Romance Rides the Range: A B-Western That Could Use Less Whining

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for 1930s B-Westerns, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. It’s light, it’s quick, and it’s deeply predictable. If you have low tolerance for singing cowboys or characters who exist solely to whine, you’re probably going to hate it. This isn't exactly The Land of Hope, but it gets the job done.

Barry Glendon starts the film as an opera star, which is a weird pivot, but it gives him an excuse to belt out a few tunes later. Once he hits the ranch, the movie settles into a comfortable, dusty rhythm. The whole "I'm the foreman, not the owner" trope is played straight, and honestly, it works fine for a movie this short.

The Problem with Johnny

I need to talk about Johnny, Carol’s brother. He is exhausting. Every time he opened his mouth to complain, I found myself checking how much time was left on the runtime. It’s hard to root for the protagonists when one of them makes you want to turn the volume down to zero. Maybe he was meant to be endearing, but it really didn't land for me.

• The singing is surprisingly loud.
• The bad guys are exactly the kind of cartoon villains you expect.
• The ranch scenery looks great in that grainy, black-and-white way.

The plot hinges on a hidden treasure ruse that’s honestly pretty clever for a cheap western. Watching the Allen brothers scramble to buy back their own worthless land is the highlight of the whole thing. It’s the kind of scheme that feels right at home in a film like Stranger Than Fiction, #16 where the absurdity is part of the charm. 🤠

There’s a weird disconnect in the tone, though. You’ve got these tense standoffs and land disputes, but then we have to stop everything so Barry can sing. It’s jarring, but I suppose that’s just how they did things back then. It’s not quite as formal as The Officer's Mess, but it’s definitely stuck in its own era.

I caught myself admiring the horses more than the dialogue at one point. The way the light hits the dust during the chase scenes is genuinely nice. It feels lived-in, even if the script feels a bit like a first draft written on the back of a napkin. Not every movie needs to be a masterpiece, and this one is perfectly content just being a pleasant way to kill an hour.

If you're looking for something that won't make you think too hard, this hits the spot. Just prepare yourself for the brother. Seriously, he’s a lot.