George Houston presents a fairly rugged and good looking portrayal of the title character and it's pretty much his picture all the way. Al (Fuzzy) St. John is Wild Bill's sidekick, Whiney Roberts, and I have to give some writer credit here; Whiney does seem to be a cross between a fox terrier and a jackrabbit.
The story itself is a fairly standard and typical one for an old Western. Cattle rustlers are stealing large herds and disposing of lawmen sent to investigate, so Wild Bill is called upon to lend his Civil War buddy Steve Norris (Dave O'Brien) a hand when his own herd goes missing. When you get right down to it, you have to wonder why Wild Bill was given a nominal partner for this one; Fuzzy doesn't have much to do here except watch Bill go one on one with the bad guys. At least he's comical to watch.
I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm usually surprised to hear how black characters were treated in these old films. There's a party scene at the Norris home where Hickok calls over the black family butler, saying 'Oh, come here boy". It's a rather innocuous line, but Mantan Moreland is such a great character actor that he's able to brush it off easily enough. I would have liked to see more of him in the picture, but he was only around for a few minutes. That didn't stop him though, from getting in the film's best line in a funny scene with Fuzzy. Neither of them can read, but Moreland has a unique explanation for why he can't read a hand written note - "I can read readin', but I can't read writin'." You know, I thought about that for a while, and it almost made sense!
The story itself is a fairly standard and typical one for an old Western. Cattle rustlers are stealing large herds and disposing of lawmen sent to investigate, so Wild Bill is called upon to lend his Civil War buddy Steve Norris (Dave O'Brien) a hand when his own herd goes missing. When you get right down to it, you have to wonder why Wild Bill was given a nominal partner for this one; Fuzzy doesn't have much to do here except watch Bill go one on one with the bad guys. At least he's comical to watch.
I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm usually surprised to hear how black characters were treated in these old films. There's a party scene at the Norris home where Hickok calls over the black family butler, saying 'Oh, come here boy". It's a rather innocuous line, but Mantan Moreland is such a great character actor that he's able to brush it off easily enough. I would have liked to see more of him in the picture, but he was only around for a few minutes. That didn't stop him though, from getting in the film's best line in a funny scene with Fuzzy. Neither of them can read, but Moreland has a unique explanation for why he can't read a hand written note - "I can read readin', but I can't read writin'." You know, I thought about that for a while, and it almost made sense!