Single-Handed Sanders Review: Creaky, Dusty, and Fun

If you love dusty, creaky 1930s Westerns where the horses move faster than the plot, Single-Handed Sanders is a fun little 50-minute distraction. Anyone who enjoys old-school cheap matinees with lots of punching will have a good time here. But if you hate scratchy audio and obvious cardboard sets, you should probably skip it. 🤠

Tom Tyler plays Matt, a blacksmith who somehow keeps his hair perfectly combed while working a hot forge. He has to save the local homesteaders after the town judge gets murdered by angry cattlemen.

It starts out like a hundred other movies from this era. But then Matt's brother Phillip comes back from law school and things get weirdly messy.

Phillip is supposed to be the smart brother. Instead, he immediately gets bribed by a greasy senator and starts plotting to steal everyone's land.

The actor playing Phillip has this incredibly goofy way of smiling when he is doing something evil. It makes him look like he just stole a cookie rather than a whole town's water rights.

There is a great scene where Snowflake, played by Fred 'Snowflake' Toones, overhears the evil plot while delivering a horse. Toones had to play the usual unfortunate stereotypes of the era, but his actual comic timing is easily the best thing in the movie.

The movie feels very similar to The Land of Missing Men, which has that same dry, early-talkie atmosphere. But this one has a lot more family drama and people shouting in small offices.

I wrote down a few weird details while watching this on my couch:

• The dying judge gives a three-minute speech about mortgages while literally actively dying on the floor.
• The senator's mustache is so big it deserves its own credit in the opening titles.
• Matt's blacksmith hands are incredibly clean. Like, he has never touched coal in his life.

The big climax is just Matt and his brother rolling around on the floor of a tiny office, knocking over cheap wooden chairs. It is not exactly high-stakes cinema, but it feels wonderfully real and clumsy.

Some of the outdoor shots look like they were filmed in someone's dusty backyard. You can practically feel the grit in your teeth just watching them ride around the same three bushes.

It does not try to be anything great. It is just a quick, simple story about a guy who is tired of people being crooked. sometimes that is all you really need on a Sunday afternoon. 🎬