Challenge of the Range (1949) Poster

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7/10
Challenge of the Range
coltras359 March 2024
Mysterious outlaws are raiding the farm of Jim Barton and his daughter Judy, when Rancher's Protective Association man Steve Roper shows up to take a hand. Barton and other small ranchers under attack suspect Cal Matson and his son Reb as being behind the raids to run them off their land. Steve, in his guise of The Durango Kid, with the aid of his pal Smiley, learns that there is a third party behind the land-grabbing scheme.

This range war western featuring the Durango Kid is a lively entry with enough plot twists, action and intrigue to keep one interested. Liked the mystery angle of who the real villains are as it's obvious it's not the Matson. Ok the real varmints behind the trouble isn't hard to decipher. Only thing I found annoying was Billy Hallop's voice - he plays the hotheaded Red Matson.
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4/10
Starrett in the saddle for the 103rd time!
JohnHowardReid5 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This was Charles Starrett's 103rd western.

Released in the U.K. as "Moonlight Raid", "Challenge of the Range" emerges as a pretty average "Durango Kid" entry. Admittedly, although production values are somewhat thin, there is still plenty of action, thanks to the wholesale use of stock footage

The story is old hat: "A mystery band of armed men are intimidating ranchers. The local Farmers Association hires Steve Roper to investigate."

True, as noted above, most of this derring-do is beholden to Columbia's extensive library of stock footage, and some of the interior sets actually used in the film are, to say the least, extremely drab.

In addition to these drab interior sets, the film is also saddled with instantly forgettable songs, contributed by the so-called "Sunshine Boys"!

Director Ray Nazarro's work is strictly routine, save for one inventive shot when the camera tracks in on a crack in the door!

It's sad to see a lovely woman like Paula Raymond mixed up in this bottom-of-the-bottle entry which has so little to recommend it.
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