The Red Rider: A Dusty Old Ride

Is it worth your time?

If you're the kind of person who likes watching 1930s cowboys chase each other through dusty canyons, you'll probably get a kick out of The Red Rider. But if you need your Westerns to make sense or have, like, a script that wasn't written on a napkin, maybe skip this one. It’s pretty much for the folks who want that specific, grainy, black-and-white comfort food.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Red Rider (1934) through its definitive frames.

The whole thing kicks off with a court case that’s about as fair as a rigged carnival game. Red Davison has to ditch his badge to save "Silent" Slade from a hanging, which is a trope we've all seen a million times. Still, there’s something about the way Buck Jones carries himself that makes the old-school heroics feel almost believable for a minute or two.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Red Rider (1934) through its definitive frames.

The supporting cast is packed with faces that feel like they've been in every movie ever made, including The Western Rover alumni popping up here and there. It’s funny how these movies just feel like a revolving door of guys in big hats.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Red Rider (1934) through its definitive frames.

Odd moments that stuck with me

• There is a moment near the middle where the editing just gives up. One second they are in the saloon, the next they are halfway across the desert without a single transition.
• Buck Jones’ horse, Silver, has more screen presence than half the human actors. I’m not even joking.
• The sound quality dips so low in the courthouse scene that I had to turn my volume way up, only for the next scene to be deafeningly loud. Classic.
• Someone clearly forgot to tell the extras to stop looking at the camera. At least three guys are definitely checking to see if they're in frame during the big standoff.

Watching this made me think about The Wheel and how much faster these old serials move. They don't waste time on character development because they assume you already know the type.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Red Rider (1934) through its definitive frames.

It gets a little repetitive once the chase scenes start. How many times can you hide behind the same rock formation? Apparently, the answer is 'all of them'.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Red Rider (1934) through its definitive frames.

Don't look for deep meaning here. It's just guys being noble and bad guys being cartoonishly evil. It’s honestly refreshing in a weird way, like eating a plain piece of toast when you're hungry.

I’m still not sure why they called it 'Silent' Slade if the guy has lines, but hey, maybe that's the mystery. The movie doesn't really care to explain it, and I don't really care to ask.