Western Wednesdays: Shadows on the Sage (1942)

     Released on August 24th, 1942, Shadows on the Stage is the 46th Three Mesquiteers movie. It is directed by Lester Orlebeck and written by J. Benton Cheney. In it Tuscon Smith (played here by Bob Steele) is called into Holbrook County to help his old friend Lippy (Harry Holman), who has gotten in over-his-head after being appointed as the new Sheriff. His buddies Stony Brooke (Tom Tyler) and Lullaby Joslin (Jimmie Dodd) accompany him and together they root out the gang of robbers who have been holding up the stage.

     Shadows on the Sage utilizes the good old mistaken identity plot, with Bob Steele playing both Tuscon Smith and Curly Joe, the leader of the criminal gang. Steele does a good job at playing both roles, as you might expect from someone who had played the sadistic Curly in Of Mice and Men (1939) and also countless leads in westerns throughout the 30's. You might think that Stony and Lullaby are made to look stupid as a result of this switch-a-roo but they really don't have enough time to figure it out before the fake Tuscon murders Steve Jackson and absconds with his gold. This makes for an interesting bit of drama as Jackson's son Johnny (Freddie Mercer) looked up to and implicitly trusted (the fake) Tuscon as a friend of Lippy. Lippy, who cannot understand how his old friend could do such a thing, nevertheless sets out to bring him to justice and redeem himself in Johnny's eyes.

     Harry Holman is great as the reluctant, aged sheriff and brings a surprising sense of dignity to the role. This was was Jimmie Dodd's first outing with the Mesquiteers and he does well enough, even if his musical interludes are a little intrusive. Having Lullaby be the the youthful, inexperienced member of the trio is certainly a change of pace, if nothing else. Tom Tyler also puts in a good turn as Stony Brooke, who was pushed aside to give Tuscon the spotlight after Bob Livingston left. Tyler's Stony is certainly more in line with Ray Corrigan's stolid Tuscon Smith then with Wayne or Livingston, whose portrayal of Stony was more youthful and rambunctious.

     Despite the aforementioned musical interludes (which are thankfully few in number) the film is well paced. This is thanks, no doubt, to director Lester Orlebeck, who started out as an editor. This is the last of the eight films (all Mesquiteers movies) that he directed. Orlebeck also provides some decent action scenes, though it's not up their with the Republic's best work. He and the stunt team (which included, as usual, Yakima Canutt) were likely handicapped by having to cover for Steele's duel roles.

     Shadows on the Sage is another solid entry in this long running series. Though there best days were behind them by this point, Tuscon, Stony and Lullaby could still be counted on to deliver the goods.

Score: 8/10