Two-Fisted Law

All in all, it's a decent oater, more plot-heavy than most, but nothing special. Seems Clark's (McCoy) lost his ranch to swindler Russell (Oakman) and now bad guy Russell wants to finagle good girl Betty's (Day) ranch away from her. And if that's not enough, he's also trying to frame Clark for robbery and murder. Plus he's got help from crooked deputy Bendix (Brennan). Good thing Clark's a pretty good sneaky prospector. There's some good hard riding, mostly through familiar LA terrain, but not much fast shooting or flying fists. Mc Coy, of course, makes a good hard-eyed hero, and get a load of that 50-gallon hat that tops anything in movies! And where did they get his absolutely stunning white horse that's the equal of Trigger or Silver in sheer looks. On the other hand, Wayne fans will be disappointed since his screen time is sparse, but already he shows the youthful charisma that Lone Star and Mascot would wisely feature. Still, I could have done with less talk and more scenery and action, but the mix is still enough to keep this now Front Row Geezer happy.

Born and raised on a ranch that he eventually inherits from his dad, "Tim Clark" (Tim McCoy) is despondent over the fact that he has to turn it over to a man named "Bob Russell" (Wheeler Oakman) who reneged on a promise concerning the payment of a loan given to him. So with only a horse and a little bit of money left he leaves the ranch and sets out for an old silver mine in the hope of possibly striking it rich there. Two years pass and being a corrupt and greedy person Bob Russell has now set his sights on a ranch owned by Tim's sweetheart "Betty Owen" (Alice Day). So using the same dirty tactics as before he makes it as difficult as possible for Betty to make ends meet and when she is struggling financially he offers her a loan-and then demands payment. However, it's at this time that Tim shows up with some money and an incriminating story which Bob Russell simply cannot allow to be told. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a solid, old-fashioned Western which manages to stand the test of time for the most part. To that extent, although John Wayne (as Tim's ranch hand "Duke") is featured his role is definitely secondary to that of both Tim McCoy and Wheeler Oakman. Be that as it may, as stated earlier this was a decent film all things considered and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This is actually quite a fast-paced little story - thing is, though, the plot has been more crochéd together rather than knitted; and the holes can be a bit annoying at times. The plot is pretty old hat; grasping landowner sets up the hero (Tim McCoy) who has to clear his name to get the ranch and the gal. It has been made on a shoestring, with lots of film run at double speed to accelerate the effects of the frequent horse chases. There are a few, limited, appearances from John Wayne as his amiable sidekick but Alice Day is just plain annoying as the feisty dame and McCoy has all the charisma of a beermat. I love all these 1930s Westerns, and this is no better/worse than many. Kills an hour.

An American romance; A story about a rancher who sets out to expose a gang of crooked cattle dealers who swindled him out of his property rights. This is a B-film relying on fast pace and a plot that provides an excuse for many horse-riding sequences as distraction. Otherwise, it stutters along, suffering its trite dialogue. There is occasional stilted acting too. Tim McCoy in an oversized hat plays his part diplomatically and sympathetically, endearing the viewer. John Wayne provides a brief squeeze of zest as a youthful sidekick but otherwise hardly figures. Wheeler Oakman plays the rotter splendidly.

Though there seem to be some script holes, generally this is well written with some very good dialog.

Tim McCoy was one of the best cowboys and was also a pretty good actor.

As noted elsewhere, John Wayne was second billed, but had only a small part. Wallace MacDonald, as his buddy, does more, but his constant use of "y'all" to one person is one of the script's major flaws.

As sheriff, Tully Marshall has one of his best roles. It is well written and very well played.

Alice Day -- billed as "Alice Fay" on the DVD I own, from Canadian Disc Plaza, on a "Classic Westerns" collection of supposedly John Wayne movies -- is the least capable of the cast, but even she brightens up as the story progresses.

Bad guys Wheeler Oakman and Richard Alexander also shone and Walter Brennan, as usual, stood out in one of his early appearances.

Director D. Ross Lederman showed a lot of skill in his framing and camera angles. He was held in high-enough esteem to have stayed busy nearly his entire life with dozens of movies and dozens more TV shows.

I highly recommend "Two-Fisted Law," despite the pointless generic title.