“Charles STARRETT’S guns ablazing… Smiley BURNETTE’S fun amazing!” Charles Starret returns as the ever-popular Durango Kid, with tag-along, comic-relief sidekick Smiley Burnette. The desperadoes on display flesh out a fairly subversive plot for the time period, led by a corrupt arms dealer (Monte Blue) who cynically manipulates the fears of the local Indians and white settlers, selling rifles to both sides, then fomenting violence by attacking the settlers with his in-disguise henchmen. When the Durango Kid arrives on the scene, with the help of two young boys (one white, one Indian), he quickly gets to the bottom of what is really going on and attempts to patch things up before a full-scale range war erupts.
Ariel Schudson discusses Gower Gulch on the New Beverly blog.
