A determined-looking Johnny Mack Brown enters a cave in THE RUSTLERS OF RED DOG (Universal, 1935).

THE RUSTLERS OF RED DOG

Universal, 12 Chapters, 1935. Starring John Mack Brown, Joyce Compton, Raymond Hatton, Walter Miller, Harry Woods, Fredric McKaye, Charles K. French.

Note: This is an early review, written before I discovered how much fun Universal serials are, so any comments to the detriment of Universal (such as the one in the paragraph below) are strictly outdated and not to be taken seriously. I’ll have to re-review this one at some later date.

Unlike some serial buffs, I'm not a big Universal fan, (I generally prefer Republic serials) but what with seeing SKY RAIDERS, RIDERS OF DEATH VALLEY, and this one recently, I'm beginning to see how enjoyable their serials can be. This serial, from what I call the pre-Flash Gordon era, is wonderful entertainment, and certainly one of the best Universals I've seen.

The plot of RUSTLERS is simple and uncluttered: The classic Western one of a heroic marshal cleaning up an outlaw-ridden town. The pacing is also really good for Universal; things hardly ever stand still. We move from Indian fighting to shootouts with rustlers to fistfights with only a little breathing space in between. The fights, by the way, aren't as good as Republic's, but they are pretty good, and one (the barroom brawl between Johnny Mack Brown and Harry Woods in Chapter Nine) is a really memorable serial fight.

This serial has much more character, when it comes to its leading players, than some. Johnny Mack Brown as the hero, Jack, has some depth and background rare for a serial hero. He's an ex-lawman who's "tired of fighting other people's battles" and intends to settle down and give up his guns. Naturally, he's forced into battling the rustlers and Indians to save the townsfolk of Nugget. Even though this is the first time I've seen him in anything, Johnny Mack really made an impression on me. He does a great job.

His sidekicks are just as memorable. Silent serial star and usual sound serial villain Walter Miller gets probably his best sound-era role as the Deacon, Jack's gambler friend. His poker-face expressions while playing cards are hilarious, as is his interplay with fellow sidekick Laramie. Deacon philosophically takes whatever trouble comes his way, always armed with a shotgun and a deck of marked cards, and only extreme situations (Laramie, mostly) can disturb his cool. Deacon also gets to display more intelligence and cleverness than most serial sidekicks, who are usually only allowed to be comic.

Raymond Hatton, teaming up with Johnny Mack for the first time (they later went on to do over forty B-westerns together) is also allowed to be smart and tough. As a buckskin-clad scout who can talk Indian lingo (Hatton looks great in buckskin; if I was on a wagon train trip I would pick either Hatton or Robert Horton to guide me) it's Laramie who is best at outsmarting the redskins, and it's Laramie who comes up with a very clever plan to rescue the heroine from the Indians at one point. The Jack-Deacon-Laramie trio is reminiscent of the Three Mesquiteer trio. All the members are allowed to be smart, heroic, and funny at different times.

Joyce Compton is the very durable heroine, being constantly menaced by rustlers, Indians, and other perils but still managing to bounce back up and look pretty by the next chapter. Her gradually growing interest in Johnny Mack is well handled, as she must first overcome her distaste for his gun talents.

Harry Woods is Rocky, head of the titular rustlers, who are one of the most realistically portrayed outlaw bands in cliffhanger history. Unlike some serial bosses, Rocky really seems to care about the welfare of his gang, and the rustlers function as a close and dangerous team. The real old outlaw gangs must have been like this, otherwise they wouldn't have lasted as long as they did. The growing personal rivalry between Woods and Brown is unique, as well, with both hero and villain maintaining a grudging respect for each other. This idea carries through in the final scene between the two (SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS), when the dying Rocky admits that Jack has beaten him fair and square. Woods handles the ambiguous character of Rocky really well; this has to be one of his best badman roles of his whole illustrious career.

Fredric McKaye, who I've never seen in anything else, does good as the aptly named Snakey, Rocky's right hand man. Edmund Cobb, Bud Osborne, Cliff Lyons, Slim Whittaker, and a young Hal Taliaferro can all be seen among the rustler band.

Charles K. French is the heroine's father, Lafe McKee plays her uncle, and former silent star William Desmond is a wagonmaster. All three of these grand old character actors do their best in their small roles. Look for J. P. McGowan as a cavalry captain, and Jim Thorpe, Iron Eyes Cody, and Chief Thundercloud among the rampaging Indians. These Indians, by the way, put to shame the half-hearted, rag taggle bands of "renegades" seen in other serials. They make at least two attacks on a wagon train, one on the town, and scarcely an episode goes by where they don't attack someone or other. An interesting aspect of this serial is that the larger band of Indians (there's a smaller band in cahoots with the rustlers) aren't in the pay of the baddies, who become trapped along with the settlers when the Indians attack the wagon train.

Incidentally, this serial seems to have a very high budget, even for a Universal. The rustlers of Red Dog are at least thirty or forty strong, and the wagon train attacks feature large amounts of both Indians and pioneers. Not much of this appears to be stock, either. This gives it a "real-life" feel, that would make this serial look good as a movie, too.

All in all, RUSTLERS OF RED DOG is one of the great ones, and, along with Red Ryder and a couple others, one of the quintessential Western serials. Yes, even though it is a Universal!