Law of the Trigger
Having just got out of jail Jim Trigger Morton (Ken Maynard) arrives back in his old stamping ground with one goal, get justice on the man who set him up for a bank job he was not even part of. The man in question is Ace Kendal (Warner Richmond) who Trigger confronts in a back room game of cards. But after moving on to another town Trigger finds himself being hired to be Sheriff after he deals with a rowdy bunch of cowboys whose ways upset others. Things get complicated when not only does a young woman see an old wanted poster with Trigger's face on but one of his old gang members shows up with a plan of pulling a robbery something which Trigger warns him not to do.
It takes about 15 minutes to get there but it does and we have Trigger being offered the position of Sheriff by a group of businessmen who are oblivious to the fact he has done time and was himself a leader of a gang of criminals. For those who like their westerns especially their older westerns this idea is certainly not new and leads to some expected complication with not only a love interest but with his old outlaw buddies coming out of the woodwork. But that is what you get in "Six-Shootin' Sheriff" with former trick rider Key Maynard in the lead role of the good guy bad guy.
The thing is that whilst "Six-Shootin' Sheriff" doesn't throw too many storyline surprises at you, for one of these older one hour westerns it is surprisingly enjoyable. That come from the movie constantly ticking over so after an opening which sees Trigger wanting revenge we then get a short few scenes about Trigger become a respected lawman and that then leads into his past returning to haunt him. It is also down to Ken Maynard who has the dark hair and pale face which makes me think he probably had a goon run in the silent movies although the character of Trigger like many of these old western characters is forgettable.
What this all boils down to is that "Six-Shootin' Sheriff" is one of the more entertaining one hour westerns from the 1930s but that simply comes from the whole movie ticking over nicely so we go from revenge to law to Trigger having to deal with his past.
