The Feud Maker

"The Feud Maker" is an attention-holding B-western, first of all because it has the charismatic Bob Steele showing the way, and second because it has a good story, albeit one that is just complex enough to make one wonder at times if something was missed along the way. Be warned that there is so much galloping on horseback at full tilt that the viewer may feel exhausted by the end of the show. Part of what makes this film, and so many of the 1930s westerns, appealing was that so much of the outdoor scene action was actually shot outdoors, as testified by the shaking and swaying of the vegetation and the swirling and lifting of the dust as the characters scuffle or even just walk around. Director Sam Newfield was a very busy B-western director, and once again with this film he extracted a lot of subtle texture from the acting of his performers. "The Feud Maker" has a big cast with many speaking parts and with many scenes, including those shot indoors. There are several well set-up scenes wherein numerous characters are moving about in camera range while imparting many expressions. It is interesting to conjecture why and how the cast and crew of low-budget pictures like this were so often successful in putting out such satisfyingly good product. Whatever the reasons, this particular film is just one more example of a very competent and enjoyable resultant product, one that Bob Steele fans will most likely enjoy.

Lloyd Ingraham fetches Bob Steele back to his ranch. It seems the ranchers and nesters are at the point of war. Bob rides in and finds Karl Hackett playing both sides against each other. They know each other from old days and he makes Bob an offer, which Bob turns down...and barely escapes with his life. When he rides to his uncle's ranch, he finds the old man is dead, it's his ranch and they're about to go and string up nesters Frank Ball and his pretty daughter, Marion Weldon. When Bob stops them, they all quit, except for loyal old Budd Buster.

It's a well set up story, even if it's sometimes confusing to see the same actor turning up on the other side of the feud wearing different clothes; Republic sure knew how to save money. I also wonder about the horses. It's been a few decades since I rode, but everyone on horseback gallops everywhere in this movie, stops dead, and leaves the horse just standing about, occasionally next to a watering trough, which the beast calmly ignores. I never saw a horse behave that way. It's more likely to drop down dead.

Still, it's a good story, briskly told and satisfactory for a B western, if no great shakes.

During the last couple years, I've watched a few hundred B-westerns. Of the many stars of the 1930s and 40s, one of several that have stood out to me is Bob Steele. He is as different as possible from the likes of Roy Rogers. Steele is short, doesn't sing and isn't so gosh-darned handsome. Instead, he rides well, fights well and seems a little more real than many of the cowboy stars--and this is why I often find his films appealing. As for the plot of "The Feud Maker" it is awfully familiar at times but because Steele does a nice job in the lead, I can strongly recommend it.

Uncle Hank visits Tex Ryan out of the blue. This is because a range war is brewing and Hank wants his nephew to help him fight off the evil settlers. At first, he refuses to help but soon changes his mind. When he arrives, however, his uncle is dead--apparently killed by the settlers. However, soon Tex realizes that there's MUCH more to the story than others realize. That's because one of the settlers, Mr. Lassiter, is a crook--and Tex recognizes him. Lassiter admits that this war is being orchestrated by him, as his plan is to let the settlers and ranchers kill each other off and then swoop in to steal the land--a common baddie tactic in westerns. However, Tex has long since forsaken his wicked past--and vows to stop Lassiter. But, since Lassiter promises to divulge Tex's past, he can't just tell everyone that Lassiter is evil--especially since the settlers trust him implicitly. What's Tex to do? As I mentioned above, the plot is fairly standard in several ways. But it all comes together very well and Steele has one of his best performances--making the film surprisingly good for a low-budget B. Worth your time.

Bob Steele hooks up with his uncle, Hank Younger (Lloyd Ingraham) who needs him to help in a pending cattlemen and homesteaders range war. Karl Hackett is the villain Steele used to ride with whilst everyone thinks he is a respectable businessman. Frank Ball and his daughter played by Marion Weldon are even gunning for Steele. Budd Buster is indispensable as the foreman of what's left of Hank's ranch. The story is very intriguing with the chess match between Hackett and Steele. Also, Steele has calmness about him that is a great contrast with all the chaos around him.

When Tex Ryan goes over to his uncle's ranch to help him out, he finds out his Uncle has died because of the feud between the ranchers and the cowboy folk. Ryan refuses to take sides (sort of) and somewhat gets the two to realize that a former compadre of his is behind this so called war. Even though Bob Steele is remarkably good looking (and has plenty of hair goo), his acting here is sub par, which ranges just about remotely interested, which is surprising, as Mr Steele certainly knew how to act if he wanted to, but the material here is tired and somewhat confusing and therefore the film suffers a bit. But great brutal fist fight in the end though.