Honor of the Range

Ken Maynard not only starred in, but produced this particular western of his at Universal Pictures. Being released through Universal it was a considerably above the usual poverty row product that was gutting the Saturday afternoon matinée market. It's also considerably darker in content.

We're talking here of the Maynard family honor. Ken plays dual roles here, the usual standup straight arrow western hero who happens to be a sheriff. He's also a storekeeper who gets himself into a real jackpot when some money left in trust for him by Cecilia Parker and her father James A. Marcus is robbed through his connivance. And brother Ken who doesn't pursue the crooks with his usual zeal gets caught up in the jackpot as well.

Fred Kohler is the head of the gang and he's his usual nasty villain. He's also got a nice interest in Parker, something neither of the Maynards approve.

Honor Of The Range is a good B western with far better production values than normal. This could easily have been a A product with a bigger star.

When storekeeper Ken Maynard agrees to help the bad guys led by Fred Kohler steal the moey out of the safe, part of the deal is that he get his brother, Sheriff Ken Maynard out of the way. When the sheriff proposes to go after the gang in te morning when he can read the trail, there's a revolt, and he's out of a job and locked in a closet. It's up to him to break out, rescue Cecilia Parker and his brother -- who's changed his mind when he's offered such a small cut . Fortunately, he still has Tarzan the Wonder Horse on his side.

It's a bit of a stretch for Maynard to be playing two roles, and although he's not the world's best actor, does a creditable job. Director Alan James goes for big effects and noisy gun battles; while these go on for a bit too long, his training as a film editor keep things within reason and should please fans of B westerns.