Randy Rides Alone

"Randy Rides Alone" is one of the better entries in John Wayne's Lone Star westerns made in the early to mid 30s. And if you've ever wondered what George "Gabby" Hayes looked like without his whiskers, then this film is for you.

Wayne plays undercover investigator Randy Bowers who is sent to investigate a series of robberies committed by Marvin Black (Hayes) and his gang. He comes upon a half-way house which has apparently been robbed and everyone in it killed. But heroine Alberta Vaughn has escaped by hiding in a secret back room. Bowers meanwhile, is arrested for the carnage by the sheriff (Earl Dwire). Black masquerades as Marvin the Mute, the General Store owner, a respectable townsman. Bowers escapes jail and manages to infiltrate the gang and well, you probably can guess the rest.

John Wayne was in the midst of learning his craft in this series. This entry is better than most, particularly the "Singing Sandy" pictures. Hayes before he became "Gabby", played a variety of roles in the series. Sometimes he was the villain, other times the father of the heroine and sometimes a forerunner of the grizzled sidekick that we would soon come to know. Veteran stuntman Yakima Canutt also worked regularly in the series doubling just about everybody. He also played the parts of henchmen in several of them. In this one he's Hayes chief henchman "Spike".

Not a bad "B" western for its time.