The Fugitive Sheriff: A dusty, familiar run-around

Is it worth your time?

If you've got a soft spot for 1930s B-westerns where the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys are cartoonishly mean, sure, why not. If you need something with a plot that makes sense or doesn't rely on the 'oh no, I was framed' trope, stay away. This is pure Saturday matinee filler.

Ken Maynard is our guy here. He plays the sheriff who gets the rug pulled out from under him before he even gets to sit in the chair. It’s a classic setup, maybe even a little too classic.

The whole thing hinges on a dropped rowel. Yeah, a spur piece. That’s the grand evidence used to put our hero behind bars. It’s a bit of a stretch, but hey, the plot needs to move, right?

The rhythm of the ride

The movie doesn't waste time with fancy dialogue. It’s mostly just people shouting at each other or riding horses across the same patch of desert. There’s a scene where the train robbery goes down and it looks like it was filmed in a backyard. It’s charming in a weird, low-budget way.

The bad guys in this flick are almost too obvious. You can spot the villain from a mile away just by how he twitches his mustache. It reminded me a bit of the simplicity in Brand of the Outlaws, where the lines between good and evil are drawn with a heavy marker.

I noticed a guy in the background of the town square scene who looks like he’s just waiting for his lunch break. He’s leaning against a hitching post for like three straight minutes without moving. It’s the little things that make these old movies feel so human and slightly broken. 🤠

Not everything lands

The pacing is a bit of a wreck. Sometimes the action just stops dead so we can watch someone walk across a room. Then suddenly, it's a full-on chase sequence for no apparent reason. It feels like the editor was just throwing darts at the film strips.

• The train looks like it's going about five miles per hour.
• The dialogue is mostly just instructions on where to ride next.
• I’m pretty sure I saw the same rock formation in four different locations.

It’s not trying to be high art, and that’s fine. It’s just a movie about a guy trying to get his badge back. If you take it for what it is—a quick, dusty little story—it’s an easy enough watch. Just don't go looking for deep character studies. Sometimes a man just needs to ride a horse and clear his name, and that’s the whole ballgame. 🐎