Bar-Z Bad Men

When reckless and boisterous Jim Waters (Johnny Mack Brown) is faced with a jail term for what he calls harmless fun, he heads to the Bar-Z Ranch, promising to stay out of town. When he gets there, he runs right into the middle of a range war between two cattlemen. Murder and deceit draw Jim in, determined to uncover who's in back of the rustling.

There's plenty of the usual fast Rodin' and shootin' when Johnny Mack Brown returns to his ranch. Planting cattle on a rancher's patch of land in order to frame him is a good idea, however there are moments it lapses to averageness. Otherwise, a fair western.

"Bar Z Bad Men" is a formula "B" oater from producer A. W. Hackel starring Johnny Mack Brown. It contains plenty of hard ridin' and blazing action and was directed by "B" western veteran Sam Newfield.

The story has rabble rousing cowpoke Jim Waters (Brown) buying a half interest in a ranch owned by his friend Ed Parks (Jack Rockwell). When he arrives at the ranch he finds Parks engaged in a gunfight with some baddies. Waters learns that a cattle rustling scam has been going on where cattle from other ranches are being re branded and placed in his herd. The idea is to have Parks blamed for the rustling so that the bad guys can take over his land. You see, the railroad is coming through and well, you know.

One of the ranchers who blames Parks for the rustling is Hemp Harvey (Frank LaRue) who just happens to have a comely young daughter Ruth (Lois January). Ed Parks is murdered and its up to Waters to avenge his partner.

Heading up the rest of the cast are Tom London as "leading citizen" Bostall, Ernie Adams as Pete one of the bad guys, Dick Curtis as Brent the foreman of Harvey's ranch and Milburn Morante as the Deputy sheriff.

Johnny Mack Brown's career started much like that of William "Hopalong" Boyd, as a leading man in silent pictures. Brown for his part, had played opposite some of the leading actresses at MGM including, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Jean Harlow. When MGM let him go in 1931, Brown drifted between various studios and eventually into "B" westerns where he flourished for over 20 years. He was generally a better actor than most of his contemporaries and this made his westerns more believable than most.

Producer Hacket's films were now being released through that new studio, Republic Pictures although to my knowledge, Brown never did actually sign with Republic.

Formuls "B" western raised a level by the presence of Johnny Mack Brown.

Republic Pictures was famous for making the Gene Autry and Roy Rogers films. However, singing cowboy B-movies were not the only films they made and Johnny Mack Brown's westerns were a bit different--with no singing and a bit more grit.

The show begins with Brown behaving like a complete butt-head. He's shooting up the town for laughs and has way overstayed his welcome. So, after being banished, he heads to the Bar-Z ranch, as he's bought into a partnership with the owner. But, when he arrives, he learns that something serious is amiss. Men are shooting at his new partner and accusing him of cattle rustling! It turns out someone is stealing cattle and putting them on the Bar-Z in order to start a range war!! Can the now less butt-headed Brown find an answer to this mystery and still get the girl by the end of the film? What do you think?! Apart from the odd start of the film that had Brown uncharacteristically playing a jerk, the film is pretty typical of a B-western of the period minus the songs. Enjoyable and competent--the story is an interesting twist on the old cattle rustling theme!

Ed Parks tells his new partner when asked "What's this all about? Whatever it is you bought half of it." The way the movie started it seemed like Johnny Mack Brown was going to be the villain for a change. After shooting up the bar, The judge (Frank Ball) gives him a reprieve if he promises to get out of town. He straggles over to the Bar Z Ranch for some peace and quiet but sobers up fast when he finds his partner (Jack Rockwell) is facing 'lead poisoning' from the cattle rustlers. Lois January, one of the greatest ladies in western movies has a love hate relationship with the rowdy Brown but then again she might have killed his partner. Man of a thousand films, Tom London billed as the 'leading citizen' may be playing both sides of the fence. Dick Curtis didn't get to utilize any of his comedic talents but does well as a vicious henchman here. It all may boil down to henchman Pete (Ernie Adams) to spill the goods if he lives long enough. Brown and January head up a great cast in a fast paced action western.

Bar Z Bad Men finds Johnny Mack Brown as a free spirited cowboy, no better than he ought to be, all of a sudden finding himself a partner in a ranch. When he arrives to assume the partnership, the friend who gave him the half interest in his ranch is shot down in ambush.

Before that happens the friend Jack Rockwell tells him that he's got a rustling problem in reverse. His herd is increasing exponentially and a cursory examination of his cattle shows they've been rebranded with the rustler's favorite tool, the running iron. Someone had been trying to frame Rockwell for rustling.

And sure enough the neighboring ranch which is owned by Frank LaRue and Lois January is complaining about stolen stock. It's an interesting twist on the old western plot gambit of the third party starting a range war for their own nefarious purposes.

Johnny Mack Brown certainly sits a saddle well and Bar Z Bad Men is an enjoyable B western from Republic.