Ride Him, Cowboy

Ride Him, Cowboy (1932)

*** (out of 4)

Duke, a horse, is on trial for killing a man and the judge is about to put him to death when cowboy John Drury (John Wayne) makes a deal. If Drury can tame the horse then it can live. Of course the cowboy comes through and soon the two of them are trying to track down the real murderer.

RIDE HIM, COWBOY was Wayne's shot at stardom as this was the first of the six picture deal that he signed with Warner. The film is certainly a step up from movies like TWO FISTED LAW, which featured Wayne in supporting parts. On a technical level this might still be a "B" movie but it's still better than what we had seen the now legend in up to this point.

The best thing about the picture is actually Wayne and his supporting cast of actors. I thought that laid back approach of Wayne's worked pretty well here including the scenes where he trying to smooth talk the leading lady played by Ruth Hall. Wayne and Hall share some nice chemistry together. Frank Hagney does a good job in his role of the villain and Henry B. Walthall turns in another fine supporting performance.

As you'd expect, there's a lot of gun play as well as other Western trappings but they're all handled quite nicely by director Fred Allen who keeps the film moving at a nice pace throughout its 55 minutes.

It is fascinating to see the breadth of the 20 reviews for "Ride Him, Cowboy," with the ratings ranging from a two to a nine. However, no matter what the ratings viewers for the most part agree that the film is entertaining.

The production values are professional, the acting is clean and competent, and the story is fresh in its variation and quite captivating. The scene where the camera pans around the room during the dance while the unpolished and authentically rustic sounds of "Till We Meet Again" play is highly affecting and had to have been carefully composed and choreographed ahead of time.

The largest problem with the film is that the subtle and often wry humor with which the seriously-toned story develops jarringly and uncomfortably turns a little too farcical toward the end; continued subtlety would have worked better. The final five minutes seem to have been edited in a rush and slapped-together, as well.

John Wayne presents a unique persona here in the early 1930s with his amiable, relaxed, cool, considerate, and, above all, pleasant character. And at this early career stage I can't see how he can be faulted for his acting work, as he seems already relatively smooth and fluid and appropriately reactive (some of his facial reactions during his courtroom trial were endearingly right on).

Contrast Wayne with other early 1930s heroes including Buck Jones (serious and measured), Harry Carey (fatherly and thoughtful), Bob Steele (scrappy but tender), Tim McCoy (resolute and regal), Hoot Gibson (satirical and self-deprecating) and Ken Maynard (down home action figure) and one realizes Wayne had already developed his own niche (did Johnny Mack Brown channel a little of Wayne when he settled for, on, and into his own western film career in 1935?)

Overall, "Ride Him..." is fun, competent, historically notable, and a tad different...and should be seen by anyone actually taking the time to look over these reviews.

Let's see, this picture was made in 1932 and my parents were just about ten years old. As this was the depression and my dad was one of six kids, I doubt if he had a nickel to spend. As I watch this, as an old, old man; I see it as a pretty good oater. Lots of action, last minute rescues, and a smattering of adult humor. At least, I hope the humor was adult aimed for I know I wouldn't have gotten it. John Wayne got top billing although he shared it with Duke, his horse.

The action moves quickly enough for kids to follow it to see if Wayne caught the bad guy or at least exposed him to the law. I thought the film held up over the years. Solid supporting cast with both Harry Gribbon and Otis Harlan providing the humor; a little gallows at times but no doubt that was for any adult who wandered in.

You have to feel sorry for Wayne's character, John Drury, who goes from horse saving hero to wanted outlaw in the blink of an eye. I think after all was done with, I would have just moved on and left these people to themselves.

But, all in all, a decent oater for its time.

A smart horse and a pretty girl are the hero and heroine of RIDE HIM, COWBOY, in which a very young JOHN WAYNE is a drifter mistaken for "The Hawk", a ruthless villain who's the leader of a bunch of gunfighters. Its plot sounds like something that Mel Brooks could make into one of his western satires about a villain called "The Hawk" and a weak sheriff, as well as the hero mistaken for a villain.

It plays well, fast and furious with some plot devices that have become clichés over the years but manages to hold the interest throughout despite some obvious flaws and the dated look of the film itself.

RUTH HALL is the pretty young woman and the smart horse is "The Duke", an amazing animal used well as the critter who identifies the masked man known as "The Hawk" and takes his revenge for the final scene. He's also involved in a clever rescue when Wayne is left strapped to a tree to die in the desert with the horse nearby, able to free himself and Wayne from the predicament.

Summing up: Surprisingly good, unpretentious little western that winds up its tale in less than an hour. Easy to note how Wayne's acting skills became vastly improved over the years.

An American Action, Western; A story about a Texan cowboy who rides into an Arizona town, rescues a horse, and winds up being blamed for a recent spate of barn-burnings, a crime he did not commit. This 'B' movie is a remake of the 1926 silent film The Unknown Cavalier (1926) and based on a 1923 novel by Kenneth Perkins. This light-humoured film has its stock characters and a well-worn story about a man falsely accused. There is a satirical aspect too, about frontier justice, the rush to judgement in trial when logic suggests otherwise, and a prominent citizen who turns out to be a wrong 'un. Duke the clever horse steals the show in some instances. John Wayne fits his part nicely as the young stranger who can goof with the rest of them but has the fortitude to bring miscreants to justice.