"Some times a mule can be coaxed when he can't be driven," Evelyn Brent purrs after Victor Jory fails to con a confession out of prospector George Cleveland. Evelyn's saloon hostess is just that kind of gal, always ready to relieve a customer of his money and/or gold claim. A star for Josef von Sternberg in the late '20s, Brent was awarded perhaps her finest sound film opportunity in this series Western and came through like the trooper she was. But hers is not the only fine performance in Wide Open Town, which remains one of the best acted of the entire series -- in fact, in the history of B-Westerns. Victor Jory gives his usual smooth portrayal of simmering menace and comedy relief, as well as Andy Clyde, this time having a great deal of trouble with a printing press. Adding to the fun is the fact that Morris Ankrum is on the side of the angels for a change and the veteran villain is as convincing as ever. Like the best of the Cassidys, Wide Open Town was filmed at the foot of Mount Whitney, a magnificent location that always made a budget-Western appear more expensive than it really was.