By Glenn Erickson
The Fargo Kid
Brief Synopsis
When a lawman is mistaken for a killer, he turns the mistake to his advantage.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Edward Killy
Director
Tim Holt
Fargo Kid
Ray Whitley
Johnny
Emmett Lynn
Whopper
Jane Drummond
Jennie Winters
Cyrus W. Kendall
Nick Kane
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Dec
6,
1940
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Sir Piegan Passes" by W. C. Tuttle in Adventure (New York, 10 Aug 1923).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 3m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Synopsis
In the small Arizona town of Micaville, prospector Nick Kane tries to persuade Caleb Winters into selling his land, and even tries to enlist the help of Caleb's wife Sarah to convince him to sell. Caleb, however, refuses to give up his mining claim, and insists that there is gold on the land. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Micaville, the Fargo Kid, who is on his way to join his buddies Johnny and Whopper in town, becomes stranded when his horse suffers a broken leg. In the desert, the Fargo Kid meets Deuce Mallory, a hired gun who is headed for Micaville to kill a man. Mallory proposes a game of cards to determine who will ride his horse into town, but when he loses he pulls a gun on the Kid. The Kid, however, overpowers Mallory and rides off with his horse. Because of the horse, the Kid is mistaken for the outlawed gunslinger and is awarded with the five-thousand-dollar payment that Mallory was to receive for killing Caleb Winters, an old prospector. His interest piqued, the Kid decides to assume the gunman's identity until he can get to the bottom of the murder plot. Complications arise when the real Mallory rides into town and, seeing a notice offering a one-thousand-dollar reward for his capture, tips off Whopper and the sheriff that the man they want is the owner of the copper sorrel horse hitched outside the saloon. When the sheriff and a large crowd of men capture the Kid, Whopper comes to his rescue by starting a brawl over the reward money, thus creating a diversion long enough for the Kid to escape. While Johnny and Whopper are jailed for their complicity in the Kid's escape, the Kid learns that Nick Kane and Bush Cleveland want to kill Caleb in order to steal the rich vein of gold running through his claim. The Kid marches the men out to his ranch at gunpoint and forces them to confess to Caleb. After Johnny and Whopper are released from jail, they trail the sheriff to Winters' place, where a scuffle breaks out and Kane is shot. Before leaving town, Fargo asks Jennie, Caleb's daughter, for a hairpin, then extracts the five-thousand dollars he had hidden in the shaft of his shotgun.
Director
Edward Killy
Director
Cast
Tim Holt
Fargo Kid
Ray Whitley
Johnny
Emmett Lynn
Whopper
Jane Drummond
Jennie Winters
Cyrus W. Kendall
Nick Kane
Ernie Adams
Bush Cleveland
Paul Fix
Deuce Mallory
Paul Scardon
Caleb Winters
Glenn Strange
Sheriff
Mary Maclaren
Sarah Winters
Dick Hogan
Young prospector
Herman Nowlin
Hank
Hayden Stevenson
Hotel clerk
Lee Phelps
Bartender
Carl Stockdale
Harry Harvey
Crew
Nan Blake
Publicity unit wrt
Lucius Croxton
Art Director Associate
William Dorfman
Assistant Director
Bert Gilroy
Producer
Morton Grant
Screenwriter
John C. Grubb
Recording
Arthur V. Jones
Screenwriter
Frederic Knudtson
Editing
John Leipold
Music Score
Lee Marcus
Executive Producer
Van Nest Polglase
Art Director
Fred Rose
Composer
Paul Sawtell
Music Director
Ray Whitley
Composer
Harry Wild
Director of Photography
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Dec
6,
1940
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Sir Piegan Passes" by W. C. Tuttle in Adventure (New York, 10 Aug 1923).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 3m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Articles
The Fargo Kid -
Series westerns continued to be big studio moneymakers until the 1950s, when the industry was bushwhacked by the advent of television. RKO enjoyed great success with a series built around the young star Tim Holt, a handsome fellow whose charming personality soon brought him out of the shadow of his actor father Jack Holt. Although noted for appearances in classics by Orson Welles, John Ford and John Huston, Holt rode horses, shot guns and smiled sincerely through twelve years' worth of sagebrush dramas. His second western The Fargo Kid (1941) is a remake of a story that had also served for stars Bob Steele and Tom Keene in Man in the Rough (1928) and The Cheyenne Kid (1933). In this version, the virtuous Fargo Kid (Holt) comes to the aid of an honest gold miner being swindled by crooks. Aided by his pals Johnny and Whopper (Ray Whitley and Emmett Lynn), The Kid assumes the identity of killer-for-hire Deuce Mallory (Paul Fix) and even accepts a $5,000 fee Mallory was meant to earn for shooting the miner. When The Kid is arrested, Johnny and Whopper must break the law to straighten things out. Emmett Lynn provides comic relief while Ray Whitley contributes several songs, including 'Crazy Ole Trails' and 'Twilight on the Prairie.' Ace cameraman Harry Wild filmed some of the show on location at Red Rock Canyon and Kanab, Utah, while director Edward Killy was better known as an assistant director on much higher-profile productions. Tim Holt's likeable hero is gentle with the ladies and against excessive gunplay. At the finale he quietly asks the young heroine Jenny (Jane Drummond) for a hairpin, which he uses to retrieve the $5000 he's hidden in the barrel of his six-shooter. BR>
By Glenn Erickson
By Glenn Erickson
The Fargo Kid -
Series westerns continued to be big studio moneymakers until the 1950s, when the industry was bushwhacked by the advent of television. RKO enjoyed great success with a series built around the young star Tim Holt, a handsome fellow whose charming personality soon brought him out of the shadow of his actor father Jack Holt. Although noted for appearances in classics by Orson Welles, John Ford and John Huston, Holt rode horses, shot guns and smiled sincerely through twelve years' worth of sagebrush dramas. His second western The Fargo Kid (1941) is a remake of a story that had also served for stars Bob Steele and Tom Keene in Man in the Rough (1928) and The Cheyenne Kid (1933). In this version, the virtuous Fargo Kid (Holt) comes to the aid of an honest gold miner being swindled by crooks. Aided by his pals Johnny and Whopper (Ray Whitley and Emmett Lynn), The Kid assumes the identity of killer-for-hire Deuce Mallory (Paul Fix) and even accepts a $5,000 fee Mallory was meant to earn for shooting the miner. When The Kid is arrested, Johnny and Whopper must break the law to straighten things out. Emmett Lynn provides comic relief while Ray Whitley contributes several songs, including 'Crazy Ole Trails' and 'Twilight on the Prairie.' Ace cameraman Harry Wild filmed some of the show on location at Red Rock Canyon and Kanab, Utah, while director Edward Killy was better known as an assistant director on much higher-profile productions. Tim Holt's likeable hero is gentle with the ladies and against excessive gunplay. At the finale he quietly asks the young heroine Jenny (Jane Drummond) for a hairpin, which he uses to retrieve the $5000 he's hidden in the barrel of his six-shooter. BR>
By Glenn Erickson
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to contemporary sources, this film was filmed partially in Kanab, Utah. Hollywood Reporter news items indicate that The Fargo Kid was filmed simultaneously with Holt's Wagon Train (see below). According to the file for the film in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, on August 2, 1940 the Hays office sent a letter to RKO, warning the studio to use care in scenes showing drinking and horses falling. The Hays office also told RKO to change a scene in which "Bush" is being choked by "Nick," and suggested that "Nick merely shake Bush." In addition, RKO was asked to "show the crooks actually turned over to the sheriff and the posse...so that it will be quite clear to the audience that the crooks are going to be punished." For information on other films based on Tuttle's story see entry for the 1933 version of The Cheyenne Kid above.
