The Lone Rider in Ghost Town (1941) starring George Houston, Al St. John, Rebel Randall, Budd Buster, Frank Hagney directed by Sam Newfield Movie Review

The Lone Rider in Ghost Town (1941)   3/53/53/53/53/5


George Houston and Al St. John in The Lone Rider in Ghost Town (1941)

Take a Lesson from Cactus Jones

Tom Cameron aka Lone Rider (George Houston) receives a distress message from his friend Jim Madison (Steve Clark) and so with sidekick Fuzzy Jones (Al St. John) Tom heads to Jim's ranch where he learns that the trouble started when someone found a gold nugget at Parker's Diggings but then it seemed to vanish. In a nearby saloon Tom comes to the aid of a miner friend who warns him that Parker's Diggings is a ghost town because of businessman Bob Sinclair (Stephen Chase) who with his heavies are blocking access to the area. Undeterred Tom and Fuzzy make their way Parker's Diggings where they have a run in with one of their heavies before coming across Helen Clark (Rebel Randall) who is looking for her father who has gone missing.

Now there is a lot more going on in "The Lone Rider in Ghost Town" than just that and in truth it becomes one of the most convoluted westerns I have stumbled across when compared to other westerns from the era which ran to roughly an hour. In truth it became so messy that I started to lose interest in the details which is a shame as so many of these westerns were purely routine so to then lose interest in one which tried to bring some complexity to the story just feels wrong.

The thing is that in truth "The Lone Rider in Ghost Town" actually sticks to a formula, Tom and Fuzzy ride in to save the day, they deal with a corrupt businessman and his heavies, sing a song or two and of course there is an attractive young woman thrown in to fall for the hero. But because we start at a ranch and meet people, then go to saloon and meet more people and then we get to Parker's diggings it just seems to be going around the houses till eventually we get a less than surprising element of Tom being stitched up for someone's supposed murder.

What this all boils down to is that "The Lone Rider in Ghost Town" is for the most familiar as it sticks to a formula with familiar good guys, bad guys and action. But with various characters and locations it comes across as more complicated than it really is.


LATEST REVIEWS