Bob Steele rides again in 'Come and Get It!' (1929) - Review

If you are looking for a masterpiece, keep moving. But if you have a soft spot for grainy black-and-white hills and guys in oversized pants, this is actually worth a look today.

Cowboy purists will probably get a kick out of seeing such an early version of the genre. People who need 4K resolution and fast editing will absolutely hate it.

It feels like a movie made by people who were just happy to be outside. There is a lot of dust.

Bob Steele is the main draw here. He looks like he’s about fifteen years old, but he handles a horse better than anyone I know.

There’s this one stunt where he slides off the horse while it’s moving that made me rewind. It looks genuinely dangerous in a way modern movies never do.

The plot is something about a ranch and a father played by William Welsh. To be honest, I stopped following the exact legal details of the ranch dispute about ten minutes in.

It’s one of those stories where you know exactly who the bad guy is because he has a slightly more suspicious mustache than everyone else. James Quinn plays the heavy, and he’s doing a lot of work with his eyebrows.

The pacing is a bit weird. Some scenes linger on people just walking into rooms for what feels like an eternity.

I noticed a dog in the background of one shot that looked more confused by the filming than I was. It just stood there staring at the camera while the actors did their thing.

Marin Sais shows up too, and she has this very specific way of looking worried that feels very 1920s. It’s all in the eyes.

Is it better than Pie-Eyed? Yeah, probably, because at least there’s some movement here.

I found myself thinking about Salty Saunders while watching this, mostly because the scenery looks identical. I’m pretty sure they used the same three hills for every movie back then.

The titles cards are okay, though some of the dialogue they wrote down is pretty cheesy. "You'll pay for this!" or something to that effect.

There is a scene in a cabin that is so dark you can barely tell who is punching who. It’s just a mess of grey limbs and hats flying around.

I kind of liked the chaos of it. It feels honest in its low-budget clunkiness.

The movie is called Come and Get It! but I don't recall anyone actually eating anything. A bit of a missed opportunity for a chuckwagon scene.

It’s definitely a better experience than sitting through The Reed Case, which always felt a bit too stiff for me. This at least has some energy in the chase scenes.

Don't expect any deep themes about the human condition. It’s just a kid, a horse, and some bad guys who need a lesson.

The ending comes up pretty fast. One minute they are fighting, the next minute everyone is shaking hands and the credits are rolling.

I watched this on a rainy Tuesday and it fit the mood perfectly. It’s short, it’s punchy, and it doesn't try to be anything other than a Saturday matinee flick. 🐎

If you've seen other stuff from this era like Set Free, you'll know exactly what the visual quality is like. It's like looking at a memory that's starting to fade away.

Anyway, it’s a neat little relic. Just don't go in expecting Stagecoach.