The Lone Rider

"The Lone Rider" (1930) is a really good early Buck Jones Western. It co-stars a very spunky Vera Reynolds (who I just watched two weeks ago in 1926's "Sunny Side Up", a silent), a great bad guy, Harry Woods, and has Tom Bay, George C. Pearce, and many other "B" Western regulars following up the others. This one is rather unusual in that Jones begins as a member of a gang of stage coach robbers, bank robbers, and thieves in general - bad guys for sure. But trying to pull off a robbery by himself because he's had it with the rest of the gang, instead he goes after a loose stagecoach and finds Reynolds in it who changes him. Now, I know how impossible that sounds: you watch and see if you don't appreciate it as much as I did! In fact, though the implausibility of plot is on hand through much of this, every one of the actors and actresses puts in a genuinely fine performance and pulls off making the viewer appreciate every minute that goes on. The direction is sure. The horse-riding - a must for these "B" Westerns - is superb all around: in fact, a couple of the stunts with horses are quite spectacular. All in all, a Jones Western worth the seeking out. It's 57 minutes of great fun. Although the kids will enjoy this, this is a Western made for kids of all ages, and plays to the adult equally as well.