Die Rancher Fehde

Buck 'Buckaroo' Jones and John 'Duke' Wayne were the best of the best. Wonderful performances by the star Buck Jones striking a commanding figure as the Sheriff and young John Wayne, a future legend. Buckaroo is chasing the Duke and Duke is chasing gorgeous Ziegfeld Girl, Susan Fleming. Dad Turner (Will Walling) and John Walton (Edward LeSaint) are the big story here with the cattle rustling war. It doesn't hurt the action to have the best man to stir the pot 'all time meanest villain' Harry Woods.

The Range Feud (1931)

** (out of 4)

Standard "B" Western has Buck Jones playing Sheriff Buck Gordon who finds himself in the middle of rival families battling over land. Soon Clint Turner (John Wayne) is accused of killing the father of the rival family and Buck must race to try and clear his name.

THE RANGE Feud really isn't any different than countless of other Westerns that were made during this era. Heck, even by 1931 standards the film is pretty old-fashioned and using clichéd tricks that went out of style in the silent era. With that said, the film will contain a little interest thanks in large part to Wayne having a small role. While the film is mildly entertaining in its own way, can you really say people would be watching it today if it wasn't for Wayne?

The biggest problem is the fact that this is pretty much like any other cheap Western. The filmmaking is "good" enough to get a decent looking film on the screen. The story is your typical Romero and Juliet type of story dealing with a rivalry and murder. Jones makes for a good lead and I thought Wayne was pretty good in his small role. What else can really be said? If you're a fan of these types of films then it's worth watching.

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.

Buck Jones sets the stage from the get go with, "I represent the law of man. The law of God is the law of man, but that law has been abused" He has no less than John Wayne in his sights. And the Duke has gorgeous 'Million Dollar Legs' Ziegfeld Girl, Susan Fleming in his sights. But the big show is between Dad Turner, played by Will Walling and the stately Edward LeSaint in the cattle rustling war. Now the 'all time meanest villain' Harry Woods may have a hand in this, go figure. Buck Jones and John Wayne play great together in this early western that can't be missed.

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?