The Laramie Kid: A Dusty B-Western Quickie

Is it worth your time?

If you like black-and-white horse operas where the plot is thinner than a piece of parchment, then sure. It is a breezy watch for a rainy Sunday afternoon. If you need complex character arcs or, you know, logic, you should probably skip this one.

Tom Tyler is the guy here. He has that rugged, stoic look that doesn't change even when he's being hauled off to a chain gang. Watching him try to convince the law he’s innocent is like watching a silent movie star try to act through a thick wall of wood. It is charming, in a very specific, dated kind of way.

The whole bank robbery setup happens so fast you’ll blink and miss the motive. One second there is a heist, the next there is a mix-up, and suddenly our hero is in leg irons. It doesn't really matter though. The movie isn't interested in the legal system. It just wants to get to the desert shots.

Odd little things

• The chain gang scenes look remarkably comfortable, honestly.
• I swear the same cactus appears in the background of three different shootouts.
• The dialogue is mostly just shouting instructions at horses.

Peggy, played by Alberta Vaughn, does most of the heavy lifting. She has to be the one to figure everything out while Tom just sort of stands there looking sturdy. It is nice to see her take charge, even if the script gives her the most clunky lines imaginable.

It reminded me a bit of the simplicity found in The Rainbow Trail, though with significantly less room to breathe. Everything feels compressed, like they were trying to finish filming before the sun went down. Maybe they were.

There is a moment during the climax where a stuntman clearly loses his hat, but he just keeps running anyway. The camera cuts away so quickly you almost think you imagined it. That’s the real beauty of these old flicks. They are messy, stitched together with spit and glue, and they just keep going.

Is it a masterpiece? Hardly. But it’s not trying to be. It’s just a hour or so of guys in hats chasing each other across a dusty landscape. Sometimes, that is enough. Don't go looking for the meaning of life in here, you won't find it. You’ll just find a lot of rocks and some very loud gunshots that sound like they were recorded in a tin shed. 🤠