The Cheyenne Kid (1933) - A Western with a Weird Whip Ending

You should probably watch The Cheyenne Kid if you are the type of person who finds comfort in the sound of galloping hooves and low-budget dust. It is a quick sit, maybe an hour if you do not count the credits, and it feels like a relic from a time when movies were made for about five dollars and a pack of cigarettes.

If you want something with a deep message or a plot that doesn't have holes big enough to drive a stagecoach through, you are definitely going to hate this. It is a Saturday afternoon matinee through and through.

Buck Allen is our hero, and he is played by Jack Mower with a sort of stiff-jawed sincerity that was very popular back then. He gets blamed for a payroll heist at a dam construction site, which is a classic setup that we have seen a thousand times, even in something like The Dangerous Dude.

He spends a lot of the movie running away from U.S. Marshal Utah Kane and a Sheriff named Hank. Utah Kane is a great name for a lawman, honestly.

The movie really picks up when Buck goes to Betty Thorpe's place. He meets this guy Duke Porter who pretends to be his friend but is actually just a snake in the grass.

Duke tells him to keep running so the real guilty party will confess. This is terrible advice, but Buck takes it because heroes in 1933 were often very trusting of people with thin mustaches.

The Barn Scene

There is a specific moment where Buck is hiding in a barn and he overhears a conversation between the villains, Gorman and Madge. It is one of those scenes where you can tell the actors are trying really hard not to trip over the hay.

Gorman tries to shoot Buck but ends up hitting Madge instead. The way she falls is so dramatic it almost feels like she is auditioning for a different, much louder movie.

Instead of running away like a normal person, Buck stays to make sure she gets a doctor. It is a nice character beat, even if it lands him right in a jail cell.

I noticed that the lighting in the jail scenes is actually kind of decent for a movie this cheap. There are these long shadows on the wall that make it feel a bit more serious than the outdoor stuff.

The Bull-Whip Duel

This is where the movie gets truly weird and memorable. Marshal Kane does not think Buck is guilty, but he needs to prove it to the Sheriff who is a bit of a blockhead.

He brings the villain, Gorman, into the jail and tells this story about an old Indian legend. The legend says that if you give two guys one weapon, the survivor will be the innocent one.

The weapon? A bull-whip. I have watched a lot of westerns, but I have never seen a legal dispute settled with a whip in a tiny room before.

The choreography here is actually pretty good, probably because Yakima Canutt was involved. He was the king of stunts back then, and you can see his fingerprints all over the way the guys move and tumble.

It is way more interesting than a standard shootout where people just point guns and smoke pops out. You can actually feel the sweat in this scene.

It reminds me a bit of the physical energy in The Sea Panther, though obviously on land. The way they use the space in that small jail cell is clever.

Stray Thoughts

• The horses in this movie are the real MVPs; they look like they’ve been working sixteen-hour days.
• There is a reaction shot of the Sheriff that lingers for about three seconds too long, and he just looks confused.
• The audio quality is pretty scratchy, so you might have to squint with your ears sometimes.
• Yakima Canutt wrote this, and you can tell he just wanted to write scenes where he could do cool stunts.

The movie doesn't try to be anything it isn't. It is just a story about a guy getting framed and a Marshal who has a very creative way of doing his job.

It is not going to change your life, but it is a fun look at how these early talkies were still trying to figure out how to be exciting. Sometimes the dialogue feels a bit clunky, like they are reading off a chalkboard just off-camera.

But that is part of the charm of these old poverty row westerns. They have a certain texture that modern movies just cannot replicate with their clean digital cameras.

If you like this, you might also dig The Service Star for that same vintage feel. Or maybe even The Lady of the Lake if you want something that feels just as ancient.

Overall, it is a decent way to spend an hour. Just do not expect the bull-whip thing to make much sense in a real court of law. 🤠