Panhandle (1948)
7/10
Revenge Western with singing lead, and plenty of gun lead
12 December 2022
I know nothing about Director Leslie Selander, but in PANHANDLE he gets a catchy film going on a constantly calm note, until the final deluge and shootout.

He is most calmly helped by the rather laid back and softly singing Rod Cameron, one of the tallest male actors to appear in B Westerns and this time out to avenge his brother's murder. Two beautiful females in Cathy Downs and Anne Gwynne do not hurt one bit.

Reed Hadley plays the master villain Garson rather convincingly, down to thinking that he is the sharpest knife in town and claiming that he makes no mistakes. Of course, such overconfidence seldom bodes well for one's safety, as Garson finds to his cost.

Cinematography in PANHANDLE is rather curious: it features some gorgeous sights as John Sands escapes a trio of killers early on, then it gets rather dark inside the villain's saloon, and finally it is shot in near complete blackness and under a deluge of rain. Sadly the quality of photography decreases as the screen gets darker and darker.

All right script by Blake Edwards (of later Pink Panther fame) and Champion.
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