Flame of the West (1945)

This is really quite a solid B western. Johnny Mack does not dominate the movie, as with many B westerns, where the hero is on screen every moment in every scene. He's very laid back here, & that's good for the movie. Douglass Dumbrille as Sheriff Tom Nightlander is excellent. He's introduced in the movie as kind of a Wyatt Earp character, maybe a little too happy with his gun, or is he? We get to decide for ourselves as we watch him in action. Joan Woodbury as Poppy Rand is delightful. She walks with a Mae West swagger & has a good comedic touch (although she's not the equal of Mae by any means). I've seen Joan twice before. Her first credited role was in `Eagle's Brood' (the second Hopalong Cassidy movie) although she was credited as `Nana Martin' in that film. I saw her again in `Rogues' Tavern' (1936), where she played a bizarre role & was mostly window decoration. Her roles in those two movies were not very significant, so I was surprised to see the extent of her part in this movie & even more surprised to see how convincing she was in the part of a loose saloon girl here. There are many other well known faces & voices in this film, good actors who have played character roles in movies without anyone remembering their names. It all adds up to a good, enjoyable film, perhaps Johnny Mack's best. I rate it 8/10.