Il mistero della rocca rossa

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.

Although containing less heated "action" than most B-westerns, "The Dude Ranger" is a sensitive but yet swiftly-moving film with well-acted roles and direction that reflects predetermined camera angles and logical call-and-response sequencing. Irene Hervey, appearing here as a loaner in only her second year under contract with MGM, is handed a role that demands more than most B-western heroines are asked to provide. She does a real nice job as a modern woman, at once haughty and seemingly so self-assured in her "lack of competition" femininity, who has found herself immersed in an abundance of Old West masculinity. Although surrounded by all sort of male characters, she needs a "realized" man to enter her life, and guess what...? Ms. Hervey is photographed beautifully in this picture and handles her acting duties very well, communicating plenty of varied and nuanced emotion. George O'Brien is his old reliable self, mostly easy-going but heroic when need be. They also came up with a unique signature behavior for Syd Saylor's nicely-played sidekick role. The entire cast is sharp. Then there is the location scenery... definitely a cut above, with backdrops that include locales well-known to visitors of national parks and monuments in Arizona and Utah. The well-attended barn dance is notable in that the music played there is surprisingly "uptown hot" for 1934, a musical style that was just beginning to legitimize itself in New York and Chicago at that time, certainly not one anticipated to be provided for a remote Arizona ranch dance... but oh well. This film also includes a score of sorts, especially in the latter half, that is not intrusively overdone; one could argue it actually enhances the impact of the closing scene. In summary, one will find in this picture a well-executed adult film treatment of the cowboy genre', longer on romance than most films of the day, and a little shorter on guns, fights, and chases. Satisfying for sure!

After inheriting a ranch full of mysteriously vanishing cows, Ernest "Dude" Selby secretly signs on as a hired hand at his own ranch to discover who's stealing them and suspects the culprit may be wheelchair-bound ranch boss Sam Hepburn, father of the beautiful Ann.

George O' Brien is his usual smiling self as an easterner who is curious of who is stealing the cows from his land and when he gets employed as a cowhand he investigates but not without a little playful and light interaction with the ranch boss' daughter. O' Brien plays hard to get which is odd as it's usually the leading actresses who do that. The leading actress here is more forthcoming and flirty, much to LeMason Roy's dismay. He's at his usual villainous self. But don't expect any gunplay - it's more of a mix of humour, a little intrigue and some romance. Maybe a little melodrama. The dialogue is quite snappy and there's witty one liners.

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.

This is one of the better B-Westerns I have seen, and I have seen hundreds. It is definitely something special, and a pleasant surprise. George O-Brien and his sidekick Syd Saylor do a great job of sprinkling in lots of humor and strike up a good-natured friendship. Irene Hervey is memorable in this role and provides a lot of spunk, good comedic timing, and great expression on her face during close-ups. Male viewers will find the beauty, personality, and good-natured vanity of Irene Hervey's character quite a draw, and I would think female viewers would be charmed by George O-Brien, who employs some intentional vanity of his own, making for more good fun. Syd Saylor as "Nebraska" Kemp provides an oddly fun character that I haven't seen before, with his impromptu songs for all occasions. The film has a welcome sweetness to it, aided by the director's use of close-ups and allowing characters to show emotions, humor, and affection. Even the bit part of the lawyer, played by Lloyd Ingraham, provides some humor.

The scenery is great and you will keep asking yourself, "Where is that?" or you'll think, "What a great mountain that is!". The mountain scenery is unique compared to most B-Westerns which give us the same scenery so often that we notice that it is the same backlot area being used. The makers of The Dude Ranger must have gone to extra expense and a lot of extra trouble to bring us unique scenery that has not been overutilized, and in fact has been underutilized over the years. Much of the film was filmed in Zion National Park, and Johnson Canyon (near Kanab), Utah.

The plot and characters are much better developed in The Dude Ranger than in the preponderance of B-Westerns. The film does not spend too much time on drawn-out horse chases or gunplay, though there is just enough. Instead the film spends most of its time developing the plot and characters through many scenes that build to aid several finales. I was struck by how different this movies was compared to most B-westerns, with their simplified stock characters and quick drawing of the lines that create the good guys and bad guys. Even though you know from the start who the good guys and bad guys are, this movie lets us gradually see the traits of the various characters via a number of well-developed scenes. The movie seems to fit a lot into its 65 minutes, while still allowing scenes to play out.

There are a few flaws in the scenes involving guns and standoffs. Though you have to like Henry Hall's Sam Hepburn character, and I am now a fan of his too, there is some disappointment for the viewer in how his character is handled by the scriptwriter or director in one scene.

My rating of 9 stars out of 10 is for B-Westerns. Compared to all films I would give it a 7, or even an 8! Enjoy.