Simply A Masterpiece

Powerful

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The title, "Blazing Six-Shooters" is a bit misleading since I only counted three shots through the whole movie. In fact this Charles Starrett series western has hardly any action at all. There are no gunfights and the fisticuffs are kept to a minimum.The story has rival ranchers, Dan Kenyon (Henry Hall) and Mark Rawlins (George Cleveland) bickering over selling their respective ranches to speculator Bert Karsin (Al Bridge). It seems that Kenyon foreman Lash Bender (Dick Curtis) had discovered silver ore on both ranches and has teamed up with Karsin to gain ownership of the ranches.Jeff Douglas (Starrett) and his riders (Sons of the Pioneers) arrive on the scene. Jeff immediately notices Kenyon's comely young niece Janet (Iris Meredith) who is part owner of the ranch. Lash and Karsin become nervous when Jeff begins asking questions. Winthrop (Bruce Bennett) a mining engineer, confirms the silver ore as genuine.Meanwhile , Dan loans Rawlins $10,000 to help him pay off his debts (That's what friends are for), but Lash witnesses the transaction and follows Rawlins home and steals the money. The next day, Dan suspecting that something is afoot finds silver ore fragments on his property but is followed by Lash who murders him. Rawlins is immediately under suspicion. An inquest determines that Kenyon's death was accidental.Jeff suspects Karsin and Lash and sets out to trap them into revealing their plans while obtaining a confession for the murder. First he inspects the death scene and concludes that Kenyon was murdered. Then he sets up a phony sale of the Kenyon ranch with Karsin, who double crosses Lash in the process. Karsin pays for the ranch with the stolen money which is matched to the rest of the funds that Kenyon had retained in his safe. Then Lash discovers the double cross and..........................................................................A good cast makes this film better than it really is. Starrett is well, Starrett. The supporting players are above average. Bridge and Curtis make formidable villains and Hall and Cleveland are excellent as the old rivals. Iris Meredith has little to do but back Jeff's play and be there for him at the end. The sons of the Pioneers also boost the quality with Bob Nolan and Pat Brady (who provides the film's comic relief) having small roles as well as singing a couple of tunes.I was surprised to see Bruce Bennett in the cast in a relatively small role. He had recently changed his name from Herman Brix (a former Tarzan) to Bennett. He would go on to greater success shortly hereafter. Also in the cast, playing a sheriff no less, is usual bad guy Edmund Cobb.