Vigilante

Columbia Pictures' The Vigilante: Fighting Hero of the West is a simple, fun "modern" Western. Set in the present (1947 the time of filming) rather than the Old West, it featured an updated version of Greg Sanders (The Vigilante), played by Ralph Byrd of Dick Tracy fame, fighting crime in Southern California. It's derivative of the serials that have come before - once again (despite the name 'Vigilante') the hero is working for the Federal Government as is the case with most superhero fare of the time, and like the Batman serial, his sidekick Stuff is a full grown adult male. The Vigilante also rides a Harley Davidson, and in many ways seems similar to Captain America. But by borrowing from the serials that came before and distilling them down to the best tropes, The Vigilante: Fighting Hero of the West manages to emerge as one of the most entertaining serials Columbia ever produced. Overall, it's well acted, and Sanders and Stuff's dialogue is far less wooden, corny, or stilted than most serials of the day. Let's look at the series chapter by chapter:

1. "The Vigilante Rides Again" - Despite the title, this is the first onscreen appearance of the titular character. It has two nice musical numbers performed by Byrd, though Stuff is responsible for most of the action.
2. "Mystery of the White Horses" - The second episode is a bit repetitive with the bad guys trying (and failing) in multiple attempts to steal Greg Sanders horse.
3. "Double Peril!" - in the third episode, The Vigilante and Stuff escape a plunge off a cliff, and someone sabotages Betty's rodeo act.
4. "Desperate Flight" - in one of the most boring episodes of the serial, Greg rescues Betty, but then there's a lot of driving around from fist fight to fist fight. The Vigilante doesn't show up until near the end, and it's just for a fist fight atop a barn. There's nothing in this episode we haven't seen before (in this very series even).
5. "In the Gorilla's Cage" - Let's face it, the minute you saw the caged gorilla a couple episodes ago, you knew sooner or later someone would end up in there with him.
6. "Midnight Rendezvous" - this has to be one of the worst episodes of the series. The bad guys finally catch Greg Sanders, but rather than killing him they just tie him up and lock him in a closet. Despite hearing noises on three separate occasions they never investigate and he escapes. Meanwhile, assuming she is as dumb as they are, the bad guys send a note to Betty telling her to ride out to a deserted canyon alone, oh and by the way don't tell the cops.