Patrick A. Grover is Jim Kelly, nicknamed Killin’ JIm Kelly, aka “The Man Burner,” for his knack with a six-gun and determination to make sure no one rustles the stock of his boss, Print Olive.
When someone guns down a hard-working and well-liked black farmer named Will Walker, Olive is determined to find the man responsible.
And he offers Kelly the stock to start a ranch of his own if he makes sure the men responsible for the killing pay the price for their transgressions.
Kelly won’t have to track down the killers alone. Saddle mates Red (Scott Bolger) and Frankie (Sal Pina) will lend a helping hand. So might Doc Holliday (Darren Eisenhauer).
Meanwhile, Kelly quickly develops a soft spot for young Sally Walker (Caia Ellis), daughter of the murdered man. For one thing, they share a love of books and reading.
Recent widow Missy Walker (Kayla Coulhurst) isn’t thrilled about that. She wants to take her daughter back to the safety of Ohio. She’s tired of blood-thirsty Texas.
And Kelly represents everything she hates pretty much everything about the land in the West where her late husband decided to build his homestead.
Patrick A. Glover as Jim Kelly, coming face to face with one of the McCall brothers in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
Cala Ellis as Sally Walker, the young girl who quickly becomes fond of Jim Kelly in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
Review:
Suffering from insomnia? This film might be the cure. It doesn’t have enough energy to light a 40-watt light bulb for more than an hour.
Check out the opening scene, in which our hero and his sidekicks encounter three men trespassing on Print Olive’s property. Kelly winds up gunning down one of those men.
The scene is completely devoid of any sort of spark, a single iota of pizzazz. Unfortunately for viewers, it’s a sign of the 100+ minutes to come.
Grove is adequate in the lead role. Caia Ellis might turn in the film’s best performance as young Sally. Director Marrs is solid when he’s in front of the camera.
On the other hand, Darren Eisenhauer is insufferable as Doc Holliday. Which begs the question: Why did this script even need a Doc Holliday?
And the fact that the men behind the killings are scripted more as buffoons than villains doesn’t help matters.
John Marrs as Print Olive, determined to find the killers and asking hired hand Sam (Cliff Owens) to spread the word in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
Kayla Coulhurst as Missy Walker, explaining to Jim Kelly why she’s hellbent on moving back to Ohio in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
Directed by:
John Marrs
Cast:
Patrick A. Grover … Jim Kelly
Scott Bolger … Red
Sai Pina … Frankie
John Marrs … Print Olive
Darren Eisenhauer … Doc Holliday
Kayla Coulthurst … Missy Walker
Caia Ellis … Sally Walker
Johnny Chops … Dan McCall
Keon Joel … Deke McCall
Kelly Kidd … Coy Watson
Shun Lauren … Will Walker
Cliff Owens … Sam
G. Jerry Jones … Jack
Tom Dragt … Marshal
Creek Wilson … Boss Newkirk
Runtime: 108 min.
Keon Joel as Deke McCall and Johnny Chops as Dan McCall, the troublemakers in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
Kelly Kidd as Coy Watson, the man who rides with the McCall brothers in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
Memorable lines:
Red about saddle mate Jim Kelly: “He don’t talk much. He just reads. And kills.”
Boss Newkirk to his nephews: “If that marshal pisses in my ear one more time about the two of you, I’m gonna have your ears on my watch chain.”
Print Oliver, about the bull with a red bow he and Boss Newkirk keep swapping back and forth. The bull is found near the murder scene: “How does something so good-natured turn into something so ugly?”
Sal Pina as Frankie and Scott Bolger as Red, Jim Kelly’s saddle mates in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
Darren Eisenhauer as Doc Holliday, discussing Waill Walker’s death with the barber and Print Olive in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
Boss Newkirk of his nephews: “Hell’s full of people wonderin’ how they got there. Two of ’em just walked out the door.”
Jim Kelly: “Missy, sometimes there’s people that need killin’.”
Missy: “I can’t see nothing through the hate around here. Not a thing.”
Jim Kelly: “I may be goin’ to hell. I don’t know. And I don’t know how people do things up in Ohio. But I do know one thing. In Texas, vengeance is a virtue.”
Doc Holliday to Coy Watson: “It is not I you should worry about. When you see the man whose face is as black as the hat you’re wearing … surely then, you will be at the hands of Lucifer himself.”
Creek Wilson as Boss Newkirk, a friend of Print Olive and uncle to the troublemakers in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
Tom Dragt as the marshal not inclined to investigate the death of a black farmer in Killin’ Jim Kelly (2025)
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