Dakota Lil

Honour among thieves - Huh?

Dakota Lil is directed by Lesley Salander and written by Maurice Geraghty and Frank Gruber. It stars George Montgomery, Rod Cameron, Marie Windsor and Wallace Ford. Music is by Dimitri Tiomkin and cinematography by Jack Greenhalgh.

Tom Horn (Montgomery) is a Secret Service agent hunting a counterfeit ring. Getting tight with dance hall gal Lil (Windsor), Horn quickly finds himself in the hornets nest.

It's titled after Windsor's character but ultimately it's about Tom Horn during his early years as a good guy before he became a hired gunman. Unfortunately not even the presence of Montgomery and Cameron, two reliable Western performers, can save this lifeless affair. The acting is sub-standard, especia...

This is quite an enjoyable western crime drama - not least because the leading character is the rather feisty "Dakota Lil" (Marie Windsor). Ostensibly a travelling entertainer - with just the one song, from what I saw - she is also a cunning counterfeiter and is being sought by the authorities. Meantime George Montgomery ("Tom") is on the trail of some train robbers who have pinches $100,000 worth of unsigned bonds, and soon the fate of the two are inextricably linked! Rod Cameron (whom i think looked a lot like Randolph Scott here) turns up in a really nasty guise, playing just about everyone against each other and proving he could deal brutally with those who got in his way, and we have an appearance from the legendary "Hole in the Wall" ...