Prairie Roundup (1951)
Directed by Fred Sears
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
In Prairie Roundup, Fred F. Sears' direction brings a welcome jolt of vitality to Columbia's aging "Durango Kid" western series. Once again, Charles Starrett stars as Steve Carson, a lawman who is forced to assume the identity of masked do-gooder Durango. Framed for murder, Carson escapes to locate the real killer. It turns out that he was set up by cattle baron Buck Prescott (Frank Fenton), who eliminates competition by stealing livestock from other ranchers. Before Prescott is brought to justice (there's seldom much suspense in one of these westerns), Starrett's sidekick Smiley Burnette sings a couple of comic ballads. Reviewers were quick to comment upon director Sears' clever camera compositions and his skill at maintaining a respectable level of tension.
Characteristics
Keywords
alter-ego, arrest, bad-guy, cattle, cowboy, empire, espionage, false-accusation, good-guy, investigation, killing, murder, prairie, ranger [military], robbery, scheme, Texas-Ranger
