Empty Saddles (1936)

Finding a deserted cattle ranch, Buck buys it and turns it into a dude ranch. But Buck is quickly in trouble with sheep men who want the ranch and then with outlaws who kidnap the daughter of the wealthy Mr. Grant.

Director:

Lesley Selander

Writers:

Frances Guihan (screenplay), Cherry Wilson (story)

Stars:

Buck Jones, Louise Brooks, Harvey Clark

Cast

Cast overview:
Buck Jones	...	Buck Devlin
Louise Brooks	...	Boots Boone
Harvey Clark	...	Swaps Boone
Charles Middleton	...	Cimarron (Cim) White
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Lem Jessup, alias Jim Grant
Frank Campeau	...	Kit Kress
Earl Askam	...	Henchman Red Madden
Ben Corbett	...	Vegas, head drover
Niles Welch	...	Jasper Kade
Gertrude Astor	...	Eloise Hayes
Claire Rochelle	...	Madge Grant
Charles Le Moyne	...	Mace
W.E. Lawrence	...	Cull Cole (as Wm. Lawrence)
Silver	...	Buck's Horse

Storyline

Buck runs into trouble when he buys a deserted cattle ranch that he turns into a dude ranch. To put on a show for the dudes, he sends his men after a nearby sheep herd with blanks in their guns. They are met with real bullets and one man is wounded. Then he learns that Boots, who helped him start the ranch, has been kidnaped and he heads out after her.

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Plot Keywords:

ranch | sheep | cattle | kidnapping

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Taglines:

HIS FIST OUTFLASHED THE FASTEST GUN IN THE WEST! Blank Cartridges That Spit Death! They shot from the hip but Buck punched straight from the shoulder! He made them eat dust...and like it!

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Rancho das Feitiçarias

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buck Jones Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Welcome to the Empty Saddles Ranch"
(uncredited)

User Reviews

Louise Brooks

Only reason to watch this dreary grade-B Western is to see Louise Brooks, the difficult but fascinating star of the late silent period. Brooks was a rising starlet in silent films, landed a few starring roles (the excellent Beggars of Life) but was too difficult for Hollywood to bother with. Brooks made 2 silent films in Germany (not France as the other review states), and it's on these 2 films--Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl--that her reputation has rested. Her refusal to refilm parts of The Canary Murder Case as a talkie sealed her fate. She sporadically attempted to get back into Hollywood films, but she never made much headway. She was relegated to supporting parts and B films. Toward the end of the 30s, she was cast only in Westerns, so at age 32, she left films forever. Brooks is not very good in this film, but it's interesting to see this fabled star playing an unexotic character. She's still a beauty and has a fine voice. But like Frances Farmer and Clara Bow and a rafter of other stars who crossed the studio system, none of that mattered. Her book of essays--Lulu in Hollywood--is still a great read. Buck Jones and Gertrude Astor, who has a small part, had also been in silent films. But beyond Brooks, Empty Saddles is boring claptrap.