The Roaring West (1935) User Reviews

15 Blazing Chapters of Wild West Action!

[bsmith5552 · 6/10 · 1 September 2019]

"The Roaring West" was another of those Saturday afternoon serials that were popular with the youngsters of the day. This one stars Buck Jones as Montana Larkin who is foreman at the Parker ranch.

Jones gets involved with a myriad of cliffhangers including: going over a cliff during the land rush sequence, getting caught in a burst dam flood while captive in a jail, getting dragged by a horse, getting caught in the middle of a stampede, going over a waterfall, being trapped in a burning building, gwetting caught in a log jam and the list goes on. Needless to say our hero managed to escape each peril and even save the heroine from fates worse than death.

The story revolves around a tract of land upon which is a secret gold mine. Montana's pard Jinglebob Morgan (Frank McGlynn Jr.) has a map showing the location of the mine. Bad guy Gil Gillespie (Walter Miller) and his gang which includes the likes of Charlie King, Tom London and Slim Whitaker also have designs on the free for the taking property. Gillespie manages to steal the map and lays claim to the property. But....the map was wrong. Jinglebob's brother Clem (Harlan Knight) arrives on the scene with a map showing the correct location of the mine.

The action goes back and forth as Gillespie tries to learn the location of the prized plot by kidnapping Clem a couple of times with Montana foiling him at every turn. Meanwhile, Montana is being pursued by the comely Mary Parker (Muriel Evans) the daughter of rancher Jim Parker (William Desmond). After several exchanges and "hard ridin' " Montana and company find the mine. Gillespie and his cohorts make one final attempt to wrest control of the mine and...................................................................................................

Jones again plays the "aw shucks" cowboy who admittedly has little experience with girls. Walter Miller again plays the villain. He was one of the most popular bad guys of the 1930s. Muriel Evans makes a fetching heroine. And it was nice to see veteran bad guys King, London and whitaker as members of Miller's gang. Tiny Skelton who plays the sissy voiced Happy has to be seen to be believed. An actor named Pat O'Brien (Not him) plays a ranch hand Steve.

Sharp eyed viewers will notice Jones wearing his gun on his left side during several of the "hard ridin" sequences.

On of the better serials of the period with plenty of action to go around.

Roaring Buckaroo

[hines-2000 · 10/10 · 11 May 2021]

Buck Jones is Montana Larkin with his trusted sidekick Jinglebob (Frank McGlynn Jr.) are superb in this 15 episode series. Gil Gillespie (Walter Miller) is the best at claim jumping with the creme of the crop henchmen Charlie King, Tom London and Slim Whitaker. In these situations, Buck needs to team up with the 'King of the Silent Serials' William Desmond and great western leading lady Muriel Evans. Jinglebob and his brother Clem (Harlan Knight) have a hard time securing the location of the gold-rich land which makes for some interesting battles with the villains. Montana is locking horns with Gillepsie's rustling, robbery and claim-jumping throughout the series whilst keeping the flame alive with gorgeous Muriel Evans. Other notable parts are from Italian actress Eole Galli, the high pitched Tiny Skelton and minstrel and vaudevillian George Ovey. Of course Buck's faithful horse Silver has some screen stealing moments of his own.

A wonderful Western; very worthwhile

[shakspryn · 10/10 · 20 April 2021]

This 1935 Western serial starring Buck Jones is so good, it makes most other serials of the 1930's look weak and puny by comparison!

For one thing, just judged as a Western, this is an outstanding movie. There is a big cast, and in every episode, many of them are galloping hell for leather on horseback! Buck Jones rides his longtime favorite horse, Silver, and there are beautiful scenes of them racing along. There are good sets and lots of action. One thing I liked: there are fistfights, but they don't take up too much time and they don't feel repetitive. There is a freshness and an originality about this serial, which are very refreshing.

I have seen a lot of movies of the 1930's, but until I watched this one, in a very nice recent dvd from VCI, I had not previously seen any of these actors or actresses, which surprised me. Buck Jones's sidekick, "Jinglebob," is very entertaining. If you like Westerns, you owe it to yourself to see this one. It's a jewel.