Among other praiseworthy points, the heroine, well played by the lovely and sparkling Judy Clark, is feisty and spunky, and quick to jump into a fight to help the good guys, whether a physical battle or a gunfight. No shrinking violet she, and also not a love interest.
In fact, this exciting serial is rather different: The hero, played by Tom Keene in one of his several alternate names, and who was about 54 years old at time of filming, is quick-fisted, very athletic and always willing to tangle with the villains, and a good horseman -- but not a romance figure.
His partner, Rusty Steele (intentionally funny name?), is played by Lee Phelps, credited here at IMDb with 669 roles. Steele is not exactly the model hero either but Rusty has his share of fights, and is right there for the gun battles, too.
The "brains heavy" is played by one of the most under-rated actors in Hollywood, I. Stanford Jolley. Too often he was uncredited and didn't even have lines, but here he is the thinker, the leader of the gang, but also ready and willing to grab a gun to accomplish his ends.
His action heavy is one of the highly recognized, even acclaimed, villains and character actors, the more-than-great Roy Barcroft.
One of the really good things about this serial is that even the bad guys have personalities. Many of them, as well as many of the good guys, get a chance to play center stage. We get to see Dennis Moore., Hank Patterson, and Bud Osborne twice, as well as some of the other greatest Western character players in movies.
John Cason, whom I just while watching this serial discovered to be left-handed, gets to play one of the strong supporters of the good guys, working the oil rig and fighting off the bad guys.
Some of the chapter endings cannot be called "cliff-hangers," but the action, the fights, the horse chases are continuous. The acting and the characterizations are excellent. The directing is right on, as is the camera work.
One definite flaw is that sometimes dead people are forgotten and are left lying on the ground or beside the road, a common-enough error in too many movies.
But I can and must highly recommend "Desperadoes of the West," and you can find a good print on YouTube.
