Stage To Mesa City has US Marshals Lash LaRue and Al St.John on a mission to investigate some stagecoach wars and why someone is so determined to put Steve Clark's line out of business. The guys arrive just in time to greet a shot a and dying Clark out on the prairie and to rescue his kids at the hands of the outlaws who have a mysterious and unknown leader.The kids are Jennifer Holt and Brad Slaven and they have no idea who wants their line and the mail contract that could go with it. The outlaws also seem to know every move they make. So it's a bit of detective work for both Lash and Fuzzy.The leader is a clever dude and in a position to know all. I think you can figure out who it is just watching the film.The usual hard riding and gunplay with Lash LaRue using the bullwhip to disarm one villain.PRC had no money to spend and spend they didn't. A lot of stock footage that any B western fan will recognize instantly.The Lash's fans will be pleased.

I hope PRC gave the horses extra hay because they earned it, all that hard riding around greater LA. Reviewer 398 is right. Some of that riding time should have been devoted to developing the plot, which is a promising one—who is the brains behind the gang and how is it he shows up at just the right time to foil LaRue's action. But dialogue costs money and PRC was not known for its lavish budgets, to say the least. Actually, it's a pretty good LaRue with a solid cast, lots of action, and a fairly good story. Even Fuzzy's often lame hijinks are at a minimum. A central point to notice. When Lash disarms a gun-toter with his whip, it's done in two shots—of him first cocking and letting go, and second of the whip end snapping loose the gun. We never get the entire sequence in a single master shot. Separating the sequence into two shots does cut down on the number of retakes should LaRue miss his target in a master shot. But it also means we don't get to see how good he really is with a whip. Nonetheless, he wields the leather strap like he knows what he's doing, which was more than enough to satisfy us Front Row kids back in 1947.And Janice (reviewer), I hate to say so, but the reason you don't see your heart-throb LaRue "smooch a damsel" is because of Front Row kids like me. If there were any girls at those matinees, I don't remember them, and if we 10-year boys had seen Lash in a love scene— well, ugh!—as we guys all knew, cowboys only kissed their horses, which for us was the way the world should be. Anyhow, the world changes and thankfully so do little boys, but I admit to still enjoying a gumdrop or two while watching the guy with the whip hard ride across the screen. As he does in Stage to Mesa City.

Lash LaRue was the most interesting B western hero to come along after WWII. Bearing a striking physical resemblance to Humphrey Bogart, he cut quite a figure in his all-black outfit while expertly wielding a bullwhip against the bad guys.STAGE TO MESA CITY is an entertaining vehicle for LaRue with almost non-stop action and an interesting mystery element. Silent era comic Fuzzy St John backs LaRue with some expert pratfalls as his actually helpful sidekick. Jennifer Holt is the attractive heroine. Marshall Reed and Terry Frost head up the bad guys, but take orders from a shadowy boss. Between wild shootouts and chase after chase, Lash tries to figure out the identity of this top villain.This film is action packed with several full gallop chases. It might actually be too action packed. The mystery is predictable as the casting leaves no doubt who the brainy boss will turn out to be. It might have been wise to sacrifice a chase here or there in order to build up the red herrings. It also would have helped to cast veteran villains in the red herring roles to keep the viewer guessing.All in all, though, a fast-paced treat for LaRue fans.

Since the comment from 2006 appears to be a competent remark from a Lash Larue aficionado, this review can pass on from general critique to cultural juxtaposition. Whip-wielding Lash strips guns out of henchmen's hands at about the 20:20 and 37:05 marks of this 51:39-long flick (faster-triggered opponents may have paraphrased Sean Connery's famous UNTOUCHABLES line: "It's just like a Frenchman to bring a whip to a gunfight" while dispatching the hero with a well-placed shot). Unlike Frank Sinatra's tormentor in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, handicapper subterfuge seems less character-driven than plot-driven here. Despite this script contrivance (and enough bling on Lash's horse to give him a weight handicap worthy of Man-O-War), this film is more watchable than that other drama about delivering U.S. mail, Kevin Costner's THE POSTMAN. Finally, the apparent disinterest of the Mesa City sheriff in apprehending his town's nefarious element--leaving outside troubleshooters to insure the triumph of good over evil--could have been ripped from today's headlines nearly anywhere in America.