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CHARLES STARRETT
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Charles Starrett (March 28, 1903 - March 22, 1986) was an American actor best known for his starring role in the Durango Kid Columbia Pictures western series. He was born in Athol, Massachusetts.
A graduate of Worcester Academy in 1922, Starrett went on to study at Dartmouth College. While on the Darmouth football team, he was hired to play a football extra in the 1926 film The Quarterback. In 1930 he played the romantic lead in Fast and Loose, which also featured Miriam Hopkins, Carole Lombard and Frank Morgan. After that, he was very active for the next two years but his roles were unremarkable. In 1933 he was featured in Our Betters and helped organize the Screen Actors Guild, and in 1936 signed with Columbia Pictures and become one of the top ten western stars, starring in 115 movies the following 16 years.
Durango Kid
After playing assorted sheriff and rangers roles, Starrett gained fame for his role as the Durango Kid. The first film in which he played his famous alter-ego character was known as The Durango Kid, which was released in 1940, but for some reason, Columbia did not see fit to continue with the series at that time. The character was revived in 1944 and lasted through 1952. Dub Taylor, as "Cannonball", worked with Starrett until 1946. At that time, Smiley Burnette, who had been a very popular sidekick to Gene Autry, was brought in to replace Taylor. Burnette, appropriately enough, played a character called Smiley Burnette. The Durango Kid films combined vigorous action sequences – often with speeded up camera work and spectacular stunts performed by Jock Mahoney – and western music. Each film featured a singing group, and many gave free rein to Burnette's singing and playing.
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22" X 28" / 1950
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Before he began making Cowboy pictures, it seems most of Charles Starrett’s films were set on college campuses or on trains. “Sweetheart of Sigma Chi” followed “Return of Casey Jones” and so forth.
Charley plays Tom Caldwell, “winner of the Shotsweld Prize for Mechanical Engineering” who has designed a revolutionary, streamlined train. He fights against the stodgy old school and gets his train built, only to have it under-perform in its test run. “This speed demon turned out to be a turtle” says the surly conductor. “Silver Streak? More like Silver Freak!” huffs his former employer.
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Pecos River
Prairie Roundup
1951-USA 53 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
In Prairie
Roundup, Fred
F. Sears' direction brings a welcome jolt of vitality to Columbia's aging
"Durango Kid" western series. Once again, Charles
Starrett stars as Steve Carson, a lawman who is forced to assume the
identity of masked do-gooder Durango. Framed for murder, Carson escapes to
locate the real killer. It turns out that he was set up by cattle baron Buck
Prescott (Frank
Fenton), who eliminates competition by stealing livestock from other
ranchers. Before Prescott is brought to justice (there's seldom much suspense in
one of these westerns), Starrett's
sidekick Smiley
Burnette sings a couple of comic ballads. Reviewers were quick to comment
upon director Sears'
clever camera compositions and his skill at maintaining a respectable level of
tension. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Smoky Canyon Damaged )Blinks)
1952-USA 55 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Although Smoky
Canyon is officially an entry in Charles
Starrett's "Durango Kid" western series, the film is essentially a
showcase for the talents of Jack (later Jock) Mahoney, who'd been a supporting
player and stunt double in the Starrett films for several years. Mahoney plays a
sheepman who's framed for the murder of a rancher. It's all part of a scheme by
a dishonest cattleman (Tristam
Coffin) who hopes to extenuate a range war for his own profit. Starrett
assumes his "Durango" disguise to help clear Mahoney's name. A few
comic breaks in the action are provided by habitual Starrett sidekick Smiley
Burnette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Laramie Mountains
1952-USA 54 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Charles Starrett is back as The Durango Kid in Laramie
Mountains. The villains this time are a group of white outlaws who disguise
themselves as Indians to stage raids on various U.S. army posts. Their plan is
to foment an all-out war for their own profit. Government agent Steve Holden (Starrett)
intends to put a stop to the criminal's activities; when all else fails, he
adopts the disguise of the Durango Kid to operate outside the Law. Jack
(later Jock)
Mahoney,
who'd been playing supporting roles and performing stunts in previous Durango
Kid outings, contributes a strong characterization in Laramie
Mountains as Swift Eagle, a white man adopted by Indians. One of the heavies
is played by Fred
Sears, taking time out from his directorial duties on the Starrett
series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Phantom Valley
1948-USA 53 min
Someone is stirring things up between the ranchers and the homesteaders in
Phantom Valley and Marshal Steve Collins (Charles Starrett) is assigned to look
into matters. The situation becomes even more critical when one of the nesters,
Jim Durant (Sam Flint), is abducted after having withdrawn the group's money
from the local bank. But who is behind the crimes? Is it elderly attorney Sam
Littlejohn (Joel Friedkin), whose cane has a highly unusual double purpose? Or
is the secret menace Bob Reynolds (Robert Filmer), the head of the ranchers'
association? Despite the unwanted assistance by correspondence-course detective
Smiley Burnette), Steve, alias The Durango Kid, manages to get goods on the
mystery villain. In between muddling up the investigation and feuding with young
apple-munching Chips (Teddy Infuhr), Smiley Burnette performs "I'll Be Glad
to See You" while Ozie Waters and His Colorado Rangers take care of
"Streets of Laredo (The Cowboy's Lament" and "The Big Corral. ~
Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Streets of Ghost Town
1950-USA 54 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Once more, Charles
Starrett hits the trail as the masked do-gooder known as The Durango Kid in
Streets of Ghost Town. Also once more, Starrett spends his "unmasked"
scenes playing a character named Steve, in this case Steve Woods. The slender
plot concerns a treasure hunt in a supposedly deserted town. This premise is
used as an excuse to showcase lengthy excerpts from previous "Durango
Kid" westerns, offered herein as "flashbacks." Columbia Pictures
had a positive genius for recycling old footage into new movies: as proof, one
need only peruse all those patchwork Three Stooges comedies of the 1950s. ~ Hal
Erickson, All Movie Guide
Bandits of El Dorado
1951-USA 54 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
The Durango Kid--aka Charles
Starrett--rides again in Bandits
of El Dorado. For the umpteenth time, Starrett
plays a lawman on the trail of a mysterious desperado. The villain in this one
smuggles American outlaws into Mexico then murders them for their money belts.
Somewhere along the line, Starrett
is compelled to don his "Durango" mask to bring the heavy to justice.
Critics in 1951 praised Charles
Starrett for his agility in the stunt sequences, though in fact most of
these stunts were performed by Jock
Mahoney (who, billed as Jack
O'Mahoney, also played a supporting role in the film). Comedy is provided by
Smiley
Burnette, as well as a bizarre duo known as "Mustard and Gravy."
South of Death Valley
1949-USA
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Someone is unhappy with Steve Downey taking over his murdered brother-in-law's
gold mine -- the Tavishes, for example, brothers Scotty and Tommy (Lee
Roberts and Richard
Emory) and their sister Molly (Gail
Davis), who blame runoff from the mine for poisoning their cattle. When
Tommy is killed, Scotty points the finger at Steve (Charles
Starrett), who is promptly arrested by Sheriff (Smiley
Burnette). Smiley's
innocence allows Steve a free reign, however, and the hero is able to don his
usual disguise as the Durango Kid, defender of all that is right and decent. Smiley
Burnette performs his own inimitable "When You Go" and "The
Ever-Lovin' Marshal" while country-swing artist Tommy
Duncan takes care of "Saturday Night in San Antone" and a very
unusual version of "Rock-a-Bye Baby.
Return of the Durango Kid
1945-USA 58 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Charles Starrett, who originated the character of the Durango Kid in the 1940
Heroes of the Range, embarked on a lengthy seven-year Western series with this
aptly titled horse opera. Starrett plays Bill Blayden, a newcomer to Silver
City, TX, searching for the villain who framed his father years before. En
route, Blayden is the victim of a stagecoach holdup along with Paradise Flo
(Jean Stevens), who may or may not know more about the holdup than she lets on.
In Silver City, Bill sides with Buckskin Liz Armstrong (Betty Roadman) and her
drivers (Britt Wood) and Tex
Harding) against the town's crooked boss, saloon owner Leland Kirby (John
Calvert). The latter is in cahoots with Tom Wagner (Hal Price), who is
attempting to take over Buckskin's stage route by illegal means. Donning the
disguise of the Durango Kid, Blayden gets the goods on both Kirby and Wagner
and, along the way, learns the identity of the man who framed his father. Young
sidekick Tex
Harding performs "Old Pinto (and His Cowboy Pal)," while a jolly
group known as The Jesters takes care of such humorous ditties as "When
They Fiddle Out the Polka" and "He Holds the Lantern (While His Mother
Cuts the Wood)". Starrett would play the character of the Durango Kid for
the remainder of his career -- a total of 63 films. Strangely, he was awarded a
new alias in each film
Blazing the Western Trail
1945-USA-Musical Western 60 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Columbia Pictures once again trotted out the old tale of rival stage lines
competing for the valuable government mail contract in this routine entry in the
long-running Durango Kid series. This time, the Halliday stage line of Quanto
Basin is all but forced out of business when old man Halliday (Nolan Leary)
finds himself falsely accused of killing Dan Waring (Steve Clark), the manager
of the competing Brent line. In reality, Brent (Alan Bridge) has been sabotaging
Halliday's efforts to win the contract by having Jim McMasters (Mauritz Hugo)
and his hired gunmen perform one hold-up after another. Vociferously disagreeing
with these methods, Waring was shot by McMasters, who then framed Halliday.
Enter Waring's nephew Jeff (Charles Starrett) and his young friend Tex Harding,
who quickly side with Halliday's daughter Mary (Carole Mathews) and the only
driver left in the company, Cannonball (Dub
Taylor). Donning the disguise of noted avenger The Durango Kid, Jeff gets
the goods on Brent, who subsequently loses the deciding stagecoach race for the
contract. McMasters is revealed as the killer, and Jeff leaves Quanto Basin in
the capable hands of Mary Halliday and young Tex. ~
Bonanza Town
1951-USA-B-Western 56 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
A sequel to West of Dodge City (1947), this below-average Charles Starrett oater
reveals that rather than drowning, nefarious Henry Hardison (Fred F. Sears) is
still very much alive and engaged in blackmailing his brother, Judge Anthony
Dillon (Luther Crockett). Enter the Durango Kid, alias Steve Ramsey (Starrett),
who is in Bonanza Town looking for $30,000 stolen from a bank in Dodge City.
Also present, needless to say, is bumbling Smiley Burnette, who once again
perform a few of his own compositions. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Landrush
1946-USA 53 min
Ozie Waters
PLOT DESCRIPTION
The Durango Kid rides again in Columbia's Landrush.
As ever, the masked do-gooder, alias Steve Harmon, is played by Charles
Starrett. Bringing up the rear in every sense of the word is Harmon's
comical sidekick Smiley Burnette. In this outing, Harmon dons his Durango garb
to rescue a group of homesteaders from scurrilous villains. Musical relief is
provided by Ozie Waters and his Colorado Rangers. ~
Buckaroo from Powder River
1948-USA-Traditional Western 55 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
The Durango Kid rides again in the person of Charles
Starrett in Buckaroo
From Powder River. The story concerns the efforts made by Steve Lacey (Starrett)
to break up the outlaw family headed by Pop Ryland (Forrest
Taylor). Posing as a hired killer, Lacey infiltrates the Ryland gang,
rescuing the only "good" member of the family along the way. And when
the necessity arises, Lacey dons the mask of the mysterious Durango Kid. The
love interest is provided by Eve
Miller, the laughs by Smiley
Burnette, and the music by the Cass
County Boys.
West of Sonora DK
1948-USA 55 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Western star Charles
Starrett was amazing; he kept making the same film over and over, but always
made it seem as if it was for the first time. In West
of Sonora, Starrett once again plays a frontier good-guy named Steve (Steve
Rollins, to be exact), who, when the need arises, disguises himself as The
Durango Kid, masked righter of wrongs. This time, Steve/Durango champions the
cause of 10-year-old Penelope Clinton (Anita Castle), who has spent her short
life as the focus of a feud between her grandfathers, suspected outlaw Black
Murphy (Steve
Darrell) and Sheriff Jack Clinton (George
Cheseboro). When Murphy rides off with Penelope, it's up to Durango to keep
the two grandpops from blowing off each others' heads and to bring an end to
their foolish quarrel. As a bonus, he also proves that Murphy isn't an outlaw
after all by corralling the genuine culprit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Last Days of Boot Hill
1947-USA 55 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Charles
Starrett once more assumes the guise of the Robin Hood-like Durango Kid in Last
Days of Boot Hill. The star is cast as US marshal Steve Waring, assigned to
locate $100,000 in missing gold and round up the thieves. Much of the story
takes place in flashback, permitting cost-conscious Columbia Pictures to sneak
in several stock shots from earlier "Durango Kid" entries (notably Both
Barrels Blazing). This moneysaving device worked well enough for Columbia to
extend the practice to the studio's 2-reel comedies, which explains why so many
of the Three
Stooges shorts of the early 1950s look alike. For the record, Last
Days of Boot Hill comes to a climax as Steve Waring, aka the Durango Kid,
gallops to the rescue of pretty rancher Paula Thorpe (Virginia
Hunter). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Both Barrels Blazing
Tex Harding Pat Parrish, Starrett
1945-USA 57 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Columbia Pictures "borrowed" a few pages from Damon Runyon when
crafting this entry in the Durango Kid B-Western series. When an elderly desert
rat realizes that the granddaughter he has never seen is due to arrive in Long
Bend, the downtrodden old sod is too ashamed to admit that the money spent
sending her through college came not from a rich gold mine but from panhandling
at the saloon owned by Lucky Thorpe (Alan Bridge). The latter sees a welcome
chance to whitewash stolen gold and arranges for Grubstake -- now known under
his real name of Horace Higginbottom -- to suddenly strike it rich. Enter Texas
Ranger Kim Allen (Charles Starrett), who dons the disguise of the Durango Kid to
get the goods on Lucky and his corpulent chief henchman Nevada (Charles King).
After clearing up a minor misunderstanding with good friend Tex
Harding, the Kid is to hunt down the nasty saloon owner and his hired hands.
~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Fighting Frontiersman
1946
61 min
61 min
PLOT DESCRIPTION
A grizzled old prospector literally stumbles over General Santa Ana's missing
payroll treasure in this average "Durango Kid" Western from Columbia
Pictures. Cimarron Dobbs (Emmett
Lynn), who has been grubstaked by Rangers Steve Reynolds (Charles
Starrett) and Smiley
Burnette, soon finds himself in the clutches of greedy saloon proprietor
John Munro (Robert
Filmer) and his accomplice, saloon belle Dixie King (Helen
Mowery), who will stop at nothing, including depriving the old man of water,
to get hold of the treasure. Enter Steve Reynolds' alter ego, the Durango Kid,
who not only manages to save Cimarron and find the treasure but also donates the
loot to Munro's victims, the local farmers. Smiley
Burnette performs his usual pratfalls and sings his own "Swamp Woman
Blues", "Don't Be Mad at Me" and "Coyote Chorus", while
the congregation known as Hank Newman and the Georgia Crackers takes care of Bob
Newman's "Following the Trail". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Trail of the Rustlers
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