a5c7b9f00b "The Tioga Kid" is a remake of 1946's "Driftin' Kid" with only slight plot changes - hero Eddie Dean now has an identical twin brother working with the outlaws of stock from the original, all of the songs are recycled, most of the character names are the same, and the main difference is Jennifer Holt is now playing the role that Shirley Patterson had in "Driftin' River""Jenny Morgan," while most of the original cast - Dennis Moore, William Fawcett, Lee Bennett - are also here using the same character role names and, in some instances, the same footage. Eddie Dean and sidekick Soapy Jones return some stolen cattle (instead of horses) to Jenny Morgan, and Eddie runs off ranch hand Tucson Brown, who is working with the outlaws, led by Joe Morino, that includes Eddie's (unknown to him) twin Clint Mason/The Tioga Kid. After Jenny sees a wanted poster that makes her think Eddie is the Tioga Kid, Eddie has a hard time before bringing the gang to justice, aided by the change-of-heart Tioga Kid. Dean has more shirt changes than usual because of the dual role and stock footage from "Driftin' River." Ranger Eddie Dean is looking for the outlaw the Tioga Kid, a man he closely resembles. He runs into Joe Morino and his gang of rustlers at the same time Tioga arrives to cut himself into Morino's game. But Morino doesn't give in and in the showdown, Eddie and the Kid find themselves on the same side. Eddie Dean is the singing cowboy here, later in his film career; with Roscoe Ates, giving one of at least fifteen performancesDean's sidekick, Soapy Jones. They wanna help a female rancher, who's herd is being rustled with, they learn, the input of an employee of the gal. The rustlers also kill several emissaries of - and make off with - a government payroll. The Tioga Kid fits in thusly: at the beginning of the movie, he's obviously responsible for a number of misdeeds. And, he looks just like Eddie! He becomes privy to the evildoings of the gang, and demands one-third of the haul just because of what he knows. The bad guys, however, turn on him, and he ends up helping Eddie. There are three songs in this short flick: I see Dean's "men" around during two of them; but I wonder if that's a chorus of horses at the outset? I like other Dean fare more. When I saw Tioga Kid, it was in a viewing room at one of the western conventions. Jennifer Holt had just passed away and I feltif I had lost a sister rather than just a close friend. In the last scene, Roscoe Ates suggests Eddie Dean and Jennifer join up to run the ranch and Eddie responds in true cowboy hero fashion with the song "Ain't No Girl Got A Brand on Me." As Eddie and Roscoe mount their horses and ride away, Jenny folds her arms and leans back against the front porch post with that familiar smile. The last shot shows her waving to Eddie. I thought if I had been the producer of a TV newscast which gave the obits to former movie stars, I would have included that shotthe newscaster read the obit. Even today, it brings a lump to the throat of this old Front Row Kid. Love ya Scorpio.
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364 weeks ago