Don't Believe the Hype

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Mint worker Pat Doyle (John St. Polis) is kidnapped by a gang of outlaws, and forced to make counterfeit bill blanks for a gang of thieves. Tim Hayes (Tim McCoy) is sent to track down where the bills are coming from. It all runs like an episode of "Dragnet", but its okay. Some terrible acting by Doyle's "wife" (Suzanne Kaaaren) when she goes storming into the Bureau's office and demands action. The usual oat-burner horse chases, as they go after the gang. Filmed at Corriganville... if you haven't read up on it or visited, it has a fun history, and now its a county park! The actors and director (Sam Newfield) had all started in silents, so they knew the business well enough. Newfield and his brother were the big cheeses at PRC Pictures for a time. The usual western. It's a very okay shortie, at 53 minutes. It's exactly what you think its going to be.

In my summary, I call "Phantom Ranger" a hybrid western. That's because like so many B-westerns of the era, it is set in the West...of the present day. This makes for a strange combination of the old and the new. So, while Tim McCoy rides about on his horse, in another scene you might see folks in a pickup truck! It's odd, but it's also entertaining.film is about a rash of counterfeit $20 bills. It seems a gang in southern Arizona has kidnapped an engraver and is forcing him to make very high quality forgeries. So, the FBI sends Tim to investigate...given that he's a cowboy AND a G-man!! Like so many of McCoy's films, he poses as a bad guy in order to infiltrate the gang and by the end he's not only rounded up the gang but also gotten the girl (huge surprise here!).While a relatively ordinary plot, I liked the film for a few reasons. First, I have a soft spot in my heart for Tim McCoy. He was no pretty-boy singing cowboy but in real life was a Colonel as well as traveling trick-shooter. And, he could act. So, while some of the folks around him have trouble remembering their lines or are a bit irritating (such as the dopey girl), he's smooth and likable. I also LOVED the incredibly violent ending--it was really cool. So, if you like old B-westerns, this one is worth your time and without so many of the usual clichés--singing, a dopey sidekick and the like.