The Lone Rider

"The Lone Rider" (1930) is a really good early Buck Jones Western. It co-stars a very spunky Vera Reynolds (who I just watched two weeks ago in 1926's "Sunny Side Up", a silent), a great bad guy, Harry Woods, and has Tom Bay, George C. Pearce, and many other "B" Western regulars following up the others. This one is rather unusual in that Jones begins as a member of a gang of stage coach robbers, bank robbers, and thieves in general - bad guys for sure. But trying to pull off a robbery by himself because he's had it with the rest of the gang, instead he goes after a loose stagecoach and finds Reynolds in it who changes him. Now, I know how impossible that sounds: you watch and see if you don't appreciate it as much as I did! In fact, though the implausibility of plot is on hand through much of this, every one of the actors and actresses puts in a genuinely fine performance and pulls off making the viewer appreciate every minute that goes on. The direction is sure. The horse-riding - a must for these "B" Westerns - is superb all around: in fact, a couple of the stunts with horses are quite spectacular. All in all, a Jones Western worth the seeking out. It's 57 minutes of great fun. Although the kids will enjoy this, this is a Western made for kids of all ages, and plays to the adult equally as well.

Note: this review is based on a later reissue. The version I saw had a Production Code certificate which indicated a rerelease in 1934 that might have been trimmed.

Buck Jones' first sound picture is an entertaining affair. Buck has been leading vigilantes, but dirt has been dug up on him and he must clear his name and woo Vera Reynolds (who strums a guitar and sings a couple of lines). It's a plot that was reused several times. For this go-around, director Louis King (Henry King's brother) directs a lot of sequences with no dialogue, permitting the accomplished silent actors to perform well.

The sound, as you might expect at this stage, is not very good. There is a lot of hiss in the background, and voices are muffled. However cinematographer Ted McCord does a typically fine job and takes advantage of the dramatic and mountainous background to frame the shots. It's clearly a B western, but everyone handles their work in the new sound era very well.