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4.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 4.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Ridin' Thru remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for 1930s B-westerns where the plot is thinner than a piece of paper, you might find something here. But if you’re looking for high stakes or complex writing, skip it. This is strictly for people who want to watch a guy in a big hat ride a horse for fifty minutes while nothing much happens.
The whole rustling angle? It’s pretty standard stuff. We’ve seen it a thousand times before. It’s got that same vibe as From Broadway to Cheyenne, only with less energy.
Starlight gets more screen time than some of the humans. Honestly, I didn't mind. The horse had more personality than the villains, who mostly just stand around in the desert looking grumpy.
There’s this one sequence where Tom finds a secret entrance to a canyon. It feels like it takes about ten years to walk through. You can tell the budget was basically zero because the 'secret cave' looks like a pile of rocks they found in the back of the studio lot. It’s charming in a 'we didn't have any money' kind of way, I guess.
The twist about the wild horse being involved in the rustling is kind of wild. Or it would be, if the movie actually explained how it worked. Instead, it just happens. They don't dwell on the logistics. They just keep riding.
It reminds me a bit of the pacing in The Crook Buster, where things move along because they have to, not because the story is actually going anywhere. It’s just momentum, not plot.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even really a 'good' movie by today’s standards. But sometimes, on a rainy afternoon, watching a guy like Tyler ride through the dust is all you really need. 🐎
Just don't expect it to change your life. It’s just a movie. A dusty, simple, quiet little movie.