4.0 out of 5 stars
"Lash LaRue B-Western Series ... Dead Man's Gold (1948) ... PRC Pictures", January 9, 2007
This review is from: Dead Man's Gold [VHS] (VHS Tape)
PRC Picures present "DEAD MAN'S GOLD" (1948) (60 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- relive those thrilling days when Lash LaRue took us down the dusty trails with hard riding and straight shooting hitting the bull's eye with excitement every time ... the Lash LaRue series of B-Westerns were a staple of Saturday matinees in the1940s and 1950s ... very popular series, LaRue was given the name "Lash" because of the 18 foot long bullwhip he used to help bring down the bad guys...the popularity of his first role as the "Cheyenne Kid," a sidekick of singing cowboy hero Eddie Dean, not just brandishing a whip but using it expertly to disarm villains, paved the way for LaRue to be featured in his own series of Western films ... he starred in quirky B-Westerns from 1947 to 1951, at first for Poverty Row studio PRC, later for producer Ron Ormond...La Rue developed his image as a cowboy hero dressed all in black and inherited from Buster Crabbe a comic sidekick in the form of "Fuzzy Q. Jones" played by the great Al St. John ... don't miss any of the Lash LaRue features loaded with action that will leave you wanting more of his B-Western adventures.
Under Ray Taylor (Director), Ron Ormond (Producer), June Carr (Associate Producer), Ira Webb (Associate Producer), Walter Greene (Original Score), Ernest Miller (Cinematographer), Hugh Winn (Editor), Vin Taylor (Art Director), Ted Offenbecker (Set Decorator) ------ the cast includes Lash La Rue (Lash LaRue), Al St. John (Fuzzy Q. Jones), Peggy Stewart (June Thornton), Terry Frost (Joe Quirt), John L. Cason (Henchman Matt Conway), Pierce Lyden (Henchman Sliver), Lane Bradford (Mayor Evans), Stephen Keyes (Henchman Morgan), Marshall Reed (Man on stagecoach), Britt Wood (Bartender), Cliff Taylor (Townsman), Bob Woodward (Card player) ------ our story thus far has Jim Thorton who has just found a goldmine needs Lash and Fuzzy's help, but when they arrive he is killed ... the man behind the killings is John L. Cason and his gang of henchmen ... Lash must find out who is behind Cason, he is not the head man, but who is ... watch for the beginning when Lash whips and lassos a shot glass from a henchman's hand and Fuzzy comments that Lash is slipping since a few drops were spilled ... there's plenty of action and fancy stunt work to entertain the fans with a protracted fisticuffs near the end between Lash and the boss outlaw ... Lash and his comedic sidekick Fuzzy Q. Jones, chasing the outlaws is always a high point of any Lash LaRue features ---- they just don't make 'em like this anymore and PRC Pictures was one of the leaders of exciting B-Westerns.
BIOS:
1. Lash La Rue (aka: Alfred LaRue)
Date of birth: 15 June 1917 - Gretna, Louisiana
Date of death: 21 May 1996 - Burbank, California
2. Al "Fuzzy" St. John (aka: Alfred St. John)
Date of birth: 10 September 1893 - Santa Ana, California
Date of death: 21 January 1963 - Lyons, Georgia
B-Western footnote, actor Al St. John, silent film comic who appeared in dozens of Mack Sennett's early Keystone comedies and would eventually create and star in his own vehicles for other studios. With the advent of sound, he became a character actor in westerns and later the bewhiskered sidekick, also known as Fuzzy Q. Jones in some popular series Fred Scott (Spectrum Pictures/1937-38), Bob Steele/Billy the Kid (PRC Pictures/1940-41), Don "Red" Barry (Republic Pictures/1940-42), Lone Rider wth George Houston (PRC Pictures/1941-42), Lone Rider with Robert Livingston (PRC Pictures/1942-43), Buster Crabbe/Billy the Kid (PRC Pictures/1941-43), Buster Crabbe/Billy Carson (PRC Pictures/1943-46), Lash LaRue (PRC Pictures/1947-52) --- St. John retired from film making in the early '50s, passed away in 1963 from a heart attack while working with the Tommy Scott Wild West show --- check out this and more in a new book "Those Great Cowboy Sidekicks" by David Rothel, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing --- pick up your copy today
3. Peggy Stewart (aka: Peggy O'Rourke)
Date of birth: 5 June 1923 - Palm Beach, Florida
Date of death: Still Living
4. Ray Taylor (Director)
Date of birth: 1 December 1888 - Perham, Minnesota
Date of death: 15 February 1952 - Hollywood, California
Great job releasing "Dead Man's Gold" (1948) - Lash LaRue, the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials ---Western Classics, all my heroes have been cowboys!
Total Time: 60 min on VHS ~ Anchor Bay ~ (10/09/1997)
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