The Arizona Raiders (1936) Review - Dust, Horses, and Buster Crabbe's Arms

If you have got an hour to kill and love the smell of old dust, The Arizona Raiders is a fun little ride.

It is perfect for anyone who misses those lazy Saturday morning westerns, but modern action fans will probably get bored in five minutes. 🤠

So, Buster Crabbe plays a guy named Laramie Nelson.

He starts the movie by literally wiggling his way out of a hanging noose, which is a pretty wild way to introduce your hero.

Then he immediately saves this other guy named Tracks, played by Raymond Hatton who basically steals the whole movie by looking incredibly greasy.

They head over to a ranch to get some honest work, but of course, some bad guys want to steal all the horses.

The main bad guy is played by Grant Withers, who has this amazing sneer.

Honestly, Withers looks like he eats gravel for breakfast. 🥓

The plot is so simple you could write it on a dirty napkin while riding a pony.

It does not try to be some deep, artsy drama like Cradle Song or anything.

It is just pure, uncomplicated horse action.

There is this one scene where a horse gets a close-up and I swear it gave a better performance than some of the humans.

Johnny Downs is in this too, playing a kid named Lonesome.

He is fine, but his hair never seems to get dusty no matter how many times he falls off his horse.

And Marsha Hunt is the love interest, Harriet.

She does not get much to do except look worried and pretty, which she does very well.

The action scenes are surprisingly fast and messy.

The camera just kind of pans wildly trying to keep up with the horses.

You can tell they did not have the budget for many retakes because at one point a guy clearly trips over a rock in the background and they just kept rolling. 🪨

I love stuff like that.

It makes the whole thing feel alive, like you are watching a bunch of stuntmen just messing around in the desert.

The music is also incredibly loud.

It blasts over the dialogue sometimes, so you have to guess what they are saying about the horse rustling.

But it is not like the dialogue is Shakespeare anyway.

It is mostly stuff like "Get them horses!" and "He went that-a-way!"

There is a weirdly long scene where they just talk about ranch chores.

I actually wrote down in my notes: why are we watching them talk about hay for three minutes?

But then we get back to the shooting and it is fine.

If you want a cozy, brain-off movie for a rainy Sunday, this is a solid bet.

It has that same cheap, comforting energy as old black-and-white variety films like Happy Days.

Just do not expect anything mind-blowing.

Sometimes you just want to watch Buster Crabbe ride a horse and punch a guy with a bad mustache. 🐎