Purely Joyful Movie!

Dreadfully Boring

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Routine oater at best. Mc Coy can do the hard-eyed stare with the best of them, while his 20- gallon hat tops about everything in sight. The plot's a fairly standard one—Baxter (McCoy) getting back from town's crooks what's been stolen from him. I like the unexpected twist with young Johnny (Darrow) that makes a surprise plot complication. The trouble is there's neither much action nor hard riding (with one notable exception). Plus, the scenery never gets out of the LA area scrublands. Still, this was a payday for a lot of middle-age supporting actors, including the 45-year old McCoy and the sepulchral Charles Middleton also known as Ming the Merciless from the old Buck Rogers serial. All in all, the 60-minutes is not in the front rank of horse operas but still enough for this front-row geezer.

Well it's been a while since I've seen a Tim McCoy Western so when "Square Shooter" popped up on the Encore Western Channel this morning it wasn't much of a decision to tune in. The restoration done on the film is admirable, with a crisp and clean viewing experience throughout. Tim's last name in this one is Baxter and he's got a sidekick named Johnny (John Darrow), though he's not there to provide comic relief. In fact, a little tension builds between the two men over pretty Sally Wayne (Jacqueline Wells), who has an eye for Johnny, with McCoy's character on the outs in the romance department. It all gets resolved by the end of the story. Now that I'm thinking about it, perhaps the restoration shown this morning took account of the Wells credit, because she's listed on this site using the name Julie Bishop. The cast list in the film has Miss Wells credited with her real name.In the story, McCoy has just been released from a five year prison sentence after being framed for killing his uncle. The uncle's ranch wound up in the hands of Jed Miller (Charles Middleton), while other properties and holdings fell to Jim Thorne (Wheeler Oakman) and King City banker Root (William V. Mong). Baxter's mission includes finding the real will to his uncle's ranch and exposing the baddies for their complicity in splitting up the uncle's properties. Villain Thorne attempts to instigate a rift between Johnny and Tim, and it might have worked after Johnny catches his partner about to kiss Miss Sally. The honorable Baxter bows out gracefully though as soon as he realizes Sally and Johnny have eyes for each other.If you're quick enough to catch it, check out the price of pie and coffee at Sally Wayne's King City Lunch Room. You can't go wrong for ten cents. I can't imagine what the paying customer had for breakfast for the fifty cents he handed over to Sally, but by that time everyone in town was in a tizzy over Tim Baxter's arrival.I haven't seen John Darrow before, the actor who played Tim's partner. He seemed likable enough and a fair catch for Sally, but it surprised me to see him put on an apron to help her wash and dry the dishes. I guess it was worth it though because at the end of the story, when the hero usually gets to kiss the girl, this time it was Johnny instead. I guess Tim must have rode off into the sunset all by himself.

Colonel Tim McCoy starred in many great western films in a career that lasted from the silent era through the 1960's. His on screen persona was matched by his heroic off-screen exploits. This film is a well written saga of a stolen inheritance and McCoy's attempts to regain what is rightfully his.This film has a good mix of action, humor and suspense. Tim McCoy excelled in this genre and was aided here by a good supporting cast.The story is compelling and a notch above most films of the era. No needless singing cowboys or clown-like sidekicks are to be found here ......Despite its age, this film holds up well and is worth watching again & again !