The first quarter-hour I thought the flick was a sleeper in the making. That forest fire opening even scorched my chair, as Ranger Lowery and crew battle against long odds. The inferno is very well done. And when Lowery bravely risks his all to save the endangered horses, we know he's a good guy. On the other side is racketeer Toomey and his compromised wife Ellen Drew, who used to be Lowery's girl. In fact, Drew's character is the movie's most interesting. Then there's that early scene of Toomey charming Drew's family in a nightclub that is superbly done. He may be a gangster, but he's certainly no thug. But then the flick unfortunately descends into programmer status with silly comedy relief from Quillan, while predictable convention replaces imagination. ( I suspect the producers sunk their meager budget into that first part to hook the audience, since the main part is largely confined to a mountain cabin.)
Nonetheless, the acting from the principals is above par, especially Drew whose character could have been memorable given a better script. Note the signs of the time (1943)-- the woody station wagon, a wife in the WAC's (Women's Army Corps), plus rationing quotas and a general shortage of goods. In fact, it's wartime shortages that set up Toomey's lucrative black-market operation. Anyway, the ill-advised clowning from Quillan may have been an effort to lighten the mood for stricken wartime audiences. That would be understandable. A few years later, however, and the project might have evolved into full-fledged noir. The elements are there. As things stand, it's still a generally entertaining 56-minutes with definite points of interest.