The Durango Kid (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Bill Lowry (Charles Starrett) returns home only to have his father murdered. He turns into his alter ego The Durango Kid to try and find out who killed his father as well as who's behind terrorizing the local settlers. THE DURANGO KID is a pretty good "B" Western from Columbia that manages to keep you entertained throughout its 61-minute running time. As with most Westerns like this, one certainly shouldn't go in expecting the work of John Ford but for the most part I think fans of the low-budget genre should be entertained. A lot of credit must go to director Lambert Hillyer who manages to keep the film moving at a very good pace and there aren't any boring or dry moments, which certainly helps. I think there are some good gunfights throughout the picture and the final fight is a very good one. I also thought the lead character was one that had no trouble keeping one interesting in everything going on. Starrett certainly has no problem at being charming and I think he's good enough in the role to keep you involved. Kenneth MacDonald is also very good in the role of the villain while Luana Walters is cute as the love interest. The film certainly isn't Oscar-worthy but if you enjoy this type of Westerns then this here is worth watching.