Gunplay

Okay entry in the Holt-Rafferty series. I could have used more of their screen time than what they get, which is surprisingly little for cowboy leads. After all, they're the main reason fans tune in. Here they're helping an orphaned boy (Carter) whose dad has been swindled and then murdered by a slickster named Potter (Hugo). Trouble is no one in town seems to know who Potter is now that he's changed his name to Landry. So our heroes can't even be sure who they're fighting against.

Looks like RKO scrimped out a bare-bones budget since the action never leaves the San Fernando Valley, nor a studio town. So there's no scenery to speak of. What's unusual is the 11-year old boy played by Carter. He's one tough-talking little terror once he finds his dad hanging from a tree. But then in a rather awkward shift, he goes all meek and agreeable. It's really he who gets much of the screen time. I agree that Moritz Hugo is outstanding as the villainous Potter-Landry, suitably persuasive in a complex role. And catch that great all-purpose thug Robert Wilke as one of the henchmen. All in all, it's an average entry, at best, one that could use more of the usual Holt-Rafferty pizazz.

A "5" on the Matinée Scale