Left Handed Law (1937) User Reviews

Another Fine Buck Jones B Western

[boblipton · 7/10 · 13 February 2023]

Buck Jones is an agent for Wells Fargo who doesn't want to take on another case at the moment. He's just come off one, is tired, and has just met Noel Francis. When it turns out the town she comes from has a problem with outlaws robbing everything in sight, he changes his mind.

It's another prime B Western for Jones, with intelligent writing and a good deal of humor. His character is smart, close-mouthed, and ruthless. One moment he's dancing with a girl. The next, he's just shot the knife out of the hand of an assassin. Buck plays it absolutely straight, which makes it all the funnier. In addition, Miss Francis' part is well written, as is Lee Phelps as the sheriff. Even Matty Fain as the villain of the whole piece gets good lines and makes something of them under the direction of Lesly Selander.

The modern West

[JohnSeal · 4/10 · 11 July 2017]

I'm not much of a fan of westerns of the non-spaghetti variety, but when this very rare Universal second feature popped up on television a few months ago I couldn't ignore it - especially as there were no IMDb reviews. So here I go, galloping into uncharted and generally unfriendly territory.

Buck Jones was, I gather, a minor star of the oater genre, and this is indeed billed as 'A Buck Jones Production'. Though the film has a western setting, it is not the 'old' West, but the West of the 1930s, where women wear contemporary fashions and the sheriff works in a modern office. Buck plays the absurdly monickered 'Alamo Bowie', a Wells Fargo employee assigned to bust a New Mexico cattle rustling ring. He doesn't want the assignment but changes his mind when he discovers he'll get to spend time near vaguely attractive Betty Golden (Noel Francis).

There is little if anything in this film to set it apart from a thousand other b-westerns. Disinterestedly directed by Lesley Selander, the film has been well preserved and looks terrific. If you're a Buck Jones fan, you'll want to watch for it on Encore Westerns. If you're not...well, I just saved you from wasting 62 minutes of your life.