Two-Gun Troubadour (DVD)

Fred Dean returns to his old family homestead after 20 years determined to find the killer of his father. He discovers that the neighboring Bar Z Ranch is beset by rustlers. The outlaw gang suddenly find themselves thwarted by a mysterious new champion - a masked man known only as the "Two Gun Troubadour." Suspecting that Fred is the phantom vigilante, they are determined to put an end to his interference.

Although his movies were typically modest "B" Westerns produced by independent studios, Fred Scott for a brief time captured the fancy of young audiences at Saturday-matinee screenings. In the wake of Gene Autry's sensational success he seemed a good bet for singing-cowboy stardom, even if his booming baritone seemed suited more to stage operas than horse operas. A personable performer whose athletic abilities were equal to the demands of Western filmmaking, Scott never received the good scripts or carefully mounted productions he required for admittance to the genre's upper echelon. But his performance in Two-Gun Troubadour shows he had potential to be a much bigger star. - Ed Hulse

• western