The Dakota Kid (1951) Online

The Dakota Kid was the second of four films where kids were the leading characters. Young Michael Chapin and his friend Eilene Janssen played a pair of adolescents who probably were the ideals of many front row kids, that is those that had not been lost to the small screen westerns.

The title role is played by Dann Morton who is an outlaw recruited by Robert Shayne and Roy Barcroft to take the place of the sheriff James Bell's nephew whose been sent for to help his uncle out. He's not seen him since he was a small child so the masquerade works. But Morton would like to really change, but he is a wanted outlaw.

Bell is also Chapin's grandfather as well as sheriff and Chapin and Janssen take a liking to Morton also.

Not just code parameters, but the fact that this film is marketed for the kids make it impossible for these outlaws to do certain things. Nevertheless both Shayne and Barcroft packed enough menace into their performances.

The Code also hampers the film overall. Still it's not a bad kid's feature if you can get used to adolescent Chapin packing heat.