About The Durango Kid

He’s Charles Starrett and he appeared in 168 films between 1930 and 1952. 135 of those are Westerns, made during his 17 years with Columbia Pictures.

Are any of them any good? I’ll let you know.

5 Responses to “About The Durango Kid”

  1. Gordon Green said
    September 3, 2008 at 1:40 am

    I’m a great admirer of the Durango films and character, but regarding Charles Starrett’s voice, I read somewhere that one of his co-workers (maybe Smiley?) said he was kind of a mush-mouth. Sometimes his slurring of words impaired the heroic image. And indeed, the mush-mouth description seems to fit. Unlike James Cagney, Starrett coudn’t speak rapidly. He had to speak slowly and carefully to be understood. But it suited both Durango and Steve just fine, I think.

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  2. stevesomething said
    September 3, 2008 at 2:58 am

    That is fascinating. Do you know where you read this? I will watch these films now with this in mind!

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  3. Mike Newton said
    November 22, 2008 at 9:13 pm

    Regarding Starrett’s enunciation, perhaps the reader was not aware that Starrett was from Masssachusetts and had a definite New England accent which may not register on the ears of someone who is used to a slow Southern drawl. If you listen to him carefully, you might notice that he broadens his “A’s” a bit. The word “car” might sound like “caw.” Here’s something else that is interesting. Many reviewers have concluded the Starrett’s movies were more popular in the South because they had the rural comedy of Burnette and the country western music of the different musical groups. In other words, little boys from the New England or New York states wouldn’t have been caught dead watching a cowboy movie. Guess again. Being a cowboy was the fantasy of little boys coast to coast regardless of whether they were in a big city or small town.

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  4. June Main said
    February 1, 2009 at 4:20 pm

    My mother, brother and I lived in Hyannis on the south shore of Cape Cod. In the summer, our house turned into a guest house. For a few summers in a row in the late 40s and early 50s, Charlie Starrett and his lady friend stayed with us. I was a young teenager at the time and went to Craigville Beach with them. My mother and father were separated, and Charlie took me “under his wing” when he stayed with us, teaching me how to dive off the “big” raft quite far out in the ocean at Craigville Beach. I remember him as a very thoughtful, kindly friend. If I can find them, I have a couple of photos that may be of interest to you.

    Yes, we pronounced car as “caw,” or actually closer to “cah,” as many “r”s weren’t pronounced . . . you “pahkt the cah.” I’ve lived in Florida since 1966, and have taught on elementary school and college level for 37 years. I’ve had to change my pronunciation of words to include all “r”s to be understood.

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  5. June Main said
    February 1, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    Actually Charlie Starrett came with his wife. I should have been more specific.

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