Die Wasserrechte von Lost Creek

Forget the lame opening of Singin' Sandy (Wayne) warbling a tune that sounds about as much like Wayne's singing voice as mine does. This is still a solid Lone Star programmer. There's not a lot of hard riding or fast shooting, but there is a strong story-line, along with that stellar cast of Lone Star regulars-- George Hayes (before Gabby), Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwire, and Forrest Taylor, excellent as the head bad guy.

I expect the plot really resonated with Dust Bowl audiences of the time. Bad guy Taylor wants to use water rights to buy up all the little farmers in the valley. The effects of water returning to the valley are quite well done for a programmer. Also the crowd scenes look like real farmers, while the 30 seconds of the plain-faced frontier woman appealing to the crowd should be studied by A-grade Westerns.

Wayne is quite engaging as the good guy, looking every inch the part. Also, look for Al (Fuzzy) St. John, sans whiskers, as one of the bad guys, no less. One complaint-- there are two really tumbling trip-wire scenes that send the poor horses head over hoofs. I hope they survived. That was one real problem with these 30's Westerns. Anyway, it's still an entertaining 60 minutes for fans of Wayne and Lone Star.

At the risk of sounding like a complete anorak, I have to confess to a deep affection for John Wayne's Lone Star westerns. Every one has a mighty fine title, usually nothing much to do with the story being told. They have that addictive quality that other people find in today's soap operas. In both types, the plots are familiar and preposterous, the characters are off-the-peg, the acting is poor, the heroines are pretty, and the leading man looks good (especially on a horse in J.W.'s case).

Of all J.W.'s Lone Star films, this one is my favourite. It has all the virtues listed above, maybe not as developed as in some of the later films, but there nevertheless. I particularly enjoy the way a character is introduced in the first reel, made to disappear for most of the film, and reintroduced at the end. The heroine is delightful in jodhpurs, and the bad guy simply looks dastardly in them. Then there are the pistols that seemingly are deadly at several hundred yards. And an important prop is what I take to be a genuine stagecoach.

But this film has notable extras: "interesting" singing, some truly exciting stunt work, and a remarkably lyrical climax that I don't think Robert N Banbury ever came close to emulating again. It's so good that you'd almost believe that Ingmar Bergman had seen this film and been inspired by it as he started on Virgin Spring.

Note to students of film: it's probably a bad idea to try that suggestion on your teacher!

An evil land baron is holding up water to a group of ranchers in order to try and take their properties for pennies on the dollar. Along comes Singin' Sandy Saunders (John Wayne), who saves the day for Gabby Hayes and his daughter by going undercover as the villain's newest gunman.

The first of sixteen films Wayne made for Lone Star/ Monogram Pictures, this tries to cast him as a singing cowboy, only with an obviously lip-synced voice. The title card prominently features his character as "Singin' Sandy" leading one to believe that this was meant to be the first in a proposed series!

Yes it's ridiculous, but also a lot of fun to see Wayne singing songs and shooting guns, especially when he does a little ditty before shooting it out with gunman Earl Dwire.

Riders Of Destiny features a rare villainous role for for Al "Fuzzy" St. John, who clowns around as much with the bad guys as he did playing a heroic sidekick, riding alongside Buster Crabbe and Lash LaRue.

This movie is surprisingly good. Director Robert North Bradbury, actor Bob Steele's father, did some of his best work here.

There is an attention to detail in this film that is missing from too many B Westerns.

The cast is top flight, with John Wayne, even this early, showing that personality that led him to become the single most popular movie star in the history of Hollywood. (Yes, even today there is no single star who has sold as many tickets.)

Al St. John, later known as "Fuzzy," plays a different kind of role, but still shows himself the champion scene stealer.

Cecilia Parker was a doll, cute, perky, with animated features that should have led her into more fame.

The stunt work shows the hand of that master, Yakima Canutt, who is also cast in a minor part.

All in all, this movie is about as much fun as any one film can be; it is more than worth watching: it is worth watching again.

"Riders of Destiny" was the first of several westerns Wayne made for the Lone Star arm of Monogram Pictures between 1933 and 1935. In this entry, the producers try to make the Duke into a singing cowboy called "Singin' Sandy Saunders with hilarious results. Any Wayne fan knows that the Duke couldn't have carried a tune if his life had depended on it. His voice was apparently dubbed by Smith Ballew whose deep baritone sounds nothing like Wayne. Wayne looks awkward and uncomfortable in "performing" the musical numbers. Thank heavens the singing cowboy experiment soon ended.

As for the movie itself, it contains a standard "B" western plot of the fight over water rights between the villain (Forrest Taylor) and the local ranchers. Duke, of course plays the hero. He had not yet developed his on screen character and still looked like a poverty row cowboy.

Also cast in the film were George (pre-Gabby) Hayes as the heroine's father, Cecilia Parker as the heroine and Yakima Canutt as "one of the boys" who performs his "falling from the racing horses under the wagon" stunt while doubling Wayne. Both Canutt and Hayes would go on to appear with Wayne in most of the other entries in the series. Canutt, in particular would have a profound effect on Wayne's future development teaching him, among other things, how to move, fight and look comfortable on a horse.

As "B" westerns go this one isn't too bad, however, I have to give it a failing grade because of the "singing".