The Lippert Line In Western Wear

Rimfire (1949) Puts Spooky Spin On Frontier Formula

A keen concept that needed subtler handling than it gets here. Has the ghost of a hanged gambler come back to avenge his framing? I'd have liked Rimfire better had that indeed been the case, but knew a "rational" explain would spoil novelty of this 64 minute Lippert western. Basic premise was used in Hal Wallis'  following-year Dark City; had his writers snuck a peek at Rimfire? There's dream casting of every player that ever wore spurs. Did guys like Glenn Strange ever sleep? I swear, he's been in all of a hundred westerns Greenbriar has seen over the past year. "Good try" on writer-producer Ron Ormond's part, said Variety, but no cigar "for mood effects which do not quite come off." Nice (and again novelty) to see customary heavy James Millican as good guy and femme magnet. Robert Lippert did these saddlers to program his and friend venues across landscape of exhibition that majors ignored, or overcharged. Less slick than Republic's stuff, but also less predictable. In fact, Bob rented Republic facilities to finish Rimfire and three others under his Screen Guild banner, announcing to trades that there'd be twenty-four more "if the present arrangement works out satisfactorily." Rimfire is available in a nice quality DVD from VCI.