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The Kid from Amarillo
Movie

The Kid from Amarillo

1951 • Unknown

Woke Score
1.2
out of 10

Plot

Charles "Durango" Starrett and his pal Smiley Burnette go after smugglers. Our heroes travel incognito across the Mexican border to beard the leader of the gang in his den.

Overall Series Review

The Kid from Amarillo is a short, formulaic 1951 B-Western featuring Charles Starrett as the Durango Kid, a Treasury agent pursuing a gang of silver smugglers operating near the U.S.-Mexico border. The film adheres strictly to the tropes of its era: a clear-cut battle between good and evil, a masked hero who upholds justice, a bumbling sidekick in Smiley Burnette, and a simple plot of law enforcement tracking down outlaws. The narrative's focus is on action, adventure, and the pursuit of criminals who threaten the stability of the border region. The male lead is portrayed as competent and morally centered, dedicated to his duty. Female roles are minimal and serve a traditional supporting function. The conflict is based entirely on the characters' actions (crime vs. justice) and not on their race, gender, or social standing. The movie presents a classical, conservative moral structure where justice is absolute and institutions of law are inherently good.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The plot centers on a Treasury agent stopping criminals, establishing a conflict based purely on illegal actions rather than an intersectional hierarchy. There is no vilification of 'whiteness' and the protagonist, a white male, is the competent hero. The Mexican border setting includes characters like Don José Figaroa, but the narrative does not lecture on race or privilege. The score remains extremely low because identity characteristics do not drive the plot or moral framework.

Oikophobia1/10

The hero is a U.S. Treasury agent working to uphold justice and national law against smugglers. This plot inherently champions the institutions of the nation (Treasury Department) as shields against chaos (crime). The movie expresses gratitude and respect for American justice and has no component of civilizational self-hatred or deconstruction of Western heritage.

Feminism1/10

As a formulaic 1951 B-Western, the film does not feature a 'Girl Boss' or a 'Mary Sue' archetype. The focus is entirely on the male heroes and their mission, with female characters, such as the one played by Elaine Riley, relegated to traditional, supporting, or romantic roles. There is no anti-natalism or messaging that suggests motherhood is a 'prison,' reflecting a complementarian and traditional view of gender roles.

LGBTQ+1/10

The 1951 B-Western genre contains no elements of queer theory, alternative sexualities, or gender ideology. The film adheres strictly to a normative structure where the traditional male-female pairing and the nuclear family are the assumed standard. Sexuality is entirely private and not a central theme of identity or political commentary.

Anti-Theism1/10

The movie follows a clear moral code of good versus evil, placing it within a framework of transcendent morality and objective truth. The law-abiding heroes operate based on a higher moral law of justice. There is no hostility toward religion, specifically Christianity, and no promotion of moral relativism.