AllMovie

Columbia's King of Dodge City was the first of several westerns costarring "Wild Bill" Elliot and singing cowboy Tex Ritter. Though Elliot is billed first, the plot and action are evenly divided between the two B-picture favorites. The story takes place in Kansas, just after the Civil War. Wild Bill Hickok (Elliot) is summoned from Dodge City to Abilene, there to neutralize a crooked political machine. Hickok is aided every step of the way by Tex Rawlings (Ritter), a seemingly harmless drifter who is appointed sheriff after proving his prowess with his six-guns. The film's most memorable scene finds Rawlings calmly plugging a bad guy while coming to the end of a soulful western ballad. Elliot's perennial comedy relief Dub Taylor also starred in King of Dodge City, though for the rest of the Elliot-Ritter series he'd be replaced by the likes of Frank Mitchell and George "Slim" Summerville.