Wild West Round Up: Lucky Boots (1935)

Posted on March 3, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to the Rotten Ink Ranch. Pull yourself up a seat around the campfire as the chili is cooking and we’ll chat about classic Western Cinema while we bring it to a boil as talking classic western cinema is something that I enjoy. I am thinking that March 2024 will once more be Cowboy Month as we will not only chat about the 1935 film Lucky Boots in this update but we will also later in the month be talking about wrestler Tex McKenzie as well as the iconic cowboy Red Ryder! Oh and the chili we will be trying for this update sounds fantastic, and you will learn about it a little later in this update. So if you are ready and while the chili is still cooking over the campfire, let’s take a look at the history of the film Lucky Boots and its actor Big Boy Williams.

Lucky Boots, also known as Gun Play, was a cheaply shot western that was made to cash in on the craze that was sweeping cinemas at the time, as moviegoers loved western and horror movies during the time. The film was written by William L. Nolte and was produced by Arthur Alexander and Max Alexander, who were brothers that produced many movies during their long career. They followed many trends in their time, and their production company M & A Alexander Productions of course was involved with Hollywood Film Exchange being the distributor. When they needed a director, they brought in Al Herman, a man who was known for directing and writing B-Movies and has such titles as “The Whispering Shadow (1933)”, “Blazing Justice (1936)”, “Valley Of Terror (1937)” and “The Missing Corpse (1945)” to name a very few as he directed almost 200 films, shorts and shows. And it was clear that the Alexander Brothers hired Herman due to the fact that he could turn in fun films on a small budget that would turn profits. When casting the film, they brought in Guinn “Big Boy” Williams to be the star. He served in the military during World War I and originally had dreams to play baseball before becoming an actor thanks to Will Rogers who hooked him in the business. Big Boy would star in over 200 films and would be married three times all to actresses with one being Barbara Weeks who would star in the Ed Wood written film “The Violent Years” in 1956. Sadly Big Boy Williams would pass away in 1963 from uremic poisoning at the age of 63. Other names hired for the cast include Marion Shilling, Hal Taliaferro, Frank Yaconelli, Tom London, Helen Gibson and Charles K. French. The film would open in theaters on December 1, 1935 and was a modest hit that sadly over the ages has been lost in the shuffle of the western movies filmed at this time. And for those wondering and wanting to pay their respects to Guinn “Big Boy” Williams, he is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California.

The chili for this Wild West Round Up review is called “Smokey Chorizo Chili” and is a recipe by Country Music Star Trisha Yearwood and was listed on the Food Network website. This one sounds good as I am a big fan of chorizo and it will be interesting as the recipe calls for red and orange bell peppers and I am not a big fan of them, but I do look forward to seeing how they taste in this chili. This Smokey Chorizo Chili has about 40-45 prep time and should cook for around 1hr 30min. And the smell of this chili cooking was very pleasant and filled the house, I even noticed my cat Jazzy sniffing the air. So below is a look at the chili with cheese and sour cream on the top once it was done.

With my bowl filled with some Smokey Chorizo Chili and a nice tall class of ice water ready to be drunk, I think it’s time we munch down and take a look at the film Lucky Boots starring Big Boy Williams. And I want to remind you that I will be grading both the film and the chili on a classic 1-4 star scale, and would also like to thank Alpha Video and Game Swap Kettering for making this update possible. Well I am ready to eat and watch classic Western cinema, so with that let’s dig into both the chili and this Wild West Round Up film!

Lucky Boots
Starring: Big Boy Williams and Tom London Directed: Al Herman
Not Rated 1935 59min Alpha Video DVD Full Frame

A massive gun fight is breaking out between two groups when General Tirado is shot and is taken away by friends to the nearby ranch ran by the Holt family for help as well as away form the massive amounts of gold he is caring to be safe. His men are loyal and his friendship with the Holts is true as they rush him into a room for rest, but sadly that night he dies. Meanwhile many years later at a shady saloon, Pedro is telling Meeker over drinks the story of the death of the General and the gold that was buried on the Holt ranch as he was a witness to this and was blindfolded before they got to the spot and now he is the only surviving member of those who buried it. Meeker then enters his office and reads a letter from George Holt about he and his sister Madge coming west for their fathers estate. He steals apart of the letter and then gets his men ready to head to the Holt ranch.

Meeker and his men get to the ranch and he gives orders to not let anyone get too close to the house as he and his right hand man Cal enter the home looking for a trunk that is talked about in the stolen section of the letter. Meanwhile Billy Williams and his friend Frank Gorman are riding near and having a good time when they are threatened and chased off by some of Meeker’s men who tell them that it’s private property, and this causes a big chase to take place as Meeker’s men ride after Frank and behind his men is Williams. When Frank is thrown from his horse, Meeker’s men catch up to him and start to rough him up, that is until Billy Williams arrives and uses his fists to floor the goons with big punches and chases them off. Williams and Frank decide to camp there for the night, while back at the Holt ranch Meeker and Cal have found the trunk and ride off with it to open away from the ranch as George and Madge are on their way to the family ranch.

Williams and Frank are at their night camp removing their boots and settling in for the evening as Frank is complaining about nothing going their way as Williams tells him to look at the brighter side of things and who knows luck just might fall out of the sky, as the two start to take a nap. Meanwhile Meeker and Cal search the trunk and just find some papers, hats and boots and when they see that the Holt siblings are coming they toss the trunk and boots over a small ledge and leave the scene. The boots land near the sleeping Billy Williams who ends up putting them on and thinks it’s a sign from heaven as his boots had holes in them. Meeker and his men make it back to the ranch on time to great George and Madge Holt and deliver the letter that now makes them the full owner of Holt ranch, he even tries to trick them into selling it to him as he talks about the ranch needing lots or repair as well as the taxes and up keep. But Madge and George Holt are tired and do not want to talk business so Meeker leaves for the night as the siblings soak in their new home.

Williams and Frank come across The Holt Ranch and come up with the idea of seeing if they could get jobs at the ranch to earn a little money, and they arrive just in time to save Madge from a charging bull as Williams is able to rope it and then wrestle it to the ground. After talking with the Holts they are hired to work the ranch as hands. Back at the office of Meeker he can not figure out the hiding meaning of the trunk and the stolen part of the letter and Cal and he try their best to crack the secret and they finally do as the heat from Meeker’s cigar brings out the invisible ink that tells them the location of treasure can be found in the heel of the boots that are now being warn by Williams. Meeker gets his men together and the head to the location of the dumped trunk only to find the boots missing and know that some one has them when they find the old warn out boots of Williams. Meeker does not give up and has a plan that will help them find the boots and the clue to find the buried gold.

Meeker is sponsoring a dance that will allow any cowboy from town to bring their old pair of boots in for a brand new pair, as he hopes this will get him the boots quick and easy. And when news of the dance to the Holt Ranch excitement fills the air as George says that all of them should go and all agree and are ready for a fun night of gathering and dancing and of course boots! The dance is going well and many people are trading in their old boots for new ones, but when Williams and his friends arrive none trade in their boots as when Frank tries they are out of his size. Meeker sits the Holts at a reserved table and reminds them that he made an offer to buy the ranch before talking to Cal who is boot watching seeing if anyone entering the dance and not trading in their boots don’t fit the description of the boots they are looking for. As Meeker heads back to the Holts’ he notices the boots on the feet of Williams and knows he has finally found them! Williams asks Madge to dance as Meeker alerts Cal who as well heads to the dance floor with a lady and after rudely bumping into Madge he and Williams get into a fight on the dance floor as the towns people watch. Williams is getting the upper hand so Meeker signals for more of his men to enter the fight and Williams is holding them all off by himself, and Meeker even tries to cheat by turning off the lights and scaring the people at the dance. Once the fight is over Williams, Frank, Madge and George all head home to the ranch as Meeker yells at Cal for failing to get the boots.

Back at The Holt Ranch, both George and Frank turn in for the night while Williams and Madge chat about the fight and how unprovoked it was that so many others would jump in like that, they also talk about the death and hidden treasure of General Tirado, spurs and Williams even sings for Madge while Frank plays the harmonica outside, but George puts a stop to the singing as he is wanting to sleep and so everyone starts to get ready for bed. While outside Cal and another man watch and wait for everyone to be asleep so they can steal the boots, the goon climbs into Williams’s window but is punched in the face and falls out the window for his effort and as he and Cal make a run for it Williams fires his gun at them. The noise wakes everyone in the house and Williams tells them of the prowler and how it looks like it was two of them, he then says he thinks something is up and that he is keeping guard all night and everyone else should get some sleep.

The next morning Williams and Frank starting working and when the separate to complete some jobs Meeker’s men once more attack and give chase to Williams who falls from his horse and acts as if he has been hit by one of their bullets, this of course was a trick as he lures them close to him and when they try and take his boots he then puts up a big fight. After taking out two of Meeker’s men, more show up with Meeker being one of them and start shooting at them and this causes him to once more get on his horse and try to out run them and is able to hide from them. Williams ends up finding the hidden message in the heel of his boot and unlucky for him Meeker and Cal seem him discover it and decided to follow him to learn the location for themselves. Williams takes the location paper to George and Madge and they now know that Meeker is a bad man and that the treasure is there and theirs.

Williams leads George, Frank and Madge to the location of the buried treasure and they all start digging hoping to find it, and after awhile they find the gold! But across the way Meeker, Cal and the others are watching and plotting to rob them of their newly found riches and they make their move by shooting at them! George and Madge try to make their escape in a wagon that the gold is on board while Williams and Frank on horseback try and keep Meeker and his gang at bay. The Holts are able to make it back home to the ranch and get the gold inside just as Williams and Frank arrive with Meeker and his goons right behind them, Williams gets them to all hold up in the house and have a stand off with Meeker and his men who are outside firing in. After a few minutes two of Meeker’s men are dead and only he and Cal remain to try and get the gold, but in the end with two unloaded guns Williams is able to get Meeker and Cal to surrender and they are arrested. Williams and Frank also find themselves now as part owners of The Holt Ranch for all their help and Madge and Williams start up a relationship.

Review: Lucky Boots is a very slow moving and for the most part lackluster western film that is about hidden treasure, a con man who runs the town and two strangers that befriend the new ranch owners of the town and help them uncover the riches that is theirs…oh yeah and lots of talk about boots as the whole film revolves around the directions to the hidden treasure that is hidden in the heel of an old pair of them…just silly stuff. And to be honest while most of these westerns were made very cheaply this one seems to be more lacking in the script department than the budget one as it just seems like it never truly starts and much of the “action” parts are two few and far between and in some cases brag on and almost seem like filler with the opening gun battle and the fist fight at the dance both coming to mind. The final gun fight between the good guys and the bad guys comes off very generic and standard as it’s just back and fourth shots of guns being fired with lots of smoke and no real danger being felt as for the longest time both sides are as bad of shots as Stormtroopers from Star Wars and Cobra Guards from G.I. Joe with just blindly firing lots of bullets and hitting nothing. The film’s main hero is Billy Williams who is played by Big Boy Williams and is kind of a goofy hero who thinks his found boots have brought him luck, and well they kind of do as the lead him to a job, gold and the love of a lady…but I also think he is kind of two goofy as I just can not take him serious as a gun slinging hero. His sidekick Frank Gorman is played for laughs and cheesy slapstick comedy his way through the film and has a over the top laugh and even at one point is creepily looking around a door, he as well is not a hero you can believe in. The beauty of the film is Madge Holt and she is your typical city woman who now is in the west and trying to run a ranch, the best part for her is when she has to run from the bull as it made me laugh out loud. Meeker and his men are the baddies and besides being greedy, wanting to steal gold and try to kill some people they are pretty lame and just ride around shooting and hitting nothing, loosing fist fights and just kind of being lame. The film is a total miss for me as the action is drawn out and boring, the story is bland and over all this is a classic western you should skip. I will say that the Alpha Video DVD print is pretty good and has only a few audio issues but nothing that distracted me from the movie.

Now let’s talk about the Smokey Chorizo Chili and if it was a hit or a miss for me. I am here to say that it was a HIT as I found it to be very good and hearty. I have to point out that this chili has many ingredients that I do not like at all like Red Peppers, Butternut Squash and Orange Peppers…but it also has Chorizo that I really like and what is shocking is all these things along with the tomatoes, spices, onions and black beans blend really well together. The chili packs a little heat that is not over bearing and again I have to really push that all these flavors just blend together really well. So really if you enjoy chili and are looking for something warm and comforting during a cold evening give this chili a try as both Juliet and I really liked it. I should say I would suggest that if you try this recipe to do a pound and a half of the chorizo

Movie: **
Chili: ***1/2

So as you can see, we had a great tasty bowl of chili and watched an entertaining yet kind of bland classic western film and I have to stress for me no matter how good or bad these Western Films released by Alpha Video I still very much enjoy sitting down and watching them as again they make me think of my Grandpa who loved these types of films and because watching them with him I found myself as well loving them. Also I have to say that Big Boy Williams had that Hollywood Cowboy look, I just wish he was a little more rough and tough in this film and way less silly and goofy. And The Wild West Round Up updates have been lots of fun to do and while I am not sure if they will be an every year theme, they will be a main stay update here at Rotten Ink. Cowboy Month is still going strong and out next update will take is to the squared circle as we talk about The Texas Hangmen, a masked tag team that worked from the 80’s to 90’s. So until next time, read a western comic or three, watch a western film or two and as always support your local chili makers! See you next update as the R.I.W Wrestling Legend update event should be a brawling one.

The Wild West Detective Known As Shotgun Slade!

Posted on March 3, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! You know what, I am thinking this month will be Cowboy Month. We will take a look at all things Wild West and that includes a cowboy-themed wrestler, but first let’s start off with a TV Show that turned the normal western formula upside down and added its own touch to the then-growing stale genre by sprinkling in jazz and private detective plots. Of course you fans of TV know that I am talking about Shotgun Slade, a syndicated show that entertained viewers for a few years and left its mark on the western genre for trying to be something original. So if you are ready, let’s hit the dusty, inky comic book western trail and go on a case with the wild west private detective known as Shotgun Slade!

Shotgun Slade was a TV Western show that was syndicated starting in 1959. It was created by Frank Gruber and starred Scott Brady as the title character Shotgun Slade. The story would follow Shotgun Slade as he would try and solve crimes in the old west mixing the detective genre with the western, and this was a smart move as western shows was starting to lose viewers as detective shows was gaining in popularity. The episodes ran about 30 minutes each, and the show lasted for two seasons and a total of 78 episodes. It was a decent success in the ratings and had its fair share of viewers who enjoyed going along with Shotgun Slade as he solved crimes. The show would also have its fair share of guest stars with most being known for their roles in other western themed shows and movies. Names like Francis X. Bushman, Jeanne Cooper, Frank Ferguson and Brett King to name a few appeared in episodes. One other thing that made Shotgun Slade stand out is that the score music done by Gerald Fried had a jazz sound and wqas not your typical western style. This made viewers take notice of this very odd western show. Over the years Shotgun Slade has slipped away from being one of the well known shows in the western genre as it does not get much play in reruns, but it does have a cult following and those who remember or discover it seem to truly enjoy it.

Shotgun Slade is a show that I had heard of but never paid much attention to as I had seen the Dell Comic before as well as other merchandise at garage sales and antique malls and for some reason just never tracked down the show to give it a watch. That is crazy because, as you readers know, I am a fan of westerns in all forms of media from novels, comics, movies and shows and Shotgun Slade sounds like it would be up my ally. I have no excuse on why it has taken me so long to give it a watch. But I was really happy to find out that Alpha Video, who you all know is the company I love and use their prints of films in my “Wild West Round Up” Reviews (so make sure to give War On The Range a read if you haven’t yet), had released three volumes of DVDs featuring episodes of the show, and of course I had to get them and watch, and I have to say this show is lots of fun. The Shotgun Slade character is very cool and draws you in as a viewer as you go along with him on his case and try to piece together who are the crooks and who even hired him from time to time. I will say that the jazz soundtrack does set it apart form other western shows, but at times it also is kind of distracting and reminded me of some of the music cues used in the 1960’s Batman TV Show starting Adam West. After watching several episodes I have to say I really like the show as each episode flows well and the cases he takes are interesting and kept me wanting to see how he was going to solve them. Very cool and original concept by creator Frank Gruber and Scott Brady was the right choice to play Shotgun Slade, and with that I say if you like westerns, like detective shows and enjoy classic television make sure to go and get yourself these DVDs or heck look up episodes on YouTube and enjoy this fun and should not be forgotten show.

Now let’s talk about the character Shotgun Slade, who is a private detective who for the right price you can hire and he will crack any case. He was always armed with his trusty shotgun that had barrels stacked with one firing a 12-gauge shell and the other .32 caliber bullet making his gun very effective in any situation, and yes he is skilled with it. Because he was a detective for hire, this caused him to travel a lot and meet, friend and fight with many people along the way. He is super smart and uses not only his fist fighting and gun skills on his cases but also his mind to blend in and get the information he is looking for to solve his case. He is strong willed and when need be he also can be a smartass or even tough as nails. Shotgun Slade is played by actor Scott Brady, who was a big actor for many years and was even in such Horror Films as “Castle Of Evil (1966)”, “The Mighty Gorga (1969)”, “Nightmare In Wax (1969)”, “The Ice House (1969)”, “Five Bloody Graves (1969)”, “Wicked, Wicked (1973)”, “The Night Strangler (1973)” and “Gremlins (1984)” but he was mostly known for his roles in the western genre. Sadly Scott Bradley would pass away from respiratory failure at the age of 60 in 1985. And one thing about Scott is that he was a good character actor that I think is often over looked for his roles in Horror. But to sum it up, Shotgun Slade is a very cool character who is one part cowboy and one part private detective.

Like all good TV Western shows, Shotgun Slade had his fair share of merchandise for fans to collect that includes comic book, home media, board game, soundtrack and a toy shotgun replica of his famous weapon. And oddly enough that is pretty much it, and Shotgun Slade never got an action figure or even a lunchbox. But while limited on what fans could get their hands on, as you can see, some cool stuff over the years have been made available. And for those wondering, I own the comic, home media and the soundtrack on CD of Shotgun Slade. So if you are a fan, you can add to your collection by tracking down any of this cool stuff.

After doing the research and watching Shotgun Slade episodes as well as listening to the score music, I am very much looking forward to reading this comic book based on the character released by Dell Comics as this will be a first time read for me. And that’s something I might be doing more of in the future here at Rotten Ink is tracking down some of these old Dell Comics based on old TV Westerns and doing updates based around them as I have been trying to get the complete run of The Rifleman for a while now as that is one of my favorite shows of all time and needs to be covered here. I want to thank the Ebay seller who had this comic in stock and made this update possible and I also want to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So with that lets head out to the old west and see what kind of case Shotgun Slade has to crack in this one and only comic book adventure.

Shotgun Slade # 1 ***1/2
Released in 1960 Cover Price .10 Dell Comics # 1111 of 1354

“Outpost Outlaws” Shotgun Slade has been hired by The Shannon Stage Line by it’s owner Beth Shannon and arrives just in time as he watches as outlaws are robbing a stage coach and even shoot the driver Beth herself after she sees one of the outlaws face and that being Ben Watson. The outlaws escape as Slade is able to check on Beth who survived the shot and tells him that Ben hangs around the general store with the owner Jess and that her father also hangs around there as well to play checkers all day. Slade heads to town and goes to the general store and takes Ben Watson to jail, and unknown to him one of the outlaws sneaks out the back and threatens Beth with killing her father if she identifies Ben as one of the coach robbers! Ben ends up walking free and Beth lets Slade go from the case, but her father hires him back and its shown that Jess is the mastermind of the stage coach robberies and now he and his outlaws have a plan to flee the town, but before they do so they take Beth’s father hostage! Slade figures this all out and brings down Jess and the outlaws before they can run, gets Beth her money back as well as brings her and her father closer. “Cowtown” Slade has been hired by the Cattlemen’s Association in order to look into a rash of cattle thefts that has hurt many of the ranches, and before he can even reach the town to check in he is attacked by a unknown gunman who ends up loosing the back of his boot given Slade his first clue. Once in town he gets some rest and meets the Association who hired him including Will Lundeen a very rude rancher who is not happy to see Slade, cause as you guessed it he and his men are behind the cattle thefts! Slade while piecing the case together even finds an old mine shaft that the rustlers are using to move the stolen cows. And after going through the mine Slade finds that it leads to Lundeen’s ranch and he is able to make the arrest and solving the case of the stolen cows.

This is a really fun comic and does a pretty great job of capturing the nature of the show as the only thing missing is the western jazz music! This comic has two cases for Shotgun Slade one that has him bringing down some outlaws who are robbing stage coaches and the other has him stopping some cattle rustlers and along the way he charms pretty ladies as well as uses his awesome special shotgun to bring justice. Shotgun Slade is great at his job and finds the clues and solves the cases fast and is able to bring all the criminals to justice without having to kill them, but he does have to at times use his shotgun to wound them. The main bad guys in this comic are Jess a man who runs a general store but is also the leader of outlaws who rob stage coaches of their money, and he and his men do not care to take lives in order to get the money they seek. Will Lundeen is the other who is a ranch owner who along with his hired hands are stealing the cows from their fellow ranchers in town, and he as well does not mind sending his goons to kill. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and eye catching for fans of the show as it’s a promo photo used for the show set to a green background. The interior art is done by an Unknown Artist and is pretty great stuff as it has the typical Dell Comics look and style and Shotgun Slade kind of looks like the actor who played him on the show. Over all this is a great western comic based on a very underrated TV Show and is one that you should check out if you like the show or just western comics in general.

Shotgun Slade is a great TV Show that made for a great comic book as well and I am shocked that this show is not talked about to this day as it was very original and highly entertaining. And I myself would love if the missing episodes could be found and if it could be released as the whole series on home media, as I would buy it! But with our next update we keep the Cowboy Theme up and will next head back to the world of Pro Wrestling and be talking about Cowboy Bob Ellis! So until next time read a western comic or three, watch a western film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a rootin tootin good time in the squared circle.