Outlaw Express (DVD)

In the turbulent days just prior to the Civil War, U. S. Cavalry Captain Bob Bradley and his sidekick Andy Sharpe are assigned to investigate the mysterious killing of Pony Express riders traveling the Nevada-to-California route. Working incognito, Bob and Andy uncover evidence linking the murders to the theft of valuable Spanish land grants. When kindly Don Ricardo and his daughter Lorita are menaced by the outlaws, the intrepid cavalrymen risk their own lives in what might be a futile attempt to save their friends.

Another solid entry in Universal's "B"-western series starring singing cowboy Bob Baker, Outlaw Express mixes music and mayhem in agreeable proportions. Director George Waggner, working from a conventional but neatly developed screenplay by Norton S. Parker, manages to work in a half-dozen songs without impeding the film's headlong pace. Adding a historical note to the proceedings, character actor Carlyle Moore Jr. appears as a young Bill Cody. - Ed Hulse

• western