Kurt Neumann directed The Dude Goes West (aka “Tombstone”), made by King Brothers Productions and released by Monogram Pictures.
Eddie Albert stars as Daniel Bone, a gunsmith and marksman, who closes up his Brooklyn business and travels out west. On a train, after meeting passenger Liza Crockett (Gale Storm), he sees her purse stolen, and reacts by disarming the man and throwing off the train.
The man turns out to be the notorious outlaw Pecos Kid (Gilbert Roland), who vows revenge against “the dude” who interfered with his holdup. Liza, however, mistakenly thinks that it was Dan who tried to steal her bag.
On their way to Arsenic City, Nevada, where her father’s gold mine might make Liza a wealthy woman, she and Dan end up traveling from Carson City in a buckboard. Indians capture them, but Dan’s knowledge of their language impresses the tribe’s chief.
At Arsenic City, they encounter another outlaw, Texas Jack Barton, and a corrupt saloonkeeper, Kiki Kelly (Binnie Barnes), all interested in the mine. Dan finds the map, memorizes it and then burns it. He leads Liza to the gold, and when the outlaws ambush them, their new Indian friends come to the rescue.
This light, innocuous Western offers Albert, usually a character actor in secondary roles, a rare lead role, which he inhabits nicely. There are several comic references to the hero’s last name, Daniel Bone, which is mistaken by some as Boone.
Production values of this black-and-white B-movie are modest, servicing effectively the slender plot.
Released by Monogram Pictures on May 30, 1948.
Running time: 87 Minutes.
End Note:
TCM shows this movie on April 22, 2019.