AllMovie

Charles Starrett makes the perfect Robin Hood in this exemplary B-Western that also benefits from the presence of ace nemesis Kenneth MacDonald as the unscrupulous cattle baron. Much has been written about a certain scene in this film where Starrett shoots off MacDonald's gun belt, a feat that many fans thought too improbable. But is superhuman aim really more implausible than the fact that no one recognizes Starrett just because he hides the lower part of his face behind a bandanna? The scene actually works well and is later used for plot purposes. Bob Nolan, Pat Brady, and the Sons of the Pioneers add some much-needed comic touches to the proceedings, and perform Nolan's and Tim Spencer's "Yippi-Yi Your Troubles Away," "The Prairie Sings," "Lullabye," and "There's a Rainbow Over the Range," none of it in any way intrusive. Nolan's best-remembered composition, "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," is heard over the credits. Oddly, despite the success of this film, Columbia and Charles Starrett waited five years to resurrect the character of the Durango Kid, who finally returned in (what else?) The Return of the Durango Kid.