Die Rancher Fehde

"Range Feud" comes to us from 1931, when Buck Jones was perhaps the strongest of the B-western heroes and when John Wayne was trying to gain a consistent presence in Hollywood. It is as if Wayne was cast here to test his appeal to B-western audiences as one more top-billed hero, of which at the time there were many. Although John Wayne's character is central to why we are all watching this film, Wayne doesn't actually have a lot to do in this film (he spends considerable time in the jailhouse or laying low), but he does a credible job when asked to contribute to the strong dramatics and pathos in this serious film.

But this is a Buck Jones show and Buck turns in another powerful performance as a determined and stoic lawman faced with choices that are not always merely either good or bad. The story of two camps of good people needing to take a stand on life-impacting issues that clearly are seen differently by them is well developed and told in such a way that the viewer also takes a stand; however, the viewer comes to realize before long that further evaluation may be demanded as the movie's expository process unfolds.

Director Sam Newfield pries some effective performances from the cast in a production that seems to have given him the luxury of time to do so. In the coming decades Newfield would grind out countless more westerns, but time and budget constraints usually limited his movies to lots of action but weak to so-so story development. But here, in this one, story is paramount and action is used to illustrate or even punctuate the story. This is one reason why Buck Jones has such an aura of mythic hero about him to this day... he looks like the perfect Western hero, acts like it, too, and seems to always find himself in powerful situations and stories that befit his persona. It is a shame that more Buck movies from the 1930's are not more readily available.

Competent little "B" oater with Buck Jones as the heroic sheriff and John Wayne as his friend falsely accused of murder. When you see Harry Wood's name in the cast, it doesn't take long to figure out who is behind all the rustling and killing.

This was one of the Duke's first westerns following "The Big Trail"(1930). It was the beginning of a long apprenticeship in the "B" western field. His parts became increasingly smaller in the balance of his work for Columbia due to a conflict with the legendary Harry Cohn, Head of the studio.

On the video release issued by Columbia/Tri-Star Home Video notice the title card at the beginning. It gives the title as Range Fued. How did that one ever get by the quality control people?

I love John Wayne's B-movies more than his later work, so this film was just another check-off on the list of movies I'd put on in the background while I'm editing. However, this movie has a more gripping story than many other of the films I've seen, so at the least give this film a chance.

Young John Wayne appears in support of Buck Jones in Range Feud as a the son and heir of a couple of feuding ranch families. Seems as though the patriarch of the other clan is shot in the back shortly after Wayne came courting on Susan Fleming who is the daughter of the deceased.

There's someone who's mighty interested in keeping a range feud going between the two families, a guy who's been rustling from both families and laying the blame on the other. It's up to the sheriff, played by Buck Jones to figure it out and prevent a miscarriage of justice.

Buck Jones had a strong screen presence and a very good speaking voice for sound. He apparently made the transition to sound with ease. This was the first time I'd ever seen one of his films and I could tell why he was a success as a cowboy hero.

Although there's not much suspense here, you pretty much figure out who's the real villain in the first few moments of the film, still for western fans it's got all the ingredients, riding, fighting, shooting, and the prerequisite ending.

And it's an opportunity to see a very callow John Wayne in support of another cowboy hero.

An American Western; A story about the conflict between two rival families who dispute over land rights, and a seemingly innocent man framed for the murder of one of the heads of the rival families, but his family background provides intrigue. This B-movie production is competently written on a topic of false-accusation and injustice, but it is thinly plotted. Fistfights and horse chase action sequences moderately entertain, but the romance proves insubstantial. The performances are above par with Buck Jones playing the sheriff with commanding presence and John Wayne gives good support as the young buck.