Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Charming and brutal

Brilliant and touching

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

With the exception that the lead is now an official law enforcement Straight Shooter is a remake of that other B picture classic Phantom Of The Range that Tom Tyler was the star.Tim McCoy is the lead in this film and he's a hard riding, hard shooting son of the west who also happens to work for the Federal Bureau Of Investigation anticipating the Cowboy G-Men television series by a decade. He's bought himself a ranch at an auction outbidding Julie Sheldon the former owner's niece and Forest Taylor head of the bad guys who killed the former owner.What's hidden is a fortune in government bonds which brings the FBI in on the case. That's what everybody's looking for.If you saw the Tom Tyler feature you know how things work out in Straiht Shooter.

This is one of eight 'Lightning Bill Carson' films made by Tim McCoy in the late 1930s. While I think McCoy is one of the very best of the B-western stars, his Bill Carson films are among his very best--making them mandatory viewing for people who love this genre. Why are they enjoyable? Well, the films are more plot-driven than many cowboy films--without the usual unnecessary singing to get in the way. Also, McCoy was in real life an amazing hand with the gun--and traveled the country performing trick shooting and the fast draw. And, finally, these films usually gave McCoy a greater chance to show his acting abilities, as Carson often went undercover to investigate crimes. In some, he posed as a Mexican bandit and in others he even tried posing as a Chinese man! In retrospect, the Chinese angle was NOT one of the series' best decisions! But, the other roles were wonderfully entertaining."Straight Shooter" begins with some baddies trying to kill a guy and steal a half million in bonds. While they do succeed in killing the poor guy, they don't find the bonds. Soon after, the ranch is put up for auction and Carson, the dead man's niece (Margaret) and the baddies all want that land, as it's assumed the stuff is hidden somewhere on the property. However, unlike most of the the other Lightning Bill movies, here he poses as Mr. Brown--not a man of a different ethnicity. But when Mr. Brown is accused of murder, what is McCoy to do?! Unlike the other Lightning Bill films, this one features him NOT assuming another ethnicity. Some may be disappointed in this, as it's more a normal everyday Tim McCoy western. Still, it's well-written and acted--like most of his films and so it's very much worth seeing. However, it is interesting that in the end, it appears as if Lightning Bill is getting married--and this would have been a great way to end the series. But, it was soon followed by one more film..."Trigger Fingers" and while Margaret IS back, they are not married and she's played by a different actress and her back story is different. Oh well, continuity was never a strong point in B-westerns! By the way, this film is available on DVD from Alpha Video. This is a definite mixed bag. On one hand, the film quality is pathetic--with one of the worst prints I've seen in a long time--even from Alpha (and that's BAD). On the other, it's bundled with another McCoy film ("Trigger Fingers")...which, sadly, also has a lousy print.

Tim McCoy plays Federal Bureau Agent "Lightning Bill Carson" hot on the trail of ambushers who held up a train an got away with a half-million dollars worth of government bonds. Julie Sheldon is the pretty lady in distress. Tim McCoy was considered one of the fastest guns in Hollywood, and his films always had plenty of gun-play. "Straight Shooter" is an excellent example of what a true "shoot 'em up" western should be... lots of action, an actual plot, an element of mystery, a beautiful girl, and the subliminal "the good guy always wins" message, which in those days was mandatory due to the Hayes office stating "No motion picture can portray a criminal going unpunished". Tim McCoy today is nearly forgotten, but in his day, his name was right up there with Gene Autry, Tom Mix, and Roy Rogers.