Both a nifty crime thriller and a historical document on early twentieth century racism, Six-Gun Trail is a raw and intense Western starring the gun toting Tim McCoy. Here, McCoy is hot on the pursuit of a group of jewel thieves. Since the jewel thieves are Asian, McCoy decides to use costume and makeup and pose as Asian himself! The results of his “transformation” are cheaply stereotypical and ridiculing. On top of that, the word “chinamen” is frequently employed and McCoy himself spouts off hackneyed racially associated remarks. The story itself, moving the racism aside, is quite good. McCoy sets up shop as the owner of a jewelry store and baits the smugglers in. Though the plan is working to perfection, everything changes when the criminals decide to kill McCoy and keep his money instead of selling him the jewels!
