Randy Rides Alone (1934)

Absolutely brilliant

A Disappointing Continuation

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

. . . during the first twelve months of a self-appointed American Taliban censoring EVERY line of dialog and image BEFORE normal people could watch (all under the Thumb of the most extensive ring of THOUSANDS of child sex predators that has ever stalked U.S. Innocents!), more than half of many movies are left out, including much of RANDY RIDES ALONE. Only the most Gifted Reconstructionists are able to exercise their intellect and fill in the gaps at this late date, so here goes: "Sally Rogers" is the Madame of "The Half Way House," a bordello MORE isolated than Nevada's infamous Mustang Ranch, where so many of Today's NBA players hang out. Since FDR's banking laws did not cater to the Criminal Class as do Today's, Ms. Rogers must keep her $30,000 cash profits (about one and a half Trumps, adjusted for inflation) made off her working girls on the Half Way House premises. When rival crime-lord "Marvin Black" rubs out Sally's bouncer and several of her regular johns, she turns to John Wayne to save the local Hen House. However, Wayne wants Sally all for himself, so he arranges to have Marvin blown up with the Half Way House.

Watching this film today I got the feeling this thing was missing about 10 to 15 minutes or so from the beginning of the story. John Wayne rides up on this trading post/saloon out in the middle of nowhere to meet with the owner about some robberies. All he sees is the signs of a massacre, some dead bodies, signs of a fight and no one alive in sight. That's because the owner's daughter is hidden in a secret room, the kind you find in old English murder mysteries.The reason you find those hidden rooms in those kind of stories is that they were formerly priestholes. Catholic families clinging to the old faith in 16th century England built these things to hide those on the run from royal authorities because of their faith. Not something you see in westerns, but a good gimmick.Unfortunately because of bad editing or writing or both we never know exactly what brought Wayne to this place exactly. But this was a B western and not even a good one at that.Gabby Hayes is in this and he's clean shaven and playing a mute part of the time. An unusual circumstance for the garrulous Gabby.If you want to bother and find out what happens and see a whiskerless Gabby Hayes then see this film.

Another Wayne/Canutt/Hayes Lone Star entry, mostly enjoyable with the usual few tedious scenes thrown in. How any 52 minute movie can have tedious stretches is down to the love interest and various characters having to walk from one location to another. Riding is much more exciting after all!It has a good start, with Wayne entering a saloon only to be greeted with a blood-bath, or was it just a good night previous? Chin-bald Hayes plays 2 characters, one the top baddie and the other a good-guy mute who has to write his words down on scraps of paper - more tedium. The key moment in RRA is after the heroine has said no to him as the good guy he starts to scribble an answer down to try to change her mind. Then he and the scriptwriter realise it won't do any good with only 5 minutes left so he petulantly blurts out "I'm fed up with this" and becomes his True Evil Self to her.Some nice outdoor photography, nice print, nice scenes of the skinny Duke ambling around Alone before he's suddenly smitten with love. He improved his fight techniques in the coming years!

This is a very good western. I have enjoyed all the early John Wayne adventures that I've seen.You have some twists with this show. One being Earl Dwire as a sheriff not a crook. The worst part of the show is that they tip you off to who's the bad guy early on, which destroys that part of the mystery. Oh, and Yakima Canutt's shirt looks like something that Roy Rogers passed on. Other than these complaints, it's a well made Saturday-Afternoon- at-the-movies type western.