classicsoncall Does anybody know what that means? The line was used by banker Jake Harmon (Robert Fiske) when he told Buck Sinclair (Kermit Maynard) that he wouldn't renew his lease on the Deep Grass Indian Lands. Buck's partner Wildcat (Budd Buster) followed up by repeating the line, but it doesn't seem to make sense. I'm sure it has something to do about taking a hint when it's offered, but it just doesn't sound quite right.Anyway, you've got a standard B Western plot line going here, with crooked ranchers George Ringold (Sam Flint) and Mileaway Roberts (John Merton) plotting to secure favored grass land to fatten their herds and elbow competing ranchers out of business. I had to shake my head over the auction bidding on the grasslands, starting at twenty cents an acre and finishing at the 'unreasonable' price of sixty five cents per acre. Somehow it's hard to relate to that when gasoline is hitting four dollars a gallon as I write this.I always like seeing Earle Hodgins show up in a picture, but his presence in this one seemed to be miscast. Usually he's around as a comic relief character of sorts, but this time he's a hired gun named Sundown, brought in to stop Sinclair. When their eventual showdown occurs, Buck wings Sundown, apparently knocking some sense into him as well. In the picture's finale, Sundown makes the save as Mileaway has a dead bead on Buck, having figured that Buck did an honorable thing by not killing him when he had the chance.I've seen Kermit Maynard in a few Westerns, and unlike the other poster for this film, I'm not getting any sense of charisma or personality from his screen persona. He's actually quite bland overall, even in heated confrontations when you think he would work up some emotion. His romance with Ringold's niece Beth (Mary Hayes) didn't have much spark, and they didn't even share a kiss throughout the picture.I'll say this though about Maynard, he did perform the coolest mount I've ever seen, having now gone beyond four hundred Western film reviews. For lack of a better term, I'll call it a cartwheel mount, where he makes his running approach from behind his horse, leaps to a handstand on the horse's back, reverses in mid-air to land straight in the saddle. I had to rewind that a couple of times to admire the precision of the move, it was great. Later on in the story, Kermit makes another cool mount, but not nearly as exciting. I'm not sure how much credit should go to Maynard's horse Rocky. He was listed in the opening credits but never mentioned by name in the movie, which is a shame, because he might have been better remembered today if he had an agent like Trigger.

Steve Haynie Roaring Six Guns is an absolutely wonderful example of what a B western should be, even with its typical plot. A greedy cattle rancher, George Ringold (Sam Flint), seeks to take the land from all the other ranchers. The hero, Buck Sinclair (Kermit Maynard), refuses to give up his land. To top it off, Buck wants to marry Ringold's niece, Beth (Mary Hayes).Something that stood out was the way that Mary Hayes delivered her lines in her first scene in the movie. Her acting had a more modern day feel, very natural, as if she were not playing a part. In fact, everyone looks good in this movie. John Merton played the heavy, "Mileaway" Roberts, perfectly. He is called "Mileaway" because he is always a "mile away" when there is trouble, meaning that he always has an alibi for the dirty deeds he commits. In general, any movie with Earle Hodgins is good. In this movie he played the fair-minded hired gunslinger, Sundown.Seeing Kermit Maynard as a leading man is always good. I find it sad that he ended up playing smaller and smaller parts. His horseman skills are well displayed in Roaring Six Guns with at least two fancy mounts and some good riding scenes. He had all the on screen charm of his brother, Ken Maynard, but perhaps not the striking appearance.What I like about Roaring Six Guns is that it never gets slow or bogged down. There are no glitches in continuity, and no mysterious appearances or disappearances of characters. Sometimes the old B westerns were choppy, but not this film. Everything runs smoothly. For that I would use this movie to introduce someone to the magic of B westerns.