Six-Gun Rhythm

Tex Fletcher who was a nightclub singer went to work for Grand National Pictures and made this western and no others. Grand National went belly up and only the efforts of the star saved the film. Not like he was saving another Citizen Kane,but it was his only film.

Six Gun Rhythm is no better or worse than a whole lot of these horse operas ground out by the poverty row studios. Fletcher had a nice singing voice. In this film he's a pro football star from Texas who goes home to investigate his sheriff father's disappearance.

The story of the making and saving of the film is way more interesting.

When ex-football player (!?!) Tex Fletcher (playing a character named "Tex Fletcher") arrives in Texas to visit his father, he comes across a gun battle and joins in, knowing instantly who's the good guy and who isn't (smart guy). It turns out those bad guys are part of Jim Davis's gang, who look to rustle more cattle for money and take over other people's land. It seems Jim's Father got in the way of the plan, and, well you guessed it, Tex is out to Avenge His Father's Death! The plot in this one is actually not bad, although there are SOME western clichés, there's some perks of originality here and there (having Fletcher come from a football team for instance) and the ending, which takes place in a sandstorm! was highly interesting and entertaining. Tex Fletcher is pretty good here. I've never seen his work before. He's a sleepy eyed, marginally attractive cowboy, and he can sing pretty good, singing songs such as "When I Get Back in The Range" and that all time classic "They Won't Stretch My Neck If I Know It". The supporting cast is very good as well, with bonus points going to Jack Mchugh as Fletcher's goofy sidekick Butch. A surprisingly entertaining movie!

In the 1930s, Tex Fletcher made two films. The first was a short and the second was this film, "Six-Gun Rhythm". While other films were planned, only this one feature was made since Grand National went bankrupt--and Fletcher took it upon himself to cross the nation promoting this film. It was to no avail, as no other film offers resulted and the singer ended up fading into oblivion. However, after seeing the film, I wonder if the bankruptcy really had that much effect on Fletcher, as the film wasn't very good nor was Fletcher. The bottom line is that the film had all the usual B-western clichés, very pedestrian writing at best, little in the way of action and a relatively dull leading man. So, it really had nothing to distinguish it from the vast hoard of other sub- par films in the genre from that time. Worth seeing if you insist on seeing every cowboy film ever made, otherwise easy to skip.