The Cheyenne Kid

This is a relatively short action packed B western starring Tom Keene made by RKO in 1933.It was in fact shown on BBC some years ago which is how i came to see it.Otherwise it is likely to remain gathering dust on then shelves.It is the usual sort of B Western full of lots of riding and shooting and skulduggery's involving a mine.I think that one of the reasons that this film is rarely seen is that as far as i can see Tom Keene was not a well known star.He does not have any particular unique characteristics such as Hopalong Casssidys black outfit or the Lone Rangers mask.He is just a straight shooting cowboy like dozens who will have been around at the time.

The Cheyenne Kid's plot could've been lifted out of any one of John Wayne's 1930's Lone Star entries. Rodeo star Keene (who's actually quite likable) has an idiot buddy (s-s-s-tuttering Roscoe Ates) who acts as the glue that brings him and the pretty daughter of a mine owner whose about to be swindled out of his fortune together. Bullets fly and there's the typical 30's oater somewhat anachronistic presence of cars in the beginning of the movie (that all but disappear from the sets later on)--- but Keene actually shows some acting talent when his beloved horse gets shot dead from underneath him--- he cries! (and it's convincing!). The whole thing leaves you wondering why he wasn't a bigger cowboy star... I'm guessing his tendency to try something new with every movie killed off any hopes of developing a fan base in a genre where longevity meant adopting a fixed character (and the same outfit, not to mention the same horse) and running with it. This is an enjoyable way to spend an hour or so on a snowy Saturday morning.

Tom Keene is the Cheyenne Kid because apparently why not? He's a rodeo champion whom Mary mason bets against, so she's mad at him, while he's sweet on her. He wanders into town, where buddy Roscoe Ates is trying to make the Philosopher's Stone, is mistaken for hired killer Al Bridge, and given $500 to kill Miss Mason's father. And similar random events. Al Bridge is almost as funny as he would be in a Preston Sturges movie.

It's a very loosely, almost negligently plotted RKO western. Robert Hill directs, Nick Musuraca is in charge of the camera. It's a funny little charmer.

Keene was serious about acting, but never clicked outside of B Westerns. I suspect it's because he seemed too much like Joel McCrea.

Bob

To me, one of the least appealing western sidekicks was Roscoe Ates. This is because his shtick was stuttering...and it wasn't funny...just annoying. In many films Ates doesn't stutter...but in every western I've seen, he stutters like Porky Pig. Unfortunately for Tom Keene, he's saddled with this stuttering fool in "The Cheyenne Kid".

The story begins at a rodeo. A jerk tries to sabotage Tom's ride on a bucking broncho. But Tom's so good, he manages to win anyway. So, the jerk then resorts to stealing Tom's winnings! Not surprisingly, Tom chases him down and gets his horse shot out from under him*. So, he takes the would-be assassin's horse and heads into town...and the townsfolk think HE is the bandit, Denver Ed. Unfortunately, his dim friend (Ates) has also gotten a job working for a thieving murderer!

While I'll be the first to admit that Keene had little in the way of charisma in this film compared to other B-western stars of the day, the film itself is pretty good. Some might be because it's an RKO-Radio production and the budget seemed a bit better than similar movies.