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6.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Fighting with Kit Carson remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Alright, so Fighting with Kit Carson. Is this one for you? Well, if you’re into old serials, the kind where the bad guys are *really* bad and the good guys just keep on going, then yeah, maybe give it a look. Folks expecting a modern, nuanced Western with deep characters will probably want to skip this one entirely. It’s a definite throwback, a very specific kind of Saturday matinee vibe. 🤠
The whole thing kicks off with Kit Carson, you know, the Kit Carson, leading a pack train. This train, naturally, is carrying a big government shipment of gold. Of course it is. And wouldn't you know it, a gang called the Mystery Riders, led by this fella named Kraft, are right there to try and snag it.
Matt Fargo, quick on his feet, manages to hide the gold. Good move, Matt. But this doesn’t actually stop the Mystery Riders. They just keep coming back. And coming back. And coming back. It’s less of a single confrontation and more of a series of almost identical encounters. You gotta admire Carson’s persistence, though. He’s always there, ready to rumble, seemingly without tire.
One thing that really sticks out is how *relentless* the bad guys are. They’re called the Mystery Riders, but there’s not much mystery to them. They just want the gold, and they’ll attack *anywhere*. You see a dusty trail? Riders. A canyon? Riders. It’s like they have a teleportation device for henchmen. You can almost feel the writers going, “Okay, how do we get them to fight *again* this week?”
The action itself is… well, it’s 1933 serial action. Lots of horses, guys falling off things, fists flying. Sometimes the punches don't quite connect, but everyone sells it pretty well. There’s a particular scene where Carson jumps from a moving wagon onto a horse, and it’s surprisingly fluid. You can tell they knew what they were doing with the stunts. The Hansom Cabman probably had less dynamic movement, for sure.
Noah Beery Jr. as Carson does a fine job being the stoic hero. He’s not got a lot of big speeches, mostly just action and determined glares. The villains, especially Kraft, are pure mustache-twirling evil. No shades of gray here, which is kind of refreshing in its own way. You just know who to root for. 💪
Honestly, the movie gets a little repetitive. You’ll see the gold hidden, the gold almost found, the gold re-hidden. It’s the cycle of life for a serial. But that’s part of its charm, too, if you’re in the right mindset. It’s less about a complex plot and more about the *journey* of endless skirmishes.
There's a moment, after one particularly drawn-out chase, where a character just kinda leans against a rock, catching their breath. It wasn't a dramatic pause or anything, just felt like the actor needed a moment. I kinda appreciated that small, almost accidental, human beat. It makes you remember these were real people doing these stunts.
The overall production feels exactly what you'd expect from the era. Dusty sets, straightforward camera work. It’s not trying to be fancy. It just wants to tell its story, episode by episode, and keep you coming back for the next cliffhanger. And it kinda works, for what it is. It's a simple pleasure. Nothing more, nothing less.
So, yeah. If you’re a fan of vintage Westerns, or just curious about how these serials hooked audiences back in the day, Fighting with Kit Carson is a pretty solid example. Don't go in expecting a sprawling epic. Expect a series of quick, punchy chapters. And maybe a few too many times someone almost finds the gold. But hey, that's the fun, right? 😉
IMDb —
1916
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