Fighters Of The Saddle (1929)

Starring: Art Acord

Director: Robert J. Horner

Studio: Davis Distributing Division

PLOT SUMMARY:

The Wayne family, consisting of Nesta (Peggy Montgomery), Tom (Jack Ponder), Art (Lynn Sanderson) and Patty (Betty Carter), are being forced off their ranch by scheming "Bulldog" Weatherby (John Lowell) and the entire Weatherby clan. The reason for this is the elder Weatherby, the owner of a construction company, needs the Waynes to flee their land so that he may build a road through it. Weatherby enlists his son Dick (Art Acord) with the task of rushing the Waynes off their property but refuses leading Weatherby to disown his son. Weatherby's evil henchman, Dick's cousin Pete (Tom Bay) kidnaps Nesta and it is up to Dick to not only rescue his lady love, but save the Wayne ranch and repair his relationship with his father.

FILM REVIEW:

I should note upfront that my viewing copy of Fighters of the Saddle is significantly shorter in length than is listed on the Internet Movie Database and the print itself is just passably watchable. This coming from an Alpha Video DVD which pairs up Fighters of the Saddle with another late period Art Acord feature The Arizona Kid (1929, Davis) under its reissue title Pursued. In a dose of good news that one so desperately needs in this day and age, a more pristine print of Fighters of the Saddle exists in the collection of the Library of Congress.

As it stands, Fighters of the Saddle is an average late period silent western produced by the notorious Robert J. Horner and featuring involvement from Horace B. Carpenter and Ralph M. Like. There is nothing exceptional about the film, but it must be said that Art Acord emotes quite well. There is much sadness behind his eyes as he is dressed down by John Lowell's vicious and aptly named "Bulldog" Weatherby. The fights aren't exceptional but not terrible either. What may annoy some viewers is the ongoing antics of the younger Waynes as portrayed by Lynn Sanderson and Betty Carter. A recurring bit of business in the film shows Sanderson breaking out into song which elicits scolding from Peggy Montgomery, an actress not to be confused with "Baby Peggy" Montgomery. 

Of the two surviving Horner directed Art Acord westerns, The White Outlaw (1929, Davis), is the superior film and one I will likely review in depth here someday. As for Fighters of the Saddle, it is an okay film, nothing special, however I do like the interplay between Acord and Lowell. Acord, having seen better days at Universal, is on his way down in terms of popularity here. Acord's alcoholism likely contributed to his ultimate downfall. Acord, who was a steer wrestling champion and famed bucking bronco rider, looks beaten and weathered in Fighters of the Saddle, but he does display a certain level of charm which makes him likeable enough. It is unfortunate that most of Acord's earlier pictures no longer survive as these later pictures are undoubtedly unrepresentative of his abilities and body of work.

However, given all of this, I am fortunate that films like The White Outlaw, Fighters of the Saddle and The Arizona Kid survive and are available to view at all. Otherwise, Acord's legacy would be completely erased from the history books.  My gripes about the picture quality of the print aside, I commend Alpha Video for releasing this rarity from the later career of Art Acord and hope more of his films surface someday.

Until next time, pardners!

Shootin' Square (1924)

Starring: Jack Perrin

Director: Robert J. Horner

Studio: Anchor Film Distributors

PLOT SUMMARY:

While out hunting, Dan Dawson (Jack Perrin) sees pretty Ruth Mason (Peggy O'Day) take a tumble down the hill and promptly rescues the damsel and returns her to the arms of her loving father (Horace B. Carpenter). Jealous ranch foreman Frank Macy (Bud Osborne) challenges Dawson to ride atop a bucking bronco and stay on the wild horse for five jumps. Dawson accepts and excels. This leads Dad Mason to fire the scoundrel and sends him packing. Months pass and Dawson and Ruth fall in love and arrange to be married. Unbeknownst to them Macy, now a wanted man, disguises himself as a phony parson and rides out to the ranch to wed the loving couple. Upon discovering Macy's ruse, Dawson and Macy fight it out and Macy is brought to justice.

FILM REVIEW:

In an article I wrote and published to Cinema Crazed (Click Here), I noted that the silent films of the notorious Robert J. Horner are well worth viewing and are markedly better than his later sound output. I still agree with most of what I originally said in that article however, Shootin' Square is a woefully misguided western from a modern sensibility.

The sequence at the ranch where it is discovered that the reverend Perrin has sent for is a black man and thus is judged to be unfit for the job of marrying Perrin and O'Day, makes for uncomfortable viewing in 2026. The many uncomfortable looks the players give each other when Reverend Snow, portrayed by Martin Turner, appears makes this sequence that more cringeworthy. Not helping matters is moments later when Perrin states to his lady love, "I didn't know he was black." The film was more or less enjoyable and one of the better silents I've seen in quite some time but this awkward sequence quickly averted those opinions. While it is sadly, a realistic depiction of what would have happened in the deep south at this time, Shootin' Square is a film aimed at the children's market and one should proceed with caution in these more enlightened times before allowing children to see this blatant racism on display. 

As I said before, aside from the atrocious racism, Shootin' Square is one of the better produced silent westerns I've seen from this time period. Horner is generally not remembered for producing quality work, but I still say his silent films are actually well made and can stand up to any of the low-budget westerns produced during this time. There are some great stunts performed by Perrin and some genuinely great fight scenes and Bud Osborne looks to be having the time of his life portraying the villain of the piece. It's quite a shame this film had to incorporate racism in an otherwise fun movie.

The print I viewed was missing its production information and the particular copy I have is a low-resolution, heavily pixilated one. However, the print was watchable and solid otherwise. 

As stated, if not for the racism, I would have recommended Shootin' Square, but it muddies the waters something fierce. 

Until next time, pardners!

Ridin' Wild (1925)

Starring: Kit Carson (William Barrymore)

Director: Leon De La Mothe

Studio: Aywon Film Corporation

PLOT SUMMARY:

Jim Warren (Kit Carson) is onboard a train, headed to Tucson, Arizona to escape a dreadful plague which has swept the nation. Meanwhile, Scar-Face Jordon (Jack Richardson), a cattle rustler posing as a cattle buyer, sends his henchmen led by Red Hanson (C.L. James), to make camp while Jordon rescues count sheriff's daughter Betty Blake (Pauline Corley) and her kitten from a tree, all the while getting an eyeful of Blake's shapely leg. 

Betty's father Sheriff Frank Blake (W.R. Maly), who also operates the Circle X Ranch,  receives warning about Jordon and his gang. Warren finally arrives in Tucson and is promptly thrown out of a hotel as "invalids are not welcome." Betty sees Jordon rough-up Warren and goes to comfort the sickly, young man. She tells Warren to go live alone in the hills. At sundown, Warren stumbles along Wild Cat Gulch and discovers Jordon's men camped out. Warren approaches the no-good ruffians and pleads with them to let him spend the night by their campfire. Jordon returns to the campsite, abuses Warren some more and orders his men to keep close watch of him. 

Later that week,  Betty heads out with the stage to deliver gold bullion, while Jordon and his gang prepare Warren for his first holdup. Unbeknownst to them, the sheriff is headed to follow his daughter on the journey, to see no harm becomes of her. In order to save the shipment, the coach driver kicks one of the horses to start the stage moving. An angry Jordon and his gang gallop after it, with Warren in tow. Betty is afraid for her life in the speeding, runaway stage as Warren pursues her and saves the day. The sheriff sees this and promptly deputizes Warren to carryout the delivery and also provides him with a job and lodging on his ranch.

After visiting a local doctor, Warren, now cured of his bronchitis, returns to the loving embrace of Betty. Unfortunately for them, Jordon shows up and spies on them. Betty convinces Warren to enter a local rodeo contest. Jordon pulls Betty aside and attempts to assault her until Warren stops him and the two fight it out. Warren knocks the tar out of Jordon and Jordon seeks vengeance!

It's the day of the rodeo and as Warren prepares for the contest, Jordon and his men conspire to falsely arrest Warren and beat him to a pulp. One of Jordon's henchmen "arrests" Warren and leads him out of town, to be captured by Jordon. Meanwhile, Betty and her father anxiously await to see Warren enter the contest. Warren escapes his captors and races back to the contest. 

Meanwhile, Sheriff Waddell, from neighboring Canyon County, arrives to watch the rodeo. Waddell sees Jordon return to town and captures the marauder and his posse, while Warren wins the contest and marries Betty.

FILM REVIEW: 

Ridin' Wild was a surprisingly average silent western, released through impoverished Aywon films. I say "Surprisingly" given the producer and writer for this film was the notorious, bottom-of-the-barrel producer Robert J. Horner. Horner was the lowest of the low when it came to producing "B" westerns, his films were usually produced on the cheap (very cheap!) and usually weren't much good. Horner's films were marred by weak scripts, actors and editing and there are certainly hints of all three in Ridin' Wild. There are decent to middling performances, odd editing choices and misspelled intertitles. To contemporary audiences, it is best to compare Horner to prolific schlockmeister Ed Wood, however it is an unfair comparison to make as Wood, at least, had some artistic aspirations whereas the legless Robert J. Horner had none. The film was actually somewhat competently made and featured some decent performances, especially from hero Jim Warren portrayed by a man billed as famous frontiersman Kit Carson.

Carson was, in reality, Elia Bulakh, a Russian born actor who also went by the name of William Barrymore though he held no relation to the famous Barrymore acting dynasty. Bulakh was a Cossack soldier, who  escaped execution by using the lid of a can of beef to slit the throat of his executioner. He eventually found his way to the United States He acted in many silent and sound productions, perhaps his most infamous being Victor Adamson's serial-turned-feature The Rawhide Terror, in which he portrays the title role Bulakh, also known as Boris Bullock, passed away in 1973.

Horner was as tragic as he was sleazy. He was nearly killed at the age of six while he and his brother played on a train track. Horner made it safely across the track as an oncoming train sped towards his direction, but not before the vessel took his legs with it. From there, Horner was placed in a home for crippled children where he was abused so terribly, he lost his legs to the point where he had mere stumps. Horner was a conman of the highest rank, he would take out classified advertisements in trade papers promising young actors and actresses the opportunity to become movie stars if they would help fund the production of his movies. Horner would then steal their money and flee town. He also, allegedly, propositioned his female stars. Horner would die from cirrhosis in 1942 and left behind a legacy of films which range from mediocre to piss-poor. Ridin' Wild is in the former camp.

This film received a high definition cleanup by the Library of Congress and the resulting copy I viewed was immaculate and shows how good these films could look if treated properly. Even though this isn't a landmark film by any stretch of the imagination, it still deserved the beautiful treatment it received from the LOC and I applaud them for doing so given no big names are attached to the film.

This film is so obscure, I couldn't locate an original poster or lobby card for it, so you'll have to settle for the film's title card.

Until next time, pardners.