The Carson City Kid (1940)

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

A Disappointing Continuation

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The masked Carson City Kid and henchman Laramie keep holding up stages, but take nothing except the mail. So what the heck is going on.Good to see so many matinée stalwarts in the same movie—Rogers, Steele, Hayes, and Beery Jr. It's a pretty good screenplay too. At first, I didn't know whether Jessup (Steele) and the Kid (Rogers) were good guys or bad. But eventually it sorts out. And was there ever a better jovial character than the underrated Beery Jr. Then too, Hayes gets to do his usual toothless grouch. And now I see why Rogers soon went to Technicolor—how much better to show off that magnificent blond palomino Trigger. Even in lowly b&w, he cuts a striking figure. No Dale Evans here, instead it's the comely Pauline Moore as the eye candy. No, the movie never gets out of familiar San Fernando Valley locations, but is still a better-than-average little programmer with a few mild twists.

The Carson City Kid (Roy Rogers) is on a quest to find the man that murdered his brother, and that trail brings him to Sonora and the Olive Branch Saloon, owned by crooked card shark Lee Jessup (Bob Steele). Although a hero in most of his films, Steele offers a characterization here of a villain you just love to hate, a smarmy, underhanded cheat who can't be greedy enough. George "Gabby" Hayes portrays Marshal Gabby Whitaker, who claims to have ridden with the "Kid" at one time and knows him on sight. That gag gets to be played out a number of times in the film, with Rogers grinning his way through each attempt by Gabby to continue the charade. Rounding out the cast is Noah Beery Jr. as a loose lips prospector who impersonates the Carson City Kid in order to retrieve the money he lost to Jessup in a rigged card game. And as usual, there's a romantic interest - Pauline Moore as saloon singer Joby Madison who catches Rogers' eye and later does some catching of her own. Rogers and Moore also teamed up in "Colorado", released in the same year, 1940."Carson City Kid" is a fast paced film coming in at just fifty seven minutes, and manages to include the standard gunfight, posse chase and rope across the trail trick. A 1940 Republic film, it holds up as one of the more entertaining of the early Roy Rogers Westerns.

Roy Rogers' title role as The Carson City Kid is another one of those misnomers that makes you think of a bad guy. Of course, Roy is a good guy who has been unfortunately labeled an outlaw. For some reason he rides along with a real outlaw named Laramie (Francis McDonald). Roy looks out for the well-being of the all too trusting Arizona (Noah Beery, Jr.) while he is tracking down the villain, Lee Jessup (Bob Steele).Bob Steele was a leading cowboy hero during the 30's and continued to be a hero afterward, but it is nice to see him in a different role. The bad-guy/saloon owner was a generic part in B westerns, with only the talents of the individual actors making the part memorable. It was the same year that The Carson City Kid was made (1940) that Bob Steele began making a series of Billy The Kid movies for PRC and also joining The Three Mesquiteers at Republic, so The Carson City Kid may have been made while he was searching for a new movie deal. His talents were put to good use in this movie.Gabby Hayes was good, but not at his best in The Carson City Kid. His part as the town marshal provides comedy, but not the special appeal of being a sidekick. Seeing Gabby as Roy's pal makes a difference. In The Carson City Kid we get to see Gabby on Roy's side, but there is no real relationship between them.Overall, The Carson City Kid is an excellent choice for a Roy Rogers movie. The movie is set in the west without automobiles and big band productions. It shows a kind of western that Roy would abandon within a few years in favor of the modern setting movies for which he was known.

Old Roy Rogers western. Only entertaining when you have nothing better to do. The story is simple and the situations are standard. Done a hundred times before. A few good action scenes and a good supporting cast are the only things that make this movie at least a bit watchable. George "Gabby" Hayes and Noah Beery are the only highlights in this B-Movie.Only for Roy Rogers fans I think.