The Range Feud

Competent little "B" oater with Buck Jones as the heroic sheriff and John Wayne as his friend falsely accused of murder. When you see Harry Wood's name in the cast, it doesn't take long to figure out who is behind all the rustling and killing.

This was one of the Duke's first westerns following "The Big Trail"(1930). It was the beginning of a long apprenticeship in the "B" western field. His parts became increasingly smaller in the balance of his work for Columbia due to a conflict with the legendary Harry Cohn, Head of the studio.

On the video release issued by Columbia/Tri-Star Home Video notice the title card at the beginning. It gives the title as Range Fued. How did that one ever get by the quality control people?

An American Western; A story about the conflict between two rival families who dispute over land rights, and a seemingly innocent man framed for the murder of one of the heads of the rival families, but his family background provides intrigue. This B-movie production is competently written on a topic of false-accusation and injustice, but it is thinly plotted. Fistfights and horse chase action sequences moderately entertain, but the romance proves insubstantial. The performances are above par with Buck Jones playing the sheriff with commanding presence and John Wayne gives good support as the young buck.

Buck Jones sets the stage from the get go with, "I represent the law of man. The law of God is the law of man, but that law has been abused" He has no less than John Wayne in his sights. And the Duke has gorgeous 'Million Dollar Legs' Ziegfeld Girl, Susan Fleming in his sights. But the big show is between Dad Turner, played by Will Walling and the stately Edward LeSaint in the cattle rustling war. Now the 'all time meanest villain' Harry Woods may have a hand in this, go figure. Buck Jones and John Wayne play great together in this early western that can't be missed.

The Range Feud (1931)

** (out of 4)

Standard "B" Western has Buck Jones playing Sheriff Buck Gordon who finds himself in the middle of rival families battling over land. Soon Clint Turner (John Wayne) is accused of killing the father of the rival family and Buck must race to try and clear his name.

THE RANGE Feud really isn't any different than countless of other Westerns that were made during this era. Heck, even by 1931 standards the film is pretty old-fashioned and using clichéd tricks that went out of style in the silent era. With that said, the film will contain a little interest thanks in large part to Wayne having a small role. While the film is mildly entertaining in its own way, can you really say people would be watching it today if it wasn't for Wayne?

The biggest problem is the fact that this is pretty much like any other cheap Western. The filmmaking is "good" enough to get a decent looking film on the screen. The story is your typical Romero and Juliet type of story dealing with a rivalry and murder. Jones makes for a good lead and I thought Wayne was pretty good in his small role. What else can really be said? If you're a fan of these types of films then it's worth watching.

I love John Wayne's B-movies more than his later work, so this film was just another check-off on the list of movies I'd put on in the background while I'm editing. However, this movie has a more gripping story than many other of the films I've seen, so at the least give this film a chance.