The Dude Ranger

Syd Saylor was as good a serious side-kick as ever forked a horse, but he was thoroughly capable of playing a comic, or occasionally comic, partner as well.

He proved it in this excellent B Western, with a lot of by-play between him and star George O'Brien.

O'Brien was as good-looking and healthy a specimen as ever played a cowboy hero, fully capable of action heroics as well as romantic scenes.

The story, by iconic Zane Grey, is beautifully presented in a script by Barry Barringer directed by Edward Cline.

What makes this stand out is the characterization by all the performers, including the lovely Irene Hervey. She plays a spoiled, even seemingly conceited young lady of the range in a breezy city-slicker manner, but proves actually very likable, if sometimes flighty.

LeRoy Mason, here Le Roy, is his usual good-looking but rotten villain, alternating between seemingly likable and trustworthy ranch foreman and lecherous and traitorous thief.

Again, the entire cast is just about perfect, from the briefly seen Vesper Pegg, who just steals his scene of bringing up a mount, to the West-loving Earl Dwire, to Slim Whitaker and Lafe McKee and ... well, several others, none of whom get screen credit, but who all give us good reason to praise IMDb for providing the information.

There are a couple of flaws, a moment of trite action happening in just the right place, for example, that brought down the rating from that perfect 10, but I highly recommend "The Dude Ranger" which is available at YouTube.

After inheriting a ranch full of mysteriously vanishing cows, Ernest "Dude" Selby secretly signs on as a hired hand at his own ranch to discover who's stealing them and suspects the culprit may be wheelchair-bound ranch boss Sam Hepburn, father of the beautiful Ann.

George O' Brien is his usual smiling self as an easterner who is curious of who is stealing the cows from his land and when he gets employed as a cowhand he investigates but not without a little playful and light interaction with the ranch boss' daughter. O' Brien plays hard to get which is odd as it's usually the leading actresses who do that. The leading actress here is more forthcoming and flirty, much to LeMason Roy's dismay. He's at his usual villainous self. But don't expect any gunplay - it's more of a mix of humour, a little intrigue and some romance. Maybe a little melodrama. The dialogue is quite snappy and there's witty one liners.

Easterner George O'Brien inherits his uncle's half of a ranch and goes undercover as a hired-hand in order to find out exactly who has been rustling his livestock. He soon discovers that his uncle's invalid partner isn't crippled after all and is apparently behind the thefts. Complicating things is O'Brien's crush on the old man's daughter.

You really can't go wrong with any of the Zane Grey pictures from the 1930's. They have some of the healthiest budgets and best writing of all the era's B-westerns, making them a cut above the average poverty-row programmer.

This may not have Randolph Scott and John Wayne, some of the stars from Paramount's Zane Grey series. However, The Dude Ranger features some great photography, three-dimensional characters, and some genuine suspense, as well as a few twists near the end that I didn't see coming.

Leading lady Irene Hervey is quite beautiful too.

George O'Brien wants to sell the ranch he's just inherited, but the lawyer tells him that he can't get a good price for it. Five thousand head of cattle have disappeared. When he goes to the ranch to make enquiries, everyone assumes he's another saddle tramp who has fallen in love at first sight with the manager's daughter, Irene Hervey, so they give him a job and make fun of him.

This B western is something special. Under the direction of comedy specialist Eddie Cline, the performers get to act with great charm, and the tricks that are played on O'Brien are deadly -- and funny. Sid Saylor plays the comic sidekick, but he's not simply another clown, but a smart, tough cowboy with a strong goofy streak. There is plenty of good location shooting, with a beautiful long shot for the final confrontation. For a B western, this is as good as it gets.

This is one of the better B-Westerns I have seen, and I have seen hundreds. It is definitely something special, and a pleasant surprise. George O-Brien and his sidekick Syd Saylor do a great job of sprinkling in lots of humor and strike up a good-natured friendship. Irene Hervey is memorable in this role and provides a lot of spunk, good comedic timing, and great expression on her face during close-ups. Male viewers will find the beauty, personality, and good-natured vanity of Irene Hervey's character quite a draw, and I would think female viewers would be charmed by George O-Brien, who employs some intentional vanity of his own, making for more good fun. Syd Saylor as "Nebraska" Kemp provides an oddly fun character that I haven't seen before, with his impromptu songs for all occasions. The film has a welcome sweetness to it, aided by the director's use of close-ups and allowing characters to show emotions, humor, and affection. Even the bit part of the lawyer, played by Lloyd Ingraham, provides some humor.

The scenery is great and you will keep asking yourself, "Where is that?" or you'll think, "What a great mountain that is!". The mountain scenery is unique compared to most B-Westerns which give us the same scenery so often that we notice that it is the same backlot area being used. The makers of The Dude Ranger must have gone to extra expense and a lot of extra trouble to bring us unique scenery that has not been overutilized, and in fact has been underutilized over the years. Much of the film was filmed in Zion National Park, and Johnson Canyon (near Kanab), Utah.

The plot and characters are much better developed in The Dude Ranger than in the preponderance of B-Westerns. The film does not spend too much time on drawn-out horse chases or gunplay, though there is just enough. Instead the film spends most of its time developing the plot and characters through many scenes that build to aid several finales. I was struck by how different this movies was compared to most B-westerns, with their simplified stock characters and quick drawing of the lines that create the good guys and bad guys. Even though you know from the start who the good guys and bad guys are, this movie lets us gradually see the traits of the various characters via a number of well-developed scenes. The movie seems to fit a lot into its 65 minutes, while still allowing scenes to play out.

There are a few flaws in the scenes involving guns and standoffs. Though you have to like Henry Hall's Sam Hepburn character, and I am now a fan of his too, there is some disappointment for the viewer in how his character is handled by the scriptwriter or director in one scene.

My rating of 9 stars out of 10 is for B-Westerns. Compared to all films I would give it a 7, or even an 8! Enjoy.