Stagecoach Kid (1949)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Donnell may not be as pretty as the standard girl lead, but she's a very good comedienne. In fact, her amusing impersonation of a boy (Jessie) just about overshadows the rest of this oater. The plot itself is fairly typical—crooked ranch hands try to bump off the boss, and in the process also steal Dave's (Holt) stage line gold shipment. Naturally Dave doesn't take kindly to this, and so the conflict takes off from there. Complicating things is Jessie who falls big time for Dave who, amusingly, thinks she's a boy, leading to some interesting situations.Aside from Donnell's expert turn, director Landers makes scenic use of the neolithic Alabama Hills familiar to generations of Western fans. In fact, for a journeyman director some of the outdoor staging is downright inspired (Jessie running across the flats in a long shot). Good to see veteran actors like Sawyer, Hall, and the mustachioed MacDonald (as a sheriff, no less!), picking up a payday. My only question is what Birdie (Carol Hughes) is doing in the movie since her role seems unnecessary—the romantic stuff being handled by Donnell. Probably, they wanted a foil for Chito (Martin); after all, this may be the only matinée series where the sidekick is handsomer than the lead!Anyway, it's a solid series entry with a standout performance and a bunch of fine outdoor scenery.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of that line spoken by Jessie James Arnold (Jeff Donnell) to Tim Holt when he roughed her up a bit early in the story. The line seemed to be spoken using today's context with Jessie disguised as a cowboy, but to my mind, the term 'gay' did not gain general prominence to describe a sexual orientation until a decade or two after this picture was made. One could argue otherwise, and the way Jessie said it sounded like she was advising Dave not to act in such a carefree manner in scolding her. Still, the remark seemed unusual and made me do a double take.In most Tim Holt Westerns that I've seen where he teams up with Chito Rafferty (Richard Martin) he goes by his own name, but this time out he's Dave Collins, owner of a stage line. He and Chito bust up a stage robbery and attempted murder of Peter Arnold (Thurston Hall), who's daughter is intent on heading back to San Francisco to marry her boyfriend. Using the name Jessie James, she manages to fool those around her into believing she's a cowboy, but I had to wonder if even matinée fans back in the Forties would have bought it. She sure sounded like a girl every time she spoke.The picture manages to squeeze out some mild humor when Dave and Jessie find themselves stranded in the desert following a gunfight with a couple of henchmen. For all of her growing romantic feelings for Collins, Jessie continues to dodge the issue until Dave offers to 'make her warm'. This all seemed a bit of a stretch for a B Western, but it all came across fairly lighthearted without innuendo, and it did manage to make Jessie come clean.As far as calling bluffs go, Chito wound up at the finale on the wrong end of a proposal as far as he was concerned. Fellow stage traveler Birdie (Carol Hughes) would have pinned him down too if she had her way. Instead it's Holt's character who's going to get hitched, having lassoed Little Jessie James for good.

A young woman (Jeff Donnell) wants to escape to the big city and disguises herself as a cowboy but falls in love with a stagecoach guard (Tim Holt) who wants him/her to identify a bandit who robbed his stagecoach. Watchable B-western which is very lightweight and tries for much silly comedy, particularly the scenes where Donnell is confused as a real cowboy and not as a cowgirl. Most of the comedy fails to raise a grin let alone laughs. Perhaps the most amusing and bizarre thing about the film is the real name of the girl disguised as a boy - Jeff Donnell, sometimes billed as Miss Jeff Donnell! Given the gender-twist in the plot it really is funnier than anything that's actually in the script.

Has a similar theme as "West of the Pecos" where a lady disguises herself briefly as a boy. This movie was fun to watch. Different from many Tim Holt westerns-he goes by another name in this movie,his character and Chito are not mending fences,and surprise, surprise-he gets the girl at the end. The ending is typical with a lady chasing Chito.