Search - Shadows of Death/His Brothers Ghost:D on DVD

Double feature fun for B-Western fans

yaremar | Pilsen, USA | 12/08/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"From 1941 to 1946, Buster Crabbe (FLASH GORDON, BUCK ROGERS) starred in a series of ultra-low budget Westerns for that infamous Poverty Row outfit, PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation). During the first three years, Crabbe's character was called "Billy the Kid"; afterwards he was known as "Billy Carson." Regardless of the name, it was always the same tried-and-true formula: Crabbe played a stalwart sagebrush hero who never failed to help anyone in distress. And he was always aided and abetted by his trusty sidekick, Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John).

While the scripts, settings, and supporting casts repeated themselves with alarming regularity, this series was given a considerable boost by the appealing performances of Crabbe and St. John. Though he was never hailed for his acting ability, Buster Crabbe had such a winning screen presence that it didn't matter if he posed no threat to Spencer Tracy or Paul Muni. He was the sort of easygoing, likable Western hero that audiences could easily root for. Al St. John was one of the funniest Western sidekicks in the business; a talented visual comedian (he had appeared in numerous silent comedies with his uncle, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle), Fuzzy could always "pepper up" a routine script with his lively physical clowning. Together, Crabbe and St. John made a solid team, and their combined talents helped them overcome PRC's severe budgetary limitations.

This Buster Crabbe double feature is a bargain for fans of this series. HIS BROTHER'S GHOST is one of the better entries, with St. John playing his usual role of Fuzzy as well as Fuzzy's brother, Andy. When Andy is killed, Fuzzy steps in as the title character to thwart a bandit gang. SHADOWS OF DEATH is an okay entry that, like so many others, is just an excuse to see the duo in action.

Print quality on both titles is only passable. One of these days I'd love to see a good (if not great) copy of one of the Crabbe/St. John Westerns. As it is, fans will appreciate this two-for-one deal. (Non-fans won't rate this disc as highly as I did...then again, non-fans won't be interested in this disc at all.)
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