Ride Him, Cowboy (1932)

John Drury saves Duke, a wild horse accused of murder, and trains him. When he discovers that the real murderer, a badguy known as The Hawk, is the town's leading citizen, Drury arrested on... See full summary »

Director:

Fred Allen

Writers:

Kenneth Perkins (by), Scott Mason (adaptation)

Stars:

John Wayne, Duke, Ruth Hall

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne	...	John Drury
Duke	...	Duke - His Horse
Ruth Hall	...	Ruth Gaunt
Henry B. Walthall	...	John Gaunt
Otis Harlan	...	Judge Jones
Harry Gribbon	...	Deputy Sheriff Clout
Frank Hagney	...	The Hawk

Storyline

John Drury saves Duke, a wild horse accused of murder, and trains him. When he discovers that the real murderer, a badguy known as The Hawk, is the town's leading citizen, Drury arrested on a fraudulent charge.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | horse | judge | harmonica | hanging judge | 

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Taglines:

YIPEE! Here Come The Ridin', Fightin' King of the Range! (1939 reissue poster)

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Genres:

Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 August 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hawk

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the horse tries to untie the knot to free Drury the knot changes several times. He actually reties it once by mistake.

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Quotes

John Drury: Where I come from we don't shoot horses when they get ornery; we tame 'em.

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Connections

Spoofed in Ride Him, Bosko! (1932)

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Soundtracks

"She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played during the opening photo credits and at the end
Played on harmonica by John Wayne
Played by the band for dance music at the party

User Reviews

Introducing the Duke

This film was the first of a series of B westerns that John Wayne did for Warner Brothers and it was decided to give him a horse companion named Duke. Duke the horse was fine, the film left a lot to be desired.

A horse is the only witness to a robbery where another witness was beaten unconscious and lies in a coma. He went after the villain and the villain who is masked bandit known as the Hawk says the horse is a mankiller who attacked him for no good reason. Since by day the villain is a respectable town citizen everyone believes him, almost.

One of the almost is young cowpoke John Wayne who says he can tame the stallion and proceeds to do so. He even offers to track down the Hawk.

It starts to get a little ridiculous here especially in the way that the villain gets the drop on Wayne. Of course in the tradition of Trigger, Champion, Topper, and Robert Taylor's horse Varick in Knights of the Round Table, Duke rescues his friend John Wayne. Doesn't that sound a little odd.

Otis Harlan has a very funny bit as the country judge before whom Wayne is tried when he's accused of being the Hawk. And the villain does get a poetic ending.

Still it's hardly one of John Wayne's best.