Lost Ranch

In 1937, the small producers were trying, desperately, to adapt to the changes in B westerns introduced, most notably, by Republic.

Thus, we have, here, Tom Tyler "singing" - I suspect the voice is someone else's - and riding with a sidekick called Happy (Howard Bryant) who wears a hat rather like Smiley Burnette's and also sings, albeit in a "funny" voice.

The homage to Autry movies continues with the familiar plot line of two girls from "back East", one pretty and independently minded (Jeanne Martel) and the other moderately pretty but very dizzy, motoring across the prairie, evading the bad guys and wondering whether or not to trust Tom and Happy.

Lafe McKee plays Martel's kidnapped father with many despairing looks and much hand wringing - in other words, he's an old ham! - and Forrest Taylor, cast against type as the leader of the crooks smiles in sinister fashion and appears to relish the change.

I really loved Jeanne Martel in this one. She plays a headstrong woman who has to help her father (Lafe McKee), tries to keep one step ahead of the villains led by Forrest Taylor and doesn't know whether to trust the law, Tom Tyler. Happy (Howard Bryant) has some great zingers as a sidekick, "You take any woman, you can only believe half of what she says and one fourth of what she writes". Marjorie Beebe one of the best comediennes from the era is great but under utilized which is the norm for this point in her career. A nice romantic tension between Tyler and Martel (his real life wife off-screen), fast paced action and good comic relief make Lost Ranch a gem worth watching.

This independent B western is mistitled Lost Ranch. It's not that the ranch is lost, but the ranch owner's been kidnapped and nowhere to be found.

The ranch is in an inaccessible place which is why a gang of crooks headed by Forrest Taylor want it so bad. When owner Lafe McKee checks up on them, Taylor kidnaps McKee and then awaits the arrival of his daughter. The only reason he doesn't kill Taylor is he doesn't know how much he might have told daughter Jeanne Martel who is coming to this area to visit Dad and investigate. Fortunately she runs into law officer Tom Tyler and sidekick Howard Bryant.

Their are elements of this plot that are similar to the John Huston/ Humphrey Bogart classic Across The Pacific. Who knows where Huston might have gotten the idea for his film. Martel's problem is that she doesn't know who to trust and she almost makes a bad mistake. Of course with Tyler's white hat and two guns, the kids who made up the Saturday matinée audience knew exactly who was who.

Being an independent for something called Victory Productions, Lost Ranch doesn't even have the production values of Monogram Studios let alone Republic, let alone a major studio. Still the audience got its money's worth as Lost Ranch moves at a fast clip and good comic relief is provided by Bryant and Martel's sidekick Marjorie Beebe.

Yes, in B westerns occasionally the leading lady has a sidekick.

"Lost Ranch" is a routine Western that is watchable, but it's a movie that has too many problems to be very satisfying. The story, which has Tom Tyler as a lawman trying to protect a couple of young women from a group of crooks, is very predictable, and is too often implausible as well. The heroine is supposed to be resourceful and independent, but she makes too many foolish decisions to be fully sympathetic. The bad guys likewise seem to have only a vague idea most of the time as to what it is that they are trying to accomplish, and they are too inept to make them worth disliking. The film moves fairly quickly, but it just doesn't have any real strengths.