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Monday, April 20, 2015

Randy Rides Alone (1934)

An American western directed by Harry L. Fraser, starring John Wayne and George Gabby Hayes.
A cowboy finds several men dead in a bar, including the man whom he was sent there to meet. The outlaw responsible alerts the sheriff so that he will find the innocent cowboy among this destruction. The dead bar owner's daughter helps the cowboy to escape and he helps her to defeat the outlaws who killed her father.
I did not recognize Gabby when he wasn't playing the old sidekick role. At first, I thought the film would be silent because of the primitive video and speeded up horse riding, but it turned out to be a talkie. Throughout the duration, this silent film visual style could be seen. The pacing was fast to fit a complex plot into 52 minutes, but the plot and characters were clearly presented. I'm not spoiling the ending, but in the last shot, the cowboy and bar owner's daughter turn away from the camera with arms around eachother instead of kissing. A kiss would have required tall Mr. Wayne to bend down quite a bit to level his face with Alberta Vaughn's. I rate it adequate. It was pretty good, but not a keeper.

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