"The Marshal Of Mesa City”

Northern Advocate, 4 May 1940, Page 10

"The Marshal Of Mesa City”

Dealing in exciting and suspenscfui fashion with the daring exploits of a young peace officer’s efforts to bring law and order to a frontier town under the dominant rule of an outlaw sheriff, “The Marshal of Mesa City” presents George O’Brien in a dramatic and action-packed film. The story is laid in of the ’Bo’s, antf is a saga of the courageous federal marshals who ended the riotous and bloody rule of frontier desperadoes, whose sneering disregard for law was told with roaring sixshooters. There is gunplay in the picture and action galore, as was the case during the period upon which the production was based, but thrills depend less upon shooting than upon suspense and twists of plot. O’Brien, as a retired marshal, is en route to his ranch in the south-eastern part of the state. He visits the small irontier community of Mesa City, arid is pressed into service as marshal when the town’s marshal is killed by an outlaw. Single-handed he undertakes to purge the town. After his first victory with the enemy, the town rallies to O’Brien’s support. Even a notorious killer helps him frustrate the crooked sheriff’s efforts to halt the clean-up, and O’Brien appoints him a deputy marshal. A young and attractive school teacher is involved in the scheme of things, which further heightens the bitterness between O’Brien and the sheriff. On a trumped-up charge O’Brien and his deputy are gaoled. Their escape from the burning gaol, which results in a decisive fracas between the rival forces, brings the film to its dramatic climax.