The Desert Horseman on AllMovie

In most of his Columbia westerns, Charles Starrett simply was the Durango Kid, a mysterious masked do-gooder who pretends to be a criminal. Desert Horseman attempts to explain why this disguise has been adopted. Starrett plays an army captain, dishonorably discharged for a theft he did not commit. To recover the money and restore his reputation, Starrett assumes the guise of the Durango Kid. He brings the real criminal to justice, which presumably means that there's no further need for his disguise. But two months later, The Durango Kid was back (under a whole new set of circumstances) in The Fighting Frontiersman. Desert Horseman was released in Great Britain as Checkmate.