3/5 ALPHA DVD VERSION.
  by Richard J. Oravitz
You've seen it all before and often better as cowboy star Ken Maynard as Ken Clark pretending to be Frank Gordon saves Kay Burke's ( Eleanor Stewart ) ranch from being taken over by the bad-guys. Tom London plays a crooked horse buyer and gets into a pretty good knockabout fistfight with Ken at the climax and more than holds his own considering his advanced age! John Merton plays a nightclub owner in Chicago during the film's opening sequence and also gets into a fight with Ken but doesn't fare as well as old Tom. Dave O'Brien plays drunken Frank Gordon in both Chicago and out west. He doesn't have a sober line and O'Brien while quite amiable as a cowboy hero and/or team member ( Texas Rangers series ) is really embarassing when he gets carried away playing a drunk or a drug addict as in REEFER MADNESS.
This film was made in 1939 during Maynard's last go-round as a cowboy star. He's put on considerable weight ( poor Tarzan ! ) and comes off more like a likable oaf rather than his unassuming shy hero type. The film is also padded with stock footage of cowboys falling from horses during the gunfight scenes. It's grainy and doesn't really match the action.
The overall ALPHA print is ok. Not the greatest, but not bad either, a pretty good buy for the money. The ALPHA product is hit or miss on quality, but they do offer a vast selection of B-Westerns and other hard to find public domain gems that major companies stay away from releasing. Their price is right and their packaging always attractive! I used to pay ( 20-25 yrs.ago ) 10 to 15 bucks for B-Westerns on video tape from private sources that weren't any better quality-wise and happy to get them! You probably did too...So, with times so bad in today's economy you can still see a passel of ALPHA cowboy movies pretty cheap. It's like going back to the movies in the 1930's when we had that other Depression.

4/5 "Ken Maynard Series ... Flaming Lead (1939) ... Poverty Row"
  by J. Lovins (Missouri-USA)
Poverty Row Pictures presents "FLAMING LEAD" (1 November 1939) (56 mins/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- . Ken Maynard was an American motion picture stuntman and actor --- Born Kenneth Olin Maynard in Vevay, Indiana, he was an accomplished horseman --- As a young man, he performed in rodeos and was a trick rider with Buffalo Bill 's Wild West Show and a circus rider with Ringling Brothers --- During World War I, he served in the United States Army.

He first appeared in silent motion pictures in 1923 and in addition to acting also did stunt work --- Maynard became one of the first singing cowboys with Columbia Records --- Also one of the first to make a star out of his white stallion named "Tarzan", a half-Arabian, half-American Saddle horse. Maynard bought him in the mid-1920's --- With his white cowboy hat, fancy shirt, and pair of six-shooters, from the 1920s to the mid-1940s --- Maynard appeared in more than 90 films --- However, his alcoholism severely impacted his life and his career ended in 1944. He owned a small circus operation featuring rodeo riders but eventually lost it to creditors.

The significant amount of money he had earned vanished and he lived a desolate life in a rundown mobile home --- During these years, Maynard was supported by an unknown admirer - long thought to be Gene Autry --- More than 25 years after his last starring role, Maynard returned to two small parts in films in 1970 and 1972 --- Ken Maynard died penniless in 1973 at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, California. He was interred at Forest Lawn Cypress Cemetery in Cypress, California. Maynard's funeral is described in detail in James Horwitz's book They Went Thataway --- His brother, Kermit Maynard, was also an actor and stuntman

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ken Maynard has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6751 Hollywood Blvd -- (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Under the production staff of:
Max Alexander - Director / Producer
Sam Newfield - Director
Arthur Alexander - Producer
Joseph O'Donnell - Screenwriter
Art Reed - Cinematographer
Holbrook Todd - Editor

Our story line and plot, Big Jim Creely (Walter Long) is rustling Berke's horses so he can't fulfill his Army contract --- When they kill Berke, his daughter Kay (Eleanor Stewart) sends for part owner Frank Gordon (Dave O'Brien) --- When the always drunk Gordon arrives he passes off his friend Ken Clark (Ken Maynard) as himself --- Now posing as Gordon, Ken soon finds himself the new target of Creely's outlaw gang --- Flaming Lead is the best of Ken Maynard's starring vehicles for low-budget Colony Pictures --- Some of the best B-Western character actors Tom London, Reed Howes, Carleton Young, Kenne Duncan, ernie Adams, John Merton and Bob Terry

the cast includes:
Ken Maynard ... Ken Clark
Tarzan ... Tarzan, Ken's new horse
Eleanor Stewart ... Kay Burke (as Eleanore Stewart)
Dave O'Brien ... Frank Gordon
Walter Long ... Big Jim Creely
Tom London ... Bart Daggett
Reed Howes ... Tex Hanlon
Ralph Peters ... Panhandle
Carleton Young ... Hank (Rustler Leader)
Kenne Duncan ... Ranch hand Larry (as Kenneth Duncan)
Bob Terry ... Henchman Blackie
Joyce Rogers ... Gertie
Ernie Adams ... Horse Trader
Ethan Allen ... Sheriff Rand
Foxy Callahan ... Cowhand
Chick Hannon ... Henchman Chick
Carl Mathews ... Henchman Slade
Lew Meehan ... Bartender
John Merton ... Chicago Club Manager
Tex Palmer ... Henchman
Edward Peil Sr. ... Dan Burke

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIO:
1. Ken Maynard (aka: Kenneth Olin Maynard)
Date of Birth: 21 July 1895 - Vevay, Indiana
Date of Death: 23 March 1973 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure check out other western double features --- Ask Amazon.Com to carry the volumes as they are not available on Amazon as of yet --- you can order and pick up your copy now from VCI Entertainment

KEN MAYNARD WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURE
Vol 1: Phantom Thunderbolt & Lightning Strikes West (VCI #7240) (DVD)
Vol 2: Dynamite Ranch & Death Rides the Range (VCI #7295) (DVD)
Vol 3: Drum Taps & Two Gun Man (VCI #7300) (DVD)
Vol 4: Fargo Express & Harmony Trail (VCI #7284) (DVD)
Vol 5: Western Courage & Whistlin' Dan (VCI #7307) (DVD)
Vol 6: In Old Santa Fe & Come On Tarzan (VCI #7346) (DVD)
Vol 7: Boots of Destiny & Flamin' Lead (VCI #7348) (DVD)
Vol 8: Six Shootin' Sheriff & Trailin' Trouble (VCI #7350) (DVD)

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guidelines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under DVD Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '30s & '40s and B-Westerns --- order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with musical adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Amazon or VCI where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 56 min on VHS/DVD ~ Poverty Row Pictures ~ (1/31/2006)