Arizona Bound

Watching this first of the Rough Rider series of B westerns for Monogram it occurred to me that someone in that studio thought it would be a good idea to team three veteran cowboys. No love interest for these guys. They're about business always.

Tim McCoy, Buck Jones, and Raymond Hatton all have careers dating back to the silent era. Hatton in fact was in some of the earliest films made in Hollywood. I'm sure the front row Saturday matinee kids liked them. But this was a trio that their parents might appreciate.

These three are all doing separate things but they answer a call from a US Marshal friends who says that in a certain Arizona town the gold miners are being systematically robbed when they ship with Luana Walters stagecoach line. All three drift in separately and pretend not to know each other. Do you doubt they get the job done?

This was a good beginning to the series.

Former lawman Buck Jones is called to Mesa City, Arizona in order to get to the bottom of the constant stagecoach and gold-shipment robberies. Framed for the hold-ups, Jones teams up with "preacher" Tim McCoy and good-old-boy Raymond Hatton to uncover the real culprits.

The first in Monogram Pictures' Rough Riders series, this is mostly by-the-numbers, with little action. However, it's redeemed somewhat by an exciting, action-packed climax and an inspired performance by McCoy, who's flamboyant character introduction, where he refuses to "dance" to a blazing six-gun before turning the tables and forcing the whole saloon to sing "Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie", is the film's highlight.

Watching many of the cheaply made 'B' westerns, I am use to an array of repeat stories that seem so cookie-cut that you can tell the ending only after a few minutes of watching. However, as I sat down to watch this film it became apparent that all 'B' movies are not created equal. This was actually an entertaining story with some fascinating characters.

The story was centered around three Marshals (Rough Riders) that went undercover to find the people responsible for a series of stage robberies in a small Arizona town. The three Marshals, Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Ray Hatton arrive in the town at different times as to not arouse the suspicion of the locals with only Jones revealing that he use to be a Marshal but had since retired. And as the plot thickens, the townsfolk will soon learn that they are in the middle of a investigation that will not stop till justice is served.

This was an enjoyable start to the Rough Rider series. -- And sure some of the scenes were rough, as when the trio went through a hail of gunfire and never even got a scratch. Or when a villain was shooting at one of the Marshals and he just walked right towards the villain and never was struck- but it played out well on the screen. An enjoyable watch that has me looking for the next time the Rough Riders ride again. I giving this an solid 8 on the 'B' western index.

"Arizona Bound" is memorable for the teaming of veteran "B" western stars Buck Jones and Tim McCoy. They were joined by veteran sidekick Raymond Hatton. All had begun their careers in the early silent pictures and had continued working regularly into the 1930s in a assorted series for a variety of companies,

With the popularity of Republic's Three Mesquiteer series, other "B" studios began to want to get on the band wagon. Monogram had started with the Range Buster series with Ray "Crash" Corrigan, John "Dusty" King and Max Terhune. Then someone had the idea of teaming Jones and McCoy, both of whom had seen their careers decline by the end of the 30s, in a series. What resulted was "The Rough Riders". Jones, McCoy and Hatton played undercover marshals who were called in to settle a situation at the beginning of each film.

Jones played Buck Roberts who usually posed as an outlaw. McCoy played Tim McCall who usually posed as a parson and Hopkins played Sandy Hopkins a grizzled old timer who often acted as a go between between Roberts and McCall.

In this first of eight Rough Rider films, the boys are called in to help save heroine Ruth Masters (Luana Walters) stage line. Ruth, in true "B" western fashion tries to carry on after her father has been murdered. Trying to gain control of the line is villain Steve Taggert (Tristram Coffin) and his henchman Red (Slim Whitaker). Dennis Moore plays Walters love interest.

Devoid of the usual bar room brawls and with less action than most, the Rough Rider series was nevertheless lifted above the average through the presence of its three stars. All three had been in the business for many years and their collective experience made this a memorable series.

At the end of each film the three would ride off in different directions, Jones to Arizona, McCoy to Wyoming and Hatton to Texas. The producers had planned to continue the series into a second season but fate intervened.

With the US entry into WWII, McCoy, a reserve Colonel, was called back into service. He left the series after the seventh film. Jones made the last one with Hatton and Rex Bell. Following the completion of "Dawn On the Great Divide" in 1942, Jones died tragically in a fire in Boston. The next season, Raymond Hatton took his Sandy Hopkins character to a new series with Johnny Mack Brown. Evidently, scripts intended for the Rough Rider series were utilized in the Brown/Hatton series.

At any rate the Rough Rider series allowed veteran cowpokes Jones and McCoy to ride off into the sunset one last time with their heads held high.

Watch for fellow "B" hero Bob Baker in a cameo as Marshal Bat Madison near the end of the film.

Buck Jones (as Buck Roberts), Tim McCoy (as Tim McCall), and Raymond Hatton (as Sandy Hopkins) marshal their forces as "The Rough Riders". Their first mission is to help pretty Luana Walters (as Ruth Masters); the family's "Master's Stage Line" is being robbed by wicked Tris Coffin (as Steve Taggert) and his gang. Also, Ms. Masters' father has been killed by the gang.

The quick drawing folks at the Monogram studio took a look at rival Republic's unprecedented success with their "The Three Mesquiteers" series of films and took action, producing a couple of "Threesomes" of their own. From the "Top 10 Western Box Office Star" lists, Monogram employed Mr. Jones, Mr. McCoy, and "Mesquiteer" Raymond Hatton as "The Rough Riders". Given the western star power, "Arizona Bound" is surprisingly dull.