Boss of Bullion City (1940) User Reviews (4)

"Never mind my inefficiency, you just watch your step."

[classicsoncall · 4/10 · 5 March 2006]

Tom Bryant (Johnny Mack Brown) and his sidekick Burt Pennypacker (Fuzzy Knight) are headed to Bullion City to open a newspaper business, but before getting established, they find themselves up against a crooked sheriff who's been staging robberies in the territory with his outlaw deputies. When a large gold shipment is scheduled to leave town, Bryant "steals" the gold from the Express Office to measure the sheriff's reaction and set him up for a showdown.

"Boss of Bullion City" is a rarity among "B" Westerns as it offers a shooting cowgirl operating as a homesteader. Martha Hadley (Nell O'Day) is good with a gun, however once that's established, she isn't called upon to use it again in a critical situation. So that set up seems like a wasted plot line.

Pay attention as Tom and Burt enter the Bullion City saloon when they first hit town. They have an outlaw in tow, and as Tom asks for the sheriff, Burt calls out to him to watch out, looking as if he's clear across the room; they had entered the saloon with the outlaw between them.

The couple of examples offered are among a few that create a disjointed feel to the story. At least Fuzzy Knight is good for a few comedic moments. During the saloon fight he's knocked against a wall as a mounted bear head falls on top of his. Later on in the story, he tries to ride a horse without a saddle by gluing himself to the horse. By the time we get to the final bad guy roundup, he's calling Martha "Marcy", in another head scratcher.

It's no surprise that at the time of this posting, the film is still awaiting enough votes to have a rating. Many Westerns of the era are largely without an audience, with their formulaic and largely forgettable stories. But even so, it's a kick to see the old time cowboy stars in action, and with well over a hundred films to his credit, Johnny Mack Brown is worth watching at least once. So's Fuzzy.

Rootin' Tootin' Shootin' Newspaperman

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 16 November 2016]

Boss Of Bullion City casts Johnny Mack Brown with sidekick Fuzzy Knight heading to Bullion City with the intention of setting up a newspaper. After a couple incidents, Brown's pretty convinced that the boss of the place and the sheriff Harry Woods are at the bottom of all the crime in the area. Now to prove it.

I saw a most abbreviated version of the film so going by what I did see it was rather sloppily put together. No doubt this was done for television. Possibly if an intact director's cut print is available it might raise Boss Of Bullion City a notch or two.

Johnny Mack Brown's southern drawl was right at home in westerns and he used to his best advantage. Fuzzy Knight who can be entertaining was singularly unfunny in this film. His encounter with a bear trap and dynamite was so inept I kept hoping he'd get blown up. Later when he's forced to ride bareback and smears glue on the horse's back so he can stay on smacked of cruelty to animals.

Still Johnny Mack Brown sits tall in the saddle with two leading ladies, Nell O'Day and Maria Montez before she went Middle Eastern. Fans of Brown should be pleased.

A bit obvious who the baddies are in this one.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 6 May 2021]

"Boss of Bullion City" is an okay western starring Johnny Mack Brown and Fuzzy Knight. I say it's okay because although I like Brown's films, it's so obvious from the beginning of the film who the bad guys are that there's really no sense of suspense. I think had the film kept this a secret longer and provided some doubt, it would have worked better.

When the story begins, Tom and Burt (Brown and Knight) are held up outside of some town. Naturally given that Tom is the hero, it's no surprise that he is able to stop the robbers and he takes one of the attackers prisoner. The prisoner ends up being one of the deputies in this town and so it seems obvious that the sheriff and the rest of the lawmen are also involved in criminal activities. And, by their behaviors, there never really is any doubt about the shady sheriff. And so, you need to wait another 40 or so minutes to see the sheriff arrested.

While I thought there was zero mystery to the film and no suspense as well, it's still decent because Johnny Mack Brown's style is so nice and natural...as usual. He was a fine B Cowboy....but sometimes the scripts could be better...such as with "Boss of Bullion City".

Boss of bullion city

[coltras35 · 5/10 · 24 February 2022]

An honest lawman and his sidekick must save a town from a crooked sheriff in this average yet entertaining western that features an amusing scene where Fuzzy Knight lights a dynamite and as he tries to run away he steps into a trap and can't move away from the sizzling dynamite. An odd cliffhanger. Well you'll have to watch to see if he escapes or not.