Marshal of Mesa City The (1939)

George O’Brien is the hero in this B Western – a remake of Richard Dix’s The Arizonian (1935) – that was directed by David Howard written by Jack Lait Jr. and features Virginia Vale as his love interest and Leon Ames (!) as the villain; Henry Brandon plays a ‘Doc’ Holliday-type reformed gunfighter character that assists O’Brien (in the title role).

Set in Mesa City Arizona in 1880 Sheriff Judd Cronin (Ames) has his eyes set on schoolmarm Virginia King (Vale) but she couldn’t be less interested. In fact she’s so disgusted with his brutish thugs that run roughshod over the town and the law that she’s ready to leave it. When Cronin employs his men to bring her back a stranger named Cliff Mason (O’Brien) intervenes and embarrasses the henchmen (which include Harry Cording Slim Whitaker Joe McGuinn and Frank Ellis). After being rescued Miss King decides to stay and checks back in to Mrs. Dudley’s (Mary Gordon) boarding house. Mayor Bentley (Lloyd Ingraham) is so impressed with Mason and his established reputation for cleaning up towns that he appoints Cliff the Marshal. But after Mason witnesses Cronin’s judge releasing the thugs with merely a slap on the wrist fine he resigns. However Virginia convinces him to stay for a dance that evening and combined with more boorish behavior by Cronin Mason picks up the badge again. But when Cronin brings in a hired killer named Duke Allison (Brandon) to take care of the Marshal Mason’s courage so impresses the gunfighter that he ends up helping Cliff out of a jam against Cronin’s henchmen. Mason ends up deputizing Allison and together they restore justice to the small cow town.

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