The Dude Ranger

Easterner George O'Brien inherits his uncle's half of a ranch and goes undercover as a hired-hand in order to find out exactly who has been rustling his livestock. He soon discovers that his uncle's invalid partner isn't crippled after all and is apparently behind the thefts. Complicating things is O'Brien's crush on the old man's daughter.

You really can't go wrong with any of the Zane Grey pictures from the 1930's. They have some of the healthiest budgets and best writing of all the era's B-westerns, making them a cut above the average poverty-row programmer.

This may not have Randolph Scott and John Wayne, some of the stars from Paramount's Zane Grey series. However, The Dude Ranger features some great photography, three-dimensional characters, and some genuine suspense, as well as a few twists near the end that I didn't see coming.

Leading lady Irene Hervey is quite beautiful too.

Syd Saylor was as good a serious side-kick as ever forked a horse, but he was thoroughly capable of playing a comic, or occasionally comic, partner as well.

He proved it in this excellent B Western, with a lot of by-play between him and star George O'Brien.

O'Brien was as good-looking and healthy a specimen as ever played a cowboy hero, fully capable of action heroics as well as romantic scenes.

The story, by iconic Zane Grey, is beautifully presented in a script by Barry Barringer directed by Edward Cline.

What makes this stand out is the characterization by all the performers, including the lovely Irene Hervey. She plays a spoiled, even seemingly conceited young lady of the range in a breezy city-slicker manner, but proves actually very likable, if sometimes flighty.

LeRoy Mason, here Le Roy, is his usual good-looking but rotten villain, alternating between seemingly likable and trustworthy ranch foreman and lecherous and traitorous thief.

Again, the entire cast is just about perfect, from the briefly seen Vesper Pegg, who just steals his scene of bringing up a mount, to the West-loving Earl Dwire, to Slim Whitaker and Lafe McKee and ... well, several others, none of whom get screen credit, but who all give us good reason to praise IMDb for providing the information.

There are a couple of flaws, a moment of trite action happening in just the right place, for example, that brought down the rating from that perfect 10, but I highly recommend "The Dude Ranger" which is available at YouTube.

Ernest Selby (George O'Brien) is an Easterner who has traveled west to take possession of a ranch he inherited. However, before arriving, he learns that about half is cattle have disappeared! But instead of sending in the sheriff to investigate, Selby decides to go undercover himself to see if he can learn the truth. He approaches the man running the ranch, Hepburn, and gets a job as a hired hand...telling no one about his real identity. Soon Hepburn's daughter begins showing a ton of interest in him....which could be a problem if Hepburn himself is stealing the cattle. What's next? See the film.

In many ways, this B-western is better than average. The locations for the shoot were amazing--incorporating many of the greatest spots in the American Southwest, such as the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and Bryce National Park. It's just gorgeous because of this. Additionally, O'Brien is quite nice as the hero....very enjoyable and a good western actor. The only negatives are the use of a few of the usual cliches and a somewhat weak ending where the villain sure was stupid and sloppy! Still, the good outwieghs the bad and this one is worth seeing.

This Western is based on a Zane Grey story about a crooked rancher who is stealing cattle. George O'Brien plays the owner of the ranch, who through a case of mistaken identity, is thought to be the Dude Ranger on the ranch. He is after the crooked bosses daughter, played by Irene Harvey.

The film as the typical western sidekick, in this case a guitar playing singer. The film is OK, nothing special, and is an example of a cheap B-Western film, filmed with spectacular scenery. Irene Hervey was loaned out from her home film studio to play the role in this film. LeRoy Mason plays one of the villains.

George O'Brien wants to sell the ranch he's just inherited, but the lawyer tells him that he can't get a good price for it. Five thousand head of cattle have disappeared. When he goes to the ranch to make enquiries, everyone assumes he's another saddle tramp who has fallen in love at first sight with the manager's daughter, Irene Hervey, so they give him a job and make fun of him.

This B western is something special. Under the direction of comedy specialist Eddie Cline, the performers get to act with great charm, and the tricks that are played on O'Brien are deadly -- and funny. Sid Saylor plays the comic sidekick, but he's not simply another clown, but a smart, tough cowboy with a strong goofy streak. There is plenty of good location shooting, with a beautiful long shot for the final confrontation. For a B western, this is as good as it gets.