The Kid from Broken Gun

This late entry in the long-running Durango Kid series is flawed by being told in flashbacks.

It gets rather muddled because people are shown knowing stuff they really couldn't have known.

Still, the cast is great, and it's star Charles Starrett's last movie, so it is a must see.

Myron Healey gets a chance at something unusual, too: Instead of a gun-carrying bad guy, he's the prosecuting attorney. (The other comment, at this writing the only other one, gets something wrong: It's not the Starrett character on trial; it's the title character, the Kid from Broken Gun.)

John Cason is one of the gun-carriers, and he is accompanied by some familiar faces who aren't listed in the credits, even here at IMDb.com, and that's a shame.

Tris Coffin does get credit, and he is such a smooth actor, I often wonder why he didn't get more fame and a closer approach to real stardom. He had good looks, a pleasing manner, even as a bad guy, and a beautiful voice.

Smiley Burnette has a strange musical interlude that seems to have been included just to pad out the movie ... yet it has its own charm, even if it seemingly drags down the movie.

The action is great fun to watch. My guess is Ted Mapes did the stunts (because he was Starrett's stunt double in the series' beginning, as well as Gary Cooper's and Jimmy Stewart's), but Jock Mahoney has a major part, and watching his athletic grace adds a lot to the general enjoyment.

He reminded me of David Sharpe in some of his movements, the way he vaulted over a hitching post, for example, instead of walking around.

Maybe it is a shame that Charles Starrett should end his career with such a poor script. He really deserved better. But there is ultimately more good than bad and "The Kid from Broken Gun" is, really, a must see.

(((This is added after seeing information about Ted Mapes at http://www.b-westerns.com/stunt12.htm: Likely he was not the stuntman; more likely it was Jock Mahoney.)))