An American musical comedy western directed by Joseph Kane, starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette and Ann Rutherford.
A cowboy hunts a gang of outlaws who are using technology to steal cattle.
This was actually pretty cool. In the first scene, there was a cowboy riding backwards with a mask on the back of his head to look out behind him. We got awesome camera angles in a chase scene and creative editing during Smiley's song about the detective in which he changes costumes. The music was that hokey old honky-tonk style that I like so much and there was a gag with two men in a cow costume attracting the attention of a bull. If you're looking for a western of the 53 minute variety, this is it. I rate it good.
An American western directed by Sam Newfield.
A cowboy is framed for a bank robbery by a politician and his gang of outlaws.
This was a really old style film. The total lack of music was definitely a negative element, with much of the audio being horse hoof sound effects. The plot was not clearly communicated and the characters were difficult to identify and keep track of. There was one shot that I liked, a closeup of the cowboy putting a bandana in his pocket. It was the only point in which something was being clearly communicated. Pacing was quick with the 54 minute duration, but it failed to hold my attention for even that short amount of time. I have to rate this bad because it was not worth watching.
An American western directed by Carl L. Pierson, starring John Wayne.
A government agent cowboy joins a travelling medicine show in order to find outlaws who are running a counterfeiting operation.
This looked older than it actually was. By the use of speeded up video that seemed like silent film style, I would have guessed '40s at the latest. The plot and characters were decent and it easily held my attention through the 53 minute duration. As stated, the style seemed ancient and the pacing was all over the place. I didn't notice any amazing camera-work, but it wasn't bad. The video got shaky at one point, which may have been due to damage to the original film. The audio was very quiet and some sound effects were inaudible, but I could hear enough for the story to make sense. Overall, it was not bad, but not good. I rate it o.k.
An American western directed by Howard Higgin and Bert Gilroy, starring William Boyd, Helen Twelvetrees and Clark Gable.
Two cowboys find a baby in the desert and begin a lifelong feud by aruing over the child's name and caretaker. Years later, the baby has grown to a man and the feud is still on.
This was prehistoric, boring and poorly made. The acting was horrid, with most folks "announcing" their lines. The plot was dull and not clearly communicated. I won't talk crap about the audio and video because of the early date, but let's just say I did not find them amusing. The lack of non-diagetic music also hampered enjoyment of this film. I rate it shit because I turned it off at 42 minutes.
An American western directed by Frank Mcdonald, starring Roy Rogers, George Gabby Hayes, Trigger and Bob Nolan.
A cowboy rides his mare to a ranch where a stallion is being shown and the two fall in love immediately, disrupting the show and angering the rancher. The cowboy tries to get permission to breed the stallion and mare, but is denied. When the escaped stallion is shot after copulating with the escaped mare, the cowboy is blamed.
This was pretty much standard fare. I do recognize that the film had a different plot than most westerns of the time because it focused on horses, rather than the men riding them. However, the shooting style and sound were so similar to standard American cowboy flicks that the difference doesn't matter quite so much. The characters were identifiable and easy to keep track of and the pacing was alright, bordering on moving too quickly. I rate this tolerable because it is so similar to so many other films in the genre.
An American western musical directed by B. Reeves Eason, starring Gene Autry.
A singing cowboy arrives in a town near a dam that is being built. There are problems surrounding the dam, with workers wanting to quit because they are not being payed and some men wanting to blow up the dam with dynamite in order to claim the land for themselves.
When I watched this, the main thing that I noticed was how old it is. Everything is done in a very '30s fashion. The plot was a little hard to follow and many of the characters were unclear as far as identification and keeping track of them. I liked the hokey old music, but some people would not find it suiting to their tastes. My favorite songs were the ones performed in the saloon with a trio of musicians switching instruments frequently. The pacing was pretty quick and only got faster in the action scenes at the end. The audio was decent, but very midrange-biased. The video had some improper exposures and some artifacts. Due to antiquity and some aspects being unclear, I will rate this tolerable.
An American western musical directed by Frank McDonald, starring Roy Rogers, George Gabby Hayes and Trigger.
An old man runs a dated rodeo show that is losing popularity. The owner of a more successful rodeo proposes to the old man's daughter in hopes of combining the two rodeos. A singing cowboy steps in to sort things out.
The video was amazingly clear for this early date and I liked the hokey, old music. In fact, I'm beginning to like the Roy and Gabby team. The plot was not communicated very clearly and was vague in some places. The recycled characters from every other singing cowboy western were pretty stale, but worked alright for this one. It seems that there were many 55 minute westerns created around this time that are hit and miss based on luck. Some have a hokey charm and others are just shoddily crafted filler. I rate this o.k.
