Daily Archives: July 23, 2022

Riders of Destiny (1933)

Riders of Destiny
Directed by Robert N. Bradbury
Written by Robert N. Bradbury
1933/US
Paul Malvern Productions (Monarch Pictures)
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime (Free to members)

James Kincaid: I’ve made Denton an offer he can’t refuse.

John Wayne brings star quality to even the most routine poverty-row oater.

This is a Western starring John Wayne as a singing cowboy (his singing voice is dubbed). As the story begins, Singin’ Sandy Saunders interrupts a stage coach robbery. He meets lovely Fay Denton (Cecilia Parker) and loans her his horse when hers is shot from under her. It turns out her father (Gabby Hayes) owns a gold mine and it seems that every time a shipment is sent to him the stage is robbed. So Fay intercepts the stage and takes the loot before bandits can get to it. Greedy city slicker James Kincaid (Forrest Taylor) is behind the robberies. He also has a lock on most of the water in the valley and is threatening to cut off the ranchers supply unless they sell out cheap. You have to know that Singin’ Sandy will save the day.

This movie is only 53 minutes long and is about what you would expect. I thought the antics of Kincaid’s none-too-bright thugs were fairly amusing. Wayne is young and very handsome. It’s also amusing watching him sing.