What might have ended up as a fairly standard Western programmer wound up somewhat more interesting due to a number of elements, chief of which was the identity of the title character. The 'Hawk' of Powder River was the leader of an outlaw gang, and as it turns out, was a female, ably portrayed by Jennifer Holt. Daughter of Jack Holt, and sister of Tim Holt, both Western stars in their own right, her real name was Elizabeth Marshall Holt. She wound up in a batch of 'B' Westerns in the Forties, co-starring with Johnny Mack Brown, Lash LaRue, Eddie Dean and others. Jennifer was really allowed to cut loose in this one, going for over the top villainy, and it was admittedly her favorite Western role.
Eddie Dean isn't the most recognizable cowboy movie star today, but his importance to the genre consists in his being the first to appear in a series of films in color back in the 1940's. Others had appeared in color films, like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, but Dean was the first to do a series wherein he appeared as the same character, using his own name. So the anomaly here is that 'Hawk' is a black and white picture from Producers Releasing Corporation, made after his color series, also produced by PRC.
As for the story, that's where it gets to be fairly routine. The Hawk's gang runs amok stealing gold, sacking towns, and generally terrorizing the area in which they operate. Jennifer Holt's character is Vivian Chambers, the niece of a local rancher who's spread she has designs on taking over for herself. Her cousin Carole (June Carlson), becomes allied with Eddie Dean and his partner Soapy Jones (Roscoe Ates), with tensions escalating after Carole's father is killed by the gang. Dean's suspicions as to the 'Hawk's' identity are confirmed in the shootout of the finale. In another sit up and take notice moment, Dean guns down 'The Hawk' with a shot to the chest, a rare moment in 'B' Westerns when a female, heroine or villain, actually gets killed. The very next scene allows for some ambiguity however, as reference is made to Dean's rounding up the Hawk and her gang. But she sure looked dead to me!
The opening credits have Dean appearing with his horse White Cloud, a palomino, but trivia buffs might be interested to know that Dean shared equine billing with three other horses as well throughout his career - Flash, War Paint and Copper. White Cloud was third in the lineup before Copper.
"The Hawk of Powder River" offers a lot of shoot 'em up action and a bunch of exciting riding sequences, but the thing you don't get to see is Eddie Dean mixing it up one on one with the title villain or one of his/her henchmen. For my money, the wildest fights in 'B' Westerns involved Dean, and if you need proof, just check out his saloon fight in 1946's "Colorado Serenade", or that wild bunkhouse brawl in 1948's "Tioga Kid". He may not look like much on the surface, but get him riled, and you're in for a treat.
Eddie Dean isn't the most recognizable cowboy movie star today, but his importance to the genre consists in his being the first to appear in a series of films in color back in the 1940's. Others had appeared in color films, like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, but Dean was the first to do a series wherein he appeared as the same character, using his own name. So the anomaly here is that 'Hawk' is a black and white picture from Producers Releasing Corporation, made after his color series, also produced by PRC.
As for the story, that's where it gets to be fairly routine. The Hawk's gang runs amok stealing gold, sacking towns, and generally terrorizing the area in which they operate. Jennifer Holt's character is Vivian Chambers, the niece of a local rancher who's spread she has designs on taking over for herself. Her cousin Carole (June Carlson), becomes allied with Eddie Dean and his partner Soapy Jones (Roscoe Ates), with tensions escalating after Carole's father is killed by the gang. Dean's suspicions as to the 'Hawk's' identity are confirmed in the shootout of the finale. In another sit up and take notice moment, Dean guns down 'The Hawk' with a shot to the chest, a rare moment in 'B' Westerns when a female, heroine or villain, actually gets killed. The very next scene allows for some ambiguity however, as reference is made to Dean's rounding up the Hawk and her gang. But she sure looked dead to me!
The opening credits have Dean appearing with his horse White Cloud, a palomino, but trivia buffs might be interested to know that Dean shared equine billing with three other horses as well throughout his career - Flash, War Paint and Copper. White Cloud was third in the lineup before Copper.
"The Hawk of Powder River" offers a lot of shoot 'em up action and a bunch of exciting riding sequences, but the thing you don't get to see is Eddie Dean mixing it up one on one with the title villain or one of his/her henchmen. For my money, the wildest fights in 'B' Westerns involved Dean, and if you need proof, just check out his saloon fight in 1946's "Colorado Serenade", or that wild bunkhouse brawl in 1948's "Tioga Kid". He may not look like much on the surface, but get him riled, and you're in for a treat.