7/10
At last, a creative B-movie!
13 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
While no sane person would go so far as to say "Aces and Eights" is a great film, it is a bit better than average for a B-series western. That's because unlike most westerns (and Hollywood made 130234482734 of them), the plot is pretty unusual. What's most unusual is that the hero (Tim McCoy) plays a professional gambler--a first that I can recall. With B-series westerns, usually the hero (Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and the like) plays a government agent or rancher or ranch hand...never a gambler. But, like other heroes, he's a honest professional gambler and what he often does is expose the crooked ones and dispense justice without even using a gun. Apparently, Tim had hands of steel and could just about crush the hands of anyone attempting to shoot him.

The film begins with just such a situation--Tim sees that the man gambling with him is cheating by dealing himself aces. When he confronts the guy and they are about to come to blows, the Sheriff suggests they go outside and settle it (I presume to kill each other). But Tim does NOT kill him--just threatens him and leaves. But an unseen hand from behind a tree is waiting. And, when one of the gambler's victims then confronts him, a shot rings out--and the evil gambler is killed. Who did it? Well, at first blame rests on Tim--who is forced to run.

Once on the run, Tim meets the family of the man who THINKS he shot the gambler (his gun DID go off but the guy behind the tree really killed him). Then, thanks to Tim, he saves the family fortune and reunites the young man with his grieving father and sister. And, in the end, all is well and the perpetrator of the foul deed is exposed.

I liked Tim McCoy's acting--it was simple and direct. The story was good as well--and quite entertaining. For a B-series film, it's among the better ones I've seen. Oh, and by the way, the title refers to a pair of aces and a pair of eights--the same hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot in the back while gambling.
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