The Fighting Renegade (1939) Online

Skilfully if unimaginatively made and minimally budgeted B western, which alienated Col. Tim's followers because he spends most of the picture doing a Speedy Gonzales character. He heads up his Devil Riders, complete with a Gaucho from the Pampas, singing a Men of the Prairie song and sorting out the local bad men.

Plot turns on stealing a diary written by the heroine's dad ("That Indian writing in there tells where a lot of buried treasure is hidden") and kidnapping her to translate. Usual shoot outs and chases, with some unsuitably jolly music playing under them. Tim does a fast draw and a leap into the saddle from a rock, along with his part of the horse riding and comes off quite plausibly but writing and production values are token.

This is one of eight 'Lightning Bill Carson' movies starring the B-western actor Tim McCoy. Like the other Carson films I've seen, this one features McCoy going undercover--posing as a Leo Carillo-like Mexican bandit in order to infiltrate a band of baddies. In most, he plays a Mexican, but in one he plays a Gypsy and another a Chinese MAN! Unfortunately, this film was from Alpha Video and like most of their DVDs and the print is in need of restoration--with a scratchy print and no captions of any sort (which is a problem since the sound isn't that good).

Like so many of the B-westerns of the day, this is an odd one because it has a weird amalgam of both old west and the contemporary. So, while folks ride horses and covered wagons and act just like cowboys, some others dress in 1930s style. Weird but not unusual.

When the film begins, you learn that Bill Carson was framed for a murder six years earlier. Now, in the guise of El Puma, he leads a group of nice guys who protect gold shipments and keep order--sort of like a good outlaw! During this time, Carson is actually looking to prove his innocence. But, when his alter-ego, El Puma, is framed for murder as well, something has to give.

Unfortunately, compared to the other two Lightning Bill films I have seen, this one is pretty limp. I think most of this is because you so seldom actually see things occur. Instead, exposition is use to tell what happened previously--a very bad way to tell an interesting story. As a result, you really don't get to see McCoy at his best. Watchable but not particularly distinguished.

Tim McCoy stars in this D western from a poverty row outfit called Victory Pictures headed by that noted King of the B film Sam Katzman. The sloppy editing and incoherent story trademarks of Katzman work is present in The Fighting Renegade.

As the story has it, McCoy plays cowboy hero Bill Carson, but here he's going by the name of notorious Mexican bandit El Puma. His accent is a cross between Bill Dana as Jose Jimenez and the Frito Bandito. I've heard some cheesy imitations before and one of McCoy's talents not was as an impressionist.

McCoy is keeping tabs on an archaeological expedition to seek out Aztec buried treasure and at the same time clear himself of a murder charge. That he's a fugitive is why McCoy is in disguise.

Tim McCoy had seen some much better days during the silent era and would again be doing at least a better grade of B westerns. This one is something I'm sure he would have liked buried.