Riders of the Rockies (1937) starring Tex Ritter, Louise Stanley, Horace Murphy, 'Snub' Pollard, Earl Dwire, Charles King, Yakima Canutt directed by Robert N. Bradbury Movie Review

Riders of the Rockies (1937)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Tex Ritter in Riders of the Rockies (1937)

Ritter of the Rockies

Rangers Tex (Tex Ritter) and his pals Doc (Horace Murphy) and Pee Wee ('Snub' Pollard) come to the rescue of a stagecoach in trouble but having saved the day lost their horses so end up bumming a lift to town. It is there that they join up with the rest of the Rangers who are trying to get to the bottom of some cattle rustling. Unfortunately when a herd of cattle go missing it is Doc and Pee Wee who find themselves accused of the rustling leading Tex to have to take desperate measures to save his pals.

"Riders of the Rockies" starts with a scene of Tex and his pals riding across country and Tex is singing a song called "Riders of the Rockies". Shortly after when they have reached town Tex sings again, this time "Home on the Range". There are more singing scenes to follow with a rather curious operatic scene which is a bit hard on the ears but it sort of tells you what sort of western this is.

Louise Stanley in Riders of the Rockies (1937)

But of you are unsure then let me also add that this 56 minutes western also as plenty of sped up action scenes, from a stage coach being chased to cattle stampeding. And then there is Doc and Pee Wee who are comedy sidekicks with the emphasis being on comedy rather than sidekicks. Plus just for good measure and frankly typical of this sort of 1930's western there is a pretty girl played by Louise Stanley. Basically "Riders of the Rockies" does nothing more than serve up some stereotypical elements from 1930s westerns and some of those elements are now extremely corny.

There is of course the small matter of a storyline but it is a small latter because not only is the innocent men accused of the crime familiar but it is only a vehicle for the humour, action and singing. Again I have to say its all extremely stereotypical but I suppose it entertained audiences back in 1937 even if it makes it incredibly weak when watched now.

What this all boils down to is that if you miss those singing cowboys from a bygone era then watch "Riders of the Rockies" as it might entertain due to Tex Ritter singing. But for those who watch because they see it is a western are likely to end up partly disappointed and party amused by the corniness.


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