Monday, January 25, 2021

The Dude Ranger (1934)

A very familiar B-movie Western story wise but a good example of the type. Ernest (George O'Brien) arrives from out East to take up his inheritance of a cattle ranch. However, when he gets there he finds the ranch has thousands of livestock missing and as he has been mistaken as just another cowhand he decides to play along to try and find who is behind the cow theft. He suspects the boss Sam (Henry Hall) could be behind it, though when he gets the hots for Sam's daughter Anne (Irene Hervey) things get complicated...


Naturally it is really someone else who is behind the crime (LeRoy Mason) and everything gets sorted out just in time for Ernest and Anne to kiss. The story may lack originality but the film is well made with an emphasis on plot rather than badly choreographed gunfights who so often ruin films of this type. The film does maybe lack a bit of action though having said that.

Sid Saylor provides light relief as a singing sidekick to Ernest.