Code of the Prairie (1944)

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Keeping Smiley Burnette busy after Gene Autry went into the service, Repblic Pictures teamed him as a sidekick to Sunset Carson in Code Of The Prarie. In this film Sunset and Smiley are sent for to be sheriff in a wide open lawless Oklahoma Panhandle town. Certain forces want to keep it that way.The secret head of the outlaws is town barber Roy Barcroft who kills the local newspaper editor when he spots the barber for a notorious outlaw. It may be too late though as Barcroft's men have intimidated enough voters to elect his man Weldon Heyburn as the new sheriff.Smiley Burnette saves everyone's bacon here with his photography equipment and his knowledge of developing pictures. In fact the ending of this Republic western breaks down the wall between audience and players at the very end. Just like a Road picture. Not easy for justice to triumph here as Barcroft is one crafty villain.Nice Republic western, Sunset Carson was a good cowboy hero, sadly forgotten today.

The Oklahoma Panhandle has just been annexed and there are those who want to keep the government with its law and order out. Bat Matson, a famous but now retired Sheriff, and his daughter move to the panhandle and set up a newspaper. On their way to the recently annexed town, they are attacked by a gang but are fortunately saved by Sunset Carson and his sidekick, Smiley Burnett who is an amateur photographer with the nickname of Frog. The leader of the gang is Professor Graham, the local barber, played by Roy Barcroft (giving his usual good performance). Matson is sent a stack of wanted posters by a former colleague and recognizes Graham, under the name of Larson as a fugitive wanted for murder. When Matson confronts Graham with this information, Graham kills him. Smiley Burnett provides the humor (and the vital clue) and Sunset Carson the action in tracking down the killer. Sunset Carson was certainly no actor but he did have an appealing personality. This movie was a nice diversion that did have one gimmick that I don't recall seeing in a Western before (but have seen in mysteries) and that is one of the movie characters talking directly to the audience. Smiley asks the audience if they knew how he knew that the current Sheriff did not kill Matson even there was photograph seeming to prove that he had. Smiley explains how he knew and then says: "You kids go home now, you've been in here all day." This "kid" still likes the old B Westerns.