Randy Rides Alone (1934) starring John Wayne, Alberta Vaughn, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwire directed by Harry L. Fraser Movie Review

Randy Rides Alone (1934)   3/53/53/53/53/5


John Wayne in Randy Rides Alone (1934)

Wayne Plays Randy

After entering what he thinks is a busy bar Randy Bowers (John Wayne - The Shootist) finds himself at the scene of a crime as the bar has been robbed and everyone killed, that is everyone except who is watching him behind the removed eyes in a portrait. When the sheriff arrives he suspects Randy of being part of a gang of outlaws and arrests him but fortunately for Randy the person behind the portrait is pretty Sally Rogers (Alberta Vaughn) who knowing that Randy is innocent helps him escape. After fleeing from the jail he stumbles into the lair of the outlaws and comes up with a plan to get the real guilty men arrested.

So if I told you that "Randy Rides Alone" was made at the start of the 1930's, lasts less than an hour and alongside John Wayne features Yakima Canutt and George 'Gabby' Hayes you might know what to expect. If not then "Randy Rides Alone" is another of those Lone Star Productions which were churned out during the early 1930's and seemed to feature the same cast in every movie with the exception of a different actress to play the love interest. And like so many of these early westerns "Randy Rides Alone" is another which after falling into the public domain is available to watch legally online.

Anyway aside from that "Randy Rides Alone" is very much your typical Lone Star movie with John Wayne as the hero who finds himself accused of a crime he didn't commit and then finding away to get the real criminals arrested. It throws up no surprises or nothing out of the ordinary with stock scenes, characters, action and of course the obligatory romantic subplot as the hero has to get the girl. But at just 53 minutes it doesn't last long and with stunt rider Yakima Canutt involved there are the obligatory entertaining scenes featuring his horse work.

What this all boils down to is like so many of these early westerns from Lone Star Productions the attraction to watch "Randy Rides Alone" is for those who are big John Wayne fans or for those on a mission to watch as many westerns as possible. It is just a short version of a western theme which would be used again much later in much longer movies.


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