Empty Saddles (1936)

Director:

Lesley Selander

Writers:

Frances Guihan (screenplay)
Cherry Wilson (story)

Release Date:

20 December 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

GHOSTS, GUN-TOTERS, GORILLAS...He Took Them All In His Stride!

Plot:

Finding a deserted cattle ranch, Buck buys it and turns it into a dude ranch. But Buck is quickly in trouble with sheep men who want the ranch and then with outlaws who kidnap the daughter of the wealthy Mr. Grant.

Plot Keywords:

Ranch | Sheep | Cattle | Kidnapping

Cast

Buck Jones	...	Buck Devlin
Louise Brooks	...	'Boots' Boone
Harvey Clark	...	'Swaps' Boone
Charles Middleton	...	Cimarron (Cim) White
Frank Campeau	...	Kit Kress
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Lem Jessup, alias Jim Grant
Earl Askam	...	Henchman Red Madden
Ben Corbett	...	Vegas, head drover
Niles Welch	...	Jasper Kade
Gertrude Astor	...	Eloise Hayes
Claire Rochelle	...	Madge Grant
Charles Le Moyne	...	Mace
W.E. Lawrence	...	Cull Cole (as Wm. Lawrence)
Silver	...	Silver, Buck's Horse

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Buck Jones Productions

Topnotch B Western

This enormously entertaining B western, combines sentimentality, mysticism, humor and interesting casting and acting as Buck buys a haunted ranch and turns it into a Dude ranch.

The strong story is supported by a liable cast, including silent comedian Gertrude Astor in a funny turn as a society lady who thinks the entire scene too too romantic, and a surprisingly strong Louise Brooks in a near-the-end role and some excellent musical backing.

Although her appearance in two late French silent movies made Miss Brooks an interesting star and her memoirs of the Hollywood scene made her important, in truth she rarely gave strong, animated performances. Although the camera loved her, she sleep-walked through most of her roles and was miscast in others. Her blank affect in most silent movies made it impossible for the audience to gain anything from her performances. Indeed, it was this blankness that the Europeans used to produce characters ruled by chaotic circumstances in a crazed world. However, in most of her movies, when called upon to act, she did not. This movie, surprisingly, is different. However, it was too late to save her career.

But here, everyone works. This what a Saturday afternoon oater should be and all too rarely was.