Shadow Ranch

Buck Jones stars in this modest B-western. The film has a prologue in which you learn that Sim is a drifter and happy to be one. You also learn that his friend Ranny is looking to settle down. Some time passes and they go their separate ways when Sim receives a letter from Ranny—inviting him to come work for a nice lady on her ranch. However, by the time Sim arrives, Ranny has been murdered—shot in the back by a gang of jerks bent on controlling all the ranches (a very typical western theme). Sim vows to exact revenge and the rest of the movie is simply lead up to the finale—a finale in which Sim CANNOT just shoot the killer when he apprehends him (that would violate the B-western unwritten code). All in all, this is a very, very typical sort of western with few surprises. However, Buck Jones was a good actor and the film is entertaining provided your expectations aren't too high. My biggest problem was simply that I felt like I'd seen all this before—which will be your reaction if you've seen many of these old lower-budgeted westerns.

By the way, I am not sure why but the original title screen appears to have been hastily replaced. And, the film is currently in the public domain.

This is a great early Buck Jones western. It is Buck's second talking movie and was made for Columbia in 1930. It is neatly packaged and represents, in my opinion, one of the very best of the B-Western genre. Buck plays a wandering cowboy whose best friend is an older gent named Ranny Williams. Ranny is played by Frank Rice who turns in a top notch performance, especially when he tells Buck that he is tired of wandering from one outfit to another, and when he reminisces about his old friend right before he goes off to town and is shot in the back.

Another great scene is when Buck comes to Shadow Ranch just as the townspeople are burying Ranny. Buck silently rides by the graveside service and removes his hat as he passes by in respect, not knowing it is his old friend they are burying.

The rest of the film deals with Buck taking up the fight for his old pal and the female owner of Shadow Ranch.

This is a special movie.

Buck Jones and dancer actress Marguerite De La Motte team up nicely in the showdown at Circle O Ranch. His best sidekick and fellow cowpuncher Ranny (Frank Rice) wants to settle down there but soon finds cowpokes throwing lead. One of the best villains in the business Albert J. Smith is gunning for the ranch. Interesting scene when his henchmen Slim Whitaker, Ernie Adams and Robert McKenzie get caught with their pants down. Silent screen comedienne Kate Price carrying a huge muzzleloader is a sight to behold.

In his second talking film Buck Jones proved in Shadow Ranch that he had a voice that would serve him well in sound westerns. However one rule of B westerns was violated here.

Buck and sidekick Frank Rice split up and go their separate ways when Jones gets a letter from Rice about trouble on a place he's working on called Shadow Ranch. Someone is trying to frighten owner Margaret De La Motte and her aunt Kate Price into selling the place. When Jones arrives he finds his old sidekick shot dead and being buried on Boot Hill.

Sidekicks are not killed in B westerns they have to provide comic relief and Rice was funny in his time in Shadow Ranch.

Of course Jones finds who's responsible and exacts some justice. Some kudos have to go to shotgun wielding Kate Price who is sidekick to the leading lady. A formidable woman with both Brogue and buckshot.

Nice film, but nothing new here.