Since the print I saw at YouTube is so bad, choppy and often dark, with a lot of short pieces missing, I have to do a lot of juxtaposing, but I liked "Law of the Rio Grande."
Betty Mack, whom I've seen only twice I can remember, is really adorable, a spunky and good-looking leading lady who deserved more fame.
This was the first time I've seen Bob Custer, who had a bit of a starring streak because he was a good cowboy, having been a rodeo performer and thus looking the part.
Reportedly, though, he had serious trouble speaking his lines, and major stardom eluded him. (Very sad to say, he became a government employee after leaving films, but at least he was an engineer, not so loathsome a government employee as other positions, such as tax collector or regulator of some kind.)
This early talkie western showed the desperate need for a Yakima Canutt to invent better fight scenes. Custer and Edmund Cobb were capable of good fight scenes, apparently, but the technique had not yet been evolved.
But the script generally and the story were good enough, and all the players believable enough to make this a very watchable and enjoyable western, if only the print were better.
This is another gift of Westerns on the Web, and maybe some day there will be a better print available. I hope you get to see a better version, but in the meantime, watch this one with a very open mind and heart. If only for Betty Mack.
And for the chance to complete your own study of the history of B Westerns. It's definitely worth the time and effort.
Betty Mack, whom I've seen only twice I can remember, is really adorable, a spunky and good-looking leading lady who deserved more fame.
This was the first time I've seen Bob Custer, who had a bit of a starring streak because he was a good cowboy, having been a rodeo performer and thus looking the part.
Reportedly, though, he had serious trouble speaking his lines, and major stardom eluded him. (Very sad to say, he became a government employee after leaving films, but at least he was an engineer, not so loathsome a government employee as other positions, such as tax collector or regulator of some kind.)
This early talkie western showed the desperate need for a Yakima Canutt to invent better fight scenes. Custer and Edmund Cobb were capable of good fight scenes, apparently, but the technique had not yet been evolved.
But the script generally and the story were good enough, and all the players believable enough to make this a very watchable and enjoyable western, if only the print were better.
This is another gift of Westerns on the Web, and maybe some day there will be a better print available. I hope you get to see a better version, but in the meantime, watch this one with a very open mind and heart. If only for Betty Mack.
And for the chance to complete your own study of the history of B Westerns. It's definitely worth the time and effort.