Hot Fuzzy
In the town of Sagebrush there is trouble growing between Big Jim Kirby and Jeff Harper who are at war over property with the ranch belonging to Tom and his sister, Kay, what they really want as it controls the water supply in to town. It is why Cheyenne Davis and his right hand man "Fuzzy" Jones arrive in town with a plan to help Tom and Kay save their property by raising the funds to clear what they owe. To do that Cheyenne and Fuzzy set about claiming reward money by bringing in all the wanted men, many of which work for Kirby. Unfortunately after Fuzzy is sent to collect the reward money some thing happens and when he returns he has no memory of what happened to the reward money.
Rather than being called "Return of the Lash" this 1947 western would have been better called "Hot Fuzzy" or "Here Comes the Fuzzy" for the simple reason it is Al St. John as Fuzzy Jones who carried this movie. It is St. John's gift for the visual gag from a comedy walk to a confused look which keeps this movie entertaining rather than Lash La Rue. In fact I have a sneaky suspicion that Al St. John has more screen time in this movie than any of the other stars do.
Unfortunately beyond Al St. John as Fuzzy Jones it has to be said that "Return of the Lash" is nothing special with a local land owner using his criminal henchmen to try and bully others off of their land whilst also removing anyone from the picture who might prevent them from achieving their goal. As such Lash La Rue delivers a solid but forgettable performance as Cheyenne Davis, whipping out his whip once in a while as he deals with trouble but ends up being pretty forgettable as is the storyline.
What this all boils down to is that "Return of the Lash" is, as is often the case with these old westerns, mainly of interest for fans of older westerns who will appreciate Al St. John's performance in this.
