Bandoleiro da Noite

The Night Rider (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Jim Blake (Harry Carey) arrives in a small town where he meets and teams up with Altoonie (George 'Gabby' Hayes) and Manuel (Julian Rivero). The three take a job working for a woman (Elinor Fair) who soon finds herself being terrorized by The Night Rider, a man dressed in black who has been robbing various ranches.

THE NIGHT RIDER is a "B" Western that manages to be more entertaining than most in the genre thanks in large part to the three lead actors as well as a decent story or at least a good villain to help keep the film moving at a nice pace. At less than a hour you certainly shouldn't expect a major plot or any deep character development but the film is entertaining, which is the most important thing.

Carey, Hayes and Rivero actually work extremely well together and there's no doubt that their chemistry helps keep things moving. They all work well off of one another and especially during their meeting scene. The look of the bad guy will remind a lot of people of Zorro but I thought it was good. There are quite a few rather violent deaths via gunshots. Obviously nothing too graphic for today's standards but the scenes are a bit much for 1932 standards.

THE NIGHT RIDER isn't going to win any major awards but if you like the genre then you should find it entertaining.